Is Obekpa Next? No! He's staying!

[SJU85]

Baseball season couldn't come fast enough with all of these things going on.

 

[Class of 72]

If true, the biggest issue is what it says about how far we are away from what we need most - sustainability.

We aren't building, per se, but are rather constantly having to plug leaks that are spraying water. We've been able to handle those leaks for the most part for the last 24 months (and to be sure, Lavin has not always had it easy, personally or with the task at hand, which should be noted). But that didn't change the fact that those leaks were popping up (transfers, ineligibles, disciplinary action) at a higher clip than preferable, and the staff was doing their best dance in order to keep covering them.

Now it appears the leaks are too much to handle and the flood gates are almost open (if they aren't already).

Fair points. At some point the AD,or someone in Administration, needs to look at these issues. I am not endorsing pushing Lavin out the door, but rather conducting a thorough assessment of the current state of the program. In my opinion, we have had more drama & turnover than the norm and need to learn from it & get on a more stable plane.

I agree 100%. This may be an issue beyond the AD at this time. The people with a ve$ted interest I think will be taking a closer look at the state of the program. Far be it from me to caste a positive spin on this mess but unless Harrison and Jordan leave, we will still be competitive but only for the bottom half of the league. Sadly, from talking to other fans early in the season, none of this is a surprise and was a major reason I was so pissed with our recruiting efforts for the 2014 class. Sampson was leaving whether he was ready or not. To have 4 scholarships available on a team lacking so many basketball variables and skipping the year recruiting hard may be the nail in coffin and if Obekpa leaves will be a black eye on Lavin's ability to hold on to his own players. To have six ships available and no recruits effectively puts Lavin and staff on probation and forget any contract extension. Even in the smaller Big East you just cannot compete with 7 scholarship players, 3 of which are challenged offensively. Not to soften the possible loss of CO but I heard he has been a problem all season to the point of being uncoachable but it is the coaches job to fix those issues. It is going to be an interesting 3 weeks.

 

[fan5577]

Baseball season couldn't come fast enough with all of these things going on.

I can tell from your Avatar that you have some basball to look forward to this year. Others of us on this board are going from one hell to another!

 

[ras]

I was on the fence.

On the fence of what? Torturing Lavin before killing him and just killing him?

Who said anything about torture. LOL I think what he's going through now is enough torture.

 

[L J S A]

So much for the Our Savior big-man connection helping us land Cheick Diallo.

I think it's been mentioned that Felix is more important in landing Diallo that Obekpa. Not sure if true or not.

 

[shamsman2]

If true, the biggest issue is what it says about how far we are away from what we need most - sustainability.

We aren't building, per se, but are rather constantly having to plug leaks that are spraying water. We've been able to handle those leaks for the most part for the last 24 months (and to be sure, Lavin has not always had it easy, personally or with the task at hand, which should be noted). But that didn't change the fact that those leaks were popping up (transfers, ineligibles, disciplinary action) at a higher clip than preferable, and the staff was doing their best dance in order to keep covering them.

Now it appears the leaks are too much to handle and the flood gates are almost open (if they aren't already).

Fair points. At some point the AD,or someone in Administration, needs to look at these issues. I am not endorsing pushing Lavin out the door, but rather conducting a thorough assessment of the current state of the program. In my opinion, we have had more drama & turnover than the norm and need to learn from it & get on a more stable plane.

I agree 100%. This may be an issue beyond the AD at this time. The people with a ve$ted interest I think will be taking a closer look at the state of the program. Far be it from me to caste a positive spin on this mess but unless Harrison and Jordan leave, we will still be competitive but only for the bottom half of the league. Sadly, from talking to other fans early in the season, none of this is a surprise and was a major reason I was so pissed with our recruiting efforts for the 2014 class. Sampson was leaving whether he was ready or not. To have 4 scholarships available on a team lacking so many basketball variables and skipping the year recruiting hard may be the nail in coffin and if Obekpa leaves will be a black eye on Lavin's ability to hold on to his own players. To have six ships available and no recruits effectively puts Lavin and staff on probation and forget any contract extension. Even in the smaller Big East you just cannot compete with 7 scholarship players, 3 of which are challenged offensively. Not to soften the possible loss of CO but I heard he has been a problem all season to the point of being uncoachable but it is the coaches job to fix those issues. Itbis going to be an interesting 3 weeks.

If someone is uncoachable, forget it! Only way to fix it is to do what Lavin did to Harrison, last season. Even then it's less than 50/50 I don't care who the coach is.

 

[Section3]

FWIW...Hear from a very credible souce that is is definitely leaving.

Oh boy! when you start reporting on these rumors, I guess we're getting close...ugh!!!!

 

[redken]

So much for the Our Savior big-man connection helping us land Cheick Diallo.

I think it's been mentioned that Felix is more important in landing Diallo that Obekpa. Not sure if true or not.

Here's hoping it's true. (And please, no wild rumors about a disgruntled Felix looking to transfer.)

 

[ras]

If CO refused to go back in during the Providence game,maybe it's good that he's going. Like 72 says the problem is Lavin should have been prepared for departures and should have hit the recruiting trail hard.Even if he got us some 3 star bigs, that would have been OK. The problem is the well is pretty dry and generally speaking a transfer has to sit out a year. The loss of both CO and Sampson is going to be tough to replace at this time.

 

[Andrew]

PGIV is going to play point guard and center. Lavin speak will characterize this as a genius move and take credit for coining the phrase "point center." (C)

Paul, I think that's what Johnny Kerr played for the old Syracuse Nationals. Surprising it took Lavin so long to come up with the jargon.

Before my time but I do seem to recall some odd situation where Magic Johnson was playing PG on offense and C on defense.

When Kareem got hurt in the finals. I think against Philadelphia. Only Magic could do that.

 

[Andrew]

PGIV is going to play point guard and center. Lavin speak will characterize this as a genius move and take credit for coining the phrase "point center." (C)

Paul, I think that's what Johnny Kerr played for the old Syracuse Nationals. Surprising it took Lavin so long to come up with the jargon.

Before my time but I do seem to recall some odd situation where Magic Johnson was playing PG on offense and C on defense.

When Kareem got hurt in the finals. I think against Philadelphia. Only Magic could do that.

From Wikipedia

Rookie season in the NBA (1979–80)
Johnson was drafted first overall in 1979 by the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson said that what was "most amazing" about joining the Lakers was the chance to play alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,[33] the team's 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center who became the leading scorer in NBA history.[34] Despite Abdul-Jabbar's dominance, he had failed to win a championship with the Lakers, and Johnson was expected to help them achieve that goal.[35] Johnson averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game for the season, was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Team, and was named an NBA All-Star Game starter.[36]
The Lakers compiled a 60–22 record in the regular season and reached the 1980 NBA Finals,[37] in which they faced the Philadelphia 76ers, who were led by forward Julius Erving. The Lakers took a 3–2 lead in the series, but Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 33 points a game in the series,[38] sprained his ankle in Game 5 and could not play in Game 6.[35] Paul Westhead decided to start Johnson at center in Game 6; Johnson recorded 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in a 123–107 win, while playing guard, forward, and center at different times during the game.[35] Johnson became the only rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP award,[35] and his clutch performance is still regarded as one of the finest in NBA history.[6][39][40] He also became one of four players to win NCAA and NBA championships in consecutive years.[41]

 

[beast of the east]

PGIV is going to play point guard and center. Lavin speak will characterize this as a genius move and take credit for coining the phrase "point center." (C)

Paul, I think that's what Johnny Kerr played for the old Syracuse Nationals. Surprising it took Lavin so long to come up with the jargon.

Before my time but I do seem to recall some odd situation where Magic Johnson was playing PG on offense and C on defense.

When Kareem got hurt in the finals. I think against Philadelphia. Only Magic could do that.

From Wikipedia

Rookie season in the NBA (1979–80)
Johnson was drafted first overall in 1979 by the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson said that what was "most amazing" about joining the Lakers was the chance to play alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,[33] the team's 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center who became the leading scorer in NBA history.[34] Despite Abdul-Jabbar's dominance, he had failed to win a championship with the Lakers, and Johnson was expected to help them achieve that goal.[35] Johnson averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game for the season, was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Team, and was named an NBA All-Star Game starter.[36]
The Lakers compiled a 60–22 record in the regular season and reached the 1980 NBA Finals,[37] in which they faced the Philadelphia 76ers, who were led by forward Julius Erving. The Lakers took a 3–2 lead in the series, but Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 33 points a game in the series,[38] sprained his ankle in Game 5 and could not play in Game 6.[35] Paul Westhead decided to start Johnson at center in Game 6; Johnson recorded 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in a 123–107 win, while playing guard, forward, and center at different times during the game.[35] Johnson became the only rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP award,[35] and his clutch performance is still regarded as one of the finest in NBA history.[6][39][40] He also became one of four players to win NCAA and NBA championships in consecutive years.[41]

That game was amazing, one of the all time great games. Many of us remember the game that Frazier had in game 7 vs. the Lakers - and carried his team to the NBA championship May 8 1970 (no matter what credit Reed gets) . Johnson not only played center, but perhaps his greatest accomplishment was re-energizing a fading Kareem that season.

 

[redken]

PGIV is going to play point guard and center. Lavin speak will characterize this as a genius move and take credit for coining the phrase "point center." (C)

Paul, I think that's what Johnny Kerr played for the old Syracuse Nationals. Surprising it took Lavin so long to come up with the jargon.

Before my time but I do seem to recall some odd situation where Magic Johnson was playing PG on offense and C on defense.

When Kareem got hurt in the finals. I think against Philadelphia. Only Magic could do that.

Agree that only Magic could do that. As for Johnny "Red" Kerr, who averaged a double-double (albeit not big-time numbers) in eight of his 12 years in the NBA, he was a not-so-quick 6'-9" 230-lb. center in an era when 6'-9" centers, not 7-footers, were the rule rather than the exception. A good passer, yes, but definitely not a guy who handled the ball most of the time and rarely, if ever, brought the ball up the court.

 

[rawdognyc]

So much for the Our Savior big-man connection helping us land Cheick Diallo.

I think it's been mentioned that Felix is more important in landing Diallo that Obekpa. Not sure if true or not.

Here's hoping it's true. (And please, no wild rumors about a disgruntled Felix looking to transfer.)

Felix isn't going anywhere, that much I know

 

[L J S A]

So much for the Our Savior big-man connection helping us land Cheick Diallo.

I think it's been mentioned that Felix is more important in landing Diallo that Obekpa. Not sure if true or not.

Here's hoping it's true. (And please, no wild rumors about a disgruntled Felix looking to transfer.)

Felix isn't going anywhere, that much I know

No need to. He'll be getting 38 mpg . . . as an undersized PF. :lol:

 

[beast of the east]

I'm curious - somebody here may know. Do colleges track altered shots, in addition to blocks? Or the number of goaltends? It seems that in the last 6-8 games of the season, Obekpa goaltended as many shots as he blocked, which would be an indicator I guess of some poor choices, or overanxious nature to pad those stats. If JSJ and other reports are correct, this has been brewing for some time. It just seems to be another poor choice for a St. John's player, after Sampson's ill advised declaration for the draft. He has a wide open shot for as many minutes as he can stay on the floor without getting into foul trouble, would figure to become more of an option on offense, which are two keys to his continued development.

This program is amazing. The guy who ended the previous season as the biggest headache, Harrison, turned into one of the team's solid citizens. So, other than the calamity of losing Sampson and the reports of an imminent departure of Obekpa, there are no high profile replacements even for the departing Sanchez and GG. You would think that any big that Lavin has up his sleeve would see SJU as a major opportunity for minutes. Christian Jones has been nearly forgotten - can he gives us at least what the disappointing Sanchez contributed? Can Felix actually be a big factor, as some respected posters here think? Maybe things really aren't as horrendous as we think.

 

[SJU85]

Baseball season couldn't come fast enough with all of these things going on.

I can tell from your Avatar that you have some basball to look forward to this year. Others of us on this board are going from one hell to another!

Watching last night, I still have some serious concerns about the defense and CC.

 

[Jack Williams]

I'm curious - somebody here may know. Do colleges track altered shots, in addition to blocks? Or the number of goaltends? It seems that in the last 6-8 games of the season, Obekpa goaltended as many shots as he blocked, which would be an indicator I guess of some poor choices, or overanxious nature to pad those stats. If JSJ and other reports are correct, this has been brewing for some time. It just seems to be another poor choice for a St. John's player, after Sampson's ill advised declaration for the draft. He has a wide open shot for as many minutes as he can stay on the floor without getting into foul trouble, would figure to become more of an option on offense, which are two keys to his continued development.

This program is amazing. The guy who ended the previous season as the biggest headache, Harrison, turned into one of the team's solid citizens. So, other than the calamity of losing Sampson and the reports of an imminent departure of Obekpa, there are no high profile replacements even for the departing Sanchez and GG. You would think that any big that Lavin has up his sleeve would see SJU as a major opportunity for minutes. Christian Jones has been nearly forgotten - can he gives us at least what the disappointing Sanchez contributed? Can Felix actually be a big factor, as some respected posters here think? Maybe things really aren't as horrendous as we think.

I said in my other post I do believe we have some good pieces, and could maybe have a shot at a bid with the players we have. But I don't believe it will happen with Steve Lavin coaching. When you are undersized and undermanned, you have to have the better gameplan to have a chance to succeed, and I don't trust we ever will with Lavin as coach.

 

[otis]

.... I do believe we have some good pieces, and could maybe have a shot at a bid with the players we have. ...

Assuming Mr. Obekpa does not transfer, the StJohns roster will likely look something like this:
Felix Balamou JR Guard 6-4 199
Phil Greene IV Sr Guard 6-2 189
D'Angelo Harrison SR Guard 6-4 204
Christian Jones JR Forward 6-7 225
Rysheed Jordan SO Guard 6-4 185
David Lipscomb JR Guard 6-2 175
Khadim Ndiaye SR Forward 6-6 195
Chris Obekpa JR Forward/Center 6-9 240
Sir'Dominic Pointer SR Guard/Forward 6-5 196

Does anyone know what kind of players David Lipscomb and Khadim Ndiaye are since the roster will likely be shorthanded?

 

[Class of 72]

.... I do believe we have some good pieces, and could maybe have a shot at a bid with the players we have. ...

Assuming Mr. Obekpa does not transfer, the StJohns roster will likely look something like this:
Felix Balamou JR Guard 6-4 199
Phil Greene IV Sr Guard 6-2 189
D'Angelo Harrison SR Guard 6-4 204
Christian Jones JR Forward 6-7 225
Rysheed Jordan SO Guard 6-4 185
David Lipscomb JR Guard 6-2 175
Khadim Ndiaye SR Forward 6-6 195
Chris Obekpa JR Forward/Center 6-9 240
Sir'Dominic Pointer SR Guard/Forward 6-5 196

Does anyone know what kind of players David Lipscomb and Khadim Ndiaye are since the roster will likely be shorthanded?

Yes, they will both play behind Jamal Branch in a four guard lineup.