It would be Nice

[redmannorth]

If those who have been crapping on Matt and other members of the staff would provide a little apology. Some of the remarks that have been made the last two months were over the top, at times malicious and occasionally down right ugly. I will not repeat the remarks but in the end of the day they were not appropriate as Matt came up real big with Wilson and Dixon.
I'm waiting.

 

[Section9]

tick, tick, tick.

 

[logen]

If those who have been crapping on Matt and other members of the staff would provide a little apology. Some of the remarks that have been made the last two months were over the top, at times malicious and occasionally down right ugly. I will not repeat the remarks but in the end of the day they were not appropriate as Matt came up real big with Wilson and Dixon.
I'm waiting.

Good point, it seems Matt was doing a bit more than following the Mets and counting his money as some would have had us believe.

 

[Class of 72]

No one thinks Matt does not work hard. Sure, some Yankee fans resent his attending Mets games.
But, pertaining to Sidney Wilson, I was knocked for commenting that we needed Sid Wilson and were refocusing on him after the departure of both Williams and Ellison. Lisa intimated sarcastically, and a couple nodded, that we and Matt stopped recruiting Sid "like a year and a half ago". Some fans here try to downplay the name recognition of Mullin and Richmond as if this generation of recruits are so removed from basketball history to make both irrelevant. Well, Sidney remembered and invoked the name of a long deceased Bronx native Malik Sealy today. Zach was surprised St. John's was even in the mix. Bottom line is even experts can be wrong and this kid always liked St. John's. The only indisputable truth now is Sid selected St. John's and the only fan who never lost faith is not in Connecticut, California or Texas but in northern Spain.

SJU14 wrote:
Class of 72 wrote:
Knight wrote:
Per Zach
Comes as a surprise, but St. John's is in top 6 for potentially reclassifying 2017 wing Sidney Wilson. Source said Johnnies in mix. #sjubb

Now told St. John's has been quietly recruiting Sidney Wilson for a while. Interesting stuff. #sjubb

Must be fake news. According to Lisa we stopped recruiting him over a year ago........NOT! !!!

The fake news comment was a response to you saying he was a lock for us a few months ago, which was not the case.

1. We never stopped recruiting him.
2. A few months ago 24/7 has the probability of him going to SJU at 100%
3. The latest projection has lowered the probability to 67%.
FWIW, Those that think that St. John's stopped recruiting him a year ago are getting their news from a different dimension. St. John's only offered Sid last July, 2016, and was one of the first schools to offer. That was only 9 months ago.

 

[SJU14]

No one thinks Matt does not work hard. Sure, some Yankee fans resent his attending Mets games.
But, pertaining to Sidney Wilson, I was knocked for commenting that we needed Sid Wilson and were refocusing on him after the departure of both Williams and Ellison. Lisa intimated sarcastically, and a couple nodded, that we and Matt stopped recruiting Sid "like a year and a half ago". Some fans here try to downplay the name recognition of Mullin and Richmond as if this generation of recruits are so removed from basketball history to make both irrelevant. Well, Sidney remembered and invoked the name of a long deceased Bronx native Malik Sealy today. Zach was surprised St. John's was even in the mix. Bottom line is even experts can be wrong and this kid always liked St. John's. The only indisputable truth now is Sid selected St. John's and the only fan who never lost faith is not in Connecticut, California or Texas but in northern Spain.

SJU14 wrote:
Class of 72 wrote:
Knight wrote:
Per Zach
Comes as a surprise, but St. John's is in top 6 for potentially reclassifying 2017 wing Sidney Wilson. Source said Johnnies in mix. #sjubb

Now told St. John's has been quietly recruiting Sidney Wilson for a while. Interesting stuff. #sjubb

Must be fake news. According to Lisa we stopped recruiting him over a year ago........NOT! !!!

The fake news comment was a response to you saying he was a lock for us a few months ago, which was not the case.

1. We never stopped recruiting him.
2. A few months ago 24/7 has the probability of him going to SJU at 100%
3. The latest projection has lowered the probability to 67%.
FWIW, Those that think that St. John's stopped recruiting him a year ago are getting their news from a different dimension. St. John's only offered Sid last July, 2016, and was one of the first schools to offer. That was only 9 months ago.

Glad I'm eating crow on this one. But every expert and recruiting service out there said we were no longer recruiting Wilson up until we were in his top 6.

 

[Class of 72]

No one thinks Matt does not work hard. Sure, some Yankee fans resent his attending Mets games.
But, pertaining to Sidney Wilson, I was knocked for commenting that we needed Sid Wilson and were refocusing on him after the departure of both Williams and Ellison. Lisa intimated sarcastically, and a couple nodded, that we and Matt stopped recruiting Sid "like a year and a half ago". Some fans here try to downplay the name recognition of Mullin and Richmond as if this generation of recruits are so removed from basketball history to make both irrelevant. Well, Sidney remembered and invoked the name of a long deceased Bronx native Malik Sealy today. Zach was surprised St. John's was even in the mix. Bottom line is even experts can be wrong and this kid always liked St. John's. The only indisputable truth now is Sid selected St. John's and the only fan who never lost faith is not in Connecticut, California or Texas but in northern Spain.

SJU14 wrote:
Class of 72 wrote:
Knight wrote:
Per Zach
Comes as a surprise, but St. John's is in top 6 for potentially reclassifying 2017 wing Sidney Wilson. Source said Johnnies in mix. #sjubb

Now told St. John's has been quietly recruiting Sidney Wilson for a while. Interesting stuff. #sjubb

Must be fake news. According to Lisa we stopped recruiting him over a year ago........NOT! !!!

The fake news comment was a response to you saying he was a lock for us a few months ago, which was not the case.

1. We never stopped recruiting him.
2. A few months ago 24/7 has the probability of him going to SJU at 100%
3. The latest projection has lowered the probability to 67%.
FWIW, Those that think that St. John's stopped recruiting him a year ago are getting their news from a different dimension. St. John's only offered Sid last July, 2016, and was one of the first schools to offer. That was only 9 months ago.

Glad I'm eating crow on this one. But every expert and recruiting service out there said we were no longer recruiting Wilson up until we were in his top 6.

Understood but we offered Sid for the 2018 class. For that class our chances were great. We did not need to apply any pressure until Freudenberg, Ellison and Williams jumped ship. The staff loved this kid so the impression that we coldly just stopped recruiting him was just a poor opinion. Reclassifying to 2017 made him priority #1.
Priority #2 now is filling out the roster with a big if remotely possible. The offense is set. Now putting in the finishing defensive piece is all that is left for next year. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[/quote]

 

[cappy105]

If those who have been crapping on Matt and other members of the staff would provide a little apology. Some of the remarks that have been made the last two months were over the top, at times malicious and occasionally down right ugly. I will not repeat the remarks but in the end of the day they were not appropriate as Matt came up real big with Wilson and Dixon.
I'm waiting.

i was tough...more frustrated...im satisfied that we added depth with a quality player. nice job! sorry ? lol

 

[Knight]

No one thinks Matt does not work hard. Sure, some Yankee fans resent his attending Mets games.
But, pertaining to Sidney Wilson, I was knocked for commenting that we needed Sid Wilson and were refocusing on him after the departure of both Williams and Ellison. Lisa intimated sarcastically, and a couple nodded, that we and Matt stopped recruiting Sid "like a year and a half ago". Some fans here try to downplay the name recognition of Mullin and Richmond as if this generation of recruits are so removed from basketball history to make both irrelevant. Well, Sidney remembered and invoked the name of a long deceased Bronx native Malik Sealy today. Zach was surprised St. John's was even in the mix. Bottom line is even experts can be wrong and this kid always liked St. John's. The only indisputable truth now is Sid selected St. John's and the only fan who never lost faith is not in Connecticut, California or Texas but in northern Spain.

SJU14 wrote:
Class of 72 wrote:
Knight wrote:
Per Zach
Comes as a surprise, but St. John's is in top 6 for potentially reclassifying 2017 wing Sidney Wilson. Source said Johnnies in mix. #sjubb

Now told St. John's has been quietly recruiting Sidney Wilson for a while. Interesting stuff. #sjubb

Must be fake news. According to Lisa we stopped recruiting him over a year ago........NOT! !!!

The fake news comment was a response to you saying he was a lock for us a few months ago, which was not the case.

1. We never stopped recruiting him.
2. A few months ago 24/7 has the probability of him going to SJU at 100%
3. The latest projection has lowered the probability to 67%.
FWIW, Those that think that St. John's stopped recruiting him a year ago are getting their news from a different dimension. St. John's only offered Sid last July, 2016, and was one of the first schools to offer. That was only 9 months ago.

Knight wrote?

 

[boo haarvey]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, but was goaded into it after expressing my excitement at Sid's commitment.

In my humble opinion, this thread is rather silly. Yes, there have been an handful of posters, including myself, who expressed some frustration with the then-present state of recruiting. Well, if you don't like the posts why create an entire topic inviting us to comment and call us out when we don't take the bait?

Why not just enjoy a good moment for the program without trying to take a jab at others? With limited exceptions (making fun of Matt's height is pretty disgusting), nobody should feel obligated to apologize for their opinions no matter how ignorant or misinformed they may be. This is after all a fan forum. And for reasons Class of 72 and others have expressed, many who voiced their frustrations had thoughtful arguments to support their positions.

It remains to be seen how the new regime will fare. I'm buoyed by the Sid Wilson signing, but there is significant work to be done both on and off the court before I will become optimistic. I've simply suffered too much disappointment as a fan of this program for more than 30 years. That said, I'll pulling hard for them as I'm sure most of us are.

 

[doodyny33]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, but was goaded into it after expressing my excitement at Sid's commitment.

In my humble opinion, this thread is rather silly. Yes, there have been an handful of posters, including myself, who expressed some frustration with the then-present state of recruiting. Well, if you don't like the posts why create an entire topic inviting us to comment and call us out when we don't take the bait?

Why not just enjoy a good moment for the program without trying to take a jab at others? With limited exceptions (making fun of Matt's height is pretty disgusting), nobody should feel obligated to apologize for their opinions no matter how ignorant or misinformed they may be. This is after all a fan forum. And for reasons Class of 72 and others have expressed, many who voiced their frustrations had thoughtful arguments to support their positions.

It remains to be seen how the new regime will fare. I'm buoyed by the Sid Wilson signing, but there is significant work to be done both on and off the court before I will become optimistic. I've simply suffered too much disappointment as a fan of this program for more than 30 years. That said, I'll pulling hard for them as I'm sure most of us are.

I'm with Boo Harvey on this one.
1. I've never criticized Matt A whether about recruiting, the potential of going to LSU, or whatever else people have brought up. I have criticized others on the staff because I legitimately don't know what their roles are.
2. I'm extremely happy about the Sidney Wilson signing. From what posters have said, the kid can really play and it's always nice to have a local kid stick around.
3. I am still not happy with how this offseason has turned out. For anybody who watched St. John's last season, it was easy to see that their biggest deficiencies were on the glass and in the defensive zone. Now, I've heard the argument both on this board and on Twitter that Simon and especially Clark are going to be the cure all for both these areas and I'm sorry if I am somewhat pessimistic about that. The roster is severely lacking in bulk and height up front and I do still think it's going to remain a problem for them next season. I get the notion that the team wants to play fast and almost model themselves after a Villanova type of team. Lots of shooters and lots of speed on the court. But they're not Villanova. And in my opinion, the one requirement going into the offseason was to bring in 1-2 bigs who could at least help Owens and Yakwe up front and I don't think they did a very good job of doing that.

 

[salty dog]

If those who have been crapping on Matt and other members of the staff would provide a little apology. Some of the remarks that have been made the last two months were over the top, at times malicious and occasionally down right ugly. I will not repeat the remarks but in the end of the day they were not appropriate as Matt came up real big with Wilson and Dixon.
I'm waiting.

i was tough...more frustrated...im satisfied that we added depth with a quality player. nice job! sorry ? lol

Sorry to who? No fans need to feel sorry for anything but themselves.

 

[bamafan]

If those who have been crapping on Matt and other members of the staff would provide a little apology. Some of the remarks that have been made the last two months were over the top, at times malicious and occasionally down right ugly. I will not repeat the remarks but in the end of the day they were not appropriate as Matt came up real big with Wilson and Dixon.
I'm waiting.

i was tough...more frustrated...im satisfied that we added depth with a quality player. nice job! sorry ? lol

Sorry to who? No fans need to feel sorry for anything but themselves.

Salty, sent you a pm about 2 weeks ago. Please check your pm's. Thanks.

 

[logen]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, but was goaded into it after expressing my excitement at Sid's commitment.

In my humble opinion, this thread is rather silly. Yes, there have been an handful of posters, including myself, who expressed some frustration with the then-present state of recruiting. Well, if you don't like the posts why create an entire topic inviting us to comment and call us out when we don't take the bait?

Why not just enjoy a good moment for the program without trying to take a jab at others? With limited exceptions (making fun of Matt's height is pretty disgusting), nobody should feel obligated to apologize for their opinions no matter how ignorant or misinformed they may be. This is after all a fan forum. And for reasons Class of 72 and others have expressed, many who voiced their frustrations had thoughtful arguments to support their positions.

It remains to be seen how the new regime will fare. I'm buoyed by the Sid Wilson signing, but there is significant work to be done both on and off the court before I will become optimistic. I've simply suffered too much disappointment as a fan of this program for more than 30 years. That said, I'll pulling hard for them as I'm sure most of us are.

I'm with Boo Harvey on this one.
1. I've never criticized Matt A whether about recruiting, the potential of going to LSU, or whatever else people have brought up. I have criticized others on the staff because I legitimately don't know what their roles are.
2. I'm extremely happy about the Sidney Wilson signing. From what posters have said, the kid can really play and it's always nice to have a local kid stick around.
3. I am still not happy with how this offseason has turned out. For anybody who watched St. John's last season, it was easy to see that their biggest deficiencies were on the glass and in the defensive zone. Now, I've heard the argument both on this board and on Twitter that Simon and especially Clark are going to be the cure all for both these areas and I'm sorry if I am somewhat pessimistic about that. The roster is severely lacking in bulk and height up front and I do still think it's going to remain a problem for them next season. I get the notion that the team wants to play fast and almost model themselves after a Villanova type of team. Lots of shooters and lots of speed on the court. But they're not Villanova. And in my opinion, the one requirement going into the offseason was to bring in 1-2 bigs who could at least help Owens and Yakwe up front and I don't think they did a very good job of doing that.

So Mullin should pattern his team after what fans want, not what he wants? Why should we not pattern ourselves after the Nova model, seems like a pretty good one to me. You make a flat out statement we are not Nova, what exactly does that mean in the 2nd year of a ground floor rebuild? We have shooters and we have speed, so it is wrong to play that way? Seriously? IMO, the major one requirement in the offseason was improving the defense, especially the perimeter defense and watch how the rebounding improves when players are not scrambling every possession, when teams suddenly get deep into the shot clock struggling to get in their offense. Ponds and LoVett have the ability to make that a reality. It remains to be seen if that happens but I'm betting it will. I would much, much rather have Wilson than some lumbering big we got for the sake of getting one because our coaches are looking at stat sheets rather than what is going on on the floor.

 

[Class of 72]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, but was goaded into it after expressing my excitement at Sid's commitment.

In my humble opinion, this thread is rather silly. Yes, there have been an handful of posters, including myself, who expressed some frustration with the then-present state of recruiting. Well, if you don't like the posts why create an entire topic inviting us to comment and call us out when we don't take the bait?

Why not just enjoy a good moment for the program without trying to take a jab at others? With limited exceptions (making fun of Matt's height is pretty disgusting), nobody should feel obligated to apologize for their opinions no matter how ignorant or misinformed they may be. This is after all a fan forum. And for reasons Class of 72 and others have expressed, many who voiced their frustrations had thoughtful arguments to support their positions.

It remains to be seen how the new regime will fare. I'm buoyed by the Sid Wilson signing, but there is significant work to be done both on and off the court before I will become optimistic. I've simply suffered too much disappointment as a fan of this program for more than 30 years. That said, I'll pulling hard for them as I'm sure most of us are.

I'm with Boo Harvey on this one.
1. I've never criticized Matt A whether about recruiting, the potential of going to LSU, or whatever else people have brought up. I have criticized others on the staff because I legitimately don't know what their roles are.
2. I'm extremely happy about the Sidney Wilson signing. From what posters have said, the kid can really play and it's always nice to have a local kid stick around.
3. I am still not happy with how this offseason has turned out. For anybody who watched St. John's last season, it was easy to see that their biggest deficiencies were on the glass and in the defensive zone. Now, I've heard the argument both on this board and on Twitter that Simon and especially Clark are going to be the cure all for both these areas and I'm sorry if I am somewhat pessimistic about that. The roster is severely lacking in bulk and height up front and I do still think it's going to remain a problem for them next season. I get the notion that the team wants to play fast and almost model themselves after a Villanova type of team. Lots of shooters and lots of speed on the court. But they're not Villanova. And in my opinion, the one requirement going into the offseason was to bring in 1-2 bigs who could at least help Owens and Yakwe up front and I don't think they did a very good job of doing that.

So Mullin should pattern his team after what fans want, not what he wants? Why should we not pattern ourselves after the Nova model, seems like a pretty good one to me. You make a flat out statement we are not Nova, what exactly does that mean in the 2nd year of a ground floor rebuild? We have shooters and we have speed, so it is wrong to play that way? Seriously? IMO, the major one requirement in the offseason was improving the defense, especially the perimeter defense and watch how the rebounding improves when players are not scrambling every possession, when teams suddenly get deep into the shot clock struggling to get in their offense. Ponds and LoVett have the ability to make that a reality. It remains to be seen if that happens but I'm betting it will. I would much, much rather have Wilson than some lumbering big we got for the sake of getting one because our coaches are looking at stat sheets rather than what is going on on the floor.

Why knock Doody's point of view? He never said anything about Mullin having to model his roster after the opinions of armchair coaches on redmen.com. Who said we shouldn't utilize our shooters or speed? All he, and many others have pointed out, is we lack, and still lack, what Villanova will have up front. That is two monster players over 250 lbs like Omari Spellman and Eric Pascal or even a Dylan Painter.
We all prefer Sid to a "lumbering big" but Sid cannot defend the middle. Neither can Yakwe or Owens or Alibegovic because none of them are true centers. WTF is so hard to digest with that point of view?
The coaches literally targeted every available big on the market so they understood that need. That a fan is disappointed in not landing one does not deserve criticism.
Finally, no one disagrees with you about our need to improve our defense if only because this team played some if the worst defense in St. John's basketball history. We matched the largest losing margin in history. In some ugly basketball losses we gave up 92 pts to Minnesota, 97 pts to Xavier, 92 and 108 pts to Villanova and an incredible 110 pts to Butler!
We were taken to the woodshed in defensive rebounding and interior defense in almost every conference game. Some of that was inexperienced players and some of it was poor game preparation. Will the addition of Simon and Clark solve this? I don't think so. Will Wilson? Definitely not!
All most fans hoped for was a defensive presence in the middle. You hope for a defensive epiphany by both the players and staff. I am hoping for a semblance of defensive coaching and players with the will to play defense.
I hope we are all satisfied as fans because in the end, the game is played to put fannies in the seats.

 

[Sherman Sheridan & Grant]

Topic
"It would be nice"
Becomes
Topic
"It Already Seems"
St.Johns = was expansion team with thin roster and single A talent = year one
St.Johns is a legitimate AAA team w/ promise = start of year 3
I'll take it!
good times - forget the future - are here now
Exciting Fall 2017 ahead
Possibly meaningful games Winter 2018
and a glimpse at a tourney
We shall see
But looking forward to it all
all the best

 

[logen]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, but was goaded into it after expressing my excitement at Sid's commitment.

In my humble opinion, this thread is rather silly. Yes, there have been an handful of posters, including myself, who expressed some frustration with the then-present state of recruiting. Well, if you don't like the posts why create an entire topic inviting us to comment and call us out when we don't take the bait?

Why not just enjoy a good moment for the program without trying to take a jab at others? With limited exceptions (making fun of Matt's height is pretty disgusting), nobody should feel obligated to apologize for their opinions no matter how ignorant or misinformed they may be. This is after all a fan forum. And for reasons Class of 72 and others have expressed, many who voiced their frustrations had thoughtful arguments to support their positions.

It remains to be seen how the new regime will fare. I'm buoyed by the Sid Wilson signing, but there is significant work to be done both on and off the court before I will become optimistic. I've simply suffered too much disappointment as a fan of this program for more than 30 years. That said, I'll pulling hard for them as I'm sure most of us are.

I'm with Boo Harvey on this one.
1. I've never criticized Matt A whether about recruiting, the potential of going to LSU, or whatever else people have brought up. I have criticized others on the staff because I legitimately don't know what their roles are.
2. I'm extremely happy about the Sidney Wilson signing. From what posters have said, the kid can really play and it's always nice to have a local kid stick around.
3. I am still not happy with how this offseason has turned out. For anybody who watched St. John's last season, it was easy to see that their biggest deficiencies were on the glass and in the defensive zone. Now, I've heard the argument both on this board and on Twitter that Simon and especially Clark are going to be the cure all for both these areas and I'm sorry if I am somewhat pessimistic about that. The roster is severely lacking in bulk and height up front and I do still think it's going to remain a problem for them next season. I get the notion that the team wants to play fast and almost model themselves after a Villanova type of team. Lots of shooters and lots of speed on the court. But they're not Villanova. And in my opinion, the one requirement going into the offseason was to bring in 1-2 bigs who could at least help Owens and Yakwe up front and I don't think they did a very good job of doing that.

So Mullin should pattern his team after what fans want, not what he wants? Why should we not pattern ourselves after the Nova model, seems like a pretty good one to me. You make a flat out statement we are not Nova, what exactly does that mean in the 2nd year of a ground floor rebuild? We have shooters and we have speed, so it is wrong to play that way? Seriously? IMO, the major one requirement in the offseason was improving the defense, especially the perimeter defense and watch how the rebounding improves when players are not scrambling every possession, when teams suddenly get deep into the shot clock struggling to get in their offense. Ponds and LoVett have the ability to make that a reality. It remains to be seen if that happens but I'm betting it will. I would much, much rather have Wilson than some lumbering big we got for the sake of getting one because our coaches are looking at stat sheets rather than what is going on on the floor.

Why knock Doody's point of view? He never said anything about Mullin having to model his roster after the opinions of armchair coaches on redmen.com. Who said we shouldn't utilize our shooters or speed? All he, and many others have pointed out, is we lack, and still lack, what Villanova will have up front. That is two monster players over 250 lbs like Omari Spellman and Eric Pascal or even a Dylan Painter.
We all prefer Sid to a "lumbering big" but Sid cannot defend the middle. Neither can Yakwe or Owens or Alibegovic because none of them are true centers. WTF is so hard to digest with that point of view?
The coaches literally targeted every available big on the market so they understood that need. That a fan is disappointed in not landing one does not deserve criticism.
Finally, no one disagrees with you about our need to improve our defense if only because this team played some if the worst defense in St. John's basketball history. We matched the largest losing margin in history. In some ugly basketball losses we gave up 92 pts to Minnesota, 97 pts to Xavier, 92 and 108 pts to Villanova and an incredible 110 pts to Butler!
We were taken to the woodshed in defensive rebounding and interior defense in almost every conference game. Some of that was inexperienced players and some of it was poor game preparation. Will the addition of Simon and Clark solve this? I don't think so. Will Wilson? Definitely not!
All most fans hoped for was a defensive presence in the middle. You hope for a defensive epiphany by both the players and staff. I am hoping for a semblance of defensive coaching and players with the will to play defense.
I hope we are all satisfied as fans because in the end, the game is played to put fannies in the seats.

Why do I knock his post? Because I disagree with him, like I disagree with you. I watch the games and know the game; defense starts and ends with containing the ball and any defense that is constantly broken down gives up offensive rebounds because you can't box out when you scramble, basketball 101. Yes, we could use a big, if you bother to read my posts, I agreed with that in writing several times, but it is not the be all and end all obsession you and others have made it.
And just to get into stats, which admittedly can be misleading, but let's look at a few for "s$&ts and giggles". There were 4, yes 4, centers in the top 40 in the Big East in rebounding. Your "monster" Eric Paschall was 38th, behind Bashir Ahmed 12th, Tariq Owens 15th, and Shamorie Ponds 25th. Taking minutes out by projecting rebounds per 40 minutes, Paschall trails Ahmed by 1 rebound, and Owens by 4 per game. He beats Ponds by 1.8 rebounds per 40 minutes. Blocked shots, admittedly a very flawed statistic, but one used to measure a "monster" in the middle? Well in more minutes Paschall averaged a whopping .14 blocks per game than our esteemed center Amir Alibegovic. Projected over 40 minutes he actually trails Amir .57 blocks per game.
The point is, the game has changed; the traditional center position is going the way of the dinosaur and the game is played much, much faster. Many teams don't have a traditional big, and most players of size don't play a traditional post game anymore. So, yes, I disagree as to the reasons why we were outrebounded last year, and disagree as to the off-season priorities. Nova rebounds small because they consistently play sound team defense and box out, not because they have "monsters." We could use more size, no question, every team could use something more but we have the talent to win next year, no question in my mind. Now it is up to the coaches and players.

 

[Section9]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, but was goaded into it after expressing my excitement at Sid's commitment.

In my humble opinion, this thread is rather silly. Yes, there have been an handful of posters, including myself, who expressed some frustration with the then-present state of recruiting. Well, if you don't like the posts why create an entire topic inviting us to comment and call us out when we don't take the bait?

Why not just enjoy a good moment for the program without trying to take a jab at others? With limited exceptions (making fun of Matt's height is pretty disgusting), nobody should feel obligated to apologize for their opinions no matter how ignorant or misinformed they may be. This is after all a fan forum. And for reasons Class of 72 and others have expressed, many who voiced their frustrations had thoughtful arguments to support their positions.

It remains to be seen how the new regime will fare. I'm buoyed by the Sid Wilson signing, but there is significant work to be done both on and off the court before I will become optimistic. I've simply suffered too much disappointment as a fan of this program for more than 30 years. That said, I'll pulling hard for them as I'm sure most of us are.

I'm with Boo Harvey on this one.
1. I've never criticized Matt A whether about recruiting, the potential of going to LSU, or whatever else people have brought up. I have criticized others on the staff because I legitimately don't know what their roles are.
2. I'm extremely happy about the Sidney Wilson signing. From what posters have said, the kid can really play and it's always nice to have a local kid stick around.
3. I am still not happy with how this offseason has turned out. For anybody who watched St. John's last season, it was easy to see that their biggest deficiencies were on the glass and in the defensive zone. Now, I've heard the argument both on this board and on Twitter that Simon and especially Clark are going to be the cure all for both these areas and I'm sorry if I am somewhat pessimistic about that. The roster is severely lacking in bulk and height up front and I do still think it's going to remain a problem for them next season. I get the notion that the team wants to play fast and almost model themselves after a Villanova type of team. Lots of shooters and lots of speed on the court. But they're not Villanova. And in my opinion, the one requirement going into the offseason was to bring in 1-2 bigs who could at least help Owens and Yakwe up front and I don't think they did a very good job of doing that.

So Mullin should pattern his team after what fans want, not what he wants? Why should we not pattern ourselves after the Nova model, seems like a pretty good one to me. You make a flat out statement we are not Nova, what exactly does that mean in the 2nd year of a ground floor rebuild? We have shooters and we have speed, so it is wrong to play that way? Seriously? IMO, the major one requirement in the offseason was improving the defense, especially the perimeter defense and watch how the rebounding improves when players are not scrambling every possession, when teams suddenly get deep into the shot clock struggling to get in their offense. Ponds and LoVett have the ability to make that a reality. It remains to be seen if that happens but I'm betting it will. I would much, much rather have Wilson than some lumbering big we got for the sake of getting one because our coaches are looking at stat sheets rather than what is going on on the floor.

Why knock Doody's point of view? He never said anything about Mullin having to model his roster after the opinions of armchair coaches on redmen.com. Who said we shouldn't utilize our shooters or speed? All he, and many others have pointed out, is we lack, and still lack, what Villanova will have up front. That is two monster players over 250 lbs like Omari Spellman and Eric Pascal or even a Dylan Painter.
We all prefer Sid to a "lumbering big" but Sid cannot defend the middle. Neither can Yakwe or Owens or Alibegovic because none of them are true centers. WTF is so hard to digest with that point of view?
The coaches literally targeted every available big on the market so they understood that need. That a fan is disappointed in not landing one does not deserve criticism.
Finally, no one disagrees with you about our need to improve our defense if only because this team played some if the worst defense in St. John's basketball history. We matched the largest losing margin in history. In some ugly basketball losses we gave up 92 pts to Minnesota, 97 pts to Xavier, 92 and 108 pts to Villanova and an incredible 110 pts to Butler!
We were taken to the woodshed in defensive rebounding and interior defense in almost every conference game. Some of that was inexperienced players and some of it was poor game preparation. Will the addition of Simon and Clark solve this? I don't think so. Will Wilson? Definitely not!
All most fans hoped for was a defensive presence in the middle. You hope for a defensive epiphany by both the players and staff. I am hoping for a semblance of defensive coaching and players with the will to play defense.
I hope we are all satisfied as fans because in the end, the game is played to put fannies in the seats.

Why do I knock his post? Because I disagree with him, like I disagree with you. I watch the games and know the game; defense starts and ends with containing the ball and any defense that is constantly broken down gives up offensive rebounds because you can't box out when you scramble, basketball 101. Yes, we could use a big, if you bother to read my posts, I agreed with that in writing several times, but it is not the be all and end all obsession you and others have made it.
And just to get into stats, which admittedly can be misleading, but let's look at a few for "s$&ts and giggles". There were 4, yes 4, centers in the top 40 in the Big East in rebounding. Your "monster" Eric Paschall was 38th, behind Bashir Ahmed 12th, Tariq Owens 15th, and Shamorie Ponds 25th. Taking minutes out by projecting rebounds per 40 minutes, Paschall trails Ahmed by 1 rebound, and Owens by 4 per game. He beats Ponds by 1.8 rebounds per 40 minutes. Blocked shots, admittedly a very flawed statistic, but one used to measure a "monster" in the middle? Well in more minutes Paschall averaged a whopping .14 blocks per game than our esteemed center Amir Alibegovic. Projected over 40 minutes he actually trails Amir .57 blocks per game.
The point is, the game has changed; the traditional center position is going the way of the dinosaur and the game is played much, much faster. Many teams don't have a traditional big, and most players of size don't play a traditional post game anymore. So, yes, I disagree as to the reasons why we were outrebounded last year, and disagree as to the off-season priorities. Nova rebounds small because they consistently play sound team defense and box out, not because they have "monsters." We could use more size, no question, every team could use something more but we have the talent to win next year, no question in my mind. Now it is up to the coaches and players.

If we could get section 3 to chime in, you'd have all the sections liking you.

 

[logen]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, but was goaded into it after expressing my excitement at Sid's commitment.

In my humble opinion, this thread is rather silly. Yes, there have been an handful of posters, including myself, who expressed some frustration with the then-present state of recruiting. Well, if you don't like the posts why create an entire topic inviting us to comment and call us out when we don't take the bait?

Why not just enjoy a good moment for the program without trying to take a jab at others? With limited exceptions (making fun of Matt's height is pretty disgusting), nobody should feel obligated to apologize for their opinions no matter how ignorant or misinformed they may be. This is after all a fan forum. And for reasons Class of 72 and others have expressed, many who voiced their frustrations had thoughtful arguments to support their positions.

It remains to be seen how the new regime will fare. I'm buoyed by the Sid Wilson signing, but there is significant work to be done both on and off the court before I will become optimistic. I've simply suffered too much disappointment as a fan of this program for more than 30 years. That said, I'll pulling hard for them as I'm sure most of us are.

I'm with Boo Harvey on this one.
1. I've never criticized Matt A whether about recruiting, the potential of going to LSU, or whatever else people have brought up. I have criticized others on the staff because I legitimately don't know what their roles are.
2. I'm extremely happy about the Sidney Wilson signing. From what posters have said, the kid can really play and it's always nice to have a local kid stick around.
3. I am still not happy with how this offseason has turned out. For anybody who watched St. John's last season, it was easy to see that their biggest deficiencies were on the glass and in the defensive zone. Now, I've heard the argument both on this board and on Twitter that Simon and especially Clark are going to be the cure all for both these areas and I'm sorry if I am somewhat pessimistic about that. The roster is severely lacking in bulk and height up front and I do still think it's going to remain a problem for them next season. I get the notion that the team wants to play fast and almost model themselves after a Villanova type of team. Lots of shooters and lots of speed on the court. But they're not Villanova. And in my opinion, the one requirement going into the offseason was to bring in 1-2 bigs who could at least help Owens and Yakwe up front and I don't think they did a very good job of doing that.

So Mullin should pattern his team after what fans want, not what he wants? Why should we not pattern ourselves after the Nova model, seems like a pretty good one to me. You make a flat out statement we are not Nova, what exactly does that mean in the 2nd year of a ground floor rebuild? We have shooters and we have speed, so it is wrong to play that way? Seriously? IMO, the major one requirement in the offseason was improving the defense, especially the perimeter defense and watch how the rebounding improves when players are not scrambling every possession, when teams suddenly get deep into the shot clock struggling to get in their offense. Ponds and LoVett have the ability to make that a reality. It remains to be seen if that happens but I'm betting it will. I would much, much rather have Wilson than some lumbering big we got for the sake of getting one because our coaches are looking at stat sheets rather than what is going on on the floor.

Why knock Doody's point of view? He never said anything about Mullin having to model his roster after the opinions of armchair coaches on redmen.com. Who said we shouldn't utilize our shooters or speed? All he, and many others have pointed out, is we lack, and still lack, what Villanova will have up front. That is two monster players over 250 lbs like Omari Spellman and Eric Pascal or even a Dylan Painter.
We all prefer Sid to a "lumbering big" but Sid cannot defend the middle. Neither can Yakwe or Owens or Alibegovic because none of them are true centers. WTF is so hard to digest with that point of view?
The coaches literally targeted every available big on the market so they understood that need. That a fan is disappointed in not landing one does not deserve criticism.
Finally, no one disagrees with you about our need to improve our defense if only because this team played some if the worst defense in St. John's basketball history. We matched the largest losing margin in history. In some ugly basketball losses we gave up 92 pts to Minnesota, 97 pts to Xavier, 92 and 108 pts to Villanova and an incredible 110 pts to Butler!
We were taken to the woodshed in defensive rebounding and interior defense in almost every conference game. Some of that was inexperienced players and some of it was poor game preparation. Will the addition of Simon and Clark solve this? I don't think so. Will Wilson? Definitely not!
All most fans hoped for was a defensive presence in the middle. You hope for a defensive epiphany by both the players and staff. I am hoping for a semblance of defensive coaching and players with the will to play defense.
I hope we are all satisfied as fans because in the end, the game is played to put fannies in the seats.

Why do I knock his post? Because I disagree with him, like I disagree with you. I watch the games and know the game; defense starts and ends with containing the ball and any defense that is constantly broken down gives up offensive rebounds because you can't box out when you scramble, basketball 101. Yes, we could use a big, if you bother to read my posts, I agreed with that in writing several times, but it is not the be all and end all obsession you and others have made it.
And just to get into stats, which admittedly can be misleading, but let's look at a few for "s$&ts and giggles". There were 4, yes 4, centers in the top 40 in the Big East in rebounding. Your "monster" Eric Paschall was 38th, behind Bashir Ahmed 12th, Tariq Owens 15th, and Shamorie Ponds 25th. Taking minutes out by projecting rebounds per 40 minutes, Paschall trails Ahmed by 1 rebound, and Owens by 4 per game. He beats Ponds by 1.8 rebounds per 40 minutes. Blocked shots, admittedly a very flawed statistic, but one used to measure a "monster" in the middle? Well in more minutes Paschall averaged a whopping .14 blocks per game than our esteemed center Amir Alibegovic. Projected over 40 minutes he actually trails Amir .57 blocks per game.
The point is, the game has changed; the traditional center position is going the way of the dinosaur and the game is played much, much faster. Many teams don't have a traditional big, and most players of size don't play a traditional post game anymore. So, yes, I disagree as to the reasons why we were outrebounded last year, and disagree as to the off-season priorities. Nova rebounds small because they consistently play sound team defense and box out, not because they have "monsters." We could use more size, no question, every team could use something more but we have the talent to win next year, no question in my mind. Now it is up to the coaches and players.

If we could get section 3 to chime in, you'd have all the sections liking you.

Have to admit, that would be a first, getting "all" of anything liking me!!

 

[Redmen88]

I am very happy with the way Mullin and staff are building the roster. They came in with absolutely zero in the cupboard and have built a team that will be very fun to watch, sans the defense. I really hope that improves thie year and I think it will with competition for minutes.

I would have loved a big man but can understand that it is not easy to build a quality sustainable program. It takes tons of hard work to build a program. We are not the Duke's of the world. We cannot expect players to drool over coming here. Hopefully that changes very soon but for now I am thrilled with what the staff has done. I feel we are building a sustainable program. We finally have a full team of Big East caliber players and we are incrementally imroving each year and it seems as if we have a a healthy amount of solid to excellent recruits each year That is what I have wanted for a long time. I feel we are on the cusp of competing for the NCAA each and every year, as we used to. The future feels bright....

 

[Class of 72]

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, but was goaded into it after expressing my excitement at Sid's commitment.

In my humble opinion, this thread is rather silly. Yes, there have been an handful of posters, including myself, who expressed some frustration with the then-present state of recruiting. Well, if you don't like the posts why create an entire topic inviting us to comment and call us out when we don't take the bait?

Why not just enjoy a good moment for the program without trying to take a jab at others? With limited exceptions (making fun of Matt's height is pretty disgusting), nobody should feel obligated to apologize for their opinions no matter how ignorant or misinformed they may be. This is after all a fan forum. And for reasons Class of 72 and others have expressed, many who voiced their frustrations had thoughtful arguments to support their positions.

It remains to be seen how the new regime will fare. I'm buoyed by the Sid Wilson signing, but there is significant work to be done both on and off the court before I will become optimistic. I've simply suffered too much disappointment as a fan of this program for more than 30 years. That said, I'll pulling hard for them as I'm sure most of us are.

I'm with Boo Harvey on this one.
1. I've never criticized Matt A whether about recruiting, the potential of going to LSU, or whatever else people have brought up. I have criticized others on the staff because I legitimately don't know what their roles are.
2. I'm extremely happy about the Sidney Wilson signing. From what posters have said, the kid can really play and it's always nice to have a local kid stick around.
3. I am still not happy with how this offseason has turned out. For anybody who watched St. John's last season, it was easy to see that their biggest deficiencies were on the glass and in the defensive zone. Now, I've heard the argument both on this board and on Twitter that Simon and especially Clark are going to be the cure all for both these areas and I'm sorry if I am somewhat pessimistic about that. The roster is severely lacking in bulk and height up front and I do still think it's going to remain a problem for them next season. I get the notion that the team wants to play fast and almost model themselves after a Villanova type of team. Lots of shooters and lots of speed on the court. But they're not Villanova. And in my opinion, the one requirement going into the offseason was to bring in 1-2 bigs who could at least help Owens and Yakwe up front and I don't think they did a very good job of doing that.

So Mullin should pattern his team after what fans want, not what he wants? Why should we not pattern ourselves after the Nova model, seems like a pretty good one to me. You make a flat out statement we are not Nova, what exactly does that mean in the 2nd year of a ground floor rebuild? We have shooters and we have speed, so it is wrong to play that way? Seriously? IMO, the major one requirement in the offseason was improving the defense, especially the perimeter defense and watch how the rebounding improves when players are not scrambling every possession, when teams suddenly get deep into the shot clock struggling to get in their offense. Ponds and LoVett have the ability to make that a reality. It remains to be seen if that happens but I'm betting it will. I would much, much rather have Wilson than some lumbering big we got for the sake of getting one because our coaches are looking at stat sheets rather than what is going on on the floor.

Why knock Doody's point of view? He never said anything about Mullin having to model his roster after the opinions of armchair coaches on redmen.com. Who said we shouldn't utilize our shooters or speed? All he, and many others have pointed out, is we lack, and still lack, what Villanova will have up front. That is two monster players over 250 lbs like Omari Spellman and Eric Pascal or even a Dylan Painter.
We all prefer Sid to a "lumbering big" but Sid cannot defend the middle. Neither can Yakwe or Owens or Alibegovic because none of them are true centers. WTF is so hard to digest with that point of view?
The coaches literally targeted every available big on the market so they understood that need. That a fan is disappointed in not landing one does not deserve criticism.
Finally, no one disagrees with you about our need to improve our defense if only because this team played some if the worst defense in St. John's basketball history. We matched the largest losing margin in history. In some ugly basketball losses we gave up 92 pts to Minnesota, 97 pts to Xavier, 92 and 108 pts to Villanova and an incredible 110 pts to Butler!
We were taken to the woodshed in defensive rebounding and interior defense in almost every conference game. Some of that was inexperienced players and some of it was poor game preparation. Will the addition of Simon and Clark solve this? I don't think so. Will Wilson? Definitely not!
All most fans hoped for was a defensive presence in the middle. You hope for a defensive epiphany by both the players and staff. I am hoping for a semblance of defensive coaching and players with the will to play defense.
I hope we are all satisfied as fans because in the end, the game is played to put fannies in the seats.

Why do I knock his post? Because I disagree with him, like I disagree with you. I watch the games and know the game; defense starts and ends with containing the ball and any defense that is constantly broken down gives up offensive rebounds because you can't box out when you scramble, basketball 101. Yes, we could use a big, if you bother to read my posts, I agreed with that in writing several times, but it is not the be all and end all obsession you and others have made it.
And just to get into stats, which admittedly can be misleading, but let's look at a few for "s$&ts and giggles". There were 4, yes 4, centers in the top 40 in the Big East in rebounding. Your "monster" Eric Paschall was 38th, behind Bashir Ahmed 12th, Tariq Owens 15th, and Shamorie Ponds 25th. Taking minutes out by projecting rebounds per 40 minutes, Paschall trails Ahmed by 1 rebound, and Owens by 4 per game. He beats Ponds by 1.8 rebounds per 40 minutes. Blocked shots, admittedly a very flawed statistic, but one used to measure a "monster" in the middle? Well in more minutes Paschall averaged a whopping .14 blocks per game than our esteemed center Amir Alibegovic. Projected over 40 minutes he actually trails Amir .57 blocks per game.
The point is, the game has changed; the traditional center position is going the way of the dinosaur and the game is played much, much faster. Many teams don't have a traditional big, and most players of size don't play a traditional post game anymore. So, yes, I disagree as to the reasons why we were outrebounded last year, and disagree as to the off-season priorities. Nova rebounds small because they consistently play sound team defense and box out, not because they have "monsters." We could use more size, no question, every team could use something more but we have the talent to win next year, no question in my mind. Now it is up to the coaches and players.

Logen, after reading your disagreement I have to give you credit. You will spin your wheel as often as needed and make sure you nudge it just a bit to tip it in your argument's favor.
I hope you can pull that rabbit out of your arse when we play against Nova and Omari and Eric. You see, the objective is to stop monster players like that on defense, which we lack, because their offense is a tad more refined than Yakwe or Owens. We get it, it's up to the players and coaches so you're covered for next season if it doesn't work out.
And I am glad you agree that your "projections" are more hope for an epiphany than any factors from last year's lopsided loses. The coaches will hopefully have an epiphany. Every single player that will have been coached and practiced with Mullin and staff will be back, except for Wilson who is a frosh. No one will be new to the style of play. Yes, every team could use something. Our biggest need was size. Our second need was sound coaching defense. Our third need was players to buy into playing defense. Will 6 months radically change the outlook? Let's see where other Big East coaches rank us in the preseason.

"Nova rebounds small because they consistently play sound team defense and box out, not because they have "monsters." Now it is up to the coaches and players."