No reason to applaud the 3 great assists he had. In a gigantic sample size of 8 minutes.
Jamal Branch
- Thread starter redmannorth
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No reason to applaud the 3 great assists he had. In a gigantic sample size of 8 minutes.
What standards do you guys have? Ask yourselves that seriously.
I get ridiculed for saying Phil Greene is not a BE caliber player a few weeks ago. And I could say much worse than that.
Admittedly Branch is 100 times better of an option but he is BAD defensively. Looks lost out there. I don't know if that's cause he hasn't picked up on the scheme or he just inherently stinks. Offensively he has talent, no doubt, but he also is too flashy.
I will give him credit for 1 thing, and it's a big one. Branch is the only guy I've seen who has the talent to dribble the ball...bounce, bounce, bounce, and get to the hoop, and maybe make a layup. And Im serious about that. Jakarr can maybe do that too but he is inconsistent with finishing and needs to polish his handle.
I get ridiculed for saying Phil Greene is not a BE caliber player a few weeks ago. And I could say much worse than that.
Admittedly Branch is 100 times better of an option but he is BAD defensively. Looks lost out there. I don't know if that's cause he hasn't picked up on the scheme or he just inherently stinks. Offensively he has talent, no doubt, but he also is too flashy.
I will give him credit for 1 thing, and it's a big one. Branch is the only guy I've seen who has the talent to dribble the ball...bounce, bounce, bounce, and get to the hoop, and maybe make a layup. And Im serious about that. Jakarr can maybe do that too but he is inconsistent with finishing and needs to polish his handle.
Thank you, sirvoo. Now explain to me why you hate him so much?
I'm not saying that I didn't cringe when JB turned the ball over on that spin move, but he thinks pass first and has a decent stroke. I'm still hopeful he can grow into someone who can create shots for Harrison, instead of Harrison trying to do everything himself. On the defensive side, I agree he can look a little lazy - but I don't think anyone has really taken advantage of him. Can we just give him 20 mins/game before determining he's not the answer at the point? I just think Lavin has him on too short of leash right now.
Hate is a strong word my friend. I told you guys I bet big on the NOVA game and as soon as the tech happened I had a feeling we'd lose by 8 instead of 7 or go to overtime. I didn't want to come off trashing the kid as bad as I did when realistically he is our only option at point guard. And he can be a good option if his defensive ineptitude disappears.
Well the posts you've made this past week certainly looked close to hate, not putting words in your mouth though. Glad to see your starting to realize he can help us, and needs more minutes.
He definitely needs more than 8 minutes. The rest depends on his defense improving and how well he can run the show. You can't be surprised by a result like tonight's. To me it looks like anyone on this team not named Deangelo, Jakarr, or Obekpa goes to the arena and has absolutely no idea how many minutes they are playing on a given night. Can we get a solid rotation? Something should be said for playing with a kid's psyche. A nice lineup to put out there would he Branch, Harrison, Pointer, Sampson, Garrett/Obekpa.
I couldn't tell you how quiet I thought some of the guys were tonight.
The two worst stretches of the game were the first 5-7 minutes of the first half and coming out of halftime. Both times, Branch was on the bench. We failed to execute at the end of the game (the last 3-4 minutes---not just the last play) and Branch was on the bench. When he is in there, the offense is much more fluid. He needs more minutes.
By the way, the interior passing is getting much better. There was better ball movement and guys were finding the open man near the basket. DLo made some excellent passes when the D collapsed on him. Unfortunately, we missed way too many good looks and too many free throws.
I would love to know what our record would be if we shot just 75% from the free throw line in each of the games we lost. Can crgreen do the tweak the numbers for us?
By the way, the interior passing is getting much better. There was better ball movement and guys were finding the open man near the basket. DLo made some excellent passes when the D collapsed on him. Unfortunately, we missed way too many good looks and too many free throws.
I would love to know what our record would be if we shot just 75% from the free throw line in each of the games we lost. Can crgreen do the tweak the numbers for us?
Murray St: Shot 75%, still a loss, No front ends of one and one's missed
Baylor: Shot 83%, still a loss, can't find play by play but margin of victory indicates whether any front ends were missed is immaterial
USF: Shot 80%, still a loss, No front ends missed
UNCA: Shot 71%, +1 point (rounding up) still a loss, Dlo missed one front end had he made both it would have stretched the lead to 5 with 7:48 remaining. Jump to your own conclusions on what impact this might have had on the game, I will below.
Nova: Shot 65% in regulation, +2 points in regulation, becomes a win, no front ends missed
Rutgers: Shote 56%, +6 pts, becomes a win Phil Greene also missed a front end in the first half but DLo got the rebound, was fouled and made both so no harm done.
That said there's not a single team in the BE shooting 75% from the line so to expect it from this team every game is ridiculous. Only 5 teams in the BE shoot over 70%.
However, with a not unrealistic expectation of 67% per game the Nova (kind of) and Rutgers games still turn into wins and the missed front end in the second half of the UNCA game came at a pretty critical time given that UNCA was on a 9-0 run and scored on the subsequent possession to make it an 11-0 run to cut the lead from 12 to 1.
Baylor: Shot 83%, still a loss, can't find play by play but margin of victory indicates whether any front ends were missed is immaterial
USF: Shot 80%, still a loss, No front ends missed
UNCA: Shot 71%, +1 point (rounding up) still a loss, Dlo missed one front end had he made both it would have stretched the lead to 5 with 7:48 remaining. Jump to your own conclusions on what impact this might have had on the game, I will below.
Nova: Shot 65% in regulation, +2 points in regulation, becomes a win, no front ends missed
Rutgers: Shote 56%, +6 pts, becomes a win Phil Greene also missed a front end in the first half but DLo got the rebound, was fouled and made both so no harm done.
That said there's not a single team in the BE shooting 75% from the line so to expect it from this team every game is ridiculous. Only 5 teams in the BE shoot over 70%.
However, with a not unrealistic expectation of 67% per game the Nova (kind of) and Rutgers games still turn into wins and the missed front end in the second half of the UNCA game came at a pretty critical time given that UNCA was on a 9-0 run and scored on the subsequent possession to make it an 11-0 run to cut the lead from 12 to 1.
This is what I find most frustrating; there's no one clear area of the game where we need to improve greatly. We literally need a little improvement across the board; free throw shooting, defense, passing .. etc
The free throws last night hurt, but as you point out correctly; our percentages aren't far off from the Big East average.
We keep assuming this team has superior talent, because of reputation and recruiting analysis, but other than D'angelo's ability to score and Obekpa's shot blocking, what evidence is there of tremendous talent?
Guys get ranked in the top 100 all the time with so so fundamentals and basketball skills because in HS their tremendous athleticism allows them to run past and jump over all in their way. Then they get to college and hopefully they get to gradually grow in Division 1 players. Some do this quickly and some, yes even some to 100 (read lots) players don't really start having any significant impact until they are upperclassmen.
If the guys on this team were each given the correct learning curve they'd be gelling and playing together as an above average BE squad in 13/14. From what I've seen only DLo, Mo H, and Chris O came to the program as the types of players that can make an impact right away but that doesn't mean the rest of them don't have the potential to do so down the road. I hope that they still are an above average BE squad next year but I also feel that having so many guys thrown straight into the fire hasn't been good for some of them and hopefully hasn't stunted any of their development.
If the guys on this team were each given the correct learning curve they'd be gelling and playing together as an above average BE squad in 13/14. From what I've seen only DLo, Mo H, and Chris O came to the program as the types of players that can make an impact right away but that doesn't mean the rest of them don't have the potential to do so down the road. I hope that they still are an above average BE squad next year but I also feel that having so many guys thrown straight into the fire hasn't been good for some of them and hopefully hasn't stunted any of their development.
I think that's a fair assessment. I'd add to it something that other posters have pointed out in the past: that it certainly hasn't helped them to have no upperclassmen to usher them along. Even guys who aren't stars on the court, but who've been in the program for 3 or 4 years, can show you how a drill is supposed to be run, tell you what to expect at certain road games, or show by example the time they put in in the weight room or watching film.
I hate the youngest team label as much as anyone, but these things are true. It helps to have upperclassmen to show you what's expected of you. How can there be any mentoring on a team where even the most experienced guys have only done it once before?
tom in salem
Well-known member
http://www.newsday.com/sports/colle...-st-john-s-another-offensive-option-1.4491931
It was just two weeks ago that D'Angelo Harrison and JaKarr Sampson each missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds of St. John's 58-56 loss to Rutgers at Madison Square Garden. If Red Storm coach Steve Lavin has the chance to call another buzzer-beating play against the Scarlet Knights Wednesday night at the RAC, he admitted he'd go in a different direction.
"Right now, I'd put the ball in Jamal Branch's hands," Lavin said Tuesday. Of course, Lavin said it all depends on the matchup situation at a particular time, but he added, "What I love about this team is we have a lot of options in terms of guys who are emerging and growing."
Branch's play has leaped out of the boxscore the past three games, and Lavin's decision to replace center Chris Obekpa in the starting lineup by using Branch as part of a three-guard alignment coincided with wins over Notre Dame and DePaul. That resurgence makes this a big game for St. John's (11-7, 3-3 Big East), which is even with Rutgers (12-5, 3-3) in the middle of the conference pack.
In the last meeting with the Knights, Branch played only eight minutes and scored one point. In the next three games, he averaged 14.0 points while shooting 61.3 percent from the field (19-for-31). At the same time, Harrison's scoring has fallen off sharply. He was averaging 21.5 points, but in the past three games, he averaged 10.0 points and shot 28.1 percent (9-for-32).
Despite those numbers, Lavin praised Harrison for a "mature" approach that has him averaging 5.3 rebounds in those games and making key assists and defensive plays.
"Everybody likes scoring," Harrison said. "You're going to have nights where you score 20-plus and nights where you're going to need to do other things. I've got to do what I've got to do to win. That's basically my job description."
Harrison and Branch have played with each other since the seventh grade in the Houston area, so Harrison figures they will find their chemistry soon. In the meantime, Branch's career-high 18-point game at DePaul might relieve defensive pressure on Harrison and Sampson.
"When he's hot like he was hot at DePaul, I'm almost like a decoy because teams have to tag me still," Harrison said. "Since he's scoring now, it's going to be hard for teams to guard us. I like it. I can use [more energy] on defense."
It was just two weeks ago that D'Angelo Harrison and JaKarr Sampson each missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds of St. John's 58-56 loss to Rutgers at Madison Square Garden. If Red Storm coach Steve Lavin has the chance to call another buzzer-beating play against the Scarlet Knights Wednesday night at the RAC, he admitted he'd go in a different direction.
"Right now, I'd put the ball in Jamal Branch's hands," Lavin said Tuesday. Of course, Lavin said it all depends on the matchup situation at a particular time, but he added, "What I love about this team is we have a lot of options in terms of guys who are emerging and growing."
Branch's play has leaped out of the boxscore the past three games, and Lavin's decision to replace center Chris Obekpa in the starting lineup by using Branch as part of a three-guard alignment coincided with wins over Notre Dame and DePaul. That resurgence makes this a big game for St. John's (11-7, 3-3 Big East), which is even with Rutgers (12-5, 3-3) in the middle of the conference pack.
In the last meeting with the Knights, Branch played only eight minutes and scored one point. In the next three games, he averaged 14.0 points while shooting 61.3 percent from the field (19-for-31). At the same time, Harrison's scoring has fallen off sharply. He was averaging 21.5 points, but in the past three games, he averaged 10.0 points and shot 28.1 percent (9-for-32).
Despite those numbers, Lavin praised Harrison for a "mature" approach that has him averaging 5.3 rebounds in those games and making key assists and defensive plays.
"Everybody likes scoring," Harrison said. "You're going to have nights where you score 20-plus and nights where you're going to need to do other things. I've got to do what I've got to do to win. That's basically my job description."
Harrison and Branch have played with each other since the seventh grade in the Houston area, so Harrison figures they will find their chemistry soon. In the meantime, Branch's career-high 18-point game at DePaul might relieve defensive pressure on Harrison and Sampson.
"When he's hot like he was hot at DePaul, I'm almost like a decoy because teams have to tag me still," Harrison said. "Since he's scoring now, it's going to be hard for teams to guard us. I like it. I can use [more energy] on defense."
beast of the east
Active member
Great quotes in this article. Harrison may not be playing his best right now, but making up for it by playing very hard, and contributing in a lot of other ways then points. If honest reaction, his head is screwed on right. Once he gets in synch with Branch, I feel he will re-emerge as a more efficient scorer.
On the RedStorm Report cable TV show, the coaches were all very enthused at how coachable this team is, how each kid wants to get better, and open to coaching.
DieHard Johnny
Member
yet to see him penetrate & dish to the bigs inside
looks more like a 2 guard to me
if he continues to hit his foul shots & play good defense he deserves to start
looks more like a 2 guard to me
if he continues to hit his foul shots & play good defense he deserves to start
He's really changed this team in his short time. He looks like a very capable scorer and ball-handler and that pops out at me instantly. It's hard to tell who is who when Harrison and Branch have the ball in the open court because they are both confident and aggressive. It looks like he and Harrison have some serious chemistry as well. He's also much better than anything we had to defend the PG position before he was cleared to play.
I still feel that he's way too loose with the ball and I'm sure there will be games he'll have 5+ turnovers, but this is a different team with him. I'm hoping Greene can discover his role with Harrison and Branch and the three can get in sync. Right now, to me, it looks like Greene and Branch have a little friction. PG or combo...at his point he looks like a combo to me, but he's only played about 25 games in his short career.