Jon Rothstein column

[SJU61982]

A few St. John's mentions by Jon, in his weekly "observations" column.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...ed-jordan-makes-st-johns-a-tough-tourney-team

1. Rysheed Jordan is living up to the hype

The Prince of North Philadelphia came to St. John's with high expectations and after an up-and-down freshman season, Jordan is starting to play like he's one of the best point guards in the Big East. The 6-foot-4 Jordan is averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds over his last four games while handing out 17 assists to just six turnovers during that span. Coach Steve Lavin said after Jordan committed to the Red Storm out of high school that he had a chance to be one of the best guards he has ever coached and we're starting to see why he made that proclamation. Armed with great size, a tight handle and an effortless pull up, Jordan's recent rise has coincided with a major turnaround by St. John's (21-9, 10-7) during the second half of conference play. A major reason for the record has been Jordan, who is cut in the same cloth as former Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor, but is more of a true point guard. If this kid can continue to produce the way he has of late, St. John's could be a nuisance to play in the NCAA Tournament.

• St. John's is again showing why depth in college basketball is at times overrated. The Red Storm are only playing six players in double-figure minutes, but have the best role allocation and chemistry that they've had under Steve Lavin. When things are defined, players can just play and not be consumed with having to look over their shoulder to see who could be replacing them from the bench. This is the same formula that worked for Ed Cooley and Providence last year when the Friars won the Big East Tournament without a perimeter substitute for Bryce Cotton.

St. John's at Villanova (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET): The Red Storm have quietly won seven of their last eight games and are showing all sorts of momentum heading into a regular-season finale against the Big East's flagship program. Jay Wright's squad is 28-2 overall and is currently slated to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Is St. John's a team that could go on a run in the field of 68? We'll have a better idea when we see how they perform against the Wildcats in Philadelphia on Saturday.

 

[we are sju]

When Lavin has had any kind of depth, his lineups and rotations were of the DR Frankenstein variety. People were coming in and out like a subway station at rush hour. Even if they didn't deserve to play, Hooper and Bourgault were subbed out after a miss. Walkons started, guys who were supposed to redshirt played, it was a mess and one of the biggest reasons we missed NCAA tourney the last 2 years.
Shorter rotation is def the right medicine for Lavin.

 

[SJU14]

I also think Rothstein has been a great supporter of our program. He doesn't show any bias (because he works for CBS and not ESPN) and also gives great analysis of people that are playing exceptionally well. It's good to see that every once in a while.

 

[mattc]

Jon really knows his stuff - one of the best analysts in the biz.

 

[JacStorm]

Although I take exception to his use of the word "nuisance". I'm thinking we just might be a hell of a lot more than a nuisance.

 

[OLV72]

When Lavin has had any kind of depth, his lineups and rotations were of the DR Frankenstein variety. People were coming in and out like a subway station at rush hour. Even if they didn't deserve to play, Hooper and Bourgault were subbed out after a miss. Walkons started, guys who were supposed to redshirt played, it was a mess and one of the biggest reasons we missed NCAA tourney the last 2 years.
Shorter rotation is def the right medicine for Lavin.

I think this only true about last season. 2010 was not a problem.

 

[JacStorm]

When Lavin has had any kind of depth, his lineups and rotations were of the DR Frankenstein variety. People were coming in and out like a subway station at rush hour. Even if they didn't deserve to play, Hooper and Bourgault were subbed out after a miss. Walkons started, guys who were supposed to redshirt played, it was a mess and one of the biggest reasons we missed NCAA tourney the last 2 years.
Shorter rotation is def the right medicine for Lavin.

I think this only true about last season. 2010 was not a problem.

"We are sju" can't help it. He's got to get his criticism in at every opportunity. For some reason he thinks that we didn't get it the first 500 times.. he has to keep saying it. Usually very, very tiresome.. but now just makes me smile.

 

[we are sju]

When Lavin has had any kind of depth, his lineups and rotations were of the DR Frankenstein variety. People were coming in and out like a subway station at rush hour. Even if they didn't deserve to play, Hooper and Bourgault were subbed out after a miss. Walkons started, guys who were supposed to redshirt played, it was a mess and one of the biggest reasons we missed NCAA tourney the last 2 years.
Shorter rotation is def the right medicine for Lavin.

I think this only true about last season. 2010 was not a problem.

"We are sju" can't help it. He's got to get his criticism in at every opportunity. For some reason he thinks that we didn't get it the first 500 times.. he has to keep saying it. Usually very, very tiresome.. but now just makes me smile.

Unless you read my posts two times each you have wrong poster as I only have about 250 posts. I am neither a Stepford Lavin lover or a Fire Lavin guy. Plus I am pretty sure I have said I would give him an extension. Guess you must have missed those posts. But I can honestly say this is the first post of yours I have ever read so we are even.

 

[Marillac]

When Lavin has had any kind of depth, his lineups and rotations were of the DR Frankenstein variety. People were coming in and out like a subway station at rush hour. Even if they didn't deserve to play, Hooper and Bourgault were subbed out after a miss. Walkons started, guys who were supposed to redshirt played, it was a mess and one of the biggest reasons we missed NCAA tourney the last 2 years.
Shorter rotation is def the right medicine for Lavin.

You are basing this off of one season, WASJU. He did a masterful job with a very deep bench in 2010-2011 IMO.

Last season was nothing more than proving that a team needs to be greater than the sum of its parts. We had size, talent, scoring ability, and depth, but we didn't play as a team. It was more due to guys not playing the right roles that was only made worse by Lavin's deference to his players and a few guys being ability to do a little bit of everything but no one thing especially well.

 

[Marillac]

I also think Rothstein has been a great supporter of our program. He doesn't show any bias (because he works for CBS and not ESPN) and also gives great analysis of people that are playing exceptionally well. It's good to see that every once in a while.

He's an easy guy to like and he gives us a lot of respect. I appreciate that. As for depth being overrated, there is some truth to that (look at Syracuse's best teams going 7-8 deep), but we'll see on Saturday why that is not always the case. If a team is physical and makes you working on both ends of the floor, depth becomes a big issue. If they are going to play a soft zone on you and shot a ton of threes instead of making you work on D like Marquette...depth is not a factor.

 

[we are sju]

When Lavin has had any kind of depth, his lineups and rotations were of the DR Frankenstein variety. People were coming in and out like a subway station at rush hour. Even if they didn't deserve to play, Hooper and Bourgault were subbed out after a miss. Walkons started, guys who were supposed to redshirt played, it was a mess and one of the biggest reasons we missed NCAA tourney the last 2 years.
Shorter rotation is def the right medicine for Lavin.

You are basing this off of one season, WASJU. He did a masterful job with a very deep bench in 2010-2011 IMO.

Last season was nothing more than proving that a team needs to be greater than the sum of its parts. We had size, talent, scoring ability, and depth, but we didn't play as a team. It was more due to guys not playing the right roles that was only made worse by Lavin's deference to his players and a few guys being ability to do a little bit of everything but no one thing especially well.

No the previous 2 seasons. He did a better job identifying who Norm's best players were than Norm himself.
Listen I am on board the let him coach another 5 years train, that doesn't mean I am going to be one of the mindless people agreeing with everything he does. I don't agree with everything anyone does.

 

[prjohnnies]

No question Lavin and the staff did a bad job defining roles last year and managing the depth on the roster. I agree that he did a good job with Norm's players in that regard (plus Polee) -- giving the ball to Hardy, using Brownlee in the high post against zones or one pick and roll, etc). But two years ago I thought he should have turned the keys over to Branch sooner and more often at the PG slot, because Phil isn't one and much better off the ball (granted I know Branch got hurt in that Gtown game and it may have impacted that). And last year there was a way to make the Sanchez/Obekpa/Sampson/Dom rotation work better than it did.

 

[jr49]

Jordan turned things around on a dime. I'm happy for him, and glad he has become a real part of the team's success. Had to get that in before sayin I never would have guessed who Jon was writing about if name not mentioned.

 

[SJUalum98]

Jon really knows his stuff - one of the best analysts in the biz.

How? By skimming box scores the day after games to make it seem like he's some basketball expert?

Rothstein has a huge SJU bias. Cool, because it gives us more pub.

But he's the Steve Lavin of basketball coverage. More socialite than substance.

Not sure if he spends more time surfing box scores or surfing Yelp.

 

[fun]

But he's the Steve Lavin of basketball coverage. More socialite than substance.

He has all the sincerity of a Romanian kidney broker.

 

[Avon Barksdale]

Jon really knows his stuff - one of the best analysts in the biz.

How? By skimming box scores the day after games to make it seem like he's some basketball expert?

Rothstein has a huge SJU bias. Cool, because it gives us more pub.

But he's the Steve Lavin of basketball coverage. More socialite than substance.

Not sure if he spends more time surfing box scores or surfing Yelp.

i have to agree with this, and its very easy to come to this conclusion after following his twitter - he will use his 140 characters to point out each top performer and then have a cute little saying at the end: ie: no one will want to face Wofford in March, just ask Iona and Ricky Smith..... like he is some sort of guru when evaluating hoops.

For me very tough to take....and every restaurant he eats at is "OTC" but i like trolling him on twitter so i will continue to follow

 

[JacStorm]

When Lavin has had any kind of depth, his lineups and rotations were of the DR Frankenstein variety. People were coming in and out like a subway station at rush hour. Even if they didn't deserve to play, Hooper and Bourgault were subbed out after a miss. Walkons started, guys who were supposed to redshirt played, it was a mess and one of the biggest reasons we missed NCAA tourney the last 2 years.
Shorter rotation is def the right medicine for Lavin.

I think this only true about last season. 2010 was not a problem.

"We are sju" can't help it. He's got to get his criticism in at every opportunity. For some reason he thinks that we didn't get it the first 500 times.. he has to keep saying it. Usually very, very tiresome.. but now just makes me smile.

Unless you read my posts two times each you have wrong poster as I only have about 250 posts. I am neither a Stepford Lavin lover or a Fire Lavin guy. Plus I am pretty sure I have said I would give him an extension. Guess you must have missed those posts. But I can honestly say this is the first post of yours I have ever read so we are even.

If I maligned you unfairly, I humbly apologize. And I certainly don't blame you for not reading my posts. Neither do I.

 

[41ndone]

I also think Rothstein has been a great supporter of our program. He doesn't show any bias (because he works for CBS and not ESPN) and also gives great analysis of people that are playing exceptionally well. It's good to see that every once in a while.

I second that sentiment.

 

[TonyinFairfield]

Jon really knows his stuff - one of the best analysts in the biz.

How? By skimming box scores the day after games to make it seem like he's some basketball expert?

Rothstein has a huge SJU bias. Cool, because it gives us more pub.

But he's the Steve Lavin of basketball coverage. More socialite than substance.

Not sure if he spends more time surfing box scores or surfing Yelp.

i have to agree with this, and its very easy to come to this conclusion after following his twitter - he will use his 140 characters to point out each top performer and then have a cute little saying at the end: ie: no one will want to face Wofford in March, just ask Iona and Ricky Smith..... like he is some sort of guru when evaluating hoops.

For me very tough to take....and every restaurant he eats at is "OTC" but i like trolling him on twitter so i will continue to follow

Amazing how the visceral hatred you and SJUalum98 have for Lavin even carries over to anyone who praises the program, and indirectly Lavin. Very predictable. All you can do is laugh at this stuff now.

 

[SJUalum98]

Jon really knows his stuff - one of the best analysts in the biz.

How? By skimming box scores the day after games to make it seem like he's some basketball expert?

Rothstein has a huge SJU bias. Cool, because it gives us more pub.

But he's the Steve Lavin of basketball coverage. More socialite than substance.

Not sure if he spends more time surfing box scores or surfing Yelp.

i have to agree with this, and its very easy to come to this conclusion after following his twitter - he will use his 140 characters to point out each top performer and then have a cute little saying at the end: ie: no one will want to face Wofford in March, just ask Iona and Ricky Smith..... like he is some sort of guru when evaluating hoops.

For me very tough to take....and every restaurant he eats at is "OTC" but i like trolling him on twitter so i will continue to follow

Amazing how the visceral hatred you and SJUalum98 have for Lavin even carries over to anyone who praises the program, and indirectly Lavin. Very predictable. All you can do is laugh at this stuff now.

Just stop it man. Seriously.