LJ in Transfer Portal?

[quote="MCNPA" post=388114][quote="linx" post=388105]LJ didn't leave anyone out to dry. He put his name in the draft which tells you he wanted feedback on his game and was interested in leaving the school. He never told them he was committed for next year. The pandemic has played a part in his uncertainty. It's not as easy to make a decision without being truly evaluated in camps and workouts.

The staff persued players even without a scholarship. That should tell you they knew there was a strong possibility of LJ not coming back.[/quote]

This is total BS. They held onto LJ’s ship and passed on players to support him going pro, NOT upping and transferring to another school. That’s garbage. LJ screwed the staff and SJU here. They weren’t holding his ship so he had enough time to figure out which tampering program was the best fit, that I assure you!![/quote]

100% right Marcus
I'd have no problem with LJ's decision if he turned pro now
But to wait this long and then transfer to another school, ........... not cool
That would be a total screw job, plain and simple!!!
 
LJ has the right to play wherever he wants, but somebody give me a break! He stiffed his teammates and the Staff. $$$'s have got to be in the picture and to that I give a hearty Bronx Salute!
 
[quote="MCNPA" post=388114][quote="linx" post=388105]LJ didn't leave anyone out to dry. He put his name in the draft which tells you he wanted feedback on his game and was interested in leaving the school. He never told them he was committed for next year. The pandemic has played a part in his uncertainty. It's not as easy to make a decision without being truly evaluated in camps and workouts.

The staff persued players even without a scholarship. That should tell you they knew there was a strong possibility of LJ not coming back.[/quote]

This is total BS. They held onto LJ’s ship and passed on players to support him going pro, NOT upping and transferring to another school. That’s garbage. LJ screwed the staff and SJU here. They weren’t holding his ship so he had enough time to figure out which tampering program was the best fit, that I assure you!![/quote]

You can draw whatever conclusions you want. You can be emotional. Please tell me why they were pursuing players all spring? It wasn't just Ray.
 
[quote="linx" post=388122]
You can draw whatever conclusions you want. You can be emotional. Please tell me why they were pursuing players all spring? It wasn't just Ray.[/quote]

That is not the issue.

LJ enters transfer portal 4/26 = highly disappointing but we move on.
LJ enters transfer portal 5/26 = the point
 
[quote="SJU61982" post=388110][quote="Jack Williams" post=388107]SJU61982, a ton of respect for you as a poster, but every time I come across you talking about coach Anderson it just makes me shake my head at my phone screen.

What is your argument really, that because a college coach won’t bend over to any kid he recruits, we therefore do not have a higher ceiling?

I’m genuinely confused. Pat Riley comparison doesn’t work here because the NBA and college is completely different. The NBA is all about keeping your stars happy. It’s a stars driven league.

College basketball is not that. Especially with the G League gaining more traction and some of the top stars in the country not going to college, it’s becoming increasingly clear that building a TEAM under the coaches vision is the way to go.

No one player is ABOVE Jay Wright at Villanova. He doesn’t bend to fit any of his guys. It’s why Jahvon Quinerly isn’t there anymore. He came in as a 5 Star and thought he was gonna be THE MAN. It’s why Mikal Bridges was red shirted despite his high ranking. There’s plenty of examples.

As I always say in these discussions. Villanova is the model for sju to build a winning and consistent basketball program. And jay wright makes players play his way. And that hasn’t ruined their ceiling. So don’t give me that, that’s a weak argument[/quote]

I'm not saying that the players should be above the coach, but the coach should be able to meet them part of the way, at least WRT to on-court style of ball.

What I'm saying is, that I don't think you can play only one style of ball and be successful, in today's game. Duke mixes in zone defense now. Ditto Syracuse, as they play more man-to-man then they used to.

A complaint about Anderson at Arkansas, was that his teams were easy to prepare for, since it was the press and nothing else. If you're married to playing just one style, there's so much video out there now, that other teams will pick up on what you do pretty quickly. That's a concern, although I did see some wrinkles being thrown in throughout this past season, which gives me more confidence.

And yes, Villanova is the model, but it took a decade before they became a consistent power under Wright. They had some good teams prior to the new league, but they weren't a national power until Wright was there for over a decade. Our fan base won't have the patience to wait that long, nor should they. Providence and/or Seton Hall should be our shorter term models.[/quote]

If Syracuse is playing more man to man it must be in practice as they play none in games. Now to your larger point you could still use them as an example because there are a lot of unhappy SU fans who believe his inflexibility costs them recruits and also games in this era as the program has taken a huge step back from their days in the BE.
 
[quote="IDRAFT" post=388125][quote="SJU61982" post=388110][quote="Jack Williams" post=388107]SJU61982, a ton of respect for you as a poster, but every time I come across you talking about coach Anderson it just makes me shake my head at my phone screen.

What is your argument really, that because a college coach won’t bend over to any kid he recruits, we therefore do not have a higher ceiling?

I’m genuinely confused. Pat Riley comparison doesn’t work here because the NBA and college is completely different. The NBA is all about keeping your stars happy. It’s a stars driven league.

College basketball is not that. Especially with the G League gaining more traction and some of the top stars in the country not going to college, it’s becoming increasingly clear that building a TEAM under the coaches vision is the way to go.

No one player is ABOVE Jay Wright at Villanova. He doesn’t bend to fit any of his guys. It’s why Jahvon Quinerly isn’t there anymore. He came in as a 5 Star and thought he was gonna be THE MAN. It’s why Mikal Bridges was red shirted despite his high ranking. There’s plenty of examples.

As I always say in these discussions. Villanova is the model for sju to build a winning and consistent basketball program. And jay wright makes players play his way. And that hasn’t ruined their ceiling. So don’t give me that, that’s a weak argument[/quote]

I'm not saying that the players should be above the coach, but the coach should be able to meet them part of the way, at least WRT to on-court style of ball.

What I'm saying is, that I don't think you can play only one style of ball and be successful, in today's game. Duke mixes in zone defense now. Ditto Syracuse, as they play more man-to-man then they used to.

A complaint about Anderson at Arkansas, was that his teams were easy to prepare for, since it was the press and nothing else. If you're married to playing just one style, there's so much video out there now, that other teams will pick up on what you do pretty quickly. That's a concern, although I did see some wrinkles being thrown in throughout this past season, which gives me more confidence.

And yes, Villanova is the model, but it took a decade before they became a consistent power under Wright. They had some good teams prior to the new league, but they weren't a national power until Wright was there for over a decade. Our fan base won't have the patience to wait that long, nor should they. Providence and/or Seton Hall should be our shorter term models.[/quote]

If Syracuse is playing more man to man it must be in practice as they play none in games. Now to your larger point you could still use them as an example because there are a lot of unhappy SU fans who believe his inflexibility costs them recruits and also games in this era as the program has taken a huge step back from their days in the BE.[/quote]

It's definitely cost them games. Mullin shredded them twice with inferior teams, because he knew exactly what was coming. And, they do play more man then they used to. They do it about 2 or 3 minutes per game, compared to the 0 they did, when they were in the Big East. Not enough, obviously, but since they pack 30,000 into the Dome every night (a weeknight in snow, against a bad non-conference team still nets 20K in attendance), they have a bit of a margin for error to work with there. At least, Boeheim does.
 
[quote="SJU61982" post=388119][quote="Section9" post=388113]Look I get LJ hung us out to dry with his late decision but from his perspective he has legitimate concerns.

As much as none of us wants to admit it, there is a possibility that we aren't playing this season. Students have to be on campus when the fall semester starts in order for sports to be played, and Ackerman has already stated that the league will play with six teams if need be. If that's the case, we'd be on the outside looking in based on how NYC is coming back from this virus situation.

So LJ and his team have looked at that possibility. They gotta know he's not making the NBA, and unless he's Europe or G league bound, he needs another year somewhere to improve his game and showcase his talents.

They are probably confident that he'll either get his degree and can grad transfer or claim a covid hardship transfer.

As I said, he could have handled this better, but it is what it is. We've still got the makings of a very talented and deep team without LJ. Next man up![/quote]

By that logic, I could see everybody on this team transferring out, if most schools are playing, and we are not. I'm not saying that would happen, but how long would that take to recover from?

That's why, to me, if even one Division 1 school is not holding in-person classes, then the whole year has to be scrapped (or at lease delayed) for everyone.

Now, FTR, I don't think any of this is going to happen, but if COVID-19 is responsible (and I'm sure that's low on the list), then that doesn't look promising for the program going forward. But, I don't think it's going to play out like that.[/quote]

Lj's the only one who put himself out for the draft, hence his wanting to be assured of PT and tranfering. Don't want to be Debbie Downer, but I think there's a possibility we don't play this season.
 
[quote="linx" post=388122][quote="MCNPA" post=388114][quote="linx" post=388105]LJ didn't leave anyone out to dry. He put his name in the draft which tells you he wanted feedback on his game and was interested in leaving the school. He never told them he was committed for next year. The pandemic has played a part in his uncertainty. It's not as easy to make a decision without being truly evaluated in camps and workouts.

The staff persued players even without a scholarship. That should tell you they knew there was a strong possibility of LJ not coming back.[/quote]

This is total BS. They held onto LJ’s ship and passed on players to support him going pro, NOT upping and transferring to another school. That’s garbage. LJ screwed the staff and SJU here. They weren’t holding his ship so he had enough time to figure out which tampering program was the best fit, that I assure you!![/quote]

You can draw whatever conclusions you want. You can be emotional. Please tell me why they were pursuing players all spring? It wasn't just Ray.[/quote]

They spoke to people, yes, but it was my understanding that they could not offer the scholarship because they were holding it until they heard from LJ. So if that is true he hurth the team
 
[quote="Paul Massell" post=388123][quote="linx" post=388122]
You can draw whatever conclusions you want. You can be emotional. Please tell me why they were pursuing players all spring? It wasn't just Ray.[/quote]

That is not the issue.

LJ enters transfer portal 4/26 = highly disappointing but we move on.
LJ enters transfer portal 5/26 = the point[/quote]

There is a flip side to this, what if SJU was in tight with a 5 star stud or an elite grad transfer with quite frankly better numbers than LJ? In other words let's not kid ourselves and act like SJU's other options were significantly better if better at all than LJ coming back. If they were he might have been in the portal earlier. And none of us would have any problems with that including me. This is not to justify him waiting this long to decide, just a contrarian point.
 
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Maybe because we didn't have the depth or a big shot blocker to back up the other defenders, but it seemed most of last season we were not playing 40 minutes of hell-fire pressing defense the whole way. We were aggressive sometimes; we trapped often and successfully. We also played some man to man and zone.
I believe Coach adapted to the skillsets at hand. Likely, he would have preferred the reputational "style" with end to end pressing and racing the whole way. I watched every game and it just wasn't that way.
To suggest coaching intransigence and adherence to an unwavering disciplined approach is the cause of either Figueroa leaving or our not recruiting well in the future is quite a leap.
The lack of a coaching philosophy is more the hallmark of our failures for 20 years now. Our site's tred themes of chronic failures to run offensive sets, or to defend the corners, or fail to attempt offensive rebounds, or to allow anyone to shoot from anywhere, etc etc are all examples of the failure to have a vision for the season, a plan for the game ahead, or a consistent style to be taught and drilled.
Of course, slow plodding players and those averse to being in consistent top shape will go elsewhere. I would argue the coach was bound by talent limitations to be TOO forgiving. The Figueroa failure can as easily be attributed to NOT being aggressive enough in sitting his butt on the bench more. In the first half of the season, when he acted like a one-man bomber from the parking lot, despite missing repeatedly, the Coach showed a lot more patience than most coaches would tolerate.
The recruiting and game play issues that have plagued us are FINALLY being addressed by a coach with the knowledge and experience, and finally the ENERGY to commit to the long hard path to building a vision around the word.. team. Thank God .
 
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[quote="Paul Massell" post=388123][quote="linx" post=388122]
You can draw whatever conclusions you want. You can be emotional. Please tell me why they were pursuing players all spring? It wasn't just Ray.[/quote]

That is not the issue.

LJ enters transfer portal 4/26 = highly disappointing but we move on.
LJ enters transfer portal 5/26 = the point[/quote]

Which is a great point to consider. What really happened in the past month or two that would have made him not even consider St. John's an option to come back to? Or was it possible he never intended to come back, knew the whole time, and just didn't communicate that? I really feel like his handlers put the idea in his head his best bet was to transfer to get max exposure for the next level. Very annoying
 
Sucks that Figgy wants to transfer. I'm hoping that he will change his mind.

However, I think his reasoning is that it primarily plays SF and that position on this team is probably the deepest it's been in awhile. Champagnie and Earlington are better at PF. However, either one of them are quick enough to defend a SF. Then if you have Cole, Wusu, Williams, Caraher who can play SF in MA's system as well.

Hard to knock a kid for not wanting to better himself with more guaranteed playing time. Especially if they have pro aspirations.
 
[quote="redmaninalbany" post=388135]Maybe because we didn't have the depth or a big shot blocker to back up the other defenders, but it seemed most of last season we were not playing 40 minutes of hell-fire pressing defense the whole way. We were aggressive sometimes; we trapped often and successfully. We also played some man to man and zone.
I believe Coach adapted to the skillsets at hand. Likely, he would have preferred the reputational "style" with end to end pressing and racing the whole way. I watched every game and it just wasn't that way.
To suggest coaching intransigence and adherence to an unwavering disciplined approach is the cause of either Figueroa leaving or our not recruiting well in the future is quite a leap.
The lack of a coaching philosophy is more the hallmark of our failures for 20 years now. Our site's tred themes of chronic failures to run offensive sets, or to defend the corners, or fail to attempt offensive rebounds, or to allow anyone to shoot from anywhere, etc etc are all examples of the failure to have a vision for the season, a plan for the game ahead, or a consistent style to be taught and drilled.
Of course, slow plodding players and those averse to being in consistent top shape will go elsewhere. I would argue the coach was bound by talent limitations to be TOO forgiving. The Figueroa failure can as easily be attributed to NOT being aggressive enough in sitting his butt on the bench more. In the first half of the season, when he acted like a one-man bomber from the parking lot, despite missing repeatedly, the Coach showed a lot more patience than most coaches would tolerate.
The recruiting and game play issues that have plagued us are FINALLY being addressed by a coach with the knowledge and experience, and finally the ENERGY to commit to the long hard path to building a vision around the word.. team. Thank God .[/quote]

Coach definately changed his style because there was a stretch of games once big east play started that he would trap on every play and we stunk at it and gave up wide open 3s all game.

We probably lost 3 or 4 games because of giving up those wide open 3s off the trap. Then he called that off and we started winning some games.

St johns probably wins 19 games last year if he called that trapping d off earlier.
 
In a conversation with Moose from early May, I told him that I understood it was Figueroa's decision on when he'll decide to come back or move on (professionally), and a big decision at that. But I also told Moose that Figueroa needs to soon make a decision, so not to leave the staff in a bind.

IMO, the staff should've given him a deadline so they could've nabbed either Perez or Salnave. I also believe this has LJ's handler(s) written all over it.
 
[quote="Johnny4Life" post=388137]Sucks that Figgy wants to transfer. I'm hoping that he will change his mind.
[/quote]

I would not hold your breath on this one. I don't think the staff is enamored with this kid much anymore so even if he decided to come back I am not convinced Coach A would be open to that idea. This is two years in a row he put his name in the transfer portal. I mean seriously, you love SJU so much you need to explore other options in back to back years.
 
[quote="linx" post=388122]You can draw whatever conclusions you want. You can be emotional. Please tell me why they were pursuing players all spring? It wasn't just Ray.[/quote]

They were keeping in touch with grad transfers in case LJ stayed in the draft. If they thought for one second he was going to transfer if he didn't go pro then they would have signed one of the guys they talked with this spring, no?

You are basically arguing that the staff either drove him away by keeping in touch with grad transfers, or that they wanted to replace him since they were recruiting 1 & done transfers for his spot. And you are doing this while conveniently ignoring the fact that they didn't sign Salnave (or any one else for that matter) despite him wanting to be here. Either way your logic is painful.
 
[quote="linx" post=388122][quote="MCNPA" post=388114][quote="linx" post=388105]LJ didn't leave anyone out to dry. He put his name in the draft which tells you he wanted feedback on his game and was interested in leaving the school. He never told them he was committed for next year. The pandemic has played a part in his uncertainty. It's not as easy to make a decision without being truly evaluated in camps and workouts.

The staff persued players even without a scholarship. That should tell you they knew there was a strong possibility of LJ not coming back.[/quote]

This is total BS. They held onto LJ’s ship and passed on players to support him going pro, NOT upping and transferring to another school. That’s garbage. LJ screwed the staff and SJU here. They weren’t holding his ship so he had enough time to figure out which tampering program was the best fit, that I assure you!![/quote]

You can draw whatever conclusions you want. You can be emotional. Please tell me why they were pursuing players all spring? It wasn't just Ray.[/quote]

Because LJ was going pro. They did him the courtesy of holding his ship because of that. They pursued other players in case he went pro but form what hear all indications were that he was gonna return. I’m positive LJ did not indicate anything about transferring otherwise the staff would have looked to fill that scholarship. I was in favor of giving him a deadline. LJ and his handlers took advantage of the generosity and submarined the staff by transferring.
 
[quote="MJDinkins" post=388139]
.......: IMO, the staff should've given him a deadline so they could've nabbed either Perez or Salnave. I also believe this has LJ's handler(s) written all over it.[/quote]
————-
For all we know CMA did give LJ a deadline but LJ went back on his word.

Note I am note alleging LJ went back on his word but it is possible that he did, or that LJ made statements reasonable for CMA to rely upon to believe we would return.

I don’t know CMA but he strikes me as a hands on coach in regular communication with his players.
..
 
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[quote="fordham96" post=388133][quote="Paul Massell" post=388123][quote="linx" post=388122]
You can draw whatever conclusions you want. You can be emotional. Please tell me why they were pursuing players all spring? It wasn't just Ray.[/quote]

That is not the issue.

LJ enters transfer portal 4/26 = highly disappointing but we move on.
LJ enters transfer portal 5/26 = the point[/quote]

There is a flip side to this, what if SJU was in tight with a 5 star stud or an elite grad transfer with quite frankly better numbers than LJ? In other words let's not kid ourselves and act like SJU's other options were significantly better if better at all than LJ coming back. If they were he might have been in the portal earlier. And none of us would have any problems with that including me. This is not to justify him waiting this long to decide, just a contrarian point.[/quote]

So you're arguing that it's fine that he did this because St Johns wouldn't have held the ship for him to test the draft waters if say Michael Jordan was available and wanted to come here as a 1st year player? Fine. You win that fantasy.

The reality is that St John's had no obligation to hold the ship for him once he went into the draft.
The reality is that they did so despite him going into the draft and transfer portal last year also.
The reality is that they did this for a kid they inherited, and didn't recruit for this system.
The reality is that they passed on a local kid who would have been a nice fit for a 1 year grad transfer in order to do right by LJ.
The reality is that LJ fucked them for doing right by him.

The reality is that LJ gets no credit whatsoever for doing what he's perfectly entitled to do when by doing so he fucks over people who were bending over backwards to do right by him.

The reality is that LJ handled this very badly, and there's a price to be paid to ones image/reputation when you act poorly.
 
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