Looking Ahead to Next Year

[redmaninalbany]

I respect your thoughts on this matter.
Please read the interview someone posted a little while ago with Pitino.
He addresses everything I said. He discussed what he is preparing these young men for in, which for the most part, is Europe. Players there are vagabonds constantly on the move if they have up and down games. Most players, over 99 % , will never play in the NBA where the player's union controls things. Thus, your assessment that he is no longer dealing with Euro player's leagues or mid-majors, which is a completely bogus classification now with free agency, is myopic.

What exact skills do you think Pitino is lacking, other than his blunt post game assessments?

You, and few others, seem to think that he could have used a more team-oriented criticism. Our center "position" has been too slow and inconsistent. Golly Molly, could Soriano think he was talking about Zuby??
If he said our forwards lack athleticism, could Ledlum think he was referring to RJ Luis?

You and others are being very naive about the easy "old days" that you think Pitino is living in. You needed special recruiting skills backed by $ you couldn't mention.
Lou Carnesecca never had those skills that's for sure.

The elite players today have attorneys negotiating NIL deals which are not public but worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They have dark agents shopping them around during the active season.

What new special skill do you know of that Pitino needs to deal with the above ?

In closing, earlier in the season, Pitino critiqued Ledlum and his play. Do you remember Ledlum's public response?

Look it up.

This is what Pitino is dealing with and some of you are worried about the player's feelings. If this was a political discussion, it would pretty easy to assign party affiliation'.

By the party affiliation remark, do you mean excusing demeaning public remarks about others coming from a candidate
who always puts himself first and constnatly blames others? OR. do you mean a party that excuses, condones or absolves illegal behavior at the least justification? Just kidding.. you were clear. I'm being facitious.
But... The issue is indeed a failure to demonstrate real leadership.
Hopefully, it gets better from here.

 

[Jack Williams]

Mods you see where this is going right

 

[Rocket]

By the party affiliation remark, do you mean excusing demeaning public remarks about others coming from a candidate
who always puts himself first and constnatly blames others? OR. do you mean a party that excuses, condones or absolves illegal behavior at the least justification? Just kidding.. you were clear. I'm being facitious.
But... The issue is indeed a failure to demonstrate real leadership.
Hopefully, it gets better from here.

All I said was that certain people are overly sensitive about "feelings" which is emblematic of those who cater to identity politics over substantive matters.
Those attacking Pitino have been those that were either on the fence or against his hire. I take those comments with a grain of salt.
I stand by everything I said and other than the news conference, I think Pitino is doing a great job as a dentist pulling teeth.
Portal and NIL players are not the same as players of the traditional college basketball past. Today's players will play you for all they can and get away with it.
I want a coach who can take those players to task.

 

[Rocket]

Mods you see where this is going right

So you want to lock...looking ahead to next year?
I may agree because what if this team wins the next 5 games?
What if they win 2 games in the BE tournament?
You are young enough to be very aware of premature jesticulation.

 

[Knight]

I don’t think Pitino got this team to play up to their abilities. He put his team concept above winning games.

 

[Rocket]

I don’t think Pitino got this team to play up to their abilities. He put his team concept above winning games.

What was his team concept when they were 3-1 in Big East play and were THIS CLOSE to beating Uconn and Creighton in the first 5 games of the season?
Let me re-word it for you: Except for a couple of bad losses, Pitino is trying to get his team play "team" ball in spite of their dis abilities and reluctance to do so.

 

[ghostzapper]

I started this thread with the intention of starting a conversation based on us looking at the eleven players listed at the top of the thread and to see what people thought about how many of the eleven will be here going forward and what we need to add to put a winner on the court next year.

This thread has largely not gone in that direction and the one thought about next year's roster seems to have come from our coach. The Coach, in the NY Post (see link below), identified the recently MIA Simeon Wilcher as an important piece for us going forward. Perhaps his older brother C.J. will join Simeon through the Transfer Portal and add to the roster. I wonder if any of our Freshmen will get any rotation minutes next year. I have to figure we will need to add an athletic Power Forward somewhere too.

Maybe this post will spark some discussion about what our team might be like going forward.

Rick Pitino has high hopes for St. John’s freshman Simeon Wilcher

Rick Pitino’s vision for freshman Simeon Wilcher has not changed despite his lack of playing time.

nypost.com

 

[MugCostanza]

I started this thread with the intention of starting a conversation based on us looking at the eleven players listed at the top of the thread and to see what people thought about how many of the eleven will be here going forward and what we need to add to put a winner on the court next year.

This thread has largely not gone in that direction and the one thought about next year's roster seems to have come from our coach. The Coach, in the NY Post (see link below), identified the recently MIA Simeon Wilcher as an important piece for us going forward. Perhaps his older brother C.J. will join Simeon through the Transfer Portal and add to the roster. I wonder if any of our Freshmen will get any rotation minutes next year. I have to figure we will need to add an athletic Power Forward somewhere too.

Maybe this post will spark some discussion about what our team might be like going forward.

Rick Pitino has high hopes for St. John’s freshman Simeon Wilcher

Rick Pitino’s vision for freshman Simeon Wilcher has not changed despite his lack of playing time.

nypost.com

I have no idea if CJ Wilcher is an actual target or not but if he's here next year prepare for more "my guys have no lateral quickness on D" pressers from Pitino next season.

 

[L J S A]

I have no idea if CJ Wilcher is an actual target or not but if he's here next year prepare for more "my guys have no lateral quickness on D" pressers from Pitino next season.

There will definitely be room for him. Not sure what happened on the inside, but from the outside it sucks that Taylor has gotten the treatment he has.

 

[logen]

Bingo. Not that this has anything to do with basketball (maybe it does, lol), I strongly believe your ability to win a fight is how much of an ass kicking are you willing to take yourself.

Agree 100%, best reply I ever heard to a tough guy bully, getting in a face in a bar, was a smaller guy, getting off his stool, calmly looking the jerk in the face, and replying, “you may kick my ass but I guarantee it will not be for free, let’s go”.
Guess who decided to stay in the bar?

 

[logen]

I have no idea if CJ Wilcher is an actual target or not but if he's here next year prepare for more "my guys have no lateral quickness on D" pressers from Pitino next season.

I really think the “lateral quickness” was a euphemism for guys just not willing to put in the sustained effort to cover, a symptom evident all over the place when things get tough. I know you know but defense, loose balls and rebounding is wanting it more than anything else, a commodity this team has lacked from day one.

 

[logen]

I really think the “lateral quickness” was a euphemism for guys just not willing to put in the sustained effort to cover, a symptom evident all over the place when things get tough. I know you know but defense, loose balls and rebounding is wanting it more than anything else, a commodity this team has lacked from day one.

One additional point, one of Al LoBalbo‘s defensive points was always to be careful of guys with steals; is he really a pickpocket or just dives for the ball because steals look great in a box score but is really just “lazy man’s” defense.
Took that to heart along with Red Auerbach’s comment on rebounding; he judged a rebounder by does a guy get tough, contested rebounds at big times or amass stats by rebounding all the missed foul shots in a game.