Marquette, Sun. Jan. 24, 3:45pm, 970AM-TV Delayed
- Thread starter Knight
- Start date
I agree. This team, which was picked last in the Big East before the season, has also had a few things happen that have made it even harder to compete:
Lovett's partial qualification
Williams injury
Sima injury.
These issues have made what was to be a rough year to begin with even worse.
We have no true point guard and Mussini is not being used optimally because of this. Williams is the lose if another big and with Sima now hurt we get situations where Yawkee is gokng against both Fisher & the other big from Marquette basically by himself , being under sized to begin with. We were not going to be great, but these 3 things make it almost impossible for us to compete. Especially when we shot 30%.
Tough year, lets just hope the kids continue to fight an Slice & Matt continue to pull rabbits out if their hats on the recruiting trail.
Call me the eternal optimist, but while it hurts me a a long time St Johns fan, attended my first game in 1960, I was happy with what I saw yesterday.
Mussini had a rough first half but came back in 2nd half to help us make a game of it. He showed plenty of toughness. Watching him I thought how much more effective he would be when he can play off the ball where he is more comfortable.
Kassoum played very hard, against bigger and stronger players. I think that he blocked 7 shots. As he gains strength and experience, he will only continue to get better.
Amar leaves it all out on the floor. In the 1st half, we scored 23 pts and he had 8 of them. He may not be the most skilled player, but he has heart.
Additionally, Lovett and Sima, who may be our two best players did not play. They will add a lot to next year's team.
Williams and Ellison, I am not sure about, but the good thing is that we will not be dependent on them and whatever they add will be appreciated.
Ponds and Ahmed are committed for next year. One of the best combo guards in the country and arguably the best JUCO player in the country.
Again, while the losses take a toll on me, my only wish for this year is that the returning players continue to get better.
On a parting note, it is funny that an old man like me expresses the same thoughts as young Jack Williams, guess I ain't senile yet.
Mussini had a rough first half but came back in 2nd half to help us make a game of it. He showed plenty of toughness. Watching him I thought how much more effective he would be when he can play off the ball where he is more comfortable.
Kassoum played very hard, against bigger and stronger players. I think that he blocked 7 shots. As he gains strength and experience, he will only continue to get better.
Amar leaves it all out on the floor. In the 1st half, we scored 23 pts and he had 8 of them. He may not be the most skilled player, but he has heart.
Additionally, Lovett and Sima, who may be our two best players did not play. They will add a lot to next year's team.
Williams and Ellison, I am not sure about, but the good thing is that we will not be dependent on them and whatever they add will be appreciated.
Ponds and Ahmed are committed for next year. One of the best combo guards in the country and arguably the best JUCO player in the country.
Again, while the losses take a toll on me, my only wish for this year is that the returning players continue to get better.
On a parting note, it is funny that an old man like me expresses the same thoughts as young Jack Williams, guess I ain't senile yet.
beast of the east
Active member
Kudos to SJU for opening the doors and letting anyone in for free.
beast of the east
Active member
Actually, I think Mullin landed in a better place for having no expectations on him as a new coach. Originally felt that a successful campaign for them would be 10-12 wins, and while still attainable, looks like it won't happen. It's a year to try to be competitive, earn your coaching stripes, get these young guys substantial playing time they never would have gotten on a tourney bound team, and build from here. I'm long past the pain of losing each game, because we don't go into any remaining game favored. I just root and hope for wins, and will wait till next year, like most of us.
tom in salem
Well-known member
Anybody else notice Felix' body language on the bench down the stretch when we we're making our comeback? The other guys we're up cheering, jumping around and into it. Felix meanwhile sat on the bench, his warm-up zipped up and politely clapping.
I did.
Can't blame him.
Watching ellison get your minutes must suck.
Anybody else notice Felix' body language on the bench down the stretch when we we're making our comeback? The other guys we're up cheering, jumping around and into it. Felix meanwhile sat on the bench, his warm-up zipped up and politely clapping.
I did.
Can't blame him.
Watching ellison get your minutes must suck.
I sure it does but watching one of our senior leaders miss bunny after bunny kinda sucks too.
NY Post
http://nypost.com/2016/01/24/st-johns-inspired-play-falls-short-and-the-worst-is-coming/
Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/sports/colle...f-st-john-s-rally-falls-just-short-1.11385636
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/marquette-vs-st-johns-b99657447z1-366354271.html?ipad=y
http://nypost.com/2016/01/24/st-johns-inspired-play-falls-short-and-the-worst-is-coming/
Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/sports/colle...f-st-john-s-rally-falls-just-short-1.11385636
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/marquette-vs-st-johns-b99657447z1-366354271.html?ipad=y
Which is why, speaking of reading comprehension, I emphasized for me, not you, not Beast, not anyone else. Nor did I address your preference. If one has zero wins in the conference, that is a record that cannot be broken - do I need to explain that? -, which is why I chose forever as a hyperbole. I would not want the team I have rooted for for 50 years to be linked to that kind of notoriety.
Anybody else notice Felix' body language on the bench down the stretch when we we're making our comeback? The other guys we're up cheering, jumping around and into it. Felix meanwhile sat on the bench, his warm-up zipped up and politely clapping.
I did.
Can't blame him.
Watching ellison get your minutes must suck.
Good observation by Section 9. Felix was pulled early in the game and it appeared that the coaching staff expressed frustration over his performance. Maybe on the defensive side, but not real sure. I don't think he saw the court after the exchange.
There's plenty of season left for him. He showed loyalty to our program and has had more than enough reason to transfer out. I hope he has some good games to finish out his career here. I think he will. His play was primary reason behind the comeback win over Rutgers.
Note Wojo-
"We thought they were going to press us most of the game especially being at home," Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "Doing it against our scout team and doing it against their athletes are two very different things. I thought it stood us up and we weren't strong with the ball and we didn't provide enough outlets for the guy being trapped."
Was this jerk warned about how far he came out onto the court? Wish they would have T'd him up.
"We thought they were going to press us most of the game especially being at home," Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "Doing it against our scout team and doing it against their athletes are two very different things. I thought it stood us up and we weren't strong with the ball and we didn't provide enough outlets for the guy being trapped."
Was this jerk warned about how far he came out onto the court? Wish they would have T'd him up.
we are sju
Active member
Said nice things about Mullin in NY Post
Avon Barksdale
Member
for all of you who think this is bad - imagine how bad it would be with Lavin and his all star recruiting class he had lined up? He is 100% responsible for the current disaster at St. John's.
Again, patience is needed here. This is the worst condition a new coach has ever inherited the SJU program - we knew this was gonna be a long process. Let the coaches do what they are doing. we will be fine.
Again, patience is needed here. This is the worst condition a new coach has ever inherited the SJU program - we knew this was gonna be a long process. Let the coaches do what they are doing. we will be fine.
beast of the east
Active member
Don't drag me into this - for the record, any fan is entitled to draw their own conclusions as to the etiology of this season.
Needless to say, we have a lot of problems on the talent front, but Ellison is making things worse than they need to be. He has disrupted the chemistry of this team since his return from injury. He's too lazy, too selfish and not talented enough to be playing in the Big East.
His offensive game is madding, I think he so afraid of making the wrong decision, and does nothing, that it results in exactly what he fears anyway.
However, I'm going to play devil's advocate here WRT yesterday's game. He subbed in at 15:55 of the second half, with the team down 46-26. He stayed in until picking up his fourth foul at 9:35 with the score 53-47 (a bad offensive foul, to be sure). He came back in at 7:10 with score 61-50, and we immediately went on a 9-0 run, until he fouled out at 61-59, after which, we never really regained momentum again.
Now, he has to learn to control himself, and not pick up those silly fouls (I didn't get a clear look at #5, so I don't know what he did), but I think his ball pressure in the back court was a key to our press being effective. That kind of thing does not show in the boxscore.
I do agree that he's not a big east player yet, and needs a lot of work, but I don't think there is "nothing" there. I think he has skills that can be harnessed. He's a bench player next year, but you know what? You need bench players.
stjohnschris
Active member
He's a freshman, who would barley be logging any quality minutes on just about any past (and likely future) SJU team. He was an available recruit when we needed it, and he comes from an outstanding pedigree. Add Williams, Sima, and Lovett to this equation, and we might not see him more than 5 minutes per game, but right now we need him, and we need him to step up and hope that he's learning from his mistakes.