Max Hooper

[qcredman]

Anyone who insists on netting 500 threes a day before he leaves the gym is dead serious about what he intends to do..

The question is will our offense enable him to shake loose and do it?

Rysheed may be part of the answer with his reputation for penetrating and freeing up the perimeter but the coaching staff still has to teach our players how to set proper picks.

Until combat ensues it remains an inkblot test with optimists envisaging J.J. Redick in an SJU jersey and pessimists seeing a one-trick pony who can't even free himself up to do that.

 

[kranmars]

Why does Hooper have to be either JJ Redick or completely (stink)?

Why the extremes? Why can't he just be a good shooter, who had a chance to grow athletically and technically, while being part of the program for a valuable year?

Will he be a sure fire zone buster? Probably not. But I seriously doubt he is a poor man's Avery Patterson either.

 

[Marillac]

anyone buying this hype I got a bridge to sell ya. Last year it was Bourgault who was the best shooter Lavin ever saw and drew comparisons to John Paxson yet he stayed glued to the bench most of the year. Hooper played 2 mins a game at Harvard and now he's gonna get PT on a team that has more depth then any team we've had in recent memory? I can hear the excuses now, "he cant play D", "too slow" "blah blah blah".

Lavin did compare Bourgault to Paxson, but he never said he was the best shooter he's ever seen. Bourgault had a very tough job...shoot with no room as the ony bonafide outside threat on the team.

As for Hooper's time at Harvard, that team has been a top 25 caliber team for a long time. They play essentially four guards and they win 20+ every year. They have shooters all over the roster. Max was there for a half-season. That team doesn't really need his skillset at this point, we desperately do.

 

[Moose]

anyone buying this hype I got a bridge to sell ya. Last year it was Bourgault who was the best shooter Lavin ever saw and drew comparisons to John Paxson yet he stayed glued to the bench most of the year. Hooper played 2 mins a game at Harvard and now he's gonna get PT on a team that has more depth then any team we've had in recent memory? I can hear the excuses now, "he cant play D", "too slow" "blah blah blah".

Lavin did compare Bourgault to Paxson, but he never said he was the best shooter he's ever seen. Bourgault had a very tough job...shoot with no room as the ony bonafide outside threat on the team.

As for Hooper's time at Harvard, that team has been a top 25 caliber team for a long time. They play essentially four guards and they win 20+ every year. They have shooters all over the roster. Max was there for a half-season. That team doesn't really need his skillset at this point, we desperately do.

He also compared Marco to Steve Kerr.

And also Max was at Harvard for a full year. Still not buying the veteran reason of why he didn't play

 

[Marillac]

anyone buying this hype I got a bridge to sell ya. Last year it was Bourgault who was the best shooter Lavin ever saw and drew comparisons to John Paxson yet he stayed glued to the bench most of the year. Hooper played 2 mins a game at Harvard and now he's gonna get PT on a team that has more depth then any team we've had in recent memory? I can hear the excuses now, "he cant play D", "too slow" "blah blah blah".

Lavin did compare Bourgault to Paxson, but he never said he was the best shooter he's ever seen. Bourgault had a very tough job...shoot with no room as the ony bonafide outside threat on the team.

As for Hooper's time at Harvard, that team has been a top 25 caliber team for a long time. They play essentially four guards and they win 20+ every year. They have shooters all over the roster. Max was there for a half-season. That team doesn't really need his skillset at this point, we desperately do.

He also compared Marco to Steve Kerr.

And also Max was at Harvard for a full year. Still not buying the veteran reason of why he didn't play

I have my questions as well with his PT there. Let's remember, though, that Harvard was 26-5. Their leading scorer, Kyle Casey, was a Junior 6'7 G/F that shot over 35% from three (with 5.5 boars per game). Their third leading scorer was a 6'5 soph guard that was 41% from three. They had a 6'3 junior starter, Oliver McNally, that is a career 39% shooter (shot over 44% from three and 92% from the line as a soph), and Christian Webster, who was a 6'5 junior guard that has played between 25-33 mpg for three of his four years and a career 37% 3-pt shooter. ESPN shows that they had a bench player (11.6 mpg) named Corbin Miller that shot 46% from three. The starting PG that year, Brandyn Curry, was a junior and he also shot over 36% from deep for his carer.

Harvard was not a team that lacked shooting ability. It would have been much tougher for a scrawny 6'6 shooter (only) to play there than here IMO. Harvard needed boards and athletic ability. If you started the list of what Harvard didn't need, shooting would probably be first on the list

 

[Moose]

anyone buying this hype I got a bridge to sell ya. Last year it was Bourgault who was the best shooter Lavin ever saw and drew comparisons to John Paxson yet he stayed glued to the bench most of the year. Hooper played 2 mins a game at Harvard and now he's gonna get PT on a team that has more depth then any team we've had in recent memory? I can hear the excuses now, "he cant play D", "too slow" "blah blah blah".

Lavin did compare Bourgault to Paxson, but he never said he was the best shooter he's ever seen. Bourgault had a very tough job...shoot with no room as the ony bonafide outside threat on the team.

As for Hooper's time at Harvard, that team has been a top 25 caliber team for a long time. They play essentially four guards and they win 20+ every year. They have shooters all over the roster. Max was there for a half-season. That team doesn't really need his skillset at this point, we desperately do.

He also compared Marco to Steve Kerr.

And also Max was at Harvard for a full year. Still not buying the veteran reason of why he didn't play

I have my questions as well with his PT there. Let's remember, though, that Harvard was 26-5. Their leading scorer, Kyle Casey, was a Junior 6'7 G/F that shot over 35% from three (with 5.5 boars per game). Their third leading scorer was a 6'5 soph guard that was 41% from three. They had a 6'3 junior starter, Oliver McNally, that is a career 39% shooter (shot over 44% from three and 92% from the line as a soph), and Christian Webster, who was a 6'5 junior guard that has played between 25-33 mpg for three of his four years and a career 37% 3-pt shooter. ESPN shows that they had a bench player (11.6 mpg) named Corbin Miller that shot 46% from three. The starting PG that year, Brandyn Curry, was a junior and he also shot over 36% from deep for his carer.

Harvard was not a team that lacked shooting ability. It would have been much tougher for a scrawny 6'6 shooter (only) to play there than here IMO. Harvard needed boards and athletic ability. If you started the list of what Harvard didn't need, shooting would probably be first on the list

Regardless of the veterans they played 10 or 11 deep I recall and had plenty of blowouts where Max could have seen minutes.

 

[usguard]

Why does Hooper have to be either JJ Redick or completely (stink)?

Why the extremes? Why can't he just be a good shooter, who had a chance to grow athletically and technically, while being part of the program for a valuable year?

Will he be a sure fire zone buster? Probably not. But I seriously doubt he is a poor man's Avery Patterson either.

If he is not going.to be a zone buster why waste our time? Feel coach knows he will. He sure can stroke it

 

[JackofVirginia]

It still comes down to Lavin setting picks for the kid. If he's as good a shooter as advertised then teams will probably overplay him. Just look at Novak on the Knicks, half of the time he couldn't even get a pass.

 

[REB]

It still comes down to Lavin setting picks for the kid. If he's as good a shooter as advertised then teams will probably overplay him. Just look at Novak on the Knicks, half of the time he couldn't even get a pass.

Last year when Marco was in, teams had a guy camp next to him on the perimeter making it impossible for him to get spot up threes. Until the other 4 guys can make a team pay for playing them 4 on 4 and force the 5th defender into the box to stop penetration or mid-range jumpers, no shooter will have success for us. I believe Hooper could be a nice weapon for us and that DLo could hit a lot more threes if we can solve this problem. If not, our outside shooting woes will continue.

 

[SJU1512]

It still comes down to Lavin setting picks for the kid. If he's as good a shooter as advertised then teams will probably overplay him. Just look at Novak on the Knicks, half of the time he couldn't even get a pass.

Last year when Marco was in, teams had a guy camp next to him on the perimeter making it impossible for him to get spot up threes. Until the other 4 guys can make a team pay for playing them 4 on 4 and force the 5th defender into the box to stop penetration or mid-range jumpers, no shooter will have success for us. I believe Hooper could be a nice weapon for us and that DLo could hit a lot more threes if we can solve this problem. If not, our outside shooting woes will continue.

Great point. I think our shooting will improve next year primarily for that reason. It helps that we are adding another shooter (Hooper) and that other guys capable of making shots have another year of experience finding space/getting their shot off at this level (D'Lo and Marco in particular). But I think the real difference will be made by Jordan and Branch being able to break people down and make plays for others, both at the rim and at the three point line. That's something we've been missing and that is what will make Marco/Hooper dangerous. I really belive D'Lo's percentages stand to improve as a result of this as well, part of his shot selection last year was out of necessity. As part of a balanced attack he gets better looks and can do more with less.

 

[Marillac]

It still comes down to Lavin setting picks for the kid. If he's as good a shooter as advertised then teams will probably overplay him. Just look at Novak on the Knicks, half of the time he couldn't even get a pass.

Last year when Marco was in, teams had a guy camp next to him on the perimeter making it impossible for him to get spot up threes. Until the other 4 guys can make a team pay for playing them 4 on 4 and force the 5th defender into the box to stop penetration or mid-range jumpers, no shooter will have success for us. I believe Hooper could be a nice weapon for us and that DLo could hit a lot more threes if we can solve this problem. If not, our outside shooting woes will continue.

Thank you! Most STJ fans only want to blame things that are obvious to them. Shooter misses shots....bad shooter. Team doesn't score enough...bad point guard. Marco didn't have a chance. The easiest thing to defend in basketball is a team with one shooter on the court. Marco is marked at all times he is on the court. Teams won't really have the luxury with more offense in the game. When you overplay the perimeter, you can get killed inside. Maybe Hooper doesn't have to drill threes to have an impact, because he will have to be defended for 25 feet and teams will have to be aware of him every single time he runs through the lane. The most effective offense we've run in the last two years was having Harrison spot up on the wing and then letting Moe drive underneath without Harrison's defender being able to help.

 

[REB]

It still comes down to Lavin setting picks for the kid. If he's as good a shooter as advertised then teams will probably overplay him. Just look at Novak on the Knicks, half of the time he couldn't even get a pass.

Last year when Marco was in, teams had a guy camp next to him on the perimeter making it impossible for him to get spot up threes. Until the other 4 guys can make a team pay for playing them 4 on 4 and force the 5th defender into the box to stop penetration or mid-range jumpers, no shooter will have success for us. I believe Hooper could be a nice weapon for us and that DLo could hit a lot more threes if we can solve this problem. If not, our outside shooting woes will continue.

Thank you! Most STJ fans only want to blame things that are obvious to them. Shooter misses shots....bad shooter. Team doesn't score enough...bad point guard. Marco didn't have a chance. The easiest thing to defend in basketball is a team with one shooter on the court. Marco is marked at all times he is on the court. Teams won't really have the luxury with more offense in the game. When you overplay the perimeter, you can get killed inside. Maybe Hooper doesn't have to drill threes to have an impact, because he will have to be defended for 25 feet and teams will have to be aware of him every single time he runs through the lane. The most effective offense we've run in the last two years was having Harrison spot up on the wing and then letting Moe drive underneath without Harrison's defender being able to help.

Exactly. It's what Brady Heslip did for Pierre Jackson and vice versa. You can't leave Heslip alone on the perimeter, but Jackson's so quick you need the extra guy in the box to keep him out of the paint. Of course it doesn't hurt that Jackson's an excellent 3 point shooter as well....

 

[Sherman Sheridan & Grant]

It still comes down to Lavin setting picks for the kid. If he's as good a shooter as advertised then teams will probably overplay him. Just look at Novak on the Knicks, half of the time he couldn't even get a pass.

Last year when Marco was in, teams had a guy camp next to him on the perimeter making it impossible for him to get spot up threes. Until the other 4 guys can make a team pay for playing them 4 on 4 and force the 5th defender into the box to stop penetration or mid-range jumpers, no shooter will have success for us. I believe Hooper could be a nice weapon for us and that DLo could hit a lot more threes if we can solve this problem. If not, our outside shooting woes will continue.

Thank you! Most STJ fans only want to blame things that are obvious to them. Shooter misses shots....bad shooter. Team doesn't score enough...bad point guard. Marco didn't have a chance. The easiest thing to defend in basketball is a team with one shooter on the court. Marco is marked at all times he is on the court. Teams won't really have the luxury with more offense in the game. When you overplay the perimeter, you can get killed inside. Maybe Hooper doesn't have to drill threes to have an impact, because he will have to be defended for 25 feet and teams will have to be aware of him every single time he runs through the lane. The most effective offense we've run in the last two years was having Harrison spot up on the wing and then letting Moe drive underneath without Harrison's defender being able to help.

Marillac and friends
What nice problems to have under Coach Lavin.
Hmmmn, perspective:
With the prior coaches/regimes life was simple: we had no problems to discuss, differ upon, conflicts to resolve.
We had no (or few) top players.
No concerns about one and done.
There was no bench.
We were not involved on any serious note with blue chips or semi-blue chips or even minimally blue chips.
Branch and Hopper et al would not have transferred here; Jordan would not have considered us.
We had few options.
We had no expectations.
There was no hope for an NCAA bid.

Great discussions above.
Good times ahead and at hand.

all the best

 

[NYCRedmen]

http://www.rumbleinthegarden.com/st...02/the-hooper-and-the-hype-pumping-max-hooper

 

[Amaseinyourface]

It still comes down to Lavin setting picks for the kid. If he's as good a shooter as advertised then teams will probably overplay him. Just look at Novak on the Knicks, half of the time he couldn't even get a pass.

Last year when Marco was in, teams had a guy camp next to him on the perimeter making it impossible for him to get spot up threes. Until the other 4 guys can make a team pay for playing them 4 on 4 and force the 5th defender into the box to stop penetration or mid-range jumpers, no shooter will have success for us. I believe Hooper could be a nice weapon for us and that DLo could hit a lot more threes if we can solve this problem. If not, our outside shooting woes will continue.

Thank you! Most STJ fans only want to blame things that are obvious to them. Shooter misses shots....bad shooter. Team doesn't score enough...bad point guard. Marco didn't have a chance. The easiest thing to defend in basketball is a team with one shooter on the court. Marco is marked at all times he is on the court. Teams won't really have the luxury with more offense in the game. When you overplay the perimeter, you can get killed inside. Maybe Hooper doesn't have to drill threes to have an impact, because he will have to be defended for 25 feet and teams will have to be aware of him every single time he runs through the lane. The most effective offense we've run in the last two years was having Harrison spot up on the wing and then letting Moe drive underneath without Harrison's defender being able to help.

Actually marillac the easiest thing to guard is a team with no shooters

 

[SJUalum98]

Player Journal: Max Hooper


What’s up Gotham Hoops?

It’s Max Hooper, sophomore shooting guard from St. John’s University in Queens, New York.

Over the past weekend I traveled to Wolfeboro, NH to play in the alumni game at my prep school, Brewster Academy. I arrived in Wolfeboro at 5pm on Thursday after a friend picked up me, Mitch McGary, and Tristan Thompson at the airport.

When we got to Brewster I went straight to the gym. We divided up teams into a mixture of alumni and current players. My team was made up of Mitch McGary, Ron Patterson, and myself. To be honest, the pickup games on the days leading up to the alumni game itself were even more competitive than the actual alumni game.

My team fared very well, we we had Mitch McGary manning the paint and showing off his skills and versatility, Ron Patterson was using his quickness and craftiness to get into the lane to create scoring opportunities for himself and others, and I was bombing 3′s from well behind the three-point line, while mixing in some mid-range pull-ups and smart passes.

The next day I started my morning by getting 500 makes in and working on my ball-handling. More of the alumni arrived in town, so we were able to play 5 on 5 full-court. About 70 Brewster Academy students lined the sidelines because they knew how exciting these pickup games would be and they certainly didn’t disappoint.

My team was made up of Mitch McGary, Will Barton, Kevin Zabo, Isaiah Pringle, and myself. We got on a nice winning streak and won 5 games in a row, until a team made up of Semaj Christon, TJ Warren, Chris McCullough, Patrick Wallace, and Jared Terrell finally knocked us off the court.

I played well that night. Will Barton did a really god job of showing off his playmaking skills by feeding me for 3′s. He was his usual self, when he was playing his exciting style of basketball by using his athleticism and creativity to get to the basket and create scoring opportunities for himself. Mitch McGary was his usual dominant self as he held down the paint, scored around the rim, hit jump shots, and blocked shots at the other end of the floor.

The next day was the alumni game. A day at Brewster is not complete without getting up 500 makes, so I got my shots up in the morning and then it was time for the alumni game.

The alumni team consisted of myself, Will Barton, Mitch McGary, TJ Warren, Thomas Robinson, Craig Brackins, Naadir Tharpe, Semaj Christon, Joe Bramanti, Gilbert McGregor, Austin Carroll, and Triston Thompson.

We played against the current 2012-13 Brewster team.

The alumni game was a great time. We won 147-142. I played pretty well, I had 15 points and went 5/8 from the 3-point line.

I am just happy we won and that everyone came out to see the game and admire all of the success that Coach [Jason] Smith has enjoyed to this point at Brewster and will continue to enjoy in the coming years.

- Max Hooper, St. John’s, Sophomore

http://www.gothamhoops.com/?p=6068

 

[austour]

Jakarr was busy I assume?

 

[qcredman]

Well done Max.

Informative, interesting and written with great clarity.

 

[newsman13]

147-142. now THAT'S olay "d".

 

[Ben]

I want to buy into Max as bad as anyone, but after Marco I have learned not to get excited one bit until we see him consistently producing in real games. If he really can hit 35% or better for us consistently with the occasional red hot 50% game, it would be a massive boost. Maybe then some of the pressure would be off Marco and he could relax and make more 3's himself.