Midnight Madness
- Thread starter redmen010
- Start date
Glad to hear that the incoming players looked so long and apparently more physically developed than expected.
I do think a lack of size will make it harder to play to our full potential all the time, and them being so young-but talented- will possibly end up creating some ups and downs -as most freshmen go through. It seems that everything I have heard about the players that are present has been very positive and if true then we could have a surprising year-no not win it all but we could be in it (the big east race) towards the end. Perhaps it's wishful thinking-but why not go in optimistically.
I do think a lack of size will make it harder to play to our full potential all the time, and them being so young-but talented- will possibly end up creating some ups and downs -as most freshmen go through. It seems that everything I have heard about the players that are present has been very positive and if true then we could have a surprising year-no not win it all but we could be in it (the big east race) towards the end. Perhaps it's wishful thinking-but why not go in optimistically.
http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/101411aaa.html
Oct. 14, 2011
Photo Gallery
St. John's Men's Basketball Head Coach Steve Lavin
On his recovery from surgery to treat prostate cancer:
"Last week's surgery was a success. Now my return to coaching duties will be dictated by the healing process. I'm under the expert care of Dr. Scardino at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and we are working closely to measure the daily progress being made during this vital recovery period."
On being unable to attend the Tip-Off:
"Naturally, I wish I was at Carnesecca Arena tonight to participate in the Tip-Off festivities with our team, and celebrate the start of the college basketball season with our loyal fans! Please know our players and staff appreciate your support. I will be watching from home with great pride! Go Johnnies!"
St. John's Assistant Coach Rico Hines
On preparing for the season with the current eight-man roster:
"Tomorrow will be our official practice, but we've already had some workouts and discussions as a coaching staff. We're definitely going to roll things back, manage guys more, and use a lot of dry-runs and five-on-zeros. We can't really afford to have injuries so we're going to turn it back as far as how we prepare them. We can't run them into the ground like we did to the guys last year -- we have to be smart. We have a young bunch of guys and even if we had all of our guys, we would still have to teach them a lot because they haven't been here before. We have one returning player in Malik [Stith] so we have to do a lot of teaching, a lot of talking, and get our conditioning in other ways."
On Head Coach Steve Lavin's current condition:
"He's good, he won't stop texting [laughs]. He's in great spirits - if you guys know Coach Lavin, you know he's one of the most positive people you will ever meet in life. But like I said, he's been texting us a lot. We have a lot of recruits on campus so he want's to make sure everyone is feeling at home. I talk to him a lot because he's become my close friend -- more than basketball, more than anything else. I care about him as a person. He took a chance on me when I was 17-18 years old and helped me come to UCLA and look at me now. But, he's getting better each and every day. We want him to rest as long as possible and we're going to hold the fort down."
On running the team in Coach Lavin's absence:
"[Coach Lavin] is still running the team, he's just doing it via text [laughs]. He assembled a great group of guys with myself, and Mike Dunlap, Tony Chiles, Gene Keady and Moe Hicks. He really assembled some good basketball heads. We all collaborate in the same way, we get it to Coach Lavin, Coach Lavin gets it back to us, we meet as a staff again, we go over a game plan, and we run practice accordingly. Day by day, obviously Mike Dunlap is the head honcho as far as being the older guy on the staff. So he kind of runs things and then as assistants, we all have a role. Our roles have not changed even in Lavin's absence. Lavin gives us a lot of freedom as assistant coaches which is what makes him a really good coach."
St. John's Junior Malik Stith
On the ineligible players:
"The guys we have now are really working to get better. Personally I think the group is gelling and coming together. Hopefully those guys are able to join us but if they don't we'll just keep on improving as a team."
On the freshman class:
"For them to be 18 or 19 years old, it's some of the best talent I've seen on one team at their age. It's like having a super AAU team because there are a lot of guys with different skills. The sky is the limit for this group."
On leadership style:
"It's about setting an example and always trying to do the right thing. I'm just trying to show them the right thing to do by doing it myself. I'm just trying to make them as comfortable as possible because when the season comes it's an up and down road, and they need to be ready for that."
On what the freshman can expect in the BIG EAST:
"It is impossible to understand what the BIG EAST is like until you've gone through it. I could tell them stories for days about what the BIG EAST is like but you can't really measure that intensity until you've played a few games yourself."
On having only seven scholarship players:
"It's a tough situation because you're expecting those other guys to be here, but we just keep working hard and getting better every day. Some people are going to be called upon to step up and contribute a lot more, but we have to keep playing the style we did last year. At the end of the day we are still going to be St. John's."
On season expectations:
"The expectations for the team are to go out and win as many games as possible. We are going to take things as they come and try not to look ahead."
St. John's Sophomore Nurideen Lindsey
On tonight's Tip-Off:
"It was definitely fun coming out and showing our people love and a little bit of our abilities. A lot of people are looking forward to the season and we're looking forward to having a great season for these fans. We're working hard every day for these fans so we can be contenders and pick up on the great job that the coaching staff and the players did last year."
On why this recruiting class will work will together:
"St. John's basketball is a family. We are brothers -- we all understand that we can help each other out and benefit from each other. Winning is the big picture and we understand that it takes a team to win."
On the current eight-man roster:
"Like I mentioned earlier, we've been working hard. Those guys [who were deemed ineligible to play] certainly could have helped us out, but we don't hold our heads down because of the situation. We have got to keep working so we can get better. We have a huge goal ahead of us that we are trying to accomplish this season. Something that we think as a team we can get done. Our coaching staff has faith in us so it's a good situation."
St. John's Freshmam Phil Greene
On tonight's Tip-Off:
"It was a good experience for me. I enjoyed getting to meet all the fans and receive their support. It was fun, but now the real work begins."
On the current eight-man roster:
"We play tough and we practice hard so we know we'll be ready. Everything works itself out. We have a top-coaching staff so we will be ready. Nothing has changed -- we have the same goals and expectations."
On building team chemistry:
"We are all brothers -- we are a family. We do a lot of things together to get the chemistry right -- we eat together, we play together, we go out together, we do everything together. The chemistry is going to be there. We're learning right because we are young. We learn from Malik [Stith] because he was here last year and we learn from the coaches. So they just have to take us through the process and then we will be ready."
Oct. 14, 2011
Photo Gallery
St. John's Men's Basketball Head Coach Steve Lavin
On his recovery from surgery to treat prostate cancer:
"Last week's surgery was a success. Now my return to coaching duties will be dictated by the healing process. I'm under the expert care of Dr. Scardino at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and we are working closely to measure the daily progress being made during this vital recovery period."
On being unable to attend the Tip-Off:
"Naturally, I wish I was at Carnesecca Arena tonight to participate in the Tip-Off festivities with our team, and celebrate the start of the college basketball season with our loyal fans! Please know our players and staff appreciate your support. I will be watching from home with great pride! Go Johnnies!"
St. John's Assistant Coach Rico Hines
On preparing for the season with the current eight-man roster:
"Tomorrow will be our official practice, but we've already had some workouts and discussions as a coaching staff. We're definitely going to roll things back, manage guys more, and use a lot of dry-runs and five-on-zeros. We can't really afford to have injuries so we're going to turn it back as far as how we prepare them. We can't run them into the ground like we did to the guys last year -- we have to be smart. We have a young bunch of guys and even if we had all of our guys, we would still have to teach them a lot because they haven't been here before. We have one returning player in Malik [Stith] so we have to do a lot of teaching, a lot of talking, and get our conditioning in other ways."
On Head Coach Steve Lavin's current condition:
"He's good, he won't stop texting [laughs]. He's in great spirits - if you guys know Coach Lavin, you know he's one of the most positive people you will ever meet in life. But like I said, he's been texting us a lot. We have a lot of recruits on campus so he want's to make sure everyone is feeling at home. I talk to him a lot because he's become my close friend -- more than basketball, more than anything else. I care about him as a person. He took a chance on me when I was 17-18 years old and helped me come to UCLA and look at me now. But, he's getting better each and every day. We want him to rest as long as possible and we're going to hold the fort down."
On running the team in Coach Lavin's absence:
"[Coach Lavin] is still running the team, he's just doing it via text [laughs]. He assembled a great group of guys with myself, and Mike Dunlap, Tony Chiles, Gene Keady and Moe Hicks. He really assembled some good basketball heads. We all collaborate in the same way, we get it to Coach Lavin, Coach Lavin gets it back to us, we meet as a staff again, we go over a game plan, and we run practice accordingly. Day by day, obviously Mike Dunlap is the head honcho as far as being the older guy on the staff. So he kind of runs things and then as assistants, we all have a role. Our roles have not changed even in Lavin's absence. Lavin gives us a lot of freedom as assistant coaches which is what makes him a really good coach."
St. John's Junior Malik Stith
On the ineligible players:
"The guys we have now are really working to get better. Personally I think the group is gelling and coming together. Hopefully those guys are able to join us but if they don't we'll just keep on improving as a team."
On the freshman class:
"For them to be 18 or 19 years old, it's some of the best talent I've seen on one team at their age. It's like having a super AAU team because there are a lot of guys with different skills. The sky is the limit for this group."
On leadership style:
"It's about setting an example and always trying to do the right thing. I'm just trying to show them the right thing to do by doing it myself. I'm just trying to make them as comfortable as possible because when the season comes it's an up and down road, and they need to be ready for that."
On what the freshman can expect in the BIG EAST:
"It is impossible to understand what the BIG EAST is like until you've gone through it. I could tell them stories for days about what the BIG EAST is like but you can't really measure that intensity until you've played a few games yourself."
On having only seven scholarship players:
"It's a tough situation because you're expecting those other guys to be here, but we just keep working hard and getting better every day. Some people are going to be called upon to step up and contribute a lot more, but we have to keep playing the style we did last year. At the end of the day we are still going to be St. John's."
On season expectations:
"The expectations for the team are to go out and win as many games as possible. We are going to take things as they come and try not to look ahead."
St. John's Sophomore Nurideen Lindsey
On tonight's Tip-Off:
"It was definitely fun coming out and showing our people love and a little bit of our abilities. A lot of people are looking forward to the season and we're looking forward to having a great season for these fans. We're working hard every day for these fans so we can be contenders and pick up on the great job that the coaching staff and the players did last year."
On why this recruiting class will work will together:
"St. John's basketball is a family. We are brothers -- we all understand that we can help each other out and benefit from each other. Winning is the big picture and we understand that it takes a team to win."
On the current eight-man roster:
"Like I mentioned earlier, we've been working hard. Those guys [who were deemed ineligible to play] certainly could have helped us out, but we don't hold our heads down because of the situation. We have got to keep working so we can get better. We have a huge goal ahead of us that we are trying to accomplish this season. Something that we think as a team we can get done. Our coaching staff has faith in us so it's a good situation."
St. John's Freshmam Phil Greene
On tonight's Tip-Off:
"It was a good experience for me. I enjoyed getting to meet all the fans and receive their support. It was fun, but now the real work begins."
On the current eight-man roster:
"We play tough and we practice hard so we know we'll be ready. Everything works itself out. We have a top-coaching staff so we will be ready. Nothing has changed -- we have the same goals and expectations."
On building team chemistry:
"We are all brothers -- we are a family. We do a lot of things together to get the chemistry right -- we eat together, we play together, we go out together, we do everything together. The chemistry is going to be there. We're learning right because we are young. We learn from Malik [Stith] because he was here last year and we learn from the coaches. So they just have to take us through the process and then we will be ready."
tom in salem
Well-known member
Was great to see you in the exact seat you occupied last year.
tom in salem
Well-known member
FKASJU
Member
Daily News article on last night's event. Nothing ground breaking, but nice read:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/c...-10-15_lavinless_storm_tips_off_practice.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/c...-10-15_lavinless_storm_tips_off_practice.html
jumbo_peanuts
Active member
Seriously....We are all well aware of the fact that Norm was a bad coach, but he is not here anymore.....there is no need to bring him up ever again.......get over it!!
Class of 72
Active member
I think you are referring to http://channelsurfing.ws/
It requires you download software and it is virus-prone.
Spoke to former Manhattan coach last nite , Told him we were picked 11th and he said he thought that was good considering All freshman and no experience. So only time will tell how ths team deveops . We can hope for a surprise. When Amir and pelle are back things will look a whole lot better But even then we must remember Young and inexperienced
JackofVirginia
Active member
At the very end of the ESPNU show they had a clip of Gene Keady saying a few words.
All I have to do is think about the past decade pre-Lavin to smile and realize we will be fun to watch no matter the record!
There is hope. There already has been success on aand off the court. Top recruits give us a real look. Television wants the Red Storm. Spnsors as well. What more could we possibly desire? :cheer:
There is hope. There already has been success on aand off the court. Top recruits give us a real look. Television wants the Red Storm. Spnsors as well. What more could we possibly desire? :cheer:
