Mike Anderson - Recruiting, Coaching, Etc.

[fuchsia]

The maturation of maturation, getting a team (or any organization in fact) to the point where there are members who teach values and skills to newcomers through example and feedback, is no small thing.  When a new coach with a different system arrives and a team has no experience with that coach's system, all the teaching is top down.  After a while, the players who are thriving in the system become teaching agents themselves.  I want to see the new guys next year learn not just from our coaches but from Posh and Julian and Dylan and Duke and the whole team.  

    Would it help if the player/teachers have Big East tournament wins under their belts or NIT jewelry?  Sure.  But the process of leadership growth takes time.

 

[Amaseinyourface]

The maturation of maturation, getting a team (or any organization in fact) to the point where there are members who teach values and skills to newcomers through example and feedback, is no small thing.  When a new coach with a different system arrives and a team has no experience with that coach's system, all the teaching is top down.  After a while, the players who are thriving in the system become teaching agents themselves.  I want to see the new guys next year learn not just from our coaches but from Posh and Julian and Dylan and Duke and the whole team.  

    Would it help if the player/teachers have Big East tournament wins under their belts or NIT jewelry?  Sure.  But the process of leadership growth takes time.
 

Such a good point and I’ve been saying all year, CMA still doesn’t have the equivalent of an upperclassmen in HIS system yet. And as a system coach that is huge. Nova of course is the gold standard for the example you noted.

 

[paultzman]

John Fanta

How about this stat: In St. John’s last 6 games, the Red Storm are allowing 69.8 PPG. In the previous 6 games, SJU allowed 86.2 PPG.

#SJUBB

 

[L J S A]

John Fanta

How about this stat: In St. John’s last 6 games, the Red Storm are allowing 69.8 PPG. In the previous 6 games, SJU allowed 86.2 PPG.

#SJUBB

I call this the Nyiwe Effect. Josh didn't want to lose his job so he started practicing better and/or his body miraculously healed itself once our newest can't-miss big man appeared on campus.

 

[MCNPA]

Josh has been playing like a beast inside lately.  It had been a huge boost for our interior play.  Lots of guys stepping up.  It's nice to see.  Also agree that our core is a bit better than I suspected it might be.  Hopefully next year's 3 freshmen are of the same ilk, and we will be fine down the road.  Nice to see us finally building with some freshmen too.  We don't lose a heck of a lot from this season, and hopefully most stay.  

 

[TheArtest15]

I hate when some fans are so self righteous when the team starts playing well, saying "shame on the fans who were outspoken against CMA!" Does this make you feel like more of a fan because you were loyal when most of us wanted to punch a hole through the tv while watching this team at the beginning of the year? The answer is no. Some of us were way more outspoken againt CMA and his shortocming at the beginning of this year and sharing our opinions does not make any of us less of a fan. I think most of us are going to have to get used to some frustrating play to start the seaosn while the team figures everytihng out defensively and offensively in this system. It takes a little while for them to gel every year. 

This tram went from unwatchable to having me very pumped up for Villanova. I will say, I was wrong and happy to admit that I was about where I saw this team by the end of the year. They are reslly playing well and growing as a team. As we know they are not the team at the highest of highs or the team at their lowest of lows.....if they just find that consistent middle ground I think they can make anice late season push and hopefully get into the NIT if there is one. I still think to get this team to a perennial top 5-6 big east team CMA needs to recruit a little better, but I have a lot more confidence now than I did at the beginning of the year.

Lets hope they can carry this play and grow as a team heading into march for some very exciting basketball!


We all have our crosses to bear; me, I hate fans who profess to be coaches and then can't wait to bury another coach without giving him a fair amount of time to prove yea or nay but then are quick to jump on the bandwagon when it appears things are looking up; which I might add, still very much remains to be seen. I am optimistic and hopeful but also realistic, 5 or 6 games do not a program make. Anyway,  like I said, we all have our unique picadillos.

 

Not sure if this is a direct shot at me or not about the coaching? But i agree 5-6 games does not say who we are as a program but it does look like we have turned the corner defensively from the mess in the beginning of the year. We need to be clicking on all cylinders it seems and dont have the sheer talent to give an inch to other teams, which isnt  abad thing because we get after it all game. 

 

[Amaseinyourface]

I hate when some fans are so self righteous when the team starts playing well, saying "shame on the fans who were outspoken against CMA!" Does this make you feel like more of a fan because you were loyal when most of us wanted to punch a hole through the tv while watching this team at the beginning of the year? The answer is no. Some of us were way more outspoken againt CMA and his shortocming at the beginning of this year and sharing our opinions does not make any of us less of a fan. I think most of us are going to have to get used to some frustrating play to start the seaosn while the team figures everytihng out defensively and offensively in this system. It takes a little while for them to gel every year. 

This tram went from unwatchable to having me very pumped up for Villanova. I will say, I was wrong and happy to admit that I was about where I saw this team by the end of the year. They are reslly playing well and growing as a team. As we know they are not the team at the highest of highs or the team at their lowest of lows.....if they just find that consistent middle ground I think they can make anice late season push and hopefully get into the NIT if there is one. I still think to get this team to a perennial top 5-6 big east team CMA needs to recruit a little better, but I have a lot more confidence now than I did at the beginning of the year.

Lets hope they can carry this play and grow as a team heading into march for some very exciting basketball!


We all have our crosses to bear; me, I hate fans who profess to be coaches and then can't wait to bury another coach without giving him a fair amount of time to prove yea or nay but then are quick to jump on the bandwagon when it appears things are looking up; which I might add, still very much remains to be seen. I am optimistic and hopeful but also realistic, 5 or 6 games do not a program make. Anyway,  like I said, we all have our unique picadillos.


 

Not sure if this is a direct shot at me or not about the coaching? But i agree 5-6 games does not say who we are as a program but it does look like we have turned the corner defensively from the mess in the beginning of the year. We need to be clicking on all cylinders it seems and dont have the sheer talent to give an inch to other teams, which isnt  abad thing because we get after it all game. 

Looking around the BE, you really think our talent level is that far off?

 

[MCNPA]

"Looking around the BE, you really think our talent level is that far off?"

much less far off than we initially thought.  We are second in the conference in "scoring offense".  That's should say something lol.

likely we just had a lot of very new players, and took time to integrate.  In addition, took time for Posh to find his role as a freshman PG and get things moving.

 

[mm52]

And the first two guys, along with 2-star Wusu outplayed McD All-American Garcia and 5-star Carton. The NBA is littered with former 3-star kids playing great basketball. It would shock a lot on this stite just how many 3-star kids are major contributors on NBA rosters 
 

I take these star-ratings with a grain of salt as they certainly are not predictive of good play.  For example, while perhaps a solid player in a system that could have worked for him, Caraher was rated with 3-stars.

 

[beast of the east]

"Looking around the BE, you really think our talent level is that far off?"

much less far off than we initially thought.  We are second in the conference in "scoring offense".  That's should say something lol.

likely we just had a lot of very new players, and took time to integrate.  In addition, took time for Posh to find his role as a freshman PG and get things moving.

Your response reminds me of some of the commentary defending a vote for the Iraq War..   Well, they are better than when I thought they were really bad, but not as good as before that when I thought they'd be really good.    So, yea, they are a lot closer to other BE team talent, but not as close as before the season started.    It's a lot easier to predict what just happened, as opposed to what will happen going forward.

 

[monte]

The buck stops with the head coach. Team plays well, he gets much of the credit. Team plays poorly, he gets much of the blame. Didn't like a lot of what he was doing early in the season, and didn't like the results on the court. Never said "CMA needs to go!", but I definitely wasn't happy with what I was seeing and voiced my displeasure. Happy with what I'm seeing now: CMA has tighened up the rotation, team looks much better in half court offense, D is operating on all cylinders, etc. Kudos to CMA for making the adjustments needed, and to the kids for executing. Haven't passed judgement on this season just yet, still a long way to go,  but feeling a lot better then I did just a few weeks ago. 

 

[beast of the east]

The buck stops with the head coach. Team plays well, he gets much of the credit. Team plays poorly, he gets much of the blame. Didn't like a lot of what he was doing early in the season, and didn't like the results on the court. Never said "CMA needs to go!", but I definitely wasn't happy with what I was seeing and voiced my displeasure. Happy with what I'm seeing now: CMA has tighened up the rotation, team looks much better in half court offense, D is operating on all cylinders, etc. Kudos to CMA for making the adjustments needed, and to the kids for executing. Haven't passed judgement on this season just yet, still a long way to go,  but feeling a lot better then I did just a few weeks ago. 

Another perspective is that he was teaching and building.   Day 1 in school kids can't read, come back three months later and there's a lot of progress.   To get to where we are now, unfortunately we had to go through some growing pains and teaching experiences.   He's no better a coach today than he was when we were playing horribly.    I do understand your point though. 

 

[boo haarvey]

The buck stops with the head coach. Team plays well, he gets much of the credit. Team plays poorly, he gets much of the blame. Didn't like a lot of what he was doing early in the season, and didn't like the results on the court. Never said "CMA needs to go!", but I definitely wasn't happy with what I was seeing and voiced my displeasure. Happy with what I'm seeing now: CMA has tighened up the rotation, team looks much better in half court offense, D is operating on all cylinders, etc. Kudos to CMA for making the adjustments needed, and to the kids for executing. Haven't passed judgement on this season just yet, still a long way to go,  but feeling a lot better then I did just a few weeks ago. 

Well said.  Agree 100 percent.

 

[austour]

Only 1 player started this season with more than 1 year of playting meaningful minutes at SJU and he's been out injured now for a few games.  Roberts and Earlington barely played as frosh.  Of the others only Champanie played all last year with meaningful minutes, Dunn half a season.  I am hopeing the program gets to a point where the roster includes some Jrs and Srs who have played meaningful D1 minutes, preferably under CMA, for a couple years to see if the slow starts continue.  Next year's team will have the requisite experience and contributing upperclassmen to hopefully avoid the slow start on both ends of the floor. 

 

[monte]

The buck stops with the head coach. Team plays well, he gets much of the credit. Team plays poorly, he gets much of the blame. Didn't like a lot of what he was doing early in the season, and didn't like the results on the court. Never said "CMA needs to go!", but I definitely wasn't happy with what I was seeing and voiced my displeasure. Happy with what I'm seeing now: CMA has tighened up the rotation, team looks much better in half court offense, D is operating on all cylinders, etc. Kudos to CMA for making the adjustments needed, and to the kids for executing. Haven't passed judgement on this season just yet, still a long way to go,  but feeling a lot better then I did just a few weeks ago. 

Another perspective is that he was teaching and building.   Day 1 in school kids can't read, come back three months later and there's a lot of progress.   To get to where we are now, unfortunately we had to go through some growing pains and teaching experiences.   He's no better a coach today than he was when we were playing horribly.    I do understand your point though. 

Yes, that is another perspective. That is also why I'm not passing final judgement yet. Nice stretch we've just had, but let's judge the season and the coach when the season is over. 

 

[NCJohnnie]

Austour wrote: 
Only 1 player started this season with more than 1 year of playting meaningful minutes at SJU and he's been out injured now for a few games.  Roberts and Earlington barely played as frosh.  Of the others only Champanie played all last year with meaningful minutes, Dunn half a season.  I am hopeing the program gets to a point where the roster includes some Jrs and Srs who have played meaningful D1 minutes, preferably under CMA, for a couple years to see if the slow starts continue.  Next year's team will have the requisite experience and contributing upperclassmen to hopefully avoid the slow start on both ends of the floor. 

Excellent post and couldn't agree more. Next year, absent key player(s) transferring out which I don't expect, there is every reason to expect us to be a mid pack BE team or better. If by some chance we wind up as midpack team this year, that is gravy imho.

 

[MCNPA]

"Looking around the BE, you really think our talent level is that far off?"

much less far off than we initially thought.  We are second in the conference in "scoring offense".  That's should say something lol.

likely we just had a lot of very new players, and took time to integrate.  In addition, took time for Posh to find his role as a freshman PG and get things moving.

Your response reminds me of some of the commentary defending a vote for the Iraq War..   Well, they are better than when I thought they were really bad, but not as good as before that when I thought they'd be really good.    So, yea, they are a lot closer to other BE team talent, but not as close as before the season started.    It's a lot easier to predict what just happened, as opposed to what will happen going forward.

Well not quite.  We are still a middle of the pack team.  Posh I knew would be excellent.  Had no idea Wusu would be this good and as quickly.  Moore is better than I thought, Cole maybe not quite as good but he's coming along.  Mainly I didn't believe that Posh nor Wusu would give us this level of production this early in their career. Both excellent. I hope next year's 3 freshmen will be similar. 

 

[usguard]

Agree,but the problem is we do not have 3 or  4 consistent  long range shooter or a big who can dominate  the boards.
with that we could win the BE



 

 

[Ray Morgan]

Here is how I look at CMA as a coach and a recruiter. He has a winning record so far relying primarily on a feshman and a sophomore.  A lot of minutes are going to another freshman and 2 J.C. transfers playing their first year of division 1 basketball. The roster has 1 or 2 at the most players rated at 4 stars in high school. Almost every other program in the Big East have more. That tells me that CMA can coach and get teams to overachieve. I do not expect another poor start next season.

How would our last 3 coaches have done with this level of talent?  I would guess that our last 2 coaches, who had rosters filled with 4 star and even a few 5 star players, would have a disjointed looking team with very few Big East wins. CMA's teams each season have taken half a season to jell, which makes sense considering the age and newness of the players to division 1. His teams follow a tough system and still look more organized that I have seen with our previous 3 coaches.

Both Posh and Wusu have shown improvement this season.  Champagnie has gone from nice surprise as a freshman to first team Big East as a sophomore. Some of our higher ranked players under our previous coaches seemed to play worse as their careers wore on. CMA can coach. His streak, despite claims by some frustrated posters to the contrary, is a real achievement. He may not get many 4 star recruits, but he will get the most out of every player on the roster.


 

 

[TheArtest15]

Here is how I look at CMA as a coach and a recruiter. He has a winning record so far relying primarily on a feshman and a sophomore.  A lot of minutes are going to another freshman and 2 J.C. transfers playing their first year of division 1 basketball. The roster has 1 or 2 at the most players rated at 4 stars in high school. Almost every other program in the Big East have more. That tells me that CMA can coach and get teams to overachieve. I do not expect another poor start next season.

How would our last 3 coaches have done with this level of talent?  I would guess that our last 2 coaches, who had rosters filled with 4 star and even a few 5 star players, would have a disjointed looking team with very few Big East wins. CMA's teams each season have taken half a season to jell, which makes sense considering the age and newness of the players to division 1. His teams follow a tough system and still look more organized that I have seen with our previous 3 coaches.

Both Posh and Wusu have shown improvement this season.  Champagnie has gone from nice surprise as a freshman to first team Big East as a sophomore. Some of our higher ranked players under our previous coaches seemed to play worse as their careers wore on. CMA can coach. His streak, despite claims by some frustrated posters to the contrary, is a real achievement. He may not get many 4 star recruits, but he will get the most out of every player on the roster.



 

I think the fact of the matter is that CMA and our last two coaches both have strengths and weaknesses. You can say how would the past two coaches do with this level of talent, but they did get better talent. They recruited better than CMA and CMA has done way better than them developing and getting the mos tout of the players he has recruited. 

Ive been pumped up with the play the last 5-6 game sand they have totally impresse dme and turned our season around. But I also think everyone is on a high because of this play. We still need some difference makers in recruiting going forward to really make a jumo. CMA has proven to be able to develop players so Id love to see some studs come in and play here under him.