Movin' On

PARedman

Active member
You look at teams like Villanova, and there are many more that can be cited, with rising junior pro prospects who decide to return for their senior season, and I'm wondering, why not SJU? I mean, there was a time when future NBA stars like Chris Mullins played four years at SJU. Tonight I settled in for the game with Nova with a glass of Perrier and a double shot of Tito's and was good with whatever transpired. (Truth be told, I'd pretty much given up on the Johnnies several games ago.) But then, with a 17-point lead, I was leaning forward in my chair, hand clenched around my glass and thinking, yes, this is the team we thought was there all along, poised and waiting to pounce, Then the bottom fell out. I'm not one to wallow, so let's fast forward to 2022-2023. If Julian was playing for Jay Wright, would he return for his senior season like Gillespie, et al? Rhetorical question. But another season at SJU could only make him a stronger prospect and give him a chance to finish unfinished business. With Juian, Posh, Wheeler, Wusu, Pinzon, et al, this could be a pretty good team. So, while I'll pout with yet another glass of Perrier and Tito's, I can't help thinking about what could be next season.
 
 
No doubt Julian is gone.  I'm just hoping that Posh stays, but could not blame him if he went elsewhere (he wants to and is entitled to taste winning).
 
I agree with you 

why not another year?

sju went through this with ponds a numbers of years ago



post=463184You look at teams like Villanova, and there are many more that can be cited, with rising junior pro prospects who decide to return for their senior season, and I'm wondering, why not SJU? I mean, there was a time when future NBA stars like Chris Mullins played four years at SJU. Tonight I settled in for the game with Nova with a glass of Perrier and a double shot of Tito's and was good with whatever transpired. (Truth be told, I'd pretty much given up on the Johnnies several games ago.) But then, with a 17-point lead, I was leaning forward in my chair, hand clenched around my glass and thinking, yes, this is the team we thought was there all along, poised and waiting to pounce, Then the bottom fell out. I'm not one to wallow, so let's fast forward to 2022-2023. If Julian was playing for Jay Wright, would he return for his senior season like Gillespie, et al? Rhetorical question. But another season at SJU could only make him a stronger prospect and give him a chance to finish unfinished business. With Juian, Posh, Wheeler, Wusu, Pinzon, et al, this could be a pretty good team. So, while I'll pout with yet another glass of Perrier and Tito's, I can't help thinking about what could be next season.
 
 
I think there would be a chance of Champagnie coming back if his brother wasn’t already on an NBA roster. 
 
Mean Gene post=463271 said:
I think there would be a chance of Champagnie coming back if his brother wasn’t already on an NBA roster. 
Maybe his brother tells him, "the nba stinks.  I just sit on the bench and dont play."
 
Naturally, I want Champ back as much as the next fan, but it is so hard to begrudge a kid the chance to start a pro career whether in the NBA or overseas vs. the risk of a life changing injury in his junior or senior year.
 
Duke of Earlington post=463286 said:
Mean Gene post=463271 said:
I think there would be a chance of Champagnie coming back if his brother wasn’t already on an NBA roster. 
Maybe his brother tells him, "the nba stinks.  I just sit on the bench and dont play."
Yes but he's still collecting that nice paycheck whether he plays or not. That's usually the mitigating factor.
 
Julian is not coming back. Harping on it is pointless. He was almost out the door last year. 

If you’re Stanley, are you coming back as a sophomore to be the 3rd big? I doubt it. So we’re gonna need a big. Awaka maybe? But Nyiwe and Soriano were much improved and deserve to play if they return 

We know the value of Posh but Wheeler is our 2nd biggest keeper. Storr isn’t coming here to sit. Remember that. He’s going to play big minutes

When you can’t shoot, you put Soriano in a huge disadvantage as a passer and a post player. He can score down low. But too many times he was doubled bc they didn’t respect our shooters. 

The other thing we missed is a guy who can get to the basket and score. Wheeler started to drive late in the season. Mathis was able but struggled to score.  Hopefully it’s Storr. But that was a killer this year. 

defensively too many times we would guard for 25 seconds, lose our discipline and give up an open shot late. How do we fix that?
 
Not an alum post=463306 said:
Julian is not coming back. Harping on it is pointless. He was almost out the door last year. 

If you’re Stanley, are you coming back as a sophomore to be the 3rd big? I doubt it. So we’re gonna need a big. Awaka maybe? But Nyiwe and Soriano were much improved and deserve to play if they return 

We know the value of Posh but Wheeler is our 2nd biggest keeper. Storr isn’t coming here to sit. Remember that. He’s going to play big minutes

When you can’t shoot, you put Soriano in a huge disadvantage as a passer and a post player. He can score down low. But too many times he was doubled bc they didn’t respect our shooters. 

The other thing we missed is a guy who can get to the basket and score. Wheeler started to drive late in the season. Mathis was able but struggled to score.  Hopefully it’s Storr. But that was a killer this year. 

defensively too many times we would guard for 25 seconds, lose our discipline and give up an open shot late. How do we fix that?
Drissa Traore joins the mix for next year.  
 
The ability to "re-recruit" existing players is as important a skill now as it was ever in this world of transferitis.  More important, frankly, for a program like ours.  Because when you do that targeted and successfully, it maintains continuity and gives you a roster of "older" players.  And for a program like ours, "older" players tend to be more successful.

 And you don't need to be a good external recruiter to have this skill.  I use Kevin Willard as an example.  He is by all accounts not a very good external recruiter, even with the Hall's recent success of making the dance.  But he is typically very strong at keeping the kids he wants to keep in college and with the Hall.  Sure he will lose a kid like Jordan Walker who has developed into a very good college guard after multiple stops and what seems like some maturation along the way.  But he convinced Delgado to stay 4 years when he could have theoretically turned pro after 3, Powell/Mamu (same), Desi/Carrington,  Rhoden, Cale and the like.  

I know the staff is aware of this, but hopeful they can really do a strong job on this front this offseason.
 
Rob post=463375 said:
The ability to "re-recruit" existing players is as important a skill now as it was ever in this world of transferitis.  More important, frankly, for a program like ours.  Because when you do that targeted and successfully, it maintains continuity and gives you a roster of "older" players.  And for a program like ours, "older" players tend to be more successful.

 And you don't need to be a good external recruiter to have this skill.  I use Kevin Willard as an example.  He is by all accounts not a very good external recruiter, even with the Hall's recent success of making the dance.  But he is typically very strong at keeping the kids he wants to keep in college and with the Hall.  Sure he will lose a kid like Jordan Walker who has developed into a very good college guard after multiple stops and what seems like some maturation along the way.  But he convinced Delgado to stay 4 years when he could have theoretically turned pro after 3, Powell/Mamu (same), Desi/Carrington,  Rhoden, Cale and the like.  

I know the staff is aware of this, but hopeful they can really do a strong job on this front this offseason.

I agree Rob, staff needs to get everyone to return. If we lose key players to transfer again this off-season then you really have to question CMA and the relationship he has with his players. How do other coaches get their players to stay when they could go somewhere else and maybe be in a little better situation or go overseas and make some money. Cooley was able to convince Watson to stay, that’s got be directly related to the relationship he has with the player. You see it every year , coaches getting their players to come back or stay another year as a 5th yr senior. We never seem to be able to do it.
 
Not an alum post=463306 said:
Wheeler is our 2nd biggest keeper.

 
Wheeler was introduced last night as a "graduate student," which to me means he has no more eligibility (or is really smart).  But, I do not believe he was honored at senior night, so that indicates he may have more eligibility.  I am so confused....
 
Last edited:
mm52 post=463419 said:
Not an alum post=463306 said:
Wheeler is our 2nd biggest keeper.


 
Wheeler was introduced last night as a "graduate student," which to me means he has no more eligibility (or is really smart).  But, I do not believe he was honored at senior night, so that indicates he may have more eligibility.  I am so confused....
This has been reported including by me several times (including on a thread a week or so ago).  Wheeler was at Purdue for four years, redshirting his freshman year year.  He graduated on time making him a grad student but he still had one year of eligibility and he get his covered year meaning he has two years of eligibility.  If you look somewhere on his commitment thread, he says he intends to play two years here when he committed.  So he has one more year after this.

[URL]https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/aaron-wheeler-2.html[/URL]]Aaron Wheeler College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com[/url]

 
 
I want Anderson and staff to take a page of the Cooley-book this offseason.  Providence woefully underperformed last year.  Many of the core players were the same as this year, plus you add on top of that Duke who is in the NBA and was one of the better players in the league.  Providence was picked near the top, and finished near the bottom.  Friar fans were not happy with Easy Ed, despite the success he's had in getting to the tournament (though not winning there).  Instead of being content, he went out this offseason and re-recruited the kids he needed to keep, and then added some transfers that made a ton of sense to the roles they needed to fill (Durham and Minaya).  He lost some kids to the transfer-market -- including kids who were deemed good recruits out of HS (I think at least one was) --  but they were probably players he didn't think they needed to keep.  And he turned it around and had a good season.  I don't expect us to get all the breaks that PC got this year -- they've been somewhat historically lucky in close games, scheduling issues, etc.  But I hope our staff can have a similar outcome this offseason.
 
Duke of Earlington post=463286 said:
Mean Gene post=463271 said:
I think there would be a chance of Champagnie coming back if his brother wasn’t already on an NBA roster. 
Maybe his brother tells him, "the nba stinks.  I just sit on the bench and dont play."


He's collecting a pretty nice paycheck to sit on the bench
 
 
PARedman post=463184 said:
You look at teams like Villanova, and there are many more that can be cited, with rising junior pro prospects who decide to return for their senior season, and I'm wondering, why not SJU? I mean, there was a time when future NBA stars like Chris Mullins played four years at SJU. Tonight I settled in for the game with Nova with a glass of Perrier and a double shot of Tito's and was good with whatever transpired. (Truth be told, I'd pretty much given up on the Johnnies several games ago.) But then, with a 17-point lead, I was leaning forward in my chair, hand clenched around my glass and thinking, yes, this is the team we thought was there all along, poised and waiting to pounce, Then the bottom fell out. I'm not one to wallow, so let's fast forward to 2022-2023. If Julian was playing for Jay Wright, would he return for his senior season like Gillespie, et al? Rhetorical question. But another season at SJU could only make him a stronger prospect and give him a chance to finish unfinished business. With Juian, Posh, Wheeler, Wusu, Pinzon, et al, this could be a pretty good team. So, while I'll pout with yet another glass of Perrier and Tito's, I can't help thinking about what could be next season.

You really think Julian will return. We need to recruit a stud to fit with the other role players you listed

 
 
Took almost 24 hours... but I'm now emotionally past this loss. The kids and the wife no longer have a deflated dad/husband lol.... pathetic, i know... but feel those on this board can empathize lol. 

Ok- like our thread- movin on... stating the obvious - NEED to re-recruit Posh and Wheeler. Priority 1a and 1b. Not sure why i feel uneasy on Posh... probably cause we are SJU and seems like something that would happen to us... lose Posh to a blue blood and goes onto win the Natty next yr... would be Classic St. Johns. 

Anyway- keep Posh- convince Wheeler he'll be even more of a focal point with Julian gone. Keep improving Wusu/Soriano/Nywie/Pinzon/Stanley/Drissa over the summer. That's a success. 

Will all those guys stay? In this day in age... probably not. We probably lose a couple kids. I dont want to lose any- just prepare yourself for some departures. 

Who knows who becomes available on the Market... get some scorers. 
 
Regarding Wheeler, when he said he intended to be here two seasons, he was a 4 ppg guy. He became 3.5x that after turning the corner. Would love to see a full season of 14 ppg Wheeler, but if he has to strike while the iron is hot, we can't really blame him. Good thing we'll 100 percent have Stanl . . . 
 
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