My advice to D'Angelo Harrison

beast of the east

beast of the east

Active member
I raked D'Angelo Harrison over the coals pretty hard for his performance against Rutgers. I won't repeat them , but I suggested he should be moved to 6th man because he had become a shameless fire-it-up guard who appeared to disrespect his teammates by becoming a selfish offensive player.

Apparently Harrison, whether he reads this site or not, took that game just as hard. He's promptly gone in the tank for single digits two games in a row.

So here's my re-assessment:

1) I believe I mistakenly classified Harrison as an ill-tempered thug who yells profanity at his teammate, coaches, and sometimes himself. What I think is really there is a kid with fire in his belly, who is all business when he steps on the court. Yea, he wears a permanent scowl, but it's because he is serious about the game. He leaves it all on the court.

2) Last night late in the game, he took one on the nose - hard. It was enough to draw blood. As trainer Ron Linfonte worked on him Harrison winced and jerked his head away in pain every time his nose was touched. But he wouldn't come out of the game. Looking at him, you just knew he couldn't wait to get out there and make someone pay for the shot to the nose - either by reataliation or by his play. He chose the latter, drilling a long three, blocking a shot late, and garnering a big rebound he didnt get credit for because ND slapped it out of bounds(SJU ball). mHe showed me I was wrong, and he's really the heart and soul of this team.

Now, here's what I would advise:

1) Get out of the tank. For us to have a shot at .500 in the Big East, Harrison must score. Yea, the shot selection must be better, and yea sometimes a teammate will be open who should get the ball, and yea a three on two fast break should result in a layup, not a long three. But, for St. John's to win, we need more than 7 or 8 points out of Harrison, and he is very capable of that, without having to force the issue.

2) D'Angelo, you have to move more on offense. Yea, Harrison can shoot off the dribble, yea he can create his own shot, BUT hanging out on the perimeter, just standing there waiting for his shot, the offense dies. You have to cut, pick, uses picks and flash. My kid was coached by Bellerose's George Groome, one of Holy Cross high school all time greats and one of the best players ever at Fairfield. He taught kids to flash, to use picks in the paint and flash out synching with the swing of the ball back to the top so you could catch and shoot from a wing. To get open shots, you have to be in constant motion (see Bill Bradley).

So yea, I think I was mostly wrong about Harrison, and completely wrong about casting him on the bench. He is clearly the soul of this team and our most talented offensive player. Now is the time for him to step up as a leader his teammates can like and respect, and become the premier two guard he can be, especially now that Branch is running the show from the point.
 
No offense, Beast, but from what we've seen of D'Lo's temperament over the past two years, I really don't think he's interested in listening to any advice you're offering. Think he feels he's taking enough advice from our coaching staff.
 
He's completely held himself to a higher level this year. I see him encouraging his teammates on the floor - this past game; when ND jumped out a little quick early lead and there was a stopage of play - he was the was getting the guys revved up so they wouldn't get down.
 
No offense, Beast, but from what we've seen of D'Lo's temperament over the past two years, I really don't think he's interested in listening to any advice you're offering. Think he feels he's taking enough advice from our coaching staff.
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The temperament is who he is. The profanity laced tirades directed at teammates and coaches should have earned him immediate seats on the bench, but's that really not my point. He brings a lot of fire on the court, and while he has to tone down the tirades, he is who he is, a fiery player.

My advice is that he stands around an awful lot on offense, and apprarently is not brought to task on it. Do you really think an offensive set is designed to have players stand around on the perimeter as the clock winds down?

As to the second point, do you really think he is being coached to fire up 3 point shots on a 3 on 2 break? If so, I'd believe there is some credence to coaching liabilities here. My criticism of Jarvis is that he would yank a player for an indiscretion, then lace into him on the bench, then bury him. I like coaches who will remove a player after a big mistake, chat with him, and then get him right back into the game, not punshing him for a tactical error.
 
I raked D'Angelo Harrison over the coals pretty hard for his performance against Rutgers. I won't repeat them , but I suggested he should be moved to 6th man because he had become a shameless fire-it-up guard who appeared to disrespect his teammates by becoming a selfish offensive player.

Apparently Harrison, whether he reads this site or not, took that game just as hard. He's promptly gone in the tank for single digits two games in a row.

So here's my re-assessment:

1) I believe I mistakenly classified Harrison as an ill-tempered thug who yells profanity at his teammate, coaches, and sometimes himself. What I think is really there is a kid with fire in his belly, who is all business when he steps on the court. Yea, he wears a permanent scowl, but it's because he is serious about the game. He leaves it all on the court.

2) Last night late in the game, he took one on the nose - hard. It was enough to draw blood. As trainer Ron Linfonte worked on him Harrison winced and jerked his head away in pain every time his nose was touched. But he wouldn't come out of the game. Looking at him, you just knew he couldn't wait to get out there and make someone pay for the shot to the nose - either by reataliation or by his play. He chose the latter, drilling a long three, blocking a shot late, and garnering a big rebound he didnt get credit for because ND slapped it out of bounds(SJU ball). mHe showed me I was wrong, and he's really the heart and soul of this team.

Now, here's what I would advise:

1) Get out of the tank. For us to have a shot at .500 in the Big East, Harrison must score. Yea, the shot selection must be better, and yea sometimes a teammate will be open who should get the ball, and yea a three on two fast break should result in a layup, not a long three. But, for St. John's to win, we need more than 7 or 8 points out of Harrison, and he is very capable of that, without having to force the issue.

2) D'Angelo, you have to move more on offense. Yea, Harrison can shoot off the dribble, yea he can create his own shot, BUT hanging out on the perimeter, just standing there waiting for his shot, the offense dies. You have to cut, pick, uses picks and flash. My kid was coached by Bellerose's George Groome, one of Holy Cross high school all time greats and one of the best players ever at Fairfield. He taught kids to flash, to use picks in the paint and flash out synching with the swing of the ball back to the top so you could catch and shoot from a wing. To get open shots, you have to be in constant motion (see Bill Bradley).

So yea, I think I was mostly wrong about Harrison, and completely wrong about casting him on the bench. He is clearly the soul of this team and our most talented offensive player. Now is the time for him to step up as a leader his teammates can like and respect, and become the premier two guard he can be, especially now that Branch is running the show from the point.
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IMO Harrison played his finest game as a Johnnie against ND because he played WINNING ball. He played D, he moved the ball and accepted that ND was going to run players at him and make it difficult for him to score.
 
If that is just a really long and somewhat negative way of saying that you'd like to see Harrison move without the ball more, then I'm with you.
 
I raked D'Angelo Harrison over the coals pretty hard for his performance against Rutgers. I won't repeat them , but I suggested he should be moved to 6th man because he had become a shameless fire-it-up guard who appeared to disrespect his teammates by becoming a selfish offensive player.

Apparently Harrison, whether he reads this site or not, took that game just as hard. He's promptly gone in the tank for single digits two games in a row.

So here's my re-assessment:

1) I believe I mistakenly classified Harrison as an ill-tempered thug who yells profanity at his teammate, coaches, and sometimes himself. What I think is really there is a kid with fire in his belly, who is all business when he steps on the court. Yea, he wears a permanent scowl, but it's because he is serious about the game. He leaves it all on the court.

2) Last night late in the game, he took one on the nose - hard. It was enough to draw blood. As trainer Ron Linfonte worked on him Harrison winced and jerked his head away in pain every time his nose was touched. But he wouldn't come out of the game. Looking at him, you just knew he couldn't wait to get out there and make someone pay for the shot to the nose - either by reataliation or by his play. He chose the latter, drilling a long three, blocking a shot late, and garnering a big rebound he didnt get credit for because ND slapped it out of bounds(SJU ball). mHe showed me I was wrong, and he's really the heart and soul of this team.

Now, here's what I would advise:

1) Get out of the tank. For us to have a shot at .500 in the Big East, Harrison must score. Yea, the shot selection must be better, and yea sometimes a teammate will be open who should get the ball, and yea a three on two fast break should result in a layup, not a long three. But, for St. John's to win, we need more than 7 or 8 points out of Harrison, and he is very capable of that, without having to force the issue.

2) D'Angelo, you have to move more on offense. Yea, Harrison can shoot off the dribble, yea he can create his own shot, BUT hanging out on the perimeter, just standing there waiting for his shot, the offense dies. You have to cut, pick, uses picks and flash. My kid was coached by Bellerose's George Groome, one of Holy Cross high school all time greats and one of the best players ever at Fairfield. He taught kids to flash, to use picks in the paint and flash out synching with the swing of the ball back to the top so you could catch and shoot from a wing. To get open shots, you have to be in constant motion (see Bill Bradley).

So yea, I think I was mostly wrong about Harrison, and completely wrong about casting him on the bench. He is clearly the soul of this team and our most talented offensive player. Now is the time for him to step up as a leader his teammates can like and respect, and become the premier two guard he can be, especially now that Branch is running the show from the point.
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Good of you to admit you were wrong about DeLo. I agree, he is the soul of the team, and the team needs his fiery disposition, it just needs to be channeled well. He's been doing a much better job of that.

Regarding standing around, I agree that the offense doesn't seem to be set up to function off of well set picks timed to match the movement of the ball up top and create shooting opportunities. More of that would help a lot. But the offense is set up to create penetration into the lane off of picks set up top. Frequently DLo has been the only one who could actually get penetration so is was either shoot or pass to the wing to someone unlikely to make the shot. Lately Branch has begun to get penetration creating a situation where DLo can get open on the wing. Question is, will they get him the ball? In the last couple of possessions in the ND game, Branch used a pick to get in the lane and ended up missing a teardrop. Not a bad shot selection, it just didn't go in. Meanwhile when he got in the lane, DLo was "standing around" in the right corner wide open and available for a easy pass and an open 3. Check out the tape. If DLo gets those passes in the future he will score more and he won't have to take such tough shots all the time. Hopefully the staff is trying to school Branch and Phil Green to look for DLo on the wings when they drive.

Re DLo shooting a three on a 3 on 2 break. Don't know if you've noticed but DLo will usually quickly look at the situation and if he thinks his teammates are in the best position to rebound, will fire up a three figuring it will either go in or they'll get the put back anyway, a possible 3 and a likely 2 instead of just a likely 2. I think its usually a heads-up play on his part. Sometimes it doesn't work out and then it looks bad, but I think he usually has the right idea when he does that.
 
Um, not sure why these threads pop up? Harrison is the VERY LEAST of our problems!
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I agree, I watched the 2nd half of the ND game again last night-- he had some wonderful passes, nailed 2 huge threes, made the huge block, was vocal in the team huddle. He is the last thing we need to worry about
 
Um, not sure why these threads pop up? Harrison is the VERY LEAST of our problems!
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Thank you "we are" - AND we are fortunate to have him!
He has so many more virtues and 'higher ceiling' traits than most other players: heart, emotions, caring, athletic…and oh yes, a williingness to learn and grow with our program - a program that wiltered under the sly foxiness of Jarvis and modest means of Roberts.

We are have our moods, emotions, ups and downs, growing pains etc. Can't this kid get a little slack and time in his major transition: moving here to the big city area from far away from home, adjusting to college life and new teammates, being scrutinized, having huge expectations dumped upon him and the like.

we are sju said it all - Harrison is the least of our problems - and fortunately - not the only positive reason to rejoice - we are in so much better shape as a program than a long, long time ago.

all the best
 
My advice would be continue to do what you have been doing . But, if you are double teamed, look for the open man, dont force shots , and dont shoot the 3 on a 3 on 2 fast break.
 
I raked D'Angelo Harrison over the coals pretty hard for his performance against Rutgers. I won't repeat them , but I suggested he should be moved to 6th man because he had become a shameless fire-it-up guard who appeared to disrespect his teammates by becoming a selfish offensive player.

Apparently Harrison, whether he reads this site or not, took that game just as hard. He's promptly gone in the tank for single digits two games in a row.

So here's my re-assessment:

1) I believe I mistakenly classified Harrison as an ill-tempered thug who yells profanity at his teammate, coaches, and sometimes himself. What I think is really there is a kid with fire in his belly, who is all business when he steps on the court. Yea, he wears a permanent scowl, but it's because he is serious about the game. He leaves it all on the court.

2) Last night late in the game, he took one on the nose - hard. It was enough to draw blood. As trainer Ron Linfonte worked on him Harrison winced and jerked his head away in pain every time his nose was touched. But he wouldn't come out of the game. Looking at him, you just knew he couldn't wait to get out there and make someone pay for the shot to the nose - either by reataliation or by his play. He chose the latter, drilling a long three, blocking a shot late, and garnering a big rebound he didnt get credit for because ND slapped it out of bounds(SJU ball). mHe showed me I was wrong, and he's really the heart and soul of this team.

Now, here's what I would advise:

1) Get out of the tank. For us to have a shot at .500 in the Big East, Harrison must score. Yea, the shot selection must be better, and yea sometimes a teammate will be open who should get the ball, and yea a three on two fast break should result in a layup, not a long three. But, for St. John's to win, we need more than 7 or 8 points out of Harrison, and he is very capable of that, without having to force the issue.

2) D'Angelo, you have to move more on offense. Yea, Harrison can shoot off the dribble, yea he can create his own shot, BUT hanging out on the perimeter, just standing there waiting for his shot, the offense dies. You have to cut, pick, uses picks and flash. My kid was coached by Bellerose's George Groome, one of Holy Cross high school all time greats and one of the best players ever at Fairfield. He taught kids to flash, to use picks in the paint and flash out synching with the swing of the ball back to the top so you could catch and shoot from a wing. To get open shots, you have to be in constant motion (see Bill Bradley).

So yea, I think I was mostly wrong about Harrison, and completely wrong about casting him on the bench. He is clearly the soul of this team and our most talented offensive player. Now is the time for him to step up as a leader his teammates can like and respect, and become the premier two guard he can be, especially now that Branch is running the show from the point.
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IMO Harrison played his finest game as a Johnnie against ND because he played WINNING ball. He played D, he moved the ball and accepted that ND was going to run players at him and make it difficult for him to score.
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I do think that Harrison played winning basketball in crunch time after getting whacked on the nose. Doing everything right to help your team win in the closing moments of a game is the difference betweens Ws and Ls.

That being said, Harrison shot two for eight on the night, two for 7 from 3 point land, lending credence to the fact that he is standing around on the perimeter waiting for the ball as our offense goes East West. Hardly his greatest game as Johnnie, just a very solid 3-4 minutes at the end.

I think my expectations are higher because I see what he is capable of if he moves on offense without the ball, and refines his shot selection. As an undersized guard, if he is to have NBA aspirations, his game must be elevated two or three levels if he is to have a prayer at being an NBA draft pick. I think he is capable of that, and as such, believe my critiques are valid.
 
My advise would be continue to do what you have been doing . But, if you are double teamed, look for the open man, dont force shots , and dont shoot the 3 on a 3 on 3 fast break.
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Yeah right, and that 3 from beyond the arc to get us back the lead against nd was an ill advised shot as well. Dlo's going to take some forced shots, but there is absolutely nobody on this team I'd rather take a crunch time shot. heck, I don't know of anybody who wants to take that shot except him. And, Lavin sets up plays for him to get the ball in crunch time.
 
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