NCAA - Game 1 - San Diego St. (Friday)
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beast of the east
Active member
Don't know what else Lavin could have done being that he only had 5 contributors to work with. He subbed Jones. JDR, and Amar in the first half to keep the fouls down and our guys rested. He went zone for the same reason in the first half, and with a last second SDSU backet was only down 8 at the half. We were in striking distance when we went man, and our guys missed several great opportunities to make it a game. You can't win with 5 guards on the floor and no subs.
Yes, the lack of a bench falls on Lavin. The offense is a primitive schema of guys setting high picks.and back cuts Only Amar gets out there and likes to set picks, but he did little else all year, and even he would just set a pick and then get out of the way (no rolls).
SDSU is not a good team, and they will fall on Sunday. This was a winnable game, but our 5 guys overall didn't play well. We needed very good games from each of them to win..
Yes, the lack of a bench falls on Lavin. The offense is a primitive schema of guys setting high picks.and back cuts Only Amar gets out there and likes to set picks, but he did little else all year, and even he would just set a pick and then get out of the way (no rolls).
SDSU is not a good team, and they will fall on Sunday. This was a winnable game, but our 5 guys overall didn't play well. We needed very good games from each of them to win..
SJUhoopNUT
Well-known member
I think we were down 5 maybe 7 in the second half and we were making a push when Jamal decides to try to go behind the back and turns it over. Then Jamal tries to go on a 1 man break and misses a lefty layup. Wasted possessions. That basically sums up Lavin's coaching and my frustration with his style of coaching over the last 5 years. Too loose, too careless, don't value the ball, don't understand time and the significance of getting a good shot at a critical juncture in the game. This team has shown repeatedly a severe lack of basketball IQ, and that falls on the coach.
Avon Barksdale
Member
This was a typical "st John's bad luck" game. From Chris being suspended to Jordan picking up the two quick fouls which was completely debilitating to us and then SDSU hitting all of those 3s....I agree that this SDSU was not good - they were very big which hurt us and they shot Uncharacteristically well but if the SJU team that beat GTown shows up last night SJU wins this game by 10 points.
Redmen88
Well-known member
This is not bad luck. This is who we are. Stupidity got CO suspended not bad luck. A razor thin bench hurt us, not 2 fouls on any one player. We are wildly inconsistent so you can't choose which SJU team shows up. We need a balanced roster. We need to add a few and lose a few each year, not wholesale turnover every few years. I'll always be a fan but hoping for a better more consistent product on the court.
ZanMan
Well-known member
You can tell Lavin sincerely cares for these kids. I've never seen him this emotional. Like him or not, it's a little heartbreaking.
I think it was a big mistake benching Jordan for the entire half. He should have come back in at around the 8:00 mark and if he got a 3rd foul, then yank him. He was out for way too long.
I will never understand why we always seem to play a 30% shooting 3-PT team and they shoot 50% for the game against us. SDU averaged 5 threes a game for the entire season (34 games). Last night they hit 9! Minus those extra 12 points from the score last night and suddenly things are different.
DLo didn't dissapoint last night. Call him the Warrior. He will be missed. Sir Dom, too. This team is going to be tough to watch next year minus the seniors, Obekpa and more than likely Jordan.
I still enjoyed this season despite being frustrated last night. When Jordan was whistled for that first foul in the first 20+ secs of play, I thought that was a bad sign for sure.
On to the baseball season I go. Things are going to be interesting for this program in the off season. My gut tells me Lavin is gone. Then again, my gut told me we were playing another game tomorrow vs. Duke.
I think it was a big mistake benching Jordan for the entire half. He should have come back in at around the 8:00 mark and if he got a 3rd foul, then yank him. He was out for way too long.
I will never understand why we always seem to play a 30% shooting 3-PT team and they shoot 50% for the game against us. SDU averaged 5 threes a game for the entire season (34 games). Last night they hit 9! Minus those extra 12 points from the score last night and suddenly things are different.
DLo didn't dissapoint last night. Call him the Warrior. He will be missed. Sir Dom, too. This team is going to be tough to watch next year minus the seniors, Obekpa and more than likely Jordan.
I still enjoyed this season despite being frustrated last night. When Jordan was whistled for that first foul in the first 20+ secs of play, I thought that was a bad sign for sure.
On to the baseball season I go. Things are going to be interesting for this program in the off season. My gut tells me Lavin is gone. Then again, my gut told me we were playing another game tomorrow vs. Duke.
When you play a team who have a 4 or 5 in advantage in the paint you are forced to have your perimeter defense drop back and help out.
You concede the open 3 and pray.
You concede the open 3 and pray.
beast of the east
Active member
He didn't bench Jordan the entire half. He let him stay on the court a few minutes which I thought was wise because like Harrison a few weeks ago, if you are iced for 18 -19 minutes of a half, it's hard to come in and contribute.
Lavin pointing to Jordan's foul trouble is silly. With 5 guys, at least 1 guy, and maybe 3-4 are going to pick up 2 fouls in the first half. Lavin has been trying to nurse fouls in the first half and that's why we saw CJ, Amar, and JDR. But those are all just excuses. We had a short bench, and the 4 seniors who got playing time deserved an ensemble cast that could back them up.
I've kept fairly non-committal on LAvin up to this point. The university will not let him go unless there is a buyout or if he is open to negotiating a buyout with one year left. However, the timing is good for a buyout. They will not extend him based on performance or next year's roster at this point, and the timing is good for someone to start anew - again. His pregame Q&A at the reception sounded like a bunch of excuses - if we had Harkless, Sampson, Amir on this team, blah blah blah.
The thing about Lavin after 5 seasons is that I do not believe he knows any alumni, any students, etc. A guy like that should be working a room, coming into a R&W event and greeting some people he knows by name. He should walk the campus, know bunches of students. I don't think Looie even did that, but times have changed. A $2 million plus guy has to be the face of the university in a marquee sport and integrate himself into university life as much as possible. He should be speaking to students about what it means to be a St. John's student, to let them know they are part of something much bigger than themselves. In that he's failed miserably and that's one effort that I don't think he's made.
Now the jury is not out on Bobby G. He is almost painfully shy and devoid of any public charism. I would have liked to hear him say a few words at the R-W, but he also did not work the room , did not speak, and only approached the few prominent alumni he knows. I ran into him coming out of the men's room after the game. There was a long corridor to exit and I spoke to him and said something trite, like "Next year will be better." He ignored me, so I said it again, but this time put a hand on his shoulder. By then we had exited, but the guy didn't pause, didn't respond, and didn't even bother to look at me. After 50 years of priests that didn't engage students and alumni and were distant, I'm not sure I'm ready for a reticent guy who couldn't seem to be bothered. Of course if my hand extended a million dollar check, i'm sure he'd be warmer. Callous to say, and anecdotal, so I'll give him a pass until next time. But if he's going to turn this place around, he'd better crawl out of his shy shell and be engaging to everyone.
SD State and Polee never shoot like this; damn!!!!!! why did they do it against us.
If Aztecs shoot the way they normally do, at least, we have a close contest and who knows what happens.
Thanks to the terrific seniors, they did a great job!!
If Aztecs shoot the way they normally do, at least, we have a close contest and who knows what happens.
Thanks to the terrific seniors, they did a great job!!
So true, but they won the game in the second half by scoring easy baskets in the paint and playing strong transition defense. How many times were our players stopped on fast breaks in the second half with no points? At least 10 points worth during the critical stretch when the 14 point lead was cut to 7. This was SDSU doing what they do well. I give them credit for the win and hope they keep it up for one more game
Sounds like you're more concerned with rubbing shoulders with the coach than what he can produce on the floor.
Who cares about the R&W club?
Fans, students and alumni care about wins and losses.
You care about him meeting and greeting donors.
Fans, students and alumni care about him fostering relationships with high school and AAU coaches.
The head coach of a basketball program owes you nothing. He signs up to deliver results for the program.
ZanMan
Well-known member
I know he stayed in a few mins more. I just think it was a terrible decision to let him then sit for all that time. Maybe he comes in at the 5:00 mark and they make a big run and have the lead going into the half? This potentially cost us the game.
Then again if he fouls out, we are all putting coach down for bringing him back in.
Yes, it's all hindsight and easy to coach from our living rooms. I just personally felt it was a huge mistake at the time and I would have gambled a little bit with putting Jordan back in for the closing 5 minutes of the 1st half.
