Niagara
- Thread starter SJU61982
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Knockout-Ned
Member
Well, if RJ is only 6'4" than D'Lo is only 6'2". Most impressive on the RBD averages..
MarkRedman
Well-known member
It was interesting to hear that Ron Rutledge's son is on the Niagara staff
Now, I am officially old!!
Now, I am officially old!!
An interesting take on the Niagara game:http://www.bigeastboards.com/
Really? Jones got 3 minutes, Alibegovic 4, and Balamou 6; that's good burn and a conscious coaching development strategy? The reality is this was a typical game from this group of players and coaches - some good stuff, some bad stuff, some intensity and some indifference. They are consistently inconsistent and outside of Branch getting some sustained minutes with the ball this was a game I have seen way too many times over the last four years. They won and that is a good thing but basically it was the same old, same old. And from my perspective I could care less what Xavier did; you present that like it should make me feel better about another very uneven SJU performance when what I am looking for is some real improvement on the court. And as for it being a trap game; good teams who have accomplished something can afford to fall flat because of a trap game; teams that are basically going through their last chance to accomplish something should be hungry, hungry, hungry.
beast of the east
Active member
On the plus side, Alibegovic nailed a three, and shot it like it's easily in his range. Stewart continues to look like he will bust into the top 8 or 9, if he isn't there already. Branch played a nice game, and if he can reduce bonehead plays, could be a serious factor as to whether we are a tourney team. Obekpa is an improved defensive player this year, but has light years to go before he is an offensive player against the big boys - not sure if it will happen during his stay here, he's just too awkward around the hoop with the ball in his hands. Lavin sent a wakeup call to Jordan, and I'm not sure he got the message by the way he played. All in all, a poor performance against a low level D1 opponent, but a win is a win.
Good win. Most importantly, glad we are where we should be after 6 games. The road to 10-2 at the start of BE play is a critical one.
But with every win being so precious the approach in the 1st half rotation-wise was perplexing. You bury a team like Niagra for the first 25-30 minutes, and then up by 25-30 you (rightfully) start experimenting and getting fringe rotation guys meaningful minutes. By trying to do so up only 10 in the 1st half you defeat every purpose, as the game gets closer than it should be and the guys you want to get minutes end up not playing at all in the 2nd half because you need to secure the win.
To me it ties back to the general lack of urgency, and that SJU basketball is instead on this big picture ascent every season to being where they need to be by February. Nonsense. Everyone wants to get better by February, but it's not an abstract process of learning and growth, it's about treating the next game like the biggest of the season. The latter is habitual and it's concerning that we refuse to make it a habit, not because it didn't cost us against Niagra but because it could at Creighton.
But with every win being so precious the approach in the 1st half rotation-wise was perplexing. You bury a team like Niagra for the first 25-30 minutes, and then up by 25-30 you (rightfully) start experimenting and getting fringe rotation guys meaningful minutes. By trying to do so up only 10 in the 1st half you defeat every purpose, as the game gets closer than it should be and the guys you want to get minutes end up not playing at all in the 2nd half because you need to secure the win.
To me it ties back to the general lack of urgency, and that SJU basketball is instead on this big picture ascent every season to being where they need to be by February. Nonsense. Everyone wants to get better by February, but it's not an abstract process of learning and growth, it's about treating the next game like the biggest of the season. The latter is habitual and it's concerning that we refuse to make it a habit, not because it didn't cost us against Niagra but because it could at Creighton.
Agreed SJU1512. Just because we won the game doesn't mean it was discouraging to see us come out flat. No excuse should be made about the lineup choice or coaching decisions, we flat out did not give effort in the beginning of the 2nd half.
At halftime, our guys probably joked about how niagara bricked about every 3 in the first half. So what happens next? We don't get our hands up on defense,don't close out. They hit a few 3s and bam it's close.
One of these days a team is gonna catch fire like niagara did last night, but we are gonna try to flip the switch back on and start giving effort again, but we will miss a few shots, they will stay hot, and then out of nowhere we have a bad loss that will kill our resume.
These games against niagara mean nothing, unless you lose them. Then it is a killer, so I wish our guys would just give effort as if they were playing Gonzaga. SJU is gonna go out and play their assess off Saturday, and I just wish they'd do that all year against everyone, good or bad.
Yup. We seem to gear up for most games depending upon the competition. Excellence doesn't get summonsed when you want it. It's built in the details every day, every practice, every game. I'm a believer that playing Niagra the way we played Gonzaga is how you ultimately get over the hump against Gonzaga. By playing Gonzaga like Gonzaga and Niagra like Niagra you are building toward consistent inconsistency, as someone else already mentioned.
It's a high standard, and can be an annoying standard, but one we need to adopt badly.
This is just another case of our fans thinking another player is better than he actually is. Gonzaga fans must think PGIV is an NBA talent after our game.
21 points is Blackman's career high. He scored just two points (with 6 turnovers) the game before us against St. Bonaventure. He doesn't have many assists or rebounds. This is also his third year in college and he didn't exactly tear it up at D-2 CW Post as a freshman.
Somebody has to score for that terrible team and he was only 2-7 on mostly wide open threes. He seems to be at the appropriate level now.
Cuse is not all that big this year.
