Penn State Game

[simplyred]

Went to game last night but was too disappointed to even logon to the forums last night..My observations:

1) Penn State's guard were better than our guards. Hit open shots, Hit FTs and penetrated
2) Penn State really packed their zone in, so giving Hooper extended minutes was a smart move by Lavin. It opened up the paint a bit and helped us get back into the game.
3) A # of bonehead plays (already mentioned by others) down the stretch that point to lack of floor leader - not coach's fault.
4) Don't understand what Lavin is doing with Sanchez and Jordan. He better find a role via which Sanchez can thrive or we will have wasted one of the more uniquely talented players that we have. As for Jordan, as I have stated in past, this kid needs to play as he represents our upside. He, once again, was visibly -- apathetic or unhappy (choose for yourself) -- riding the pine in the 2nd half. As happened in Longwood game, bench erupted at a big moment in our comeback and he did not even stand.
5) We need to recognize and respond appropriately to critical moments and need to play with more of a sense of urgency throughout the game. As noted by a previous poster, not sure why we retreated into our shell in OT when our attacking style had PSU on its heels.
6) Putting asides Jakarr taking the bait on Frazier's OBVIOUS and PREMEDITATED attempt to draw foul on the 3 pointer, having him at top of key with Pointer out was a good move.

Onto GT who looked terrible...final score is misleading...

Yeah that'll get him back into the coach's good graces after serving a suspension. Time to grow up. He was given the starting job and lost it and hasn't done anything yet to reclaim it. Pouting isn't the answer. Nothing more I'd love then to see him live up to the hype but right now it looks like he's got a lot of work to do

He didn't lose the job on the court...he was suspended...He came back and has played pretty well in his limited minutes...I don't condone being a diva, but we are not going to reach our potential without him being "integral to everything we do" (paraphrasing Lavin's words)...not going to beat top teams without a true point guard in the game...

in 78 minutes this year he's shooting a team low 23% and is 4th in shot attempts. Not great numbers. However he does lead the team in assists. It seems his problem is he's taking too many shots and they're not going in.

We are discussing the Penn State game! He took ONE shot! In six minutes with 3 assists. Was he being punished for previous games??
Using your logic, Harrison should come off the bench (I agree) so he does not chuck up 3 pointers when not needed and by his FG %, not proficient at either.
Our 6'9 future Spanish League second division all star has taken 24 shots in six games, many from 3, so Primo is taking bone head long shots and wasting his height.
As for Hoops minutes last night, the Nittany defense was no different than previous defenses as teams pack the middle because we can't find an open shooter. So why did he sit for 5 games? Last night, he was a secret weapon?
Sampson loses focus during most games trying to get his points. Was he sitting next to Jordan? The game was won until he missed his foul shot and proceeded to foul on a 3 point attempt.
If you are going to blame players, blame the ones that played like crap and not the ones that were benched.

Right now, Phil deserves more PT than Jordan---even at the point. Hooper hit his shots last night. As a result, he got minutes. In previous games, he missed. As a result, he got benched. Seems obvious to me.

As for Sanchez, I totally agree. He has been the biggest disappointment to me thus far. He has one year to prove himself. Why is he so passive. Why is he so much more focused on taking 3's than establishing himself as a presence inside. Jordan will come around. He has enough talent. He just has to stay positive and focused. Not every freshman comes in and lights it up from day one. He has to accept that there will be a transition into playing at that level.

 

[malone611]

The bottom line is that St. Johns is just not that good, this is a game you just can't lose. Penn State is going to finish 10th or 11th in the 12 team Big Ten. Nebraska will probably finish last and then Penn State will fight with Purdue and Northwestern for the 10th position. Penn State is a Football school that does not care to much about Basketball. I used to have Season Tickets when I lived in NYlive in Vegas now. St. Johns opened as a 1.5 pt favorite and closed 3. You just cant lose this game.

 

[shecky82]

A couple of comments...first off the Barclays center is a great arena to watch basketball. Great site lines and lighting. The attendance was poor (4200) and the crowd was about 50 - 50. Holiday weekend, our students are all home for the holidays (having all made that long 10 mile trek that prohibits them from coming to a game), clearly as of yet and deservedly so, there is no buzz for this team.
I agree with most posters on how disappointing it is that Sanchez and Jordan are not getting the minutes. With out these 2 in the mix we are basically the same team as last year (plus Hooper)...meaning guard centric and reliant on Harrison to win games for us. As much as I want to see him mature and grow up, he still has trouble controlling his emotions. Anybody can miss an important free throw but his preparation before the shot was to march around center court instead of calming himself and fully concentrating on the moment. His fouls in overtime were freshman mistakes, not plays our leader is supposed to make. Having said that, he does want and get the shots at crunch time, just wish he could control his emotions. Nice to see Hooper make shots. Clearly he has the size and the release to get his shot off at this level. Obekpa is getting better every game, a raw talent that continues to evolve. Sampson had a tough game, missing a lot of shots around the basket, he will bounce back. Greene also has confidence in his ability to score. I just don't see this team reaching new levels unless we take advantage of our depth and new talent.

Obviously, this team is still evolving and it will be a huge challenge for coach to create a rotation that maximizes all our depth and talents but doesn't lose too many games in the process of experimenting to get there. Lets not give up hope as 20 year olds make lots of mistakes but have lots of upside.

 

[SJUalum98]

Went to game last night but was too disappointed to even logon to the forums last night..My observations:

1) Penn State's guard were better than our guards. Hit open shots, Hit FTs and penetrated
2) Penn State really packed their zone in, so giving Hooper extended minutes was a smart move by Lavin. It opened up the paint a bit and helped us get back into the game.
3) A # of bonehead plays (already mentioned by others) down the stretch that point to lack of floor leader - not coach's fault.
4) Don't understand what Lavin is doing with Sanchez and Jordan. He better find a role via which Sanchez can thrive or we will have wasted one of the more uniquely talented players that we have. As for Jordan, as I have stated in past, this kid needs to play as he represents our upside. He, once again, was visibly -- apathetic or unhappy (choose for yourself) -- riding the pine in the 2nd half. As happened in Longwood game, bench erupted at a big moment in our comeback and he did not even stand.
5) We need to recognize and respond appropriately to critical moments and need to play with more of a sense of urgency throughout the game. As noted by a previous poster, not sure why we retreated into our shell in OT when our attacking style had PSU on its heels.
6) Putting asides Jakarr taking the bait on Frazier's OBVIOUS and PREMEDITATED attempt to draw foul on the 3 pointer, having him at top of key with Pointer out was a good move.

Onto GT who looked terrible...final score is misleading...

Yeah that'll get him back into the coach's good graces after serving a suspension. Time to grow up. He was given the starting job and lost it and hasn't done anything yet to reclaim it. Pouting isn't the answer. Nothing more I'd love then to see him live up to the hype but right now it looks like he's got a lot of work to do

He didn't lose the job on the court...he was suspended...He came back and has played pretty well in his limited minutes...I don't condone being a diva, but we are not going to reach our potential without him being "integral to everything we do" (paraphrasing Lavin's words)...not going to beat top teams without a true point guard in the game...

in 78 minutes this year he's shooting a team low 23% and is 4th in shot attempts. Not great numbers. However he does lead the team in assists. It seems his problem is he's taking too many shots and they're not going in.

We are discussing the Penn State game! He took ONE shot! In six minutes with 3 assists. Was he being punished for previous games??
Using your logic, Harrison should come off the bench (I agree) so he does not chuck up 3 pointers when not needed and by his FG %, not proficient at either.
Our 6'9 future Spanish League second division all star has taken 24 shots in six games, many from 3, so Primo is taking bone head long shots and wasting his height.
As for Hoops minutes last night, the Nittany defense was no different than previous defenses as teams pack the middle because we can't find an open shooter. So why did he sit for 5 games? Last night, he was a secret weapon?
Sampson loses focus during most games trying to get his points. Was he sitting next to Jordan? The game was won until he missed his foul shot and proceeded to foul on a 3 point attempt.
If you are going to blame players, blame the ones that played like crap and not the ones that were benched.

Right now, Phil deserves more PT than Jordan---even at the point. Hooper hit his shots last night. As a result, he got minutes. In previous games, he missed. As a result, he got benched. Seems obvious to me.

As for Sanchez, I totally agree. He has been the biggest disappointment to me thus far. He has one year to prove himself. Why is he so passive. Why is he so much more focused on taking 3's than establishing himself as a presence inside. Jordan will come around. He has enough talent. He just has to stay positive and focused. Not every freshman comes in and lights it up from day one. He has to accept that there will be a transition into playing at that level.

The bolded is Coach's logic. He's even got you fooled into thinking it.

How about Phil deserves playing time WITH Rysheed, not more than.

Everyone and their mother knows PGIV should be playing off the ball. After 3 years and 3,000 blown fastbreak and assist opportunities (exaggeration), that much is evident. The guy doesn't turn the ball over because he doesn't pass the ball.

Lavin is the one who mentioned Rysheed in the same breath as Baron Davis, Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd.

None of the SJU alumni and fans did. Only Lavin did. Heck, the Philly faithful never made those claims.

Hype the kid, muzzle the kid (he can't talk to the media until conference play), start the kid, suspend the kid, bench the kid.

Seriously?

 

[Class of 72]

Went to game last night but was too disappointed to even logon to the forums last night..My observations:

1) Penn State's guard were better than our guards. Hit open shots, Hit FTs and penetrated
2) Penn State really packed their zone in, so giving Hooper extended minutes was a smart move by Lavin. It opened up the paint a bit and helped us get back into the game.
3) A # of bonehead plays (already mentioned by others) down the stretch that point to lack of floor leader - not coach's fault.
4) Don't understand what Lavin is doing with Sanchez and Jordan. He better find a role via which Sanchez can thrive or we will have wasted one of the more uniquely talented players that we have. As for Jordan, as I have stated in past, this kid needs to play as he represents our upside. He, once again, was visibly -- apathetic or unhappy (choose for yourself) -- riding the pine in the 2nd half. As happened in Longwood game, bench erupted at a big moment in our comeback and he did not even stand.
5) We need to recognize and respond appropriately to critical moments and need to play with more of a sense of urgency throughout the game. As noted by a previous poster, not sure why we retreated into our shell in OT when our attacking style had PSU on its heels.
6) Putting asides Jakarr taking the bait on Frazier's OBVIOUS and PREMEDITATED attempt to draw foul on the 3 pointer, having him at top of key with Pointer out was a good move.

Onto GT who looked terrible...final score is misleading...

Yeah that'll get him back into the coach's good graces after serving a suspension. Time to grow up. He was given the starting job and lost it and hasn't done anything yet to reclaim it. Pouting isn't the answer. Nothing more I'd love then to see him live up to the hype but right now it looks like he's got a lot of work to do

He didn't lose the job on the court...he was suspended...He came back and has played pretty well in his limited minutes...I don't condone being a diva, but we are not going to reach our potential without him being "integral to everything we do" (paraphrasing Lavin's words)...not going to beat top teams without a true point guard in the game...

in 78 minutes this year he's shooting a team low 23% and is 4th in shot attempts. Not great numbers. However he does lead the team in assists. It seems his problem is he's taking too many shots and they're not going in.

We are discussing the Penn State game! He took ONE shot! In six minutes with 3 assists. Was he being punished for previous games??
Using your logic, Harrison should come off the bench (I agree) so he does not chuck up 3 pointers when not needed and by his FG %, not proficient at either.
Our 6'9 future Spanish League second division all star has taken 24 shots in six games, many from 3, so Primo is taking bone head long shots and wasting his height.
As for Hoops minutes last night, the Nittany defense was no different than previous defenses as teams pack the middle because we can't find an open shooter. So why did he sit for 5 games? Last night, he was a secret weapon?
Sampson loses focus during most games trying to get his points. Was he sitting next to Jordan? The game was won until he missed his foul shot and proceeded to foul on a 3 point attempt.
If you are going to blame players, blame the ones that played like crap and not the ones that were benched.

Right now, Phil deserves more PT than Jordan---even at the point. Hooper hit his shots last night. As a result, he got minutes. In previous games, he missed. As a result, he got benched. Seems obvious to me.

As for Sanchez, I totally agree. He has been the biggest disappointment to me thus far. He has one year to prove himself. Why is he so passive. Why is he so much more focused on taking 3's than establishing himself as a presence inside. Jordan will come around. He has enough talent. He just has to stay positive and focused. Not every freshman comes in and lights it up from day one. He has to accept that there will be a transition into playing at that level.

"Right now, Phil deserves more PT than Jordan---even at the point. Hooper hit his shots last night. As a result, he got minutes. In previous games, he missed. As a result, he got benched. Seems obvious to me."

Phil's first 25 minutes of game time last night were missed shots (1-5), zero assists, and failure to penetrate. As a result, he got to play the entire game, and, like Sampson, did not do anything game changing until the final minutes. In previous games, Hooper was inserted in the last seconds, missed, and never saw the floor again.
Seems obvious to me Lavin held out Hoop as a secret weapon for last nights game and had nothing to do with missing shots or Harrison would be glued to the bench.
Seems obvious to me.

 

[jr49]

Anyone who has been to games thus far this year, and especially the recent ones like Longwood could see this loss as predictable, with more to come.

Lavin's strategy, without on court adjustments appears to be organic improvement - the guys will learn to play together better as the season progresses. While this is partially true, it will likely result in some very painful losses that should have been wins.

Strategy might mean something if the team played hard. Does anyone here think this team has played a hard 40 minutes in any game so far? My feeling is any good team that wants the game against our guys can just take it. I don't blame this on the coach. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. I wanna see a hard fought 40 minutes, and then I can figure I had it wrong.

 

[doodyny33]

A couple of comments...first off the Barclays center is a great arena to watch basketball. Great site lines and lighting. The attendance was poor (4200) and the crowd was about 50 - 50. Holiday weekend, our students are all home for the holidays (having all made that long 10 mile trek that prohibits them from coming to a game), clearly as of yet and deservedly so, there is no buzz for this team.
I agree with most posters on how disappointing it is that Sanchez and Jordan are not getting the minutes. With out these 2 in the mix we are basically the same team as last year (plus Hooper)...meaning guard centric and reliant on Harrison to win games for us. As much as I want to see him mature and grow up, he still has trouble controlling his emotions. Anybody can miss an important free throw but his preparation before the shot was to march around center court instead of calming himself and fully concentrating on the moment. His fouls in overtime were freshman mistakes, not plays our leader is supposed to make. Having said that, he does want and get the shots at crunch time, just wish he could control his emotions. Nice to see Hooper make shots. Clearly he has the size and the release to get his shot off at this level. Obekpa is getting better every game, a raw talent that continues to evolve. Sampson had a tough game, missing a lot of shots around the basket, he will bounce back. Greene also has confidence in his ability to score. I just don't see this team reaching new levels unless we take advantage of our depth and new talent.

Obviously, this team is still evolving and it will be a huge challenge for coach to create a rotation that maximizes all our depth and talents but doesn't lose too many games in the process of experimenting to get there. Lets not give up hope as 20 year olds make lots of mistakes but have lots of upside.

St. John's can put billboards up all around the city. They can change the logo, uniforms, mascot, and whatever else they want to change.

The reason why SJU can't draw 10k fans to a game and Syracuse can sell the place out is results. At the end of the day, St. John's fans have grown used to losing these games. Lavin put together an awful OOC schedule -- I mean, really bad when you look at it. And so far, his "improving and talented squad" have lost to 2 power conference teams (1 of which is very good, 1 of which is not good at all). We've heard the young excuse. We've heard the inexperienced excuse. We've heard the team hasn't played together excuse. We've heard the team is still gelling excuse. Here's the bottom line ... SJU pays Lavin close to 2 million dollars a year to put a certain product on the court. And while he seems very capable of getting players to SJU, he looks absolutely clueless in terms of teaching those players anything. No offensive set plays, no switches on defense, no guarding the three ball, no awareness out on the court, no set rotation, etc. Come on guys. I'm sick of this. Either he can coach at this level or he can't. The time for excuses is over. Go out and win some games.

 

[Joe]

Game was exciting and then a big letdown at the end. Do like that we came from 15 down-no it wasn't good to fall behind that much but kicking it in gear was a good sign. Just not quite good enough.The Barclays feed was awful and I will not pay for it again. Was the worst feed I have seen to date. Kept showing replays while the game was still going on- with both teams scoring and making other plays while the viewer couldn't see it because they were showing a replay. Announcer sounded, for the most part, as if he were sleeping.
Though I was disappointed in the much of the play of St. Johns- in particular defensive intensity for much of the game- there were times when we played harder on D and it worked-trouble is we didn't do it for even half the game let alone the entire game.
No one play lost the game-it took a game of plays to get to the final score. Can say If D'lo hit both free throws, if Sampson hit both of his late in the game, If Hoop hadn't close-lined the Penn ST. player (looked totally unintentional while just trying to fowl to stop the clock-though legitimately still a tech or intentional), and so on.
I sure hope Lavin is correct with his - we will be really good come Jan-Feb. I do believe we have the talent to be good-but you are what your record says you are.
GO SJU!!!

 

[ccnobz]

Some observations:
Barclay Center was very nice, Boomer and Carton grill had some good food.
Still trying to figure out why Lavin called a TO when STJ made a huge run to cut it to 2 with 4 : 11 left and we had all the Mo
Sanchez didn't miss a shot and was buried on bench
Hooper didn't look over-matched on D
Their guards were better than ours
Sampson was bad again, missed too many bunnies. If he made a few shots STJ wins in regulation
GT looked weak in the opener, that game wasn't as close as the final score says-- STJ should win by double digits

 

[usguard]

Think every team we played so far their guards were better

 

[MarkRedman]

Think every team we played so far their guards were better

And that's exactly why we are struggling so far this year
College basketball is a guard oriented game
You can't win at this level without smart, solid, consistent guard play on both the offense and defense end
Something we do well in flashes but not with any degree of consistentcy

 

[Jack Williams]

When Frazier got his fourth foul when we were down by 15, that is what sparked the comeback. It did because we started getting stops, and we dont get stops when the other team has a skilled point guard. Look at the San Fran game last year, and the game last night, if the other team has skilled guards we fall apart. Lavin needs to find a way to get this defense better. If our defense does not improve this season is going to be very frustrating. The problem is, it is hard to set up a good defense when all of your players are idiots.

 

[salty dog]

Baptism by fire for Jordan, but if he fails do we lose the kid and the game. He may seem fragile. I don't know.

 

[westchesterjoe]

It seems like many fans, posters, are becoming more vocal in evaluating the results to date of this team and Coach.. The hype of the most "talented team" has evaporated along with the belief that this year's squad was going to be markedly improved from last year because, of the additions of Jordan, Sanchez and Hooper.

Well,except for the last game unleashing of Max, who did what he's suppose to do, make 3 pt shots.. Lavin seems to have no clue how to utilize Sanchez in the box or how to run plays off him. That is very poor Coaching fundamentals.

And, Steve seems possessed with disciplining Jordan and not playing him meaningful minutes. And, forget the notion the kid hasn't earned PT.. He is the highest rated player in Lavin's tenure, coveted by most major school programs.. You should let him play until he's proven otherwise and, recognize you need him to contribute this year and beyond. Frankly, I would not be surprised if he transferred out at the end of the semester. Losing only 1/2 of next season's schedule, wherever he goes? Mismanage your only PG HOPE. Branch is a sub, at best

It's clear Steve is committed to DLO, Greenie and Sampson taking most of the shots, running the team and, basically playing schoolyard BB, anyway they choose to!

The trio, by the way, shot a combined 17 for 45 last night, many of them poorly clanked. And, how about these guys and free throws? Defense? They committed some awful fouls in OT, as did Max but, he gets a pass since he's not in there for D.

Lavin has annointed Greene as his PG and that will cost us games because he's a SG, not a PG.. Having the offense revolve around him and DLO is a formula for mediocre, at best results, far from the contending BE and NCAA appearances we were counting on this year.

Steve, as Coach, isn't cutting it and it is obvious those with BB knowledge see it on the Court. And none of these players are NBA CALIBER..

i saw a gritty, hustling, intense Jay Wright led, Villanova team beat # 2 Kansas last night and with supposedly less talent than we have and far less than Kansas.. Maybe the Norm factor is hurting the Jayhawks? He did a great job getting Self off the Court before he got his 2nd T at the end of the 1st half.

At this point, maybe this is another NIT season to hope for. And, at least 6 BE teams are better than Penn State , right now and that doesn't make the 2nd half look real promising. SYRACUSE? Are you kidding?

 

[jumbo_peanuts]

It's obvious that they have talent. I think it all comes down to confidence. Jordan looks like he has lost all confidence in his game. Maybe the team reads the site and sees their 'fans' sit there and tell them how bad they suck........no one on here ever says anything positive, its only negative.

 

[Jack Williams]

It seems like many fans, posters, are becoming more vocal in evaluating the results to date of this team and Coach.. The hype of the most "talented team" has evaporated along with the belief that this year's squad was going to be markedly improved from last year because, of the additions of Jordan, Sanchez and Hooper.

Well,except for the last game unleashing of Max, who did what he's suppose to do, make 3 pt shots.. Lavin seems to have no clue how to utilize Sanchez in the box or how to run plays off him. That is very poor Coaching fundamentals.

And, Steve seems possessed with disciplining Jordan and not playing him meaningful minutes. And, forget the notion the kid hasn't earned PT.. He is the highest rated player in Lavin's tenure, coveted by most major school programs.. You should let him play until he's proven otherwise and, recognize you need him to contribute this year and beyond. Frankly, I would not be surprised if he transferred out at the end of the semester. Losing only 1/2 of next season's schedule, wherever he goes? Mismanage your only PG HOPE. Branch is a sub, at best

It's clear Steve is committed to DLO, Greenie and Sampson taking most of the shots, running the team and, basically playing schoolyard BB, anyway they choose to!

The trio, by the way, shot a combined 17 for 45 last night, many of them poorly clanked. And, how about these guys and free throws? Defense? They committed some awful fouls in OT, as did Max but, he gets a pass since he's not in there for D.

Lavin has annointed Greene as his PG and that will cost us games because he's a SG, not a PG.. Having the offense revolve around him and DLO is a formula for mediocre, at best results, far from the contending BE and NCAA appearances we were counting on this year.

Steve, as Coach, isn't cutting it and it is obvious those with BB knowledge see it on the Court. And none of these players are NBA CALIBER..

i saw a gritty, hustling, intense Jay Wright led, Villanova team beat # 2 Kansas last night and with supposedly less talent than we have and far less than Kansas.. Maybe the Norm factor is hurting the Jayhawks? He did a great job getting Self off the Court before he got his 2nd T at the end of the 1st half.

At this point, maybe this is another NIT season to hope for. And, at least 6 BE teams are better than Penn State , right now and that doesn't make the 2nd half look real promising. SYRACUSE? Are you kidding?

It's people like you that make lose hope in our fan base. You are really gonna write the season off now!? How do you know anything about the Jordan situation. Maybe Lavin said you can come back to the team but you are going to see limited minutes for a few games. You don't know anything about that situation, but he should play because he is our "highest ranked recruit"? This board is fun when things are going good, but as soon as we lose a game we favored by 1 point in, all hell breaks loose and it is hard to read.

 

[westchesterjoe]

It's obvious that they have talent. I think it all comes down to confidence. Jordan looks like he has lost all confidence in his game. Maybe the team reads the site and sees their 'fans' sit there and tell them how bad they suck........no one on here ever says anything positive, its only negative.

Negative performances on B'way or, the BARCLAY CENTER result in negative reviews from the critics. It's the NY way.

 

[1and1sju]

It's obvious that they have talent. I think it all comes down to confidence. Jordan looks like he has lost all confidence in his game. Maybe the team reads the site and sees their 'fans' sit there and tell them how bad they suck........no one on here ever says anything positive, its only negative.

Now it's our fault? That's an interesting perspective. Here I was assuming the players and coaches should be held responsible for what happens on the court.
But you bring up a good point; why aren't we looking more closely at the fans? Are the guys in section 8 pulling their weight?

 

[JackofVirginia]

A couple of comments...first off the Barclays center is a great arena to watch basketball. Great site lines and lighting. The attendance was poor (4200) and the crowd was about 50 - 50. Holiday weekend, our students are all home for the holidays (having all made that long 10 mile trek that prohibits them from coming to a game), clearly as of yet and deservedly so, there is no buzz for this team.
I agree with most posters on how disappointing it is that Sanchez and Jordan are not getting the minutes. With out these 2 in the mix we are basically the same team as last year (plus Hooper)...meaning guard centric and reliant on Harrison to win games for us. As much as I want to see him mature and grow up, he still has trouble controlling his emotions. Anybody can miss an important free throw but his preparation before the shot was to march around center court instead of calming himself and fully concentrating on the moment. His fouls in overtime were freshman mistakes, not plays our leader is supposed to make. Having said that, he does want and get the shots at crunch time, just wish he could control his emotions. Nice to see Hooper make shots. Clearly he has the size and the release to get his shot off at this level. Obekpa is getting better every game, a raw talent that continues to evolve. Sampson had a tough game, missing a lot of shots around the basket, he will bounce back. Greene also has confidence in his ability to score. I just don't see this team reaching new levels unless we take advantage of our depth and new talent.

Obviously, this team is still evolving and it will be a huge challenge for coach to create a rotation that maximizes all our depth and talents but doesn't lose too many games in the process of experimenting to get there. Lets not give up hope as 20 year olds make lots of mistakes but have lots of upside.

St. John's can put billboards up all around the city. They can change the logo, uniforms, mascot, and whatever else they want to change.

The reason why SJU can't draw 10k fans to a game and Syracuse can sell the place out is results. At the end of the day, St. John's fans have grown used to losing these games. Lavin put together an awful OOC schedule -- I mean, really bad when you look at it. And so far, his "improving and talented squad" have lost to 2 power conference teams (1 of which is very good, 1 of which is not good at all). We've heard the young excuse. We've heard the inexperienced excuse. We've heard the team hasn't played together excuse. We've heard the team is still gelling excuse. Here's the bottom line ... SJU pays Lavin close to 2 million dollars a year to put a certain product on the court. And while he seems very capable of getting players to SJU, he looks absolutely clueless in terms of teaching those players anything. No offensive set plays, no switches on defense, no guarding the three ball, no awareness out on the court, no set rotation, etc. Come on guys. I'm sick of this. Either he can coach at this level or he can't. The time for excuses is over. Go out and win some games.[/quot


And don't forget Lavin's excuse that he expects this team to jell in February. He's right so far.

 

[1and1sju]

Think every team we played so far their guards were better

And that's exactly why we are struggling so far this year
College basketball is a guard oriented game
You can't win at this level without smart, solid, consistent guard play on both the offense and defense end
Something we do well in flashes but not with any degree of consistentcy

If Branch got more playing time our backcourt would look much better.
The Phil and Dangelo combo just doesn't move the ball.