(POST GAME) @Butler, Tues., Feb. 9, 9p, FS-1 / 570 AM WMCA

[Amaseinyourface]

Greg is a great kid obviously and hampered by injuries a lot. That said, he is a Junior and to me a key piece on both ends of court. I would like to see him pick up more minutes if healthy at Cole's expense, who is struggling. Greg has to be able to score more (9ppg currently) and help defend strong wings, which does not come easy for Cole.  

I thought Greg would be key guy this year along with Julian and Posh. Granted coming off a back injury takes time, but if ready to go, he really needs to become more of a factor as an upperclassmen and relatively skilled player.

This is not Cole hating nor impatience with Greg. Simply stated, if healthy, it seems important to get him into the rotation as key cog going down stretch. Let Cole relax, watch the game unwind and hopefully provide some perimeter productivity when called upon.

At expense of another potential war. Dunn’s 38 to his 16 is too much. Dunn looked tired down the stretch.

 

[fuchsia]

Take away whistle and a few missed shots.....Team collapsed. Anderson did not adjust well and guys were not on same page.

Coach gets the L tonight.

Team is just not there yet..  Confident teams win these games. 

Or Butler Coach gets the W.  Overplay Posh and Champ and make the rest of STJ beat you.  Wusu and Dunn try but with Posh and Champ out of rhythm far fewer shooters get the ball when and where they want it and we lose all outside threat allowing D to collapse.  Is this the formula to make us all suffer the rest of the season?

 

[redken]

As much as I like his effort and heart, I cringe every time I see Dunn with the ball in his hands and the shot-clock running down, and often scratch my head (and yell at the TV) over his decision-making when the game is on the line. Prefer his coming off the bench.

 

[Knight]

Brandon Tierney- 
That loud thud was a bunch of people jumping off St. John's bandwagon. I've seen it so many times over the years. Quickly jump in, quickly bounce. Been 20 years since they won big, so belief fluctuates wildly. Fades fast. I get it.

But abandon THIS team at your own peril. #SJUBB

 

[Anthony Mattia]

Tough loss for sure.  Inbounds plays have been a problem all year.  I would love for us to work on setting a pick to get someone open that is not going toward the corner, but just setting a pick would be a nice start.

 

[Sjugrad13]

I know nobody wants to here this after the loss to Butler but you guys may want to root for Providence today. If Providence wins we move up in the standings to top 5 since we have the tie breaker vs UConn 

 

[Mean Gene]

Look, this team has been playing very good basketball over their last eight games prior to last night. They were bound to lose a game , especially on the road at a place that's historically tough for them. Could we have won , yes. But this is not the end of the world for this team. The way I see it is this, we need to get to 18 wins before Selection Sunday to be guaranteed an at large bid. That means 5 more wins from somewhere. We have 4 of our last 5 at home and then the BET. We need 4 more regular season wins and 1in the BET or 3 in the regular season and 2 in the BET etc. It doesn't matter how they do it but 18 is the magic number. This is achievable for this team. 

one other observation I will make is that Greg Williams needs to be our bonafide third option on offense and needs more minutes. When he starts and plays well we are a hard team to beat. Isn't he shooting like 45% from 3 this season. Plus his defense and ball handling ability are at a higher level than Cole. 

To all the naysayers who came out of the woodwork again after one loss , you might as well just go away again because this team is not going away. I believe in the end they will get their 18 wins. 

 

[BrookJersey Redmen]

I am so glad I went to sleep at halftime; I left and we were up by 8, then I turned it over to Maher and he effed it up and we lost. What's up with that, Mike?

Seriously, gut punch loss and I wish we didn't have to wait a week to get the bad taste out of our mouth.

On the other hand, they have a week to work on in-bounding the ball.

 

 

[JackofVirginia]

Goes without saying but the inbounds pass is our Achilles Heel. Plus, where’s the backdoor help on their drives? 


Why haven't we found a way to improve our inbounds pass? It meant the game last night, 14 seconds left and we have the ball and the lead. I thought Wusu's pass to Dunn was too far away, gave Butler a chance to steal it.  Our guard defense against their drives to the basket was horrible, without any help whatsoever. 
Even though we maintained a lead throughout the first half we allowed too many layups to Golden and Nze.
A key mistake which allowed Butler to score toward the end of the game was made by Earlington who attempted to dribble a loose ball which went out of bounds, instead of grabbing it with two hands. 
Thought we should have taken advantage using Moore and the alley oops at the end of the game.
 

 

[SJU61982]

Take away whistle and a few missed shots.....Team collapsed. Anderson did not adjust well and guys were not on same page.

Coach gets the L tonight.

Team is just not there yet..  Confident teams win these games. 

Or Butler Coach gets the W.  Overplay Posh and Champ and make the rest of STJ beat you.  Wusu and Dunn try but with Posh and Champ out of rhythm far fewer shooters get the ball when and where they want it and we lose all outside threat allowing D to collapse.  Is this the formula to make us all suffer the rest of the season?

It's a formula that can be beat, if Cole is on from the outside.  He was hot for quite a bit there, but hasn't taken many shots the last two games.

 

[WillyDilly]

Who drew up the inbounds play in the timeout??  I mean, it wasnt mullin tyiong his shoes but why isnt Coach Mike drawing that up?

Telling Earlington not to touch the ball.

How dare you speak poorly of Earlington.  He is the next coming of Lebron.  Just ask Duke of Earlington....he'll tell you!!

 

 

[Knight]

last night's Referees: Jeff Clark, Clarence Armstrong, Michael Stephens

 

[GardenCity62]

One of the seasons disappointments is the failure of either Williams or Cole to become that consistent producer behind Champagnie and Posh. They both have had their moments but possibly Williams back and Coles adjusting to major college  ball have prevented them becoming that third option.
With the season entering its last phase now is their time to step up. By next season as seniors, unless they gain a COVID year they could be bypassed by the new recruits

 

[GardenCity62]

Last nights game was a brutal loss but today I'm looking at it as a game where no player other than Dunn played up to their abilities and we lost to a decent team on their court. Hopefully this is the last time they all leave their games at home.

 

[Redmen88]

Look, this team has been playing very good basketball over their last eight games prior to last night. They were bound to lose a game , especially on the road at a place that's historically tough for them. Could we have won , yes. But this is not the end of the world for this team. The way I see it is this, we need to get to 18 wins before Selection Sunday to be guaranteed an at large bid. That means 5 more wins from somewhere. We have 4 of our last 5 at home and then the BET. We need 4 more regular season wins and 1in the BET or 3 in the regular season and 2 in the BET etc. It doesn't matter how they do it but 18 is the magic number. This is achievable for this team. 

one other observation I will make is that Greg Williams needs to be our bonafide third option on offense and needs more minutes. When he starts and plays well we are a hard team to beat. Isn't he shooting like 45% from 3 this season. Plus his defense and ball handling ability are at a higher level than Cole. 

To all the naysayers who came out of the woodwork again after one loss , you might as well just go away again because this team is not going away. I believe in the end they will get their 18 wins. 


Totally agree.  In any season you will win games you could have lost and lose games you should have won.  Statistics said they were due for a loss.  The tough part is it was on right there on tip of our tongue.  We just had to make an inbound pass and knock down 1 or 2 free throws.  However, we must move on to the next game and forget about it. 

Hopefully we learned a few leasons about inbounding, swithching defensive assignments when called for and how to close out close games.  Wusu played great down the stretch except for that pass.  He's a freshman and this can almost be expected.  You take the good and the bad and unfirtunatly the bad was the last thing we remember.  Gut punch but we have to move on play hard next game.  Really hoping they can make the tourney and without playing the play in game.  These last few games were a nice run by the team and it had to end sooner or later.
 

 

[mm52]

 one other observation I will make is that Greg Williams needs to be our bonafide third option on offense and needs more minutes.
 

Agreed.  We did not have a solid, sustainable third option last night.  Cole wasn't there, and likely lost confidence after an early 3 point miss.  And GW must not be at 100%.  Wusu tried to make things happen, and did to some degree, but he, as a freshman, is not our best 3rd option.

 

[Section3]

I hate to blame the refs because there are always a lot of reasons besides the refs.   This is a team short on talent and long on desire and hard work.    No doubt though, that Posh is the motor on this team.   Last night, there is no question to me that on fouls #2 and #4 that they were clearly offensive fouls, and #3 was a very questionable touch foul in the middle.   I don't know if the same ref made all three calls, but it looked almost like a deliberate attempt to bring him back to earth.   

As soon as foul #2 put Posh on the bench in the first half, it took the winds out of the sails that appeared on its way to blowng open perhaps an insumountable lead.   Yes, it's the Big East and there are always swings, but that foul put Posh on the bench for the rest of the first half.

Without Posh and Champ playing 30+ minutes, we are a below average team.

+1000 said same thing a few pages back...foul #2 was an obvious bully foul by Hodges...used his elbow to beat Posh back...and it did seem like the refs had an agenda...subconscious or not

 

[mjmaherjr]

I am so glad I went to sleep at halftime; I left and we were up by 8, then I turned it over to Maher and he effed it up and we lost. What's up with that, Mike?

Seriously, gut punch loss and I wish we didn't have to wait a week to get the bad taste out of our mouth.

On the other hand, they have a week to work on in-bounding the ball.


 

Ambien only worked for 90 minutes last night the lost was so bad. That's what's up

 

[jerseyshorejohnny]

https://dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.co...aXnRodlohHpZ3-z6TP6WqZe6DVFLOtGGJUaTr5BkPnCHs

 

[boo haarvey]

One of the seasons disappointments is the failure of either Williams or Cole to become that consistent producer behind Champagnie and Posh. They both have had their moments but possibly Williams back and Coles adjusting to major college  ball have prevented them becoming that third option.
With the season entering its last phase now is their time to step up. By next season as seniors, unless they gain a COVID year they could be bypassed by the new recruits

How can you even compare Williams to Cole?  Williams is  far better offensively and light years ahead on defense. He is clearly not right at the moment,  but before his injury he was enjoying a solid season.