(POST GAME) (HofF@Mohegan Sun) UMass, Sun. Nov. 24, 3:30p, ESPN2, 970 WNYM

Here is this board during a typical game:

- Pre-game: We are more talented, and if LJ and Heron show up to play, we should win easily. We need to beat up on all of these 'mid major' teams.

- During the game up 10 - I love this team and staff. It's nice to have a coach that has his team prepared to play and knows what they are doing.

- Once the team loses the lead - What the F is coach doing?!?! He makes terrible decisions....are we sure Mullin still isn't coaching the team?

- Also while up 10 - Kudos to Roberts and Champaigne and the rest of the bench! They are playing great today! Roberts is so improved, I can't believe he rode the bench last year. He'll be all Big East in a few years!

- When we are losing - Outside of LJ and and Heron, we just don't have the talent to be competitive. It's going to be a very long season once Big East play starts. Our bench players are role players at best.

- Losing in the 2nd half - The players just aren't in it and don't seem to be focused. Came out sloppy and weren't ready to play at all.

- If we come back to win - I love how the team never quit! Even when they were down, they kept their heads in the game and were able to pull through!

I guess such is life for a team that will seemingly have many ups and downs this year.
 
[quote="Eric Williamson" post=364879]Here is this board during a typical game:

- Pre-game: We are more talented, and if LJ and Heron show up to play, we should win easily. We need to beat up on all of these 'mid major' teams.

- During the game up 10 - I love this team and staff. It's nice to have a coach that has his team prepared to play and knows what they are doing.

- Once the team loses the lead - What the F is coach doing?!?! He makes terrible decisions....are we sure Mullin still isn't coaching the team?

- Also while up 10 - Kudos to Roberts and Champaigne and the rest of the bench! They are playing great today! Roberts is so improved, I can't believe he rode the bench last year. He'll be all Big East in a few years!

- When we are losing - Outside of LJ and and Heron, we just don't have the talent to be competitive. It's going to be a very long season once Big East play starts. Our bench players are role players at best.

- Losing in the 2nd half - The players just aren't in it and don't seem to be focused. Came out sloppy and weren't ready to play at all.

- If we come back to win - I love how the team never quit! Even when they were down, they kept their heads in the game and were able to pull through!

I guess such is life for a team that will seemingly have many ups and downs this year.[/quote]
It is a message board, not a surgical room. I personally felt the “crappy fan” comment about a guy who bleeds SJU hoops was most outlandish one. Can’t remember who posted that. :)
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=364882][quote="Eric Williamson" post=364879]Here is this board during a typical game:

- Pre-game: We are more talented, and if LJ and Heron show up to play, we should win easily. We need to beat up on all of these 'mid major' teams.

- During the game up 10 - I love this team and staff. It's nice to have a coach that has his team prepared to play and knows what they are doing.

- Once the team loses the lead - What the F is coach doing?!?! He makes terrible decisions....are we sure Mullin still isn't coaching the team?

- Also while up 10 - Kudos to Roberts and Champaigne and the rest of the bench! They are playing great today! Roberts is so improved, I can't believe he rode the bench last year. He'll be all Big East in a few years!

- When we are losing - Outside of LJ and and Heron, we just don't have the talent to be competitive. It's going to be a very long season once Big East play starts. Our bench players are role players at best.

- Losing in the 2nd half - The players just aren't in it and don't seem to be focused. Came out sloppy and weren't ready to play at all.

- If we come back to win - I love how the team never quit! Even when they were down, they kept their heads in the game and were able to pull through!

I guess such is life for a team that will seemingly have many ups and downs this year.[/quote]
It is a message board, not a surgical room. I personally felt the “crappy fan” comment about a guy who bleeds SJU hoops was most outlandish one. Can’t remember who posted that. :)[/quote]

No Eric opened my eyes. I'm definitely a crap fan.
 
[quote="Moose" post=364884][quote="Paultzman" post=364882][quote="Eric Williamson" post=364879]Here is this board during a typical game:

- Pre-game: We are more talented, and if LJ and Heron show up to play, we should win easily. We need to beat up on all of these 'mid major' teams.

- During the game up 10 - I love this team and staff. It's nice to have a coach that has his team prepared to play and knows what they are doing.

- Once the team loses the lead - What the F is coach doing?!?! He makes terrible decisions....are we sure Mullin still isn't coaching the team?

- Also while up 10 - Kudos to Roberts and Champaigne and the rest of the bench! They are playing great today! Roberts is so improved, I can't believe he rode the bench last year. He'll be all Big East in a few years!

- When we are losing - Outside of LJ and and Heron, we just don't have the talent to be competitive. It's going to be a very long season once Big East play starts. Our bench players are role players at best.

- Losing in the 2nd half - The players just aren't in it and don't seem to be focused. Came out sloppy and weren't ready to play at all.

- If we come back to win - I love how the team never quit! Even when they were down, they kept their heads in the game and were able to pull through!

I guess such is life for a team that will seemingly have many ups and downs this year.[/quote]
It is a message board, not a surgical room. I personally felt the “crappy fan” comment about a guy who bleeds SJU hoops was most outlandish one. Can’t remember who posted that. :)[/quote]

No Eric opened my eyes. I'm definitely a crap fan.[/quote]

“Crappy Fan Rebab Center” in Bayonne takes insurance.
 
Second time in 10 days that team imposed its will in last 8 minutes, and perhaps more importantly seemed to have an additional gear under 4 minutes. Closing 15-2 in the last 4:05 on the second day of a back to back yesterday was impressive.

Came up short in UVM game but overwhelmed UMass in similar spot.

Obviously not going to be a recipe for success every game, especially against more talented/physical teams in conference. But with incomplete roster it's one of better attributes demonstrated in the early going in terms of generating Ws. If can keep games in range have a chance to double down in last 8 mins and see what happens. Not much to lose.
 
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Sounds like I missed watching a great second half. As much as I love having all the kids down for Thanksgiving week, I am kind of glad that next game isn't until Saturday when everyone will be on the road home. I'm the only fanatical Johnny fan in this family lol.
 
[quote="MCNPA" post=364837]I said it not long ago. Josh Roberts will be and All Big East player before he is done here, and maybe beyond. A shame his first year was wasted but he’s got time to keep rising. The kid has massive upside.[/quote]

If he can develop a baby hook and then just go through the normal strength and awareness progression expected as you go from underclassman to upperclassman, then he will make the league.
 
It never ceases to amaze me that so many fans expect other fans not to go through a roller coaster of emotions while our program has roller coaster games and roller coaster seasons. It's a 100% correlation. Team performance directly affects fan attitudes. Winning teams that are constantly in the top 25 every year have confident fanbases that are much more stable. If CMA builds a consistent winner, fans will be mostly optimistic. If it's up and down, the fans will be up and down too.
 
I give Rutherford a lot of credit. Anderson got all over him in the 1st half, and intstead if moping, took it to heart and had a really effective 2nd half.
 
When Anderson put in his second team I thought we were finished, instead our swarming defense and hustle turned the game around. I'll say it again and again Caraher needs more minutes with the starters. Gives us another shooter which we need badly, not a bad rebounder either.
Heron seems to be hesitating with his outside shot. Roberts is the man! And Champagnie had another quiet strong outing.Not many points from Fiqueroa but how about his 6 steals.
 
[quote="JackofVirginia" post=364895]When Anderson put in his second team I thought we were finished, instead our swarming defense and hustle turned the game around. I'll say it again and again Caraher needs more minutes with the starters. Gives us another shooter which we need badly, not a bad rebounder either.
Heron seems to be hesitating with his outside shot. Roberts is the man! And Champagnie had another quiet strong outing.Not many points from Fiqueroa but how about his 6 steals.[/quote] After Carahers performance yesterday. Im sure he will get more minutes. MA is still experimenting w the lineup determining who the best players are deserving of the most minutes.
 
[quote="JackofVirginia" post=364895]When Anderson put in his second team I thought we were finished, instead our swarming defense and hustle turned the game around. I'll say it again and again Caraher needs more minutes with the starters. Gives us another shooter which we need badly, not a bad rebounder either.
Heron seems to be hesitating with his outside shot. Roberts is the man! And Champagnie had another quiet strong outing.Not many points from Fiqueroa but how about his 6 steals.[/quote]

Heron has been faking the 3 every time and then trying to drive to no avail. Defenders know he always fakes his shot. Eventually, he's going to need to shoot a couple and make a couple to keep them honest.
 
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I am certainly not giving up on Heron, but this is his final year. Given that this is a rebuilding year, it's far more promising long-term that freshmen/sophomores like Caraher, Champagnie and Roberts have over-performed. We haven't had that happen with recruits outside of the 4/5 star range in probably at least a decade. Their play thus far relative to recruiting rankings has been excellent. If you told me they were top 50/100 high school students I absolutely would have believed it.

Obviously we'd all love to have both Heron/LJ meeting expectations and the lower classmen overachieving, but if we had to pick one then the results thus far have been very promising. A month ago I was MUCH more concerned about 20-21 (losing Heron and possibly LJ) than this year. I was anticipating a repeat of Mullin's first couple years, which would hurt our recruiting momentum given that it'd be year 2 of the CMA era rather than year 1. Fortunately the future looks bright and this year won't be a lost one.
 
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[quote="Section3" post=364818]

Ran into him at Glen Williams’ posthumous induction into the Brooklyn Hall of Fame dinner a few years ago. I mentioned that game and told him I recall Kent Benson being quoted as saying that George was the quickest big man he faced. George said ithat years later he roomed with Kent when both were with the Pacers. Kent told him he was afraid of him when they played. He laughed about it.

[/quote]

The weirdest part of that story is that as recently as that the NBA still had players sharing rooms on the road. LOL
 
[quote="NCJohnnie" post=364829]My oldest daughter and her husband arrived from NJ just around 3:30 so I had to miss 85% of game. So happy we were able to pull it out. Just from little I saw, seemed like a great game for Caraher & Roberts. Heron & Figgy ???[/quote]

Just another example of why my wife and I don't want kids. We're telling them tonight. ;)
 
[quote="Adam" post=364917]I am certainly not giving up on Heron, but this is his final year. Given that this is a rebuilding year, it's far more promising long-term that freshmen/sophomores like Caraher, Champagnie and Roberts have over-performed. We haven't had that happen with recruits outside of the 4/5 star range in probably at least a decade. Their play thus far relative to recruiting rankings has been excellent. If you told me they were top 50/100 high school students I absolutely would have believed it.

Obviously we'd all love to have both Heron/LJ meeting expectations and the lower classmen overachieving, but if we had to pick one then the results thus far have been very promising. A month ago I was MUCH more concerned about 20-21 (losing Heron and possibly LJ) than this year. I was anticipating a repeat of Mullin's first couple years, which would hurt our recruiting momentum given that it'd be year 2 of the CMA era rather than year 1. Fortunately the future looks bright and this year won't be a lost one.[/quote]

I’m not as worried about losing these kids next year as I thought I’d be. We have quite a few young guys looking great and will be bringing in some nice talent as well. Heron has to figure out how to create his own shot, period. He seems to have forgotten how to do it. He needs to get back on track and only has this season to do it. Hopefully he figures it out.
 
[quote="MCNPA" post=364926][quote="Adam" post=364917]I am certainly not giving up on Heron, but this is his final year. Given that this is a rebuilding year, it's far more promising long-term that freshmen/sophomores like Caraher, Champagnie and Roberts have over-performed. We haven't had that happen with recruits outside of the 4/5 star range in probably at least a decade. Their play thus far relative to recruiting rankings has been excellent. If you told me they were top 50/100 high school students I absolutely would have believed it.

Obviously we'd all love to have both Heron/LJ meeting expectations and the lower classmen overachieving, but if we had to pick one then the results thus far have been very promising. A month ago I was MUCH more concerned about 20-21 (losing Heron and possibly LJ) than this year. I was anticipating a repeat of Mullin's first couple years, which would hurt our recruiting momentum given that it'd be year 2 of the CMA era rather than year 1. Fortunately the future looks bright and this year won't be a lost one.[/quote]

I’m not as worried about losing these kids next year as I thought I’d be. We have quite a few young guys looking great and will be bringing in some nice talent as well. Heron has to figure out how to create his own shot, period. He seems to have forgotten how to do it. He needs to get back on track and only has this season to do it. Hopefully he figures it out.[/quote]



When you start shooting as poorly as he has you have to lose confidence and probably is thinking too much thus his hesitation. Hopefully coach tells him to let it fly. We all know he's better then this.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=364860]Steere, if as good as advertised, Champagnie and Josh certainly appear to be nice interior, BE level pieces. That’s a solid core to build the program on. Some complementary baseline guys like David and Marcellus appear to be competent role guys. Not bod![/quote]


If Steere is going to start when he returns who will sit? Rutterford and Heron in backcourt and upfront LJ,, Steere and Roberts. Tough to sit Champagnie.
 
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[quote="sjc88" post=364877]It is too bad that SJU didn’t get to play UVA. I was hoping to see the clash in the style of play. No doubt SJU would have been in deep trouble. Just would have been interesting. Heck they beat ASU by just 3. Although they seem to beat everyone by “just 3” or so it seems.[/quote]


I also wanted UVA. defensive wizards for sure, however offensively only have Diakite.
 
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