(POST GAME) Providence, Wed. Feb. 12, 8:30p, CBS SN / 570 WMCA

“I thought it was our inability to stay mentally dialed in. We knew it was coming,” Cooley said of the Storm’s pressure. “We played them before. Obviously playing in this band-box they turn up the heat a little bit more. It was a bad performance by all of us.”

CA gets into Ed’s head? PlayIng PC there all the time would be fun & smart perhaps.
 
Some takeaways:

1. Maybe I was wrong about Champ...he sure looked good and if he's doing these things as a freshman, he may become a monster veteran. He seems to do well with alley-oop layups. Got a few the other day and timed them well.

2. We all love Heron and we all want the best for him. Very talented guy, but the truth is we have better chemistry without him and it's not even up for debate.

3. Greg Williams has the tools...we wanted to see more aggression and he had a monster dunk. I think he's realizing his abilities when he has that mindset. Hopefully his back is feeling better.

4. I want Roberts here in some capacity for 4 years. He probably won't be a starter when we get more size and talent, but he can be a great bench piece and is very athletic. Ability to block and has great hops.

5. LJ looked like LJ which is great. I just wish he would mix up his game getting in the paint more. He made his 3's today, but in games they don't fall he needs to get inside. Seems to be much less than last year when he used to have his floater and layups.

6. Earlington has officially won the trophy for best development in one year I've ever seen on this team. Maybe he can actually shoot 3's routinely now. His shot looked damn good and even the announcers were in awe. Looked like a walk on last year and now has become a major threat. I think I'm most confident when he has the ball in the paint, because he almost always makes the bunnies even with defenders...and if he doesn't he almost always gets the rebound and puts it back. Relentless kid.

7. The referees were terrible...as in a new low terrible. Announcers were saying they never see these calls and they made 2 on us for the hook and hold which were both flagrant 1's. It seriously looked like the refs wanted PC to win...I know everyone complains about refs, but this time it really was that way.

8. Best quote of night by announcers: "Coach Anderson's jacket is off" (10 min later) "And now his tie is off...what is coming off next?" refs clearly got to CMA and rightfully so. Even Cooley lost his cool. He seems to genuinely hate us.
 
Fun game, nice atmosphere at CA. Most students I can remember seeing all year.

Those refs, wow! Every time I think they can’t be any worse I’m proven wrong.
 
Great to finally get another win in conference. Earlington and Champ being able to bang down a couple threes each was big. Especially Earlington's two in the second half. Roberts play in the second half was huge.
 
With all the mass exit rumors, am tuning it out until season’s end. Of course there will be movement, as indicated by staff still recruiting 20 guys. You never know, but I feel confident the incumbent base will include Julian, Marcellus, Dunn, Roberts and Williams, which would be fine. One key to me is adding a shooter to complement Cole, who should have an impact & just has to gain strength. Obviously, another big need is adding ever elusive big man imo.
 
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Nice job men! Loved that we beat Cooley; Cooley disrespects St. John's, hated Lavin, I liked Lavin so I don't like Cooley.

The "little band box" holds a lot of people, Ed. I want to never play Providence again at the Garden, ef him.
 
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Glad we were able to hang on for the W. It’s hard on the eyes watching this team on offense, especially when protecting a lead. Not having a single player with a reliable handle doesn’t help. Thought Lucy was going to pull the football away from Charlie Brown again, but the law of averages kicked in. 7 games left, how many more can we steal?
 
*not intending to put Heron down*

Williams 7 boards last night were huge and that’s 3 more than herons season high of 4. Shooting struggles can’t take you away from impacting other areas. He continues to make all the plays sans from scoring the ball (it’s coming!) and is really rounding into a killer in help defense and making good decisions passing the ball. We need this kid to stay all four years at SJU.
 
Great feeling popping providences bubble. Watching Williams jr, he has opp to drive the basket but instead he takes 2-3 dribbles around the arc and passes. He’s so quick that he could blow by these defenders and get to the basket. That’s the next step in his game. I hope he takes it here
 
I love Williams game. One thing I'd say is I hope coach tells him to be more aggressive offensively the rest of the year. As Not an Alum says he has quickness to go by folks to the hoop (not unlike Dunn) and needs to take the three when open and not worry about missing a couple. He has a good free throw stroke and just needs time and confidence to become a 75% plus shooter from there.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=376947]“I thought it was our inability to stay mentally dialed in. We knew it was coming,” Cooley said of the Storm’s pressure. “We played them before. Obviously playing in this band-box they turn up the heat a little bit more. It was a bad performance by all of us.”

CA gets into Ed’s head? PlayIng PC there all the time would be fun & smart perhaps.[/quote]

We should give them the same treatment we've given to SH, Butler, Creighton, Xavier. All CA. All the time. Until we "have to" move them to MSG. Especially Cooley.
 
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[quote="Paultzman" post=376956]With all the mass exit rumors, am tuning it out until season’s end. Of course there will be movement, as indicated by staff still recruiting 20 guys. You never know, but I feel confident the incumbent base will include Julian, Marcellus, Dunn, Roberts and Williams, which would be fine. One key to me is adding a shooter to complement Cole, who should have an impact & just has to gain strength. Obviously, another big need is adding ever elusive big man imo.[/quote]

Hit the nail on the head. That’s the core we need to keep. Champagnie, Earlington, Roberts, Dunn, Williams. We will need a few ships this spring and I think we will end up getting a few, but these kids are keepers. Steere just doesn’t fit and both Sears and Caraher are meant for a big lower level of ball to get the most out of their experience. With a few open scholarships, if we grab some good players to augment our 2020 class, we can really take a step forward in rebuilding our team.
 
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A quick note on Heron last night-
He was a great teammate, encouraging players coming out of the game and was an active cheerleader throughout. Must be extremely hard on him to have his college career end on an injury. I hope he heals up enough to play in BET.
 
[quote="Knight" post=376972]A quick note on Heron last night-
He was a great teammate, encouraging players coming out of the game and was an active cheerleader throughout. Must be extremely hard on him to have his college career end on an injury. I hope he heals up enough to play in BET.[/quote]

Good kid, wish him the best. But I hope he doesn’t play another minute. That was OUR team last night. The rhythm looked so much better. Passes were on time and the ball was moving. Mustapha is a ball stopper and the defense breaks down more when he’s in. He takes quick shots and doesn’t enable our guys to offensive rebound as efficiently because they don’t know when the shot is going up. This is the team I want to ride with for the rest of the season. 3-1 without Heron.
 
On Heron points, noticed he was very involved in the game from the bench and actually laughed out loud a few times seeing his facial expressions when the refs gave us TWO flagrant 1's and tech on CMA. He was laughing in shock with his eyes wide open not unlike most of us. After the game, Earlington was saying that Heron is such a big part of the team even when he doesn't play. He discusses during huddles, gives tips, and is a great leader. Not just your typical guy sitting on the bench and seems to be positive with his situation.

By the way it was nice to see Caraher get a few 3's. Finally, he didn't have a defender in his face and he sank a couple. IMO still too slow and a liability on defense to find a big role here, but nice to see.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=376956]With all the mass exit rumors, am tuning it out until season’s end. Of course there will be movement, as indicated by staff still recruiting 20 guys. You never know, but I feel confident the incumbent base will include Julian, Marcellus, Dunn, Roberts and Williams, which would be fine. One key to me is adding a shooter to complement Cole, who should have an impact & just has to gain strength. Obviously, another big need is adding ever elusive big man imo.[/quote]

I'm with you. Until a coach starts losing his core players that he's recruited in a mass exodus, it's really a non story.

Every kid who came here under Mullin should be expected to transfer at some point. It's a forced marriage. Can't blame either participant when it doesn't work.

I'm hopeful we can keep some of the kids who have actually developed under this staff (Williams, Roberts, Earlington) who came here under Mullin, but I can't blame them if they decide that CMA's system isn't for them after giving it a go for a season.
 
[quote="redmannorth" post=376944]The life of a St. John’s fan. The teams best p’ayer Is out for the balance of the season , our once highly promising big man is suspended indefinitely and we show up and lead big from early on to beat Providence who has given us a super hard time over the last few years.
Just when all hope was gone our young 2 and 3 star players provide us with increased optimism once again. Looking forward to a repeat.[/quote]
You know I respect you immensely RN, but Heron has not been our best player this year. The reality is that we’ve played most of our best games when he’s been a DNP, or played limited minutes. I am not knocking the kid. Quite the contrary; I’ve already praised him in the other thread, but there is no denying the facts and it’s not a coincidence.
 
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[quote="Not an alum" post=376968]Great feeling popping providences bubble. Watching Williams jr, he has opp to drive the basket but instead he takes 2-3 dribbles around the arc and passes. He’s so quick that he could blow by these defenders and get to the basket. That’s the next step in his game. I hope he takes it here[/quote]

I'd like to see Williams be more aggressive as well. I think his biggest issue right now besides the back is confidence. Once he has that sorted out I think he can flourish in this system.

How do you feel about keeping Earlington and Roberts?
 
[quote="Big Red" post=376976]
Good kid, wish him the best. But I hope he doesn’t play another minute. That was OUR team last night. The rhythm looked so much better. Passes were on time and the ball was moving. Mustapha is a ball stopper and the defense breaks down more when he’s in. He takes quick shots and doesn’t enable our guys to offensive rebound as efficiently because they don’t know when the shot is going up. This is the team I want to ride with for the rest of the season. 3-1 without Heron.[/quote]

I like Heron alot and and hate to knock him under the circumstances, but I agree with you. seems that he was more of a hindrance to our offensive scheme than a cornerstone.
 
[quote="Monte" post=376988][quote="redmannorth" post=376944]The life of a St. John’s fan. The teams best p’ayer Is out for the balance of the season , our once highly promising big man is suspended indefinitely and we show up and lead big from early on to beat Providence who has given us a super hard time over the last few years.
Just when all hope was gone our young 2 and 3 star players provide us with increased optimism once again. Looking forward to a repeat.[/quote]
You know I respect you immensely RN, but Heron has not been our best player this year. The reality is that we’ve played most or our best games when he’s been a DNP, or played limited minutes. I am not knocking the kid. Quite the contrary; I’ve already praised him in the other thread, but there is no denying the facts and it’s not a coincidence.[/quote]

Maybe I’m mistaking you for another poster but glad to see you’ve come around on this topic.
 
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