(POST GAME) @Providence, Wed. Jan. 15, 8:30p, FS-1 / 570 WMCA

Mike Zaun wrote: The worst part is that even if we win, it means nothing because the season is already over in terms of any postseason tourney. Just like when we beat Duke and Nova when they were #1...great wins but zero impact on the season.

Mike, respectfully disagree here. Before the season virtually everyone on this board agreed that a winning season and an NIT bid would be an excellent result under the circumstances. We need to win 4 more games to finish above .500 and 5 more games to clinch an NIT bid. Neither of those are beyond this team and I'd be surprised if we don't win at least 16 games.
We overachieved in the OOC schedule and have underachieved so far in BE, but in judging this season we need to keep in mind where we started. I would be disappointed if we don't win 16 games and am still hopeful we win 17. Heron & Figgy can't play much worse than they have to date. Even a modest improvement from both of them would be worth a couple of extra wins.
 
[quote="mjmaherjr" post=372673]win saturday or we are heading down ugly road[/quote]

You mean further down an ugly road.
 
[quote="Monte" post=372689][quote="James Ray Lamb" post=372687]The Johnnies bench stepped up and won games when Heron has struggled.

Don't understand why Caraher and Roberts aren't playing well. Caraher played 7 mins with 0 production. No rebounds, assists or points. Roberts played 13 mins with 1 rebound and 2 assists. No points.

That makes a big difference when Heron and LJ are struggling.[/quote]

Roberts’ entire game is from 3’ and in. He’s been getting man-handled against Big East comp. Not his fault, it is what it is. Maybe he’ll add some bulk over the summer. That’s why I’d prefer to see more of Sears. At least he can hold his own against the big boys. Caraher didn’t give us much against OC comp, except for that one game where he went for 18. So again not surprised that he’s really been struggling against Big East comp. Still say our top 7(not in order) should be: Fig, Heron, Dunn, Williams, Earl, Champ and Sears.[/quote]

I know that he has no offensive game whatsoever, but you have to find some time for Rutherford. He always does a great job guarding the other teams' point guard. Even though Charlie Moore was great against us, Rutherford made him work for everything. Plus, he's a steal man, and getting steals is when we are at our best.
 
I wrote this before and will probably get hazed for it but from what I am seeing with my limited bball IQ is that Heron and LJ to a lesser degree seem to mess up the flow of the other players for some reason and have no chemistry when both are on the floor. I could be wrong but I do not think they should be starters or both play at the same time. I think our second unit plays fantastic by themselves. I feel bad for CMA, this may be his first losing season and its not even his fault!!
 
[quote="Roamer" post=372700]I wrote this before and will probably get hazed for it but from what I am seeing with my limited bball IQ is that Heron and LJ to a lesser degree seem to mess up the flow of the other players for some reason and have no chemistry when both are on the floor. I could be wrong but I do not think they should be starters or both play at the same time. I think our second unit plays fantastic by themselves. I feel bad for CMA, this may be his first losing season and its not even his fault!![/quote]

We should have won the first two big east games. We had the lead and blew both games. LJ and Heron can not shoot 3 pointers. Caraher has to get more minutes and they need th o run plays for him
 
We all knew that going into this year it would be a challenging year. CMA pulled some new pieces in to mesh with the existing roster. What happened was we were actually playing well and beating some good teams and then fans start to expect more and reality sets back in.

CMA has us on the right path and next year, with his system, a legitimate point guard and some additional shooters we should soon start our trajectory up and hopefully stay there. I am happy with the teams play and hustle. They can't shoot a lick but they are playing hard which is a testament to the coach. They will probably lose more than they win the rest of the way but the turnaround is real and future is brighter.
 
[quote="dee" post=372704][quote="Roamer" post=372700]Caraher has to get more minutes and they need th o run plays for him[/quote]

Huh? I think Caraher is playing too much. He does nothing when he is out there at this point. And guys are blowing by him on the other end.
 
[quote="Duke of Earlington" post=372678]Its gotten to the point that our best option in crunch time is earlington. He was the only guy making huge buckets at the end of the game. Now i love the duke but lets be serious. That was not the plan going into the year. Figgy and heron have been busts.[/quote]

While I appreciate your man crush for the Duke, and I understand your unconditional love of trolling this board, you need to stop drinking or smoking or whatever it is you are doing during our games. Earlington is no where near our best option at any point in any game.

And while he does do a lot of the dirty work on the offensive end, where the hell was he on the defensive end when Providence was getting 15 offensive boards (Which essentially cost us the game)?
 
I think we all expected this season to be an up and down slog. Most of us seem to realize this isn’t a very talent rich team. For the most part, they play hard and have been in most games.

To me the most frustrating part is that we are not losing for the reasons I expected. Heron and Figueroa have just not provided the stability and consistency on the court that I would have expected as upper class men. Maybe it was unfair to them but no team can survive when two players whom are seeing significant minutes and are putting up 6 for 26 shooting numbers. Yet somehow we “only” lost by 5 points. All we can do is hope they play better. This is college ball, we are not that deep so it is what it is.
 
[quote="Eric Williamson" post=372711][quote="Duke of Earlington" post=372678]Its gotten to the point that our best option in crunch time is earlington. He was the only guy making huge buckets at the end of the game. Now i love the duke but lets be serious. That was not the plan going into the year. Figgy and heron have been busts.[/quote]

While I appreciate your man crush for the Duke, and I understand your unconditional love of trolling this board, you need to stop drinking or smoking or whatever it is you are doing during our games. Earlington is no where near our best option at any point in any game.

And while he does do a lot of the dirty work on the offensive end, where the hell was he on the defensive end when Providence was getting 15 offensive boards (Which essentially cost us the game)?[/quote]

When we needed a bucket down the stretch, I remember the duke driving past his guy and getting a nice and 1. Then again when we needed a big bucket, he buried a nice jumper in the corner.

Im not sure why you are after me because i like earlington but last night, he was the ONLY guy making big buckets we we needed them.
 
I think I am well grounded when it comes to expectations and I consider anything beyond 16 wins this year to be gravy. (Remember I took some heat recently for saying that we not only were not a bubble team, but we are not even a solid NIT team)

We have no low post scoring ability, are undersized, inconsistent at best outside shooting and no pure point guard. What we do get, is several guys with great hands defensively and incredible effort.


But, that was a winnable game last night. We did not have to do anything special last night to get the win. We just had to play smarter. I only ask for two things. Play hard and play smart. We only got one of the two last night.
 
[quote="sjc88" post=372714]I think we all expected this season to be an up and down slog. Most of us seem to realize this isn’t a very talent rich team. For the most part, they play hard and have been in most games.

To me the most frustrating part is that we are not losing for the reasons I expected. Heron and Figueroa have just not provided the stability and consistency on the court that I would have expected as upper class men. Maybe it was unfair to them but no team can survive when two players whom are seeing significant minutes and are putting up 6 for 26 shooting numbers. Yet somehow we “only” lost by 5 points. All we can do is hope they play better. This is college ball, we are not that deep so it is what it is.[/quote]

Agree & regarding the unexpected negatives thus far;

Heron and LJ playing poorly and not the tandem we hoped would lead.

Steere not being ready to play & earn the faith of staff.

Josh not being a factor down low and seeing court time shrink. Actually thought he would reasonably prosper in CMA system, but obviously physicality of BE seems a challenge to him.

On to Seton Hall!
 
This is a team that was cobbled together on the fly with a bunch of parts that don't fit well together.

At this time last year, most of us felt like Cam Mack would be our PG right now, Eli Wright would be a contributor in the back court, Steere would be anchoring the front court and Chris Mullin would still be our coach. Needless to say, things have changed quite a bit.

Here's what we have...

Heron and LJ are much better as complementary players than primary options. They are both good players, but they cannot consistently carry the team. (Kind of make you appreciate Shamorie Ponds a little more - a guy who wasn't afraid to take big shots, and who actually made some of them.)

Dunn is a more natural scoring guard than a true PG, but he's forced to play PG because Rutherford (who does a lot of nice things defensively) just doesn't score enough.

Roberts isn't strong enough in the post, Earlington is strong and a hard worker but he gives up too many inches down low, and Steere looks awful. Sears is proving serviceable, but if he played major minutes he would likely get exposed.

Caraher looks a step slow against quicker teams that play aggressive man to man.

Right now, Champanie is a good scorer and rebounds well for his size, but his handle is weak and he turns it over too much. He'll get better and be a very good player. He reminds me of Lavor Postell.

I love Greg Williams. He's a slasher who's jump shot is getting better. He's a hustler and a willing defender. I'd like to see him with the ball in his hands at the wing more often so he has some driving lanes - he seems to spend too much time at the top of the key.

All of these players are getting better coaching - and an opportunity to play.

What does it all add up to? A mediocre team in a surprisingly strong Big East. If we get to 17 or 18 wins that puts us in the mix for an NIT bid. Who expected more than that this year?
 
Williams needs more minutes. Against BE caliber play Rutherford gives them very little in the half court offense. When Rutherford is in the game with Roberts we are playing 3 against 5 and court spacing becomes tight for other players,
 
[quote="SJU61982" post=372697][quote="Monte" post=372689][quote="James Ray Lamb" post=372687]The Johnnies bench stepped up and won games when Heron has struggled.

Don't understand why Caraher and Roberts aren't playing well. Caraher played 7 mins with 0 production. No rebounds, assists or points. Roberts played 13 mins with 1 rebound and 2 assists. No points.

That makes a big difference when Heron and LJ are struggling.[/quote]

Roberts’ entire game is from 3’ and in. He’s been getting man-handled against Big East comp. Not his fault, it is what it is. Maybe he’ll add some bulk over the summer. That’s why I’d prefer to see more of Sears. At least he can hold his own against the big boys. Caraher didn’t give us much against OC comp, except for that one game where he went for 18. So again not surprised that he’s really been struggling against Big East comp. Still say our top 7(not in order) should be: Fig, Heron, Dunn, Williams, Earl, Champ and Sears.[/quote]

I know that he has no offensive game whatsoever, but you have to find some time for Rutherford. He always does a great job guarding the other teams' point guard. Even though Charlie Moore was great against us, Rutherford made him work for everything. Plus, he's a steal man, and getting steals is when we are at our best.[/quote]

Agreed. Rutherford, Roberts and Caraher all have roles on this team. Not saying we should only play 7 guys, just think those 7 are best suited to get bulk of minutes
 
LJ and Heron's performances are concerning for the present.

Roberts disappearing act coupled with Steere's no-show is concerning for the future.
 
8 turnovers in the first 13 minutes of the game. I am getting the feeling that Williams and Earlington should be in the starting line up in place of Roberts and Rutherford. Heron's last shot was horrible.Thought the refs missed over the back on rebounds.Teams like Providence, Xavier and G'town will be beatable at home.If we have any chance againt the Hall Fiq and Heron better show up.
 
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