(POST-GAME) St. Francis (Brooklyn), Tues., Nov. 23, 7p, FS-2

[lawmanfan]

It doesn't take long for the honeymoon phase of the relationship with the new players to wear off. I'm not worried. Only loss came in a tough road game and last night was without the face that runs the place. 
The main concerns I have are:
1. Posh staying healthy. He missed a lot of time in high school, some as a freshman, and is banged up again. Played with reckless abandon is what makes him special. Can't lose that and still be Posh, but have to hope he stays on the court.
2. Soriano dealing with high major talent. !0 and 9 at Fordham may translate into 6 and 5 at St. John's. 
3. Wheeler playing like a big and not a swingman. We need his size near the basket, not 23 feet from it.
4. Finding a backup point that can handle pressure (which we will see when Posh is out).
5. Final concern is that the board doesn't become the "Airing of Grievances" after most games.

Excellent post and analysis

 

[Andrew]

People saying Wusu shouldn’t be allowed to handle the ball seem to have forgotten he had a couple of key drives and scores during the game that at one point stopped an St. Francis run IIRC and was part of our run that put us over the top (along with a key dunk by Champ which off a dish from Smith I think which might have started momentum for us).  Yes, some horrible decisions by Wusu that lead to bad turnovers late in the game, so maybe not have him handling the ball so much at end time where his decision making is questionable is the solution.

I also thought Braica end game decision making was flawed.  Felt they should have fouled and put us on the line especially the way we played.

Lastly, I had forgotten former St. John’s Assistant Coach and current member of the Kansas staff Fred Quartlebaum’s son, Trey, plays for St. Francis.

Thanks for this post. I knew the name Quartlebaum sounded familiar but couldn't place it.
 

 

[MainMan]

Say what you want about JC’s poor outside shooting the last 2 games….  That one handed throw down over a StF player off the back door cut was sick.

 

[Andrew]

From memory, I'm pretty sure we finished the game with a lineup of Champ, Wusu, Mathis, Coburn and Smith and they played for quite a long stretch.  4 guards and Champ = No faith in the bigs when the game was on the line.  Telling...  Won't be able to get away with a lineup like that against a BE opponent.

    With Alexander and Pinzon on the bench that are our five best players. 

    Wusu had seven rebounds in 35 minutes. Soriano, Stanley and Wheeler had four in 34 minutes. 

 

 

[monte]

Our star PG was injured, and we didn't have a legit backup in the lineup. Take the crappy win and move on. We lose by 35 to Kansas with the same lineup, so hopefully Posh gets healthy. I don't think the game is as dismal if Pinzon plays, or if this game were played a year in the future and King was available.

Lack of passion is a different issue entirely, though. There are coaches who would un-redshirt Traore if that's a running theme.

I believe the correct term is "green shirt" him. lol 

 

[Section3]

champ got his points but boy his shooting has been off. even missing free throws.  only positive for me is that mathis played well.

Even worse, he looked disinterested. I know he's got a cool demeanor, but I really expected him to take charge at numerous points during the game when we were down. It never happened. 

so you just closed your eyes and turned the tv off for the last 10 minutes of the game or what happened? Really stupid comment by you

If you were at the game, you would not have seen a "disinterested Julian but rather the opposite, trying to take a leaders role at every play stoppage down the stretch.

1000%. He is hard on himself, he was vocal in every huddle and with his teammates. Disinterested my ass, such an unfair and shortsighted comment on the best player on the team.

Agree. At one point, i recall him grabbing a sulking Wusu and pulling him into an on floor huddle

 

[BrooklynRed]

It doesn't take long for the honeymoon phase of the relationship with the new players to wear off. I'm not worried. Only loss came in a tough road game and last night was without the face that runs the place. 
The main concerns I have are:
1. Posh staying healthy. He missed a lot of time in high school, some as a freshman, and is banged up again. Played with reckless abandon is what makes him special. Can't lose that and still be Posh, but have to hope he stays on the court.
2. Soriano dealing with high major talent. !0 and 9 at Fordham may translate into 6 and 5 at St. John's. 
3. Wheeler playing like a big and not a swingman. We need his size near the basket, not 23 feet from it.
4. Finding a backup point that can handle pressure (which we will see when Posh is out).
5. Final concern is that the board doesn't become the "Airing of Grievances" after most games.

Nice list but # 5 came up short--when do we have the Feats of Strength and where is the aluminum pole?

Happy Festivus!

 

[P1NSTR1PEZ]

champ got his points but boy his shooting has been off. even missing free throws.  only positive for me is that mathis played well.

Even worse, he looked disinterested. I know he's got a cool demeanor, but I really expected him to take charge at numerous points during the game when we were down. It never happened. 

so you just closed your eyes and turned the tv off for the last 10 minutes of the game or what happened? Really stupid comment by you

If you were at the game, you would not have seen a "disinterested Julian but rather the opposite, trying to take a leaders role at every play stoppage down the stretch.

1000%. He is hard on himself, he was vocal in every huddle and with his teammates. Disinterested my ass, such an unfair and shortsighted comment on the best player on the team.

Agree. At one point, i recall him grabbing a sulking Wusu and pulling him into an on floor huddle

Yes. He has been a true leader for this team, he's directing them, he's talking to coach during free throws, he's really elevated his presence on the court. NBA scouts will take notice of that as well. 4 blocks in the game and 4 steals is huge too - he's said he wants to improve his defense.