Preliminary predictions re: 2016/17 BE standings

[Sherman Sheridan & Grant]

I am in your camp 9, show me! Many of these so called program changers never work out.

You see I don't believe we have any program changers on board for this season, but I do believe we add a bunch of players who could be very good and/or fill holes that we have.
We all saw what last years four freshman can do and I think we all agree that Sima and Yakwe could be stars down the road with continued hard work and consistency.
We all hope that Mussini and Ellison work on their weaknesses and can be productive four year players.
I don't believe anyone expects any of Amir, Owens or Williams to be a star but I think if they all understand their roles they can be very useful bench players , especially Owens.
Each of Bashir, Ponds, Richard F and Marcus could be very good college players/stars but I don't believe it will be next season for any of them, probably after a season or two of college ball.
We have a nice deep and inexperienced team for next season, look for a big jump in wins and a trip to the dance in 2018 if we don't encounter any bad luck.

Thank you RMN. Nice post as usual, very insightful, but 2017 is a possibility for some post season play for all of the obvious reasons:
As we know unlike other college sports, a few players can make all the difference on a Bball team. We've added some new capable & significant players (Ponds, Bashir) others (Sima et al.) will have more experience, the team has more balance and depth.

We shall see. But there's an exciting brave new world surfacing in Queens.

 

[Amaseinyourface]

Too much credit to Whitehead.

IMO his biggest strength was his passing and he enjoyed taking tough shots a little too much

 

[fuchsia]

SS&G is now officially on notice that if he gets anywhere near Boca Raton during next season he owes me a drink. You referred to Redmannorth as RMN and the spasms in my left shoulder that I associate with Richard Millhouse Nixon immediately reemerged. Tequila heals.

 

[SJU61982]

I guess this belongs here. This is preparation for 16-17, after all.

JonRothstein · 3h3 hours ago

St. John's and Hofstra will play pickup together every week this summer, sources told @CBSSports. Terrific idea by both programs.

 

[dee]

I got us coming in 3rd
Go redmen

 

[ADORAZ]

This is really tough, SJU is one of the biggest wild card teams in the nation. There's a slight possibility, if everything goes well, that we make noise in the tournament. Things could also get ugly fast if LoVett gets injured again and the new players don't live up to expectations.

Last year was below my expectations. I expected 10 wins and a 9th place finish. I'm going to say 7th place.

I'll say this- if we start the season without a major eligibility issue or injury that would be a huge step in the right direction and I'll be far more optimistic. LoVett last year, Thomas the previous, etc etc. Always something to kill the excitement.

 

[redmannorth]

This is really tough, SJU is one of the biggest wild card teams in the nation. There's a slight possibility, if everything goes well, that we make noise in the tournament. Things could also get ugly fast if LoVett gets injured again and the new players don't live up to expectations.

Last year was below my expectations. I expected 10 wins and a 9th place finish. I'm going to say 7th place.

I'll say this- if we start the season without a major eligibility issue or injury that would be a huge step in the right direction and I'll be far more optimistic. LoVett last year, Thomas the previous, etc etc. Always something to kill the excitement.

Adam I firmly believe you are being too optimistic. I don't think we make the tournament let alone make noise in the tournament. If we double our win total to get to 16 it would be real good. However , it certainly is possible. To be successful in college ball you need good guards. The 2 guards that may be counted on to do the most this season are freshmen who will be good but in time. Just not sure it will be this season. Will Mussini and Ellison be better , no doubt they will , but not yet sure either or both will be good this season. What we are doing is certainly moving in the right direction quickly.

 

[MarkRedman]

This is really tough, SJU is one of the biggest wild card teams in the nation. There's a slight possibility, if everything goes well, that we make noise in the tournament. Things could also get ugly fast if LoVett gets injured again and the new players don't live up to expectations.

Last year was below my expectations. I expected 10 wins and a 9th place finish. I'm going to say 7th place.

I'll say this- if we start the season without a major eligibility issue or injury that would be a huge step in the right direction and I'll be far more optimistic. LoVett last year, Thomas the previous, etc etc. Always something to kill the excitement.

Adam I firmly believe you are being too optimistic. I don't think we make the tournament let alone make noise in the tournament. If we double our win total to get to 16 it would be real good. However , it certainly is possible. To be successful in college ball you need good guards. The 2 guards that may be counted on to do the most this season are freshmen who will be good but in time. Just not sure it will be this season. Will Mussini and Ellison be better , no doubt they will , but not yet sure either or both will be good this season. What we are doing is certainly moving in the right direction quickly.

The 2016-17 St John's team is a wild card
It's very hard to get a real feel for how good we'll be
I agree with North - good guard play is critical to every team's success in the NCAA
LoVett and Ponds have great pedigrees but will it translate next season?
You would think that next season will be a year of adjustment to college ball
Realistically, we make the NIT next season and vie for the NCAA in 2017-18
But the "diaper dandies" could surprise us and lead us to the NCAA next year
It's certainly be a fun and interesting season - I'm really looking forward to it

 

[L J S A]

I like to be optimistic in June, and adjust accordingly once I see them play:

1. VILLANOVA
2. BUTLER
3. XAVIER
4. ST. JOHN'S
5. CREIGHTON
6. GEORGETOWN
7. SETON HALL
8. PROVIDENCE
9 . MARQUETTE
10. DEPAUL

 

[ras]

I like to be optimistic in June, and adjust accordingly once I see them play:

1. VILLANOVA
2. BUTLER
3. XAVIER
4. ST. JOHN'S
5. CREIGHTON
6. GEORGETOWN
7. SETON HALL
8. PROVIDENCE
9 . MARQUETTE
10. DEPAUL

As a SJBB fan your better off being pessimistic initially and than adjusting accordingly. Your prediction would be optimistic for the following year. I hope you are correct and I am wrong.

 

[Class of 72]

This is really tough, SJU is one of the biggest wild card teams in the nation. There's a slight possibility, if everything goes well, that we make noise in the tournament. Things could also get ugly fast if LoVett gets injured again and the new players don't live up to expectations.

Last year was below my expectations. I expected 10 wins and a 9th place finish. I'm going to say 7th place.

I'll say this- if we start the season without a major eligibility issue or injury that would be a huge step in the right direction and I'll be far more optimistic. LoVett last year, Thomas the previous, etc etc. Always something to kill the excitement.

Adam I firmly believe you are being too optimistic. I don't think we make the tournament let alone make noise in the tournament. If we double our win total to get to 16 it would be real good. However , it certainly is possible. To be successful in college ball you need good guards. The 2 guards that may be counted on to do the most this season are freshmen who will be good but in time. Just not sure it will be this season. Will Mussini and Ellison be better , no doubt they will , but not yet sure either or both will be good this season. What we are doing is certainly moving in the right direction quickly.

The 2016-17 St John's team is a wild card
It's very hard to get a real feel for how good we'll be
I agree with North - good guard play is critical to every team's success in the NCAA
LoVett and Ponds have great pedigrees but will it translate next season?
You would think that next season will be a year of adjustment to college ball
Realistically, we make the NIT next season and vie for the NCAA in 2017-18
But the "diaper dandies" could surprise us and lead us to the NCAA next year
It's certainly be a fun and interesting season - I'm really looking forward to it

I agree with North that we will still be young but unlike many young teams these young players played a lot of minutes and practiced together many hours. I also agree with you that we have some diaper dandies that have the talent to play beyond their years. Wild card indeed! Last year with the worst mix of players in my memory we won only one Big East game. Some of those losses we played without Sima and all without Williams. No point guards and no bench yet 9 of our Big East losses were by 10 points or less. We did not lose any player of value but will gain four 4* players to go along with five 3* players. Should returning 4* player Kassoum Yawke turn the corner offensively winning half our Big East games is a very good probability. I expect 16-18 wins and an NIT bid. Year three the staff should be ready to challenge for the Big East title.

 

[austour]

16-18 wins will not get an NIT bid unfortunately unless there's quite a few high quality wins in there.

 

[Class of 72]

16-18 wins will not get an NIT bid unfortunately unless there's quite a few high quality wins in there.

Last year 10 NIT teams did not win 20 games. Five won 18 games or less. I am hoping for a couple of high quality wins and 18 wins. I think the key will be NOT losing in the first game of the Big East tourney.

 

[redmannorth]

This is really tough, SJU is one of the biggest wild card teams in the nation. There's a slight possibility, if everything goes well, that we make noise in the tournament. Things could also get ugly fast if LoVett gets injured again and the new players don't live up to expectations.

Last year was below my expectations. I expected 10 wins and a 9th place finish. I'm going to say 7th place.

I'll say this- if we start the season without a major eligibility issue or injury that would be a huge step in the right direction and I'll be far more optimistic. LoVett last year, Thomas the previous, etc etc. Always something to kill the excitement.

Adam I firmly believe you are being too optimistic. I don't think we make the tournament let alone make noise in the tournament. If we double our win total to get to 16 it would be real good. However , it certainly is possible. To be successful in college ball you need good guards. The 2 guards that may be counted on to do the most this season are freshmen who will be good but in time. Just not sure it will be this season. Will Mussini and Ellison be better , no doubt they will , but not yet sure either or both will be good this season. What we are doing is certainly moving in the right direction quickly.

The 2016-17 St John's team is a wild card
It's very hard to get a real feel for how good we'll be
I agree with North - good guard play is critical to every team's success in the NCAA
LoVett and Ponds have great pedigrees but will it translate next season?
You would think that next season will be a year of adjustment to college ball
Realistically, we make the NIT next season and vie for the NCAA in 2017-18
But the "diaper dandies" could surprise us and lead us to the NCAA next year
It's certainly be a fun and interesting season - I'm really looking forward to it

I agree with North that we will still be young but unlike many young teams these young players played a lot of minutes and practiced together many hours. I also agree with you that we have some diaper dandies that have the talent to play beyond their years. Wild card indeed! Last year with the worst mix of players in my memory we won only one Big East game. Some of those losses we played without Sima and all without Williams. No point guards and no bench yet 9 of our Big East losses were by 10 points or less. We did not lose any player of value but will gain four 4* players to go along with five 3* players. Should returning 4* player Kassoum Yawke turn the corner offensively winning half our Big East games is a very good probability. I expect 16-18 wins and an NIT bid. Year three the staff should be ready to challenge for the Big East title.

Too many variables to evaluate the team at this point in time.
Are Lovett and Ponds physically ready to play 25 minutes a game in the Big East ?
Have Mussini and Ellison worked on their weaknesses?
Can Sima and Yakwe who each had flashes of brilliance be consistently good on a game to game basis ?
Is Bashir ready for prime time or will he need a year to get acclimated to division 1 play ?
Don't think anyone can predict what we will get from any of Owens, Richard F , Williams or AA this season.
Who will be the leader ?
Will our staff improve ?
Way too many unknowns for me at this point in time but the pieces are there for this team to be successful the next three seasons.

 

[bamafan]

16-18 wins will not get an NIT bid unfortunately unless there's quite a few high quality wins in there.

Last year 10 NIT teams did not win 20 games. Five won 18 games or less. I am hoping for a couple of high quality wins and 18 wins. I think the key will be NOT losing in the first game of the Big East tourney.

Some of those teams may be lesser conference regular season winners who lost in conference T and were automatic NIT qualifiers. Didn't Marquette win 20 and not make NIT?

 

[RedStormNC]

Just noticed Creighton made it with 18 wins....

4 of them were against St. John's and Depaul

Hardly anyone pays attention to NIT...

 

[Class of 72]

16-18 wins will not get an NIT bid unfortunately unless there's quite a few high quality wins in there.

Last year 10 NIT teams did not win 20 games. Five won 18 games or less. I am hoping for a couple of high quality wins and 18 wins. I think the key will be NOT losing in the first game of the Big East tourney.

Some of those teams may be lesser conference regular season winners who lost in conference T and were automatic NIT qualifiers. Didn't Marquette win 20 and not make NIT?

Of the 10 teams with less than 20 wins only 2 were regular season winners who lost in the championship. Eight were at large. Three from the ACC (Florida State, VA Tech and GaTech) all won 19 games total including their ACC tournament games. When I refer to winning 18 games I mean regular season. We need to avoid first round Big East tourney game by finishing in the top half of the conference and winning 2 games in the Big East tourney. A pipe dream for some but you are not smoking the stuff in my pipe.

 

[austour]

16-18 wins will not get an NIT bid unfortunately unless there's quite a few high quality wins in there.

Last year 10 NIT teams did not win 20 games. Five won 18 games or less. I am hoping for a couple of high quality wins and 18 wins. I think the key will be NOT losing in the first game of the Big East tourney.

2 of the 18 or less teams were automatic. Th 18 with a few quality including at least one out of conference and a first round win could get them in. That's more than I see them accomplishing but I hope they get there.

 

[Alex9045]

I think we reach at least 18 wins and a possible NIT bid. Lovett and Ponds will finally provide us with some excellent back court skillsets. Bashir Ahmed will be an excellent 2 year guy here while Freudenburg will be a nightmare matchup on offense. Those four additions alone are what we truly needed, SCORING. These boys can drop buckets. The 2 X factors to me will be Owens and Williams. If these two can bang down low and grab some boards to progress the development of/ compete with Sima and Yawke we will be a fun team to watch. I'm calling the upset at the Carrier Dome early this year!

Mullin had these boys playing hard last year, I'm truly excited to see next years team run wild on the Big East.

 

[OLV72]

I think we reach at least 18 wins and a possible NIT bid. Lovett and Ponds will finally provide us with some excellent back court skillsets. Bashir Ahmed will be an excellent 2 year guy here while Freudenburg will be a nightmare matchup on offense. Those four additions alone are what we truly needed, SCORING. These boys can drop buckets. The 2 X factors to me will be Owens and Williams. If these two can bang down low and grab some boards to progress the development of/ compete with Sima and Yawke we will be a fun team to watch. I'm calling the upset at the Carrier Dome early this year!

Mullin had these boys playing hard last year, I'm truly excited to see next years team run wild on the Big East.

I saw the you tube clips and agree. These new guys can drop buckets. The never miss a shot.

I'm calling for a win against St Thomas Aquinas.