Providence Game 2
- Thread starter paultzman
- Start date
I am more accepting of Lavin than most, but I do take him to task on his lack of defining the roles of his forwards. Sanchez, Sampson, and Pointer averaged 25 mpg in our the front court and none of them had a clear role on offense. Gravity is pretty strong, but it is nothing like the pull of the three point line to a big man with carte blanche.
prjohnnies
Member
Better coach and staff would have figured out how to play Dom and Sampson/Sanchez together. Or all three. Sampson was very comfortable shooting mid-range jumpers and a creative coach would have had Dom at times operating from the foul line with Sampson on the baseline/mid-wing, and forced Dom to crash the boards instead of constantly lingering 25 feet from the hoop.
beast of the east
Active member
You know, I didn't want to say anything but that was my recollection also. So much so that during his excellent senior year, I just felt game to game that he was playing over his head and expected a return to earth. In the end his improvement was legitimate and I'd have to look at rosters year to year to see if it was more a matter of just clearing space for him to run the team that precipitated his emergence.
That's because he was always looking over his shoulder because after his first mistake he would be yanked. Lou was not one to use his bench. You really think Cain could be a terrible player for 3 years and a miracle improvement during one off season made him have a terrific senior season. No, the talent was there but Lou didn't get it out of him. Saw Cain in a high school all star game and he was fastest baseline to baseline player I ever saw.
I spoke to Cain outside the Garden after a game and he told me he was going to transfer. He was killing it in practice and never got run, typical of Looie. I told him to hang in their and I believe Mahoney must have clued him in that he was in his corner.Hence his blow out senior year. I believe Riley loved him when he tried for the pros. Just too small/
In looking at this replay, I thought I saw Zendon, who's been regularly sitting right behind the bench most of this season, standing with the team during a TO. Was I seeing things? Maybe it's been explained in another thread, but what exactly his connection to the program, if any?
tom in salem
Well-known member
That's him,
Volunteer assistant coach.
BTW, great shot of new president Bobby G cheering on the guys in the second half.
There are lots of highly rated freshmen who come into programs and struggle; the list is endless. And many of them -- Duke's Crawford Palmer and Georgetown's Sam Jefferson and Grady Mateen, as well as our own Marcus Broadnax immediately come to mind -- never develop over the course of their college careers. But Dom has developed into an outstanding player -- and Phil and CO have developed as well -- and you cannot not give the coaching staff credit for that.
P.S. No one's talking about "HOF stuff." And since you brought it up, exactly which future Hall of Famers do you think are looking to coach St. John's?
beast of the east
Active member
On a subject of small personal pride, as a freshman I christened Harrison Threeangelo. The nickname faded for the more popular Dlo. At the game on Saturday after Harrison drained his second three, one of the guys seated behind me declared to his friends, "Threeangelo is back!".
Indeed.
Indeed.