Regular season grades

[quote="Amaseinyourface" post=275242][quote="JohnnyFan" post=275225]A-
Ponds (On Jan. 31st, would have given him a C.)
[/quote]

Wow, what were your expectations for him this year? 30 & 10?[/quote]

Ponds is not perfect. But a perfect player is not coming here. As our best player and ALL BE to boot he gets a A+.
Sadly I don't think we get a player of Ponds ability again anytime soon. Hopefully he stays another year and people enjoy what we have.
 
[quote="SLYFOXX1968" post=275218]I hope you are aware that ND needed a very questionable foul call to beat a ACC winless Pitt team yesterday by 3 points . And , that was with Colson playing . You are Nit Picking on Lovett’s Defense for a few possessions in a game early in the season vs Missouri . Lovett’s defensive style was pressure all the time and take risk and gamble to create a steal or turnover . He could do that as he had Owens to bail him out in with a block . Lovett’s game was constant energy all the time . He went all out , pretty much every play . Rarely walked the ball upcourt . Had some turnovers but, again his style made up for the miscues . I think you missed the whole point though about Brey being held accountable for a losing record after Colson went down . Yet, many here , like you , hold Mullin accountable for the adverse impact of losing Lovett , first to injury , then to whatever his decision was to not return . Stay with that if you like but, there are other opinions just as valid as yours . Maybe more so .[/quote]

So, what if Notre Dame "needed" a questionable call to beat Pitt. They won! The committee isn't looking at style wins. It's a win and they are potentially one more win away from cementing themselves into the dance. You probably wasn't aware they was even on the bubble yesterday before your babbling.

LoVett brought energy, but he also frequently gambled on the defensive end. LoVett also wasn't quite sharing the ball during his last few games at St. John's. In his last four games, he tallied 2 assists to 9 turnovers. None of that is to say, I wasn't a fan of LoVett. I was a fan, and losing him was a blow. But, I'm calling it how I saw it.

Where have I blamed Mullin on LoVett's injury? If you can find it, please let me know. Maybe, Mullin should've been better prepared, as a few posters even stated before the start of the season.

I don't mind differing opinions, as long as there's sufficient reasoning behind it. Too often, yours lack logic.

Sorry, man.... Excuses, obfuscation, along with a few other things don't cut it. Too bad, none of that has any affect on what I see.
 
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[quote="ctstorm" post=275215][quote="Class of 72" post=275204][quote="Amaseinyourface" post=275198][quote="Class of 72" post=275185]Agree with most grades but Ahmed gets a B in my book. Shamorie gets a B+ because he was part of the 0-11 streak. Mullin coached the shortest bench in college ball to 15 wins with huge wins over the #1 and #3 teams. He is not the rookie coach anymore and gets a B from me because he managed to hold the players together. Could have easily won 18 or more games with a complete roster.[/quote]

Ponds 1/2 letter grade better than ahmad? Yikes[/quote]

Don't be fooled by his points per game average. Ponds took over 200 more field goal attempts than Bashir Ahmed but both their overall shooting % is 41%. Ponds also took 172 to Bashir's 126 three point shots but Ponds shot a poor 26% to Bashir’s 34%. Both were average defenders while Bashir was a poor rebounder while Ponds was an excellent rebounding guard with a better nose for the ball. Ponds drops from an A because he had some really bad games during the losing streak that had a big impact in the losses aND the season. A B grade is good and Bashir was a good player. Shamorie was above average but could have been more consistent which leads me to his flirtation with the NBA. He is just an average defender and passer but he was a below average 3 point shooter. Just don't see him being drafted this year.[/quote]

Yikes! All Big East gets a B+? You will never survive as a teacher today. :)[/quote]

I am a big Slick fan but I don't let it cloud my evaluation of Slick, the most valuable player on the team and grading his individual performance as a player over the entire year. His overall shooting percentage of 41% is below average because of the many bad shots, usually those beyond the arc, that he took. His 3 point shooting is well below average. The season is not just 4 weeks long so without looking at his overall game some would be tempted with A+ grades. Besides, where does a kid go from an A+?? I know his game well enough to send a message with my B+ that he has a long way to go to be a first round NBA pick.
 
[quote="Amaseinyourface" post=275242][quote="JohnnyFan" post=275225]A-
Ponds (On Jan. 31st, would have given him a C.)
[/quote]

Wow, what were your expectations for him this year? 30 & 10?[/quote]

I hear you. My grade is for the whole season. While he has played like a true superstar for the last month, he does have some ownership of the losing streak. Don't get me wrong......love Ponds!
 
I follow ND almost as closely as I do the Johnnies and am well aware they have bubble still tattooed on their foreheads . And , likely need to beat VA Tech today to get to Lunardi’s last 4in.. which is still questionable territory as a lot of other teams can go up or down over the weekend .,. I thought you comprehended my point that LoVett DID gamble a lot on Defense because he relied on Owens to shot block . It seemed we agreed he did gamble but, he was usually a pest to opponents guards and turned them over . Lovett was never a PG type and Assits to turnovers weren’t a strong stat for him . Both , Ponds and Simon turn it over quite a bit too. Simon telegraphs a lot of passes and loses the handle dribbling into a crowd but, his good points outweigh his weaknesses . Ponds loses his handle too , when driving to the hoop but, he is often doubled and gets stripped . A lot of Shamorie ‘s TO’s are because he handles the ball so much and is asked to do many, many things on the Court. He has good Court vision and has made some highlight film pssses. Some of which have bounced off Owens or Ahmed’s or even , Clarke’s hands . Yakwe , needs a baseball glove out there and can’t handle even perfect passes . Lastly , trashing Mullin for not having more Bench depth to replace Lovett is a stretch . No one, no one, could have anticipated the bizarre season of Lovett . He and Ponds were given every green light on the highway to do what they wanted on the Court , as they had effectively played nice last year with outstanding results . This year they were expected to contribute even more together and presented all sorts of Problems for opponents . Lovett’s injury did not seem to be a season ending one but, whoever advised him to pack it in , was rolling dice . He and Ponds could have resurrected the awful start if he returned . Too bad . It was a bad decision all the way around . Lovett hadn’t had surgery on the knee yet and it was never mentioned all during his absence as a option of treatment . I take it as he just quit . Without a doubt , that was a torpedo to our season and he owed Mullin , his teammates and the University more than he delivered . He and Ponds together could have put all sorts of Record numbers in the books individually and as the best duo in the School’s history , which is saying a lot . Amen .
 
[quote="SLYFOXX1968" post=275282]I follow ND almost as closely as I do the Johnnies and am well aware they have bubble still tattooed on their foreheads . And , likely need to beat VA Tech today to get to Lunardi’s last 4in.. which is still questionable territory as a lot of other teams can go up or down over the weekend .,. I thought you comprehended my point that LoVett DID gamble a lot on Defense because he relied on Owens to shot block . It seemed we agreed he did gamble but, he was usually a pest to opponents guards and turned them over . Lovett was never a PG type and Assits to turnovers weren’t a strong stat for him . Both , Ponds and Simon turn it over quite a bit too. Simon telegraphs a lot of passes and loses the handle dribbling into a crowd but, his good points outweigh his weaknesses . Ponds loses his handle too , when driving to the hoop but, he is often doubled and gets stripped . A lot of Shamorie ‘s TO’s are because he handles the ball so much and is asked to do many, many things on the Court. He has good Court vision and has made some highlight film pssses. Some of which have bounced off Owens or Ahmed’s or even , Clarke’s hands . Yakwe , needs a baseball glove out there and can’t handle even perfect passes . Lastly , trashing Mullin for not having more Bench depth to replace Lovett is a stretch . No one, no one, could have anticipated the bizarre season of Lovett . He and Ponds were given every green light on the highway to do what they wanted on the Court , as they had effectively played nice last year with outstanding results . This year they were expected to contribute even more together and presented all sorts of Problems for opponents . Lovett’s injury did not seem to be a season ending one but, whoever advised him to pack it in , was rolling dice . He and Ponds could have resurrected the awful start if he returned . Too bad . It was a bad decision all the way around . Lovett hadn’t had surgery on the knee yet and it was never mentioned all during his absence as a option of treatment . I take it as he just quit . Without a doubt , that was a torpedo to our season and he owed Mullin , his teammates and the University more than he delivered . He and Ponds together could have put all sorts of Record numbers in the books individually and as the best duo in the School’s history , which is saying a lot . Amen .[/quote]

No offense, but I'm not gonna touch on the other stuff you wrote because it's hard to even read the material due to it being all jumbled up.

On the other hand, we lacked depth and ballhandlers even before LoVett's departure. There was a handful of posters who stated such before the season had even started. So, if those fans can identify such, then why can't the coaching staff? Many knew we was a ballhandler-injury away from being in a mess. We also totally whiffed on any bigs during the offseason a year ago.

Besides, your initial argument about Notre Dame was attempting to paint Brey and his Irish versus Mullin and his Johnnies, based on both teams losing vital cogs. Notre Dame with Colson and the Johnnies with LoVett. Notre Dame was still able to put themselves in a situation where they could still make the NCAA Tournament even before Colson's return last Saturday. We were nor are anywhere close to the NCAA Tournament bubble. So, no comparison there. If anything the Irish will still play in a postseason tournament.

Sorry, dude.... Just sounds like more excuses.
 
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TEAM GRADES:
Grit: A+
Heart A+
Intestinal Fortitude (The Lou Albano Award): A+

A lot of teams would have thrown in the towel when their pg, who was a man in age at 23 compared to many of our guys, quit on them. Lovett should have been a leader, not a quitter.
A lot of teams would have called it a season at 0 and 11 in conference, but they made nearly every game a war and were in most to the end. Short handed, injured, playing out of position, underweight and undersized.
They did not quit on each other, their coaches, or their fans. Despite everything, they gave us one of the greatest weeks in SJU basketball history. The players and the staff endured constant bashing on this site and another, but, because of the coach nearly everyone maligned, stayed positive always.

Many are resurrecting Lavin for reasons I can't comprehend. The players he recruited that actually made it here often quit on each other and their coach. He had a deeper, more talented roster than we had now, but suffered plenty of embarrassing blowouts. He had the same amount of NCAA tournament wins as Mullin-zero, despite having 2 very experienced and loaded rosters. Nothing embarrassing about this team, or this staff. Only many reasons to be proud of our guys and our coach.
 
I'm not going to grade these guys, because frankly I like them too much to be objective. Suffice it to say, I'd welcome all of the guys who played last night back on the team if it were possible. They play so well together and leave it all out there. I can't bring myself at this point to critique any deficiencies.
As far as coaching staff, would give those guys a C for parts of December and January where at times team looked a bit disorganized and halftime adjustments seemed lacking; however; I'd give them a solid B+ from late January on, so overall a B- with every expectation this time next year it would be a B+. We all knew there'd be a learning curve and they are on the right side of it at this point.
 
I have rethought my Incomplete grade for Lovett.
After further review, he now gets an F. Quit on the team, after asking CM if he could wear his retired '20'. Left us in a bad situation.
 
Grades

Ponds - A. yes he is all team big east, and you couldn't imagine where the team would be without him. If you grade him on his best games, it's an A++. But most if the season he was merely very good. Had he played at NBA level all season we'd be dancing.

Simon B+. Rebounds like a forward, runs the door, shot well, fills a stat sheet. NBA sized guard who did a ton nearly every game. Asset.

Clark solid B. How can you not love this guy, who is a rock solid person. Nice season, but a forward who doesn't rebound on a squad like this cant get any more than a B. Good shooter . Would be a great 4th or 5th option on a tourney team.

Owens. C+. He went from human eraser to a baseline shooter. Pleasantly surprised at his range but at what expense? Got pushed around by stronger big men like govan and Delgado. Needs bulk and a post game to be impactful steadily. Are 8 rebounds per game too much to ask from him?

Ahmed C+ At his best could light it up in spurts, at his worst could take I'll advised shots at exactly the wrong time. All in all solid season, with a lot more good than bad. Gave the teams points and toughness.

Trimble C - showed he may become instant offense off the bench, and not a bad job as a frosh. Contributed little though beyond being able to hit his jumper. Needs to get in better game shape to be a BE player.

Yakwe D+. He was being piece mealed minutes and providing solid bench role until his injury took him out of rotation. Hopefully can put in meaningful and productive bench minutes as a senior.

Amar. D+ everything you would ever want in a teammate. Appeared to be more restrained on the court offensively, more interested in setting screens than launching bombs. Produced reasonably well when given major minutes late. Hard not to love this kid, but overall a sub par BE player.

Coaching. Did our staff do a great job keeping our guys playing hard all season, especially when 11 game streak crushed all hope? Yes. Was inexperience responsible for getting us there or was it a thin roster ? Grade B if you love Mullin and staff. C if you don't. Anything above or below is misguided.
 
Concur with Beast's assessment and have one additional comment regarding Tariq. I believe he can get a bit stronger, but doubt he can add bulk at this point. One area, via drills, he can improve upon is developing better balance. Too often he takes spills or stumbles in the heat of battle, not necessarily caused by being outmuscled. ( obviously that often occurred also ) With Keita and an additional big in the fold, he hopefully will become more of a stretch four, which is more in tune with his weak side blocking and shooting abilities.
 
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Ponds (A) 1st Team All Big East, enough said.

Simon (A-) Exceeded expectations in my opinion. Provided versatility as guard who mixes it up. Not a shooter but puts pressure by creating transition plays.

Owens (A-) Our key player on defense. Elite shot blocker with a high motor and can guard multiple positions. Learned how to stay out foul trouble playing 30mpg. Although streaky can stretch the floor out to the 3. Most of his flaws are due to lack of strength, but I give him a pass because he has to play out of position at Center.

Clark (B ) Much better offensive player than I thought he would be; best shooter on the team. Could of grabbed a few more boards and posted up a little more. High character solid player who can do little bit of everything.

Ahmed (B-) I admit I like this kid more than most on here. Streaky player in general but did some good work this year. Solid scorer who had a knack for hitting key shots. His aggressiveness was a double edged sword; he could shoot us back in a game or out of one. Good defender when engaged but not the case most of the time. Free throws are what really hurt him, with his style of play he could get to the line but couldn't make them.

Trimble (C) Our entire bench pretty much. I didn't expect much from him seeing as he is just a freshman. Got forced into more minutes due to lack of depth. Had some good moments but mostly just there to give the starters a breather. Decent shooter and doesn't turn the ball over, which is probably due to him not trying to make any plays. Showed some game but needs to get in better shape and keep working on that shot.

Alibegovic (C) Supposed to be able to shoot but doesn't make threes. To his credit he showed much more restraint on just letting it go just beacause he was open. Thought he made smart passes on offense when he did play. Dont think he hurt us just couldn't make a difference either. Good locker room guy.

Yakwe (C-) The great mystery. I thought he was playing decent early on and had a few decent moments in conference. Can still block shots but never understood why with his leaping ability he wasn't a monster on the glass. Doesnt seem like he has improved since he's been here which is odd considering raw athletic guys like himself usually improve with time. I don't think he necessarily hurt or helped us with his play we were just better playing our starters as much as possible.

Mullin (B-) Want to give him a better grade but we finished last in the Big East. I think he is doing a good job. OOC was a lot of fun and Mullin showed he can win some games with a full rotation. 11 game win streak is what really hurts him, ideally he could of coached 2 or 3 wins out of the team during that span. Gets a lot of credit for keeping the guys together after all the disappointment and gave some hope for the future with the Duke/Nova wins b2b. Also player retention has to improve if he is going to have a consistent program.

LoVett (Q+) Yeah...
 
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