Rick’s Targets

Lived in same town, Fairfield, Ct as Conway and saw him play a few times. He was volume scorer there who overpowered lesser competition. He had limited offers out of high school, but coaches up there thought he was a true “basketball player.” Hopefully that translates here where too often we have invested in slashing athletes who were not cerebral players. In a bench role, hopefully Conway adds some smarts, shooting and timely play to the equation.
 
A couple of thoughts; small things win and lose games, boxing out, being willing to set picks to get a teammate a good shot, fighting for loose balls, etc. When was the last time a St. John’s team excelled at “getting dirty”, paying attention to detail, playing a team game? In short, playing smart, disciplined ball. Like him or not, but Hurley coached a Uconn team that played hard D and got good shots and parlayed that into a NC.
I don’t waste my time looking at highlight videos because everyone looks like an AA in them. I thought CMA was a steal when he was signed, was dead wrong, and wound up rarely watching an entire game over the last two years because I thought the “style“ of play was ridiculous. I thought the recruiting was worse because nothing fit.
Constant switching 40 feet from the basket, silly random double teams with no associated rotations, no structured offense, beyond horrible shot selection, etc., etc. Most importantly, for me, I just did not see the “they always play hard” that others did.
I expect the direct opposite starting with the first exhibition game next season and trust Pitino‘s player evaluations, not because I consider him remotely infallible, but because he has a long history of being right a heck of a lot more than he has been wrong. And he is looking for players he can mold into a team and win with, not players who can have fans drooling over highlight videos.
 
paultzman said:
Lived in same town, Fairfield, Ct as Conway and saw him play a few times. He was volume scorer there who overpowered lesser competition. He had limited offers out of high school, but coaches up there thought he was a true “basketball player.” Hopefully that translates here where too often we have invested in slashing athletes who were not cerebral players. In a bench role, hopefully Conway adds some smarts, shooting and timely play to the equation.
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Thanks Paultz.

Rebounding numbers suggest a nose for the ball as well.
 
paultzman said:
Lived in same town, Fairfield, Ct as Conway and saw him play a few times. He was volume scorer there who overpowered lesser competition. He had limited offers out of high school, but coaches up there thought he was a true “basketball player.” Hopefully that translates here where too often we have invested in slashing athletes who were not cerebral players. In a bench role, hopefully Conway adds some smarts, shooting and timely play to the equation.
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Played at Warde if I’m correct. FCIAC competition hit or miss. Walsh always had good teams ( David McClure, Craig Austrie, Mike Tromboli) at Trinity Catholic when I was at McMahon.
 
paultzman said:
Conway drives well in addition to good shooting. How he defends on perimeter is a question. Then again we see a lot of zone, so always good to have sharpshooter in first 7 or 8 rotation. Yeah, people assumed Caraher was a shooter for stereotypical reason, but clearly was not
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I see the “Caraher“ stereotype is alive and well as people insist on describing Conway as a “sniper”. :oops:
 
Section3 said:
Definitely a bench piece, but based on the videos, much better than Caraher who was not a shooter.
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He wasn’t a shooter at sju but fwiw Caraher shot over 36% from 3 on over 5 attempts his freshmen year. So you never know how it will translate from lower to higher level.

Much larger sample size from Conway, but the numbers vs top competition don’t promise a shooter. Promise being the key word. If he shoots 35-38% from 3, brings some smarts and toughness off the bench, I’ll be ecstatic.
 
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Welcome aboard!
Pitino is replacing the departed players who may have a higher basketball IQ than the piece they are replacing. In this case, I see an upgrade from Rafael Pinson and a guy with a fire in his belly.
For this kid he gets to learn from a HOF coach and won't have to sleep on a cot any longer.
 
logen said:
Conway is more than a sniper, he is a pretty good all-around player; I do agree 100% with your premise that it remains to be seen how he contributes but I would add, Pitino is not CMA and he has proven he knows the type player he wants to implement his style. Fans wanted Pitino here but it appears some thought (general statement, not pointed at you) the rebuild would be instantaneous.
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Logen,Matty Hoops, Kranmar are wise men and know their B-ball. Listen to their words and remember them!
 
logen said:
A couple of thoughts; small things win and lose games, boxing out, being willing to set picks to get a teammate a good shot, fighting for loose balls, etc. When was the last time a St. John’s team excelled at “getting dirty”, paying attention to detail, playing a team game? In short, playing smart, disciplined ball. Like him or not, but Hurley coached a Uconn team that played hard D and got good shots and parlayed that into a NC.
I don’t waste my time looking at highlight videos because everyone looks like an AA in them. I thought CMA was a steal when he was signed, was dead wrong, and wound up rarely watching an entire game over the last two years because I thought the “style“ of play was ridiculous. I thought the recruiting was worse because nothing fit.
Constant switching 40 feet from the basket, silly random double teams with no associated rotations, no structured offense, beyond horrible shot selection, etc., etc. Most importantly, for me, I just did not see the “they always play hard” that others did.
I expect the direct opposite starting with the first exhibition game next season and trust Pitino‘s player evaluations, not because I consider him remotely infallible, but because he has a long history of being right a heck of a lot more than he has been wrong. And he is looking for players he can mold into a team and win with, not players who can have fans drooling over highlight videos.
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Spot On👍⛹️‍♀️
 
Demo said:
No one ever misses an opportunity to have a real conversation.
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Honestly I was kidding as per the emoji. But if we look past the highlight videos, the numbers don’t say much of his efficiency going to the basket.
 
Admit doubtful about incoming players but starting to see team form. 2021 Gonzaga vibe.
Soriano = Timme
Jenkins= Suggs
Conway =Kispert
Just need our Nembhard and Ayayi
 
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