Roster Turnover

[Ray Morgan]

Wusu and Williams are very different players. Williams is the better athlete, and it's not even close. GWill was a good shooter from 3. He is usually under control and developed a nice floater. Wusu's game surprised me. He sees the court well and is very strong going to the hoop. He also can finish with either hand. His 3 point shot is wildly inconsistent and needs a lot of work. I don't know how much improvement Wusu has in him, but he doesn't need work on his confidence. He  has plenty of it. I really wish we had them both. We all have been waiting for the GWill breakout year. Unfortunately, it wont be for us.

 

[Ray Morgan]

If the NCAA comes up with a rule, you can guarantee it will be bad for us. Almost every player on the 2020-2021 roster is either in the portal or testing the waters. The only 2 that are not out the door or just thinking about it are Posh and his friend Dylan.

The good news is that Posh and Dylan combined for 18 points, Wheeler and Smith another 17. That's 35 points between them.
The bad news is that it's not 1929.

So that's how math works in terms of points expected for upcoming season!!

Let's take a quick look at 2019
Dunn - 12
Champ - 10
Earlington - 9
Williams - 6
Roberts - 5

That's 45 points coming into this past season - and somehow the team managed 79.
Miracle I tell you!

Maybe this will be easy to understand.  There are 8 players on the 2021 roster at the moment.  Three are freshman,  1 is a mystery man, 1 averaged 3 points, and the other comes from a mid major.   It's early in the transfer game,  but that's the roster right now.  If that ends up the top 8, then St. John's will be picked to finish last in the Big East. If Champ goes pro, CMA is really going to have to be a miracle man to keep his record going. There are plenty of very good players still available.  We need 3 to end up wearing St. John's uniforms.

 

 

[GardenCity62]

Ironic that most if.not all of the players leaving SJU are doing it for the opportunity to play more minutes elsewhere and SJU  has more minutes available than any school in the country.

 

[Money]

If the NCAA comes up with a rule, you can guarantee it will be bad for us. Almost every player on the 2020-2021 roster is either in the portal or testing the waters. The only 2 that are not out the door or just thinking about it are Posh and his friend Dylan.

The good news is that Posh and Dylan combined for 18 points, Wheeler and Smith another 17. That's 35 points between them.
The bad news is that it's not 1929.

So that's how math works in terms of points expected for upcoming season!!

Let's take a quick look at 2019
Dunn - 12
Champ - 10
Earlington - 9
Williams - 6
Roberts - 5

That's 45 points coming into this past season - and somehow the team managed 79.
Miracle I tell you!

Maybe this will be easy to understand.  There are 8 players on the 2021 roster at the moment.  Three are freshman,  1 is a mystery man, 1 averaged 3 points, and the other comes from a mid major.   It's early in the transfer game,  but that's the roster right now.  If that ends up the top 8, then St. John's will be picked to finish last in the Big East. If Champ goes pro, CMA is really going to have to be a miracle man to keep his record going. There are plenty of very good players still available.  We need 3 to end up wearing St. John's uniforms.


 

I'm following, at the moment we only have 8 players.  I think we can all assume that CMA will somehow be able to secure 5 more players to bring the roster to 13 scholarship limit.  Then based on your calculations we need Posh, Wusu, Wheeler and Smith to maintain last years scoring average -- plus 3 freshman, 1 mystery man, and five still to be determined players to score some points so we don't only score 35 points like the 1929's scoring level... 

BTW, for this upcoming season, I'll take the over on the 35.

 

 

[QueensBall]

I also think they're different players but if we're comparing them...

I think Wusu was better as a freshman than Williams was as a sophmore. He shot better from the field and averaged more points despite playing less minutes. WIlliams had slightly more rebounds and Wusu had more assists. We get on Wusu for only shooting 62% from the line but Williams only shot 65%. Wusu closed out games and hit a couple of huge buckets as a freshmen during this weird season. That matters. Yes Greg is fundamentally sound and plays more "under control" but there's a fine line between "under control" and hesitating/overthinking. I'm not surprised Wusu got the minutes in the clutch. Nobody is saying he's going to be National POY but why is it crazy to think this guy can start and play 25-30 minutes a game? I'll accept that people here (myself included) may be overhyping him but then we're certainly overhyping Williams and Earlington. I'm not glad they're gone, I wanted them on the team but diminishing Wusu doesn't make them look better. It makes them look worse. I predict Wusu is going to continue to surprise.

 

[Ray Morgan]

If the NCAA comes up with a rule, you can guarantee it will be bad for us. Almost every player on the 2020-2021 roster is either in the portal or testing the waters. The only 2 that are not out the door or just thinking about it are Posh and his friend Dylan.

The good news is that Posh and Dylan combined for 18 points, Wheeler and Smith another 17. That's 35 points between them.
The bad news is that it's not 1929.

So that's how math works in terms of points expected for upcoming season!!

Let's take a quick look at 2019
Dunn - 12
Champ - 10
Earlington - 9
Williams - 6
Roberts - 5

That's 45 points coming into this past season - and somehow the team managed 79.
Miracle I tell you!

Maybe this will be easy to understand.  There are 8 players on the 2021 roster at the moment.  Three are freshman,  1 is a mystery man, 1 averaged 3 points, and the other comes from a mid major.   It's early in the transfer game,  but that's the roster right now.  If that ends up the top 8, then St. John's will be picked to finish last in the Big East. If Champ goes pro, CMA is really going to have to be a miracle man to keep his record going. There are plenty of very good players still available.  We need 3 to end up wearing St. John's uniforms.



 

I'm following, at the moment we only have 8 players.  I think we can all assume that CMA will somehow be able to secure 5 more players to bring the roster to 13 scholarship limit.  Then based on your calculations we need Posh, Wusu, Wheeler and Smith to maintain last years scoring average -- plus 3 freshman, 1 mystery man, and five still to be determined players to score some points so we don't only score 35 points like the 1929's scoring level... 

BTW, for this upcoming season, I'll take the over on the 35.

But will you take the over 35  for Posh Dylan, Wheeler, and Smith?  I'm thinking it could go either way, but I would lean towards the over.


 

 

[Redzing1969]

So if for instance Earlington and Williams don’t get the offers they want from other schools, and they want to return to SJU, do you take them back or say sayonara and just concentrate on getting someone new?Opinions?

 

[paultzman]

So if for instance Earlington and Williams don’t get the offers they want from other schools, and they want to return to SJU, do you take them back or say sayonara and just concentrate on getting someone new?Opinions?

ship has sailed

 

[JohnnyFan]

So if for instance Earlington and Williams don’t get the offers they want from other schools, and they want to return to SJU, do you take them back or say sayonara and just concentrate on getting someone new?Opinions?

I think both genuinely enjoyed their time here and are thankful.  However, I also honestly don't think either wants to come back.

 

[JohnnyFan]

I also think they're different players but if we're comparing them...

I think Wusu was better as a freshman than Williams was as a sophmore. He shot better from the field and averaged more points despite playing less minutes. WIlliams had slightly more rebounds and Wusu had more assists. We get on Wusu for only shooting 62% from the line but Williams only shot 65%. Wusu closed out games and hit a couple of huge buckets as a freshmen during this weird season. That matters. Yes Greg is fundamentally sound and plays more "under control" but there's a fine line between "under control" and hesitating/overthinking. I'm not surprised Wusu got the minutes in the clutch. Nobody is saying he's going to be National POY but why is it crazy to think this guy can start and play 25-30 minutes a game? I'll accept that people here (myself included) may be overhyping him but then we're certainly overhyping Williams and Earlington. I'm not glad they're gone, I wanted them on the team but diminishing Wusu doesn't make them look better. It makes them look worse. I predict Wusu is going to continue to surprise.

I disagree, but appreciate the different opinion.  Hope you're right. 

 

[SLYFOXX1968]

Losing Williams and Earlington is more than just Playing time . No matter how else it’s spun . 

 

[lawmanfan]

Losing Williams and Earlington is more than just Playing time . No matter how else it’s spun . 

Maybe the fan base's attachment to those players is stronger than the staff's was?

 

[monte]

Losing Williams and Earlington is more than just Playing time . No matter how else it’s spun . 

Maybe the fan base's attachment to those players is stronger than the staff's was?

Unless they were problems, and there was nothing to indicate either was, why wouldn't the staff have a strong attachment to them? Both were solid contributors and both would have provided much needed senior leadership and continuity. 
 

 

[Knight]

Greg was a nice player with potential, but I think CMA limited his PT to protect his back.  Nice player, seems like a gentleman.  Good luck.

 

[MainMan]

Losing Williams and Earlington is more than just Playing time . No matter how else it’s spun . 

Maybe the fan base's attachment to those players is stronger than the staff's was?

Unless they were problems, and there was nothing to indicate either was, why wouldn't the staff have a strong attachment to them? Both were solid contributors and both would have provided much needed senior leadership and continuity. 

 

We're better off without them Monte because we're going to replace them with the best players on Furman and Gardner-Webb.
 

 

[kred]

Therein lies the rub. Can we replace them with better players, can they land somewhere to get more PT or a better situation.

 

[lawmanfan]

Losing Williams and Earlington is more than just Playing time . No matter how else it’s spun . 

Maybe the fan base's attachment to those players is stronger than the staff's was?

Unless they were problems, and there was nothing to indicate either was, why wouldn't the staff have a strong attachment to them? Both were solid contributors and both would have provided much needed senior leadership and continuity. 

 

I think it's pretty much a statement of fact that the staff was just not as attached to GW3 and Marcellus as the fan base. The players obviously wanted to be a featured part of the offense (and in Marcellus case to have a different role), and the staff was clearly willing to let them depart rather than promise them a new or improved role.

Clearly the staff feels that they can fill those spots and keep moving forward. We shall see if that turns out to be right or wrong. At this moment I think their roster is in the neighborhood of being as good as last year's and they have multiple scholarships left to use.

I suppose it depends on whether or not you think Anderson knows what he's doing. I'm betting on the guy with 400 wins and what I've seen so far. But it's just a bet, and you don't win all of those, right Monte?

 

[mjmaherjr]

If Earl goes to let’s say Bryant while as annoying as it is realistically you can’t look back at that and freak out because you can at least make sense of it. I’d still rather him be here but it is what it is. Williams hurts no way to spin that for me. 

 

[QueensBall]

Not about "better off without them" or "didn't need them." I haven't seen anyone actually say they're glad either of those two are gone.
The debate isn't about if we wanted them on the team or not. Of course everyone wanted them to stay but not if that means you can't try to recruit over them. It's about if you think the roster needed upgrading beyond a half-decent big man from a mid-major. Is not being able to upgrade the roster worth promising them the roles they want for themselves?

As usual nobody will know who's right until the we see how the new roster performs. One thing I do like about this fan base (or at least this board) is regardless of who was right or wrong in these offseason debates, everyone is happy when the team is winning and willing to give credit where due regardless of which players are responsible.

 

[doodyny33]

Therein lies the rub. Can we replace them with better players, can they land somewhere to get more PT or a better situation.

I’m not going to sit here and rip CMA. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the best game coach they’ve had in years. But let’s not ignore the obvious. 8 young men have decided not to play for him anymore. No matter how people spin it, it looks horrible. Now, I get some of them. Caraher, McGriff, and Roberts weren’t going to get minutes here. Earlington wants a bigger role. Cole and Moore didn’t seem to fit in from the start. As for Williams, I have no idea. But even if CMA is capable of replacing them with “better players”, at some point you need stability in your program. I totally get there’s going to be transfers every year. A player that got over recruited and won’t get any PT (McGriff) would be foolish to waste his eligibility. But losing 8 guys is a sign of an unstable program and the coaches need to look inward on this one. Something they are doing is not working.