Rothstein at SJU Practice

“ Dylan Wusu is among the most physically imposing first-year guards I've ever seen. Looks like former URI star Jared Terrell. 6-4 and a legit 235.”

“ All signs point towards Posh Alexander getting the keys to the car for St. John's at PG. Burly freshman is built like a fullback with hops.”

“ Early prediction on St. John's 20-21 starting five:

Posh Alexander, Rasheem Dunn, Greg Williams, Julian Champagnie, Arnaldo Toro”
 
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“ St. John's is significantly deeper in Year 2 under Mike Anderson. Would expect 10 guys to play regularly in an effort to sustain pressure. Need to find ways to manufacture easy baskets.”
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=399986]“ St. John's is significantly deeper in Year 2 under Mike Anderson. Would expect 10 guys to play regularly in an effort to sustain pressure. Need to find ways to manufacture easy baskets.”[/quote]

Not a lot of consistent outside shooting with that starting five. Surprised Cole was not included. I always felt he would need to be very good this year for us to be solid. Perhaps I’m wrong.
 
[quote="Boo Harvey" post=399987][quote="Paultzman" post=399986]“ St. John's is significantly deeper in Year 2 under Mike Anderson. Would expect 10 guys to play regularly in an effort to sustain pressure. Need to find ways to manufacture easy baskets.”[/quote]

Not a lot of consistent outside shooting with that starting five. Surprised Cole was not included. I always felt he would need to be very good this year for us to be solid. Perhaps I’m wrong.[/quote]

Nor size. This is this guys observation for one practice. Im fine w/ posh at the 1 but than dunn comes off the bench.

1- posh
2- cole
3- champy
4- duke
5- Moore/Roberts/Toro

6th man- Gwill
 
I'll qualify my opinion by admitting I've seen neither Posh nor Cole in practice and Rothstein has, but I'd be mildly surprised if either Dunn or Posh didn't come off the bench and Cole start at the 3. Either way, much more interested in who plays major minutes than who starts.
Sounds like we'll go 10 or 11 deep and like Wusu was an excellent pickup. Suspect that a few of these pundits picking us midpack in the league despite losing Figgy are more impressed with the quality of our new guys than some on the board.
Can't wait for November 25th; hope season can go off.
 
I am more interested on who gets major mins in February. I am sure practice will be "Spirited" and we will see a lot of development in the early months. If GW can be consistent with his shot he will be a major weapon this year and I hope posh will be scary, Maybe Wusu can develop into an intimidator like Postell,
 
God bless Coach Mike Anderson who has our program heading in the right direction.
 
I offered from first hand knowledge to not sell Earlington short when he signed with SJU and he has developed into a legit BE D1 player. FWIW, I have been told second hand from someone who is close to an SJU assistant coach much the same about Wusu; intelligent, super hard nosed competitor who is more than willing to work at it.
 
[quote="Duke of Earlington" post=399988][quote="Boo Harvey" post=399987][quote="Paultzman" post=399986]“ St. John's is significantly deeper in Year 2 under Mike Anderson. Would expect 10 guys to play regularly in an effort to sustain pressure. Need to find ways to manufacture easy baskets.”[/quote]

Not a lot of consistent outside shooting with that starting five. Surprised Cole was not included. I always felt he would need to be very good this year for us to be solid. Perhaps I’m wrong.[/quote]

Nor size. This is this guys observation for one practice. Im fine w/ posh at the 1 but than dunn comes off the bench.

1- posh
2- cole
3- champy
4- duke
5- Moore/Roberts/Toro

6th man- Gwill[/quote]


I really think the starters will be:
Dunn
Williams
Champagnie
Earlington
Toro
 
As already posted the starting five is not as important who gets the major minutes but if Alexander, Dunn and Williams do start it is another indicator how important Anderson considers his pressure defense.
 
[quote="NCJohnnie" post=399989]I'll qualify my opinion by admitting I've seen neither Posh nor Cole in practice and Rothstein has, but I'd be mildly surprised if either Dunn or Posh didn't come off the bench and Cole start at the 3. Either way, much more interested in who plays major minutes than who starts.
Sounds like we'll go 10 or 11 deep and like Wusu was an excellent pickup. Suspect that a few of these pundits picking us midpack in the league despite losing Figgy are more impressed with the quality of our new guys than some on the board.
Can't wait for November 25th; hope season can go off.[/quote]

I'm not the biggest Jon Rothstein fan, but when he goes to those practices he does talk to the coaches and typically gets a good assessment and feel for where the team is at and who's been standing out.

Just from reading what people on twitter were saying and listening to CMA interview with Zach, I figured Dunn, Williams, Champaigne, and Toro were pretty much locks, I was curious to who was leading on the final spot, I would have guessed Cole, I was thinking the same thing as you about him starting at the 3, but I was starting to get curious because hadn't heard too much about him, and CMA really wasn't raving about him like he was Toro when talking about the new guys.

If Rothstein ends up being right about the starters, I see the rotation looking like this...

1. Posh / McGriff
2. Dunn / Cole / Wusu
3. Williams / Caraher
4. Champaignie / Earlington
5. Toro / Moore / Roberts
 
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I think I've said this before, but if there's any positive out of LJ leaving, it's that the clock starts on Wusu sooner.
 
[quote="Making Plays" post=399995][quote="NCJohnnie" post=399989]I'll qualify my opinion by admitting I've seen neither Posh nor Cole in practice and Rothstein has, but I'd be mildly surprised if either Dunn or Posh didn't come off the bench and Cole start at the 3. Either way, much more interested in who plays major minutes than who starts.
Sounds like we'll go 10 or 11 deep and like Wusu was an excellent pickup. Suspect that a few of these pundits picking us midpack in the league despite losing Figgy are more impressed with the quality of our new guys than some on the board.
Can't wait for November 25th; hope season can go off.[/quote]

I'm not the biggest Jon Rothstein fan, but when he goes to those practices he does talk to the coaches and typically gets a good assessment and feel for where the team is at and who's been standing out.

Just from reading what people on twitter were saying and listening to CMA interview with Zach, I figured Dunn, Williams, Champaigne, and Toro were pretty much locks, I was curious to who was leading on the final spot, I would have guessed Cole, I was thinking the same thing as you about him starting at the 3, but I was starting to get curious because hadn't heard too much about him, and CMA really wasn't raving about him like he was Toro when talking about the new guys.

If Rothstein ends up being right about the starters, I see the rotation looking like this...

1. Posh / McGriff
2. Dunn / Cole / Wusu
3. Williams / Caraher
4. Champaignie / Earlington
5. Toro / Moore / Roberts[/quote]

Anderson does a great job at allocating playing time.
 
It is clear Dylan and Posh bring grade A toughness to the table which CMA obviously appreciates. In time, both will be fan favorites and give opponents fits.
 
I'm not sure if Posh will start right away but I've been saying that I really do believe he's the next guy up here. By the end of the season (God willing we play and finish a full/safe season) it's going to be clear that this is his team moving forward. I think people forget that before he got injured he was considered the type of recruit that's usually seen as out of our reach. Then he played his junior year in front of the guys who determine the rankings while simultaneously trying to recover from a clean break in his arm AND cutting weight. That's an extremely difficult task for a seasoned pro nevermind a 16/17 year-old. I think we got a very real one here. So I think he starts off on the bench and I agree that starting matters less in this system but Anderson had no problem surprising us by starting Champagnie so who knows.

I agree with others that I'd be a bit surprised if Cole isn't a starter but I've been seduced by his offensive capabilities so it's certainly possible he may not be at the same skill level in other areas that we know this Coach values. There's a bunch of combinations that can be reasonably debated here.

Feels like this team may actually have the depth I was claiming we had at the start of last season ;)
 
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[quote="Boo Harvey" post=399987][quote="Paultzman" post=399986]“ St. John's is significantly deeper in Year 2 under Mike Anderson. Would expect 10 guys to play regularly in an effort to sustain pressure. Need to find ways to manufacture easy baskets.”[/quote]

Not a lot of consistent outside shooting with that starting five. Surprised Cole was not included. I always felt he would need to be very good this year for us to be solid. Perhaps I’m wrong.[/quote]

The lack of buzz on Cole may mean a slow start as he transitions to high major play. The kid obviously has a ton of talent and can shoot the rock, but it might be too much to expect him to immediately match LJs production.
 
[quote="JohnnyFan" post=400002][quote="Boo Harvey" post=399987][quote="Paultzman" post=399986]“ St. John's is significantly deeper in Year 2 under Mike Anderson. Would expect 10 guys to play regularly in an effort to sustain pressure. Need to find ways to manufacture easy baskets.”[/quote]

Not a lot of consistent outside shooting with that starting five. Surprised Cole was not included. I always felt he would need to be very good this year for us to be solid. Perhaps I’m wrong.[/quote]

The lack of buzz on Cole may mean a slow start as he transitions to high major play. The kid obviously has a ton of talent and can shoot the rock, but it might be too much to expect him to immediately match LJs production.[/quote]

Or, maybe Anderson wants instant offense off the bench. I'm not sure. I was just tossing out a possible scenario. Honestly, I think the starting lineup with the exception of two or three players will occasionally change.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=400000]It is clear Dylan and Posh bring grade A toughness to the table which CMA obviously appreciates. In time, both will be fan favorites and give opponents fits.[/quote]

Posh is also a lot further ahead out there than people think. He’s got all the tools and demeanor to boot. I think he will take starting PG reigns for most of the time and Dunn will be combo-type and get a bunch of minutes at both spots. Posh too good to spend meaningful time on the bench. Kid is a killer. I’ve seen enough of him to say he will be tough for opponents.
 
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