Rutgers Exhibition

SLYFOXX1968 said:
7. While the Game was called a scrimmage and exhibition with Rutgers , it appeared to be played like a real game for both teams.
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very true. this game was invaluable. not one player or coach on either team seemed to treat it like just a practice. the intensity was there from the start. While I think a game like Pace will add little to the development of the team, who am I to question anything that CRP does. I was so impressed with how engaged he and the entire coaching was during the entire game and pre-game.
 
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Just a few unsolicited thoughts.

First...I thought the crowd was disappointing. For 20 bucks, my wife and I got seats on the floor in a game against a good opponent. For 10 dollars...the price of a beer in Manhattan...you got into the building. There are elite fans on this site who try to get to every game and I'll admit I'm not one of them...but come on. Do we deserve Pitino?

Rutgers is a good team. They're well coached and they have some studs. I'd be shocked if they didn't make the NCAA's in March.

I was elated by the first half. We were men against boys. In the second half, we looked like we blew our load and were looking for a cigarette. Terrible. Many posters here broke down assessments of players better than I could, so I'll leave it at that.

Pitino said, post game, that this kind of win was better than a 30 point blowout. They gave up a big lead...had a buzzer beater...then put Rutgers away in the second OT. Onions.

OK...we're not top 25 yet...but I see it coming.
 
As mentioned by several, the attendance was to but it kindly “disappointing”. I had a feeling it would be by the way they kept pushing it with advertisements. It is more than bothersome that we can't get students to role themselves from their dorms on campus or housing near it for a 2 PM charity game ushering in a new era of basketball. I guess with them the night before was all about 2Chainz.

Maybe it is about the fact our brand has been irrelevant for years that we have not really built up a fan base in that age range except for those whose parents are diehards. The two years that my daughter was there before she transferred, she had student season tickets but could not get her roommates or other friends to go and that problem seems to continue. You would think they would want to be part of starting a new tradition and get things going but no.

Season tickets and mini plans sales are up due to people like most of us on this site, people who remembered the heydays, are graduates and or grew up as fans whether they attended the school or not. This is the perfect time to cultivate this group of students and those who are coming after them but the signs yesterday in this department was not there.

Back when I was a student, the students didn’t pack games at Alumni but then there were no dorms or student section which we have at CA. The Students did come out en masse for games at the Garden. We shall see.
 
tnice said:
Alleyne was 6 for 17 so if by shotmaker you mean "took enough shots that some were bound to go in", then yes. LOL (Obviously he made a big one)

Hopefully the days of SJU's points leader being a "volume scorer" are over. And Alleyne will never take 17 shots in a game ever again, so we chalk it up to it being a scrimmage and move along.
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Alleyne was a major contributor on a National Championship team. Not worried about him at all.
 
I anticipate “the go to guy” at crunch time on this team will be trumped by “by committee” approach. These guys seem to move the ball very well to generate good shots and have enough shooters to make those critical baskets. Depth, experience and unselfish play seems in the cards enabling them to close out many of the “squeakers”, something missing in recent years.

Rick’s challenge, which he obviously has experience with, will be to keep as many guys as possible happy within reason, which is the norm.
 
Without seeing the game, I learned a lot about Alleyne from his 6-17, 4-13 shooting with ZERO assists. I hope our injured alternatives take major minutes from him.
 
AlBovino said:
Without seeing the game, I learned a lot about Alleyne from his 6-17, 4-13 shooting with ZERO assists. I hope our injured alternatives take major minutes from him.
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I don’t understand all the negativity regarding Alleyne after one exhibition game. Especially, when he’s the only player on this team who’s played significant minutes on a National Championship team. His experience will be very valuable this year.
 
AlBovino said:
Without seeing the game, I learned a lot about Alleyne from his 6-17, 4-13 shooting with ZERO assists. I hope our injured alternatives take major minutes from him.
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Yeah I think there’s gotta be some middle ground here. A volume shooter who doesn’t get people involved is in general my least favorite archetype of player. But thanks to Facebook and Sheldon Williams (not the Duke legend) for streaming the game from the stands, you could see most all of those shots were good looks, and I can deal with missed good looks from a proven 3 point shooter. Those shots will go down with Dingle and Luis. He played well, and no chance we win that game without him yesterday.
 
espken said:
Hitting 3’s when the game is on the line trumps shooting percentage. The two he made in each OT were clearly game changers.
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Agreed espken, before he even got here he already proved that he can produce in high pressure situations.
 
Beasts of the East said:
All excuses for a crappy fan base. I think of it this way, if 98 year old Coach Carnesecca shows up, which he now does only 2 or 3 times a season, it's a big deal. If you are within 75 miles of the game instead of complaining that its not on tv, if you care enough, pay TEN BUCKS and usher in the Pitino era by showing up.

What is apples and oranges is there is enough interest in Iowa in a woman's exhibition game to sell 56000 tickets AND have it on TV. Why on earth would a sponsor pay for ad time for an sju mens game when only 3000 fans bother to show up for a charity game? Sju doesn't have its own sports network. Instead of blaming Cragg why not call Fox Sports and express your dissatisfaction. All proceeds went to pediatric cancer research so sju already underwrote the cost of security, cleaning, ushers, etc. You can still make a donation if you wish.

As far as our remote or handicapped fans, I wish the game was televised. For local fans, for decades local teams blacked out local telecasts and the Mets and Yankees are mostly subscription based. Maybe we should do that too.
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Not excuses at all, no one should expect people to dig deep for an incredibly poorly run program over DECADES right from jump street.
Build it and they will come; well nothing is built prior to the first exhibition game.
One EARNS money whether it is an individual working or an institution making good sound business and PR decisions. It Is everyone’s prerogative to buy tickets, give donations, etc.
The fact is Cragg’s idea of withholding viewership of the game for the many and building on the buzz created was a much stronger long term approach to grow a fan base that WILL attend. Instead he chose a poor short term approach that failed to both fill the arena and sieze the opportunity to build on the buzz, especially with the way the game played out; evidently a barn burner worthy of late February in October.
One final point, you are right about interest in Iowa for the women’s program, built over TIME via success on the court and proper management off it. I certainly think Pitino brings and will bring that big time, maybe Cragg should join the party.
 
I'd caution against drawing too many conclusions on player ability off one game or off statistics.

In 1985 the Celtics, looking to repeat as NBA champions dismantled the Lakers in game 1, delivering a 148-114 crushing blow.

The Lakers won the series in 6 games. In basketball the only game that matters is the next game. Guys who looked very good will have to sustain that, guys who had a bad day look to tedeem themselves.

Coach P. will look to correct everything from defensive lapses to bad choices on offense. Staff will have a busy week. This was little more than a dress rehearsal.
 
“Nahiem is [our] best defensive player in the backcourt,” coach Rick Pitino said. “I think everybody overlooks him, but we don’t because he’s our best defensive player as well as being able to make shots.”

nypost.com

St. John’s guard Nahiem Alleyne could be key piece to the roster

Nahiem Alleyne was overlooked amid St. John’s spring overhaul, somewhat forgotten following the backcourt additions of Jordan Dingle and Simeon Wilcher.
nypost.com nypost.com
 
Beasts of the East said:
All excuses for a crappy fan base. I think of it this way, if 98 year old Coach Carnesecca shows up, which he now does only 2 or 3 times a season, it's a big deal. If you are within 75 miles of the game instead of complaining that its not on tv, if you care enough, pay TEN BUCKS and usher in the Pitino era by showing up.

What is apples and oranges is there is enough interest in Iowa in a woman's exhibition game to sell 56000 tickets AND have it on TV. Why on earth would a sponsor pay for ad time for an sju mens game when only 3000 fans bother to show up for a charity game? Sju doesn't have its own sports network. Instead of blaming Cragg why not call Fox Sports and express your dissatisfaction. All proceeds went to pediatric cancer research so sju already underwrote the cost of security, cleaning, ushers, etc. You can still make a donation if you wish.

As far as our remote or handicapped fans, I wish the game was televised. For local fans, for decades local teams blacked out local telecasts and the Mets and Yankees are mostly subscription based. Maybe we should do that too.
Click to expand...
 
Without seeing the game, I learned a lot about Alleyne from his 6-17, 4-13 shooting with ZERO assists. I hope our injured alternatives take major minutes from him.
Whoa…assists are not going to be a part of his game. So let’s drop that expectation from the start. He’s the only proven major contributor on a high-major tournament team.

6-17 games happen to all shooters. With his lack of a handle, he relies on others to set him up and half of that setup tandem, Jordan Dingle was out. He shot 37% from three over his career at Va Tech.

“Nahiem is [our] best defensive player in the backcourt,” coach Rick Pitino (and Marillac) said. “I think everybody overlooks him, but we don’t because he’s our best defensive player as well as being able to make shots.”
 
From what I can see on Ticketmaster tickets are selling great. This was an exhibition game that was setup late. We were away and I know our trip was booked before this game was announced.

But we listened to Dave on the trip home today so it’s like we went!
 
I didn't watch the game but my three thoughts are this:
1) I don't blame the non-students for not showing up to an exhibition at Carnesseca. Unless you live in the general proximity in Queens or Long Island, and/or have a car, it is a trek to get there. It was my wife's birthday so I wasn't going to go anyway, but I don't think I'd take the 1.5 hr commute (And I live in downtown Brooklyn!) for an exhibition game. I'm sure this is why Pitino is emphasizing off-campus regular season games.

But, if you're a student living on campus, no excuses.

2) I'm not worried reading about the offense going stagnant in the half-court since Dingle and Luis did not play. The whole reason Dingle was such a huge addition was that he's the scorer who can break us out of a rut by himself and create offensive momentum to get the guys going again. Luis sounds like a playmaker and will help in this regard as well. Jenkins will be carrying less when we're fully healthy.

3) I'm happy to read Alleyne and Taylor played well. Both of those guys were not mentioned by insider reports that much (on and off the board). I do think Alleyne will end up being a starter for this team. But I really like the idea of having one of those guys on the court at all times -- we really lacked glue players in the Anderson era, and to have two talented glue guys with one being on the court at all times will be really important.
 
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