Seth Greenberg - Why SJU can win the Big East

[fordham96]

The reasons last year why did not do well were:
1) Jordan 's aunt died.
2)Lavin's father died.
3) C.O. refusal to play.
4)Starting line up changes.
5)Disappointed in the play of Sanchez and Hooper who were build up preseason.

Let's pray that the team does not have any tradegies this year,they play as a team and the new players play above our expectations.

Lol, what a complete load of crap. The real 5 reasons the team failed last year are obvious:

1) Lavin cant ***ing coach
2) Lavin cant ***ing coach
3) Lavin cant ***ing coach
4) Lavin cant ***ing coach
5) Lavin cant ***ing coach

And those are the same 5 reasons they will suck this year unless coach Whitesell is really brilliant

How would you know, you know zero about coaching and even less about spelling?

 

[beast of the east]

I think we are all better served if we just close the book on last year. I think we can all agree that it was without a doubt one go the most frustrating seasons we can all remember. I am more concerned about this year b/c I really believe that we had a more "talented" team last year than this year. That being said, there is no reason why this team can't better if certain things fall into place. If we stay healthy and get some solid contributions from the front court, this can be a fun season. If it's just D'Lo and Jordan carrying the load, I don't like our chances of making the Dance. That's just my take.

For the first time since his first season here, Lavin has strong frontcourt role players. Thomas and CJ and maybe even Obekpa getting possessive about every rebound raises the possibility of improved play and court spacing. Given Lavin's history at UCLA, I will give the credit to Whitesell and Keady if this happens, but Steve gets the credit for hiring them.

Until shown otherwise, I'd take Harkless and Sampson. I would agree with you aobut having role players in the frontcourt if I felt the other pieces (Jordan, Greene, Harrison) were rock solid offensive players. In basketball, role players is just another way of saying limited ability or single faceted player. Not that the Sixers didn't benefit from Marc Iavaroni, or the Lakers from Kurt Rambis, but the reason they were such integral parts of a championship caliber team is that the other guys on the floor could score and there wasn't enough shots to go around. They provided grit, rebounding, banging, and the other guys provided firepower.

 

[Section3]

The reasons last year why did not do well were:
1) Jordan 's aunt died.
2)Lavin's father died.
3) C.O. refusal to play.
4)Starting line up changes.
5)Disappointed in the play of Sanchez and Hooper who were build up preseason.

Let's pray that the team does not have any tradegies this year,they play as a team and the new players play above our expectations.

With all due respect frank, let's not make excuses for the team and coaches last year.

1) Jordan didn't even miss a game due to his aunt. I recall him not starting the Xavier game because of it, but he played. And it doesn't matter anyways, that game was there for the taking and everybody let us down that night, including DLo.

2) Lavins father died two years ago, so I don't see how that hurt us last year

3) Obekpa only refused to play on the last game. And it is still unknown whether or not his presence would've won us the game.

We didn't do well last year because of a lack of inspiration between the players and the coaches, everyone in the program assumed we were going to be good. We woke up after the 0 and 5 start to BE play, and played very well. But it was too late. The players started out the year thinking they were better than they were, and Lavin thought he could screw around with the lineups and it wouldn't hurt us. So yes, one of your points were valid, but the rest were not.

I think that the main reason the team didn't do well last year was because of Sampson and Orlando playing to showcase themselves for the NBA rather than playing for the team.

The bottom line with all of this, including Orlando missing a game because his wife gave birth, was the incredible selfishness and quit the team showed. On top of that, Lavin was too LaLa land laid back and had the mindset of winning games down the road instead of winning every game. I think that's what Greenburg is saying. This team can make noise in the NCAA's...or it can be yet another none and done or one and done team in the NCAA or NIT...take your pick.

I was critical about Sanchez missing a very critical Villanova game last February and took a lot of crap about it here. His child was born on Friday morning at 9 AM, and he could have spent all Friday with her and left Saturday morning, and would have been back Saturday night to be with Mom and Child. I know when my first kid was born I didn't take off of work the next day, and would come after work since she needed rest anyway. I would have understood if she had given birth in a faraway place, and the distance was too great to go back and forth but this wasn't the case.

Presumably your wife gave birth within a zip code or 2 of where you worked...Orlandos' wife didnt live in the same statte

 

[salty dog]

The reasons last year why did not do well were:
1) Jordan 's aunt died.
2)Lavin's father died.
3) C.O. refusal to play.
4)Starting line up changes.
5)Disappointed in the play of Sanchez and Hooper who were build up preseason.

Let's pray that the team does not have any tradegies this year,they play as a team and the new players play above our expectations.

Lol, what a complete load of crap. The real 5 reasons the team failed last year are obvious:

1) Lavin cant ***ing coach
2) Lavin cant ***ing coach
3) Lavin cant ***ing coach
4) Lavin cant ***ing coach
5) Lavin cant ***ing coach

And those are the same 5 reasons they will suck this year unless coach Whitesell is really brilliant

How would you know you know, you know zero about coaching and even less about spelling?

But he's a Tobin Grad!

 

[L J S A]

My ex still gives me crap for watching the NCAA tourney on the TV in the birthing room at Mt. Sinai while she was waiting to give birth to my son(my first born). Its all about balance.

I side with you on this 100 percent. There's only so much to do while waiting for full dilation. I wish there was a game on while I was waiting.

 

[redfan0037789]

Hello, this is my first post.

It would be nice to win the B.E. and/or the BE Tourny. The main thing for me is just making the NCAA, no matter if SJU wins the BE, finishes second, or third.
Just make the NCAA this year.

On a side note. Is there anyway to change me user name? I feel funny using my first and last name, and I didn`t see a user name or ID section in the registration.
Could have been there somewhere but I just didn`t see it.
Thanks in advanced.

Welcome aboard Joe. Always good to get new SJU supporters on here. This is a group of extremely dedicated SJU fans (as I am sure you have noticed). Not sure how to go about changing your name but maybe one of the moderators will be able to help you. They all do a great job of running this site.

Thanks alot NYCRedmen, looking forward to the season.

Guess whatever you put as your first, middle, and last name is your user name.
So I put Mullin Berry Jackson

Says this is my third post, well unless i had a double post by mistake, I`m almost positive that this is my second post.

 

[Amaseinyourface]

Hello, this is my first post.

It would be nice to win the B.E. and/or the BE Tourny. The main thing for me is just making the NCAA, no matter if SJU wins the BE, finishes second, or third.
Just make the NCAA this year.

On a side note. Is there anyway to change me user name? I feel funny using my first and last name, and I didn`t see a user name or ID section in the registration.
Could have been there somewhere but I just didn`t see it.
Thanks in advanced.

Welcome aboard Joe. Always good to get new SJU supporters on here. This is a group of extremely dedicated SJU fans (as I am sure you have noticed). Not sure how to go about changing your name but maybe one of the moderators will be able to help you. They all do a great job of running this site.

Thanks alot NYCRedmen, looking forward to the season.

Guess whatever you put as your first, middle, and last name is your user name.
So I put Mullin Berry Jackson

Says this is my third post, well unless i had a double post by mistake, I`m almost positive that this is my second post.

welcome aboard man.

Isnt there already a mullin berry jackson?

 

[mjmaherjr]

I wouldn't be shocked it we won the Big East and I wouldn't be stunned if we stunk.

I have zero expectations going into this season. It's kind of like a blind date

 

[beast of the east]

After nearly 50 years of university presidents who were not particularly warm and engaging, Bobby is a breath of fresh air.

 

[monte]

My ex still gives me crap for watching the NCAA tourney on the TV in the birthing room at Mt. Sinai while she was waiting to give birth to my son(my first born). Its all about balance.

I side with you on this 100 percent. There's only so much to do while waiting for full dilation. I wish there was a game on while I was waiting.

Thank you. I mean what was I supposed do watch at 1:00PM on a Thursday, The Young and the restless?

 

[redfan0037789]

Hello, this is my first post.

It would be nice to win the B.E. and/or the BE Tourny. The main thing for me is just making the NCAA, no matter if SJU wins the BE, finishes second, or third.
Just make the NCAA this year.

On a side note. Is there anyway to change me user name? I feel funny using my first and last name, and I didn`t see a user name or ID section in the registration.
Could have been there somewhere but I just didn`t see it.
Thanks in advanced.

Welcome aboard Joe. Always good to get new SJU supporters on here. This is a group of extremely dedicated SJU fans (as I am sure you have noticed). Not sure how to go about changing your name but maybe one of the moderators will be able to help you. They all do a great job of running this site.

Thanks alot NYCRedmen, looking forward to the season.

Guess whatever you put as your first, middle, and last name is your user name.
So I put Mullin Berry Jackson

Says this is my third post, well unless i had a double post by mistake, I`m almost positive that this is my second post.

welcome aboard man.

Isnt there already a mullin berry jackson?

If there is then my bad, a mod or whoever, just let me know and i`ll change it.
I`ll go see if i can find a list of members.

There are 3559 default profiles, not checking all of them.
So let me know.

 

[beast of the east]

I hope I am wrong, but this is appears to be written by a guy who didn't actually watch a lot of St. John's games last season and instead is reading stats and going by an experienced roster.

Anyone who watched this team intently last year, saw that our defense did not make big stops, and often appeared porous. With 3 guards on the court at most times, you should have a decent steal and turnover percentage, but he is also omitting that considering a three guard offense our overall shooting percentage was not very good.

With a three guard offense our perimeter defense should be sterling, and not just pumped up with steals or turnovers which are frequently caused by guys being out of position, resulting in easy shots for opponents.

I suspect the shooting % of our opponents is often them playing down to our level.. In basketball there is an ebb and flow, and more often than not last year we couldn't hit wide open shots with any consistency, and our opponents ended up doing to same - ugly basketball.

If this team shows the capacity to close out close games, and Harrison plays in those moments like the Big East POY he could contend for, if Jordan starts to look like a first round NBA pick, and if Obekpa shows improvement that goes beyond raw potential and is transformed into pro type numbers, then we can finish on top or close to it. If not, there will likely be more of the same as last season, and we will be discussing a new coach.

Why is it when something positive is written about our team some posters have to attack the writer. Seth Greenberg was a successful coach and is a good analyst. What he says is very true. If this team can come together and play unselfishly, we may be able to duplicate the success of the Hardy, DJ, Paris, and Burrell team. Hopefully, they learned from the adversity of last year.

I'm not attacking the writer, but I AM questioning just how many games of ours that he saw. We played 18 Big East games. Even if he is a good analyst, with a squad like ours that wasn't a top 25 team or a tourney team, how many games did he see us (or any team of our calber) play? All I know is that we lost two guys who shot 50% from the field (Sanchez and Sampson) both of whom were assigned to the preseason 20 man NBA rosters, and that our three starting guards shot 39, 41, and 41% from the floor. Will any of our three guards show marked offensive improvement? The best bet in that category seems to be Jordan, as neither Harrison nor Greene seem considerably more complete as players than as freshman. In our entire modern history, every good team had someone who could be counted on to do consistently do good things in crunch time. Artest, Sealy, Lopez, Mullin, Berry, George Johnson, Marcus Hatten, Glen WIlliams, etc. This roster hasn't had anyone who has proven they can do that with any consistency. Last season Sampson led the team in rebounding and he didn't exactly clean the boards. Will Thomas, Obekpa, or someone else make up the deficit and more?

I'm a Mets fan, and I know that when you start the season at 0-0, that's about as good as it gets, and that hope springs eternal. But just because our players are a year older also brings to mind Casey Stengel's assessment of Greg Goosen: "This here young player is 20 years old, and in ten years he could be 30."

If our guards can put the ball in the hold in crunch time, we may get to the dance. If not, it will be another long season.

Did he see any of our games live? Probably not. But there is a thing called tape and film. Either way, I'm guessing that he knows a heck of a lot more about this team than you do.

Wow. You ended your post in a disgusting way. Greenberg has the entire college basketball nation to analyze. So you seriously think he knows more about St. John's than any of us who all eat, sleep, and breathe St. John's? But you go out of your way to make a snotty remark like that to Beast. Everyone just needs to relax. We are already jumping down each other's throats and it's September. There will be plenty of time for this when the season starts and we start out 0-6 in big east play!

Do I think he knows more about St Johns University and the team (ie. history, who our current players are and their lifestory)? Absolutely not. Do I think he is better at breaking down our game film and giving an assessment of what he watched? Absolutely.

Even though posters on here 'eat, sleep, and breathe St Johns', no one on here even comes close to his ability and intelligence to analyze a basketball game/team/players.

Here's one big thing he failed to mention, and for you to think about as you bow down to his altar:

We were in a position to win nearly every game last season in the last 5 minutes - NEARLY EVERY ONE! What we failed to do is close out games, which rests on the backs of every single player to got late playing time, and on the coaches for failure to run a crisp offense that produced easy shots. If we were bringing in a player of say, a Harkless caliber, or any of the guys I mentioned in a previous post, a fearless, big time shot maker, I'd feel a lot better about our improved chances this year. Yes, the Big East appears weaker, but I don't see us as stronger than last year's roster. So instead of deferring to an analyst, who has proven he can win games as a coach, but may not be doing all the tedious homework necessary to be a great college analyst (see Charles Barkley), I'll go on what I've seen, and not by what someone tells me I've seen.

Hears hoping that D'Lo can turn in to this year's Dwight Hardy as our money player, not just our main scoring option

Bingo. If Harrison or Jordan become money players, they will buy us a ticket to the dance. For my money, I'd rather see Branch on the floor more than Greene, but it doesn't appear that will happen.

 

[SI1996]

Hello, this is my first post.

It would be nice to win the B.E. and/or the BE Tourny. The main thing for me is just making the NCAA, no matter if SJU wins the BE, finishes second, or third.
Just make the NCAA this year.

On a side note. Is there anyway to change me user name? I feel funny using my first and last name, and I didn`t see a user name or ID section in the registration.
Could have been there somewhere but I just didn`t see it.
Thanks in advanced.

It's not that bad!

Just don't change it to Joe3!