@Seton Hall, Sun. Dec. 31, 5p, FS1/570AM

Oh trust me, I wasn't expecting NCAA, I have said many times, NIT or bust.

If no ponds or lovett, we could finish below 8-8. I know about the injury excuse, but to me that's still sad.
Pick any 2 guys to get hurt, but for SJU Faith pick our two best players.

It just makes ya freaking sick. Is there a curse on SJU? Did we piss anyone off?
 
Tough break. Difficult to rebuild from scratch; necessitates doubling on transfers that otherwise wouldn’t be necessary; Sid Wilson just bad luck at a bad time; Ponds and LoVett will heal and be back. Hoping we have a hell of a last half of the Season including the Big East and yeah, the NCAAs.
We’re on the way back. And next year, we’ll be deep and wicked dangerous. Keep the faith.
 
There used to be a bumper sticker on Jaguar s that read. "Ah, but when it runs!"

It was an amazing vehicle when not in the repair shop.

Our team had to run perfectly this season to compete for an at large bid. At full strength we have a pretty good, but flawed squad, with very good guards but not enough up front.

It's not fair to beat up on any player. On a definite tourney team, some of these guys would see little action. We have 4 guys that almost any BE team would want, and that's saying alot from the roster Mullin inherited. When ponds and Lovett return we will be competitive at a high level, even if it's too late to salvage the season


No choice but to try to enjoy what we are watching even if we are going to end up on the losing end often right now.

Fwiw, listening to Matt speak at the pregame the other night and reading his Twitter feed, this guy is the real deal as a person. He loves his players personally in the context of coach player relationship and I can see why kids want to come here to play for him.

We are 1 season from a deep and talented roster. No choice but to wait this one out. Perhaps the silver lining will be the emergence of a Simon, Owens, or Clark as reliable scorers to augment ponds and Lovett.


Still like this team a lot, but it had to stay out of the repair shop to be a special season. Stay tuned they are still worth watching
 
Next season we will have 13 Big East caliber players for the first time in what feels like forever.
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Sorry but we don´t know if all our players will be Big East caliber players. We will have, at least, 6 players with no Big East experience.
 

No, that enough time ,he can not get a pass. If he has got us into the NCAA he should be looking for a new job. Think ne makes over 2mil If you were in the business world to make that you better be producing every yr. You would not have gotten 4 yrs to shoe a profit
 
Team certainly has pieces, just not enough of them, but is fun to watch. It is obviously frustrating for kids, staff & fans to come so close last night on the road under adverse circumstances. I, like many, always feared the injury bug to key players, our key vulnerability. Initially I hoped we could still flirt with a bid to NCAA T if healthy. Now the road is obviously steep. This league is the toughest in nation top to bottom and so difficult to come from behind. Hopefully with a full complement of players we can reasonably dig out of a 1-3 likely hole, steal some games v top teams & at very least leave the team with a better taste in their mouths. This perhaps would set a tone for a solid, contending 18-19 season.

Sorry for my "no moral victories" comment last night. Frustration & an IPad a bad combo. :)
 
1000 not enough . 2000 and then have Mullin and Richmond work on completely correcting his jump shot form . These are the only flaws in his game but, shooting 60 percent from the foul line gets you a F in grading and for the style he plays , he needs to be 70-75 percent . He improves in these 2 areas and he is NBA bound . His missing that free throw near the end , after a great play to the basket was a back breaker . And , Clark and Owens , both of whom played great used poor judgment hoisting those 3’s with the game still winnable . It cost us . Clark is nearly automatic from the free throw line and with the game on the line , he should be going hard to the hoop , not putting it up from 3 Pt Line . And , for those who disrespected Mussini , if he were on the team this year , we win yesterday’s game and likely one of the 2 against Ariz State or Missouri . He would provide a lot more than Trimble , especially since Ponds and Lovett are out ! He was capable of 12-15 points a game from long range . We could have used it .
 
This team has been snake bit by key injuries which may (or may not) make the tournament a reach this year. But as others have said, we have some real talent and they are a fun group to watch. Here's hoping that in the New Year Ponds & Lovett get healthy quickly, Ahmed and Simon get those free throw percentages above 70% and Clark and Owens continue to log big minutes and develop their offensive games. All the best in the New Year!
 
Fwiw, from Jerry Carino, NJ writer covering SH & very fair guy in my opinion re SJU techs.

Jerry Carino
@NJHoopsHaven

It was an accumulation tech. 1) Mullin rides the refs too much; 2) The rest of his bench shouldn't be joining in.
My seat at the Rock is right next to the visiting bench so I witness the bench-refs interplay every game. This was over the top.
 
Sorry but we don´t know if all our players will be Big East caliber players. We will have, at least, 6 players with no Big East experience.
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Gonzalo ... yep, you are correct pointing out the obvious that Messrs. Keita, Dixon, Brooks, Diakite, Williams and Roberts have “no Big East experience” but ... but, please identify which of the aforementioned 6 in coming players you are unsure, or you do not expect to “be Big East caliber players” (your phrase).

In my opinion the 6 players being added next year to StJohns roster is the overall strongest recruiting class in the last 20+/- years.

Gonzalo (or anyone else), rather than point out the obvious, please tell me in his 3 years a coach, what roster moves Coach Mullin failed to make that would have provided StJohns this season with a more talented roster.

IMO Coach Mullin and Company have done a solid job of rebuilding the roster since taking over from the TV Announcer.
 

because they were raining 3s at a high % .No need to look inside to get the big man involved with the offense
 
Clark not grabbing more boards is a negative to his game and team results . Other than that flaw , he played great . Guess at 6’8” Izzo wanted more of a banger than Clark delivers . Mullin and Richmond need to make him a lot closer to the basket than the deep corner or beyond the foul line . He has a decent shot but, shooting from there makes him a guard and not a rebounder . Plus he is deadly from the free throw line , if he goes to the basket more , he goes to the stripe more .
 
Fwiw, from Jerry Carino, NJ writer covering SH & very fair guy in my opinion re SJU techs.

Jerry Carino
@NJHoopsHaven

It was an accumulation tech. 1) Mullin rides the refs too much; 2) The rest of his bench shouldn't be joining in.
My seat at the Rock is right next to the visiting bench so I witness the bench-refs interplay every game. This was over the top.
Click to expand...


Not sure if true but Jerry Carino posted on twitter yesterday that it was one of the graduate assistants that got called for the T.

No matter, the whole team, starting with Mullin, needs to cut the act.

It wouldn't have helped us win yesterday, but at some point it's going to bite us in the ass when it really matters.
 

Well they can't and shouldn't take it away unless there is some way for the school to have his tuition covered and free up the ship
 
Very proud the ways guys stepped up and played yesterday. Trimble is not BE worthy. Now we see why his prior team recruited over him. I agree he is a strong transfer possibility. Teams like PC and SH will be early outs in the tournament when they have bad shooting days. Too reliant on the 3. Glad we don't have that issue. ;)
 
1000 not enough . 2000 and then have Mullin and Richmond work on completely correcting his jump shot form . These are the only flaws in his game but, shooting 60 percent from the foul line gets you a F in grading and for the style he plays , he needs to be 70-75 percent . He improves in these 2 areas and he is NBA bound . His missing that free throw near the end , after a great play to the basket was a back breaker . And , Clark and Owens , both of whom played great used poor judgment hoisting those 3’s with the game still winnable . It cost us . Clark is nearly automatic from the free throw line and with the game on the line , he should be going hard to the hoop , not putting it up from 3 Pt Line . And , for those who disrespected Mussini , if he were on the team this year , we win yesterday’s game and likely one of the 2 against Ariz State or Missouri . He would provide a lot more than Trimble , especially since Ponds and Lovett are out ! He was capable of 12-15 points a game from long range . We could have used it .
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I had no problem with Clark’s shot down two late in the game. It was a good look, by our best shooter that just didn’t go down. Totally agree about Mussini.
 
Clark not grabbing more boards is a negative to his game and team results . Other than that flaw , he played great . Guess at 6’8” Izzo wanted more of a banger than Clark delivers . Mullin and Richmond need to make him a lot closer to the basket than the deep corner or beyond the foul line . He has a decent shot but, shooting from there makes him a guard and not a rebounder . Plus he is deadly from the free throw line , if he goes to the basket more , he goes to the stripe more .
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Decent shot? He must be among the Big East leaders in three point percentage.

Agree that I’d like to see him bang more down low, but that just may not be who he is. To date, must say that both Clark and Simon have exceeded my expectations.
 
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