Sir Dom or Not Sir Dom that is the question?

[Marillac]

Dom is very similar to Willie Glass of the Mullin teams with one exception. They both play good defense,rebound, pressure the ball and take the ball to the rim and are weak outside shooters. The difference is that Willie never took shots from 18 ft. and this made him a better player. The recent telecast of the SJU vs. Geo. 1984 game showed that Willie and a couple of Geo. backcourt men never took outside shots. They were in the game for defensive purposes and were willing to sacrifice their offensive game. Although the worst shooter on the team this type of player usually led his team in shooting percentage. Is today's athlete willing to do the same? Does the coaching staff ask this of players?

Pointer is no Willie Glass!!!!!!!!!!! When Glass jumped for a rebound, it took him a week to come down. He was an incredible athlete!!!

I don't see Willie Glass, I see Paris Horne. Horne was a gifted athlete with a totally raw offensive game. He ended up a good defender and a 3 point threat. He couldn't shoot as a freshman. He worked hard on that part of his game. Either Dom hasn't worked on his shooting enough, or just can't shoot despite trying.

Thats a knock on paris Horne. He averaged 16 points as a sophomore. A player that was under control and didnt try to force things. Knew his role.

I agree. I wish Dom was Paris Horne as a junior and senior. Horne buried himself in his corner and hit threes at good clip. Horne, unlike Dom, could actually stop the guy he was defending.

But I think we need to back off the guy a little. He is coming off of one of his worst games ever and as sure as the sun will rise, he is going to go off for a near triple-double and all will be forgotten.

 

[Ray Morgan]

Dom is very similar to Willie Glass of the Mullin teams with one exception. They both play good defense,rebound, pressure the ball and take the ball to the rim and are weak outside shooters. The difference is that Willie never took shots from 18 ft. and this made him a better player. The recent telecast of the SJU vs. Geo. 1984 game showed that Willie and a couple of Geo. backcourt men never took outside shots. They were in the game for defensive purposes and were willing to sacrifice their offensive game. Although the worst shooter on the team this type of player usually led his team in shooting percentage. Is today's athlete willing to do the same? Does the coaching staff ask this of players?

Pointer is no Willie Glass!!!!!!!!!!! When Glass jumped for a rebound, it took him a week to come down. He was an incredible athlete!!!

I don't see Willie Glass, I see Paris Horne. Horne was a gifted athlete with a totally raw offensive game. He ended up a good defender and a 3 point threat. He couldn't shoot as a freshman. He worked hard on that part of his game. Either Dom hasn't worked on his shooting enough, or just can't shoot despite trying.

Thats a knock on paris Horne. He averaged 16 points as a sophomore. A player that was under control and didnt try to force things. Knew his role.

I agree. I wish Dom was Paris Horne as a junior and senior. Horne buried himself in his corner and hit threes at good clip. Horne, unlike Dom, could actually stop the guy he was defending.

But I think we need to back off the guy a little. He is coming off of one of his worst games ever and as sure as the sun will rise, he is going to go off for a near triple-double and all will be forgotten.

You are probably right. The frustration after a loss brings out the worst in most of us. My point of the Horne comparison is both came in athletic but raw on offense. Horne improved his range. Dom has not of yet. But he gives it up every game. A good effort and all will be forgotten. We need a big win to restore order.

 

[SJU1512]

Dom is very similar to Willie Glass of the Mullin teams with one exception. They both play good defense,rebound, pressure the ball and take the ball to the rim and are weak outside shooters. The difference is that Willie never took shots from 18 ft. and this made him a better player. The recent telecast of the SJU vs. Geo. 1984 game showed that Willie and a couple of Geo. backcourt men never took outside shots. They were in the game for defensive purposes and were willing to sacrifice their offensive game. Although the worst shooter on the team this type of player usually led his team in shooting percentage. Is today's athlete willing to do the same? Does the coaching staff ask this of players?

Pointer is no Willie Glass!!!!!!!!!!! When Glass jumped for a rebound, it took him a week to come down. He was an incredible athlete!!!

I don't see Willie Glass, I see Paris Horne. Horne was a gifted athlete with a totally raw offensive game. He ended up a good defender and a 3 point threat. He couldn't shoot as a freshman. He worked hard on that part of his game. Either Dom hasn't worked on his shooting enough, or just can't shoot despite trying.

Thats a knock on paris Horne. He averaged 16 points as a sophomore. A player that was under control and didnt try to force things. Knew his role.

I agree. I wish Dom was Paris Horne as a junior and senior. Horne buried himself in his corner and hit threes at good clip. Horne, unlike Dom, could actually stop the guy he was defending.

But I think we need to back off the guy a little. He is coming off of one of his worst games ever and as sure as the sun will rise, he is going to go off for a near triple-double and all will be forgotten.

Agreed on your second point. Dom had one bad game, he'll bounce back. He's a big part of this team with everything he brings.

Funny you mention Paris making corner 3's, because that was the one thing Dom didn't have as a freshman that I was hoping he would have added by this stage of his career - the ability to make standstill 3's at a good enough rate that he had to be defended (and could thus space the floor). We see this kind of player all the time in the NBA now, the versatile energy guy who also has the ability to make spot up 3's. I was hoping Dom could become that guy for us. He still brings a ton as is but unfortunately he hasn't added this component to his game.

 

[Eddyman11]

I am disappointed he hasnt improved his jumpshot by now. I remember Geno Lawrence couldnt hit a three to save his life his freshman year. I believe by his senior year he was shooting in the mid 40%'s and finished top 5 in 3 pointers made alltime for us. Dom is just frustrating because he does so many other things well and has such a high ceiling that you expect more from him.

If he's not going to work on his jumshot, he should just start attacking the rim everytime. Also he should begin positioning himself in spots that are in his "range"

 

[lawmanfan]

Dom should be starting, though I agree that you don't want him and Obekpa on the floor at the same time because then you don't have enough scoring.

I must be watching a different player than Marillac, because I don't think there is a better defender on the team, either man or zone. He also contributes some of our better rebounding.

What people overlook about Dom - especially those who do not actually go to the games - is that he has a hand in a lot of the good things that happen for us when he's on the floor. It isn't all stuff that shows up in the boxscore, and it is stuff that's easy to overlook on TV, where you often have to follow the ball or the player the cameraman is interested in, instead of watching the game for yourself. But the bottom line is that we are simply a better team when he's out there.

There's no question that his offense is disappointing. He has a great first step and can get to the rim, but he defers far too much. I don't blame the staff for that, as I have seen them encourage him to score more. That's just Dom being a team player and thinking that the other guys are supposed to score, not him. He should have spent the last couple of years shooting 500 threes a day in the gym, but it doesn't look like he has, or he doesn't have the confidence to take them in the game. It does hurt the team that he makes himself into a non-scoring option.

But overall, he is a major plus and should start and play 30 minutes a game.

 

[montyaloofah]

I like Dom's energy and defensive focus. His offense is, well, not great. He certainly needs to work on that, but he has changed many games for us. He's a catalyst when our energy is down. With the Xavier game, he could not make an impact because their ballhandlers kept a tight dribble. He feasts on guys that aren't as great with the ball. He'll come back.

 

[westchesterjoe]

Dom in not going to become a good shooter, ever. If it hasn't happened by this stage of his career, it won't. I don't want him taking more shots from the corner..

He usually brings great energy to the game but, in the final analysis, he's a limited skill set role player that earns minutes but, not more than that..

Relying on him to do more is not good strategy. Every team needs his kind of fiery player but, to think he's capable of more than what he's contributing is not realistic.

 

[OLV72]

Sir Dom has double the number of steals as anyone else on this team. For the second straight season, he has more assists than anyone else on this team with just 16 TO's in 317 minutes. He has a 2 to 1 assist to T/O ratio. He's tied for 3rd in blocks.

His shooting percentage is slightly down from the 51% of last season (33% on 3's).

He is coming off a lousy game. I expect he will show up tomorrow and continue to be the Johnny that the other teams hates to play against.

 

[doodyny33]

Dom should be starting, though I agree that you don't want him and Obekpa on the floor at the same time because then you don't have enough scoring.

I must be watching a different player than Marillac, because I don't think there is a better defender on the team, either man or zone. He also contributes some of our better rebounding.

What people overlook about Dom - especially those who do not actually go to the games - is that he has a hand in a lot of the good things that happen for us when he's on the floor. It isn't all stuff that shows up in the boxscore, and it is stuff that's easy to overlook on TV, where you often have to follow the ball or the player the cameraman is interested in, instead of watching the game for yourself. But the bottom line is that we are simply a better team when he's out there.

There's no question that his offense is disappointing. He has a great first step and can get to the rim, but he defers far too much. I don't blame the staff for that, as I have seen them encourage him to score more. That's just Dom being a team player and thinking that the other guys are supposed to score, not him. He should have spent the last couple of years shooting 500 threes a day in the gym, but it doesn't look like he has, or he doesn't have the confidence to take them in the game. It does hurt the team that he makes himself into a non-scoring option.

But overall, he is a major plus and should start and play 30 minutes a game.

Completely agree with you. Sir'Dom needs to see minutes because of his defense and intensity out there. He's one of those glue guys that you need to win games.

But I also agree with you that Pointer and Obekpa should not be on the court together. They are just too inefficient on offense. Teams have picked up on that and double down on the scorers like Harrison, Jordan, Sampson, and Sanchez.

 

[ghostzapper]

I started this thread about a year ago after Dom played one of his worst games ever against Xavier on New Year's Eve. I thought it was a good time to bring it back for an updated look.

Dom was then and still is now a favorite of mine to watch out on the court for St. John's. That being said, I found his end of the season play last year as completely perplexing. In four of his last five games he failed to score a single point and generally looked lost out there. With the Dom naysayers clearly in my ear I began to wonder if they were right about him and I had overrated his abilities.

Thankfully this year HEE'S BACK!!!! and actually way better than ever. He is, without taking many shots or controlling the ball, dominating games. I think the move to the 4 spot (perhaps made out of desperation because of lack of bodies) has helped him to quantum leap his game this season. His rebounding, defense and general floor play have never been better. He is a pleasure to watch out there and critical to our success.

Significant to note, I think, was a fact that I heard in last night's post game interview about both Dom and D'Angelo. It should be noted and commended that both of them have finished their required course work in three and a half years. That kind of focus on academic achievement beyond athletics is not typical of many of today's student athletes.

I have posted Dom's four season averages below. His improvement this year is obvious. However when watching Dom some of the best things about his game go beyond the stat sheet. That is why I love to watch him play.


Season Team MIN FG-FG FG% 3P-3P 3P% FT-FT FT% RB AS BK ST PF TO PTS
2014-15 SJU 31.5 4.1-6.9 .594 0.0-0.4 .000 2.1-3.0 .700 8.0 2.9 1.7 2.2 3.0 1.6 10.3
2013-14 SJU 21.2 2.0-4.6 .438 0.1-0.6 .150 1.7-2.4 .731 3.2 1.8 1.1 1.2 2.2 1.2 5.9
2012-13 SJU 26.9 2.5-4.9 .510 0.3-0.8 .333 1.6-2.5 .658 5.5 2.8 0.9 1.4 3.0 1.8 6.9
2011-12 SJU 29.8 2.6-6.3 .413 0.2-1.1 .211 1.1-2.1 .543 4.7 1.5 0.9 1.6 3.2 1.8 6.5

 

[GardenCity62]

Prior to this season I posted that SJU should not count on any improvement in Dom's game this season. I based that prediction on the fact his game hadn't improved much in his three years here even though he was getting plenty of playing time and it is rare for a non big man to show significant improvement in his last year.
I couldn't have been more wrong. Is this due to him taking Sampson's place in the offense? I would love to hear the coaching staff's explanation.

 

[OLV72]

The two factors people have observed are the role on the team and the confidence he shows in his game. He still hesitates to take open jumpers at times. It was nice to see him deliver a couple of those yesterday. His has no fear when playing defense and with handling the ball.

His sophomore season was in line with expectations - at least from a numbers standpoint. And he did hit a clutch jumper to win the NIT game against St Joe's.

Last season was his down year. As last season progressed, his confidence went down which probably contributed to the dysfunction of last year's team.

 

[Russ2374]

More Dom and Obekpa > Sampson/Sanchez/Gift/Dom/Chris

Sometimes you really are better with less. Less lineup changes, more defined roles, more consistent minutes, less looking over your shoulder if you make a mistake. Depth is overrated!

Dom = MVP!!!

 

[bamafan]

More Dom and Obekpa > Sampson/Sanchez/Gift/Dom/Chris

Sometimes you really are better with less. Less lineup changes, more defined roles, more consistent minutes, less looking over your shoulder if you make a mistake. Depth is overrated!

Dom = MVP!!!

Not if you encounter foul trouble, injuries, suspensions, illness, family issues or eligibility problems.