SJU Transfer Targets/Possibilities

[Amaseinyourface]

Kind of reminds me of the Nick Rutherford pickup. Guy with not so great offensive stats with a great motor and a senior leader. Rutherford worked out pretty well so I’m good with Mathis.

Would he be as willing to play a reserve/energy role? I would love him in that slot. Not as much as a replacement for Greg.

 

[MCNPA]

Nick Rutherford?  This kid stated most of his career in the big 10 and was a top 25 scorer in the big 10 before having his minutes pared down.  I have no doubt 30+ would be too much for him but he’s got tools and we have to be a bit realistic here.  We still have more ships.

 

[MakingPlays]

Making Plays wrote:
I think Posh, Wusu, Pinzon, Wheeler, Nyiwe, Traore are also all capable of shooting the 3.  Champ and Smith are probably the only guys you probably would say have a chance to shoot 40+% from three, but that's alright.  If you can get half of those other guys I mentioned to be respectable shooting the 3 in the mid 30's you can still be a very good team, especially since you now have a post scoring presence with Soriano, the ball will be worked into the post a lot more and get scoring from there now.  Also, I'm sure with the remaining 2 guards they are bringing in at least one of them will be respectable at shooting. 

MP, I agree that those guys are all capable of shooting the three, but not convinced most of them have shown the ability to make them consistently. Posh did show a nice stroke from there at times and believe he can improve on 30% he shot last year but Wusu shot 27% and threw up a lot of bricks from three, will have to show me more before I'd ever call him a three point threat.  Wheeler may surprise if he goes back to the way he shot threes as a frosh; I think of Traore as an inside player who will not be shooting threes and from what I've heard Pinzon will need to develop a consistent three point shot over time. I don't think any of us know much about what the mysterious Nyiwe is capable of but doubt coach wants him hoisting many threes.  Just my thoughts, but I think we absolutely need at least one more consistent, proven shooter. 

Yea, I said that in my post that I they'll at least bring 1 more guy in that can shoot.  But, you guys are forgetting players get better from year to year.  Wusu could shoot the 3 ball well in high school.  He has a nice looking stroke and he's a hard worker, common sense and history would tell us he's not going to be a 27% 3 point shooter for his entire career his numbers are going to go up.  Posh, as you mentioned improved as the year went on, the last 12 games of the season he shot 32% from three, which again common sense tells us, he's a hard worker and he improved his shot as the season went on last year, so his shooting numbers are likely to go up as well.

And I'm not too worried about the scoring, if Champ comes back, you're talking about a 20 PPG player right there and leading scorer in the big east.  They won't have any problems scoring the ball, and I didn't think scoring is what held them back from making the tournament last year.  The key weaknesses I saw were...

1. Not playing an entire 40 minutes of good defense, at times guys looked lost defense and I lost count almost every game on how many wide open 3's guys would give up by not rotating properly. 

2.  Lack of a consistent big man, CMA frequently had to play small ball because we got nothing out of Roberts and Toro on the offensive end and Moore was in foul trouble and/or dog house for taking ill-advised shots and getting punished on defense. 

And it looks like they are addressing those issues,  The big man situation was the biggest, hopefully Soriano solves that.  Guys like Wheeler and Smith should help on the defensive end.  
 

 

[MainMan]

Kind of reminds me of the Nick Rutherford pickup. Guy with not so great offensive stats with a great motor and a senior leader. Rutherford worked out pretty well so I’m good with Mathis.

Nick Rutherford played against Rider, Siena, Canicius. 
Mathis played against Michigan, Michigan St., Indiana etc.

 

[PharmDJohnnie11]

Thanks guys I’m aware of who plays in the Big 10. All I was saying was they both had crappy numbers and people hated the Rutherford pickup and he turned out to be a nice player for us 

 

[MakingPlays]

Thanks guys I’m aware of who plays in the Big 10. All I was saying was they both had crappy numbers and people hated the Rutherford pickup and he turned out to be a nice player for us 

I tend to agree with you here, I think we have guys that can score next year, I don't think getting guy that people in the media think will give us the best defensive back court in the Big East is a bad thing.

 

[mattc]

With Greg Williams officially not returning, I would take Mathis in a heartbeat. Remember, we still have 3 scholarships left. If we can fill one of them with Mathis (known more for his defense) and another with an offensive guard, I think we're in really good shape. The last ship can be saved or used whenever.

 

[prjohnnies]

I don't know much about Mathis or other realistic potential options for the backcourt.  Here is what I do know:

The guys we lost have gone to Robert Morris, San Diego and Louisiana, respectively.  All dropping down a level.  My hunch is that McGriff, Roberts and Cole also end up dropping down a level.  I'm not sure on Moore because his length and athleticism may be enticing for another high-major.  But he could end up at an AAC school just as easy.  

That tells me that (a) the case for Anderson winning COY last season gets even stronger; (b) these kids, at least those that have landed, wanted more significant roles than either St John's or other high-majors were going to give them and (c) other high-major schools didn't view any of the kids we lost as potentially strong or even solid high-major players for their programs.  Otherwise they wouldn't be those schools, compared to where someone like LJ ended up.

In response to these departures, we have brought in an experienced mid-major guard from a success program that a number of high-majors were after, an experienced high-major forward that likewise had high-major options, and a young mid-major big that had other high-majors programs after him.  

Seems to me this is working out pretty well thus far, with potentially more good things on the horizon for the 2 opening guard ships.

 

[redken]

https://twitter.com/theteambbc/status/1383113310191620100?s=21

This came out of no where. Offensive numbers seem pretty bad but was a high level defender and a 4 star out of HS. Do we actually have a shot here?

well we are in his final 2...so I say we have a shot.


Pass.

Pass? On a 6’4” Big 10 guard who is an excellent defender?   I don’t pass on this kid.  Not only 25 pts on Purdue, but 19 pts 7 rebs vs Cuse, 13 pts 5 assists vs Iowa, 16 vs Ohio State, 15 against Illinois, 13 vs Minnesota and others.  He’s had some low production games as well but has been a starter most of his career and is a very hard-nosed kid and would be great in our up-tempo style.

I will add that first half of the season Mathis was a top 25 scorer in the Big Ten, and was averaging over 30 minutes per game.  His minutes were cut in half and his production dropped as well.  Rutgers plays a slow-down half-court style.  Kid is very much an Arkansas style player and talented.   I think he offers more than Greg overall.  .... I think Sir Dom Pointer. at his first half of season stats and minutes vs second.  Kid would be a beast here.  Definitely not a kid to pass on. 

I've never seen him play and made the "pass" comment based on two earlier posts. First, one which was: "big guard, athletic, hard nosed defender, but limited offensive game. ..." and another which was: "Offensive numbers seem pretty bad." If that's the case, I'd prefer to sign an off-guard with a strong outside game, one who would complement Posh's game. Also, do we know why Mathis' minutes were cut in half after such an impressive start?





 

 

[Amaseinyourface]

Think I would prefer Pickett to Mathis. Not sure on that interest. Wouldn’t turn Mathis away tho. 

 

[redfanUpooooooo]

Seeing Mathis many times I think his game is very similar top Wusu. Think use of him in press will slim him down and could have a Postell type impact

 

[shamsman2]

Seeing Mathis many times I think his game is very similar top Wusu. Think use of him in press will slim him down and could have a Postell type impact

are you saying he needs to lose weight, to be more effective?
 

 

[NCJohnnie]

Brellstorm wrote:
Seeing Mathis many times I think his game is very similar top Wusu. Think use of him in press will slim him down and could have a Postell type impact

Lavor was a very good to great Johnnie on one of our best teams who was good enough to play two years with the Knicks. I don't see Mathis (or Wusu) being close to that. 

 

[Wolfie]

Think I would prefer Pickett to Mathis. Not sure on that interest. Wouldn’t turn Mathis away tho. 


Montez's stats are ugly for a combo guard and his 'D' does not seem evident given roughly 1 stl / g and 1 assist / g, but I defer to the media guys and to some who've seen him and think he's a great fit in CMA's system. 
And who knows, maybe with the Staff's help, his shooting comes around.
 

 

[JohnnyFan]

Offensively, Mathis seems to bring the same skill set as Wusu (a below average shooter who can get to the basket).   I understand his defense is superior, but we need to add another kid that can shoot it.  

 

[MCNPA]

We want warriors here and this kid is one.  He fits exactly the way we are trying to play and plays all-out.  We actually need a Swiss Army knife like Mathis plenty.  Yes definite similarities to Wusu but that ain’t a bad thing.  Guys like that can play almost every position on the court.  Once again, I think people are selling his offensive abilities short.  He dropped double digits on teams like Syracuse, Maryland, Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota and others.  He’s not a pure shooter but he’s definitely a scorer.  I don’t understand why people think we can’t use a guy like him.  I think he’s being undersold.  He’s a bigger Posh who can bang inside.  He’s not in lieu of another shooter but he’s a total player. Rutgers fans are sad to see him leave.  

 

[NCJohnnie]

Sorry, but numbers mean something and Mathis' 3 year numbers are not impressive, including the fact that he has never managed to earn more than 23 mpg for Rutgers, not exactly a national powerhouse. He has never shot 40% overall, 30% from 3 or 70% from the free throw line which frankly speaks for itself. I don't care how good his defense is, he would not be an upgrade from Greg.  2821.238.329.757.42.80.80.30.72.41.18.33122.638.329.766.13.51.20.11.01.91.07.43122.937.623.955.62.91.10.20.71.81.38.5

 

[Amaseinyourface]

Sorry, but numbers mean something and Mathis' 3 year numbers are not impressive, including the fact that he has never managed to earn more than 23 mpg for Rutgers, not exactly a national powerhouse. He has never shot 40% overall, 30% from 3 or 70% from the free throw line which frankly speaks for itself. I don't care how good his defense is, he would not be an upgrade from Greg. Good to be realistic as opposed to pollyanish.2821.238.329.757.42.80.80.30.72.41.18.33122.638.329.766.13.51.20.11.01.91.07.43122.937.623.955.62.91.10.20.71.81.38.5Good to be realistic 

Also a career negative A:TO ratio. This doesn’t mean I wouldn’t take him, he obviously does enough things well to play 20 minutes on a tourney team, but to just accept he’s a definite upgrade? The numbers wouldnt say that.

 

[QueensBall]

Good to remember that guys don't always swap out 1 for 1 the way we all like to make direct comparisons (myself included. It's fun)  Look at the group we bring in as a whole. Do we have better or worse defenders overall? More outside shooting or less outside shooting overall? More big game experience or less big game experience? Etc
All of which is still to be determined...

 

[Lopez_13]

Lavar Postell!!!! Lmao If we had Postell, we would be a final 4 contender. I am not going to tolerate any L.P. Slander. Wish Greg the best, loved him here at St. John’s