St. Francis, Sun. Dec. 6, 11am, FS1 & 970AM

[SJU61982]

Its crazy how little respect Jones gets. Just 13 & 9 in a game where we needed every pt and every rebound we got. No mentions of the great passes he has had to Mussini on cuts to the basket (two today and several previously) or the help he gives breaking the press. And trust me we NEED him to break the press. He is not a perfect player, not even close, but if his name was anything else and he was a JUCO brought in by mullin for the next two years everyone would be happy to have him. Instead we pick his game apart.

Jones doesn't have the best instincts for sure but I like him. I think he is definitely serviceable.

Sometimes it almost feels like to me he doesn't realize how big he really is and what he could do with his body

He's playing a lot better than I thought he would. You have to wonder why he hardly played last year when we lacked depth. He is definitely serviceable ,like you said.

He should have and could have been a useful part of last year's team. Like you said, in light of how short our roster was you you have to wonder why Lavin didn't find a way to utilize him more. Just one of many things that made you wonder. No offense to AA, but CJ was and is the superior player. Chris quickly realized that which is why CJ is playing 30 MPG and AA 14 MPG.

Honestly, Jones got what he deserved last season in terms of playing time. Yes, he has a player's body, but other than a nice play once in a blue moon, he contributed very little. Good for him that he is getting a chance and making the most of it. His numbers are nice so far, but let's keep in mind that this is the part of our schedule where we play an entire roster of guys who would not be recruited anywhere in the Big East. If he puts these numbers up in the Big East part of the schedule, that would be really impressive. I just am not counting on it.

Beast a big part of a coach's job is player development. We saw no improvement in Jones' game in his first couple of years here. Low and behold, in just a few months under Chris's tutelage, we see a vastly improved player. I'm not saying that Jones is going to be an all big east player, but there was some untapped potential there and fortunately Chris has figured out a way to tap in to it. This is not a case of a kid simply improving over time, or we would have seen signs of it over the course of last season. In a perfect world Jones would be coming off the bench giving us 15-20 minutes of hard nosed ball. Unfortunately we are living in a far from perfect world.

I think the uptempo style the last group liked to play didn't fit Christian's game. Looked like he just couldn't keep up. Even now, he seems to be the first one of our guys to get winded on the court, late in games.

With this group playing at a slower pace, it allows him to set up, and get in position. Maybe that just suits his game better, and both staffs know/knew that.

 

[panther2]

Its crazy how little respect Jones gets. Just 13 & 9 in a game where we needed every pt and every rebound we got. No mentions of the great passes he has had to Mussini on cuts to the basket (two today and several previously) or the help he gives breaking the press. And trust me we NEED him to break the press. He is not a perfect player, not even close, but if his name was anything else and he was a JUCO brought in by mullin for the next two years everyone would be happy to have him. Instead we pick his game apart.

Reading the comments about Christian Jones and his development made me think of Dom Pointer. After his first three years, a lot of posters on this board were really down on him. Then last year he played his way into the draft. Was it a case of good coaching, a kid who just needed some time to adapt to the college game, or a combination of things.
Why can't we just enjoy the fact that Christian is playing well and gaining confidence. Hopefully, this will carry over into the Big East season.
If I didn't know better, I would think that some posters entered their professional lives at the top of their game without any growing pains. I worked in the same field for 30 years, and continued to learn and get better until the day I retired.
The difference is that coaches and players practice their craft in the open for everyone to see.
I plan plan to continue to cheer for all student athletes wearing a St Johns jersey and hope for the best.

Jones doesn't have the best instincts for sure but I like him. I think he is definitely serviceable.

Sometimes it almost feels like to me he doesn't realize how big he really is and what he could do with his body

He's playing a lot better than I thought he would. You have to wonder why he hardly played last year when we lacked depth. He is definitely serviceable ,like you said.

He should have and could have been a useful part of last year's team. Like you said, in light of how short our roster was you you have to wonder why Lavin didn't find a way to utilize him more. Just one of many things that made you wonder. No offense to AA, but CJ was and is the superior player. Chris quickly realized that which is why CJ is playing 30 MPG and AA 14 MPG.

Honestly, Jones got what he deserved last season in terms of playing time. Yes, he has a player's body, but other than a nice play once in a blue moon, he contributed very little. Good for him that he is getting a chance and making the most of it. His numbers are nice so far, but let's keep in mind that this is the part of our schedule where we play an entire roster of guys who would not be recruited anywhere in the Big East. If he puts these numbers up in the Big East part of the schedule, that would be really impressive. I just am not counting on it.

Beast a big part of a coach's job is player development. We saw no improvement in Jones' game in his first couple of years here. Low and behold, in just a few months under Chris's tutelage, we see a vastly improved player. I'm not saying that Jones is going to be an all big east player, but there was some untapped potential there and fortunately Chris has figured out a way to tap in to it. This is not a case of a kid simply improving over time, or we would have seen signs of it over the course of last season. In a perfect world Jones would be coming off the bench giving us 15-20 minutes of hard nosed ball. Unfortunately we are living in a far from perfect world.

 

[monte]

Its crazy how little respect Jones gets. Just 13 & 9 in a game where we needed every pt and every rebound we got. No mentions of the great passes he has had to Mussini on cuts to the basket (two today and several previously) or the help he gives breaking the press. And trust me we NEED him to break the press. He is not a perfect player, not even close, but if his name was anything else and he was a JUCO brought in by mullin for the next two years everyone would be happy to have him. Instead we pick his game apart.

Jones doesn't have the best instincts for sure but I like him. I think he is definitely serviceable.


Sometimes it almost feels like to me he doesn't realize how big he really is and what he could do with his body

He's playing a lot better than I thought he would. You have to wonder why he hardly played last year when we lacked depth. He is definitely serviceable ,like you said.

He should have and could have been a useful part of last year's team. Like you said, in light of how short our roster was you you have to wonder why Lavin didn't find a way to utilize him more. Just one of many things that made you wonder. No offense to AA, but CJ was and is the superior player. Chris quickly realized that which is why CJ is playing 30 MPG and AA 14 MPG.

Honestly, Jones got what he deserved last season in terms of playing time. Yes, he has a player's body, but other than a nice play once in a blue moon, he contributed very little. Good for him that he is getting a chance and making the most of it. His numbers are nice so far, but let's keep in mind that this is the part of our schedule where we play an entire roster of guys who would not be recruited anywhere in the Big East. If he puts these numbers up in the Big East part of the schedule, that would be really impressive. I just am not counting on it.

Beast a big part of a coach's job is player development. We saw no improvement in Jones' game in his first couple of years here. Low and behold, in just a few months under Chris's tutelage, we see a vastly improved player. I'm not saying that Jones is going to be an all big east player, but there was some untapped potential there and fortunately Chris has figured out a way to tap in to it. This is not a case of a kid simply improving over time, or we would have seen signs of it over the course of last season. In a perfect world Jones would be coming off the bench giving us 15-20 minutes of hard nosed ball. Unfortunately we are living in a far from perfect world.

I think the uptempo style the last group liked to play didn't fit Christian's game. Looked like he just couldn't keep up. Even now, he seems to be the first one of our guys to get winded on the court, late in games.

With this group playing at a slower pace, it allows him to set up, and get in position. Maybe that just suits his game better, and both staffs know/knew that.

I think it had something to do with the uptempo pace, but more to do with playing in a completely unstructured offense. Plus he now has a defined roll in this offense.

 

[Knight]

We had a huge size and athletic advantage over Fordham, which played a major role in this win. With better ball handling, it's a 15-20 point victory. The athletic advantage disappears when the real games start. The good news is that Yakwe is a big time athlete. He has NBA athleticism. I'm surprised that there isn't more enthusiasm for his potential. He has great timing on blocking shots, and gets off the ground quickly and effortlessly. One poster compared him to Beaver Smith, but I see more Ed Searcy. Beaver was only 6'4, Yakwe is 6'7 and hopefully still growing. I remember Searcy working an hour after practice with one of the assistants on developing a mid range jump shot. You can be sure Mullin will be looking for the same development from Yakwe. He's a lefty, and, as we all know, lefties can shoot the ball (or hopefully be taught to).

It's early but I see the Searcy analogy.
He can jump straight out of the gym.
Too bad Eddie never developed any shot whatsoever.

I remember Searcy not being in shape. He could really jump high, but frequently stayed at one end of the court bent over sucking air and leaving his team to play 4 on 5.

Would hope for a Sealy and all he brought!

 

[tom in salem]

syracuse should be a good test for how these guys will fare in the Big East.
And they'll be kind enough to neither press nor play us man.

 

[Red.Fans]

I think it had something to do with the uptempo pace, but more to do with playing in a completely unstructured offense. Plus he now has a defined roll in this offense.

He definitely deserves credit. Last year I wanted him to rebound. This year he is doing it. I wanted him to be aggressive. This year for the most part he is. His hands are better and he is trying to finish hard. Yesterday on the miss where he tried to hammer it home that is what he needs to be doing and he deserves credit for recognizing that and doing the right things. Going after his own miss, getting it and making the hoop. These are major - MAJOR improvements for him. He deserves credit and so does the staff for helping him to get there.

One thing that both he and Balamou (also deserves A LOT of credit) still do that drives me nuts is they shuffle their feet on a ball catch or when they are about to start a dribble. With the weird and inconsistent officiating this season, it is just a call waiting to happen.

 

[beast of the east]

Its crazy how little respect Jones gets. Just 13 & 9 in a game where we needed every pt and every rebound we got. No mentions of the great passes he has had to Mussini on cuts to the basket (two today and several previously) or the help he gives breaking the press. And trust me we NEED him to break the press. He is not a perfect player, not even close, but if his name was anything else and he was a JUCO brought in by mullin for the next two years everyone would be happy to have him. Instead we pick his game apart.

Jones doesn't have the best instincts for sure but I like him. I think he is definitely serviceable.

Sometimes it almost feels like to me he doesn't realize how big he really is and what he could do with his body

He's playing a lot better than I thought he would. You have to wonder why he hardly played last year when we lacked depth. He is definitely serviceable ,like you said.

He should have and could have been a useful part of last year's team. Like you said, in light of how short our roster was you you have to wonder why Lavin didn't find a way to utilize him more. Just one of many things that made you wonder. No offense to AA, but CJ was and is the superior player. Chris quickly realized that which is why CJ is playing 30 MPG and AA 14 MPG.

Honestly, Jones got what he deserved last season in terms of playing time. Yes, he has a player's body, but other than a nice play once in a blue moon, he contributed very little. Good for him that he is getting a chance and making the most of it. His numbers are nice so far, but let's keep in mind that this is the part of our schedule where we play an entire roster of guys who would not be recruited anywhere in the Big East. If he puts these numbers up in the Big East part of the schedule, that would be really impressive. I just am not counting on it.

Beast a big part of a coach's job is player development. We saw no improvement in Jones' game in his first couple of years here. Low and behold, in just a few months under Chris's tutelage, we see a vastly improved player. I'm not saying that Jones is going to be an all big east player, but there was some untapped potential there and fortunately Chris has figured out a way to tap in to it. This is not a case of a kid simply improving over time, or we would have seen signs of it over the course of last season. In a perfect world Jones would be coming off the bench giving us 15-20 minutes of hard nosed ball. Unfortunately we are living in a far from perfect world.

I agree 100% with you in concept, but over the years, very few players at SJU improved radically over their tenure.

People said the same thing about Carnesecca for years - that players didn't develop. Some of you will pour over stats and tell me how this guys numbers improved, scoring assists, whatever, but more often than not it had to do with opportunity for more playing time and the kid took advantage of it.

David Russell is a classic example people used to say Carnesecca never taught him a thing. Mel Davis would joke that Carnesecca would never touch a ball in practice because every one of his players had fundamentals he didn't possess.

Zendon, Felipe, and a long list of players never developed much as time went on. Just trying to be objective.

Some, like Hardy, got a shot and made the most of it. Lavin didn't develop him - Roberts hindered him.

There is nothing to suggest as far as I see that Jones is suddenly a new and improved player, except that with a razor thin roster he doesn't have to look over his shoulder to get yanked at the first egregious error. Also, though to be real, if Amar didn't get the opportunity he got as a freshman, perhaps Mussini (another foreign player) doesn't come here at all.

I'm more than willing to jump on the trash Lavin bandwagon when warranted, but Jones had ample opportunity to prove he could play, and failed. With only one true big guy (CO), he had a golden opportunity, but blew it as Lavin coaxed an NCAA bid out of an undersized team. Other than Amar's minutes, who would you have taken minutes away from to give Jones a chance? PG4? Harrison? Jordan? Pointer? Branch? Obekpa? Jones didn't play because he didn't seize an opportunity, and that happens on almost every team every season. Hopefully he makes the most of this chance this year. I'm pulling for him, as are you.

 

[Red.Fans]

Zendon and Felipe never played for Carnesecca. Mahoney>Fraschilla

 

[beast of the east]

Zendon and Felipe never played for Carnesecca. Mahoney>Fraschilla

I'm well aware. I have the sports illustrated cover, and couldn't wait till we cut down the nets in the final 4, and also sat through 4 years of lack of improvement. There are very few great teachers in college basketball, or anywhere really. Pro coaches lament how little rookies know about basketball when they arrive in the NBA. Most don't know what the weak side is.

The point was, that most coaches, even good ones, don't develop players.

 

[Knight]

Mel Davis played for Frank Mulzoff.

 

[bamafan]

Federico is doing a very good Jason Buchanan impersonation, and that's alright with me.

Bingo, knew there was a prior PG he reminded me of.

Let's just hope he doesn't develop a beer gut ala JB is senior year.

 

[redken]

Federico is doing a very good Jason Buchanan impersonation, and that's alright with me.

Bingo, knew there was a prior PG he reminded me of.

Let's just hope he doesn't develop a beer gut ala JB is senior year.

I don't see the comparison, except that at times Federico seems over his head at the PG spot. Was never a big fan of Buchanan. Nothing about his game was outstanding, and I always felt that with a different PG we could've been a Final Four team. Ironically, Louie had David Cain -- who ultimately proved to be a much, much better PG than JB -- at the end of the bench but rarely used him.

 

[monte]

Its crazy how little respect Jones gets. Just 13 & 9 in a game where we needed every pt and every rebound we got. No mentions of the great passes he has had to Mussini on cuts to the basket (two today and several previously) or the help he gives breaking the press. And trust me we NEED him to break the press. He is not a perfect player, not even close, but if his name was anything else and he was a JUCO brought in by mullin for the next two years everyone would be happy to have him. Instead we pick his game apart.

Jones doesn't have the best instincts for sure but I like him. I think he is definitely serviceable.

Sometimes it almost feels like to me he doesn't realize how big he really is and what he could do with his body

He's playing a lot better than I thought he would. You have to wonder why he hardly played last year when we lacked depth. He is definitely serviceable ,like you said.

He should have and could have been a useful part of last year's team. Like you said, in light of how short our roster was you you have to wonder why Lavin didn't find a way to utilize him more. Just one of many things that made you wonder. No offense to AA, but CJ was and is the superior player. Chris quickly realized that which is why CJ is playing 30 MPG and AA 14 MPG.

Honestly, Jones got what he deserved last season in terms of playing time. Yes, he has a player's body, but other than a nice play once in a blue moon, he contributed very little. Good for him that he is getting a chance and making the most of it. His numbers are nice so far, but let's keep in mind that this is the part of our schedule where we play an entire roster of guys who would not be recruited anywhere in the Big East. If he puts these numbers up in the Big East part of the schedule, that would be really impressive. I just am not counting on it.

Beast a big part of a coach's job is player development. We saw no improvement in Jones' game in his first couple of years here. Low and behold, in just a few months under Chris's tutelage, we see a vastly improved player. I'm not saying that Jones is going to be an all big east player, but there was some untapped potential there and fortunately Chris has figured out a way to tap in to it. This is not a case of a kid simply improving over time, or we would have seen signs of it over the course of last season. In a perfect world Jones would be coming off the bench giving us 15-20 minutes of hard nosed ball. Unfortunately we are living in a far from perfect world.

I agree 100% with you in concept, but over the years, very few players at SJU improved radically over their tenure.

People said the same thing about Carnesecca for years - that players didn't develop. Some of you will pour over stats and tell me how this guys numbers improved, scoring assists, whatever, but more often than not it had to do with opportunity for more playing time and the kid took advantage of it.

David Russell is a classic example people used to say Carnesecca never taught him a thing. Mel Davis would joke that Carnesecca would never touch a ball in practice because every one of his players had fundamentals he didn't possess.

Zendon, Felipe, and a long list of players never developed much as time went on. Just trying to be objective.

Some, like Hardy, got a shot and made the most of it. Lavin didn't develop him - Roberts hindered him.

There is nothing to suggest as far as I see that Jones is suddenly a new and improved player, except that with a razor thin roster he doesn't have to look over his shoulder to get yanked at the first egregious error. Also, though to be real, if Amar didn't get the opportunity he got as a freshman, perhaps Mussini (another foreign player) doesn't come here at all.

I'm more than willing to jump on the trash Lavin bandwagon when warranted, but Jones had ample opportunity to prove he could play, and failed. With only one true big guy (CO), he had a golden opportunity, but blew it as Lavin coaxed an NCAA bid out of an undersized team. Other than Amar's minutes, who would you have taken minutes away from to give Jones a chance? PG4? Harrison? Jordan? Pointer? Branch? Obekpa? Jones didn't play because he didn't seize an opportunity, and that happens on almost every team every season. Hopefully he makes the most of this chance this year. I'm pulling for him, as are you.

Sometimes its less about actually developing a player's talent, and more about giving a player a defined roll and letting him know how much faith you have in his ability to suceed in that roll.

 

[mjmaherjr]

Its crazy how little respect Jones gets. Just 13 & 9 in a game where we needed every pt and every rebound we got. No mentions of the great passes he has had to Mussini on cuts to the basket (two today and several previously) or the help he gives breaking the press. And trust me we NEED him to break the press. He is not a perfect player, not even close, but if his name was anything else and he was a JUCO brought in by mullin for the next two years everyone would be happy to have him. Instead we pick his game apart.

Jones doesn't have the best instincts for sure but I like him. I think he is definitely serviceable.

Sometimes it almost feels like to me he doesn't realize how big he really is and what he could do with his body

He's playing a lot better than I thought he would. You have to wonder why he hardly played last year when we lacked depth. He is definitely serviceable ,like you said.

He should have and could have been a useful part of last year's team. Like you said, in light of how short our roster was you you have to wonder why Lavin didn't find a way to utilize him more. Just one of many things that made you wonder. No offense to AA, but CJ was and is the superior player. Chris quickly realized that which is why CJ is playing 30 MPG and AA 14 MPG.

Honestly, Jones got what he deserved last season in terms of playing time. Yes, he has a player's body, but other than a nice play once in a blue moon, he contributed very little. Good for him that he is getting a chance and making the most of it. His numbers are nice so far, but let's keep in mind that this is the part of our schedule where we play an entire roster of guys who would not be recruited anywhere in the Big East. If he puts these numbers up in the Big East part of the schedule, that would be really impressive. I just am not counting on it.

Beast a big part of a coach's job is player development. We saw no improvement in Jones' game in his first couple of years here. Low and behold, in just a few months under Chris's tutelage, we see a vastly improved player. I'm not saying that Jones is going to be an all big east player, but there was some untapped potential there and fortunately Chris has figured out a way to tap in to it. This is not a case of a kid simply improving over time, or we would have seen signs of it over the course of last season. In a perfect world Jones would be coming off the bench giving us 15-20 minutes of hard nosed ball. Unfortunately we are living in a far from perfect world.

I agree 100% with you in concept, but over the years, very few players at SJU improved radically over their tenure.

People said the same thing about Carnesecca for years - that players didn't develop. Some of you will pour over stats and tell me how this guys numbers improved, scoring assists, whatever, but more often than not it had to do with opportunity for more playing time and the kid took advantage of it.

David Russell is a classic example people used to say Carnesecca never taught him a thing. Mel Davis would joke that Carnesecca would never touch a ball in practice because every one of his players had fundamentals he didn't possess.

Zendon, Felipe, and a long list of players never developed much as time went on. Just trying to be objective.

Some, like Hardy, got a shot and made the most of it. Lavin didn't develop him - Roberts hindered him.

There is nothing to suggest as far as I see that Jones is suddenly a new and improved player, except that with a razor thin roster he doesn't have to look over his shoulder to get yanked at the first egregious error. Also, though to be real, if Amar didn't get the opportunity he got as a freshman, perhaps Mussini (another foreign player) doesn't come here at all.

I'm more than willing to jump on the trash Lavin bandwagon when warranted, but Jones had ample opportunity to prove he could play, and failed. With only one true big guy (CO), he had a golden opportunity, but blew it as Lavin coaxed an NCAA bid out of an undersized team. Other than Amar's minutes, who would you have taken minutes away from to give Jones a chance? PG4? Harrison? Jordan? Pointer? Branch? Obekpa? Jones didn't play because he didn't seize an opportunity, and that happens on almost every team every season. Hopefully he makes the most of this chance this year. I'm pulling for him, as are you.

Sometimes its less about actually developing a player's talent, and more about giving a player a defined roll and letting him know how much faith you have in his ability to suceed in that roll.

Cain

 

[Amaseinyourface]

Its crazy how little respect Jones gets. Just 13 & 9 in a game where we needed every pt and every rebound we got. No mentions of the great passes he has had to Mussini on cuts to the basket (two today and several previously) or the help he gives breaking the press. And trust me we NEED him to break the press. He is not a perfect player, not even close, but if his name was anything else and he was a JUCO brought in by mullin for the next two years everyone would be happy to have him. Instead we pick his game apart.

Jones doesn't have the best instincts for sure but I like him. I think he is definitely serviceable.

Sometimes it almost feels like to me he doesn't realize how big he really is and what he could do with his body

He's playing a lot better than I thought he would. You have to wonder why he hardly played last year when we lacked depth. He is definitely serviceable ,like you said.

He should have and could have been a useful part of last year's team. Like you said, in light of how short our roster was you you have to wonder why Lavin didn't find a way to utilize him more. Just one of many things that made you wonder. No offense to AA, but CJ was and is the superior player. Chris quickly realized that which is why CJ is playing 30 MPG and AA 14 MPG.

Honestly, Jones got what he deserved last season in terms of playing time. Yes, he has a player's body, but other than a nice play once in a blue moon, he contributed very little. Good for him that he is getting a chance and making the most of it. His numbers are nice so far, but let's keep in mind that this is the part of our schedule where we play an entire roster of guys who would not be recruited anywhere in the Big East. If he puts these numbers up in the Big East part of the schedule, that would be really impressive. I just am not counting on it.

Beast a big part of a coach's job is player development. We saw no improvement in Jones' game in his first couple of years here. Low and behold, in just a few months under Chris's tutelage, we see a vastly improved player. I'm not saying that Jones is going to be an all big east player, but there was some untapped potential there and fortunately Chris has figured out a way to tap in to it. This is not a case of a kid simply improving over time, or we would have seen signs of it over the course of last season. In a perfect world Jones would be coming off the bench giving us 15-20 minutes of hard nosed ball. Unfortunately we are living in a far from perfect world.

I agree 100% with you in concept, but over the years, very few players at SJU improved radically over their tenure.

People said the same thing about Carnesecca for years - that players didn't develop. Some of you will pour over stats and tell me how this guys numbers improved, scoring assists, whatever, but more often than not it had to do with opportunity for more playing time and the kid took advantage of it.

David Russell is a classic example people used to say Carnesecca never taught him a thing. Mel Davis would joke that Carnesecca would never touch a ball in practice because every one of his players had fundamentals he didn't possess.

Zendon, Felipe, and a long list of players never developed much as time went on. Just trying to be objective.

Some, like Hardy, got a shot and made the most of it. Lavin didn't develop him - Roberts hindered him.

There is nothing to suggest as far as I see that Jones is suddenly a new and improved player, except that with a razor thin roster he doesn't have to look over his shoulder to get yanked at the first egregious error. Also, though to be real, if Amar didn't get the opportunity he got as a freshman, perhaps Mussini (another foreign player) doesn't come here at all.

I'm more than willing to jump on the trash Lavin bandwagon when warranted, but Jones had ample opportunity to prove he could play, and failed. With only one true big guy (CO), he had a golden opportunity, but blew it as Lavin coaxed an NCAA bid out of an undersized team. Other than Amar's minutes, who would you have taken minutes away from to give Jones a chance? PG4? Harrison? Jordan? Pointer? Branch? Obekpa? Jones didn't play because he didn't seize an opportunity, and that happens on almost every team every season. Hopefully he makes the most of this chance this year. I'm pulling for him, as are you.

Sometimes its less about actually developing a player's talent, and more about giving a player a defined roll and letting him know how much faith you have in his ability to suceed in that roll.

Bingo. 100%.

Jones never played with Obekpa last year. That made him a center 90% of the time he was in the game. Which was seldom if ever. These same skills hes showing now are the same ones I saw the first few games of his career. The irony is the same coach who originally saw the skills in him later decided he wasnt good enough to play.

 

[Andrew]

I am sure Christian Jones is a great guy but I don't see the love for his game. His rebounding numbers are the result of playing with Sima who alters so many shots. His offensive game is inconsistent. He doesn't anticipate well and I think he has ADD on defense. If he is still playing anything but spot minutes next year, we are in for another long year.

 

[OLV72]

I am sure Christian Jones is a great guy but I don't see the love for his game. His rebounding numbers are the result of playing with Sima who alters so many shots. His offensive game is inconsistent. He doesn't anticipate well and I think he has ADD on defense. If he is still playing anything but spot minutes next year, we are in for another long year.

Does a few posters giving the guy well earned credit for playing with confidence and contributing to his teams early season wins translate to love for his game? I don't see anyone calling Jones our Porzingis. We're just pleasantly surprised that he's getting this team some much needed wins during a season we all expect to be brutal.

And giving Sima credit for Jones rebounds is a pretty poor. The guys busting his ass for us.

 

[beast of the east]

Its crazy how little respect Jones gets. Just 13 & 9 in a game where we needed every pt and every rebound we got. No mentions of the great passes he has had to Mussini on cuts to the basket (two today and several previously) or the help he gives breaking the press. And trust me we NEED him to break the press. He is not a perfect player, not even close, but if his name was anything else and he was a JUCO brought in by mullin for the next two years everyone would be happy to have him. Instead we pick his game apart.

Jones doesn't have the best instincts for sure but I like him. I think he is definitely serviceable.

Sometimes it almost feels like to me he doesn't realize how big he really is and what he could do with his body

He's playing a lot better than I thought he would. You have to wonder why he hardly played last year when we lacked depth. He is definitely serviceable ,like you said.

He should have and could have been a useful part of last year's team. Like you said, in light of how short our roster was you you have to wonder why Lavin didn't find a way to utilize him more. Just one of many things that made you wonder. No offense to AA, but CJ was and is the superior player. Chris quickly realized that which is why CJ is playing 30 MPG and AA 14 MPG.

Honestly, Jones got what he deserved last season in terms of playing time. Yes, he has a player's body, but other than a nice play once in a blue moon, he contributed very little. Good for him that he is getting a chance and making the most of it. His numbers are nice so far, but let's keep in mind that this is the part of our schedule where we play an entire roster of guys who would not be recruited anywhere in the Big East. If he puts these numbers up in the Big East part of the schedule, that would be really impressive. I just am not counting on it.

Beast a big part of a coach's job is player development. We saw no improvement in Jones' game in his first couple of years here. Low and behold, in just a few months under Chris's tutelage, we see a vastly improved player. I'm not saying that Jones is going to be an all big east player, but there was some untapped potential there and fortunately Chris has figured out a way to tap in to it. This is not a case of a kid simply improving over time, or we would have seen signs of it over the course of last season. In a perfect world Jones would be coming off the bench giving us 15-20 minutes of hard nosed ball. Unfortunately we are living in a far from perfect world.

I agree 100% with you in concept, but over the years, very few players at SJU improved radically over their tenure.

People said the same thing about Carnesecca for years - that players didn't develop. Some of you will pour over stats and tell me how this guys numbers improved, scoring assists, whatever, but more often than not it had to do with opportunity for more playing time and the kid took advantage of it.

David Russell is a classic example people used to say Carnesecca never taught him a thing. Mel Davis would joke that Carnesecca would never touch a ball in practice because every one of his players had fundamentals he didn't possess.

Zendon, Felipe, and a long list of players never developed much as time went on. Just trying to be objective.

Some, like Hardy, got a shot and made the most of it. Lavin didn't develop him - Roberts hindered him.

There is nothing to suggest as far as I see that Jones is suddenly a new and improved player, except that with a razor thin roster he doesn't have to look over his shoulder to get yanked at the first egregious error. Also, though to be real, if Amar didn't get the opportunity he got as a freshman, perhaps Mussini (another foreign player) doesn't come here at all.

I'm more than willing to jump on the trash Lavin bandwagon when warranted, but Jones had ample opportunity to prove he could play, and failed. With only one true big guy (CO), he had a golden opportunity, but blew it as Lavin coaxed an NCAA bid out of an undersized team. Other than Amar's minutes, who would you have taken minutes away from to give Jones a chance? PG4? Harrison? Jordan? Pointer? Branch? Obekpa? Jones didn't play because he didn't seize an opportunity, and that happens on almost every team every season. Hopefully he makes the most of this chance this year. I'm pulling for him, as are you.

Sometimes its less about actually developing a player's talent, and more about giving a player a defined roll and letting him know how much faith you have in his ability to suceed in that roll.

Cain

What part of "Very few guys" did you not understand. Cain is perhaps the best example of a guy who improved while here. More often than not its about opportunity and confidence. As we've seen with senior laden teams in the NCAAs, experience counts a lot.

With Jones, I don't believe he's being taught so much that he's improved radically, and more that he's been told he's the starting forward and won't be yanked at every lapse. But I would like to revisit this subject after half the Big East season, where there will be enough games against better competition to gauge his progress. I'm not very big on making proclamations about a player when you are in the easy part of your schedule. When you do that Marvis Frazier becomes the next Joe Frazier, and we all know how that went

As I pointed out earlier this year, on talent compromised teams there are always one of two guys who put up career best years. I hope that's the case with Jones.

 

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I agree 100% with you in concept, but over the years, very few players at SJU improved radically over their tenure.

People said the same thing about Carnesecca for years - that players didn't develop. Some of you will pour over stats and tell me how this guys numbers improved, scoring assists, whatever, but more often than not it had to do with opportunity for more playing time and the kid took advantage of it.

David Russell is a classic example people used to say Carnesecca never taught him a thing. Mel Davis would joke that Carnesecca would never touch a ball in practice because every one of his players had fundamentals he didn't possess.

Zendon, Felipe, and a long list of players never developed much as time went on. Just trying to be objective.

This is just nonsense. The fact is that most players improve measurably from their freshmen to senior years. They develop physically and mentally. Their motor skills and muscle memory improve with repetition. Which is BTW why most students attend university, at least theoretically: to develop proficiency in a particular field of study through interaction with those of greater expertise. You've dismissed as nonsense the foundation of pedagogy, based on anecdotal observations, half of which are not even correct. Lou never taught Mel Davis anything. Yes, and for good reason.

Anecdotally there are any number of SJ players who improved between the FR and SR years, and not just players who had epiphanic senior years like Cain and Dom Pointer. Mark Jackson was awful as a freshman. Awful. Donald Emanuel went from a complete waste of space as an underclassman to a pretty good ball player, and that was under Mike Jarvis, who sucked. The difference between Kyle Cuffe as a freshman and senior, or DJ Kennedy, or Bill Wennington or Robert Werdann or Lavar Postell or Ty Grant or any other myriad of players off the top of my head at just this one school, who improved in obvious ways over time, you'd have to be blind not to see it. Much less what can be observed in the rest of college athletics. Good grief.

There are of course some players who never got better. Some players like Mullin came in as fully formed basketball players. Some players like Russell and McKoy didn't want to get better. Some players like nearly every big white dope Lou ever recruited had little aptitude for the sport and so could not get better. And most players - average players - are not capable of improving "radically." Because you can't teach genius, and certainly not in four years. But you can teach, and even the worst students can learn. Even the dumbest mule will learn to pull the plow if beaten righteously enough.

 

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Federico is doing a very good Jason Buchanan impersonation, and that's alright with me.

He is doing very well and when he plays the position he was brought here to play he will open eyes.He has to improve his man to man D but he will score big #s Now it is like asking a small forward to play canter
Give him a lot of credit he has game and he gives 100%