St. Francis
- Thread starter MainMan
- Start date
tom in salem
Well-known member
Harkless' spin move was the play of the night.
jumbo_peanuts
Active member
Nice win for us tonight. However, our FT shooting still sucks. We were 9-19 tonight for 47.4%. I'm not sure what these kids have to do to improve, but this will ultimately cost us later in the season. Those kind of numbers are simply unacceptable.
queensbridge
Member
Moe needs to be involved from the start- he spent the first 5 minutes in the corner not getting touches
I am liking this group a lot, especailly Harrison, Harkless, Pointer and Greene.
Mo does indeed make it look silky smooth and he will be really good. Harrison too. Both of them surpirsed me with the number of points they had.
I love Greene and Pointer's energy level. Greene looks to be a leader on and off the floor.
Mo does indeed make it look silky smooth and he will be really good. Harrison too. Both of them surpirsed me with the number of points they had.
I love Greene and Pointer's energy level. Greene looks to be a leader on and off the floor.
JackofVirginia
Active member
What about God's Gift? No mention in the post. Hopefully, he's not losing confidence.
was at the game tonight and it was tough getting there. Only die-hards showed but it was a decent crowd considering. Johnson and the Russian guy were OK for St. Francis. Everyone contributed for the Johnnies . I think Nuri toned down his game tonight. I like the fact that no one was in foul trouble other than God;s gift.
Team is growing nicely.
Team is growing nicely.
Was at the game. Brief report:
Seemed as though the staff used the game to work on things and did not really turn the players loose until the end. I think most of what they wanted to work on was finding ways to get the ball inside, and if that was the plan, it was a miserable failure. The question is whether it is a flaw in their design, or how the players are working the design, or whether Gift just cannot get it done. Right now he is just absolutely lost and a complete non-factor. I suspect that the Garden games killed his confidence, but he needs to get it back if he's going to contribute anything.
Nuri also took a back seat last night, also by design. He made some nice passes, and hardly drove the lane at all. As a result some of the other players stepped it up and looked for their offense, which I think will be a big plus in the long run. It's nice to know that Nuri can take it himself at any time, but the team is better if the others have the confidence to take their shots when available instead of looking to him to do it all.
Obviously Harrison lit it up. He played well on both ends, and of course had his mandatory altercation with somebody on the other team, it seems to happen every game with him.
Pointer is developing some more confidence on the offensive end, it wouldn't surprise me if he is as good on offense as he is on defense in a few years. He is fun to watch, and easy to cheer for.
Phil and Stith had quiet nights. Stith is what he is, Phil seemed to be too preoccupied with playing the point and passed up some opportunities to take it himself. He and Nuri both need to find some balance playing that position.
Harkless was tremendously frustrating. He did some incredible things using his athleticism and length. Unfortunately, when not doing that, he did nothing. He was repeatedly slow to get to the spot they wanted him to get to in the offense, got boxed out by smaller, slower, less athletic SFC players, did not show tremendous intensity. It's amazing that with about 5 minutes worth of effort he put up numbers that a lot of players would be happy to have in 30 minutes.
There is a lot to like about this team. It's still a work in progress, though.
Seemed as though the staff used the game to work on things and did not really turn the players loose until the end. I think most of what they wanted to work on was finding ways to get the ball inside, and if that was the plan, it was a miserable failure. The question is whether it is a flaw in their design, or how the players are working the design, or whether Gift just cannot get it done. Right now he is just absolutely lost and a complete non-factor. I suspect that the Garden games killed his confidence, but he needs to get it back if he's going to contribute anything.
Nuri also took a back seat last night, also by design. He made some nice passes, and hardly drove the lane at all. As a result some of the other players stepped it up and looked for their offense, which I think will be a big plus in the long run. It's nice to know that Nuri can take it himself at any time, but the team is better if the others have the confidence to take their shots when available instead of looking to him to do it all.
Obviously Harrison lit it up. He played well on both ends, and of course had his mandatory altercation with somebody on the other team, it seems to happen every game with him.
Pointer is developing some more confidence on the offensive end, it wouldn't surprise me if he is as good on offense as he is on defense in a few years. He is fun to watch, and easy to cheer for.
Phil and Stith had quiet nights. Stith is what he is, Phil seemed to be too preoccupied with playing the point and passed up some opportunities to take it himself. He and Nuri both need to find some balance playing that position.
Harkless was tremendously frustrating. He did some incredible things using his athleticism and length. Unfortunately, when not doing that, he did nothing. He was repeatedly slow to get to the spot they wanted him to get to in the offense, got boxed out by smaller, slower, less athletic SFC players, did not show tremendous intensity. It's amazing that with about 5 minutes worth of effort he put up numbers that a lot of players would be happy to have in 30 minutes.
There is a lot to like about this team. It's still a work in progress, though.
Well said lawman. Two things in particular I preferred. Lindsey backed off on-ball domination. We know he can do it, but he worked off the ball and was still very effective with something like 8 pts 6 Rebs and 4 assists. I think it was good for him to take some pressure off himself to do everything and blend into the team game. He was masterful using screen and rolls with Harkless. This was no doubt by staff's design but Nuri and the team will be better for it when we utilize the team concept in offense.
I also liked how Phil Greene worked on his PG game. He needs to work and minutes doing it. As he gets more comfortable, the rest of his scoring ability will also come through.
GG is in a funk but I still think he has a lot of upside. Don't sell him short just yet. He needs some refinement but will still be good.
Dunlap said Harkless doesn't know how good he is. He's right. Harkless still coasts for 75% of the game. The fact that he's as effective as he is speaks volumes for his talent level. Harkless needs to simply play at the speed that Sir'Dom plays at and he'll be absolutely unstoppable and a lottery pick. I hope he doesn't find that level of intensity for at least 2 more seasons for St. Johns sake. He's fantastic.
Sir'Dom. What can I say. He plays harder at both ends than just about anybody I've seen in college ball. He takes
Pride and loves this game as does Harrison. Love these kids. Their upside and subsequently SJU's upside is excellent because of them. These are glue guys. Blue chip program players. Can't ask for more. A blend of skill and intensity. Amir is another in their mold. Can't wait til he gets here.
As you said, a work in progress, but an extremely talented group. For such a young and shallow roster, we're way ahead of where I thought we might be.
Best part about it is all these guys are getting tons and tons of PT and should be more then happy in this program for their bball careers here. We're a couple to 2012 additions away from being a top program next year and beyond.
FKASJU
Member
Does anyone else think it would be beneficial to get Jamal White in the game for a few meaningful minutes in a game like St. Francis? I just can't but thinking at some point during the season he may be needed for a few minutes at the end of the half or something in the case of foul trouble. Even with Amir back, an 8 man rotation in the BE could still easily wind up in foul trouble at some point. Even if he only plays 2 minutes per game, it could be needed at some point.
Amir is the real key though. We're a pretty decent team right now. We have been able to manage fouls and have the stamina to run the whole game thus far. That said, adding that one more talented wing player will go a long, long way to augmenting our lineup. Gift is struggling, and it is clear that while we will use him, we are going with a smaller guards and wings lineup for the lions share of the minutes out of necessity. I'm not sure what white can really do for us. Amir is the guy we need here. I'm hoping Cummings is an able body and able to give us some minutes at PF. Hoping for a pleasant surprise there. Even Boeheim has said he doesn't go deeper than 9 guys ever except this season. We'll be able to function with an 8-9 man rotation barring injuries.