St. John’s (2020-21)

[quote="NCJohnnie" post=401084]I am probably in the minority here, but I am not unhappy with the idea of not having a "go to guy".

Realize we do not compare in talent with either the SJU final 8 team or the Nova 2016 championship team, but neither of those teams had a real go to guy, rather several guys who you'd be happy making a play at the end of the game. Depending on who is playing in the final minutes, I see any of Champ, Dunn, Williams, Earlington or Cole being guys you'd have faith making a big shot. To me what will make a huge difference is having Posh in there to create and make the right pass w/o turning the ball over.[/quote]

Those two teams had elite PGs who were both pass first and effective scorers at will. When you have a really good PG he can make the other players more effective recognizing their strengths and how and when to get them the ball.
 
Long Island Lutheran duo Drissa Traore and Rafael Pinzon will be signing with St John’s during the early period that starts on Wednesday, I’m told. Exact day is uncertain. #sjubb
Zach B
 
[quote="Paul Massell" post=401119][quote="NCJohnnie" post=401084]I am probably in the minority here, but I am not unhappy with the idea of not having a "go to guy".

Realize we do not compare in talent with either the SJU final 8 team or the Nova 2016 championship team, but neither of those teams had a real go to guy, rather several guys who you'd be happy making a play at the end of the game. Depending on who is playing in the final minutes, I see any of Champ, Dunn, Williams, Earlington or Cole being guys you'd have faith making a big shot. To me what will make a huge difference is having Posh in there to create and make the right pass w/o turning the ball over.[/quote]

Those two teams had elite PGs who were both pass first and effective scorers at will. When you have a really good PG he can make the other players more effective recognizing their strengths and how and when to get them the ball.[/quote]

In time, I believe that Posh has the potential to be that elite pass first PG
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=401052]https://twitter.com/mearlington/status/1325328921114660864?s=21[/quote



He might be our Knock down three point shooter.
 
Earlington gave up football to play basketball, He is certainly giving it his all.
 
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Whatever Earlington and the SJU staff have done to improve his outside shooting skills since he arrived on campus is truly amazing. It probably has a lot to do with his concentration on football in high school but to go from endangering the backboards to a smooth technique in his time at SJU is very impressive.
 
[quote="Enright" post=401135]Whatever Earlington and the SJU staff have done to improve his outside shooting skills since he arrived on campus is truly amazing. It probably has a lot to do with his concentration on football in high school but to go from endangering the backboards to a smooth technique in his time at SJU is very impressive.[/quote]

He could hit the 3 in high school, think it was more of adjusting to a higher level than some complete overhaul or anything like that. But I do think we have a good staff for player development, especially when it comes to strength and conditioning.
 
[quote="Enright" post=401135]Whatever Earlington and the SJU staff have done to improve his outside shooting skills since he arrived on campus is truly amazing. It probably has a lot to do with his concentration on football in high school but to go from endangering the backboards to a smooth technique in his time at SJU is very impressive.[/quote]

I believe it had been shared on here before that he has a tireless work ethic. Since he decided to give up football and pursue basketball full time, you can clearly see how hard he's worked. First it was to get his body into basketball shape, and then it was to refine and improve his skills. Excited to see the next step, but he deserves a ton of credit.
 
[quote="MarkRedman" post=401125][quote="Paul Massell" post=401119][quote="NCJohnnie" post=401084]I am probably in the minority here, but I am not unhappy with the idea of not having a "go to guy".

Realize we do not compare in talent with either the SJU final 8 team or the Nova 2016 championship team, but neither of those teams had a real go to guy, rather several guys who you'd be happy making a play at the end of the game. Depending on who is playing in the final minutes, I see any of Champ, Dunn, Williams, Earlington or Cole being guys you'd have faith making a big shot. To me what will make a huge difference is having Posh in there to create and make the right pass w/o turning the ball over.[/quote]

Those two teams had elite PGs who were both pass first and effective scorers at will. When you have a really good PG he can make the other players more effective recognizing their strengths and how and when to get them the ball.[/quote]

In time, I believe that Posh has the potential to be that elite pass first PG[/quote]

Let me preface this by saying I loved watching Shamorie Ponds play. But watching that 1 on 1 take the air out of the ball style with the game on the line can be frustrating, especially when you have a guy like Dunn last year forced into that role and it doesn't work out. I'm excited to see a team effort in those situations.
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=401117][quote="Monte" post=401062]With all due respect to Champ, there is only one returning player who could create on his own last year, and that's Dunn. In spite of the fact made a few poor decisions down the stretch in a couple of games last year. Assuming all players improve this season(no guarantee) , I'm not writing off Dunn as our go-to player this season.[/quote]

There is more at stake this season, and I believe Dunn will have to up his game as we hope to turn tough losses into hard fought wins. The challenge for him is that if we've already seen the very best of him, he will slip in the rotation from starter and a team leader to a valuable backup who was passed in the rotation by a more reliable player.

He needs to be a more refined version of the guy we saw last season, retaining and enhancing the positive things we saw, and reducing mistakes while still playing with the same or better intensity.[/quote]

Why do you think we may have seen the very best of Dunn? Regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench, I hope and expect we'll see some improvement in his game. By all accounts, he's a smart, hard working and coachable young man. If we assume that we'll see improvement from most/all of the other kids under CMA's tutelage, I think we can assume that we'll see some improvement from Dunn as well.
 
[quote="Room112" post=401148][quote="MarkRedman" post=401125][quote="Paul Massell" post=401119][quote="NCJohnnie" post=401084]I am probably in the minority here, but I am not unhappy with the idea of not having a "go to guy".

Realize we do not compare in talent with either the SJU final 8 team or the Nova 2016 championship team, but neither of those teams had a real go to guy, rather several guys who you'd be happy making a play at the end of the game. Depending on who is playing in the final minutes, I see any of Champ, Dunn, Williams, Earlington or Cole being guys you'd have faith making a big shot. To me what will make a huge difference is having Posh in there to create and make the right pass w/o turning the ball over.[/quote]

Those two teams had elite PGs who were both pass first and effective scorers at will. When you have a really good PG he can make the other players more effective recognizing their strengths and how and when to get them the ball.[/quote]

In time, I believe that Posh has the potential to be that elite pass first PG[/quote]

Let me preface this by saying I loved watching Shamorie Ponds play. But watching that 1 on 1 take the air out of the ball style with the game on the line can be frustrating, especially when you have a guy like Dunn last year forced into that role and it doesn't work out. I'm excited to see a team effort in those situations.[/quote]

I totally agree with you.Your post brings me back to a game I went to at Barclays in the 2018-19 season. I think it was the Legends Classic title game against VCU. In the 4th quarter and overtime all Shamorie did was play 1-1 ball and not get his teammates involved. Was Brutal to watch. Don't get me wrong I love Shamorie, but hated when he played like that
 
I actually don't think we're in a place yet where we can allow Posh to be pass first. I think we will need his scoring too. We still don't have that 1 sure fire go-to guy offensively like we did with Ponds. If Champ can improve his 3 PT shot then I think he takes that role.
 
[quote="Mike Zaun" post=401174]I actually don't think we're in a place yet where we can allow Posh to be pass first. I think we will need his scoring too. We still don't have that 1 sure fire go-to guy offensively like we did with Ponds. If Champ can improve his 3 PT shot then I think he takes that role.[/quote]

I think the point is we can allow Posh to be a scorer and passer at the same time. The scoring just doesn't have to come from isolation 1 on 1 every time, but more so in the flow of the game.
 
[quote="Room112" post=401179][quote="Mike Zaun" post=401174]I actually don't think we're in a place yet where we can allow Posh to be pass first. I think we will need his scoring too. We still don't have that 1 sure fire go-to guy offensively like we did with Ponds. If Champ can improve his 3 PT shot then I think he takes that role.[/quote]

I think the point is we can allow Posh to be a scorer and passer at the same time. The scoring just doesn't have to come from isolation 1 on 1 every time, but more so in the flow of the game.[/quote]

Teams couldn’t stop Dunn going to the basket even when they planned for it. Adding Posh is going to create huge issues for defenses because he’s also a downhill runner and nearly impossible to stop going to the basket. A guy like Dunn penetrating and dishing to a Posh on the perimeter who can also slice right through at will will be near impossible to stop. With open a lot of opportunity for our other guys for inside buckets or open treys.

Posh will absolutely not be a pass-only type Pg. Hes a penetration and either finish or dish kinda guy. We will get both from him. Very capable passer.
 
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[quote="MCNPA" post=401181]
Posh will absolutely not be a pass-only type Pg. Hes a penetration and either finish or dish kinda guy. We will get both from him. Very capable passer.[/quote]

The distinction that I made is pass first not pass only. 112 gets it. Team first and when it calls for it, you taking the shot is what is best for the team. But getting your team involved, making smart passes that optimize them getting a basket improves everything from overall chemistry to the flow of the game. That is what I hope we eventually get from Posh. I expect that most of it will happen quickly! But I like that we have a bunch of guys with good hands like Champ and Earlington who can handle high speed passing.
 
[quote="Paul Massell" post=401182][quote="MCNPA" post=401181]
Posh will absolutely not be a pass-only type Pg. Hes a penetration and either finish or dish kinda guy. We will get both from him. Very capable passer.[/quote]

The distinction that I made is pass first not pass only. 112 gets it. Team first and when it calls for it, you taking the shot is what is best for the team. But getting your team involved, making smart passes that optimize them getting a basket improves everything from overall chemistry to the flow of the game. That is what I hope we eventually get from Posh. I expect that most of it will happen quickly! But I like that we have a bunch of guys with good hands like Champ and Earlington who can handle high speed passing.[/quote] You gotta have hands if you want to run on Paul's team! :)
 
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