St John's - Villanova

[ccnobz]

Branch is horrendous. Poor shot selection. Poor ball handling.

He had a bad night, Sampson played really bad too. I think they will both improve. We really needed this road win- Disappointing loss.

 

[1and1sju]

Classic double-edged sword game. Did so many things poorly that it feels like it should have been a win with better play in even one facet of the game. At the same time did enough things well to almost steal a road game in conference despite playing so poorly. Which piece gets focused will shift based on the outcome of each game, but the bottom line is both exist: this team is dangerous in a lot of ways and incredibly deficient in others. Very little inbetween.

I think the most simplistic deficiency that can be quickly resolved is that this team is half-pregnant defensively, which you can't be. You either are or you aren't. The idea or approach that this team is going to be "complete" defenisvely at any piont in the near future needs to be thrown out the window this morning. Rather, they need to start focusing on taking something - anything - away on defense. Because right now they are caught in the middle and aren't taking anything away. They don't defend the perimeter, they don't defend the interior, and they don't rebound.

The defensive focus needs to be simplified prior to Cincy. Either (1) tighten the zone up and dare someone to beat you from 3, or (2) have 5 guys extending and getting into people and dare someone to beat you at the rim. Right now we can't stop either, with a 3-2 that exposes us to a simple high ball screen at the top and also ends us up with guards rotating down on bigs at the rim at the same time. Taking away one would be a big step in the right direction. We take one away last night and it's a win.

Excellent post. I whole heartedly agree.

 

[NYCNative]

Well, my first Johnnies game wasn't as good as I would have hoped. We did force OT which was nice, but the team really looked rusty from the layoff. Such chemistry issues seem inherent with a young team so I wouldn't give up on them quite yet.

The officiating was horrible and most of it seemed to go against us but we really needed to rebound better. Just be even on the boards and make a few more free throws and we won the game in regulation even with the officiating incompetence.

I bought tickets online just a few days before the game and wound up in the student section:

Harrison is a beast and you could see that some of the players have talent. They need to be able to work together. Hopefully without any long layoffs they can do better. I'll try and stay optimistic...

 

[salty dog]

Hey native, nice meeting you. We enjoyed the game despite the ending. When the Johnnie's took the lead late it was great as we were the only ones cheering and standing in dead silence.
This team is going to improve. As Looie said " winning on the road in the Big East is like winning 2"..

 

[Joe]

In the game I watched, SJU beat NOVA, just couldn't beat the refs. Doesn't excuse the poor foul shooting, and other weak play, but we played well enough to beat NOVA in regulation. How the intentional forearm shiver to Sir Dom was just a foul and Branch's push was flagrant is beyond me. Just one of the many bad calls against us and in favor of NOVA.

 

[JackofVirginia]

Just got back from the game and the simple fact is Ryan Archduke Ferdinand beat us. The kid was incredible and had
34 points in his opening Big East game. I will keep an eye on him and see if he can keep it up against the rest of the league. Johnnies were very down after the game and you could see that this loss hurt them. When they made their comeback you could see unbelievable energy and unity on the bench imploring them on. The whole staff and team were lockstep in the stirring climb to the lead. Sadly the long long fake on the three causing the foul and then number 4 stepping up and hitting 3 clutch foul shots turned the tide. The chance for victory was on Harrison's last shot which banked out after the foul. So close.

Believe it or not that wasnt a shooting foul. Actually if you saw the game, and the way it was reffed. It wouldnt be hard to believe.
I used to like jim burr. The game has completely passed him by.

Burr has always screwed St.John's.

 

[Moose]

Just got back from the game and the simple fact is Ryan Archduke Ferdinand beat us. The kid was incredible and had
34 points in his opening Big East game. I will keep an eye on him and see if he can keep it up against the rest of the league. Johnnies were very down after the game and you could see that this loss hurt them. When they made their comeback you could see unbelievable energy and unity on the bench imploring them on. The whole staff and team were lockstep in the stirring climb to the lead. Sadly the long long fake on the three causing the foul and then number 4 stepping up and hitting 3 clutch foul shots turned the tide. The chance for victory was on Harrison's last shot which banked out after the foul. So close.

Believe it or not that wasnt a shooting foul. Actually if you saw the game, and the way it was reffed. It wouldnt be hard to believe.
I used to like jim burr. The game has completely passed him by.

Burr has always screwed St.John's.

Um Rutgers BE Tourney game 2 yrs ago?

 

[Jack Williams]

The refs were making many minor mistakes throughout the game but the big one, and many of you might wanna watch a replay, was on the 3 point shot, Garret didn't touch the man he was guarding, didn't touch him.