St. John's will make the NCAA tourny if..

[Amaseinyourface]

We make the tournament with room to spare if Clark gives us 8 ppg and between 5 and 6 ppg.

Would help if Yakwe and Amar really attack the boards as well. With no depth, we really need to have those guys steal as many minutes as they can so Owens doesn't foul out every game.

And if Trimble can play at this level. Otherwise, the guards will be gassed.

Man ill be real surprised if Clark doesn't average 8 pts.

I think overall the board has been overrating him. I think he's our starting center, and as the game progresses he'll play PF and SF, so he'll certainly get the minutes. Hopefully he can do something. He averaged 20 ppg as a senior against what I assume was decent competition at Sunrise, but the rebound numbers were never huge.

I think his offense will be his best arrtribute and he certainly will get minutes so the scoring will come. I don’t expect huge rebounding numbers but I also don’t expect him to get moved around easily which is a hugely welcome addition. I see about 10&5.

 

[Andrew]

We make the tournament with room to spare if Clark gives us 8 ppg and between 5 and 6 ppg.

Would help if Yakwe and Amar really attack the boards as well. With no depth, we really need to have those guys steal as many minutes as they can so Owens doesn't foul out every game.

And if Trimble can play at this level. Otherwise, the guards will be gassed.

Man ill be real surprised if Clark doesn't average 8 pts.

Clark isn't as big, but I kind of liken him to the role of Brownlee in Lav's first year. Brownlee actually nudged out Kennedy as the #2 option, with Hardy assuming the #1. Ponds IMO is at least as good as Hardy, though Hardy had an incredible run where he was one of the top players in the country, his ceiling is much higher and he has a much better handle. As we know, Ponds/Lovett is our best backcourt in some time and if Simon is a good as his HS profile, we may have something there in terms of a top flight backcourt for all 40 minutes.

I believe Clark would have to become a legitimate #3 or #4 option, and if we are to make the tourney has to be in the 10-12 ppg range. Ahmed is going to get his points for sure, and I think the season will hinge on how efficient he is at shot selection and shooting %.

Couldnt agree more regarding Ahmed. Hopefully Simon and Clark will take some of the heat off of him.

 

[beast of the east]

We make the tournament with room to spare if Clark gives us 8 ppg and between 5 and 6 ppg.

Would help if Yakwe and Amar really attack the boards as well. With no depth, we really need to have those guys steal as many minutes as they can so Owens doesn't foul out every game.

And if Trimble can play at this level. Otherwise, the guards will be gassed.

Man ill be real surprised if Clark doesn't average 8 pts.

Clark isn't as big, but I kind of liken him to the role of Brownlee in Lav's first year. Brownlee actually nudged out Kennedy as the #2 option, with Hardy assuming the #1. Ponds IMO is at least as good as Hardy, though Hardy had an incredible run where he was one of the top players in the country, his ceiling is much higher and he has a much better handle. As we know, Ponds/Lovett is our best backcourt in some time and if Simon is a good as his HS profile, we may have something there in terms of a top flight backcourt for all 40 minutes.

I believe Clark would have to become a legitimate #3 or #4 option, and if we are to make the tourney has to be in the 10-12 ppg range. Ahmed is going to get his points for sure, and I think the season will hinge on how efficient he is at shot selection and shooting %.

Couldnt agree more regarding Ahmed. Hopefully Simon and Clark will take some of the heat off of him.

What I loved about DJ Kennedy was that after being the man for most of the 3 previous seasons, he adapted his game to become the 3rd offensive option during his senior season and instead contributed defense, rebounding, and passing - in other words a glue guy. Paris Horne was a great 4th option which is why tweaking the starting lineup and giving Hardy marquee status, and starting Brownlee over Evans, and adding even the disappointing Justin Burrell to the mix, we became formidable.

I don't believe Ahmed is as well rounded as to accept a reduced offensive role but that could be fine as long as he is more selective and more efficient. If Clark is as versatile as hit statline appears, he could be a glue guy also.

 

[cappy105]

WIN 20 GAMES..COACH SHOULD NOT TAKE OUT A PLAYER WHO JUST SCORED,WITH A NEW GUY JUST BECAUSE IT IS PART OF THE ROTATION... DONT KILL THE MOMENTUM..

agree 20 games is the key. 19 if we beat Duke

 

[fuchsia]

Agree with Beast but still think that the freshman form and energy Yakwe in the new bigger and stronger body is the key to the season.

 

[L J S A]

I see about 10&5.

If we can get 10 and 5 from him I think we finish 3rd or 4th in the league, which gets us in tournament easily and shocks the hell out of the people who will probably vote us 7th in preseason.

 

[we are sju]

I see about 10&5.

If we can get 10 and 5 from him I think we finish 3rd or 4th in the league, which gets us in tournament easily and shocks the hell out of the people who will probably vote us 7th in preseason.

I am predicting 12 and 6.

I think we go on a roll at mid year when they have Ahmed come off the bench.

Yakwe , Clark, Simon, Ponds and Lovett start by end of season.
Owens and Ahmed off the bench
We win 20 including 1 BET game. Play 8/9 game

 

[beast of the east]

I see about 10&5.

If we can get 10 and 5 from him I think we finish 3rd or 4th in the league, which gets us in tournament easily and shocks the hell out of the people who will probably vote us 7th in preseason.

I am predicting 12 and 6.

I think we go on a roll at mid year when they have Ahmed come off the bench.

Yakwe , Clark, Simon, Ponds and Lovett start by end of season.
Owens and Ahmed off the bench
We win 20 including 1 BET game. Play 8/9 game

I'm not sure there are enough shots to go around after Ponds, Lovett, and Ahmed to get him to 12 ppg.

On the subject of Yakwe, he has only shown brief flashes last season of being a player you can count on for a fine season. I discount his freshman year a bit because the roster was so thin someone had to put up numbers even in a 1-17 conference record.

 

[we are sju]

I am bored

Yakwe 4.7 ppg 5.4 rebs
Clark 11.6 ppg 6.2 rebs
Simon 7.4 ppg 4 rebs 3 asst
Ponds 17.6 4.6 rebs
Lovett 16 ppg 4.6 asst

Owens 5.6 ppg 6.5 rebs 2 blocks
Ahmed 10.3 ppg 4.3 rebs 3 WASJU remote controls smashed after bad shots

Amar will score 17 points and grab 8 rebounds against someone. 100 posts will follow about what a great story and kid he has been. He will then score 17 points the rest of the season. He will take a bad shot and commit a bad turnover in some game and 100 posts will follow about how much he stinks.

Marco Baldi on JJ will start 25 threads about how Ponds, Lovett or both are transferring, getting suspended or being upducted by aliens.

 

[Ray Morgan]

My guess is that we will be, along with a few others, fighting for a NCAA berth with a few weeks to go in the season. Before that, we will deal with the usual ups and downs of a relatively inexperienced and undersized, but talented team. With tourney spots on the line, the games get tougher. Meaning you better play serious D and work the boards hard, because you won't catch anyone napping or having flat games with their season on the line. So we will need to defend and rebound well, the 2 things that were our greatest deficiencies last season. That, and playing more team offense would be nice. Absent improvement in those areas, especially late in the season, we are likely to fall a game or 2 short.

If we do miss the tourney, the reason will be the lack of a banger that can get the key rebounds and defend a strong interior scorer. This team could really use a Anthony Glover/Ty Grant lunch pail kind of player.

 

[Eric]

We will make the ncaa tourney fellas. Just the natural maturation alone of ponds lovett ahmed and owens added to clark simon trimble. Im not as worried about rebounds and defense as much as others. I am expecting it to be better with our additions and their defensive mentality. We are gonna outscore a lot of our opponents. This is gonna be a fun team to watch and i see a berth pretty comfortably.