(STAPLES) Arizona St., Fri. Dec. 8, 8p, PAC 10, 970 AM

Okay bad results. Gratifying we played them 'even' in 2nd half. Saw but 1/2 the game, so I could be way off. But judging by the Boxscore, looks like we came up way short at the foul line, making only 59% versus ASU's 85% and their bench logged 34 minutes, contributing 6 rebounds and 9 points; SJU's bench: 24 minutes, 3 rebounds and 3 points.
And I luv Ponds, but 6-23 from the field and 1-8 from 3-point range ain't gonna cut mustard in the Big East.
 
I watched the whole game and I could write a whole analysis but what this really comes down to is Shamorie Ponds was awful tonight. Let's face it without Lovett he is a huge part of the offense. If that's the case and you shoot 6 of 23 and keep shooting (whether you have to or not) we are dead. Clark and Owens both played decent. A chance to go up or tie and pass goes right thru SP's hands. Sums up the night.

I would also add that the officiating was horrible but SJU also committed some obvious bad fouls. In addition, we also received the benefit of some bad officiating calls. So please no crying from me about how the refs cost us the game. We also missed FT's down the stretch while ASU was nearly perfect.

Missed opportunity on a lost night. There is no positive spin as we need to win some of these games to turn the corner as a Program and bottom line is it didn't happen tonight.
 
Finish out preseason with 10 wins and a winning big east season is a reasonable expectation. This would put the Program ahead of schedule for year three.

Clark and Simon have transformed the team into a tougher more competitive group.

When was the last time a johnny team did not have a bad loss in preseason? There's usually a couple of them by now.

Hope I did not put the jinx on them.





 
Ponds & Ahmed a combined 7-31. You will not win many games against good teams with those numbers. Shamorie was really off tonight. Good news is we can only get better and were in the game right to the end. Road trip a positive overall.
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Pond was 6 of 23. You could have stopped there. What does Ahmed have to do with it?
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While it is easy to make excuses for this loss because of the absence of Marcus Lovett I see the final outcome as a traditional St. John's meltdown in a big game in the closing minutes.  Many of us old timers have been hardened to expect losses like this.  Yes, Shamorie had an off game from the three point line but coach Mullin has designated him as the "go-to guy" so he attempts to play that role.  Had he not been suffering the sophomore jinx and suffering a severe lack of coaching those last few minutes may have been different.

But, let's not use an off game by Slick as a cover for the dysfunctional plays by the one-man wrecking ball known as Bashir Ahmed. In the space of 38 short seconds and with the chance to take the lead Bashir went postal.
Those precious wasted seconds by Bashir are memorialized below:

3:50 Bashir Ahmed missed Three Point Jumper. 67 - 69
3:28 Foul on Bashir Ahmed. 67 - 69
3:28 Bashir Ahmed Turnover. 67 - 69
3:28 Official TV Timeout 67 - 69
3:12 Foul on Bashir Ahmed and enter the slow footed Trimble.

The final coup de grâce?  At the 2:20 mark Justin Simon turnover with score 70 - 71.

In the end this was a winnable game and a lost opportunity.  It is likely the way the rest of the season will go given our lack of depth.  It is also why we may end up being an NIT team instead of an NCAA Tourney team. 
 
Great points and a very disappointing loss. We lack depth overall, especially in the front court. Our guards are very talented but still inexperienced and this shows in big games. But, I'm not ready to concede the season.
Ponds, LoVett, Simon, Clark, and Owen are 5 very good pieces. Yes, Ahmed has to show more, as does Yakwe. We have to and I think we can play smarter.
The fact we could have won this game against the # 16 team and came from 15-16 points behind--all with Ponds, Ahmed, & Simon having poor nights says tons about this team.
I see the glass half-full.
 
I watched the whole game and I could write a whole analysis but what this really comes down to is Shamorie Ponds was awful tonight. Let's face it without Lovett he is a huge part of the offense. If that's the case and you shoot 6 of 23 and keep shooting (whether you have to or not) we are dead. Clark and Owens both played decent. A chance to go up or tie and pass goes right thru SP's hands. Sums up the night.

I would also add that the officiating was horrible but SJU also committed some obvious bad fouls. In addition, we also received the benefit of some bad officiating calls. So please no crying from me about how the refs cost us the game. We also missed FT's down the stretch while ASU was nearly perfect.

Missed opportunity on a lost night. There is no positive spin as we need to win some of these games to turn the corner as a Program and bottom line is it didn't happen tonight.
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Very well said. Ponds, Ahmed, and Simon all had poor games--yet we could've won. That speaks volumes--but yes we need to make those foul shots and play smarter. And somehow grow a bench.
 
Very simple analysis
Clark and Owens were terrific
Ponds, Ahmed and Simon were not
Lovett didn't play
Can't beat a ranked team on the road when 3 key guys don't play to their ability and another is out
End of story
 

that is up to coaching coach say player do. up to
them to change there mind set and have them ready for a big game like this. But without Lovett and 3 players not up to par we competed with a chance of winning Can not bark at the team you have bad games But this should indicate we can play with anybody
To the team things will keep getting better keep up the good work


 
A winnable game primarily because A State was not a physical mismatch for our guys. We can hang with teams that don't pound the offensive boards and overpower us down low, and ASU didn't. Credit to the team for taking A State out of sync and making them work for it. They have senior leaders, and we do not, which showed down the stretch. Ponds cold shooting from 3 is a mystery. I know coach doesn't want him to lose confidence, but how about reigning him in a bit, which means no contested 3s with a full shot clock or NBA range 3s in transition until Ponds gets over 30% for the year? This has been a frustrating year to watch, and will get worse until we add more quality and size to the roster. I like the players we have, but we just need a few more pieces to get back to the dance, and maybe win some games once there.
 
I think this was a character-building game. Tough loss will help prepare us fo BE competition.
 
Ponds and Bashir have bad games. LoVett doesn't play and we play a top 20 team away from home down to the wire. How come? The team defense and rebounding are much improved. If the shots start to fall things will look better.
 
Ponds and Bashir have bad games. LoVett doesn't play and we play a top 20 team away from home down to the wire. How come? The team defense and rebounding are much improved. If the shots start to fall things will look better.
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Got to at least appreciate playing away games in Florida, Arizona and California early in the season, can only help this team. Remember we stayed in the Missouri and Arizona State games against two good teams, didn't get blown out.
 
I still cringe every time Ahmed touches the ball on offense
He's either going to do something brilliant or boneheaded
Unfortunately, the latter happens way too often for my taste
 
Attended the game last night - will focus on the positives:

1). This team plays hard. They were down big in the first half and never stopped fighting. Excessive amount of fouls in the first half which forced us to go to the bench earlier and more often.

2). I like that we seem to make good adjustments at halftime. Our 2nd halfs are generally stronger than our 1st halfs. Maybe the staff knows what they’re doing?

3). Really happy with the SJU contingent. I had 2 non-SJU friends with me and both were impressed by the number of fans in attendance and how hard they rooted for the team. I really hope SJU schedules more games in SoCal in the future.

4). SJU Alumni relations arranged a group photo on the court. Was a nice touch.

5). And the coolest thing was I met my first redmen.comer - the awesome jerseyshorejohnny! Great guy!!!

 
Never fun to lose. But we can at least acknowledge both teams we lost to are currently in the top 5 in RPI.
 
I have to say that the officials last night were HORRENDOUS. That was some of the worst officiating I have ever seen! I can't count how many boos and groans there were from the Johnnie fans, and rightfully so. We did not hurt our resume by losing, but would have had a great borderline marquee win.
 
At least 50% of the STJ red in section 108 were friends and family of Justin Simon. Met his mom, dad and grandma plus a few other relatives just in hanging around. Moved down to Section 109 in the 2nd half. Saw JSJ down in front right behind Metta and Mark but I meet most folks on the beer line and didn't see him there. Good night, good effort, unfortunate but not unexpected result. Bad refs killed them in the 1st half.
 
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