Syracuse GAME Thread

It's a complete joke to knock Hooper.

How is Cooney any different than Hooper besides the fact that Boeheim trusts Cooney and knows that he is a weapon out there?

You all should be thankful we have Hooper.

He is the only player on the roster that legitimately can space the floor ESPECIALLY when you have Obekpa and Dom out there. I'd even throw Branch into that mix.

Cut the Harvard talk out already. The kid is one-dimensional and he does that one thing exceptionally well and exceptionally consistent. That is the defintion of a role player and if we had more like him, we'd be a well-balanced team.

Michigan, Baylor, Cuse, Louisville all have specialists like. Hooper and you'd be insane to hear anyone of those fan bases knocking them.

Grow up. Run plays for him and if he shoots 20%, then bitch about him.
 
Despite the loss was very pleased with the effort and execution for the first 17 minutes of the second half. This team still has to clean some things up, but they removed every question in my book about their guts and toughness defensively. Ennis was eating us alive in the first half on simple pick and rolls, and Phil Greene started it and Rysheed Jordan finished it by not giving him an inch in the second half. Jordan was so engaged on every defensive possession (after battling Fair some earlier in the game) - it was really inspiring to watch and you could feel it in the stadium the way he energized the team and the fans. Harrison made Cooney look like a middle-schooler, he was glued to him.

The unfortunate part is that we are close to beyond moral victories at this point, and while this should be something to build on in a big way, a loss is a loss and the 0-2 v. Wisco/Cuse coupled with PSU gives us little margin for error in conference play in terms of making the tourney.

I haven't always agreed with the way Greene is used, but he helped spark us in the 2nd half and, because of the run we got on, Lavin stuck with a group that didn't include him. To his credit, he was as active as anyone on the sideline jumping up and down cheering them on. He takes a lot of heat around here for reasons that mostly are not his fault (myself included) but after watching how selfless he was putting the team before himself I'm going to try to be more mindful of this. He's not a point guard but he's not asking to be used that way, and really does nothing but play as hard as he can and try to help the team win. I'm glad he's ours.

While Lavin rightly stuck with a group that was hot, I thought he let Pointer and Jordan (who had the two toughest defensive assignments) go too long without a breather and that may have hurt us in the last few minutes. Pointer didn't challenge fair on back to back shots, and nothing could be more unlike him.

But that didn't lose us the game. Syracuse knows how to finish and we don't yet. At 60-58 with Sanchez at the line for 1 and 5:48 to play, the game was ours for the taking. But C.J. Fair and Tyler Ennis - both of whom had been bottled up the entire 2nd half - asserted themselves while Harrison and Sampson didn't get the job done. Harrison had one of the best two-way games of his career to that point - and we're not even in the game without him - but he reverted to Carmelo-mode and we missed our next 7 shots + 3 of our next 4 free throws, scoring 1 point between the 5:48 mark and 25 seconds to play. That's the time in the game where you look to your best players and ours got wild and borderline panicked while Syracuse's stayed poised and executed. We'll have plenty more chances in these types of games, and finishing in the last 4 minutes will go a long way towards determining if we pick up the kind of wins we'll need to make the NCAAs.
 
yesterday was not the best experience but good to see us claw back and have a chance down the stretch. My section was full of Cuse fans. Early on one moron asks his buddy why the St. John's students were under both hoops. I wanted to say, hey idiot this is our home court. It's something small but I was irate. Really wanted this W but Lavin didn't deliver, thus I walked out of MSG with my head held low.
 
I'm still waiting for this team to learn how to finish. Playing a great 15 minutes at the beginning of the second half
doesn't get it done, it's not enough. We can all be optimistic about that 15 minute effort but it's
just another out of conference loss when the NCAA looks at our record. Newsie is right, we finish fourth or fifth in
league play and it's probably not going to be good enough. Am I the only one who was expecting more from this team
this year.
 
IMHO there were two things that made a difference in the game. First, Syracuse came into the game knowing who they were and what they could do, whereas we didn't decide we could play with them until the start of the second half. Second, in the last four minutes Syracuse had a plan and executed it, while we resorted to one-on-one play (really one-on-three more than once).

On the plus side the staff clearly came in with game plans for offense and defense. I didn't love the offensive game plan (every entry pass to the foul line and every diagonal skip pass looked like a disaster waiting to happen, but somehow they all worked out) but it worked well enough. The same is true of defense, though IMHO Dom should have started (over my guy Phil) and been matched on on Fair the whole way instead of trying out Sanchez and Jordan and whomever else took a shot at him before Dom got in the game.

The shorter bench also helped, though I might have tried to steal a few minutes for Gift when we had foul trouble (though again we got away with it) and Phil should've gotten a little time in the second half, probably resting Harrison.

At this point two of our three losses are to teams in the top 5, which isn't anything to be ashamed of. Hopefully the staff can correct the slow starts by having the team better prepared and more confident in their identity, roles and plan. That should also help in crunch time if it builds confidence in executing the game plan as a team instead of devolving to "every man for himself."

I actually agree with Lavin-speak that it is a learning process for this team, and yesterday's game was hopefully a good education for them.
Click to expand...


I hope so too..Fair, a 4 tr player was the best player on the Court yesterday, Ennis is a terrific Fresh PG, who plays like a veteran..I haven't done a roster to roster comparison but, it would seem the teams yesterday were equally experienced by class of players.

our 2 best players, Harrison a 3 year player and Sampson a 2 yr redshirt player are not kids anymore and instead of learning they should be delivering.. They did not at crunch time.

We learned yesterday that Jordan should be given the ball for 32-35 minutes a game.. He and Ennis played mostly a even game at the point, except Boeheim gives Ennis the freedom to run his offense fully. Lavin still seems to want the ball in Harrison's hands at Crunch time.. I thought DLO would have been better coming off screens or getting the ball from Jordan in a scoring position, rather than forcing his own shots at he did in the last few minutes.

6 for 19 isn't great shooting by any yardstick. DLO has a lot of those games if you check his stats.
 
It was great to be at this game. It was an old BE battle, unfortunately we didnt end up on top. The Johnnies played really gutsy and it reminded me of the old teams. During the run, Jordan was clapping his hands on defense as he shut down Ennis. It reminded me of Matty Brust slapping the Garden floor as he locked down his player. We made some key free thrown down the stretch ( Jordan and D angelo ) and Sampsons misses really hurt. I thought that when Fair picked up his 3rd foul early in the game that we didnt go right at him. I was sreaming from my seat at that point.." Take it to him" If we could of taken him out of the game, who knows. Also something that you havent been hearing too much about, D'Angelo did an AMAZING job on Cooney....AMAZING D from D. Once Sir Dom came in, he played CJ great too, except those last two sideline shots. Overall, this doesnt hurt "If" we make it to the Dance. This team opened the eyes to a lot of people who unlike us, dont know too much about the johnnies. We need to take a step up from this. Need to start to dominate from START to finish. This team is loaded and has absolutely no reason to not do it. Also, im really pumped to see Jordan play calm under that pressure cooker, he will be a special one for us. Lets hope Briscoe wants to wear Red and not Orange. That would be a great get for us.
 
I'm still waiting for this team to learn how to finish. Playing a great 15 minutes at the beginning of the second half
doesn't get it done, it's not enough. We can all be optimistic about that 15 minute effort but it's
just another out of conference loss when the NCAA looks at our record. Newsie is right, we finish fourth or fifth in
league play and it's probably not going to be good enough. Am I the only one who was expecting more from this team
this year.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware the season had already ended.

Curiously asking.... If the team were to finish amongst the top 3 in the conference, then would that be satisfactory with you?

Lotta games left to be played.
 
The game was great to watch in person and the crowd atmosphere was fantastic for both sides. I'm very proud of our team's effort (especially put forth by our backcourt of D'lo and Jordan) out there. Unfortunately, our team still lost and we can't dispute the fact that St. John's did not fair well in their weak OOC schedule. Outside of G'Tech, you haven't beaten an established program yet this season (Wisconsin, Penn State, and Syracuse all losses). It makes it that much more important that this team has a great conference record this year otherwise we are going to be on the outside looking in.

I'm hoping this is the game that awakens this team and makes them realize they can play with the best in the country.
 
I see the comments about Hooper and for me it comes down to one thing, running plays for him.

I haven't been able to see as much as the majority of you, but when I watch, it seems that Lavin (or whoever runs the offense) doesn't involve Hooper. Period. He's expected to create his own shot i.e. get open.

I know creating space and running picks and screens is harder against a zone defense, but, this is where the problem is exasperated. He's a spot shooter, if he can't get open, he can't play. If Lavin thought enough to bring him to Queens, he should think enough to rectify the problem. Imo, it can be rectified.
 
I'm still waiting for this team to learn how to finish. Playing a great 15 minutes at the beginning of the second half
doesn't get it done, it's not enough. We can all be optimistic about that 15 minute effort but it's
just another out of conference loss when the NCAA looks at our record. Newsie is right, we finish fourth or fifth in
league play and it's probably not going to be good enough. Am I the only one who was expecting more from this team
this year.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware the season had already ended.

Curiously asking.... If the team were to finish amongst the top 3 in the conference, then would that be satisfactory with you?

Lotta games left to be played.
Click to expand...

The Big East has one ranked team in the unexpected Villanova. The early out of conference losses by Creighton, Gtown, Marquette and St. John's have hurt the strenght of the Big East. As it stands today, it will be a strecth for more than 4 teams to get an NCAA invitation. SJU MUST finish in the top 4 or it will be NIT bound.
 
I see the comments about Hooper and for me it comes down to one thing, running plays for him.

I haven't been able to see as much as the majority of you, but when I watch, it seems that Lavin (or whoever runs the offense) doesn't involve Hooper. Period. He's expected to create his own shot i.e. get open.

I know creating space and running picks and screens is harder against a zone defense, but, this is where the problem is exasperated. He's a spot shooter, if he can't get open, he can't play. If Lavin thought enough to bring him to Queens, he should think enough to rectify the problem. Imo, it can be rectified.
Click to expand...

The problem is players like Pointer, Greene and Harrsion will not pass him the ball even with a set play! Even his roomie Samspon rather take the shot and the glory. Sanchez and Jordan may be the exception but Lavin's lineups are a bewildering mix of parts that most times are dysfunctional.
Hey, remember, Hooper was once a starter on this team!
What will not change is Harrison taking 10 bad shots a game and Sampson getting lost in the offense.
Jordan has to take over the team but the offense is too free form for that to happen.
 
I'm still waiting for this team to learn how to finish. Playing a great 15 minutes at the beginning of the second half
doesn't get it done, it's not enough. We can all be optimistic about that 15 minute effort but it's
just another out of conference loss when the NCAA looks at our record. Newsie is right, we finish fourth or fifth in
league play and it's probably not going to be good enough. Am I the only one who was expecting more from this team
this year.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware the season had already ended.

Curiously asking.... If the team were to finish amongst the top 3 in the conference, then would that be satisfactory with you?

Lotta games left to be played.
Click to expand...

Who had Wisconsin and Syracuse pencilled in as a win? Hopefully none of you. We have one loss that shouldn't be a loss, but don't make it sound like we are falling apart. As MJ continuously says all the time, make judgements about the season when it is over. Maybe you were expecting more, but hey we could go 15-3 in conference play for all we know. At the same time we could fall apart and go 3-15. We don't know, we have to wait and see. Make your judgements on this season when it is all over. For now, just focus on San Francisco and root for our guys to get back in e win column.
 
I see the comments about Hooper and for me it comes down to one thing, running plays for him.

I haven't been able to see as much as the majority of you, but when I watch, it seems that Lavin (or whoever runs the offense) doesn't involve Hooper. Period. He's expected to create his own shot i.e. get open.

I know creating space and running picks and screens is harder against a zone defense, but, this is where the problem is exasperated. He's a spot shooter, if he can't get open, he can't play. If Lavin thought enough to bring him to Queens, he should think enough to rectify the problem. Imo, it can be rectified.
Click to expand...

The problem is players like Pointer, Greene and Harrsion will not pass him the ball even with a set play! Even his roomie Samspon rather take the shot and the glory. Sanchez and Jordan may be the exception but Lavin's lineups are a bewildering mix of parts that most times are dysfunctional.
Hey, remember, Hooper was once a starter on this team!
What will not change is Harrison taking 10 bad shots a game and Sampson getting lost in the offense.
Jordan has to take over the team but the offense is too free form for that to happen.
Click to expand...

1. Pointer looked for him yesterday, just threw it out of bounds

2. You really think if they create a play for Hooper, name and all, that they won't look for him? I agree sometimes when the offense is in like a freelance mode they don't look for him as much as they should, but if they have a set play or plays for Hooper they would look to get him the rock.
 
I'm still waiting for this team to learn how to finish. Playing a great 15 minutes at the beginning of the second half
doesn't get it done, it's not enough. We can all be optimistic about that 15 minute effort but it's
just another out of conference loss when the NCAA looks at our record. Newsie is right, we finish fourth or fifth in
league play and it's probably not going to be good enough. Am I the only one who was expecting more from this team
this year.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware the season had already ended.

Curiously asking.... If the team were to finish amongst the top 3 in the conference, then would that be satisfactory with you?


Lotta games left to be played.
Click to expand...

We're 6-3 with two games to go with a weak out of conference schedule, finish top 3 yes they'll make it in, 4-5 no guarantee.
And the difference between you and I Dinkins, is I'm actually at the games.
 
I was at the game . . .

Can we stop being so freaking Mom and Pop - seriously we can't get a better sponsor than Ridgewood and their stupid win a 25 dollar prize really? Can the pep band get some real music? Can Flagboy not be out of breath after 4 Laps? What was the deal with the trumpet player?
Click to expand...

I'm sure Chase and Wells Fargo are dying to sponsor SJU hoops :)
Click to expand...

Whats Ridgwood?
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridgewood_Savings_Bank
Click to expand...

The first damned kid in one of those silly games all year that can play ball nails a few threes and a bunch of layups and all he gets is $25. The bank should be embarrassed. I wouldn't bank there on this alone. At least they didn't give him a toaster left over from a 1975 giveaway.
 
I have a feeling that the majority of users here who were at the game there yesterday came away with a better feeling than those who were watching on TV. Just a guess.
 
We've lost three games...two of them to opponents currently undefeated (a combined 23-0) and ranked in the top 4. The other was an OT loss to a Big 10 school on a neutral court after our best FT shooter left the game on the line in the last seconds. We should have won the Penn State game, but who on this board really thinks we wouldn't beat them by double-digits come February?

The team is trending up and that is what's most important. Jordan finally showed the world and, probably more importantly, himself that he can dominate at this level. For a kid that obviously feeds off of confidence, that is more than worth a loss to the #2 team in my book. If he parlays his success yesterday into a great run, every article and story will be about how he found himself under the bright lights of MSG, on the biggest stage in college basketball, against the #2 team in the country. They had no answer for him. Maybe more impressive was his defense.
 
I'm still waiting for this team to learn how to finish. Playing a great 15 minutes at the beginning of the second half
doesn't get it done, it's not enough. We can all be optimistic about that 15 minute effort but it's
just another out of conference loss when the NCAA looks at our record. Newsie is right, we finish fourth or fifth in
league play and it's probably not going to be good enough. Am I the only one who was expecting more from this team
this year.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware the season had already ended.

Curiously asking.... If the team were to finish amongst the top 3 in the conference, then would that be satisfactory with you?


Lotta games left to be played.
Click to expand...

And the difference between you and I Dinkins, is I'm actually at the games.
Click to expand...

Your point? Does that give you better insight than me?

Use that weak, lame argument, if you want. That shows you don't have any or little to counter.
 
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