Thoughts after 4 games
- Thread starter tom in salem
- Start date
DieHard Johnny
Member
Baylor is no mid major the play in a major conference called the big 12
they won the nit a few yrs ago & have done well in hoops of late having 6 ncca wins in last 2 ncaas
murray st is known to be a good BB school for yrs made ncaa 2of last 3 aint chopped liver
both teams r good losses for a young johhny squad on the rd
Della9250
Active member
I think Jones is what he is -- a project with size and athleticism that shows flashes of what he could be. In a perfect world with this roster he's probably the eight or ninth option and would be a really good one in that role.
But circumstances have him a little exposed, especially against the better competition SJU has played. It;s no surprise that his best efforts came against Detroit and Charleston
But circumstances have him a little exposed, especially against the better competition SJU has played. It;s no surprise that his best efforts came against Detroit and Charleston
I know he has a different game and is more advanced at this stage, but Jones kind of reminds me of Sean Evans back in the day
He's going to be a productive player for STJ, but it's going to take some time before he's really 'there'
But by years three and four, we all saw how far Evans had progressed. And now he's playing pro ball in Europe.
Class of 72
Active member
While some of us have lost cars and houses to Sandy, losing two games to NCAA Tourney bound teams seems quite trivial but I will give my 2 cents ---
- forget the final margin against Baylor....the game was close for 35 minutes!
- our roster is minus three key players..Sanchez, Gift, and most importantly, Branch. Two of the three will be on the team four weeks from now.....the player evaluations start then
- It is not late, however, to start coaching evals....and the staff gets a B- after 4 games. They made zero adjustments to defend the three point shooter. Lav's zone is flawed and I will chalk that up to losing coach D and his in-practice presence. The offense was poorly executed but I will chalk that up to not having a PG on this team as yet. It makes signing a PG a top priority.
- There is no one-and-done on this team. D'Lo needs at least another year since his handle and defense are flawed. Do not see what Lav was talking about when he discussed giving D'Lo some PG duties.
- Chris O was matched against a future Lottery pick who was 5 inches taller.....Chris gets a pass in this game. He has been a pleasant surprise to date and will get better every game.
- impressed with Felix! He can shoot, handle and plays taller than his height. He will take Dom's minutes unless Dom develops and offense.
- Marco appears to be a good passer in the few minutes he has played. He has not been given the green light to shoot by the coaches it seems but I think he will get his shots if Sanchez clears.
- forget the final margin against Baylor....the game was close for 35 minutes!
- our roster is minus three key players..Sanchez, Gift, and most importantly, Branch. Two of the three will be on the team four weeks from now.....the player evaluations start then
- It is not late, however, to start coaching evals....and the staff gets a B- after 4 games. They made zero adjustments to defend the three point shooter. Lav's zone is flawed and I will chalk that up to losing coach D and his in-practice presence. The offense was poorly executed but I will chalk that up to not having a PG on this team as yet. It makes signing a PG a top priority.
- There is no one-and-done on this team. D'Lo needs at least another year since his handle and defense are flawed. Do not see what Lav was talking about when he discussed giving D'Lo some PG duties.
- Chris O was matched against a future Lottery pick who was 5 inches taller.....Chris gets a pass in this game. He has been a pleasant surprise to date and will get better every game.
- impressed with Felix! He can shoot, handle and plays taller than his height. He will take Dom's minutes unless Dom develops and offense.
- Marco appears to be a good passer in the few minutes he has played. He has not been given the green light to shoot by the coaches it seems but I think he will get his shots if Sanchez clears.
A buddy text me during the last 3 or so minutes of our game tonight, and his text stated: "Y'all need a point guard." I replied, he'll be there in December.
I love Phil Greene's game, and think he has shown quite an improvement in the first 4 games of this season. But, he's more suited to play the combo guard. I think things will look differently once Branch is aboard. I thought we missed Branch versus Murray State. Tonight, I thought we missed Branch AND Sanchez.
He also text me stating the commentators were talking about how Orlando Sanchez could start for the Utah Jazz. It could be hyperbole, but I've seen enough of him to know he's the "goods."
I've also liked what I've seen so far from Obekpa and his HS teammate, Balamou. Balamou may get more time, as the season progresses. He brings a ton of energy, and he seems to have a decent offensive game.
I'm far from panicking. We need to run the table in the remainder of our non-conference games (which, I think they'll be able to do). They also need to get off to a quick start in the conference schedule. I think this team certainly has the pieces to make some things happen on the court, this season.
We're gonna be okay.
redstorm80
Well-known member
With all due respect, I dont think we can really judge this team or our players after 4 games. Its a long season
SJUhoopNUT
Well-known member
Bottom line, we need to defend better. I don't mind the zone, but you can't just linger in a zone because then it gets sloppy. Switch it up defensively. Mix in some man.
Defense and rebounding have to improve. If they do, we'll win our share, if they don't we'll have more frustrating losses like tonight where we were close but couldn't get the stops.
Defense and rebounding have to improve. If they do, we'll win our share, if they don't we'll have more frustrating losses like tonight where we were close but couldn't get the stops.
Della9250
Active member
I hope so but he could have a Harkless-like rise and it might be tough for him to turn down. Not they it is gospel or anything but for comparision's sake since SJU just played them, nbadraft.net has Isaiah Austin 19th, Ray McCallum 34th and Isaiah Canaan 35th.
There are a TON of Big East guys on the board, so Sampson would have plenty of opportunities to wow people.
To be fair, we played a pretty decent amount of man-to-man, and we got scorched there too. Pointer and Harrison looked like they wanted to get lost in the screens...just horrible. Maybe it's due to the 90% zone last year that our "veterans" don't know how to deal with screens?
Dribble penetration and/or a few good passes can get teams open look after open look from the corners against the zone. I thought the whole idea behind the zone was to fall back into it after pressure. I thought this was the year Coach opened it up.