Transfers
- Thread starter MarkRedman
- Start date
It was a critical year, because 3/4 of the backcourt-- Harrison, Greene, Branch--will be gone afterwards. And Jordan is questionable for 2015, as he will bolt for the draft as soon as he can.
So...we are now guaranteed that 2015 will once again be the "youngest team in America" experiencing all kinds of "life lessons" as they put "hammer to rock."
That isn't what you said.... So, don't try to shift backboards. You have a habit of manipulating topics when debunked. I'll play along this time....
Not to mention, it's not "guaranteed" we're gonna be the youngest team in America. Transfers and other remaining players can make that a non-guarantee. Another post conveyed, as fact.
Cut what out? My initial discussion was that Chiles and Hines were stacking up unfavorably to many of their peers --implication being that is not helping our recruiting effort. Obviously, there are many factors at play. But our abysmal 2014 results speak for themselves.
You used this particular recruiting cycle to make that claim. I stated, one particular year doesn't make a consensus. They've held their weight, for the most part, in recruiting. So, to use one year to make such claim they aren't holding up against their peers is silly.
If you'd said, they didn't do their part in the '14 class, then you may have a point. Do not for one second make a blanket claim for their entire tenure. Lastly, you don't know what the Johnnies '14 class haul is gonna do when it's said and done. On paper, it doesn't particularly stack up well. But time will tell.
rawdognyc
Well-known member
How has the Top 150 talent worked for us so far? People here complain that our Top 100 talent are underachievers. We need to bring in more role players. We need more 4 year guys, not a bunch of prima donnas looking to be 1 and done. This year they bring in some pieces which could benefit us ie. bigs with a hunger for rebounding. If this non top buck fifty talent helps us dance, that's all that will matter. I will take the same route as MJ and wait for next season to play out before I rate the success of the 14 class. Doesn't really matter what the rankings of a class are, it's how they perform on the court. We as St Johns fans should realize that more then just about anyone.
If style matters I like the '14 class, maybe. I go back to the Tony Jackson era and for most of the time the tradition has been that if you played St. John's you got banged around; by Willie Hall, by Killer, by George Johnson, by the guys that beat the Cazzie Russell Michigan team, by the Truth, by Donald Emmanuel, Singleton and MIddleton and Minlend and so many others. When we haven't been able to bang people around we lost to Ken Johnson's Ohio St. team (if Grant had been able to play, Scoony Penn would not have had the energy to get close to Barkley), we had D'Lo getting killed late in games as bigs with fresh legs focused on him instead of protecting themselves from being banged around, and so many other examples. If Keith Thomas and ADR and Chris Jones set picks and rebound and go back to the tradition of teams being glad they survived playing SJU, win or lose, then the '14 class is fine, and high end wings and back court players are attracted to programs where they know the big guys got their backs. Keady played this style as did Louie and Lapchick and Jarvis and so many others and Lavin's not doing it has bothered me since his time at UCLA, but maybe he is capable of learning. This years recruiting suggests it is possible and that change may be coming.
I'm with Dinkins, Rawdog, Doody and Fuchsia on this. I'm going to wait and see what happens. We have our star players in D-Lo, Jordan and CO. We needed big guys who are role players and can rebound, play defense and score garbage baskets around the rim. hopefully we got that with Thomas and ADR. We might have even got a little more offensively that just garbage baskets from a guy like Thomas. Lavin also brought in Myles Stewart who is more than just a walk on. He was injured a lot during this high school season and in a recent article I read his high school coach said that if he was able to play that he would have been much more highly recruited and that he's grown to 6'5 - 6'6 and that he played Elijah Stewart (a top prospect) straight up. I'm not saying that Stewart will be a savior but his high school coach feels like St. John's got a steal. He said he is a very good outside shooter. so we'll see. If Stewart can just give us quality back up minutes at the 3 and Pointer can play somewhat up to his potential we can make some noise. I'm with Dinkins and the others in the let's wait and see club.
We all want the highly-rated players, and like the bells and whistles that comes along with it. It says something when a program can land blue-chip talent. Consistently attracting highly-rated kids usually ends up with the team reaping the benefits from it.
You can also land blue-chip kids, who end up being glue or lunch-pail guys. Regardless, whether they were highly-rated, middle-tiered, lowly-rated, or barely rated at all.... It's good to have players who'll do the grunt work on the court.
I bet most folks would have taken Zendon Hamilton over Tyrone Grant 10 out of 10 times when coming out of HS (although, Hamilton came in the class prior to Grant), and even their first couple of years of playing together at St. John's. It's not so, much that Hamilton was a poor player (far from it). It's more so style of play. I wasn't particularly a fan of Hamilton's style of play. It was more evident when we were becoming a "team" during his senior season. I felt more comfortable with Grant in the game during the latter stretch of Hamilton's senior season. That didn't necessarily mean Grant was the better player (although, that is debatable), but more so a better fit.
We've all watched sports long enough to know there are times where a team can be greater than the sum of its parts. I'm not saying that's gonna happen with the '14-'15 Johnnies. I know, per paper, it doesn't 'wow' anyone, and it wasn't what we initially thought we would bring in. We got a 7-foot project who had offers from several high-majors and the best rebounder in all of JUCO. Let's see what these players bring to the table before writing it off, as a horrible class. Bring in a mixture, as Doody elaborated.
I'm fine with this class. What I didn't want was another lot of positionless guys without defined roles. We got a straight-up four with three years of eligiblity and a guy that will play only the five for four years. We don't have to worry about NBA rumors with them. They will both board, defend, screen, and stay under the glass. That is worth three top 75 PFs that think they are SGs or SFs. Every team needs glue guys willing to do the dirty work.
I wish the staff would play the transfer game better...that is my only complaint.
I wish the staff would play the transfer game better...that is my only complaint.
I've criticized Lavin a lot for not being able to recruit a balanced team(amongst other things). IMO this team is the most balanced and roll defined team Lavin's had here, although I'm still concerned about the possible lack of front court scoring. Hopefully he can get the kids to play as a cohesive unit and we'll be dancing come March.
stjohnschris
Active member
Great points about Stewart, hopefully with expectations in check, we will be pleasantly surprised by what Myles is able to contribute. I like our team right now, I like the balance. Just trying to remain optimistic on the coaching front and hope we see team oriented play next season.
JackofVirginia
Active member
I'm anxious to see Stewart play, hopefully he is more then a three point shooter such as Bourgault and company. We need shooters who can get their shot off, especially since Lavin doesn't have an offense that could help.
