@Tulane, Fri. Dec. 2, 8pm, ESPNEWS/970AM

Zach B

More Mullin: "If you’re looking for panic, you’re looking in the wrong place." #sjubb

Look for St. John's to start playing a little more zone. And to get more aggressive. #sjubb

Multiple people within program believe team can play harder than it has. They hope to see that tomorrow night. #sjubb

Like the zone reference!
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I'll believe the zone reference when I see an actual zone. ;)
Tulane is also coming off a bad 5 game losing streak after playing a tough schedule.
Mike Dunleavy Sr. graduated from my high school and, like Mullin, was the ultimate gym rat. Frank McGuire, a St. John's legend, out recruited his alma mater to land Mike.
Fran Fraschilla also graduated from Nazareth. He was not a gym rat and no college had any interest in him, ergo, he went to Brooklyn College.
Chris is a Xaverian guy. Basketball alums of the two schools hate each other. Mike is a real coach but Mullin would lose face in this game if he loses to a Nazareth guy. I hope we beat Tulane but it may be a close game. New York and Brooklyn recruiting street rep is on the line.
It may sound funny to some but this is a big test for Mullin.
 
Zach B

More Mullin: "If you’re looking for panic, you’re looking in the wrong place." #sjubb

Look for St. John's to start playing a little more zone. And to get more aggressive. #sjubb

Multiple people within program believe team can play harder than it has. They hope to see that tomorrow night. #sjubb

Like the zone reference!
Click to expand...



Honestly i don't think it is effort. We only have 3 athletic guys who are also skilled and 2 of them are 6 foot tall
Then we have one guy who is skilled but is super nonathletic and he is also around 6 feet tall
Then we have three athletic guys who are unskilled
Need more skilled athletic guys with size which is the main reason we stink.
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And that's what's called building a program from scratch. Calling for the heads of the entire coaching staff 1 year into the program rebuild is like firing your contractor because the walls aren't finished 1 month into a custom build of your new home.
 
Some random thoughts as we prepare for a team that I think we can beat.

I would start Ponds, Lovett, Ahmed, Yawke and Owens and instruct Ahmed not to throw elbows. If he stops doing that, he may last 30 minutes. if Owens gets in foul trouble you can substitute based on matchups. I would have the team play more full court defense and tell Lovett and Ponds to attack the basket. Three's should come off passes and not on a fast break. Our man to man defense needs to be intense and a zone is not a long term solution.
 
Some random thoughts as we prepare for a team that I think we can beat.

I would start Ponds, Lovett, Ahmed, Yawke and Owens and instruct Ahmed not to throw elbows. If he stops doing that, he may last 30 minutes. if Owens gets in foul trouble you can substitute based on matchups. I would have the team play more full court defense and tell Lovett and Ponds to attack the basket. Three's should come off passes and not on a fast break. Our man to man defense needs to be intense and a zone is not a long term solution.
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So now we know you are really Greg St. Jean. ;)
 
Some random thoughts as we prepare for a team that I think we can beat.

I would start Ponds, Lovett, Ahmed, Yawke and Owens and instruct Ahmed not to throw elbows. If he stops doing that, he may last 30 minutes. if Owens gets in foul trouble you can substitute based on matchups. I would have the team play more full court defense and tell Lovett and Ponds to attack the basket. Three's should come off passes and not on a fast break. Our man to man defense needs to be intense and a zone is not a long term solution.
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In addition to telling Ahmed not to throw any elbows, remind him not to miss any shots, and Yakwe to catch every pass. The point being that while we think the staff doesn't do any preparation, they drum certain things into the player's heads at every practice. The problem is that players have tendencies and muscle memory that's hard to change. Ahmed is an aggressive driver. It may take some time to get him to pull up and avoid contact. I'm sure that staff sees what you and I see, and about a thousand things more. Playing more full court defense? That will be a decision that depends on foul trouble, who Tulane has that can handle pressure, and several other factors. Mullin and staff should be able to make the right decision. As for starting Owens, I guess it's about as useful as starting Sima. The way both are playing, they are 168 inches and 10 fouls, or a little under 17 lbs per foul. If you think starting Owens over Sima will affect the outcome of the game, then you may have been seeing more in Owens that I have. After the first 2 games, I thought he offered what Sima did. Based on the last 5, I overestimated what he can do for the team.
 
Some random thoughts as we prepare for a team that I think we can beat.

I would start Ponds, Lovett, Ahmed, Yawke and Owens and instruct Ahmed not to throw elbows. If he stops doing that, he may last 30 minutes. if Owens gets in foul trouble you can substitute based on matchups. I would have the team play more full court defense and tell Lovett and Ponds to attack the basket. Three's should come off passes and not on a fast break. Our man to man defense needs to be intense and a zone is not a long term solution.
Click to expand...

In addition to telling Ahmed not to throw any elbows, remind him not to miss any shots, and Yakwe to catch every pass. The point being that while we think the staff doesn't do any preparation, they drum certain things into the player's heads at every practice. The problem is that players have tendencies and muscle memory that's hard to change. Ahmed is an aggressive driver. It may take some time to get him to pull up and avoid contact. I'm sure that staff sees what you and I see, and about a thousand things more. Playing more full court defense? That will be a decision that depends on foul trouble, who Tulane has that can handle pressure, and several other factors. Mullin and staff should be able to make the right decision. As for starting Owens, I guess it's about as useful as starting Sima. The way both are playing, they are 168 inches and 10 fouls, or a little under 17 lbs per foul. If you think starting Owens over Sima will affect the outcome of the game, then you may have been seeing more in Owens that I have. After the first 2 games, I thought he offered what Sima did. Based on the last 5, I overestimated what he can do for the team.[/quote

Sima has been the better offensive player. Owens the better rebounder, shot blocker and is quicker. No winning here. These guys make me miss Robert Werdann.
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Some random thoughts as we prepare for a team that I think we can beat.

I would start Ponds, Lovett, Ahmed, Yawke and Owens and instruct Ahmed not to throw elbows. If he stops doing that, he may last 30 minutes. if Owens gets in foul trouble you can substitute based on matchups. I would have the team play more full court defense and tell Lovett and Ponds to attack the basket. Three's should come off passes and not on a fast break. Our man to man defense needs to be intense and a zone is not a long term solution.
Click to expand...

In addition to telling Ahmed not to throw any elbows, remind him not to miss any shots, and Yakwe to catch every pass. The point being that while we think the staff doesn't do any preparation, they drum certain things into the player's heads at every practice. The problem is that players have tendencies and muscle memory that's hard to change. Ahmed is an aggressive driver. It may take some time to get him to pull up and avoid contact. I'm sure that staff sees what you and I see, and about a thousand things more. Playing more full court defense? That will be a decision that depends on foul trouble, who Tulane has that can handle pressure, and several other factors. Mullin and staff should be able to make the right decision. As for starting Owens, I guess it's about as useful as starting Sima. The way both are playing, they are 168 inches and 10 fouls, or a little under 17 lbs per foul. If you think starting Owens over Sima will affect the outcome of the game, then you may have been seeing more in Owens that I have. After the first 2 games, I thought he offered what Sima did. Based on the last 5, I overestimated what he can do for the team.[/quote

Sima has been the better offensive player. Owens the better rebounder, shot blocker and is quicker. No winning here. These guys make me miss Robert Werdann.
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It seems like every Dr. Oz show has a segment on how to lose weight. Believe me I know- it's on in my house all the time, and it's not my choice. I wish he would have a few shows on how to gain weight. I can send them to Owens. He may be the skinniest big I have ever seen. I doubt he will change. He is fighting a losing battle with his genes. Won't lose anything by starting him, as Sima has been less than we all hoped by now.
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I don't pretend to understand the lines in sports, but am i seeing that we are GIVING 4 points tonight ??? I'm sure I am reading that incorrectly.
 
You are correct. And I have seen it as 4.5 too. Vegas has a love affair with us...... we were only getting 7 points from Michigan state and vcu.....they are about 5 points wrong on our lines in my eyes. We should beat this Tulane team..... but no way we should be favored at their place
 
Zach B

More Mullin: "If you’re looking for panic, you’re looking in the wrong place." #sjubb

Look for St. John's to start playing a little more zone. And to get more aggressive. #sjubb

Multiple people within program believe team can play harder than it has. They hope to see that tomorrow night. #sjubb

Like the zone reference!
Click to expand...

If this team does not come out playing harder than Monday night lets hope our coaches call time out to get on the players rather than on the refs. I expect a more prepared and motivated team tonight. I'm also hoping to see coaches get on these kids when they blow assignments and not handle them like NBA stars.
 
Zach B

More Mullin: "If you’re looking for panic, you’re looking in the wrong place." #sjubb

Look for St. John's to start playing a little more zone. And to get more aggressive. #sjubb

Multiple people within program believe team can play harder than it has. They hope to see that tomorrow night. #sjubb

Like the zone reference!
Click to expand...

If this team does not come out playing harder than Monday night lets hope our coaches call time out to get on the players rather than on the refs. I expect a more prepared and motivated team tonight. I'm also hoping to see coaches get on these kids when they blow assignments and not handle them like NBA stars.
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Moping back on D after a missed shot has got to stop. It's not as noticeable when watching on TV as it is when watching in person. We talked about it on Tuesday. Opposing teams consistently go down 5 on 3 or 5 on 4 on us. And even the worst teams in college basketball have a huge advantage when they are on a power play. There is absolutely no excuse for it.
 
Zach B

More Mullin: "If you’re looking for panic, you’re looking in the wrong place." #sjubb

Look for St. John's to start playing a little more zone. And to get more aggressive. #sjubb

Multiple people within program believe team can play harder than it has. They hope to see that tomorrow night. #sjubb

Like the zone reference!
Click to expand...

He's saying the right things, and as we've discussed I think navigating this kind of space/circumstance is a natural strength for him given experience dealing with same from his playing days.

Also like the zone reference. Lack of different looks has been a consistent issue on both ends of the floor, frankly in both years, especially against inferior competition. You throw a defense at Del. St. that they aren't expecting in the middle of the first half, even if it's one you don't plan on playing much, they may have a tough time adjusting on the fly. You change multiple times and chances are it will be very disruptive to a team that lacks individual talent to overcome stuff they aren't ready for. A team like Del. St. surprises when allowed to not only get in but stay in a rhythm, which they did. Playing the defense expected (man), and then when down double digits going to all out full-court, is predictable and making things easier on an inferior team.

Point this out not because of Del. State loss as that's a game we should win regardless, but seems to be more overarching issue. The one game in a season and change where I really thought we came with a creative gameplan was Cuse with the double high against the zone. We shot the stuffing out of it that day but even Cuse looked unprepared to deal with that. Issue is we've now tried to use that same double high every time we've seen a 2-3 zone, teams are ready for it, and we haven't had a counter.

And that's going to be the key for this staff tactically and/or strategically. Someone is putting decent sets in place; the screen the screener they ran with Lovett and Yawke for a +1 against the zone Tuesday was great action and well-executed. But our flashes have been more limited to single sets, not putting together anything marginally resembling 40 min gameplan. Part of that is youth, part of that is lack of talent, but part of that is definitely the gameplanning - and certainly in-game adjustments - itself which should be easiest to control. We really need to see some progress to that end.
 
I feel so strongly about tonight that Im laying the wood.
 
Pick up full court tonight at the start. The defensive effort has to be better. This team needs to be aggressive from the jump. Start Owens, Yakwe, Ahmed Ponds and Lovett
 
I feel so strongly about tonight that Im laying the wood.
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Me too the line seems so out of wack that you have to take it. Johnnies -4.5
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If you guys are laying down $ then I might as well too.

Maybe this will pay for my roasted oysters tomorrow and sunday
 
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