Up Next: Creighton

[Section3]

So we have the ball in regulation and OT against Prov at home with shot clock off time game, and we don't get shots off. Tonight we leave a kid with 36 points (when the rest of the team had 24) wide open for a 3. It is coaching. For those of you who do not want to be negative and think to be a fan you have to always be nice and supportive, then good luck to all of you throughout the rest of Lavin's tenure.

I hope someone starts a Fire Lavin chant Saturday. I tried vs Nova and only a few people joined in, I guess because our fan base doesn't even care enough to do that. I won't be able to make the game Sat, and at 2-7 probably not many more.

Do you think Lavin told Obekpa to give him space? watch the reply...Obekpa took his eyes off McD...Not Lavin's fault on that one

This post did change my mind, you are right.

He got caught ball watching, you can't do that when you're guarding a guy with 36 points under his belt.

Bingo! Obekpa was caught ball watching; reacted a half second too late; and, went under. He's not used to being in that position, and I was wondering where was Pointer. That was it!

Dang! I felt we were about to steal one.

Gotta say..other than that lapse, Obekpa played well tonight...guarded McD a lot and made him work quite often....best offensive game in long time...good to see him "involved"...

On that point, I agreed with point Jim Jackson made mid 2nd half when he said sometimes you have to give guys like Obekpa a taste...they're still kids and to a degree need to be rewarded for working hard

 

[SJUalum98]

Love the fight, disappointed by the result. Wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have so much ground to make up.

And man, you guys really will blame Lavin for anything. It's one thing to be critical, I do it too but its another to b*tch and complain about everything the man does

Sorry.

But after 36 points in a tie game, you let anyone but the possible national Player Of The Year beat you.

Anyone.

 

[Jack Williams]

How could we not stay right on him

Watched the replay 10 times, Obekpa picked off but Harrison was 5 ft away and didn't even make a move toward dougie. He was way off the screener should have moved out and let the other guy try and beat us.

I just feel obekpa should've been in McDermott grill at the end, he sagged off, and gave him a look.

 

[JohnnyFan]

I still don't get the "we'll gel by February" Lavin comment.

What does that mean? What do all those offseason practices and meetings mean? What did that trip to Europe mean?

Why are we the only team in the country where the team doesn't gel until February?

It's because we are the youngest team in the country. Oh.....wait.....uh....that was two years ago.

 

[redfazed]

I still don't get the "we'll gel by February" Lavin comment.

What does that mean? What do all those offseason practices and meetings mean? What did that trip to Europe mean?

Why are we the only team in the country where the team doesn't gel until February?

It's total BS. Just like giving Hooper ANY minutes in this game. A guy who averaged 2 mins per game at Harvard is now averaging 10 mins at SJU.

 

[doodyny33]

Sorry guys, but I can't blame Lavin for this one. The team had an awful start to the second half and our coaching staff clearly made an adjustment (to up the defensive pressure on Creighton). It worked wonders cause it brought St. John's all the way back.

Then, in the last minute you had a no call on McDermott (clearly hooked Obekpa on his way to the basket). Ok, fine let them play. And then you follow that up with an awful charge call on Jordan. Took a lot of steam out of the comeback. And as for the last play, there's no doubt Obekpa missed his assignment. He was caught watching instead of defending. But got to tip your hat to Doug too for hitting an NBA three pointer with a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

Just hope everybody sees the success you can have when you up the defensive intensity. Bring that type of effort against Marquette this weekend and you'll walk away with a win.

 

[41ndone]

Credit to the coaches and team for hanging in and being competitive, more than I thought would happen. BUT, how frustrating is it to make a great comeback only to have a boneheaded coaching move and an inexplicable lack of focus and intensity give McDermott a wide open 3. I cannot believe the staff put Obekpa on McDermott on the last possession. A player not used to the perimeter, whose instincts are to leave his man to help and block shots, which is exactly what happened. Compounding that bonehead mistake, Harrison WATCHING the play as his man picks Obekpa, not even a thought to help and check McDermott, a great player who was lighting it up all night. Absolutely inexplicable to me on both. One last point, I thought Sampson played excellent D on McDermott despite his great night but quick shots and too much one on one on offense almost right from the start just killed us. Credit for the defensive game plan and the committment to D by the team but in the end they just showed they can play tough against a good team and lose, which we already knew from Wisconsin and Syracuse. Very, very disappointing.

Why was Harrison even on the court, is he one of our top 5 defenders?

 

[RM86]

How could we not stay right on him

Watched the replay 10 times, Obekpa picked off but Harrison was 5 ft away and didn't even make a move toward dougie. He was way off the screener should have moved out and let the other guy try and beat us.

I just feel obekpa should've been in McDermott grill at the end, he sagged off, and gave him a look.

He got picked off, could have even been a moving screen. D'lo should have been up more.

 

[guinness77]

If any other coach made a comment like that (you know, the season is like 70% of the way over by February 1st) they'd be raked over the coals.

Why should it take 3 plus months for any team to gel?? I'm not lumping in tonight's game, but the more I think about that comment, the more pissed off I get.

 

[Jack Williams]

Love the fight, disappointed by the result. Wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have so much ground to make up.

And man, you guys really will blame Lavin for anything. It's one thing to be critical, I do it too but its another to b*tch and complain about everything the man does

Sorry.

But after 36 points in a tie game, you let anyone but the possible national Player Of The Year beat you.

Anyone.

I don't blame Lavin for the final play, I did when it first happened but after watching it again and again and taking it in it wasn't Lavin it was a mental mistake by Obekpa/Harrison

 

[logen]

So we have the ball in regulation and OT against Prov at home with shot clock off time game, and we don't get shots off. Tonight we leave a kid with 36 points (when the rest of the team had 24) wide open for a 3. It is coaching. For those of you who do not want to be negative and think to be a fan you have to always be nice and supportive, then good luck to all of you throughout the rest of Lavin's tenure.

I hope someone starts a Fire Lavin chant Saturday. I tried vs Nova and only a few people joined in, I guess because our fan base doesn't even care enough to do that. I won't be able to make the game Sat, and at 2-7 probably not many more.

Do you think Lavin told Obekpa to give him space? watch the reply...Obekpa took his eyes off McD...Not Lavin's fault on that one

This post did change my mind, you are right.

He got caught ball watching, you can't do that when you're guarding a guy with 36 points under his belt.

I'm so damn tired of losing like this man, I can't imagine how the guys feel.

I just think that its so damned instinctual, to position yourself in the middle to help out. Of course it's a huge mistake when guarding a guy like McDermott.

The offensive foul on Jordan was huge. Just watching the motion, I was sure they had called a foul and the basket was good.

Huge comeback, and if we were 6-1 coming into this game we'd be praising our guys right now even as we lament a tough loss.

One thing for sure, you lead the league in "Ifs". We were not 6-1 and while certainly respect and credit goes to the team for hanging in it is not like we played an "A" game and lost. Like Wisconsin and Cuse, this game was there to be won and we found a way to lose. We should be way past moral victories.

 

[Section3]

I still don't get the "we'll gel by February" Lavin comment.

What does that mean? What do all those offseason practices and meetings mean? What did that trip to Europe mean?

Why are we the only team in the country where the team doesn't gel until February?

It's total BS. Just like giving Hooper ANY minutes in this game. A guy who averaged 2 mins per game at Harvard is now averaging 10 mins at SJU.

Problem is we got nothing out of Harrison for most of game...Lavin needed to try to get some points...You have to try something...that said, it is comical watching him play defense...he's a cross between the tin man and a doctor taking the
"I'm sterile" pose

 

[Ray Morgan]

Too much bitching and moaning about Lavin and other nonsense. Great effort by the kids. Jordan is a stud. We need a real big time shooter from 3 for next year. We took the conference's 2 best teams to the end game. Providence we had beat, and they are on a roll. It should tell us that a conference tourney win is not out of the question. Unlikely, yes, but it can happen.

 

[Jack Williams]

How could we not stay right on him

Watched the replay 10 times, Obekpa picked off but Harrison was 5 ft away and didn't even make a move toward dougie. He was way off the screener should have moved out and let the other guy try and beat us.

I just feel obekpa should've been in McDermott grill at the end, he sagged off, and gave him a look.

He got picked off, could have even been a moving screen. D'lo should have been up more.

Yea but if obekpa was in mcdermotts jersey it would've been nearly impossible for him to be picked off.

 

[oldfan61]

That was St. Johns basketball that I have known for lots of years. Great game and comeback by the kids. Just too bad we didn't get calls at the end. This is now a team to be dealt with. I look forward to the rest of the season. We win this game in the Garden.

 

[Jack Williams]

Too much bitching and moaning about Lavin and other nonsense. Great effort by the kids. Jordan is a stud. We need a real big time shooter from 3 for next year. We took the conference's 2 best teams to the end game. Providence we had beat, and they are on a roll. It should tell us that a conference tourney win is not out of the question. Unlikely, yes, but it can happen.

If we can get to sixth in conference by the end of the year, a big east tournament run is not impossible

 

[jumbo_peanuts]

Credit to the coaches and team for hanging in and being competitive, more than I thought would happen. BUT, how frustrating is it to make a great comeback only to have a boneheaded coaching move and an inexplicable lack of focus and intensity give McDermott a wide open 3. I cannot believe the staff put Obekpa on McDermott on the last possession. A player not used to the perimeter, whose instincts are to leave his man to help and block shots, which is exactly what happened. Compounding that bonehead mistake, Harrison WATCHING the play as his man picks Obekpa, not even a thought to help and check McDermott, a great player who was lighting it up all night. Absolutely inexplicable to me on both. One last point, I thought Sampson played excellent D on McDermott despite his great night but quick shots and too much one on one on offense almost right from the start just killed us. Credit for the defensive game plan and the committment to D by the team but in the end they just showed they can play tough against a good team and lose, which we already knew from Wisconsin and Syracuse. Very, very disappointing.

I am not that surprised or disappointed that Obekpa was on McDermott, and here is why: Obekpa has the longest wingspan on our team. If McDermott does get a shot off (which he did), he is the most likely player on our team to get a hand in his face. If he did get beat off the dribble and McDermott drives, CO is the most likely to come from behind and block the shot. The only argument against it would be that Obekpa was slow in reacting to the ball, but with the play they drew up, McDermott was going to get that shot regardless of who was guarding him.

 

[beast of the east]

Credit to the coaches and team for hanging in and being competitive, more than I thought would happen. BUT, how frustrating is it to make a great comeback only to have a boneheaded coaching move and an inexplicable lack of focus and intensity give McDermott a wide open 3. I cannot believe the staff put Obekpa on McDermott on the last possession. A player not used to the perimeter, whose instincts are to leave his man to help and block shots, which is exactly what happened. Compounding that bonehead mistake, Harrison WATCHING the play as his man picks Obekpa, not even a thought to help and check McDermott, a great player who was lighting it up all night. Absolutely inexplicable to me on both. One last point, I thought Sampson played excellent D on McDermott despite his great night but quick shots and too much one on one on offense almost right from the start just killed us. Credit for the defensive game plan and the committment to D by the team but in the end they just showed they can play tough against a good team and lose, which we already knew from Wisconsin and Syracuse. Very, very disappointing.

Why was Harrison even on the court, is he one of our top 5 defenders?

I think so.

 

[Section3]

Too much bitching and moaning about Lavin and other nonsense. Great effort by the kids. Jordan is a stud. We need a real big time shooter from 3 for next year. We took the conference's 2 best teams to the end game. Providence we had beat, and they are on a roll. It should tell us that a conference tourney win is not out of the question. Unlikely, yes, but it can happen.

Yep, I said it in another thread a week or so ago...if we had a guy like Fuquan Edwin, we are a different team and we win a game like this by 6 and big at MSG...

I hope Creighton does well for the good of the BE, but they will have big time trouble with athletic teams that have any shooting...Providence and SD State are good examples of team with these traits that beat them

 

[41ndone]

Love the fight, disappointed by the result. Wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have so much ground to make up.

And man, you guys really will blame Lavin for anything. It's one thing to be critical, I do it too but its another to b*tch and complain about everything the man does

Sorry.
People on this sight have been complaining all season about Harrison's D. Should he have been out there for that play? And was I the only person that noticed that Chiles was running the timeout on the final play while Lavin was like the water boy outside looking in.
But after 36 points in a tie game, you let anyone but the possible national Player Of The Year beat you.

Anyone.

I don't blame Lavin for the final play, I did when it first happened but after watching it again and again and taking it in it wasn't Lavin it was a mental mistake by Obekpa/Harrison