Villanova, Sat. Jan. 14, 12 Noon, FS1/570AM

[Red.Fans]

Went to my first game of season yesterday. Had nice seats, so here are my thoughts.
1. The absolute biggest need is better cheerleaders. Don't mean to be mean but wow. Owens has more of a cheerleader body than like 3 or 4 of them. I don't think you can take us seriously as a big time program until that is rectified. The two cheerleader coaches however had fantastic bodies.

2.Ahmed is a tough watch.

3. Refs sucked

4. I change my mind on Ellison from play to play

5. Can we do a three for one trade? Our three Euros for their Italian kid?

I think of of the refs has it in for mullin. Saw him angry with Mullin at a game in jamaica. I don't think the refs respect mullin as a coach. That is why Wright can go runnin onto the court screaming and not get hit with a technical. The refs tolerance of mullin is much lower

Sitting close to the bench Mullin's language at Refs is something I've never seen before. He drops F bombs numerous times a game at them. I think the Refs have given him leeway. I am surprised he does not have more T's

Not sure if this has been discussed, but at one point I thought I saw Mullin jawing with Kris Jenkins as he prepared to inbound the ball. If I saw that right, it would be totally over the line.

He was talking to the ref who was on the other side of Jenkins who looked mildly amused.

 

[stjohnnie75]

Villanova recap:http://www.bigeastboards.com/

Great read as always. You do need to edit the final score though. Add 4 points to Saints John's.

 

[Section3]

Went to my first game of season yesterday. Had nice seats, so here are my thoughts.
1. The absolute biggest need is better cheerleaders. Don't mean to be mean but wow. Owens has more of a cheerleader body than like 3 or 4 of them. I don't think you can take us seriously as a big time program until that is rectified. The two cheerleader coaches however had fantastic bodies.

2.Ahmed is a tough watch.

3. Refs sucked

4. I change my mind on Ellison from play to play

5. Can we do a three for one trade? Our three Euros for their Italian kid?

I think of of the refs has it in for mullin. Saw him angry with Mullin at a game in jamaica. I don't think the refs respect mullin as a coach. That is why Wright can go runnin onto the court screaming and not get hit with a technical. The refs tolerance of mullin is much lower

Unfortunately, college is going the way of the pros in that refs call plays by the jersey/ players involved; not the game. Unfortunately, that works against us; case in point the three block/charges call right after Wrights timeout after our early lead that all went Novas way. As for Mullin, don't see it; he jaws plenty and has very few T's. We play undisciplined on D, too much hands and not enough feet and go to block every shot; ergo, we foul a lot.

agreed and to your other post there was defintiely groaning by us in our section when with some of our guys jumping in the air at fakes. The amount of times we jump for nothing is mind boggling

What pissed me off the most I think was the rebounding because it's not like Nova was playing a huge front line. It seems like Owens is the only one that really hustles for rebounds on the front line

Owens is one of the few that consistently puts out max effort. I watched the part of the relay today and a case in point is at the 5:30 mark (or so) of the 1st half. Nova gets by one of our guards and Yakwe jumps out at him with no chance at a block. Shot misses and Yakwe's man (Paschal) rebounds, puts it back and misses and grabs the rebound after which he puts it in - all with Yakwe playing the bystander role. He seems to have lost that high motor and needs to be instructed that his role should be to 1) rebound and 2) block (not vice versa)

 

[JohnnyFan]

Went to my first game of season yesterday. Had nice seats, so here are my thoughts.
1. The absolute biggest need is better cheerleaders. Don't mean to be mean but wow. Owens has more of a cheerleader body than like 3 or 4 of them. I don't think you can take us seriously as a big time program until that is rectified. The two cheerleader coaches however had fantastic bodies.

2.Ahmed is a tough watch.

3. Refs sucked

4. I change my mind on Ellison from play to play

5. Can we do a three for one trade? Our three Euros for their Italian kid?

I think of of the refs has it in for mullin. Saw him angry with Mullin at a game in jamaica. I don't think the refs respect mullin as a coach. That is why Wright can go runnin onto the court screaming and not get hit with a technical. The refs tolerance of mullin is much lower

Sitting close to the bench Mullin's language at Refs is something I've never seen before. He drops F bombs numerous times a game at them. I think the Refs have given him leeway. I am surprised he does not have more T's

Not sure if this has been discussed, but at one point I thought I saw Mullin jawing with Kris Jenkins as he prepared to inbound the ball. If I saw that right, it would be totally over the line.

I, along with other St. John's fans in my section saw that too. We thought Chris was just having some fun with Jenkins. They weren't really jawing at each other. The reason I say this is because the ref who was nearby, the same guy who called the T on Chris earlier, was smiling and laughing. So I didn't take it at all as being over the line.

Thanks, Tony. I couldn't see the ref's facial expression from my angle. Glad to hear.

 

[Section3]

Went to my first game of season yesterday. Had nice seats, so here are my thoughts.
1. The absolute biggest need is better cheerleaders. Don't mean to be mean but wow. Owens has more of a cheerleader body than like 3 or 4 of them. I don't think you can take us seriously as a big time program until that is rectified. The two cheerleader coaches however had fantastic bodies.

2.Ahmed is a tough watch.

3. Refs sucked

4. I change my mind on Ellison from play to play

5. Can we do a three for one trade? Our three Euros for their Italian kid?

I think of of the refs has it in for mullin. Saw him angry with Mullin at a game in jamaica. I don't think the refs respect mullin as a coach. That is why Wright can go runnin onto the court screaming and not get hit with a technical. The refs tolerance of mullin is much lower

Sitting close to the bench Mullin's language at Refs is something I've never seen before. He drops F bombs numerous times a game at them. I think the Refs have given him leeway. I am surprised he does not have more T's

Not sure if this has been discussed, but at one point I thought I saw Mullin jawing with Kris Jenkins as he prepared to inbound the ball. If I saw that right, it would be totally over the line.

Don't know if he was jawing with him but he certainly stood in his way when he was inbounding the ball. Was very odd.Jenkins had to get around him when he came inbounds after the pass.

 

[Section3]

That is the conundrum.
Either way the relationship must approve with MSG. We are paying to play there, colors and apparel of the opposing team should be anywhere in the building.

I would for them to play a few games in the Coliseum starting next year. I think it has the potential to be a great hoops venue with only 13,000 seats.

Not a bad idea. We used to play some big games at the Coliseum, although I remember mostly losses - Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon State. I do remember a win over Wagner when PJ Carlesimo was the coach.
Maybe we could play a weekend game vs Hofstra to see if it draws a decent crowd.

Game vs. Oregon State (highly ranked if not top ranked) had to be the worst offensive performance I have ever see by SJ

 

[bamafan]

That is the conundrum.
Either way the relationship must approve with MSG. We are paying to play there, colors and apparel of the opposing team should be anywhere in the building.

I would for them to play a few games in the Coliseum starting next year. I think it has the potential to be a great hoops venue with only 13,000 seats.

Not a bad idea. We used to play some big games at the Coliseum, although I remember mostly losses - Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon State. I do remember a win over Wagner when PJ Carlesimo was the coach.
Maybe we could play a weekend game vs Hofstra to see if it draws a decent crowd.

Game vs. Oregon State (highly ranked if not top ranked) had to be the worst offensive performance I have ever see by SJ

Yes, remember we went over 18 minutes without a FG during one stretch.

 

[otis]

A poster on the Villanova Scout (pay) site was complimentary of St. John's pre game scouting of Villanova.

Specifically the poster noted that Ellison overplay Hart making him go to his right which the poster said Hart avoids. Apparently most reams do not understand Hart's preference to drive to his left.

The poster also complimented the St. John's scouting of Brunson who, according to the poster, drives to his right after his fake pumps but St. John's likewise overplayed.

 

[Section3]

That is the conundrum.
Either way the relationship must approve with MSG. We are paying to play there, colors and apparel of the opposing team should be anywhere in the building.

I would for them to play a few games in the Coliseum starting next year. I think it has the potential to be a great hoops venue with only 13,000 seats.

Not a bad idea. We used to play some big games at the Coliseum, although I remember mostly losses - Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon State. I do remember a win over Wagner when PJ Carlesimo was the coach.
Maybe we could play a weekend game vs Hofstra to see if it draws a decent crowd.

Game vs. Oregon State (highly ranked if not top ranked) had to be the worst offensive performance I have ever see by SJ

Yes, remember we went over 18 minutes without a FG during one stretch.

Think we scored something like 38 points

 

[we are sju]

Went to my first game of season yesterday. Had nice seats, so here are my thoughts.
1. The absolute biggest need is better cheerleaders. Don't mean to be mean but wow. Owens has more of a cheerleader body than like 3 or 4 of them. I don't think you can take us seriously as a big time program until that is rectified. The two cheerleader coaches however had fantastic bodies.

2.Ahmed is a tough watch.

3. Refs sucked

4. I change my mind on Ellison from play to play

5. Can we do a three for one trade? Our three Euros for their Italian kid?

I think of of the refs has it in for mullin. Saw him angry with Mullin at a game in jamaica. I don't think the refs respect mullin as a coach. That is why Wright can go runnin onto the court screaming and not get hit with a technical. The refs tolerance of mullin is much lower

Sitting close to the bench Mullin's language at Refs is something I've never seen before. He drops F bombs numerous times a game at them. I think the Refs have given him leeway. I am surprised he does not have more T's

Not sure if this has been discussed, but at one point I thought I saw Mullin jawing with Kris Jenkins as he prepared to inbound the ball. If I saw that right, it would be totally over the line.

All I know is Ponds charge was BS. Kid weighs 150 pounds. Use common sense kid flopped.

 

[HowCouldUBeSoHarkless]

A poster on the Villanova Scout (pay) site was complimentary of St. John's pre game scouting of Villanova.

Specifically the poster noted that Ellison overplay Hart making him go to his right which the poster said Hart avoids. Apparently most reams do not understand Hart's preference to drive to his left.

The poster also complimented the St. John's scouting of Brunson who, according to the poster, drives to his right after his fake pumps but St. John's likewise overplayed.

They played their best players ridiculously well. Brunson, Hart and Jenkins were all off and I would like to credit the defense on that one. Just no one was there to guard fake Arch.

 

[OLV72]

The game was there for the taking but we have to clean up the mental mistakes. Obviously rebounding is a huge issue and that needs to be the priority for the staff to find someone who wants that to be their main job. Hopefully Clark fills that role next year.

The kids played tough and we hung tough.

I really have a hard time though in MSG when they are selling Villanova gear and then after the game they have garden lit up in baby blue for Villanova after it was red before the game.
Our relationship needs to change with MSG for the better. The bandwagon cam was a huge hit however.

I share your and many others' frustrations on this board, with the way MSG treats us. But we all know the answer is to put a consistently competitive product on the court. Until we do, and I don't mean a good team every five years, but a consistently good team, we are negotiating from a position of weakness. If we were a perennial tournament team and filled the Garden with our fans at every game, we'd be in a much stronger position to negotiate with the Garden. Until then, we have to continue to live with the fact that when we play Nova, Georgetown, etc etc, we will be in the minority at the Garden. And nobody hates that more than I do.

Agreed but I actually thought the SJU turnout yesterday was at least more than I expected

SJU turnout was strong. Coming off a NC season brought out the Nova fans putting it close to a sellout, but SJU fan base is there. The CA crowds have been good and vocal too.

As for the Nova fans, they seem to respect that MSG is not their home court - unlike fans from a couple of teams that left the conference. This league is unique in that most fans see that all the BE teams are in this together and root for the each other in non-league games to a greater degree than in the past and than other conferences do.

 

[monte]

The game was there for the taking but we have to clean up the mental mistakes. Obviously rebounding is a huge issue and that needs to be the priority for the staff to find someone who wants that to be their main job. Hopefully Clark fills that role next year.

The kids played tough and we hung tough.

I really have a hard time though in MSG when they are selling Villanova gear and then after the game they have garden lit up in baby blue for Villanova after it was red before the game.
Our relationship needs to change with MSG for the better. The bandwagon cam was a huge hit however.

I share your and many others' frustrations on this board, with the way MSG treats us. But we all know the answer is to put a consistently competitive product on the court. Until we do, and I don't mean a good team every five years, but a consistently good team, we are negotiating from a position of weakness. If we were a perennial tournament team and filled the Garden with our fans at every game, we'd be in a much stronger position to negotiate with the Garden. Until then, we have to continue to live with the fact that when we play Nova, Georgetown, etc etc, we will be in the minority at the Garden. And nobody hates that more than I do.

Agreed but I actually thought the SJU turnout yesterday was at least more than I expected

SJU turnout was strong. Coming off a NC season brought out the Nova fans putting it close to a sellout, but SJU fan base is there. The CA crowds have been good and vocal too.

As for the Nova fans, they seem to respect that MSG is not their home court - unlike fans from a couple of teams that left the conference. This league is unique in that most fans see that all the BE teams are in this together and root for the each other in non-league games to a greater degree than in the past and than other conferences do.

Once we provide a winning product, the impartial college basketball fan will come out and support us at MSG. Without the UCONN and Cuse fans filling the house, I expect that on average we can capture 75% of the crowd.

 

[JohnnyFan]

The game was there for the taking but we have to clean up the mental mistakes. Obviously rebounding is a huge issue and that needs to be the priority for the staff to find someone who wants that to be their main job. Hopefully Clark fills that role next year.

The kids played tough and we hung tough.

I really have a hard time though in MSG when they are selling Villanova gear and then after the game they have garden lit up in baby blue for Villanova after it was red before the game.
Our relationship needs to change with MSG for the better. The bandwagon cam was a huge hit however.

I share your and many others' frustrations on this board, with the way MSG treats us. But we all know the answer is to put a consistently competitive product on the court. Until we do, and I don't mean a good team every five years, but a consistently good team, we are negotiating from a position of weakness. If we were a perennial tournament team and filled the Garden with our fans at every game, we'd be in a much stronger position to negotiate with the Garden. Until then, we have to continue to live with the fact that when we play Nova, Georgetown, etc etc, we will be in the minority at the Garden. And nobody hates that more than I do.

Agreed but I actually thought the SJU turnout yesterday was at least more than I expected

SJU turnout was strong. Coming off a NC season brought out the Nova fans putting it close to a sellout, but SJU fan base is there. The CA crowds have been good and vocal too.

As for the Nova fans, they seem to respect that MSG is not their home court - unlike fans from a couple of teams that left the conference. This league is unique in that most fans see that all the BE teams are in this together and root for the each other in non-league games to a greater degree than in the past and than other conferences do.

Once we provide a winning product, the impartial college basketball fan will come out and support us at MSG. Without the UCONN and Cuse fans filling the house, I expect that on average we can capture 75% of the crowd.

Totally agree, and that will give a boost to recruiting. If we could just capture that momentum, we could be consistently near the top of the BE.