@Xavier, Wed., Jan. 31, 6:30p, FS-1

I'd like to agree 100% SJUDave, but where were guys getting better, where was max effort against my now-home state BE team Seton Hall (that hurt).

We gave min. effort and played matador defense in that one and it was only a few games ago. {In fairness, Pitino was not coaching, but I'm not convinced, at least for that night, he would have made a difference. It was a thorough throttling}.

I am hoping after the great game I went to against Nova, the SH debacle was an aberration and that SJUDave is right.
I think the fact Pitino was not coaching and COVID was literally around the team makes me hopeful it was an aberration.
 
definitely. pitino, dingle, and many of the other coaches had Covid. what are the odds all of the rest of the players were healthy? the whole team looked sluggish, especially soriano
It was also really weird. Pitino was announced out two hours before tip, Dingle one hour before. They were literally unprepared, and up against a team that is known for their hustle and grit. Just a nightmare, weird scenario on multiple levels.
 
I fear a fly in the ointment. We may be most vulnerable to big wing forwards who can get in to the lane and force Soriano fouls. With the exception of Traore our frontcourt players lack either the size or quickness to stop Scheierman, Ighodaro, Richmond et al that are on several Big East teams. My sense is that Ejiofor who looks like a good 4/5 could be a big help here but we can't expend Soriano's backup on defensive needs at the 4 position. Last player to go was Mo Keita and wish he was still here, releasing Ejiofor for more work at the 4.
My worry is more so on being exposed on pick n roll because of being out of position or the quickness issue you referred to. On the flip side, I have that fresh in my head from Marquette, and there may not be a better 1-2 that runs it in the country (or that we have to worry about with the rest of our schedule) thank Kolek and Oso.

I was really encouraged with Joel's defense. The way he loved in the zone defense especially.
 
I'd like to agree 100% SJUDave, but where were guys getting better, where was max effort against my now-home state BE team Seton Hall (that hurt).

We gave min. effort and played matador defense in that one and it was only a few games ago. {In fairness, Pitino was not coaching, but I'm not convinced, at least for that night, he would have made a difference. It was a thorough throttling}.

I am hoping after the great game I went to against Nova, the SH debacle was an aberration and that SJUDave is right.
Team was clearly off / sick / something vs Hall. That wasn't guys not trying that looked like guys with absolutely no juice. And that's simply not in these guys' character / nature.
 
My worry is more so on being exposed on pick n roll because of being out of position or the quickness issue you referred to. On the flip side, I have that fresh in my head from Marquette, and there may not be a better 1-2 that runs it in the country (or that we have to worry about with the rest of our schedule) thank Kolek and Oso.

I was really encouraged with Joel's defense. The way he loved in the zone defense especially.
Mo Keita can’t get on the floor for a poor Tulsa team. I think we are getting better defending the pick and roll. We shall see.
 
Just to play devils advocate, if an extra shot at the buzzer had fallen against Creighton and Marquette, would that have really changed your calculus of who the team really is?
I agree 100%. We are a top 30 team with or without that win. Who cares anyway?

The arrow is still pointing up, and everyone has a shot to make the Final four nowadays. Just get in.
 
I did not take the subway home tonight. But that's because I did not stay in the city. The LIRR to Long Island seemed safe, even though it was after 11 PM. If I saw Monte I might have felt unsafe, but I didn't. The statistics said I wouldn't, but you can't believe statistics. Or math. And definitely not science.

I was expecting the attendance on the train to be about 600, but it was happy to see that it was actually 658. I don't know how many of those were regular passengers as opposed to SJU fans though. I would have been very disappointed if it was only 572 passengers.

One area of concern is that I didn't see Glenn Taylor on the train. Someone needs to ask Zach where he was. Or ask Zach to ask Pitino. Or something.

The last game, we didn't sweep them since 1993. I remember 1993. I was coaching 5th grade boys basketball, there was a kid on the team who was a ball hog,.I used to tell him don't do that, you'll grow up to be Daniss Jenkins. Those were the days. Did I mention Chris Mullin?

You know who could fix both attendance AND the subway? Mike Repole, that's who. But he was probably at Rose"s Pizza getting fat with Maher before they go wear Speedos in South America, too busy to bother with attendance and subways.

Oh hey, are we playing someone next week? What time? Is the game on TV? What channel?

Think that about covers this thread for the next 4 or 5 days.
Must’ve been a boring train ride 😉
 
I did not take the subway home tonight. But that's because I did not stay in the city. The LIRR to Long Island seemed safe, even though it was after 11 PM. If I saw Monte I might have felt unsafe, but I didn't. The statistics said I wouldn't, but you can't believe statistics. Or math. And definitely not science.

I was expecting the attendance on the train to be about 600, but it was happy to see that it was actually 658. I don't know how many of those were regular passengers as opposed to SJU fans though. I would have been very disappointed if it was only 572 passengers.

One area of concern is that I didn't see Glenn Taylor on the train. Someone needs to ask Zach where he was. Or ask Zach to ask Pitino. Or something.

The last game, we didn't sweep them since 1993. I remember 1993. I was coaching 5th grade boys basketball, there was a kid on the team who was a ball hog,.I used to tell him don't do that, you'll grow up to be Daniss Jenkins. Those were the days. Did I mention Chris Mullin?

You know who could fix both attendance AND the subway? Mike Repole, that's who. But he was probably at Rose"s Pizza getting fat with Maher before they go wear Speedos in South America, too busy to bother with attendance and subways.

Oh hey, are we playing someone next week? What time? Is the game on TV? What channel?

Think that about covers this thread for the next 4 or 5 days.
You keep believing the stats someone feeds you. I'll keep believing my eyes and my instincts, both of which have served me very very well in life. You stay safe now.😉
 
You keep believing the stats someone feeds you. I'll keep believing my eyes and my instincts, both of which have served me very very well in life. You stay safe now.😉

I would love to debate this topic again with you 😁

To make sure I keep my post on topic, I will add that it is not possible to take the subway or LIRR to the Xavier game.
 
I would love to debate this topic again with you 😁

To make sure I keep my post on topic, I will add that it is not possible to take the subway or LIRR to the Xavier game.
Since a mod brought it up again, albeit subtly, I figured it was fair game to discuss. LIRR:YES! Subway:NO! At least for me. As Elton once said (in Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatters) "Subway's no way, for a good man to go down..." 😃
 
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