The exhibition game is here! Westmont comes from California for a sightseeing trip to New York. They’ll see a little Manhattan, see lovely Jamaica Queens, see a whole lot of white and red names and numbers running to the other basket, styling on dunks.
It’ll be a nice trip for them. Westmont’s coach John Moore is married to Steve Lavin’s older sister; it’ll be a nice bit of family time for them as well.
Westmont played UCLA at Pauley Pavilion and took the expected beating, but exposed some flaws in the Bruins – the 3-point shooting, and some half-court defensive issues.
Other questions:
Who’s going to play down low? Justin Brownlee and Dwayne Polee will get some time, as will Sean Evans. But how much for each? How about Coker?
Can Malik Boothe be effective? He had a nice stretch at the end of last season, and the toughness needs to be on full display this season – there isn’t a strong option to back him up, though Malik Stith and Dwight Hardy will get their cracks. Boothe needs to make enough jump shots to pass as an offensive threat and make plays – steals, passes that lead to shots, and getting to the line. Too often, he was a poor decoy on offense.
Can Lavin play Horne and Hardy together (along with DJ Kennedy)? Having all three on the court for stretches puts three solid offensive options out for teams to defend. Each of those players could stand to improve, as well, and play a more team-oriented style. No knock on them. But Kennedy was the man last year and created with the ball in his hands. Hardy was asked to get himself shots off the dribble. And Horne was a lesser part of the offense than he was in 2009, when he worked through screens to get shots. A team oriented game could do them all good.
And more:
What does the new offense look like?
Will they do different things on defense?
Have Malik Stith and Quincy Roberts improved?
Will Dwayne Polee make us all say OOOO?
Game Information
Tip Off: 7 PM, Saturday November 6th
Location: Carnesecca Arena
TV: Storm Tracker All-Access
Radio: WSJU Radio
Keys to the Game
Since losing an exhibition game can even happen to a team that goes to the Sweet Sixteen (Syracuse v. LeMoyne last year), winning is not the most important thing. Of course, I say that fully expecting the team to win.
Be More Talented. Westmont is an NAIA school. Enough said. St. John’s should be able to work on all the ways they can increase the pressure/ attack on offense. I am curious to see what the early offense looks like, and how long it takes the team to get a shot off in halfcourt sets. Here’s hoping it won’t be 25-30 seconds, with 8 seconds dribbling the ball past halfcourt. And how will this team react to a zone?
Don’t Get Hurt. This team, depending on who the coaching staff likes, is thin. There are bodies, but a lot of those bodies contributed to remaining in the bottom quarter of the Big East… the guys who can make a difference need to stay on the court all year.
Show the Defensive Pressure. Maybe the fans don’t need to see all the wrinkles, but the staff has talked about installing a new defense and tweaking the offense; let’s see some of those changes and work out the kinks. How will the guards look in the half court? How well do the forwards stay in position? Can the team play a competent zone defense?
Who’s Better? Not a key to winning, but the staff needs to see who can make impactful, attacking plays when the lights come on. Who has improved their game?
Protect the Ball. One of the main keys for this team will be minimizing turnovers. It was a bugaboo for Lavin’s UCLA teams, and it will be for St. John’s, a team that doesn’t have a flash-scoring gear that covers up sloppy play.
Prediction: St. John’s, 85+ points, Westmont, 50+ points.
ATTENTION RED STORM FANS: Vote for Dave Krupinski on Volvo’s Big East Contest help make him and St. John’s #1
[…] In Case You Missed It: JohnnyJungle.com’s pre-game column- Calm Before The Storm […]