6th Man of St. John's Basketball
St. John's Red Storm => In The Jungle... => Topic started by: Poison on November 17, 2017, 12:08:18 PM
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Credit where it’s due. He came really close a couple of times to not only grabbing an offensive board, but scoring on a put back. I think it will come for him. Last night was the first night I’ve seen him play with a fire since his freshman year.
He doesn’t have to have a post up game if he keeps crashing the glass the way he did last night. I think if he can give us 2-4 points, 4-5 boards and a block or two per game, we should be happy.
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Yak also seemed better on defense it that he was not biting for every fake and leaving his feet and having his man dribble right by him. And yes he did look more involved.
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He looked like he was having fun out there. Good for him!
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Yakwe can be the difference between NCAA or NIT
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Credit where it’s due. He came really close a couple of times to not only grabbing an offensive board, but scoring on a put back. I think it will come for him. Last night was the first night I’ve seen him play with a fire since his freshman year.
He doesn’t have to have a post up game if he keeps crashing the glass the way he did last night. I think if he can give us 2-4 points, 4-5 boards and a block or two per game, we should be happy.
Lol he didn't play with fire against Marquette in the Garden last year?
Marv in foul trouble last night was a blessing in disguise, it gave Kassoum the important minutes he needed to give himself such much needed confidence. He played well, very good D on Copeland.
Kassoum puts in the work, his free throw shooting was much improved after a Summer with Mullin last year. His body doesn't have a ounce of fat on it. What teeters with him is his confidence. He's a first class kid, humble to a fault. I'd run him out there for 30 minutes against Molloy, it could be exactly what he needs.
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Credit where it’s due. He came really close a couple of times to not only grabbing an offensive board, but scoring on a put back. I think it will come for him. Last night was the first night I’ve seen him play with a fire since his freshman year.
He doesn’t have to have a post up game if he keeps crashing the glass the way he did last night. I think if he can give us 2-4 points, 4-5 boards and a block or two per game, we should be happy.
Lol he didn't play with fire against Marquette in the Garden last year?
Marv in foul trouble last night was a blessing in disguise, it gave Kassoum the important minutes he needed to give himself such much needed confidence. He played well, very good D on Copeland.
Kassoum puts in the work, his free throw shooting was much improved after a Summer with Mullin last year. His body doesn't have a ounce of fat on it. What teeters with him is his confidence. He's a first class kid, humble to a fault. I'd run him out there for 30 minutes against Molloy, it could be exactly what he needs.
I see he had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks last year. That makes one time he played and well at the same time. Alibegovic scored in double figures more often. Yakwe does seem to have a confidence issue. He reacts like he's been robbed just about every time a call goes against him. But then again, his coach is modeling that behavior.
Still, the point of the thread is to talk about what kind of player Yakwe can be. I see his development as essential. Those that want him to leave are short sighted. St.John's needs to continue to help Kassoum find his fire. And for that to happen, he needs to play. Beating up on Molloy probably couldn't hurt. Let's see if he can carry his momentum over to Monday night.
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I still think Owens and Yakwe should split the center minutes. So Yakwe should get all the minutes Owens can't get e.g. foul trouble or mismatch, and any additional minutes he earns from those minutes at the 4. Should be about 18-22 a game.
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Yakwe was a focal point of the team his freshman yr. He had sets ran for him and the offense wasn't as guard centric. His role has changed and it looks like he is still trying to adjust. He seems tentative and is scared to make a mistake when he gets the ball. If he gets into a groove it would be a huge difference maker on this club. He should see a solid amount of minutes with Owens and Clark always in foul trouble.
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Yakwe looked much better . We desperately need another post player who can contribute. I think Owens should be the primary Center, getting as many minutes as he can ,taking his fouls into consideration. I like the lineup of a Owens at the 5 and Clark at the 4. But they both foul too much. Yakwe played w a high motor and rebounded well. Not great , but got the job done , as opposed to Amar. He is very important piece of the puzzle and if he can improve as the season progresses,I think we will be NCAA bound. Lovett,Ponds,Bash.Simon and Clark are very respectable BE players , but we need 1 more big to contribute. I agree that Yakwe should get plenty of PT against Molly . I also would give Trimble more time. Maybe the div 2 opponant.is good at this time. Affording somet of the starters some rest while allowing other player s to work on their game and gain confidence. We have a lot of games at the end of the week.
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Yakwe was a focal point of the team his freshman yr. He had sets ran for him and the offense wasn't as guard centric. His role has changed and it looks like he is still trying to adjust. He seems tentative and is scared to make a mistake when he gets the ball. If he gets into a groove it would be a huge difference maker on this club. He should see a solid amount of minutes with Owens and Clark always in foul trouble.
What I see is a guy who doesn't practice enough. He will get more comfortable with the ball if he plays more basketball.
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I still think Owens and Yakwe should split the center minutes. So Yakwe should get all the minutes Owens can't get e.g. foul trouble or mismatch, and any additional minutes he earns from those minutes at the 4. Should be about 18-22 a game.
Clark.
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I still think Owens and Yakwe should split the center minutes. So Yakwe should get all the minutes Owens can't get e.g. foul trouble or mismatch, and any additional minutes he earns from those minutes at the 4. Should be about 18-22 a game.
Clark.
I think you play clark a few minutes at the 5 but for most part should rotate our 5 best players between 1-4.
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I had a kid like Yakwe and It was really frustrating. The problem as mentioned by Posion was Confidence. The kid practice like a star and in the game he was just awful. I tried every approach and eventually he was able to turn it around and have a decent H S career. Remember so much of any game is mental. Hopefully Yawke will be able to turn it around. Also they need to get him a tennis ball to play catch with to improve hand coordination
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maybe get him some couch time with a sport psychologist too (Villanova's team has had one for a long time)
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I had a kid like Yakwe and It was really frustrating. The problem as mentioned by Posion was Confidence. The kid practice like a star and in the game he was just awful. I tried every approach and eventually he was able to turn it around and have a decent H S career. Remember so much of any game is mental. Hopefully Yawke will be able to turn it around. Also they need to get him a tennis ball to play catch with to improve hand coordination
He has terrible hands. Start there before worrying about psychology. He also abandoned attacking the rim which he did very well as a frosh....perhaps due to his horrible foul shooting.
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In today's game every position has to be a competent shooter. Very few guys can earn minutes just playing defense and rebounding. You need to be exceptionally good at those two aspects to make up for a lack of offense. And Yakwe doesn't.
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In today's game every position has to be a competent shooter. Very few guys can earn minutes just playing defense and rebounding. You need to be exceptionally good at those two aspects to make up for a lack of offense. And Yakwe doesn't.
Disagree. On this team, if yakwe plays solid defense and reboundsfor 20 minutes a night we are in excellent shape.
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In today's game every position has to be a competent shooter. Very few guys can earn minutes just playing defense and rebounding. You need to be exceptionally good at those two aspects to make up for a lack of offense. And Yakwe doesn't.
Disagree. On this team, if yakwe plays solid defense and reboundsfor 20 minutes a night we are in excellent shape.
We have no depth Tony, so I agree with you ... if he rebounds and plays D .. that's better than nothing.
But posters are rightfully complaining about his hands and how he's not going to the rim aggressively anymore with the ball. And that's because he doesn't have an offensive game. And there's little room for players who are an offensive lie ility. That's too big a part of the game now.
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In today's game every position has to be a competent shooter. Very few guys can earn minutes just playing defense and rebounding. You need to be exceptionally good at those two aspects to make up for a lack of offense. And Yakwe doesn't.
Disagree. On this team, if yakwe plays solid defense and reboundsfor 20 minutes a night we are in excellent shape.
We have no depth Tony, so I agree with you ... if he rebounds and plays D .. that's better than nothing.
But posters are rightfully complaining about his hands and how he's not going to the rim aggressively anymore with the ball. And that's because he doesn't have an offensive game. And there's little room for players who are an offensive lie ility. That's too big a part of the game now.
I am well aware he can’t catch a basketball. I was never a Chris opekpa fan. Besides the non sense I thought he had a productive last season at St. John’s. I think yakwe can do that.
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We have 6 really good players. I would love to see Yakwe have a better offensive game. But the way I see it. If he could give us 15 minutes a game, play D and rebound, I’ll take it.
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Obekpa was one of the best shot blockers/rim protectors I've seen in college basketball, and improved as a rebounder during his time. He was also a pain the neck, drama-queen and a horrible teammate who cost a bunch of hard working good kids a chance to win a tourney game and give Duke a run for their money (as they did earlier that year), as well as costing the the team the year before a chance to be Providence and make the dance. Good riddance and I don't want any more guys like him, I don't care how talented they are.
Some guys I was sitting with Thurs night said Yawke works his tail off in practice. I don't think his puzzling play (and it has been puzzling) is because the kid doesn't try or work hard, or because the staff hasn't worked on things like his offensive game, hands, and general basketball awareness. I think he is a raw athlete who hasn't progressed. Sometimes they take longer; and sometimes the basketball skills and acumen don't catch up to the athlete. I'm pulling for him because he seems like a really nice kid.
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His athleticism is unquestioned. He's clearly fast, can jump through roof, and is probably quite strong for his size.
That doesn't mean he's got the right coordination, and game time quickness.
He's been playing organized ball for at least 5-6 years and still struggles to do basic tasks like catching a pass, shooting a FT, or not bobbing a rebound, easy putbacks.... things that some junior high schoolers can do.
Can he get better? Maybe, but if he hasn't gotten some of this by now, hard to imagine significant mid junior season or senior year turnaround
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If we had Obekpa on this roster we'd be the best team in the BE.
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If we had Obekpa on this roster we'd be the best team in the BE.
If he decided to show up.
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Another big difference between freshman year and this year is, do we have a big man coach? Freshman year we had Zendon Hamilton coaching the bigs. He hasn't been replaced. Someone wrote there is no chance we would bring him back. Wennington does media work, I think Werdann coaches in the league.
Is there anyone Chris or Mitch could entice to coach up our bigs? Even on a part time basis?
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If we had Obekpa on this roster we'd be the best team in the BE.
If not the best, I think we'd easily a top 2 or 3 team in the conference.
Obekpa was one of the best shot blockers/rim protectors I've seen in college basketball, and improved as a rebounder during his time. He was also a pain the neck, drama-queen and a horrible teammate who cost a bunch of hard working good kids a chance to win a tourney game and give Duke a run for their money (as they did earlier that year), as well as costing the the team the year before a chance to be Providence and make the dance. Good riddance and I don't want any more guys like him, I don't care how talented they are.
We all know about his discord and whatnot while at St. John's. But, strictly from an ability standpoint, I believe we'd be no worst than a top 3 team in the Big East (if Obekpa was on this particular team). He improved as a rebounder, as you stated and he was somewhat of an underrated passer. Between, Obekpa, Owens and Yakwe, we'd possibly average double-digits as a team in blocks.
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If we had Obekpa on this roster we'd be the best team in the BE.
If he decided to show up.
If we had Obekpa he'd be in his second year of Grad school--don't think NCAA would approve. ;).
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Yakwe’s dunk off the LoVett miss was the biggest play of his college basketball career. He showed marked improvement today. Credit where it’s due.
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If we had Obekpa on this roster we'd be the best team in the BE.
If he decided to show up.
And that’s the rub. I would love it if Tariq Owens were a little stronger, but the guy plays hard every game.
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Yakwe’s dunk off the LoVett miss was the biggest play of his college basketball career. He showed marked improvement today. Credit where it’s due.
I've been very badly rooting for this kid through his slump last year and into this year. Saw he lost his starting job this year and getting less minutes and was worried he would be out of town quicker than a hiccup. Glad he has played well in a huge win today. Hopefully it inspires confidence in him and coach. We need you Big Kass!
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We are gonna need him today against Missouri too. Just rebound, defend, dunk and block shots.