Game 22: @Duke 12P (ESPN, 570 AM)

There are plenty of highly rated players from the NY area who plays in other conferences. Point is regardless of whether the players are from NY or Texas, the staffs presence on the recruiting trail has been minimal and that is common knowledge.

The staff has recruited better players than any SJU staff in 20 years. The only thing close was Lavin's first full class. I don' think you care where the talent comes from...I know I don't.  Nevada has proven you can win with transfers. 

They are small this year and went out and added Steere and Manuel for next year. That won't be an issue.  If they add a legit PG they will have corrected all of the mistakes of the past.

The staff has recruited better players than any SJU staff in 20 years. The only thing close was Lavin's first full class. I don' think you care where the talent comes from...I know I don't.  Nevada has proven you can win with transfers. 

They are small this year and went out and added Steere and Manuel for next year. That won't be an issue.  If they add a legit PG they will have corrected all of the mistakes of the past.

Cam Mack looks like a legit PG, at least by the numbers. Unless you mean add another one. And for the first time in a while the classes are balanced.  http://johnnyjungle.com/forum/index.php?topic=928.0

The staff has recruited better players than any SJU staff in 20 years. The only thing close was Lavin's first full class.

No I don’t care where the talent comes from but I feel this teams talent level has been overstated.

Cam Mack looks like a legit PG, at least by the numbers. Unless you mean add another one. And for the first time in a while the classes are balanced.  http://johnnyjungle.com/forum/index.php?topic=928.0

We need another one. Too many question marks to put all the eggs in his basket regardless of what his mother posts. Even if he turns out to be Ponds we still need another.

No I don’t care where the talent comes from but I feel this teams talent level has been overstated.

The backend of the roster, yeah. Should be a better roster next year even if they don't have Ponds.

No I don’t care where the talent comes from but I feel this teams talent level has been overstated.

So the talent is overstated and the coaching staff sucks and yet they've won 16 games and but for one bad call 17 and even considering that are in 3rd place in one of the best couple of conferences in the country. You seem to have stupided yourself, which is what always happens if you let people who think they're smart talk long enough: they always end up cutting their own throats.

We need another one. Too many question marks to put all the eggs in his basket regardless of what his mother posts.

His mother didn't post his stats : 20 ppg / 9 assists / 6 rebs.

Prediction: Next year by December he'll be your favorite player and you'll be patting yourself on the back for recognizing his potential before anyone else.

So the talent is overstated and the coaching staff sucks and yet they've won 16 games and but for one bad call 17 and even considering that are in 3rd place in one of the best couple of conferences in the country. You seem to have stupided yourself, which is what always happens if you let people who think they're smart talk long enough: they always end up cutting their own throats.

Hahaha just because you say it don’t make it true. You can be impressed by those metrics but I am not and my position still stands. You see 3rd place, I see one game out of 8th place. I’m not impressed. You want to wear their ooc record like a badge of honor, Ok. Its not a coincidence that since the start of BE play, playing teams with better talent, their record during their last 9 games is 3-6. I’ve read posts one time or another mentioning each player on our starting five being in the NBA. We are not well coached and we don’t have 5 NBA players on the team. The last 9 games, I mean, the last 4 years is evident of that.

3'lo, Sir Dom and the Rhombus were trash around here until they broke through and danced. DJ, Paris and Burrell were mud here before their break out season. Now these guys are beloved by most.

If this crew breaks through and makes it they'll be remembered fondly and Walden's status will be positively legendary.  If not they and the staff will be destroyed. There is no middle ground. Same as it ever was.

3'lo, Sir Dom and the Rhombus were trash around here until they broke through and danced. DJ, Paris and Burrell were mud here before their break out season. Now these guys are beloved by most.

If this crew breaks through and makes it they'll be remembered fondly and Walden's status will be positively legendary.  If not they and the staff will be destroyed. There is no middle ground. Same as it ever was.

This is pretty much it. It’s too bad Lavins guys were ruined by the weave cuz that was a talented group.

I would add that I don’t think outside of Harrison’s suspension he was thought bad of. Was a much more limited player than Ponds so there wasn’t as much expected of him.

Hahaha just because you say it don’t make it true. You can be impressed by those metrics but I am not and my position still stands. You see 3rd place, I see one game out of 8th place. I’m not impressed. You want to wear their ooc record like a badge of honor, Ok. Its not a coincidence that since the start of BE play, playing teams with better talent, their record during their last 9 games is 3-6. I’ve read posts one time or another mentioning each player on our starting five being in the NBA. We are not well coached and we don’t have 5 NBA players on the team. The last 9 games, I mean, the last 4 years is evident of that.

Let's assume that you're correct and the talent is over rated and the staff stinks. They're currently 16-6 (one of those losses was a win with honest officiating, one they lost the thread late on the defending NC's home court and one w/o Ponds) with three quad one wins, no bad losses, a top 50 NET, and are currently third in the BE. If you're right, they're over achieving, which as a SJU FAN in all caps, that should make you happy, but you're not, which means you have unrealistic expectations. If they're not over achieving, your assumptions are wrong. Which is true?

Let's assume that you're correct and the talent is over rated and the staff stinks. They're currently 16-6 (one of those losses was a win with honest officiating, one they lost the thread late on the defending NC's home court and one w/o Ponds) with three quad one wins, no bad losses, a top 50 NET, and are currently third in the BE. If you're right, they're over achieving, which as a SJU FAN in all caps, that should make you happy, but you're not, which means you have unrealistic expectations. If they're not over achieving, your assumptions are wrong. Which is true?

The truth lies somewhere in between. Just because I disagree with the notion that some have mentioned which is many of our players could play in the NBA doesn’t mean I don’t believe they are not talented, just not NBA level talent. We have no depth and no quality bigs and our coaching staff doesn’t care about defense. I wouldn’t go as far to say they stink, but it’s clear there are areas the team isn’t well coached on. Our zone against Duke was horrendous, that’s on the staff.

I’m glad we are where we are considering the past few years. I believe our record could be better but we still have a chance at making the tournament which is good. Is it wrong for me to want more when I see it’s possible? It’s also about how we finish, not just how we started, and we are trending in the wrong direction.

The truth lies somewhere in between. Just because I disagree with the notion that some have mentioned which is many of our players could play in the NBA doesn’t mean I don’t believe they are not talented, just not NBA level talent. We have no depth and no quality bigs and our coaching staff doesn’t care about defense. I wouldn’t go as far to say they stink, but it’s clear there are areas the team isn’t well coached on. Our zone against Duke was horrendous, that’s on the staff.

I’m glad we are where we are considering the past few years. I believe our record could be better but we still have a chance at making the tournament which is good. Is it wrong for me to want more when I see it’s possible? It’s also about how we finish, not just how we started, and we are trending in the wrong direction.

I agree with most of this. The players we have are talented but there aren't enough of them and I'm not convinced that you can run an NBA system with college players and all of that is ultimately on Mullin. What I don't understand is the impulse to be unremittingly miserable and negative in the midst of one of (so far) the most enjoyable seasons in quite a while (since Lavin's first year, because the rest of his years were disappointing and frustrating.) There'll be more than  enough time for an autopsy once the patient dies.