Incoming Talent

Really looking forward to watching Shamorie lead this program, it's his to own. I forsee Bash taking the reigns year 1, but Rich seems to have NBA talent on screen. Lovett is definitely flying under the radar right now, he and Shamorie are going to ball out together. Thoughts?

Lovett. The straw that stirs the drink

Only one real PG on the team, LoVett is key.

Lovett.  Will take Ponds some time to grow into that role.  Mussini can spell at times, but as we saw this year, I think he will be much better playing lesser minutes off-the-ball. 

A 20 lb heavier, 1 year more experienced Lovett.

No love for Germany's best U18 prospect? 6'9 sharpshooter who can run in transition, put it on the deck and finish with two hands? Those same attributes can be said for Bash, who is returning home as arguably the best JUCO prospect in the country, with handle to boot. We're loaded, just stirring the pot 

Lovett needs to play well for us to be competitive.  But I'm most  excited for Ahmed.  I think he'll be our best player next season.

Lovett can have a Kris Dunn type of impact.

Is Darien Williams on that list because the guy we're gonna get is going to be healthy, and nothing like the guy we saw last season? Also, why is Tariq Owens lumped in with two other players? Seems like you don't think very highly of him?

Wow I voted for LoVett but I am surprised by the results. Thought it would be much closer.

Think ML will be our best and most valuable player next year and wouldnt be surprised if he led us in several categories. Shamorie and him are going to be a special duo.

Wow I voted for LoVett but I am surprised by the results. Thought it would be much closer.

Think ML will be our best and most valuable player next year and wouldnt be surprised if he led us in several categories. Shamorie and him are going to be a special duo.

No one on the team could dribble last year. If we had a capable point guard, we'd have beaten Seton Hall, Xavier, probably twice, Marquette possibly 3 times, Depaul on the road, and who knows who else? No one is even close to being as important as Lovett. 

If I had to rank the guys, I would vote the German 4th. That's pretty awesome because he is supposed to be really good.

Lovett needs to play well for us to be competitive.  But I'm most  excited for Ahmed.  I think he'll be our best player next season.

Ahmed has the ability to be really good at many things the team needs--even from game to game what that is can change.  I wouldn't expect an alpha scorer, though. Maybe not even a #2 scorer, but there will likely be games he goes nuts.

Lovett is the guy that will make this whole thing go.  I think he will be competing for best handle in the conference this year, and him at PG takes us from by far the worst ball-handling team in the Big East  to one of the best. Ponds is not getting the respect he deserves for his PG ability. The coaches thought highly enough to have him play PG in the Jordan Brand game with several other capable combos. Good luck covering him or Lovett with a two.

The collective talent, experience, and skill of this roster is night day from last season. Now it's all about what the staff can do with it.

No one is even close to being as important as Lovett. 

Plus 100, assuming that Ponds is not a PG either. As horrible as this team was last year it would have been infinitely less horrible with even a semi competent PG. Someone needs to drive. Assuming one or the other is a traditional PG we will not stink as much as we might otherwise.

Super excited about Lovett to be honest.

Admittedly, I've been a little bit out of the loop the last month or two. Off the top of my head, we have all these guys still right:

Lovett-Ponds-Mussini-Ellison (Guards)
Ahmed-Freudenberg-Williams (Wings/Forwards)
Yawke-Sima-Livingston(Did he commit?)-Owens (Bigs)

And then we got two transfers from MSU and Arizona?

Pretty freaking good.

Super excited about Lovett to be honest.

Admittedly, I've been a little bit out of the loop the last month or two. Off the top of my head, we have all these guys still right:

Lovett-Ponds-Mussini-Ellison (Guards)
Ahmed-Freudenberg-Williams (Wings/Forwards)
Yawke-Sima-Livingston(Did he commit?)-Owens (Bigs)

And then we got two transfers from MSU and Arizona?

Pretty freaking good.

No on Livingston, waiting.

Is Darien Williams on that list because the guy we're gonna get is going to be healthy, and nothing like the guy we saw last season? Also, why is Tariq Owens lumped in with two other players? Seems like you don't think very highly of him?

The configuration of a poll on this board only allows five options. I would've put each of them on a separate line if I could.

Quote from: Poison on May 06, 2016, 04:41:31 PM

Is Darien Williams on that list because the guy we're gonna get is going to be healthy, and nothing like the guy we saw last season? Also, why is Tariq Owens lumped in with two other players? Seems like you don't think very highly of him?

The configuration of a poll on this board only allows five options. I would've put each of them on a separate line if I could.

I expect Owens to be ready. He's technically a junior, and he's now had a season of being coached at Tennessee followed immediately by one at St.John's. Ahmed and Freudenberg are both wild cards IMO. Ahmed is a wild card if for no other reason than he's a juco, and Freudenberg didnt play basketball in the US, and that means that where he did play was easier. It doesn't mean that they can't turn out to be stars, but rather that they haven't been tested in enough situations like Shamorie Ponds has been.

Quote from: Poison on May 06, 2016, 04:45:41 PM

No one is even close to being as important as Lovett. 

Plus 100, assuming that Ponds is not a PG either. As horrible as this team was last year it would have been infinitely less horrible with even a semi competent PG. Someone needs to drive. Assuming one or the other is a traditional PG we will not stink as much as we might otherwise.

From the video I've seen, Ponds can see the court. He's able to make plays that don't only involve him throwing up a shot. Not having a true point wouldn't have hurt this team as much as it did if the players we did have were better at working together. (Like SU's players were)

Quote from: QuanMan on May 06, 2016, 06:29:46 PM

Quote from: Poison on May 06, 2016, 04:41:31 PM

Is Darien Williams on that list because the guy we're gonna get is going to be healthy, and nothing like the guy we saw last season? Also, why is Tariq Owens lumped in with two other players? Seems like you don't think very highly of him?

The configuration of a poll on this board only allows five options. I would've put each of them on a separate line if I could.

I expect Owens to be ready. He's technically a junior, and he's now had a season of being coached at Tennessee followed immediately by one at St.John's. Ahmed and Freudenberg are both wild cards IMO. Ahmed is a wild card if for no other reason than he's a juco, and Freudenberg didnt play basketball in the US, and that means that where he did play was easier. It doesn't mean that they can't turn out to be stars, but rather that they haven't been tested in enough situations like Shamorie Ponds has been.

Couldn't disagree more Poison, we're getting two superstar recruits in Rich and Bash. They're both extremely versatile, have great speed, length and height for hybrid G/F, and most importantly can flat out score. I have no doubt that Mullin is going to make RF a NBA player.

You argue that Bash has never been through what Shamorie has seen. Have you forgotten that he was also once king of the city alongside Lance while he dominated the Bronx PSAL circuit as one of JFK's all time greats? He has also wanted to be a Johnny since his JFK days. This excerpt is from 2013, sounds a lot like Shamorie to me:

He had a phenomenal year for the Knights averaging 25 points and 12 rebounds a game playing as a hybrid 3/4 type for the Bronx school. On Friday he continued to prove why he is one of the best, helping lead the PSAL to the Mayor's Cup title with 20 points. We caught up with Ahmed after the game to get the scoop as to what's going on with his recruitment.

With his numbers, and the fact he played with New Heights 17's last summer,  you would think Ahmed would be rolling with interest and offers, but academic question marks have held him back, though he says he is starting to receive some attention now.

"I have an offer from Norfolk State, and St. John's, Providence, and Iona are showing interest." Ahmed said.