Ponds

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

start at the 2, lovett at the 1

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:28:06 AM

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Agreed. All freshmen backcourt is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that the options are that much better

Quote from: prjohnnies on June 17, 2016, 05:00:21 PM

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:28:06 AM

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Agreed. All freshmen backcourt is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that the options are that much better

Lovett will be a redshirt freshman. Huge difference. Guards are usually ready to go earlier than bigs. There doesn't seem to be a lot of options. It's either Lovett and Mussini or Lovett and Ponds with the third wheel getting 20 mpg. My guess is Lovet and Ponds.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:13:13 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on June 17, 2016, 05:00:21 PM

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:28:06 AM

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Agreed. All freshmen backcourt is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that the options are that much better

Lovett will be a redshirt freshman. Huge difference. Guards are usually ready to go earlier than bigs. There doesn't seem to be a lot of options. It's either Lovett and Mussini or Lovett and Ponds with the third wheel getting 20 mpg. My guess is Lovet and Ponds.

Lovett has never played a  college basketball game

I don't remember Artest starting as a freshman, Fran waited about a dozen games before starting him. Mark Jackson came off the bench his freshman year. I think Felipe started and I think, out of necessity, D'lo started.

Can easily see Ponds coming off the bench, w/ Lovett starting out of necessity and either Ellison or the Italian Stallion starting games at the 2. It really comes down to who is on the floor at the end of games, not the beginning.

Quote from: Marillac on June 17, 2016, 05:52:01 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:13:13 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on June 17, 2016, 05:00:21 PM

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:28:06 AM

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Agreed. All freshmen backcourt is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that the options are that much better

Lovett will be a redshirt freshman. Huge difference. Guards are usually ready to go earlier than bigs. There doesn't seem to be a lot of options. It's either Lovett and Mussini or Lovett and Ponds with the third wheel getting 20 mpg. My guess is Lovet and Ponds.

Lovett has never played a  college basketball game

He has a year of college practices and knows this system and players.  He has a year of living on/near campus and taking college classes. He doesn't have to get used to a new place, college, classes, teammates, and college basketball. Different world man.

I don't remember Artest starting as a freshman, Fran waited about a dozen games before starting him. Mark Jackson came off the bench his freshman year. I think Felipe started and I think, out of necessity, D'lo started.

Can easily see Ponds coming off the bench, w/ Lovett starting out of necessity and either Ellison or the Italian Stallion starting games at the 2. It really comes down to who is on the floor at the end of games, not the beginning.

Artest started at first, and then Fran made him the 6th man. That team had depth. 

I think the real question here is which sophomore makes the leap? Mussini or Ellison, or neither? If it's neither, that's a bad sign for the season, because it means that a freshman will be starting only out of necessity.

I think Ponds is likely to eventually be starter but right away? It would need to be an easy decision because he is so much further ahead than Mussini and Ellison.

Quote from: Marillac on June 17, 2016, 05:52:01 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:13:13 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on June 17, 2016, 05:00:21 PM

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:28:06 AM

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Agreed. All freshmen backcourt is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that the options are that much better

Lovett will be a redshirt freshman. Huge difference. Guards are usually ready to go earlier than bigs. There doesn't seem to be a lot of options. It's either Lovett and Mussini or Lovett and Ponds with the third wheel getting 20 mpg. My guess is Lovet and Ponds.

Lovett has never played a  college basketball game

He hasn't, but I'm expecting that our staff has helped him improve. He hasn't played but I do think it's fair to expect that he doesn't show up like a deer in headlights. He's not a true freshman. Not at all.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:53:45 PM

Quote from: Marillac on June 17, 2016, 05:52:01 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:13:13 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on June 17, 2016, 05:00:21 PM

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:28:06 AM

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Agreed. All freshmen backcourt is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that the options are that much better

Lovett will be a redshirt freshman. Huge difference. Guards are usually ready to go earlier than bigs. There doesn't seem to be a lot of options. It's either Lovett and Mussini or Lovett and Ponds with the third wheel getting 20 mpg. My guess is Lovet and Ponds.

Lovett has never played a  college basketball game

He hasn't, but I'm expecting that our staff has helped him improve. He hasn't played but I do think it's fair to expect that he doesn't show up like a deer in headlights. He's not a true freshman. Not at all.

We are looking at a starting lineup with 2 sophomores, a Juco, Redshirt freshman pg and a true frosh SG. That's alot question marks and a lot of responsibility for Lovett. I have low expectations, hence my over/under 12 wins post. Hope I'm wrong

Quote from: Poison on June 17, 2016, 08:40:49 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:53:45 PM

Quote from: Marillac on June 17, 2016, 05:52:01 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:13:13 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on June 17, 2016, 05:00:21 PM

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:28:06 AM

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Agreed. All freshmen backcourt is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that the options are that much better

Lovett will be a redshirt freshman. Huge difference. Guards are usually ready to go earlier than bigs. There doesn't seem to be a lot of options. It's either Lovett and Mussini or Lovett and Ponds with the third wheel getting 20 mpg. My guess is Lovet and Ponds.

Lovett has never played a  college basketball game

He hasn't, but I'm expecting that our staff has helped him improve. He hasn't played but I do think it's fair to expect that he doesn't show up like a deer in headlights. He's not a true freshman. Not at all.

We are looking at a starting lineup with 2 sophomores, a Juco, Redshirt freshman pg and a true frosh SG. That's alot question marks and a lot of responsibility for Lovett. I have low expectations, hence my over/under 12 wins post. Hope I'm wrong

From everything we've heard about him, the kid is legit. We'll see. I've seen that movie before. But you're right, we have a question at every position except maybe Kassoum Yakwe, who is really only less of a question mark.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:59:40 PM

Quote from: Poison on June 17, 2016, 08:40:49 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:53:45 PM

Quote from: Marillac on June 17, 2016, 05:52:01 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:13:13 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on June 17, 2016, 05:00:21 PM

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:28:06 AM

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Agreed. All freshmen backcourt is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that the options are that much better

Lovett will be a redshirt freshman. Huge difference. Guards are usually ready to go earlier than bigs. There doesn't seem to be a lot of options. It's either Lovett and Mussini or Lovett and Ponds with the third wheel getting 20 mpg. My guess is Lovet and Ponds.

Lovett has never played a  college basketball game

He hasn't, but I'm expecting that our staff has helped him improve. He hasn't played but I do think it's fair to expect that he doesn't show up like a deer in headlights. He's not a true freshman. Not at all.

We are looking at a starting lineup with 2 sophomores, a Juco, Redshirt freshman pg and a true frosh SG. That's alot question marks and a lot of responsibility for Lovett. I have low expectations, hence my over/under 12 wins post. Hope I'm wrong

From everything we've heard about him, the kid is legit. We'll see. I've seen that movie before. But you're right, we have a question at every position except maybe Kassoum Yakwe, who is really only less of a question mark.

True, I feel comfortable with Yakwe and to a lesser extent Ahmed. Of course nobody can say how he will perform, and I'm not expecting all-league level but I think he's the least likely to look lost out there.

Quote from: Poison on June 17, 2016, 09:15:40 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:59:40 PM

Quote from: Poison on June 17, 2016, 08:40:49 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:53:45 PM

Quote from: Marillac on June 17, 2016, 05:52:01 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 05:13:13 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on June 17, 2016, 05:00:21 PM

Don't see Ponds starting off the bat, given his size and the typical freshman adjustment.  See Ellison or Rico, assuming they improve, get stronger and/or make the sophomore leap. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on June 17, 2016, 08:28:06 AM

Start at the 2 right away?  Come off the bench? If so, who is the SG?

Agreed. All freshmen backcourt is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that the options are that much better

Lovett will be a redshirt freshman. Huge difference. Guards are usually ready to go earlier than bigs. There doesn't seem to be a lot of options. It's either Lovett and Mussini or Lovett and Ponds with the third wheel getting 20 mpg. My guess is Lovet and Ponds.

Lovett has never played a  college basketball game

He hasn't, but I'm expecting that our staff has helped him improve. He hasn't played but I do think it's fair to expect that he doesn't show up like a deer in headlights. He's not a true freshman. Not at all.

We are looking at a starting lineup with 2 sophomores, a Juco, Redshirt freshman pg and a true frosh SG. That's alot question marks and a lot of responsibility for Lovett. I have low expectations, hence my over/under 12 wins post. Hope I'm wrong

From everything we've heard about him, the kid is legit. We'll see. I've seen that movie before. But you're right, we have a question at every position except maybe Kassoum Yakwe, who is really only less of a question mark.

True, I feel comfortable with Yakwe and to a lesser extent Ahmed. Of course nobody can say how he will perform, and I'm not expecting all-league level but I think he's the least likely to look lost out there.

I think Ahmed is the x-factor for this team. I think LoVett will be solid from day 1. Ahmed could be anything from James Scott to Bootsy Thornton. Hopefully, if he's improved enough to be recruited by Louisville he'll be ready to play for us. This team needs leaders, and of our 5 returning players, there weren't many options. Most jucos need time to adjust to D1 defenses, and they time to learn how to play defense.

Personally, I think they've searched far and wide for talent, but in order to compete next year, some of our new guys like Ahmed, Freudenberg and Owens really need to be better than advertised. They need to be real sleepers.

FWIW

Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein  7m7 minutes ago
Expect SJU's Shamorie Ponds to lead all Big East freshmen in scoring next season. Effortless offensive player. Cuttino Mobley type. #SJUBB

I expect an average of 9-11ppg

That would be pretty freaking good for a freshman in the BE and on a team where there will be other scoring options.

That would be pretty freaking good for a freshman in the BE and on a team where there will be other scoring options.

All depends on tempo. When Ponds and Lovett are on the floor together, I expect alot of quick transition baskets. Get out and run

He starts and plays a lot !