Game 9: Cal St. Northridge

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 04:19:30 PM

You seem down on Lovett more than most, Baldi, even acknowledging he is a good player ("sprained elbow" comment etc).  Yes, he needs to work on being a floor general, getting others involved and defense, in addition to getting buckets.  But he is only a handful of games into his freshman year and, given that context, I am thrilled with his play thus far.  As a fellow Iona fan, you often posted glowing remarks about MoMo Jones, a shoot-first PG who averaged more turnovers than assists as a SENIOR and put up (estimating) probably 25 shots a game, playing no defense (and I'm a MoMo fan).  So I don't get the criticism of Lovett to date.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 02:04:11 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:57:51 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:53:01 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:48:23 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:26:29 PM

Now is the time to tinker with lineups. Not in big East play. See who works better together against these scrub teams

Ponds and Lovett are the top 2 players on the team. Noone is saying otherwise

Best players play. Tinker with everyone else.
30 plus for Ponds and Lovett
Ahmed should play however many minutes he is not in foul trouble.
Mussini 15
Don't care about anyone else

There's not much else to tinker with but our guards. We need 1 of these guys on the court at all times. They can both start down the road, but let's see who works better with Ellison and who works better with Mussini.

Who cares? Ellison probably won't be here next year and Mussini will have the same role, 15 minutes or so.

I'd rather be somewhat competitive in the Big East than beat Fordham  and LIU by 30. Work sht out out now.

Momo was the Pg?

Was Lovett allowed to practice with the team last year?

Lovett can get all the buckets he wants, and I'm sure he will.  Fantastic. What place we finishing in in the Big East? The responsibility always falls on the PG. Win or lose

Yet Mussini was the point guard (until he was benched for Ellison) on the worst Saint John's team ever and you seem to like him just fine.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 04:48:39 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 04:19:30 PM

You seem down on Lovett more than most, Baldi, even acknowledging he is a good player ("sprained elbow" comment etc).  Yes, he needs to work on being a floor general, getting others involved and defense, in addition to getting buckets.  But he is only a handful of games into his freshman year and, given that context, I am thrilled with his play thus far.  As a fellow Iona fan, you often posted glowing remarks about MoMo Jones, a shoot-first PG who averaged more turnovers than assists as a SENIOR and put up (estimating) probably 25 shots a game, playing no defense (and I'm a MoMo fan).  So I don't get the criticism of Lovett to date.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 02:04:11 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:57:51 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:53:01 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:48:23 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:26:29 PM

Now is the time to tinker with lineups. Not in big East play. See who works better together against these scrub teams

Ponds and Lovett are the top 2 players on the team. Noone is saying otherwise

Best players play. Tinker with everyone else.
30 plus for Ponds and Lovett
Ahmed should play however many minutes he is not in foul trouble.
Mussini 15
Don't care about anyone else

There's not much else to tinker with but our guards. We need 1 of these guys on the court at all times. They can both start down the road, but let's see who works better with Ellison and who works better with Mussini.

Who cares? Ellison probably won't be here next year and Mussini will have the same role, 15 minutes or so.

I'd rather be somewhat competitive in the Big East than beat Fordham  and LIU by 30. Work sht out out now.

Momo was the Pg?

Was Lovett allowed to practice with the team last year?

Lovett can get all the buckets he wants, and I'm sure he will.  Fantastic. What place we finishing in in the Big East? The responsibility always falls on the PG. Win or lose

Yet Mussini was the point guard (until he was benched for Ellison) on the worst Saint John's team ever and you seem to like him just fine.

And the teams leading returning scorer

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 05:10:37 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 04:48:39 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 04:19:30 PM

You seem down on Lovett more than most, Baldi, even acknowledging he is a good player ("sprained elbow" comment etc).  Yes, he needs to work on being a floor general, getting others involved and defense, in addition to getting buckets.  But he is only a handful of games into his freshman year and, given that context, I am thrilled with his play thus far.  As a fellow Iona fan, you often posted glowing remarks about MoMo Jones, a shoot-first PG who averaged more turnovers than assists as a SENIOR and put up (estimating) probably 25 shots a game, playing no defense (and I'm a MoMo fan).  So I don't get the criticism of Lovett to date.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 02:04:11 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:57:51 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:53:01 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:48:23 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:26:29 PM

Now is the time to tinker with lineups. Not in big East play. See who works better together against these scrub teams

Ponds and Lovett are the top 2 players on the team. Noone is saying otherwise

Best players play. Tinker with everyone else.
30 plus for Ponds and Lovett
Ahmed should play however many minutes he is not in foul trouble.
Mussini 15
Don't care about anyone else

There's not much else to tinker with but our guards. We need 1 of these guys on the court at all times. They can both start down the road, but let's see who works better with Ellison and who works better with Mussini.

Who cares? Ellison probably won't be here next year and Mussini will have the same role, 15 minutes or so.

I'd rather be somewhat competitive in the Big East than beat Fordham  and LIU by 30. Work sht out out now.

Momo was the Pg?

Was Lovett allowed to practice with the team last year?

Lovett can get all the buckets he wants, and I'm sure he will.  Fantastic. What place we finishing in in the Big East? The responsibility always falls on the PG. Win or lose

Yet Mussini was the point guard (until he was benched for Ellison) on the worst Saint John's team ever and you seem to like him just fine.

And the teams leading returning scorer

Point guard's job to make others better. Last year everyone stunk. I blame Mussini.

Come on now as a senior you know MoMo was the PG/primary ball handler on that team.  Kid never met a shot he didn't like.  Averaged more turnovers than assists -- as a senior.  Yet you have more negative comments about Lovett in a handful of games.  He is a young player that will need time to develop, as almost all young players do.  We will need him to score, just like Ponds, when others aren't capable of doing so.  And he'll be doing it most of the year against really good competition.  Be happy we have him because he is one of the best young PGs the school has had in a long, long time.

Come on now as a senior you know MoMo was the PG/primary ball handler on that team.  Kid never met a shot he didn't like.  Averaged more turnovers than assists -- as a senior.  Yet you have more negative comments about Lovett in a handful of games.  He is a young player that will need time to develop, as almost all young players do.  We will need him to score, just like Ponds, when others aren't capable of doing so.  And he'll be doing it most of the year against really good competition.  Be happy we have him because he is one of the best young PGs the school has had in a long, long time.

I also said Lovett is a top 5 pg in the big east

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 05:13:48 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 05:10:37 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 04:48:39 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 04:19:30 PM

You seem down on Lovett more than most, Baldi, even acknowledging he is a good player ("sprained elbow" comment etc).  Yes, he needs to work on being a floor general, getting others involved and defense, in addition to getting buckets.  But he is only a handful of games into his freshman year and, given that context, I am thrilled with his play thus far.  As a fellow Iona fan, you often posted glowing remarks about MoMo Jones, a shoot-first PG who averaged more turnovers than assists as a SENIOR and put up (estimating) probably 25 shots a game, playing no defense (and I'm a MoMo fan).  So I don't get the criticism of Lovett to date.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 02:04:11 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:57:51 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:53:01 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:48:23 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:26:29 PM

Now is the time to tinker with lineups. Not in big East play. See who works better together against these scrub teams

Ponds and Lovett are the top 2 players on the team. Noone is saying otherwise

Best players play. Tinker with everyone else.
30 plus for Ponds and Lovett
Ahmed should play however many minutes he is not in foul trouble.
Mussini 15
Don't care about anyone else

There's not much else to tinker with but our guards. We need 1 of these guys on the court at all times. They can both start down the road, but let's see who works better with Ellison and who works better with Mussini.

Who cares? Ellison probably won't be here next year and Mussini will have the same role, 15 minutes or so.

I'd rather be somewhat competitive in the Big East than beat Fordham  and LIU by 30. Work sht out out now.

Momo was the Pg?

Was Lovett allowed to practice with the team last year?

Lovett can get all the buckets he wants, and I'm sure he will.  Fantastic. What place we finishing in in the Big East? The responsibility always falls on the PG. Win or lose

Yet Mussini was the point guard (until he was benched for Ellison) on the worst Saint John's team ever and you seem to like him just fine.

And the teams leading returning scorer

Point guard's job to make others better. Last year everyone stunk. I blame Mussini.

Who is Lovett making better? Ponds? Ahmed?

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 05:16:57 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 05:13:48 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 05:10:37 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 04:48:39 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 04:19:30 PM

You seem down on Lovett more than most, Baldi, even acknowledging he is a good player ("sprained elbow" comment etc).  Yes, he needs to work on being a floor general, getting others involved and defense, in addition to getting buckets.  But he is only a handful of games into his freshman year and, given that context, I am thrilled with his play thus far.  As a fellow Iona fan, you often posted glowing remarks about MoMo Jones, a shoot-first PG who averaged more turnovers than assists as a SENIOR and put up (estimating) probably 25 shots a game, playing no defense (and I'm a MoMo fan).  So I don't get the criticism of Lovett to date.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 02:04:11 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:57:51 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:53:01 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:48:23 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:26:29 PM

Now is the time to tinker with lineups. Not in big East play. See who works better together against these scrub teams

Ponds and Lovett are the top 2 players on the team. Noone is saying otherwise

Best players play. Tinker with everyone else.
30 plus for Ponds and Lovett
Ahmed should play however many minutes he is not in foul trouble.
Mussini 15
Don't care about anyone else

There's not much else to tinker with but our guards. We need 1 of these guys on the court at all times. They can both start down the road, but let's see who works better with Ellison and who works better with Mussini.

Who cares? Ellison probably won't be here next year and Mussini will have the same role, 15 minutes or so.

I'd rather be somewhat competitive in the Big East than beat Fordham  and LIU by 30. Work sht out out now.

Momo was the Pg?

Was Lovett allowed to practice with the team last year?

Lovett can get all the buckets he wants, and I'm sure he will.  Fantastic. What place we finishing in in the Big East? The responsibility always falls on the PG. Win or lose

Yet Mussini was the point guard (until he was benched for Ellison) on the worst Saint John's team ever and you seem to like him just fine.

And the teams leading returning scorer

Point guard's job to make others better. Last year everyone stunk. I blame Mussini.

Who is Lovett making better? Ponds? Ahmed?

Mussini actually. Ponds does not need anyone to make him better.
Only the lord our savior could make some of the other guys better and he is busy

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 05:19:49 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 05:16:57 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 05:13:48 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 05:10:37 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 04:48:39 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 04:19:30 PM

You seem down on Lovett more than most, Baldi, even acknowledging he is a good player ("sprained elbow" comment etc).  Yes, he needs to work on being a floor general, getting others involved and defense, in addition to getting buckets.  But he is only a handful of games into his freshman year and, given that context, I am thrilled with his play thus far.  As a fellow Iona fan, you often posted glowing remarks about MoMo Jones, a shoot-first PG who averaged more turnovers than assists as a SENIOR and put up (estimating) probably 25 shots a game, playing no defense (and I'm a MoMo fan).  So I don't get the criticism of Lovett to date.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 02:04:11 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:57:51 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:53:01 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:48:23 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:26:29 PM

Now is the time to tinker with lineups. Not in big East play. See who works better together against these scrub teams

Ponds and Lovett are the top 2 players on the team. Noone is saying otherwise

Best players play. Tinker with everyone else.
30 plus for Ponds and Lovett
Ahmed should play however many minutes he is not in foul trouble.
Mussini 15
Don't care about anyone else

There's not much else to tinker with but our guards. We need 1 of these guys on the court at all times. They can both start down the road, but let's see who works better with Ellison and who works better with Mussini.

Who cares? Ellison probably won't be here next year and Mussini will have the same role, 15 minutes or so.

I'd rather be somewhat competitive in the Big East than beat Fordham  and LIU by 30. Work sht out out now.

Momo was the Pg?

Was Lovett allowed to practice with the team last year?

Lovett can get all the buckets he wants, and I'm sure he will.  Fantastic. What place we finishing in in the Big East? The responsibility always falls on the PG. Win or lose

Yet Mussini was the point guard (until he was benched for Ellison) on the worst Saint John's team ever and you seem to like him just fine.

And the teams leading returning scorer

Point guard's job to make others better. Last year everyone stunk. I blame Mussini.

Who is Lovett making better? Ponds? Ahmed?

Mussini actually. Ponds does not need anyone to make him better.
Only the lord our savior could make some of the other guys better and he is busy

So like I was saying earlier. Maybe Lovett and Mussini should get some minutes together?

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 05:25:46 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 05:19:49 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 05:16:57 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 05:13:48 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 05:10:37 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 04:48:39 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 04:19:30 PM

You seem down on Lovett more than most, Baldi, even acknowledging he is a good player ("sprained elbow" comment etc).  Yes, he needs to work on being a floor general, getting others involved and defense, in addition to getting buckets.  But he is only a handful of games into his freshman year and, given that context, I am thrilled with his play thus far.  As a fellow Iona fan, you often posted glowing remarks about MoMo Jones, a shoot-first PG who averaged more turnovers than assists as a SENIOR and put up (estimating) probably 25 shots a game, playing no defense (and I'm a MoMo fan).  So I don't get the criticism of Lovett to date.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 02:04:11 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:57:51 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:53:01 PM

Quote from: we are sju on December 06, 2016, 01:48:23 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on December 06, 2016, 01:26:29 PM

Now is the time to tinker with lineups. Not in big East play. See who works better together against these scrub teams

Ponds and Lovett are the top 2 players on the team. Noone is saying otherwise

Best players play. Tinker with everyone else.
30 plus for Ponds and Lovett
Ahmed should play however many minutes he is not in foul trouble.
Mussini 15
Don't care about anyone else

There's not much else to tinker with but our guards. We need 1 of these guys on the court at all times. They can both start down the road, but let's see who works better with Ellison and who works better with Mussini.

Who cares? Ellison probably won't be here next year and Mussini will have the same role, 15 minutes or so.

I'd rather be somewhat competitive in the Big East than beat Fordham  and LIU by 30. Work sht out out now.

Momo was the Pg?

Was Lovett allowed to practice with the team last year?

Lovett can get all the buckets he wants, and I'm sure he will.  Fantastic. What place we finishing in in the Big East? The responsibility always falls on the PG. Win or lose

Yet Mussini was the point guard (until he was benched for Ellison) on the worst Saint John's team ever and you seem to like him just fine.

And the teams leading returning scorer

Point guard's job to make others better. Last year everyone stunk. I blame Mussini.

Who is Lovett making better? Ponds? Ahmed?

Mussini actually. Ponds does not need anyone to make him better.
Only the lord our savior could make some of the other guys better and he is busy

So like I was saying earlier. Maybe Lovett and Mussini should get some minutes together?

Ellison and Ponds did look legit, last night

Agree with you wholeheartedly that most of the time Mussini should be out there with Lovett or Ponds, playing off the ball, coming off screens or waiting for the kick out.  Only Lovett and Ponds seem to have the ability to get him regular looks so one should be with him most of the time.

Agree with you wholeheartedly that most of the time Mussini should be out there with Lovett or Ponds, playing off the ball, coming off screens or waiting for the kick out.  Only Lovett and Ponds seem to have the ability to get him regular looks so one should be with him most of the time.

Great statergy if we were playing in the big west.

I don't blame the pg play for not getting others involved so far.  Bc they've tried to feed the ball to Sima and Yakwe and the two of them can't hold on to the damn ball or finish off a play. 

Lovett and ponds have been forced to score because our two big have been playing like stiffs.   Owens has shown some brief moments of good play.  But the 3 of them (plus Freud) need to step up as the season progresses.
Not sure how much more we can expect to get from Lovett and Ponds, and even Mussini.  Ellison is what he is. 
But the 3 big plus RF are where we should look for improvement.

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 08:48:42 PM

Agree with you wholeheartedly that most of the time Mussini should be out there with Lovett or Ponds, playing off the ball, coming off screens or waiting for the kick out.  Only Lovett and Ponds seem to have the ability to get him regular looks so one should be with him most of the time.

Great statergy if we were playing in the big west.

Or the Big East.  Or the NBA.

Quote from: TONYD3 on December 06, 2016, 08:55:50 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 08:48:42 PM

Agree with you wholeheartedly that most of the time Mussini should be out there with Lovett or Ponds, playing off the ball, coming off screens or waiting for the kick out.  Only Lovett and Ponds seem to have the ability to get him regular looks so one should be with him most of the time.

Great statergy if we were playing in the big west.

Or the Big East.  Or the NBA.

Great idea. That lineup could score 80 points a game. But give up 130!

Quote from: LoganK on December 07, 2016, 09:12:37 AM

Quote from: TONYD3 on December 06, 2016, 08:55:50 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 08:48:42 PM

Agree with you wholeheartedly that most of the time Mussini should be out there with Lovett or Ponds, playing off the ball, coming off screens or waiting for the kick out.  Only Lovett and Ponds seem to have the ability to get him regular looks so one should be with him most of the time.

Great statergy if we were playing in the big west.

Or the Big East.  Or the NBA.

Great idea. That lineup could score 80 points a game. But give up 130!

I don't agree with your assessment that playing a 3-point specialist for 15 minutes with a guard who can get him open looks will result in giving up 130 pts.

Is Ellison injured?

I was rewatching the game, and I couldnt help noticing that Ellison was shying away from any sort of contact.  Be it on defense or on offense. He gave anyone driving a good 5 feet of room and wouldnt body anyone up.

Yea I don't think TONYD understood my post.  I wasn't advocating for Rico to play 35 minutes a game.  I was saying that when he plays, it makes sense to maximize his value by giving him minutes with the 2 guys who can get him open looks.  If Mussini isn't hitting jump shots, he doesn't seem to have much of a role.  When he is making shots, it gives us another threat that we desperately need given the lack of production on the interior.

Quote from: TONYD3 on December 07, 2016, 09:48:47 AM

Quote from: LoganK on December 07, 2016, 09:12:37 AM

Quote from: TONYD3 on December 06, 2016, 08:55:50 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 08:48:42 PM

Agree with you wholeheartedly that most of the time Mussini should be out there with Lovett or Ponds, playing off the ball, coming off screens or waiting for the kick out.  Only Lovett and Ponds seem to have the ability to get him regular looks so one should be with him most of the time.

Great statergy if we were playing in the big west.

Or the Big East.  Or the NBA.

Great idea. That lineup could score 80 points a game. But give up 130!

I don't agree with your assessment that playing a 3-point specialist for 15 minutes with a guard who can get him open looks will result in giving up 130 pts.

Quote from: TONYD3 on December 07, 2016, 09:48:47 AM

Quote from: LoganK on December 07, 2016, 09:12:37 AM

Quote from: TONYD3 on December 06, 2016, 08:55:50 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 08:48:42 PM

Agree with you wholeheartedly that most of the time Mussini should be out there with Lovett or Ponds, playing off the ball, coming off screens or waiting for the kick out.  Only Lovett and Ponds seem to have the ability to get him regular looks so one should be with him most of the time.

Great statergy if we were playing in the big west.

Or the Big East.  Or the NBA.

Great idea. That lineup could score 80 points a game. But give up 130!

I don't agree with your assessment that playing a 3-point specialist for 15 minutes with a guard who can get him open looks will result in giving up 130 pts.

Mussini has been one of our most solid defenders this year -- I won't argue that is probably not a good sign sign, but it is true.

My fault guys. I definitely misunderstood. I agree it could work in the right situations.

Quote from: LoganK on December 07, 2016, 11:18:58 AM

Quote from: TONYD3 on December 07, 2016, 09:48:47 AM

Quote from: LoganK on December 07, 2016, 09:12:37 AM

Quote from: TONYD3 on December 06, 2016, 08:55:50 PM

Quote from: prjohnnies on December 06, 2016, 08:48:42 PM

Agree with you wholeheartedly that most of the time Mussini should be out there with Lovett or Ponds, playing off the ball, coming off screens or waiting for the kick out.  Only Lovett and Ponds seem to have the ability to get him regular looks so one should be with him most of the time.

Great statergy if we were playing in the big west.

Or the Big East.  Or the NBA.

Great idea. That lineup could score 80 points a game. But give up 130!

I don't agree with your assessment that playing a 3-point specialist for 15 minutes with a guard who can get him open looks will result in giving up 130 pts.

Mussini has been one of our most solid defenders this year -- I won't argue that is probably not a good sign sign, but it is true.

And sadly I agree with this.