Game 7: Georgia Tech (Hoophall Miami Invitational)

That’s an interesting take. Can you tell me what they were trying to do on offense and ultimately the adjustments that were made?

Plus our players are really good and theirs suck. If the teams skill levels were close, they win by 20

I wouldn't presume the staff "pissed" his father off.  TO's Dad is extremely vocal on social media about rooting for SJU and the staff in particular.  More likely, is that the Dad envisioned a scenario in which our offense would be dominated by guard/wing play, and that his son would essentially split time with Keita who he'd been practicing against all year.  TO would be perfect for this team, but I have no doubt he was sold by Texas Tech on plenty of available PT plus the ability to play how his Dad wants Tariq to play -- with the freedom to jack jump shots, be more of a focal point on offense, etc. 

The irony is that TO seems to be used thus far exactly how he was used at SJU.  But at this point what options does he have and the team is winning so no one can complain. 

We could really use Owens. He’s actually exactly what we need. The staff must have really pissed his father off.

We’ve got 3 freshman that aren’t ready to play D1 ball at any level. This is a shame because they’re going to play anyway.

That’s an interesting take. Can you tell me what they were trying to do on offense and ultimately the adjustments that were made?

I’m talking about giving coaches credit for one thing and denying it to another. People are saying pastner went to a 1-3-1 and mullin didn’t know what to do. They aren’t mentioning that they had already took the 1-3-1 off cause we were beating it. During that 14-0 stretch of theirs We missed open shots as well as took some bad ones, it wasn’t some miraculous job by pastner or some hackjob by mullin, just a college basketball game. Just a couple adjustment I saw during the game were taking Simon off the perimeter on offense and applying the 1-2-2 full court pressure on defense.

Too many people will have you believe that when another team goes on a run it is because theyre coach is out dueling mullin and is proof to what good coaching can do. likewise when our team goes on a run it’s only proof of what better players can do.

I’m not trying to tell you he is a good coach I’m not even trying to tell you he’s above average. But to look at the team and the wins they’ve managed to get in all different types of ways and to be at 7-0 for the first time in 20 years and to still want to fight so hard just to give him any bit of credit at all is strange.

Too many people will have you believe that when another team goes on a run it is because theyre coach is out dueling mullin and is proof to what good coaching can do. likewise when our team goes on a run it’s only proof of what better players can do.

I’m not trying to tell you he is a good coach I’m not even trying to tell you he’s above average. But to look at the team and the wins they’ve managed to get in all different types of ways and to be at 7-0 for the first time in 20 years and to still want to fight so hard just to give him any bit of credit at all is strange.

Winning in different ways? In 3 wins vs Cal, VCU and GT it was Ponds with great performances pulling the fat out of the fire for Mullin. We have some talented offensive players but they must create their own offense and so far only SP seems to be really good at it.

Plus our players are really good and theirs suck. If the teams skill levels were close, they win by 20

We missed two dozen wide open shots, a handful of front-ends, and didn't get a call in our favor the whole first half or this game would have been a blowout in our favor.  You're such a negative troll. Good luck to the next team that tries to run a 1-3-1 on us when we have even an average shooting night.  That's Clark and Figueroa corner pocket all night long. 

Winning in different ways? In 3 wins vs Cal, VCU and GT it was Ponds with great performances pulling the fat out of the fire for Mullin. We have some talented offensive players but they must create their own offense and so far only SP seems to be really good at it.

Ponds was terrific, but we won this game on the offensive glass and with a second half defensive effort. We overwhelmed them on the glass and that's the first time I've seen a St. John's team do that since Jarvis. Nobody knocked Calhoun when Kemba did what he did.  Nobody knocked Jay Wright when he let Brunson and Archie freelance.  Why do so many people try to steal Mullin's shine when we win?  We're not some world beater.  We haven't even come close to gelling as a team. It's not like we won 25 or even 20 games last year.  This roster has NEVER been good yet.

Pastner flatout sucked tonight coaching.  He left the zone at the wrong time, he didn't foul for some bizarre reason with a minute left down 5.  He didn't foul Simon after he badly missed two free throws the possession before.  He was awful.  Mullin wasn't. 

I'm really starting to get pissed off with you negative trolls. We have so much more room to improve. I see double teams coming a step late resulting in layups--those will come faster with time.  I see help communication errors and difficulty with screens which should improve.  I see two offensive superstars trying to learn when to take over and when to defer.  I see a kid transitioning to forward from PG who is destroying teams in the paint when he's there. There's a JUCO transfer still trying to figure out high D1 ball and where he fits in as the third option. Dixon was completely lost on defense a week ago and now he's showing signs of improvement. And we have a 6'9 240 lb center with Final Four experience a few weeks away to stop bigs from getting comfortable and our not-so-bigs from getting in foul trouble. 

The GT run was just a part of the ebbs and flows of basketball. Thankfully the intermission helped stop the bleeding. The first 10-12 minutes of the game dictated who was the better team. We had instances where we could've gone up 10+ points and didn't deliver. GT took advantage, went to their bigs and ran with it to the half. We made the necessary adjustments, the superior talents shined through and we got another tough W.

Coaching was apart of the game but the players settled it all. We were the better team and it came to fruition by the 40th minute. A 16-0 GT run was answered by a 13-0 run of our own. The turnover discrepancy won us the game, and that coils back to discipline, instruction and execution.

This team has a champion's heart. Follow through for the rest of December and let Big East play dictate who we really are. More than anything today's win assured us of a solid winning percentage until atleast the end of January at the absolute worst case scenario. We're in for a good ride, just sit back, relax and appreciate what we haven't had for the better half of a decade. WE ARE.

There is such a lack of understanding of the game of basketball in general on this thread that continues to amaze me. Let's take a look at the run that got us behind. It was 24-17 (where we were playing unselfish, high level team basketball and no one should have been complaining) GT went into a 1-3-1.

The way Mullin breaks that zone is untraditional. Most coaches use a generic 4 out set that buries guys in the corners and allows the defense to dictate where the ball goes up top by attacking the two top players with the wings of the 1-3-1. Mullin plays the top with 5 guys against it, taking the bottom man out of the zone initially and forcing the wings to guard players rather than coming up high to double. Carnesseca ran THE BEST 1-3-1 zone when Mullin was there. You don't think he understands how to break that zone? If kids miss shots, they miss shots. We missed 2 3's, a stupid layup by Simon and a layup by LJF that sat on the rim for a few seconds while GT scored 8 straight point to go up by one.

Sometimes Mullin will also play one guard up top and three across the foul line to force those top 4 players to in essence play man to man so they can't step up and trap which takes them out of the zone all together. We moved the ball great against them in that possession and LJF missed a 3. The next time down, Pnfs threw up a dumb ass floating baeeoine jumper. Meanwhile, GT scores 3 more times.

We never gave up defensively, worked our asses off doubling and trying to jump ball handlers, but GT finished and we didn't. Now we're down by 7 and it's because of 2 things; GT took good shots hit them, and St. John's took terrible shots and missed.

The fact that Mullin encourages and allows Ponds to do what he does makes him a good coach. The fact that he doesn't yank kids for making poor decisions sometimes and encourages them to keep working hard makes him a good coach. There is always a game plan and always an offensive set. There is a difference between freelancing on offense and being allowed by your coach to be creative. He lets the kids create, and that mentality will continue to improve this roster as word gets out. It is really a shame that so many of you can't just enjoy watching these kids play and watching this guy coach. The kids love him.

This team has a champion's heart.

I wonder who they get it from....?

The fact that Mullin encourages and allows Ponds to do what he does makes him a good coach. The fact that he doesn't yank kids for making poor decisions sometimes and encourages them to keep working hard makes him a good coach. There is always a game plan and always an offensive set. There is a difference between freelancing on offense and being allowed by your coach to be creative. He lets the kids create, and that mentality will continue to improve this roster as word gets out. It is really a shame that so many of you can't just enjoy watching these kids play and watching this guy coach. The kids love him.

If they're winning: Ponds

If they're losing: Mullin

They are mutually exclusive on this board. It's hilarious, this board is full of malcontents.

If they're winning: Ponds

If they're losing: Mullin

They are mutually exclusive on this board. It's hilarious, this board is full of malcontents.

I completely agree with this post.

After we went down 16, we kept three straight drives alive with offensive boards.  Two resulted in fouls on Tech, including a Simon and 1. Two possessions later we got another offensive rebound which resulted in another Tech foul, putting Ponds on the line for two with us down 11. That's how we got back in this game. 

Absolutely nobody can keep this team off the offensive glass when they want it. Go 6'9 and 6'10 all you want, somewhere on the court we will have 6'5-6'7 on a smaller player or two ready to thrown it down off a miss. That needs to be this team's identity.

Speaking of false narratives, "Mullin is a bad coach because we are bad on offense.  He lets them do whatever he wants and there's no structure."  Paraphrasing, but that seems to be a common theme. 

To this point, we have the 31st most efficient offense in the nation.  We are a very good offensive team.  Shouldn't the coaching staff get some credit for that?

Winning in different ways? In 3 wins vs Cal, VCU and GT it was Ponds with great performances pulling the fat out of the fire for Mullin. We have some talented offensive players but they must create their own offense and so far only SP seems to be really good at it.

And the blowout wins when Ponds didn’t score? Coming from behind 4 times in the second half?

I completely agree with this post.

Completely agree. I have never seen a fan base complain so much with a team starting out 7-0.  With this current roster, this is the best this team can do defensively. Sure we are outsized , but the decision to press defensively midway through the second half was a good decision by CM. We only have a five man rotation, we are limited defensively.  Offensively because we have SP, shouldn't the game plan be simple? Put the ball in his hands. Don't over complicate coaching. 9/10 HOF coaches would have planned the same gameplan.

There is such a lack of understanding of the game of basketball in general on this thread that continues to amaze me.

Consider yourself lucky: you're still new. Once the amazement wears off all that's left will be the stupid.

I wouldn't presume the staff "pissed" his father off.  TO's Dad is extremely vocal on social media about rooting for SJU and the staff in particular.  More likely, is that the Dad envisioned a scenario in which our offense would be dominated by guard/wing play, and that his son would essentially split time with Keita who he'd been practicing against all year.  TO would be perfect for this team, but I have no doubt he was sold by Texas Tech on plenty of available PT plus the ability to play how his Dad wants Tariq to play -- with the freedom to jack jump shots, be more of a focal point on offense, etc. 

The irony is that TO seems to be used thus far exactly how he was used at SJU.  But at this point what options does he have and the team is winning so no one can complain. 

I looked up the TO slash the other day.

20 min/7 pts/4 reb/2.5 blocks per game.

Too much negative sentiment about Chris Mullin. Playing with no big men is a coaching problem, which Chris and his staff mastered by an aggressive defense and defensive rebounding positioning. Remember Chris and Mitch were on Don Nelson's Warriors, who won many a game without big men, relying on Richmond, Hardaway, and Mullin.