After 10 Games

I know everyone thinks the schedule is soft and in large it hasn't been gauntlet but after 10 games you should be seeing trends and identity in this team. What's something(s) you've noticed about this team after 10 games?

I'll start by saying this team does't panic. I think this is a reflection of Mullin's calm unwavering demeanor coming out in his players. Whether we're down, game is tight, or we're up big it seems like guys play their games and aren't afraid to take shots or unfazed if they miss shots.

Most everybody is looking to move the ball, especially getting it up the court off turnovers/rebounds. Also run the break very well.

We go as far as Ponds can take us. Without Ponds, we are 6-4 at best with our “cupcake” schedule.

The Good

-Shamorie Ponds. He’s the goods.

-Everyone can shoot. First time I’ve ever seen a St.John’s team that could say that. It used to be that no one coujd shoot, so this is refreshing.

-This is an unselfish group of players

-I agree with Dave in regards to the team’s poise this season. They haven’t panicked in 4 close games.

-We can really score from all over the court. Would love to see more post up moves from Simon, but Heron has an impressive post up game.

-Figueroa has exceeded all of our expectations. He plays like a senior. It’s highly unusual for a Juco to have such a refined all around game from day one.

-Rebounding. Heron, Figueroa, Simon and even Clark have worked to make up for the loss of Keita.

The Needs Improvement

-We don’t play hard in the first half of games. We don’t close out on shooters and we don’t box out, except for Heron. He does.

-We failed to get the freshman involved enough to be counted on. The result of taking it easy for too long means we can’t let the freshman learn because we still need the starters to win the game. Hopefully, they’ll make progress in practice and we’ll be able to count on them for small roles during the BE season.

-That said, Mullin has been clear that the freshman aren’t ready and from the little we’ve seen of them, it’s obvious he’s right. Williams will help sooner than the big men, but he’s pretty raw, too.

-I don’t believe this has been mentioned before, so I expect this point will take everyone by surprise, but our schedule wasn’t particularly challenging. Seton Hall has been battled tested several times compared to our zero times, so Saturday the 29th could be a rude awakening should we come out again with this country club defense.

-I’m thrilled to have Heron. He’s not as comfortable with his teammates as Ponds, Simon and Clark are w each other. Several times during each game he plays as if he’s the only guy on offense. To his credit, he’s often left with the same situation on defense. Like in the G Tech game where he guarded a guy twice his size.

-Shamorie Ponds. His ability is incredible, but he needs to stay under control. Picking up technical fouls for being vulgar or insulting to the refs is not what a leader does. He has to show the NBA that he’s not gonna lose it every time something doesn’t go his way.

-LJF and Heron were perfect additions to the team. They seamlessly have fit in and are both productive on a nightly basis.

-The team likes playing together, they have the best chemistry of Mullin's tenure. Ball movement is very good.

-Their will to win is their biggest strength. Soft schedule or not, they mounted huge comebacks in BK/Miami and have put away every cupcake in their path when scores were tight. If you think this team is going to fail in the Big East you're going to be sorely mistaken.

Tough to say as a team as still very much work in progress especially because with the keita thing and the competition plus the one game we looked dominant ( Rutgers ) I didnt see.

Individual players Ponds All World. Fig much better than I expected. Heron has looked great then other times pretty good. Clark has struggled IMO and I think that has more to do with him playing out of position. I thought Simon would be even better but I'm not worried I think he is just trying to figure out how to fit in with all the new pieces. Dixon maybe I was expecting too much but that's because someone had told some of us he was killing it in practice this past year. But I'm not disappointed because look who he is behind right now.

The only thing I'd say it I was hoping for more from the true freshman  ( wasn't expecting anything from Marcellus this year ) just I was hoping for more production and time from Williams and Roberts.

Lots of new pieces with 2 key players ( Heron and Fig ) and with Keita going down with the injury I'm not wowed but I still think we are going to wreck teams in conference play ( although I expect an average to slow start first 4 or 5 games ) but I think the end of the schedule is very favorable to us to put us on a run

-LJF and Heron were perfect additions to the team. They seamlessly have fit in and are both productive on a nightly basis.

-The team likes playing together, they have the best chemistry of Mullin's tenure. Ball movement is very good.

-Their will to win is their biggest strength. Soft schedule or not, they mounted huge comebacks in BK/Miami and have put away every cupcake in their path when scores were tight. If you think this team is going to fail in the Big East you're going to be sorely mistaken.

I too put away every cupcake in my path but all I get is grief for it! Go figure.

I think a big reason they don't panic is because of Ponds. HE doesn't panic and they know they can rely on him late and in close games.

LJ was an excellent addition. 3 more years of him? Sheeeeeeeeeeesh, he could be a star.

I think he'll come around but Heron had not seemed comfortable in the offense as much as we need..

 Just seems more isolated compared to Figueroa.  He gets to lane and takes his shots but he's creating it more for himself.

Just want to see him with a few standout games as BE comes.

If you told me Ponds and LJ have been playing together since elementary school I would believe you.

Heron 15 pts 6 boards and shooting 45% from 3. Scary numbers for a guy who hasn’t found his full rhythm in the offense. I think there’s more upside there and that could be one of the things that takes us to the next level.

I have to gush about ponds for a minute. His change from this year to last year has been incredible. The scoring efficiency and sharing the ball ok offense have been amazing to watch. He is the best player St. John’s has had in decades. He should be a first team all American if he keeps this up and a first round pick. He is an incredible talent and his mind for the game is catching up to his physical skill, it’s impressive to watch. Enjoy it guys

I am unfazed with the tough schedule coming up because I know Ponds has been coasting thru this entire year. At least 5-6 games, he has deferred to other players to make plays and will only shoot when we needed him to.  What a gift.

For such a skilled team, zones have really bothered them. I wonder if the staff has held something back for the early conference slate.

Still coming together as a team...these last few cupcakes were necessary. I don't think these guys will fully get it together until February.

Ponds is the best player in the country and there is no bigger weapon at the end of games.

If you told me Ponds and LJ have been playing together since elementary school I would believe you.

Their chemistry was apparent from day one. They are on the same frequency and see the court the same way...in a way Clark and especially Simon never will.

I have to gush about ponds for a minute. His change from this year to last year has been incredible. The scoring efficiency and sharing the ball ok offense have been amazing to watch. He is the best player St. John’s has had in decades. He should be a first team all American if he keeps this up and a first round pick. He is an incredible talent and his mind for the game is catching up to his physical skill, it’s impressive to watch. Enjoy it guys

I love the post but I disagree about the mental catching up to the physical. His awareness is otherworldly and we've never had a player see the court better. I'll put his vision up against anyone regardless of assist stats. He has always been a pure PG that can score.

The physicial part is what keeps him from being a lottery pick...maybe even a first rounder.

One thing that worries me about this team is foul shooting. Although the team’s 710 is better than Seton Hall.s 691, Villanova, Marquette, and Georgetown have FT average better than St. John’s.
A couple of ways to sink more foul shots:

Players, who get the foul tine in a highly contested game, sometiimes lack concetration and focus on the first shot. This nonchallance might cost two pionts on a one and one. Future conferance and tourna ment games might be decided by three points of less, so these missed foul shots could lose a game. The suggest here is to take your time on the first foul shot, take a couple dribbles, concentrate and focus
Going to ancient time,, my school lost every conferance game. The Coach was Whack Hyder. Whack insisted tat all his players shoot fouls underhanded. Underhand shots should be ar least tried by every player who is under 700 on foul shots. My suggestion is that these players in every practice take 25 shots underhanded and 25 as they usually do. If after a while the underhanded shots score more than the usual, switch to underhanded in actual games.

Whack, BTW, eventually gat 292 wins and broke the longest home court winning streak in basketball, when Georgia Tech gave Kentucky is first loss after 129 home court wins.

One thing that worries me about this team is foul shooting. Although the team’s 710 is better than Seton Hall.s 691, Villanova, Marquette, and Georgetown have FT average better than St. John’s.
A couple of ways to sink more foul shots:

Players, who get the foul tine in a highly contested game, sometiimes lack concetration and focus on the first shot. This nonchallance might cost two pionts on a one and one. Future conferance and tourna ment games might be decided by three points of less, so these missed foul shots could lose a game. The suggest here is to take your time on the first foul shot, take a couple dribbles, concentrate and focus
Going to ancient time,, my school lost every conferance game. The Coach was Whack Hyder. Whack insisted tat all his players shoot fouls underhanded. Underhand shots should be ar least tried by every player who is under 700 on foul shots. My suggestion is that these players in every practice take 25 shots underhanded and 25 as they usually do. If after a while the underhanded shots score more than the usual, switch to underhanded in actual games.

Whack, BTW, eventually gat 292 wins and broke the longest home court winning streak in basketball, when Georgia Tech gave Kentucky is first loss after 129 home court wins.

Don’t wanna get too far off topic but Malcolm Gladwell has a podcast called Revisionist History, one episode covers underhanded foul shots and why they aren’t more widely used. The soft conclusion is that they look silly and the macho men on the court would rather look good and fail than weird and succeed.

One thing that worries me about this team is foul shooting. Although the team’s 710 is better than Seton Hall.s 691, Villanova, Marquette, and Georgetown have FT average better than St. John’s.
A couple of ways to sink more foul shots:

Players, who get the foul tine in a highly contested game, sometiimes lack concetration and focus on the first shot. This nonchallance might cost two pionts on a one and one. Future conferance and tourna ment games might be decided by three points of less, so these missed foul shots could lose a game. The suggest here is to take your time on the first foul shot, take a couple dribbles, concentrate and focus
Going to ancient time,, my school lost every conferance game. The Coach was Whack Hyder. Whack insisted tat all his players shoot fouls underhanded. Underhand shots should be ar least tried by every player who is under 700 on foul shots. My suggestion is that these players in every practice take 25 shots underhanded and 25 as they usually do. If after a while the underhanded shots score more than the usual, switch to underhanded in actual games.

Whack, BTW, eventually gat 292 wins and broke the longest home court winning streak in basketball, when Georgia Tech gave Kentucky is first loss after 129 home court wins.

Our team FT shooting % is less of a problem when you consider that Ponds and Heron will be taking most of them late. Clark is good for a big guy too.

The problem is Simon. He will have to be subbed out late for Trimble going forward or he will be hacked. I don't care if the kid was 20 for 20 from the line all game, I'd expect him to miss with under two minutes in close games. He will be fouled on purpose and that will be the right decision by the opposing coach.

From Marillac
Don’t wanna get too far off topic but Malcolm Gladwell has a podcast called Revisionist History, one episode covers underhanded foul shots and why they aren’t more widely used. The soft conclusion is that they look silly and the macho men on the court would rather look good and fail than weird and succeed.
You got it right but recall Ric Barry may be the best there ever was at the foul line. And Deng Xiaoping who once said " black cat white cat, it does not matter along as the cat catches mice". In basketball underhand or one hand, it only counts went the ball goes through the hoop.