St Johns vs Wagner - 11/30

Earlington has great feel for the game. Always in the right spot.

Agree.  Only man who consistently sets screens and loves to crash the boards.   His production per minute is the best on the team. 

How much longer can you keep rutherford in the starting lineup??  Dunn is superior in every aspect of the game.

I am hoping the backcourt rutherford had that got him pulled was the nail in the coffin.

Get dunn in there as the starting pg.

Dunn is a better finisher than Rutherford, and overall, he’s a better scorer. Running the offense is a different story. Dunn isn’t cut out for running the offense.

I’m with coach on this one. We have use Rutherford. There really isn’t a choice.

Effort needs to be more consistent.  We played them even in the 2nd half which is a disgrace.  Get them down, then bury them.  Great bench development this game but Duke needs more minutes.  His line in 12 minutes was great.

Effort needs to be more consistent.  We played them even in the 2nd half which is a disgrace.  Get them down, then bury them.  Great bench development this game but Duke needs more minutes.  His line in 12 minutes was great.

Totally agree. Our defense let them off easy for 3-4 minute spurts in both halves. Coach called it out in the presser after the game.

Effort needs to be more consistent.  We played them even in the 2nd half which is a disgrace.  Get them down, then bury them.  Great bench development this game but Duke needs more minutes.  His line in 12 minutes was great.

I agree.  The duke needs alot more minutes.  Hes the best garbage man in the game and does all the little things you need to do.

Thoughts on the game:

Heron is playing a different game than everyone else. Today, his shots fell, but he played defense like it was his first day. Shades of Marvin Clark.

Figueroa didn’t hit a shot until late in the second half, but he still did a lot to help his team win, because he’s a team player.

Rutherford played really well today, but for some reason, he only played 19 minutes. He has to be out there more.

Williams made some nice hustle plays. When dribbling and shooting aren’t involved, he can do a lot to help the team win games.

Champagnie continues to amaze me.
He’s got a pretty good jumper. We’re seeing more and more of what he can do.

Roberts had another terrific game. 12 and 9 and no fouls!

Dunn scored off the bench. He brought it up, but he ran absolutely nothing for anyone else. This crap works against Wagner. West Virginia is going to eat him alive if he tries to take on the entire team at once.

Speaking of, I saw Earlington do this in the second half once. He’s strong enough to.

Sears came really close to scoring. I think everyone can apologize to Dave for saying that if he ever sees real minutes, we are big trouble. We certainly would be.

Im not understanding the dunn hate.  A pg that can score is a good thing.

Rutherford is allergic to the basket.  He needs to be on the bench to start and he can run the 2nd unit.

Looks like LJ will be back next year.  That would be huge.

Looks like LJ will be back next year.  That would be huge.

It’s funny I wrote on Redmen.com earlier that LJs a great college player, but does not look like an NBA player at this time. Of course who knows w these kids. Regarding Dunn ,posters aren’t hating him, but are arguing he may not be the best pg.

Im not understanding the dunn hate.  A pg that can score is a good thing.

Rutherford is allergic to the basket.  He needs to be on the bench to start and he can run the 2nd unit.

I certainly don’t hate Dunn, or even dislike him. He’s not comfortable running the offense because he’s not a point guard. The team is taken out of the game with a lead guard that only looks to score. And Dunn can score. We want him to take open threes and to keep driving.

Rutherford isn’t here to score. If he’s playing the point, and he’s setting up others, he’s doing all we should ask of him. We have no other option after losing McGriff.

Williams can’t put the ball on the floor right now. IDK if this dribbling challenges are because of his back injury.

St John's Wagner recap http://bigeastboards.com

Looks like LJ will be back next year.  That would be huge.

Yeah no. Going through the motions.

How much longer can you keep Bobby Kelly in the starting lineup??  Kevin Williams is superior in every aspect of the game.

Agree

Sears came really close to scoring. I think everyone can apologize to Dave for saying that if he ever sees real minutes, we are big trouble. We certainly would be.

Appreciate that. He's good practice depth and there will be a time where we will need him to spill minutes to eat space when guys are in foul trouble but the expectation should be for him to be recruited over and transfer.

Im not understanding the dunn hate.  A pg that can score is a good thing.

Rutherford is allergic to the basket.  He needs to be on the bench to start and he can run the 2nd unit.

I don't think he is a PG. He's a capable ball handler who can score off the bounce.

Rutherford is a distributor by default because he can't shoot or score. I do think he's good at pushing pace and defensively he plays hard. He's not a very good player but at times he might be good option to play along side of LJ + Heron rather than Dunn + those guys simply due to Dunn being ball dominant.

He has two years remaining, including this one, right?  Why transfer?  Why not be a "depth big" off the bench that perhaps gives minutes against some of the bigger and more rugged front lines.  Every roster needs guys like that and he certainly seems more capable than the Delarosa's, Amar or playing a 6'4 Trimble against 6'9 power forwards.  We could have used Sears last year in a half dozen losses and if having a semi-capable big body turns even one of those into a W we are in the field without having to sweat out March Madness and end up in a play-in game.

Appreciate that. He's good practice depth and there will be a time where we will need him to spill minutes to eat space when guys are in foul trouble but the expectation should be for him to be recruited over and transfer.

Have to credit the staff for their deployment and development of Champagnie. He looks like a different player and he was never a full time 4 in high school. His commitment to rebounding and confidence putting the ball up is truly remarkable.

Roberts looks like best prospect on the roster right now which is something I didn't think I'd say 6 months ago. He had flashes last year but he looks so much more confident and comfortable this season.

Really looking forward to adding Steere to this mix

He has two years remaining, including this one, right?  Why transfer?  Why not be a "depth big" off the bench that perhaps gives minutes against some of the bigger and more rugged front lines.  Every roster needs guys like that and he certainly seems more capable than the Delarosa's, Amar or playing a 6'4 Trimble against 6'9 power forwards.  We could have used Sears last year in a half dozen losses and if having a semi-capable big body turns even one of those into a W we are in the field without having to sweat out March Madness and end up in a play-in game.

Good point. I thought he had 3 years left but I think you're right only 2.

Considering we'll have Steere, Roberts, Champagnie, and Moore next year I think we are plenty good on depth. We can keep him but no harm in losing him either.

I'd also be concerned about our scholarship balance being too unbalanced to expire in 2022. I'm hopeful they're start to address this.

Yeah no. Going through the motions.

Trust the process

Im not understanding the dunn hate.  A pg that can score is a good thing.

Rutherford is allergic to the basket.  He needs to be on the bench to start and he can run the 2nd unit.

Dunn is a PG. This is St. John’s where every PG that isn’t amazing gets destroyed.

With that in mind, Rutherford sucks by any standard. He’s awful. Most of our fans are stupid and don’t understand the level of competition. “He played great today. He needs more minutes.” No,  Rutherford played for Wagner last year and has three years at or slightly above this level of competition. He should do well against these schleps as a senior. Do it against Nova and we’ll talk.

Yeah no. Going through the motions.

Well the NBA won’t be the option some of us worried about in the preseason. So either he takes a shitload of credits and becomes a grad transfer or he plays internationally.