Getting to Know the Johnnies [UCHuskies.com]

St.John’s at UConn, Weds Jan 20th, 7PM ET – XL Center, TV : WCTX, SNY

St. John’s (12-5, 2-3) comes into this one winners of two straight, with a nice win over Cincinnati, and a 20 point win over DePaul. The Johnnies started the season well enough, going 9-1 with their only blemish a 9 point loss to Duke. Amongst the early season cupcakes was a solid 55-48 win over Temple, but since the promising beginning, it’s been a roller-coaster ride…3-4 in last 7 games with losses to Cornell, Georgetown, Providence and Louisville.

St. John’s doesn’t score much, their 68.2 ppg ranks them 13th in the Big East, but they are scoring even less in Big East play. Through 5 games St. John’s is averaging just 61 points per game…they have been held below 60 points three times. They are shooting just .431 froom the field, only Providence, Rutgers and DePaul are worse. They shoot free throws even worse than the Huskies…which is hard to imagine…15th in the league at .629.

They are, however, only allowing 62.6 ppg, which is 4th in the conference. They have continued to play solid defense in Big East play as well, allowing just 62.8 ppg. They held Cincinnati to 50 points and DePaul to 47. Their field goal percent defense is a respectable 7th, allowing opponents to score at a .401 clip.

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Mason Jr was left out. He needs to be a difference maker for us.
I want to see him come alive tonight.

Mason Jr was left out. He needs to be a difference maker for us.
I want to see him come alive tonight.

Mase Jr. and Burrell were left out.  I think these two are the keys to the game.  If they play well we have a chance to win the game, if they are off or buried on the bench then we have no chance.

Quote from: Poison on January 20, 2010, 09:57:27 AM

Mason Jr was left out. He needs to be a difference maker for us.
I want to see him come alive tonight.

Mase Jr. and Burrell were left out.  I think these two are the keys to the game.  If they play well we have a chance to win the game, if they are off or buried on the bench then we have no chance.

Exactly. DJ Kennedy has been very good, but he's a great role player on a team that dances. Not a leading scorer every game. Mason, Burrell and Hardy need to take on that role.

Quote from: kjd01067 on January 20, 2010, 10:43:45 AM

Quote from: Poison on January 20, 2010, 09:57:27 AM

Mason Jr was left out. He needs to be a difference maker for us.
I want to see him come alive tonight.

Mase Jr. and Burrell were left out.  I think these two are the keys to the game.  If they play well we have a chance to win the game, if they are off or buried on the bench then we have no chance.

Exactly. DJ Kennedy has been very good, but he's a great role player on a team that dances. Not a leading scorer every game. Mason, Burrell and Hardy need to take on that role.

so, you're saying dj (our most talented player by far) shouldnt be our leading scorer every night, instead, mason (who is a shell of his former self), Burrell (who might be the biggest vagina ever in a st johns uniform) and hardy (pretty much a pure shooter), should be carrying us? dude, seriously?

Quote from: Poison on January 20, 2010, 03:25:53 PM

Quote from: kjd01067 on January 20, 2010, 10:43:45 AM

Quote from: Poison on January 20, 2010, 09:57:27 AM

Mason Jr was left out. He needs to be a difference maker for us.
I want to see him come alive tonight.

Mase Jr. and Burrell were left out.  I think these two are the keys to the game.  If they play well we have a chance to win the game, if they are off or buried on the bench then we have no chance.

Exactly. DJ Kennedy has been very good, but he's a great role player on a team that dances. Not a leading scorer every game. Mason, Burrell and Hardy need to take on that role.

so, you're saying dj (our most talented player by far) shouldnt be our leading scorer every night, instead, mason (who is a shell of his former self), Burrell (who might be the biggest vagina ever in a st johns uniform) and hardy (pretty much a pure shooter), should be carrying us? dude, seriously?

A little extreme in describing our guys, don't you think?

I think Mase is rusty and who wouldn't be?

Burrell is a product of overhype but I agree he can do better than he has but I'm not sure that all falls on his shoulders.

Hardy is definitely more than just a "shooter"

i dont think i am being too harsh...burrell has not played with any intensity since his freshmen year and shows no improvement either...he deserves a nice spot on the bench, not major minutes...hardy can penetrate but not regularly against tough big east teams, which is more than half the conference, and mason, while playing well, is in fact a shell of his former self...which isnt his fault, its expected, so im not bashing him, but it still doesnt change the facts...dj needs to be getting the bulk of the shots, and horne needs to figure out whats wrong with himself this year, and get back to what he was doing last year...and idc how raw he is, or what problems he's had in the past, play coker more...ALOT more

i dont think i am being too harsh...burrell has not played with any intensity since his freshmen year and shows no improvement either...he deserves a nice spot on the bench, not major minutes...hardy can penetrate but not regularly against tough big east teams, which is more than half the conference, and mason, while playing well, is in fact a shell of his former self...which isnt his fault, its expected, so im not bashing him, but it still doesnt change the facts...dj needs to be getting the bulk of the shots, and horne needs to figure out whats wrong with himself this year, and get back to what he was doing last year...and idc how raw he is, or what problems he's had in the past, play coker more...ALOT more

We simply disagree then.

Although I think we can get more out of Burrell especially on the boards he's shown improvement in his post up game, his range on his jumper, his knowledge of knowing his defender playing him too closely on the perimeter pumping and driving. He still looks unpolished at times but I do chalk some of his mistakes to coaching. I don't think he gets enough looks offensively nor do I think he gets enough time out on the floor. He gets yanked very quickly when he commits a foul (he does foul at an alarmingly high rate though). This season he's blocked more shots as well. I just think he gets unfairly criticized at times. Does he deserve some of the criticism? Yes, he does but sometimes no.

As for Hardy, he has definitely shown me that he's a "scorer" and not a "shooter" There is a big difference in my eyes. He shows great knowledge of taking advantage of his defender over committing. He definitely likes to shoot first drive second but he never over shoots and will take it to the hole when its there. He also does a nice job in transition of turning it up a gear and getting to the hole.

Mason has sat out a year. Literally a whole year. He might be a former shell of himself or he might not. I think its way too early to make that call. He's played solid minutes and hasn't over exerted himself offensively. He's fit in which was something everyone was concerned about.