No, this is not the name of a new show on Nickelodeon. JB & Arnold are the keys for the 2010/2011 SJU basketball team. If the team has any hope of ending their 156 year postseason drought these two players have to play significantly better than they have throughout their career. Outside of DJ who HAS to be a given, every other player on this years team pretty much has a similar player that can carry the load if he struggles. If Evans struggles you still have Brownlee and vise verse. Horne/Hardy same thing. Anything you get out of Coker/Polee/Roberts is a plus. This is not the case for JB & Arnold.
Now there has been 3,167,223 JB posts over the last 3 years spanning 3 boards. Almost everything that could be said has been. Well here is his chance to wipe it all away. He finally has a real basketball coach and is out of excuses. Time to step up and show he is not the most over hyped recruit in school's history. JB needs to be the best low post player on the team, because he simply is the only person qualified. He does not have to put up Berry numbers, but Lamont Hamilton numbers or those resembling his Frosh year are a must. 11 and 6 is not too much to ask of someone with his physical gifts. If he can't do it we will not make the tourney! Even if every other guy on the team plays above their head JB is the only potential ALL BE performer on the team outside of DJ.
As for Arnold. NO ONE was looking more forward to the Boothe era than me. Eugene Lawrence was my least favorite SJU player of all time. Geno basically redefined everything I loved about the point guard position in a really bad way. Up until the last month of last season the best thing you could say about Arnold was that he was not Geno. His outside shot was terrible which you could live with, except he offered no dribble penetration and was a surprisingly bad defender. Well he too gets a new lease by getting a real coach. Again I am not asking him to pull a David Cain, just be able to penetrate and dish, which would help JB tremendously BTW and play solid D and occasionally knock down some wide open shots. Basically continue the way he played the last month of last season.
In order for us to be playing real games in March JB & Arnold need to step up. If one or both can't I don't see us finally enjoying Selection Sunday for the first time in 156 years. My prediction is JB steps up and goes for 11 and 6 and plays solid basketball. Unfortunately not as optimistic about Boothe.