Alaska Shootout Champs!

I love how much more aggressive burrell has gotten!  It will only continue as the season goes on, and he will be key for us against bigger big east teams.

I agree with whoever said dj is the focal point of the other teams d right now.   Once other guys - like brownlee already has - start establishing themselves more, more will open up for dj, as well as hardy.  Dj seems to have struggled a little with his changing role, but he seems to be very open to it and i am confident he will still be the stat sheet filler we all know and love, whether or not he is our leading scorer. 

Our offense against the zone is a little shaky,but there is a lot more movement than there was under norm - our d will be our best offense this season. 

Quote from: boo3 on November 28, 2010, 10:36:25 AM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on November 28, 2010, 10:30:39 AM

Kennedy 1-3 with 2 points? Burrell 1-1 with 3 points?

  Every team has the same scouting report on St. john's this early in the season.  Stop DJ Kennedy!  That's what happens.  Burrell is just being Burrell.   They are buying into the team concept.

  Stith has been great.

Burrell has really bought into the system.  He looks good out there.  I expect to see his minutes go up.  It's just such a different looking roster when we sub him in for Polee--not that either is better, just soooo different.  I think that is a great thing for us.

Was too tired when the game ended to share my thoughts.  Like ASU, I had hit the wall.  our relentless pressure wore them down and when that happened, we ran them off the court.  I was quite upset when Abbott was raining threes.  Typical that one guy goes off on us over the last few years and has the game of his career BUT then absorbed what we did to the rest of the ASU team.  The PAC 10 frosh of the year fromm 2009-10, Lockett, comes in averaging 21 and we wrap him up like a Christmas gift.  Virtually all of their players scored below avg. or at it.  THat is why we could let one guy go off and still win.  the intensity was there at the end as it was at the beginning.  Looking back at the St Mary's game and coach Lavin's tactics of instant fouling in the last 2 minutes and comparing it to Sendak's passive defense down the end was quite revealing.  with us shooting 50% free throws, who knows what could have happened.  Maybe we have a more forward thinking coaching who does not throw it in until the fat lady sings.

There was a stretch where JB1 looked like he could't be guarded...

Burrell was 1 for 1 from the floor and 1 for 2 from the line for 3 points in 15 minutes. It must have been a short stretch.

Burrell played well again, he will score more as the year goes on I think as he gets more comfortable with his role. His rebounding and defense have been good. Kennedy hasnt been aggressive at all, hes only taken a few shots. We are going to need him later in the year, he has to start taking the ball to the basket. How good has Brownlee been he and Stith look like different players in our new system.

Quote from: Marillac on November 28, 2010, 10:44:29 AM

There was a stretch where JB1 looked like he could't be guarded...

Burrell was 1 for 1 from the floor and 1 for 2 from the line for 3 points in 15 minutes. It must have been a short stretch.

I commented on the statline on redmen...I was shocked it was so low, but Burrell got by his man in back-to-back possessions.  He made a nice layup on one and drew the foul after making his man look silly on the next.  He also made some good passes from the post.  He should have had a few assists, but Brownlee missed a layup after Burrell beat a double-team and laid the ball off to him baseline and the outside shooters missed some three's after Burrell passed out of the post when the defense sucked in on him.

If Burrell played so great, why just 15 mins? 3 rebs, 3 pts

  Justin Burrell,  the beaten horse that refuses to die.  Can we start another JB1 thread?

  In the game and 1/2 i've watched ( Drake and 1st half last night)  I haven't seen much outside of some nice hustle plays.  These are things he SHOULD be doing.  The days of praising for hustling on the court are gone with the Roberts era.  He'll be fine.

If Burrell played so great, why just 15 mins? 3 rebs, 3 pts

3 fouls and we went with a very small lineup to add pressure.  ASU had no legs and the staff went for blood.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on November 28, 2010, 12:32:45 PM

If Burrell played so great, why just 15 mins? 3 rebs, 3 pts

3 fouls and we went with a very small lineup to add pressure.  ASU had no legs and the staff went for blood.

So hes not 1 of the best 5?

Quote from: Marillac on November 28, 2010, 12:39:39 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on November 28, 2010, 12:32:45 PM

If Burrell played so great, why just 15 mins? 3 rebs, 3 pts

3 fouls and we went with a very small lineup to add pressure.  ASU had no legs and the staff went for blood.

So hes not 1 of the best 5?

Damn Baldi why be so controversial all the time. Burrell played well when he was in there and Lavin went with a small lineup at the end to wreak havoc on the full court press. That's not a discredit for Burrell.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on November 28, 2010, 12:42:46 PM

Quote from: Marillac on November 28, 2010, 12:39:39 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on November 28, 2010, 12:32:45 PM

If Burrell played so great, why just 15 mins? 3 rebs, 3 pts

3 fouls and we went with a very small lineup to add pressure.  ASU had no legs and the staff went for blood.

So hes not 1 of the best 5?

Damn Baldi why be so controversial all the time. Burrell played well when he was in there and Lavin went with a small lineup at the end to wreak havoc on the full court press. That's not a discredit for Burrell.

I think he is 1 of the top 5, just wondering why no minutes? I didnt see the game

ESPN NY Write up...

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT: St. John's blew halftime leads in seven of its 16 losses last season, squandered a two-point halftime lead in its season opener against St. Mary's, and almost squandered a 12-point halftime lead in the opening round of this tournament against Ball State, before winning in overtime. On Saturday night, St. John's trailed 30-20 at intermission, but outscored Arizona State 47-28 in the second half. The Red Storm shot just 7-for-27 (25.9 percent) in the first 20 minutes, but shot 16-for-25 (64 percent) on the other side of the break. The full-court pressure defense was key, forcing 16 Sun Devils turnovers.

Read More:http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/colleges/post/_/id/935/rapid-reaction-st-johns-67-arizona-state-58

Quote from: Marillac on November 28, 2010, 12:39:39 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on November 28, 2010, 12:32:45 PM

If Burrell played so great, why just 15 mins? 3 rebs, 3 pts

3 fouls and we went with a very small lineup to add pressure.  ASU had no legs and the staff went for blood.

So hes not 1 of the best 5?

I can't tell if you are trying to stir the pot again or just being inquisitive.  We were down 12 at one point and the staff went with a smaller lineup to pressure the ball and create turnovers from a visibly exhausted ASU squad. 

I think Burrell is/will be one of the best five.  I see Polee's minutes getting pinched by Burrell and Horne as the season progresses.  I think we'll settle into a starting lineup of Boothe-Hardy-Kennedy-Brownlee-Burrell, but the staff will adjust the lineup based on what is needed.  When we need to pressure, we'll go extra small.  If we face a big team and we need beef, I think Burrell will get 25+.  Evans is definitely the odd man out.  Quincy is evenn further out, and I'm convinced the staff considers him a junior instead of a redshirt soph.

Burrell just seems steady this year. 

Quote from: Marco Baldi on November 28, 2010, 12:42:46 PM

Quote from: Marillac on November 28, 2010, 12:39:39 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on November 28, 2010, 12:32:45 PM

If Burrell played so great, why just 15 mins? 3 rebs, 3 pts

3 fouls and we went with a very small lineup to add pressure.  ASU had no legs and the staff went for blood.

So hes not 1 of the best 5?

I can't tell if you are trying to stir the pot again or just being inquisitive.  We were down 12 at one point and the staff went with a smaller lineup to pressure the ball and create turnovers from a visibly exhausted ASU squad. 

I think Burrell is/will be one of the best five.  I see Polee's minutes getting pinched by Burrell and Horne as the season progresses.  I think we'll settle into a starting lineup of Boothe-Hardy-Kennedy-Brownlee-Burrell, but the staff will adjust the lineup based on what is needed.  When we need to pressure, we'll go extra small.  If we face a big team and we need beef, I think Burrell will get 25+.  Evans is definitely the odd man out.  Quincy is evenn further out, and I'm convinced the staff considers him a junior instead of a redshirt soph.

Burrell just seems steady this year. 

I agree, just watching the games Burrell isn't trying to force anything and is playing very strong defense and rebounding well.  He has been rock solid and the points will come when we need him to score, which we haven't yet.

anyone got pics of the hardware?

I commented on the statline on redmen...I was shocked it was so low, but Burrell got by his man in back-to-back possessions.  He made a nice layup on one and drew the foul after making his man look silly on the next.  He also made some good passes from the post.  He should have had a few assists, but Brownlee missed a layup after Burrell beat a double-team and laid the ball off to him baseline and the outside shooters missed some three's after Burrell passed out of the post when the defense sucked in on him.

Once a game for three years JB has shown a move that makes him look unstoppable. The rest of the time he stands there posing for the cover of sports illustrated. I didn't much different yesterday.

Outside of the last six minutes and other than that we won the game, I honestly don't understand what everyone saw yesterday that was so different from what we see every game. We were awful for 34 minutes, great for 45 seconds, and coasted the rest of the way - mostly because ASU was stunned by what had just happened. As was probably everyone else.  Yes it's early and yes its a new staff and yes its a new system and yes I'm happy we won. But we were lucky to win because for most of the game ASU was better a lot better than we were. If we're going to be relying on scoring 8 points in a minute every game that's going to be a problem.

Quote from: Marillac on November 28, 2010, 12:31:24 PM

I commented on the statline on redmen...I was shocked it was so low, but Burrell got by his man in back-to-back possessions.  He made a nice layup on one and drew the foul after making his man look silly on the next.  He also made some good passes from the post.  He should have had a few assists, but Brownlee missed a layup after Burrell beat a double-team and laid the ball off to him baseline and the outside shooters missed some three's after Burrell passed out of the post when the defense sucked in on him.

Once a game for three years JB has shown a move that makes him look unstoppable. The rest of the time he stands there posing for the cover of sports illustrated. I didn't much different yesterday.

Outside of the last six minutes and other than that we won the game, I honestly don't understand what everyone saw yesterday that was so different from what we see every game. We were awful for 34 minutes, great for 45 seconds, and coasted the rest of the way - mostly because ASU was stunned by what had just happened. As was probably everyone else.  Yes it's early and yes its a new staff and yes its a new system and yes I'm happy we won. But we were lucky to win because for most of the game ASU was better a lot better than we were. If we're going to be relying on scoring 8 points in a minute every game that's going to be a problem.

It's going to be a tale of two teams all season I fear.  I think we are going to have moments where the athletic ability of this team is just undeniable, and then we'll come back to Earth when we realize that they just aren't a very skilled team and still have a ton of horrible habits.

I saw some good signs yesterday and the day before.  We have a long way to go and we may never even get there, but we took some steps in the right direction.  It was great to see our big men anticipate something the last two games and move their feet in advance.  It's nice to work the baseline like we did.  The passing created a lot of open looks and I loved the way everyone shot-fakes and dribbles for a better shot.  It seems like the only one who shot-faked last year was Rob Thomas

The best part of the night was how we took advantage of the bonus.  There were plenty of times last year we got in the bonus and settled for perimeter jumpers.  We did some of that last night, but the staff was screaming at the team to get contact and get to the rim.  At the half against Drake Lavin talked about taking advantage of the bonus opportunities.  Loooooong way to go, but I'm happy to be 4-1 with a month to beat up on the Wagners and Fordhams while the guys get more comfortable with the schemes. 

Foad I think for me personally was seeing all the pieces of the puzzle fitting together. It wasn't the prettiest game or any stats that left you in awe but the team came together and made plays when they needed to.

I do notice little improvements. The guys set their feet while shooting much better, passes are quicker, tempo is pushed much quicker after getting the rebound, conscious effort to get contact when going to the rim.

Now there are still things that need a lot of work to be successful in the Big East this season. Spacing is still an issue at times, changing speeds and coming off screens in half court, defensive awareness in the zone, over committing in the zone, defensive rebounding in the zone picking up a body to box out, free throw shooting.

Individually Boothe/Stith have cut down on turnovers, Burrell is rebounding all the time, Horne and Hardy are attacking the basket and getting to the line, Brownlee realizes he can get to the basket at will.

DJ needs to figure out how he fits in, Evans needs to wake up let go of his ego and contribute.

It's such a pleasure to see role reversal with Mr. Hyde making his appearance in the first half and Dr. Jekyll taking over in the second.

Excellent half time adjustments. Great attitude on the part of the team and some real chemistry stoked by an outstanding defensive effort.

Sendek said that we were just taking the ball away from them and his team had never come up against such defensive intensity. Nice compliment from a man whose opinion is respected.

It's such a pleasure to see role reversal with Mr. Hyde making his appearance in the first half and Dr. Jekyll taking over in the second.

Excellent half time adjustments. Great attitude on the part of the team and some real chemistry stoked by an outstanding defensive effort.

Sendek said that we were just taking the ball away from them and his team had never come up against such defensive intensity. Nice compliment from a man whose opinion is respected.

\

There is no question that they were exhausted and they played dumb.  We were by far the smarter team last night.  We were more rested, but three games in less than four days is rough for anyone that traveled over 3,000 miles to get to the tournament. 

The best part is that we just won three neutral court games and that will give the RPI a boost.  We should be sitting in a good position in the RPI if we can take care of business at Fordham and on the neutral court of the Holiday Festival.