College hoops teams that could slip in 2011-12 [Yahoo.com]

We are among Pitt, Notre Dame and Georgetown from the Big East.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=jn-king_college_hoops_teams_could_slip_042811

St. John’s – First-year coach Steve Lavin did an excellent job of getting Norm Roberts’ former players to the NCAA tournament. Now we’ll see what he can do with his own guys. St. John’s loses nine seniors from last year’s 21-12 squad, including seven of its top eight scorers. The Red Storm’s 2011 recruiting class includes six players ranked among the nation’s top 100 by Rivals.com. But it may take a year before they’re ready to challenge the Big East’s top teams.

This is a fair assessment I think. I think if things go right we can be just as good as last year right off the bat but with so many young players its not crazy to think it may take a year to get back to that level. Theres so much talent and we have such a great staff that if these guys gel early we are going to be very dangerous come conference play.

We are among Pitt, Notre Dame and Georgetown from the Big East.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=jn-king_college_hoops_teams_could_slip_042811

St. John’s – First-year coach Steve Lavin did an excellent job of getting Norm Roberts’ former players to the NCAA tournament. Now we’ll see what he can do with his own guys. St. John’s loses nine seniors from last year’s 21-12 squad, including seven of its top eight scorers. The Red Storm’s 2011 recruiting class includes six players ranked among the nation’s top 100 by Rivals.com. But it may take a year before they’re ready to challenge the Big East’s top teams.

So this guy expects yukon to be better?

This is a fair assessment I think. I think if things go right we can be just as good as last year right off the bat but with so many young players its not crazy to think it may take a year to get back to that level. Theres so much talent and we have such a great staff that if these guys gel early we are going to be very dangerous come conference play.

Come conference play we will be inexperienced in conference play!

With the talent and coaching we have I don't think conference play is going to be that big a factor. I think we are going to suprise a lot of people as we did this year. Lavs is da man!

With the talent and coaching we have I don't think conference play is going to be that big a factor. I think we are going to suprise a lot of people as we did this year. Lavs is da man!

From your mouth to the Great Hoop God's ears! Hope you are right and that I am wrong in that I think we will struggle record wise next season.

With the talent and coaching we have I don't think conference play is going to be that big a factor. I think we are going to suprise a lot of people as we did this year. Lavs is da man!

I agree 100%!  This is the best freshman class since the Mullin, Wennington, Jackson years. With the addition of the two African kids and quick on quick players  by next February they will be more talented and deeper than the crew that just finished their careers.

I think including us in this category is titanically stupid.  There have been higher rated recruiting classes in the past but that was mainly based on individuals rather than the overall depth that Lavin has collected.  You just don't see nine player classes with the talent level we have.  We have Norm Roberts to thank for the huge number of players we've brought in due to his ridiculously incompetent roster management.  With a recruiter like Lavin this has turned into a tremendous advantage.  We aren't stuck with mediocre holdover players the way everyone else is and our worst newcomers would be welcome on most rosters in the country.  We have an opportunity to be one of the best teams in the nation in really short order.  To say that we are due for a decline just shows a complete lack of understanding of our situation and the already proven ability of our staff.  The mere fact that we have a lot of freshmen means nothing and this statement will prove to be idiotic in both the short and long run.

According to Seth Davis we won´t go to the NCAA Tournament next season.

But the most surprising thing is that he has no confidence on the quality of the 2011 class.

http://twitter.com/#!/SethDavisHoops/status/66610488443813889

According to Seth Davis we won´t go to the NCAA Tournament next season.

But the most surprising thing is that he has no confidence on the quality of the 2011 class.

http://twitter.com/#!/SethDavisHoops/status/66610488443813889

It is one thing to say that we won't make the ncaa tourney next year but to say Lavin recruited only quantity and not quality is idiotic. It is doubtful that Seth Davis has ever seen any of our recruits play so his opinion means nothing in my opinion.

How much more "quality" can we get?  This guy is a dope.  Top rated center, several top forwards/guards two top JC players.  No, we don't have 8 McDonalds players but most of our guys are barely a not h below if at all.  Lots of people saying we'll be too young to be good...  I think we"ll have people saying that we're too good to be young!

How much more "quality" can we get?  This guy is a dope.  Top rated center, several top forwards/guards two top JC players.  No, we don't have 8 McDonalds players but most of our guys are barely a not h below if at all.  Lots of people saying we'll be too young to be good...  I think we"ll have people saying that we're too good to be young!

Exactly - I can't recall a recruiting class with this kind of depth and talent.  If we had a couple of 5 star blue chippers they would probably upset the balance on the team more than anything else.  This way we have nine borderline blue chippers all likely to get major minutes within a team concept.  Guys like Davis worry more about rankings than team performance.  By January I think we'll be ferocious. 

Yes Bob.  It's a blessing not to have any 5 star players.  You've said some ridiculous things in your day.  Not sure where this one ranks.

Yes Bob.  It's a blessing not to have any 5 star players.  You've said some ridiculous things in your day.  Not sure where this one ranks.

    I'm not gonna go there.  I can name many 5-star players who didn't upset the chemistry of their respective teams.  Give me the best talent....  5 or 4-star.

I'm not expecting an NCAA bid next year. If it happens I'd rather be pleasantly surprised. We will be exciting to watch though and that has me very happy regardless of the outcome of games. The following year I think our team is going to be ridiculous and the sky will be the limit with our coaching staff

Quote from: yankcranker on May 08, 2011, 03:33:52 PM

Yes Bob.  It's a blessing not to have any 5 star players.  You've said some ridiculous things in your day.  Not sure where this one ranks.

    I'm not gonna go there.  I can name many 5-star players who didn't upset the chemistry of their respective teams.  Give me the best talent....  5 or 4-star.

Haven't seen all our kids play except in clips.  But I've followed hoops for parts of 7 different decades now - and the three I HAVE seen play in complete games - Pointer, Harrison, and Garrett - you'll have a hard time convincing me they're not 5 star TALENTs, even if only carrying 4 start RANKINGS.

Quote from: mjdinkins on May 08, 2011, 04:36:38 PM

Quote from: yankcranker on May 08, 2011, 03:33:52 PM

Yes Bob.  It's a blessing not to have any 5 star players.  You've said some ridiculous things in your day.  Not sure where this one ranks.

    I'm not gonna go there.  I can name many 5-star players who didn't upset the chemistry of their respective teams.  Give me the best talent....  5 or 4-star.

Haven't seen all our kids play except in clips.  But I've followed hoops for parts of 7 different decades now - and the three I HAVE seen play in complete games - Pointer, Harrison, and Garrett - you'll have a hard time convincing me they're not 5 star TALENTs, even if only carrying 4 start RANKINGS.

Immaterial.  The gist of the statement was "I'm glad we didn't get any players better than the ones we got" and it made me chuckle.  That's all.

Quote from: mjdinkins on May 08, 2011, 04:36:38 PM

Quote from: yankcranker on May 08, 2011, 03:33:52 PM

Yes Bob.  It's a blessing not to have any 5 star players.  You've said some ridiculous things in your day.  Not sure where this one ranks.

    I'm not gonna go there.  I can name many 5-star players who didn't upset the chemistry of their respective teams.  Give me the best talent....  5 or 4-star.

Haven't seen all our kids play except in clips.  But I've followed hoops for parts of 7 different decades now - and the three I HAVE seen play in complete games - Pointer, Harrison, and Garrett - you'll have a hard time convincing me they're not 5 star TALENTs, even if only carrying 4 start RANKINGS.

So youre this many years old. 

We've seen a million times how little the difference can be between the supposed five star blue chippers and kids like we recruited.  The five star types are cool to have but generally are high maintenance types who suck up minutes and in our case would put a lot of very promising kids on the bench.  Then after a year or two the hotshots are off to the NBA and the neglected ones go off looking for greener pastures leaving us back where we started.  Balance will probably be Lavin's biggest challenge this season.  He's got to keep a lot of kids happy and that's not easy.  Even Norm lost a couple of kids who wound up proving their worth elsewhere.  That factor will be much more magnified this year.  Last I heard this is a team game and the goal has to be putting together a good team instead of showcasing a few kids who are just out for themselves.

We've seen a million times how little the difference can be between the supposed five star blue chippers and kids like we recruited.  The five star types are cool to have but generally are high maintenance types who suck up minutes and in our case would put a lot of very promising kids on the bench.  Then after a year or two the hotshots are off to the NBA and the neglected ones go off looking for greener pastures leaving us back where we started.  Balance will probably be Lavin's biggest challenge this season.  He's got to keep a lot of kids happy and that's not easy.  Even Norm lost a couple of kids who wound up proving their worth elsewhere.  That factor will be much more magnified this year.  Last I heard this is a team game and the goal has to be putting together a good team instead of showcasing a few kids who are just out for themselves.

There are many supposedly 5-star talents who are generally not of high maintenance.  I can name a ton of 5-star players who were and are team players.  I could be wrong, but I don't see Lavin nor this staff putting players on the bench based on ratings.  I feel the best players will play.  Regardless, of their star credentials.

Believe it or not, I could see a couple of players on this team who may leave after a season or two (Lindsey and Harkless being two of 'em).  So, it has nothing to do with star ratings.  It doesn't mean they are out for themselves.  It just meant they were good enough to bolt sooner rather than later.