Nuri predictions

I caught a lot of sh*t on these sites for my Nuri predictions/analysis.  I'm not sure when it happened, but any critical posts about STJ recruits now draw a lot of negativity.  Here are two of my posts front the Nuri thread...there are a dozen more.  I'm not looking for props, just a little room to be critical in the future without the backlash. 
"Yes...two games.  His shot is disgusting looking (only made eight treys all year), he didn't even pretend to try on defense (and that is not hyperbole, he stood up straight the whole game and his team looked infinitely better in their zone when he sat), he didn't go after rebounds or 50/50 balls, and he missed a ton of FT's and layups.

What he did well...he got pat his man at will in the half court and the kid was actually a legit defender and athlete, albeit like 5'9.  He actually has a pretty looking midrange that you can tell he spends a lot of time getting it off exactly the same. 

I think he'll be a good player and a starter, but it's insulting to say he'll be better than All-Americans like Hatten and Hardy when he never even played a second of real college basketball.

God forbid somene say that anything that's not gleaming about a St. John's recruit. All nine are going straigt to the NBA lottery."


"That's less than God's Gift has hit!  Honestly, his form is atrocious.  He even looks terrible from the FT line.  He missed at least five FT's the game I watched and rimmed in a bunch of others.  He doesn't bend his knees at all from the line. 

He also doesn't really look for the deep ball.  He only took two jumpers--both looked awful--but his midrange is sick and he can get to the rim at will.  He blew a lot of layups, however.  I'm beginning to doubt how many minutes he'll see due the defense I saw him play and the outside shooting woes.  I think he'll get a lot of burn, but maybe won't be the super hero we all hoped for."

Great job outta Marillac.  Got to give him props.
 
 I certainly don't dismiss your basketball knowledge or analysis. I do ,however, like to bust balls a lot about your 3 minute youtube Chad Ford impersonations.

 You were dead right on this one.  I wish you weren't though...

He'll be playing overseas with Jack Wolfinger and Michael Porter

I caught a lot of sh*t on these sites for my Nuri predictions/analysis.  I'm not sure when it happened, but any critical posts about STJ recruits now draw a lot of negativity.  Here are two of my posts front the Nuri thread...there are a dozen more.  I'm not looking for props, just a little room to be critical in the future without the backlash. 
"Yes...two games.  His shot is disgusting looking (only made eight treys all year), he didn't even pretend to try on defense (and that is not hyperbole, he stood up straight the whole game and his team looked infinitely better in their zone when he sat), he didn't go after rebounds or 50/50 balls, and he missed a ton of FT's and layups.

What he did well...he got pat his man at will in the half court and the kid was actually a legit defender and athlete, albeit like 5'9.  He actually has a pretty looking midrange that you can tell he spends a lot of time getting it off exactly the same. 

I think he'll be a good player and a starter, but it's insulting to say he'll be better than All-Americans like Hatten and Hardy when he never even played a second of real college basketball.

God forbid somene say that anything that's not gleaming about a St. John's recruit. All nine are going straigt to the NBA lottery."


"That's less than God's Gift has hit!  Honestly, his form is atrocious.  He even looks terrible from the FT line.  He missed at least five FT's the game I watched and rimmed in a bunch of others.  He doesn't bend his knees at all from the line. 

He also doesn't really look for the deep ball.  He only took two jumpers--both looked awful--but his midrange is sick and he can get to the rim at will.  He blew a lot of layups, however.  I'm beginning to doubt how many minutes he'll see due the defense I saw him play and the outside shooting woes.  I think he'll get a lot of burn, but maybe won't be the super hero we all hoped for."

No one has an issue how posters go after recruits.  It's how one delivery is moreso than the message.  It's not always what is said....  It's how it's said.  You caught alot of flak because you geninuely posts in absolutes and like to dissect ones game from a few seconds or few minutes clip.

Quite frankly, Lindsey wasn't that bad on defense during his brief stint with the Johnnies.  He certainly has capabilities to be a solid, defensive player.  I believe he also has good anticipation.  He also didn't miss too many layups during his 9 games, either.  He usually showed heckuva body control to finish.  I also believe he is a capbable midrange shooter.  The things I saw him to well when I watched him play were the same things he did well here.  The things I saw him not do well were the same things I saw him not do well during his time at St. John's.

His problem is he can't shoot it from deep; couldn't hit his freebies (although, he had already improved on those numbers); nor does he exude good PG skills.  He probably could've masked a bit of the former, if he was much better at the latter.  If he was more of a facilitator then he probably would've been fine (whether, he could shoot from deep or not).  He seemed too busy trying the "go for mine" route, while not being able to shoot behind the arc.  I think he's more of a 10'-15' shooter.  He should've just taken that route and picked his spots when to go to the hole.

We were all hoping that he'd be better than James Scott. He wasn't nearly as good as James Scott.

Quote from: Marillac on December 09, 2011, 12:41:05 PM

I caught a lot of sh*t on these sites for my Nuri predictions/analysis.  I'm not sure when it happened, but any critical posts about STJ recruits now draw a lot of negativity.  Here are two of my posts front the Nuri thread...there are a dozen more.  I'm not looking for props, just a little room to be critical in the future without the backlash. 
"Yes...two games.  His shot is disgusting looking (only made eight treys all year), he didn't even pretend to try on defense (and that is not hyperbole, he stood up straight the whole game and his team looked infinitely better in their zone when he sat), he didn't go after rebounds or 50/50 balls, and he missed a ton of FT's and layups.

What he did well...he got pat his man at will in the half court and the kid was actually a legit defender and athlete, albeit like 5'9.  He actually has a pretty looking midrange that you can tell he spends a lot of time getting it off exactly the same. 

I think he'll be a good player and a starter, but it's insulting to say he'll be better than All-Americans like Hatten and Hardy when he never even played a second of real college basketball.

God forbid somene say that anything that's not gleaming about a St. John's recruit. All nine are going straigt to the NBA lottery."


"That's less than God's Gift has hit!  Honestly, his form is atrocious.  He even looks terrible from the FT line.  He missed at least five FT's the game I watched and rimmed in a bunch of others.  He doesn't bend his knees at all from the line. 

He also doesn't really look for the deep ball.  He only took two jumpers--both looked awful--but his midrange is sick and he can get to the rim at will.  He blew a lot of layups, however.  I'm beginning to doubt how many minutes he'll see due the defense I saw him play and the outside shooting woes.  I think he'll get a lot of burn, but maybe won't be the super hero we all hoped for."

No one has an issue how posters go after recruits.  It's how one delivery is moreso than the message.  It's not always what is said....  It's how it's said.  You caught alot of flak because you geninuely posts in absolutes and like to dissect ones game from a few seconds or few minutes clip.

Quite frankly, Lindsey wasn't that bad on defense during his brief stint with the Johnnies.  He certainly has capabilities to be a solid, defensive player.  I believe he also has good anticipation.  He also didn't miss too many layups during his 9 games, either.  He usually showed heckuva body control to finish.  I also believe he is a capbable midrange shooter.  The things I saw him to well when I watched him play were the same things he did well here.  The things I saw him not do well were the same things I saw him not do well during his time at St. John's.

His problem is he can't shoot it from deep; couldn't hit his freebies (although, he had already improved on those numbers); nor does he exude good PG skills.  He probably could've masked a bit of the former, if he was much better at the latter.  If he was more of a facilitator then he probably would've been fine (whether, he could shoot from deep or not).  He seemed too busy trying the "go for mine" route, while not being able to shoot behind the arc.  I think he's more of a 10'-15' shooter.  He should've just taken that route and picked his spots when to go to the hole.

There's nothing wrong with criticizing a recruit, or a current player.  The truth is we, like every other college fan base, over-hype our recruits.  It's natural.   

But Marillac, as spot on as you were about Nuri, where was that fantastic mid-range game?   Because I still haven't seen it.  Mj you mentioned it too.
Maybe he does have a great floater, or a pull up jumper, but in 9 games SJU fans barely saw a glimpse of it.  What we did see were blocks, travels, and charges that indicated he was afraid to pull up 10ft from the rim.

In 9 games, he made two jumpers. That has to be some kind of record. No school should be offering him anything. Kid is a disease.

H e was a good rebounder , but having a pg that has more turnovers than assists with no outside shot is problematic. If he doesnt improve his game I dont see an NBA future for him.

At this point, his course of action is clear. Go to Europe and hook up with a team in a non-demanding league. (He has no chance of playing in France, Greece or Turkey). Perhaps look into the UK or Israel.  Bounce around European leagues for 4 or 5 years. Hopefully his game will develop to the point where he gets an invite to the NBDL. Advance through that...and hopefully get an NBA shot.

At this point, his course of action is clear. Go to Europe and hook up with a team in a non-demanding league. (He has no chance of playing in France, Greece or Turkey). Perhaps look into the UK or Israel.  Bounce around European leagues for 4 or 5 years. Hopefully his game will develop to the point where he gets an invite to the NBDL. Advance through that...and hopefully get an NBA shot.

He has no chance at the NBA no matter what course he decides on.  He's too old, not athletic enough, a terrible shooter (you almost have to try to go 0-21 from three over 9 games and two exhibitions), and he's not a good defender nor a real point guard. 

I predict he goes to La Salle and is never heard from again.

The thing that continues to amaze me is that criticizing the players seems ok, but the HC is off limits for some reason. People were actually defending Norm to the death up until around year 5. The head coach of a revenue earning big time college sports team is a professional. They have agents and everything. Yes these kids are getting a free ride but they are still kids and are not getting paid that we know of. Things didn't work out for Nuri and he chose to leave. So what! Good luck to him. Any one of us that found ourselves in a bad situation would do the same. I am a big Lavin fan, but he is open game here with these recruits and honestly his top assistant seems in over his head as well.

If he ever makes it to school he's going to go to a school where a coach is desperate to save his job. I was out in DC this weekend and spoke to a number of coaches who all said Nuri's really good but he wouldn't fit in on our team/locker room. This ran from high major to low major colleges. Schools will also be even more disappointed when they see his fall semester grades.

Prediction: D-League

I think we never hear about him again. I think he ends up going trying to play overseas in some terrible league. As we have said before all he can do is drive and for a guy who drives a lot his handle isn't very good and he can be a turnover machine. He really doesn't have all that many positives to his game but he has a ton of holes on offense and defense. This is not nearly the player I thought we were getting and if it wasn't for us being so low on players I would be glad he is gone. His attitude is clearly terrible if after a little losing and getting chewed out and benched Dunlap he jumps ship.

I don't see him playing one more minute of college bball, and given his sensitive ego and limited skill set, I really can't see him playing anywhere where the competition level is high enough to warrant people paying money to see him play. 

Concerning his undue hype, while many posters were all too happy to jump on the Nuri bandwagon, it should be noted that other reputable, unbiased sources, had Nuri pegged as a potential NBA draft pick.  Heck, ESPN's Chad Ford had Nuri pegged as the third ranked BE player who would likely make the jump to the NBA next year, behind only UConn's Drummond and Lamb.  Just scratch my head and wonder how so many smart people ( except Marillac  ) totally misjudged this one.

Timing was at end of NBA strike--maybe his close frien, i.e., agent, convinced him there would be space opening up overseas with the NBAers returning to the US for training camp.  Don't see him in college again.  If he couldn't attend classes here with diligence, what makes anyone think of him as a "student athelete".  if not overseas now only possibility will be second semester next year in a transfer where he also won't have to attend classes.

Let me see if I have this right. Lindsey comes in as a big part with the third ranked recruiting class in the country.(I know he does not really count for the ranking). Everyone talks him up with people wondering how long he will stay here before he goes pro. Pretty much everyone predicts he will be our leading scorer. This lovefest pretty much continues until he misses two free throws to lose a game. Now he transfers out and he will be lucky to play JUCO ball and someone predicts he will be dead in 2 years. 

If he ever makes it to school he's going to go to a school where a coach is desperate to save his job. I was out in DC this weekend and spoke to a number of coaches who all said Nuri's really good but he wouldn't fit in on our team/locker room. This ran from high major to low major colleges. Schools will also be even more disappointed when they see his fall semester grades.

Prediction: D-League

makes you wonder even more why lavin would take such a risk with nuri, given how public and known nuri's reputation is among coaches.  with such a young team, you'd think we'd want to stay clear of negative baggage.  hindsight is 20/20, but seems like lavin was going all out with this class to try to get us back asap.  think he's realizing (as we fans are) that this is going to take more time than what we all thought. 

Things didn't work out for Nuri and he chose to leave. So what! Good luck to him. Any one of us that found ourselves in a bad situation would do the same.

It's not the fact that Nuri left that has the fanbase up in arms.  It's the way he left.  If a kid completes the year than decides to transfer immediately after for whatever reason, thus giving the staff ample time to replace him, then no problem.  Hollywood would have written him a letter of recommendation on his way out.
 
But, if you quit on your teamates 9 games into the season when you know their shorthanded and it's too late to do anything about it then shame on you.  In life there is a right and a wrong way to do things.

The Benedict Lindsey deserves whatever venom is spewed his direction.

Call me crazy but I think our assessment of him is as understated now as it was over-hyped two months ago. 

I'm with the lot of you that thinks his outside shot is horrific, and he's turnover prone. BUT, the kid clearly has an un-teachable talent.  And while I consider myself a knowledgeable fan, I won't put too much stock in my own assessment.  I will however give more credence to Lavin, who thought him good enough to recruit even before he had played a game for Redlands last winter.  Or, the assortment of D-I coaches that Dave says all told him this weekend that Nuri was really talented, they just questioned his "fit".  And lastly, not that I give too much weight to what Chad Ford or DraftExpress say, but they obviously have some sources that are NBA scouts, particularly Ford.  So if they were saying he was a border-line second round pick, then there's some truth to that. 

My point is just that evaluators across the basketball community think Nuri is pretty talented.  He's going to get another shot somewhere to play.

He wasn't as good as we once thought, but he's not as awful as some are making him out to be now that he's left.