Detroit - Post Game Discussion

Nice win to start the season, especially for a young team that was down at half and the way they went down, with that 15-4 run to end it.  Can definitely see this team has turned the corner on a lot of the negatives from last year in the rebounding (off/def) and blocks from the front court play.  Our guard play from the 1 position still has a lot to be desired though.  Yes our guards scored 42 pts combined, but we still need that guy who can control the game in the half court.  Alot of the guards points came from transition, which is fine with me, but at some point we are going to need to get better in the half court. 

Sampson, will indeed be fine but he is going to have to work on getting off a better shot and make people play him further out so he can use his quickness to beat them off the dribble because with his shot, no one is going to respect him enough to allow that to happen.  Overall, happy to get the win. Dlo and Greene, looked great and both C.J. and C.O. really did a bang up job on the boards and the blocks inside.  This team right now is going to give us chest pains till we get a few guys back but man are they going to be fun to watch and I will stick to my guns and say this team will be .500 in conference and a tourney bid as well.

Just got home and without repeating above comments, I must say I was quite impressed with poise and understanding of game displayed by Obekpa and Jones. It is early, but the one player I worry about is Dom. Yes, he is a warrior, but his shooting and ball handling deficits concern me. assuming Marco Gets cleared to play, IMO Dom's minutes will dwindle. One or two highlight steals, dunks, blocks, etc. per game will not negate his deficiencies. hope I am wrong.

As much as i was happy about the play from Greene today, i was shocked how out of place Dom looked on the floor.  His dribbling is beyond atrocious and in the second half he actually looked scared to shoot which Lavin saw as well, and pulled him.  I am not going to harp on any negatives because the team won today and to get a close win early in season is only going to help this team moving forward.

One thing i would like to see however is for us to press more because  creating T.O.'s are going to help us score more until we figure out the half court game.  To many athletes on court not to be able to create steals and easy lay ups/dunks

As much as i was happy about the play from Greene today, i was shocked how out of place Dom looked on the floor.  His dribbling is beyond atrocious and in the second half he actually looked scared to shoot which Lavin saw as well, and pulled him.  I am not going to harp on any negatives because the team won today and to get a close win early in season is only going to help this team moving forward.

One thing i would like to see however is for us to press more because  creating T.O.'s are going to help us score more until we figure out the half court game.  To many athletes on court not to be able to create steals and easy lay ups/dunks

Dom is fine.  He didn't have his best game and is sliding into the role-player slot which is fine.  Most teams wish they had a guy like that as a role-player.  He'll still get better and have some good games ahead.

Team played great in the second half.
Amir seems much more out of control and shot is improved, he should start at the three with dom off the bench backing him up.
Jones is rock solid.
Jakarr will be fantastic one game and not so great the next.
Obekpa has already surpasssed my expectations. Hes got a nice touch but needs to not fade away on his jumper.
Phil had a great first half.
D had a great second half.

To those saying it has been a long time since we had a player like Opekpa please educate me by telling me when we ever had a player like him. Been a season ticket holder since 72-73 season and I don't remember a shot blocker even close to him. Props to student section for being louder than they have in a long time and crowd in general for their enthusiasm. With Sanchez and marco believe we can be real nice by season's end.

Fun game to be at.   And we looked better than I was expecting.   
There's work to be done, especially fundamentals.. but that's a discussion for another day.

Nice win today.   Excited to see how the guys play this weekend.   


I do agree with Rdstr25 and Paultzman on Dom though.   Like him a lot, great attitude.  But he hasn't looked good. 


Also, I haven't read the whole thread yet,  but the officiating was absolutely horrendous coming down the stretch.   Unbelievably bad actually.
Phil and D'angelo both took a beating all game and fought through it.  Tough kids.   Love to have guys like that in the program. 

 Officiating was terrible the entire game.

“@AdamZagoria: St. John's Chris Obekpa Puts On a One-Man Block Party http://t.co/JA2dm4mZ @obekpa12 #stjbb”

Nice W. Agree that DLO<Phil, Amir and CO looked good. CO is going to be a killer and should start. Amir and Phil much improved and DLO was back to last years form the 2nd half. He should be playing the2.  Sampson had a bad day but hes to good for that to continue.Jones looked solid and will get plenty of minutes. DLOs attitude looked fine, love his determination. Nice comeback.

Nice win to start the season, especially for a young team that was down at half and the way they went down, with that 15-4 run to end it.  Can definitely see this team has turned the corner on a lot of the negatives from last year in the rebounding (off/def) and blocks from the front court play.  Our guard play from the 1 position still has a lot to be desired though.  Yes our guards scored 42 pts combined, but we still need that guy who can control the game in the half court.  Alot of the guards points came from transition, which is fine with me, but at some point we are going to need to get better in the half court. 

Sampson, will indeed be fine but he is going to have to work on getting off a better shot and make people play him further out so he can use his quickness to beat them off the dribble because with his shot, no one is going to respect him enough to allow that to happen.  Overall, happy to get the win. Dlo and Greene, looked great and both C.J. and C.O. really did a bang up job on the boards and the blocks inside.  This team right now is going to give us chest pains till we get a few guys back but man are they going to be fun to watch and I will stick to my guns and say this team will be .500 in conference and a tourney bid as well.

Hey, we've got so much talent that you can write that whole summary and not even mention Amir Garrett - who had 15 pts and 11 rebs.

Quote from: rdstr25 on November 13, 2012, 06:01:50 PM

Nice win to start the season, especially for a young team that was down at half and the way they went down, with that 15-4 run to end it.  Can definitely see this team has turned the corner on a lot of the negatives from last year in the rebounding (off/def) and blocks from the front court play.  Our guard play from the 1 position still has a lot to be desired though.  Yes our guards scored 42 pts combined, but we still need that guy who can control the game in the half court.  Alot of the guards points came from transition, which is fine with me, but at some point we are going to need to get better in the half court. 

Sampson, will indeed be fine but he is going to have to work on getting off a better shot and make people play him further out so he can use his quickness to beat them off the dribble because with his shot, no one is going to respect him enough to allow that to happen.  Overall, happy to get the win. Dlo and Greene, looked great and both C.J. and C.O. really did a bang up job on the boards and the blocks inside.  This team right now is going to give us chest pains till we get a few guys back but man are they going to be fun to watch and I will stick to my guns and say this team will be .500 in conference and a tourney bid as well.

Hey, we've got so much talent that you can write that whole summary and not even mention Amir Garrett - who had 15 pts and 11 rebs.

Seems to be the norm here.  We go as far as Harrison-Greene-Garrett take us.
Great first game by Obekpa...unreal in the paint.  I think every team this week will really be scared going in the lane after that performance.  Jones only ONE rebound at the PF and C spots in 28 minutes?  How is that possible?  He showed great poise, pace, and control out there...but ONE REBOUND???!!

Dom is going to be benched soon if he doesn't improve.

I know 'Dom had a tough game but i think he'll be a plus for us, probably off bench once we get a solid rotation going.

No slight to Garrett at all, he played a superb game. Sometimes i take for granted that a good game is played by someone i expected to play well but always should be mentioned.

Steve Lavin is back, and his young team is off to a promising start.

After missing almost all of last season while recovering from prostate cancer, Lavin officially made his return to the sideline Tuesday afternoon. And St. John's Red Storm won its regular-season opener against Detroit, 77-74 at Carnesecca Arena.

In his postgame news conference, Lavin was asked how he felt about his comeback. "I think so much of the way I feel is a result of your team and their energy, and feeding off of that synergy," Lavin said. "Similar to a parent -- if your children are lined in the right way and they seem well adjusted and they're contributing in a meaningful way, then you feel better as a parent. And as a coach, I feel good because this team found a way to get a gritty W."

http://espn.go.com/new-york/ncb/story/_/id/8629107/steve-lavin-returns-st-john-red-storm-win-opener

To those saying it has been a long time since we had a player like Opekpa please educate me by telling me when we ever had a player like him. Been a season ticket holder since 72-73 season and I don't remember a shot blocker even close to him. Props to student section for being louder than they have in a long time and crowd in general for their enthusiasm. With Sanchez and marco believe we can be real nice by season's end.

did not want to slight Leroy Ellis/Mel Davis/Sonny Dove

D’Angelo Harrison may not have started for St. John’s in its season opener Tuesday afternoon. But he definitely finished.
Finished Detroit off, that is.
Harrison, the team’s top returning player was not in the starting five because he has not met coach Steve Lavin’s leadership expectations in the pre-season. He was very much a leader though in the final minutes of the Red Storm’s 77-74 victory over the Titans at Carnesecca Arena. He scored 13 of his 22 points off the bench in the final 8:26 as the Johnnies erased a seven point deficit and powered past Detroit.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/johnnies-storm-back-season-opening-win-article-1.1201437#ixzz2C9lWJdZD

AP Story

D’Angelo Harrison, who spent the two exhibition games in coach Steve Lavin’s doghouse, broke out in the season opener, scoring 22 points as St. John’s rallied to beat Detroit 77-74 on Tuesday.

The Red Storm (1-0) finished the game on a 24-14 run. Phil Greene added 20 points, while Amir Garrett had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Chris Obepka lived up to his defensive reputation, finishing with seven points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/basketball/harrison_leads_st_john_over_detroit_WkXb7YnBJqwdOFrdgq3wgO

Oblockpa is a reason in and of himself to go to a St. john's game.

Oblockpa is a reason in and of himself to go to a St. john's game.

Two things I have not seen in decades: A real shot blocker. A full parking lot.