San Fran Game

When you hear "young Johnnies" is it starting to make you cringe?

Quote from: TRabinowitz on December 05, 2012, 02:05:03 AM

We played one of the worst games defensively I've seen us play in years.  We switched nearly every screen, giving them tons of mismatches.  Our guards couldn't  contain a lick of dribble penetration and guys that didn't need to be in help position were helping and moving away from the shooters they needed to cover. Just a mindless game on the defensive end of the floor.  Only 2 bright spots tonight were Jakarr's offensive game and our rebounding (which was aided by the fact that USF didn't really crash the boards but instead aimed to get back and take away our transition game).  Gotta get better and be better on Saturday.

couldn't agree more.  there was no in-game adjustment made on doolan.  we kept pressing him, even though he showed time and time again that he could blow by our guys.  when you see that, you need to back off the guy and cut off his penetration...make him beat you from the outside.  thats basketball 101.  very low basketball iq, imho.  very surprised at the staff that we couldn't make an adjustment.  on the other hand, that game clearly demonstrates how important a passing game is, and how important it is to have a true point guard with high basketball iq.  hopefully branch can bring some of that to our team.

Agree with above.  What really ticked me off was watching USF run their offense against us.  Every pass they made and movement away from the ball had a design to create an open shot, and more often than not, it worked (shooting 50% from the floor and 60% from 3).  Our offense seems to pass the ball for around the horn 15-20 seconds without a plan until the clock starts winding down, and whoever is left with the ball puts up a shot, ill-advised or not.  Obekpa shooting 20 foot jumpers is unacceptable.  Ironically, we won the battle of the boards, but as TRabinowitz already said, it was mostly due to USF taking away our opportunity for transition points. 

When you hear "young Johnnies" is it starting to make you cringe?

There's no debating that this is a young team.  But here's the problem.

Nobody is showing any improvement whatsoever.  The team can't rebound.  Check.  The team can't play defense.  Check.  The team still looks stale on offense.  Check.

Any half decent team St. John's has played against this year, they've lost.  And they nearly lost to FGC, Holy Cross, and NJIT.  I'm sorry, but what does the coaching staff have to say for this?  We're in year three of the rebuilding process and quite frankly I doubt they win more than 16 or 17 games this year.

Is it just me or is anyone else concerned about the lack of game coaching, both prep and in-game?

And excommunication followed.

Too many doom and gloomers after one game.  This was akin to our bad Fordham loss 2 years ago.  To say nobody is improving is absurd.  Bad games happen.  This one we lost.  To write the season off because of it is silly.

Quote from: Ctbeins001 on December 05, 2012, 08:09:25 AM

There is no question this was a tough loss that will hurt us at the end of year if we are contending for a tournment spot.  Those that are jumping on coach (for either scheduling or in game coaching, however, need to calm down.  Lavin is coaching an exteremely young team.  As with any young team, our boys are going to have their ups and downs and are going to need time to learn both Lavin's system and how to conduct themselves at the college level.  Games like last night are good for young teams precisely because they are difficult.  The exposure to hostile crowds and unfamilair arenas helps build character and toughness in our young players.  They didn't get this one and thats too bad.  But now they have an experience from which they can build upon, learn and improve.  Today's failure is tomorrow's teachable moment.

We've only been hearing that for 2 years

We were a tourney team 2 years ago. 

Quote from: erickthered on December 05, 2012, 07:53:52 AM

Quote from: Moon Mullin on December 05, 2012, 07:38:44 AM

Is it just me or is anyone else concerned about the lack of game coaching, both prep and in-game?

But you were not concerned in Lavs first year when we beat Duke, Uconn, Marquette, Pitt and Georgetown? It comes down to execution and talent level these are first and second year players who are going to have ups and downs.

Did you notice that we also had an assistant coach named Dunlap, who also was on the bench.

Trust me i loved coach Dunlap and know he was a big part of our program, however was coach D on Lavs UCLA teams that went to 5 sweet sixteens? I'm by no means saying Lavs is an x's and o's guru but lets let him coach these kids for a few more games and see if and how they grow. 4 games last year and 9 games so far this year lets see what happens

Too many doom and gloomers after one game.  This was akin to our bad Fordham loss 2 years ago.  To say nobody is improving is absurd.  Bad games happen.  This one we lost.  To write the season off because of it is silly.

Can you give me 1 game this season where the team has looked really good?  A game where the team came out and played well in both the first and the second half

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076500/
I did not realize Henry Steele still had eligibility. Robby Benson killed us! Lavin should have recruited that kid. I am also starting to realize why we play that crappy zone. Our guys get taken off the dribble at will.
Honestly as I called it, would be a tough game flying cross country and San Fran can shoot. Any team that shoots will have a good shot to beat this team.

Can you give me 1 game this season where the team has looked really good?  A game where the team came out and played well in both the first and the second half

The most experienced player on the roster is nine games into his sophomore year. How much perfection were you expecting?

Quote from: DoodyNY33 on December 05, 2012, 08:41:09 AM

Can you give me 1 game this season where the team has looked really good?  A game where the team came out and played well in both the first and the second half

The most experienced player on the roster is nine games into his sophomore year. How much perfection were you expecting?

Is it that much to ask for a solid game from start to finish?  I keep hearing about how talented this team is, so you would think it would be easy to think of 1 game in which they truly played great basketball

Is it that much to ask for a solid game from start to finish?  I keep hearing about how talented this team is, so you would think it would be easy to think of 1 game in which they truly played great basketball

It may be too much to ask a group of sophomores to play a great game in November, yes. It's also pointless, since the optimal time to play truly great basketball is March. This is how young teams play: unevenly. The problem isn't with the players, it's with your expectations.

Really regret staying up last night to watch that display.  I'll start with a few negatives: greene looks like the greene of last year; we made their point guard look like steve nash; we switch on every screen which is the dumbest defensive strategy I have ever seen; we don't box out; no one can create their own shot other than harrison and sampson; and the rotation is mind boggling. A few positives: Jakarr is getting more confident and took the ball to the hole with authority a few times; we shot 12/15 from the line; and branch comes back in a week.  This team is going to have an up and down season, we will win some big games and we will lose some head scratchers.  I hope for all our sakes that sanchez gets cleared and this team turns the corner in BE play

See Greene is not a point guard and he is now playing confused as to whether to look for his shot, which he should or try to facilitate, which he is not really equiped to do.

BTW Robby Benson is good, wish he was our point guard.

  I'm putting a lot of faith that Branch will be able to settle down this team and be the PG that we need moving forward.  It's the most important position in college basketball and we don't have one yet. 

 I am far from hitting the panic button though.  On a whole, the positives outweigh the negatives this season for me.  This team will be fine.

You know people are going a little overboard on the doom and gloom when Foad is becoming the voice of reason.

Really regret staying up last night to watch that display.  I'll start with a few negatives: greene looks like the greene of last year; we made their point guard look like steve nash; we switch on every screen which is the dumbest defensive strategy I have ever seen; we don't box out; no one can create their own shot other than harrison and sampson; and the rotation is mind boggling. A few positives: Jakarr is getting more confident and took the ball to the hole with authority a few times; we shot 12/15 from the line; and branch comes back in a week.  This team is going to have an up and down season, we will win some big games and we will lose some head scratchers.  I hope for all our sakes that sanchez gets cleared and this team turns the corner in BE play

That's a fair analysis for 1 game but lets not go overboard as well.  They definitely have to make defensive adjustments, getting caught with Harrison or Greene guarding a big man down low because of a switch and collapsing on dribble penetration leaving an open wing shooter time after time is hard to watch.

One of the reasons the rotation is not set is Coach is trying to see what works and what doesn't.

They need to right the ship these next 3 games and go into conference play with some momentum.

10-2 would have been preferable, 9-3 is good enough at this point. 

Forget about RPI and bad losses.  That will take care of itself down the road.  First things first, take care of business the next 3 games.

"I hope for all our sakes that sanchez gets cleared"


He is starting Sunday for the Jets. Came across the ticker. Must be him becuase I doubt they would start Mark.

Did not see the game, haven't seen much all year. But from some of the posts it sounds like Lavin and the team are missing Dunlap

Really regret staying up last night to watch that display.  I'll start with a few negatives: greene looks like the greene of last year; we made their point guard look like steve nash; we switch on every screen which is the dumbest defensive strategy I have ever seen; we don't box out; no one can create their own shot other than harrison and sampson; and the rotation is mind boggling. A few positives: Jakarr is getting more confident and took the ball to the hole with authority a few times; we shot 12/15 from the line; and branch comes back in a week.  This team is going to have an up and down season, we will win some big games and we will lose some head scratchers.  I hope for all our sakes that sanchez gets cleared and this team turns the corner in BE play

Excellent post!

i know it's too early, but i now think that the NIT is our most likely post season situation.  Let's say we finish non conf at 9-3, then go a totally respectable 9-9 in conference play, and win 1 game in the big east tournament.  that's 19 wins and, with our SOS, probably has us on the outside looking in. 

lot of pressure on this team right now.  cannot afford anymore bad losses.  need to beat depaul twice, win @nova, etc. to have a shot.