Rutgers (Away) Game Discussion

What has been great about Sir's latest games is that he is not taking needless shots--tonight 4 of 7.  This indicates that he is playing under control.  High energy guy who is looking like the team leader.

Wow another great 2nd half effort.  Impressive!  Team is building momentum.

What has been great about Sir's latest games is that he is not taking needless shots--tonight 4 of 7.  This indicates that he is playing under control.  High energy guy who is looking like the team leader.

I've been thinking the exact same thing.  Very efficient.  Not a lot of shots or turnovers.   

What has been great about Sir's latest games is that he is not taking needless shots--tonight 4 of 7.  This indicates that he is playing under control.  High energy guy who is looking like the team leader.

IMO he is clearly the team leader at this point. I noticed a few times, he was the one calming down a heated D'lo after calls didn't go his way. He is also the one starting the team huddles. He leads by example on defense as well.

So, somebody's got to ask the question eventually....
Do you guys think we've turned a corner this season?  Or are you not ready to say that yet?

Dom had a Ron Artest game tonight. Good for him.

So, somebody's got to ask the question eventually....
Do you guys think we've turned a corner this season?  Or are you not ready to say that yet?

I dont think weve found our rhythm on offense yet. We hit a high percentage of jump shots in the second half. 2011 team had a real rhythm. Our defense has been much much better but our offense still needs some work.

So, somebody's got to ask the question eventually....
Do you guys think we've turned a corner this season?  Or are you not ready to say that yet?

Not ready to say that yet, because I still think we're capable of having a stinker game against anyone. But I think we've grown a lot as a team and we're playing better team ball, especially on defense. We still have lots of growing left to do though.

We win against Seton Hall, then I'll start to get excited.

The emergency of Dom and Branch has made all the difference in the world.

Liked (besides the obvious):

Using Pointer to help break the press, a la Brownlee and DJ two years ago.

Lavs going to a shorter rotation and playing what was working.  Amir only got 7 minutes tonight because of how well Dom and Jakar were playing.  And after Amir inbounded the ball on the press when he was in, he immediately bolted up the court, so as to avoid some of the issue that plagued us during the Depaul game.

I thought for a second that Jones should get some burn for that stretch in which Johnson started hurting us down low like last game (although he didn't hit his free throws).  But on the other hand, like the ND game, we took advantage of that by getting Jakar in space on him.  Nice play, coach.

Pretty good swarming, team defense, causing TO's.

Rutgers was clearly concerned with how they played Branch on the pick and roll, which created opportunities elsewhere.

Yes, we have turned the corner. Hopefully, the nattering nabobs of negativity will take a breath and appreciate what we are becoming. Special times are a comin.

Agree with Lenn, lousy crowd

“@LennRobbins: Weird experience here..Big game, small crowd, lethargic, team played lethargic.Can Rutgers hoops ever emerge #stjbb #rhoops”

I wouldn't have called the crowd small or lethargic. The RAC is a big place and the crowds went pretty high up. Lots of BOOs too.

Random thoughts....

Positives
-Harrison was scoring the basketball. Made some tough shots in 2nd half and good hustle points.
-Sampson's confidence is oozing. When he has the ball within 12 ft it's a green light. Scored a number of times after Rutgers scored on previous possession. Those deflate opponents
-Branch had some nice dishes, pull ups, and soft touch finishing around rim. He's been superb
-Dom Pointer was a catalyst rebounding and pushing the break. His active hands defensively were scary good.
-Team got to the FT line 35 times
-Held Eli Carter in check. 1-14 shooting and mixing up defenders on him which is something Lav likes to do.
-Played small and fast which disrupted Rutgers when they had Judge and Jack/Johnson on the floor at same time.
-Harrison drains a 3 off baseline out of bounds play. In the curl screen I trust.
-Good shot selection for majority of the night. Did a good job sharing the ball

Negatives
-Greene continues to slide. If he's not knocking down shots or getting into the lane he's serving little purpose. Need to get that floater working!
-Christian Jones and Marco Bourgalt looked completely flat and slow in their few minutes off the bench. They need to come out with more energy and purpose.
-Obekpa didn't register 1 blocked shot nor a shot attempt. That's Dele Coker like.
-Amir Garrett struggles against bigger teams. He's a PF in a SF's body sometimes and that hurts.
-Only made 21-35 FT attempts and almost blew the game due to missing a bunch at the end. Need better focus
-Too many fouls 80 ft from the basket. Dom is good for this once a game.
-Sampson let Miller grab 4 offensive boards. Can't do that against better teams.
-Lavin's substitution pattern can't have Branch + Harrison out at the same time, ever. Needs to figure out better lineup combos
-29 seconds left in 1st half coming out of timeout can't have ill advised quick shot there. Poor coaching or poor execution/decision making.
-Playing not to lose offense mid-late in the 2nd half. I understand you want to limit possessions but waiting to run your offense with 10 sec left on shot clock leads to empty possessions or as Fran Fraschilla likes to say "silent turnovers"

I thought Phil Greene's zero turnovers in 20 minutes was the key to our victory.  Way to go Mean Joe. 

IMO he is clearly the team leader at this point. I noticed a few times, he was the one calming down a heated D'lo after calls didn't go his way. He is also the one starting the team huddles. He leads by example on defense as well.

Several posters have expressed that recently.  Dave got ridiculed on this board and Redmen.com when he suggested that a few weeks back.

Quote from: redstorm212 on January 23, 2013, 10:46:00 PM

IMO he is clearly the team leader at this point. I noticed a few times, he was the one calming down a heated D'lo after calls didn't go his way. He is also the one starting the team huddles. He leads by example on defense as well.

Several posters have expressed that recently.  Dave got ridiculed on this board and Redmen.com when he suggested that a few weeks back.

I got ridiculed on two sites? Damn

So, somebody's got to ask the question eventually....
Do you guys think we've turned a corner this season?  Or are you not ready to say that yet?

We have to learn how to get out of the gate. We can't consistently fall behind in the first half. Second half schedule coming up includes Cuse, Pukon, G'Town, Ville, Marquette. We get out slow ... they will bury us. Cupcake time is over.

Quote from: simplyred on January 24, 2013, 05:46:17 AM

Quote from: redstorm212 on January 23, 2013, 10:46:00 PM

IMO he is clearly the team leader at this point. I noticed a few times, he was the one calming down a heated D'lo after calls didn't go his way. He is also the one starting the team huddles. He leads by example on defense as well.

Several posters have expressed that recently.  Dave got ridiculed on this board and Redmen.com when he suggested that a few weeks back.

I got ridiculed on two sites? Damn

Actually 3 if you count Fun's playground.
But don't we all get ridiculed on 3 sites

Nice win but if I'm Mike Rice I call a midnight practice, reem out the players and throw a basketball at their heads. As for have we turned a corner-let's see how we handle success (3 game win streak) as we have 2 home games against lower eschelon BE teams that if we have turned a corner we should and have to beat although I think we can be susceptible to an upset. Someone close to the team used to tell me how even Norm's teams went into games over confident after having some success. Will be interesting to see how these 2 games play out. Will be there rooting us on-hope young Johnnies don't disappoint-can't keep chasing bad loses if we have any chance at the (and let me be the first to use the old cliche) BIG DANCE.

I thought Phil Greene's zero turnovers in 20 minutes was the key to our victory.  Way to go Mean Joe. 

No turnovers in 33 minutes for Mean Joe.  That's none in consecutive games now.  Had a much better game than the Aggie.  He really is rock solid with the ball.

Quote from: carmineabbatiello on January 24, 2013, 02:27:44 AM

I thought Phil Greene's zero turnovers in 20 minutes was the key to our victory.  Way to go Mean Joe. 

No turnovers in 33 minutes for Mean Joe.  That's none in consecutive games now.  Had a much better game than the Aggie.  He really is rock solid with the ball.

I don't think Jamal played poorly. Thought he should have been out there more in the second. That steal and assist in the second half where he dove on the ground was a huge play.

And yes it was great to see Phil get his shot going.