Rawle Alkins - SG - Word of God - ARIZONA

Quote from: Foad on March 09, 2016, 07:53:26 AM

Quote from: Dave on March 09, 2016, 07:41:37 AM

Kris Dunn freshman year played 27mpg shot 31% and averaged 3.8ppg
Isaiah Whitehead shot 36% last year
Ryan Arcidiacano freshman year played shot 34% averaged 11ppg

I think some of you guys have unrealistic expectations sometimes of players early in their career. Patience.

So the unrealistic expectations aren't from the people who say Mussini is the best shooter since Chris Mullin, it's the people who say he isn't. Good point.

I think Mussini is a really good shooter who has taken some tough shots this year. He has good touch around the basket but struggles with contact. Physically limited defensively but has good active hands. All signs point to improvement with physical maturity and I'm good with that.

His game clearly changed in the 2nd half of the game. His shot was altered and he wasn't able to be the leader this team needed. I don't think decreased minutes will necessarily improve his game. Too slow and too weak for what we want to do. We may have already seen the best of Freddy.

Quote from: Foad on March 09, 2016, 07:53:26 AM

Quote from: Dave on March 09, 2016, 07:41:37 AM

Kris Dunn freshman year played 27mpg shot 31% and averaged 3.8ppg
Isaiah Whitehead shot 36% last year
Ryan Arcidiacano freshman year played shot 34% averaged 11ppg

I think some of you guys have unrealistic expectations sometimes of players early in their career. Patience.

So the unrealistic expectations aren't from the people who say Mussini is the best shooter since Chris Mullin, it's the people who say he isn't. Good point.

I think Mussini is a really good shooter who has taken some tough shots this year. He has good touch around the basket but struggles with contact. Physically limited defensively but has good active hands. All signs point to improvement with physical maturity and I'm good with that.

I agree with all that except there's no evidence that he's a really good shooter. The evidence is that he's a really bad shooter who looks like he should be a really good shooter. Saint John's has had many of those over the years. It may be that he's exhausted or that his confidence is shot or just that he's a freshman or whatever. But between two camps, one which says he's going to explode next year because he's the best shooter since Mullin and another that says the fact that he's shooting 20 percent from three in 85 percent of his games suggests he's not the best shooter since Mullin, it's odd that the fact based ones need to temper their expectations. Personally I'd like to watch a basketball program where almost no freshman play ever, not just because most of them are awful but because it suggests that the program is operating from a position of strength that can be sustained over the long term. My expectation is that if Mussini is a key player next year then SJ will not be in that position, because he has physical limitations that will be difficult for him to overcome. Kris Dunn and Whitehead are is 6'4 and 220 pounds. Mussini is an Oompa Loompa. He'd have to do a lot of things really really well to deserve to be mentioned in the same breath with those two.

Quote from: we are sju on March 08, 2016, 03:52:04 PM

Quote from: Foad on March 08, 2016, 03:46:38 PM

Quote from: we are sju on March 08, 2016, 03:09:34 PM

Mussini can shoot nonsense is based off a couple early season games and the one Cuse game I guess?  Kid has been playing limited minutes for a few weeks now and still not hitting shots. He is as one dimensional as you can get and that dimension is not that good. See him basically being a specialist next year getting about 10 minutes a game.

In last 10 games getting 21 minutes a game averaging 5 points a game  on 21% shooting.

55-181 from 3 for the year, .30 %

20-38 in 4 games: chaminade (5-9), cuse (5-7), 5-14 (NJIT) and Xavier (5-8), .52 %

35 -143 the remaining 27 games, .24 %

That's a lot of stinking.

Was just going to post that. In 31 games he shot over 50% overall from the field 4 times and not once since Cuse game on 12/13/2015 which is looking more and more like an aberration.

Be curious to see the stats of the rest of our great players on how many times they shot over 50% if you care to check. With all of our all league players would imagine it will be quite high.

For the season he is shooting 33% and 30% from three. Can't do much worse than that. And as Fun pointed out that is what he supposedly does well...

Kris Dunn freshman year played 27mpg shot 31% and averaged 3.8ppg
Isaiah Whitehead shot 36% last year
Ryan Arcidiacano freshman year played shot 34% averaged 11ppg

I think some of you guys have unrealistic expectations sometimes of players early in their career. Patience.

As with the case of Ellison, you can eventually shoot better but all those guys even Ryan A are far superior athletes to Mussini. The reason he is not a good shooter is he is forever going to have a problem getting it off. And now he is rushing wide open jumpers and not making those either. Will he eventually calm down and hit open shots? Maybe But there is not a lot of upside to his game as opposed to the guys you mentioned who also do other things very well.

Dave's point is to illustrate that great players often struggle freshman year,

Bad players also struggle their freshman year. The fact that he's struggling doesn't prove anything. Most freshmen stink, some get better, some don't. Hopefully he does. The question is where his ceiling is. It does not seem to me to be that high. He's not going to get taller or faster over the summer. He's not going to learn to dribble like Frank Alagia over the summer. How good a shooter can he be - Max Hooper's allegedly a prodigy and he shoots 45 percent. Is he the sort of 4 year player you'd like to have, works hard, stays in school, good citizen, sure, happy he's here. Chris Mullin, I don't think so.

Quote from: Gray Chudney on March 09, 2016, 09:15:15 AM

Dave's point is to illustrate that great players often struggle freshman year,

Bad players also struggle their freshman year. The fact that he's struggling doesn't prove anything. Most freshmen stink, some get better, some don't. Hopefully he does. The question is where his ceiling is. It does not seem to me to be that high. He's not going to get taller or faster over the summer. He's not going to learn to dribble like Frank Alagia over the summer. How good a shooter can he be - Max Hooper's allegedly a prodigy and he shoots 45 percent. Is he the sort of 4 year player you'd like to have, works hard, stays in school, good citizen, sure, happy he's here. Chris Mullin, I don't think so.

I hate to use warmups as any kind of barometer but if you watched Hooper the year he was here he gave the worlds Greatest warmup shooter Steve Shurina a run for his money.  Mussini not in those two guys league.

I think the only point anyone who is defending Mussini is trying to make it give him more time. You can't have the jury out on a player after his freshman year. No one is saying he is going to be Dunn or Whitehead because he isn't but those guys had very rocky freshman years and are now going to be NBA players. It just shows you can't judge a guy fully after one year. Is there a shot he never improves? Yea sure there but let's see how his career plays out before we cast aside pretty highly rated freshman who took a chance on us when we had no roster to play with.

Quote from: Gray Chudney on March 09, 2016, 09:15:15 AM

Dave's point is to illustrate that great players often struggle freshman year,

Bad players also struggle their freshman year. The fact that he's struggling doesn't prove anything. Most freshmen stink, some get better, some don't. Hopefully he does. The question is where his ceiling is. It does not seem to me to be that high. He's not going to get taller or faster over the summer. He's not going to learn to dribble like Frank Alagia over the summer. How good a shooter can he be - Max Hooper's allegedly a prodigy and he shoots 45 percent. Is he the sort of 4 year player you'd like to have, works hard, stays in school, good citizen, sure, happy he's here. Chris Mullin, I don't think so.

I guess what I am missing is the people who suggested that he has Chris Mullin upside.  The kid is absolutely the kind of 4 year player you describe (I think all of the freshman are), but I think it's unfair to suggest that he is as one dimensional as Max Hooper.  Give him time - we got plenty of that in this rebuild.

I think the only point anyone who is defending Mussini is trying to make it give him more time. You can't have the jury out on a player after his freshman year. No one is saying he is going to be Dunn or Whitehead because he isn't but those guys had very rocky freshman years and are now going to be NBA players. It just shows you can't judge a guy fully after one year. Is there a shot he never improves? Yea sure there but let's see how his career plays out before we cast aside pretty highly rated freshman who took a chance on us when we had no roster to play with.

That is fair and I don't think anyone is saying they should pull his scholie but I do think he will struggle to get minutes next year.

I think the only point anyone who is defending Mussini is trying to make it give him more time. You can't have the jury out on a player after his freshman year. No one is saying he is going to be Dunn or Whitehead because he isn't but those guys had very rocky freshman years and are now going to be NBA players. It just shows you can't judge a guy fully after one year. Is there a shot he never improves? Yea sure there but let's see how his career plays out before we cast aside pretty highly rated freshman who took a chance on us when we had no roster to play with.

Agree.  Even if he just marginally improves over his career here, he'd be a solid guard off the bench.  If he does better than that, great.

Mussini is better then the kid we had from st. Francis prep a few years ago, Mike ( something Italian that begins with a C). But he is closer to him in my opinion then to a big east 2 guard.

Mussini is better then the kid we had from st. Francis prep a few years ago, Mike ( something Italian that begins with a C). But he is closer to him in my opinion then to a big east 2 guard.

Cavataio

He's not better than Cavataio...not now.

We have a lot to look forward to with the 2015 class (Malik-Moose-Yak-Sima). This particular group is incredibly young, humble, and hard working. They should serve as great representatives for the program with their best days ahead of them. To evaluate and critique their stat lines in the climate they got thrown into is not right. I agree with the majority, wait until they have reputable wings and lead guards before you start throwing stones. There isn't a basketball player in the world who would turn down a summer training program with Chris Mullin, and these guys are getting a invested Chris that should prove major dividends come next season.

He's not better than Cavataio...not now.

Stop it

Quote from: newsman13 on March 09, 2016, 10:38:26 AM

He's not better than Cavataio...not now.

Stop it

Well if he gets shut down tonight. It won't be because he is tired

Quote from: Amaseinyourface2 on March 09, 2016, 11:01:08 AM

Quote from: newsman13 on March 09, 2016, 10:38:26 AM

He's not better than Cavataio...not now.

Stop it

Well if he gets shut down tonight. It won't be because he is tired

Well it is kind of a late game

 The problem is , he has been very bad lately. One would think a freshman would improve as the season goes on. Re, being worn out ,he has been playing significantly less minutes lately. Of course , I think his confidence is shot and part of his problem is between his ears. Hes not going to challenge Ponds as a starter. But, hopefully he can have some productive minutes off the bench next year. We will have a better supporting cast, so he wont be guarded as tightly as this year.

Wasju, tell us where you see him in the future.  And don't hedge your bets like you do with most other things

Wasju, tell us where you see him in the future.  And don't hedge your bets like you do with most other things

Going to hedge a little.
You can see how frustrated he is. Feel bad for him and my criticism about his game is really aimed at the people who keep talking about how great a shooter he is because... lets be honest because he is white.
I think Mullin has tried to limit his minute not because he is tired, but because he is getting more and more frustrated by the minute. I think with better options next year he will see an even greater decrease in playing time. Mullin is not a guy who wants to lose. He is not going to play Mussini big minutes just to give him  experience. He will have to hit shots to play.

I think next year he will see his minutes decrease and it will be a big decision for him to either put in the work get bigger, stronger and still work at playing the point or go back to Europe.

I predict he gets uneven minutes the next two years then in his senior year he is the 2nd leading scorer and starting point guard.