Next Season

I like Lavin a lot, hope he stays and is very successful for a long time here. I know many of us have second guessed a lot of things that he has done recruiting wise and coaching wise, but he genuinly seems to care about these kids and wants them to learn. However if he did decide to leave i think his hire did prove that the school is willing to pay ( with the help of our successful alums like Mike R, thank you ) for a top coach. The forward thinking to head into the new Big East is also a sign that we are looking ahead.

Quote from: DoodyNY33 on March 24, 2013, 11:49:50 PM

Quote from: stjohns86 on March 24, 2013, 10:03:42 PM

Quote from: simplyred on March 24, 2013, 03:12:33 PM

Quote from: boo3 on March 24, 2013, 02:58:43 PM

  Wonder if Lavin will be here?  I heard some talk today, and I'm sure "my guy" is different than Baldi's.

 Be careful what ya'll wish for... the grass may not be much greener n the other side. 

I mentioned during the BET that the rumor I heard is that Lavin is going to USC and Mullin will be our next coach.  I don't believe it and, as much as I love Chris, i hope it's not true.

If Lavin were to leave, which I think would be a mistake unless he really wants to be back out west, I would make 1 phone call and one call only to Billy Donovan and basically offer him the keys to the vault.  As a program we shouldn't go backwards and hire and up and comer.  Should be major player in BE from the get go. 

That said, i truly don't think lavin is leaving, think he wants to finish what he has started at st johns.

St. John's is never getting Billy Donovan. End of story.

Seriously, what is everybody talking about? We have a good HC who has brought very talented players to SJU. There have been some bumps in the road. First and foremost, coach got cancer. Harkless left early for the NBA. Dunlap was offered a HC job in the NBA. Sanchez wronged by the NCAA.

Yes, it was a disappointing season. Yes, I think it's fair to expect a step forward next year. NIT would be a major disappointment in Year 4. But let's not pretend finding a coach with Lavin's reputation is easy. The program is lucky to have him and I still believe that if he sticks around he'll make our program a consistent winner again.

No one blames Lavin for what was out of his hands. We are all relieved that he is cancer free, and we all (or least most of us) understand that he could not be with the team because he had to be with his family when his father passed.

That said, this team, in their 33rd game looked like they hadn't learned anything. They don't stop the ball on defense. They don't pass well. They don't move without the ball. They don't rebound. They don't follow their missed shots. They don't understand spacing on the break. And they don't play well together.

They are tremendously athletic, but that isn't enough to beat good teams. This group is a collection of summer leaguers who have poor instincts. Lavin does need an assistant coach to help him teach these players how to play the game more intelligently. Doesn't that strike you as something he should be qualified to do?

We've hired a face. A salesman. And we've got to support him, and hope that he gets better, because if he leaves, we're starting over again, and I don't think anyone wants that.

I agree with everything you're saying, but I do believe there is a root cause to our offensive inefficiency. As Brett Comer and Sherwood Brown are showing fans in this tournament, success begins and ends with guard play. When you have guards who can dribble penetrate, set people up, and shoot from the outside, your offense will flow. St. John's just does not have that. We can talk about pre injury and post injury, Jamal Branch played horrible basketball this year. There was a reason walk ons were getting looks in the final games. He needs to step up and become the PG of this team ... or accept the fact that he'll be relegated to the bench for the duration of his college career. I still say D'Angelo Harrison is a talent, albeit flawed in his game. He's a playmaker out there. Unfortunately, the off the court issues have become an issue but I'm still hopeful he finds his way back in our uniform next year. I'm not saying that we are going to be a great team overnight if our guards start playing well, but I do think it'll open up more good looks for Pointer, Sampson, Obekpa, and Sanchez if Branch/Harrison/Greeme get it together.

In all seriousness, if Sanchez was as good as an NBA player now, why on earth wouldn't he be entering the draft?

Obviously he's worried he might only be the number 3 pick and he wants number 1 pick money.

  There was a reason walk ons were getting looks in the final games.

Is it the reason that Lavin is silly? If not, can you explain the reason why the walk ons were getting minutes? I don't get it personally. For example, some people have said that the walk ons were being rewarded for tearing it up in practice and that the great coaching Buddha was teaching his young charges yet another important lesson about the importance of diligent preparation. That seems to me to be unlikely, as they only played 5 minutes, which comprises not much of a lesson - and to whom is it being taught, since the same players play relatively the same minutes regardless? Here you seem to be suggesting that David Lipscomb was getting minutes because he was more skilled than Jamal Branch at being able to "dribble penetrate, set people up, and shoot from the outside," skills needed by a good PG. That seems to me to be assuming facts not in evidence, as DL has achieved no points and one assist in his career and anyway when he's on the floor they make him go stand in the corner like Marco Bourgault or that guy at the end of the Blair Witch Project. My own theory is that Lavin is playing his walk ons to give the impression that Harrison's suspension has left him short handed so as to deflect criticism from his moribund coaching and the team's atrocious play. If he catches lightning in a bottle and the guy scores a couple of points Lavin is a genius and if not Lavin's the victim and Harrison the villain. (You may have noticed during yesterday's telecast that Mike Crispino was still beating that dead horse, explaining that SJ was on the cusp of an NCAA bid until Harrison forced Lavin's hand by shrugging his shoulders and arching one eyebrow, after which a losing streak ensued.) In either case Lavin's credited with being a deep thinker. The other explanation - the reasonable one - is that Lipscomb et al are playing to give the other guys some rest. Except the same four guys still play the same 30 minutes, so that can't be it. So: what can be it?


 

Quote from: DoodyNY33 on March 25, 2013, 06:26:49 AM

  There was a reason walk ons were getting looks in the final games.

Is it the reason that Lavin is silly? If not, can you explain the reason why the walk ons were getting minutes? I don't get it personally. For example, some people have said that the walk ons were being rewarded for tearing it up in practice and that the great coaching Buddha was teaching his young charges yet another important lesson about the importance of diligent preparation. That seems to me to be unlikely, as they only played 5 minutes, which comprises not much of a lesson - and to whom is it being taught, since the same players play relatively the same minutes regardless? Here you seem to be suggesting that David Lipscomb was getting minutes because he was more skilled than Jamal Branch at being able to "dribble penetrate, set people up, and shoot from the outside," skills needed by a good PG. That seems to me to be assuming facts not in evidence, as DL has achieved no points and one assist in his career and anyway when he's on the floor they make him go stand in the corner like Marco Bourgault or that guy at the end of the Blair Witch Project. My own theory is that Lavin is playing his walk ons to give the impression that Harrison's suspension has left him short handed so as to deflect criticism from his moribund coaching and the team's atrocious play. If he catches lightning in a bottle and the guy scores a couple of points Lavin is a genius and if not Lavin's the victim and Harrison the villain. (You may have noticed during yesterday's telecast that Mike Crispino was still beating that dead horse, explaining that SJ was on the cusp of an NCAA bid until Harrison forced Lavin's hand by shrugging his shoulders and arching one eyebrow, after which a losing streak ensued.) In either case Lavin's credited with being a deep thinker. The other explanation - the reasonable one - is that Lipscomb et al are playing to give the other guys some rest. Except the same four guys still play the same 30 minutes, so that can't be it. So: what can be it?

If Lavin does in fact employ such a Machiavellian approach to his coaching as Foad/Fun suggests, he's a deeper thinker than I gave him credit for. 

If Lavin does in fact employ such a Machiavellian approach to his coaching as Foad/Fun suggests, he's a deeper thinker than I gave him credit for.

There's nothing Machiavellian about it. When you ask a child who spilled the milk and it blames its imaginary friend that's hardly proof that it's been reading the Prince or the Art of War. It's something not very bright and highly neurotic deflecting criticism in a very primitive way. I think Lavin a chowderhead. I'm not postulating evidence that he's clever. Quite the contrary.

Quote from: DFF6 on March 25, 2013, 08:20:46 AM

If Lavin does in fact employ such a Machiavellian approach to his coaching as Foad/Fun suggests, he's a deeper thinker than I gave him credit for.

There's nothing Machiavellian about it. When you ask a child who spilled the milk and it blames its imaginary friend that's hardly proof that it's been reading the Prince or the Art of War. It's something not very bright and highly neurotic deflecting criticism in a very primitive way. I think Lavin a chowderhead. I'm not postulating evidence that he's clever. Quite the contrary.

He may be a "chowderhead" as it pertains to his coaching decisions, but if Lavin devised the plan to play the walkons to achieve the result that your theory suggests, I think it takes a level thinking that's beyond the kid blaming his imaginary friend over spilt milk, IMO.

Quote from: DoodyNY33 on March 25, 2013, 06:26:49 AM

  There was a reason walk ons were getting looks in the final games.

Is it the reason that Lavin is silly? If not, can you explain the reason why the walk ons were getting minutes? I don't get it personally. For example, some people have said that the walk ons were being rewarded for tearing it up in practice and that the great coaching Buddha was teaching his young charges yet another important lesson about the importance of diligent preparation. That seems to me to be unlikely, as they only played 5 minutes, which comprises not much of a lesson - and to whom is it being taught, since the same players play relatively the same minutes regardless? Here you seem to be suggesting that David Lipscomb was getting minutes because he was more skilled than Jamal Branch at being able to "dribble penetrate, set people up, and shoot from the outside," skills needed by a good PG. That seems to me to be assuming facts not in evidence, as DL has achieved no points and one assist in his career and anyway when he's on the floor they make him go stand in the corner like Marco Bourgault or that guy at the end of the Blair Witch Project. My own theory is that Lavin is playing his walk ons to give the impression that Harrison's suspension has left him short handed so as to deflect criticism from his moribund coaching and the team's atrocious play. If he catches lightning in a bottle and the guy scores a couple of points Lavin is a genius and if not Lavin's the victim and Harrison the villain. (You may have noticed during yesterday's telecast that Mike Crispino was still beating that dead horse, explaining that SJ was on the cusp of an NCAA bid until Harrison forced Lavin's hand by shrugging his shoulders and arching one eyebrow, after which a losing streak ensued.) In either case Lavin's credited with being a deep thinker. The other explanation - the reasonable one - is that Lipscomb et al are playing to give the other guys some rest. Except the same four guys still play the same 30 minutes, so that can't be it. So: what can be it?


 

In no way was I saying that he was more skilled.  But anybody watching the last 5 games of the season can't deny that Branch was awful out there.  If they had any other legitimate options at guard, he would've been riding the pine.

Quote from: Foad on March 25, 2013, 08:43:22 AM

Quote from: DFF6 on March 25, 2013, 08:20:46 AM

If Lavin does in fact employ such a Machiavellian approach to his coaching as Foad/Fun suggests, he's a deeper thinker than I gave him credit for.

There's nothing Machiavellian about it. When you ask a child who spilled the milk and it blames its imaginary friend that's hardly proof that it's been reading the Prince or the Art of War. It's something not very bright and highly neurotic deflecting criticism in a very primitive way. I think Lavin a chowderhead. I'm not postulating evidence that he's clever. Quite the contrary.

He may be a "chowderhead" as it pertains to his coaching decisions, but if Lavin devised the plan to play the walkons to achieve the result that your theory suggests, I think it takes a level thinking that's beyond the kid blaming his imaginary friend over spilt milk, IMO.

some people have a lot of time on their hands. next Foad will posit the truth behind the Kennedy assassination.

Playing Lipscomb doesn't deflect criticism from Lavin in any way. Not an iota.  It hasn't been used by the media to deflect criticism and I can't see how anybody could deduce that type of theory. It opened up a few minutes for a bench player to get minuscule court time in a meaningless post season game.   If this board is any indication, it is drawing criticism to Lavin.  I think that it is delusional to surmise that it is some sort of deflection tactic.   

Playing Lipscomb doesn't deflect criticism from Lavin in any way. Not an iota.  It hasn't been used by the media to deflect criticism and I can't see how anybody could deduce that type of theory. It opened up a few minutes for a bench player to get minuscule court time in a meaningless post season game.   If this board is any indication, it is drawing criticism to Lavin.  I think that it is delusional to surmise that it is some sort of deflection tactic.   

I thought the games were important for growing our young team?  Now the games are meaningless?

We need harrison or a replacement. Somebody has to score and be a threat. With him, gift, sanchez, a good freshman, and everyone else back we should definitely be a top 20 team. Before harrison left we better then nova. They made the tourney.
Without Harrison- at least the tickets will be cheap

Quote from: MCNPA on March 25, 2013, 09:21:50 AM

Playing Lipscomb doesn't deflect criticism from Lavin in any way. Not an iota.  It hasn't been used by the media to deflect criticism and I can't see how anybody could deduce that type of theory. It opened up a few minutes for a bench player to get minuscule court time in a meaningless post season game.   If this board is any indication, it is drawing criticism to Lavin.  I think that it is delusional to surmise that it is some sort of deflection tactic.   

I thought the games were important for growing our young team?  Now the games are meaningless?

Moose, you're smarter than that. Meaningless in terms of establishing ourselves in the hierarchy of post-season college hoops.  Valuable nonetheless for our kids getting more court time.  Why people over analyze the Lipscomb thing I have no idea? 

Quote from: Moose on March 25, 2013, 09:24:59 AM

Quote from: MCNPA on March 25, 2013, 09:21:50 AM

Playing Lipscomb doesn't deflect criticism from Lavin in any way. Not an iota.  It hasn't been used by the media to deflect criticism and I can't see how anybody could deduce that type of theory. It opened up a few minutes for a bench player to get minuscule court time in a meaningless post season game.   If this board is any indication, it is drawing criticism to Lavin.  I think that it is delusional to surmise that it is some sort of deflection tactic.   

I thought the games were important for growing our young team?  Now the games are meaningless?

Moose, you're smarter than that. Meaningless in terms of establishing ourselves in the hierarchy of post-season college hoops.  Valuable nonetheless for our kids getting more court time.  Why people over analyze the Lipscomb thing I have no idea? 

Its a kick in the face to scholarship players.  It's mind games which I'm not a fan of, especially when it comes to college kids.  Its playing 4 on 5 out there (except for Marillac who saw something in his game).  Actually its like 3 on 5 when you consider the other guys in our lineup at times with him.

Just another very odd move in a series of head scratchers this year.

Quote from: MCNPA on March 25, 2013, 09:51:12 AM

Quote from: Moose on March 25, 2013, 09:24:59 AM

Quote from: MCNPA on March 25, 2013, 09:21:50 AM

Playing Lipscomb doesn't deflect criticism from Lavin in any way. Not an iota.  It hasn't been used by the media to deflect criticism and I can't see how anybody could deduce that type of theory. It opened up a few minutes for a bench player to get minuscule court time in a meaningless post season game.   If this board is any indication, it is drawing criticism to Lavin.  I think that it is delusional to surmise that it is some sort of deflection tactic.   

I thought the games were important for growing our young team?  Now the games are meaningless?

Moose, you're smarter than that. Meaningless in terms of establishing ourselves in the hierarchy of post-season college hoops.  Valuable nonetheless for our kids getting more court time.  Why people over analyze the Lipscomb thing I have no idea? 

Its a kick in the face to scholarship players.  It's mind games which I'm not a fan of, especially when it comes to college kids.  Its playing 4 on 5 out there (except for Marillac who saw something in his game).  Actually its like 3 on 5 when you consider the other guys in our lineup at times with him.

Just another very odd move in a series of head scratchers this year.

Totally agree, the odd way this team was managed over the last several games merits questioning.

Playing Lipscomb doesn't deflect criticism from Lavin in any way. Not an iota.  It hasn't been used by the media to deflect criticism and I can't see how anybody could deduce that type of theory. It opened up a few minutes for a bench player to get minuscule court time in a meaningless post season game.   If this board is any indication, it is drawing criticism to Lavin.  I think that it is delusional to surmise that it is some sort of deflection tactic.   

I do believe that Lavin decision to play the walkons was more to do with giving them some court time when it became clear we were not going anywhere this season so why not reward them with a few minutes. It had nothing to do with being short handed, he could have played Greene 40 minutes at the point, and give felix some time. I also believe playing Lipscomb was also done to show Jordan that there is more than enough playing time for him, and he could very well come in and be are starting PG.

some people have a lot of time on their hands. next Foad will posit the truth behind the Kennedy assassination.

That's an easy one. In 1960 Joe Kennedy made a deal with his former organized crime associates to fix the outcome of the presidential election by buying union votes in Illinois, West Virginia, and Texas. According to the agreement the Kennedy justice department would turn a blind eye to the business of organized crime. Instead AG Bobby Kennedy inter alia began OC investigations in the AFL CIO and illegally deported Carlos Marcello the OC boss in NO. Santo Trafficante and Marcello had Kennedy whacked - CM was quoted as saying that if you cut off the head of the snake the body dies, the idea being that LBJ, who hated Bobby, would replace him with an AG with different priorities. The assassination was arranged by Johnie Roselli - who ended up in an oil drum of cement in the Gulf of Mexico - and Sam Giancano - who was shot in the head while cooking sausages just a few days before he was scheduled to testify into a senate committee investigating the assassination.

It's funny to me - funny strange - that you find it funny - funny strange - that Lavin might do things for self serving purposes. Everyone does everything for self serving purposes and put the most altruistic spin on it as possible. That's human nature. Even if you think Lavin infallible, I assume you think still think he's human.

Quote from: Foad on March 25, 2013, 07:13:07 AM

Quote from: DoodyNY33 on March 25, 2013, 06:26:49 AM

  There was a reason walk ons were getting looks in the final games.

Is it the reason that Lavin is silly? If not, can you explain the reason why the walk ons were getting minutes? I don't get it personally. For example, some people have said that the walk ons were being rewarded for tearing it up in practice and that the great coaching Buddha was teaching his young charges yet another important lesson about the importance of diligent preparation. That seems to me to be unlikely, as they only played 5 minutes, which comprises not much of a lesson - and to whom is it being taught, since the same players play relatively the same minutes regardless? Here you seem to be suggesting that David Lipscomb was getting minutes because he was more skilled than Jamal Branch at being able to "dribble penetrate, set people up, and shoot from the outside," skills needed by a good PG. That seems to me to be assuming facts not in evidence, as DL has achieved no points and one assist in his career and anyway when he's on the floor they make him go stand in the corner like Marco Bourgault or that guy at the end of the Blair Witch Project. My own theory is that Lavin is playing his walk ons to give the impression that Harrison's suspension has left him short handed so as to deflect criticism from his moribund coaching and the team's atrocious play. If he catches lightning in a bottle and the guy scores a couple of points Lavin is a genius and if not Lavin's the victim and Harrison the villain. (You may have noticed during yesterday's telecast that Mike Crispino was still beating that dead horse, explaining that SJ was on the cusp of an NCAA bid until Harrison forced Lavin's hand by shrugging his shoulders and arching one eyebrow, after which a losing streak ensued.) In either case Lavin's credited with being a deep thinker. The other explanation - the reasonable one - is that Lipscomb et al are playing to give the other guys some rest. Except the same four guys still play the same 30 minutes, so that can't be it. So: what can be it?


 

In no way was I saying that he was more skilled.  But anybody watching the last 5 games of the season can't deny that Branch was awful out there.  If they had any other legitimate options at guard, he would've been riding the pine.

Branch played poorly yesterday and against nova there is no question about that. However I thought he played really well against Marquette a game in which he had 8 assists, and against st Joe's where he had 9 points and 5 assists in only 19 minutes.

I worry about a lot of things next year, but Jamal branch is not at the top of that list.

Playing Lipscomb doesn't deflect criticism from Lavin in any way. Not an iota.  It hasn't been used by the media to deflect criticism and I can't see how anybody could deduce that type of theory. It opened up a few minutes for a bench player to get minuscule court time in a meaningless post season game.   If this board is any indication, it is drawing criticism to Lavin.  I think that it is delusional to surmise that it is some sort of deflection tactic.   

Harrison's suspension has been cited by the media ad nauseum as the reason for the late season collapse. Crispino did it as late as yesterday and pointedly so. Playing the walk ons draws further attention to Harrison's absence. Res ipsa loquitur, except in your case obviously.     

Quote from: newsman13 on March 24, 2013, 06:34:50 PM

this is one of the most disappointing seasons i can remember. if we had a worse shooting team in school history, i'd like to find out which year. this was downright embarassing. yes, we made a post season tournament as we did when looie coached. the difference is these guys were highly touted. the coaches were highly touted. so what happened?

besides the consistant embarassment at the three point line and the foul line...our number two problem is no point guard. can you imagine a big east team with no point guard? there's a reason quarterbacks in football get paid the big bucks. someone has to run the show. maybe we get jordan...maybe...but is he really a savior? maybe harvard hooper is being taught to run the point. i'd guess he's smart enough. no one else is at this point. maybe branch or greeneIV will have epiphanies. it happened to david cain back in the day. right now, branch gets a C with an E for effort playing hurt. greene merits no more than a D. maybe he turns lavin's head in practice...but on the floor he's horrendous.

harrison gets a C-. i'm being generous here. sure, he was third leading scorer in the big east. he's the consummate chucker who occasionally finds the basket. he's a cancer in the locker room. he hasn't learned basketball is a game where you're supposed to have fun and not a war. his attitude takes most of the fun out of watching the games. i'd prefer lavin tell him to stay home and let him go out and find a high schooler who plays no D but scores 30 odd points a game on high percentage shooting.

garrett is also a C player based on his skill set and how that translated to what he brought to the floor.

pointer and obekpa are B's. both improved enough to warrant higher grades than the others. maybe obekpa could get extra credit for being second in the nation in blocked shots. as with the others...these guys must take a thousand shots a day to bring that portion of their games to respectability. the same with sampson. yes, he was the big east rookie of the year. someone is seeing something. i'm missing it. he's another bricklayer.

incompletes go to jones, balamou and bourgault. jones played himself out of a starting spot...but who expected him to start anyway? balamou didn't want to red shirt. he looked good at first, then he didn't. bourgault's failure is on the coach. you bring in a player who has a history of shooting 40 percent from three. you play him single digit minutes and pull him after one miss...thus screwing up his confidence. the only reason i can see for this is lavin wanted to keep up with his mantra that "we're the youngest team in the country". when someone pointed out bourgault is skewing that number...frenchie sat.

i'm generous giving the coaching staff a C. we have nba coaches...and not much improvement in player skills. maybe the players aren't smart enough to get it in one year. not everyone can be reached. we have a hall of famer in keady. we have lavin whose record at ucla is something we'd dream about here. i don't know what happened. the recruiting was fine when it came to getting top 100 players. we're not even talking to mcdonald aa's or top ten high schoolers. without them, we're condemned to remain at the usual high level of mediocrity we experienced during the looie years.

sanchez? he averaged maybe a dozen points and eight rebounds in junior college. the skill levels are much lower there. don't believe the hype that he can play in the nba today. he'll be a good player. he won't be a savior. god's gift. he might be the savior we're looking for.

at least real baseball is about a week away. there's always something for the sports fan.

Ok, I'll bite.

First off, if a season in which St. John's had a winning record is "one of the most disappointing you can remember" then you must've missed the past decade of STJ hoops. "Down right embarrassing"? Sure, we could've done better, but I think that's a bit over the top. We have highly rated recruits, but we were a young team, and young teams tend to make a lot of mistakes, we saw that.

I think Branch will end up being a fine PG for us next year. He was basically a Freshman this year.

I agree with you that the shooting needs to be addressed. I'm not giving up on Bourgault just yet, as I think he could improve. Hopefully Hooper can give us a 3pt threat. Having Harrison back would be huge. I also think Branch is a better jumpshooter than he showed this year, I'd like to see him shoot a little more.

How the hell you can give Amir a higher grade than D'Angelo is beyond me. And a C- for the 3rd BE scorer? You're lost.

Obekpa will get better. Probably a lot better next year. We all know he can block shots, but I think his offensive game will develop too.

Sanchez has been touted by some as being NBA quality.

To be honest, I think your post is probably the most glass half empty summary of this season that could possibly be written, congrats.

We got 17 wins with just Freshman and Sophomores, and now it seems like many of you think it's impossible for us to add 3-5 wins next year with a more experienced team. Not sure why you feel that way, but for me, if we get Harrison back, I'm going to be really, really excited for next season.

first...desco80...though your film clip was directed at me, it was the funniest thing i've seen in a long time.  and mazel tov on your upcoming wedding.  i mentioned god's gift being a savior almost tongue in cheek.  however, he came here as a 6'8" power forward who averaged 24 and 12 in junior college...was mvp of the njcaa tournament...and had a year to work on his game.  i know marillac hated him during his recruitment...but everyone else seemed to be on board.

second...i recommend posters here go to bigeastboards for fun or whomever's game/season analysis.  it's worth reading...big time.

i said this is the most disappointing season i can remember despite the winning record.  some may argue 2003 when the players acted like traveling salesmen in pittsburgh and had their way with a hotel housewife was the bottom.  i look at it this way:  if you're promised a dodge dart and end up with a pinto, it's disappointing.  if you're promised a cadillac and end up with a pinto, it's worse.   lavin is our cadillac and he brought a fleet full of top quality coaches with him.  losses to murray state, san francisco and unc asheville aren't even pintos...they're schwinns.  i have tapes of games going back at least a quarter century.  i can watch the losses as well as the wins.  not this year.  our losses were pathetic because of the complete inability to put the ball in the basket from anywhere on the court including the free throw line.  even the wins are unwatchable.  that's what i mean by disappointing.

yes, branch was basically a freshman, so i should cut him some slack?  erick barkley was basically a freshman and he made jarvis look like naismith.  with barkley at the point, we were cheated out of a final four by a cheating team that had to vacate the win against us. branch will never morph into barkley.

amir gets a higher grade than harrison not because he's better, but because he had a more positive effect on the team.  if harrison could shoot, he's be our kemba walker.  he can't shoot...so he shoots off his mouth and his bad attitude plays out on the court.  i don't know why he got suspended...but as bob dylan wrote:  you don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.  as far as comparing him to cobb, butkis or artest re: the fun factor.  cobb had fun spiking people...butkis had fun knocking the crap out of quarterbacks...artest??i don't know.  i do know the knicks passed on him in favor of some french guy who never played.  matt brust...no fun...but he had to be the dumbest player i ever saw.

re:  sanchez is being touted as nba quality...however, not by anyone who's seen him.  it's the usual announcers filling the dead air with smoke from their rear ends.  i think he'll be a good player.  he told me he's staying in school because he wants his degree.  i'll take him at his word, although he doesn't owe me the truth.

i'm reasonably sure...no positive...we'll get at least 22 wins next year.  why not?  the players will presumably practice their shot over the summer.  we'll be in the atlantic "big east" 10...so the schedule will be easier.  hopefully the games will be watchable again.  see, the glass is really half full.