Greenberg has St. Johns as a surprise team for next season

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/ncbexperts/id/9234601/virginia-cavaliers-top-list-surprise-team-candidates-next-season-college-basketball

"Steve Lavin has the Storm poised to take the next step as the new era of Big East basketball is about to begin. This is as deep, long and athletic a group as there is in the new league. Last season, St. John's took a step forward by winning 17 games and advancing to the NIT despite relying on a roster of underclassman players. The addition of former Junior College All-American and 6-9 forward Orlando Sanchez -- who was granted a waiver and a year of eligibility by the NCAA -- and top-25 point guard Rysheed Jordan to a talented group of returners will put the Storm in position to not only make the NCAA tournament, but advance.

SJU will be led by sophomore Jakarr Sampson, a 6-8 rangy and athletic forward with a knack for scoring. He is joined up front by shot blocking maven Chris Obekpa, who averaged 4 blocks and 6.2 rebounds in 26 minutes of play. God'sgift Achiuwa gives Lavin a serviceable physical post to complement Sanchez, Sampson and Obekpa.

On the wing, Amir Garrett is an active multi-positional player while Sir'Dominic Pointer  is physically mature and has the versatility to play any perimeter spot. Sanchez can swing to the small forward and could be the jump shooter Lavin has been missing.

St. John's struggled from the field last season. The key for their backcourt is to improve their field goal and 3-point shooting (they shot just 41 percent and 22 percent, respectively, last season). They must show better shot discipline and play with a greater purpose. If suspended guard D'Angelo Harrison returns and buys in to being a winning player and a good teammate, this backcourt could be tough to contain.

Phil Greene is a scoring guard who makes plays off the bounce while Jamal Branch -- despite struggling shooting the ball -- showed the potential to be a winning guard. Freshman Rysheed Jordan is the real deal. A "Philly" point guard, he has a feel for the game. He plays with pace and a maturity. All of this together will make the Storm hard to beat come next March."

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Flip Harrison with Amir...LOL!

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

Quote from: paultzman on May 02, 2013, 10:53:34 AM

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

Double A

Quote from: survivedc on May 02, 2013, 11:07:50 AM

Quote from: paultzman on May 02, 2013, 10:53:34 AM

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

Double A

For his sake I hope you are right.

Yes, Amir is multi positional. Next season, he will be playing left out.

 Saw that Vitale also put a top 40 out.  Think he had St. Johns at #37. 

Quote from: survivedc on May 02, 2013, 11:07:50 AM

Quote from: paultzman on May 02, 2013, 10:53:34 AM

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

Double A

Obviously you were joking, but Double A is probable a few years away for him unless he really matures.  I think he plays basketball at another program.

Greenberg is on the money with the analysis except for the Amir mistake. 

Quote from: fordham96 on May 02, 2013, 11:20:17 AM

Quote from: survivedc on May 02, 2013, 11:07:50 AM

Quote from: paultzman on May 02, 2013, 10:53:34 AM

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

Double A

Obviously you were joking, but Double A is probable a few years away for him unless he really matures.  I think he plays basketball at another program.

Greenberg is on the money with the analysis except for the Amir mistake.

Really surprised he hasn't gone to ASU. The campus in less than 45 minutes to Reds complex in Goodyear AZ. At least for spring training purposes it would make a lot of sense. I think he starts off again in Montana if Reds continued their working agreement with that club. 

Quote from: Marillac on May 02, 2013, 01:47:43 PM

Quote from: fordham96 on May 02, 2013, 11:20:17 AM

Quote from: survivedc on May 02, 2013, 11:07:50 AM

Quote from: paultzman on May 02, 2013, 10:53:34 AM

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

Double A

Obviously you were joking, but Double A is probable a few years away for him unless he really matures.  I think he plays basketball at another program.

Greenberg is on the money with the analysis except for the Amir mistake.

Really surprised he hasn't gone to ASU. The campus in less than 45 minutes to Reds complex in Goodyear AZ. At least for spring training purposes it would make a lot of sense. I think he starts off again in Montana if Reds continued their working agreement with that club.

Pretty sure ASU has all 13 rides committed for next year.  And 2 of their incoming frosh are SFs. 

Quote from: paultzman on May 02, 2013, 10:53:34 AM

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

I was told not to be surprised if Wichita St. is on his list.

Saw that Vitale also put a top 40 out.  Think he had St. Johns at #37.

Interestingly enough, Vitale has 5 Big East Schools in his top 40 including SJU.  He only has 4 ACC schools and 3 AAC schools I believe.

Quote from: boo3 on May 02, 2013, 01:34:11 PM

Saw that Vitale also put a top 40 out.  Think he had St. Johns at #37.

Interestingly enough, Vitale has 5 Big East Schools in his top 40 including SJU.  He only has 4 ACC schools and 3 AAC schools I believe.

That's nice but let's be honest when you start ranking teams towards the end of the top 40 it becomes very subjective. In other words I could do a top 60 and have more teams from conference X then Y.  So what?

Kind of like the NCAA Committee giving out the last few at large bids.  Is there much difference between the last 2-3 teams picked as opposed to the last 2-3 teams that just missed?

More importantly look at everyone's pre-season top 10-15 (which is a little less subjective) totally DOMINATED by teams from the Big 10 and ACC (including teams like Louisville who is a soon to be ACC).

No current new Big East teams.  That has to change.  In other words in the next few years the Georgetown's, Marquette's, Villanova's and hopefully SJU's are going to have to emerge on the level of the top BIG 10 and ACC schools in terms of recruiting and play for the new Big East to be considered an elite conference.

Remember what made the Big East great since the expansion to 16 was not just the depth (because they had some bad teams as well) but the great teams/elite teams that consistently emerged from the conference every year.  From 2006 to 2013 the Big East had a no. 1 seed in the NCAA's every year except for 2007 and 2008 and Georgetown was a 2 seed both those years.

And in years like 2006 (UCONN, Villanova), 2009 (Louisville, UCONN and Pitt) you had MULTIPLE no. 1 seeds.

Right now the current makeup of the new Big East I cannot see anyone next year at this point being on that level.  Perhaps someone emerges next year.  Could happen.  Not the end of the world if it doesn't.  I certainly think SJU can real good next year.

But more importantly it has to emerge in the next few years on a consistent basis for it to be a top echelon conference.

Quote from: MCNPA on May 03, 2013, 07:44:34 AM

Quote from: boo3 on May 02, 2013, 01:34:11 PM

Saw that Vitale also put a top 40 out.  Think he had St. Johns at #37.

Interestingly enough, Vitale has 5 Big East Schools in his top 40 including SJU.  He only has 4 ACC schools and 3 AAC schools I believe.

That's nice but let's be honest when you start ranking teams towards the end of the top 40 it becomes very subjective. In other words I could do a top 60 and have more teams from conference X then Y.  So what?

Kind of like the NCAA Committee giving out the last few at large bids.  Is there much difference between the last 2-3 teams picked as opposed to the last 2-3 teams that just missed?

More importantly look at everyone's pre-season top 10-15 (which is a little less subjective) totally DOMINATED by teams from the Big 10 and ACC (including teams like Louisville who is a soon to be ACC).

No current new Big East teams.  That has to change.  In other words in the next few years the Georgetown's, Marquette's, Villanova's and hopefully SJU's are going to have to emerge on the level of the top BIG 10 and ACC schools in terms of recruiting and play for the new Big East to be considered an elite conference.

Remember what made the Big East great since the expansion to 16 was not just the depth (because they had some bad teams as well) but the great teams/elite teams that consistently emerged from the conference every year.  From 2006 to 2013 the Big East had a no. 1 seed in the NCAA's every year except for 2007 and 2008 and Georgetown was a 2 seed both those years.

And in years like 2006 (UCONN, Villanova), 2009 (Louisville, UCONN and Pitt) you had MULTIPLE no. 1 seeds.

Right now the current makeup of the new Big East I cannot see anyone next year at this point being on that level.  Perhaps someone emerges next year.  Could happen.  Not the end of the world if it doesn't.  I certainly think SJU can real good next year.

But more importantly it has to emerge in the next few years on a consistent basis for it to be a top echelon conference.

I don't disagree.  I just like to see the press.  It also helps teams sell our conference to recruits.  I think a guy like Brad Stevens can be the next Coach K at Butler if he starts landing consistent high level talent.  He's that good of a coach.

This season is a great time for us to step to the forefront and shine.  Lots of people will be looking at our conference and judging by what they see.  The time for moving forward is now. 

Quote from: survivedc on May 02, 2013, 11:07:50 AM

Quote from: paultzman on May 02, 2013, 10:53:34 AM

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

I was told not to be surprised if Wichita St. is on his list.

I wish all the best for Amir, but it seems like a stretch for him to make that team. He couldn't get burn on an NIT team. How will he get off the bench there?

Quote from: LJSA on May 02, 2013, 08:02:56 PM

Quote from: survivedc on May 02, 2013, 11:07:50 AM

Quote from: paultzman on May 02, 2013, 10:53:34 AM

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

I was told not to be surprised if Wichita St. is on his list.

I wish all the best for Amir, but it seems like a stretch for him to make that team. He couldn't get burn on an NIT team. How will he get off the bench there?

I love this fantasy world of college hoops you live in where a soph pulling down over 20 minutes a game in the Big East "isn't getting burn"....

But more importantly it has to emerge in the next few years on a consistent basis for it to be a top echelon conference.

The ground work is in place to be just that. This is a basketball centric conference, so the focus on the adminstration side will be on the basketball programs. With the increase revenue from the TV contract, there is no reason why these schools will not be able to invest in top flight coaching staffs, not just head coaches.

Quote from: Poison on May 03, 2013, 11:57:17 AM

Quote from: LJSA on May 02, 2013, 08:02:56 PM

Quote from: survivedc on May 02, 2013, 11:07:50 AM

Quote from: paultzman on May 02, 2013, 10:53:34 AM

Amir could be very active somewhere else. Seth, come on!

Has there been any word on where he may be going?

I was told not to be surprised if Wichita St. is on his list.

I wish all the best for Amir, but it seems like a stretch for him to make that team. He couldn't get burn on an NIT team. How will he get off the bench there?

I love this fantasy world of college hoops you live in where a soph pulling down over 20 minutes a game in the Big East "isn't getting burn"....

To that point.  Wesley Johnson shot 44% and 39% for a TERRIBLE Iowa St team (14-18, 15-17 and 4-12 in the Big 12 in both years) and averaged 27 MPG in his sophomore season at Iowa St then transferred into the best conference in the country to Syracuse and led Syracuse to a 15-3 record, BE regular season title, no. 1 seed in the NCAA's and he was POY.

Yet a 20 MPG player in the BE will have trouble getting burn at a MVC school.  OK...