Dave - Your objective opinion on reasonable expectations for the team

What bubble were we on last year?

I think a realistic expectation is winning a game or 2 in the NCAA tourney. Barring any injuries if we cant make the tourney this year we will be in trouble.

 Only reasonable expectation is to make the tournament ( NCAA). Once you are in the tourney, anything can happen and usually does.  Anything less is a major disappointment.

Quote from: we are sju on August 19, 2013, 12:16:33 PM

I predict a little better than bubble. I am going 7 seed in NCAA tourney which would puts us just outside top 25. That seems realistic to me.

Were a bubble team last year, with Phil playing pg much of the time, with no Sanchez, with no offensive strategy and in a tougher conference. If Gift was not redshirted & Harrison not suspended, they make the tourney last season.

This coming season with a future NBA pg in Rysheed, an eligible Sanchez, a strategist in Whitesell and overall more experienced and developed, this team should spend the majority of the season ranked, and should be no lower than top-15 range when season ends.

Anything less than sweet-16 is underperforming for this team.

In fairness, we weren't a bubble team last year. We were a tournament team in early February, but, by the end of February we had collapsed so that weren't even being mentioned as a team that had a prayer outside of a run to the BE finals.

When I think of a bubble team, I think of a team with a legit shot to make it. A team that's 21-10, and throughout the season has produced a combination of impressive wins, mixed in w a few bad losses.

We had one good win last year. And several bad losses.

St. John's was a bubble team last year. Everything that could have gone wrong at the end of the season did.

Bottom line if this team wants to make the tourney they can't drop cupcake OOC games and need to finish in top 4 of the conference.

St. John's was a bubble team last year. Everything that could have gone wrong at the end of the season did.

Bottom line if this team wants to make the tourney they can't drop cupcake OOC games and need to finish in top 4 of the conference.

If St. John's want to play in the tourney, they cannot lose more than 3 OOC games and that's being generous.  Outside of Wisconsin and Syracuse, there really is not a whole lot of competition on it.

St. John's was a bubble team last year. Everything that could have gone wrong at the end of the season did.

Bottom line if this team wants to make the tourney they can't drop cupcake OOC games and need to finish in top 4 of the conference.

I don't think you're a bubble team if you're off the bubble when it's time to either burst it, or book airfare. 

Everyone is a bubble team when they are 0-0! After that not so much.

Quote from: Dave on August 19, 2013, 01:40:48 PM

St. John's was a bubble team last year. Everything that could have gone wrong at the end of the season did.

Bottom line if this team wants to make the tourney they can't drop cupcake OOC games and need to finish in top 4 of the conference.

I don't think you're a bubble team if you're off the bubble when it's time to either burst it, or book airfare. 

They were on the bubble watch heading into final stretch of games. Even had a longshot with a few wins in BET.  Call it whatever you want but they had legit shot and blew it last season.

St. John's was a bubble team last year. Everything that could have gone wrong at the end of the season did.

Bottom line if this team wants to make the tourney they can't drop cupcake OOC games and need to finish in top 4 of the conference.

Absolutely.  I am hoping that Lavin doesn't tinker as much with the line-up in the beginning of the season as he has in the past.  That's why it's a bit disappointing that Jordan isn't playing in Europe.  It would be nice to have all the lineup settled before the season begins.  We can't falter to any of these lesser opponents.

Quote from: Poison on August 19, 2013, 07:50:30 PM

Quote from: Dave on August 19, 2013, 01:40:48 PM

St. John's was a bubble team last year. Everything that could have gone wrong at the end of the season did.

Bottom line if this team wants to make the tourney they can't drop cupcake OOC games and need to finish in top 4 of the conference.

I don't think you're a bubble team if you're off the bubble when it's time to either burst it, or book airfare. 

They were on the bubble watch heading into final stretch of games. Even had a longshot with a few wins in BET.  Call it whatever you want but they had legit shot and blew it last season.

Your right.

Only reasonable expectation is to make the tournament ( NCAA). Once you are in the tourney, anything can happen and usually does.  Anything less is a major disappointment.

Agree whole heartedly.   
I also think winning the conference is a realistic goal for the team.   It's not necessarily my expectation, but that should be a goal for this team.

It would be a nice momentum boost if SJU could hang the first banner of the Lavin era.   Whether it be a regular season championship, tournament champs, or a sweet 16 banner, it would be a great sign regardless. 

There is no question this team has the talent, depth, and experience to have a very good season. The team still needs to prove that they can close out and win close games ie. Murray St., Rutgers, Providence, Marquette, & Villanova were all losses under 5 points last season.

There is no team in the country that returns more minutes than St. John's and they gain 4 new players in GG, Sanchez, Jordan, and Hooper. It is very early to predict where this team will finish but in my Big East preview for USA Today's College Basketball Preview Magazine I had St. John's as a "bubble" team not "a lock" for tournament and I had them finishing 4th in Big East.

I think the 4th place team in the BE is a lock. I think people are underestimating the strength of this conference. I think we get 6 teams into the tournament: Georgetown, Marquette, Creighton, Villanova, Providence, and St. John's. It'll be tough and 6 is pretty much the max the conference will get in a given year, but as long as each team performs well OOC (No eggs laid and at least 1 scalp) I think all 6 are tournament teams.