If it wasn't for bad luck we would have no luck at all:
- Perhaps the greatest free throw outing in Alumni Hall history by Prov. and they needed every single one to eek out a win:
Finished regulation at 23 of 24 for 96%
Then hit first three of 1st overtime to be 26 of 27 at one point. An unheard of 97%.
Finally missed some in 2nd overtime including the last one on purpose.
Is school out or are the kids just beat down like us from all the losing? Student sections behind the basket were empty and it cost us. Have to figure Friars would have missed at least a couple with packed sections bothering the shot behind the basket.
- Sir with no love trying hard not to be outdone by himself. After giving the opponent a 5 point play in a 2 point loss at DePaul...he follows it up by giving Providence a 4 point play in a double overtime home loss.
- Yes, subbing in Crimson for defense and out for offense late was odd. But the lineup on the floor for the final nail in the coffin turnover was even odder. With 23 seconds left down by one, you know Prov. is in all out pressure to steal or foul. We have no need for size and rebounding there. Yes, you need free throw shooters but speed and dribbling ability might also be a good thing to have on the floor. Lineup should have been Triangle, 3'lo, Jordan, Branch then maybe Hooper. When we're on the FT line you could sub back in for size and defense.
- Somebody other than me should point out that the squares mano a mano defense on James Cotton was the key to the almost BE win. Completely shut him down the entire regulation without fouling and only yielded 6 total points to him which came in the overtimes. Worked extremely hard through screens to not switch ( a board pet peeve ) and when the bigs temporarily switched worked hard to get back on him. Won't mean as much coming from me as all know I'm biased.
- As I was stuck in traffic leaving the venue because the gate was stuck down, I heard the unbiased 1130 Am announcers select Phil Greene as the Player of the Game!
Cotton scored on Greene to win the game.
Yes, he did. That would be among the 6 overtime points I posted about. You were at the game, right? Didn't you feel his defensive effort against the leagues top scorer was phenomenal; and if you had to point to one key factor that spurred the comeback, wouldn't Mean Joe's defense be it?
We're a bad team, and Providence is also a bad team. Greene was pretty good at getting points for Greene. We needed him to run the offense, and he didn't. Greene runs the Brian Mahoney offense. He's a 2 guard playing out of position. BUT, when Lavin wants zone, he plays zone. When Lavin wants man, he pays man. Some of our players can't keep up with sh*t Lavin pulls that in Lavin's mind is actually coaching.
Greene is a valuable role player, but how far is this team going him running the point? What is his shooting % in BE play and against high major programs this year compared to BS teams we played in Nov/Dec?
Michael, I'm surprised by your questions. I must have posted on at least 10 occasions that the Square's talents are best showcased at shooting guard. I'm aware when Phil has faltered against BE competition and post accordingly. This is me just 3 days ago:
"Ordinarily, I would be leaping in like Lester to defend my beloved Rectangle, but I can't...so I shant. Phil has not played up to his expected standards since 12/21 against Youngstown. He, along with others, has not been part of the solution...so he's been part of the problem. "How do you think I feel? Betrayed, bewildered... wrong response?"
In the past I've always come with strong, logical, undeniable statistical evidence to write the truth against the immenent threat of Phil bashing. Not today. Mean Joe's play of late has been awful, particularly the last two."
I don't think he's a perfect player. You never see my comparing Mean Joe to Hatten, Hardy, Jackson, Iverson, etc. No hyperbole or exaggerated Lavinisms here. Just plain honest truth backed up by facts about a proud Johnny warrior.
Regarding Phil's play in the Providence game. Hollywood's umpteenth starting lineup mistakenly had Phil starting on the bench. St. Johns dug itself an early hole scoreing a grand total of 2 measly points in the 1st 4 minutes with the Messiah at the helm before he predictably got into foul trouble. Meaning that the good guys scored a respectable 65 points in the remaining 36 minutes with Phil manning the point the majority of the time. That prorates to a very reasonable offensive output in the 70's if your interested in the math.
Phil's point guard play was not the reason we lost. Our inability to keep Providence off the FT line and their night for the ages from 15 feet away was the main factor in our demise. Oh yeah, on that front Phil fouled only twice in the game while guarding the BE's leading scorer almost the entire way.
Also consider that the much maligned Phil Greene IV HAS FLAT OUT BEEN THE BEST PLAYER ON THIS TEAM IN FOUR OF OUR 18 CONTESTS NOW. Two of the four would have been losses without him, one he missed a potential game winning runner at the buzzer, and against Dartmouth they probably would have found a way to win anyhow. Phil leading the charge for us is nothing new. It occurred regularly last season as well. Particularly, after the season ending 3'lo suspension.
Respect yo!