What is the solution?

Rotation? Preparation? Motivation? Scheme?

If you were in charge what would you do?

Since Lavin isn't going anywhere (the guy is a great recruiter) our best chance is to hire a great sideline coach to be his assistant. I don't know who would take that role but Lavin needs a guy who knows how to substitute players, create offensive halfcourt sets and teach the team how to move without the ball in their hands.

Also one other thing I notice is even though these recruits are highly rated they seem like some of the least court savvy guys I've seen in a while. They seem very brain dead out on the court and most of them have been together for 2 or 3 years and that says something...not good. Maybe need to bring in better basketball IQ players too.

Rotation - Rotate Whitesell's seat with Lavin's, can't be any worse.

Preparation - Prepare the check & cut a deal to send "Hollywood" home.

Motivation - Motivate the Board to hire a President, so decisions can be made at SJU.

Scheme - Do whatever it takes to get Lav out of here sooner than later.

Rotation? Preparation? Motivation? Scheme?

If you were in charge what would you do?

Give Rysheed the keys - at least 25 mins.  When he's not in, Branch MUST be in.  Greene and D'Angelo should never be playing the 1 for us.  Never.  That alone would solve a lot of issues and doesn't require any improvement in something like scheme which is just not going to happen.

Then new coach at year's end.

More decoys.

Quote from: Dave on January 17, 2014, 09:15:15 AM

Rotation? Preparation? Motivation? Scheme?

If you were in charge what would you do?

Give Rysheed the keys - at least 25 mins.  When he's not in, Branch MUST be in.  Greene and D'Angelo should never be playing the 1 for us.  Never.  That alone would solve a lot of issues and doesn't require any improvement in something like scheme which is just not going to happen.

Then new coach at year's end.

Agree 100%.  Last night, Jordan played 13 min, Branch 9.  They played at least 2 min together.  That means that we played at least 30 of the 50 minutes without a point guard, including the final few minutes of regulation and both OTs.  No direct knock on Phil, but this is by far biggest problem and has been the entire year. 

I don't know the solution, but the situation for SJU basketball and the people currently involved is just plain sad.  The junior class (with Sampson) was supposed to be the beginning of our rise back to national relevancy.  Instead, with the exception of Harrison, we have seen every highly rated recruit we have regress this year in varying degrees.  Poor Felix has played a total of like 15 minutes this year after literally having the redshirt ripped from his back when Jordan was, unbelievably, having doubts about his stay at SJU and went home to spend time with his sick mother.  And Jordan, well, he's likely gone after this year, and no one should blame him (although I know some on here will anyway).  This was the year that the grand project Lavin started 4 years ago was all supposed to come together.  Instead, it has all fallen apart in an epic fashion.  The kids on this team deserved a better hand than the one they were dealt. They came to SJU as highly ranked recruits because they bought into the package that Lavin sold them.  Turns out, the package was empty.  A lot of us complain about the low basketball IQ this group exhibits (and rightly so), but I refuse to believe that this issue could not have been addressed with competent coaching.   I also feel bad for Lavin.  I believe his heart was in the right place.  He took a risk leaving his comfortable job at ESPN to come here.  Yes, I get that he has been paid very, very well.  But now that the entire college basketball world knows what some have suspected, i.e., that Lavin's coaching skills have much to be desired, does he get to go back to ESPN or a similar gig after failing in such spectacular fashion on the sidelines with talent many regarded as among the best in the Big East?? 

This whole chapter of SJU basketball is just very sad, and it's different from other dark chapters we've suffered through.  Jarvis was just a tool.  He was easy to dislike and vilify, but we also had successful teams under Jarvis to offset the pain.  Mahoney was good intentioned but ill-equipped to be a head coach, but his tenure had a different feel to it because it followed Carnesecca and we had other targets to criticize for failed expectations (e.g., Felipe).  I'm not sure what lies ahead, but I sure hope that folks like Repole have the willingness to go back to the drawing board and find a head coach that we can build a solid program around, and maybe make the NCAA's once every few years. 

Play Balamou and NDiaye more. Burn Lipscomb's redshirt and get him in ASAP.

Seriously get a new coach in place as soon as the season is over.

Play Balamou and NDiaye more. Burn Lipscomb's redshirt and get him in ASAP.

Seriously get a new coach in place as soon as the season is over.

What about Jones?

If Lavin stays because he is a good recruiter, isn't anyone concerned that his recruiting will suffer given the current train wreck? 

I really believe the tone was set for this with that Gtown starting lineup. We were 0-1 but Lavin basically threw in the towel and the huge loss demoralized the fan base and I believe the players as well. I think that stunt turned the players off to Lavin if they weren't already.

As for the solution?
"This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end"

Quote from: Dave on January 17, 2014, 09:15:15 AM

Rotation? Preparation? Motivation? Scheme?

If you were in charge what would you do?

Give Rysheed the keys - at least 25 mins.  When he's not in, Branch MUST be in.  Greene and D'Angelo should never be playing the 1 for us.  Never.  That alone would solve a lot of issues and doesn't require any improvement in something like scheme which is just not going to happen.

Then new coach at year's end.

This is a big key. They need a true PG running the offense. I agree that Branch and Jordan should have the ball in their hands at all times when setting up the team on offense.

Whoever came up with that stupid Sir Dominic bring the ball up court shit should be fired. Pointer should never dribble, EVER.

I really believe the tone was set for this with that Gtown starting lineup. We were 0-1 but Lavin basically threw in the towel and the huge loss demoralized the fan base and I believe the players as well. I think that stunt turned the players off to Lavin if they weren't already.

As for the solution?
"This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end"

Ironic you quote the lyrics of a former UCLA student about the demise of the Lavin era.

A set lineup w/ a set rotation
PG Jordan
SG Harrison
C Obekpa
PFSanchez
SFSampson
Rotation of
Branch
Greene
Pointer

I'm not a basketball wizard, but since you asked Dave, I'll give my two cents

1) Simplify the starting lineup and rotations.
Same starting lineup every night, and give Harrison a blow midway through the second half so he's fresh down the stretch.   
Branch needs 7-10mins more per game, and either him or Jordan should always be in the game.   Take 2-3mins away from Hooper, Dom, and Phil each.

2) New offense.   I haven't liked this false motion since we started it.  Our first move is always around the perimeter and than late we call for a pick.
I'd like to see us post early in the possession as the defense is getting set.  Our bigs post, if we do at all, later in the shot clock.
I watch Michigan State and Kansas though, and they run down the floor and their first move is a dump down to the low block... 80% of the time probably the ball quickly comes right back out.  But I think that's the way to create movement early in the shot clock and create space.  Then people can start cutting to the rim, or bring Harrison/Jordan off screens.   Jakarr would need to have a different mindset tho.  Might be best suited for Sanchez.

3) Simplify the defense.
I keep hearing that we need to press full court for 40 mins.  F-that.   What we need to do is create turnovers and long rebounds that we can run on.
I would shrink the floor.   Whether you play man or  2-3 i don't care.   But make teams move the ball a lot, and have to shoot over you.   Pack it in, provide help early.. and force opponents to take jump shots.   This cuts down on our exposure to committing fouls and gives you more long rebounds to run on.  That's the key.. we need our defense to create opportunities to run on, and you don't need to press and trap like madmen in order to do that. 



Emphasize  defense and ball movement above all us.   Write it all over the walls of Taffner.   DEFENSE.  BALL MOVEMENT.  until those concepts are in-grained in the team's psyche. 

Write it all over the walls of Taffner

The writing is already on the wall.

Every conference needs a doormat and that is a role SJU has perfected.

These are all good points, but we have the worst rebounding team in D1.  That's why Gift started last night and got a lot of minutes.  And he did rebound a little better than Sampson and Obekpa.  Steadying the lineup and consistently the same guys off the bench would help.  You're not going anywhere trying this and trying that.  If Lavin thinks Jordan will be inconsistent or overwhelmed by being a freshman in the Big East then live with it.  He's not getting better results sitting him.  He sat throughout the overtimes.  That is nuts.  Sad really.  St. John's has way more talent than Providence does right now.  Not even close. 

Pick a defense. Practice only that defense. Play only that defense. Pick an offense. Practice only that offense. Play only that offense. Our players don't know where they should be on both sides of the ball. That is ALL on Lavin.

He has to cut the crap with his rotation by instinct. He's awful at rotations. I think that has got to be why everyone is lost. No one knows where they should because they're not comfortable with who they are out there with. It's astonishing that a coach could be this unprepared given all of the advantages Lavin had by going to Europe this summer.

They aren't learning. He's gotta go.

Have a pg on the floor all times.

Best 5 players get more than 50% of minutes.

Stick to 8 man rotation.