St. Thomas Aquinas Game Thread

Agree PMG...It's games like this that make elite recruits wonder what they'd be getting into.  This was bad on so many levels.  I'm glad we got rid of the constant Lavin drama and the LaLa land approach...but. 

One game into the exhibition season and the rats are already eyeing the portholes. I haven't been this excited since Norm was still coaching.

Quote from: paultzman on November 05, 2015, 08:03:22 AM

Short term pain, long term program success, if recruiting continues on current plane in my opinion.

I like inroads with 17, 18 kids, being attentive to transfer opportunities, landing Ponds, Yakwe, positive feedback on staff from basketball folks I speak to & approaching recruiting in a systematic fashion. To me these are positives, but obviously you have to close the deal.

Quote from: pmg911 on November 05, 2015, 08:37:09 AM

Quote from: paultzman on November 05, 2015, 08:03:22 AM

Short term pain, long term program success, if recruiting continues on current plane in my opinion.

Just curious, what do you see as the current plane of recruiting..?  We have one commitment for next year and the kid everyone thought was a lock - Bashir is now talking to Texas & Texas A&M

Not bashing anyone or trying to be negative but just looking at the obvious..   its going to be a VERY long and frustrating year.

 Btw, I was told by a few respected folks at the game not to worry about Bashir going elsewhere, but of course you can't take that to the bank.

Just curious, what do you see as the current plane of recruiting..?  We have one commitment for next year and the kid everyone thought was a lock - Bashir is now talking to Texas & Texas A&M

Not bashing anyone or trying to be negative but just looking at the obvious..   its going to be a VERY long and frustrating year.

Obviously it will be a long & frustrating year" but thanks for the wisdom.

On recruiting front I am pleased they landed Ponds & Yakwe & sense Bashir will  be a Johnny after speaking to a few folks last night. If not, so be it.  I also believe staff has done a good job working the 17 & 18 classes, establishing solid relationships with key AAU programs in the NY, NJ & Baltimore areas & being more planful than the prior staff. Maybe I will be proven wrong, but for now I will take these things as positive predictors.

Agree PMG...It's games like this that make elite recruits wonder what they'd be getting into.  This was bad on so many levels.  I'm glad we got rid of the constant Lavin drama and the LaLa land approach...but.

I don't agree with anything to do with Lavin but I 100% agree with your first statement and it's something a lot of people don't want to admit. These big time players want to go to top programs who win. Even one or two bad seasons will hurt us recruiting wise. Should the kids understand this is a huge rebuild? Yea probably but most of them will just see we had 7 wins this season and look at that. Not much Mullin can do or could do about that but it's going to be a factor for recruits the next two cycles.

Everyone is making too big a deal about this, especially on the recruiting front.  It doesnt take a genius to see Lavin left the cupboard bare and most everyone was gone by the time Mullin came on board.

Also, for reference, and I am sure there are MANY more examples, but this is the one I know best, in Coach K's 2nd and 3rd year at Duke he went 10-17 and then 11-17.   Want to know some of the recruits that came in after the 10-17 and 11-17 years who clearly didnt give a damn about the poor record?

Notabily Mark Alarie, Tommy Amaker, Jay Bilas, Johnny Dawkins, and David Henderson.

And before someone goes on a "well that's Duke/Coach K rant", Coach K was a virtual nobody at that time, NEVER having taken a team to a NCAA tournament (and only 2 NITs in 8 years)...Chris Mullin has a lot more to hang his hat on than Coach K did at that time.

So let's all step back from the ledge.  Horrible horrible game but as Paultz and others have said, the important thing this year is the improvement of the players and the team, not the final scores of the games necessarily.  I also think with Lovett and Doubront perhaps this is a much different outcome.

The Duke analogy is a challenge in this era of "microwave" recruiting.  Most of the 5 star and some 4 star kids think they are "one and done", so a rebuild is not a easy choice.  They want instant recognition and status of being part of a perennial NCAA team.  Not saying it is right or wrong but.....

The Duke analogy is a challenge in this era of "microwave" recruiting.  Most of the 5 star and some 4 star kids think they are "one and done", so a rebuild is not a easy choice.  They want instant recognition and status of being part of a perennial NCAA team.  Not saying it is right or wrong but.....

That's a good point, but I wouldnt understimate the fact either that due to the national nature of these AAU teams and tournaments, the current juniors and seniors KNOW how good they think Lovett, Ellison, Sima, Tariq Owens and Yakwe are (3 of whom didnt play yesterday, and at least 2 of whom wont play for us this year), so they may think they are the missing piece to a great team, regardless of this years record, which would then give them even more recognition.

I'm not too concerned yet...if Ponds decommitts then I'll be concerned.

One game into the exhibition season and the rats are already eyeing the portholes. I haven't been this excited since Norm was still coaching.

No one is abandoning ship.  It's like thinking you married a virgin because she looks like your favorite porn star, Kandi Barr...then finding out she IS Kandi Barr.  We'll get over it eventually.

Ive seen a lot of comments on the web re mullin coaching last night. We will see as much improvement from him on the sidelines in the first month as we will with the completely new team.  It takes time to get comfortable on the sidelines, feel your way, demand the respect. It happens one game at a time. I think he felt a little awkward last night knowing all eyes were on him. The team will learn a lot more from this than  beating them by 10 pts.

Oh and again, its christian Jones time

Biggest disappointment: Williams, nothing like what I had hoped. He looked at this best when he tried to post up. His ball skills, the way he passes the ball, its almost like he doesnt know how to hold a ball. Pushes everything. Weird.  Need Lovett obviously, that press would have been beat and been beat for points if he was available.

Ive seen a lot of comments on the web re mullin coaching last night. We will see as much improvement from him on the sidelines in the first month as we will with the completely new team.  It takes time to get comfortable on the sidelines, feel your way, demand the respect. It happens one game at a time. I think he felt a little awkward last night knowing all eyes were on him. The team will learn a lot more from this than  beating them by 10 pts.

Oh and again, its christian Jones time

I sat a few rows behind the bench. Mullin seemed very calm. I He didn't look akward. He seemed to very comfortable. I was hoping for a little more fire.  At no point did he seem angry or annoyed. St.  Jean was into the game  and was excited. Zendon was also much more into the game.

Mullin was upfront about his coaching.  He's not a big defensive guy.  He wants to run.  He wants the pro game which mostly rules out zones.  He won't run a lot of plays.  He doesn't want players looking towards the bench for instructions.  I'm not sure his players have the talent to make this work.  I'm thinking they don't.     

Mullin was upfront about his coaching.  He's not a big defensive guy.  He wants to run.  He wants the pro game which mostly rules out zones.  He won't run a lot of plays.  He doesn't want players looking towards the bench for instructions.  I'm not sure his players have the talent to make this work.  I'm thinking they don't.     

He ran a number of plays Saturday and it looked great.  Yesterday looked like the first time they were on the court together.  Ill-prepared.

Quote from: Amaseinyourface2 on November 05, 2015, 11:19:24 AM

Ive seen a lot of comments on the web re mullin coaching last night. We will see as much improvement from him on the sidelines in the first month as we will with the completely new team.  It takes time to get comfortable on the sidelines, feel your way, demand the respect. It happens one game at a time. I think he felt a little awkward last night knowing all eyes were on him. The team will learn a lot more from this than  beating them by 10 pts.

Oh and again, its christian Jones time

I sat a few rows behind the bench. Mullin seemed very calm. I He didn't look akward. He seemed to very comfortable. I was hoping for a little more fire.  At no point did he seem angry or annoyed. St.  Jean was into the game  and was excited. Zendon was also much more into the game.

I am talking about conferencing with his players during game and timeouts, working the officials, standing up and motivating his players.  That stuff takes time.

the important thing this year is the improvement of the players and the team, not the final scores of the games necessarily. 

Coaches and parents don't even buy into this at their daughters 4th grade cyo game or their sons 7th grade middle school game.

It's an impossible sell for the casual fan that shelled out $50 for a ticket.

Quote from: Tha Kid on November 05, 2015, 09:58:45 AM

the important thing this year is the improvement of the players and the team, not the final scores of the games necessarily. 

Coaches and parents don't even buy into this at their daughters 4th grade cyo game or their sons 7th grade middle school game.

It's an impossible sell for the casual fan that shelled out $50 for a ticket.

It's your decision whether or not to buy the ticket - no one is forcing you to.  Coaches and parents re: CYO and fans of st johns may all want results NOW!!! but doesnt mean that is reasonable nor the right perspective to take.

I don't know about you but if I'm any top recruit, i.e. Rawle, I am not committing to a new coach who lost to a d2 school by 32 pts. This was a big deal. It was on all of the national college basketball websites, and on the bottomline of Sportscenter. It definitely didn't go unnoticed. I think Mullin really has to prove, especially now, that he actually knows what he's doing to have any credibility. And I'm not saying I think he doesn't know what he's doing, but to oversee the worst loss in program history in your first game really makes me a little worried.

I don't know about you but if I'm any top recruit, i.e. Rawle, I am not committing to a new coach who lost to a d2 school by 32 pts. This was a big deal. It was on all of the national college basketball websites, and on the bottomline of Sportscenter. It definitely didn't go unnoticed. I think Mullin really has to prove, especially now, that he actually knows what he's doing to have any credibility. And I'm not saying I think he doesn't know what he's doing, but to oversee the worst loss in program history in your first game really makes me a little worried.

We didnt lose a game last night. We got severely handled in an exhibition. To say this is the worst loss in program history is absurd.

Did this game count of something? Who cares!  Exhibition

Yes we will improve as the season progresses.... but so will every other team

The good news is...we don't have to face STAC again.