Is it time to take Durand Johnson out of starting lineup?

Do you guys think Johnson can perform better coming off the bench?

It's not whether or not he starts. He's not playing with his head, and he's not playing hard enough. The staff needs to help him get there, the way the previous staff did with Malik Boothe, Dwight Hardy and Sean Evans. We've tried it his way. Let him play his game. His game is terrible.

The Johnnies don't have any alternatives until Elllison gets healthy. That said, Durand Johnson reminds me of Sir Dominic his first 3 seasons here. Out of control, poor mechanics on his shot, a turnover waiting to happen every time he touches the ball. However Sir Dominic became an immensely better player his final year in this program, whereas Johnson won't be.

I hate to say it but the less that Johnson's on the court, the better.

In my opinion, his best days were at prep school. To assume a guy, who last averaged 8.5 ppg at Pitt & sat out a year, would be a real positive was a reach. At best,  he is a role player. I could live with that frankly, but to date is has not played smart within flow of the game & forces shots. I also agree with Poison that his defense has been poor. All in all, hopefully he pulls it together & can play a decent complementary role for the remainder of this painful season.

Not disagreeing with any of you, who plays then? Are they better?

Quote from: goredmen on December 06, 2015, 02:25:16 AM

Quote from: Dave on December 06, 2015, 12:41:05 AM

Do you guys think Johnson can perform better coming off the bench?

No. He's not good at basketball. Plain and simple

That's ridiculous.  We can't afford to bench a 5th year senior who actually has some scoring ability.  He hasn't been nearly as good as wel hoped, but we are too thin to shelve him.  Ellison should certainly take a lot of his time when he's back to 100%.  He needs court time to get better and is better as a ball handler than Durand is. 

What's ridiculous? He's been a negative when on the floor because he takes stupid shots and turns the ball over too easily. He doesn't really have scoring ability, he just takes a bunch of shots so some of them are bound to go in

Not disagreeing with any of you, who plays then? Are they better?

A freshman that will benefit from the playing time. Doesn't matter if they are better or not, but they can't be worse

So far Johnson looks good.

So far Johnson looks good.

He will at times. I think you minimize his weaknesses by playing him in sprints. Let him be a microwave off the bench

Quote from: Johnny23 on December 06, 2015, 09:10:51 AM

The Johnnies don't have any alternatives until Elllison gets healthy. That said, Durand Johnson reminds me of Sir Dominic his first 3 seasons here. Out of control, poor mechanics on his shot, a turnover waiting to happen every time he touches the ball. However Sir Dominic became an immensely better player his final year in this program, whereas Johnson won't be.

I hate to say it but the less that Johnson's on the court, the better.

In my opinion, his best days were at prep school. To assume a guy, who last averaged 8.5 ppg at Pitt & sat out a year, would be a real positive was a reach. At best,  he is a role player. I could live with that frankly, but to date is has not played smart within flow of the game & forces shots. I also agree with Poison that his defense has been poor. All in all, hopefully he pulls it together & can play a decent complementary role for the remainder of this painful season.

Agreed.

Big time bucket by Johnson to put SJU up by 4. Anything we get from him is gravy, I'll take it.

Credit to Johnson for good game. Hopefully he sustains that against good competition. I still like him off the bench, but with the two injuries, can't see that as an option now.

Credit to Johnson for good game. Hopefully he sustains that against good competition. I still like him off the bench, but with the two injuries, can't see that as an option now.

He scored the ball well today. Good for him. Still, he left his man wide open at all times. He wasn't the only one doing that today. Mussini did it, and M'vouika did it, too. Even a bad team can stay in the game w us because we don't defend.

He scored the ball well today. Good for him. Still, he left his man wide open at all times. He wasn't the only one doing that today. Mussini did it, and M'vouika did it, too. Even a bad team can stay in the game w us because we don't defend.

Agreed.... our defense was solid on rebounding, and blocking but staying fairly tight or even doing little things like putting hands up with any energy was lacking.

Quote from: Poison on December 06, 2015, 01:11:15 PM

He scored the ball well today. Good for him. Still, he left his man wide open at all times. He wasn't the only one doing that today. Mussini did it, and M'vouika did it, too. Even a bad team can stay in the game w us because we don't defend.

Agreed.... our defense was solid on rebounding, and blocking but staying fairly tight or even doing little things like putting hands up with any energy was lacking.

As a team our hands are always at our sides.

Durand was our best player today, followed by Sima and Jones.

Durand was our best player today, followed by Sima and Jones.

Everyone else was pretty bad. The biggest thing I see that needs the most work is ball and player movement. We don't have a ball handler than can think while still dribbling. So because of that, Mussini and M'vouika pick up their dribble in the middle of the court to have a look around. That's no way to beat a press, but this is the team we've got.

Btw,
Zags noted there is no timetable for return of Ellison & Williams. He added both will be examined tomorrow, but Ellison is likely to be the first of the two to return.

Credit Dave with DJ's performance--raise the issue anew before every game; it spurred him on today.

Yes. Did you see the first half ? No did you see the second half ? 

Don't some of you feel foolish now?

You know the answer to that question