Xavier game thread

Quote from: Poison on January 07, 2016, 11:01:43 AM

Quote from: Lycidas on January 07, 2016, 09:38:08 AM

Poison, your ridiculous negativity adds nothing to the conversation.  What's your hidden agenda?  Did you want them to keep Lavin?  Do you hate the Mullin hire?  Are you upset about the coaching staff salaries? 

This team is playing about as well as any fair minded fan has a right to expect, they're showing individual and team improvement, and they do play hard.  It's a team of freshmen, little used holdovers, and two grad students who weren't exactly top level Big East talent at their prime in their old schools: what the hell did you expect?

Your campaign against Mussini is nice personic.  He's a catch and shoot 3 point specialist.  When he plays with a point guard (and players who give him back the ball after he gives it up and set up a screen or two) you'll see just how talented he is.  Quick release.  Deadly outside shot off the catch and shoot.  He's not a point guard/he can't make his own shot/he shouldn't be playing 35 minutes a game/and bigger, stronger, older guys are going to be a problem for him defensively.  In the right role, surrounded by the right talent, he will excel.

In CM's postgame presser, he noted that not all guys play better when you surround them with better players, but that Mussini was a kid who was going to shine when the talent around him improved.  I could not agree more.  Diallo at Kansas and Sampson at LSU are barely leaving the bench.  It's hard for freshmen to impact games at this level, yet you kill a kid who showed against Cuse and again last night that he has a very special skill set and a lot of heart.

*DK adjusted line spacing

Hidden agenda? Hysterical. I'm a fan. Not a politician. I wanted a head coach with head coaching experience. I was against the Chris Mullin experiment from the get go. STJ brought him back to bring tough, hard-nosed NYC basketball back to Queens. Last night, the team played hard. It's the first time this year I've seen them all play as hard their opponent. I criticized Lavin, but I also praised him as well for the things he did well, and he did plenty of things well.

And in regards to Mussini, if you reread your own post, you've answered your own question. He's a catch and shoot 3 point specialist. He's a little better than Max Hooper. He's not a point guard, or a shooting guard. So, like I said, he's not a fit at this level. On the rare chance that we play a team that also doesn't bother to defend, or a coach that insists on playing zone no matter what, he can be deadly, but when he has to guard the ball, or guard anyone, he either can't, or he won't. He's a defensive liability against just about every opponent he'll see at the college level.

He's not a fit playing out of position, on this rookie laden team. And he is a 3 point specialist - maybe more. But if that's all, he'll be coming off the bench the same as players on other teams who have role playing specialists. The kid is playing his heart out and that's all we can ask.

When I criticized his PG skills, I wasn't calling him out as someone who did something that offended me. I was merely saying that I don't think he's as good some of the people on this board. However, as with any player, if you are being out-worked consistently by your opponents, it is certainly reasonable to raise that point. The staff has probably done just that, and that's why the team played hard last night for the first time this season.

If I was going to criticize one player - it would be Durand Johnson. His chucks are the equivalent of turnovers. For the couple of shots that do go in, are they worth the clangers that turn into fast breaks for the opposition? Not setting his feet and taking clean, open shots; taking the chuck versus looking for the open man.

I've seen enough of the Durand Johnson experiment.

Quote from: Tha Kid on January 07, 2016, 09:09:24 AM

Quote from: TONYD3 on January 07, 2016, 08:47:40 AM

I am not anti St. John's or anti this particular team, but any time mussini goes off I think it is more of the other team making mistakes not him beating his guy. The kid has range 2/3 steps behind the NBA line. Any coach that lets him get his feet set and shoot is making a mistake. I would think most coaches are going to over play him and deny him the ball. I hope we start setting some screens for him, but we really haven't . He did get by his man once and almost had a huge and 1.
Overall, I think sima played a very good first half. We rebounded well. Guys hit some shots to keep it close. Not a great game, decent effort and a better then expected out come.

People made similar comments about JJ reddick and Stephen curry their freshman years.

How many players have we had who had that kind of range AND delivered.  How many guys have you been happy they are shooting from that deep wearing our colors.  Even if he never averages more than 10ppg after this season and is used as a spot shooter zone breaker and spreading out the other teams defense (and I do think he will do more than this for us in the future) then he will be a major asset which we have not had in this program in a long long time.

Rather than take every chance to post something negative Or give a backhanded compliment Howbout be positive for once.  We were in it until the end against a ranked team.  For this team that is a very good sign.

I like Mussini but he is 6-1 does not have any athleticism  or point guard instincts. His handle is fine, just not strong or quick enough top go by people and not a passer.
Best suited for what he will hopefully be next year a third guard.

BTW Reddick is 6-4 and Steph Curry is Steph Curry. Bad comparisons Kid.

Kevin Pangos

Personally, I think saying Mussini is a "third guard" caliber big east player is insulting to him. He is having a fantastic freshman season, while being asked to play out of position, and an unreasonable amount of minutes and responsibility for a freshman.

Jimmer Fredette averaged 7ppg as a Freshman and 16 ppg as a soph. I'm not directly comparing the two skill-wise, but let's give Mussini some time before we declare him a "third guard" next season. I'm betting he will be our minutes leader next year as well.

Obviously, there are differences between Fredette, Reddick, Curry, and Mussini, both in talent level and playing style. But there are also a ton of similarities, so for that reason, I think it's fair to compare them.

It's clear a kid like Mussini really looks up to a guy like Curry and models alot of his game after him. Nothing wrong with saying that. He's a little undersized and obviously a comparison to the reigning NBA MVP is far from fair, but don't forget that Curry started out as a mid-major player with little to no PG skills, and didn't start playing the point until his Junior year. The wiry frame, quick 3 shot and unlimited range is a great foundation for Mussini. He's going to be an incredible player at this level when it's all said and done in my opinion.

If I was going to criticize one player - it would be Durand Johnson. His chucks are the equivalent of turnovers. For the couple of shots that do go in, are they worth the clangers that turn into fast breaks for the opposition? Not setting his feet and taking clean, open shots; taking the chuck versus looking for the open man.

I've seen enough of the Durand Johnson experiment.

Durand Johnson is the glue on this team.  He has great athleticism.  Contrary to popular belief, he defends.  He's not afraid to shoot, for sure.  That's his biggest flaw...his inability to find the basket.

Quote from: braintrust on January 07, 2016, 05:50:38 PM

If I was going to criticize one player - it would be Durand Johnson. His chucks are the equivalent of turnovers. For the couple of shots that do go in, are they worth the clangers that turn into fast breaks for the opposition? Not setting his feet and taking clean, open shots; taking the chuck versus looking for the open man.

I've seen enough of the Durand Johnson experiment.

Durand Johnson is the glue on this team.  He has great athleticism.  Contrary to popular belief, he defends.  He's not afraid to shoot, for sure.  That's his biggest flaw...his inability to find the basket.

I agree with the flaw part -- if you're a sub-30% 3-point shooter, should not be taking 8 in one game (bricked them all).  He was 6/9 from 2 though.  So many of his missed threes in xavier game were like 5-point plays because he clanked them off the rim so hard it gave xavier easy fast breaks.  might have changed that game if someone had told him to stop shooting from three

Wow does Mussini suck.

I hate when statements like "Gee this young kid (who moved halfway around the world to play HEAVY MINUTES OUT OF POSITION FOR A DEPLETED ROSTER) really sucks!" are defended by the usual "Hey I'm allowed to express my opinion!".  Of course you are.  And we are allowed to say you sound like a troll ass when you do.

Quote from: Poison on January 06, 2016, 10:01:38 PM

Wow does Mussini suck.

I hate when statements like "Gee this young kid (who moved halfway around the world to play HEAVY MINUTES OUT OF POSITION FOR A DEPLETED ROSTER) really sucks!" are defended by the usual "Hey I'm allowed to express my opinion!".  Of course you are.  And we are allowed to say you sound like a troll ass when you do.

Mussini is playing out of position. I understand that. I don't fault him for not being able to run the offense, or not being able to get by his man. That's his skill set, and it is what is. Limited. People who think he's better than D'Angelo Harrison are nuts. People who think we're better off with Mussini than Rysheed Jordan are even crazier.

If you think I'm a troll because I'm calling out Mussini, Johnson, Mvouika and Jones etc for playing lazy defense, what you really need is a thesaurus, because that's not what trolling is.

Quote from: braintrust on January 07, 2016, 05:50:38 PM

If I was going to criticize one player - it would be Durand Johnson. His chucks are the equivalent of turnovers. For the couple of shots that do go in, are they worth the clangers that turn into fast breaks for the opposition? Not setting his feet and taking clean, open shots; taking the chuck versus looking for the open man.

I've seen enough of the Durand Johnson experiment.

Durand Johnson is the glue on this team.  He has great athleticism.  Contrary to popular belief, he defends.  He's not afraid to shoot, for sure.  That's his biggest flaw...his inability to find the basket.

I actually think Johnson's athleticism is very average and overrated. But then again, maybe I got too used to seeing guys like Harkless/Sampson/Dom over the years. 

Johnson's a playground baller. Never saw a shot he didn't think he could make. The problem with Johnson is he's totally out of control with the ball in his hands (think Sir Dominic his first 2 years here). His biggest strengths are his streaky outside shot and his cleanup on 2nd chances around the rim. Not knocking the guy, but he's easily replaceable on a better team. I'm rooting for him and hope he at least contributes to a few BE wins this year.

Quote from: carmineabbatiello on January 07, 2016, 02:07:29 PM

There is precedent for this.

Once upon a time there was another freshmen shooting guard forced to play out of position because the no good point guard we had quit mid-season after he clanked 2 free throws that would have won us a game.

This point guard by necessity was hammered mercilessly by practically the entire board,  not just one poster.  People even called him mean nicknames based on geometric shapes.

So it's not surprising at all that one poster doesn't like Fellini.

Mussini is already better than Greene.
I called Greene a circle because he dribbled aimlessly behind the three point line
I left him alone once he was taken off the point

Fellini is shooting the ball much, much better than the Rectangle did as a freshmen.

As far as point guard stuff goes.  Phil will finish the year with much more assists than Mussini and far fewer turnovers.  I know that asst/to ratio is not considered an important stat on this board, but it always was Phil's biggest strength.  At least it was until his three point shooting erupted in his final two seasons.

Also, Phil is a much, much faster runner; better defender; can dunk a basketball; and never cost his team a game with a ridiculous technical.  The only time he ever got angry on the court was when that player touched his a$$.

Freshmen stats:
Mussini         -  40 assists   48 turnovers
The Legend - 97 assists   61 turnovers
   

DJ2's 0 for 8 from 3 really hurt in this one.  With less than 2 minutes left he had a wide open three from the top of the key that would have given the Johnnies a one point lead and would have raised the roof volume wise in the arena.

Fellini's stupid tech was fatal.

I left him alone once he was taken off the point

I know.  The only one hating on Mean Joe by the end of last season was Doc.  And he hates everyone.