Xavier game thread

Mussini is awesome. You kidding me?

I'm already trying to get him to be one of the college guards at Stephen Curry camp this summer. I think he's fantastic.

Does he struggle at times due to strength? Sure. Does he struggle at time because he's on the ball 30+ mpg? Sure. Outside of Ellison there is no other guys on this team who can handle the rock. Ellison is still a little bit of a fish out of water too. Missing out of conference has delayed his development.

Good points. I would also see Sima attend reputable big man camp this summer to further refine his many skills. I would also expect him to get stronger. Then, watch out!

Quote from: Howie71 on January 07, 2016, 10:56:53 AM

Anyone on this board for two seconds should understand Poison's MO.  Don't get baited by the negative trolling. 

And what is my MO?

Rico's people know where you live.  The horse's head will be delivered tonight.  Enjoy the swim  with the fishes .

Quote from: Poison on January 07, 2016, 01:22:30 AM

Quote from: bk8664 on January 07, 2016, 12:20:59 AM

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

Wow does Mussini suck.

He does?  I saw a Freshman first hand tonight bring a few thousand fans to their feet in great applause...

I don't like his attitude. And I don't like that he wasn't ready to play either guard position. He's tiny. Is he that full of himself that he thinks he's a shooting guard in the BE? Tonight was a anomaly. Most teams aren't going to zone us, and Mussini will be in over his head. Hopefully, he grows the F up and doesn't pull that anything like that again.

Of every single poster on this site, what right do YOU have to criticize someone's attitude?  At least mussini has an excuse - he's 18.

You really are delusional - so you basically imply by accepting a scholarship at St. John's it demonstrates that mussini is "full of himself"?

The man was 5/8 from 3.  Love to know when the last time and how many players we've had in the last 15 years who have hit 5 or more 3s with a 60 pct or better clip rate against a big east or power conference opponent.  I doubt there are many on the list.

Did he make a dumb freshman mistake out of frustration on a probably bad call? Yes.  He did. How many players have suited up for us who haven't made a dumb mistake at one point or another? He will learn from this.

Why don't you just take a break from the games and return next year.  It's clear it brings you no enjoyment and clearly you can't be open minded about progress and the players this season.  Do us all a favor.

I'm sorry if you don't think that I have a right to my opinion. And I'm sorry if it bothers you that I'm going to continue to share it.

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.

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.

Mussini is awesome. You kidding me?

I'm already trying to get him to be one of the college guards at Stephen Curry camp this summer. I think he's fantastic.

Does he struggle at times due to strength? Sure. Does he struggle at time because he's on the ball 30+ mpg? Sure. Outside of Ellison there is no other guys on this team who can handle the rock. Ellison is still a little bit of a fish out of water too. Missing out of conference has delayed his development.

Please don't bring common sense and rational thought into this. Poison can't handle that

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.

Wasn't suggesting Mussini is Reddick or Curry but they are easy examples of guys pegged as "shooters" and not much more but certain folks, who ended up being dead wrong about them. 

I think Mussini is best as a third guard too in the BE and he won't make the NBA, but he is going to be a big part of a deep NCAA run for us before it's all said and done.  He can nail deep shots and pressure doesnt seem to affect his shooting thus far.  We havent had many guys like that.

pressure doesnt seem to affect his shooting thus far.

He seems to shoot better under pressure, to the extent there's been any.

Quote from: we are sju on January 07, 2016, 12:37:37 PM

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.

Wasn't suggesting Mussini is Reddick or Curry but they are easy examples of guys pegged as "shooters" and not much more but certain folks, who ended up being dead wrong about them. 

I think Mussini is best as a third guard too in the BE and he won't make the NBA, but he is going to be a big part of a deep NCAA run for us before it's all said and done.  He can nail deep shots and pressure doesnt seem to affect his shooting thus far.  We havent had many guys like that.

Kind of reminds me of Steve Kerr.
Hopefully Ponds and Lovett are clearly better and he will play 20 mins a game off the bench.

Quote from: Howie71 on January 07, 2016, 10:56:53 AM

Anyone on this board for two seconds should understand Poison's MO.  Don't get baited by the negative trolling. 

And what is my MO?

Answered in next sentence: negative trolling.

Poison has devolved from a solid poster and contributor to the hardest read on either site over the last 4-5 years. 

Anyone knocking Mussini is either nuts or just looking to pick fights.  He is the only guy on the team with a capable handle, and he is asked to do far too much at this stage of his career.  The kid has impressed the hell out of me this season.  Knocking him for not being more athletic is silly...he'd be a lottery pick if he was a great athlete with his skill set. 

He bounced a basketball that led to a tech during a key point...big deal?  He's a teenager and he was man-handled by Reynolds on a clear foul.  I would have been pissed too. He'll learn from this.  What an awful call in that spot too...a warning would have handled it. 

Quote from: TONYD3 on January 06, 2016, 10:03:50 PM

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

Wow does Mussini suck.

Can't say that. He is freshman playing out of position.

Mussini considered turning pro last year. Unless he's playing with pro ball in the NYC Urban Professional Basketball League, he's going to be a point guard, because he's nowhere near as fast you need to be to play the 2 in the NBA, or shit, even the NBDL. If he's not a point guard, what is he then?

  For the NBA level. I don't see him making it as 6 ft SG. The problem is , he is not a PG. On the college level, ideally, next year I see him coming off the bench providing offense, getting plenty of burn.

Per Zags;

St. John's has no official update on Yankuba Sima's status, for those asking.

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.

There were almost no expectations for this team heading into the season by the media and the fanbase. Yet now some posters on here get all bent out of shape when this mostly frosh crew have some bad games. These growing pains were to be expected coming into the season.

Mussini will be fine and will be much more natural in his off the ball role next season. The kid has had some great shooting games already this season. Anything positive we get from this crew is gravy to me this year. Next year is when the expectations really begin IMO. Some on here need to chill with this season's results. At this point I'm more focused on what I see out of the sidelines and the coaching that's taking place.

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

Feel like Mullin coached this game pretty well overall. When he knew Sima was out, he went to a full court press that at times, caused the Xavier guards to turnover the ball. Also the  double screen play call for Mussini's 3 at the top of the key to cut the lead to 63-59 was better than anything I saw Lavin set up after 5 years of watching that guy on the sidelines.

This game was the first since the Syracuse win that had me truly excited for the future, even in a losing effort. It seems like Mullin is finally getting accustomed to leading a team from the sidelines. This year's gonna be long, and I'd be surprised if we get more than 3-4 wins in conference play, but today's play showed the guys that with effort you can compete, but experience from defeats like these will help them win these games in the future.

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.

It is not fair to criticize Mussini because of inability to run the offense. But if he leaves his man wide open for a three pointer on a regular basis, you'd be blind to not consider that lazy defense, because that's exactly what it is.

Quote from: Poison on January 07, 2016, 11:02:26 AM

Quote from: Howie71 on January 07, 2016, 10:56:53 AM

Anyone on this board for two seconds should understand Poison's MO.  Don't get baited by the negative trolling. 

And what is my MO?

Answered in next sentence: negative trolling.

Yep. Nailed it.

Feel like Mullin coached this game pretty well overall. When he knew Sima was out, he went to a full court press that at times, caused the Xavier guards to turnover the ball. Also the  double screen play call for Mussini's 3 at the top of the key to cut the lead to 63-59 was better than anything I saw Lavin set up after 5 years of watching that guy on the sidelines.

This game was the first since the Syracuse win that had me truly excited for the future, even in a losing effort. It seems like Mullin is finally getting accustomed to leading a team from the sidelines. This year's gonna be long, and I'd be surprised if we get more than 3-4 wins in conference play, but today's play showed the guys that with effort you can compete, but experience from defeats like these will help them win these games in the future.

Just to note, that play for mussini has been run about 15 times this year. Nothing new, seems to get him an open shot on most occasions.