Philly Hoop Group Classic Tournament

5-0 Believe It

November 29, 2009 by Dave Krupinski Leave a Comment

To my surprise upon entering the arena, I heard the buzzer sound and roars of a large crowd. It turns out that Delaware, yes Delaware, forced overtime against Virginia Tech. I happen to find Hokie fans particularly irritating so I was cheering for the Blue Hens. Deleware seemed to leave everything they had on the floor in regulation falling behind quickly in the extra frame. As the overtime period progressed, I noticed more and more maroon shirts in the stands. I saw a student section forming in the upper corners. We were in for a true road game…

Justin Burrell shoots from the outside. Image Courtesy of Icon SMI

As the St. John’s game tipped off it was apparent the Red Storm had an agenda. Give Justin Burrell the ball! In the first possession Burrell got the ball on the block and put up a good looking shot which bounced off the rim. In the 2nd possession Burrell grabbed a long rebound, took a step maybe two, and threw down a monstrous jam in traffic. One problem, he forgot to dribble. Traveling violation.

In our first defensive possession I was eagerly anticipating who Norm Roberts would use to designate to defend Lavoy Allen. Norm tends to stick Sean Evans on opposing team’s scoring bigs however Justin Burrell got the nod and did admirably.

It’s tough to gauge one’s performance by looking at a box score and/or hearing play by play on the radio. Justin Burrell worked tirelessly to establish position himself deep into the low block today while not allowing Allen to establish position on the other end. Burrell stood his ground defensively forcing Allen post up outside of the paint which obviously made him uncomfortable and out of range.

His arms were raised straight up on every possession, he didn’t leave his feat on ball fakes, and he altered many shots. In addition to altering shots he had two monster above the rim blocks that even drew oooh’s and ahhh’s from Temple fans.

In addition to Burrell, Dwight Hardy was the big spark plug in the game. Entering the locker room down by 1 at the half, St. John’s needed to come out with fire to start the 2nd half and Hardy delivered. He hit back to back threes to put St. John’s up by 10. When Temple tried to answer St. John’s 13-2 run, Hardy hoisted another 3 but was fouled. He sank all 3 free throws despite numerous heckles from the crowd.

The best thing about today’s game was timely contributions. We struggled mightily at times but there was always a body to pick up the slack. Malik Stith had one basket but it was a big and1 layup plus the free throw was good. Brownlee had one basket, a put back to help seal the win. Paris Horne had one basket for a posterizing slam as Lavoy Allen watched Horne fly by him on the break. Then there was DJ Kennedy who couldn’t hit anything today but he kept driving and getting to the line where he made a living going 9-9.

Lets take a look at the Keys to Victory from Calm Before the Storm and see how we faired.

Keep Up The Pace! The pace was slow to very very slow in the first half. The half court offense was stagnant. In the beginning of the 2nd half St. John’s got out running and saw the biggest surge of the day. St. John’s needs to go over tape and see what they did in the 2nd half versus what they did in the first half. If we run we’re dangerous.

Grade: B-

Thievery. So St. John’s wasn’t exactly Captain Jack Sparrow like when it came to thievery but they played within themselves defensively to get stops. The team combined for 5 total steals but held Temple to 28% shooting. However there is one key stat that stood out….7 blocked shots. St. John’s stole 7 shot attempts away from Temple. DJ Kennedy 3, Justin Burrell 2, Justin Brownlee 1, and Omari Lawrence 1. (PS. That intentional foul on Lawrence was bogus call. He clearly went for the ball and even got some of it but also got his wrist. He was airborne and as Lawerence swatted he fell backwards. It was a good clean not even so hard of a foul. Crowd reaction dictated the X)

Grade: B

Box Out. St. John’s did more than box out. They completely owned Lavoy Allen in the paint on both ends of the floor. Allen was held to a season low 4 rebounds. Just to put things in perspective Allen’s rebound totals for the season 15,14,7,9, and 10. Big props to Burrell for putting a body on him. However St. John’s did allow 13 offensive rebounds and only won the rebounding margin by 3. The margin isn’t good but the numbers are inflated with all the missed shots.

Grade: B+

Put Up Shots (And Hit Them, Of Course). Well we didn’t put up many shots nor did we make many either. Besides Hardy, no one seemed willing or able to make an outside shot. Hardy hoisted 5 of the team’s 11 three point shots. Credit to Temple’s defense which extended deep and their guards are long and lanky.

Grade: D

Big Days From the Wings. Paris Horne struggled partly due to foul trouble being in and out of the game but he was virtually non existent for a majority of this game. DJ also struggled but he had a guy in his shorts all game while others quickly came over to help defend. The most alarming part of DJ and Paris’ struggles today were the turnovers. Horne had 4 while DJ had 3 but both had turnovers at crucial times in the game and you’d expect more from two upperclassmen who are looked at as team leaders. Hopefully they bounce back.

Grade C+

Overall GPA: 2.28 (poor grade but great win)

Final Note: I had the pleasure of meeting a number of St. John’s fans, friends, and family this weekend. I just wanted to say it was great meeting and talking with everyone. I know we often joke around about how Norm Roberts gets a little too much credit for running a clean program but he really has brought kids into this program with great character. I know at the end of the day that doesn’t show in the standings but it makes it very easy to root for this group of kids. I met a couple of the player’s families and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. We got a lot of classy people surrounding this program right now. As for the community here at Johnny Jungle it’s forever growing and I’m trying hard to always keep making things better and better. Our road trip didn’t pan out for Philly but if at first you don’t succeed try, try again. Road trip UConn anyone? Stay tuned! Thanks again for all your support.

Saturday Night, Brotherly Love

November 27, 2009 by Pico Dulce 2 Comments

Ambiance: The Roots, “Without a Doubt” (video link, pops up in a new window)

The last game of the Philly Hoop Group Classic pairs St. John’s against the Temple Owls, who have knocked off Virginia Tech and Siena, and came within a point of Georgetown in one of this year’s ugliest games televised on national television. And Red Storm coach Norm Roberts gets to match wits against another coach named Fran.

Now as I write this, Temple is muscling around Virginia Tech. Crushing them, really, like a major conference team beats on a local patsy. While the stats above don’t reflect it, Lavoy Allen is singlehandedly demolishing a physical ACC team that manhandled this group of Johnnies for two years running. The Hokies are not making their shots at all. Neither is Temple, but the Owls’ defense is making the Hokies an unsuccessful one-man gang. Temple’s defense has been elite so far this year, frustrating Georgetown (in a 1-point loss) and Siena, both preseason top-25 selections.

In fact, the Owls’ worst game defensively was… against Siena, a game that also featured the fast pace that St. John’s will try to bring tomorrow. The slowest paced game St. John’s has played so far was the close loss to St. Bonaventure, who also play in the Atlantic-10, have a preseason all league player at forward, and also feature questionable outside shooting. And questionable inside shooting. Has St. John’s figured out how to effectively defend a dynamic forward? Can they score in a slower-paced game, or assert their will and speed the tempo?

If they are to avoid the mistakes of the Bonaventure game, the Red Storm have to force missed shots – not necessarily from the all-A-10 Lavoy Allen, but from the team – and they have got to dominate the glass. A team can’t push if they don’t move the ball upcourt against a team scrambling to switch to defense. The tempo’s the key in this one.

Game Information

Tip Off: 8:30 PM
Location: The Palestra, Philadelphia, PA
TV: Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
Radio: Bloomberg 1130AM

Team Reviews

(All stats previous to Friday’s games)

Temple (4-1)

50 F/C Michael Eric SO 6’11 255 6.5 ppg* 3.8 rpg* 1 spg

4 G Juan Fernandez SO 6’4 180 13 ppg* 3.3 apg* 47% 3-pt

10 G Luis Guzman SR 6’3 200 2.5 ppg* 3.5 rpg* 3.3 apg

24 F Lavoy Allen JR 6’9 225 11.3 ppg* 11.3 rpg* 1 bpg* 1.5 spg

2 G Ryan Brooks SR 6’4 200 15.8 ppg* 4.8 rpg* 2.8 apg

Bench

23 Ramone Moore FR 6’4 180 19.3 mpg* 7 ppg* 3.3 rpg* 1 spg* 54.2% FG

30 Craig Williams JR 6’9 240 14.8 mpg* 5.8 ppg

Temple spent Friday night at home, frustrating a Virginia Tech team that likes to play slow, defensive-oriented ball. The Hokies found themselves missing a lot of shots and unable to stop Lavoy Allen. Temple played some zone (the 2-3 matchup that John Chaney used to use?) to frustrate the Hokies, though the pace of the game was actually fast… and neither team had efficient scorers, except for Temple’s Lavoy Allen, who went 8 of 9 for the field.

First-team all Atlantic 10 preseason selection Allen has size and some range; he stays on the floor, can pass, rebound at both ends, and has been good at holding on to the ball; he might be the Owls’ best player. Argentine Juan Fernandez is also a dangerous one; he’s not necessarily the type to put up a lot of shots, but he has been incredibly efficient this year. He doubles as the Owls’ best passer and playmaker, and also is decent at holding on to the ball.

Wing Ryan Brooks is most likely to take a shot. He does most of his damage inside the arc this year, but shot 41% from the three last year, while taking half of his shots from distance.

Nigerian Michael Eric is a shot blocker, but will also put up some shots; he’s a good defensive rebounder but is prone to a turnover or two. He can drive to the basket as well. Eric did not play against Virginia Tech with a sprained knee; Craig Williams took his place in the lineup and may do so again against St. John’s. Luis Guzman from the Bronx is a good ballhandler, but never shoots. It seems that he can hit from the outside.

St. John’s (4-0)

3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 21.7 mpg* 5.3 ppg* 3 apg* 1.7 spg* 3.3 fouls/g

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 26.3 mpg* 10.7 ppg* 3.3 rpg* 1spg* 35.7% 3-pt, 46.4% FG

1 G/F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 30.3 mpg* 16.3 ppg* 3.7 rpg* 2.7 apg* 46.7% 3-pt* 55.6% FG

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 17.3 mpg* 5.3 ppg* 4 rpg* 57.1% FG* 3.7 fouls/g

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 22.7 mpg* 8.7 ppg* 5 rpg

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6’2 187: 23.3 mpg* 10.5 ppg* 2 apg* 2 TO/g* 37.5% 3-pt

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6’7 232: 18 mpg* 9.5 ppg* 5 rpg* 1.5 spg

St. John’s spent Friday evening in the Palestra making Siena fans and announcers complain about their aggressive offensive style, likening it to a street game. Funny, Siena’s game often looks a little wild and loose as well. Guards DJ Kennedy and Dwight Hardy made plays, with Kennedy playing the role of “unstoppable”, drawing fouls against a Saints team that hardly fouls. Nice work.

Up front, Brownlee came off the bench and mixed good scoring with occasionally questionable selection. Starters Burrell and Evans played decent defense. Burrell was hampered by turnovers and possibly a lack of seeing the ball, while Evans was hampered with foul trouble. He still found 8 rebounds in 15 minutes, a nice performance. Boothe was a steady hand and Omari Lawrence’s basketball IQ continues to impress. Paris Horne got into the game as a finisher late. Dele Coker had a nice block. Quincy Roberts – from Harrisburg, mid-state – didn’t get into the game.

Against Temple, St. John’s might need to get more performance up front, especially on the glass. Temple’s frontcourt has height and can be imposing; boxing out will be key, as will engaging them on defense. The opposition plays very god team defense and has good recognition on offense; playing fast will be the best way to swing the game in the Red Storm’s favor. The hometown fans will be cheering for the Owls.

Keys to the Game:

Keep Up The Pace! Temple is good at playing a slow pace, and were least effective on defense when they were being run up and down the court. St. John’s has to own the boards, throw smart outlet passes, and shove their athleticism down the Owls’ throat. If the Storm can force long jump shots, that will go a long way to dominating the pace – with guards picking up the long caroms and putting the Owls on defense.

Theivery. The Owls are very good at holding on to the ball – or they have been so far. But the tall guards can be pressed. And as part of keeping up the pace, St. John’s has to stay in their face and rush their shots. They can be flustered, and are a young team.

Box Out. Someone needs to find Lavoy Allen from the shootaround. He is crafty in finding spaces against other teams and scoring from all over the court. He’s best at the rim, and can throw down a dunk. St. John’s has to keep him far from the glass, both to stop his scoring and to corral rebounds.

Put Up Shots (And Hit Them, Of Course). Again, St. John’s needs to put up shots to be effective. A lot goes into putting up more shots – not turning the ball over, rebounding on both ends, and finding openings against man and zone defenses. Hopefully, Temple’s occasionally-errant shooting will cause them to have a dry spell; when this happens, St. John’s has to find ways to put up more shots and create separation.

Big Days From the Wings. I think this game will require St. John’s to hit a few more three-point shots. Or at the very least, get some solid performances from Kennedy and Paris Horne. The wings are the Red Storm’s strength, and Temple will work hard to negate their effectiveness.

Prediction: This game will be a better test of where the Red Storm are. But as a true road game against a squad that has been tough… I see a loss. I won’t be surprised if I am proven wrong, so I’ll stay optimistic: St. John’s 72, Temple 69.

Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for the East Coast Bias and the Church of Bracketology. He’ll be doing the Calm Before the Storm posts, just like last year.

Green Means Go For Storm

November 27, 2009 by Dave Krupinski Leave a Comment

The Johnny Jungle bus trip was canceled.

All my friends bailed on making the trip.

Parking was atrocious and expensive in Philly (25 cents for 10 minutes).

I felt guilty lying to the hospital saying I was visiting a sick relative as I parked there instead.

The bar we arranged to meet up at said they were closed.

To top it off I saw hundreds of ugly green sweaters walking the sidewalks of University City.

….

….We’re doomed.

I walked into the Palestra and already heard buzzers. I missed the first two minutes of the game and the score was 9-2 in favor of Siena.

As I sat down, I looked around for the panic button. It was now 12-4 in favor of Siena so I switched my seat thinking that would help things out.

I finally nested in somewhere behind the St. John’s bench and the Red Storm, to my surprise, started to play some really good team basketball finally putting me at ease.

Despite heading into the locker room at the half trailing by five 36-31, the Red Storm built up some confidence and swagger to come out with in the 2nd half.

The Red Storm trailed by 9 points with 17:34 remaining in the game and the bench sparked the comeback. Malik Stith, Dwight Hardy, and Justin Brownlee were instrumental combining for 28 points on 48% shooting (11-23). Another new comer, Omari Lawerence grabbed 7 rebounds in 9 minutes of play contributing to many fast break 3 on 2 opportunities.

The usual suspects (Pennsylvania boys) DJ Kennedy, Paris Horne, and Sean Evans all had big games. Kennedy might have had the most impressive performance of the season out shining his counter foe Edwin Ubiles for 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Now lets breakdown our notes from our pre game column Calm Before the Storm: Siena versus the Storm

Keys to the Game:

Don’t Get Rattled. Down early in the game…St. John’s came back. Being down early in the 2nd half….St. John’s came back. St. John’s also limited their turnovers in the 2nd half. As much as I looked for the panic button sometimes, the team didn’t do it once. They showed a lot of maturity. I’m going to have to bust Justin Burrell’s chops for finding the open man in the 10th row of the stands. Wow that pass was ugly.

Grade: A

Defend the Basket. St. John’s did an excellent job of closing out on their man around the perimeter preventing penetration not allowing many open looks. Thank goodness they didn’t because Siena knocked down almost all their open looks. Having said that (that was for all the Curb fans out there) St. John’s did allow a big time performance from another front court player. Rossiter played chess while we played checkers. He made our bigs look foolish leaving their feet and over committing.

Grade: B+

Defend the Basket From Rossiter, Franklin, etc. I touched a little upon this in the last key but we’ll go a little deeper. Rossiter and Franklin combined for 9 offensive rebounds and 22 overall. They passed back and forth to each other getting many easy looks. They are quite a tandem up front and hopefully our guys learned a little something. On the bright side we didn’t foul them too often as they only got to the free throw line a combined 9 times and better yet they missed 4 of those attempts.

Grade: C-

With Authority! Yes! Yes! Yes! Finally we went to the basket and finished strong. We didn’t settle for deep jumpers. Stop us if you can. We’re bigger, faster, stronger. What are you gonna do! DJ Kennedy got at least 6 of his 8 made baskets off of layups. Paris Horne had some big slams in transition and Sean Evans had some rim rocking put backs.

Grade: A+

Take Advantage. We definitely had our fair share of runs in this game and forced Siena to be out of rhythm in their half court offense. A smart and deep rotation was used to our advantage getting out and running for a full 40 minutes. Our starters looked fresh at the end of the game while Siena looked completely gassed.

Grade: A

Overall GPA: 3.75 (Deans List)

No time to waste. Check out the Calm Before the Storm for the game tomorrow against Temple. Saturday Night, Brotherly Love

Siena Versus the Storm

November 25, 2009 by Pico Dulce 2 Comments

Ambiance: Billy Paul’s “The Whole Town Is Talking” (video link, loads in new window)

Bonus ambiance – a tour of the historic Palestra from PressPassTV (video link, loads in new window)

This weekend, St. John’s travels to the historic Palestra in Philadelphia, PA, to take on the Siena Saints and the Temple Owls in the Philly Hoop Group Classic. Known for their frenetic style, Siena will be tough competition for a team that has had problems maintaining possessions in past years. A win over the MAAC’s Saints will be a nice feather in the Red Storm’s cap… or I suppose headband would be more appropriate. Even though the games aren’t on TV, the Hoop Group games are a chance to gauge where this team stands nationally.

The Red Storm have already played one game in the “classic” – the on-campus 79-76 squeaker win over the Brown Bears. The Red Storm have had almost a full week to ruminate on that near disaster. It was tough to listen to, tough to watch, especially when the team found themselves giving up 44 points and 70% shooting to an Ivy League team in the second half, while shooting 34.3%. Even with the marked advantage in offensive rebounds in that half (10 to 2), the sharp free throw shooting (12-14) and the lack of turnovers (5 to Brown’s 12), that is a cause for concern.

There is no excuse for the lack of help defense, the lack of recognition on back cuts, and the sometimes-slow close-outs displayed last Friday. Yes, the Bears made some shots, and St. John’s went cold, but Brown has only topped that level of offensive efficiency against lowly Maine. Hopefully, practices have focused on improving the defense against not only fast breaks, but against cutters to the basket.

St. John’s has really shot the ball well from the perimeter, and has cut down on the turnovers. The guard-oriented lineups have been good from the outside. Those same lineups have given up a number of shots at the basket, and too many fouls. The occasional pressure defense hasn’t yet taken offenses out of their game, and has led to the fouling and the scoring; this needs to change. Additionally, the team seems to forget that some teammates are listed as “forwards” in the game program, and should get the ball in the paint, draw fouls, and provide some offensive balance.

One problem in playing Siena is that their players work so well as a unit. Each player is a threat on offense and defense, and their team shows the veteran savvy coaches often talk about. Their pressing defense is at the heart of what they do. The Saints create pressure by making the whole team bring the ball upcourt, trapping and pressing both in the backcourt and at the halfcourt line.

This pressure often leads to turnovers. But it also serves the purposes of forcing players out of their comfort zone and encouraging opposing players to think they have open lanes to the basket, which are quickly covered by help defenders. This coverage affects a Siena opponent’s offensive rebounding; players take shots before their forwards are in position to clean the glass and give scoring a second chance in the halfcourt sets. Even when the Saints turn the ball over – which was rare last year – or shoot poorly, Siena is always in the game because they concentrate on disruptive defense, like Rick Pitino’s teams. And they do not foul; their positioning and anticipation is fantastic.

Game Information

Tip Off: Friday, November 27, 5:30 PM
Location: The Palestra, Philadelphia, PA
TV: none
Radio: Bloomberg 1130

Team Reviews

Siena (2-1)

siena1

25 G Ronald Moore SR 6’0 156 4.8 ppg* 8.3 apg* 4 rpg* 1.5 spg* 26.1% FG

13 G Clarence Jackson JR 6’3 185 12.5 ppg* 40% 3-pt

23 G/F Edwin Ubiles SR 6’6 204 13.3 ppg* 3.3 apg* 3.5 rpg* 1.8 spg* 55.3% FG

22 F Ryan Rossiter JR 6’9 234 12.8 ppg* 9.8 rpg* 1.5 spg* 1.3 bpg * 64.3% FG

42 F Alex Franklin SR 6’5 226 16.3 ppg* 8.3 rpg* 60.5% FG

Bench:

3 G Kyle Downey SO 6’2 203 16.5 mpg* 4.5 ppg* 2 rpg* 2 TO/g

1 F O.D. Anosike FR 6’7 217 14.8 mpg* 2.5 ppg* 3.8 rpg

The Siena Saints are a little school that could, knocking off Ohio State in the NCAA tournament last year, and playing Louisville close. That same team, however, struggled last November against good teams, and came on stronger in the spring. Like last year’s team, these Saints do not shoot 3-pointers and play at incredibly fast pace, pushing off of turnovers, opponents’ makes, and opponents’ misses. Though they are still putting up shots, Siena is turning the ball over more than they did last year.

Offensively, Edwin Ubiles is the closest thing to a go-to star, playing heavy minutes and taking a number of the tougher shots. Guard Clarence Jackson isn’t shy, especially from beyond the arc. Ryan Rossiter – brother of Davidson’s Steve Rossiter and a Staten Island native – doesn’t shoot as much as his teammates but has range, well-rounded defensive ability, and rebounding acumen. Rossiter’s parents may be in the stands, go on down and say hello.

Alex Franklin handles the defensive rebounding with Rossiter and gets to the free throw line a lot. Ronald Moore’s value is in his crafty ballhandling and ability to run the offense/ make plays with the pass; though his turnover rate is certainly not as low as an elite guard’s should be.

The team has not played its bench much. Sophomore Downey is more likely to shoot but hasn’t been effective this season. Staten Island’s Anosike is on the court to defend and rebound; he’s a pretty good athlete.

I add a paragraph to work in that, according to Bill Raftery, the Franciscans built Siena College on an old asparagus farm outside of Albany. Now you know, if anyone asks.

St. John’s (3-0)

3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 21.7 mpg* 5.3 ppg* 3 apg* 1.7 spg* 3.3 fouls/g

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 26.3 mpg* 10.7 ppg* 3.3 rpg* 1spg* 35.7% 3-pt, 46.4% FG

1 G/F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 30.3 mpg* 16.3 ppg* 3.7 rpg* 2.7 apg* 46.7% 3-pt* 55.6% FG

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 17.3 mpg* 5.3 ppg* 4 rpg* 57.1% FG* 3.7 fouls/g

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 22.7 mpg* 8.7 ppg* 5 rpg

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6’2 187: 23.3 mpg* 10.5 ppg* 2 apg* 2 TO/g* 37.5% 3-pt

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6’7 232: 18 mpg* 9.5 ppg* 5 rpg* 1.5 spg

The Red Storm’s modus operandi this season has been to run up and down the court, creating shots on the break and with the dribble, with decent success… even if it doesn’t always look pretty. But so far, the players have been very efficient with respect to their scoring. Can they keep it up? DJ Kennedy has been unreal, especially with his newfound ability to hit from distance; he has drawn fouls as well. Paris Horne plays fewer minutes but is more likely to put a shot up, similar to Dwight Hardy. Hardy has doubled as an extra ballhandler. I would expect to see a lot of minutes for him against Siena.

By percentages, Burrell and Brownlee are the team’s best defensive rebounders, followed by… Malik Boothe. Chew on that for a second. Boothe and Kennedy lead the team in number of rebounds at 9. The Red Storm haven’t had much of an interior presence at either end.

But what will the team look like in a more serious game, where they aren’t favored to win? Will 10 players average 10 minutes or more? This game will require Boothe and Stith to bring their A+ ballhandling game, and for the players to observe before they pass. With the athletes on this team, there is a chance to win if they shoot well.

Keys to the Game:

Don’t Get Rattled. Against Siena, so much of what they do is predicated on handling their pressure that the keys will relate to this – keeping composure. I don’t expect this team to try and slow down the Saints; they will want to win fast. So the first key is for the players to keep their heads. Make smart passes, even if they are slow and deliberate (yet accurate) passes. Know when to pick up the dribble and when to force the dribble between two defenders. Know when to take the shot and when to look through the options. The Saints switch their defenses often, working with a good deal of (effective) zone.

Defend the Basket. Siena will want to run to the basket on offense. Their wings will find themselves in good position to receive passes going towards the rim… or just under it. Someone has to get back and stay between the ballhandler and the basket on every single possession. Without fouling.

Defend the Basket From Rossiter, Franklin, etc. Rossiter and Franklin are absolute beasts on the defensive glass, with great anticipation, positioning, and strong hands. The Red Storm needs to negate them and get some offensive rebounds. And don’t turn the ball over while looking for someone to pass the ball to when trapped under the basket. Second chance opportunities – and quick outside jumpers off of an offensive rebound – could be the difference in this game.

With Authority! The Red Storm have to make sure to get good shots – not off balance shots, not shots at the end of the shot clock, and not drives that become offensive fouls. Patience and crispness are key. They need to be crisp in their screening, and active in their movement with and without the ball to get the Saints’ defense off balance. And if they can draw some fouls on strong drives, that would be a bonus.

Take Advantage. The Saints are suscepitble to scoring droughts, and St. John’s has to take advantage of those minutes, advancing the lead until the next Siena onslaught. The Red Storm have to remember not only to not get rattled – but to not get too excited and piss away good chances to score.

Prediction: I think St. John’s could win this game. My gut tells me Siena’s coaching will win out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if St. John’s won – 80-78, Red Storm.

Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter is a/k/a Pico. He writes for the East Coast Bias and the Church of Bracketology. He’ll be doing the Calm Before the Storm posts, just like last year.

It's Always A Jungle…

October 28, 2009 by Dave Krupinski 1 Comment

Join JohnnyJungle.com on a chartered bus trip to Philadelphia for St. John’s match up with Siena. The two New York schools will be matching up on neutral ground at the Palestra Center for the Philly Hoop Group Classic Tournament on November 27th 2009 at 6:15PM.

This will be the first annual bus trip JohnnyJungle.com will sponsor to take 56 fans on the road to cheer on the St. John’s Men’s Basketball team and take over another arena. The trip will include round trip transportation from St. John’s, 1 ticket to the game, 1 Johnny Jungle T-Shirt , and a pre-game party sponsored by Magic Hat Brewing Company. The cost of this will be $40 per person. Please buy tickets as soon as possible to ensure a seat on the bus. Click the “Add to Cart” button below which will take you to our Paypal. I will update this page periodically to let you know how many seats are available.

Seats Available: 52

1 Ticket
[wp_cart:It’s Always a Jungle in Philadelphia Bus Trip:price:40.00:end]

5 Pack (Buy 4 Tickets Get 1 Free)
[wp_cart:It’s Always a Jungle in Philadelphia Bus Trip 4 Pack(Buy 4 Get 1 Free):price:160.00:end]