Redstorm – Page 4

Groundhog Day

February 1, 2010 by Pico Dulce 1 Comment

Ambiance: Beck, Loser (video link, pops up in a new window)

Coach Norm Roberts:

We’ve done a better job of playing on the road this year in tough environments. The last few years we’ve been getting beat by 15 or 18 points. Now the games are much closer and we are closer to getting a victory. We just have to get over the hump. That means making big plays in the gut of the game.

NDiaye Rutgers — Hamady N'Diaye. By IconSMI

The second half of the Big East season is almost upon the St. John’s squad, and it cannot come fast enough. So many frustrating losses, so little consistency… the team is struggling to find its way. There have been close losses. But for the players and the fans, it’s not enough to be close; moral victories were acceptable half a decade ago. The Red Storm has to find a way to score enough to win against the decent teams (or play incredible defense) to start getting some wins and rise from the lower depths of the conference.

Fortunately, there are two reasons to hold out some hope. First, the remaining schedule can be seen as more forgiving. Highly ranked West Virginia and Syracuse are the toughest upcoming teams that the Red Storm will face. The rest of the contests will feature squads from the middle of the standings, with 5 of those games at home. The second is a Rutgers squad that can charitably be described as weak, even if they exploited Notre Dame’s aversion to defense for a win. The 1-8 Scarlet Knights have trouble scoring and holding on to the ball, have a coach who, everyone figures will be fired at the end of the season, and have struggled to stay near opponents on the scoreboard more than St. John’s has.

Can St. John’s reverse their recent low-scoring losing ways and pull out a win in Piscataway?

Game Information

Tip Off: 7:30 PM, Tuesday, February 2
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center
TV: MSG
Radio: Bloomberg 1130

Team Reviews

Rutgers (10-11, 1-8)

10 PG James Beatty JR 6’2 195: 5.0 ppg* 3.0 apg* 37.7% 3PT

3 G Mike Rosario SO 6’3 190: 15.7 ppg* 4.3 rpg* 33.3% 3PT* 14.7 shots/g

11 F Dane Miller FR 6’6 210: 8.8 ppg* 5.7 ppg* 2.1 apg* 33.3% 3PT

24 F Jonathan Mitchell JR 6’7 225: 11.0 ppg* 5.2 rpg* 34.9% 3PT* 91.7%FT

5 C Hamady N’Diaye SR 6’11 235: 9.1 ppg* 6.4 rpg* 4.7 bpg

Bench

31 G Mike Coburn JR 6’0 185: 23.4 mpg* 7.2 ppg* 3.7 apg

23 G-F Patrick Jackson SO 6’6 210: 13.5 mpg* 3.1 ppg* 3.3 rpg

11 F-C Austin Johnson FR 6’8 230: 22.8 mpg* 2.3 ppg* 1.9 rpg

For the Rutgers scouting report, I asked to Rutgers bloggers for information. First, On the Banks of the Raritan:

They beat Notre Dame because they played good defense and limited their turnovers. If they can continue to limit their turnovers to 12 or less, they should find themselves in more games come the 10:00 mark in the second half. In their lopsided losses to teams like Villanova, Georgetown, and Marquette, first half turnovers killed them.

Against Notre Dame, RU committed just five turnovers. It also helps when our best player is hot. Mike Rosario scored 18 in the first half against the Irish and finished with a game high 24. In order to win against St. John’s they will also need another rebounding effort from our guards like we did against Notre Dame. James Beatty and Rosario combined for 16 on Saturday.

And on the player-by-player depth chart, Bleed Scarlet chips in:

C: Hamady N’Diaye, Brian Okam. N’Diaye has finally come into his own, and could be a weapon on any team. The knock on him was always that he was so raw. I thought Okam would be the project of all projects, and while he needs work, he’s an interesting shot blocker in his own right to keep an eye on.

PF: Jon Mitchell, Austin Johnson. Mitchell is a decent 3 who’s playing out of position. He’s a transfer from Florida who came back to the metro area for more playing time. Johnson’s just a freshman who’s being pressed into action early out of necessity.

SF: Dane Miller, Pat Jackson. Miller has everyone excited, because he’s like a J.R. Inman who actually cares. When he was a freshman, it looked like Inman was going to be huge, but he never improved under Hill. he was always so lethargic on the court though, and that’s not the case here. Jackson could/should be a decent reserve, but Hill’s never handled similar players well in the past, and has again overreacted by cutting his minutes too much.

SG: Mike Rosario. Rosario is essentially a streaky volume shooter. He could absolutely be the dangerous lead scorer on a tourney team, but he’s not nearly as good a shooter as Quincy Douby was. The combination of not having a true compliment like Echenique puts way too much on his shoulders, and the coaching staff has failed in trying to improve his shot selection and getting other players involved in the offense. It’s ugly, ugly basketball.

PG: James Beatty, Mike Coburn. Beatty’s the first real point that Hill has ever had. Can score a bit too, ala Jerome Coleman back in the day. Yet, Hill and staff continue to show favoritism towards Coburn, who’s really just an undersized 2. He’s an ok third guard though.

For more:

5 Questions with On the Banks of the Raritan

5 Questions with Bleed Scarlet

St. John’s (12-7, 2-5)

3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 4.1 ppg* 2.1 apg

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 8.3 ppg* 3.1 rpg* 37.9% 3PT

1 G-F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 15.0 ppg* 6.4 rpg* 3.3 apg* 34.7% 3PT

2 G-F Anthony Mason Jr. SR 6’7 210: 20 mpg* 5.7 ppg* 4.3 rpg

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 7.1 ppg* 6.5 rpg

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6′2 187: 23.2 mpg* 11.9 ppg* 41.3% 3PT

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6′7 232: 21.2 mpg* 7.4 ppg* 5.6 rpg

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 18 mpg* 5.6 ppg* 3.2 rpg* 52.4% FG

31 PG Malik Stith FR 5’11 185: 12.5 mpg* 2.0 ppg* 1.4 apg

11 G Omari Lawrence FR 6’4 215: 10.6 mpg* 2.7 ppg* 1.8 rpg

15 F-C Dele Coker JR 6’10 252: 10.2 mpg* 2.2 ppg* 1.9 rpg* 1.3 bpg* 65.5% FG

Keys to the Game

Garden State Stealing. It’s impressive how a roster of players can all conspire to give the ball away. One can feel the unison in the Scarlet Knights; only Jonathan Mitchell and Mike Rosario take shots and turn the ball over less than 20% of the time (Hamady N’Diaye is not as active in the offensive sets). In Rosario’s case, it’s because when he touches the ball, he feels the need to take a shot. The Knights should be bumped, trapped, and harassed into giving up the ball, their lunch money, and anything else they’ve got.

The Garbagemen. Rutgers isn’t great on the defensive glass. St. John’s has to send the forwards in to clean up offensive misses and make second shots. And with a shotblocker like N’Diaye around, there will be loose balls for the taking.

Hands Up! Defend the Rutgers’ jump shooters. Simply playing to defensive principles should keep the Scarlet Knights inaccurate and shooting the ball after a quick and ineffective one-on-one move.

Offensive Execution. St. John’s will probably need a couple of solid performances from Dwight Hardy and DJ Kennedy (or Sean Evans/ Justin Burrell). But decent performances all around will also put this game away.

Keep Cool. The Red Storm has to make sure to defend without fouling, and to not turn the ball over. Rutgers may come out on fire, feeling it from the win over Notre Dame; but St. John’s has to weather their valiant attack and take a road win. Dane Miller and Mike Rosario will have nice stretches, but St. John’s has to run their sets, take smart shots, and not underestimate their opponent.

Prediction: St. John’s has a nice run in the second half and puts Rutgers away, 66-59.

Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for the East Coast Bias and the Church of Bracketology and for Johnny Jungle, doing the Calm Before the Storm posts. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.

Storm Stumble in 2nd Half

January 21, 2010 by Dave Krupinski Leave a Comment

When Malik Boothe committed a foul getting beat off the dribble in the first defensive possession of the game, I knew that the Calm Before the Storm title, Upward Sledding, was going to hold true.

In the preview the author, Pico Dulce, mentioned keys to the game which I felt were almost interconnected. In order for St. John’s to slow down the pace they needed to make shots offensively. St. John’s shot 11.8% from three and 34.3% overall for the game which allowed UConn to get up and down the court as they wanted.

In the first defensive possession there were plenty of bad omens to see how this game was going to play out. First Malik Boothe committed the foul after he was unable to keep his man in front of him and after a missed shot Stanley Robinson went right over the head of DJ Kennedy for an offensive rebound and was fouled on the put back. Ugh this is going to be a long day.

St. John’s showed some resolve and poise in the early goings. Dele Coker played very well on both ends of the floor and its very surprising he only logged 12 minutes of play. The announcers sounded very surprised when Coker stroked it from the baseline. How many times does he have to knock down that shot before he receives more playing time?

St. John’s started to jump out to an early lead however couldn’t find any offensive continuity that allowed them to build upon their lead but led them to squander it going into the locker room down by three points. A very bright note for St. John’s is the only had 3 turnovers at halftime and they shot very very poorly and were only down three.

UConn proved to be too much for the Red Storm in the 2nd half as the Huskies started shooting and hitting from 3 while the Johnnies struggled to answer back. The game quickly got away from the Red Storm and quickly put St. John’s fans back into the reality that they’re not over the hump yet.

Upward Sledding

January 19, 2010 by Pico Dulce 5 Comments

St. John’s trips up to Connecticut to face Jim Calhoun’s Huskies on Wednesday. A win in the Huskies’ tough environment would be a jumpstart to the season. But Connecticut, on a three-game losing streak and coming off of a loss to the University of Michigan Wolverines, will look to get right against the Red Storm.

As always, the Huskies are known for their stellar interior defense and their ability to block shots. Even without Thabeet, the team has cobbled together a number of good shotblockers to intimidate players coming inside. Freshman Alex Oriakhi, senior Gavin Edwards lead the interior defensive effort with shot blocking help from Stanley Robinson and now Ater Majok along the front line. The Huskies play fast, running from end to end off of misses to take advantage of mismatches and their athleticism.

But as I have seen them, they seem much less effective off of opponents’ makes; they are worse in slower-paced games, and sometimes struggle to get good shots in the halfcourt. They would rather not take three-point attempts, ranking near the bottom of Division I in 3-point attempts as a percentage of all field goals (19.1%). Defensive stops and athletic ability have gotten them far, but this is clearly not one of the best Connecticut teams of Jim Calhoun’s era; they could rebound much better on the offensive end, the secondary players could score more efficiently, and the team has some moments where the basketball IQ just seems low.

But make no mistake about it, Connecticut has had a tougher out of conference schedule AND a tougher recent schedule. They will be looking to run out their frustrations on the Red Storm. Can St. John’s send the Husky season into a real tailspin with the first win over the Huskies since February of 2002?

Game Information

Tip Off: 7:00 PM, Wednesday, January 20
Location: XL Center (Hartford, CT)
TV: SNY / ESPN 360
Radio: Bloomberg 1130

Team Reviews

St. John’s (12-5, 2-3)

3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 4.6 ppg* 2.3 rpg* 2.3 apg
23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 8.6 ppg* 3 rpg* 39.3% 3PT
1 G-F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 15.4 ppg* 6.5 rpg* 3.5 apg* 37.1% 3PT
5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 6.9 ppg* 6.7 rpg
15 F-C Dele Coker JR 6’10 252: 2.3 ppg* 2.2 rpg* 1.5 bpg* 65.2% FG

Bench:

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6′7 232: 22.6 mpg* 8.3 ppg* 5.9 rpg* 1.1 spg
12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6′2 187: 22.8 mpg* 11.4 ppg* 41.1% 3PT
24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 17.6 mpg* 5.3 ppg* 2.8 rpg* 54.2% FG
31 PG Malik Stith FR 5′11 185: 12.6 mpg* 2.4 ppg* 1.4 apg
2 G-F Anthony Mason Jr. SR 6′7 210: 16 mpg* 4.7 ppg* 4.3 rpg* 57.1% FG

St. John’s is an enigma. The team had stretches of poor offensive and defensive performances in their Big East losses, but it’s hard to pinpoint a single factor that has led them astray. The team simply needs to play better basketball and perhaps relocate a go-to scorer. Burrell had a nice performance against DePaul, and Anthony Mason Jr. is rounding into shape. Both performances are encouraging results. An ugly home win against a sloppy Cincy and a win against a team that is clearly a cut below the rest of the Big East in DePaul does not give guidance about where improvement could come from with this team.In both games, though, the free throws have been a topic of postgame conversation. Rightfully so. Continuing to leave points at the free throw line will keep St. John’s from winning a close game this season, as it almost did against Cincy.

The team’s calling card has been interior defense. Even without height, the Red Storm manage to disrupt shooting and the opponents’ halfcourt passing. They have been decent at maintaining control of the ball for the most part, and rebound decently, though they could stand to have more dominating performances, especially on the defensive glass. The rotation and starting lineup continue to be in flux; Dele Coker got the start against DePaul, so I will list him as starter.

Connecticut (11-6, 2-3)

15 PG Kemba Walker SO 6’1 172: 12.7 ppg* 5.8 apg* 4 rpg* 1.8 spg* 77.4% FT
11 G Jerome Dyson SR 6’3 190: 18.6 ppg* 5.1 apg* 5 rpg* 1.5 spg* 7.6 FT Att/ g
21 F Stanley Robinson SR 6’9 220: 16.9 ppg* 7.2 rpg* 1.4 bpg* 42.9% 3PT
33 F Gavin Edwards SR 6’10 230: 10.8 ppg* 6.4 rpg* 2.7 bpg* 66.7% FG
34 F-C Alex Oriakhi FR 6’9 240: 5.8 ppg* 8.9 rpg* 2.3 bpg

Bench

5 F Ater Majok FR 6’11 233: 13.1 mpg* 2.1 ppg* 2.4 rpg* 1.3 bpg
4 G-F Jamal Coombs-McDaniel FR 6’7 210: 12.1 mpg* 3.8 ppg*1.4 rpg
2 G Donnell Beverly JR 6’4 190: 9.1 mpg* 1.1 ppg* 1.2 apg
36 C Charles Okwandu JR 7’0 255: 6.7 mpg* 1.3 ppg* 1.4 rpg* .5 bpg

I’m probably overstating it but Gavin Edwards is Jim Calhoun’s most fundamentally sound big man in years. It’s not that he’s not athletic; but he’s not so incredibly athletic/ tall that he can just get his own shot or dunk over people. But he is unbelievably efficient, scoring on 67% of his shot attempts, getting to the free throw line. It’s good because he’s not an elite rebounder, unlike earlier U Conn forwards. He is a very good position defender, blocking drives; and he blocks shots like a U Conn big man should. Interestingly, despite playing 30+ minutes a game, he’s only started 3 times. Since I am not sure who they will start, I will add him to the opening lineup.

Kemba Walker, meanwhile, has found himself in a bit of a pickle with respect to his prospects for playing on the next level. Some- myself included – thought this might be his last year at U Conn. His quickness is still elite, and his passing is inspired. But his turnovers are a bit high and his shot – inside the arc – has been mediocre. At 6’1, quick and slight, he will need to convert in the lane. He has been great at getting to the line, though, and converting. Also at guard, Jerome Dyson’s had a great year. Dyson’s ability to play the point for stretches gives Kemba Walker bits of rest , and gives the team two creators on the floor. He takes a lot of shots, and also earns a lot of attempts at the free throw line, where he hits 70%. His three-point shooting is mediocre at 30%.

Stanley Robinson’s game has really blossomed in a way that’s unreal. It’s like the light turned on for him – he is hitting from the outside but scoring in the paint, not fouling at ALL, blocking shots, and scoring. With the exception of assists, he’s been a stat sheet stuffer, converting opportunities created by Dyson + Walker.

I mention the deep bench in this preview because a team that’s lost 3 in a row will likely look to play some different guys in extended roles. After the 4 players mentioned above, the U Conn staff has been searching for some depth and impact in the rotation. Alex Oriakhi has done well in concentrating on rebounding and shot blocking. Meanwhile, Ater Majok can play, but hasn’t been aggressive on offense at all.

Keys to the Game

Slow Pace. Connecticut loves to run teams into submission by grabbing rebounds and racing up court. St John’s players know this from experience, the numbing feeling of watching a game get out of control as the opponent dunks, draws fouls, and generally puts foot to throat. Last year, St. John’s managed to slow the game down in parts; they need to do that again, especially to a U Conn team that is vulnerable in the halfcourt.

Turnover Factor. A U Conn game can get away very quickly in a string of turnovers. The Huskies are aggressive in getting at the ball; St. John’s would do themselves a favor by not turning it over, obviously. And generating some miscues from the forwards and the sometimes single-minded guards would be helpful.

Hit Outside Shots. The Huskies are hard to score against inside. St. John’s will get some points in the paint (if they’re smart) and in transition, but to win this game, St. John’s will have to stroke it from the outside. There is a chance that the team will become an incredible interior scoring squad, but past games don’t make that concept likely.

Rebound To The Best of Your Ability. The Red Storm has to box out and minimize the Huskies’ strength on the glass, especially on the offensive end where St. John’s will have second chance opportunities.

Keep Them Out of the Paint. St. John’s has to keep slashing guards Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson out of the paint as best as they can. The two guards can draw fouls when they slice through a defense; both are excellent with the ball (if not always at finishing inside). Walker scored 21 points last year off the bench, driving into the lane repeatedly; that can’t happen again.

Prediction: St. John’s loss, 71-60.

Putting the Demons Behind

January 18, 2010 by Dave Krupinski 2 Comments

St. John’s needed to take care of business against the lowly winless DePaul Blue Demons at Carnesecca Arena on Sunday. We all know games aren’t played on paper but anyone and everyone chalked this up as a win today for the Red Storm. However the Red Storm have lost three Big East games where they have had a lead of 6 or more points at one point in the game so you never know.

The Red Storm started with a lineup of Malik Boothe, Paris Horne, DJ Kennedy, Sean Evans, and Dele Coker. Coker started his second consecutive game for St. John’s matching up with former potential recruit Krys Faber.

St. John’s won the opening tip, running a very nice double screen for Paris Horne who opened up the game with an easy layup (pictured right). Both Evans and Coker lined up a the top of the key while Kennedy was in the deep left corner. As Horne curled around the screen, Kennedy already took his man with him to the right side leaving nothing between Horne and the basket. It was so nice to see something so organized by design to open the game.

The Johnnies led 6-2 at the first media time out and things looked like they were well on their way to being a blow out as the starters had things in control. Wait a second! Stith, Hardy, Brownlee, Mason, and Burrell all got minutes soon after which meant 10 different St. John’s players were in the game within the first 6 minutes of the game. Now its 6-6, 8-8, 10-10, ugh not again.

With 7 minutes remaining in the first half the score was 17-15 in favor of St. John’s. Coming out of the timeout St. John’s ran a nice inbounds play for 2 points and that seemed to ignite the Red Storm as well as the crowd. Big props to the Jungle as they played the old 5,4,3…. shot clock trick on DePaul as they rushed a shot with 4 seconds left on the clock which resulted in a miss and a transition bucket the other way for St. John’s during their 10-0 run.

In the second half it was all St. John’s as they jumped out early 20-4 in the second half and emptied out the bench to the walk-ons.

Mason Jr. probably had his best game of the season finishing with 8 points and 10 rebounds continuing to blend into the rotation. Justin Burrell showed off a little razzle dazzle with an up and under layup that made you look twice to see if it really was Burrell (no headband through me off). Malik 1.0 and 2.0 combined for 33 minutes, 4 points, 4 assists, and 2 turnovers. Dwight Hardy didn’t add much either having a rare cold day from the floor however he should still be stealing more minutes from the Maliks.

Hardy Har Har

January 14, 2010 by Dave Krupinski 4 Comments

NEW YORK — Dwight Hardy knew how much St. John’s needed a win. He and his teammates had another thought on their minds as well — ruin Lance Stephenson’s homecoming.

Hardy matched his career high with 19 points, including the tying and winning free throws in the final 8.5 seconds, and the Red Storm snapped a three-game losing streak with a 52-50 victory over Cincinnati and its heralded freshman on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

DHardyvsGA — Dwight Hardy scored 19 points going 6-6 from the free throw line sinking 4 of them in the last 10 seconds of the game to win.

“We just wanted to spoil his homecoming basically,” Hardy said. “They needed a win but we needed it more being that we didn’t have a win in Big East play. So we just wanted to get in his head and keep him from scoring as many points as possible.”

Stephenson struggled all game but it did seem he and the Bearcats were going to be on the right end of the final score but they couldn’t get the ball inbounds in the final 10 seconds and Hardy turned the two turnovers into the deciding free throws.

“Our guys really stayed tough at the end of the game and made some huge plays,” St. John’s coach Norm Roberts said. “Hardy stepped in there and made some plays.”

Hardy stole a long inbounds pass by Rashad Bishop, was fouled with 8.5 seconds left and made both free throws to tie the game at 50.

He then stole another inbounds pass by Bishop — this one at the free throw line — and was fouled as he went to shoot with 7.6 seconds left. Hardy made both free throws and Deonta Vaughn’s 3 for the win with a second left bounced off the rim.

Hardy finished 6 of 6 at the free throw line, while the Red Storm (11-5, 1/3 Big East) were 11 of 20. Hardy came into the game shooting 71 percent at the line.

“What we have to do, in the last 10 seconds, is not blow the game,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. “They are a good team, they have good players and are in a must-win situation. We met the challenge and had the game won. I am not going to act like the sky is falling. We had the game won. There are a lot of positives except the last 10 seconds.”

Yancy Gates had 12 points to lead the Bearcats (11-6, 2-3), while Stephenson had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting, five assists and six of Cincinnati’s season-high 21 turnovers.

Stephenson, New York’s all-time leading high school scorer with 2,946 points at Lincoln H.S., was booed by the St. John’s fans in the crowd every time he touched the ball.

“I don’t worry about the crowd. I just play the game,” Stephenson said. “You can’t worry about the crowd, what they say or do.”

The Bearcats entered the game last in the 16-team Big East in 3-point shooting at 29.4 percent and they missed all 12 shots they took behind the arc on Wednesday.

Stephenson lost for the first time at Madison Square Garden after winning four New York City championship games here. The Red Storm have played a lot more games than that here.

“Every time you win at the Garden, it’s awesome. Every time you win a Big East game, it’s awesome. Because it’s hard, very hard,” Roberts said. “I keep telling my team that we’re going to have to grind out a win. … Because we’re really, really close. So I’m really happy that we were able to get the victory today.”

Courtesy of the Associated Press

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