Norm Roberts left the program with a huge scholarship imbalance on the roster. When Omari Lawrence transferred out of the program it opened the door for potentially others to walk out as well. In the newest column on JohnnyJungle.com “Over the Airwaves” the opinions of WSJU Radio personalities Dan Martin and Timmy Dzeladini-Dimas will be on display on a hot topics of debate regarding St. John’s Basketball. The first assignment is what to do about the scholarship imbalance? Should anyone else transfer? Lets take a look at what they have to say.
At this point, I don’t expect St. John’s to push any more scholarship players out.Iif they were to let someone go, it would most likely be forward Rob Thomas. The Johnnies are crowded down low. They have five capable guys, though none of them can really take over a game. With Sean Evans, Justin Burrell, Justin Brownlee, and Dele Coker, Thomas seems to be the odd man out when it comes to rotation and playing time. Thomas is probably, the least “impact” of these guys, being that he is more of a “grind-it-out” player. He’ll get garbage points off rebounds, but he doesn’t demand any attention on the block. With this same lack of offensive production at the point, Coach Lavin cannot afford to have two offensive holes on the floor at the same time. He is one of the hardest working guys on the team who has overcome such adversity, but nagging injuries and inability to keep his weight absolutely in check have kept him down.
After averaging 5 points per game his freshman year, Roberts played in four games this past season before being red-shirted. With guys like Polee and, perhaps, Barry coming in, players who would fill the same role as Roberts did, his minutes should be significantly cut. A coach brings guys in by selling a system and how that guy would fit into that system. Lavin clearly wants to use the speed and athleticism of Polee to run all game this year. In my mind, that’s not something Roberts can do.
Another point of interest on the Johnnies roster is Malik Stith. Averaging just over a single point and assist per game in eleven minutes his freshman year, he was essentially a carbon copy of starting point guard Malik Boothe. They share the same set of skills (distributor, ball-handler) and weaknesses (lack of ability to consistently get to the basket, weak outside game). To win in the Big East, you can’t have this kind of passiveness running the point. That’s why, I imagine, Stith’s heart was beating quickly when news surfaced that St. John’s was pursuing New York-born gem Doron Lamb, who has since committed to college basketball One-And-Done goliath Kentucky. Though Lamb was technically a shooting guard, he would have been more than capable of running the point.
With all of this said, it makes no sense to clean house entirely and bring in brand new recruits. Granted, there is better talent out there than what exists right now, but Lavin needs to remember that nine scholarships will open up after this season, giving him nearly free reign as to what direction he takes this program. That is why it makes sense to keep these kids around. If Malik Stith ends up being the 11th guy on your roster, you’ve got to have a pretty good team. You cannot discount the talent that exists. Every player has an upside that needs to be developed, that which I think was absent under Norm Roberts.
Dan Martin
St. John’s 2013
@Dan_MartinWSJU
I feel if Malik Stith is used properly, he can be a solid contributor off the bench. Last year, he really struggled at times to play his position but he showed also that he can get to the basket, draw fouls or create on the move at times. With playing time, he needs to be productive because if he wants to play in 2011; when Boothe leaves next year there is no guarantee that Stith gets the green light to be the starting point guard.
Quincy Roberts missed all of last season with a concussion. People questioned if he would transfer last year and that proved to be no. I don’t think he will transfer now and if I’m Lavin I don’t think I’d be trying to move players. Not the right image. He has to show he can be better then ex-coach Norm Roberts was with the players Norm had.
I think the player with more to gain or lose of the two is Stith. Lavin will look to recruit point guards, like one of his first recruits with UCLA, Baron Davis. If Stith can be a spark plug for this team off the bench with Hardy, Polee, Roberts this team can go far. Lavin will give him a lot of playing time so he needs to take what he gets and makes sure he seizes the opportunity.
With nine seniors on this team you have a bunch of veteran leadership that knows how to play the college game. Barry and Polee can ease their development for the first year and be the faces of this team next year when the starters graduate. Lavin can groom his new players the way he wants and then next year get kids that are semi developed for the college game and won’t need too much grooming. Lavin is a showman and right now his opening act is looking as good as it could be if not great in the short amount of time and little amount of moving room he has. Next year though, will be the intro to a long act.
Timmy Dzeladini-Dimas
St. John’s 2013
@TimmyD_WSJU