The Holy Land of Hoops

Sampson: knows LeBron personally, was supposed to be an absolute machine near the glass

Reality: very weak, selfish, terrible at FT's, and one of the more awkward shots I've seen...ugly even when they go in

Harrison: was supposed to be a pure shooter, deadly from 3

Reality: poor 3P% for a shooter, very streaky, slow

Pointer: was supposed to be a Revis-like lockdown defender

Reality: I honestly cannot remember more than 1 or 2 good games he had in 3 years

Obekpa: was supposed to be a blocking machine and be solid offensively in the paint

Reality: great shot blocker, almost no offensive game still

Jordan: was supposed to be our final piece to the tournament puzzle, 5 star stud, can do everything

Reality: gets to the hoop with ease, not consistent with his jumper

Branch: was supposed to be a rock solid guard at the very least if not very good since he was top 50 coming out of HS

Reality: very slow, turnover prone, and cannot make jumpers with any regularity



Lavin's reputation is as a great recruiter, but clearly our program has ZERO competent scouts. Guys like McDermott, Wragge, Anderson (Robert Morris), etc. are 2 star players and come to college shooting the lights out of the ball with great consistency. Why are we missing these? How are they flying under the radar? It seems so many teams have a deadly shooter who makes almost everything. We don't. We need our 2014 version of Chris Mullin. Pure shooter. Makes 3's with regularity and is not streaky. Must hit the open shots. Must hit FT's at 80%+. Clearly our staff has no clue what to look for. I've never seen so many highly rated recruits shoot so terribly as with Lavin teams. We have guys missing layups, missing wide open 3's, missing FT's, etc. Something is just missing. It seems like we recruit based on potential and physical skills rather than current basketball skills.

From an outside perspective, give 'em a year of development before writing this bunch and Lavin off. They did some good things this year. It seemed pretty clear that they had no interest in playing last night after losing in the BET - a sign of immaturity IMO. I wonder if Lavin even really wanted to be there. The key will be whether Lavin can use this year and the disappointing end to motivate them this summer. If these guys come out next fall and lay an egg, then I think it ought to be time to start talking about going in another direction.

There is no excuse for St. John's losing to Robert Morris at home. None.

Time to put Lavinwood on suicide watch.

Bill Marsh wrote:There is no excuse for St. John's losing to Robert Morris at home. None.

Time to put Lavinwood on suicide watch.

don't you meen SJHooper? Oh yeah, that's one and the same

Lavin did recruit some athletes, the problem is I still don't understand the system he uses and his players do not seem to be any better than their freshman year. A better coach could do a lot with that squad he has now.

Recruiting and Player Development/How you utilize the players you recruit are two entirely different things

You don't want huge gaps in your recruiting classes. He has nobody coming in in 2014 and nobody in 2015 and there is room at the Inn so that is no reason for the empty classes. I know for the 2015 class it is still early but a lot of teams already have their classes set for that year. If St. John's wants to continue relying on JUCOs then I guess maybe a few will fall in your lap. Otherwise Lavin needs to pick it up because you are losing a lot in the next 2 years.

I'm really hoping we just had a lot of busts in Sampson, Greene, Pointer, Branch, etc. Even Harrison who is our best shooter is only a volume shooter. He will never be that efficient 4/6 from 3. He will shoot all day until he gets his 20 points from FT's and layups...somewhere in there he will hit a 3 but it will be more like 1-6.

We need a true offensive big paint player like Stainbrook and a guard who can shoot like Napier or Calhoun. THEN I think this is a tourney team.

I know teams are disappointed to play in the NIT. And the CIT/CBI are routinely outright dismissed in these parts. But the one thing I think is missed by fans and disappointed players...playing in those tournaments sets the tone for the next season. The longer you go, the more practice and game play you get...it generally makes you better the next season. Creighton has been to the NCAA 3 straight years. I'll always believe the first of those was setup by playing all the way to the end of March in the CBI that year before - only the NCAA championship game participants played longer - when this group was freshman. I don't think they make it as sophomores without that extra playing. The team grew a ton there and it showed the next season. Wichita has made 3 straight NCAA after winning the NIT. I believe VCU won the CBI/CTI the year before their Final 4. I haven't researched it, but I'd be surprised if the NIT championship game teams didn't make the NCAAs the following season at a very high rate.

SJU did show immaturity as commented by another poster, but that real disappointment is that it cost them an opportunity to begin building next season. By no means are they done next year because of it, but it certainly is a missed opportunity to continue practicing and growing to the goal they want.

ivet wrote:Lavin did recruit some athletes, the problem is I still don't understand the system he uses and his players do not seem to be any better than their freshman year. A better coach could do a lot with that squad he has now.

This +1000. SJU takes more 17 footers than any team I've ever seen. That's statistically one of the dumbest shots. Either back up a couple more feet for the 3 or take it to the rim for a higher percentage shot. Teams that utilize that shot a lot generally lose close games. Someone needs to plant Sampson on the bench when he shoots those so often. I think 80% of the shots I've seen him take are 15-18 footers, even when he could go to the rack. Harrison isn't too far off either.