Red Storm Review

[NJRedman]

If LoVett leaves which I fully expect him to, then there will be more instability we have come to expect here. Instability is not good. You can't get better and gel with your teammates if there are changes to key players every year. Sampson, Harkless, Jordan, Obekpa, Sima (could have been decent if he stayed), LoVett, etc. We need 4 year players committed to winning here first before moving on to professional ranks. I say it time and time again, look at Nova. I'd love to be a fly on the wall during Wright's recruiting trips, because whatever he tells them, it's working...they buy in to the team concept, they gel, and they don't leave early for the most part. They turn into very good 4 year players who are humble. I just feel like for the most part, our players from the Lavin and Mullin eras have simply used St. John's as a vehicle to get paid somewhere eventually. There are notable exceptions like Ponds and Harrison and Owens but I just don't sense that dedication to our program for the most part like you see with Nova.

I spoke to Simon after the G'Town game and he is very very excited to get major minutes next year. He was all smiles saying he can't wait. He has good size but I always get nervous with transfers who received barely any minutes at their previous school, since it's usually for a reason. Hope he proves me wrong. If LoVett does in fact leave, Simon will have to be at least solid if we are to go anywhere next year. My major concern though is regarding our bigs. Even if Clark is good, we will still be very thin up front. We need some muscle, must stop recruiting sticks. If we don't get at least 1 more legit big in addition to Clark, we are in trouble next year. We get eaten alive in the paint every game. We cannot rebound to save our lives. As badly as I want it to happen, I don't see us in the tourney next year if LoVett leaves and our bigs are not much better.

Thats such a crazy concept these days that kids would want to make money off of their talents. Lets turn down top players because they might not stay four years.

[Bill Marsh]

If LoVett leaves which I fully expect him to, then there will be more instability we have come to expect here. Instability is not good. You can't get better and gel with your teammates if there are changes to key players every year. Sampson, Harkless, Jordan, Obekpa, Sima (could have been decent if he stayed), LoVett, etc.

The same thing applies to coaches. Nothing reeks of instability more than canning a coach 2 years into his contract.

We need 4 year players committed to winning here first before moving on to professional ranks. I say it time and time again, look at Nova. I'd love to be a fly on the wall during Wright's recruiting trips, because whatever he tells them, it's working...they buy in to the team concept, they gel, and they don't leave early for the most part. They turn into very good 4 year players who are humble. I just feel like for the most part, our players from the Lavin and Mullin eras have simply used St. John's as a vehicle to get paid somewhere eventually. There are notable exceptions like Ponds and Harrison and Owens.

More Lavin era players who stayed through their senior seasons:

Phil Greene
Sir Dominic Pointer
Jamal Branch

I spoke to Simon after the G'Town game and he is very very excited to get major minutes next year. He was all smiles saying he can't wait. He has good size but I always get nervous with transfers who received barely any minutes at their previous school, since it's usually for a reason.

Barely any minutes? He played in 24 games. Nonetheless, the reason he didn't play more minutes is that he was on a top 20 team that was loaded with talent. That's how things work for freshmen on top teams. Just look around the Big East. Justin Patton and Donte DiVincenzo were both red shirted as freshmen for goodness sakes - with injury having nothing to do with it in either case. They saw zero minutes.

Hope he proves me wrong. If LoVett does in fact leave, Simon will have to be at least solid if we are to go anywhere next year. My major concern though is regarding our bigs. Even if Clark is good, we will still be very thin up front. We need some muscle, must stop recruiting sticks. If we don't get at least 1 more legit big in addition to Clark, we are in trouble next year. We get eaten alive in the paint every game. We cannot rebound to save our lives. As badly as I want it to happen, I don't see us in the tourney next year if LoVett leaves and our bigs are not much better.[/quote]

Zach Brown is not a stick. Too bad he didn't work out but obviously they're not just recruiting sticks.

[herodotus]

St. John's will be a better team with or without LoVett. I think the future is bright in Queens. I'm disappointed Zach Brown won't be attending SJU because he also seemed like a very good player but SJU made the right move to disown him because he kept getting into trouble.

Oh trust me, St John's dodged a HUGE disaster with Brown never suiting up for us.

Not gonna go into why. You'll likely get wind of it shortly anyway. But far more crazy stuff than just his criminality.

I think it's out there now that he's a tranny. I can't imagine how that would go down in a macho place like a locker room. As for being more like Nova, it's probably easier to keep players for 3-4 years when they know they will be competing for Final Fours. Mullin can tell them he's trying to do the same thing, but it's a much harder sell when you can't point to recent success.

[Red Rooster]

St. John's will be a better team with or without LoVett. I think the future is bright in Queens. I'm disappointed Zach Brown won't be attending SJU because he also seemed like a very good player but SJU made the right move to disown him because he kept getting into trouble.

Oh trust me, St John's dodged a HUGE disaster with Brown never suiting up for us.

Not gonna go into why. You'll likely get wind of it shortly anyway. But far more crazy stuff than just his criminality.

I think it's out there now that he's a tranny. I can't imagine how that would go down in a macho place like a locker room. As for being more like Nova, it's probably easier to keep players for 3-4 years when they know they will be competing for Final Fours. Mullin can tell them he's trying to do the same thing, but it's a much harder sell when you can't point to recent success.

The staff basically knew LoVett wouldn't stick around for four years when they landed him. Did they believe he would attempt to bolt after one season? I doubt it. But, they did know the possibilities about him bolting after one season during the early, part of this season. They knew the risks involved with him, but felt he was worth the risk.

[DudeAnon]

If the NCAA could come to its senses and let schools pay the players a reasonable amount (50k?) Then we could actually keep our stars.

[SJHooper]

It's not a crazy concept, of course they should get paid handsomely for their talents, however look at the stable top notch programs like Gonzaga, Nova, etc. they get 3-4 year players who don't think ahead too much. They seem to have a different mindset. Of course the NBA is a goal, but they seem to have an understanding that they need to mature physically and mentally before pursuing it unlike many of our guys. At the end of the day of course it's their choice, but most of them are still too immature. It shouldn't be seen as a rush to the money, you should be confident your talent will get you there when you are ready, but delaying gratification is not a thing anymore apparently. Just like you shouldn't put $10,000 down on a car the second you save up $10,000, you shouldn't bolt to the NBA the second you are able to, unless of course you are the exception like Lonzo Ball. Time and time again good college players who are on the small/immature side think they will be the next Derrick Rose, then realize it's hard to even stay on a D-League team. Some of the best players in school history have been marginal NBA talents if they stick there at all.

Also, Zach Brown is a mess. Thank god we dodged that one. Moses Brown anyone?

[SJU1987]

St. John's has to get 2 graduate transfer big men. Maybe Marvin Clark will be the missing link. He learned rebounding at Michigan State and I heard he's a very good defensive player. him and Tariq Owens will be dynamite. I hope the St. john's players add some muscle during the off season, they don't look big at all compared to tournament teams.
For St. John's fans, check out the Marvin Clark You tube video. Nice video about his life. It's called I am Marvin Clark.

[SJHooper]

We need more than just Clark. He barely played at MSU. That's for a reason. Watching the tourney, every team seems to have 6'10+ 240lb+ bigs. Apparently they grow on trees for everyone else but us.

[SJU1987]

Justin Simon will be a swingman next season. He's 6-5. I don't see him taking many minutes from Ponds or Lovett if he stays. Bashir Ahmed is kind of herky jerky and not really smooth. Richard Freudenberg ?

[xusandy]

We need more than just Clark. He barely played at MSU. That's for a reason. Watching the tourney, every team seems to have 6'10+ 240lb+ bigs. Apparently they grow on trees for everyone else but us.

Well, you gotta have one of those to compete at the highest level, but IMHO a truly talented big is really hard to find in HS. they seem to take longer to develop than point guards, shooting guards, or wings. Very few one-and-dones among the great bigs.

Therefore, a lot of the better programs recruit centers based just on athletic talent + desire + smarts, and then they expect it to take them a couple of years to develop. Consider Xavier -- with Tyrone Hill, Derek Strong, David West, Brain Grant, Matt Stainbrook, Jalen Reynolds, James Farr, Sean O'Mara, and this year's true freshman Tyrique Jones. All of those guys were "mere" 3 star recruits (through Stainbrook was a 3 star who transferred to X after his freshman year at Western Michigan), and except for the last two guys mentioned, all wound up as all-league players. FWIW, X has another good recruiting class coming in, and guess what -- the center and the transfer are the two lowest rated ones in the group.