2nd BE Broadcast - SJU vs. Humbolt St. Nov 4th ESPN3

[redmen9194]

Well we finished tied for third and were the fifth seed in the tourney. So I guess Louisville, Georgetown and Marquette did not all finish in first place last season? I think I saw all three get a trophy or something. So we did finish in third place in the league, but my point was it is really is silly to put so much concern into an exhibition game, win or lose.

[Lavinwood]

I love this SJ team more than anyone, but the homerism needs to stop. It's OK to admit you are concerned because the team just performed terribly against a terrible opponent. That's called logic. You can be a fan and also be honest...really. It's games like SFSU that we are not taken seriously despite our abundance of talent. Every other Big East team went out there and won by massive margins, meanwhile we squeak by. And stop using the Cuse excuse how they lost to LeMoyne once...who cares?! They are Cuse...aka one of the best programs ever. We all knew they'd be fine because they prove it every season that they are elite. It's rare when they AREN'T elite. We are the total opposite. We don't know if we will be fine or not after this scare. Maybe we just have another bad year, because we haven't proven squat with the current team. The last time we were truly "elite" was 10+ years ago. With SJ it's very unknown. With Cuse, it's known they will be fine.

Enough of this excuse making for everything that goes wrong with us. I totally understand why people are skeptical about us. Once we start winning big games consistently, I'll puff my chest out for this squad, but until then I'm being cautious.

[redmen9194]

Who's puffing their chest out? It's an exhibition game.

[TheHall]

Humboldt State vs. St. John's...7:30 est tonight on ESPN3.

[hoyahooligan]

Well we finished tied for third and were the fifth seed in the tourney. So I guess Louisville, Georgetown and Marquette did not all finish in first place last season? I think I saw all three get a trophy or something. So we did finish in third place in the league, but my point was it is really is silly to put so much concern into an exhibition game, win or lose.

Nope Just Georgetown did. Their trophies were plastic replicas of the real thing

[Lavinwood]

Who's puffing their chest out? It's an exhibition game.

You are making it sound like there's no reason for concern when we have the potential to compete for a Big East championship and we nearly lost (and should have lost) to a so-so D-2 squad. That is not just bad, it's unacceptable. People always complain about SJ fans not being too supportive outside of the students and alumni, well no surprise there! Who would show up to games all excited to win the Big East championship when we can barely handle D-2 schools? Going back to last year despite the final scores, we struggled mightily against both cupcakes. This is the 3rd exhibition in a row we are struggling in within the past 2 years. If we don't blow Humboldt St. out of the water, it will make it 4 straight cupcake exhibitions we couldn't slaughter a D-2 or D-3 opponent. That's BAD. Go look at how the other Big East schools do against bums…they get the job done and there's no question who will win the game by halftime. We are left biting our nails because we can't dominate bums. Don't get me wrong, we have the pieces, we have the experience…it's all there to make a big run this year. But for some reason this team seems snakebitten. Teams like Nova, Butler, PC, etc. seem to do more with less. We do less with more (better players). If this year is a failure (not making NCAA tourney), Lavin better be squarely on the hotseat. No excuses.

It's pathetic that some fans are trying to rationalize last game, "Oh, well…SFSU is actually a good D-2 team! They aren't a bum". Bull. The debate should end after the words D-2 are spoken. No D-2 team should travel 3,000 miles to a team with NBA players and top 100 studs and dominate them. None. If we can't get our offense going tonight, I'm going to just assume our offense will suck forever until they prove me wrong. Passing the ball around the 3 pt arc standing still is not an offense. No one cuts to the hoop, and at least 3 SJ players missed wide open guys behind the arc to kick the ball out to and instead forced terrible shots they missed. This better be solved tonight because it sure as hell won't be solved vs. Wisconsin.

[Lavinwood]

Up something like 30-13 with about 5 min to go in the 1st half. Offense looks much better, but to be honest Humboldt St. has had tons of open 3's but faked and tried to get in the paint, often failing. If they start taking those 3's right when they get the ball they will probably start making them. Johnnies defense is closing much faster contesting shots. Still though, this is what we SHOULD be doing.

Needs improvement:
*Johnnies have a ton of trouble finishing at the hoop…many times they get it in the paint and have it 99% of the way there, but they just can't get it in the hoop. Against Big East teams this will be a killer.
*Stop rushing shots especially Hooper and Bourgault. They don't get much time so when they get an open look they get so excited. Hooper just made 1 but missed 1 earlier and Bourgault missed 1.
*Sometimes you can be TOO pass-happy. If you have a clear shot at the rim, put it in! Don't make too many passes that end up getting turned over instead of an easy 2.

Good signs:
*Johnnies closing on their man faster, preventing easy looks
*Getting hands in the passing lanes disrupting
*Still issues finding the open man…they missed at least 3 guys wide open for 3 and didn't kick out only to miss the inside shot, but still finding open guys better than before
*Jordan looks like an absolute stud…he needs to start day 1…he has showed he can penetrate, has chemistry with Harrison, and also has a very soft touch…his defense is great
*Orlando Sanchez is the paint guy we never had last year…he is also a solid threat from 3…something else we were lacking

EDIT:

Johnnies up by about 30 at half. Humboldt St. ice cold shooting. They have 15 in the first half. Johnnies 47.

[marquette]

It's been a little messy, but SJ leads 47-15 at half.

[Lavinwood]

It's been a little messy, but SJ leads 47-15 at half.

SJ has done a good job not fouling too much. They seem to at least have an idea on offense unlike last game. Their defense is no match for such a small and physically weak team like Humboldt. Nice to see we are playing better, but again this is what we SHOULD be doing. I'd like to see our FT% improve too…very rarely do we make both in. That needs to change.

[marquette]

SJ wins 106-39. Nice work fellas.