New Year's Eve - St John's at Xavier 12pm ET FS1

[BEX]

Guess he's saying if this game was @ MSG, the result would be the same. Then sez, see 'ya @ MSG? Confusing. I would think SJU would have a distinct advantage there imho.

[XUFan09]

Don't think I've ever seen a team that went on 2 massive droughts of a combined 10 minutes or so without scoring a point end up winning by 10. One game we shoot 60% the next we shoot 30%. We will be a .500 ish team and knock off Nova at least once just because it will make no sense.

Xavier's defense was relentless and really dictated most of the game. St. John's took some stupid shots that made it easier, but they also rarely got a good look when they really tried to work for it.

[PMThor]

I think the announcers need to pick up their game to match what is on the floor. I felt they were reading from a book. Didn't tell me anything but the obvious.

This is a first. Saying that Raftery and Gus Johnson need to up their announcing...

[XU85]

Question for St. Johns fans. Is Lavin always so quick with the timeouts?

[pki1998]

Xavier getting all the calls, no calls on their guys, and a hurt Sampson. They have also been wide open with no one within 10 ft for all their 3 pointers.

Are you sure you not a Cincinnati fan? Stop complaining about the refs and concentrate on the game. Seriously there were missed calls on both sides. If I remember correctly X didn't get to the line until the second half. Not sure how that accounts to home cooking.

[Lavinwood]

This is just another typical SJ team. In 2011 we got ranked out of nowhere and were the toast of the town. Well, it's now 2014…2011 is starting to become a distant memory fast. Is anyone really that confident with Lavin? I'm not. He can recruit but he has absolutely zero ability to get the most out of his players or make them better. Either that, or our scouting department is pathetic and only seem to hit on 1 or 2 recruits when we need at least 5 good ones to start. Where is our 6-11 true post player with a real offensive game that can get tons of putbacks? Where is our pure shooter who can light it up all year? Where is our leader? Where are the skills? Where is the coaching? I just don't get how teams like UMass and Creighton can put out very good programs year in and year out with great basketball players who play together with a plan and high powered offenses, yet in NYC the sports capital of the US, we can't buy one. Every year SJ is mediocre or bad (95% of the time), more potential SJ fans are lost and become frontrunners for Duke, Cuse, UNC, Kentucky, etc. Think about all the fans we'd have if we were consistently ranked and making tournaments. We have a TON of alumni…I believe way more than any other school in the Big East. We have campuses on Long Island, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and even Rome. It's the biggest Catholic university in the US. The reason fans (or potential fans who hesitate to root for us) don't come out is because of Xavier and Columbia. We almost never win nice comfortable games you can enjoy watching with confidence while ordering a few beers. And the team almost always disappoints. Every year it's "Wow, look who Lavin brought in! It's another top 50 or 5 star player!"…the hype builds…and they can't shoot. Our fan base predicts a 13-0 start and we lose 4-5 games in that span. This team NEVER overachieves. It never even plays to its potential.

It's just like every team I root for goes to absolute crap. NY sports are at an all time low. There is literally no good team pro or college. And it's not because of lack of talent…there is just a cloud of negativity around us for some reason. SJ is a team I have heart palpitations over while the games are about to come on, not a team I am confident can get the job done. I'm not sure if it's Lavin, if the recruits were busts except Harrison, Obekpa and Harkless (and probably Jordan), if it's just a culture of negativity that won't go away (i.e. Mets), if it's just terrible luck, or if the scouts just have no idea what to look for. Maybe it's a little of all. There is no team in the Big East with so much talent brought in that has done so little with it as us. If we don't split G'Town and Nova coming up, we are finished. And beating both may not even mean much…we need to beat Nova BADLY. We are absolutely starving for a real win that we can put in our pockets. I honestly think it's 10% chance we make the tourney and 90% we stay out for yet another year and put Lavin on the hotseat.

[Wizard of Westroads]

This is just another typical SJ team. In 2011 we got ranked out of nowhere and were the toast of the town. Well, it's now 2014…2011 is starting to become a distant memory fast. Is anyone really that confident with Lavin? I'm not. He can recruit but he has absolutely zero ability to get the most out of his players or make them better. Either that, or our scouting department is pathetic and only seem to hit on 1 or 2 recruits when we need at least 5 good ones to start. Where is our 6-11 true post player with a real offensive game that can get tons of putbacks? Where is our pure shooter who can light it up all year? Where is our leader? Where are the skills? Where is the coaching? I just don't get how teams like UMass and Creighton can put out very good programs year in and year out with great basketball players who play together with a plan and high powered offenses, yet in NYC the sports capital of the US, we can't buy one. Every year SJ is mediocre or bad (95% of the time), more potential SJ fans are lost and become frontrunners for Duke, Cuse, UNC, Kentucky, etc. Think about all the fans we'd have if we were consistently ranked and making tournaments. We have a TON of alumni…I believe way more than any other school in the Big East. We have campuses on Long Island, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and even Rome. It's the biggest Catholic university in the US. The reason fans (or potential fans who hesitate to root for us) don't come out is because of Xavier and Columbia. We almost never win nice comfortable games you can enjoy watching with confidence while ordering a few beers. And the team almost always disappoints. Every year it's "Wow, look who Lavin brought in! It's another top 50 or 5 star player!"…the hype builds…and they can't shoot. Our fan base predicts a 13-0 start and we lose 4-5 games in that span. This team NEVER overachieves. It never even plays to its potential.

It's just like every team I root for goes to absolute crap. NY sports are at an all time low. There is literally no good team pro or college. And it's not because of lack of talent…there is just a cloud of negativity around us for some reason. SJ is a team I have heart palpitations over while the games are about to come on, not a team I am confident can get the job done. I'm not sure if it's Lavin, if the recruits were busts except Harrison, Obekpa and Harkless (and probably Jordan), if it's just a culture of negativity that won't go away (i.e. Mets), if it's just terrible luck, or if the scouts just have no idea what to look for. Maybe it's a little of all. There is no team in the Big East with so much talent brought in that has done so little with it as us. If we don't split G'Town and Nova coming up, we are finished. And beating both may not even mean much…we need to beat Nova BADLY. We are absolutely starving for a real win that we can put in our pockets. I honestly think it's 10% chance we make the tourney and 90% we stay out for yet another year and put Lavin on the hotseat.

My 2 cents worth: A NY audience wants a "big name" coach and "big name" recruits. I don't think they want a guy who puts together a roster of good, not great, players who buy into a system. It's not like you can't succeed the first way, but it has its drawbacks. A lot of 4 and 5 star guys are thinking about the NBA, not dear old alma mater and that makes it tough to put together a team. On the other hand, there are some pretty good coaches out in the sticks who know how to assemble a roster, but how would SJ fans react if one was hired?

[Lavinwood]

This is just another typical SJ team. In 2011 we got ranked out of nowhere and were the toast of the town. Well, it's now 2014…2011 is starting to become a distant memory fast. Is anyone really that confident with Lavin? I'm not. He can recruit but he has absolutely zero ability to get the most out of his players or make them better. Either that, or our scouting department is pathetic and only seem to hit on 1 or 2 recruits when we need at least 5 good ones to start. Where is our 6-11 true post player with a real offensive game that can get tons of putbacks? Where is our pure shooter who can light it up all year? Where is our leader? Where are the skills? Where is the coaching? I just don't get how teams like UMass and Creighton can put out very good programs year in and year out with great basketball players who play together with a plan and high powered offenses, yet in NYC the sports capital of the US, we can't buy one. Every year SJ is mediocre or bad (95% of the time), more potential SJ fans are lost and become frontrunners for Duke, Cuse, UNC, Kentucky, etc. Think about all the fans we'd have if we were consistently ranked and making tournaments. We have a TON of alumni…I believe way more than any other school in the Big East. We have campuses on Long Island, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and even Rome. It's the biggest Catholic university in the US. The reason fans (or potential fans who hesitate to root for us) don't come out is because of Xavier and Columbia. We almost never win nice comfortable games you can enjoy watching with confidence while ordering a few beers. And the team almost always disappoints. Every year it's "Wow, look who Lavin brought in! It's another top 50 or 5 star player!"…the hype builds…and they can't shoot. Our fan base predicts a 13-0 start and we lose 4-5 games in that span. This team NEVER overachieves. It never even plays to its potential.

It's just like every team I root for goes to absolute crap. NY sports are at an all time low. There is literally no good team pro or college. And it's not because of lack of talent…there is just a cloud of negativity around us for some reason. SJ is a team I have heart palpitations over while the games are about to come on, not a team I am confident can get the job done. I'm not sure if it's Lavin, if the recruits were busts except Harrison, Obekpa and Harkless (and probably Jordan), if it's just a culture of negativity that won't go away (i.e. Mets), if it's just terrible luck, or if the scouts just have no idea what to look for. Maybe it's a little of all. There is no team in the Big East with so much talent brought in that has done so little with it as us. If we don't split G'Town and Nova coming up, we are finished. And beating both may not even mean much…we need to beat Nova BADLY. We are absolutely starving for a real win that we can put in our pockets. I honestly think it's 10% chance we make the tourney and 90% we stay out for yet another year and put Lavin on the hotseat.

My 2 cents worth: A NY audience wants a "big name" coach and "big name" recruits. I don't think they want a guy who puts together a roster of good, not great, players who buy into a system. It's not like you can't succeed the first way, but it has its drawbacks. A lot of 4 and 5 star guys are thinking about the NBA, not dear old alma mater and that makes it tough to put together a team. On the other hand, there are some pretty good coaches out in the sticks who know how to assemble a roster, but how would SJ fans react if one was hired?

That is the common thought, but no. What NY craves over everything including the glamour and the big names is WINNING! Having a consistent winner to root for. New York actually loves gritty winners and unsung heroes. You don't have to be a huge name, you just have to play your butt off and produce en route to a win. IMO players should not be able to leave for the NBA until 3 seasons are completed. The 4th would be optional. This would preserve rivalries, increase player and program recognition, and draw more fans who would grow more with the players. You have to also understand that plenty of 4 and 5 star guys buy into systems and get better because of their coach. Look at Tyler Ennis on Cuse. He's their starting PG as a Freshman and he's among the elite in the entire nation. Possibly even best. I just can't see him doing the same here at SJ with Lavin instead of Boeheim. SJ fans would react very well if a coach came in who could recruit well, has a past of winning, and most importantly a proven track record of player development. It's not like just because someone from Oklahoma comes to be our coach we will be mad. That makes no sense. We just want a winner…very simple. Someone who can take Silver and turn it into Gold. Right now Lavin is taking Gold and turning it into Brass with our top recruits. Pointer and Sampson were HUGE recruits in the top 25 range nationally…Sampson was recruited hard by Kansas and almost went there…I have no doubt in my mind he'd be a great player if he played there. But because he plays here, he's decent, not good or great. He has actually gotten worse. I would feel more confident personally driving to MSG to take over FT shooting for Obekpa, Pointer, and Sampson than letting them. None of them can make a clean shot consistently.

[XUFan09]

http://fromstaaktomack.wordpress.com/20 ... -johns-60/