*Update: SJU's Keith Thomas ineligible

[adoraz11]

I'm actually with Hooper on this one. If thomas can't play it's a major major hit to St. John's. No one else on the team can rebound. Obekpa is a terrible rebounder because he tries to block everything in sight. Everyone else in the front court is either undersized or overweight. I had questions about St. John's front court with Thomas. With out him St. John's will struggle.

If that's the case why isn't be being mentioned in the starting lineup? i don't disagree that it would be a blow to the team. It would be. I don't disagree we a have rebounding issue (and a 3 point shooting issue). We do, but KT hasn't yet proven he will be playing big minutes and a lot of rebounding has to do with effort, which the team didn't commit to last year. What I'm disagreeing with is that our ceiling would be fifth and just the tone of the entire OP in general. I mean the title isn't even sensationalism, it is a flat out lie. According to the story the WCC coach was fired 9 days ago and was connected to the 2 players currently at the Florida school. KT's name wasn't mentioned anywhere in the story just one journalist who brought up the possibility which is obvious since KT went to WCC.

Not being mentioned in the starting line up by whom? I would definitely start him. If Lavin's not planning on it then just add it to the huge pile of evidence that he's not a good coach.

I think St. John's could finish anywhere from 3rd-6th with Thomas. With out him it's more like 4th-7th so yeah I don't think Hooper is that far off. And only St. John's fans count themselves as finishing tied for 3rd. Everyone else respects the tie breakers. You finished 5th last year and may again this year.

For the final comment, okay sure you can say fifth but considering we started 0-5 that's a huge feat and reason for optimism. Take Gtown as an example how we played first time vs second. We are returning 4 of the 5 starters which is more than a lot of teams can say. When we went on that massive winning streak it was mostly because Sheed and CO stepped up big time.

As for the starting rotation, to my understanding Lavin has gone with Pointer in things like the main practice lineups and Tip-Off. Here's a quote I found from a few days ago too...

Is Sir`Dominic Pointer going to be a starter at last? (Or, again?)

Lavin told the media it would be "tough to keep Dom out of the starting lineup".

His defensive prowess and athletic ability always made Pointer an interesting player; but his decision making, and offense have seemed to hold him back. With a proclaimed improved shooting touch and a commitment to play smarter can Pointer be the factor that turns the tide this season?

[stever20]

And 2nd to 5th if he is off the team??? I know we are thin, but I don't believe he is even starting. I think the starting 5 is Harrison, Jordan, Green, Pointer, Obekpa. There's some backups to Pointer and Chris, and while mostly untested it's not like Thomas is a sure thing either. Maybe Christian Jones or a newcomer steps up.

A blow if he misses the season? Of course. Our ceiling going to 5th though??

OP based on too many assumptions for now.

The thing is- if anyone has something like this- with how close the league is going to be- it absolutely could take a team from 2nd to 5th real fast. Easy to see a guy like that impacting 1-2 games like that.

[hoyahooligan]

As for the starting rotation, to my understanding Lavin has gone with Pointer in things like the main practice lineups and Tip-Off. Here's a quote I found from a few days ago too...

Is Sir`Dominic Pointer going to be a starter at last? (Or, again?)

Lavin told the media it would be "tough to keep Dom out of the starting lineup".

His defensive prowess and athletic ability always made Pointer an interesting player; but his decision making, and offense have seemed to hold him back. With a proclaimed improved shooting touch and a commitment to play smarter can Pointer be the factor that turns the tide this season?

If his shooting touch is improved, I'd move him to the 3. I still think you need Thomas next to Obekpa to make up for his shot blocking taking him out of position to get rebounds. Dom's not the answer to rebounding unless he suddenly has developed some self realization that he should just focus on defense and rebounding. Harrison's rebounding stats are basically the same as pointers: Harrison 3.0% Offensive Reboudning % 13.4% defensive rebounding. Pointer: 2.9% offensive rebounding% 13.6% defensive rebounding %. I think you guys are missing Sanchez and Sampson a lot more than you realize. Sanchez led the team in defensive rebounding % and Sampson led the team in raw rebounding numbers.

[Amase2]

As for the starting rotation, to my understanding Lavin has gone with Pointer in things like the main practice lineups and Tip-Off. Here's a quote I found from a few days ago too...

Is Sir`Dominic Pointer going to be a starter at last? (Or, again?)

Lavin told the media it would be "tough to keep Dom out of the starting lineup".

His defensive prowess and athletic ability always made Pointer an interesting player; but his decision making, and offense have seemed to hold him back. With a proclaimed improved shooting touch and a commitment to play smarter can Pointer be the factor that turns the tide this season?

If his shooting touch is improved, I'd move him to the 3. I still think you need Thomas next to Obekpa to make up for his shot blocking taking him out of position to get rebounds. Dom's not the answer to rebounding unless he suddenly has developed some self realization that he should just focus on defense and rebounding. Harrison's rebounding stats are basically the same as pointers: Harrison 3.0% Offensive Reboudning % 13.4% defensive rebounding. Pointer: 2.9% offensive rebounding% 13.6% defensive rebounding %. I think you guys are missing Sanchez and Sampson a lot more than you realize. Sanchez led the team in defensive rebounding % and Sampson led the team in raw rebounding numbers.

Yea because they were the tallest guys who played the most minutes. That makes sense.

Im with you on starting Thomas. Pointer drives me crazy, so many boneheaded plays at the wrong time. Good in spurts off the bench but IMO should never take minutes away from Branch. Play three guards and have Thomas, Obekpa, Jones, and who ever proves themselves to be the next best big (Im going with Alibegovic) handle the inside play.

[Bill Marsh]

As for the starting rotation, to my understanding Lavin has gone with Pointer in things like the main practice lineups and Tip-Off. Here's a quote I found from a few days ago too...

Is Sir`Dominic Pointer going to be a starter at last? (Or, again?)

Lavin told the media it would be "tough to keep Dom out of the starting lineup".

His defensive prowess and athletic ability always made Pointer an interesting player; but his decision making, and offense have seemed to hold him back. With a proclaimed improved shooting touch and a commitment to play smarter can Pointer be the factor that turns the tide this season?

If his shooting touch is improved, I'd move him to the 3. I still think you need Thomas next to Obekpa to make up for his shot blocking taking him out of position to get rebounds. Dom's not the answer to rebounding unless he suddenly has developed some self realization that he should just focus on defense and rebounding. Harrison's rebounding stats are basically the same as pointers: Harrison 3.0% Offensive Reboudning % 13.4% defensive rebounding. Pointer: 2.9% offensive rebounding% 13.6% defensive rebounding %. I think you guys are missing Sanchez and Sampson a lot more than you realize. Sanchez led the team in defensive rebounding % and Sampson led the team in raw rebounding numbers.

Gotta agree with this. If Thomas is everything they say he is, starting him with Obepka would be a perfect pairing.

[Bill Marsh]

How can we still seriously compete with only Obekpa as the only proven Big East big man on our team? And even he is weak offensively. He is only known for defense. Greene? Pointer? These guys are not bigs. Even with Thomas our front court is going to be below average. Without him it will be a disaster. I'm not comfortable making Obekpa carry the entire front court rebounding and scoring responsibilities. He can defend in the form of blocked shots. Other than that is asking a lot for him. I don't think it's crazy at all to say our ceiling goes from 2nd to 5th if Thomas is gone. We would get pounded on the boards every game. Opponents would get tons of second chance points and we would lose many second chances. Rebounding is still a concern with him on the team. Without him? We might be one of the worst rebounding teams in the Big East if not the country.

Let's hope that nothing happens and we don't have to explore this further.

Frankly I'm expecting Obepka to be a different player this year. He took a step back last year. He went through a lot of soul searching and I think he knows that he needs to step up this year, make adjustments in his game, and play differently. I'll be very surprised if he's not a more complete player. I'm ignoring what he's been in the past until he makes a liar out of me. The kid is a first rate talent and I expect him to start playing like one now that he's a junior.

[Bill Marsh]

Isn't Pointer like 6'6? He is not a big man. KT is about 6'9 and bulging with muscle. He has a Big East big man's body.

Add to everything you say about Thomas is the fact that he's 23 years old. He's physically mature in ways that you just don't see in most college players. Add to that all the energy he plays with - according to all reports - and you have a superb inside force. Combine him with Obepka and he will make Obepka even better than he might otherwise have been.

[FriarsForever]

Just going off the size/effort argument, our best rebounder, and I would argue one of the top 3 in the league, LeDontae Henton, is no bigger than 6'5" and that's generous.

[FriarJ]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/st-john-jc-transfer-transcript-concerns-article-1.1990020?cid=bitly

[SJHooper]

And of course the other SJ fans call me negative but now reports are that Thomas likely won't be with the team. See? It's not me being negative it's me living in reality where SJ has terrible luck. According to SJ law, whenever the team gets great news it must be followed by bad news. There shall never be something purely good to happen to the team.

RIP season. We barely knew ye. Without KT the only way we can still make the tourney is to have our guards have monster years. We will have to be very efficient because we won't be getting those second chances without him. That means smart shot attempts and converting whenever open. We really have no front court after Obekpa. How did this happen again?