St. John's Discussion

[drquigley]

Anyone watch the Johnnies beat Butler tonight? Packed on-campus gym. Impressive freshman class with amazing point guard. Program heading up with NY media just itching to get on board. Meanwhile back in DC...

[fanofjack]

Dec 29, 2016 21:34:13 GMT -5 drquigley said:

Anyone watch the Johnnies beat Butler tonight? Packed on-campus gym. Impressive freshman class with amazing point guard. Program heading up with NY media just itching to get on board. Meanwhile back in DC...

I had the same reaction as you... an actual home court advantage would probably help wipe away 1 or 2 of our typical embarrassing headscratchers per year.

[guru]

Dec 29, 2016 21:38:46 GMT -5 fanofjack said:

Dec 29, 2016 21:34:13 GMT -5 drquigley said:

Anyone watch the Johnnies beat Butler tonight? Packed on-campus gym. Impressive freshman class with amazing point guard. Program heading up with NY media just itching to get on board. Meanwhile back in DC...

I had the same reaction as you... an actual home court advantage would probably help wipe away 1 or 2 of our typical embarrassing headscratchers per year.

I think we are looking at a 4 win big east season. Would that be enough to force some sort of change at the top?

[eagle54]

Dec 29, 2016 22:39:29 GMT -5 guru said:

Dec 29, 2016 21:38:46 GMT -5 fanofjack said:

I had the same reaction as you... an actual home court advantage would probably help wipe away 1 or 2 of our typical embarrassing headscratchers per year.

I think we are looking at a 4 win big east season. Would that be enough to force some sort of change at the top?

No, I think there's a big recruit coming in that should correct everything.  #kickthecan 

[bostonfan]

I saw most of the St John's game last night and it is hard not to be impressed with the Ponds kid. He is an electric scorer, who is going to give everyone in the Big East issues this year. I am not sure about the packed gym statement. If that was the case some of the fans came dressed as empty seats!!! I know the announcers said it was sold out but it looked like there were quite a few empty seats. Not as many empty seats as the Hoyas end up with at the Verizon Center but still it didn't look sold out and that is a much smaller venue.

I thought both teams played well for spurts during the game and they both played hard all game, but both team have some significant flaws. St John's has no real offensive threat in the post and needs to get the majority of their scoring from their guards, either penetrating or shooting threes. Their small quick guards could be a handful to stay in front of for the Georgetown wing players. Butler plays hard and grinds out every possession on offense and defense and makes you pay for mistakes/turnovers, but they don't have any really explosive offensive players with the exception of the Martin kid, who is a very good scorer but not really an explosive athlete. If you can do a good job contesting the threes from St John's and take advantage of their lack of size and force the ball into the post on offense, they should be a very beatable team. Butler will always be a tough game because you need to match their intensity for the entire game ( a Hoya problem) and limit turnovers ( another big Hoya problem), but if you can do that you should be able to exploit their lack of athleticism.

[hoyalove4ever]

Now people want to trade places with SJU??? Not in a million years.

[hoyasaxa2003]

Dec 29, 2016 22:39:29 GMT -5 guru said:

I think we are looking at a 4 win big east season. Would that be enough to force some sort of change at the top?

I think a 4 win Big East season is highly unlikely (not saying we'll be good, just that I think we'll win more than 4). Obviously, it would make changes more likely but given Georgetown's culture/history, I still think any changes would be unlikely for another year.

[DFW HOYA]

Dec 30, 2016 9:58:40 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

I know the announcers said it was sold out but it looked like there were quite a few empty seats. Not as many empty seats as the Hoyas end up with at the Verizon Center but still it didn't look sold out and that is a much smaller venue.

St. John's famously inflated the capacity of Alumni Hall to 6,008 to get it past the Big East minimum of 6,000 seats for all conference games. They now admit to 5,602, so maybe that rule went out the door in Big East 3.0.

It's much smaller than comparable-sized arenas at GW or even Navy:

[justsaying]

Dec 30, 2016 10:18:35 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

Dec 30, 2016 9:58:40 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

I know the announcers said it was sold out but it looked like there were quite a few empty seats. Not as many empty seats as the Hoyas end up with at the Verizon Center but still it didn't look sold out and that is a much smaller venue.

St. John's famously inflated the capacity of Alumni Hall to 6,008 to get it past the Big East minimum of 6,000 seats for all conference games. They now admit to 5,602, so maybe that rule went out the door in Big East 3.0.

It's much smaller than comparable-sized arenas at GW or even Navy:

If they keep trending upward they will get their numbers without a problem. Their point guards are exciting (defense, scoring, big shot making, running the show). The product is starting to look better.

[drquigley]

Dec 30, 2016 10:08:22 GMT -5 hoyalove4ever said:

Now people want to trade places with SJU??? Not in a million years.

From a basketball only perspective, right now yes I would. The kid Pons will generate tons of excitement and free publicity for the program. Lovett is no slouch either. They are fun to watch. Who on our team, other than LJ when he is on his game, can make that claim. If Mullin can finish at .500 in the BE this year he will have top recruits from the NY area and Mid Atlantic knocking at his door. The NY media will be all over the St John's "rebirth" and alumni will be coming out of the woodwork to support the program. In fact FS1 would be crazy not to hype the hell out of the program. Meanwhile, baring a finish in the top 3-4 of the BE, the story of our program will be like that of DePaul 10 years out from the Meyer departure. "Whatever happened to Georgetown?" will be the lead (if it isn't already). And whether there were 5 or 6 thousand klds in the stands last night is irrelevant. The enthusiasm was there and when St. John's plays Nova and other BE powerhouses at MSG I assure you there will be more than the 8 -9 thousand we will be lucky to draw when we play Xavier, Butler, and Creighton. Look, in the long run this is good news for the BE and hopefully our program. A revitalized St. John's will draw so much attention to the BE (and away from the ACC) that Syracuse and UCONN will be begging to get back in. We all have been saying this for years. But I think we all thought that the St. John's resurgence wouldn't come at a time when we were sinking and their success wouldn't come at the expense of our failure. Does sweeping St. John's look so possible this year? Does finishing 10-8 without St. John's and DePaul sweeps now seem realistic? Hey, I really held out hope for this team-and still do. But watching the Johnnies last night really opened my eyes to how weak our point guards are and how a kid like Pons (or Watson or Hart or Howard) can turn a game around. Don't talk to me about help coming next year. What about our pg recruits for the past two years? Okay, I've taken a deep breath. So how important is tomorrow's game against Xavier?

[hoopsmccan]

Dec 30, 2016 11:26:06 GMT -5 drquigley said:

Dec 30, 2016 10:08:22 GMT -5 hoyalove4ever said:

Now people want to trade places with SJU??? Not in a million years.

From a basketball only perspective, right now yes I would. The kid Pons will generate tons of excitement and free publicity for the program. Lovett is no slouch either. They are fun to watch. Who on our team, other than LJ when he is on his game, can make that claim. If Mullin can finish at .500 in the BE this year he will have top recruits from the NY area and Mid Atlantic knocking at his door. The NY media will be all over the St John's "rebirth" and alumni will be coming out of the woodwork to support the program. In fact FS1 would be crazy not to hype the hell out of the program. Meanwhile, baring a finish in the top 3-4 of the BE, the story of our program will be like that of DePaul 10 years out from the Meyer departure. "Whatever happened to Georgetown?" will be the lead (if it isn't already). And whether there were 5 or 6 thousand klds in the stands last night is irrelevant. The enthusiasm was there and when St. John's plays Nova and other BE powerhouses at MSG I assure you there will be more than the 8 -9 thousand we will be lucky to draw when we play Xavier, Butler, and Creighton. Look, in the long run this is good news for the BE and hopefully our program. A revitalized St. John's will draw so much attention to the BE (and away from the ACC) that Syracuse and UCONN will be begging to get back in. We all have been saying this for years. But I think we all thought that the St. John's resurgence wouldn't come at a time when we were sinking and their success wouldn't come at the expense of our failure. Does sweeping St. John's look so possible this year? Does finishing 10-8 without St. John's and DePaul sweeps now seem realistic? Hey, I really held out hope for this team-and still do. But watching the Johnnies last night really opened my eyes to how weak our point guards are and how a kid like Pons (or Watson or Hart or Howard) can turn a game around. Don't talk to me about help coming next year. What about our pg recruits for the past two years? Okay, I've taken a deep breath. So how important is tomorrow's game against Xavier?

A St. Johns player that is exciting, needs the ball in his hands to really fill it up in an unstructured, undisciplined offense. I've seen that movie before and, if I'm a St. Johns fan, I don't like how it ends. Spoiler alert - games where 25 footers don't fall, terrible losses, frustration and transfers. Looking at St. Johns program, there is nothing to be envious about even as we are mired in our own show.

And we can't talk about help coming next year, but based on a home win in the BE opener, you have St. Johns locking down the NY recruiting market (which hasn't happened in a few decades), alumni rallying, FS1 riding their jock, etc. Slow your roll a bit.

hm

[Filo]

I have no problem admitting that our program is nowhere near where we want it to be right now. But let's not get carried away here. SJU had a big won at home. That program is still a mess. Hope that this is the beginning of an upswing for them but I have my doubts.

[Deleted]

People who think we should envy St John's generally believe Jessie is "a waste of a scholarship".

Nonsense that deserves derision - no explanation necessary.

[drquigley]

Dec 30, 2016 13:37:03 GMT -5 @nychoya94 said:

People who think we should envy St John's generally believe Jessie is "a waste of a scholarship".

Nonsense that deserves derision - no explanation necessary.

Deride all you want. Not since Austin Freeman and Otto Porter have we seen a guy on our team that excites like Pons. DSR had some moments but he was nowhere near the slasher/ballhandler/passer that Pons is. I'm not saying he will carry the Johnies to a BE championship. Noticed I said .500 this year. And yes they are not especially coached-up. But they are definitely not the Johnies of the last 20 years. As far as Jesse being a waste of a scholarship. Did you see the Marquette game? The missed bunnies, the ridiculous travel in the lane, and the terrible passes? For cripes sake, he's almost 7 feet tall and a good 230 pounds. He's the littlest big man we've ever recruited. And yes, if we recruited him over a more talented big man then the scholarship was wasted.

[lichoya68]

glad i johnnies are back good for the league NO GIMMES nope depaul johnnies WARS COMING

[Deleted]

St. John's has the fourth least experienced team in the country but they are getting better. They have some good players coming in next year as well: Justin Simon (Arizona), Marvin Clark (Michigan State) and Zach Brown.

[seaweed]

5 assists on 27 made baskets.

[eagle54]

Dec 30, 2016 21:10:29 GMT -5 seaweed said:

5 assists on 27 made baskets.

Sounds like someone can create his own shot.