Game 22: West Virginia 79, St. John’s 60
St. John’s is 12-10, 2-8 in the Big East. Photo courtesy of Red Storm Sports.
Postgame West Virginia: Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of an Upset
At halftime it seemed like St. John’s could create a moment that they would use to define “Garden Magic” – defeating the 6th ranked West Virginia Mountaineers at home in front of a nice cozy crowd of 6,157 (many of them wearing Mountaineer yellow). Paltry attendance numbers aside, the team was up as much as 33-19 near the end of the first half, behind some hot shooting from forward Justin Burrell, who scored 10 points in the half with a couple of post moves and a number of sweet looking jump shots. Unfortunately, foul trouble and not getting the ball conspired to keep Justin from scoring any more than 2 points in the second half…
All while West Virginia decided to play the game like it mattered in the standings. They scored 57 points in the second half, with Da’Sean Butler (from Jersey) going 7 for 7 from beyond the arc and putting up 24 points in the second half alone.
Chew on that for a second. St. John’s scored 60 points. West Virginia scored 57 in a HALF. A 14 point lead became a 19 point loss. In a half. I still think a few players have given up on the team; and some players just looked dejected, dispirited, and lost out there. Unbelieveably, when West Virginia went to a 1-3-1 zone – very basic – St. John’s looked befuddled and had a hard time shooting over it and West Virginia’s length. There were opportunities.
Not playing the active and tall Dele Coker in the second half against the ‘Eers after a solid 6 minute stretch where he scored 4 points (though didn’t pick up any rebounds)… well, another in a long line of small problems that roll into the giant ball that crushes St. John’s men’s basketball every single game. And a finger injury to Anthony Mason took him out for a while, when the Mountaineers started their run.
But in truth, the real failing in this game was one of defense – West Virginia shot 52% in the second half inside the arc (11-21) and 100% (8-8) beyond the arc. St. John’s got to the line once in the second half. Since West Virginia didn’t miss, there weren’t many rebounds to grab (but West Virginia cleared St. John’s misses). People will remember this as a game where St. John’s couldn’t shoot. But they turned the ball over a normal amount of times (for them) and certainly, a team should put up more than 60 points in a 69 possession game. But the way the Mountaineers strafed the Johnnies was absolutely unbelievable.
Postgame Media:
Statsheet stats (with +/- data and scores and percentages by halves)
NY Post: West Virginia cruises by free-falling St. John’s, 79-60
How could that be the final score, considering the Red Storm led 38-22 in the second half?….
“We sat in the locker room for 10 minutes after this game and tried to talk about what is it,” Burrell added. “What is it that we can’t do? We play a good 28 minutes of basketball and then somehow, some way, we just don’t play well.”
More troubling than the fifth straight loss for the free-falling Red Storm, or their 12-10 record this season for coach Norm Roberts, or the fact that the opposing team’s high scorer went for 33 points for a second straight game, is this: No one knows how to pull the chute.
SNY.tv: Butler, Mountaineers win sixth straight
After struggling to score 9 points on 2-for-7 shooting in the first half, Butler made 7 of 11 shots and scored 24 points in a second half in which the Mountaineers outscored St. John’s, 57-27. The Newark, N.J. native went a perfect 7-for-7 from behind the arc on the afternoon and finished with a season-best 33 points….
No. 6 West Virginia (19-3, 8-2 Big East) overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to outscore the Johnnies 51-19 in the final 17:23.
West Virginia started five players from New York and New Jersey and the Mountaineers must have felt like they were playing a home game with all the blue and gold in the crowd.
Devin Ebanks, the Long Island City, N.Y. native, added 12 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists and Mount Vernon, N.Y. native Kevin Jones tallied 13 points and 7 boards.
NY Daily News: St. John’s collapses against No. 6 West Virginia as Mountaineers triumph 79-60 at Garden
“We’ve got a good amount of players from the metropolitan area,” said Newark product Da’Sean Butler, who had 24 of his 33 points in the second half and went 7-for-7 from three-point range. “And in case you hadn’t guessed, we all like playing in the Garden.”
Devin Ebanks, who is from Queens and played at Brooklyn’s Loughlin High, had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Jones, who starred at Mount Vernon High, scored 13. Wellington Smith, a one-time Summit (N.J.) High star, added 10 points. And Darryl (Truck) Bryant, out of St. Raymond High in the Bronx, ran the point and scored four points.
Butler, Ebanks, Jones and Bryant were all recruited by Johnnies coach Norm Roberts and his staff.
“St. John’s doesn’t have the players coming,” Ebanks said. “There’s still a lot of good players coming out of New York and they don’t get them because they’re not that big of a basketball school anymore.”
“All the New York guys are leaving – they need to find some tough New York players, to be honest with you,” Bryant said….
Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for Johnny Jungle , doing the Calm Before the Storm posts and also for the Church of Bracketology. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.
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5 Questions with The Smoking Musket
5 Questions (posted late, I know), with The Smoking Musket. My answers to their questions on St. John’s on the Smoking Musket site; apologies for not being able to post the responses until now, TSM, won’t happen again. Later I’ll post on the savage street beatdown that was the loss against West Virginia.
1. I know that West Virginia had some concerns with ballhandling and the health of the point guards on the roster. But the Mountaineers are doing fine… how did the issues resolve themselves?
The problem was solved by Bob Huggins‘ coaching abilities and time.
Huggins has ridden Truck [Bryant] from day one in an attempt to get him to stop over-penetrating and protect the ball. Truck was hard headed and did not listen early in the season. Huggins pulled him from the starting line-up and sat his butt down on the bench for long stretches of a lot of games. This showed Truck that he had to change his style and he has.
Time has healed the wounds of Joe Mazzula, although he took a hard bump during the Pitt game and left the floor early. He got some treatments yesterday and looks to be alright for tomorrow’s game.
2. The ‘Eers are doing very well – my Mountaineer friends are extremely excited (and as a St. John’s fan, I’m jealous). Tell us about the job Bob Huggins has done. What do you like and dislike about the team? What’s the team’s potential this year?
This team has Final Four potential, especially if the Deniz “The Instan-bull” Kilicli can be a big inside presence. I truly feel this team can go all the way.
Bob Huggins has taken the West Virginia program to the next level. The caliber of athletes he recruits and style of play he teaches makes us dangerous every year. I love that first and foremost he wants his players to be tough on the defensive end of the court. You can miss a good shot and stay in the game but if you miss an assignment on defense, your ass is on the bench.
That is also one of the things I like the least about Huggs. I sometimes feel that he is too tough on his players. Granted, it only takes a momentary lapse in judgment to cost you a game but benching a guy in the first minute of the first half is a bit extreme.
3. Roster questions: If you can, give me a rundown on the roster – guards, wings, bigs. Who are the best players? Who are the ones that shouldn’t be getting time? Is Deniz Kilicli going to be awesome, and how will he change the team?
Da’Sean Butler – He is our best player and will be 1st Team All Big East. Da is our go to guy and score from anywhere on the court. His silky smooth spin move can make anyone look silly
Devin Ebanks – Great defensive player and still developing his offensive game. He is a beast on the boards and has potential to be a lottery pick
Kevin Jones – Good for 14 points and 8 boards a game. Great mid-range jumper and has recently been stroking from 3 point land.
Truck Bryant – Controlling the offense and really running things well. He is constantly better and could be great. If his outside shot gets more consistent, we will be really dangerous.
Joe Mazzulla – He has absolutely not shot outside of a layup. He will piss your best player off on the defensive end.
Deniz Kilicili – Looked great offensively in his first action against Pitt. Really soft hands and a nice touch around the basket. Still leaves a lot to be desired on the defensive end and needs to get into game shape.
Wellington Smith – Great outside shot and can block shots.
John Flowers – Can block shots and is a good rebounder.
Casey Mitchell – Terrible on defense and has not found his shot yet this season.
Nobody else matters.
4. What is with all the damned yellow suits on Huggins?
Huggins has only a gold suit once and he apologized immediately afterwards. He said it will never happen again and we all thank him for it.
5. What’s propelled West Virginia to such a great record? is it the offense? is it the defense? Looking at the defensive numbers, it seems the team isn’t that great at preventing made shots, but great at stopping offensive rebounds/ second chances, and forces turnovers.
Not allowing second chance shots is huge for our team. I think that is the key for our team on defense.
Offensively we get second chance shots.
Superbowl Commercials
Is it me, or did the Superbowl ads this year lean even more to the “dude, women are trying to hold you down and steal your SOUL” narrative? “Dude-bro” commercials are pretty solid but Jim Nantz telling a dude to take off his skirt? Dudes who do chores so they can drive a Dodge – MAN’S. LAST. STAND.? That’s not just . If man’s last stand is a Dodge Charger, menfolk are dead.
The Musical Beaver Monster.com ad was pretty funny. And I appreciated Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as the Griswolds. Take a look at CBS’ compilation of the Superbowl ads and tell me what you think.
And of course, congrats to the Saints for a thrilling win, an awesome onside kick, the patience to weather a Colts attack, and Drew Brees, once too short to be an effective QB is now a Super Bowl MVP. And by the way, Queen Latifah’s performance was ROUGH.
Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for Johnny Jungle , doing the Calm Before the Storm posts and also for the Church of Bracketology. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.
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5 Questions with We Must Ignite This Couch
Jude from We Must Ignite This Couch answers some questions on West Virginia’s roster, Deniz Kilicli, and the yellow suits… take a look at their blog, as well! Thanks, Jude.
1. I know that West Virginia had some concerns with ballhandling and the health of the point guards on the roster. But the Mountaineers are doing fine… how did the issues resolve themselves?
Well, I wouldn’t say that the issues have resolved themselves just yet. Darryl “Truck” Bryant is starting in the PG spot after being replaced mid-year in Bob Huggins‘ all-forward lineup due to wildly inconsistent play. He’s been much better in the last month or so as a pure PG. He’s always been a very solid outside shooter, but his ventures into the paint are usually illustrated by his quixotic attempts to jump directly into the tallest person he can find in an effort to draw a foul. (Absolutely drives me crazy.)
But he’s been doing much better with turnovers and defense, and has seemingly worked his way out of Huggs’ doghouse.
Joe Mazzulla is the other PG on the WVU roster, and he’s been plagued by a debilitating shoulder injury that he suffered last year (causing him to redshirt and sit out the season) that doesn’t seem to be getting any better. He’s a ferocious perimeter defender and very good at handling the ball- he just can’t shoot. At all. For most of the year he’s been taking free throws with his off-hand, and only recently is his shoulder well enough to try them with his strong hand.
But he’s been getting more minutes recently, as he’s able to control the offense, play solid defense, rebound, and provide a steady hand on the tiller. He just can’t shoot. At all.
2. The ‘Eers are doing very well – my Mountaineer friends are extremely excited (and as a St. John’s fan, I’m jealous). Tell us about the job Bob Huggins has done. What do you like and dislike about the team? What’s the team’s potential this year?
Bob Huggins wasn’t exactly inheriting a bare cupboard after the John Beilein era in Morgantown that saw the Mountaineers coming off of seasons in which they went to the Elite 8, Sweet 16, and won the NIT with a totally new set of players.
But all of the weaknesses of the Beilein era (lack of rebounding, lack of toughness, reliance on turnover margin for victory) are Huggins’ strengths. The Mountaineers were routinely finishing outside the top 100 teams in the nation in rebounding under Beilein; now they’re in the top 10. Players that were skin and bones under Beilein are now built like Dejuan Blair. (Google some pictures of Wellington Smith if you’re interested.)
Whereas the Beilein Mountaineers could beat anyone on any given night (see the 2005 second round victory over 2-seed Wake Forest), they could also lose to anyone if the 3’s weren’t falling (see consecutive losses to Marshall). This WVU team is much more consistent. The old adage is true- defense and rebounding never take a night off.
As for likes and dislikes- I like that the Mountaineers are athletic and pound the boards, I like the defensive effort they give night in and night out, I like the senior leadership in place with Da’Sean Butler. I dislike the fact that the offense can go stone cold at times, settling for too many 3’s, and I dislike that the only true PG on the roster can’t raise his shooting arm above shoulder level.
As for potential, this could be a Final 4 team, but only if matched up against teams in the Tournament without dominant inside scorers. Those typically give the Mountaineers problems.
3. Roster questions: If you can, give me a rundown on the roster – guards, wings, bigs. Who are the best players? Who are the ones that shouldn’t be getting time? Is Deniz Kilicli going to be awesome, and how will he change the team?
Best players are forwards Da’Sean Butler and Kevin Jones now, with Devin Ebanks possibly turning the corner sometime soon. Ebanks was supposedly an NBA lottery pick if he’d left school last year, but hasn’t looked like it at all for most games this season. He broke out towards the end of the year last season, so it could happen again.
Wellington Smith is a shot-blocking forward who usually draws the center assignment and has become an outstanding outside shooter for WVU, connecting on 44% of his 3-point attempts this season. He has defensive lapses at times, so his is prone to finding his way onto the bench in fits of Huggins’ rage.
I’ve already talked about the two primary guards, but Dalton Pepper is a sharpshooting freshman that comes off the bench to contribute an outside threat at times. Similarly, John Flowers is a 6′9” forward that enters the game whenever some physicality and shot-blocking is needed.
Casey Mitchell was the JuCo player of the year last year and was supposed to slide right into the starting lineup, but he’s been nothing short of a Section 8 this year- wildly inconsistent and looks completely lost at times. He hasn’t been playing much lately, thankfully.
As for Deniz Kilicli, before last night’s game (win over Pitt at home), I would’ve said that he would provide a solid contribution to the physicality of the Mountaineers inside, possibly providing an inside-scoring threat they seem to be missing.
Then he went 4-4 with 9 points and two beautiful left-handed baby hook shots in the paint, and I fell head-over-heels in love. (I got a text from another WVU fan that compared Kilicli to a woman made out of chicken wings and beer.)
Now, who knows what kind of impact he can have on the Mountaineers? He looked a little lost on defense, but he’s a straight Turkish Beast, and what was already an intimidating, physical lineup, just got that much thicker.
4. What is with all the damned yellow suits on Huggins?
This is a misconception, just like the notion that WVU fans burn couches after every game. (We burn couches after major upsets, typically rivalry games. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been a rash of couch-burnings in almost 4 years.)
Huggs only busted out the mustard suit one time, and it caused such a sensation among Mountaineer fans that he hasn’t worn it since. (WVU lost that game, to boot.) For whatever reason, this season he’s worn the same black pullover jacket every single game. In the past, he’s worn the same outfit during winning streaks, but he’s found something he loves with this pullover.
We know he’s got no love for ties, but shake it up a bit, Huggs.
Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for Johnny Jungle , doing the Calm Before the Storm posts and also for the Church of Bracketology. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.
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Game 21: Rutgers 84, St. John’s 72 – nailing the coffin
(photo courtesy of ScarletKnights.com)
Even on the road, this was a completely pathetic loss. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights outplayed St. John’s in every facet of the game.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, the Scarlet Knights grew their lead to 18-9 and never looked back as the Red Storm (aka the Sisters of the Poor or the Basketball for the Lame) tried to claw back in… without figuring out how to stop Mike Rosario. And in not stopping Rosario, they left Hamady Ndiaye open for dunks that will undoubtedly be part of his NBA draft highlight tape.
This was a pathetic performance of pathetic proportions, a game St. John’s needed to have but sleepwalked through for a chunk of the first half. I think a few players gave up, especially on defense. Puke-inducing all around; reaching defense, poor perimeter D like against Cornell, open forwards, and more playing in response to what the opponent is doing as opposed to imposing the team’s will. They could not stop… Rutgers?!
Norm Roberts is officially on the hot seat. From the postgame interview:
“I give Rutgers a lot of credit they made a lot of shots. Mike Rosario played great. We didn’t do a really good job of guarding him. We knew that he was coming off of a good game and we let him get too comfortable.
“We’re disappointed, that’s life when you don’t do what you think you’re capable of doing. Rutgers made some plays and we didn’t make them.”
“We didn’t take away their strengths, we knew that Rosario was a guy that was going to jump up and shoot it so we knew that we had to crowd him. We didn’t crowd him enough to make him put it on the floor rather than let him pull up and shot jumpers.”“When we needed to get stops at the end of the shot clock we didn’t do it. Our guards allowed their guards to get in the lane deep then shoot over the top of us. We have to do a much better job on one on one defense and not letting those plays happen.”
This week, I will be writing about some possible candidates to replace him, because I think it’s actually going to happen. And thankfully, because this team is poorly trained, poorly prepared, and makes every team look incredible.
From the 5 Keys:
Garden State Stealing. James Beatty had 6 turnovers. But I think the team could have forced more turnovers – the Knights were a little sloppy with the ball – and gotten easy shots. But credit where it’s due. C+.
The Garbagemen. Rutgers was better on the glass than they have been – a combination of confidence, effort, and St. John’s small size. Still, the Red Storm got some offensive rebounds. But the offense couldn’t take advantage (and the occasional dribble off the foot doesn’t help, either). B-.
Hands Up! I don’t know what the eff went on when they scouted Rutgers and practiced how they were going to defend Mike Rosario. Yeah, he made shots, but he took 22 of them! One would think he wouldn’t score on 59% of his opportunities. He looked like a superhero or Kobe Bryant out there. And then Jonathan Mitchell joins for 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, mostly unguarded? Get the f*** out of here. It looked like Jon Jaques from Cornell strafing St. John’s once again. F.
Offensive Execution. They scored 1.0 points per game – good enough to win them games (or get them close) with the defense they have played. But they needed to score more, have more offensive weapons on the floor. St. John’s couldn’t get Dwight Hardy open for equalizing looks. D+.
Keep Cool.
I wrote -
Rutgers may come out on fire, feeling it from the win over Notre Dame; but St. John’s has to weather their valiant attack and take a road win. Dane Miller and Mike Rosario will have nice stretches, but St. John’s has to run their sets, take smart shots, and not underestimate their opponent.
The team has had worse stretches on offense in other games, but they were reaching all over the place on D, and it created open opportunities for Ndiaye. DJ Kennedy made some nice shots late; Justin Burrell’s jumper was working, They tried to work it inside for fouls, but with a point guard who cannot score, it’s hard to establish the threat of scoring all over the floor. D.
Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for Johnny Jungle , doing the Calm Before the Storm posts and also for the Church of Bracketology. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.
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Game 21: at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Game Information
Listen/ See: Beck, Loser
Tip Off: 7:30 PM, Tuesday, February 2
At: Rutgers Scarlet Knights(10-11, 1-8)
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, NJ
TV: MSG
Opposition blogs:
On the Banks of the Raritan
Bleed Scarlet
Coach Norm Roberts:
We’ve done a better job of playing on the road this year in tough environments. The last few years we’ve been getting beat by 15 or 18 points. Now the games are much closer and we are closer to getting a victory. We just have to get over the hump. That means making big plays in the gut of the game.
Or… shooting much, much better. Coach Norm Roberts rightfully points out in his pregame quotes (one of which is above) that the team was 15+ points behind much of the opposition. But with the same players, I think it will be hard to get over the hump; it’s hard to improve by 15 points in a year. Improvement is expected, but that would be a hell of a jump – more on that later this week.
But the second half of the Big East season is almost upon the St. John’s squad, and it cannot come fast enough. So many frustrating losses, so little consistency… the team is struggling to find its way. Close losses don’t placate the fans or the players; moral victories were acceptable half a decade ago. The Red Storm has to find a way to score enough to win against the decent teams (or play incredible defense) to start getting some wins and rise from the lower depths of the conference. But there’s nothing to indicate that they can right this ship – everyone’s back, and some players’ games have simply regressed.
Fortunately, there are two reasons to hold out some hope. First, the remaining schedule can be seen as more forgiving. Highly ranked West Virginia and Syracuse are the toughest upcoming teams that the Red Storm will face. The rest of the contests will feature squads from the middle of the standings, with 5 of those games at home. The second is a Rutgers squad that can charitably be described as weak, even if they exploited Notre Dame’s extreme aversion to defense and physical contact for a win. The 1-8 Scarlet Knights have trouble scoring and holding on to the ball, have a coach who everyone figures will be fired at the end of the season, and have struggled to stay near opponents on the scoreboard more than St. John’s has.
Can St. John’s reverse their recent low-scoring losing ways and pull out a win in Piscataway? I think so; but they will have to believe it themselves.
Plus/ Minus
(stats taken from Statsheet)
Rutgers Pluses
- Star System: Mike Rosario can get his shot off. A lot.
- Shot Blocking: Hamady N’Diaye and to a lesser extent Dane Miller are blocking shots like Mutumbo. N’Diaye, in particular, will get himself at least an invite to an NBA camp based solely on his ability to delete shot attempts.
- Impact Newcomers: Dane Miller is creeping into all-freshman Big East territory. James Beatty is a far better ball handler and ball distributor than Rutgers has seen in many years.
Rutgers Minuses
- Errant Star System: Mike Rosario takes a lot of shots, but he misses a lot of shots. he looks at times to be playing simply to pad his points-per-game scoring.
- Low-Impact Post Play: They simply do not rebound well on a regular basis; teams shoot decently in the paint on them despite N’Diaye’s best efforts; and the team has little depth in the paint. Yes, that’s three things, but there’s a lot wrong with the Scarlet Knights.
- Turnover Generator: The Scarlet Knights cannot handle the ball under pressure. Or when passing. I think they couldn’t sleep with a basketball and not turn it over.
St. John’s Pluses
- A Justin Burrell Moment: Justin Burrell played solidly against Pittsburgh, going for rebounds and taking jumpers with his feet set. This gives hope for an actual post game in the final 10 games.
- Perimeter Defense: The team is allowing 28.8% shooting from beyond the arc in conference play.
- Dwight Hardy: The team’s most efficient and consistent threat is Dwight Hardy, one of two double-figure scorers for St. John’s.
St. John’s Minuses
- The Curious Case of David J. Kennedy: The team’s most steady player in the out of conference portion of the schedule is struggling, shooting 30.8% from the 3-point line, 40% overall, 63.9% from the free throw line.
- Offensive Flow: The team is 15th in the league in points per possession (.92/possession) in conference. 9th in assist percentage (53.6%). 16th in Effective Field Goal percentage (43.4%) (along with 14th in Free Throw Rate at 28.7% and let’s not talk about the actual free throw shooting). 10th in Offensive Rebound Percentage (34.4%). Clearly, the team has no ability to score in conference play so far.
- Post Problems: Along with barely looking in the post for offense, St. John’s also gets a LOT of shots blocked (9.4% of attempts, 15th in the league).
More pregame information at Johnny Jungle’s Calm Before the Storm.
For more on the Scarlet Knights from Rutgers bloggers:
5 Questions with On the Banks of the Raritan
5 Questions with Bleed Scarlet
Keys to the Game
Garden State Stealing. It’s impressive how a roster of players can all conspire to give the ball away. One can feel the unison in the Scarlet Knights; only Jonathan Mitchell and Mike Rosario take shots and turn the ball over less than 20% of the time (Hamady N’Diaye is not as active in the offensive sets). In Rosario’s case, it’s because when he touches the ball, he feels the need to take a shot. The Knights should be bumped, trapped, and harassed into giving up the ball, their lunch money, and anything else they’ve got.
The Garbagemen. Rutgers isn’t great on the defensive glass. St. John’s has to send the forwards in to clean up offensive misses and make second shots. And with a shotblocker like N’Diaye around, there will be loose balls for the taking.
Hands Up! Defend the Rutgers’ jump shooters. Simply playing to defensive principles should keep the Scarlet Knights inaccurate and shooting the ball after a quick and ineffective one-on-one move.
Offensive Execution. St. John’s will probably need a couple of solid performances from Dwight Hardy and DJ Kennedy (or Sean Evans/ Justin Burrell). But decent performances all around will also put this game away.
Keep Cool. The Red Storm has to make sure to defend without fouling, and to not turn the ball over. Rutgers may come out on fire, feeling it from the win over Notre Dame; but St. John’s has to weather their valiant attack and take a road win. Dane Miller and Mike Rosario will have nice stretches, but St. John’s has to run their sets, take smart shots, and not underestimate their opponent.
Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for Johnny Jungle , doing the Calm Before the Storm posts and also for the Church of Bracketology. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.
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5 Questions with On the Banks of the Raritan
Thanks to Shawn at On the Banks of the Raritan for answering 5 pertinent questions about the Scarlet Knight game before the matchup with St. John’s tomorrow evening (and see my answers to his questions here). Make sure to check out the pregame notes on Johnny Jungle later this evening.
1 – Obviously, Rutgers is having another tough year, and the media and fans are talking as if Coach Fred Hill is not long for the head coaching position. Is the change going to happen, in your estimation? Should it happen?
Saturday’s win over Notre Dame may have quieted the fire Fred Hill talks for a day or two, but unless this team can win most of its remaining games in the Big East and go deep in the conference tournament, Hill is likely gone at the end of the season. I think it is time to part ways with the guy. Nothing personal, but this program needs a shot in the arm. At least the fans do.
2 – What do the Scarlet Knights do well on the court? What do they do poorly? What will they do the night they get their first Big East win?
You must be a prophet, considering RU won its first Big East game shortly after you sent this question my way. They beat Notre Dame because they played good defense and limited their turnovers. If they can continue to limit their turnovers to 12 or less, they should find themselves in more games come the 10:00 mark in the second half. In their lopsided losses to teams like Villanova, Georgetown, and Marquette, first half turnovers killed them.
Against Notre Dame, RU committed just five turnovers. It also helps when our best player is hot. Mike Rosario scored 18 in the first half against the Irish and finished with a game high 24. In order to win against St. John’s will also need another rebounding effort from our guards like we did against Notre Dame. James Beatty and Rosario combined for 16 on Saturday.
3 – Please give us a run down of the Scarlet Knights’ best players; or if you can, a rundown of the roster by bigs, wings, and guards.
RU’s best player is clearly Rosario. If his shot is on, he can go for some big points. If he is knocking down the three-ball, the floor opens for guys like Dane Miller and Jonathan Mitchell on the wings and Hamady Ndiaye on the interior. Ndiaye had a great game keeping Luke Harangody in check. Ndiaye scored 10 points, blocked six shots, but most importantly played 38 minutes.
If he gets into foul trouble, RU must go with freshmen Brian Okam and Austin Johnson on the inside and they just don’t have the experience and toughness at this point. In Saturday night’s win, Ndiaye rejected two of Harangody’s drives to the rim and he did it with authority. One shot had the potential to tie the game in the final minute. It was an amazing play and all but sealed the win for RU.
Dane Miller is our most athletic player. Just a freshman, Miller can be pretty special on the floor. I love watching Mitchell shoot. He’s got a pretty stroke and he seems to be getting a little better with each Big East game.
4 – So what’s gone wrong with the Rutgers’ program, from the Gary Waters days until now? What does the program need? Is just just a coach? Is the overhaul of the RAC needed?
Great question. Of course the problem transcends Fred Hill, but we’re not going to get rid of our entire team. A famous coach would help, but perhaps a guy like Kevin Boyle of St. Patrick is the type of guy the school needs. Boyle’s been coaching a high school powerhouse for a long time and has his finger on the pulse of the NJ/NY area like few other high school coaches around. He could likely persuade some of our state’s best young talent to come to RU and help move the program around.
A renovation of the RAC could fill more seats at higher ticket prices and an updated facility for the players will likely be more attractive to potential recruits, but I think the school will only get the most out of this project if it comes with a high-profile hiring.
5 – And what about this whole moving to the Big Ten thing? Could that happen as well?
I hope not. The Big East is the best basketball conference in the nation. Sure, RU is more of a football school right now and the Big Ten may make more sense from a pigskin standpoint, but I’m not in favor.
Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for Johnny Jungle , doing the Calm Before the Storm posts and also for the Church of Bracketology. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.
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5 Questions with Bleed Scarlet
Thanks to Jon at Bleed Scarlet for answering a quintet of questions on the Scarlet Knight game before the matchup with St. John’s tomorrow evening. Make sure to check out the pregame notes on Johnny Jungle later this evening.
1 – Obviously, Rutgers is having another tough year, and the media and fans are talking as if Coach Fred Hill is not long for the head coaching position. Is the change going to happen, in your estimation? Should it happen?
The new athletic director Tim Pernetti seemed absolutely committed to giving Hill every chance to succeed. Earlier in the season, when they were playing better, Pernetti announced ambitious new facilities upgrades to the RAC specifically to give Fred a shot in the arm. With Hill having a hefty buyout, the school absolutely didn’t want to pay it if at all possible. The events of the past month have pretty much ensured that Hill’s a goner though. As much money as they lose from paying the buyout, they’ll lose even more by failing to act. It’s a situation where there aren’t any good options available.
Hill absolutely needs to be fired. He’s a historically terrible coach, can’t develop players, and his one strength in recruiting isn’t effective any more now that he’s a lame duck.
2 – What do the Scarlet Knights do well on the court? What do they do poorly? What will they do the night they get their first Big East win?
I bet you didn’t expect this question to be moot before I had a chance to answer. I had pegged Notre Dame and Kyle McAlarney as completely fraudulent last year, but the win was still a surprise given how everyone has completely mailed it in in recent weeks.
Hamady N’Diaye is one of the best shot blockers in the country, freshman wing Dane Miller is one of the best kept secrets in the Big East, Miller has been steadily making progress even with the program in shambles around him, and I’m happy to see him earning a bigger role. James Beatty finally gives them a legit flood general, and Mike Rosario is a dangerous scorer when motivated. Honestly, the roster isn’t half bad at all, even without Greg Echenique. The problem this year hasn’t been raw talent.
It’s that Fred Hill is overmatched in all facets. Rosario is sulking with the team in a slump, and feels the pressure to take too many bad shots. Hill is still in love with Mike Coburn at the point, even though he’s a turnover machine. Minus Echenique, there’s no depth in the frontcourt. They’re absolutely toast if and when N’Diaye gets into foul trouble. Jon Mitchell is a decent 3 who’s badly overmatched at the 4. Oh, and they can’t make free throws to save their lives and get killed on the boards without a legit second big man. Add in sloppy play, and losing all confidence over the past month and that’s how they were winless in Big East play. The schedule’s hard, but not every game is against Nova or Cuse.
3 – Please give us a run down of the Scarlet Knights’ best players; or if you can, a rundown of the roster by bigs, wings, and guards.
C: Hamady N’Diaye, Brian Okam. N’Diaye has finally come into his own, and could be a weapon on any team. The knock on him was always that he was so raw. I thought Okam would be the project of all projects, and while he needs work, he’s an interesting shot blocker in his own right to keep an eye on.
PF: Jon Mitchell, Austin Johnson. Mitchell is a decent 3 who’s playing out of position. He’s a transfer from Florida who came back to the metro area for more playing time. Johnson’s just a freshman who’s being pressed into action early out of necessity.
SF: Dane Miller, Pat Jackson. Miller has everyone excited, because he’s like a J.R. Inman who actually cares. When he was a freshman, it looked like Inman was going to be huge, but he never improved under Hill. he was always so lethargic on the court though, and that’s not the case here. Jackson could/should be a decent reserve, but Hill’s never handled similar players well in the past, and has again overreacted by cutting his minutes too much.
SG: Mike Rosario. Rosario is essentially a streaky volume shooter. He could absolutely be the dangerous lead scorer on a tourney team, but he’s not nearly as good a shooter as Quincy Douby was. The combination of not having a true compliment like Echenique puts way too much on his shoulders, and the coaching staff has failed in trying to improve his shot selection and getting other players involved in the offense. It’s ugly, ugly basketball.
PG: James Beatty, Mike Coburn. Beatty’s the first real point that Hill has ever had. Can score a bit too, ala Jerome Coleman back in the day. Yet, Hill and staff continue to show favoritism towards Coburn, who’s really just an undersized 2. He’s an ok third guard though.
4 – So what’s gone wrong with the Rutgers’ program, from the Gary Waters days until now? What does the program need? Is just just a coach? Is the overhaul of the RAC needed?
The core issues go back a lot further than that. What’s evident with both basketball and the football program until recent years is that Rutgers University never truly make competitive athletics a top priority, the athletic department poorly managed in nearly all facets. Anyone can make a bad hire here and there, but that kind of Sisyphean futility takes a special brand of incompetence. Pernetti’s a sharp dude, on the ball with a lot of interesting stuff right now. I think everything’s finally in capable of hands, and the athletic department is turning the corner in a good way.
Waters was ultimately a mediocre coach, and contrary to what J.R. Inman said, not a very good person either (which I can’t really elaborate on, but I consider him worse than Bannon). He was a terrible recruiter, who only lucked into Quincy Douby because your own Mike Jarvis was a goddamned idiot. It’s not that Rutgers fans were frustrated because he wouldn’t sign local All Americans; Waters literally bombed with every other class, which left gaping holes on the roster. He did beat some good teams at home, but that can be attributed to Douby and the RAC’s freaky powers. There were just as many baffling losses though, and he couldn’t win on the road to save his life.
GW blew two real chances at a tournament bid, and if he had managed to get even one, he’d still have a job. There’s no excuse for a school like Rutgers or St. John’s to be satisfied with mediocrity with all the obvious available resources available to each program. Fred Hill subsequently crashing and burning in no way vindicates Waters in retrospect. He needed to go; Hill was just a bad choice as a replacement.
Rutgers needs to replace Hill ASAP, and Eddie Jordan, Fran McCaffery, Jim Baron, Jim Christian, and anyone else with ties to the metro NYC area would be a good place to start as his replacement. The facilities are absolutely an issue, and need to be addressed, but I think that only really matters on the margins. Crappy locker rooms are no excuse for getting blown out every game. Maybe you can’t win the Big East at Rutgers right now, but you can do a lot better than bottom feeding. Plans are already in the works for extensive renovations, but right now fundraising is a concern. That’s a specialty of the new athletic director, but it could take a while to get everything off the ground. He’s done a bangup job with football though, with the football stadium expansion a big success financed entirely through a bond tied to ticket sales.
5 – And what about this whole moving to the Big Ten thing? Could that happen as well?
The finances at play pretty much force the school’s hand. I hate the Big Ten and don’t think it’s a very good football conference, but somehow they still get as much money as the SEC does for their football package. Ultimately, football and money are what’s driving everything. In a perfect world, I’d like to see the Big East split along football and non-football lines, and see Big East football thrive. The money is so staggering though that it’s too overwhelming to ignore.
As despondent as everyone is about basketball right now, and determined to build a winner, Rutgers is still overwhelmingly a football school. There’s a ton of fans throughout the NYC area with no ties at all to the school, who just want to win at football and don’t give a damn about hoops. Big Ten basketball is a considerable downgrade (consider what a grinder the BE is, maybe not necessarily a bad thing), and a lot of the best local players probably wouldn’t want to play there.
There are those, and plenty of other downsides to a jump, but they’re far trumped by the money at stake here. Rutgers is an athletic department that’s been perpetually troubled in that regard. With the Big Ten’s wholly unwarranted cash, they’d be able to finally put those longstanding worries to rest, make it into the black for all sports, and finally do things like upgrade the RAC and even funnel some revenue into the academic side. For that reason, the administration’s hands are tied. As crummy and soulless as it may be, they don’t have a choice but to pursue the Big Ten. If the Big Ten cartel wants to push football in the New York City area, they’ll have a willing partner.
Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for Johnny Jungle , doing the Calm Before the Storm posts and also for the Church of Bracketology. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.
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Seth Davis Video on Coaches on the Hot Seat
Courtesy of CBS Sports – he mentions Norm Roberts, Fred Hill, and Jeff Lebo, and notes that schools like Iowa and NC State ran their coaches out… but (and this is a paraphrase) perhaps the schools should look at what they’re doing wrong instead of using the coach as a scapegoat.
Game 20: at Pittsburgh Panthers
Listen/ See: Spoon, the Underdog (live)
Tip Off: 7:00 PM, Thursday, January 28
At: Pittsburgh Panthers (15-4, 5-2)
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA
TV: ESPNU
Opposition blogs:
Pitt Blather
Eye of a Panther
The First Church of Fitzgerald
Head Coach Norm Roberts – Villanova postgame comments
On the timeout late in the second half:
“What I said to them was let’s just think execution and let’s think defense. Let’s execute offensively, don’t worry about the next play and let’s guard defensively. There were a lot ‘50-50′ balls we didn’t get. We need to get them. I just felt we weren’t executing the way we needed to both offensively and defensively.”
On overcoming scoring droughts:
“You just have to fight through it. We missed a couple of shots, they made a couple of shots. The other thing is that we are playing against a very good basketball team. We executed. We played hard. We did turn it over at some bad times, but you are going to do that.”
Notes on Pitt vs. St. John’s
St. John’s is struggling to remain relevant in the Big East race. With a record of 2-5 and an RPI of 65 and falling, the Red Storm are going to need some big wins to make moves in the conference. The fans are frustrated, the team is frustrated, and going on the road to meet the #17 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers is not exactly the recipe for a turnaround.
St. John’s was hoping to surprise the league this year. Instead, Pittsburgh has been the surprise, dealing Syracuse (the other surprise) their first loss and defeating 3 other good Big east squads – and DePaul on their way to 5 wins. But the team has loss to Georgetown at home and to Seton Hall in Newark. Pitt is looking for a win – and they defend their home very well, winning 92% of their games in the Peterson Events Center. That record is built on great defense, not just home court mystique; and the Panthers are once again an excellent defensive team.
Playing in front of friends and family, can DJ Kennedy help the team pull out a win?
For Pittsburgh team notes, check out my Five Questions with Pitt Blather and with Eye of a Panther, two Pittsburgh bloggers.
Pitt Plusses:
Ashton Gibbs. He’s been a man on the court this year, leading the team in minutes (86.6% of minutes) shots taken, and offensive rating (117.7), based on his strong 3-point shooting (40%).
Defense. By controlling their defensive glass (69.8% of available defensive rebounds in conference) and stifling 3-point shooting (29% shooting for opponents in conference), along with defending without fouling, the Panthers have a dominant defense.
Free Throw Shooting. In Big East play, the Panthers have gotten to the a lot (Free Throw Rate of 45%) and have hit their attempts to the tune of 75%.
Pitt Minuses:
Ashton Gibbs. As he goes, the Panthers go; Jermaine Dixon has not been an efficient scorer, and Gilbert Brown hasn’t been consistent yet.
Offense. The team has been a middling offensive squad from the field, depending on foul shots out of their crisply run offense for points. If they were a football team, they would be a ball control offense.
The Center/ Forward Positions. The centers have provided decent defense but have not made an impact on offense. The team plays undersized Nasir Robinson at power forward; he is active on the glass but obviously undersized at 6′5″.
Pregame Articles:
NY Daily News: St. John’s looking to make noise in the Big East when Red Storm visit No. 17 Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: St. John’s Kennedy hoping to follow Pitt’s Blair
Did You Know? Under Dixon, Pitt has dropped three straight games only two times since 2003-04.
Read more pregame analysis on Calm Before the Storm – Edge of the Pitt.
Keys to the Game
Keep the Intensity High. In earlier games, the Red Storm has managed to hang with the opponents higher in the standing for a half and then… lose their cool during a scoring drought. Or they lose their defensive assignments. Whichever way, the team has to play smart basketball for the whole game. Pittsburgh will adjust and run sharp sets for most of the game; the team is well-coached.
Stop Ashton (And Guard the Perimeter). Ashton Gibbs is the main scoring threat; he takes the largest share of the shots but he can be guarded. But it will be difficult. Jermaine Dixon can score a bit as well but has struggled since returning from injury. Guarding the perimeter will be key in bringing the Panthers to a level of scoring efficiency that would allow St. John’s to steal this game on the road. The guards can score from the free throw line as well; it’s important to defend without fouling.
Nullify Their Size on the Glass. Dante Taylor is a good athlete, and Gary McGhee works hard on the glass. St. John’s would do well to fight on the offensive glass. Winning those fights mean points from offensive rebounds and free throw attempts.
Scoring Performances. The Red Storm need players to step up and score outside and inside. DJ Kennedy and Dwight Hardy will lead the way, but the team needs at least one more solid scoring performance to pull out a win from Justin Burrell or Justin Brownlee or Paris Horne… someone else needs to step up.
Into the Muck. Pittsburgh has to be brought into the kind of sloppy game that St. John’s tends to play. It would be nice to say that St. John’s can win a shootout, but there’s no evidence for that. So St. John’s has to use their defense to confuse and cause turnovers. With some good scoring performances, St. John’s has a chance to win on the road.
Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for Johnny Jungle , doing the Calm Before the Storm posts and also for the Church of Bracketology. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.
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