Hawkins Handle

[jibsey]

I’s a liability when he puts the ball on the floor. Has a very loose dribble- handle. AJAX is not exactly Chris Smith but he’s good compared to Hawk. An off-season effort will be needed to help this.

 

[kansashusky]

Hurley made a big to do about off season skill work. I’m not sure what they did, but we have one player on the team right now that can dribble a basketball under pressure.

Well I would argue two, but the other one doesn’t get playing time.

 

[husky429]

Remember when people were claiming he had handles like Kemba or Shabazz 3 weeks ago?

The kid is a grinder. You don't get to be an elite shooter like him without work ethic. Expect it to be vastly improved a year from now.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Remember when people were claiming he had handles like Kemba or Shabazz 3 weeks ago?

The kid is a grinder. You don't get to be an elite shooter like him without work ethic. Expect it to be vastly improved a year from now.

Like his potential, Hawkins' handle is "sky high" .

Listen, I understand some people's frustration, but two of our last four games were against teams that rank top-5 in the nation in turnover %.

It's only going to get easier on that end: St. John's is the only team in the Big East whose defense is remotely similar to VCU or West Virginia.

I am so thankful we've played teams like VCU and West Virginia now so if we see defenses like this in March or April, we will have experience and film to learn from.

 

[jibsey]

Remember when people were claiming he had handles like Kemba or Shabazz 3 weeks ago?

The kid is a grinder. You don't get to be an elite shooter like him without work ethic. Expect it to be vastly improved a year from now.

Yes. I would expect so. The kid is going to be a star but it’s a work in progress. It’s funny how after he had a game or two against cupcakes over half this board had him gone after this year. Haven’t heard that lately but I expect him to breakout offensively at some point, his shot is too good.

 

[husky429]

Yes. I would expect so. The kid is going to be a star but it’s a work in progress. It’s funny how after he had a game or two against cupcakes over half this board had him gone after this year. Haven’t heard that lately but I expect him to breakout offensively at some point, his shot is too good.

Even after last nights clunker, he's still shooting 38% from 3 on the season. I expect he'll up up over 40% for the year.

He's not going to average 20 a game like Bouk. But he's going to give us great defense in time, and be a hyper-efficient scorer. That's an NBA career right there.

 

[AdamaNation]

Like his potential, Hawkins' handle is "sky high" .

Listen, I understand some people's frustration, but two of our last four games were against teams that rank top-5 in the nation in turnover %.

It's only going to get easier on that end: St. John's is the only team in the Big East whose defense is remotely similar to VCU or West Virginia.

I am so thankful we've played teams like VCU and West Virginia now so if we see defenses like this in March or April, we will have experience and film to learn from.

Correct. This will be a major asset going forward in conference play. Aside from the maniacal defenses we have faced they were also physical. That shows our offense, despite some thoughts, is much better than expected, especially if the ball going in the basket is what counts most. Another undervalued item is we as a defense are right there among the teams we’ve played thus far. I am thinking this early season schedule is about as good as you can ask for quality and mental prep going into BE play. I’m going for the ceiling on this and not expecting more than 7 losses when we are done(at full strength and barring any roster set backs=luck). Maybe that is a good over/under. Both BE titles in reach as well as a comfy waltz into week 2 of the dance and 3rd week with great seeding. Tired of the glummy outlooks. Get some mo going on the vibes.

 

[Husky Alien]

Like his potential, Hawkins' handle is "sky high" .

Listen, I understand some people's frustration, but two of our last four games were against teams that rank top-5 in the nation in turnover %.

It's only going to get easier on that end: St. John's is the only team in the Big East whose defense is remotely similar to VCU or West Virginia.

I am so thankful we've played teams like VCU and West Virginia now so if we see defenses like this in March or April, we will have experience and film to learn from.

Like what you did there @Hey Adrien! There is no question that Hawkins will be one of our best in time if not a short time. His handle is getting better since getting here and I would expect nothing other from him if he wants to get to the next level. He knows what he needs to work on and will undoubtedly do so. He will know how to handle this. Defense and shooting is not a problem for him. Just needs to see the court a bit better. I know he is in there for a certain thing and that's to shoot. If he can just add court awareness along with his handle in the open court watch out. Yes! These games should help him and the team going forward.

 

[olehead]

@jibsey thanks for reminding me of the last few items on my holiday to do list. Hoping Hawk and AJ will appreciate my NIL holiday offering.

Ball Hog Ball Handling Gloves (Unweighted)

 

[Cheddie]

Hurley made a big to do about off season skill work. I’m not sure what they did, but we have one player on the team right now that can dribble a basketball under pressure.

Well I would argue two, but the other one doesn’t get playing time.

It's frustrating at times to see Gaffney at the top of the key with his back to the basket to protect the ball from a strong defender. It just costs wasted time on the shot clock.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Like his potential, Hawkins' handle is "sky high" .

Listen, I understand some people's frustration, but two of our last four games were against teams that rank top-5 in the nation in turnover %.

It's only going to get easier on that end: St. John's is the only team in the Big East whose defense is remotely similar to VCU or West Virginia.

I am so thankful we've played teams like VCU and West Virginia now so if we see defenses like this in March or April, we will have experience and film to learn from.

Yeah a 12/5 UAB vs UConn matchup could be scary.

 

[Stinger92860]

It's frustrating at times to see Gaffney at the top of the key with his back to the basket to protect the ball from a strong defender. It just costs wasted time on the shot clock.

Better offensive sets with screens can help with this, bit we don’t seem to have implemented anything yet. Maybe it’s coming. Do we have any offensive minds on the staff?

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Yeah a 12/5 UAB vs UConn matchup could be scary.

Exactly. Good mid-majors with aggressive turnover ratios (Texas State, Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian, Murray State, Weber State, Wofford, Memphis, Harvard) are all potential 10-14 seeds that are within the top-50 of turnover ratio.

 

[dennismenace]

Yes. I would expect so. The kid is going to be a star but it’s a work in progress. It’s funny how after he had a game or two against cupcakes over half this board had him gone after this year. Haven’t heard that lately but I expect him to breakout offensively at some point, his shot is too good.

His shots were uncharacteristically really rushed as were others. I think the atmosphere combined with the pressure did exactly what WV wanted it to do. Unnerve them and get them out of rhythm. You can work on the pressure in practice but that noise level is unreal. Wasn't there a pro football team that once practiced with canned sound pumped into their practice in their stadium to prepare for a big game? If I remember correctly the opponent players couldn't even hear their QB so they simulated this in practice.

 

[king conn]

It's frustrating at times to see Gaffney at the top of the key with his back to the basket to protect the ball from a strong defender. It just costs wasted time on the shot clock.

It's even more frustrating when he falls flat on his face trying to dribble forward with nobody guarding him.

 

[olehead]

If referring to his last turnover, he was a actually tripped by a wvu player attempting to fight over the top of our screen. Bad missed call. Incredibly, the trip took place right after the called touch foul on Hawk. Gotta love consistency.

 

[GHSWolverines]

Better offensive sets with screens can help with this, bit we don’t seem to have implemented anything yet. Maybe it’s coming. Do we have any offensive minds on the staff?

In the WVU ge we had plenty of open looks at the 3 point line. We just laid a lot of bricks.

 

[UConnDad]

Yes. I would expect so. The kid is going to be a star but it’s a work in progress. It’s funny how after he had a game or two against cupcakes over half this board had him gone after this year. Haven’t heard that lately but I expect him to breakout offensively at some point, his shot is too good.

It was his fantastic game against Auburn that raised expectations. Not a cupcake.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Like his potential, Hawkins' handle is "sky high" .

Listen, I understand some people's frustration, but two of our last four games were against teams that rank top-5 in the nation in turnover %.

It's only going to get easier on that end: St. John's is the only team in the Big East whose defense is remotely similar to VCU or West Virginia.

I am so thankful we've played teams like VCU and West Virginia now so if we see defenses like this in March or April, we will have experience and film to learn from.

We`re a couple of injuries and a couple bad calls away from undefeated and in the top 10. People seem to not see this.

 

[SubbaBub]

AJ is horrible. His spin move is not only predictable. He leaves the ball 3 feet away from his body and has zero ability to dribble in traffic and we are jumping on Hawkins?

Hawkins has an issue of letting mistakes/bad outcomes affect him going forward. He's young and has a chance to get over that. I'm not sure AJ can fix his handle during his time here.

 

[superjohn]

We`re a couple of injuries and a couple bad calls away from undefeated and in the top 10. People seem to not see this.

Also a possession or 2 away from having 4 losses. For about 24 minutes against Auburn we looked like the best team in the country. Due to injuries and poor play we haven't looked like that since.

 

[WestHartHusk]

AJ is horrible. His spin move is not only predictable. He leaves the ball 3 feet away from his body and has zero ability to dribble in traffic and we are jumping on Hawkins?

Hawkins has an issue of letting mistakes/bad outcomes affect him going forward. He's young and has a chance to get over that. I'm not sure AJ can fix his handle during his time here.

AJ does get a lot of slack here. His handle is crazy loose, and he compounds his bad handle by going quick. In traffic, he is nearly a guaranteed turnover when he should be able to get his shot over nearly everyone on the court.

Probably the most frustrating player in awhile. He has all the tools to be a great, but he just can’t pull the right one at the right time.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Also a possession or 2 away from having 4 losses. For about 24 minutes against Auburn we looked like the best team in the country. Due to injuries and poor play we haven't looked like that since.

Party pooper.