St. John's Post Game Thread

[Vancat]

 

[JustbrewitMan]

How could you not want to play for this guy?

x.com

x.com

 

[superjohn]

 

[navery12]

Felt like Newton had a pretty rough game, yet he still went for 18, 10, and 7. Such a calming presence when he's out there

 

[housekeys]

One advantage playing small ball: the opponent's strategy is more predictable. The defense must collapse on the 5. If the opposing 5 does not have the vision, handle, and IQ to make the decision to either go up or pass back to open perimeter players, the opponents advantage never materializes.

 

[3rdbass]

fixed it for you

Well probably 3rd behind Spencer and Newton.

 

[HooperScooper]

This is like the worst possible matchup for Samson. Just not strong enough for Soriano. I think it’s pretty clear this will be a position that gets some attention in the portal ahead of next year.

And yet Soriano had a grand total of 6 points and 4 rebounds. He averages 16.6 and 10. Why was that?

 

[yungdowork]

It’s just the ball always stops with him, he doesn’t really know what to do with it, and ends up just dumping it off. They need to only get it to him when he is set to shoot. Then maybe from there he can get more comfortable

I think he’s just used to being the guy. In high school, he would take on any defender in front of him and showed a lot of variety and creativity in the ways he could score. It’s hard to transition from that role to 8th or 9th guy in the rotation.

Hurley also said he had the most learning to do of all the freshmen in terms of the systems and the terminology.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I guess I will be the first to mention it. Clingan looks less explosive in the last two games than he did in his first game back. I am not saying it’s the foot, I am just saying it shows up most when jumping and more importantly landing after he jumps. But I am just a causal fan watching the game on tv. Not sure how it looks in person. The thing with Donovan only he knows how he feels and he wants to play.

 

[Waquoit]

I swear during the slo-mo replays, you can see the confidence Castle has in his jumper these days.

 

[UCan3]

If you consider the fact that for the first 30 minutes St Johns got called for 1 out of every 4 fouls they committed and we still won by double digits - that’s what #1 teams do.

I hope we finish at #1 but for right now we are on top of the college BB world and it’s not even close!

 

[HuskyHawk]

Impressive road win against a team that causes us problems. Even more so without Karaban. Castle becoming a reliable scorer has elevated this team significantly.

The next three games are against the worst of the Big East. It’s likely we will be 23-2 heading to a matchup with Marquette. Simply amazing.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Hurley also said he had the most learning to do of all the freshmen in terms of the systems and the terminology.

Yup it definitely shows

 

[UCan3]

I guess I will be the first to mention it. Clingan looks less explosive in the last two games than he did in his first game back. I am not saying it’s the foot, I am just saying it shows up most when jumping and more importantly landing after he jumps. But I am just a causal fan watching the game on tv. Not sure how it looks in person. The thing with Donovan only he knows how he feels and he wants to play.

I like that Clingan sets screens but like to see him post up more and look for more offensive rebounds. He’s too tall and dominant to sprint back on D when we miss a shoT.

 

[3rdbass]

I guess I will be the first to mention it. Clingan looks less explosive in the last two games than he did in his first game back. I am not saying it’s the foot, I am just saying it shows up most when jumping and more importantly landing after he jumps. But I am just a causal fan watching the game on tv. Not sure how it looks in person. The thing with Donovan only he knows how he feels and he wants to play.

I didn't see that. What I did see was someone using his arms more than his feet on defense. He still looked like he has hops and runs the floor well. Problem is he relying on his length more than playing great positional defense. Right now I wouldn't draft Clingan in the lottery but of course we have a lot of ball still to play so let's see what happens. Castle is definitely gone with him being more agressive and shooting better on offense.

 

[Waquoit]

I guess I will be the first to mention it. Clingan looks less explosive in the last two games than he did in his first game back.

Stewart was not great this game and hasn’t progressed much to my eye (seems less and less playable, doesn’t seem to fit into the offense well)

Welcome to In Search of the Hot Take

 

[superjohn]

Felt like Newton had a pretty rough game, yet he still went for 18, 10, and 7. Such a calming presence when he's out there

It feels that way with Newton sometimes because he always has some headcratching plays where you're left wondering why did he do that but he always rebounds on both ends, passes well, and gets to the line. He's a great player but his style is different from any other player I can remember.

 

[navery12]

I guess I will be the first to mention it. Clingan looks less explosive in the last two games than he did in his first game back. I am not saying it’s the foot, I am just saying it shows up most when jumping and more importantly landing after he jumps. But I am just a causal fan watching the game on tv. Not sure how it looks in person. The thing with Donovan only he knows how he feels and he wants to play.

I wouldn't read too much into that, 90% of his minutes have been in foul trouble and he's purposely (albeit unsuccessfully) playing conservatively

 

[REB1094]

Had to leave with 9 min left so my thoughts are all from before then. Seems like good things happened after I left!

Not sure why a home game vs. NET 38 is being counted as Q1, but that's another Q1 win!

Good -

• It's been so fun watching Castle progress throughout the year. Best player on the court today. Wish he finished that poster on Soriano lol
• Choosing to ignore Newton’s TOs because he had 18/10/7. Very well rounded performance
• Spencer came alive in the second half. Started taking (and making) huge shots
• Pro-UConn chants were very audible on the broadcast. Great work from the fans who went out!

Bad -

• Clingan is 7'2, all he has to do is put his arms up and stand still. Fouls #1, 2, and 4 were unnecessary and self inflicted. Foul #3 was...perplexing
• Not much else I feel like complaining about because we won handily

That gap in the BE is getting wider and wider..gauntlet part of the schedule is coming soon. Let's go Huskies!

 

[WhereistheDove?]

And yet Soriano had a grand total of 6 points and 4 rebounds. He averages 16.6 and 10. Why was that?

Because they were doubling him on every single touch. Hurley saw Samson getting moved around pretty much at will and adjusted like a good coach does.

 

[nycscooby]

Cam and Steph great!

Tristen good!

Rest of team, not good.

We were sloppy with the ball (Diarra had 4 TOs with limited ball handling though he did have some great finishes). Many misshandles, drops, knock ons, etc.

Our offense was pretty stagnant in the half court. SJU was aggressive but I think we should have been more prepared for it. I didn’t think the SJU press was bothersome for our backcourt.

Great day at the stripe.

Tough, gutty win the beat marches on. After PC and SJU I may go back to rewatch the Xavier game to see some beautiful basketball.

As for the crowd. i would say 55/45 SJU maybe 50/50 so more SJU fans than in recent years. Some spurts of energy but I felt like the crowd today was a little subdued, in my opinion definitely leas energy than last year’s game at the Garden.

 

[Bomber36]

If he shoots like this the rest of the year he will be in the top five imo.

As much as I hate the one and done thing, I think if he is one and done we win our second NCAA championship in a row.

 

[aceboon]

 

[Bomber36]

Felt like Newton had a pretty rough game, yet he still went for 18, 10, and 7. Such a calming presence when he's out there

When he makes a bad play, it’s resoundingly bad. We notice it more. Plus we depend on him so much, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

[yungdowork]

Man, Cam getting drafted would make me so happy. He’s been such an integral piece this year and made a HUGE impact off the court too. When we lost Andre and Sanogo, we also lost our 2 biggest dogs, and Cam has stepped up and been one of the toughest and most fiery competitors I can remember at UConn. He’s helped our transition from last year to this year so much