St. John's Post Game Thread | Page 12 | The Boneyard

St. John's Post Game Thread

dtrumpet said:
The defense was as connected as ever. Crisp switches, great help. And Reed was at the center of it all. Mobile, physical, assertive. More of that please for the next 6 weeks!
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Yes, and did anyone say "burned by the Hedge again" in Chat? No. Because he almost never hedged. Hurley kept him in the paint and that led to all those blocks when he was helping others and coming from behind. That was an adjustment by the staff against a team that lives by driving to rim.
 
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Was watching the highlights this morning and one of the things I think that shocked at John’s was how quickly UConn played. You saw last night in the first few minutes St. John’s was jogging or walking up the floor. They were expecting the slow pace that UConn ran up the floor and didn’t let sju setup their defense. They never adjusted to the up tempo of UConn and all night they got burned.
 
Great win. Everyone showed up big for a big time game! Ball security. Defense. Rebounding loose ball intensity. Got the ball into the post consistently. They were locked in for 40 minutes. Even the reserves.
 
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ctbro1999 said:
......... Looked like they weren't even trying on the offensive end because they knew it was pointless.
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I mean it literally was pointless for extended periods of time.
 
Crazy thing is we shot 28% from three, 7 out of 25 and we missed a half dozen wide open ones in the flow of the offense later in the game. If we shot it better we easily win by 40+.

Reminds me of the 25 point win over Illinois in the elite 8 in '24 where we shot 3 for 17 from three. Sheer domination while shooting it terribly from deep which is extremely rare.
 
If someone posted this and I missed it, I'm sorry, but it gave me some Elite 8 Illinois vibes. Clearly the team got into St. John players heads. When you airball an 8 footer (I think that was Hopkins on the baseline), all is not right between the ears.
 
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superjohn said:
Crazy thing is we shot 28% from three, 7 out of 25 and we missed a half dozen wide open ones in the flow of the offense later in the game. If we shot it better we easily win by 40+.

Reminds me of the 25 point win over Illinois in the elite 8 in '24 where we shot 3 for 17 from three. Sheer domination while shooting it terribly from deep which is extremely rare.
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I can’t remember a shooter like Mullins who can look so good with his quick release and then shoot a brick. It wasn’t just this game but he had a few against St. John’s.
 
HCCForever said:
I can’t remember a shooter like Mullins who can look so good with his quick release and then shoot a brick. It wasn’t just this game but he had a few against St. John’s.
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He’s the one you want to shoot when there is 0.7 seconds left on the clock- can’t think of anyone with a quicker release
 
HCCForever said:
I can’t remember a shooter like Mullins who can look so good with his quick release and then shoot a brick. It wasn’t just this game but he had a few against St. John’s.
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He's done that all year. He is good for one or two bricks every game. The important thing is that he is shooting them at a good percentage, even when they are more difficult (not wide open). He is a special talent. Imagine how good he will be when he irons out those wrinkles?
 
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Conndog said:
UConn when struggling has had trouble with teams that use screening to open up shooters- defensive switching hasn’t been good in those games. St. John’s did very little screening & they don’t have good outside shooting. Other teams during these struggle games also were able to drive frequently to the basket and kick it out again to shooters or just put up close range shots or get fouled. Coach must have concentrated practice on defense switching and rebounding- UConn was outstanding in theses areas. The expected foul and free throw disparity just didn’t happen. Reed really impressed me with staying in position on defense and not fouling but keeping hands straight in air. Love Ross playing over Stewart- by the way, what was the story with Stewart not playing, was he injured?
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I don't agree. SJU did a lot of screening. Our switching was impeccable. The path to the lane was blocked most of the night. We also did a much better job identifying who to leave open at the arc and who needed to driven off the three point point line after the switch. We knew who to go under and who to go over. Hurley made this point himself in the post game. Tarris's timing on the hedge was also very good. That allowed him back in he lane and resulted in six block and numerous clogged middles.

The switching was definitely a coaching move by Hurley. Make no mistake, this was a different game plan from New York.
 
Fantastic game. Couldn't have happened to a better opponent. From the getgo we were aggressive, focused, and active. We need this kind of performance in every game from here on out.

Tarris showed what he's capable of. And he did it without racking up fouls. This is key to our success.
 
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Palatine said:
I don't agree. SJU did a lot of screening. Our switching was impeccable. The path to the lane was blocked most of the night. We also did a much better job identifying who to leave open at the arc and who needed to driven off the three point point line after the switch. We knew who to go under and who to go over. Hurley made this point himself in the post game. Tarris's timing on the hedge was also very good. That allowed him back in he lane and resulted in six block and numerous clogged middles.

The switching was definitely a coaching move by Hurley. Make no mistake, this was a different game plan from New York.
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Exactly! The F68 guys said the same thing. They said we switched up our D with switching and St John didn’t know how to respond
 
RuffRuff said:
The biggest difference in this game is how often Tarris touched the ball tonight. Not only in the post, but throughout the form of the offensive sets. This is the kind of stuff we've been pining for. So I guess my biggest question is then - do coaches save stuff?

I think a lot of us have been wondering whether Hurley has another trick up his sleeve to "peak at the right time". I'm sure great coaches do hold off on things until it really matters, but I do not know for sure.
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I noticed twice they threw the ball over the top to him. Haven't seen that much this year. Smith also had one to Reibe. I like they are finding different angles to enter the post to keep the defense off balance.
 
Donyell 360 said:
I noticed twice they threw the ball over the top to him. Haven't seen that much this year. Smith also had one to Reibe. I like they are finding different angles to enter the post to keep the defense off balance.
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Yup - he missed a little lefty hook on one, but it was nicely designed as a whole.
 
MJKI said:
A side note; Pitino not doing media after the game is such chicken-*. I’m glad we have a coach who will face it always, win or lose. Pitino is such a sore loser and the sport will be better when he retires.
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I don't like Pitino either but I think it is good for the BE and the sport in general to have some villains. It makes for a more compelling storyline.
 
Captbluefin said:
Why didn’t St John’s run their press that mauled us last time ?

They didn’t even on their few makes.
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It seems to me they were pressing us but as you said, so few makes makes it hard to apply constant pressure. Pitino admitted last time the secret is to wear the other team down, not necessarily to get turnovers. But you have to make some shots and that just wasn't happening last night.
 
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