St. John's Scouting Report

[housekeys]

Another thing. Since we assume they will be driving to the hoop all night long, the pregame scouting report on positioning and making them go to their weaker side will be important.

 

[El Obrero]

I think Samson is going to surprise tomorrow night. I think his length is going to disrupt St. John’s offense in the paint and keep their scoring below average.

 

[JungleLobo]

In that case, I'd do:

McNeeley on Richmond
Diarra on Scott
Ball on Wilcher/Smith

Scott isn't much bigger than Richmond and his usage rate is much lower, so McNeeley guarding Richmond would have more positive impact than if he guarded Scott.

McNeeley won’t be in full speed game shape and you want to match him up with their best player?

Is be surprised if McNeeley plays more than 20 minutes Friday.

 

[JungleLobo]

Final Score St John’s 58 UConn 92

 

[auror]

I think Samson is going to surprise tomorrow night. I think his length is going to disrupt St. John’s offense in the paint and keep their scoring below average.

This is just as likely (if not more so) a 4 minute Samson has 2 fouls game. The refs have been letting them play in (at least the first half) of the big games, though.

 

[RuffRuff]

For a guy with the gift of gab he does a lot of stuttering around the injuries

 

[AntG168]

For a guy with the gift of gab he does a lot of stuttering around the injuries

Maybe because he can’t be as candid about injuries due to the law.

 

[auror]

Maybe because he can’t be as candid about injuries due to the law.

I think it's less about the law, more about the complexity of some of the situations. Have to consider the kid's health, kid's future, kid's current ability/rust, the opponent, the gameplan and how the player fits in, and deciding how much detail he wants to get into about it all with the media (and thus with Pitino and the kid's parents, and setting a public expectation, etc.).

And not to mention in this particular one he had 4 guys with differing situations that he had to speak extemporaneously about.

 

[HooperScooper]

For a guy with the gift of gab he does a lot of stuttering around the injuries

Probably because despite what he says he knows Diarra and Mahaney are playing.

 

[RuffRuff]

 

[mauconnfan]

Well then if no one can then let’s try everyone once in a while (2-3). If they make shots oh well but make them shoot from the perimeter. Guys are in a tough spot with the injuries and mismatches. But we’ve learned to watch our guys with their backs to the wall!

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Based on the quick turnaround after last matchup, there's isn't much change to this scouting report, especially since Deivon Smith, who Pitino smoke-screened "I think he’s done for the regular season, in my opinion," missed just one game with a neck injury and I'd expect a similar lineup for St. John's on Sunday:

Here's a look at last game:

Obviously, the biggest bugaboo was -15 in the turnover margin, but it's important to remember that this was early in Diarra's injury (knee) struggles and he's looked like a totally different player over the last two as he's combined for 20 points, 7 assists, 3 steals and 4 turnovers during that span. His game against St. John's was easily his worst of the season and it was also McNeeley's first game back from injury, so that's also a plus.

Another factor, I love Ejiofor and while both Johnson/Reed are needed to decrease his effectiveness, I really can't see any benefit of starting Samson in this game, especially after how poorly he played in the first matchup (4 fouls, 8 minutes) and how well Reed played (12 points, 15 assists, 3 blocks). Ejiofor is a beast and so is Reed.

Overall, I liked how UConn's defense helped for St. John's to take some pretty awful shots, and the improved health of Hassan/Liam will definitely help us clean up the turnovers.

See you all at the Garden!

 

[jibsey]

We are 4.5 dogs right now? Today tells us a lot about the team I think.

 

[AntG168]

We are 4.5 dogs right now? Today tells us a lot about the team I think.

I think we know everything about this team. They play up and down to the comp. I fully expect them to compete and maybe even win today. It’s the PC, GTown, SH games I’m worried about

 

[TheHorde]

RJ Luis is out today, right?

 

[Ripper32]

Protect the ball and they have a shot at winning this. SJU doesn't really have a good perimeter shooting lineup. They are sorta like Tennessee NE corridor with less physicality. Reed and Johnson need to pick their spots to stay on the floor.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

Liam will again be the difference-maker. His driving to the hoop got fouls on St. Johns and he went 8-10 from the charity stripe. No other Husky was close so we need to be smart about 3pt shooting vs driving because 3pt shooting going in is great, but it doesn't get a foul called, a time stoppage, and possibly a substitution on St. Johns.

 

[AntG168]

RJ Luis is out today, right?

No. Slick Rick is a conman

 

[TheHorde]

No. Slick Rick is a conman

He might play but I can’t imagine he’s close to 100%, and there’s a non zero chance he aggravates it. He was a DNP last game.