Modest goal

[Halldan1]

Not one good defender on that starting line up. Don't mistake getting a steal here and there as playing defense.

Look, I understand that you are very negative towards Willard and SHU. Every post of your 7 to date has the same tone. That's your right.

But when you make the statement that you did above regarding the defensive abilities of our starters then to me you lose credibility.

Whitehead and Carrington in the backcourt are excellent defenders and that's as freshmen. Clearly as they mature they'll only get better.

Same with Desi. He is very good on that side of the court. Clearly better than Big East average.

That leaves the big men.

I agree, last year Angel was a below average defender. But a lot of that had to do with his having to stay on the court and avoid foul trouble. Unfortunately that may again be true this coming season.

His one positive is that he is a great rebounder and that is part of playing D.

Anderson is an unknown. He talks about defense being a priority to his game. But that remains to be seen until he suits up.

Bottom line.

3 above average Big East defenders
1 below average Big East defender due to circumstances.
1 unknown

 

[Fzacsattac]

We will not be over .500 next year due to:
-inconsistent calls by Willard
-the inability to adjust to the others teams offense and defense (especially after halftime)
-not having a true point guard
-not having a true center
-having inexperience behind the starting five
-having Willard as coach

I hope I am incorrect and that we surprise some teams next year but looking at each team and seeing who they have coming back and the new players they have recruited or sat out this year, we will be lucky to be over Creighton, St. John's, and DePaul (they did beat us twice this year) in the final standings next year.

 

[simone84]

Anderson is an unknown. He talks about defense being a priority to his game. But that remains to be seen until he suits up.

Anderson was the worst player on a horrible Fresno State team.

I think he'll be a poor mans Cheir Ajou.

 

[SHUMike]

500 in the league? Let me have what you are smoking. I don't care if Michael Jordans on the team, we still have Willard as the coach.

 

[NittanyPirate]

I expect Seton Hall to finish. 500 or better every year in conference play.

 

[Halldan1]

Anderson was the worst player on a horrible Fresno State team.

I think he'll be a poor mans Cheir Ajou.

Ridiculous statement. Anderson is an unknown to date although the staff is high on him and has him penciled in as the starting 4 right now.

A couple of years ago he committed to Kansas. Clearly his injury has effected him and it's hoped that he is close to being the player that he was coming out of HS.

Ajou is at best a D2 player.

 

[chickenbox]

I expect Seton Hall to finish. 500 or better every year in conference play.

Why do you expect this?

 

[Bud Boomer]

We won six league games last year, and lose our best player, starting shooting guard, and starting power forward. The Gordon addition helps, but not enough. IMO it's more likely that we win three league games than nine. My best guess is that our record will be pretty similar to last year.

 

[simone84]

Ridiculous statement. Anderson is an unknown to date although the staff is high on him and has him penciled in as the starting 4 right now.

A couple of years ago he committed to Kansas. Clearly his injury has effected him and it's hoped that he is close to being the player that he was coming out of HS.

Ajou is at best a D2 player.

I think the injury does factor into why Anderson is not good.

He may start, but that does not mean he is good or will have any impact.

Does it really matter though? This season went right into the shitter when PirateSal told us Gibbs was gone.

 

[SHUMike]

For the record, I said that Gibbs was going to UCONN the day after the Big East Tournament. I knew it was set in stone then and nobody believed it.

 

[Shuathelete]

Dan i think you lose credibility for saying any of our players are excellent defenders. How can you say that?

 

[hall_fan]

I think the injury does factor into why Anderson is not good.

He may start, but that does not mean he is good or will have any impact.

Does it really matter though? This season went right into the shitter when PirateSal told us Gibbs was gone.

By the way, not that it matters but Anderson will start at the 5 with Angel at the 4, Although both listed at 6'9", when Anderson came to campus I saw him and his is noticeably bigger than Angel. He is a legitimate 6-9 , 6-10 and is built. After seeing him I went and saw his highlight film, and if he stays healthy he is going to make all of you bite your tongue.

I expect big things from Braeden this year

 

[SnakeTom]

I disagree with most here. I see us with a .500 BE record and a bubble NCAA team. I expect major steps forward from the four sophs - Whitehead Carrington, Delgado & Desi. Gordon will be an important factor off the bench. The health of Nzei could be a key.

TK

 

[Halldan1]

I think the injury does factor into why Anderson is not good.

He may start, but that does not mean he is good or will have any impact.

Does it really matter though? This season went right into the shitter when PirateSal told us Gibbs was gone.

Anyone having doubts re our coach has every right. No one can properly defend what he has done here to date so I don't for a minute begrudge the naysayers.

And the same goes for Anderson. He is an unknown and no one can safely say how well he'll play in his two years at the Hall. It's just speculation on our part.

But c'mon, a poor mans Ajou? That's just over the top.

 

[simone84]

But c'mon, a poor mans Ajou? That's just over the top.

In fairness, I've never seen the kid play. Looking at the statistics paints an ugly picture though.

Ajou was terrible. Based on Anderson's statistics he is slightly worse than Ajou.

I hope he proves me wrong.

 

[HallBall02]

Simone, you can watch YouTube video of both players, Ajou and Anderson, and there is no doubt Anderson will be better than Ajou. You are reaching man!

 

[BasketFan1]

Can I argue that JTIII is a worse coach than Willard? That guy brings in more talent and does less with it than anyone in America. Why anyone would want to play for him (aside from his lineage) is beyond me.

Oh I can't let this one go. Coach Thompson is an excellent Coach and his players love him. He has a much better record than Wiilard. His players get along and there is no locker room problem. There are major differences between Thompson and Willard. One important one is Thompson truly cares about his players and helps them in every way he can. Willard doesn't care and that is why he has problems on a personal level with his players. Thompson is basketball smart and people smart. He knows how to develop players to their full potential both on and off the court.
Why would you say something negative about any coach on this thread? You response has nothing to do with the original question.

 

[Shuathelete]

Unknown? This kid never played a minute of college ball?

 

[shupat08]

Simone... So Anderson's #'s at Fresno are worse than Ajou's #'s at Northwestern?

 

[simone84]

Go on KenPom and have a look. He was worse than Ajou last year.

I hate to rain on everyone's parade here, but he's not good. I don't care who recruited him out of high school.

This staff told us Tommy Maayan was good too. Statistically he was one of the worst point guards of all time.

 

[statenman]

He had a very serious injury that doesn't heal overnight. He will always have issues from it and will most likely need additional surgeries in the future due to disc and joint degeneration in the area above and below the injury.
It is possible that his numbers last year were caused by the injury ir lack of preparation during the offseason from the injury. And it us also possible that he is recovered enough this summer to practice and play this season at 100% without much pain.
I hope that the staff did their due diligence to predict what kind of player we are getting.

 

[HALL85]

Anderson is a dice roll. He obviously had talent to be recruited by Kansas but we're talking about a serious injury and being able to play D1 ball. Temper expectations.

 

[mjs428]

Biggest Question Marks

Willard relies on the 3 ball. We don't have many shooters besides IW.

IW is not your typical pg. Way too many turnovers. I'd say they would cut down but he will be the primary ball handler & plays careless at times.

Who emerges at the PF? I'm not convinced Anderson is the answer. Not much talent.

Desi didn't play the 3 at all last year. He is expected to be the starting SF. Does he need a lot of time to adjust. Willard missed the ball big time last year with this.

Not enough talent, no shooters, no pg, 1 good big, & bad coaching are the reasons I would say no. I have SH finishing 6th & that's only hoping they can't be as bad as they were last year.

 

[Flnj86]

We will better a better team this year, better perimeter defenders, better interior defenders and rebounders, and players that will finish on the inside- both guards and interior players, more quality depth. Looking forward to this season!!

 

[Vegas pj]

Would I love to see at least a .500 season in the BE or season for that matter? Obviously, yes. Will it happen? Obviously, nope. History repeats itself and a second half of the season collapse will rear it's ugly head. The shining moments, as CBS touts during the NCAA finals, have gone to other schools. I will treasure their reactions especially the BE tourney W 2 years ago.

 

[Pirate64]

We won't be good even with John Wooden as the coach.

There are just not enough very good players. And just because guys become sophomores doesn't mean they will improve.

There are many SHU players who never got better while they were here.

Long season ahead. And then we clean up the wreckage. Again.

 

[hallgrad80]

In trying to assess this team and what it's conference record will be this coming season I can't help but keep coming back to the issue of why we continue to have so many unanswered questions in year 6 of a coach's tenure. We still aren't sure if we have a legitimate pg on this team, we don't know who will step up , if anyone, to help Angel up front. Other then Gordon , we have no idea what we'll get from Singh, Carter, Anderson , Soffer or Nzei , which make up 42% of the 12 players eligible as Thomas has to sit out a year. That leaves you with a core 4 ( sorry Yankees) that will have to carry the load and remember they're just sophomores and any injury to any of them would impact us severely.

If you add in the uncertainty about team chemistry, coaching , whether we can improve in critical area's like defense, especially on the interior, foul shooting , rebounding and how last year's class have improved its difficult for me to see us as a 500% team in conference.

 

[Halldan1]

Staying on the defensive theme I noted above.

Off the bench, Ish, Nzei and especially Gordon are very good defender. Their offense is probably going to be inconsistent so for them to earn quality minutes, or in Gordon's case major minutes they will have to get it done when the opponent has the rock.

 

[Shuathelete]

Dan, you have seen enough of Ish and Nzei to qualify them as very good defenders? Or are you saying that because their defense is good when compared to their offense?

 

[HallB]

John Thompson III at Georgetown: Total record: 249–115 (.684) Big East Record: 119–68 (.636)
Career Record: 317–157 (.669)...you really want to compare him to Willard???

Obviously, the record is far superior, and maybe not a "worse" coach than Willard, but I would argue his talent is far superior to Willard's, and they don't ever seem to score more than 68 points a game, and never make a run in the NCAA. Why doesn't he get criticized more for this type of performance?

 

[HallB]

Anderson was the worst player on a horrible Fresno State team.

I think he'll be a poor mans Cheir Ajou.

I mean, he only suffered a serious neck injury in a bad car accident. It probably wouldn't take a year or so to get over that injury or anything??? I'm not saying he is going to be great, but Kansas did recruit him for a reason, and anyone who has a neck injury will tell you, it takes a long time to recover, both physically and mentally. Let's have a half full glass on this one.

Edit: I just realized Dan said pretty much the same thing, so I agree with Dan.

 

[Halldan1]

Dan, you have seen enough of Ish and Nzei to qualify them as very good defenders? Or are you saying that because their defense is good when compared to their offense?

Seen both play and have spoken to HS, AAU and college coaches re their games.

Universal opinion is that each is athletic and a good defender. And both need to add strength and improve their skill set on the other side of the court.

IMO Nzei has the higher ceiling.

 

[Hoya1987]

Obviously, the record is far superior, and maybe not a "worse" coach than Willard, but I would argue his talent is far superior to Willard's, and they don't ever seem to score more than 68 points a game, and never make a run in the NCAA. Why doesn't he get criticized more for this type of performance?

JT3 has averaged over 68 pts/game in 8 out of his 11 seasons. The most common avg pts for a Hoyas team is 71 3 times including the last 2 years.

I'll take my Final 4, Sweet 16, 3 BE regular season championships and 1 BET champioship. Of course we want more deep runs in the tournament, and they're coming just watch and see, but JT3's record is tied with Jay Wright's as by far the best in the league.

 

[Seton75]

For the record, I said that Gibbs was going to UCONN the day after the Big East Tournament. I knew it was set in stone then and nobody believed it.

Who didn't believe it? Sal said how he went to the girls game to visit UConn re his transfer. Not surprising to me, though I thought he may prefer to play in a better league.

 

[HallB]

JT3 has averaged over 68 pts/game in 8 out of his 11 seasons. The most common avg pts for a Hoyas team is 71 3 times including the last 2 years.

I'll take my Final 4, Sweet 16, 3 BE regular season championships and 1 BET champioship. Of course we want more deep runs in the tournament, and they're coming just watch and see, but JT3's record is tied with Jay Wright's as by far the best in the league.

I would too Hoya, but it's got to be frustrating to watch his teams that clearly have a lot of talent and athleticism, and constantly play so slow and conservative.

 

[Piratz]

There's no comparison between JTIII and Willard. None. C'mon. You may think JTIII's teams have disappointed and lately they have in the NCAA's for sure, but c'mon...

Thompson III is 249-115 at Georgetown. That's a .684 winning percentage. He's 119-68 in the Big East as well, .636. He's gotten them to the NCAA Tournament 8 times in 11 seasons, and made the Final Four in 2007. He won the Big East Tournament in 2007 and the Big East Regular Season title 3 times.

 

[Seton75]

There's no comparison between JTIII and Willard. None. C'mon. You may think JTIII's teams have disappointed and lately they have in the NCAA's for sure, but c'mon...

Thompson III is 249-115 at Georgetown. That's a .684 winning percentage. He's 119-68 in the Big East as well, .636. He's gotten them to the NCAA Tournament 8 times in 11 seasons, and made the Final Four in 2007. He won the Big East Tournament in 2007 and the Big East Regular Season title 3 times.

Any comparison to KW is ridiculous. But his style does keep them back imo. The tight reins make it easier for lesser talent to beat them, like shortening the shot clock makes it harder for the better team to get upset. But I will take JTIII, yes please.....

 

[hallball]

Sometimes there is addition by subtraction. Regardless of the reason, the team last year did not often play as a team. It appeared that far too often players were looking to get theirs. Gibbs was guilty on this among others. Mobley while easy to root for played passively. Haralds (another of my favorites) went from starter to DNP to regular. He too seemed not to fit in. They as a group rarely seemed to be on the same page. There is an old adage about 5 pedestrian players playing for each other as a team will beat 5 stars playing for them selves. When the frosh were together, on the other hand, they seemed to play for each other. I would expect significant growth from frosh to soph year for each of them. They are aware and now experienced.

The diatribe about coaching is misplaced. Everyone has different opinions but almost all are not rooted in fact. It is like the parents of high school kids who rant about coaches but have no idea their kid does in practice. The beauty of a forum like this is that everyone gets to vent and express opinions but how many really can coach. how many have rose colored glasses on? I love the Hall. I have been following them since the late 70s. But the reality is that our University can never compete with the resources and image of certain programs. To hope that we can compete in the attraction of high profile recruits on a regular basis is simply pie in the sky. But the beauty of colelge basketball is that every now and then, a group of kids comes together and special things happen. They play for each other and the name on the front of the jersey. The current culture in youth basketball does not promote that selflessness. Look at the transfer rates. Too many are in it for themselves.

I like this group. I think they can do good things. they play for each other. Let's see if the new kids are complementary pieces to the puzzle.

Minor rant over.

 

[Piratz]

Sometimes there is addition by subtraction. Regardless of the reason, the team last year did not often play as a team. It appeared that far too often players were looking to get theirs. Gibbs was guilty on this among others. Mobley while easy to root for played passively. Haralds (another of my favorites) went from starter to DNP to regular. He too seemed not to fit in. They as a group rarely seemed to be on the same page. There is an old adage about 5 pedestrian players playing for each other as a team will beat 5 stars playing for them selves. When the frosh were together, on the other hand, they seemed to play for each other. I would expect significant growth from frosh to soph year for each of them. They are aware and now experienced.

But the beauty of colelge basketball is that every now and then, a group of kids comes together and special things happen. They play for each other and the name on the front of the jersey. The current culture in youth basketball does not promote that selflessness. Look at the transfer rates. Too many are in it for themselves.

I like this group. I think they can do good things. they play for each other. Let's see if the new kids are complementary pieces to the puzzle.

Minor rant over.

Things did seem to go downhill after Mobley went public with some comments, if I recall correctly. But the coach couldn't corral it. I'm not convinced on this group though. I didn't see it at the end of last year when we were going 1-9 or the blantant give-up at MSG. I did see it early in the season; at the Paradise Jam, at home to open the BE... Those were kids fighting for each other.

That said, the general point is one that should give us some hope. Every team is different. One of the best examples of this was Orr's teams in 2004-05 and 2005-06. The 2004-05 team was loaded in the sense that they returned 4 top players (Whitney, Allen, Sweet, and Morris) from an 2nd Round NCAA team, and welcomed in Orr's best recruiting class at SHU (Nutter, Laing, Cerasoli, Cousin). But they tanked for a variety of reasons. They went 4-12 in the BE after consecutive 10-6 seasons.

The following year's team saw an exodus of those highly-talented players and was picked to finish 15th of 16 in the BE They got to the NCAA Tournament.

 

[HALL85]

Sometimes there is addition by subtraction. Regardless of the reason, the team last year did not often play as a team. It appeared that far too often players were looking to get theirs. Gibbs was guilty on this among others. Mobley while easy to root for played passively. Haralds (another of my favorites) went from starter to DNP to regular. He too seemed not to fit in. They as a group rarely seemed to be on the same page. There is an old adage about 5 pedestrian players playing for each other as a team will beat 5 stars playing for them selves. When the frosh were together, on the other hand, they seemed to play for each other. I would expect significant growth from frosh to soph year for each of them. They are aware and now experienced.

The diatribe about coaching is misplaced. Everyone has different opinions but almost all are not rooted in fact. It is like the parents of high school kids who rant about coaches but have no idea their kid does in practice. The beauty of a forum like this is that everyone gets to vent and express opinions but how many really can coach. how many have rose colored glasses on? I love the Hall. I have been following them since the late 70s. But the reality is that our University can never compete with the resources and image of certain programs. To hope that we can compete in the attraction of high profile recruits on a regular basis is simply pie in the sky. But the beauty of colelge basketball is that every now and then, a group of kids comes together and special things happen. They play for each other and the name on the front of the jersey. The current culture in youth basketball does not promote that selflessness. Look at the transfer rates. Too many are in it for themselves.

I like this group. I think they can do good things. they play for each other. Let's see if the new kids are complementary pieces to the puzzle.

Minor rant over.

What's to say the core four alienate the rest of the team since 80% of the offense goes through them. If they're only looking for each other there will be more locker room issues especially since Kevin is clueless as to managing them.