sju thoughts

[ChicosBailBonds]

27 and 14, including the game's biggest play, at The Garden. Now's the time for the "Henry will be around for 4 years" folks to please chime in again.

I have to imagine that was a folk...did more than one person really say that?

[tower912]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/boxscore/NCAAB_20160309_STJOHN@MARQET

Box score.

[tower912]

He was so far down that it is actually good to see Sandy bring his game up to Juan Anderson levels.

[We R Final Four]

He was so far down that it is actually good to see Sandy bring his game up to Juan Anderson levels.

Sandy no longer looks to shoot.

[g0lden3agle]

Sandy no longer looks to shoot.

I'm fine with the 7 man rotation but am confused as to how Sandy is getting the 7th man gig over Wally.  In their current state it seems like they are pretty interchangeable out there with the exception that Wally has a much higher energy level.

[The Lens]

4 of Luke's fouls were under Marquette's basket.  It's not exactly a defense issue.

Oh and, PLAY WALLY! Good things happen. 

[jesmu84]

I went to bed at halftime, but just saw the highlights and box score.

Wow. Henry with some cojones on that 3.
Wow. If that SJU press (where JJJ got an and-1 at the end) had zero fouls called for Haanif, how were any called in the game?
Wow. JJJ taking a contested lay-up when we were up and less than 30 seconds on the clock. Could have been a Buycks v Louisville situation there.

Survive and advance, I suppose.

[warriorchick]

Ehh I think the best indicator of good coaching is not giving up double digit leads under 10 minutes. That has plagued marquette all year.

Why does this matter if we still end up with the W?  A good coach manages to pull out a win even when the other team has the momentum at the back end of the game

[g0lden3agle]

Why does this matter if we still end up with the W?  A good coach manages to pull out a win even when the other team has the momentum at the back end of the game

Scoop is now the domain expert on things such as the degree of difficulty of a rebound, and the quality of a close win.

[CTWarrior]

Why does this matter if we still end up with the W?  A good coach manages to pull out a win even when the other team has the momentum at the back end of the game

It's kind of a silly argument.  If Henry missed that game saving 3, would that somehow make Wojo a worse coach?  Our players made some dumb decisions and played terrible defense to allow SJU to come back (plus those sons of guns never seemed to miss when they had a good look), but then they nutted up and made big plays at winning time.  Especially since we had no timeouts left at crunch time, I would put most of the credit/blame on the players, not any particular coaching decisions.

If we had lost this game, one thing people aren't mentioning is that Henry wasted our last time out with just under 4 minutes to go by not inbounding the ball when he had at least two good safe pass options that he didn't pull the trigger on.  I'm glad we didn't need that timeout.

[brandx]

I didn't think Gus was cheering for one team over the other.

I did think the officiating was awful.

Agree. Gus doesn't care who wins - he's is always is more animated about the team that is behind, no matter who.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Agree. Gus doesn't care who wins - he's is always is more animated about the team that is behind, no matter who.

Plus SJU was coming back from a 17 point deficit.  For the neutral fan that was exciting.

[BM1090]

Yeah, number 2 was kind of expected. I don't think Gus really likes MU too much. He was really openly cheering for Xavier in that NCAA game when jimmy shut down Holloway. The quietest I've ever heard him. it was like his feelings were hurt that MU was winning.

Haven't read the whole thread yet so sorry if this has been covered...but I don't think Gus dislikes MU at all. He openly cheers for underdogs. He was definitely cheering for MU over Syracuse in the 2nd round that year.

[BM1090]

I'm fine with the 7 man rotation but am confused as to how Sandy is getting the 7th man gig over Wally.  In their current state it seems like they are pretty interchangeable out there with the exception that Wally has a much higher energy level.

Sandy is much more under control on defense. Rarely blows assignments. Good man defender. If he could hit open 3's again he could be a valuable piece. Wally offers more on offense right now and his energy is high but he gets beat on D a lot when he comes in

[Lighthouse 84]

Last night, Du looked like the Du from last year, both with his look and, more importantly, with his game.  He drove, hit the 3, made most of his FTs.

JjJ has become a man on the court throughout this season.  His progression has been remarkable and his shot is not only no longer "cringe worthy", I find myself hoping he takes the 3.  You can't help but notice his 5 steals either.  He definitely needs to play more than 28.

HE is HE.  Huge 3 from the corner to put the Warriors back in the lead.  After the first half, I thought Henry would need to pick it up a bit.  Then he ends up with the line he had.  His game is amazing because I see him getting points and rebounds but at the end of each game I find myself thinking, he had that many? If only HE could stick around one more year.

Need a big game tonight our of Luke.  Somehow, he needs to stay away from the ticky tack BS fouls.  If he does, we have a shot.  But X is to physical to not have Fishy in the game.

[connie]

Plus SJU was coming back from a 17 point deficit.  For the neutral fan that was exciting.

I think you're right.  Horrible for us, but when a team is coming from that far back to take a lead late in the second half I expect the announcer to talk about the great comeback, and the poor play leading to the collapse.

Survive and move on baby.  That's all that matters.

[muwarrior69]

With Henry's great performance Haanif gets overlooked. He had another good game and will probably best our best player next season if Henry goes pro.

[NYWarrior]

With Henry's great performance Haanif gets overlooked. He had another good game and will probably best our best player next season if Henry goes pro.

Haanif's freshman season would be legendary if not for Henry moving the goal posts, so to speak.  He's already a helluva player.

[tower912]

If Haanif stays 4 and MU plays a few postseason games, I expect him to end up with the scoring record. 

[jsglow]

I think you're right.  Horrible for us, but when a team is coming from that far back to take a lead late in the second half I expect the announcer to talk about the great comeback, and the poor play leading to the collapse.

Survive and move on baby.  That's all that matters.

It's funny how it works out that way.  At one point chick was lamenting the missed free throws (2-3 trips we were 50%).  I reminded her that we were shooting an unbelievable 90% for the game.

[NYWarrior]

If Haanif stays 4 and MU plays a few postseason games, I expect him to end up with the scoring record.

Yup ... I mean -- he's shooting 49% from the floor as a freshman guard, sometimes playing out of position as a PG. remarkable

[JakeBarnes]

JJJ needs more than 28 minutes.

Agreed. He really has made a nice jump. unfortunately, his minutes were a bit limited by the fact that he was getting called for fouls when the other guy hand checked him.

[brewcity77]

• Never a doubt yesterday once we built the lead. I'm sure some were worried when the Johnnies went ahead, but there was no way that hot shooting would keep up.
  
• Great MSG debut for Henry. It is absolutely amazing how much he has improved this year. Really turned it around after being rather poor in the first 8 games of conference play.
  
• Officiating was brutal, though honestly, it was worse for St. John's. Every time they looked at us sideways we went to the line. It was equally terrible at the end, but for the first 30 or so minutes, we got pretty much every call.
  
• Anyone looked at the win probability graph on Pomeroy? Pretty sure it's inaccurate, but also hilarious.
  
• Also amazed at JJ's improvement. What a game, 23/5/4 with 5 steals? Last year, I frequently criticized him going for too many steals. This year, he is much better at understanding when to go for a ball. He's not gambling and taking himself out of position in the process, but when there's a ball in the reach of his wingspan, he's probably taking it away. Earlier in the season, he began to let the game come to him, but now he's showing the ability to take over the game. Love watching his development...similar to the massive strides Blue took as a junior (albeit in different ways).
  
• Duane was victimized by numerous phantom fouls, but he was also very good. He's at that "letting the game come to him" point except you know he wants the ball at the end.
  
• Free throws were important, but I have to defend Jay Bee here. The point of free throw percentage not mattering is that if you shoot anywhere over 50%, you are getting better than average offensive production versus what would happen if you were running your offense, and the mounting fouls are the real benefit because they reduce the effectiveness of the opponents while also giving you more chances at dead ball points. Yes, you can note points in individual games and cherry pick stats to increase the apparent value of free throw percentage, but over the course of a full season, the actual wins and losses decided by the difference of a team shooting 75% from the line (above average) or 68% (below average) is pretty marginal.
  
• Last year we kicked SHU's ass in that position, this year we pummel St. John's before flirting with disaster at the end. Really hope today looks better than our matinee follow-up with Nova did a year ago.
  
• 20 wins, hopefully we've done enough for the Vegas 16 if our season ends tonight.
  
• Been a fun season watching these guys grow this year. Henry, JJ, Duane, Haanif, Traci have all shown so much growth. Still need to round out the roster and get some Big East toughness, but Wojo definitely shows promise as a developer of talent.

[MU82]

I have to imagine that was a folk...did more than one person really say that?

Fair enough. Only one dope I know of kept saying that. My statement was more reflecting those who keep thinking Henry shouldn't go because he's "not ready." Even if he isn't "ready," he will be a top-10 pick, so his readiness has little to do with anything. And there's no reason to think he wouldn't become better faster as a pro than as a collegian.

I was one (and you were too, IIRC) who had a hunch Hank would stay for 2 years. Now, I hope but I doubt it.

[Lennys Tap]

Never a doubt down one with 3 minutes left after blowing a 17 point lead and giving up 51 points in less than 17 minutes? I'd kill for your kind of faith.