Wrapping up St. John'sNew York -- How about that Trevor Mbakwe?
Aside from the stumble down the stretch exhibited by MU, that was the story of the game on Wednesday from this vantage point.
Playing in just his second game, Mbakwe put up five points and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds in just 14 minutes' action. He very easily could have finished in double-figure scoring had he knocked down one more shot and all his free throws. As it was he went 2 for 3 from the floor and 1 for 5 from the line.
But that's all stuff that can be improved upon. What was really important was how aggressively and confidently Mbakwe played, doing exactly the things coach Tom Crean wants him to do -- and probably will give him even more opportunity to do -- on a regular basis.
He made his mark during a two-minute burst in the second half.
Shortly after coming in, Mbakwe scored his first points for the Golden Eagles on a layup and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but got back quickly on defense and after St. John's inbounded the ball, Mbakwe used his length while playing the passing lane perfectly and forced a turnover.
MU didn't convert on that possession, but Mbakwe got the ball back for the Golden Eagles by again foiling the Red Storm offense, this time by standing in and taking a charge on another talented freshman, Justin Burrell. The play prompted Burrell to tell Mbakwe, 'Nice acting,' on the way downcourt, and plenty of pats on the back from his Golden Eagles teammates.
Mbakwe then answered Burrell by scoring on a putback, forcing St. John's to call a time out.
After the Red Storm's Malik Boothe missed a shot, Mbakwe was there for the defensive rebound, then got to the free-throw line again on the other end, making 1 of 2.
He wound up coming out about 1 1/2 minutes later for a blow, but clearly he had already made his presence felt both with the opposition as well as his teammates.
"He was big for us," said Jerel McNeal, who had arguably his best game in Big East play this season with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
"He came out and got a ton of offensive rebounds, easy putbacks and things. He would've come out with about 10 points if he'd have hit some of those free throws. But he's working on that, and he'll pick that part of his game up. He was a huge part of this win tonight and I think he played real well."
Mbakwe's performance also seemed to draw some big reactions from his teammates, all of whom felt for him both while he was going through his battle with the NCAA Clearinghouse in the fall as well as his rehabilitation in coming back from his Nov. 9 knee surgery.
"I'm just proud of him," McNeal said. "It's a credit to him, how hard he's worked. He's been through a lot. Coming in your freshman year, getting hurt like that and having to sit out, not having a negative attitude...I'm proud of him as a teammate and a friend, and I'm happy to see that he's out there with us again, and he's going to help us win games."
-- Much like Ousmane Barro, it seems as though when Lazar Hayward gets a couple of early fouls on him it really affects his game.
He picked up a couple quickies against Pittsburgh last Friday and finished with just five points and three rebounds. The same thing happened against St. John's, and he wound up finishing with six points and four rebounds.
He also missed all 3 three-pointers he attempted, marking just the third time in 14 Big East games he's failed to connect from beyond the arc.
-- Speaking of Barro, he too battled foul trouble and had just six points and three rebounds before checking out for good with his fifth late in the second half.
-- Dominic James was 9 for 9 from the free-throw line, the first time he's been perfect while attempting that many at MU.
-- Wesley Matthews attempted just four shots. He hasn't gotten into double figures since Jan. 26 against DePaul.
-- Dwight Burke, a Brooklyn native, had a tough game in front of his people, managing three fouls an a turnover in five minutes of action.
Crean even got freshman Pat Hazel, a Queens native, into the game in the final minutes, playing offense-defense with Dan Fitzgerald.
"I'm disappointed that being back home here, we couldn't get Pat Hazel more minutes and we couldn't get Dwight Burke more minutes," said Crean. "We were certainly on the road to being able to do that. That's just a personal thing, with them being from here. But we played the guys that were keeping us where we needed to be in the game."
David Cubillan, who went to prep school just across the river at St. Benedict's in Newark, played 24 minutes and had three points, two assists and two steals.
-- Dan Fitzgerald was highly productive in 19 minutes, finishing with five points, one rebound, one steal and one charge taken. His playing time is on its way back up after he got 21 minutes against Pittsburgh.
Fitzgerald also hit 1 of 2 three-pointers, leaving him at 50% all-time at Madison Square Garden. He was 9 for 18 coming into Wednesday in three previous games there: 1 for 2 against Georgetown in the 2005-'06 Big East Tournament, then 4 for 8 against both St. John's and Pittsburgh in last season's Big East Tournament.
-- Crean went out of his way to praise Anthony Mason Jr. afterward, and rightfully so. He scored a game-high 20 points, and spent a little time in the pre-game chatting with director of basketball operations Jason Rabedeaux, who recruited Mason for MU a few years ago when he was in his assistant-coaching role.
Freshman forward Justin Burrell looks to be a very talented player as well, although there are already rumblings he's looking to transfer after the dismal year St. John's has had and with the rumors that coach Norm Roberts could be on his way out.
-- It's little wonder St. John's is now splitting its home games between Madison Square Garden and Carnesecca Arena, its on-campus facility.
Attendance was announced at 6,413 in 'The World's Most Famous Arena' on Wednesday, and in reality it was probably half that. And those that were there were dead almost all evening; I could hear a number of Crean's discussions from across the court throughout the game.
Even still, it's a great place to watch a game.
-- Former MU legend Dean "The Dream" Meminger was in attendance.
http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/02/20/wrapping-up-st-john-s.aspx
