St. John's Game Thread

[TrueBlueJay]

We gotta give Ashworth more time off the ball. Asking way too much of him with zero breaks.

I’d love to hear your suggestions on making this happen.

You’re misinterpreting my statement as a critique. But obviously it would involve more Jamiya and Fedor on the ball. Which neither are pure point guards.

Didn’t really think it to be critical, but am genuinely interested in what people think the answer is. I for one don’t think Jamal at PG is very sustainable and not sure Zugic is the right answer either. I suppose for brief stretches it might not be awful. But I agree with the poster that said it could have cost the game last night. Afraid too many of our winnable games will come down to one or two possessions.

[Realhoops]

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Last edited by Realhoops on Wed Jan 01, 2025 6:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[JayPak]

We gotta give Ashworth more time off the ball. Asking way too much of him with zero breaks.

I’d love to hear your suggestions on making this happen.

You’re misinterpreting my statement as a critique. But obviously it would involve more Jamiya and Fedor on the ball. Which neither are pure point guards.

So how about more Ty Davis?
I agree that Ashworth needs more time off the ball.

[#RollJays]

I don’t think Ty is ready for a role in games vs a top 3-4 big east team just yet. We do probably need to buy a minute or 2 with him though and just deal with it.

[SeattleJay]

I don’t think Ty is ready for a role in games vs a top 3-4 big east team just yet. We do probably need to buy a minute or 2 with him though and just deal with it.

It was interesting that Mac went to Thomas when Ashworth went down rather than Davis.

[JacobPadilla]

I totally concur with that. Throw his butt out there and have him start swimming.

Now, on the other hand…that might have cost us the game yesterday.

I might be thinking too far into it but I’m wondering if there’s not a level of planning going on here for next season. The less Fedor does this year the more it ensures he will need another year to show he has NBA stuff.

Even with Ryan we aren’t doing anything of note this season; I have to wonder if Mac says, if I can have Jackson/Fedor/Pop next season I’m off to a strong start, let’s make that happen.

I just don’t see this team winning more than one Tourney game, even with Fedor.

There's no conspiracy going on here, guys. It's just about what Fedor is ready to do, from both a conditioning and knowledge standpoint. Creighton doesn't just roll the ball out and play. Playing for Mac is a lot more complicated on both ends of the floor than many people might think.

Here was Mac on Fedor after the game if you didn't hear it: “I thought he looked like a deer in the headlights the first time he played, and I thought today he just played basketball. He still has a long way to get acclimated into what we’re doing, the timing and the spacing, and what needs to happen defensively when you’re guarding a shooter versus a non-shooter. There’s a lot he has to still learn, and he’s going to get better at that as time goes on.”

He clearly has skills the team can use. His playing time will continue to rise as he becomes more and more comfortable. The week off after the Marquette trip will be big, especially without a holiday break to work around.

[jays911]

Jacob, I am a fan, but certainly no expert on hoops. Can you explain the many minutes Miller got in the second half? I understand he doesn’t make many mistakes, but he brings no offense of late. Thanks in advance.

[JacobPadilla]

Jacob, I am a fan, but certainly no expert on hoops. Can you explain the many minutes Miller got in the second half? I understand he doesn’t make many mistakes, but he brings no offense of late. Thanks in advance.

Haven't rewatched the game to this point but Mac said they were guarding him tight on the perimeter which created more space for Kalkbrenner to work inside. Whatever happened while he was on the court, it worked, because they won his minutes by 14 in a one-point win.

[SonofFrankTomera]

I totally concur with that. Throw his butt out there and have him start swimming.

Now, on the other hand…that might have cost us the game yesterday.

I might be thinking too far into it but I’m wondering if there’s not a level of planning going on here for next season. The less Fedor does this year the more it ensures he will need another year to show he has NBA stuff.

Even with Ryan we aren’t doing anything of note this season; I have to wonder if Mac says, if I can have Jackson/Fedor/Pop next season I’m off to a strong start, let’s make that happen.

I just don’t see this team winning more than one Tourney game, even with Fedor.

There's no conspiracy going on here, guys. It's just about what Fedor is ready to do, from both a conditioning and knowledge standpoint. Creighton doesn't just roll the ball out and play. Playing for Mac is a lot more complicated on both ends of the floor than many people might think.

Here was Mac on Fedor after the game if you didn't hear it: “I thought he looked like a deer in the headlights the first time he played, and I thought today he just played basketball. He still has a long way to get acclimated into what we’re doing, the timing and the spacing, and what needs to happen defensively when you’re guarding a shooter versus a non-shooter. There’s a lot he has to still learn, and he’s going to get better at that as time goes on.”

He clearly has skills the team can use. His playing time will continue to rise as he becomes more and more comfortable. The week off after the Marquette trip will be big, especially without a holiday break to work around.

He’s been playing professionally for 5 years and he’s been in Omaha over 4 months. Doesn’t the coaching staff deserve some criticism on his lack of readiness?

[TXJaysFan]

I totally concur with that. Throw his butt out there and have him start swimming.

Now, on the other hand…that might have cost us the game yesterday.

I might be thinking too far into it but I’m wondering if there’s not a level of planning going on here for next season. The less Fedor does this year the more it ensures he will need another year to show he has NBA stuff.

Even with Ryan we aren’t doing anything of note this season; I have to wonder if Mac says, if I can have Jackson/Fedor/Pop next season I’m off to a strong start, let’s make that happen.

I just don’t see this team winning more than one Tourney game, even with Fedor.

There's no conspiracy going on here, guys. It's just about what Fedor is ready to do, from both a conditioning and knowledge standpoint. Creighton doesn't just roll the ball out and play. Playing for Mac is a lot more complicated on both ends of the floor than many people might think.

Here was Mac on Fedor after the game if you didn't hear it: “I thought he looked like a deer in the headlights the first time he played, and I thought today he just played basketball. He still has a long way to get acclimated into what we’re doing, the timing and the spacing, and what needs to happen defensively when you’re guarding a shooter versus a non-shooter. There’s a lot he has to still learn, and he’s going to get better at that as time goes on.”

He clearly has skills the team can use. His playing time will continue to rise as he becomes more and more comfortable. The week off after the Marquette trip will be big, especially without a holiday break to work around.

He’s been playing professionally for 5 years and he’s been in Omaha over 4 months. Doesn’t the coaching staff deserve some criticism on his lack of readiness?

The biggest problem is all the message board coaches that thought he could come in and score 20 per game right away. That was never feasible - even if the coaches had practiced with him as if he would be eligible (which, I imagine, would be hard because you can't gameplan to include a player that likely can't play). And is not something anyone who has watched Mac coach should ever have reasonably expected to happen.

For reference, Zvonimir Ivišić, the Kentucky euro big who was finally declared eligible last year in January, only averaged 5.5 points per game. He had a big debut - 13 points. But only four games in double figures overall. Multiple games without playing any minutes or less than five. His minutes increased down the stretch as he got more acclimated.

Could the coaches have done something differently? Maybe. But this isn't like adding Mahoney or Echenique after the first semester. Both of those additions were planned and they could set themselves up for success. You can't do that if the eligibility date is completely unknown.

Fedor will get better and play a bigger role as the year goes on.

Also, to anyone thinking this is some conspiracy to get him to stay another year ... what are you smoking? I'd like some! Dude isn't going to the NBA at the end of this season unless something insane happens and he has a Kemba Walker like run near the end of year.