I believe I remember about 2 years ago when we were up by 16 at half against Villanova. I thought to myself, ok, let's see how long we hold it. By the first TV timeout Villanova was up by 1. What a difference a coach makes. This win was so dominant without Ledlum that I rewatched it after work last night. Tried in vain to explain the significance to my wife. I thought we were a year away. Now I see, at full strength we can compete with everyone. We might be a top three big East team. This is so much fun to watch.
Always love hearing your guys thoughts! I agree with you guys with the chemistry getting better every game and I love seeing the bench having energy. It seems like a family-style team. And trust the process is real. I was skeptical with how he handles guys minutes at first, but now I love it, just let him do his magic. We pay him the big bucks so might as well trust him. His minutes r sometimes sporadic, but it puts pressure on the guys to play 100% everytime they r on the court and it seems like that works. All the minutes r earned. Win or lose, this is turning into a consistent team which we haven’t seen in a long time.
You know, it’s funny, we get soo obsessed with recruiting kids with a lot of stars next to their name and we miss out we always hear “we want good character kids, kids who want to be here. Kids that fit the system.” I think it’s usually a cop-out but with coach P I truly believe in it. He also told us he’d have the boys playing their best basketball in January so I have no reason to not believe him
Another thing. All summer I excitedly followed our progress. Every time we signed someone I watched their video. I watched Dunlap's video n thought this is great. Every time he came in I thought if he just hits 1 three he will explode with confidence. Was so disappointed he played so little. But now. I can see him as 1st team all American in 1 years. Wait till wilcher catches on. We have 3 open scholarships. I can't wait to see whose next.
Totally agree Jamie. In my opinion it’s just a matter of time before Simeon catches on. Coach obviously has an affinity for DJ so it’s been a little tougher for Sim to break through and get mins but the talent is there with both of these freshmen
Jamie, my dude, awesome comments. Pitino always has a plan. The skill development and system is really starting to pay dividends. Recruits often don’t want to play the long game. Brady and hopefully Sim have bought in. He’s started to unlock Dunlap’s potential. Wait until Witcher starts coming around, boy oh boy
A terrific W against Nova, I predicted this outcome in a comment after the Butler win. Like many Big East teams, Nova has serious flaws. St John's greatest strength is its depth and that is what will elevate them in the leagues standings. Now for the negatives: Jenkins taking 17-shots is insane! He is a C- shooter and has no business taking that many shots. He is very good driving to the hoop with either hand---THAT is what he should be doing (not chucking from distance). Pitino needs to remind him that he is the POINT guard NOT the SHOOTING guard! U guys have NO right criticizing/poking fun at Tim Brando. Have u ever listened to one of your own podcasts? U guys act like Pitino's agent. My God, it is nauseating. Pitino has been outcoached in virtually EVERY game this season. He continues to have no flow or continuity to his substitution patterns. I think his grade thus far is a solid C. Hopefully, he picks up his game. I have been writing for 5+ wks that Conway and Dunlap are the team's best shooters. If I can see that from afar, WHY couldn't Pitino? One of those guys must be in the game at all times (barring foul trouble or injury). Watch those 2-guys off the ball, the way they move. They both have exceptional BBall IQs. Jenkins missed Dunlap 3x times yesterday for wide open shots and twice on backdoor lay-ins. These guys deserve serious playing time. It has become apparent that Pitino has finally widdled down his roster. Davis, Ayo and Drissa have become afterthoughts. Sadly, Pitino STILL thinks Jenkins is the second coming of Walt Frazier. Pitino's misuse of Wilcher thus far is going to stab St John's in the heart somewhere down the line. Jenkins is a very flawed player and, as I have written before, I believe he is the 9th or 10th best player on the team. Providence will fall. Keep up the good work (but lay off the Pitino cheerleading---he isn't going to be inviting u over for a summer BBQ ).
Thanks for listening! I’ve been pretty critical of Jenkins at times this season but in my opinion he has really turned a corner in the last 7 or so games limiting his turnovers and starting to take shots more in rhythm of the offense. I agree with you that he still takes multiple head scratching shots every game but it seems like there’s been a concerted effort to get the ball to the rim more often. He’s currently 4th in the BE in assist to turnover ratio which is nothing to sneeze at for a starting PG. I too hope Simeon gets more mins soon as he’s essential for the future. As far as Rick goes, I’d argue he’s out coached the competition in all 4 of our big east games so far.
