Coach Mullin's Second Season Brings Hope for Improvement and Reasons for Optimism

              When Chris Mullin was asked at media day what to expect in this his second season as the school's head coach he had several answers. He was quick to point out that the talent level and depth were better. And after two recruiting cycles; one where they moved swiftly and found some good talent and another which included a consensus top 40 high school prospect and a top 5 juco player both with New York roots. But his most simple and direct response came when he said that this season was "a debut for everybody".

    It's easy to understand why Coach Mullin and the players would be eager to turn the page from last year's 8-24 season. While several of the young players they recruited in the immediate aftermath of Mullin's hiring demonstrated that they could help the team progress they simply did not have enough numbers and talent to survive in a new Big East conference that remains intensely competitive and produced a national champion, Villanova, in just its third year of existence. Those players, including all Big East freshman selection Kassoum Yakwe and a pair of talented perimeter players in Malik Ellison and Federico Mussini have helped provide a welcoming environment for the newcomers.  "We have a bunch of gym rats who love the game," Mullin said. "It's fun being around guys who just had a two hour practice and after they're just shooting and hanging around the gym."

   Five newcomers will be seeing their first  action for St. John's this season but thanks in part to that "gym rat" mentality there's no division between newcomers and returnees. "The biggest advantage is that the guys who returned know what we want done in our system," Mullin said. But everyone connected to the program acknowledges that the wide recruiting net cast by the coaching staff has upgraded the talent level in the program. "Practices have been much better, more competitive," Ellison said. "Everyone has bought in to what coach wants and is trying to build."

              The aforementioned wide recruiting net brought home a pair of New Yorkers who both helped their teams to championships last season. Shamorie Ponds the consensus top 40 recruit helped Thomas Jefferson to both city PSAL and State Federation titles. Bashir Ahmed, a 6'7" Bronx native who began his career at JFK high returns home after leading Hutchinson Junior College to a national title and earning juco All-American honors in each both of his seasons there. Both local stars bring lots of scoring potential to St. John's and that makes another freshman Marcus LoVett perhaps the most important of the newcomers. The Indiana native who sat out last year due to NCAA freshman eligibility rules brings a playmaking dimension to a recruiting class that primarily addressed  the team's shooting struggles . "He's really meticulous in his preparation and unselfish," Mullin said of LoVett. "He's had some big scoring nights in high school but I think he likes to pass more and get his teammates involved." It's worth noting that Ellison, who was at times asked to play the point last year echoed those thoughts and sees LoVett's arrival creating chances for the other guards to play off the ball and look to score. "He creates a lot, and I think I can be more of a scorer."

   The Red Storm also added some international flavor to the recruiting class in Richard Freudenberg who a native of Germany who adds length, shooting ability and another spoken language to a team that already speaks six of them. The hope is that his shooting ability from the power forward spot will help space the floor and add  to a frontcourt that includes Ahmed, a junior and Yakwe, along with fellow sophs Yankuba Sima and Tariq Owens. The trio of second year players add length and shot blocking  but the team's perimeter defense  must improve to  take full advantage of their ability to protect the rim. If they can combine that with improved offense they will surely be improved and competitive against a tough non-conference schedule and in league play.

              Year two of the Coach Mullin era brings with it a deeper and more talented roster and a group that's eager to work together towards improvement and success.  Time and patience will still be needed as the building process of the team and the program continues  but progress has been made that should show itself  on the court this season.

Hoyas Find Right Fit at Point Guard with Local Star Waters

              With a little less than a month to go before young players can sign early letters of intent for Men's basketball, verbal commitments are coming in quickly and a summer's worth of speculation and conversation in internet chat rooms devoted to college basketball will change as fans begin to sort out recruiting fact from fiction.

              Much of the cyber chatter has, no doubt, centered on where the most highly ranked prospects will go and who will end up at Kentucky and Duke, the two teams  that have used the "one and done" rule to greatest advantage. At this time of year it's also worth noting that some of the best work done on the recruiting trail happens when a coaching staff succeeds in landing a player who's not only talented but fits the roster perfectly; a player who not only adds to the team's strengths but could well help them address aspects of play that need improvement.

              With the announcement today of Tremont Waters' commitment to Georgetown, JTIII and the Hoyas may well have found just such a player. The speedy point man who will play this season at Notre Dame High School in West Haven Ct. is, at 5'11", a guard who combines the scoring ability of a new aged point guard with the playmaking and game management ability of an old school floor general.

              He sees the floor extremely well, is a more than willing passer, and a creative scorer who can make shots both off the catch and off the dribble. But more than his individual talents, it's what he can add to a talented team that makes this such a good fit between program and recruit. Georgetown has had as talented and deep a roster as any since the current Big East began three years ago. And talented players such as New York center Jessie Govan, explosive wing L.J. Peak and all purpose power forward Marcus Derrickson all  figure to be back when he arrives next season. That's plenty of scoring punch but the Hoyas under JTIII have been a team that tries to generate offense from a system that uses motion and passing that the coach learned at Princeton under Pete Carill. At times, especially in tournament play, the Hoyas have struggled to make plays when the offense breaks down and at the end of the shot clock.

  As much or more than any guard the Hoyas have brought in recently, Waters could give them both the ability to score within the offense with his shooting  and the ability score at the end of the shot clock with his ability to use the dribble to make plays for himself and his teammates. It's always difficult to ask a young player to assume a leadership role so time and patience will be needed to make this work. But with the system and talent  in place at G-town, Waters could be just the kind of player they need for a return to tournament success. He's simply a tough and talented kid who we think has found just the right fit.