Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Struggling Red Storm Drops 5th Straight 79-72

The murmurs from observers and St. John's fans wondering whether or not their team was in trouble no doubt got a bit louder tonight as St. John's lost to MEAC Conference foe Delaware State 79-72 at Carnesecca Arena. The win was the hornets' first over a D-1 team this season and with it they broke a 20 game losing skid against D-1 non conference teams.
              St. John's fans had hoped the team would leave behind the struggles of a winless four game road trip which saw them struggle with defense, shot selection and rebounding. Instead each of those things showed themselves in what was a loss that looked even worse to the eyeballs then it did on paper.
              Delaware State played a half-court game that moved quickly. Third year coach Keith Walker's squad had the patience and poise to seemingly make multiple passes on every possession and seemed to get whatever shot they wanted. Sophomore guard Devin Morgan led three double figure scorers with  26 points for the Hornets their offense produced 53% from 3 point distance and 58% from the floor overall..
              And for St. John's the shooting  numbers were dismal,38% overall and 32 from 3, and while the red storm did out rebound the Hornets, the contrast in the way the teams played can't be grasped simply by looking at numbers. One team's passing was crisp, the other's was not, one team's defensive rotations were solid while the other gave away at least two baskets on plays where two defenders rotated to block a shot while none "stayed home" for the rebound. And perhaps most significantly one team knew how to play down the stretch and the other did not.
              Delaware State's largest margin of 15 points came on a triple by Morgan midway through the second half. From there St. John's rallied primarily behind Bashir Ahmed who finished with a game high 19 points. They got to within 69-63 on a Shamorie Ponds steal and layup with 3:16 left. There was, unlike much of the game, life in the building and life in the legs of St. John's players. From there both teams traded turnovers and Marcus Lovett forced a tough shot that missed. State finally put the game away when Morgan and DeAndre Hayward each converted steals into layups and put the game away for good. Only time will tell whether St. John's has a  team learning to compete at this level or one with deeper problems. For now though they have their work cut out for themselves simply trying to find their footing and maybe figure out what they do best.






Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Remembering Former Grady Coach Jack RIngel

              One of the best things about following and writing about  high school basketball in New York City  is getting to know the history. Sadly, when a person who was a vital part of that history passes away there's a mix of emotions. While the basketball community here will surely mourn the death of former Grady coach Jack Ringel, the remembrance will also be filled with thoughts of a great era of high school hoops in the 1980's and '90's; an era that Coach Ringel, who died Sunday at the age of 67 in a tragic car accident, played an essential part in making great.
              I'd like to begin my remembrance with a nod toward that history by noting that Coach Ringel was part of one of New York's great but underappreciated coaching trees; the one that starts with the late NYU point guard Mark Reiner, who coached powerhouses at  Canarsie High and Lincoln . Many of  his lieutenants became prominent  high school coaches including Bobby Hartstein at Lincoln, Ted Gustus who coached at Nazareth and Bishop Loughlin and of course Ringel, who served a year as Hartstein's top assistant at  Lincoln before moving to the opposite side of  Ocean Parkway to what was then Grady Vocational and Technical High School.
              He faced what seemed to be a daunting task building a program in the shadow of Lincoln where Hartstein and his charges had become the dominant PSAL program of the 80's. And the fact is that he was in his ninth season when he won the first of three city title 1990. But perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the job he did building the program is that once he laid the foundation and built success at Grady, it did not represent a takedown of Lincoln.  The Falcons simply rose to the level of the Railsplitters and in doing so created the PSAL's signature rivalry. Hartstein and Ringel remained good friends but competed fiercely and the twice yearly regular season meetings between the schools were always played  before packed houses as the two teams competed for supremacy in what was then known as Brooklyn Division I (aka the "Black and Blue" division a high school hoops version of the old NFC central)  Both schools achieved consistent regional  prominence and competed for national recognition that was typically reserved for the city's Catholic powers such as Tolentine,  Rice, Molloy and Christ the King. The fact that both Grady and Lincoln enjoyed such success is not only a tribute to two fantastic coaches in Hartstein and Ringel, but it speaks to the depth of talent there was  in Coney Island and Brighton Beach, the  communities served by the two schools. In those days there was more than enough talent to go around and both coaches did a great job developing kids and getting them ready for college
    As college players, Ringel's  guys were typically undersized regardless of the position they played and unwaveringly tough both physically and mentally.  The list of players Ringel made ready for division one programs includes but is not limited to the following players: Maurice Brown & Tyrone Grant (St. John's) Woody Souffrant, Roberto GIttens and Norman Richardson (Hofstra)  Quincy Douby  and Jamal Phillips   (Rutgers) Eric Leslie (Rhode Island)  and Efrem Whitehead (Duquesne). Two of them, Richardson  and Douby played in the NBA and Douby was a first round  draft  pick. Ringel's legacy includes over 450 wins in 24 seasons at Grady, three city titles and one New York State Federation title.  It also includes the impact his passion and advocacy had on the players  who were part of a lifetime of service to kids in New York City.
     At 67 Jack Ringel left us way too soon and sadly leaves behind a young son who plays soccer and of  course basketball. Here in New York he'll be remembered as a force of nature who made the kids and school he worked for better. His life was cut short but it was extraordinarily well lived. Rest in peace my friend you will be missed.




Tuesday, November 1, 2016

St. John's Handles Baruch in Exhibition Opener

    As dress rehearsals go, last night was about as good as it gets for St. John's.  They handled Baruch College 99-49 in an exhibition win that stood in direct contrast to Chris Mullin's debut just about a year ago. In that game  St. Thomas Aquinas college beat an undermanned  and inexperienced St. John's team handily.  This year, with 5 new faces and a group of returnees that were  eager to bring about a different outcome, they made quick work of the Bearcats.
     The Red Storm did have a jittery first few minutes as they missed their first six field goal tries but that proved to be their only detour on the way to an easy win. In those moments they appeared to be looking to quickly  for the three point shot and began to play better once the ball went inside. Juco scoring ace and Bronx native Bashir Ahmed got the offense going with a quick post up for a basket and it seemed like St. John's relaxed after that. Ahmed scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half  as he and 3 other newcomers joined  returning sophomore  Federico Mussini in double figures for St. John's Mussini finished with a game high 21 points.  Guards Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds added 14 and 12 respectively and  forward Richard Freudenberg had 12. Each of the young players filled the other columns on the stat sheet. LoVett had a team high 5 assists  while Ponds had  a team high 5 steals.
              Perhaps more than the numbers and certainly more than the game's result, last night was important because it gave the coaches, fans and the players themselves a chance to see how the team would function with all the new faces.  There were plenty of good signs as Coach Mullin experimented with lots of different combinations thanks to options that simply were not there for him in his rookie season. "I liked our effort and I liked the way we shared the ball," Mullin said of his team's play. And with respect to the different combinations many fans had been looking forward to seeing he mentioned that LoVett and Ponds played well together both offensively and defensively.  I would hasten to add that the presence of those two was a big help to Mussini and may continue to improve his production all season. With the ball handling and playmaking duties now well shared by 3 fine guards Mussini had fresh legs and his shooting remained sharp from the game's start to its finish. LoVett and Ponds both played  much better in the second half. Ponds made his impact defensively while LoVett flashed some of the playmaking abilities the team will need from him once the opposition gets tougher. His best moment came in the second half when he drove and found center Yankuba  Sima with a pretty no-look dime.
              Mullin also put  Ahmed and Fruedenberg together with great efficacy. "We like them together because they have different  skills," Mullin said of the two forwards. "We see Richard as more of a spacer and shooter and Bashir as more of an attack the basket guy." They combined on one play that saw Fruedberg throw a perfect diagonal pass to Ahmed on the wing with which Ahmed smartly drove to the basket and scored.  All in all this was an impressive dress rehearsal for both coach and players alike.
Off the court news and notes: Sophomore swingman Malik Ellison sat out the game with an elbow injury but  will reportedly play Saturday in a closed scrimmage vs. pre-season top 25 URI. Top 2018 recruit and Archbishop Molloy 7'1" center Moses Brown was at the game. The game was a basketball family  affair for Mullin since Baruch is coached by long time friend John Alesi. John is of course the son of  former Xaverian coach Jack Alesi who was an assistant there when Chris led the Clippers to a state title in 1981. Jack was also Mullin's first coach in the CYO program at St. Thomas Aquinas Parrish in Brooklyn's Flatlands section