Drawing From Experience Young Stanners Pass First Test

Archbishop Molloy 63 Boys & Girls 57: The day's opening tilt at  Baruch featured two of New York's all time traditional powers. With that in mind it's perhaps  ironic that much of the buzz surrounding the game centered on two young players just starting their varsity careers for the Stanners; 6'11" sophomore center Moses Brown and 6' freshman point guard  Cole Anthony.

              The Stanners started slowly thanks to some early hot shooting by Boys & Girls. Early three's by senior guard Gianni Ford and a nice drive by fellow senior Nehemiah Boone gave them a quick early advantage, and while  many were present to see the Stanners' young players it was their upperclassman who helped them gain needed traction early in the ballgame.

              Senior forward Isaac Grant  scored inside to get Molloy started on his way to a game high 22 points while junior forward John Herring provided an early scoring threat from outside. Those two combined with steady play from seniors Justin Cole and Dom Pirolo to keep the Stanners within two points after the first quarter. Once those guys helped their team stay close the two youngsters had a chance to shine and did just that.

              Brown's first contribution came on offense when he converted a layup at the end of Molloy's press offense. But his biggest contribution came on the defensive end. Statistically that meant 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Visually it meant an infinite number of altered shots and an ability to get to rebounds out of his area. Like any player who grows early as he has  he'll need to get stronger to secure more of those rebounds but the nose for the ball is definitely there. And oh by the way his 14 points included a nice turnaround jumper and a pair of free throws.

              Cole Anthony may have had a more difficult challenge than Brown in this game because he and his teammates faced a group of perimeter players from Boys & Girls that was typically tough and physical. While the early good work from his teammates helped settle him down he demonstrated an unusual ability to get to wherever he wanted to go with the ball. And while some in the audience were critical when he kept getting back to his right hand to finish plays, the skill of making the move and getting the shot one wants is a skill that typically takes a player longer to master. And twice he used that skill, once on a pull up jumper and once on a triple to help hold off rallies by the Kangaroos. He not only finished with 14 points and 5 assists but helped Molloy cool off Ford and Boone. They finished with 21 and 12 points respectively for Boys & Girls.

A Surprising Assist Helps St. John's Past Rutgers

              Head coach Chris Mullin  called his team's 61-59 win over Rutgers on Thursday "a total team effort". The team had rallied from as many as 16 points down in the early stages of the second half to eventually forge the win. And the team effort to which Coach Mullin referred included not only the coaches and players but an assist from the front office so to speak.

     "Credit Joe Oliva", Mullin said referring to St. John's interim AD who also serves as the schools general counsel. "At about 4:30 today he brought us the news that Felix was eligible."

              Felix of course is  Felix Balamou the junior wing man who missed the previous two games due to an NCAA investigation. His reinstatement to the roster could not have come at a better time for a team that began the year short in numbers and had lost freshman Malik Ellison to a foot injury.

For the entire first half and a good portion of the second half, St. John's could not find any rhythm on offense. And while Rutgers did not look much better they did take advantage of 12 Johnnie turnovers in the first half to take an early lead and when former Loughlin star Mike Williams and reserve Bishop Daniels scored 5 straight points that lead was 7 at the intermission.  Another Rutgers rally that ended with a Mike Williams triple made the score 45-29 with just under 15 minutes left.

              Balamou then went to work, converting a layup and then assisting on a three pointer  by Amar Alibegovic. From there Mullin and the coaching staff did a terrific job putting Balamou in position to make plays. Often on the post or on the baseline he was required to make a quick decision but not required to handle the ball to initiate offense. Balamou's execution combined with excellent the coaching staff's ability to move him around lead to an individual stat line for Felix that included 8 points, 11 rebounds. 7 assists and one turnover. The assists/turnover ratio impressed his coach who called it "outstanding at any level". The 11 rebounds were a function of the amazing energy Felix brings with him an time he gets a chine to play.

              St. John's kept coming even when Rutgers got some scoring answers from D.J. Foreman and Deshawn Freeman. They finally took their first lead of the second half on two free throws by Ron Mouika with 1:18 left. While their execution down the stretch was far from flawless Rutgers which had left the door open a bit for St, John's with quick shots could not take advantage. St. John's did just enough to earn a tough win as they head to Maui and a difficult week of basketball tests.

For St. John's Federico Mussini and Yankuba Sima each had 13 points while Ron Mouika added 12

For Rutgers Bishop Daniels had a game high 21 points while Mike Williams added 13.

Graduate Transfers Lead St. John's Past UMBC

`The phrase "graduate transfer" has become an important part of the lexicon of college sports in recent seasons, particularly it seems in men's basketball. The term describes players who have completed undergraduate degrees and have playing eligibility remaining. For programs like St. John's, building under new coach Chris Mullin, they become important players because they lend experience and can help a young core understand how to compete at the college level.

              Last night St. John's two graduate transfers, Durand Johnson from Pittsburgh, and Ron Mvouika from Missouri State played pivotal roles in helping the Red Storm to a 75-53 win over UMBC last night

              They combined with freshman Federico Mussini, who had a second straight outstanding game with 18 points and 6 assists. The Red Storm used a terrific defensive effort to carve out a 9 point halftime advantage  but the aptly named Retrievers used  a terrific rebounding effort and timely 3 point shooting to pull to within 33-31 with just over 17 minutes left. That's when Johnson connected on three straight baskets and started St. John's on a 14-6 run that extended St. John's advantage to 47-37 and they never looked back. Johnson finished with 15 points and credited some timely advice from Mvouika for his hot second half shooting, "He told me to let go of the first half and just play my game", Johnson said of his fellow grad student teammate who showed off some hot shooting of his own with 16 points including 4-4 from 3 point distance. Freshman center Yankuba Sima had 5 of 11 blocked shots for St. John's and lead a defense that held former Manhattan Center HS  standout Aki Thomas' squad to 27% shooting.

              St. John's next faces local Big Ten rival Rutgers Carnesecca Arena on Thursday as part of the Big Ten Big East Challenge that will honor the Big East's late founder and first commissioner Dave Gavitt.

             

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Red Storm Find the Mark From 3-Point Range For Mullin's First Win

                  For New York basketball fans who remember Chris Mullin's playing career at St.John's a fun yet wistful discussion would begin whenever someone, often with a Brooklyn accent, would pose the question "How many would Chris have scored if he had  the 3-point line in college?"

              Without the 3 point line from 1981-85 Chris electrified the city with the help of great teams at St. John's. In his first game as the school's coach the program is a long way from the heights he helped it reach back then but his team used the triple to get their coach his first win, a 66-57 win over Wagner.

              The Red Storm made 9-20 shots from beyond the arc. None was larger than the one made by freshman guard Federico Mussini with 1:15 left in the game when he took a drive and kick pass from Durand Johnson and buried a buzzer beating three from the corner. The shot gave St. John's  a six point margin (60-54) and just enough breathing room to move past coach Bashir Mason's stubborn  Seahawks.

              Wagner used a 9-0 advantage in fast break points and some rugged play inside to play their foes from the Big East tough in a game that saw 9 ties and 19 lead changes. Mussini, one of three freshman starters for St. John's  finished with a game high 18 points and made 4 of 6 treys.

              Coach Mullin emphasized the victory's long term importance saying, "The lesson is that we're building this one brick at a time. Despite setbacks or good times we have work to do..."

              The setbacks Mullin may have been thinking of include an exhibition loss to D-II St. Thomas Aquinas and recent news that freshman Marcus LoVett and reserve Felix Balamou have both been deemed ineligible by the NCAA. LoVett was given partial qualifier status while Balamou was suspended indefinitely due to an unspecified violation. When asked about the news off the court Mullin offered a quick but firm no comment perhaps preferring to keep the focus on his team and their play.  As his young team learns the lessons of team building "one brick at a time" Coach Mullin may well be learning what it means to be more than just the coach but the face of a program. With his own coach Lou Carnesecca watching and offering council before the game, Chris and his team made a good start building towards a bright future.

St. John's Fights Through Adversity for a win over Long Beach State and their Best Start Since '90-'91

              In any special season good teams face a time or two where they have to fight through adversity. St. John's faced some before the season began when they lost potential frontcourt help as Keith Thomas and Adonis Delarosa were ruled ineligible because of academic issues.

              Yesterday as they beat a tough Long Beach State squad 66-49 two more potential obstacles presented themselves. First, the team learned before the game that Rysheed Jordan would miss the game because of a stomach virus. The second obstacle showed itself during the game when star guard D'angelo Harrison, who entered the game as the Big East's leading scorer at 18 ppg, struggled for the first time all year finishing with just 9 points.

              No problem for St. John's. The senior laden team which has been praised all year by their coach Steve Lavin for their resourcefulness found several ways to negotiate those obstacles successfully. Their defense, which held Long Beach State to 1-13 three point shooting in the first half. "Our defense sustained us and allowed us to forge a lead until our offense caught up to the level of our defense," Lavin said.

              It's understandable that the offense catching up took a while with Jordan missing and Harrison struggling but once again the veteran Red Storm found some answers. In the backcourt Jamal Branch, whose offense normally takes a back seat as he runs the team chipped in with 11 points. Up front, Chris Obekpa had perhaps his best offensive game of the season, finishing with 16 points on 7-8 shooting.  The offensive outburst came with his usual good defense as he finished with 6 blocks.

              Long Beach State briefly grabbed leads in the second half but St. John's answered quickly each time first with an Obekpa  jumper  and next with a jumper from Phil Greene, who tied Obekpa for game high scoring honors with 16 points. Guard Mike Caffey lead Long Beach State while Tyler Lamb added 10 points.

              The win raises St. John's record to 10-1, giving them their best start since the 1990-91 season when they reached the elite 8.

Jefferson Beats St. Ray's in a Great Game at Legends Classic

              One of many things that can be taken from Saturday's fantastic game between visiting Thomas  Jefferson and home standing St. Ray's is that there should be more games like this played in New York City. There should be more games where two of the city's top teams step outside of league play with nothing on the line except that game's result.

              The 3rd annual Basketball  Legends Classic provided that game and many other good things came from it. The game itself, which ended in a 97-92 win for Jefferson was terrific and kept the fans who jammed the gym at St. Ray's involved from start to finish.

              And the college coaches present , from schools such as St. John's Niagara, Fordham and others at all levels of college basketball got to see young players in an environment made more competitive by the number of good players on the floor for both sides  which helps them make accurate scouting evaluations of perspective recruits.

                             Last but certainly not least, the teams themselves benefit most of all because they get an early indication of how they need to get better to make deep league playoff runs. Jefferson coach Lawrence Pollard has taken full advantage of this playing five of New York's top six clubs regardless of league affiliation.

              This game also had one well reported sub plot in the person of point guard Jaquan McKennon, the speedy point guard who played Saturday for Jefferson but began his high school career at St. Ray's. All the things that made him a talented young prospect in those early days make him a talented young player now. He plays with an extremely low to the ground dribble, keeps it alive against pressure and can make every kind of pass. He finished with 13 points , a boatload of great assists and very few turnovers in what coach Pollard called his best all around game of the season.

              He combined with junior guard Shomarie Ponds  who took many of McKennon's passes for baskets and helped the Orange Wave take advantage of some early Ravens' jitters. Ponds finished with a game high 32 points and demonstrated his trademark mid-range game and slashing ability along with improved accuracy from beyond the arc. Jefferson also received key contributions from talented forwards  Isaiah Deas and Davere Creighton each made critical baskets to help Jefferson  navigate a stet of the second half where Ponds was limited with 4 fouls.  Deas and McKennon hit consecutive 3's in the third period  that gave Jefferson a 60-57 lead that they would never relinquish.

              The Ravens, and in particular talented sophomore point guard Isaiah  Washington regrouped from those early jitters to play very well. Junior shooting guard Casim Brown finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds while uber talented sophomore Sidney Wilson added 22 points 8 boards and 7 blocks.  They nearly helped the Ravens mount a winning rally with the help of late game pressure. Jefferson  earned a hard fought win but make no mistake both teams are better for having played each other.

Fast and Furious 2nd Half Lifts #20 St. John's Past St. Mary's 53-47

                             The ice bags on D'angelo Harrison's arm and Joey Delarosa's wrist were indicative of the basketball battle two very good teams, St. John's and St. Mary's waged at Carnesseca Arena last night. Both teams like to establish physical play each team likes to do so at a very different pace.

              For the first 20 minutes the visitors from northern California had the pace they wanted and slowly  built their lead thanks to a dominant first half effort on the boards (28-12) terrific half court defense and precise offensive execution that helped the Gaels make sure that Brad Waldow, their awkward looking but effective center got touches. He was equally good in pick and roll as well as post up situations as he provided the offensive spark for a 33-18 halftime advantage for St. Mary's. The wide margin plus early foul trouble for both Harrison and center Chris Obekpa spelled trouble for St. John's

              According to Harrison, coach Steve Lavin's message was simple to the point. "Coach just emphasized cutting down on Waldow he had 19 (of his game high 26 points) in the first half."

              Lavin did more than just ask his team to limit Waldow's touches, he helped his team make an adjustment that in turn helped his team accomplish just that. Sir'Dominic Pointer, the team's best defender fronted Waldow which not only limited his catches but, as Pointer explained "I'm quicker so I can get around in front and they have to lob the ball over me and Chris can look to block shots rather than be on Waldow.  It made it a lot easier for me and Chris."

              The effect was almost immediate. St. John's pulled to within 39-33 with just under 13 minutes left and finally taking the lead with 8:04 left on two Pointer free throws. He and Harrison provided much of the offensive spark. Harrison scored a team high 21 points while Pointer did a terrific job exploiting quickness mismatches  for a double double (11 points and 10 boards. St. John's defensive pressure was the key as they scored 17 points off turnovers and forced  Waldow to commit 7 without an assist. St. Mary's dominated the first half with physicality in the paint but St. John's won the second, and ultimately the game, with physical play on the perimeter; trapping St. Mary's  guards and diving for every loose ball and, as Harrison put it succinctly, "playing St. John's basketball".

              The win was St. John's 5th straight and raised their season mark to 9-1. Waldow was the only double figure scorer for St. Mary's which dropped to 6-3