I guess we don't have a better option than Cruz but he drives me nuts. He is crafty at times and can find the hoop on offense, but he also doesn't make great decisions and can destroy the offensive flow. I'm still annoyed by the shot at the end of the first half against PC, which sums up who he is in my mind. He's a 25% 3pt shooter, a mediocre foul shooter, 40% from the field in general, and pulls down 4-5 boards a game as your starting 3. There's a difference between guys that shoot a lot and help you win and guys that score 15+ and consistently lose. Maybe you lose the kid if he doesn't start or there is more at play than we know, but I wish he was a 6th or 7th man to provide a spark. He shouldn't be a focal point.
I'd also echo the sentiment about valuing the ball. We had 20 turnovers to 9 assists. It's hard to win when you have so many empty possessions and when you don't share the ball well.
The other stat that stands out is free throw shooting. I know Stony Brook was awful from the line but they also took almost twice as many free throws. Where is the Jay Young toughness on the offensive end? Why can't we put pressure on the defense and draw more fouls and trips to the line?
It might be another long year...
I don’t understand the criticism of Cruz. I can go through every player in that Providence game and find multiple flaws. Cruz had a double-double vs Hartford — a double-double. And he had 18 and 6 yesterday with close to 50 percent shooting. Jay said he’s worked very hard all summer and improved his 3s a lot so maybe they’ll start falling. He is not the problem.
One last thing. We needed more Maidoh minutes. I think his threat as a shot blocker could have stopped a couple of those far too easy, driving SB lay-ups.
Our team is not fast. Opposing guards with great first step go around us too easily.
"Jesus (Cruz) played well today and gave us a lot of good minutes," Head Coach Jay Young said. "Both of our seniors made plays today when we needed them."
"We lost a tough game to a good opponent," Coach Young said. "I am really proud of our effort today. A lot of guys logged a lot of minutes since we played basically an eight-man rotation. I am proud of how the team competed but am disappointed with our execution. We have to get better and we will do that."
The lack of execution resulted in a season-high 20 turnovers but Fairfield was able to limit the damage by allowing those miscues to translate to 10 points. Still, the disruption in possessions prevented the Stags from putting together any sustained runs.
Sorry coach but I do not think FF lost a game against a good opponent.! The Seawolves had almost a complete turnover of their roster from last year to this year and are learning to play with one another. Hartford will challenge for the top spot in the AE conference and Stonybrook will be on the bottom of the conference. This game more then the U of Hartford game should have been a win for the Stags. The next game against U of H is a pivotal game in the early season in order to establish some winning momentum.If the stags do not win I can easily see them starting the season 0-8. Two loses to Siena and a unfriendly trip to western NY is a possibility the way the Stags look these days.
I guess we don't have a better option than Cruz but he drives me nuts. He is crafty at times and can find the hoop on offense, but he also doesn't make great decisions and can destroy the offensive flow. I'm still annoyed by the shot at the end of the first half against PC, which sums up who he is in my mind. He's a 25% 3pt shooter, a mediocre foul shooter, 40% from the field in general, and pulls down 4-5 boards a game as your starting 3. There's a difference between guys that shoot a lot and help you win and guys that score 15+ and consistently lose. Maybe you lose the kid if he doesn't start or there is more at play than we know, but I wish he was a 6th or 7th man to provide a spark. He shouldn't be a focal point.
I'd also echo the sentiment about valuing the ball. We had 20 turnovers to 9 assists. It's hard to win when you have so many empty possessions and when you don't share the ball well.
The other stat that stands out is free throw shooting. I know Stony Brook was awful from the line but they also took almost twice as many free throws. Where is the Jay Young toughness on the offensive end? Why can't we put pressure on the defense and draw more fouls and trips to the line?
It might be another long year...
I don’t understand the criticism of Cruz. I can go through every player in that Providence game and find multiple flaws. Cruz had a double-double vs Hartford — a double-double. And he had 18 and 6 yesterday with close to 50 percent shooting. Jay said he’s worked very hard all summer and improved his 3s a lot so maybe they’ll start falling. He is not the problem.
My criticism is more from the perspective of Cruz and Benning being SR starters on a team that hopes to contend. If you want to compete for the MAAC you need a couple of your starters (at least) to be All-MAAC. Are either of those guys among the best 5 or 10 players in the league? I'm not suggesting they should be or that they are underachieving their abilities... never forget that Cruz was NERR rank 90th-whatever and is going to reach career milestones of 1000+ points and 500+ rebounds. No doubt he has had a better D-I career than dozens of the guys ranked ahead of him. But... if the two best guys on the team (and I think they are) are more realistically "5th" or "6th" team All-MAAC guys... the team composition has a problem.
It's only game 3 of year 2 of a rebuild. The new arena - which should be the jewel of the MAAC - was delayed a year. COVID reigns. I was the eternal optimist with SJ and I'm certainly going to be patient with JY - but I can still be disappointed and grumpy about the results, so far.
Sure there were a lot of turnovers, bad shots, missed rebounds, defensive lapses, fouls, missed free throws, bonehead decisions, shot clock violations, airballs, and Stony Brook was a weak opponent ... but other than that, we played a great game!
Reminds me of the old joke ... “Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”
Last Edit: Dec 5, 2020 12:51:48 GMT -5 by vastagman
I was so angry I had to take a walk around the block -- in the freaking rain. The incompetence tonight was staggering. Bonehead decision after bonehead play after bonehead mistake -- so many mental errors. Young should give back his paycheck after this one. SB teed up the game for us, and we shanked it into Long Island Sound.
The main positive: Jalen Leach stepped up. I agree with other posters: Make Leach the go-to guy. It will be a roller-coaster ride, but let's see what he can do.
By the way, the last basket was taken off the board. The final score: 72-69. Seventy points remain the Holy Grail.
Well actually we did hit that 'magic' figure of 70 or above once last year (just ONCE), and that was in OT in a loss to Loyola I think. I hadn't realized they had taken off the last two points BTW. I'm not a gambler, but I wonder if that meant a few people were happy and others not so much because of the change? Anyway obviously the offense is still very much a work in progress and certainly might improve if somehow the Stags can stop turning over the ball so many times unnecessarily where the opposition is not even applying great pressure. Imagine what could happen with such opponents as Iona and Manhattan down the road! Bottom line is more shots will equal more points if they can correct this problem a bit. And in that regard yes, it appears as though Leach has the potential to become a real good scorer. Other parts of his game need to improve however, namely ball-handling and passing (he hasn't had 1 assist on the season yet) and defense. Once he gets better in those areas, maybe the Stags will have someone they can hang their hat on for the next few years.
OBTW concerning us "shanking" last night, I'm a golfer, therefore I understand that this is BAD. Such a thing can ruin a good round on the links, and certainly in this case it ruined a game that should have been in the win column.
I don’t understand the criticism of Cruz. I can go through every player in that Providence game and find multiple flaws. Cruz had a double-double vs Hartford — a double-double. And he had 18 and 6 yesterday with close to 50 percent shooting. Jay said he’s worked very hard all summer and improved his 3s a lot so maybe they’ll start falling. He is not the problem.
My criticism is more from the perspective of Cruz and Benning being SR starters on a team that hopes to contend. If you want to compete for the MAAC you need a couple of your starters (at least) to be All-MAAC. Are either of those guys among the best 5 or 10 players in the league? I'm not suggesting they should be or that they are underachieving their abilities... never forget that Cruz was NERR rank 90th-whatever and is going to reach career milestones of 1000+ points and 500+ rebounds. No doubt he has had a better D-I career than dozens of the guys ranked ahead of him. But... if the two best guys on the team (and I think they are) are more realistically "5th" or "6th" team All-MAAC guys... the team composition has a problem.
It's only game 3 of year 2 of a rebuild. The new arena - which should be the jewel of the MAAC - was delayed a year. COVID reigns. I was the eternal optimist with SJ and I'm certainly going to be patient with JY - but I can still be disappointed and grumpy about the results, so far.
I think that's a pretty fair synopsis typh. And in that regard while I'm usually an optimist I've got to admit that I also am feeling a bit grumpy today. It sucks to lose games you know you could win, and this one certainly falls into that category. And you're right about Cruz and Benning. Two kids who have been nothing but a pleasure to watch with their effort every game and by all accounts are great representatives of the school doesn't negate the fact that if you have to rely upon them to be the stars who will carry the team, that's not going to be good enough to help them become a league power. Their games do have limitations yes, but as an adjunct to better talent their value would be immense. Hopefully this dynamic comes into play later in the season.
In the heat of the moment we all get upset but reading the Holy Cross page should remind us what a high quality individual we picked up in Caleb Green.
Post by 01041949bob on Dec 5, 2020 16:23:55 GMT -5
I hope we get the transfers eligible... but if we do not , we see Leach coming on , but it’s time to see if Whipple can step up ... we need another scorer . I say give him a chance , play him minimum 30 minutes next few games and let’s see if he can live up to his potential... can’t play Rose he can’t throw ball in ocean
I'll start with the positive-we have some young, athletic bigs that could develop into real players. If either Cook or Maidoh can follow the Peanut Johnson path then we'd be on our way.
I like Leach and his scoring potential. I think he will continue to get better, especially if we can pair him with a penetrating guard.
Chef and Cook rebound the ball well, so at least we aren't getting abused on the boards. I'd like to see someone else step up in that department though. Each of them needs more polish on the offensive end but I'll take the effort on the boards any day after the last few years. I think it would help to rotate the three bigs-Cook, Maidoh, and Chef-through the 4, 5 positions. I was surprised to see Maidoh only get 13 minutes since I think he has a lot of potential.
Benning is really gritty and plays tough on both ends. I think he's a great glue guy...unfortunately, we are relying on him to be a major player at this point.
To be more critical, I think Green looks rusty and I have to hope he'll improve as the season progresses. Clearly, Jay Young is putting this team's future in his hands. It'll probably be more accurate to judge this decision by next season or, at least, by the second half of this season.
I guess we don't have a better option than Cruz but he drives me nuts. He is crafty at times and can find the hoop on offense, but he also doesn't make great decisions and can destroy the offensive flow. I'm still annoyed by the shot at the end of the first half against PC, which sums up who he is in my mind. He's a 25% 3pt shooter, a mediocre foul shooter, 40% from the field in general, and pulls down 4-5 boards a game as your starting 3. There's a difference between guys that shoot a lot and help you win and guys that score 15+ and consistently lose. Maybe you lose the kid if he doesn't start or there is more at play than we know, but I wish he was a 6th or 7th man to provide a spark. He shouldn't be a focal point.
I'd also echo the sentiment about valuing the ball. We had 20 turnovers to 9 assists. It's hard to win when you have so many empty possessions and when you don't share the ball well.
The other stat that stands out is free throw shooting. I know Stony Brook was awful from the line but they also took almost twice as many free throws. Where is the Jay Young toughness on the offensive end? Why can't we put pressure on the defense and draw more fouls and trips to the line?
It might be another long year...
I agree with all of the above. The problem I see right now is we basically have a 7 player rotation. This team has been decimated by injuries & the waivers being denied. Because of this we have freshman we are asking a lot of. We have transfers that are still getting the rust off. These may sound like I’m making excuses, but this is the reality! Not to mention Covid. Should we have won last night! No question. Did we make some critical mistakes at critical times yes! I’d rather go to the dentist than watch some of these games. The season hopefully is far from over, and I too was expecting more from this team, but a rebuild is a process & it takes time no matter who is coaching this team Jay is in the beginning of his 2nd year & had to turnover the entire roster. He too is still learning what each player can do & how to utilize their strengths & hide their weaknesses. I think we all agree he has brought it some promising recruits who unfortunately haven’t had much of a preseason. We are all going to have to witness these kids play thru mistakes. There is a lot of negativity on this board around Jay & his coaching ability. I personally think he has done much more good for this program early on than bad. He wasn’t left with much to work with & if your expectations for this team to be a top tier team in the MAAC you need to adjust those expectations for now. I predicted before the season it would take time for this team to gel and we would all need to be patient! Unfortunately that sucks for all of us!
I agree with much of Red Sea's observations. On the 4-5 position I see the rotation as Cook Ngalakulondi and Maidoh in that order. Maidoh has a huge upside long term and need to play but if you want to base the decision on three games Cook has showed himself to be a little more ready to contribute. I think we haven't seen enough of chef as a stag to really judge him yet, he has seemed at times to be invisible but his per 40 numbers are much better than Maidoh's and on par with Cook's. I think Chef may be more of an impact player as the season progresses.
Regarding Ruallin's thoughts on Young, I think most of us gave Jay a total pass last year. I agree that it too early to judge him, he really only has one recruiting Class and these freshman have almost no experience and limited practice time to develop. So next year is the year that Young is to be judged on, as the bulk of Johnson's players graduate and young will have had 2 years of targeted recruiting under his belt. But there are some things that I think it is fair to judge Young on at this time, one of them is the offensive sets that we are running. We are not running a lot of sets that result in high percentage open looks. This is a concern to me. And while the word on the street is young is a defensive genius, I see our defense as a little one dimensional, straight man with a lot of guying overplaying their man resulting in a lot of drives and lay-ups. I feel a good team keeps the opponent off balance by showing different defensive looks and make it harder for them to design plays to beat the defense. So I do feel there are some legitimate things that can be questioned about what Young has done so far. Of course if we had the personal to perfectly execute, or if we had won these two very winnable games, the criticism would be more hushed. But losing a game like we did Stony Brook magnifies the "coaching" mistakes that have been part of these last three games.
I agree with all of the above. The problem I see right now is we basically have a 7 player rotation. This team has been decimated by injuries & the waivers being denied. Because of this we have freshman we are asking a lot of. We have transfers that are still getting the rust off. These may sound like I’m making excuses, but this is the reality! Not to mention Covid. Should we have won last night! No question. Did we make some critical mistakes at critical times yes! I’d rather go to the dentist than watch some of these games. The season hopefully is far from over, and I too was expecting more from this team, but a rebuild is a process & it takes time no matter who is coaching this team Jay is in the beginning of his 2nd year & had to turnover the entire roster. He too is still learning what each player can do & how to utilize their strengths & hide their weaknesses. I think we all agree he has brought it some promising recruits who unfortunately haven’t had much of a preseason. We are all going to have to witness these kids play thru mistakes. There is a lot of negativity on this board around Jay & his coaching ability. I personally think he has done much more good for this program early on than bad. He wasn’t left with much to work with & if your expectations for this team to be a top tier team in the MAAC you need to adjust those expectations for now. I predicted before the season it would take time for this team to gel and we would all need to be patient! Unfortunately that sucks for all of us!
I agree with much of Red Sea's observations. On the 4-5 position I see the rotation as Cook Ngalakulondi and Maidoh in that order. Maidoh has a huge upside long term and need to play but if you want to base the decision on three games Cook has showed himself to be a little more ready to contribute. I think we haven't seen enough of chef as a stag to really judge him yet, he has seemed at times to be invisible but his per 40 numbers are much better than Maidoh's and on par with Cook's. I think Chef may be more of an impact player as the season progresses.
Regarding Ruallin's thoughts on Young, I think most of us gave Jay a total pass last year. I agree that it too early to judge him, he really only has one recruiting Class and these freshman have almost no experience and limited practice time to develop. So next year is the year that Young is to be judged on, as the bulk of Johnson's players graduate and young will have had 2 years of targeted recruiting under his belt. But there are some things that I think it is fair to judge Young on at this time, one of them is the offensive sets that we are running. We are not running a lot of sets that result in high percentage open looks. This is a concern to me. And while the word on the street is young is a defensive genius, I see our defense as a little one dimensional, straight man with a lot of guying overplaying their man resulting in a lot of drives and lay-ups. I feel a good team keeps the opponent off balance by showing different defensive looks and make it harder for them to design plays to beat the defense. So I do feel there are some legitimate things that can be questioned about what Young has done so far. Of course if we had the personal to perfectly execute, or if we had won these two very winnable games, the criticism would be more hushed. But losing a game like we did Stony Brook magnifies the "coaching" mistakes that have been part of these last three games.
Benning, Cruz and Green are all solid players..... and will help us be a mid-pack MAAC Team. But we will need Leach, Supreme, and Ngalakulindo to continue to improve in order to be top 4 in the MAAC
Leach - needs to improve his handle, passing, defense Supreme - needs be a shot blocker, reach his potential as a "Intimidator", and improve his FT shooting and passing Ngalakulindo - is not the player he was a year and a half ago. His handle is shaky. Passing is not sharp and his Athleticism is One Step behind everything. Sitting out 1.5 years has affected him. He needs more PT to improve. If he can turn it around, he can be all MAAC.
The above 3 really need to improve and then we can be top 4 in the MAAC..... THIS YEAR
