November 28th, 2008: Stony Brook at St. John's

http://redstormsports.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2008-2009/stj05.html

St. John's fumbles their way to another win, the post rotation is wacky, but the kids seem to be all right.


I don't know how much longer we can keep this up. We're not playing well at all. We can't hit a shot to save our lives. We don't have a point guard. We're really not very good. And on top of that, our coach keeps making odd personnel decisions with the flawed talent that we do have. This team is going to make me kick something one of these days, I just know it. And yet I still love them.

The last couple of games, the anthem has been an old recording. I approve. Our band has improved since last year, but the Star-Spangled Banner is still beyond their capabilities, and St. John's usually can't get vocalists who get the lyrics right. Stick with the classics, that's what I say.

There must be something about the Seawolves that makes me not blog –I visited their arena last year for a game against Albany, during which there was a throwdown, and I never added it to the blog. Kairsten Nunn was much as I had remembered- very emotional, and often making bad moves because of it, but ridiculously fun to watch anyway. Misha Horsey (hard 's' in that last name) played well- she mostly ran the offense last year, but got to call her number more often in this game. Kirsten Jeter started off well, but racked up the fouls in the second half and really fell out of the game. Sarah Kazadi was a rough piece of work inside. I liked the little freshman guard Tamiel Murray- she looked a little like Leilani Mitchell, but with a few pounds more bulk. I can see why she's starting as a freshman. I also liked Crystal Rushin off the bench- nice strong moves, good defense. They were extremely tenacious on defense- we had height advantages on almost all of them for almost the entire game, except for when Britney Murphy or Kristin Moore came in, but we couldn't take advantage, because their little guards were being quite pesky.

Did I mention we need a point guard? Currently Sky's starting in that slot, but she started this game so abominably that Kristin was off the bench three minutes into the game. Her shot is off and her passing is half-assed- which, given that she ran her passing drills at half-speed, doesn't really surprise me. Kristin was solid but unremarkable. Britney had her flashes, and generally didn't suck, but looked to be in a little over her head. We can't make Monique do everything around here, guys. Speaking of Little Sista, she played well- hit some nice shots, and was on the boards like a demon. That's what I like to see from her. Kelly got her threes, but her ballhandling is still awfully sloppy. On the one hand, I like that she's trying to expand her repertoire and be more than just a three-point sniper, and I find that refreshing, because it seems like she and Monique are the only players on the squad who have changed since they started playing here. On the other hand… damn it, Kelly, you couldn't have figured that out while you were sitting out two years ago and practiced those penetration moves in the gym with a random friend, instead of doing it in your senior year on the court against real opponents who like to steal the ball from you? Coco was… not good today. I'm starting to think she doesn't play well when she starts. Joy at least was crashing the boards and trying to take advantage of the fact that we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I'm really not exaggerating here. Our first possession, we had five shots, and came away empty. Aricia seems to have found her cojones in the paint. Da'Shena had a really nice block, and worked hard in the paint. I like that kid a lot- now, if she could just find her shooting touch more often, we'd have a genuine winner.

I could be wrong, because I've never coached. But I'm pretty sure that dicking around with your co-captain's minutes is really not a good way to build up team morale. Remember the beginning of the first paragraph, when Kristin came in for Sky? Coco had just committed a foul, which stopped the clock. Da'Shena also came into the game… for Joy. Who had already snared two offensive rebounds, versus Coco's foul and turnover. Coco stayed in the game. Coco committed her second foul. Unsurprisingly, Joy came back in, but still only ended up playing nineteen mintues. She missed a couple of matchup opportunities for Aricia, as well. And Sheree, much as I like her on the court, is contributing nothing in her minutes- why not get Victoria out there and see what she can do? At least she's bigger and stronger than Sheree is, and she wouldn't do any more damage.

Hi, Dennis! Mr. DeMayo returned for his second game at Carnesecca this season, as he officiated the exhibition game against the X All-Stars. Things went much more pleasantly for him today, as no one questioned his calls to the point of slinging a couple of different f-bombs at him. I was very impressed with this crew- DeMayo, Lonergan, and Fernandes caught a lot of infractions that other crews miss, and their communication was excellent. They were clearly in control of the game without overwhelming it. This is what officiating should look like. (Hey, I whine about officials in every other set of game notes. I figure if they do something right, I should give them a shoutout.)

Stony Brook brought a nice contingent of family and friends. Noisy bunch without crossing the line, for the most part, though I could have done without the cuckoo calls when Coco was at the line.

If you happen to be one of the 273 other people who went to that game, I'm the young lady who came home with $40 in ESPNZone game cards. Of course, what I'm going to do with them when I don't particularly like ESPNZone, I don't know, but they were still better than two burritos.

All in all… well, I'm a born pessimist when it comes to my team having good times. We'll see.