Recap of Cincinnati 60, St. John's 43
The New York papers were more concerned with the Notre Dame vs U Conn tilt last night—for near-supremacy in the Big East, and of interest to the Catholic Notre Dame fans who are thick in NY and the U Conn grads who move to the city. So they filed AP reports, and the Cincy papers actually sent people to the games to watch Big John Williamson hit the Red Storm with his pimp hand:
Cincinnati Enquirer: Williamson’s Hand Even Hotter
Rivals.com: Williamson Too Much for St. John’s
With Respect to the Keys of the Game:
Execution?
Q: "What do you think of the execution of the team?"
A: "Sounds like a good idea."
Malik Boothe got in no kind of rhythm. Neither did Geno Lawrence. The Red Storm repeatedly tested the limits of the shot clock, and made their moves to the basket with under ten seconds left… the prevent offense, but this is not Dean Smith and there IS a shot clock. The game don’t work like this anymore, especially if there isn’t an offensively creative player. Lawrence is creative, but he isn’t half quick enough to save this team. Burrell tried to pass out of double teams but generally missed whoever he was passing to; his turnovers are getting worrisome.
I see why Anthony Mason Jr. is given free rein to shoot and slash—he and Larry Wright are the only players capable of getting their shot off. Neither is as good at it as sophomore Deonta Vaughn, and Wright isn’t great at it under pressure yet. Please refer this aspect of the game to the "fail" blog.
Rebounding? Big John Williamson had 11 rebounds and dominated the action inside. Burrell played soft, and when he made decisive moves he was doubled. He and Evans couldn’t get to the glass.
Negating the Other Players? This would depend on doing a credible job against John Williamson, who carried the Bearcat team last night. The Bearcats shot 47% (55% inside the arc), so they were getting the ball to the right players.
St. John’s pretty much failed in every aspect of the game. The official Red Storm site can’t even put up photos with the recap. If there are no pictures... maybe it didn't happen.
Again.