Taking the Big East By [Red] Storm - CH2k9

[rhs_rizzo]

Final Day of Early Recruiting Period, Richards Commits!
Sherman Richards chooses St. John's as his home for the next four years.

12/9/08 - On the final day that high school seniors could sign in the early recruiting period, St. John's University got their most prized prospect to sign his letter of intent to play for the Red Storm. Sherman Richards, shooting guard from Pittsburgh, PA, will be the top prospect of SJU's recruiting class this season.

Richards is a bit on the small side to play shooting guard in the Big East, but his quickness should be an equalizer on the floor. His got a quick first step and his hands are as fast as lightning, so generating steals and run-outs will be a huge part of his game (hopefully).

Sherman Richards will come off the bench next season, but could carve out a spot in the starting lineup by the beginning of his sophomore season. Now the question is who will join him in SJU's recruiting class this season.

[rhs_rizzo]

Media Poll Top-25: December 10, 2008

Rank				Team Name				Record
1				North Carolina				(7-1)
2				UCLA				(7-1)
3				Texas				(8-0)
4				Arizona				(7-0)
5				Villanova				(7-0)
6				Memphis				(6-1)
7				Georgetown				(6-1)
8				Marquette				(6-1)
9				Duke				(6-2)
10				Louisville				(5-2)
11				Purdue				(7-0)
12				Kansas				(6-2)
13				Gonzaga				(9-1)
14				Pittsburgh				(6-2)
15				Michigan State				(6-2)
16				Stanford				(9-0)
17				Florida State				(9-2)
18				UNLV				(7-1)
19				Maryland				(7-2)
20				Oregon				(7-1)
21				Washington				(7-1)
22				Wisconsin				(6-2)
23				Vanderbilt				(8-1)
24				Ohio State				(6-2)
25				Florida				(6-3)

[ty5oke]

Tough to lose the 7 footer to Delaware, but sounds like Sherman will be a solid player for you.

[rhs_rizzo]

Quote: Originally Posted by ty5oke

Tough to lose the 7 footer to Delaware, but sounds like Sherman will be a solid player for you.

Yeah, no kidding. I knew I should have saved that phone call until the end of the week.

[rhs_rizzo]

51, 76
1 2 T Final NIAG (2-6) 23 28 51 SJU (5-1) 29 47 76	7:00 PM December 15, 2008 Carnesecca Arena Queens, NY

SJU rolls over Niagara. Burrell double-double again, but will that keep up when the Big East conference schedule rears its ugly head? First game of season where all players on the roster saw some floor time. Niagara Purple Eagles Starters MIN FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS A. Nelson 26 3-7 0-1 0-0 2 5 2 0 4 6 T. Lewis 25 7-23 4-13 2-2 2 2 1 0 1 20 K. Edwards 21 3-6 0-1 0-0 2 1 0 1 0 6 M. Palenik 23 3-10 1-2 0-0 7 1 2 0 0 7 D. Williamson 23 2-6 0-0 1-2 4 3 2 2 0 5 Reserves MIN FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS A. Patterson 18 3-8 1-3 0-0 3 0 0 0 1 7 K. Gordon 8 0-4 0-0 0-0 5 0 0 0 0 0 B. Egemonye 7 0-2 0-0 0-0 4 1 0 1 0 0 NIAG TOTALS 21-66 6-20 3-4 29 13 7 4 6 51

St. Johns Red Storm Starters MIN FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS M. Boothe 20 0-2 0-0 3-6 2 4 0 0 1 3 P. Horne 22 1-5 1-4 0-0 5 3 1 0 1 3 D. Kennedy 19 6-10 2-4 1-2 7 2 0 0 2 15 A. Mason, Jr. 23 6-12 1-4 2-2 2 2 1 1 2 15 J. Burrell 23 6-9 0-0 0-1 13 2 1 0 2 12 Reserves MIN FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS R. Thomas 8 4-5 0-0 0-0 2 1 0 0 0 8 S. Evans 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 D. Coker 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 3 1 0 0 0 0 T. Jasiulionis 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Q. Roberts 14 2-4 0-1 1-3 1 0 1 0 0 5 T. Edmondson 6 4-6 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 8 P. Wait 4 2-3 0-0 1-1 4 0 0 1 0 5 SJU TOTALS 32-59 4-14 8-15 40 15 4 2 8 76

Table created by: PUJOLS4MVP

[rhs_rizzo]

Media Poll Top-25 - December 17, 2008

1. North Carolina (8-1)
2. UCLA (8-1)
3. Texas (9-0)
4. Arizona (8-0)
5. Memphis (7-1)
6. Villanova (8-0)
7. Georgetown (7-1)
8. Purdue (9-0)
9. Duke (7-2)
10. Stanford (9-0)
11. Gonzaga (9-1)
12. Michigan State (7-2)
13. Oregon (9-1)
14. Marquette (7-2)
15. Florida State (8-2)
16. UNLV (7-1)
17. Washington (8-1)
18. Maryland (8-2)
19. Vanderbilt (9-1)
20. Ohio State (6-2)
21. Louisville (5-3)
22. Florida (7-3)
23. Kansas (6-3)
24. Pittsburgh (6-3)
25. USC (7-2)

[rhs_rizzo]

Two New Targets on the Recruiting Trail
Looking to replace Christian, SJU add's two centers to recruiting board.

After losing out on Devin Christian's services to Delaware, Norm Roberts adds two new big man prospects to their recruiting search in order to find a big man to man the middle of the floor.

Eni Lukasiak (6'10", 213 lbs.) of Santa Ana, CA wasn't being recruited by any school at the end of the early recruiting period, so SJU decided to put some serious time into him. Unfortunately, UNLV, Stanford, Arizona and Nevada, all much closer to home, jumped into the race and all have an edge over SJU. This is looking like a lost cause.

The second of the two "tower" prospects is Erik Domercant of Tacoma, WA. He stands at 6'11" and weighs in at 248 pounds. He's got great size and with that comes some good rebounding skills. He's average athletically, but at 6'11", what would you expect?

His AAU team, Top Notch, was a force to be reckoned with this past year and Erik had a lot to do with it. He averaged 10.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. His two serious weaknesses are free throw shooting (58.6%), which is already a struggle for the Red Storm, and turnovers (2.9 per game). He could have a hidden three-point shot as he went 3 for 10 from beyond the arc.

Hopefully SJU can lock up Domercant at the end of the season, but that is some ways away.

[ty5oke]

I hope you end up getting Domercant, it would be nice to follow a somewhat local kid in your dynasty.

PS: I mentioned it in the other thread, but in case you didn't see it. I used a program called Kompozer to create my top 25 table. OR if you want to use my code, let me know and I can PM you it.

[rhs_rizzo]

Hawaiian Island Classic: Round #1

Ohio 48, St. Johns 72
1 2 T Final OHIO (5-5) 22 26 48 SJU (6-1) 33 39 72	10:00 PM December 20, 2008 Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI

SJU storms by Ohio in first round of Hawaiian Island Classic. Quincy Roberts pours in 12 first half points off the bench to pull away for good. Ohio Bobcats Starters MIN FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS M. Allen 23 1-6 0-2 0-0 1 6 2 0 2 2 B. Walther 22 5-23 2-7 0-0 2 2 2 0 1 12 J. Orr 22 2-10 0-4 0-2 3 0 2 1 1 4 J. Tillman 23 4-4 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 1 1 8 L. Williams 21 4-10 0-0 2-2 10 0 2 2 0 10 Reserves MIN FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS A. Hester 11 2-6 0-3 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 4 M. Pearson 11 1-1 0-0 0-0 6 0 0 0 2 2 A. Sayles 6 1-2 0-0 1-2 1 0 0 1 0 3 B. Whittington 5 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 3 Z. Nagtzaam 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OHIO TOTALS 21-65 3-17 3-6 25 10 9 5 8 48

St. Johns Red Storm Starters MIN FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS M. Boothe 18 2-4 2-3 0-0 1 2 1 0 2 6 P. Horne 18 3-4 1-1 1-2 3 1 1 0 2 8 D. Kennedy 6 0-3 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 A. Mason, Jr. 18 4-10 1-3 0-0 2 0 0 0 0 9 J. Burrell 21 5-8 0-0 0-0 14 3 1 2 3 10 Reserves MIN FGM/A 3PM/A FTM/A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS R. Thomas 17 2-5 0-0 1-2 6 4 1 0 0 5 S. Evans 11 3-6 0-1 0-1 1 2 0 0 1 6 D. Coker 9 2-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 1 0 4 T. Jasiulionis 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 3 0 0 1 0 2 Q. Roberts 13 6-9 2-4 2-2 1 1 1 0 0 16 T. Edmondson 13 2-3 0-1 0-0 0 3 2 0 2 4 P. Wait 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0 0 2 SJU TOTALS 31-56 6-14 4-7 35 17 7 4 10 72

Table created by: PUJOLS4MVP

[rhs_rizzo]

Hawaiian Island Classic - Tournament Tree

St. John's - 72
Ohio - 48
__________________

UL Lafayette - 46
Hawaii - 71
__________________

Saint Mary's - 64
Tulane - 51
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E. Tennessee St - 49
Georgia - 58
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Round #2

St. John's vs. Hawaii
Saint Mary's vs. Georgia