St. John's Edges Depaul

 I attended this game with my good friend Tom tonight and we both had a good feeling about it coming into the night. It is not very often that Depaul has a Big East contest in which it can be said that they can win or should win, but tonight was the case.  Playing a young and inexperienced Red Storm team at the AllState Arena (I know it's not a hostile environment), I felt the Demons had a great shot in this game.  From the opening tip, the pace was wild and frenetic, with constant run-outs and just an out of control style of basketball being played.  While this was the case, I thought the Blue Demons played very well for the first 14 minutes of the game, as they led 31-19 and actually looked competent on the offensive end.  I also liked how they were not overly aggressive with the press and played a pretty good half court defense that saw the Red Storm lay bricks constantly and take bad shots.

Then something happened: St John's put on a press of their own, and it worked wonders for them.  The Lavin-less staff (with assistant coach Gene Keady on the bench) thought they would try their hand with a press, and they forced panic and constant turnovers from the likes of Clahar and Young.  Young is supposed to be one of the best ballhandlers on the team, yet he constantly was running away from the ball and not taking charge.  The breakdown in the closing minutes of the half caused the Red Storm to go on an 11-0 run and close to 31-30 at the break.

The second half started very similarly to the first, with a lot of easy buckets for the Demons on great looks from Young to Melvin, but it seemed like St. John's would always answer quickly after giving up a hoop.  The Demons went ahead 58-51, but SJU went on a 13-0 run to take the lead and never gave it up, going on to win 87-81.  Freshman D'Angelo Harrison simply torched the Demons, making seven three-pointers and scoring a game-high 29 points in the victory.

I still don't know if I trust Purnell's press and desire to play an up-tempo game.  It worked great on the offensive end, but until the players are sold out on defense, they will continue to give up easy looks.  I liked what they did on offense, but they allowed way too many second-chance points and tip-ins that just sunk their chances in the waning minutes.

Here is how I grade out the Blue Demon players based on their performance tonight:

Faber (16 mins, 6 points, 2 rebounds) :  Had a nice monstrous jam to keep the Demons in it late, but his lack of assertiveness on the glass and dumb fouls kept him on the bench in favor of Kirk and Robertson. C-

Young (34 mins, 13 points, 11 assists): Anyone who has a double-double should be praised, but Young looked lost out there at times, committing silly turnovers and not coming to get the ball on the press.  Made a few great passes to Melvin. C


McKinney (19 mins, 2 points): Not really sure why he started.  Didn't do much wrong, but also wasn't spectacular.  C-


Clahar (27 mins, 6 points, 5 assists, 7 turnovers): I still don't know why Kelly isn't playing (injury or discipline?), but I feel like Clahar can't do this on his own at point guard.  Seven turnovers, many of which were big, really hurt the team.  D


Melvin (36 mins, 22 points, 11 rebounds): No complaints here.  Played a solid all-around game.  A


McGhee/Robertson-Incomplete/no grade

Crockett (16 mins, 7 points): Didn't play enough in my opinion and should start over McKinney.  Makes the most of opportunities.  B


Morgan (25 mins, 19 points, 5-9 3Pt): Played really well tonight and made some big shots. A


Kirk (18 mins, 6 points, 2 rebounds): I thought he played great tonight on defense and scored on some easy hoops.  Would like to see more of him on the court.  A-