ROCHESTER -- There were plenty of interesting quotes and notes that did not make their way into the game story detailing the 69-68 St. John’s victory over St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. Hope you have a couple minutes on your hands.
Most of the insight came from the coaches, who surprisingly avoided the usual heavy doses of coachspeak (on a day the Bills fired Dick Jauron, no less). Though Bona coach Mark Schmidt did offer the usual no-moral-victories cry, he also colorfully noted:
“It’s not like we competed against Carolina tonight. We competed against a good team, but you know …”
It was truly as if a sea parted on Malik Boothe’s full-court dash to the basket, resulting in Boothe getting fouled with 6.2 seconds left. The ball was inbounded at the opposite baseline with 11.1 to play.
“It was a play for me to just create something for either myself or my teammates,” Boothe said. “I seen a lane opened up so I just went all the way to the basket.”
Bona had played effective, pressure defense throughout the game (sometimes in full-court situations) so it was strange to see such a breakdown at game’s end. But St. John’s coach Norm Roberts offered an interesting explanation as to how something like that can happen.
“In that situation -- and every coach is at its mercy -- you’re saying to your guys, ‘Guard, but don’t foul,’” Roberts said. “And the kids are thinking, ‘Guard, but I can’t foul.’ So [on offense] if you really come at a guy hard, he’s probably going to get out of your way. And that’s what happened.
“That’s why when you have it at the end of the game, we tell our guys all the time, ‘Get it and go. Go directly at the basket.’”
The result surprised both coaches, who figured before the play started -- following an Andrew Nicholson made free throw -- that Boothe would wind up kicking the ball out for a jumper.
“Now I thought they were going to suck in more and I thought [Dwight] Hardy was going to get a three in the corner to try to win it,” Roberts said. “But they allowed [Boothe] to get in there.”
“It’s Basketball 101,” Schmidt said. “You want to try to turn him, keep him going back and forth and make them drive it and kick it and make them take a contested jump shot. … If it goes in, we’ve got to go to the church a little bit more.”
Malcolm Eleby missing one of two free throws with 16.4 seconds left -- and the Bonnies subsequently losing by a point -- overshadowed the play he made moments before.
With Bona down two, the junior guard stripped Hardy atop the key, crossed half court and was headed for the hoop before a hard foul from Justin Burrell. Based on his postgame comments, Roberts doubted the validity of the intentional foul call (I do, too).
Eleby was all alone on the line for two shots, of which he clanked the second off the back of the rim. I would love to see a breakdown of free-throw percentages in normal situations (with players lined up) versus ones in technical situations where the shooter is all alone. There has to be a drop-off.
Nicholson was tremendous. As Schmidt eloquently pointed out, St. John’s is no Carolina but I do not think there is much doubt left that Nicholson can go toe to toe with the big boys.
The sophomore finished 11 of 15 from the floor, 4 of 4 from the line and had a game-high 26 points in 28 minutes. He sat out the final 9:28 of the first half after picking up foul No. 2.
Both coaches hit on the same point as to why Nicholson is successful.
“We watched him quite a bit on tape,” Roberts said. “What he does is kind of unique in that when he gets the ball, he slows down. You’re constantly trying to get your big men to slow down -- he slows so that he knows, ‘OK, here’s my footwork, here’s the shot I am going to take.’”
Fifteen minutes later at the same table, Schmidt unknowingly echoed:
“The game’s slowing down for him a little bit more. He’s taking his time in the post.”
Next time I watch Nicholson I am going to focus on his composure with the ball on the blocks.
Roberts on the atmosphere, including a decent crowd of 4,181 in Blue Cross Arena:
“I thought it was great. I was hoping it wouldn’t be this great. But it was.”
Click here for more on the future of Bona games in Rochester and Buffalo.
The statistical symmetry -- aside from the three-point numbers (1 of 8 for Bona, 8 of 17 for St. John’s) -- of Tuesday’s game was striking.
Bona shot 56.5 percent from the floor. St. John’s shot 54.3.
The Bonnies had 23 rebounds, six offensive. The Red Storm 20 and six.
Bona turned it over 14 times. St. John’s 16.
Boothe’s dash to the hoop took 4.9 seconds and followed a made free throw. Bona had 6.2 seconds after Boothe's made free throw for its final shot -- an errant Michael Davenport three.
The difference was one play. I disagree with Schmidt on this one, but I will give the Bonnies’ coach the last word here:
“You look at that game and a lot of people will focus on that last play, but it could have been the second play of the game or the third play [that was the difference] or one of the things that we didn’t block out and they got a rebound. When it comes down to one possession, that one possession could have been at the 10-minute mark in the first half.”
---Geoff Nason
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