Holy Land fan poll - who finishes in 5th place?

[SJU87]

In regards to St. John's, if one is talking about NBA type of athlete's then St. John's is your team. They're probably top 5 in the country in that regard, that doesn't make them great players though. Last year countless times I watched them play outstanding high level top 5 type of play ... for like 10 minutes, then unfortunately they'd follow that up with some of the dumbest 20 minute stretches you can image. Poor shot selection, turnovers, stupid fouls, poor rebounding, etc. They really are a Jekyll and Hyde team.

It just goes to show how far the game has come, pure athleticism is not enough, not even close. The men's game is so competitive that any top 100 team could beat one another on any given night (even if the favored team wins 9/10 or more, that 1 upset still happens), and sometimes that filters down even further than that.

A perfect example was the 2010 St. John's Redstorm. They finished the season ranked at 15th and that team had one top 100 player. They were all seniors and had played with each other for 4 years. Dwight Hardy was a JUCO. They blew out Duke, Notre Dame with double digit leads. Then the next year they were all Freshmen except for 1 senior . The new Freshmen were extremely athletic compared to the team the previous year.

[Bill Marsh]

In regards to St. John's, if one is talking about NBA type of athlete's then St. John's is your team. They're probably top 5 in the country in that regard, that doesn't make them great players though. Last year countless times I watched them play outstanding high level top 5 type of play ... for like 10 minutes, then unfortunately they'd follow that up with some of the dumbest 20 minute stretches you can image. Poor shot selection, turnovers, stupid fouls, poor rebounding, etc. They really are a Jekyll and Hyde team.

They were also a very young team last year. The kind of lapses you're describing should begin to disappear with more experience IMO.

[Westbrook36]

In regards to St. John's, if one is talking about NBA type of athlete's then St. John's is your team. They're probably top 5 in the country in that regard, that doesn't make them great players though. Last year countless times I watched them play outstanding high level top 5 type of play ... for like 10 minutes, then unfortunately they'd follow that up with some of the dumbest 20 minute stretches you can image. Poor shot selection, turnovers, stupid fouls, poor rebounding, etc. They really are a Jekyll and Hyde team.

They were also a very young team last year. The kind of lapses you're describing should begin to disappear with more experience IMO.

That was their excuse the year before that as well, at some point they have to stop talking about it and start doing it. I expect St. John's to be very dangerous this year and to actually make the NCAA tourney, but just because you want it and it looks good on paper, doesn't mean it's going to be given to you. Time for them to step up and deliver, hoping they do, good for them and good for the conference.

[redmen9194]

That is what young teams do. Hopefully now that they are juniors for the most part, they will be more consistent.

[Bill Marsh]

In regards to St. John's, if one is talking about NBA type of athlete's then St. John's is your team. They're probably top 5 in the country in that regard, that doesn't make them great players though. Last year countless times I watched them play outstanding high level top 5 type of play ... for like 10 minutes, then unfortunately they'd follow that up with some of the dumbest 20 minute stretches you can image. Poor shot selection, turnovers, stupid fouls, poor rebounding, etc. They really are a Jekyll and Hyde team.

They were also a very young team last year. The kind of lapses you're describing should begin to disappear with more experience IMO.

That was their excuse the year before that as well, at some point they have to stop talking about it and start doing it. I expect St. John's to be very dangerous this year and to actually make the NCAA tourney, but just because you want it and it looks good on paper, doesn't mean it's going to be given to you. Time for them to step up and deliver, hoping they do, good for them and good for the conference.

I agree. The time is now. I'm a believer in them and that they will seize the opportunity.

[MADXSTER]

I got Xavier finishing 4th.

[Omaha1]

Looks like there is a separation between 1st / 2nd and 3rd / 4th. Should be interesting.