C May/T Ford just now on 550 am

[CBFan]

33 minutes ago, Pistol said:

2:22 - STLOU - Justin Johnson missed Dunk Shot

This, to me, is Justin Johnson's career in a nutshell. One play, and it's all you need. March 3, 2004, home game vs. Louisville and we're getting destroyed. This is the year after we upset them as a #2 team. Louisville was #25, having slid for a few weeks. I don't know if it was the need for a rebound game or revenge for the prior year's big upset, but they came out of the gate strong and were absolutely dismantling us. 40-19 at halftime. We had no answer. The second half was more of the same and we just wanted it to be over. JJ was a redshirt freshman and actually got a few minutes in both halves.

While it doesn't make sense to call it "garbage time" because the whole game could be defined that way, Bennett and Mooney were in for their three minutes of action at the end of the game. JJ gets the ball under the Louisville basket with just under two and a half minutes left, and goes up as if in slow motion for a dunk, only to be denied by the FRONT OF THE RIM. Completely alone and unguarded, all the time and space in the world, and he was just flat-out denied by the rim. Soderberg looked down in disgust, but most of the rest of the bench was either laughing or doing their best to suppress laughter. The game was so out of hand for so long, it'd be tough to get worked up at that point. And it was impossible not to find humor in the quintessential Justin Johnson play.

Somehow, that was only a missed FGA in the books and not a turnover. Maybe he let go of the ball on the way down. I can't quite remember. I may have missed it while slapping my forehead.

Here are his career stats. This is a kid who didn't put in any work on his own accord. He never managed to be a rebounder or shot blocker despite his length, and he didn't do anything else well, either. He never improved. When you're that tall and long, to end up as a fifth-year senior with the same production as in your previous four seasons, with the same frame, lack of coordination, and poor athleticism, it's just pathetic.

Those are some mighty impressive stats Pistol thank you for sharing.

I am having a good lunch break laugh with everyone's posts about JJ.

[ACE]

1 hour ago, RUBillsFan said:

It is somewhat shocking and speaks to why Soderberg could never be a successful coach that JJ was never recruited over and/or shown the door.

Sodie failed to recruit any power forwards that you could at least call mediocre. He wasn't much better with point guards either.

[cheeseman]

7 hours ago, Pistol said:

This is where I differ from most on this board. I never thought he "looked good" at all. He redshirted and we had him for five years and he was STILL a completely uncoordinated baby giraffe type as a fifth-year senior. All limbs, completely awkward in all movements, terrible hands, terrible feet, poor form in every basic skill, no feel for the game, he even ran like a goofball. The irony is he was obsessed with how he looked doing things. People probably thought he was athletic because he wasn't as slow as our other bigs, had a long frame, and would throw everything into motion on the most basic dunk, swinging arms back, bringing legs up, etc. I'd call it fool's gold but he was so transparently unathletic. He was a massive project and never showed the least bit of improvement or dedication. It was painful to watch.

He wound up at SLU as part of the first Soderberg recruiting class because Sodie hired Anthony Beane, who played at K-State. JJ committed to K-State but ultimately was told his scholarship wasn't there, so Beane had the feeling he must be good enough for SLU if he was almost good enough for K-State. It was a miss, and Sodie believed in living with your mistakes, which is why he was here for 5 years and not shown the door at some point (and there were a couple opportunities to do that with cause).

Newborne was billed as a tough, gritty leader as a Juco PF who'd be immediately eligible as a junior. He was never supposed to be a big-time athlete but I think people let Sodie's enthusiasm - real or manufactured - for him get their hopes up. He was a completely flat-footed runner, so he was slow running the floor for his size and didn't have much leaping ability. He never really showed that energy or leadership, either. He was doe-eyed from the beginning, feeling more like a shy, overwhelmed freshman than an experienced upperclassman. He just wasn't the player we thought he was, in above his head, and as mentioned above, he was the end of the pipeline from that Juco instead of the beginning.

I can't disagree with anything you said. By looking good I meant the part not him actually doing it. So, I think we agree on JJ. Beanie was not a good recruiter - what happened with him and Brad in his sudden departure?

[Pistol]

13 hours ago, cheeseman said:

I can't disagree with anything you said. By looking good I meant the part not him actually doing it. So, I think we agree on JJ. Beanie was not a good recruiter - what happened with him and Brad in his sudden departure?

Beane went into private business for a year. Got a sales job. Then he went back into coaching at Illinois State, then SIUC, where he remains. His older son, Anthony Jr., is playing professionally in Bulgaria after his SIUC career. His younger son, Darius, has gotten plenty of interest and even a good amount from power conference schools, but for whatever reason just isn't getting offers. I'm not sure what he'll do; he's class of 2018, so maybe he'll take a prep year if he doesn't get some good offers by spring.

[brianstl]

7 hours ago, Pistol said:

Beane went into private business for a year. Got a sales job. Then he went back into coaching at Illinois State, then SIUC, where he remains. His older son, Anthony Jr., is playing professionally in Bulgaria after his SIUC career. His younger son, Darius, has gotten plenty of interest and even a good amount from power conference schools, but for whatever reason just isn't getting offers. I'm not sure what he'll do; he's class of 2018, so maybe he'll take a prep year if he doesn't get some good offers by spring.

Wasn't Darius considered a top 50 prospect a couple of years ago?

[thetorch]

I remember going to a breakfast with Brad at Pasta House on Delmar. He really had me going hyping up Ohanon, who just had visited and was set to sign.  He held court on how Johnson would be big time contributor before his career was over.  He couldn't be that bad of a talent evaluator, he had to know he was blowing smoke.  I liked Ohanon but Soderberg described him like he was Majic Johnson.