Jalen Johnson transferring

[Scoop]

  This is disappointing.  Plenty of minutes for him the next 2 years.

[SShoe]

55 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

odd man out.   for a billikens roster we will be loaded at pf which is probably jalen's best position.   he isnt going to play ahead of french and gordon let alone foreman and santos.    at the wing, we all have been wondering how he will guard much quicker A10 wings.  and we have obviously mortgaged a future with a few good new players for next season that will play wing and demand minutes.

 

    jalen did a good job while here but i honestly cant blame him for his decision to move on as he appears his minutes would diminish.    hope it all turns out great for him because he seemed like a fine young man that always gave his best.   good luck jalen.  very glad you were a billiken during a tough transititional period for the billiken fandom.   things would have been a lot worse the last two seasons without Jalen Johnson.

I agree with a lot of this.  I wasn't sure where JJ fit moving forward.  Thought he'd have some role with a need for an outside shooter, but my hope is that Pearson is an upgrade, at least in terms of ceiling.  

Best of luck to him.  He's the type of player that's easy to cheer for.

[JMM28]

Weird timing. seemed like a good guy. 

Usually with this kind of timing, I think that it was a Jared Drew type situation. But I can’t see that here. 

[cgeldmacher]

I really like JJ for what he gave Ford as an option.  By this I mean that he wasn't a starter, but could come off the bench and really light it up if he was hot.  He could carry the team for a stretch with his shooting if he was on.  If he wasn't on, then it's no big deal, because he's coming off of the bench anyway.  Just send someone else in.  I think that coaches always want those types of guys on the bench.

If JJ was hot, he was really hot.  He was often good for 3-4 threes in a ten minute stretch of the game.

Oh well.  I hope he's making this decision for the right reasons.  I wish him the best of luck.

[BIG BILL FAN]

22 minutes ago, SShoe said:

I agree with a lot of this.  I wasn't sure where JJ fit moving forward.  Thought he'd have some role with a need for an outside shooter, but my hope is that Pearson is an upgrade, at least in terms of ceiling.  

Best of luck to him.  He's the type of player that's easy to cheer for.

I agree with Roy, but I think Pearson/Thatch will fill his role nicely. We need to get used to this, with the talent coming in there is always going to be a few unhappy players. This may  signal  a shift in the style of play. I think Ford wants to go to an uptempo style both offensively and defensively, certainly not JJ's strengths....

[wgstl]

45 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

honestly i think jalen's shooting was over hyped by this board because our shooting last year by the rest of the roster was not good.    he was ok, the best on our roster last year, but he was never what henriquez would have been for us.   if we were going to be dependent on johnson as our main gunner, that isnt good.   i'm hoping that ford has a gun(s) to emerge this year that will quickly make us forget johnson.  

an honestly, if shooting was all he was really going to excel at, that isnt good.   cody ellis did a lot more than shoot threes.   he was the master at drawing charges and a very good help defender.   rarely out of position.   as i stated above i like johnson, but i dont think he was cody ellis.  

My thing with JJ is I felt like out of his 4 college years, next year is where we would need him the most. Without him,  he have no one shooting above 30%!!!.  The only chance we have of a shooter who will go about 35% are in the hopes of two freshman.   In no way am I saying I dont believe thatch or MP can shoot over 35%, im just saying I never like to rely Fr to come in and shoot that high right away.   

 

At this point, last years team may be better from 3 than the incoming one.  JJ would have been great at bridging the gap, and allowing thatch and pearson to get going, because that may take a while if not all season. 

 

Point being, we just lost a 40% 3 point shooter, who is 6'7, can play a few spots, and is a good rebounder, and only will be a junior.  And an outstanding ambassador for the university. Thats never easy to give up. 

[BIG BILL FAN]

8 minutes ago, wgstl said:

My thing with JJ is I felt like out of his 4 college years, next year is where we would need him the most. Without him,  he have no one shooting above 30%!!!.  The only chance we have of a shooter who will go about 35% are in the hopes of two freshman.   In no way am I saying I dont believe thatch or MP can shoot over 35%, im just saying I never like to rely Fr to come in and shoot that high right away.   

 

At this point, last years team may be better from 3 than the incoming one.  JJ would have been great at bridging the gap, and allowing thatch and pearson to get going, because that may take a while if not all season. 

 

Point being, we just lost a 40% 3 point shooter, who is 6'7, can play a few spots, and is a good rebounder, and only will be a junior.  And an outstanding ambassador for the school. Thats never easy to give up. 

makes the return of Welmer a little more important......

[wgstl]

7 minutes ago, BIG BILL FAN said:

makes the return of Welmer a little more important......

Im a big fan of Welmer, but not sure how well he can shoot after pretty much not playing for 2 years. 

[Littlebill]

1 hour ago, RiseAndGrind said:

1) Goodwin

2) bess

3....

4) gordon

5) french 

 

Is Thatch good enough to start at the 2 and play significant. Seems the athleticism step up won't bother him. What do y'all think? I think he may be a little underrated on this board

[HoosierPal]

15 minutes ago, wgstl said:

My thing with JJ is I felt like out of his 4 college years, next year is where we would need him the most. Without him,  he have no one shooting above 30%!!!.  The only chance we have of a shooter who will go about 35% are in the hopes of two freshman.   In no way am I saying I dont believe thatch or MP can shoot over 35%, im just saying I never like to rely Fr to come in and shoot that high right away.   

 

At this point, last years team may be better from 3 than the incoming one.  JJ would have been great at bridging the gap, and allowing thatch and pearson to get going, because that may take a while if not all season. 

 

Point being, we just lost a 40% 3 point shooter, who is 6'7, can play a few spots, and is a good rebounder, and only will be a junior.  And an outstanding ambassador for the university. Thats never easy to give up. 

 

6 minutes ago, BIG BILL FAN said:

makes the return of Welmer a little more important......

This...... Our returning team hit a combine 25% from the arc last season.  Why would anyone guard us out there?   The problem with counting on freshmen is that....they are freshmen.   If Thatch or Pearson can come close to 35% shooting, that would be wonderful.  I would be giddy of all freshmen combined hit for 52 three pointers next year, equaling Johnson's production.

And wgstl you left out that Johnson was second on the team in blocked shots.  Yeah, Gordon and Santos are coming in, but Johnson was second on the team in blocked shots.

BBF, yes, this makes Welmer a LOT more important.  A 37% three point shooter suddenly becomes out best returning outside threat.

 

[wgstl]

1 hour ago, RiseAndGrind said:

?? 

1) Goodwin

2) bess

3....

4) gordon

5) french 

 

 

Unless** Bess really, really, really works on his ball control, cant have him at 2. 

 

1)Jgood

2)Thatch/jacobs, whoever is better

3)bess

4)Gordon

5)French

[Quality Is Job 1]

15 minutes ago, wgstl said:

Im a big fan of Welmer, but not sure how well he can shoot after pretty much not playing for 2 years. 

Welmer has missed 1 year, not 2.  Do you mean 2 out of 3?

[HoosierPal]

5 minutes ago, wgstl said:

Unless** Bess really, really, really works on his ball control, cant have him at 2. 

 

1)Jgood

2)Thatch/jacobs, whoever is better

3)bess

4)Gordon

5)French

Why not Pearson on the wing?

True, Bess doesn't have point guard skills and won't be Goodwin's back up.  But he was in the 'weave' last season. His ball handling skills proved to be sufficient on the wing.  2's and 3's are the same in Ford's system.

[wgstl]

3 minutes ago, Quality Is Job 1 said:

Welmer has missed 1 year, not 2.  Do you mean 2 out of 3?

no clue where my brain is.  I dont know why I was thinking he missed a lot of time 2 years ago.

[BIG BILL FAN]

31 minutes ago, Littlebill said:

Is Thatch good enough to start at the 2 and play significant. Seems the athleticism step up won't bother him. What do y'all think? I think he may be a little underrated on this board

I think it will be Pearson, Ford seems confident in his ability to handle the ball.

[TFord and TRavs]

18 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

Why not Pearson on the wing?

True, Bess doesn't have point guard skills and won't be Goodwin's back up.  But he was in the 'weave' last season. His ball handling skills proved to be sufficient on the wing.  2's and 3's are the same in Ford's system.

I can see Pearson thatch and Jacobs alternating minutes in the beginning and 2 of them coming out on top in minutes between the 3 towards the end of the season

[slu72]

Kind of surprised as he knew Ford's system and coaching style better than anyone on the team. He had some nice games for us last year and thought he'd really get 10-20 mpg for the upcoming season. That said, none of us know what he was learning since the end of the season as to who coach was high on with the incoming FR. Everyone's talking about Pearson and Thatch, but I just wonder if it's not Thor he saw taking his minutes. Of course, he might be leaving for reasons unrelated to playing time. The timing is a bit unusual to be tossing your hat into the transfer ring. Also, makes you wonder if there's not some Grad Transfer lurking in the background we don't know about.

[CBFan]

2 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

honestly i think jalen's shooting was over hyped by this board because our shooting last year by the rest of the roster was not good.    he was ok, the best on our roster last year, but he was never what henriquez would have been for us.   if we were going to be dependent on johnson as our main gunner, that isnt good.   i'm hoping that ford has a gun(s) to emerge this year that will quickly make us forget johnson.  

an honestly, if shooting was all he was really going to excel at, that isnt good.   cody ellis did a lot more than shoot threes.   he was the master at drawing charges and a very good help defender.   rarely out of position.   as i stated above i like johnson, but i dont think he was cody ellis.  

Thank you Roy I am off the edge

[CBFan]

2 hours ago, Quality Is Job 1 said:

I'm disappointed, too, @CBFan, but before you take it that hard, consider the following.

Yes, Jalen Johnson was a rotation player, but was he a core player?  I don't recall seeing anyone state that he's a core player -- one the program is built around.  That designation goes to Jordan Goodwin, Hasahn French, and CarteAre Gordon.  Javon Bess will be big for the Bills next year, but he's a senior.

The thing that's disappointing about Jalen's decision to transfer is that he was Travis Ford's first recruit to SLU.  Now the first set of freshmen who can become seniors under Ford is Goodwin and French.

Thank you quality

[BourbanStreet]

4 minutes ago, slu72 said:

Kind of surprised as he knew Ford's system and coaching style better than anyone on the team. He had some nice games for us last year and thought he'd really get 10-20 mpg for the upcoming season. That said, none of us know what he was learning since the end of the season as to who coach was high on with the incoming FR. Everyone's talking about Pearson and Thatch, but I just wonder if it's not Thor he saw taking his minutes. Of course, he might be leaving for reasons unrelated to playing time. The timing is a bit unusual to be tossing your hat into the transfer ring. Also, makes you wonder if there's not some Grad Transfer lurking in the background we don't know about.

I agree with a lot of that. We don't the story behind whats going on. TF could have been honest with him and told him its going to be tough to get playing time with incoming freshmen and with LS becoming available which allows the team to have a different dynamic. Or it could have been family related, etc. Regardless, thanks JJ on a hard worked 2 years, and I wish him nothing but the best on his future. I only heard upstanding things about him as a person from other athletes.

[gobillsgo]

I guess we are just bound to never have depth for as long as I am a Billiken fan. 

[juniorbill76]

Maybe he plans to go home and play for LSU with the other Jalen Johnson.

[Bobby Metzinger]

2 hours ago, Quality Is Job 1 said:

I'm disappointed, too, @CBFan, but before you take it that hard, consider the following.

Yes, Jalen Johnson was a rotation player, but was he a core player?  I don't recall seeing anyone state that he's a core player -- one the program is built around.  That designation goes to Jordan Goodwin, Hasahn French, and CarteAre Gordon.  Javon Bess will be big for the Bills next year, but he's a senior.

The thing that's disappointing about Jalen's decision to transfer is that he was Travis Ford's first recruit to SLU.  Now the first set of freshmen who can become seniors under Ford is Goodwin and French.

Don't have to be a core player to have a huge impact, though. John Paxon, BJ Armstrong just as vital to the Bulls as MJ and Scottie. The under the radar guys can stick a dagger like Steve Kerr did. We need our stud guys, for sure, but those silent assassin types are sure fun too! I saw JJ as one of those guys that as soon as you relax, bam, he's knocking down jumpers.

[Quality Is Job 1]

3 minutes ago, Bobby Metzinger said:

Don't have to be a core player to have a huge impact, though. John Paxon, BJ Armstrong just as vital to the Bulls as MJ and Scottie. The under the radar guys can stick a dagger like Steve Kerr did. We need our stud guys, for sure, but those silent assassin types are sure fun too! I saw JJ as one of those guys that as soon as you relax, bam, he's knocking down jumpers.

I don't disagree with you, at all.  We'll miss Jalen.  It could make the difference between a squad that could shock the nation with a Sweet 16 run and one that just makes the Tournament (or gets on the bubble).  But he's not a player whose departure should drive fans to the ledge.

[Littlebill]

22 minutes ago, Bobby Metzinger said:

John Paxon, BJ Armstrong just as vital to the Bulls as MJ and Scottie. 

Jesus man. This is on the Mt. Rushmore of all-time bad takes.

Were they important to a final result? Maybe - but don't say they're AS important as the two HOFers on the team.