Mountaineers Now Postgame Show: St. John's Defeats WVU
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:09 It is the Mountaineers now post game show presented by Country Roads AirDog
00:13 cleaning take me home to comfort St.
00:16 John's winners in the Big East Big 12 battle over West Virginia 79 to 73.
00:21 It is the fourth straight win for the Johnnies over the Mountaineers.
00:25 And quick look here at the numbers.
00:27 Jesse Edwards doing his normal 15.6 rebounds and three blocks in limited action.
00:34 He battled foul trouble for much of the evening, particularly in the second half.
00:39 Quince Lozinski stepped up after he settled in this first couple of minutes.
00:43 Bounced back pretty strong at 19.7 boards.
00:46 And obviously for St. John's, the big guy going into this game
00:50 was gonna be the factor and turned out to be, and
00:53 that's Joel Soriano, 24 points and nine rebounds.
00:57 West Virginia as a team shot 31 of 43 from the charity strike.
01:02 15 of 17 at the half, they got more opportunities at the line but
01:07 couldn't cash in.
01:08 And Chris, once again, it's same story, different night.
01:13 This team plays well, plays hard for about 30 or so minutes.
01:17 And then the wheels just kind of fall off when they run out of gas.
01:20 [MUSIC]
01:22 Yeah, fatigue settles in every single game.
01:27 And really when it comes down to the big crucial offensive
01:32 rebounds they give up, it's just hot, hot legs.
01:36 Guys are kind of crashing into them down there late and
01:40 they just don't have the strength.
01:41 At times can keep that distance from the rim to kind of get pushed on
01:45 the basket at times.
01:46 Teams are taking advantage in every aspect.
01:50 They're playing more aggressive on both ends of the floor to try to draw fouls,
01:55 get them frustrated, make them reach on the defensive end.
01:58 And that's essentially what you're seeing.
02:00 It was a very inconsistent called game.
02:04 And you know, I did as well.
02:06 You gotta credit Patino on that.
02:09 Trying to deal with Bob Huggins, Press Virginia, just go in there and
02:14 beat up teams.
02:15 I mean, what are they gonna do?
02:16 You're 12 deep.
02:17 >> Yeah. >> Rolling into this game.
02:18 So yeah, it really is the story every single night.
02:25 I wouldn't say the wheels fall off other than their legs are about to fall off.
02:30 >> Yeah. >> It's exhausting.
02:31 >> Literal wheels will fall off.
02:33 >> I don't, maybe there's another team out there, but
02:38 you have three guys averaging 33 minutes or more a game.
02:41 >> That's hard to remember.
02:43 >> So I don't really, it's frustrating for
02:48 Tyler that was the most vocal I've seen him on the sidelines.
02:51 He was obviously not pleased with the officiating.
02:54 But these guys are putting in everything they can.
02:57 And that's really all you can ask for from a fan perspective.
03:01 You'd like to see the wins, but don't know really what answers they have.
03:04 They could possibly come up with at this point.
03:07 They're playing in zone on defense to try to save legs.
03:10 They try to slow it down and pick their spots in transition.
03:14 Really offensively, all you can really ask for
03:17 more is maybe a little bit more efficiency in running plays.
03:20 And I think maybe when Kirk Creaser comes back, maybe you'll see that efficiency.
03:27 But right now they're just struggling to go out against good teams.
03:31 And that's not a surprise considering, not lack of depth,
03:37 but nothing against Kobe or Seth.
03:40 They're just not really talented enough to be starters.
03:44 Seth could probably be a starter shooting guard, depending on who's around him.
03:51 But what he's asked, it is really not in his skill set, but
03:54 really they don't have a choice.
03:56 >> The one guy I feel really bad for outside of Jesse Edwards,
04:00 because he's gotta actually do the labor of the 30 plus minutes a night,
04:03 unless he's in foul trouble, was Pat Sumnick.
04:06 Because I actually feel if Sumnick is in a position to where he's
04:11 playing the role he's intended to play, I think he's actually a pretty decent,
04:16 like, blue guy for this team.
04:17 I don't know that he's a 10.6 rebound guy, but
04:21 he kind of gives you that Gabo, Saboyan type-ish feel.
04:25 Maybe not quite to that extent, but I think he could be a really solid player.
04:28 But when he's being asked to be the backup center, I mean, it's a tough task.
04:34 And we saw it tonight, as soon as Sumnick goes in at the five, I mean,
04:39 they're just throwing the ball down to Soriano time and time again.
04:42 Guards are penetrating right in his direction, and
04:45 there's nothing that he can really do.
04:48 Because he's not as quick enough to move his feet laterally, and
04:52 he's not gonna hold up against a guy like Joel Soriano either.
04:55 >> Yeah, and Pat really shouldn't be your second option in that situation.
05:02 He's a guy that, hey, maybe we can bring in, provide a little spark,
05:06 maybe still play eight to ten minutes for a full roster.
05:09 And that might be pushing it.
05:10 You can use him at times like the other last couple years.
05:13 Yeah, it's just one of those situations where you're asking another kid to play
05:18 above his skill set, and yeah, it's nothing against Pat.
05:22 But that's a good center that they have, and
05:25 that's gonna be a good St. John's team, us and the team in the last couple days.
05:31 They're kind of like where West Virginia was last year, I would say this year too.
05:36 But where they've just brought in a bunch of people and
05:38 they're learning to play together.
05:39 It sounded kind of a little bit refreshing here, an old school coach who's kept
05:45 talking about their defense and how bad they were defensively.
05:48 But they played hard tonight on the defensive end.
05:51 So here in old Ripertino again, kind of brought back some memories.
05:54 >> [LAUGH] >> But you can kind of grab that one,
05:57 but that's gonna be a pretty good St.
05:59 John's team throughout the year.
06:00 They'll be inconsistent, but
06:02 wouldn't be surprised if they're in the NCAA tournament when it's all said and done.
06:06 >> Absolutely, I mean, they were picked, I think,
06:07 fifth in the preseason poll in the Big East, and that's a very tough league.
06:11 So, JoJo Harris, he had ten points on three or four shooting tonight.
06:17 He also had eight rebounds.
06:19 Kobe Johnson, 14 points.
06:21 Seth Wilson, he got the start tonight instead of Ofri Naveh.
06:25 But boy, he could not hit anything.
06:27 0 for 11 on the night.
06:30 I don't know that it really matters which way you go with this starting lineup,
06:34 whether it's Seth, whether it's Ofri.
06:37 It seems like they get better minutes out of Seth off the bench.
06:40 I don't know if that's just comfortability from last year.
06:43 But again, it's not really gonna change much until you get Kirk Carissa back.
06:49 We sound like a broken record, but this offense will look night and
06:53 day when he comes back.
06:54 And it'll look night and day immediately, I believe.
06:56 Because not only is he gonna be able to facilitate the rock, but
06:59 he's gonna be able to make shots himself.
07:00 Which they really haven't had that kind of dynamic threat at the point position yet.
07:05 And right now, it's just really about getting to that point where he can come
07:12 back, I don't know what they're gonna do over these next couple of games.
07:15 But speaking of the backyard brawl, this is gonna be a much improved pit team.
07:23 One that is probably Jeff Capel's best, I would say.
07:27 I haven't done a deep dive on them yet, but they clearly-
07:31 >> They're okay.
07:32 [LAUGH] They're okay.
07:33 Watched them play Missouri the other day, they're okay.
07:36 >> But- >> They're nothing to hang on.
07:39 >> Pit has been- >> They've been bad, but they're not.
07:41 >> Bad for years.
07:42 >> I would say they're about where they were last year.
07:43 They're not, they're okay.
07:47 >> So for West Virginia to win the backyard brawl,
07:50 I don't know that they need 40 free throws.
07:52 But I think they need to do a little bit better job on the class.
07:55 A big part of that is keeping Jesse Edwards in the game.
07:58 Any keys for you for that one?
08:01 >> Make shots.
08:04 [LAUGH] >> Make more shots than they do.
08:07 >> That's pretty much all I got.
08:09 I mean, they're not shooting well, and I mean, that's all you can really do.
08:13 It's just make shots, but you gotta get better look shots.
08:17 You mentioned Seth, he just had a horrendous, absolutely terrible game.
08:21 But yeah, Kerr may bring it.
08:22 I'd like to see, you know, Kobe's done a great job driving the thing.
08:26 And scoring around the end of times.
08:30 I know he'll get with Kerr, so he'll be able to get the edge and
08:32 drive consistently and pull guys up.
08:35 So it's, you know, I wish you got him back for Pit.
08:39 Wish you had him the whole time.
08:41 But they're still gonna have a lot of challenges when he gets back, but
08:44 it'll definitely lighten the load.
08:46 In the backcourt and will most definitely find better offense.
08:53 I think he'll be able to find the open shooters,
08:57 get Jesse the ball a little bit more in the paint.
08:59 And I think Quinn, you know, he's playing, to me he's playing really well.
09:05 And I think Quinn will really be able to excel his game as well with Kerr in there.
09:11 Because that way he can kinda pick his spots where he's not trying to
09:15 create so much driving the lane.
09:17 And really if it hasn't been for Quinn, you gotta look at this team.
09:22 Yeah, Jesse's getting the points, but
09:23 Quinn's kinda helping balance that out a little bit.
09:25 So yeah, it's all about Kerr, try to get some legs and
09:28 hopefully with all the ridiculousness at the NCAA,
09:31 we can see Rayquan battle at some point.
09:33 >> That would be a very pleasant surprise and welcome for sure.
09:38 And who knows, Josh Adler didn't necessarily rule out a return for
09:43 a cook a cook, but again, we've talked about this off camera a lot.
09:47 I don't know, I think you said, I don't know what doctor would clear him, but.
09:51 >> I know Barani James just got cleared, different situation.
09:56 >> That is true.
09:57 >> A cook has a heart condition already, so prior to this.
10:04 So I mean, I don't, obviously I'm not a doctor, no idea what all goes into that.
10:10 But I would think it'd be hard for a doctor to allow him to play
10:16 this season with that medical condition.
10:20 I mean, they can run the test and give it a go,
10:23 that he would most definitely be welcomed with open arms on the bench,
10:29 on the court, Mountain Dew fans everywhere.
10:32 Because yeah, Quinn and Jesse need some rest.
10:36 >> Yes, they do.
10:37 So that'll do it, St. John's again, winters over West Virginia,
10:42 79 to 73 in the Big East Big 12 showdown or Big East Big 12 battle,
10:46 whatever they call it.
10:48 They change the name of this thing every two years, I swear.
10:51 But Mountain Deers will be back in action Wednesday night, 9 o'clock tip off.
10:55 It's a late one on ESPN 2 against the Pit Panthers in the backyard brawl.
10:59 We'll have that one covered for you as well.
11:02 Make sure you hit the subscribe button on YouTube at Mountain Deers now and
11:06 post game show on X at the same handle.
11:08 For Christopher Hall, I'm Skylar Calhoun.
11:11 You've been watching Mountain Deers now post game show.
11:13 We'll be talking to you Wednesday night, fall on the brawl.
11:16 [MUSIC]