Bryce tonight

[crymdg2]

I know Bryce had somewhere around 8-9 points, but in my opinion he was not good at all tonight. I can't cound how many times he was just sticking his hand out in front of Dunston to "front" him and each time Dunston would get the ball and the rest is history (30 points.) I actually thought Knollmeyer in his short time tonight played the best on Dunston than anyone. He was continuously fronting him daring them to throw a weak lob pass over his head when one of our guards could have come from behind and knock it away. I don't know why Adam didn't get more time. BH's 4th and 5th fouls were pathetic, especially that last possession he was in. Dunston got that rebound that was basically in Bryce's lap and he let it be taken away from him. Dunston got the and 1, and all Bryce could do was complain at Danny Brown that it was his fault for him not getting the rebound. Go after the ball and get it yourself. Hell just put your arms in the air.

And one more thing, I know there has been a lot of talk about his improved outside shooting, but does anyone else think he is settling for it instead of posting up deep in the post and getting a better percentage shot? I just wish for one game even that he played like he was 7 foot and tried to just dunk the ball anytime he was around the rim. At worst, he gets fouled. Cmon Bryce, you're the key to the rest of this season in my opinion. Step it up.

[NH]

I know Bryce had somewhere around 8-9 points, but in my opinion he was not good at all tonight. I can't cound how many times he was just sticking his hand out in front of Dunston to "front" him and each time Dunston would get the ball and the rest is history (30 points.) I actually thought Knollmeyer in his short time tonight played the best on Dunston than anyone. He was continuously fronting him daring them to throw a weak lob pass over his head when one of our guards could have come from behind and knock it away. I don't know why Adam didn't get more time. BH's 4th and 5th fouls were pathetic, especially that last possession he was in. Dunston got that rebound that was basically in Bryce's lap and he let it be taken away from him. Dunston got the and 1, and all Bryce could do was complain at Danny Brown that it was his fault for him not getting the rebound. Go after the ball and get it yourself. Hell just put your arms in the air.

And one more thing, I know there has been a lot of talk about his improved outside shooting, but does anyone else think he is settling for it instead of posting up deep in the post and getting a better percentage shot? I just wish for one game even that he played like he was 7 foot and tried to just dunk the ball anytime he was around the rim. At worst, he gets fouled. Cmon Bryce, you're the key to the rest of this season in my opinion. Step it up.

I think he had good moments but overall not a great game. He cant handle a guy of Dunstons caliber

[fighting billiken]

I know Bryce had somewhere around 8-9 points, but in my opinion he was not good at all tonight. I can't cound how many times he was just sticking his hand out in front of Dunston to "front" him and each time Dunston would get the ball and the rest is history (30 points.) I actually thought Knollmeyer in his short time tonight played the best on Dunston than anyone. He was continuously fronting him daring them to throw a weak lob pass over his head when one of our guards could have come from behind and knock it away. I don't know why Adam didn't get more time. BH's 4th and 5th fouls were pathetic, especially that last possession he was in. Dunston got that rebound that was basically in Bryce's lap and he let it be taken away from him. Dunston got the and 1, and all Bryce could do was complain at Danny Brown that it was his fault for him not getting the rebound. Go after the ball and get it yourself. Hell just put your arms in the air.

And one more thing, I know there has been a lot of talk about his improved outside shooting, but does anyone else think he is settling for it instead of posting up deep in the post and getting a better percentage shot? I just wish for one game even that he played like he was 7 foot and tried to just dunk the ball anytime he was around the rim. At worst, he gets fouled. Cmon Bryce, you're the key to the rest of this season in my opinion. Step it up.

out of those 8 or 9 points he had, most of them were gimmies too. he was wide open and he just had to put it off the glass for an easy dos. i cant remember if he fouled on this play or not but when dunston took a long three pointer from the top of the arch, he somehow managed to get his own rebound. that play irritated me, also the conventional three point play was pretty bad too.

[Box and Won]

If he had good moments, I sure can't remember what they were.

[NH]

If he had good moments, I sure can't remember what they were.

he screened off his man nicely a couple time and played good d when he was hedging out on a guard

[kmbilliken]

Bryce made his layups. He missed his jumpers and one hook. I thought it was a decent effort. He put up enough to justufy his playing time.

I agree with the poster who said AK did the best job on Dunstan tonight. He was quick enough to get out and quard the three and did a good job on him in the paint. I thought he deserved more minutes, but I quess his turnovers and missed layups got him yanked.

[BIG BILL FAN]

Bryce made his layups. He missed his jumpers and one hook. I thought it was a decent effort. He put up enough to justufy his playing time.

I agree with the poster who said AK did the best job on Dunstan tonight. He was quick enough to get out and quard the three and did a good job on him in the paint. I thought he deserved more minutes, but I quess his turnovers and missed layups got him yanked.

I have to disagree, his effort was not decent. His inability to rebound late in the game, even when he had position was inexcusable, and his silly foul late in the game on a put back allowed the game to go into OT.

[davidnark]

If he had good moments, I sure can't remember what they were.

I'll play along. I thought the defense he played for the first 3/4 of the second half was key in helping the team come from behind and take control.

[Parks 68]

I'll play along. I thought the defense he played for the first 3/4 of the second half was key in helping the team come from behind and take control.

In the first half, Bryce didn't have a lot of energy. Don't know if he wasn't feeling OK or what. In the second half, his energy really stepped up and he was all over 42. Bryce is gonna sleep good tonight as he and 42 we at each other everytime they were on the court together.

42 handled Barry much easier than Bryce. Barry just had a little better offensive game and that huge three at the end.

Bryce definately earned his minutes tonight. It was not an outstanding game for him, but he did have 8 pts and 7 rebounds. The jump hook with 42 on his hip was ourstanding. He needs to do more of that. Overall a decent effort for Bryce.

The key to the game was doubling on 42 in the second half. Both Bryce and Tommie were fronting him and denying the ball. That is all you could do as he has such strength and athleticism.

If Bryce had is outside shots fall this evening, it would have changed the whole game. But that is just the way it goes.

The team is always better with Bryce on the floor.

[Clock_Tower]

Bryce made his layups. He missed his jumpers and one hook. I thought it was a decent effort. He put up enough to justufy his playing time.

I agree with the poster who said AK did the best job on Dunstan tonight. He was quick enough to get out and quard the three and did a good job on him in the paint. I thought he deserved more minutes, but I quess his turnovers and missed layups got him yanked.

km. Which one is it? Your first line is "Bryce made his layups" and your last is "... missed layups got him yanked." I do recall missed layups.

Also, as I posted last week, Bryce looks terrible agains better talent but looks like a superstar against lesser talent. BH deserves minutes only because we have no one else. Face it, Bryce is a 5th year senior who gets shoved around.

To answer other comments/posts, BH plays like a 7 footer - albeit a not very talented 7 footer who doesn't like to bang inside. Who ever said 7 footers equal a power game? Spoon refused to recruit tall kids simply because they were tall. Instead, he preferred 6'2" power forwards like Donnie Dobbs or 6'3" guys like Jeff Harris.

Finally, we would be at about 3 or 4 wins this year if we had to rely upon BH's shooting to win games. Any outside shots by BH must be considered a pure gift/bonus. Nothing to be counted upon.

[kmbilliken]

km. Which one is it? Your first line is "Bryce made his layups" and your last is "... missed layups got him yanked." I do recall missed layups.

Also, as I posted last week, Bryce looks terrible agains better talent but looks like a superstar against lesser talent. BH deserves minutes only because we have no one else. Face it, Bryce is a 5th year senior who gets shoved around.

To answer other comments/posts, BH plays like a 7 footer - albeit a not very talented 7 footer who doesn't like to bang inside. Who ever said 7 footers equal a power game? Spoon refused to recruit tall kids simply because they were tall. Instead, he preferred 6'2" power forwards like Donnie Dobbs or 6'3" guys like Jeff Harris.

Finally, we would be at about 3 or 4 wins this year if we had to rely upon BH's shooting to win games. Any outside shots by BH must be considered a pure gift/bonus. Nothing to be counted upon.

The second paragragh was referring to AK. I thought he did the best job defending Dunston and deserved more minutes, but I quess his turnover and missed lay ups got him yanked.

Bryce is what he is. He's not athletic. He has improved hands, but still could not that good. He has limited moves. However, he is rebounding, altering shots and giving us some scoring. He's giving us more than I ever expected and is an important contributor on this team.

[billiken_roy]

it is my opinion that bryce is the guy to use when the opponent inside guy is a finesse player. any physical activity, forget it.

eberhardt was the best on dunston imo. unfortunately he got the quick fouls and was banished for most of the game. but in the overtime he was the man. had he been able to play the whole game he stood the best chance of neutralizing dunston imo.

knollmeyer indeed was active and was the only one of the three to really front him and deny dunston the pass. however on offense adam was a panic machine last night and really didnt do the job on that end.

[ACE]

If anybody still actually doubts that we miss Ian, all they had to do was see the way Dunston absolutely dominated us. Bryce was terrible in the first half, but he came back and was a little better in the 2nd half. Barry was overmatched too, although he had a couple of real cheap fouls called on him and I just don't see much of what AK has to offer. Dunston had the best performance against us by an opponent that I can remember in a long time. It seemed like Dunston was their entire offense. When he wasn't scoring, he was setting up open shots with good passes out of the double team. Not only could our bigs not defend him, but the fact that we don't have a low post scoring presence hurts us on the other end. If we had a big who was a scoring threat it would force a guy like Dunston to work harder on the defensive end, tiring him out, while also drawing fouls on him. Fortunately, the guys pulled together and it was a gutsy win. Tommie really played with determination and KL is playing the best he has during his career.

[billiken_roy]

If anybody still actually doubts that we miss Ian, all they had to do was see the way Dunston absolutely dominated us. Bryce was terrible in the first half, but he came back and was a little better in the 2nd half. Barry was overmatched too, although he had a couple of real cheap fouls called on him and I just don't see much of what AK has to offer. Dunston had the best performance against us by an opponent that I can remember in a long time. It seemed like Dunston was their entire offense. When he wasn't scoring, he was setting up open shots with good passes out of the double team. Not only could our bigs not defend him, but the fact that we don't have a low post scoring presence hurts us on the other end. If we had a big who was a scoring threat it would force a guy like Dunston to work harder on the defensive end, tiring him out, while also drawing fouls on him. Fortunately, the guys pulled together and it was a gutsy win. Tommie really played with determination and KL is playing the best he has during his career.

fordham returned their entire team from last year and beat us last year even with the great ian in the middle for the billikens. yes a stronger player in the post would have been nice. but in the same sense i will take bryce and barry's combined stats any night, and run the offense through lisch and liddell and take the win.

lisch and liddell are a year older and last night they took over the game. the key to this team is letting kevin and tommie control our offense and the rest of the team doing all the little things to support them and step up when the opportunity presents itself. the offense must always go through kevin and tommie and we should not try to make something out of the center position we dont have. now or last year.

when keith van horne and michael doleac show up, then we can alter the plan. for now i am just grateful we are finally utilizing the pieces of the puzzle the best way possible to maximize our efforts. it sure is a lot more fun to watch than what we watched in early to mid december.

[ACE]

fordham returned their entire team from last year and beat us last year even with the great ian in the middle for the billikens. yes a stronger player in the post would have been nice. but in the same sense i will take bryce and barry's combined stats any night, and run the offense through lisch and liddell and take the win.

lisch and liddell are a year older and last night they took over the game. the key to this team is letting kevin and tommie control our offense and the rest of the team doing all the little things to support them and step up when the opportunity presents itself. the offense must always go through kevin and tommie and we should not try to make something out of the center position we dont have. now or last year.

when keith van horne and michael doleac show up, then we can alter the plan. for now i am just grateful we are finally utilizing the pieces of the puzzle the best way possible to maximize our efforts. it sure is a lot more fun to watch than what we watched in early to mid december.

Roy, you must have forgotten the game two years ago when Dunston and the great Ian battled. What a difference. We held a 40-23 advantage on the glass! Dunston went 5-14 from the field and the great Ian did just fine with 16, 7. Here's a refresher...

http://slubillikens.cstv.com/sports/m-bask.../012806aaa.html

I won't take Bryce's production every night. You're crazy. The kid tries, but he is erratic. And on a team with a true 5, Barry would be playing the 4 anyway.

As for the game last year, you are either being disingenuous or forgetful again. Kevin didn't play in that game, putting us at a big disadvantage, plus we didn't have a million $ coach on the bench.

This is an interesting comment you made... "the offense must always go through kevin and tommie and we should not try to make something out of the center position we dont have. now or last year. " Sounds like a criticism of Soderberg?!?!?!

[billiken_roy]

Roy, you must have forgotten the game two years ago when Dunston and the great Ian battled. What a difference. We held a 40-23 advantage on the glass! Dunston went 5-14 from the field and the great Ian did just fine with 16, 7. Here's a refresher...

http://slubillikens.cstv.com/sports/m-bask.../012806aaa.html

I won't take Bryce's production every night. You're crazy. The kid tries, but he is erratic. And on a team with a true 5, Barry would be playing the 4 anyway.

As for the game last year, you are either being disingenuous or forgetful again. Kevin didn't play in that game, putting us at a big disadvantage, plus we didn't have a million $ coach on the bench.

This is an interesting comment you made... "the offense must always go through kevin and tommie and we should not try to make something out of the center position we dont have. now or last year. " Sounds like a criticism of Soderberg?!?!?!

i was ripping on soderberg's obsession with forcing things through ian last year once we got into january and it was obvious that ian wasnt the ian we saw in the previous season.

it is disappointing that you and others keep neglecting to realize i have said repeatedly since last spring that getting rickma is the greatest thing that has ever happened to our program. just because i dont agree with some of the things that rickma has done and said since coming here doesnt mean i dont see the value and long term benefits and i have said so repeatedly.

there is no reason we cant have it both ways. and imo we have amazingly seen a lot of change from rickma in the last 45-60 days both on the court and off. i am especially encouraged by his demeanor on the radio these days. he hasnt called a one of our players a stepchild or accused them of no heart or something else derogatory for weeks now. as someone pointed out, i think he has finally bonded with our young man and now is showing enough decency not to anymore. encouraging.

i moved on from soderberg last summer. sure i defend him when he is unfairly attacked just like i did (and still would) coach romar when he left and many attacked him. but that is a different than wishing either were here. you all just seem to think any questioning of our million dollar coach is off limits. imo the fact he is a million dollar hall of fame coach is all the more reason to question him when something isnt right or doesnt go well. soderberg was what he was. i didnt have the immediate expectations that i have with rickma. imo it would have taken years for soderberg to build a consistently good program. but considering our administrations track record, imo it seemed like the only plan that would ever give us a consistent program. gradual slow and building program.

but that all changed when biondi opened up the vault. we can do this much quicker and will. but that is no reason to blast away at soderberg. let him alone. he's gone. forget him. move on and focus on this team now.

[cheeseman]

At the beginning of the game I told my brother who was at the game with me that Dunston was going to have BH for lunch. Not only did he have BH for lunch but also for dinner and a bedtime snack. Overall, I thought BH's play was very weak and his defense on Dunston was terrible. I am not sure why Dunston did not just stand out there all night and shoot the 3 because BH was afraid to go out after him. Some of those shots from the perimeter that BH took looked terrible - he was 4 of 10 with the 4 shots he made being on those little layups when he was standing there all by himself. Any shot that was even remotely contested he missed. He picked his defense up a bit in the second half but when we needed him at crunch time, he was nowhere to be found and when he was found he screwed up royally. That foul on Dunston with a 4 point lead was just STUPID! I told my brother all we have to do is not give them a 3 or a foul on a shot and then BH not only does not get the rebound which he had position on he then make this weak effort to defend the shot and fouls the guy - inexcusable.

AK, I thought for the time he was in there he helped - he only had one rebound but he played the most aggressively against Dunston and gave us key minutes when both BE and BH were in foul trouble. If we don't have AK last night then we loose that game - we would have had LM or DB trying to post up Dunston - I am having nightmares just typing it.

BE got some very ticky tack fouls called on him - with all the pushing going on during that game to call those fouls early on BE was crime by the refs. If he could have stayed in he would have had a better showing against Dunston then BH. His play when BH fouled out was key at the end of the game and in the overtime - my point is when it was crunch time, BE delivered by defending, not getting his 5th foul, getting the last rebound and hitting that KEY 3.

With 4 games left - BH has shown what he is and what most of us knew he was - a tall kid that is limited and is not able to play tough or tall against a banger. He can dominate lesser opponents but you could say the same thing about me. He can not jump for a rebound nor keep his hands up or the ball up in his hands - once again inexcusable for 7 footer. All this being said, if we could have gotten 14 pts and 7 rebounds from our center position as we did last night all year we would have at least 3 more wins.

[ACE]

Cheese, we scored 14, but gave up 30 at the center position! We destroy that team if we had anybody capable of slowing down Dunston. Lisch and Liddell badly outplayed their perimeter players.

[ACE]

roy, the bulk of my last response was with you taking exception with my comment that not having Ian or a suitable replacement was badly exposed last night. Again, it was not a big Soderberg thing, but if you want to go down that road, obviously I am favorable to BS for getting Ian. Now what I am critical about with BS is that he didn't have suitable replacements. I don't know how these statements can be refuted. They seem pretty basic. You cited last year's game against Fordham... for the record Ian had 18, 8 in that game and Dunston had 12 and only 1 rebound while getting in foul trouble. If we have better low post players last night, we kill Fordham. I don't think I'm saying anything too controversial.

[billiken_roy]

At the beginning of the game I told my brother who was at the game with me that Dunston was going to have BH for lunch. Not only did he have BH for lunch but also for dinner and a bedtime snack. Overall, I thought BH's play was very weak and his defense on Dunston was terrible. I am not sure why Dunston did not just stand out there all night and shoot the 3 because BH was afraid to go out after him. Some of those shots from the perimeter that BH took looked terrible - he was 4 of 10 with the 4 shots he made being on those little layups when he was standing there all by himself. Any shot that was even remotely contested he missed. He picked his defense up a bit in the second half but when we needed him at crunch time, he was nowhere to be found and when he was found he screwed up royally. That foul on Dunston with a 4 point lead was just STUPID! I told my brother all we have to do is not give them a 3 or a foul on a shot and then BH not only does not get the rebound which he had position on he then make this weak effort to defend the shot and fouls the guy - inexcusable.

AK, I thought for the time he was in there he helped - he only had one rebound but he played the most aggressively against Dunston and gave us key minutes when both BE and BH were in foul trouble. If we don't have AK last night then we loose that game - we would have had LM or DB trying to post up Dunston - I am having nightmares just typing it.

BE got some very ticky tack fouls called on him - with all the pushing going on during that game to call those fouls early on BE was crime by the refs. If he could have stayed in he would have had a better showing against Dunston then BH. His play when BH fouled out was key at the end of the game and in the overtime - my point is when it was crunch time, BE delivered by defending, not getting his 5th foul, getting the last rebound and hitting that KEY 3.

With 4 games left - BH has shown what he is and what most of us knew he was - a tall kid that is limited and is not able to play tough or tall against a banger. He can dominate lesser opponents but you could say the same thing about me. He can not jump for a rebound nor keep his hands up or the ball up in his hands - once again inexcusable for 7 footer. All this being said, if we could have gotten 14 pts and 7 rebounds from our center position as we did last night all year we would have at least 3 more wins.

boy what a great post cheese. i agree on all points.

was it just me or did it seem that it was fordham that was slowing the game? they did a great job of really retarding our offense in the first half imo. a lot of that can be attributed to the refs letting them bite, claw, pull, scratch, hold, etc on defense. even though they had fouls called they shoulda coulda called a lot lot more. lisch and liddell should have lived at the line last night.

but even beyond the fordham"defensive" game plan (foul em and foul em some more) i thought it was odd that they really ran the clock ever possession when it seemed they could have gotten the ball to dunston immediately on most possessions.

[cheeseman]

Cheese, we scored 14, but gave up 30 at the center position! We destroy that team if we had anybody capable of slowing down Dunston. Lisch and Liddell badly outplayed their perimeter players.

Not saying you are wrong - my point was that if got our typical center position production of 7 rebounds and 9 points we would have lost tonight. So, I would be happy to take 14 pts and 7 rebounds in every game this year.

[BIG BILL FAN]

fordham returned their entire team from last year and beat us last year even with the great ian in the middle for the billikens. yes a stronger player in the post would have been nice. but in the same sense i will take bryce and barry's combined stats any night, and run the offense through lisch and liddell and take the win.

lisch and liddell are a year older and last night they took over the game. the key to this team is letting kevin and tommie control our offense and the rest of the team doing all the little things to support them and step up when the opportunity presents itself. the offense must always go through kevin and tommie and we should not try to make something out of the center position we dont have. now or last year.

when keith van horne and michael doleac show up, then we can alter the plan. for now i am just grateful we are finally utilizing the pieces of the puzzle the best way possible to maximize our efforts. it sure is a lot more fun to watch than what we watched in early to mid december.

Roy, would you take their defense effort of last night every night? I wouldn't...I couldn't help but notice your sarcastic comments about Ian, maybe you and Jack should spend more time together.

[billiken_roy]

Roy, would you take their defense effort of last night every night? I wouldn't...I couldn't help but notice your sarcastic comments about Ian, maybe you and Jack should spend more time together.

big bill fan, you need to expand your question. who's effort? the billikens? except for dunston, what fordham player had a good offensive night?

as to ian, i think i have been consistent on my position on ian since xmas of 2006. ian was on his way up as a junior. he was never the same his senior season. yeah he would be better than any one player we have playing center this season, but imo he isnt all that much better than what we have gotten combined from our three players this season.

if ian was everything a lot of you have been now saying he was, he would most definitely be in the nba. not playing in greece.

the one thing i think we do agree on is that forever, center has been a sore spot for the billikens. we are more or less saying would you rather have a broken arm or a broken leg? dam, both hurt. i dont want either one.

one of the great things that it appears we have to look forward to is a coach that has a proven track record developing centers which undoubtedly will give us the opportunity to someday have a real center rather than the likes of the pretend centers we have been parading through slu for the last 30 years.

[Bay Area Billiken]

Several points:

1. As someone else noted, Kevin Lisch did not play in last year's loss at Fordham. IMO that was the most game dispositive factor of all in last year's game.

2. When I've seen Fordham play on TV, they want to slow the ball down usually and get in a half-court game.

3. Dunston rarely shoots 3 pointers. He is 5-25 on 3 pointers for the season, but was 2-5 in last night's game against SLU.

[ACE]

Not saying you are wrong - my point was that if got our typical center position production of 7 rebounds and 9 points we would have lost tonight. So, I would be happy to take 14 pts and 7 rebounds in every game this year.

I agree with those offensive numbers being o.k., but our centers are giving up a lot. Dunston gets 1 rebound against Ian last year and this year he gets 13 to go along with 30. I will be interested to see what happens next year when Barry slides to the 4. I think he will be much better in that position.