NH Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Everyone talks about how good we were defensively last year. We lost KC and BC, both good defenders. However, I think this year we will take a step forward defensively. KM, MM, JJ all have the ability to be lockdown defenders and combined will have have 11 seasons in the system. Jett showed this a little towards the end of last season. Manning and Remekun could both be decent shot blockers as well and we have the depth where guys can go full-out and when they get tired can be subbed for. I expect us to smother teams this year defensively, I think that kind of improvement gets somewhat forgotten. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Everyone talks about how good we were defensively last year. We lost KC and BC, both good defenders. However, I think this year we will take a step forward defensively. KM, MM, JJ all have the ability to be lockdown defenders and combined will have have 11 seasons in the system. Jett showed this a little towards the end of last season. Manning and Remekun could both be decent shot blockers as well and we have the depth where guys can go full-out and when they get tired can be subbed for. I expect us to smother teams this year defensively, I think that kind of improvement gets somewhat forgotten. Thoughts? I generally agree, although, KM's defense was not on par with either JJ's or MM's. Not that I think he is a bad defender, but KM was often beat off the dribble. This was especially apparent early on in the season (getting back in basketball shape?), but I think it definitely got better as the season progressed. On the interior, I really believe CR is going to be a player. He'll have ups and downs offensively, but i think he'll be a consistent low-post defensive presence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbizzle09 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Everyone talks about how good we were defensively last year. We lost KC and BC, both good defenders. However, I think this year we will take a step forward defensively. KM, MM, JJ all have the ability to be lockdown defenders and combined will have have 11 seasons in the system. Jett showed this a little towards the end of last season. Manning and Remekun could both be decent shot blockers as well and we have the depth where guys can go full-out and when they get tired can be subbed for. I expect us to smother teams this year defensively, I think that kind of improvement gets somewhat forgotten. Thoughts? I also think our defensive rebounding will be better than last year. BC was a good low-post defender, but not a great defensive rebounder. Whoever gets his minutes will give us more rebounding than we had last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 I generally agree, although, KM's defense was not on par with either JJ's or MM's. Not that I think he is a bad defender, but KM was often beat off the dribble. This was especially apparent early on in the season (getting back in basketball shape?), but I think it definitely got better as the season progressed. On the interior, I really believe CR is going to be a player. He'll have ups and downs offensively, but i think he'll be a consistent low-post defensive presence. I agree. This was weird. Remember freshman year when he shut down BC guard Tyrese Rice? I expect a better year out of Kwa for two main reasons: he will be thinking less, playing more. And he shot 39% from three in conference play; I expect that to continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I was pleasantly surprised at how well McCall developed as a defender. Agree that with more minutes for Remekun and Manning, plus hopefully some more development from Loe, we will be a better shotblocking team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizziken Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I also think our defensive rebounding will be better than last year. BC was a good low-post defender, but not a great defensive rebounder. Whoever gets his minutes will give us more rebounding than we had last year. Cody Ellis had the exact same number of defensive rebounds (89) as Conk in 300 less minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Seems to me our defense is based on the sum of its parts, not the individuals. I'm not worried at all about losing Conk and Cassity from a defensive standpoint. We're bringing back a roster full of guys who will have one more year of RM's defensive system drilled into their brains and muscle memories. SLU's team defense will remain one of the best in the country. If any team defensive stats slide from last year, it will be due to better competition, not a slip in performance or execution. And there should be enough offensive improvement to compensate for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 -our guards, all of them, have room to grow imo as they got beat on dribble penetration way too much last year, with limited help in the lane -cut that down and make someone shoot a 16 footer and we are improved from an already good place -or if the dribble penetration continues i see the point of having a shot blocker (CR or JM??) there to help in that situation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock_Tower Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Everyone talks about how good we were defensively last year. We lost KC and BC, both good defenders. However, I think this year we will take a step forward defensively. KM, MM, JJ all have the ability to be lockdown defenders and combined will have have 11 seasons in the system. Jett showed this a little towards the end of last season. Manning and Remekun could both be decent shot blockers as well and we have the depth where guys can go full-out and when they get tired can be subbed for. I expect us to smother teams this year defensively, I think that kind of improvement gets somewhat forgotten. Thoughts? Thoughts? Yes. KC was not a good defender last year. He got beat constantly. Frankly, he played much better his JR year than his SR year. And by the end of the year, KC was on the bench and largely a non-factor. From a defensive standpoint, the loss of KC will not detract. Now, from a veteran standpoint, a guy in the locker room, a guy who brought certain intangibles to the team, yes, he will be missed for this. BC was undersized and exposed on the defense. The lack of a veteran/dominant/interior/American style center did not help BC. The lack of a strong outside-shooting wing also did not help BC. Because of the personnel at the 3 and 5 last year, BC had to do it by himself. In many games, BC carried our team to wins. From a competitive, leadership and an offensive standpoint, BC will certainly be missed. In fact, the jury is still out on whether anyone will replace the inside scoring BC gave us but the interior defense (the topic at issue) will not slip due to the loss of BC. All of his replacements are bigger and equally quick/strong as BC was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 -our guards, all of them, have room to grow imo as they got beat on dribble penetration way too much last year, with limited help in the lane -cut that down and make someone shoot a 16 footer and we are improved from an already good place -or if the dribble penetration continues i see the point of having a shot blocker (CR or JM??) there to help in that situation The way we pressure the ball trying tp prevent the 3, is going to lead to getting beat off the dribble to some extent. It's pretty tough to do both. What hurt last year is that we had no shot blockers to intimidate the ball handler. Once you beat your man last year, you were almost home free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbizzle09 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 The way we pressure the ball trying tp prevent the 3, is going to lead to getting beat off the dribble to some extent. It's pretty tough to do both. What hurt last year is that we had no shot blockers to intimidate the ball handler. Once you beat your man last year, you were almost home free. Agreed. It is more the system in place that leads to getting beat off of the dribble, not necessarily the personnel. Playing man-to-man and pressuring on the perimeter will create the perception of guards getting beat a lot. That is where a shot blocker comes in handy in this defense. Hopefully Cory and JM can perform in that capacity this season. However, even without a real shot-blocker last year, our defense was still aces. So hard to really complain about it. Just something you have to live with, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillikenROAR Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 There are only two things that will regress from last years' squad: 'tough guy' interior presence & grade point average Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HusakAttack Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 average dick size will be significantly higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Agreed. It is more the system in place that leads to getting beat off of the dribble, not necessarily the personnel. Playing man-to-man and pressuring on the perimeter will create the perception of guards getting beat a lot. That is where a shot blocker comes in handy in this defense. Hopefully Cory and JM can perform in that capacity this season. However, even without a real shot-blocker last year, our defense was still aces. So hard to really complain about it. Just something you have to live with, I guess. We could play the pack and stop almost all penetration, but we'd give up a lot of 3's. You're defending real players with real coaches who can adjust. You try and determine what you want to do and make your oponent beat your weakness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbizzle09 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 We could play the pack and stop almost all penetration, but we'd give up a lot of 3's. You're defending real players with real coaches who can adjust. You try and determine what you want to do and make your oponent beat your weakness. You mean to tell me we aren't talking about a video game or fantasy sports here? But actual real, honest to goodness basketball? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 We could play the pack and stop almost all penetration, but we'd give up a lot of 3's. You're defending real players with real coaches who can adjust. You try and determine what you want to do and make your oponent beat your weakness. not necessarily. i think with mitchell, jett and mccall's quickness a pack man to man would work because they could get out fast enough to disrupt 3's. where the pack is bad vs a good 3 team if you have relatively slow guards. i am not a fan of the pack man to man, but i think it is more effective than any zone other than a very good match up zone, which a pack greatly resembles. all in all, what jbizzle describes is the best scenario if you have the complete package of players to protect the lane when the guards indeed get beat. in today's world of referees that basically do not call real fouls, i think any team not playing denial man to man is foolish unless they just dont have the talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgstl Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 our defense may be the same as last season, or maybe even a little better because of experience. BUT our offense will be significantly better. if all goes as planned, loe-ellie(both with pop out 3's)-DE (mid range), MM and KM still driving to the basket stronger. if everyone improves 2-4%(shooting %) from last year we will out score alot more team this season, and im pretty sure they will all improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 our defense may be the same as last season, or maybe even a little better because of experience. BUT our offense will be significantly better. if all goes as planned, loe-ellie(both with pop out 3's)-DE (mid range), MM and KM still driving to the basket stronger. if everyone improves 2-4%(shooting %) from last year we will out score alot more team this season, and im pretty sure they will all improve.I worry we won't get AS many open looks from three without Brian. One of Manning/Loe/Remekun needs to step up. I'm sure one will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB73 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I worry we won't get AS many open looks from three without Brian. One of Manning/Loe/Remekun needs to step up. I'm sure one will. That is my biggest concern, too. Loe has to be the one IMO, or DE maybe, though he is undersized. Someone has to play post up effectively, has to be a threat, about 14ppg like Conklin. Expecting Manning or Remekum to replace the low post Conklin "O" is a risky propostion. You also never know, a surprise, someone improves dramatically in one yr, it's hard to predict. WR from freshman to soph was miraculous, and though Conklin was always solid, he was a true difference maker in the post his senior year only. ("D" will be as good as last yr, maybe better... hoping Manning can disrupt.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmbilliken Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 average dick size will be significantly higher.That should improve our penetration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Look, I loved BC's play last year as much as anyone did. He was a true gamer in every sense of the word. I wished he'd taken a redshirt his FR year. If he had we'd be a real contender for the final 4. But he's gone and I'm thinking RM has some plan in place for his departure. First, I think KM will take up his leadership role. Second, I think one of the bigs we have will step up big time. Bottom line, we may be looking at the best Billiken team we've ever had this season. Just look around at the talent coming back, KM, MM, JJ (who is a terror), CE, RL, CR. Add in the two sophs JM and GG, and hopefully a much improved JB. This is going to be one strong team. Can't wait, can you, WP Jim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Pine Jim Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 No sir, larry72, can't wait. Which of the boys will distinguish themselves the most during fall practice ? It's like having a bunch of shiny Christmas presents already under the tree and we are anxious to take a peek at what we've got. BTW, per Xmas, the best things in life are free: the worst cost $19.95. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnkielBreakers Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I hate to be the spoil sport, but it will be hard for this team to be as good or better than last years team. It is a simple numbers game. If you assume that KM, MM, JJ, and DE will be the same, then we have to find a replacement for BC's numbers. CE could up his point total. So could CR or JM. However, it is hard to imagine our point total increasing in the post to equal BC's 15 points (?). Our defense has been holding opponents to around 61-62 ppg under RM. I don't think last year changed anything, but it may have. Someone can run the numbers. We need one of the bigs to really step up this year, or all of them need to step up. That said, I do not think defense will be how we are as good next year, we will need the points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 There were games where BC's presence was negated, still he came thru in a lot of games. Two things to replace BC's points; better 3 point shooting and finding one or more bigs that can get us 10 pts a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 There were games where BC's presence was negated, still he came thru in a lot of games. Two things to replace BC's points; better 3 point shooting and finding one or more bigs that can get us 10 pts a game. i am not worried about replacing conklin. conklin excelled last year because of hard work, attitude, smarts and effort. while all division one athletes are indeed good athletes, the fact is as measured against other division one athletes in pure athletic abilities, conklin was probably average. athletic ability is god given. hard work,attitude, smarts and effort are self discipline modes. big difference. anyone can become a hard worker, great attitude, etc. we just the light bulb to go off at the same heart and soul level of brian conklin. plenty of candidates. hopefully someone on the team saw it and is now a believer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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