New Billiken Blog!

[Cowboy]

Must be a crowded locker room given all the "insiders" on this board that are privy to every conversation.

-indeed

[Clock_Tower]

I find it interesting that you post as if you are an insider who works for the team. Is that correct? I, for one, have attended many games and practices and have never at any time seen RA "shoot very well from midrange to 3 point range". When I watch the ball often leaves his hand with sidespin or a knuckleball type of spin and the ball seldom goes in the basket. Watch him on the free throw line. the ball almost never is consistant in its arc, spin or direction. One in ten or so seem to have some touch. I like his rebounding potential and he is getting better defensively but everyone on a team must understand their role and his is definitely not one as an outside shooter!

Billikenboy.

You are alot of talk but no substance. Alot of accusations but no proof or anything to document the same.

Your lack of basketball knowledge is showing through but motion offense does NOT mean that each of the 5 guys are interchangeable and can/should launch shots -- even within the offense -- if they are open. I can assure you that Bobby Knight (IMO the master of the motion offense) never let his bigs shoot the ball whenever they are open in the offense. And as for Reggie, I sure am hopeful and supportive of him, but he has done next to nothing here at SLU for 2 years. This year, he had a break out game against North Florida and I hope for more to follow but I do not want him shooting mid range or 3 pointers. If he demonstrates the proficiency in practice, I find it incredulous that Crews would restrict him in games. Kids with restrictions in games are because of lack of proficiency in practices. And BTW, our team is not here to develop each player individually but to play successfully as a team. My best guess is that Reggie has been given a short leash, and after he demonstrates proficiency on the interior -- something he has NOT shown for two (2) years now -- he will be given a longer leash.

As to Neufeld and Gillman, I also don't want them shooting the 3 pointer much. Develop your perimeter shooting on your own (before/after practice and during the summer). Frankly, I presume that many of our guards can shoot better than them from the 3. Instead, we got outrebounded by 20 against Louisville and our bigs need to play more like bigs -- rebound and score inside the paint.

In short, I watched alot a "high school" individualistic basketball last year and don't want to see anymore of that. And if Reggie doesn't like it, then don't let the door hit him in the ass on the way out.

[BillikenROAR]

You can't rant about all the bad in Billikens basketball when you don't understand basketball.

Good job, good effort. I'd rather read a Metz blog. And boom goes the ... too soon?

[billikenfan05]

You can't rant about all the bad in Billikens basketball when you don't understand basketball.

Good job, good effort. I'd rather read a Metz blog. And boom goes the ... too soon?

Their blog might as well be titled firecrews.com

[Billfan78]

One can look at the NF game and this Louisville game to see the obvious difference. We barely ran any of our plays until the second half when things were getting bad. The gimmick is running an O that you and your players do not understand what the end result will be. Staff never knew what it would yield but somehow it would show itself. It never did and plan took all the major players out of the O from the start. I am done talking about that O. On to the next one! I do not have the answers but playing our game is the best starting point. Always has been.

So your answer is your not really sure it was a "Gimmick" offense but it looked different somehow to you. Could the difference in how it looked be that we were playing against the #6 ranked defense in the country by kenpom as opposed to the 188th (UNF), 219th (St. Francis), 310th (SIUE) & 300th (Hartford) defenses???

The big difference in our offense I saw was that the wings were not posting up inside which is where AY has done damage. I figured UL was taking that way with their size and length.

[hsmith19]

I enjoyed the blog. Nice to see somebody taking themselves less than deathly seriously while also proving to be really into Billiken basketball. That's a rare combination. You don't have to be Norman Dale to be annoyed/baffled by the substitution patterns in the Louisville game.

As far as constructive criticism goes, I would prefer less of the "Why Reggie isn't allowed to shoot threes" conspiracy theory and more of the snaggletooth Crews photoshops and Jolly GIFs.

[kshoe]

Billikenboy has some connection to Reggie and has been talking him up since we stated recruiting Reggie. I'm pretty sure Billikenboy was the originator of the "Duke is calling about Reggie" talk on here. He's obviously not objective about anything that has to do with Reggie and his limitations (shooting outside shots should definitely be a limitation).

That being said, I'm disappointed to hear that Crews may have singled out Reggie in the locker room. That game wasn't Reggie's fault at all.

[Billikenboy]

For the record I have been following Reggie and Ash since AAU so I have alot of info on who the kids are. For those SLU coaches on the board masquerading as bloggers, you are smarter than me in the game but the game is still outsmarting you. I wish the kids and you much success but you will not be successful unless you are just as critical of how you are developing these young men. It is definitely a team sport and that is what I loved about the NF game. Kids playing hard for each other. Hopefully you can spend your energy on harnessing that.

[moytoy12]

That being said, I'm disappointed to hear that Crews may have singled out Reggie in the locker room. That game wasn't Reggie's fault at all.

Agreed.

[Billikenboy]

Billikenboy.

You are alot of talk but no substance. Alot of accusations but no proof or anything to document the same.

Your lack of basketball knowledge is showing through but motion offense does NOT mean that each of the 5 guys are interchangeable and can/should launch shots -- even within the offense -- if they are open. I can assure you that Bobby Knight (IMO the master of the motion offense) never let his bigs shoot the ball whenever they are open in the offense. And as for Reggie, I sure am hopeful and supportive of him, but he has done next to nothing here at SLU for 2 years. This year, he had a break out game against North Florida and I hope for more to follow but I do not want him shooting mid range or 3 pointers. If he demonstrates the proficiency in practice, I find it incredulous that Crews would restrict him in games. Kids with restrictions in games are because of lack of proficiency in practices. And BTW, our team is not here to develop each player individually but to play successfully as a team. My best guess is that Reggie has been given a short leash, and after he demonstrates proficiency on the interior -- something he has NOT shown for two (2) years now -- he will be given a longer leash.

As to Neufeld and Gillman, I also don't want them shooting the 3 pointer much. Develop your perimeter shooting on your own (before/after practice and during the summer). Frankly, I presume that many of our guards can shoot better than them from the 3. Instead, we got outrebounded by 20 against Louisville and our bigs need to play more like bigs -- rebound and score inside the paint.

In short, I watched alot a "high school" individualistic basketball last year and don't want to see anymore of that. And if Reggie doesn't like it, then don't let the door hit him in the ass on the way out.

So right you are SLU Coach!?

[TheA_Bomb]

Damn I failed to put this new "fan" on ignore.

I'm skipping this BS, I already have a long enough list of people I want to kick in the face.

[cheeseman]

Honestly, when Reggie let that shot fly it was all I could do to not jump out of the recliner. Not sure what Crews has told or not told Reggie but jumpers are not Reggie's game. At this point,I would like him to consistently not travel when he has the ball down low. I cringe when I see him trying to work his way in for a shot when he is 10 or more feet away because it usually ends up badly - turn over or missed shot with neither being very desireable. If he stayed because he thought he was going to be able to do something different then he has done the last 2 years then that was his mistake. If the coaches talked him into not transferring then that probably was a mistake. If he was not happy then he should have moved on - better for everybody involved. He chose to stay so he has to get with the program whatever it is. I agree that his misjudged shot did not cost us the game.

[Billikenboy]

@ Slufan: Gimmick was a strong word. Rather then a single primary screener on ball side, you had multiple screeners. Actually a good tweak. My problem with it is something you haven't done much in practice, used in a scrimmage or game shouldn't be what you open up with against what could potentially be your strongest opponent of the season. If team had been struggling to score then fine, but to me the kids were already in an uphill battle. This just adds a bit more thinking to what the players have to contend with and could have played a part in why some players had subpar offensive games, even though L'ville played pretty good D.

@ Clock: Didn't know a single attempted jumper has become hasn't done anything in 2 years and transfer talk. Come off the ledge, it is a long season.

@ Kshoe: Pretty sure I never started any Duke and RA on this board. Even though I have added to it. Simple google search that has nothing to do with this board shows that however

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?30720-New-Recruiting-Target-for-2013-PF-Reggie-Agbeko-of-Buffalo-NY-(6-8-quot-225-lb-)

As I have said before, RA's former AAU coach is a good friend so have known of the kid for a bit longer then most of you. My fault for being a supporter of him as I am with all the kids on the team. Why he hasn't become the player many projected him to be from high school and prep, I don't know but how many kids in the years made it to college and didn't have the careers the so called experts thought they would have.

[3star_recruit]

I like what Reggie brings to the team and don't want him to go anywhere. That being said if raw, undersized bigs want to develop their perimeter games, in many cases I think they're better off going to a low major conference. They have a better chance of being a focal point of the offense there. But I'm guessing Reggie went to prep school because he wasn't interested in attending Niagara or St. Peter's.

[brianstl]

Reggie didn't get in trouble for taking a 3 point shot. He got in trouble for taking a wide open shot from the elbow. There was a 1:22 left in the game and we were down 15. That isn't exactly trying to have a perimeter game.

[3star_recruit]

Reggie didn't get in trouble for taking a 3 point shot. He got in trouble for taking a wide open shot from the elbow. There was a 1:22 left in the game and we were down 15. That isn't exactly trying to have a perimeter game.

I was responding to Bboy's larger point about the lack of development in Reggie's perimeter game at SLU. As for your point, I've been to practice. I know what Crews's ground rules are and what he considers an acceptable shot for each player. You may not like them but the rules are the rules. Coaches don't stop coaching because there's 1:22 left in the game.

[brianstl]

I was responding to Bboy's larger point about the lack of development in Reggie's perimeter game at SLU. As for your point, I've been to practice. I know what Crews's ground rules are and what he considers an acceptable shot for each player. You may not like them but the rules are the rules. Coaches don't stop coaching because there's 1:22 left in the game.

He shouldn't stop coaching and a team should never stop trying to get back into a game. You don't want your team to quit. Time and place matters. A wide open elbow shot should be took by Reggie at that point in the game. You just don't pass up an open shot from that spot when you are down 15 and working against the clock.

[thetorch]

Going to 3 or 4 practices a season the past few years I've seen several things from Reggie.

1. His injuries have ravaged his abilities, especially on the perimeter.

2. He has never caught on to the coaching staff getting him to slow down.

3. Pre Injury, he had tons of potential, this coaching staff inhibited it.

4. Believe it or not after Evans left Reggie was for a time the best 1 on 1 ballhandler & mid range shooter on the team. It never manifested in games, because of the coaching staff.

Reggie could have been like Izik Ohanon on the perimeter. For several reason it has never worked out.

[Billikenboy]

I like what Reggie brings to the team and don't want him to go anywhere. That being said if raw, undersized bigs want to develop their perimeter games, in many cases I think they're better off going to a low major conference. They have a better chance of being a focal point of the offense there. But I'm guessing Reggie went to prep school because he wasn't interested in attending Niagara or St. Peter's.

Actually the reason RA went prep was because the NCAA did not clear him to play until September 2012 when he had already enrolled at prep. He had a slew of offers from Oklahoma, Lasalle, Fordham, Drexel an on again and off again offer from Bonnie s (Not sure what status of Bonnie offer at that time) St.Peters, Niagara, Canisius and a number of other d1s.

[Billiken Rich]

4. Believe it or not after Evans left Reggie was for a time the best 1 on 1 ballhandler & mid range shooter on the team. It never manifested in games, because of the coaching staff.

Reggie could have been like Izik Ohanon on the perimeter. For several reason it has never worked out.

I've always had a lot of respect for you Torch but that just seems hard to believe.......

[kmbilliken]

Going to 3 or 4 practices a season the past few years I've seen several things from Reggie.

1. His injuries have ravaged his abilities, especially on the perimeter.

2. He has never caught on to the coaching staff getting him to slow down.

3. Pre Injury, he had tons of potential, this coaching staff inhibited it.

4. Believe it or not after Evans left Reggie was for a time the best 1 on 1 ballhandler & mid range shooter on the team. It never manifested in games, because of the coaching staff.

Reggie could have been like Izik Ohanon on the perimeter. For several reason it has never worked out.

Did the shoulder injury change his shooting form?

[slufan13]

Sounds like Crews is blaming the gameplan on the players and the players are blaming it on Crews based on the blog and posters on here.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/billikens-will-face-contrast-in-morehead-state/article_ae1c094b-223c-5739-986a-641f2040c175.html

SLU scored a season-low 57 points, but more problematic to Crews was that the offense didn’t function the way it did in four season-opening wins.

He felt the movement of the motion offense against Louisville was inefficient with little of the screening, reading and cutting that makes it work best. And although Morehead State coach Sean Woods has tried to distance himself from his playing days at Kentucky under Pitino, Crews noted that the Eagles do some things that are similar to Pitino’s team. Thus, execution will need to improve.

“The score against Louisville indicated we might have been playing better,” Crews said. “And we did some good things. But I’m very disappointed with some things we did that we had been doing better and were supposed to be doing. When you do that you get into problems and it ended up being a problem.”

[jimbofive]

The score against Louisville indicated we might have been playing better, Crews said. And we did some good things. But Im very disappointed with some things we did that we had been doing better and were supposed to be doing. When you do that you get into problems and it ended up being a problem.

This makes Crews sound like a drooling simpleton.

"We thought we was good but it turns out we ain't. Problems is problems."

[3star_recruit]

I read it as "we got away from what we do well." Standard coachspeak after a loss. Nothing to see here.

[Scoop]

I don't think it's a good idea to leak alleged "player's opinions" during the season. Recipe for disaster. No need to drive a knife between the players and staff.