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Showing most liked content on 11/18/2021 in Posts

  1. Also of note: one of Mercer's subs is Jalen Johnson! No, not former SLU player Jalen Johnson. He's at Texas A&M now (after stops at Louisiana and Mississippi State), but is out for the year after tearing his ACL. No, not this Jalen Johnson either. He struggled through half a season at Duke last year, but quit (maybe because of injuries, maybe because Duke wasn't very good), got drafted into the NBA and now plays for the Hawks (currently of Atlanta, formerly of St. Louis). No, not this Jalen Johnson either. He started his career at Murray State before transferring to UIC. Also not this Jalen Johnson either. He is in his 3rd season at Alabama A&M and seems to be the only Jalen Johnson who has been able to stick in one place. Yes, last season you potentially could have fielded an entire DI starting lineup of Jalen Johnsons if you recruited properly. They go 6'1", 6'6", 6'6", 6'7", and 6'9" too, so you wouldn't even necessarily have anyone playing too much out of position. "Jalen, set a pick for Jalen to free him up for a pass from Jalen while Jalen pops to the 3 point line & Jalen crashes the boards...er...Johnson, set a pick for Johns...ugh never mind." Amazingly these 5 Jalen Johnsons who all had overlapping careers to some extent appear to be the ONLY Jalen Johnsons in the college basketball reference database which seems to have complete team rosters (at least for SLU) going back into the 1980s and has random players going at least as far back as Easy Ed. Mercer's Jalen Johnson started his career at Tennessee and played 3 forgettable season there (stats wise) before going to Wake Forest for 1 and finally ending up at Mercer for his COVID year. He was super highly touted top 25 recruit out of high school, but hasn't lived up to that at all. Although he was a year behind SLU's Jalen Johnson, I can recall when trying struggling to find info on SLU's Jalen Johnson because that you had to wade through a ton of stuff on this more highly regarded Jalen Johnson first.
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  2. Big game in a few hours - Bona vs. Boise. If able to tune in, should be interesting to see what we're going to face in a few weeks and later in the year.
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  3. Didn't post during the game. Glad I didn't. Much better to post today after some perspective. This game was expected when one team is ranked #11 in the country, soon to be higher, and the other lost 58% of its scoring from last year. Everyone needs to get a grip. The effort we have gotten thus far in the season, including losing by 20 to a top team in the country, will put us somewhere in the top 4 in the A-10. Here are some reality checks: Hargrove - I have always been a Hargrove proponent. He put up points, but was still only 9-23. I hope he gained confidence from this game, but don't think this means he is on some meteoric rise. Still, I'm glad he performed well. The Bigs - Posters destroyed these guys during the game. Why? Linssen had 11 points in 16 minutes. Okoro had 7 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in 22 minutes. Against a top team, that's not too bad. Jimerson - Again, nobody passes to him when he's wide open on the 3 point line. Rewatch this game if you have the time and tell me how many times he got the ball in a position to score. Some of that is one him, although it certainly looked like he was hustling to get open. A lot of it is on guys not having vision to see who's standing on the 3 point line when they drive inside. Thatch - Also got bashed on the thread. Look, the guy is who he is. He had a strange injury that severely thwarted his development. He will give us good minutes as we move forward. This will not be his typical game. His athleticism will show more against less athletic opponents. Memphis was not a less athletic opponent. Nesbitt - Someone said he looked like a freshman out there. That's because he is a freshman. I know that's what the commenter meant, but just wanted to say it again. Nesbitt will have success in some games and struggle in others. From what I have seen from this staff, he will be better at the end of this season than he is now. Ford - Seriously? Many posters were ragging on Ford for what happened. Again, this was expected. What I saw out there was a team that didn't give up against a superiorly talented and more athletic opponent. That's good coaching. He changed defenses. He subbed in guys to try to keep everyone fresh. Memphis kept its starters in until the very end, and we played with them most of the game. The lead was 18 to 20ish range for most of the game. I think he got a good effort out of his guys.
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  4. I think last night was a great experience and will lead to some big wins in the next few weeks - onward and upward.
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  5. After one of the worst shooting night's in Bills history, we emerge in a fairly decent place. Coming into the Mem game, both teams were A-. With the win, Memphis moves up to A. After the game , the computer see us being beaten by an A team and doesn't punish us. So the good news is we remain an A- team which is important. A- teams and above get NCAA bids (90%). Yes, it is early and there are a lot of games to go but for now I like where we are. We will know a lot more about where we are headed on Dec 5th after the UAB game.(8th game) If we are still A- on that day( large enough sample size) it will be a confirmation that we are for real and could still have a special season. First order of business is to get back on the winning track. This Mer game would have been a good game to play after the EIU win...a nice step up in competition to prepare for Mem. But we have to play the cards as they are dealt. Mem was a good learning experience that we can grow from. It will prepare us better for the upcoming competitions in OOC and A-10. There are no more cupcakes on the schedule. Mercer comes into this game as a B- team. At first glance they seem like a very ordinary team....one that would grade out at C- to D+. BUT...they have this one player ...Haase...who leads the team in a bunch of categories...PPG...19.7(65th ITN)....a staggering 61.1% from the arc, FG% and stls to name a few. So let see what the report card looks like....not as good as last time but still pretty decent ..........................SLU...............................Mer...............................SLU.......................................Mer ..........................................OFF..........................................................................DEF............... PPG......................A+ 7th ITN................C.................................B..............................................C- FG%......................B+...............................B-..............................B..............................................D+ 3Pt%.....................B...............................B+...............................D.............................................D FT%......................B-........ ......................F.............................................................................. Reb......................A.................................D+................................B+......................................B- OFF Rebs = total rebs...DEF Rebs = opp reb UP....Off...Reb Down....Off....FG%...3P%...Def...3P%...Reb Top 100 ITN (In The Nation)/ gm Assts...Collins...4th Stls......Collins....25th Rebs....Okoro....42nd Double-Double....Collins & Hargrove...37th Mer PPG....Haase...65th Assts...Alvarez...64th Stls.....Haase....48th Mer has a weak defense, so we should be able to score. Also for the 2nd week in a row we face a very poor FT team. An honorable mention goes to Yuri who is shooting 90.1% from the FT line...no report card listing for him because the top 100 are shooting 100%. WWN2D2W....Stop Haase ...they have a back up shooter if we give Haase a hard time ...Alvarez....Hold these 2 guys to 25pts combined. We need to shoot and make some hoops...50/40/ 80...usually I put up the slash that will get us the victory. We can probably win this game with a lesser slash but I would like to see us do this to get back on track...especially against this defense. Finally, avoid mistakes. If we become careless or complacent, this team can rise up and bite you. Bottom line....The Mercer Bears will not be hibernating...we need to put them to sleep.
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  6. We are pretty much in complete agreement. The Weah, Reyna, Pulisic, Aaronson, McKEnnie, Musah problem is a heck of a good problem to have. I almost feel like Reyna is better suited inside which in my mind puts Weah and AAronson at 1 wing with Pulisic on the other and Reyna, Musah, and McKennie fighting for the 2 spaces inside. And honestly, I could be happy with any combination. It's hard for me to believe Brooks has fallen so far so quickly even as bad as he has been lately. I'd still have the door open. Miles Robinson is imo our best CB and the 1st positions outside are easitly A Robinson and Dest. How great that we are talking about which good player to play not who can we play.
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  7. There is always a way out. Losing to UMKC is unethical to MIzzou fans. Or find that one email he sent 10 years ago that offended someone. Money talks.
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  8. kim english may turned out to be a great coach, but i think we should see a full season of work before that is determined not just one win
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  9. Hoosier said they can fire him whenever they want. They cannot, they can pay him an amount to leave sure, but not fire.
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  10. Remember a few years ago, Weah was supposed to be 'the guy' who along with Pulisic was going to carry the USNMT on their backs. While Weah is doing just fine in my opinion, others have entered the fray. When Reyna is healthy, will Coach B slide him into an 8 over Musah? I agree that McKennie, when he finally gets it, should be a mainstay at the other 8. For my 2 cent opinion, which is worth the same as every other MBM's 2 cents opinion, Pepi did not slam the door shut on future discussion as to who is #1 Striker. While he didn't do anything bad, he didn't assert himself as the long time, locked in striker against particularly Mexico. The door remains open. I chuckled at their placement of Brooks as 3rd string. It will be interesting during the next window if Coach B puts him in the starting lineup over Robinson or Zimmerman.
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  11. When we have AAronson and Weah not being able to break into our starting midfield, that's amazing. There has never been time in USMNT history that either of those 2 even at this stage in their career's wouldn't be among the top few players on the team. I partially hold McKennie accountable for Jamaica. He has to be smarter. He can't take himself out of a game for actions after a play is over.
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  12. Big East inviting Loyola makes no sense as long as they have DePaul. As we've discussed numerous times, you can't just kick a team out of a conference and DePaul isn't going to voluntarily leave.
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  13. Here is my current projection for the four games before Panama: v. El Salvador - Win (3) @ Canada - Draw (1) v. Honduras - Win (3) @ Mexico - Loss (0) Panama has a tough path ahead, including @ Costa Rica, @ Mexico, @ USA, and v. Canada. Panama @ Costa Rica (Jan. 27th) is a key piece of this equation. I think 7 points in our first four matches will place us at least 1 point ahead of Panama, which means a home victory against Panama would secure our spot. There is a dream scenario where we clinch our World Cup spot with a win @ Azteca. For now, I am not making that prediction, but it remains a possibility. 24+ points should be enough to place 3rd or above. Anything below 24 points will put us in uncomfortable territory (which, to me, includes finishing 4th).
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  14. Bay Area , have fun. The wife is a Raider fan also. Sure it has been a long wait
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  15. 15 or 16 work out for 18 game conference schedule. 15 West- Dayton, Duquesne, Loyola,Loyola,. Bonaventure, and SLU North- Fordham,LaSalleRhode IUMASS, St.. Joseph 's and UMass,, East-Davidson, George Mason, GW, Richmond, and VCU play division twice( 8 games) the everyone else once ( 10 games) 16 4 -4 team divisions play division twice everyone else once, 6 +12. Could add couple crossover games make 20
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  16. Mason is going to be a problem. Oduro is skilled.
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  17. Loyola-Chicago would've made the conference stronger in each of the past five years (and so far this season). I understand concerns about whether Loyola can maintain this level of quality in the basketball program but it seems like the commitment and resources are there, the market is certainly there, and it seems like a high-floor addition to me. Would love to steal Belmont and make it an even 16. I don't want to see the league even consider a 20-game schedule until and unless (and maybe even after) that happens.
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  18. I think we watched two different games
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  19. From the perspective of having a new possible road trip location - Great From the perspective of feeling the A-10 isn't considering us outsiders because of our location - Great From the perspective of increasing the level of competition in the A-10 - Meh
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  20. I'm sure the board won't agree but I thought we got a lot of favorable calls.
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  21. Few more positive takeaways from the game after sleeping on it: 1. We still scored 74 points against a top 5 defensive team in the country on terrible shooting. Offensive rebounding and our ability to force turnovers were great last night. 2. Yuri proved that he took a leap on defense. 5 steals and I saw him bother some shots that you would usually not expect him to be able to. We all remember when got abused by Carr last season at Minnesota, but there were a couple plays where he got switched onto Bates and held his ground. 3. Okoro is gonna be a beast once we develop his game on the low post. In addition, there’s no way he misses so many layups/dunks at the rim against A10 bigs. I was also impressed by his free throw shooting, I expected him to be a liability at the line but he is clearly developing that part of his game (unlike another big we know and love) 4. Nesbitt looked much better the second half. He took his poor first half on the chin and came back out with better poise and shot selection. I think this game has sped up his development significantly.
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  22. It depends on your criteria. IMO, it would not require an epic collapse to end up 4th. It would require an epic collapse to finish below 4th. Our remaining road games are at Canada (Jan. 30th), at Mexico (Mar. 24th), and at Costa Rica (Mar. 30th). We have always struggled at Costa Rica, and everyone is aware of Canada's current form. Alternatively, and thankfully, our remaining home games are El Salvador (Jan. 27th), Honduras (Feb. 2nd), and Panama (Mar. 27th). If everything goes according to plan, we will be in a position to clinch our spot in the World Cup by beating Panama on March 27th.
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  23. We were shooting 41.9% from 3 before last night.
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  24. while the loss was disappointing, there were many positives. First of all, we got to the free throw line 32 times ( to their 33) and yet had an amazing 20 more shots from the field (77-57). this was a result of being a +10 in turnover margin and a +10 in offensive rebounding. You win 9 times out of 10 with those numbers. We lost unfortunately because of missed layups(had to be at least 10), mediocre ft's made( 65% to their 60%), and abysmal 3 point shooting (22% to their 47%). Obvious positives were Hargrove's entire game, and Okoro's domination of the boards.
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  25. Well, I don't think many fans had us going undefeated for the year. If you figured any losses this year, this was probably one of them. Rather than go into a deep analysis, I will simplify things to make the game less painful and so we can move on to what can still be a successful season. Here in a nutshell is what happened....31.2 / 34.5 / 22.7 / 65.6.....F- / F- / F- / F....Just plain dismal shooting.....even the FT shooting which had been pretty good this year was off and we can't blame that on the opp defense. Hey ...it happens ...every team has at least 1 bad game a season....this will be ours...and again . we can still have a good season even with this loss. This was a learning experience and we will be a better team for it. This concludes the analysis of this game. Reading past this line may inflict unnecessary pain. What...Are you still here? ...go home...it's over.....Ferris Bueller Had the Bills had an average night ( for an average D1 team....C/C/C/C ) taking the same number of shots, we would have had....7 more 2s....2 more 3s and 2 more FTs....wait you are getting ahead of me....yes 22 additional pts for an easy win. I told you to stop reading above... The advice is still the same ....move on ...next game.
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  26. I 2nd that the college cup was the coldest I've ever been. I did snag one of the banners before I left that day. Just remembered I had, sitting in a box in my basement.
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  27. Great news! Big Loyola supporter and they’ve done a ton to their facilities and made huge progress with all their programs in recent years, as a result of the basketball success. Going to be tough to cheer for one or the other when they play each other!
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  28. when a team overplays and pressures as much as Memphis did, you have to attack the basket, which we did, hence 32 free throws...from my viewpoint, we had plenty of good looks, we just missed many that we shouldn't have.... i would have been far more upset if we had tried to hold the ball for 20 seconds every possession and then force up a shot at the buzzer...14 to's against a team that presses you that much, is pretty respectful in my view...i just don't remember that many bad shots taken...Nesbitt some in the first half, but the biggest issue was finishing..
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  29. So George Mason proved you can both be a good mid major team and beat a ranked team. Something we have yet to do since 2013.
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