Taj79

When you're 19 or 20 ..... you are bullet-proof, ageless, invincible, all-knowing .... c'mon, we all were (admit it). I remember my folks telling me life goes fast --- did I believe it? Hell no. Now I'm an expert but no amount of coaching, coaxing or whatever would have educated me back then. None will do that now ... for mostly anybody. WR is likely aligned with alot of these collegiate athletes .... school is just a means to an end. I stay eligible, I play. Once play is over, then the real work begins and that's keeping these disinterested guys in school. Heck, I owuld wager that a lot of college seniors get to mid-terms, make grades to stay eligible fo rth epost season, and then walk away. I always think of the forward at Maryland .. Nik Caner-Medly or something like that ... Bobby Brannen at Cincy .. guys that were not going to be NBAers, ever, dropping out of school and prepping for European League try-outs. Playing is all that matters and doing whatever you can to get that court fix works for you. I am in the camp that says we don't see Willie in Billiken blue ever again. And I said that back in October. Hoping against it however.

I posted this in the game thread as well: "I apologize ... I don't know what happen with my stats last night but ont today's stats, I see where Jett's totals are 80-for-188 in FGs with 4-for-23 in 3pt FGs. So ignore things above. I still think he can't shoot well. And I agree that he's a freshman and should get better. I don't want to see a remake of Randy Pulley."

I apologize ... I don't know what happen with my stats last night but ont today's stats, I see where Jett's totals are 80-for-188 in FGs with 4-for-23 in 3pt FGs. So ignore things above. I still think he can't shoot well. And I agree that he's a freshman and should get better. I don't want to see a remake of Randy Pulley.

GoBills ----- you are obviously pro-Jett, I can applaud that. I don't know if anyone has made "more" mid-range jump shots then Jett but let's look at the obvious numbers .... the kid has made 28 shots in 26 games. That amounts to making one shot per game. One! If you add in last night's 3-for-3 effort, its 31 shots in 27 games ---- which really doesn't increase the totals much. I know I saw him make a put-back dunk against someone this year so I know deducting that layup lowers things. If this is the guy making mid-range jumpers, and you can't think of anyone else as you post says, then the whole team can't shoot which is pretty much what I've been saying since last off season. I do no think its a comfort when our best mid-range shooter is making a shot a game. Like me and moy, let's agree we disagree.

Jett is 28 for 77 from the field for 36%. Take out the 14 threes he's taken and missed and thats 28 for 63 or 46%. I am not going to be roy and go back and argue the boxscores but I have seen the Xavier, GeeDub, Duke, SoMiss, Dayton, Ole Miss, Rhode Island, La Salle and Riochmond games this year and from those memory banks and first impressions, I recall Jett making quite a few layups or driving shots from the foul line and in. My shot selection question is on the mid-range shots --- foul line extended and up to the trey arc. I'm just saying, right now, and for most of the season, the kid can't shoot that. Who would you rather have .... shoot .... Jett or McCall/Cassity/Salescich/Eckerle? Jett a shooter he is not.

Sorry, moy, but I say we take out the layups and do a recount on those stats. Games I have seen, JJ can drive the lane like no one we have ... I'll grant that. But what does 44% dip to if you take out those layups? I expect my point to be able to ahndle ball, dish the assist, make free throws at the end and shoot the occassional jumper with a percentage that keeps the defense honest and not dropping off. I am not convinced Jett can do the last two just yet.

The ESPN boxscore has Cody Ellis in the game attempting a shot. Did this indeed happen?

Hey GoBills ..... I suspect even you and (maybe) I could make them against Chicago State. Making them when they count, outside of a layup, is a stretch for Mr. Jett. I'm not saying sh*t-can, I'm saying as an adequate D1 and A10 point guard, he needs work.

Two bids for the A10 ... Temple and X .... unless Duquesne and/or Richmond makes the A10 final and/or wins it.

You know, I made references to Majerus not being back when this leg thing first happened. I took my usual beatings from the shoe twins. I did not realize the cut was that deep and that Majerus' physical condition is that bad but given what is said in this article I was not that far off. Kudos to the guy for coming back as well as he has appeared to. Other notes ...... "A female student made the case to the university's student court ...." I find this statement interesting. Notice the article does not say the female student going to the court was THE female student involved in the situation. Just "a female student." Given what I know about the situation, coupled with the fact that the girl was gone in Fall 2010, and the court proceedings all went down in the Fall of 2010, someone else was/is carrying the crusade. The girl's circle of friends are "movers and shakers." These are the kind of kids to be proud of .... summers spent in Kenya helping AIDS victims, Habitat for Humanity builders, earthquake aid to Haiti volunteers, protesters at US military schools training Central American thugs (also one of Bionidi's fave places to protest) .... youthful liberals as most college students tend to be. In other words, carrying the fight long after the flagbearer has been torched. Still, an interesting and new take on things. Majerus at Skyline Chili? So what, old habits are hard to break and Rick seems like a man who is not going to change his ways --- stick a stent in it and let me back to the buffet!!! I have long spoke of "dominos" and this line spells that out best of all: "I told the guys at the start of the year: We go into every game down 30, Majerus said. Because we lost Kwamain and Willie and that doesnt count Kwamains assists, Willies assists, the rebounds, the attention they draw that used to free guys up." You want to understand why Cassity isn't a go-to guy? There it is. Why isn't Ellis shooting as he did last year? There it is. Porter to succeed him? I think that only happens if he goes out on the high note that an NCAA tournament run brings. In the euphoria of that moment, when the glow is brightest and greatest, he can probably do no wrong. That will transfer itself to Porter and we all move forward. The season and the program has been delayed. A lot rides on Reed/Reid making grades and coming back. Bay Area referred to him at the Eraser. That is another domino that needs to be in place; without it, it's not the same set of dominos.

Unlike hockey, where two assists can be given on a goal, an assist in basketball leads to a direct basket. Once the receiving player dribbles the ball, even once, the assist is gone. Dwayne Wade throws a full court pass to Lebron for the catch-n-jamm, assist Wade. Wade throws a pass that Lebron cacthes at the foul line, dribbles once and jams, no assist. He improved his own posiiton by dribbling to get to the basket. Agree with roy's definition on this. And I suspect its the rulebook definition as well.

Rear view mirror time ....... .... because we are unlikely to win any more games in the A10. So four wins are the mark on the wall and who's behind us? Fordham highly unlikely to win one road game, let alone two. No tournament for Fordham's Rams and no seeing those guys from Fordham's crew team in the stands. They are actually older than our core fan group. Which leaves Charlotte and St. Joe's. Who can win two there? Charlotte beat X at home ... but they hate Cincy teams from old CUSA/UC days. Can they hold the home fires against Richmond and St. Joe's? I don't think they can guard Richmond so I'll say no there. Plus Richmond is a bubble NCAA team who can't lose again until the Boardwalk. So can Charlotte steal one in DC? They won't likely sneak up on Xavier this time. I say they end up with 3 wins, beating St. Joe's at home only. Which leaves St. Joe's ... who is young and playing with a short bench. I am assuming Tonka meant " @Charlotte" in that last game for St. Joe's and not "vs. Richmond." So can St. Joe's beat the Bonnies at home making the Charlotte game all-important? Frankly, I don't think so. I think St. Joe's stays home but in either case the Bills are in. Three wins will get 12th place. Four wins gives us 11th. La Salle likely wins two more at home as the league runs to the finish.

I don't think Metz was "ripping" on the kid. And I think the question is legit. Rick's MO is one of bringing a lot of kids in and finding who pans out. Could Christian be one of those kids? I don't know. Of course, this isn't like he drove down 40/64 from DeSmet or something ... Perth is outside the usual commute lanes. I thought we were getting a kid who could shoot the jumper with some consistency when CS came in. International kids all seem to be that way ... look at Loe and Ellis. I thought we'd get a gunner, ala outside totals eventually like JJ Reddick and Chris Collins, maybe more along the lines of a Shawn Haughn, Luke Fabrizius or Norm Grevey at Dayton, the Redford kid at Xavier, Mikic at GeeDub and so on. His hustle, defensive and court savvy are all okay by me but the shot has deserted him. For a kid recruited to shoot, it ain't there. Somemight ask if he's one of the candidates for transfer, given Rick's MO.

GOSLU68 said "if he (Jett) controls the turnovers and learns the 3 pt. shot." Can't you say that about anybody ... from even 8th grade on up? Hell, if I could crap gold bricks, I might be a millionaire. I think you are right, that Jett can be a "pass-first" point and a good one. Problem is that if you don't develop a respectable outside shot, the defense ignores you on the pump fake, making your ability to drive-and-dish all the more limited. We have seen that as recently in the A10 as Lamont Warren at Dayton, JuJuan Harris at Charlotte and Garret Williamson at St. Joe's. One can also think Dwayne Polk here with our own Billikens. Jett might not need the three point shot but he definitely needs the mid-range shot from the line to the free throw extended area. Just to be a viable option that requires coverage. Again, dominoes. Plus, he needs to really become aces at the free throw line. A point should have the ball in his hands 90% of the time at close out time. This usually means fouls and free throws. In my book, a point HAS to shoot over 80% at the line. A perfect point would average 8 to 10 ppg, 8 apg, 3 rpg, shoot 85% from the line and have a 2- or 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. My three point guys are on the wings .... and with Ellis and Loe shooting out of the four hole, the point's need to be a bomber from beond the arc is lessened. Still good to have, just not essential. In a perfect domino world, a three-point specialist at the point would make any team all the more formidable ... especially if the two, three and four can all stroke it. More options are always better. But restrictions can be balanced. Needing a three to tie with Loe, Ellis, McCall and Mitchell on the floor, who do you slack off on?

I, for one, applaud St. Joe's for their adherance to a "code of conduct" as I do the Biils. Just so it's uniform, that's all I ask. I have always said that no matter the conference, I like being with schools that are "like-minded." This seems to be Jebbie-to-Jebbie thinking. I would like to believe that if schools did this across the board, there would be less instances of Maurice Clarrett, Reggie Bush, Art Long and Terrell Pryor's filling up the sports airwaves.

I agree .... Loe is the weakest, stat-wise of our three but the overall talent freshman-wise in the A10 is not spectacular. Are JUCO transfers considered for the Newcomer team? Other transfers like Pettis, who transferred out of Rutgers to return to Philly and La Salle? I forget which league we were in but some allowed JUCOs and some did not. Same with four-year transfers like Spears and Braswell over with Charlotte. Some did and some did not. I do not recall the A10 policy. I was thinking Galloway might be one of the two suspended Hawks but he is not, although he only scored 11 last time out against Xavier. In any case, youth is not the norm for this year's A10; youth seems played only by necessity. In retrospect, things like these honors may not mean much. Didn't Xavier have a top ranked class coming in with Latham and Canty? Top 100 recruits as I recall. And no peeps from them. Same was true of Gurley and Vinson at Umass. Gurley has had an okay senior year. Spears got canned at Charlotte after transferring in from Boston College. You just never know. Aaric Murray should be tearing this league up, same with Kenny Frease. But that ain't happening ... for whatever reasons. With the planned for return of Reed, Ellis and Mitchell, added to these kids, glued together with Conklin and Cassity, the future is (once again!) bright. Richmond loses a ton including Anderson and Harper. Duquesne is out Saunders and Clark. Temple only loses Allen. Xavier only loses McLean and Jackson. Rhodey loses Jones, James and Martell. Going to be wide open but the title will still run through Xavier and Temple.

Yeah but .... who the hell kissed Roy back? There's a freakin' saint ......

You have got to be kidding me?!!!? How can a tsam be that bad? And be in Division 1? We go there next year? Where, pray tell, does this team play its home games in Chicago out of curiosity.

I think we could all let our bias show an claim Evans, McCall and Loe get newcomer honors ---- it would at least validate another long-suffering year of being a Billike basketball fan. On CSN yesterday afternoon, another long one suffering through Pete Gillen doing color on the Duquesne/Dayton game, he said Juwan Stanten of Dayton, Langston Galloway of St. Joe's, and TJ McConnell of Duquesne were all locks for the A10 Newcomer teams. Galloway has four Newcomer of the Week awards and McConnell has five. Two spots open. Brendan Frazier at Fordham has some good stats. Mikic the Serb starts for GeeDub altho I wasn't impressed. La Salle has Duren the point guard. In this scenario, our three freshmen should be aces. Both Evans and McCall are on it. No doubt in my mind.

That should .. lock up one extra game .... a road game in the A10. Hope its GeeDub ... I can go then. Or La Salle.

Thanks. Was out all nite .. just got back in.

Score? Time?

Let's not forget, too, that even though Brett Thompson transfered to a lower-tier program, he still had to get his grades in order first to play at Lindenwood. I think when kids transfer, they have to transfer in good standing to have the smoothest transition happen. I believe that when Jio Fontane left Fordham, he probably had the standard and usual progress towards a degree, had transferable grades, and was going from a like program (oh say welding) to a similar (welding) program at SoCal. I think the fact that Willie is at games banging on a cow bell is a good sign. Of course, I could be wrong ..... let's remember this IS Billiken basketball.

Ellis and Loe are the same player .... tall shooting international player. Twos or three-wannabees in four and five bodies. I can't see neither, without some large work in the weight room, even being prototypical fours and fives. And bulking up usually hurts shooting skills. And even with that bulk, American fours and fives will usually be quicker to go around, or lither to go over. Even if Loe boxes out Frease, even if Ellis boxes out Mclean, I still see us losing that battle ... for now.

Weren't we favored by six over La Salle? How did that turn out? Yikes ... this one scares me.