3star_recruit

"Or would we be better off going with Liddell at point, Lisch at the 2 and D. Brown at the 3?" I've got no problem with that. I just want the Coach to be upfront with his players about his plans for the offense. Polk may not want to be a backup for three years.

Yeah, it's kinda hard to get offensive rebounds when you're sending 3 guys back in transition. Also, Marquette with Diener is the danger of transition. Who exactly was Brad trying to stop from leading the break in Saturday's game -- Joe Chapman? I get the feeling that Brad really believes his rhetoric that more experience in his system will fix our problems. If his philosophy is to send 2-3 guys back in transition and not to let Polk outrun zone pressure, we're going to continue getting beat on the offensive boards and turning over the ball against pressure. His assertion that he didn't let Marque beat zone pressure by himself doesn't jibe with what we saw Perry's senior year.

Brad was saying all the right things 2 1/2 years ago about how he intended to play the game of basketball: "My preference is to play up-tempo basketball, stuff that the fans enjoy watching." We're even harder to watch now than before he took over. He certainly had me fooled. If he had said from jump that we're going to grind it out until we get the perfect mix of athletes, which could potentially be never, I don't think many of us would have championed his cause in the first place. But now Brad's at a crossroads. How does he keep this team, filled with players that he and his staff hand-picked, from going 7-22 next season and driving attendance levels to the lowest we've seen in 15 years?

Carbondale is a lot better? Records for the last 5 years 1999-2000: East Side 21-11 Carbondale 14-12 2000-2001: East Side 10-17 Carbondale 18-11 2001-2002: East Side 19-11 Carbondale 19-9 2002-2003: East Side 21-7 Carbondale 24-6 2003-2004: East Side 28-4 Carbondale 28-7

Yeah, but do they have any college eligibility left?

V&P Arts is in the PHL so Vashon has to play them. In the nonconference, Vashon plays in two out of town tournaments versus very good competition, plays East St. Louis every year in the MLK classic (who normally is as good or better than Carbondale the last 5 years), plays in the Normandy tournament every year (where they face a Ritter team who has won a state championship and 90% of their games the last 4 years), plays a Chicago team every year and plays a KC power every year. I know you were you just kidding -- this is more for Roy's benefit.

Yes we can -- he recruited them.

Drejaj will also have the advantage of being a "senior leader" giving Brad yet another excuse to play him ten minutes too many.

There's a pattern here -- Brad goes with what he feels comfortable with whether it makes sense or not.

Great, but we're talking about 1) this season 2) and the ability to hit 17-20 foot jump shots.

Considering some of the teams that Vashon has faced us in the last five years, Carbondale doesn't exactly have us Vashon lovers quaking in our boots.

"If our guys can't shoot 17-20 footers at least at an average rate .... than they CAN'T play." Then Josh Pace can't play and Joah Tucker can't play and Errol Knight can't play and Stetson Hairston can't play and D.J. Strawberry can't play ...

I'm not sure how this thread became a referendum on whether our guys can play. Of course they can play. But are they a good fit for a system that requires perimeter players to consistently make 17-20 foot jump shots. Nope. Reggie Bryant is a very good fit for this system but he's gone after this year. Lisch is a very good fit for this system. Darren Clarke might be a good fit for this system but since he's in the coach's doghouse that's a moot point. So we're left with one shooter who will be a freshman and is currently recovering from a neck stinger. Not a good situation.

If Liddell makes a bigger impact on the scoreboard within the confines of the motion offense I will be shocked. Bottom line -- who is going to hit more 17-20 foot jump shots that all these screens create? Unless his long range jumper has improved a lot since high school, it ain't gonna be Liddell. Danny Brown has shot the ball very well in practice almost from day one -- maybe that jumper will start falling in games like it did for Ricky Paulding late in his freshman season. That would give us two outside shooters which is one more than we have now.

Coach needs three point bombers at the 1,2 and 3 for his motion offense to be really effective. Finding reasonable facsimiles of Claggett, Highmark and Waldman is a lot more realistic than getting Bonner II to come here. Right now we're playing 4 on 5 and sometimes 3 on 5 with players who are woefully unproductive in a halfcourt set.

The point guard position at Vashon is played by committee. It's been that way ever since Jesse Akins -- the only pure point I've seen play at Vashon in the last seven years -- graduated.

To add to what you've said, the coach at BC has been bringing in a overlooked gem every other year ever since he's been there. The guy really has an eye for talent.

Matt was throwing down alley-oops as a sophomore. If O'Rears 6'6 and only has above average athleticism, is this a guy we're hoping will grow another two inches?

I still haven't been out to Nashville to see him play. What about his game reminds you of Matt Shaw?

"those of you satisfied with where he is" You're setting up a straw man with this statement Roy but it should be good for another 10 replies ;-)

Where did Tulsa and Creighton get the talent that landed them in all those NCAAs the last 15 years? If you don't have the talent in an 100 mile radius you've got to figure out how to bring in overlooked talent outside your region. That's just how it is. The talent evaluation at our school has been pretty piss poor the last 10 years. We never manage to bring in a difference maker from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, etc. And we never bring in any of those kids from rural Missouri who go to the Valley and kick our butts.

If Tyus is perceived as having issues then that just means Cincinnati and Memphis will come a calling. We're not in the mix either way. If his recruiting isn't hurt he'll still go to a big time school and if he really does have issues then SLU certainly doesn't want anything to do with him.

Roy is Roy. Once he has established expectations for a player, that kid is going to get ridden like a pony when he fails to meet them. And I ride the coach when I think he's performed below my expectations. And bonwich rides the athletic department when they perform below his expectations. And other posters see rays of sunshine even when we're struggling mightily on offense. We've all got our foibles. But you're always going to draw heat when you praise some players of limited ability and criticize others for limited ability because the criticism appears arbitrary. Heinrich gets praised for a game in which he pulls down 9 boards and plays good defense but Ian doesn't get credit for having a good game when he pulls down 9 boards and plays good defense. It doesn't bother me but obviously Roy's wide range of expectations for players drives some posters crazy.

It's hard to predict these things but Travis is not as athletic as Luke Ridnour so I don't think NBA scouts will view him in the same light. He's a mite taller than Dan Dickau but Dickau is stronger. Based on their defense, driving ability and athleticism I imagine Chris Paul, Raymond Felton, Jarrett Jack, Deron Williams and Nate Robinson all get taken ahead of Diener. And since 6 college points never get drafted in the first round that pushes Diener to the 2nd round.

Again I'm all for playing Drejaj more in principle but in last game, the start of the offensive stagnation began when Polk left the game, not when Ian did. When Polk left the game we were up 14. When Ian left the game we were up 7.