Quality Is Job 1

It has already been announced that Justin Johnson may not apply to be reinstated until after the Paradise Jam (late November), so until a week or more after that time (the end of November), it's premature to act as if there is an inordinate delay in his "rejoining the team."

>This is the 2nd time I've seen someone post that we're going >to "double our turnovers". I'm sorry, we're not going to go >from 13 turnovers a game to 26 turnovers a game. If you >meant that Polk will have twice as many turnovers as Fisher, >I still don't see that as a major issue. That means we go >from 13 turnovers as a team to 15 turnovers. I don't think it will even be that bad. While Dwayne Polk may commit a couple of more turnovers than Josh Fisher did, Vas'shun Newborne will probably commit fewer turnovers than Chris Sloan did (not that I'm saying he committed many), and Izik Ohanon, Tom Frericks, and Reggie Bryant will probably all cut down on their turnovers from last year, with more familiarity with the system and each other, so I don't think the team will commit many, if any, more turnovers this year than they did last year. I think they may also create a few more opponent turnovers than before.

Remember to factor Danny Brown and Darren Clarke into the equation. Should Jarod Leonard choose SLU, when he's a freshman, Clarke will be a senior, Brown and Luke Meyer will be juniors, and Tommie Liddell will be a sophomore

...by example on defense? Will he take pride in shutting down the opposing guard? Will he take it personally if the other team scores? That's the mindset we need Reg to have. Marque Perry became a strong defensive player as a senior, and we'll need Bryant to do it if the Billikens are going to go to the NCAA Tournament in Reggie's last year.

But the things that Dayton has in its favor are that it's a city without any professional sports teams to divert sports fans' discretionary income and businesses' advertising dollars and that that region of the country is crazy about basketball (Dayton is just on the border of Indiana).

>I agree with Thicks. There are times where IO can look >unstoppable then disappears als Matt Baniak. We need him to >bring it every night for us to win. Newborne sounds >promising. Was surprised at the scrimmage results. Question >for Thicks, can we be the defensive team we've been in the >past two years or are these extra points going to be needed? >Extra points are always nice, but stopping the other team is >better. Well, I think the Billikens CAN be as staunch defensively as they've been over the last few years -- Brad will settle for nothing less -- but the question is Will they? Perhaps Newborne will provide double-figure scoring. He outscored the blue squad all by himself yesterday. The blue squad comprised four veterans and Polk, the point guard of the future. Coach Soderberg won't be able to play Bryant, Clarke, and Polk together on the wing until they mesh more soundly on defense. Furthermore, Newborne, Frericks, and Drejaj need to be in there, as they are the better defenders. That may reduce the explosiveness of the offense somewhat. AFter what I saw yesterday, I project the opening day starters as Drejaj, Bryant, Newborne, Ohanon, and Frericks.

This will be Vas'shun's first go-round in a Billiken uniform, so we'll have to see if he'll really live up to expectations, but for the time being he hasn't had an opportunity to succeed OR fail as a Billiken. IO, on the other hand, has teased us twice before and come up short both times, thus he'll have to "show me." It's not to say that Izik won't have a solid, consistent year, but I hesitate to declare it prematurely after being twice burned. Izik should average 12 and 5.5 -- and is capable of more -- but for now that's in pencil, not ink. (I hope he makes me dine on crow.)

In my opinion, the jury is out on Izik until he competes against C-USA teams. For three years now observers (including Anthony Bonner) have raved about IO's skills when he's going up against his teammates and friends of the Billikens; let's see him do it against Cincinnati, Memphis, Louisville, Marquette, Gonzaga, etc.

Tom Frericks sat out all but one drill. Anthony Drejaj didn't participate in any drills except for one, when he was a passer. Danny Brown wasn't present; one of the coaches told me that he was getting an MRI on his knee, which he hurt in practice Friday. Most of my individual observations will merely echo what others have reported. Dwayne Polk is lightning quick and is the first true point guard SLU has had in a long time. Vas'shun Newborne is for real; he'll play -- a lot -- and be a key contributor for the Bills. Ian Vouyoukas is definitely skilled on offense around the basket, but his footspeed leaves much to be desired. The athleticism and talent of the team is definitely higher, and the team should be able to score more points this season. That brings me to the team observations. They're still a work in progress. They do pretty well in the drills, but they seem to have trouble translating that into five-on-five action, especially defensively. There was a brief scrimmage; Coach Soderberg was displeased with the results. The white squad (Coach Beane, Ian Mooney, Bryce Husak, Luke Meyer, Newborne, walk-on Peyton Jacks, and a manager named Brian) beat the blue squad (Polk, Vouyoukas, Izik Ohanon, Darren Clarke, and Reggie Bryant) by the score of 16-9. Newborne scored 10 of the 16 points. The white squad got any shot it wanted. Brad lambasted the defense after practice. I'm sure it didn't help that Frericks, Drejaj, and Brown were out. Frericks told me that he hopes to be back in action Wednesday.

That's not what happened. If he had "stopped me in my tracks," I wouldn't have finished the question. Second, he didn't even address that issue first. You heard what you wanted to hear, but the way you describe it isn't accurate. Just because Dwayne Polk hasn't been handed the starting position after six practices (as of the meeting) doesn't mean he can't earn it by the beginning of the season. I doubt that anyone has been handed a starting position (or any playing time) just yet.

At the Tip-Off Club meeting in September, Jim told us that another First Look is in plans for this year. Information should be forthcoming.

Coach Beane said that it will be hard to keep Vas'shun Newborne off of the floor. He's a very good rebounder, and even though he's not as big as Chris Sloan, he's very skilled -- better at shooting and putting the ball on the floor. Since Izik Ohanon will be a power forward full time, Newborne will likely log most of his time at the three and back up Izik at the four. Coach Beane said that Newborne is very tough.

>I'm going to have leave thicks hanging on this one. When he >was soliciting questions mine was "who will share point >guard duties with Polk while Drejaj is recovering from >injury" not "who does he see as a backup to dwayne polk?" >One implies that Polk is in the mix at point guard and one >implies that Polk is the starter. > >In any case, it looks like Clarke will be the backup if >Drejaj can't go right away, which is what I wanted to know. >I thought Coach Beane might mention Bryant also because >Bryant is a good ballhandler and passer -- we could have a >Bryant/Clarke backcourt for a handful of minutes in the >exhibition games -- but it doesn't look like the staff is >thinking that way. There's always something lost in translation. How could my asking who would back Polk up at the point while Drejaj is recovering imply that Polk would be installed as a starter even if Drejaj were healthy? It seems to me that it would make sense that if -- if -- Drejaj isn't able to go, Polk is the starter? And what difference does it make how the journalist phrases the question as long as he/she reports the answer accurately in context? Coach Beane first said that Drejaj should be ready to go next week. Then he said that it's not a given that Polk will start and that he, Clarke, and Drejaj are competing for the position.

There's still Justin Johnson. Hopefully his having to miss the trip to the Virgin Islands will be a significant step in his maturation.

...he goes pro out of prep school. >I would like to know where we stand with TL. They probably >can't answer this either. By the way, speaking of TL do we >still have a verbal committment? I should know this but >don't, why can't we sign him to an LOI right now? Is there >something magical about that November date? As far as I know, Tommie Liddell's verbal committment to SLU stands. I believe that if he were considering other schools, we would have been seeing reports by the recruiting services that he has visits to schools. It's pretty late in the process, with the early signing period about one month away. As for why Liddell can't sign a letter of intent now is that schools can receive LOIs only during sanctioned time periods. There's a one-week window in November and a one-month window in the spring (beginning mid-May, if I'm not mistaken). After that spring period, athletes eligible to enter school that fall can sign a grant-in-aid agreement at any time (after the spring signing period). Recruits can sign only one LOI. Liddell's expired when he didn't enroll at SLU as a result of failing to qualify. Once the fall signing period arrives, Tommie will be able to sign a grant-in-aid agreement with the school of his choosing, and right now, it looks like it will be SLU. Coach Thorpe told me after last month's Tip-Off meeting that of the high-major-caliber athletes he saw Liddell playing with, Tommie is the best. He said TL will be a pro.

I plan on going. Does anyone have any burning questions I should ask on their behalf?

I didn't say a negative thing about Missouri. I didn't say anything about the Tigers at all. However, I wanted Bills fans to know that some Mizzou fans, many of whom have a tendency to disparage SLU at every opportunity, hold a Billikens recruit in high regard. That might be even more meaningful than one of the recruiting "gurus."

http://www.tigerboard.com/boards/missouri-...message=1824312

No where in this thread did cheesycow say anything about being a fan of "both teams." It was eallstun who said that.

Last year SLU put on "First Look," which was not unlike a midnight madness presentation. The women's and men's teams were introduced -- Coach Pizzotti and Coach Soderberg spoke, and the players were introduced, each was asked a question submitted by someone in the audience. Both teams had a scrimmage. The players hobnobbed with the audience, giving away t-shirts and media guides. I was told at the last Tip-Off Club meeting that another such event is in the plans. It's just not on the first day of practice. It's before the first exhibition, when the teams and department are a little closer to being presentable.

Danny Brown

I wouldn't switch Luke Meyer for Reggie Bryant because of three-point shooting. Meyer is known more for his mid-range shooting than three-point shooting, and Bryant is the team's foremost three-point threat until Darren Clarke gets more experience and confidence. There's nothing more we want than to have a running squad with Bryant waiting on the wings. Would such a unit battle enough on the boards and against the opponents' inside threats to offset the benefits of the unit on offense?

(That's Marquette, not Missouri). I like Gonzaga (I think), but it's still a mid-major program that can't advance particularly far in the NCAA Tournament now that the Bullzags are no longer a surprise. It's no longer safe to pick Gonzaga to go very far in one's bracket.

...and that was coming a Mizzou fan, not a SLU fan. Will your Bullzags be able to win at the PSA this year? Missouri is inexperienced this season, so Gonzaga has a chance. I fully expect the Bullzags to get the better of the Billikens from the "overrated" C-USA in their own building this year, but I have to ask you, Are you familiar with Dwayne Polk, Vas'shun Newborne, Tommie Liddell, Kevin Lisch? Don't be surprised when your No. 1 ranked Bullzags come to Savvis in 2005 and get throttled by the Billikens of the underappreciated Atlatic 10.

I think the rotation for the first exhibition (against my alma mater, UMSL) will be much deeper and variable than anything we'll see during the regular season. Bryce Husak and Luke Meyer will probably get significant time that they may not see for a while. Let's not foget about Danny Brown in the rotation projections, either.