nostatic

says Femi John very interested in SLU; likes Soderberg, likes Walker -- does have an offer

Very difficult to run any set plays against a team like GW. UB ran a couple in the opening minutes of the game when GW was playing man to man and picking up at the 3 point line. That's how we got some quick feeds to IV for baskets. After that GW started to extend and got in their trapping mode. Very difficult to run set plays when there are 2 traps in this possession, then 4 traps in the next possession. Then it's time to depend on the players to see the open man, make the proper pass, and hit the open shot (LM, BH). This was a game where UB had to trust the players' judgement. You knew it wasn't a good idea to drive baseline on GW. Everyone tried (and you have to keep trying - you can't just say "GW wins, no baseline drives"), but the players with their heads up pulled that dribble back and got out of the corner before the trap came. Some did not (see DB), and we got in trouble. Thought the defensive game plan was very good and the players made very good decisions (most of the time) to keep the turnover total down. Congrats to all.

not sure - I was right behind the bench and couldn't see once everyone stood up

Both Suggs and Brandenberg were at the game Saturday. UB talked to both after the game. TL really played well the last 5 minutes. However, he had a couple of ugly turnovers and ended up sitting for a couple of minutes just before that. The crowd really gave BH a great round of applause when he came out the last time. Good to see they appreciated it. HUGE steal by DP and consequent layup. Big time play at that time of the game. GW was VERY athletic and long. Their trapping defense was not easy to handle and they will beat plenty of teams before it's all over. Very hard for the Bills to run any set plays against. They did a great job of just attacking and finding the open player. The pack defense was awesome in the second half. It was OK in the first half, but they still allowed GW some drives to the hoop. In the second half, that was all gone and so they struggled to score 23 points. KL & DP guarded Rice and Elliott -- held them to 21 pts combined (more than 10 below their average) Also saw Kramer on Friday night -- this is a player who has gotten considerably stronger since his sophomore year. Shoots the 3 but also gets to the basket. Looks like he's getting ready for D1 basketball.

"In the first half, they were phenomenal," coach said. "They played almost flawless basketball. I think the way they shot the ball, they could've beaten almost anybody in the country in the first half. "There were a few times they had open looks, but there were a lot of times their shots were contested. Long arms flying at them and they still knocked them down." "What happened in the past had nothing to do with tonight," coach said. "If you win somewhere on the road, it doesn't mean you go the next time and think you're going to win. It's frustrating we haven't won, but each game is a separate game. They shot the ball terrific tonight. They made a lot of tough contested shots tonight." Could have been the Temple - SLU game, but it wasn't. It was the Vanderbilt - Alabama game. Alabama, a ranked team, gave up 15 3-pointers and lost by 20. They were out of the game by halftime. The Bills were down 3 with 10 seconds to go. I give them credit for not throwing in the towel. What's missing? Maybe some of Drejaj's toughness. Combined with LM & KL, it gave us 3 players who battled every possession. After KL went out last night, it left us with 1.

To compare how IV played against NC vs. every other opponent on our schedule is just silly. You didn't see NC with 2 or 3 players around IV every time he touched the ball. They may be the most athletic team in the country. They played their normal man to man, the overall emphasis was not "Stop IV". Therefore, he had more opportunities to catch the ball, and more room to manuever. Everytime someone describes a game recently, it's "the opponents had 2 or 3 players around IV in the zone everytime he touched the ball". These teams are showing IV the ultimate respect. They're saying "IV can beat us, he must be contained". Does that mean he is doing everything he can to contribute? -- I have no idea, I haven't seen a game. But to come on this board and say that he is not giving a good effort, that he should be doing more. I'm sure the MO State fans blasted Blake after our game -- he should have done more, why didn't he . . . At some point you have to give credit to the opponents and their defense. You have a chance to beat SLU if you contain/neutralize IV. If you don't do this, chances of winning are slim. That's the message that's being sent by our opponents. We had a good run with UB last week, now it sounds like we are moving on to a new whipping boy. It's not always black and white (IV only had 4 rebounds -- means he didn't try hard enough)

on kfns, Brad says DM is getting closer to earning his trust. Means we might start seeing him in games, especially if DB can't get it together.

Talking about Ian's pro prospects

You can't change your offensive focus (push the ball) and not expect some problems in other areas. Maybe in the back of their minds the team feels that they can start beating teams with their offense and just outscore other teams. From all reports, the offense looked very consistent throughout the whole game. So you are playing well on offense and go into halftime down by 11. HELLO! It may not be a truly veteran team (with 2 sophs and 1 frosh), but give them credit for knowing what had to be done and actually doing it. So we beat Pacific by 7 on the road, and have some people who just don't feel good about the game. Wonder if they were calling for Gillespie's head when TexasAM only beat them by 12 -- were there shouts of "What's wrong with our team?". Probably. As for me, I would rather just enjoy the positives -- strong game by IV . . . win on the road after being down by double digits . . . KL starting to score again . . . solid game by JJ . . . quality minutes by AK . . . 7 turnovers for the game . . . out rebounding the opponent by double digits . . . excellent FT shooting . . . TL being TL, LM being LM. And let the coaches work on the negatives -- they all know we can't have a half like that against good competition. They haven't developed that toughness that will be required in the conference season where you have to battle on every possession on both ends of the floor. KL & LM need to take this team over with their effort & desire. Sounds like DP is close; the rest of the team needs to get on board.

is a very subjective thing. We are through 1 phase of recruiting for this year and people are already upset. But it's a long way from over and too early to evaluate. Then the evalation takes on the last class (HD, AK, DM) and say that's a bust because these guys can't see any playing time. And yet we've heard it over and over: the mid-majors and other teams that are not typical basketball powerhouses do well when they are senior dominated teams. We fall into this category, that's what we are trying to be, but we are not senior dominated. We are led by 2 sophs. And all we're going to do is compete with every team on our schedule, and have more success than SLU has had in quite a while (we're all hoping). "How is wanting those things (ranked recruiting classes and fall verbals) and being upset when we fall short a bad thing?" Your opinion says we have fallen short. Others are willing to wait until HD, AK and DM are juniors or seniors before forming any opinions. In these times of wanting "instant gratification", the recruiting world of college basketball is going to disappoint you, unless you are NC or Duke

D Wade did not stay 4 years, but his impact has be significant.

just heard the last minute, talking about scheduling. Anything else?

No knock on Mizzou, but I watched for about 10 minutes and Arkansas was ridiculous. They couldn't pass or catch, and their shot selection was terrible. I lost some respect for Stan Heath if that's the best he can do.

The only difference between this year and last year -- this year he is wearing the contacts. He had the contacts last year.

If SLU goes 21-9 this year (realistic), that will be UB's record (72-49) at SLU if you eliminate 2 years ago (9-21). Maybe you say I can't take that year out. I think I can; he has never had a year even close to that anywhere he's been. It was an abnomality. I understand saying he's 60-61 at SLU, but I don't think it's a true indicator. What does SLU have returning this year? 85% of both scoring and rebounding (something close to that). What will they have back next year? Something close to 75-80% of both scoring and rebounding again (losing IV and JJ). IV will leave a hole to fill, but there are some good years coming up. If you can't give UB credit for anything, give him credit for this: He has raised everyone's expectations for this program. I guess that's why we have some of these posts that are over the edge. Isn't it great having high expectations for a program you care about. Thanks UB

After 4 years as a Division I coach, he is 72-49 This includes 2 trips to the NIT and 1 trip to NCAA Are these good enough credentials to be considered at SLU? Would the board be happy with these results? What if he followed that up with the next 4 years of 2 trips to the NCAA and 1 trip to the NIT? Or do you need more information, like when he gets his recruits (spring or fall) and how many visits does he have to make before he offers? Just wondering

up by 13 (39-26) with 4 minutes to play Are the twin towers in? Gametracker says IV is out (BH in), but he has an assist and a block

Which coach should be under the biggest scrutiny here? Coach A, who coaches Team A. Team A plays however their opponent plays. He allows his opponent to dictate the tempo. How many teams are there like this? The top 10-15 programs, along with another 50-100. The top programs are successful 98% of the time because they have better athletes and better basketball players. How successful are the other 50-100 programs that play this way? My opinion is "not very" (with no facts to back it up). Coach B, who coaches Team B. Coach B looks at each opponent and determines what is the best strategy to beat that opponent. Some nights you speed up the tempo, other times you slow it down. So who is right? I think everyone on this board respects Martelli -- well, he's a coach B. I personally would rather have a coach that prepares his team for each opponent and has a game plan for each game. I think UB is in this category also. He realizes that he needs to score easy baskets (hence, push the ball). He realizes the benefits from this (recruiting, attendance, etc.). Don't expect to see a night/day difference with this team vs. last year. He continues to take little steps in this programs' progression. Last year they pushed the ball more than they did the previous year. This year there will again be an increase. But he also values every possession with the ball. Turnovers drive him crazy. Do you let some of these mistakes go unrecognized; my bet is that he points them all out. So 1 voice says "Go, go" while the other says "take care of the ball". There is a balancing act involved here. I think it's going to be a lot of fun to watch when it all gets worked out. Meanwhile, I'll take the coach who has his team ready for the current game.

I think last year we were really packed with the defense, making sure we gave our younger players some confidence and some wins. As we get more comfortable and more athletic, we can still play the pack but extend it out another 2-3 steps and not give up the uncontested "3". I'm sure that has to be a point of emphasis with this years team. UB has always been good at dictating tempo when the athletic edge went to the other team. Now we should have quite a few games where the shoe is on the other foot. Let's see how this team handles it.

1. For some players, all it takes is the coach to say "you need to work harder; you're not pushing as hard as you could"; they get the message and overdrive kicks in. See KL 2. Other players think they are working hard and get the same message from coach. But it doesn't sink in until game time comes and they consistently don't see any game time. Then they get the message and overdrive kicks in. See IV maybe 3. Other players think they are working hard and get the same message from coach. But it doesn't sink in when game time comes and they consistently don't see any game time. Years go by and they still don't get it. See ??? (anyone we know?) Hard to say where Obi fits in; I'm sure he'll get some time in these exhibition games. But let's see where he is once we start playing for real. He's in group #2 or group #3. Playing time (or lack of it) motivates people in different ways. Let's see what it does for him

The Bills have 4 solid starters -- we had an injury to the 5th starter, and possibly to his #1 backup. So coach is now going to reward the next most deserving player with starting this pre-season game. DP is the most deserving - and that moves LM to the #4. This isn't about giving up on the running game or coach not being a man of his word. Any other lineup sends the wrong message to the players - so let's not give up on the running game or any other part of this team. My guess is that DP is going to run the break, with KL filling one lane and either TL or LM filling the other (whoever is not involved in the rebound battle) You will see a lot of different combinations in these first few games

My guess is that DP will be in the starting lineup, and that's OK. From all reports he still works hard, hasn't put his head down, and can contribute to this team in many ways. But it sounds like there is another guy who might fit well. What if we use: TL KL LM HD IV This gives us 3 scorers, 1 all purpose player, and 1 guy who will bust his tail. Now if he doesn't pick up the defense or isn't strong enough to compete, that is a different story. That gives us a second five of: DP DB DM OI BH That still makes us 10 deep and is not a bad 5. The big 7 footer in the middle, and some offense from DB, DM and OI. Three juniors who have been in the program for 3 years. I'm hoping we don't see the 4 guard lineup in the first few games. Instead of having 6 players to rotate at the #4 and #5, we only have 4. But that's still more than enough. Now if we lose another one, that's another story

It also sends a message to Mr. Brandenburg that we are not going to bring in a center in the class ahead of him + Alexander will be a senior when Brandenburg is a freshman. Sounds like Alexander is a 3/4, much like Obi, but slightly smaller with more athleticism (plays bigger than his size). Who is the 3 that we are recruiting in 2008? Swopeshire? Same message goes to him. Luke & Danny will be gone, only Alexander (senior) and DM (junior) at his spot. I think it's a good pickup

The average for Division I men's basketball was 59 percent. The report, called the Graduation Success Rate, covered four entering classes of scholarship players, from 1996-97 through 1999-2000. Athletes are given six years to graduate, so the statistics couldn't be compiled until after the 2004-05 academic year. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...0433/-1/ZONES04 They have grad rates for football and women's basketball also As they continue to calculate the graduation rate, SLU should just keep climbing once UB's players are tallied If those numbers are accurate, how does Gary Williams at Maryland explain it. It's not like he has had a ton of players leave early to go pro; he definitely has had players drafted and made the NBA. I'm assuming they haven't graduated in 4 years and haven't finished their degree in 6 years. But that doesn't explain 16%. Article said that IU will expect more from Sampson than OU did. We'll see I shouldn't speak too soon, but it nice to see a post on the board for 2 hours that one of the "haters" hasn't attacked yet. I suppose we got lucky the last 4 years and just recruited good students. Just another thing that UB can't claim no credit for.

Indiana newspaper ran an article complaining about Sampson's graduation rate at OK (41%) for the years 1996-2000. Saw the table that listed all the colleges -- SLU at 62% Some big names at the bottom Iowa St. 12% -- Tim Floyd? UNLV 16% Maryland 18% - Williams UConn 30% - Calhoun OK State 31% - Sutton Louisville 33% - Pitino Kentucky 33% - Smith UAB 33% -- Anderson Memphis 36% - Calipari Charlotte 40% - Lutz Oklahoma 41% - Sampson