DoctorB
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Posts posted by DoctorB
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Because I'm calling around and cannot locate anywhere with the broadcast. Any ideas? Fieldhouse does not have it, btw...
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I agree that just about everyone has equaled or exceeded my expectations. I knew Perkins would emerge, and become a fan favorite, because he was always scoring in practices and was a fun kid to watch. I imagine he will get better and better, even as this season plays out; probably giving us one or 2 30-point nights (I'm hoping here...). Bell is also improving steadily. Bell does change the game around him, even if the stats do not always reflect that. Jacobs is also much improved and a steady hand. The team is honestly ahead of where I predicted -- even without GJ and FT.
I want to stress my respect and admiration for Coach Ford and staff here. Players keep getting better and better--long term, under Ford. We saw it with Bess, and now look at French and Goodwin. Yes they were both good as freshmen; but now they are A10 studs. Goodwin got 16 boards the other day, yet again -- and it hardly creates a buzz anymore, that's how good he has become. As for French--his dominant dunks Sunday night were jaw-dropping. I'm saying all this to give credit to good coaching and extremely competitive practices, (with a full group of players--remember last year when they struggled to go 5 against 5???); but also to suggest that if you think Perkins, Bell, GJ, YC, TJH, and others have improved in 2 months -- wait till 2 years from now. As for Hankton -- he has time to improve too and remember he will be a senior one of these days; but every top-25 program has excellent players that need to get better if they want more (or any) minutes. And ps --Hightower brings a lot to the practices too, and got rewarded for sheer effort the other night while the game was on the line. It's a hungry group with no obvious head cases--finally. We are in for a fun few years here, folks...HNY to all!
HoosierPal, Billiken Rich and dennis_w like this -
3 minutes ago, BillIkenFan_Dan said:
Can you imagine this team by the end of the year once everything is clicking.
I'm trying to imagine it. We are already better by now than I thought we might become by February: we are ahead of schedule; and our best ball by far is ahead of us...
PS: can someone tell what is up with Thatch? I'm no longer able to read through all the threads and have been out of touch with various contacts etc. Is he sick or what?
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55 minutes ago, Clock_Tower said:
Great point!! Let’s let another 100 guys in!! But you will then argue against letting in player 101. Always has to be a line.
No, let’s put everyone in Hall. Trophies and medals for all!!
Right, Clock: that was precisely my point, gold star for reading comprehension! Yes there is a line: somewhere between Simmons and, say, Chico Ruiz, or Marv Throneberry. Or Ed Kranepool, Bernie Carbo; or even Ed Head. But which side of that line is Maury Wills? or Roger Maris?? or Tony Oliva??? Just 3 worthy guys off the top of my head... 3 who will never make it.
Should they? Actually, I don't care that much about these things as I once did -- in the big scheme of things, it doesn't mean a lot, except maybe to the guy and his family and team. I don't really see myself "arguing" about it much anymore, and will not check to see where Maury is on the all-time steals list (3rd? 4th??); or how many homers Maris hit (did he make 300? doubt it -- I used to memorize that kind of stuff back in the day). Or how many batting titles did Oliva win (3? 4??). Whatever the numbers, those are great players and I idolized them all.
So, like others, I guess I do want "my guys" in the Halls - Larry Walker, Isaac Bruce, and the Doobies (who would be inducted with all the various members/lineups, like other groups [Byrds, Eagles] with multiple lineups, as they should, because all the records under the Doobies or Eagles banner are officially by those bands; and by the way Roy, McDonald is touring with the Doobs again this summer, here in Aug. for the 50th anniversary tour!)
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I'm super glad he's in. Well deserved. These kinds of debates about fringe HOF types drive me crazy, however. With a catcher like Simmons, let alone Yadi: of course, put 'em in. For many fans, seeing the tine plaques in Cooperstown turns out to be a bit disappointing anyway, and unless you really know your baseball, many of the names will be fairly obscure. And keep in mind that Dale Murphy, Larry Walker, and many others are still not in the HOF!
More generally: What I truly abhor is all the nonsense about keeping great guys OUT of various Halls of Fame: whether it's someone like Simmons; or Torry Holt & Isaac Bruce (who both have great numbers); or even why the Doobie Brothers are one of the great bands of the 70s, but still not in the Rock & Roll HOF. It tends to be from the snobby purists: "O those Doobies were just not cutting edge enough," or whatever. (Meanwhile the Zombies get in -- seriously!?) But arguments for keeping a great guy out -- get a life! Put more in !! (but not those druggies of course...or when? McGwire? Barry Bonds??)
Billiken Rich likes this -
1 hour ago, RUBillsFan said:
I don’t feel like the team has played their best yet.
Say what? Boy are you in for a surprise in February, when we really start clicking. We are not even in the vicinity of "our best," but you would never know it with the stabilizing force of Has & JGood. Those 2 are really awesome right now. My comparison for HF? Charles Oakley. I'd also like to send a shout out to Jimmy Bell, who I thought was a key silent force in the first half, helping keep us in the game while HF was on the bench. That whole effort, mostly by freshmen, was at gut check time, we could have easily been blown out and given up early. KUDOS to players and staff for hanging in there, it will pay dividends.
Happy Thanksgiving for this fun and far-from-our-best-yet team. It's going to be a really great ride, folks, let's enjoy it!
MusicCityBilliken likes this -
15 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:
There just aren't enough minutes to develop Perkins and Hargrove. Perkins is only playing 14 minutes a game as it is. Splitting those minutes with Hargrove would slow down the progress of two players instead of one.
This is it. What is the big mystery on all this? In close games the best players will get the most minutes, and for once, we have plenty of talent. Last year Hargrove would have played more, especially in the 4 games in 4 days window. Now: FINALLY we have become a program where pretty good freshmen need to improve and earn their minutes. There are some really good freshmen on top 25 teams all over America, getting ZERO minutes, believe me...
And yes, Perkins is ahead of TJH, and should be. Wait till the headlights go on with him, because in February I think he will be much improved, and we need microwave scoring off the bench. Perkins can score, folks.
Yes, unlike youth soccer, everyone does not get to play equally. TJH will be FINE, give him some time.
slufanskip and CBFan like this -
Hotel Ignacio is for sale.
https://www.slu.edu/news/announcements/2019/november/hotel-ignacio-sale.php
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here's my take from another thread:
Yuri's about as good at seeing the court develop and having a feel for his teammates as anyone I've seen in . . . well, a long time. His court vision 3 games in is just outstanding. To be honest, I'm surprised how good he's looking already -- the good kind of surprise. Still a work in progress too, so what kind of dynamo monster can he become in the A10?? Can't wait to see... and ps: he may not start this year; but when games are on the line, he will finish. He'll get plenty of minutes...
Glad you started this thread. Not sure everyone is getting what we have in young Yuri. Great student and citizen too! FWIW, I am just thrilled to have this guy! trying to remember: How long did it take for Kevin Lisch to start as a freshman?? Kwamain was also pretty impressive right off the bat.
PS: to refresh some memories: I saw live and in person the following freshmen, so I have seen some major studs really great right away: Earvin Johnson, Calbert Cheaney, Isiah Thomas, George McGinnis, etc... All were just terrific right away.
I'd be interested to hear what other freshmen, right off in their first few games, impressed people on here....
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The High Low, a brand new literary arts cafe/meeting space, is now open: dazzling new $3.5 million renovation funded by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation is awesome! It is on Washington next to the UCBC Brewery, and it has all kinds of spaces for quiet, writing, communal/ coffee/ cool library/ conference room/ and public readings/performance space with a bar. Huge and impressive. (I hope we can get some of the SLU students to walk north of Lindell and down Washington!!!)
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I don't watch anywhere near as much DI basketball as I used to; but Yuri's about as good at seeing the court develop and having a feel for his teammates as anyone I've seen in . . . well, a long time. His court vision 3 games in is just outstanding. To be honest, I'm surprised how good he's looking already -- the good kind of surprise. Still a work in progress too, so what kind of dynamo monster can he become in the A10?? Can't wait to see... and ps: he may not start this year; but when games are on the line, he will finish. He'll get plenty of minutes...
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check your pm's!
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23 hours ago, Billboy1 said:
Has anybody heard anything on him?
I've seen him play a fair amount and have written about him in my practice report. He's a great kid with probably the most explosive leaping ability in the 20 years + I've been following the Bills. He can become a great finisher and I am so looking forward to the dozens of freakish Yuri-to-TJ dunks we will be oohing and Ahhing about in the coming years. Also a good outside shooter by the way; and great enthusiasm. I'm very bullish on young TJ, so lighten up. Give him a chance to adjust some, figure out all the sets/ defensive schemes; get used to going to class/reading/studying at a top-100 level university, etc. Our 20-pt. scorer Jacobs, by the way, looked pretty much lost in the headlights about 90% of all of last year, by the way. Athletes get better. We have played a total of ONE game. Relax...
CBFan, HoosierPal, SLU_Lax and 2 others like this -
??? I'm honestly confused about this debate over Thatch. He's without any doubt one of our starters, pure and simple; and one of our best all-around players; and clearly our defensive stopper, with excellent stamina that will only improve. He will be in there in close games and if we fall behind, because defensively he sets the tone. Comparing minutes with Jimmerson in that blow-out game is not telling us very much (and no disrespect to GJ, I was blown away by him and Yuri in our first real game: WOW!). But when we need a stop, Thatch will be in there. At the end of the day, his outside shooting will come around. But we begin with a Big 3, not a Big 2 plus a bunch of role-players. I think some of you are underestimating how good he is already, and will become; and actually, how important he is RIGHT NOW to our scheme. One person said it all: starters set the tone for a game. Barring injury Thatch will start & get a lot of minutes, every game.
HoosierPal, RiseAndGrind, moytoy12 and 3 others like this -
36 minutes ago, BIG BILL FAN said:
Why single Bell out??? Apparently, you wanted to jump on the Jimmy Bell is an out of shape, slob who can’t get up and down the court bandwagon . The coach had done nothing but praise him and had named him a starter, yet you and a few others, could only find fault without ever seeing him play. If not, then why do you assume everyone else is in great shape.
Maybe you missed it, but I BEGAN my previous practice report by RAVING about Bell. You are also wrong about me never having seen him play; I've seen him plenty before that KYWesleyan game... and reported on it on this board. For one thing, I wrote this on that practice thread, before the open practice last weekend:
--One of the biggest surprises for some will be the sheer size and power of Jimmy Bell. This kid has great feet for a big guy, and maybe even better hands: soft and skilled, left or right. I can see how he could be a great offensive lineman because he looks like a bigger Orlando Pace out there. He has a good chance to become an overpowering force in the A10 but it may take a couple years. That said, he will get minutes immediately and will become a crowd favorite right away too. He is so strong that I've seen him get his shot blocked pretty well and he still muscled it into the bucket. My guess is that after losing another 20-30 pounds of baby fat and then bulking up, he can become a star. But I also think his upside is so high that he will play right away. Diarra also has good upside and they bang against each other most of the time in practice. Diarra is as tall and stout as anyone else on the team, taller than French; but he gets overpowered by Bell on a regular basis.
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1 hour ago, Old guy said:
You did a whole more than that you provided a guarantee that he would not last more than 5 minutes.
Some of you guys must be reading impaired or something. Hey old guy -- just for future reference -- when a person says, "my guess is . . . " it does not mean they are guaranteeing something. In addition: 6 minutes is actually more than 5, in our system. One other item: when a person says, IF ____ happens, call me an idiot," it is also NOT a guarantee -- it is more like a confession of unlikeliness. Hope all this is helpful...
Billiken Rich and drkelsey55 like this -
22 hours ago, BIG BILL FAN said:
WHAT YOU ARE IMPLYING IS THAT HE CAN'T PLAY 4 MINUTES AT A STRETCH...how about giving the man a chance before we jump all over him...
WOW dude, chill; I literally wrote these words: Excuse me, but my guess is he will play 4-6 minutes at a stretch, at most. So no, I'm not implying that he can't play 4 minutes, the ALL CAPS screaming does not make it so.. PS: last night he played about 4 minutes a stretch. Go figure.
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29 minutes ago, BIG BILL FAN said:
will they bring him out in a wheel chair????? this is utter nonsense about Bell......
Excuse me, but my guess is he will play 4-6 minutes at a stretch, at most. This isn't big news, for people who have been observing so far and anyway, even in the past: Gordon last year got winded pretty quickly, you may recall. Why is this stamina issue such a huge issue with some of you? He is a talented guy that I have personally been hyping; but he is a freshman big trying to play defense in a sophisticated system with a defense-minded coaching staff, and defense takes a lot of energy. Yes, Bell has been working hard on his conditioning -- as has everyone else. I'm just telling you what anyone on the staff would tell you ...
Feel free to tell me I'm an idiot if Bell plays more than 10 minutes at a stretch (now that's utter nonsense), but guess what?? He won't. Anyway, with our bench and other freshmen, why should he??? I was just pointing that out because I am very curious to see how this changes going forward.
ACE likes this -
Coach Ford announced to the team tonight's starters:
JG, HF, FT, Jacobs & Bell.
Key stamina issue: how long can Bell play at the beginning?
CBFan likes this -
Thanks for all the great feedback on here. Just a few further responses:
--Yes, JB will need to drop more weight, and muscle up. I am confused why anyone would say he does not. Maybe they were seated too far up in the stands? Anyway, yes, his body is still in transition and a work in progress. Bigger issue with him will be stamina: he can really only play in short bursts. by the way: I think my evaluation of JB's hands is more upbeat than some others: he has pretty good hands. His feet and dexterity are truly special. Strength is off the charts for a freshman, body-wise: oak tree.
--The questions about Perkins are legit, but I think he is a quiet force and do think he will become a major contributor. He and many of the other new guys are really given a lot of teaching and game planning stuff early on, and some do better learning the systems than others. Different players get chewed out in different practices for different reasons, but overall it is a challenging learning curve and one thing is this: if a player fails to grasp the defensive sets and gets burned a couple times, they will be on the bench. But Perkins does have a scoring ability and finds ways to contribute. Impact scorer? let's see but he could be like Isabell last year -- it may take most of a season for us to really get a feel for how much of an impact he will have on this team.
--In that regard, I also have noticed in practice a lot of work on defensive positioning, pressing, and running through presses, etc. I am struck by the claims by Coach Ford about playing 40 minutes of press. He talks it up a lot in practices, too. "People are going to hate playing us; they're going to fear us!" that sort of thing... Will we really do it? and will it work out? In that scenario, yes stamina is a huge factor and a large rotation is required.
--last but not least: my kool-aid report is premised on any of these guys working hard, making grades, and improving over 4-5 years. Give them some time and let's see how they progress. I have not yet heard anything close to any knucklehead type stuff from any of the new guys -- or anyone for that matter. Knock on wood. Actually have heard great stuff about the character of new guys. (The knucklehead stuff really infuriates me, a basketball wannabe in the old days who just never had the pysical equipment of this kind of player.) I truly hope I'm right about the knucklehead factor. That said: it is the "age of transfers" so who knows?
Overall: Let's see how this season works itself out (I have refrained from predicting a W_L record, because I really don't know what to think about this work in progress as a TEAM playing real competition). But I think it will be FUN to watch -- most of the time...
2010andBeyond likes this -
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I'm unable to make it this morning but here are some of my own observations in recent weeks and I would love to hear anyone's responses to them after this morning's open practice : I'm getting jazzed and pretty upbeat about out chances. 7th in A10 seems unrealisitic (i.e. LOW!), but that's because the voters have not seen our new guys!
--One of the biggest surprises for some will be the sheer size and power of Jimmy Bell. This kid has great feet for a big guy, and maybe even better hands: soft and skilled, left or right. I can see how he could be a great offensive lineman because he looks like a bigger Orlando Pace out there. He has a good chance to become an overpowering force in the A10 but it may take a couple years. That said, he will get minutes immediately and will become a crowd favorite right away too. He is so strong that I've seen him get his shot blocked pretty well and he still muscled it into the bucket. My guess is that after losing another 20-30 pounds of baby fat and then bulking up, he can become a star. But I also think his upside is so high that he will play right away. Diarra also has good upside and they bang against each other most of the time in practice. Diarra is as tall and stout as anyone else on the team, taller than French; but he gets overpowered by Bell on a regular basis.
--GJ does shoot well and makes a lot of long range shots in practices; but one thing that stands out is his overall toughness and moxie. He is more stout and a better defender than some may think.
--Same attributes of toughness and moxie for Yuri: but the other thing you may notice is how smoothly he operates in big-time traffic with the ball, how smoothly he distributes the ball to teammates who did not even know they were open; and how fearlessly he will take the ball to the rack. Yuri is small among a group of big players but does not play small.
--TJH: man can this kid fly down the court and attack the rim. I mean, he really climbs the ladder: which freshman in my 20 years at SLU can jump like this kid?? Teammates are already ally-ooping him with regularity. And his outside shooting is better than you might expect! He's fun to watch.
--KC has just become bigger and stronger. Of all the players he has grown the most, just appearance wise.
--DJ & JP are both rather quiet but they just go about their work and keep getting better. I think it is clear they will both be getting minutes right away, and I think people coming to see them today may be surprised at how they are among the top players, given all the hoopla over the freshmen... KC the same, by the way. And Tay, who is scrappy and can shoot the rock.
--The defensive schemes are rather complex and all the newbies are trying to grasp the concepts but the effort and agility is all there. It is hard not to be pretty enthusiastic about all these new additions. and PS: Hightower is one of the best walk-ons we've had. Very competitive group and it will be fun seeing the competition for minutes -- especially since HF, JG, FT, and possibly one or 2 others will be getting 30-32 per game, minus foul trouble. We could become pretty good by February this year and just a nightmare match-up all of next year!
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On 9/19/2019 at 12:26 PM, Pistol said:
1. Because he's a 2021 recruit
good point, sorry I missed it. as for 6'2" being too small -- wow the times have changed! used to be OK for a shooter. Plus: he is probably 16-17 so it is plausible has has more growth coming, especially considering his family...
Duquesne game at any local sportsbars w/ESPN+?
in Billikens.com Main Board
Posted
Or: an free on-line stream??