pompeytir

He's the guy that got Gonzaga running and started the NCAA runs and recruiting. He was so hot when he left the Zags everyone figured he'd build a champion(Big Ten) in Minnesota...Maybe this is an example of a coach losing sight of the players they need to have success and eventually just recruiting the AAU All-Stars who may not fit his system or his coaching style.

Briantstl ::skirts the basis for my comment and continues to attempt to attack my post:: this team has been bad defensively lately and the last 90 minutes of basketball the team has played has been terrible both team and individual wise. UB got them together the last 30 minutes (they were down 8) and turned it around, if they lose this game...then what?(they had to win this game for RPI/at large bid) Until you have some basketball related comment about SLU or what they are doing performance wise don't post a reply, the stupid drunk frat kid response(s) is old.

Lol...have you seen the defense the last two and a quarter games (besides the final 30 minutes tonight)? They have been awful, their rotations have been sloppy, guys were not moving thier feet and more than one person has been wondering where the hell the defense is. I want the Bills to score points but not to the point where they're giving up just as many points as they score or worse.

they just don't look that good. The 'predictors' also had Mizzou #3 in 2002 (?) year.

Horizon league team. not suprised if they blow them out if the defense holds.

Brad has really embraced this run n' gun offense apparently...(more on this later).

Lol...Penders sounds like a basketball Junkie. Throwing out SI Rankings, Manu Ginobli comparisons.

This is a thread about a team that SLU is going to play and needs to beat to get an NCAA Bid. Maybe when people are watching the game they'll have a bit more understanding of what is going on and who SLU's opponents are; that way we can understand the matchups UB uses instead of 8 threads on why is UB starting or playing whomever. I enjoy following the team and having some sort of understanding of why things play out the way they do. Basketball isn't as simple as rolling a ball out and letting them play.

>>Interesting that SIU-C is putting on a defensive clinic, but >>when Arkansas also plays tough defense.....the SIU-C offense >>is considered boring and limited. Oh well! SIUC created five turnovers in the first five possessions of the game. No trapping, no switching...just heavy man to man to pressure. I like Arkansas's matchup zone that they threw at SIUC. SIUC just has obvious deficiencies in thier offensive gameplan.

SLU is in for some trouble in Carbondale. Wow, SIUC is putting a man to man defensive clinic on against Arkansas on ESPN2. If your ever looking at how M2M defense is supposed to be played, this is it-guys moving their feet, no choppy steps. I'm willing to say their defense is better perimeter wise than A&M is. Their offense on the other hand is boring and limited (much like UB's last year).

SI already has an analysis commentary up about it tonight. Sounds like they bodied him up, used four big men and kept it physical with him. Also sounds like the refs were 'just letting them play'. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writ...ghts/index.html

This is what makes me sick when I think about recruiting "scholar" athletes. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writ...ghts/index.html

Lol, Obi just doesn't look like he has a lot of basketball sense to me; should have been called for a lane violation on one FT, not to mention he just doesn't seem to know what is going on in the game around him. I saw Obi at practice last week and I had the exact opposite opinion of you. He looked awful when UB had them doing extended pressure drills 4 on 4. He's a freshman who needs a lot of work, he hasn't played basketball in two years. He also doesn't know how to box out or play help defense. Hopefully he's getting better but I think the fact he was out on the perimeter with no pressure on him (and A&M was up 30) was the real reason for this assumed 'poise'. I would like to see Dixon out there (even if he jumps at every ball fake when he's in the game).

In the long run of this season we'll see if Brady can coach when he's not the underdog or supposed to be beat on. First I’m just going to get the fact that shots were not falling out of the way; it happens, but a good defense makes it worse and A&M did that. A&M was only up 23-11 lead with 6:20 left in the first half. -The offense was out of control the entire game. Shots were not falling and the team is trying to improve its transition game but there has to be a certain point where Brad will slow it down and run some set plays that can get the team some easy opportunities. Right now SLU doesn’t run any set plays (from what I’ve seen). -Timeouts? Was there any timeouts by UB to slow down the pace of the game and get the team under control? -I don’t think being tired had anything to do with the physical performance of the team, maybe their defensive rotations and making smart plays/decisions (UB included) were influenced by fatigue. -The defense, the staple of any SLU team coached by UB was atrocious overall (body of work). The help defense was miserable, both cutting off dribble drives and giving help in the post. No way does UB spend more time on the offense than the defense this week. -I don’t think I’ll ever get used to Dwayne Polk shooting 3’s in transition. He’s been ok this year but he’s a career 26.3% and 17.4% shooter. I don’t know where he fits in on this team when their full court offense is shut down. He just doesn’t have a game against a good half court defense or zone. -Calling out: Husak, looked good against a bad team but couldn’t move laterally or quick enough against the big boys. He’s not big minutes worthy but he is improved over last year and worth giving minutes to in the long run. -Obi, keep him on the bench. He does not understand what a defensive rotation is. When the game film is looked at, I can’t imagine how many opportunities Obi had for help(I’d imagine at least 6) and the number of times he wasn’t paying attention or had his head turned away from the play (probably 6). Obi also needs to learn how to block out; I didn’t see him do it once. I know he got 1 minute of burn against Quincy (compared to 3 for the same group that went in) for not blocking out and then was screamed at by UB on a timeout immediately after than play (it ended up being a jump ball).The only reason I can see for Brad using him as much as he did was that he is hoping he will eventually figure it out and contribute. -Lisch, too much ball massaging out on the court. He also had an unusually poor game rotating on defense as was constantly cheating towards his man and was unable to rotate into a help position in the game. -Danny Brown, if all your going to do is hang out at the 3pt line on secondary breaks then you had better knock down a few of your shots. 0-8 is pathetic. There is no way his legs weren’t just there. Well, one week for the run and gun of Houston…and another ‘W’.

Direct TV South County same problem.

Courtside...read critically. I said, "AT THIS POINT" regarding evaluating Stemler.

WISCONSIN: Homegrown, well-rounded stars aiming for title.

I think what people are saying is that Stemler is not the savior or some huge recruit that is going to make a major difference at SLU. His game speaks for himself, watch IU this year. They didn't miss out on a Lisch or IV type of player. At this point at IU Stemler can shoot the 3pt shot with accuracy, he's tall. He also isn't ultra aggressive, is an average to below average rebounder and cannot defend perimeter players (watch his choppy steps on defense, and how a dribbler goes by him). All of these traits we got from first hand accounts of people who saw him live at SWIC Junior College. His game has not changed. The fact that he played 35 minutes in his last game and brought a whole 5pt, 5 board night is more an indication of Mike Davis's ineptitude than a reflection of how good he is. I don't think he would be getting 35+ minutes of burn at SLU but he would be a contributing player who hits shots and rebounds a bit. SLU definitely needs extra shooters beside Lisch. Maguire would have probably red-shirted this year if Stemler had signed at SLU.

Anyone know the time SLU practices and the number to call to find out if they are open to the public? Have a chance to go down there today but can't find post that game time and #. Thanks!

This is being pessimistic but 22-9. I could see it being 25-6 or 27-4. Losses to: Texas A&M, at SIUC, at Pacific, UNC, at Temple, at Houston, at St.Joe's, at Xavier, at Umass.

Saw Dustin at EDW-ESL High School game last year...Here's what I saw The Bad- Maguire is 6'5 and moves like a High School center. His lateral movement is severely lacking and he is far from a '2' or '3' guard. He will have problems guarding quicker players (ala Luke Meyer, maybe more). ESL players denied him the ball most of the game when he was posted in the block (he didn't work with his back to the basket in the low post). He didn't really get the ball on the perimeter to create, drive or shoot unless it was a kick out and shot. He did handle the basketball in the open court and his handle and his foot speed wasn't up to snuff against ESL, his forays in the open court didn't end pretty if he forced the issue. He shot release looked a bit slow as he continually brings the ball to his hip first before taking the shot up-even on spot up shooting. The Good-He is an extremely accurate shooter with plenty of range(I didn't see Luke Meyer in High School so I can't say who was better-now I'd take Maguire). He was in the right place at the right time all game. He was the beneficiary of some really good passes from Spencer Stewart (U of I Chicago). I couldn't comment on his court vision (zero assists). Overall-He is 6'5 and the SLU coaching staff will probably correct his habit of taking the ball down before he shoots. SLU definitely needs shooting and he can light it up from there. In my mind, seeing him against such a quick team really highlights the Luke Meyer issue with SLU right now. Can a good shooter, who is somewhat limited athletically, but with the advantage of being tall, be able to get his jump shot off consistently and accurately enough? Along with playing adequate defense to keep the coaching staff happy?

What does Height have anything to do with the skill of the basketball team? I guess last year I could have looked at Villanova's roster and knew that they were going to be bad-they weren't starting any size on that team. SLU's starting 'power forward' is 6'5''. Bryce Husak is 7 feet tall and he contributed huge minutes and was a real force last year apparently. This isn't high school, skill matters alot more. I have no doubt that SLU will win by 20+ easily but height isn't going to be the reason for it.

Wow, That was a pretty thorough review of the Billikens and added something I hadn't really heard about...that IV is going to attempt to extend things this year and that UB might loosen it up a little. Great review! As for the Drejaj comment, what?

There is a reason the younger guys do poorer at some of the drills...(tah-dah)they haven't done them before. I think the drills are overrated in evaluation at the begining of the year and that with familairity the players will obvously pick it up. I imagine Lisch wasn't too hot at first but he should have been starting from the get-go anyway. Some of the 'blue' jersey players (DB,JJ,LM possibly) may be losing some of thier playing time come conference season. BTW-Thanks for the update and phone # on the Practice Schedule!

Lol, Any news on the offensive scheme? Work on the offense (breaking the press is part of that...) I sure hope UB is changing the offense from the sad stagnation that was last year's offense. He's finally got some talent to work with so he should be able to open up the offense this year; how about a pick or backdoor screen every once in a while instead of the usual drive and kick out (:yawn:)? I love the defense scheme and I really like UB but there is no execuse to have the same offensive woes as last year (remember St.Joe's x2?)