NH

I hear what you are saying about Texas Tech and recruiting. Historically they have not been significantly above SLU as a program, and there is a lot that SLU and Saint Louis has to offer that Lubbock doesn't. But they have a crazy fan base, are currently ranked and were in the final four just a couple of years ago. They've also had multiple first round picks in recent years. Until they actually go through the post-Beard dropoff that you're alluding to, it seems like a stretch to me that kids from the state wouldn't view them as a more prominent program than SLU. What we do have to offer more of than them is playing time in the class of 2023. If we do land recruits over them in the next year or two, you can bet that the ability to play immediately is a big reason why.

I was wrong about the rebounding, and you’re right. They’re actually a very strong defensive rebounding team per the numbers.

I think our 11-12 team was a lot more athletic than this Davidson team. Davidson is a poor rebounding team and just ok defensively. But those shortcomings only matter so much if you can still out score your opponent every game. What Dayton lacks in ability to play above the rim or in transition, they make up for by having five elite shooters on the floor. They’re also pretty long defensively.

I’ve had that dude on ignore for years. Didn’t even realize he was still poking around

Had this same situation happen to me. I somehow always forget that they have the worst fans in the A10

Agreed. Ellis’ and Loe’s ability to spread the floor opened up so much room for Dwayne inside, or Jordair to get to the rim. I was hoping that Lorentsson could’ve shown some of that potential but clearly he’s just not ready. I think Ford has probably faced the decision of where to compromise in recruiting: do I want a big who is less skilled but a great rebounder/defender or do I want someone more skilled who I have to toughen up. It seems like we’re going to err on the side of defense and rebounding unless something changes. I bet we’ll go for a stretch big in the portal this off-season, will be interesting to see if we can land one.

I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Has and will continue to beat the drum that because of how horrible his FT shooting was fans began to underestimate the rest of his game. I also agree that Okoro’s contributions have been underrated. As you pointed out, his counting stats are solid. His defensive metrics are off the charts (best on our team). He’s been an elite offensive rebounder and a very good defensive rebounder. And he’s done better at avoiding foul trouble than I expected.

I’m rooting for St Bonaventure and Davidson’. Davidson is the A10s best chance at an at-large bid and put away game at Davidson has the potential to represent a signature win. And then I typically root against Dayton in every in-conference game.

I remember you saying last year that Hasahn was under appreciated, which you said again when people were saying Okoro was better. I agree with you. And I also don’t think that’s a criticism of Okoro. I think he’s been very good. But Hasahn was a special player, he just had a glaring weakness (FTs) that was understandably hard for some to get past.

You were also saying it at the end of last season. The simple truth is that many people could not get past Hasahn’s free throw shooting and because that many of his other contributions were a little overlooked. Big men who can defend multiple positions, block shots, pass/handle the ball and rebound like that do not come to SLU very often. It could be a long time until we get another Hasahn French. With that said, big men like Okoro also do not come to the A10 very often, and Linssen has shown an ability to be an elite finisher. I’m a huge fan of our big man tandem and think the fact that we haven’t been lamenting French’s loss more is a credit to Marten, Franco and the coaching staff.

I do think we were spoiled by French’s passing

Both likely would have been classified as low 3-stars in the pre-COVID era. They were both valuable role players on Brad Beal Elite, which is a role that previously has been filled by people like TJ Hargrove and Fred Thatch. They should not be expected to necessarily contribute from day one but neither were reaches.

Martin is the same class as Kramer and Thames. I would be surprised if Martin gets an offer from SLU, and do not think he has offers from those schools you mentioned (Arkansas Pine Bluff and Louisiana Monroe are the two offers I know about). I think it's going to be difficult to land a point guard for as long as Yuri is here. I think our best bet would be a combo guard who can play next to Yuri. A player in the Ray'Sean Taylor mode makes a lot of sense to me.

Adding on to Pistol, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with Thames’ jumper. He takes a lot of very difficult shots as a do-everything guy for Pattonville. I would bet good money that he can turn into a 35-37% guy on a couple attempts a guy by his sophomore year. Overall I am a huge fan of Thames as a prospect. He’s still growing into his size and athleticism, and is highly skilled for his size. He’s the type of guy who is set up to make a huge leap after a year or two in college.

It was me who posted that. The ShotQuality metric does NOT consider who is the defender (I think it would be basically impossible to track that for every D1 game). I agree with you that we kept going into Holmes despite showing no ability to finish over/through him. In case anyone is curious, here is how various shots grade out based on the ShotQuality metric I linked to above. Keep in mind this is just another data point, as we all know there are so many different factors that go into what truly makes a good shot (time and score, who is shooting, who is defending, etc.)

I would agree other than to say that his first two fouls in the second half were dumb fouls, even if they were a little ticky-tacky. He is our best player and team leader, he needs to cut out the silly fouls on mid-range jump shots.

I have plenty of complaints about Ford's coaching (we never shoot enough 3s, he loses composure, reverts to bully ball whenever things get tough), but I will continue to push back on the idea that he's a terrible Xs and Os coach or that we have a fundamentally bad offensive plan. I did not like the plan of attack yesterday (we needed to get the ball out of Yuri's hands quicker, fewer ball screens and more ball movement, the d was clearly letting us drive to the help which was usually Holmes and we often settled for giving them that). But I think that the offense under Ford has generally improved a lot during his tenure. For reference, see below for our KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency rank for the past 11 seasons: 2022: 69 2021: 50 2020: 111 2019: 214 2018: 225 2017: 324 2016: 310 2015: 311 2014: 168 2013: 71 2012: 34 Ford's numbers the past two seasons are up there with the best offensive teams Majerus/Crews had (although our defense is not nearly as good as those teams). I think some of the reason for the offensive improvement in Ford's tenure is because of recruiting and personnel, and some of it is because of better game planning and coaching. According to ShotQuality, a tool that a lot of teams are using these days to measure the kinds of shots a team is getting, we have the 58th highest shot quality in the nation. Here is an article I found interesting on the topic of shot selection, and you can see that by their metric, our overall shot selection process (taking good shots on offense and forcing tough shots on defense) is 15th in the country: https://shotquality.com/article/6. I think it's reasonable to criticize Ford for any number of things, especially from game to game. But I do think there are a lot worse offensive and defensive coaches than Ford, and that all is not lost from a tactical perspective.

That was the best game I can remember from Gibson Jimerson. He has struggled against length and athleticism in the past, but tonight I thought he was in control and patient. Shame that we wasted it in a loss but I’m going to take that as an encouraging sign moving forward.

Id also like to see Jimerson take more 3s. I know that he’s being face guarded every game, but I really have no problem with him taking more 3s off the dribble or deeper 3s in transition. He has the ability to break the game open with his shooting and I hope we see more of that as the season progresses.

NM

Maybe one way to circle around a point I think @brianstl may be making is to say that Gibson has shown that he has an ability to draw fouls and get to the free throw line, something he did not do last year. If he leans into that new skill set even more, and does a better job of making it clear when he’s being held, clutched, grabbed, etc. then there is even more upside for his offensive game. If he wants to go from scoring 16 a game to 20 a game, some of that will come from the free throw line. If you watch some of the best scorers at his position in college basketball, they are maestros at drawing fouls off the ball. If anything, I think it’s a compliment that people see Gibson as someone who has more upside as a scorer rather than just the gadget 3-point specialist he was his first two years.

My theory is that Gibson is not making threes at his normal clip because he is still adjusting to the other new facets of his offense (getting to the basket, running off pin-downs, drawing fouls). As he continues to settle into his new role, the 3-point shooting will come accordingly. That’s my theory at least.

Ford and TJ are both emotional guys. You can even see this in the two hugs they shared after the game. I remember being in Brooklyn during the SLU Davidson A10 tourney game and seeing Goodwin and Ford get into it with each other. I’m sure that wasn’t the first time we’ve had a player go at Ford and I doubt this latest instance will be the last.

Nesbitt tries a little too hard to get fouled. I wish he would finish at the rim more often rather than hanging in the air. I think Fred does a great job of playing off of two feet and finishing in traffic. But he’s 6’2” and shoots only layups son inevitably those shots will be blocked.

The betting line itself does not factor into the NET but the margin of victory does factor into the NET via the efficiency piece. We beat a team ranked 20spots ahead of us by 1 point at home. It doesn’t surprise me that this win wouldn’t help our NET much. In general, it’s fair to expect that any of our remaining home wins will help our NET much, unless we blow the teams out. We’ll have to do our damage on the road.