kmbilliken

you did well

correction(ala Guy Phillips)-new key board They can't ban section 108 from the camera, that's where "The Dude" sits.

Ty ca ban section 108from the camera, that's where "the Dude" it.

Which 2?

What impresses me about RM is his ability to evaluate talent. With the exception of Mitchell and Thompson, none of these players were that highly rgarded as recruits. For the most part we were competing against programs with 100+ RPIs to sign them, but they all seem to have talent and the potential to develope into solid contributors. If two more develope into stars we'll be a tournament team by the time they graduate.

The kid plays for his national team in international competition. The baskets the same height and they use the same ball. I don't think he'll be that nervous. He may be rusty on defense and not in top shape, but if he's a shooter he'll be able to shoot.

I agree. He's been playing his whole life. He's probably very sound fundamentally since his dad was a star and probably schooled him. If he can stay on his man, block out and SHOOT, he will contribute immediately.

He has no shot. He needs to play close to the basket where he's at his best hustling rebounds and getting dunks and put backs. I only listened to part of the game, but I'd be willing to bet he didn't take a shot more than 2 feet from the basket. There's a reason he was 5 for 5. I think he has upside as a 4, but he'll never be a 3.

I've seen 2 SIU-E home games on Charter in the last week. They have more games televised than we do. That has to be corrected.

Smith will never be a 3, but he could use the year to develope some offensive skills. He seems to lack a jump shot of any kind. He could use a jump shot and a hook to give him a little offensive presence.

Anthony Bonner was 6'6'', but listed at 6'8". When they were connsidering AB's NBA prospects someone told Grawer you had to be 6'8" to be a power forward in the NBA to which Grawer replied "then he's 6'8".

Is there any concern with him qualifying?

Anthony Bonner carried quite a bit of that load too. He was with them for 3 of their 4 years and was the better player for at least 2 of those 3 years. Togehter they lifted the program and would have lifted it further in the administration hadn't pulled the rug from under Grawer by not letting Upchurch in school when he qualified. The administration not only cost him a top flight recruit who Grawer described as better than the onther 3 coming out of high school, but also undermined his credibility in his most fertile recruiting region, the city.

Douglas had his best run the second half of his freshman year. He never got any better after that. Gray got better each year. By his senior year he had even developed a nice outside game with 3 point range.

I thought at one point Clyburn was on the verge of commiting. Anyone know what happened with that?

That player would be Ellis. He'll be expected to be an impact player next year.

I'm sure the baseball coach, who isn't given a full compliment of scholarships to begin with, will go right along with that idea.

If someone is going to transfer it won't be until after second semester unless its Reid. Everyone else is playing and using their full year of eligibility.

This reminds me of the Justin Tatum ordeal. We had to wait out for the longest time before he was finally eligible. A lot of people thought he would be our savior at power forward. He gained his eligibilty 2nd semester and I think his first game was Illinois at the Dome. He played very well for sitting out a year and a half and very little practice time. He even took the last shot for the win, but missed. Spoon was pissed at the rest of the team for expecting Justin to win it for them when was almost fresh off the street. He was decent, but never lived up to the built up expectations. Hopefully Ellis will. Even if he doesn't another big body is going to help.

I'm not disappointed in his scoring. He'll fight for his points and get 6 to 8 a game. If he can play good interior defense and rebound that's all we need from him. However, he's not giving us the defensive rebounding we need from him. He seems to really fight for offensive rebounds and get his share, but for some reason doesn't pull down many on the defensive end. The result is too many second chance baskets for the opposition. He needs to step up the defensive rebounding to solidify his position as our third best player.

I've always believed you could have a good team with three top flight players with decent role players filling in the gaps. We only have two. They're too easy to focus on without a third option.

Isn't it about time for us to pull off a surprise?

He's not getting a free pass. He's showing results in recruiting. If wasn't getting results recruiting, there wouldn't be much hope. But he is getting it done recruiting and there's more hope now based on recruiting than any time I can remember. He inherited two good starters and a role player. You can't win with that the caliber of freshman we can bring in. We can't get 4 star recruits. These guys have talent, but will need to develope. Player developement is supposed to be RM's forte'. Give it a chance to work.

Those advantages predominantly pay off in recruiting and he is recruiting better than any coach we've ever had. His recruits are only freshman. Before him we hadn't had a decent recruit since the Lisch/Liddell year. If the team is still playing like this in two years, we'll all be disappointed. Until then I see 5 freshman who all have potential to contribute and it sounds like there's another 5 on the way plus Femi. Thats progress, but it won't translate into wins for a couple of years.

I'm also at a loss in trying to figure out our offense. Our bigs come out to set screens, but it rarely frees anyone for an open look. When other teams do this to us the screeners man steps out to stop the dribbler and the screener slides inside often with an uncontested path to the basket. Are our bigs too slow or are we just not executing?