bsheldon

One thing I noticed last night that really sunk in is the difference between CR to JS and WR. CR has the ability to knock down the 10-15ft jumper where everyone in the building would cringe if either JS or WR attempted the same thing. CR looked a bit uncomfortable on the blocks with the bigs on him a time or tow. Once he had a clear lefty lay up but spun back into the D to use his right hand. I really like his ability to step out and hit the shot. Just an observation about our diversity and depth down low. Conklin is a monster and he continues to get better. He has GREAT hands and as his lefty baby hook develops he can become real dangerous down low. My buddy commented that he couldn't wait to see how much bigger he is going to get in the next couple of years, because he really has the frame to pack on some mass. Considereing the way he plays now--think of him with 20-30lbs on him--fun times for sure. JS just gets better every day. Man can he get jump--stupid ups. He has the build of guys I hated guard--Calves as big as my forearm that can just fly and are really quick. Plus he is real long for his height. I noticed he was out on the wing and even rotated up top a few times against the zone. The coaches are obviously thinking he needs to expand his game a bit. Still a long way to go from a ball handling and shooting aspect, but what he does bring is fun to watch. I loved him in that started 5. CS--what more can we say. CE had the game I was hoping CS would have. He needs a boost and i was hopeful he would get it against this way subpar team. He knocks them down consistantly in warm-ups so you know he CAN shoot, but they still aren't falling for him. CE--3 for 3 from "way down under" was a good start. He is just a solid payer and what we all hoped he would be. We are much better team with him. KC--had a good game again. I was with my buddy who is still a Kyle hater--every good thing Kyle did I was bumping him. There were plenty in the 1st half and half of the way through the 2nd. He didn't get to bump me back until he took over the point and dribbled off his foot, had one dumb foul and threw it away once--all late in the mop up minutes so it didn't matter, but he went from scoring point in my buddy's mind to bineg the same old player. I will take his game last night as whole anyday. Again the first 30 minutes he played very well--he shut his guy down defensives several times, drove it to the basket, and dished a few assists and hit a 3. WR--had a solid game--scored most of the times he got the ball on the block. KM--real, real solid game--5 assists with 0 TO's and he hit his usual amount of buckets including a 3. He could have had a few more if some guys hit their shots--but we hit at a better than normal clip overall. JJ--good minutes--a couple of his 3 attempts were right there--just barely missing. Only one throw away and his d looked solid. DY--everyone wanted him to get a bucket. Too bad he didn't. The place would have gone crazy. He got a few stats though. The only disturbing thing is that he doesn't even have his name on his jersey. A agree with everyone else that RM started out best 5 last night. Fingers crossed moving forward. We have some potential MONSTER games that can be HUGE wins for the program.

why does he not have his name on his jersey? He is a member of the team--just like everyone else. It seems kinda crappy that he doesn't.

This was a bit tough as several guys plays very well and honestly any one effort really wouldn't have mattered against such a poor team. My first impression after being there last night was Smif or CE. After I looked at the box score and thought about it some more Conklin gets my vote with honorable mention to Darren Young.

Thanks for the post. He really seems like a solid young man. I have read that he is a quiet and calm player and a good student on another site also. I see him being a great fit at SLU.

Is it just me or is this discussion about little balls and guy cheerleaders a little disturbing?

Well Said. Kyle wasn't supposed to come in and score 25 a game. However, I do think the frustration comes from the fact that we have seen some real bright spots in his game and are just hoping for more of them--not necessarily somehting else, just more of what he IS capable of doing and has shown the ability to do. I don't expect him to hit fade away 3's from 30 ft or dunk over the bigs. However, I, like most of us (rm included) hope he looks to score just a bit more. He does have a good shooting percentage and has shown the ability to take it to the hoop. I do not think 10 pts a game is expecting too much for someone playing 90% of the minutes. Again, I have no issues with his game in the recent weeks. I feel he is a solid player and I have come full circle on him--my buddy is still calling for him to sit more--just like I used to. This is no longer my position. Now lets hope everyone gets to have some fun tomorrow night and put up some serious points. The biggest and best thing that can happen as far as I am concerned is CS starts hitting his open looks. That more than just about anything will mean more to the team's long term success than anything KC can and/or will do.

Jimbo--good point. Jon Smif it is. Plus you have photographic evidence to support your claim. I am convinced.

-i wish 101.1 would put the show and the postgame analysis on their website, heck many fans can't get from their seat to their car to hear the postgame stuff which is typically great info and others could hear the show/postgame on their time You don't have a radio in your house? Radio reception works indoors, too. As far as Rick bashing the A-10, I think that is really a dumb thing to do. It is a very good conference and it is getting a lot of hype this year in the national press--mostly for (big surprise) its performance against other big time prgrams. ie Dayton beating GT, Richmond over Mizzou and Florida, Charlotte over Louisville, Temple over Villanova...etc. I don't see that level of play in the MVC. I used to hold the opinion that we should be in the valley, but hopefully rick is going to take us to a level of play that is above that. I am now fully behind the A-10--it was a slow transition, I hated it at first. If Xavier, Dayton, RI, Richmond, Temple, and hoepfully SLU continue to improve their programs and up their talent levels, the A-10 may be a top 3 or 4 basketball conference in a few years. I don't see that happening with MVC. We are consistently the top 1 or 2 non-big-six conferences now. I can foresee the league regularly getting 4 bids to the dance (we usually only get 2-3.) Barring a new conference forming (which doesn't seem very likely) I think the A-10 is SLU's best bet at raising it's program's level in the national picture. Again, rick saying anything other than good things about the conference is ill advised in my opinion. I did not hear the show, so I am not sure exactly Rick said. Rick is bringing in talent, I think that is pretty obvious. I think most all of us will agree that the next 2 years are looking real good with the current level of talent we have. If Rick can get SLU to consistently put up W's, most of the rest of this really won't matter too much. A winning program has a way of ignoring trivial stuff. It is amazing what winning will do.

Jon Smith's evil twin. Jon Smith played in the Billikens' first 16 games. John Smith showed up yesterday and put up 15 points.

Amen.

Smith's progress has been nothing short of astounding in such a short time. From all indications when he showed up he was just a supremely gifted, but very raw athelete. Through his hard work and dedication it now appears he is reaping the rewards and it is real fun to watch. He is picking up more and more everyday about this crazy game called basketball. Lets all hope he continues to get better. Now whether or not he develops a quality jump shot or not remains to be seen. Some people have the ability to shoot the ball well and others--no matter how hard they try and how much they practice, or even how good of an athlete they, are never able to shoot a basketball from any distance at all. The name Shaq comes to mind for an extreme example. I for one hope he can. Even if he doesn't, and he continues to put up 10 points a game with half a dozen rebounds, with a bolck or two or three a game I will be very pleased. He definatley gives us some more options at both ends of the floor. With his size and speed--he can be a 3 or 4 type player. He has the build of a 3 but the game of a 4. He is quicker with much better leaping ability than most 4's, but is still working on his ball skills and shooting to be a "real" 3. While I am thinking about it, we don't have too many players that fit traditional molds of what a designated position is supposed to be. Like I stated above JS isn't a 3 and kind of an odd fit for a true 4. KM is a 1 but he shoots more than anyone on the team and is our leading scorer--more of a 2 role. We don't really have a true shooting guard that is a real threat right now. Nor a typical 3 for that matter--CE is close though. WR is a 5, but he is definatley not a wide body banger that most teams have at that position. Our uniqueness may pay off for us. We may want to remain a bit different than a cookie cutter team. I really don't/won't care who plays where or who does what if the W's start piling up.

Yeah if I were an opposing coach, I deny KM the ball on the entry pass and press like crazy. If we do get it across, I'd pack it in in a tight zone, keeping the ball out of the paint altogether and forcing us to make the outside shots. If we do start make some shots--or do happen to get the ball inside just foul us and watch us miss at the line. Our offense IS working and getting us some good looks--which makes our low percentage all that more painful.

Agreed. Hopefully a couple of more guys step up and a couple of new recruits pan out and we have a bonafide 5-7 headed billiken monster that tears up the a-10 for the next few years.

Sure. But it is deflated.

I think it is fair to say that if CS hits (what we hoped he would: his 40%+) from "way down under" we have at least 2 more victories than we do. Just the difference between what he has made and 40% is 36 points for the year. I think that was why he was recruited--his ability to hit the outside shot consistently--which he has yet to do. I don't expect us to hit 45% as a team, but 35%+ would make us an entirely different basketball team. We are solid defensively--yes there are let downs, but overall we have to be pleased. But you can't win if you can't score and we have struggled mightily at times. We are not that far off from being a top 50 team. A few small improvements and we are there. Again, we make just a couple of open looks yesterday and win. You can't be good without W's.

I think this game is even easier than last game. John Smith. No question. He played the best game of his young career. I hope to see him in the line up more. WR, CE, JS, KM and an offensive minded KC and we have a real solid 5.

CS needs to start hitting shots or take a seat. I like the 3 bigs -especially the way JS is playing. He was a monster yesterday. KC needs to score. period. He scores 5 points in 40 minutes--that is a bit meager. JJ scores 8 in 13. I know JJ is a bit of a liability on the other end--especially against a line up w/ big guards, but you can't win if you can't put the ball through the hoop. KM needs to focus on setting up other people. Granted he did do that and guys miss shots--not his fault, but only 1 assist is tough to swallow. Yes he is our leading scorer, but he doesn't have to take over every game by himself like he has tried in the last several--maybe it would be ok if he does it from the get go, but to wait until halfway through the second half seems a bit too late. I maybe wrong on that--maybe he is trying to get the other guys going and then when that doesn't work he just says screw it I'm doing it myself--who knows. Bottom line, he is not a typical point guard by just about any measure--especially since we don't appear to have a real threat at the shooting guard. Yes he is by far our best ball handler and the go to guy, but only 1 assist is not a typicall point guard stat. BC had a tough game--just because of early foul trouble. He will continue to be a solid player for us who does a lot of things right. He is never gong to be the guy to put up 20, but he gives us solid minutes. CR is still progressing. and is giving us decent minutes. He is a good shot blocker which helps--especially the way we are letting guys drive past us on the perimeter--got into foul trouble, but not that big of deal as he isn't our scorer down low. JS--Easily gets the game ball. Best game of his young career. Many on this board have said he was just a raw athlete that will take some time. He is coming along surprisingly well and surprisingly fast. Great game. I for one would love to see him in the game more with WR, CE, KM, and KC--if he chooses to drive and shoot, or JJ if he can step up his D--love his shooitng, or CS if he finally starts to knock down some open looks. I love the fact that we can run 10 guys in and out of the game without major deficiencies in the line-up. Depth is a good thing. But bottom line--we gotta win that game. That was tough.

I agree our free throw shooting needs to improve, but our #1 area we HAVE to improve is the ability to hit an open jumper. If we hit at even an OK percent the last couple of games we win big time. The converse to that is maybe we need to get the bal inside more--perhaps drive to the basket as our apponents have done to us just a bit. It seemed like when we struggled on Offense we were taken 20 footers and missing--even when open. When we made our runs and put some points together we were getting to the paint. I am sure Rick and his team will be looking at this. As far as our D is concerend--it drove me nuts watching the Dookies just get to the rim at will agianst us and from what Rammer said it was much of the same against Charlotte. however, I do not know how much more we can honestly expect to get from the defensive end of the floor. We held a team that averages 81 points a game to 52 points in 40 minutes--pretty damn impressive. Again, if we can just hit some open jumpers, combined with just a bit bettr FT shooting, and we win going away. also, we kept them from making a 3 for the entire game the first time in 631 games they have not made at least one. Nice little feather in our caps, but without the W it means very little. Overall, I was very upset with the loss, especially after we battled back at the end only to lose in such a heartbreakig way. We are very close to being at the next level. Even great teams have off nights, let us just hope that that was what that was and that we continue to improve and go on a tear in the coming weeks and make a run in the conference tourney.

thanks thicks. I do not have access to TV--this is the only way I can see the games. Worst case I will have to just listen to it on the radio, basketball needs to be seen. As good as Rammer thinks he is, it doesn't quite do it justice without seeing it with my own eyes. Thanks again and keep me posted. I searched half a dozen places to no avail.

does anyone know where I can stream today's game? Channelsurfing.net does not have it today--that's where I watched the Dookane game last Wednesday.

shoe and NH, I do agree that we are not big time yet and the dooks are definatley not a Kentucky type team, but that same Dooks team just lost a heartbreaker on the ROAD to Dayton a top 30 rpi squad and they lost earlier this year in 2OT to Pitt (14-2 and 4-0 in the BE--the biggest of big time conferences right now) who last night spanked UCONN. So, while we may not be ther quite yet, we are not that far away either. Plus being the youngest team in America, we continue to make giant strides each and every game. Come Conference Tourney time, who knows we could make a run--its just a few games and we make the dance. Here is hoping.

km, i think lawyer meant attention from the press and media, but I may be wrong on that. billikan--I agree that right now our best line up is KM, KC, CE, JS, & WR. I have been hoping to see more and more of FJ and JJ in place of KC all season, but apparently the coaches knew something I (and a lot of us) didn't (big surprise, huh.) KC had a great, great game last night. Let's hope he keeps it up. CE adds so much to the team--it opens things up on the offensive end so much--it allows our off guards some space to drive to the bucket--ala KC and CS last night. It also gives WR some space and single teams in the low post. Plus he can pass as well as anyone on the team and that is huge. The high post screens he set, set up many of points late in the game. If the drive is not there for the guard, he simply rolls out and gets the ball. If they don't come up on him--boom open jumper. If they do come up on him it leaves space for Willie to post--boom dunk. It was pretty to watch.

kshoe, good stuff! However, you forgot: --Final four appearance every year. --5 of the next ten national championships --Perenial conference chamions--both regular season and tournament. --A coach that is personally available 24/7 to each and every fan to answer every possible question in a kind and freindly manner no matter how ridiculous or even at what hour the question is asked. --A coach who is lean and fit and can personally practice with the players despite his age. --A coach who is nothing but kind to every player he ever talks to and guarantees playing time to each and every player all four years of their career. Also, he would never have a single kid leave the program, because why would they want to? --Access to the top 25 recruits in the country every year just because there is no other school called Billikens. --Mandated student attendance as part of graduation --Seat shockers to make everyone at the home games stand and cheer --Expansive gourmet food selections made by chefs upon request for less thn $5--and oh yeah I need it quick so I don't miss any action. --Every street within 5 miles of the Fetz closed down and potrolled by dozens of police officers at each and every intersection giving right of ways to anyone attending the game. Both before and after the game. --People mover sidewalks, with padded recliners from the garage to the arena. Oh, and can you enclose that and add some heat? That would be nice. --Wider entrances both for cars and people into and out of the garage --Oh yeah and that parking fee--included in the $5 ticket price for the game. --Also, who were you kidding with $3 beers--lets make them $1.50. The stuff is brewed right down the street, it can't cost that much to the Fetz. Just to name a few more. This is fun.

Easily his best game at SLU. He is one of our "veterans" as an old, experiecned sophomore. So we should expect him to be one of the leaders on this team . Again we are so, SO young and the fact that we are winning against good programs, and now in the conference on the road is truly awesome. If Kyle keeps it up, and everyone else keeps improving the rest of this season will be real fun. Not to mention what the next couple of years looks like. It is a good time to be a Billiken fan.

I concur that it was a team effort with many guys contributing. How nice is it to say that--we have many guys capable of stepping up on any given night. Depth is a wonderful thing. JS is getting better and better every game and is making huge strides. Man the rest of this season is going ot be fun. Keep it up and we may get an invite to the NIT. Now we must focus on Charlotte a bit tougher task than the Dooks.