Aquinas

Thatch redshirting doesn't help balance the classes, but I dont think that is the real question. The real question is will Fred be able to ever play again? I pray he recovers and is able to play again. Given what has been posted about his condition, I question whether it's a good idea for him to even try to come back this season.

How about Hargrove? Super athletic and seems to have the potential to develop into a shooter.

I think it's time to step back and put this game in perspective. If we have Jimerson we win. If we have a healthy Thatch, we win. We played 3 freshman for significant minutes and played a highly rated team even for regulation and overtime. If that last low percentage 3 misses, this board would be celebrating. Yuri plays like a veteran, though he has some freshman moments. Hargrove and Bell play like freshman, they have some great moments and other times when they look lost or lack confidence. Sadly we lost Jimerson who was also playing like a veteran and stretched the floor which really helped our inside game. On the bright side, Our freshmen hit some high pressure FTs down the stretch. Hopefully Hargrove and Bell will continue to improve. We played like a tournament team last night, even though we didn't get the W. Our next challenge is to play like a tournament team against non-tournament teams.

That's really the point. Is it better as a recruit, especially a big with limited playing experience to go to a big school and sit on the bench, waiting your turn behind a player like Blackshear or go to a smaller school and play right away. There is no guarantee for minutes next year for Jitoboh. The transfer list is full of players who went to big schools, but didn't get the playing time they had envisioned.

I thought it would be interesting to contrast the progress of this season of Jason Jitoboh vs Jimmy Bell. You may recall that Jitoboh is a 6, 11 300 pound center who took a visit to Saint Louis prior to Jimmy. And ultimately decided to go to UF, in the SEC. He did what many recruits do, take the offer of the best performing school that offers. As recruits on ESPN, Jimmy a 3 star, scout grade of 79. Jason, 4 star scout grade of 80. These are remarkably similar recruits. So how are they doing so far: Jitoboh - 11 games played. Ave. 4.4 min, 1.5 Pts. .7 Reb. Bell - 17 games played, Ave. 13.5 min, 4.2 Pts, 3.1 Reb. Bell's numbers are climbing, as he PLAYS for the Billikens. Jitoboh's numbers are going no where this year as he SITS for the Gators. Who knows if he will play more next year. Jimmy is getting valuable experience, and it should be a lesson for other recruits. There is no way to predict how good these 2 players will be when they finish their college careers, but right now, I would say Jimmy is ahead.

That is true, but as a transfer, he would take the only available scholarship we next year, even though he couldn't play.

We will have a strong team next year. Our greatest area of need and the area that would suffer most with an injury, is forward. We also have minutes available for the right guy, next year and more the following. Right now, French and Bell are our only bigs who are playing. Earlier, pistol suggested a Rob Lowe type would be the ideal recruit to fill the last spot. A suspended 6,2 guard who is unhappy competing with Mizzou guards and will have to sit a year, is not a player that helps us.

Coach Ford deserves credit for investing heavily in Jimmy Bell. He caught a lot of criticism on this board for starting him and playing a lot of minutes. We beat Richmond, blowing out the spread, while shooting 18% from 3 point range. I would have said that wasn't possible. Held Golden to 10, after he put 20 on us twice last year. Jimmy is just starting to take advantage of one on one coverage. If we can just get even one of our guys nailing open 3s, we become very dangerous. Ford also deserves credit for yesterday's game plan.

We have been trending down since the injury to Jimerson. On Sagarin, we were in the 60s and now about 90. The loss of Jimerson is inviting teams to pack in the defense much like happened last year, and it results in more ugly basketball, much like last year's team. We need a couple if our guys to shoot well from outside to open things up. When Perkins and Jacobs hit 3s at a good clip, we are a good team, when they don't, we are not. Of course Weaver and the other players hitting from the outside also count.

3rd one works for me, thanks

Anyone have a stream working?

The loss of Jimerson hurts our chances of excelling, but Weaver takes some of the sting out of it. His loss makes us more susceptible to the zone again. Bell is having an impact that exceeds his stats. You can see that his size is affecting the shooting of opposing players. He is also due for breakout game. Hargrove is still figuring out where he needs to be on both ends of the floor, but knows exactly what to do on a fast break. He is a wild card, if he can get to where he is playing within the system instead of thinking, then our stock goes up. We are far from a smooth running machine, but to be 11-2 at this point, with all of these freshmen minutes and new players is amazing. Ford deserves a lot of credit for recruiting these young men and getting them to play this well this quickly and to play through difficult situations... they dont quit.

I will lobby for Goodwin on any final group. In large part because he was the cornerstone recruit who bought into coach Ford's Team Blue vision, and has become the heart and soul of this very fun to watch team, with a very bright future.

I will add that the team attitude appears exceptional. It looks like they are having a lot of fun, while playing a very physical game. They are looking for ways to win, even when things go wrong, like missed free throws. This is especially remarkable for a young team on the road.

The only good news in this, assuming Jimmmmerson stays the additional year, is that it helps balance the classes. Does anyone know what this does to his statistics? Is next year his freshman year. Do this years numbers count as career numbers?