Aquinas

I liked Jimmy his freshman year. I think the Covid year hurt him a lot. He failed to improve in either skills or physical development, from the end of his freshman year. I was hoping that the same discipline he showed dropping his initial weight would continue in further weight loss and improved conditioning. Not everyone can do that on their own. His size in the post presented problems for some other teams, and we are going to miss him. I wish him the best going forward.

This reminds me of the Nolan Berry recruitment years ago. Where the local big man chose Butler over SLU. For Turnbulls sake, I hope it turns out better him.

I would have thought French was our best rim protector, since he holds the blocked shots record and the vast majority of those were at the basket. So my question is whats the difference between a good shot blocker and a rim protector?

Reminds me of Proverbs 27:17: "as iron sharpens iron"

Those are all midwest schools. It looks like he wants to stay close to home.

Williams because this is his second transfer, needs a waiver or else he needs to sit a year.

We need a point guard. Goodwin graduated and Jacobs transfered.. The only experienced point guard we have on the team is Yuri. Williams is not eligible, Nesbitt is a freshman and I'm not sure its even a good idea to think if him as a point guard. So, if Williams doesn't get a waiver and Goodwin doesn't come back, we will be in world of hurt if/when Yuri can't play.

I don't think we will see much of Hargrove playing post at 6,4 215. He is best at guard. He has the ability to rebound and block shots, but not bodying up against bigger players. You can sometimes get by with an undersized 4, if he is really good with positioning himself and anticipates his opponents moves. That's not Hargrove.

I don't think Nesbitt is likely to jump for another slick sales pitch. Mizzou has had a number of players head for the exit. I think he likes the SLU chemistry.

I generally agree with your observations, but I don't think Ford is on the hot seat. 1st. The threshold for changung coaches should be really high right now as the easy transfer rules mean a coaching change results in the immediate loss of the entire roster. Coach Ford has lead us out of darkness to respectability in spite if some really bad luck with S2 and Covid. If you look at the attitude of his players, its really impressive. How good will we be this year. There is a lot of coolaid flowing on the board right now. But the truth is, we have a number of big question marks. Perkins is the only proven double digit scorer that we have. How productive will Okoro be? He looks like an NBA, draft pick, but has very modest div 1 numbers. Its looking like Perkins will get a lot of time at the 4 spot, but he really doesnt like defending forwards. Nesbitt brings in some big high school numbers, but what kind of outside shooter will he be with the longer 3 point line? How long before he is comfortable with the speed of div 1, and our offense and defense. We have a lot of strong candidates for the other scoring guard position, but nine have consistently put together offense and defense. Yuri owns the point position, but will he recapture the enegy of his freshman year and will his free thow percentages improve. Ford has his work cut out for him. There is a lot of potential, but a lot of ground to cover.

Nesbitt could easily and justifiably feel like he was lied to by Hardaway painting a picture of him being an instant "one and done" star. Also playing away from home may not have been all he thought it would be. It doesn't mean he can't still be a star or attain the NBA. But the reality is that the NBA, isn't likely in one year and may not happen at all. The vast majority of exceptional high-school bb players don't see the NBA. It is wise for players to seek there potential AND get the degree. There are also advantages to becoming a home town hero, playing in front of friends and family, and playing on a team that has good chemistry. I agree that we don't want spoiled young men, at the same time I dont expect a perfect path or consistency in the thoughts and actions of teenagers. I think SLU and coach Ford offers a good path and place for young men to mature as players and men.

Good analysis Wiz, I had forgotten about the timing if the extended 3 pt line. His drop in percentage could be that, and or taking more contested shots. We don't need a guy taking contested 3s, but could use a guy who must be covered on open 3s and makes the additional pass to an open man when contested.

Pistol, would you mind posting what you have on him?

I recall coach RM slowing run and gun teams down by having players break back on defense as soon as the shot went up. Not necessarily all of his players, but enough to stop the fast break. He would trade offensive rebounds to stop the fast break. Then the fast break team faced defenders and could either take a fast contested shot or go into their half court offense. Pressure goes up on the fast break team when they fallbehind and find themselves playing defense all of the time. The other think is having good ball handlers, so steals are minimized.