Bills By 40

This picture is also from November of 2021 against Central Arkansas, I think Gibby is much stronger looking now than he was a year(+) ago. FWIW the roster lists him as 5 pounds heavier now than then (200->205#) but I think it's a greater difference than that. He especially looks bigger in his legs. More importantly, I still think they look the same size in those pictures. The biggest difference is that Trey is tanner, which we all know makes muscle definition more visible.

Another fun discovery to add to Yuri's resume this year: His 3.1 A/TO ratio is good for 15th in the nation. Of everyone ranked ahead of him in that metric he is averaging no less than 2.8 more assists/game, and as many as 7.8 more assist/game. On the assist/game list, 2nd place Markquis Nowell of Kansas State is tied with Yuri's 3.1 A/TO ratio but is a full 2 assists/game behind him on the leaderboard. Third place Tyler Kolek from Marquette is beating Yuri with a 3.6 A/TO ratio but is a full 2.8 assists/game behind him. Fourth place Jalen Pickett is ahead of all the pack here with a 3.77 A/TO ratio but, as you'll see with the pattern here, is a whopping 3.5 assists/game behind Yuri. Of the rest of the Top 10 assists/game leaders only one is in the top 10 for A/TO ratio, one other is in the top 25, two others are in the top 50, and two do not appear in the top 50 at all. Yuri Collins is really f*cking good.

This was a real Kansas paper. Objectively funny.

Does this guy look more physically imposing than Gibson to you? Because he doesn't to me - quite the same, actually, just a bit tanner.

You know who had a bigger game that day? Yuri Collins. Oduro had 32P/6R/3B/2S/4TO Yuri had 35P/13A/5R/5S/3TO, was 10/10 from the free throw line, and of course had the 2OT game-winning buzzer beater.

So you're not a college basketball fan, you're a SLU fan. That's okay by all means but Gradey Dick is one of the best freshmen in the country. Averaging 14P/5R/2A/1.5S on 46% shooting from the field, 47% from 3, 82% from the line. He's a stud. And he stands 6'8" 205lbs to Jimerson's 6'5" 205lbs. The difference is in their surroundings.

I'm with you Roy. I'm thinking we start Hargrove and let him try to get hot from deep. He's got the athleticism to make it worth a shot.

I do not believe that will be the lineup we roll out onto the court, it's just what I would start out of what we have on the roster as of now. The portal is obviously going to play a big role in next year's roster construction.

Have you heard of Gradey Dick? He's 3" taller than Jimerson and weighs the exact same.

First of all, "legitimate 7-footer" is defined as someone who is legitimately 7' tall. Not 6'11". As for the Jimerson comment, I can assure you that MBM's repeatedly counting him out of next year's team only increases the odds that he is in fact not on next year's team. Same for Yuri. Let's stop counting our chickens before they hatch.

I much prefer "The Vice Medley" but we're on the same page Don't forget Parker in your starting lineup projection. He's not even mentioned in the subs. He'll be one of our most valuable players next year.

At his current rate of 10.8 APG and at least 16 games remaining on the schedule, Yuri is on pace to finish this year (assuming no decline of that average and no more than 16 games played) with 899.8 assists, moving him to 16th on the all-time list and just 3 assists behind the two players tied for 15th with 902. Regardless of how this season shapes out you owe it to yourself as a "Billiken fan" to enjoy the hell out of this show that we're watching because we most certainly will never see it on our court in our uniform again. Yuri is an all-time great point guard.

After further consideration what feels more likely (from day 1) is an LHj/Sincere/THj/Vice/Zhang lineup with heavy minutes from Cian for either of those in the backcourt. Maybe Momo plays over Zhang but I hope Zhang comes in as a starting-caliber player from day 1 and Momo plays heavy minutes with Zhang at the 5. Cian could fill minutes at the 1 or 2, Kramer at the 2 or 3, and Thames at the (2?) 3 or 4. Vice could play the 4 or 5 and might surprise us with the ability to play the three, though I don't see that happening logistically because then we'd need two guys above him in the frontcourt and a lineup with Vice, Zhang, and Momo.

(Duplicate)

We're talking about next year, Perkins and Thatch both have to be gone. Gibby already graduated, I'd be surprised (but thrilled) to see him return.

The US didn't tell Japan we had nuclear bombs either. Edit: Turns out Japan WAS warned, but not until it was probably already too late. You get my point though.

I hope we're underestimating the value of Zhang because of the lack of info and video on him. He looked real good in what I have seen, hopefully that holds true and we have a terrorizing backcourt for 4 years led by an SLU/NBA dynasty and a PG that led one of the best HS teams in the country. All with a senior Hargrove for the leadership and freak athleticism? I guess I'm forgetting the potential of Sincere Parker starting in that lineup, but I don't know who he'd replace. I think he'd likely be a 25-30 MPG guy off the bench if Hargrove stays. All this is assuming that Jimerson doesn't, though I sure hope he does.

He had over 400 yards and 10 touchdowns as a TE/WR on a highly competitive football team. I love a multi-sport athlete and I'd say the Billikens do too - the last two football/basketball guys worked out pretty well don't ya think? I'm big on the potential of a Cian/LHj/THj/Vice/Zhang lineup, has a lot of potential there.

This is hilarious

Well they're in the MAC with a SOS of 288 but yes, those are solid numbers (especially the 56% FG shooting) and ultimately you're proving my point - Jacobs can hoop. Jacobs as an incoming recruit and even a freshman was no more impressive on paper or in reality than any of the guys on our current roster. He was especially less impressive than LHJr has been as of late. His freshman year here he averaged as many turnovers as points (0.4) and only .4R/.3A/.2S/.1B to go with it. Certainly not an impact player.

Recruiting classes will vary depending on the upperclassmen around them. It's hard to bring in good freshman when you can't promise them a lick of playing time, which is what you've seen this year. Next year's freshman class is much better, because we're expecting them to have immediate roles. The class immediately after Goodwin and Has? Carte'Are was a big name but we know how that went, Fred turned out to be great but wasn't highly regarded at the time, and Demarius Jacobs was also just a 3 star recruit. I don't think that class on paper, nor through their first year, proved any better than this year's freshmen. And we seem to not be including Momo in that count because we have 4 in the freshman class.

I managed to forget about that. You're right. I think my Mount Rushmore is that Iona play, the tunnel sweatshirt, the Butler steal/dunk, and the Dayton ankle breaker. Honorary mentions to his O'Laughlin Center speech, taking a charge @ UMass with a torn ACL, and the entirety of his '19-20 illness season.

Traore isn't the "talent" that Ford gets praised for recruiting...Traore was a bench filler. Nobody plays spots 10-13 on their bench, get the fu** over it everybody.

Favorite Fred moment? Mine might not even be on the court - this gameday fit was my phone background for like a year.

The talent is undeniably there. The chemistry? The locker room morale? The compatibility? The coaching? The offensive schemes? The motivation and will to win? Those are all questionable. What's not questionable is that we have a lot of very good players on this team.