Billikenswin

Big deal! Many of us have been going for decades at home and followed them on the road. The students have been much better and the stands were full last night.

Why diss the students--we had a great crowd of students last night. Were you there?

Actually, Jake was at the scorer's table long before he hit that shot to go in for Mike in a normal rotation move. Then Mike hit the shot and the place went crazy and Jake checked in with the scorer and then all went back to the bench for the time out. Coach decided to sent Mike back out but the scorer's table told the refs that Jake had checked in as a sub for Mike so the ref made Jake come into the game. The coach actually intended to keep him in but this series of events prevented it from happening.

I think Tanner and Reggie have been set back a bit because of injuries. I know the staff is high on all three players for the future. Mike has earned his way in to the rotation with solid practice effort and an availability of time when Jake gets into foul trouble. Now he seems to be a solid rotation player. With us playing a regular 9 man rotation it will be less likely that the staff would go to 10 or 11 unless there is unusual foul trouble or one of the other rotation players falters--GG seems to be the most likely candidate if he does not clean up his mistakes. Overall, the staff is very happy with the frosh and sees them as important parts of our future but this is a senior dominated team and they will get most of the minutes -- with AB playing when we go to the three guard setup.

I agree Dunham is a nice player--I watched the end of the blow out last night because I thought that Berry might play and he did. He really has no clue on defense, not unususal for a freshman, and he looks soft but maybe a few years in the weightroom will make him a better player. He did not excell at all against the bench players from Creighton.

I could not disagree more with pretty much your entire assessment. We are in the heart of the conf season where every win in paramount and every game is magnified. This coaching staff has demonstrated an excellent ability to rotate players and keep them fresh. We are 15-2 and last game the coach played a 9 man rotation. That is as long a rotation as you can expect to see in the middle of the season. Crawford did not look at all scared to take shots--he put up two threes in the heat of action and they were just a little long. He also agressively drove to the basket and scored but got an offensive foul. You also have your head in the place where the sun don't shine if you are going to rip Jordair Jett. Sure he makes some mistakes as does every good player in the country but he is playing great all around basketball and Tanner or Reggie are not yet in the same universe as he is. They will be fine but it is ridiculous to say they should play now just to get them playing time. It looks like we may have a very special team--maybe the best in a generation but time will tell. But we should leave the coaching decisions regarding playing time to our great staff and head coach and cheer for the team.

Also #20 on the Jay Bilas top 68!

I went to some websites to see the ranking of our recruits and some other players and it was interesting--although as I have said in the past I think a lot of these sites are not reliable after you get past the top 25 players-- Here are some rankings I found: Bartley 3 stars on Scout and Rivals Gillman 3 stars on Scout and Rivals Roby 3 stars on Scout Jolly 3 stars on Scout Reynolds 3 stars on Scout Lancona 3 stars on Scout Reggie A-3 stars on Scout Ash--3 stars on Scout and 4 stars on ESPN Keith Carter I star on Scout So if you look at this list -- and the Scout rankings we have a large group of 3 star recruits which in today's world means no one and dones but players who with the proper coaching can compete with almost anyone in the country--exactly what we have proven over the past 3 years.

I told several people at the game at Dayton that Rob Loe is the biggest surprise to me on this year's team. His defense and athleticism have been incredibly good and so much better than when he arrived it is almost like he is a different person. He is chasing down guards to block shots--running across the lane to block shots that are wide open at the hoop and changing shots often. This is probably the best example we have ever seen of the old adage that it takes big centers longer to develop than the guards and forwards. And over the last few games we are really starting to see that in John Manning as well. He is dramatically better than he was when he arrived, particularly on defense and blocking shots without fouling. In my opiniion, this is the best tandum of almost 7 footer centers we have ever seen on one Billikens team. I don't think anyone really mentioned it much at the time but in the second half of the RI game when our forwards were in foul trouble Coach Crews put Rob and John in the game at the same time and they really helped hold the fort while we waited for Dwayne to come back in. I think we will be even tougher down the stretch because we will not be as vulnerable to foul trouble for Rob with John playing so well on defense.

I have spoken a lot with the folks in our athletic dept about scheduling and it is exactly as Taj describes it- none of the big name teams want to risk losing a game to a team like us on the road. They will be happy to have us come to their place--ie Duke--but it is real difficult--almost impossible-- to get the big boys to come to Chaifetz. We surely have the reputation now as being exremety tough to play against and we are proving it over and over again. Lets hope our AD can use his connections and work some miracles but I know that a lot of schools will never agree to come here. Remember when we beat Boston College here a few years ago when we were not that good--they were ready to do a multi year deal and the coach pulled the plug right after we beat them. Calapari told me in person he would never in a million years agree to come here because we are so fundamentally solid that it might make his team look bad. We just have to pray for some teams to want to give their team a tough test and we are good enough that it will give them a bump in their RPI for opponents.

Massey has us at 22 on the composite of about 2 dozen rankings and has our SOS at 85.

I had the good fortune to attend the game at Dayton and return with the following thoughts: Our team may be better than anyone, including myself, really believed. We were dominant against a very good team on their home floor and we did not play our best game--and we had numerous calls go against us which could have been killers. The turnovers, particularly the unforced ones, would really hamstring most teams on the road but our defense is just outstanding and it prevented Dayton from ever getting on a run. The first thing that jumps out to me watching the game up close at Dayton--and I go to all home games--was that our team was not intimidated by the atmosphere or the moment. I think that comes from the fact we have a bunch of seniors who have been in a lot of big games and the fact that our defensive scheme is so effective and the players so well schooled and well coached that we have confidence we can play with anyone. When you watch up close it is truly amazing how much better on defense virtually all of our players are than when they arrived. JJ and Mike are obviously tremendous but they are light years ahead of where they were when they got here. Austin M is so much better from when the season started it is incredible. Jake gets a lot of heat on this board but his individual and team defensive effort is excellent and really the whole team understands the complex schemes and team defensive concepts better than any Billiken team I have ever seen. then you add to the mix the great positioning and shot blocking and shot altering defense of our two big centers, Rob and John and you have a team which is really solid in every defensive category. Rob is so much more athletic on defense than he has ever been and John is a real defensive presence in the middle--it is hard to score over him! Dwayne is tough on both ends and even Mike Crawford was clawing and pushing for defensive position against much bigger guys. It is clear that Jordair is the "man" on this team. Dwayne also is a strong leader but the lead guard always is first if he is strong in play and in personality. JJ just exudes confidence and he is so strong and athletic that if effects every part of his game on the floor. I loved the fact that Dwayne figured out ways to score even when he was double and triple teams and for the most part he did not force things. Austin M is by far our best pure shooter from the 3 and from the free throw line. He will be invaluable down the stretch because he is now playing much better defense. Jake hit two huge 3s in the second half which really kept us in control when they were trying to rally. He is a valuable guy--but not perfect as everyone knows. Mike Crawford had no stats at all but I thought he played an excellent game off the bench. He is composed and intense as a frosh and those open shots will start falling--and he was playing his heart out on both ends. JJ made some incredible drives against tough defenders and really sees the floor well. MM is playing terrific on defense and he will be fine on offense. With Austin in the mix and JJ playing so impressively on the offensive end I suspect that Mike's offensive numbers will continue to be down but that does not mean he is not important for the stretch run. When he takes on a defensive assignment he makes life miserable for the opposing player and he is solid in every way--except a little off on his shooting. Grandy needs to "adjust" his thinking and realize he is Dennis Rodman in all of the good ways that Rodman played when he was with Michael Jordan. He is there to defend, hustle, rebound ferociously and make a wide open layup when the opportunity arises. He will never be Dwayne and he has to give up the spin moves in the paint against two defenders which results in turnovers, missed shots or airballs. I thought Coach Crews was going to have a heart attack a couple of time when Grandy started to do his thing on offense. Speaking of coaching, I think Coach Crews and the staff have done an absolutedly wonderful job in coaching this team. Obviously the individual and team defensive play is right at the top of college basketball but I also think Crews has developed a rotation which really works and keeps the players fresh. I was close to the bench yesterday and when players came off you could see they were very tired because they had played hard every minute they were on the court. That balancing of minutes lets everyone get a second wind and be ready to go hard again when they are back in the game. Overall, a great win and a fun time in Dayton. Their coach was very complimentary in his post game show. As the Wiz says we may be better than we think!

The joke about the recruit who dies and is presented with recruiting trips to hell and heaven is great. Sounds a lot like the MU recruiting.

But it is a big deal for these young men so why diminish it? It seems like there always has to be a negative spin on everything on this board.

SLU was strongly interested in Cam --- IF--- Cam was interested in SLU. Just like with recruits out of HS, these things are very unpredictable. Many factors come into play including playing time, academics and fit in terms of attitude. Cam and his family decided to go with the MU approach. We should move on.

This description seems to mirror what RI did last year at our place. I could not believe how many off balance and last second 3 point shots seemed to go in when they needed them most. Many times we were tight on them and they went in anyway. Let's hope they used up that mojo at LSU and we can shut them down. Hurley was an unbelievable lunatic on the sidelines last year screaming at the refs from the first minute and getting a lot of calls as a result. I hope the refs in the A10 have tired of his constant complaining.

I watched the game on tape and I agree with your analysis based upon watching the first half. But his two teammates are the first and 60th players in the rankings and the players on the other team were some of the best hs guards in the nation. However, in the second half, and particularly down the stretch, he played much better with a lot of intensity and he made some key plays in the comeback from 17 points down. They won the game against a team with great talent and huge guards. I really like how poised Miles is overall and he seems to be a very smart player with good fundamentals. It will be interesting to see how he develops. On the WY team he is never the much more than the 3rd or 4th option.

Whitney Young won the game by 3.

I am amazed and shocked as well. However, for those of us who lived for, played and watched basketball from an early age and coached thereafter in various ways, it tells us a bit about our fan base in terms of what I would call diehard basketball fans. A lot of our fans have not been what I would call "basketball junkies" so they do not have a strong knowledge of the game or its historical figures, players or strategy. That comes through in a lot of the comments on this board.

I checked only the Div 1 games--they have not won a Division 1 game since he started playing and his good stats came in the non D1 game. Against UCF, a team Valpo beat by 15 before Carter was eligible to play, Carter shot 2-9, including 1-5 from 3 and they lost to the same team they beat by 15 --by 28 points. In his other D! game he had 5 poiints in 14 minutes with 4 fouls and three turnovers with no assists. I hope he does well but lets not annoint him as the second coming just yet.

And I do not believe they have won a game since he started playing.

most rankings have our SOS at around 90-100 --Massey has it at 94

I think this is all part of the ESPN/SEC promo strategy. they are launching a new SEC network in the summer and just announced yesterday that Tim Tebow will be the first hire. These game announcers were unabashedly pro Vanderbilt and pro SEC as part of the lead in to the new network for all SEC fans. Even the pregame sports news show did a piece on Vanderbilt and how well they had been playing and did nothing on the Bills. But in the end everyone including the two game announcers and the post game news commentators were very complimentary of our Billikens and their toughness and the quality of the team so that is good from a national perspective.

I know that some like the Pomeroy system and some go to the RPI sites but I think the best site is Massey rankings which compiles and averages the results of several dozen ratings systems and predicts the results of all games based upon actual results going forward. They have us at 29 which seems about right to me. That will move up or down with the results of future games of ours and of our opponents with adjustments constantly for the variations in the compilation of ratings and rankings. It seems solid to me and is often very close to our man --the Wiz--in terms of predictions.

Of course no one likes to see players missing shots but it happens on the road -- a lot. Unfamiliar gyms, etc. The thing I am repeatedly amazed at is how dense this board is about the entire game of basketball. Players do not make perfect plays all of the time. They are human and make mistakes. But very few seem to understand that there are two sides to the ball and our defense is truly outstanding. In particular, our guards, JJ and MM are the best defensive tandum in the history of Billiken basketball in my opinion. I cannot think of two better defensive guards who played together on the same team. And the rest of the team is playing great fundamental team defense unless we put the frosh in the game. Even last night you could see when RA came in the game the team defense suffered in the first half. When we shoot the ball well from outside we look like world beaters if we keep up the defensive intensity. The overreaction to individual plays and the constant whining about the coaching and GG are completely unjustified and make our fans look like they don't have a clue. Maybe the GDT should be erased immediately after the game so no outsider can read it later and see how stupid we look.