HoosierPal

So far Davidson (NCAA RPI of 68) and Dayton (32) are at the top of the A10 table each at 7-1. St. Bonnie is at 6-1 (100) and GW at 6-2 (45) and Rhody at 5-3 (46). VCU even at a disappointing 5-3 has an RPI of 24. UMass and Richmond both have respectable RPI's of (52) and (35). Of course, Green Bay of the Horizon League has the #1 RPI, so all of this is somewhat meaningless until conference games start.

Transfers are totally a wild card. What is the current transfer rate in the NCAA, something like 20%. So odds are that one of the freshmen or sophomores will leave. If either McBroom or Ash left, they would likely have to go to DII as they have already sat for one year. Never say never. You know the long list or reasons; doesn't like the system, not enough PT, academic issues, wants to be closer to home, or on the other end, a trouble maker, etc. Just because a student elects to leave doesn't mean it is a negative situation.

Heartburn from hearing he was going to have to play defense.

Jacksonville St is off to a roaring 1-7 start this year. Their quality win is over the 2-8 Jacksonville (FL) Dolphins. I guess the thrill of victory is what drove Cameron to JSU.

I am in agreement on the upperclassmen, same as the frogs. No one gets minutes simply because of the class they are in. I'm looking for more than 1.9 rebounds per game, 1.4 rebounds per game, 28% shooting, 27% shooting, Those freshmen stats don't lead me to giving out increased playing time.

To me three have shown they deserve more time and three have not. Nothing is free here. You need to earn your minutes not have them handed to you.

24 minutes x 4 = 96 16 minutes x 6 = 96

Well, at least for the next few days, it is official, Biedscheid to Jacksonville State. Trying to connect the dots: Notre Dame -> Missouri -> Iona -> Jacksonville State. Any guesses on where he goes next?

To me our power pivot play needs vast improvement. So far our three 'centers' have combined for 87 points. What is disturbing is that 49 of those points are either from 3 pointers or the foul line. That means we have only scored 38 points in the neighborhood of the paint. Agbeko's 20 points not from the foul line are recognized and obviously Yarbrough and Yacoubou have scored in the paint, but this post concerns our centers. One issue is that they seldom get touches in the paint. Why is that? Lack of a point guard that can get them the ball or lack of movement by the pivot player? From my observation, it is a little of both. And when they do get the ball in the paint, the number of shots taken is very low. Normally they simply pass it out. Offensive rebounds with putback attempts occur, but again, you can count them on one hand on each game. With no post threat, our opponents don't need to swarm the post when the ball arrives. They are staying closer to our shooters cutting off McBroom's potential three or Yacoubou's drives. Gillmann seems best suited as a stretch 4. He can hit the three, and he has had a couple of nice passes into Agbeko and Lancona from the top of the key. Down low, he lacks the bulk to establish his position and consistently score. Jolly also seems to be intiminated inside when he gets the ball. Dribble, dribble, dribble, pass it back out. Manning's hands betray him when he gets the ball down low. He probably has put up the most interior shots of the three, but the success rate isnt' there. Maybe Yarbrough needs to get the bulk of the 'post minutes'. When we get him the ball, there is at least a chance he can clear a space and put up a shot. Last year out power player was Evans. Can Milik replicate some of what he did? Evans did have Jett/McCall/Loe to get him the ball down low, but he also moved without the ball to establish his turf. What is the solution? I don't know, but this couch coach would like to see some improvement down low of the offensive end.

This is spot on Doc. The matador defense by our 5 on that drive was embarrassing. How many times did we leave their shooter open on the help? When the defense rotates on screens, it seems like the Jacks found the open man every time. Yes it takes time to learn to defend, but it doesn't take time to hustle. It was beyond me how the Jacks got 10 offensive rebounds. Rebounding is simply effort. Find a guy and put your butt on him. We learned that back in Hoosierland, right Doc?

Pulled up Boushka on Sports Reference. Interesting last paragaph. Maybe I will rethink my vote for tomorrow. Dick Boushka played for St. Louis University and graduated in 1955, twice having received All-America mention. At the 1959 Pan American Games he was on the gold medal winning team. He played several seasons of AAU ball but never played in the NBA. He played most of his AAU career with the Wichita Vickers and had a career high game of 54 points. The Wichita Vickers were sponsored by Vickers Petroleum for whom Boushka also worked. Dick Boushka's sons carried on the family's athletic fame – two of them started for the Notre Dame football team, one played football and track at Kansas, and another, a heavily recruited high school quarterback, played at Stanford. Boushka gradually rose up the company ladder until he became president of Vickers Petroleum in 1963. In 1980 Vickers was sold and Boushka left the company to start several of his own ventures, which were initially very successful, but it ended badly. He developed the Brittany shopping center in Wichita and the Woodlands Race Track in Kansas City. In December 2002 Boushka pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding American Bank of more than $17 million for various real estate deals. Under an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office, Boushka pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and one count each of making a false statement to obtain a bank loan and omission of information for the sale of a security. He was eventually sentenced to a 70-month prison term.

I went with Boushka over Highmark with the other four as you have them. Boushka (players only played 3 years) is second in career scoring average and 11th total points. Eddie Hickey over Spoon and Majerus for coach. Fun stuff. Appreciate SLU doing this.

Reynolds line tonight: 8 minutes, 0 points, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls. Ouch!

You might stop in Ghana on your way back. Agbeko, Aflakpui, and who knows how many more players we want to take a look at.

Do we know each other?

https://twitter.com/McMurphyESPN/status/542135213871362048 "Every person I spoke to today that’s from Big 12 or Big 12 school: league is not expanding"

The Big 12 may NOT have to expand to have a conference playoff. Current NCAA bylaws require teams to have a minimum of six teams in each division to stage a championship game. It is believed to be a non-controversial change to rescind that rule if the Big 12 wanted to stage such a game with 10 teams. With the new P5 autonomy, that would be a slam dunk.

This rumor was started by a talk show host in Nashville. “I am being told that Fred Smith [Memphis-based FedEx CEO] is opening up his checkbook and helping easy this process along,” said Darren McFarland, host of a sports talk show on ESPN radio in Nashville. This may be equivalent to someone like Randy Karraker saying something like "I am being told that SLU is going to the Valley". Would we believe him?

McBroom really hasn't been playing point this year. Sure he dribbles the ball up the floor and across the line, but then he passes it off to Roby or Reynolds or Bartley or whomever else is in the game and they attempt to initiate the offense. McBroom then heads to a corner or becomes an outlet for a subsequent pass. This certainly doesn't happen 100% of the time, but more times then not McBroom is not the one who is trying to get the offense moving. I said before that to me Bartley is the key freshman in this group. He is the classic point guard on this team. His 17 assists lead the team (barely over Yacoubou's 15) and his A/TO ratio is an okay 1.42.

I'm sorry but Jolly does not defend. His flopping on hopeful offensive fouls is his entire defensive repertoire. At least Manning sticks his body in there and occasionally defends the rim. Neither Gillmann nor Jolly has learned how to defend the post. You noticed tonight that Gillmann has been moved out to the 4 where he won't have to bang inside as much. That may be where he needs to play until he gains more strength. Gillmann did of course have a nice offensive display tonight. But he needs to defend. Manning isn't the final answer. But at least he presents an obstacle instead of an open path to the hoop. None of the three give us much interior offense.

Saint Louis leads 41-20 in a series that dates back to the 1930s. The teams played regularly before the Billikens left the Missouri Valley Conference in 1974. The schools have extended the home-and-home series and will meet next year at Chaifetz Arena, then again in 2016 in Wichita, Kan.

Definitely an improvement. Last year he was only 2 of 7, so the sample size was pretty small to make any conclusions. This year he is 11 of 16 for a marginally acceptable 69%. But I used to cringe when he went to the line. But not last night! If he can make his charity tosses, he will stay on the floor in crunch time. Yarbrough needs to pick up his FT%. Seven of 16 (44%) puts you on the bench in crunch time.

Ninth smallest crowd ever at Chaifetz last night with 5209. So far this year, second and ninth smallest on the record books. The two games are explainable, but still the turnstills need to start cranking.

Bad tacos?

For me, Bartley NEEDS to be the one from this group who achieves the highest level. He is the true point guard on the team. Roby and Reynolds are combo guards. McBroom is a shooting guard who dribbles the ball up the court and then passes it off to whomever is initiating the offense. Bartley has H Waltmanesqe potential. With his size and handle, he will soon understand which of those high school passes he can still thread through and which ones are best kept in the closet. The success of this team over the next two years may largely be linked to how well and how soon he develops into a 20 to 30 minutes per game point.