I love Reggie but....

[SLUDrew]

When he gets cold he tends to force the action. I would like to see him take more shots that come to him in the flow of the offense. I realize that he's a shooter and shooters need to keep shooting no matter how cold they get, but forcing it is another story. If Reggie is 0 for 12 from the floor and he gets an open look, I want him to shoot. I think he should get a touch everytime down the floor, but he needs to let the game come to him a little more. I think he realizes he is a great talent and sometimes thinks that if he doesn't score, nobody else will. I can understand why he would think that, but as we ahve seen Frerricks, Sloan, Fischer, and even IO can be dangerous offensive threats. I am not at all suggesting that Reggie plays a more diminished role in the offense. There is no doubt he is the man, but sometimes I think he needs to be a little more patient.

[cheeseman]

I know that RB did not hit every shot last night but he still finished with 23 points I think. He did it by driving to the basket and getting fouled. RB did exactly what he was suppose to do. No complaints from me. Nobody else seemed interested in shooting - Sloan had a wide open three and passed it to RB just a few feet away, RB took the shot off balance and missed but what else was he to do if Sloan would not shoot at all.

[thetorch]

If Reggie doesn't shoot the ball we lose, especially on the road. He has got to take the shots for us. I know Coach Brad gives him the green light if he is open take it.

[SLUDrew]

You're missing my point. I too want Reggie to take every open look he has. He may be the best offensive threat we have had since the Legend. However, I think sometimes he puts too much on his own shoulders and tries to force it a little bit.

[Taj79]

... if its an "open" look, how can he be forcing it?

But I think I know what you're saying .... but put yourself in RB's boots. I suspect he knows what his role is in the offense. He's the designated shooter and well-deserving of that from what I've seen. He's there, seeing CS with the open shot, and probably expecting CS to take it. But CS also knows that RB is probably the better statiscal shooter so he passes the shot off to the designated shooter ... or at least the guy perceived by all as such. A tough catch-22.

To me, forcing a shot is when you're not open and time is not a factor. Popping a bomb when you're totally covered and 20+ seconds remain on the shot clock as an example. This is a "force." It is not a "force" if the shot clock is down to two and you have to let it go. While you are forcing your shot, the reasoning is different. I like RB's role and his ability to handle it. My earlier-season concerns on rust did not materialize.

To me RB is the main option on the perimeter. JF is an adequate third option. I don't know if he's an adequate second option because JF's not been the type to shoot it that much IMO. Drejaj could be a nice second option as he showed in last year's CUSA tourney game but seems to have lost the confidence or fluidity in his shot. Given CS's time mostly as a 4, an occasional trey would be fine but more as a surprise as opposed to a routine option.

Who knows for next year ... RB is back, AD is back. Can TL or Polk shoot it? What about Meyer? Does DC step up? IO and JJ seem to have a nice shot from the circle in. The options seem to be looking up .....

[Quality Is Job 1]

>Who knows for next year ... RB is back, AD is back. Can TL

>or Polk shoot it? What about Meyer? Does DC step up? IO

>and JJ seem to have a nice shot from the circle in. The

>options seem to be looking up .....

Dwayne Polk can knock it down from the NBA arc, he can penetrate, and he can see the floor and complete the pass (drop dimes). Tommie Liddell has more of a mid-range game, but his strength is playing on the ball; he's a point guard in a wing guard's body -- kind of like a baby Larry Hughes, except he is more unselfish than Larry was. I haven't seen Luke Meyer play, but all indications I've seen is that he can knock down jumpers. Darren Clarke will step up. Let's still get to the NCAA Tournament this year, but beyond that, next year really looks promising. I expect a trip to the NCAA Tournament next year.

[billiken_roy]

sludrew said, "He may be the best offensive threat we have had since the Legend"

great discussion topic. i will gladly welcome anything past our missouri fans demanding we admit we are obsessed with their stupid a$$ cheating program.

while i am willing to say that bryant might be the best shooter we have seen in the last 25 years, i am not ready to say he is the best offensive threat. he does go to the basket very well. well enough i think he is showing glimpses of a possible lifetime basketball career. but that said, if i needed someone to score at least 2 points at any given moment, i would rank a few past billikens ahead of reggie.

imo, nothing would top hughes. second would be justin love. after that i think we would have to throw it around between bryant, jeffers, and perry.

[billiken_roy]

i dont know about the missouri side of the river, but over here, the east side vs belleville west game is going to be telecast on sunday morning on charter at 10 am. maybe a few well placed calls to charter will get it shown on the missouri side as well.

[DeSmetBilliken]

I would guess that the game would be shown on the Missouri side as well. Frank C. mentioned the game being shown during a stoppage in play the other night.

[jjray]

I like your outlook on the team for next year Thicks. Once I hear Tommie has a qualifying ACT score, I shall allow myself to be optimistic for next year. With Big Tom back in the middle, added help at wing and from the perimeter, we should be fine. If we can somehow land a juco-PF with a live body (doesn't have to be a masher, just a guy who can give us some of Chris's energy), then I think prospects definitely look up for 2004-2005.

[SLUDrew]

NO I wasn't. Never did I say he was forcing open looks. I said if he has an open look I want him to take that shot all day. Sometimes I think he forces his shot (aka sometimes I think he takes shots that aren't necesssarily great looks).

[slufanskip]

Thats a nice subject to give us something besides SPUMAC to discuss. I am going to start a new thread

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[brehms13]

I think each game is different. Reg and Fish had the "greenlight" they were told to shoot the "three". I stated before, Reg does what he is told and I only remember him shooting those in the last minutes of second half. I questioned his shots as well and he said he and Fish were told to shoot the "three" and then they were told to foul. As I said before, when you view the comparisons in foul calls from team to team it tells you why they lost the game. I honestly do not think Withers outplayed Tom, I think Tom didn't get enough touches.. inside, but they were double teaming him and the calls didn't go our way. I told AD to shoot, but I was told he "does not" have the green light and can only shoot once he kicks it out to the post and get it back on a pass, thus his hesitation for shooting. He had many open shots and passed on them. I now understand why. I didn't during the game. If we could just finish these big games where we come really close...or let me say, "ONCE" we finish one of these road games. I know we'll be highly considered amongst the elite teams in CONFERENCE USA.