Where For Art Thou ... Euphoria?

[Taj79]

Three games ago we were 11 - 5 and sky high as the road beckoned. I looked for my post so I could quote it exactly but I can't find it so .... I did say that we could very easily be 11 and 8 once this three game swing was said and done. And we were o-fer on the trip so the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I think this trip demonstrated what I've thought all along ... that its an okay team at best. Westcoastballer's been all over me at times for disagreeing that JF is a good-to-great point guard. Turnovers seem to be what the downfall has been on these trips and doesn't that start at the point? Not that its all JF's fault ... the other TOs show to me that again, this is not a real talented team.

Now I'm reading where CS and Frericks are showing their ill-fated emotions on the court. Being in the throes of a losing streak will do that. Not winning on the road just also reinforces the fact that the talent base in this group is somewhat low.

Many are bemoaning the fact that RB seems to be shooting too much, taking ill-advised shots and what have you. But once again we seem to be a team with one designated shooter and the rest can live off the table scraps of him. I sure hope this is a reflection of that talent and not a pattern wherein Coach gets one shooter per year and we live and die with that. I think not but until better talent shows, that seems to be the pattern here.

Looks like some are saying AD is regressing and should be benched. I know that the cries and laments are louder during losing times and AD does have defenders who counter the naysayers .... but this is our lone returning point for next year, to help transition to the DPolk era. This is not a good sign ... and add in his contributions to the current TO problem coupled with an apparent loss of shooting desire. This is not a good sign.

IO .. someone said our best offensive options yesterday .... and another said "another year in the weight room and look out" ... yeah, this guy will be a senior. One that was supposedly versed in international competition. I would have expected a lot more so I'll hold the decision to jump on that bandwagon right now.

The good news? We come home for three games. Games in which, giving we right the ship come Wednesday with Depaul ... and we bump right back up to 14 and 8 with a 7 and 4 conference record. This becomes crucial again .... we seem to be unable to win on the road in this league so we will continue to be the up-again, down-again team that this road trip demonstrates us to be. We lose one at home and we need to steal one on the road. As I said before, the only game possible right now is the Tulane game. We need to hold serve at home (which, by the way will include Louisville later this month) and steal that one on the road to finish inthe top half of the league. Of ocurse, this will not get us a first round bye in Cincy come March, and seeing as that will be technically a "road" game as well, we could ship out of the Queen City early again.

So we have another typical year in the making. Middle of the road or a game ot two slightly higher. This is the best we can do until the talent improves. To me, we are the epitome of mediocre.

A three game win streak is about to happen. But once again only if the lunch pails come to play.

[billiken_roy]

is how important it is for this team to have josh fisher at the top of his game. i dont think josh will mind me stepping on his toes. josh is a leader and a physically and mentally strong young man, but the last three games, if i had to pick out a player that played the furtherest beneath his shown skills and consistency it was josh fisher. just two weeks ago, i was thinking "hell our backcourt is so strong it can play with anyone in the country". and "you gotta have a gun to get the ball away from these guys." no more. the turnovers vs uab and memphis make this a horrible team. to hell with top division, if we average 20 turnovers a game, this is a bad billiken team. thankfully, it is only two games. and i am betting that josh fisher pulls it a little tighter and turns this thing around.

josh, it is your turn. this is your team. you want a billiken legacy. now it the time. if you want to be remembered fondly in billiken lore, you need to lift em up.

[AlumniFan]

I think that you have let your negative bias seep through with those facts. The Charlotte and Memphis games were decent games and could have been won. It just didn't happen.

You are right about Reggie being the primary go-to guy, but Frericks and Ohanon have also shown an ability to score, just not consistently (maybe Izik needs more minutes???).

I don't remember anyone, even the Billy Mumphreys of the board, saying this team was loaded with talent, had a lot of talented, or even was talented. In fact, I seem to remember most posters saying that Coach was doing a lot with limited talent. The general feeling of your post was an "I told you we didn't have talent, but you didn't believe me!"

Look, I know you are a big fan and a Billiken supporter, so don't misinterpret my comments. However, let's be realistic. We are 11-8 with some really exciting games against good teams and we still have a shot (albeit a long one) at post season play. I would prefer to look on the bright side, take my lumps, and get excited about DePaul, Charlotte, and Marquette at home than wallow in the travails of the past. Analyze the past, YES. Berate the past, NO.

Let's go Bills!! 14-8 would be nice.

[Billikan]

Taj, over the last few years I have noticed that you are very quick, almost anxious to criticize the Bills when things are not going as well as you would like and you grudgingly give a few props when the team is going well. Maybe it is because you never get to go to the games and see these kids play but they are busting their butts, playing with heart and intensity. We are all frustrated with the turnovers--the entire key to our recent 3 losses in my opinion-- and it is always hard to watch your team struggle on the road but I would suggest that you have been way too harsh in your criticisms and your conclusion.

[tseugnekillib]

Taj has stated before that he is a "the glass is half-empty" kind of guy. By now, you as a reader should not expect anything else. I agree with who ever stated that Taj's inability to see the Billikens play or practice in person has an effect on his view of the glass. Maybe, just maybe, a string of 20 wins seasons will change his view!

[Schasz]

I'm all set to see us string those 20 win, NCAA appearances together. While it won't happen this year, we are getting closer and I like the guy leading us now as I have a lot of confidence that Brad will get the job done. I also think that another winning season would be a very nice accomplishment by this Billiken team.

[billiken_roy]

billikan said, "Taj, over the last few years I have noticed that you are very quick, almost anxious to criticize the Bills when things are not going as well as you would like and you grudgingly give a few props when the team is going well."

i think it is all that time taj puts in at the pentagon. gives him heartburn and a bad disposition.

taj, cant you get the lovely cindy to administer some relaxation therapy or something to ease some of that stress you seem expell here? :-)

[billiken_roy]

he needs to have to stay till saturday in cincy at the tourney. that would cure him. i know the miracle in memphis was the greatest week of college basketball i have personally experienced in my entire life. so rerun that for ole taj.

[thetorch]

What is the context of the Billy Mumphrey comment?

[Taj79]

for the constructive criticism, Billikan. Maybe the "..kan" in your handle denotes a positive side to things and I should try to attain that. I'll try. Things are as never as bad as they seem ... nor are they as good. We hit a hot streak to go to 11 - 5 and I am almost certain we will do so again to go to 14 - 8. We win with grit and determination at home; we lose on the road. Tried and true. That's the way it goes ... that's why I've always said it tough to be a Billikens fan.

These kids are better than a lot of kids. They've got college scholarships so they must be. That I give them. But I have to admit that I get a little tired waiting for the big Blue bus to just magically pull up to the station and take all away to the promised land. Harsh, maybe. But its almost 30 years of callousness that I have to lose. But that's my problem.

A few years ago, there was this impossible homer on this board ... everytime the guy wrote something, I was like "what's he smoking?" He had about the most homeristic, pro-Bills, rose-colored outlook on the Bills you'd ever want to see. I couldn't about stand when he wrote some of his stuff. Now "billiken roy" and I drown sorrows together and talk Billiken stuff pretty candidly.

I will say it again and again .... this is a nice team that has a good coach and needs to work day-in and day-out to get the job done. But its not talented enough to win through adversity on the road. Some folks want to rain hosannahs down from high when we beat the likes of East Carolina, SoMiss and USF at home. Not good enough. I'll stay grounded just the same.

We can and should beat Marquette, DePaul and Charlotte at home. If we can't, we can't hide our weaknesses anymore. We did what I thought we'd do on the road. No more. No less.

[Taj79]

... as well for myself. Seeing them play or practice might give me some sort of something to change my ways ... if what you are saying is that I'd have a personal investment in these guys and live and die with them as they play their hearts out. I have never questioned their heart. I don't have the right.

As a matter of fact, being detached as I am, maybe I don't have the emotional investment .... the investment that prevents me from being realistic in my assessment from afar. I will admit that the three game home winning streak was nice, but I have always advocated taking care of the home turf and this is what the Bills did. I said early on that we don't traditionally win on the road. I was pleasantly surprised by the Dayton win but if only to silence my Gem City Fan traitor/best friend. But don't call me shocked over these three losses. I am saying now, the only wins I see us getting are at home ... and that means beating Louisville ... with maybe a win at Tulane. And that's no easy road with Marquette, Charlotte and DePaul all playing quite well right now.

Talent level has got to come up. Twenty win seasons would be nice but I'll be realistic. We need to get back to where winning at home is a given, and we win three or four on the road in conference and a couple of early non-conference wins as well.

But here's something else ..... we lose Fish and Sloan next year. Right now, we gain Meyers and Polk. Liddell is questionable at best. Clark and Johnson have provided absolutely nothing this year other than hope. We have that in Izik and Ivan as well and a red shirt in Bryce. Thank goodness hope springs eternal.

[Tonka]

Maybe not having the "emotional investment" is good, Taj. There are very few posters on this board who ever consistently post objective views of what is going on, myself included. It's hard to be any other way.

Taj, I agree in a lot of what you said. I can say one thing, if this team doesn't start learning to win on the road other than just stealing a few games year, it's going to be hard to ever have consistent 20 game win seasons, regardless of what recruits we bring in. I think this team is just in a mid season slump and I think the timing of these three road games with this slump made things feel worse than they are. I can't say anybody is consistently playing well on this team. It seems like for all the positive things you can say about a player, there are an equal number of criticisms as well. I hope we can somehow get out of this. We need to find ways to win games that we "hang in there" on. I don't think it will take much to turn this team around. I think our confidence as a team and the confidence of individual players is way down. Maybe a big crowd and a big win will turn things around. I really don't think it will take much to swing the momentum, but we definitely need a swing in out favor.

I don't know the solution given the situation, but I think Drejaj had regressed. I have said all along he is too inconsistent and a loose cannon, but hid confidence seems shot or something. I can't pinpoint it.

I saw a conversation on this board about wishing players would put the ball back up right away after a rebound and not dribble. Others said they should pass the ball out. I think you could argue either way, although the confidence in shooting from the outside right now is way down, so passing the ball out may not be the alternative. One thing that has alwasy bothered me is how soft a lot of our guys go up with the ball. I saw a few missed layup and missed shots from under the basket. Jam the damn ball when you are under the basket. Apparently the lay ups weren't working. I never have understood how any player 6'6" or taller didn't jam the ball every time they were under the basket. Don't talk to me about the inability to jump. If you are 6'6", you don't have to jump that high.

[AlumniFan]

Billy Mumphrey was the cock-eyed optimist referenced in a Seinfeld episode. Most regular Seinfeld viewers tend to remember these obscure, but amusing references.

[thetorch]

Kramer: Well it's a story about love, deception, greed, lust and...unbridled enthusiasm.

Elaine: unbridled enthusiasm...?

Kramer: Well , that's what led to Billy Mumphrey's downfall.

Elaine: Oh! boy.

Kramer: You see Elaine, Billy was a simple country boy. You might say a cockeyed optimist,

who got himself mixed up in the high stakes game of world diplomacy and international intrigue.

Elaine: Oh! my God.

---------------------------

That is what I thought.

[thetorch]

I have always advocated putting the ball up immediately after getting an offensive rebound. No piddling around, do not even bring the ball below your shoulders. When I coach I make kids run laps that dribble after making o boards. The chances of scoring or being fouled are too great not to do that every time. In most situations the defender is either behind you, which will result in a foul most of the time or in front of you but underneath the basket. For some reason it is like instinct to bring the ball down, but I try to break my players of that bad habit.

Jamming the ball after an O board is alot harder than you think. I am 6'3 and can dunk, not as good as I used to but even then it was next to impossible to catch the ball keep it above your head and jump high enough to dunk standing still in such close quarters. Even for a much taller person than myself it is pretty hard, you have to have a lot of coordination and be able to jump very high because you can't get very much lift in that position. It would not shock me if Frericks couldn't do that with a player defending him of similar size.

[AlumniFan]

nm

[Taj79]

.. first guy who hasn't blown a wide open putback or layup raise your hand. I don't see any.

Having said that, this is not a malady that is confined to this illustrious group of players. Besides the string of one-man wonders listed in a previous post as our "designated" go to players over the last few years, its also tough to be a Billiken fan because of the list of past bigs that could blow a layup or rebound as noted by tonka and torch. I could go back all the way to Johnnie Parker but I'll keep it recent .... Sekue, Ryan Leuchtefeld, Matt Baniak, Justin Tatum, and the defining worst of all worst ... Chris Heinrich. It always amazedme that a guy of Heiney's size would go for the twisting reverse under the basket putback as opposed to the high percentage throwdown. Hell ... he was only 6'11" and as stacked as a brick outhouse. Sekue, I could understand. Heiney ... I never got it.

So we get further definition .. not only are we a team dependent on a one-man offensive show, don't worry about our offesnsive rebounds because even if the Bills get one, they'll blow the putback or hesitate on it just the same.

[brehms13]

This team answers to the coach. Coach is set in his ways, if he tells the guys to do something, they do it (as they should). I stated before, everyone on this team doesn't have the greenlight to shoot. Even if they get the "O", most have to kick the ball back out to the post then if the ball comes back, shoot. Of course if you're right under the basket with a clear shot.....c'mon that's a given......but if you're not the shooter and don't kick it out, then u're not listening to the coach. That being said.....I don't have miracle answers. But I do think the guys play hard, I don't think the guys lack talent, I think they lack the drive. I don't mean the attitudes when u get called for a foul, or u're getting hacked in the inside. I mean that drive that keeps them focused on w their mission. If the guys get all wrapped up (mentally) in how many shots they missed, turnovers they had, etc........then they won't progress in the game, their focus has shifted to "I, me....., my....instead of "the team".

If you see your inside shot isn't working and the refs are calling you for a foul, go outside and shoot, pass the ball, get other teammates involved. Don't stop shooting.......but don't rely soley on just your shot to keep the team in the game, rely on your teammates. Reg is the go to guy right now, I guess we know why, but I still stand on the fact that any of these guys an be the go to guy in any game and some have been (JF, CS, TF). Though Reg maintained double figures, he hasn't played his best all the time. It's easier for the guys to pass on their open shots to Reg, cause they know he'll shoot, even if he misses. His confidence never waivers...I think the guys all have to think in a similar fashion. To heck with miss shots, or what they read in the papers.....etc......Play your game. I've had a few of the guys say they're hesitant in their shooting, because they don't have the greenlight, they don't want to miss and sit on the bench, or miss and get talked about etc.......It's time for them to get passed that and play their game. Losen up, no one wants to carry the weight of being "the player who lost the game", but everyone is labeled regardless. This is what I told the guys. Listen to your coach and play your game, if it's not your best game that night (which no one has a good game every night) then make it a better night for your teammate. I think their downfall right now isn't just technical (though these turnovers are killing us)it has a lot to do with their confidence, and their drive to win.

[Quality Is Job 1]

I don't question the players' heart or desire to win, though I might agree that their confidence is down. Well, the reason that the Billikens lost these last three games (and also the reason their confidence is down) is that they played three straight games against very good teams on the road.

Fans of teams typically fail to give their team's opponents credit. It's always: "We didn't this; we didn't that; blah, blah, blah." The Bills lost because they played good teams. They didn't play their best games, but that's because their opponents were prepared and had a hand in preventing them from playing their best games. The Bills turned the ball over a lot in the last two games because their opponents were quicker (and better prepared). The players didn't get worse; rather, their opponents got better.

[billiken_roy]

mark it down, taj and i agree on chris heinrich.

[Taj79]

... I'd like to throw in that thicks missed is familiarity. Once you get to conference play, folks know you and know what you can do. The element of surprise is somewhat lost when you see your annual dance partners. Coaches have a tendancy to share tapes, thoughts and strategies on each other.

Of all our rivalries, we have a great one with Charlotte. A nice one with UAB. And a storied one (at least in history) with Memphis. I am going to miss playing these guys as well as UofL, MU, Cincy and DePaul when that old gang of ours gets broken up. The rest of CWHO you can keep.