ACE Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 We still have to rely too heavily on one scorer. Last year Perry. This year Bryant. A few years ago it was Jeffers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basketbill Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Reggie scored saturday, we lost not because he was shut down but because we turned the ball over far too many times. This year I think we need Fish to play well each game, as he goes s goes the Billikens. Last year we did rely on Marque too much, but this year I think we simply hit a stretch where we played three tough teams on the road. UNCC and Memphis were game we could have one, but they are not bad losses. UAB game was a bad game, again UAB is very good, and we played poorly..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 ... we have one go-to guy. Drejaj's lost confidence in his shot. So has Sloan. Izik does not appeared to be the guy we look to. Fish ain't it. And we ain't pounding the ball inside to TF at the end of any games so far. RB may scored 21 .... a little short of 50% of our points in Memphis the other day. I say that means the same as last year. You may be right in your assessment that TOs lost the games and while they were "close" losses at Memphis and UNCC, they are still losses. I think we have one guy who can take it and that's Reggie. ACE is right on on that account. This is histor repeating itself. We haven't had multiple options since the Clagg/Highmark/Waldman/Turner days. A few years back it was Hughes .... that was evident the year after he left. Then it became JLove. Then Jeffers. Then Marquee. Now RB. And this is through three different head coaches. Why is that such an obvious pattern?????????? I can understand if all three coaches fell off the same southern Missouri mile truck (ie Spoon's coaching tree) but we had contrasting style with Spoon, Romar and now Sodes, it doesn't make sense. But so it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 ... comments below in the thread entitled "Bryant." I respect that guy's comments and he seems to be on the same topic as ACE is here. This "one-man show" act has been going on far too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 I think it is still too early to say make that comment about UB he has only had 1 real recruiting year and seems to have some players coming in that will be a real upgrade to our athleticism and overall talent level. I agree it has been a problem ... but I think UB is going to change the trend Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Recruiting at the guard position has improved to the point where 6'5 Luke Meyer will be our "worst" athlete on the perimeter. And considering that Luke is just as athletic as Kirk Penney or Brian Wardle, that's still a pretty good combination of size and athleticism. Right now, we've got a 6'1 guard with Luke Meyer's athleticism playing 27 min a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Carl Turner?????? I wil give you Claggs, Highmark, and H but you cannot put Turner in that group. Turner on this team would be behind Clarke in the rotation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 I agree the pattern of one and only one "go to guy" is long standing. So is the problem of no real power forward since ??? (Bonner?). Sure, Donnie Dobbs, Jeff Harris and others have done yoeman duty as power forwards at 6'3 and 6'4. It all starts with recruiting. Charlie Spoonhour used to say publicly he was glad Jeff Harris was 6'4 not 6'8 because if he was 6'8 he would have been playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks.The truth hurts. Even now, I am not nearly as sold on next years recruiting class as everyone else. I see our glaring need as a power forward - Grimes is gone and Shaw I guess wasn't good enough, or so we're told. Given that the "mid majors" swms and siu spank us around on a regular basis, I will be watching Shaw closely down at Carbondale. I hope that we recruit right over Shaw with our last scholarship, but I'm not terribly optimistic based on our inability to recruit PF's with any degree of consistency.Add to that the fact that at this point it is probably just as likely that Lidell may never play for the Bills as it is that he will,this class may not look as great as some think. I hope I am wrong, but our track record indicates otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillikenButch Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 I think it has nothing to do with the system, but rather the talent. We do not attract the type of player who makes everyone better (Hughes) or the number of very good players that we need to play against Top 50 teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 who in the world said shaw was not good enough? shaw is the best power forward in the area (unless you count popular bluff as the area than he is second best). and after brad lost out on grimes, from all accounts he went after shaw hard. it was just too late as painter was already in deep. but i dont think anyone ever said shaw was not good enough. i personally believe matt shaw will start and contribute from day one at siu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Right now the staff has an offer outstanding to Chipola JC power forward Vas’shun Newborne. He's undersized at 6'6 220 lb, continuing a long standing Billiken tradition at that position :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
former_d1 Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 I would take a Tatum playing the 4 for us every year. Bad free throw shotting and all. He could rebound, set picks, and get put backs. Right now that is all I am asking for. Oh, I almost forgot my favorite thing about him: he would knock your head off it was needed. You can not put a price tag on having a tough guy on the court and on your side. It is just like a shot blocker. It changes the game..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Re:Shaw my point is this - I think he is good enough, obviously you think he is good enough. Unfortunately, he is headed to siuc. He was very interested in slu but alas we didn't get him. Good recruiting involves reading situations. Like, knowing when to get off of Grimes in time to get Shaw. Right now we are "waiting" on a 6'6" PF to go with a 5'9" point gaurd and Luke. Lidell at this point is not elgible. Sloan at 6'7" has not and cannot be expected to be a real difference maker for us. He has good games and he has lousy games but his senior year and his career has been marked by inconsistency. We have no power forward on the roster that can mach up with a true power forward. It now appears we won't again next year.Maybe JJ someday but it sure seems as if he and Brad haven't "really bonded" yet. Lidell is the difference maker in this class. Whether or not he will ever make any difference for us becomes more worrisome as the days creep by and no acceptable test score is forthcoming. Without him and with the addition of an undersized 6"6" pf, I don't see us measurably improving next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 i agree with every word you just wrote. good post bart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basketbill Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 semantics. Yes Reggie scored almost half the points, but last years team was much more unbalanced. If I recall correctly Marque was the only player to average in double figures, prior to this trip at least, Fish and Sloan were in double figures and Frericks was averaging 10+ in conference games. Depth I think is the common fault for both teams, RB would be even more effective if he played 5 minutes less, because we have an effective sub for him. We do not have enough depth at gaurd, or the front line. These last three games, yes they are losses but we can not dwell on them...we can and will have balanced scoring in future games. Wednesday starts our new winning streak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 I'll take the contrarian view as to our woes next year at the 4. From where I sit, it all comes down to Liddell. He gets eligible and we are a much improved team. Without Liddell, I still like what I see but 4 won't be the achillies heal of the team IMHO (the backcourt is the problem). Luke Meyer will be our 3 and Izik shall go back to 4 where he belongs backed up by Justin Johnson. Izik has shown he can score inside of 10 feet, 6'9" with long arms and good hops. Very few teams have that monster 250+ PF who will manhandle Izik (he's big enough to hang with most college 4s). JJ really got stronger from year 1 to year 2 and expect him to be stronger still in year 3. He looked very solid early in the year when he was playing 10 minutes per. The guy hustles when we see him in games and Brad is going to have to give him a shot next year ... which I am cool with as JJ has athleticism and skill that we sorely need. I also expect Izik to pick up weight again in the offseason. When was the last time we had two power forwards with the size and skill level of Izik and JJ? The answer is never. These guys aren't mashers but they are tall, athletic and skilled. Our problem next year without Liddell is in the backcourt. First, Drejaj will be an adventure as the starting point guard. Dwayne Polk has to play heavy minutes or our offense shall be limited. Second, we are subtracting Fish's points from a team that already struggles to help Reggie on offense. If Liddell is on the court with Reggie, we are cool. Even without him, I think a combination of Izik and Meyer (and maybe Polk) can replace lost scoring. But without Liddell, we just don't improve that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 While SLU has had virtually no success against SMS, but has a winning record against Southern Illinois. I would not say that SIU spanks SLU regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 I totally agree with your assessment. College basketball is a guard's game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Polk may be a better offensive point guard than Fisher. Josh is a solid ballhandler and a good passer, but he isn't really a creator or a shooter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 i disagree totally with your take on drejaj. yes he has shown some inconsistency on offense, but he has shown us he has a lot of skills as well. he always puts out a huge and effective defensive effort, thus, i am not the least bit afraid of what anthony could do when given the reins. polk is having a first team all-state year, so if he plays beaucoup minutes, i have no problem with that as well. brad has emphatically stated he wants to play izik at pf. sure if he doesnt find anyone and johnson isnt in a position to play yet and we dont find a power forward, yes, izik could play that spot, but like we have just experienced for three years with chris sloan, you will have a better wing player playing out of position for the sake of necessity. luke is going to be very capable of backing up izik and maybe play some shooting guard as well, and let's not forget darren clarke. while we havent seen a lot of darren this year, it by no means equates to he cant do the job. he is just buried in a rotation. and last, reggie is back. no, i cant see for a second where we should be looking for a guard even if liddell never comes to slu. our player searches should be all about finding a real power forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 I don't see where jjray says we need to seek out another guard, Roy. He's just saying that Liddell qualifying is what will make next year special, not another journeyman power forward. I'd rather have JJ than Marquette's juco All-American power forward Marcus Jackson, who has been a non-factor for the Golden Eagles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 oh i agree that liddell is special. but i was taking that if liddell doesnt come, he wants to find the liddell replacement. i want inside players. i love frericks (when he isnt in foul trouble) i like the upside of the athletic johnson, i have little confidence in the immediate impact (next year or two) abilities of either husak or ian. maybe i have been hanging around taj too much. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 When you watch Matt Shaw next year, remember he is playing in the MVC and not C-USA. By the way, I like Shaw. I would have liked to seen him play the SF spot at SLU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I watched Newborne play Feb4 against OWCC in Niceville, Florida (about 20 minutes north of Destin). At best Newborne is 6-6, with average strengh. If Newborne has our last outstanding scholarship offer, I will be disappointed. His 6-4 teammate, Je'kel Foster, I liked. UAB's head coach and an assistant in the gym looking at Je'kel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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