3star_recruit Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Drejaj is the slowest 6'1 guard in our conference. It was bound to catch up with him sooner or later and this year it's caught up with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 i wont deny i love all out hustle. if all else is equal or even close, i will take hustle and heart any day. it is the absolute hardest attribute to judge and nearly impossible to change in a player. yet i believe it is the difference maker in players. one of my favorite discussion topics is how would michael jordan have been remembered as a player if you took away his relentless will to win and succeed? imo, while he indeed was a marvelous athlete, the reason he is probably the best ever was his heart and guts. other players came and went that could jump higher, run faster, were physically bigger and stronger, etc. yet michael dominated his sport as no one else ever did for a long long time. drejaj of course isnt michael jordan in anyway. but the point is, he has that intangible to go along with some fairly good skills. i agree he lacks consistentcy. but a lot of sophomores and freshman do. if he didnt, he probably wouldnt be at slu. for now we succeed or not by taking players that lack that one dimension and then hope that our coaches can develop the missing ingredient. the fact he has the toughest one to develop makes him a good bet in my eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 Drejaj can be a very creative passer, but he's not a very good ball handler. Not what I'd want out of a starting point guard. The kid will work his a$$ to try to improve, so maybe he can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 >go back and look at the numbers in their sophomore years of >fisher, jamal walker, carlos mccauley, etc. there is >typically a "growing up" period for all players. drejaj is >a better player as a sophomore than what jamal walker was >imo. his role will be redefined and he will take it and run >with it. We need a better point than Jamal Walker. I hope that he is not the measuring stick. My biggest issues with AD are three-fold: (a) ball security during the press / traps, ( the emotional swings he goes through almost every game, and © the inconsistency of his shooting. As your floor leader who sets the tempo of the team, you can't have the guy going into these emotional outbursts a few times a game. Such antics are fine if the guy is a defensive stopper who comes off the bench (a John McEnroe thing to get himself fired up is OK in that roll) but not for a starting point guard. Josh Fisher is a model of consistency and emotional balance on the floor. He plays intense but never freaks out when calls or the game are going bad for us. For at least 1/2 the season to date, Drejaj could not hit the side of a barn with the ball. He was a huge, huge offensive liability on the court. I can remember seeing 2 airballs on wide-open 3 attempts and an airball on a free throw attempt. That is totally unacceptable in your starting point guard. Yes, he shot extremely well against DePaul but we have to have consistency from our starting point guard every night. Consistency and a solid equalibrium are vital in a point and right now AD sorely lacks this. I am sure Drejaj will be our starting point when the season opens next year as coach trusts freshman as much as he trusts paroled felons. However, we shall hopefully see alot of Dwayne Polk early in the year as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 "I am sure Drejaj will be our starting point when the season opens next year as coach trusts freshman as much as he trusts paroled felons." Very nice! Might use it for my next sig :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Thanks for the props 3Star. You have my license to appropriate the "paroled felon" phrase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 I agree with you about hustle ... it is obvious we just disagree about his talent level. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRN Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 This is my first post here. I guess everyone is talking about Drejaj at the point next year. What about Polk? I know he won't be ready to step in immediately, but many point guards have stepped in their freshman year and done okay. From the talk about him and the highlights I've seen, he seems to be able to play the role well - penetrating the D, playing tight defense, distributing the ball, and scoring when needed. I guess we'll see for sure next year.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 We can expect some bumpy moments early, as it takes all but the few freshmen in the stratosphere of a Carmelo Anthony, Larry Hughes, or Mike Bibby a while to digest the change in the pace and rigor of the game from high school to college, but by the end of the season Dwayne Polk will be solid, at least. He's already been taught the fundamentals very well and may adjust to Div I ball more quickly than most frosh. Jimmy McKinney was a significant contributor from practically the very start at Mizzou last year, so I think we can expect a similar contribution from Polk, McKinney's one-time backcourt mate. Remember, Polk has contributed to two state-championship teams and is a strong contender to get another one this year, so he's not going to accept losing -- not even as a freshman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 By CUSA play Polk will be starting if he is even half the player I have heard he is. We have no other decent option. I have not seen Vashon this year ... but usually their game starts with pressure D from the guards. You may not like Irons as a person ... but he is a good coach. I think DP will come in with a good idea on defense, understanding the effort required and its importance. Dp is also a smart kid 4.0 I beleive. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 irons was on frankly speaking thursday with frank and tom holley. he had nothing but praise and glory to speak of the billikens and coach soderberg. a few callers gave him the opportunity to play the "what if he was the billiken coach" angle and he simply refused. one time even made the statement he was a brad soderberg fan. coach soderberg has obviously done a great job getting in with coach irons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 Sorry, but that's really a reach and the fact that it's on cable in Philly doesn't sell the idea. By your logic, we ought to be getting kids from Kentucky, Ohio , Texas etc but that's not happening. I think this rationalization is really weak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbilly Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 the a-10 has their own television package. I believe the conference produces the package and the television stations in the town would then be able to buy the game. Something similar to espn+. BILLY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalensdad2002 Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 Hopefully that will pay dividends in the future, because Bobby Hill looks to be a real player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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