Comments and Observations

[Billikan]

1. The loss at Cinn. was depressing but predictable if we had known that Tom was so injured.

2. We may have another most valuable player on this team but Tom has become the MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER! No one else on the team brings his strength and toughness on the boards.

3. I admired how the coach took some chances in an effort to jump start the Bills in Cinn. Putting Reggie back in with 2 fouls was a risky but important decision. Even more interesting was the decison in the second half to play Ian and Tom at the same time. I have not specifically broken down the tape but I believe that we held our own with the those two "bigs" in the game at the same time and that the game got out of reach when Tom was injured and went to the bench. I would not be surprised to see those two play together against big teams next year.

4. For those of you who continue to call for JJ to play big minutes I must say that I have seen nothing to justify that suggestion. In my view, he regressed in the Cinn game. He has no "feel" for the game, no understanding of fundamentals and does not use his athleticism in a way that is positive for the team. On top of that, he is supposed to be a shooter but when the game was still within reach he took a 14 foot shot that missed the rim to the right by 2 feet. On our defensive end he is incapable of controlling the defensive rebounds. I never give up on a freshman but I am back to my thinking of earlier this year when I believed his "potential" may be overrated.

5. Ian, on the other hand, is not even close to as athletic but he understands the game and I see his potential as unlimited. He plays "big" underneath and with some upper body strength he could become a real nice player. I have said it before--he reminds me a lot of a young and growing vlade Divac who is an unathletic but very good player. Ian runs faster and is green as grass but I think he may be a true diamond in the rough.

6. Reggie is a nice player but he must learn that if we are down 11 it does not mean that we stop playing defense. If you broke down the tape I am sure he had many defensive lapses and gave up some unnecessary offensive rebounds. I hate to ever say a player "quit" but he sure looked like he was not putting out a 100% effort. If he does no play on both ends then he will hurt us badly.

7. This next game against Tulane on the road will be a huge test of how the coach can rally the troops after a blow out loss and the loss of our big inside post player. I would not bet on the Bills in this one!

[bauman]

I can't figure out why you jumped all over me when I said we shouldn't count on IV to be a real contributor while just a few days later you put down JJ and Reggie and basically predict a loss at Tulane. I guess it's only unacceptable when others point out weaknesses in the Billiken program, not when you do it.

By the way (and I truly hope I'm wrong on this) I couldn't disagree with you more re IV. Yes he can pass and has a decent shot, BUT he can't move or jump and he plays with a complete lack of emotion. You have mentioned a few times that he'll be alright after some more time in the weight room but lifting weights can only do so much and I don't see it fixing IV's problems. All I see is a taller Matt Baniak who, like Matt, gets the ball knocked out of his hands a couple times a game because of a lack of intensity. As I see him he needs more heart not more weight and I've seldom see a player grow heart. Again as a real Billiken fan, I hope to be 100% wrong on this one.

[kshoe]

Sabonis. That is the guy IV reminds me most of. Matt Baniak could run, jump and had a decent outside shot. The comparisons between him and IV are way off. Matt was soft. I think IV will develop into much more of a banger than him.

[bauman]

Reading into your post, it seems that you agree with me that IV cannot run or jump as MB could. You even agree with me that MB was soft (truly an understatement) but without any foundation you then say IV will be a banger. Attending 10-12 practices and just about every home game makes me wonder which of us is smoking funny cigs. I have watched IV closely and see absolutely nothing that would lead me to conclude that he will become a "banger". I see a timid young man, and I grant you he is young, but he has played in international competition so he should be over the deer in the headlights thing. He shows no desire or ability to rebound even at 6' 11" and that is one of the truest measure of the intensity of a player e.g. TF, Justin Tatum, Jeff Harris, Donnie Dobbs and Anthony Bonner justto name a few.

[billiken_roy]

bauman said, "All I see is a taller Matt Baniak who, like Matt, gets the ball knocked out of his hands a couple times a game because of a lack of intensity."

i wish ian was as athletic as matt baniak was. he is no where as fast or cant jump as high. that is ian's problem imo. he just isnt an athlete. he has great court sense and seems to know his way around, but when he plays in slow motion it seems to me. that plus with his relatively weak upper body and shoulders, he gets knocked off the ball and doesnt finish real well. thus at least that could be fixed with some weight work imo.

while i doubt he will ever be much faster or jump much higher, that court sense and vision will go a long way to making him a better player down the road with experience and strength work. i could see him turning into a decent player, but i wont back up coach soderberg and billikan and compare him to vlade divac.

[billiken_roy]

i think bauman makes a good point. most players dont turn into a "banger". frericks is a banger. ian is closer to a wide body izik wannabe imo. i hope i am wrong, but i cant think of any player that came in like a lamb and went out like a lion. which is what we need from ian.

[Basketbill]

He is a big kid, he shows more potential over the next 3 years than any Big man SLU has had in the last ten years. I look at him and think about AJ at Mizzou, when he came in I thought this dude is slow and fat........regardless of what you think about Mizzou, if Ian turns into a similar palyer, he will be a nice player.

As for contributing....How much did Jeff Harris contribute his freshman year.......zilch one nice dunk is what I remember. Yet within in a year he had a break out game against Cinci at the shoe when we almost beat them. Kids at this age can develop very quickly, I think with Ian he will develop over the next few years into a wonderful player. His inside out passing to Polk, Liddell, Reggie, and Meyer will be pretty to watch next year.

[kshoe]

1.6 pts per game as a freshman. Now he may have been a banger in practice but he sure didn't do squat in the games.

IV is probbaly the best big man passer I have ever seen from the Bills. His shot looks decent (if his free throws don't show that then I don't know how to prove it to you) but he is struggling to shoot right now. I would expect that from a freshman. Not only is he a young freshman, but he is also one that has never played American ball. If there is any one person that is capable of "becoming a banger" it is him. I am willing to wait a while longer before I write him off.

[kshoe]

you had my exact same thoughts...particularly about Jeff.

[Billikan]

I truly believe that you could not be more wrong about Ian. He does not play at all like a deer in the headlights. The first game he started he looked comfortable on the court and he played well considering the fact that he had hardly ever played in a college game.

As a father of a player who was thin and not strong as a young man and he bulked up and became incredibly strong later, I saw his confidence and agressiveness build every year until he was extremely agressive. I don' buy your argument that Ian is all he can be now and so we should basically write him off.

Please watch teh Sacramento Kings the next time they are on TV and watch Vlade Divac. He is not a highly emotional, physically tough, high energy type player. Yet he is very clever and effective. Ian already had figured out how to play "big" on defense and to hold the ball high on offense and he really sees the floor. Once he gets stronger and he is more confident he will be much better able to be more of a "banger" underneath the basket.

[slufanskip]

To even consider judging an 18 year old who is 6'11" on his athletic ability is silly ... Big men develop slowly ... He will not score by being more athletic than a lot of players ... but with some work in the weight room he will get stronger and over power some of the smaller but quicker centers. Most of his scoring though will come from learning the proper footwork, body placement and some nice low post moves. His rebounding problems come from being out of positon and not being quick enough to correct it ... coaching will solve this problem. Right now if he gets too aggresive he will commit a lot of fouls very quickly due to being out of position.

Where does anyone get the comparison to Matt Baniak from? They afre not ev en remotely the same type of player or do they even play the same position.

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[Basketbill]

his free throw shooting!!!! I would wager that he is about the best Big man FT shooter since Jeff Harris.....IF he gets to the line 10 times a game he will be money!!!

[billiken_roy]

i wish we had box scores to back it up, but my memory of jeff harris' freshman season was one where he started the season glued to the bench and by seasons end was seeing well into double digit minutes. his contributions went from "squat" to very formidable minutes. no he wasnt a star yet, but i seem to remember him even being in the game at crunch time a couple of times even.

[SLUMS81]

I don't think Anthony Bonner came into his own until his junior year, either.

The same geniuses who thought that Frericks was a disappointment three months ago appear to have changed their tune!

Not many teams could march into Cincinnati and beat the bearcats on their home court when they played as well as they played Wednesday night.

[billiken_roy]

bonner was a staple from day one in the billiken lineup. he is 5th all time in scoring for a freshman season and first all-time rebounding.

[Schasz]

I told Ed Stewart who was one of Grawer's Assistants that I felt Bonner would be playing in the NBA in his Frosh year. Ed (who was a HS buddy of mine) looked at me like I was crazy. I guess being around Marty Blake when he was the St. Louis Hawks GM as much as I was in my teens must have rubbed off on me.

[Basketbill]

I agree that jeff Harris was on the bench much of the season, but I only recall him playing significant minutes once, at home with a big lead, and what struck me was his wide body and rebounding, and the dunk I mention below.

I do recall a break out game for him as a sophmore at Cinci, where he carried the team, getting to the line about ten times. I think Ian has the ability to do that.....plus his passing will make him more valuable.

[bauman]

You guys have completely missed my point on Jeff Harris and Matt Baniak. I used them only as a point of comparison for certain traits they had vs. IV. I never said IV was like MB, frankly I don't think he has MB's skills-I only compared him to MB as far as playing with no emotion or intensity much like Baniak and often having the ball knocked out of their hands due to this lack of fire.

I only cited Jeff Harris as one of the examples of intense players who rebounded well due to the desire he and my other examples played with and which IV is totally missing. Reading all the posts of the IV supporters convinces me of only one thing-he is a point guard in a 6'11" body (he passes well and can shoot free throws, both traits of a good PG). I'll concede he does both things well, but he can't rebound, jump or defend quick big men, all things I look for our Center to be able to do. Maybe time will prove me wrong but as I said above, I've seen few, if any, players go from timid to aggressive.

[3star_recruit]

"Maybe time will prove me wrong but as I said above"

Hey, we've got nothing but time :-)

[slufanskip]

You said in one of your posts above that someone agreed with you that IV could not run as fast or jump as high as MB ... that too me seems to be a comparison of their athletic ability. They play different positions ... why would you even attempt to compare the two ... it is irrelevant.

Also I am hoping our next pg does more than pass well and shoot free throws.

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[SluSignGuy]

I don't know how much this helps:

http://www.billikens.com/statistics/seasonstats/93-94.htm

Steve

[brehms13]

Reg doesn't give up. He just doesn't. I personally think his defense has improved, no it's not the teams best, but it certainly isn't the teams worst. His offense and scoring ability is what he came to SLU with, not his defense. He has learned very well under Coach Soderberg and he will continue to learn.

Ian is young. Not only is he young, he's getting used to SLU's style of basketball. He's gonna be a big inside player. I doubt if he'll be like Tom because Tom is faster, leaner and more fierce. Ian has to learn what his style of play his.

As far as JJ and the others.......not getting time almost all season may have something to do with their performance in games. But according to Coach himself JJ is definitely a good athlete and player and has made significant strides in practice. So it can't be all bad.