Team observations after two exhibitions

[Billikan]

It was tough to watch the game today. It will be tough to watch a lot of games because of our inexperience.

By far, the best 5 players playing as a "team" today were KM, Willie, CS, Kyle and JR. When that five was in the game we had hustle, continuity and intensity. Reid was a real revelation in terms of his desire, diving on the floor and team play. He is also very tall--he looks like he is 6'6" or 6'7". Except for the time that that 5 was playing well in the second half and some incredible plays by KM in the first half we were very mediocre. They sagged all over Willie for most of the game and kyle and Femi could not hit the broad side of a barn. The free throw shooting is a disaster. We missed a bunch of front ends.

CS is a pure shooter but he missed some today. From the warm ups it is clear that he has a nice stroke and a quick release. As he gets more comfortable, he will need to be in the game as lot for us to be an effective offensive team.

JJ looks very comfortable, but he is a bit wild and he threw the ball away several times. Overall, once he practices more he will be a nice player off the bench and I can see us playing he and KM together.

The big question mark will be the rebounding, particularly on the defensive end. Make no mistake we will MISS Tommie L's ability to get the ball off the defensive boards. Both of the young big men look like they could become rebounders but they sure have trouble getting the ball cleanly in their hands. Remekun really looks like he could be a decent player with some additional muscle and experience. But at times he seemed less than intense. Jon Smith is very difficult to evaluate. He is not tough in traffic, he has terrible defensive fundamentals when way out from the basket and yet he looks like he could become a contributor because of his quickness and leaping ability. Both of these guys will really have to step up and increase their intensity and hustle if we expect to rebound against the teams in our conference or teams like Georgia, Iowa State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, SIU Carbondale and Missouri State.

For those of you who complain about our out of conference schedule, that lineup looks pretty formidable at this point!

As to the others, Femi was playing hard but he really did not have a good game. We need to have him be much more effective.

We have two players who really look good--Willie and KM. Almost every other player looks to be a decent player who could play well or poorly depending upon the day. That will make this team very hard to watch on some days.

Watching Conklin after his injury I would be shocked if he is not out for an extended period of time. He never put any weight on his injured leg. If it is an ankle, it is a very serious ankle injury. I could be wrong but that is sure what it looked like.

Without Conklin and Ellis, this coach and staff will have to perform miracles to avoid a losing season. I like our kids but WOW are they young and inexperienced.

[davidnark]

Watching Conklin after his injury I would be shocked if he is not out for an extended period of time. He never put any weight on his injured leg. If it is an ankle, it is a very serious ankle injury. I could be wrong but that is sure what it looked like.

Without Conklin and Ellis, this coach and staff will have to perform miracles to avoid a losing season. I like our kids but WOW are they young and inexperienced.

Moser said it was his ankle. He said they immediately put it in an ice bath and were taking him for x-rays to determine the extent of the injury.

[dneuner]

Majerus said today the player of the game was Jeff Reid. I have to agree. Yeah, KM had a good game, but Reid's hustle was unmatched. He really gave us that spark in the bottom of the second to put us on top. I thought he had a great game; really excited to watch him grow as a player this year.

If I get a chance, I'll transcribe Majerus' post-game conference for you guys.

[davidnark]

There was a lot of talk about Reid's hustle--all of it well deserved--but what impressed me was his quick hands and athleticism around the basket. There were several instances in which he used smarts, athleticism, and great hands to snared rebounds or loose balls away from bigger players.

[Billikenbooster]

There was a lot of talk about Reid's hustle--all of it well deserved--but what impressed me was his quick hands and athleticism around the basket. There were several instances in which he used smarts, athleticism, and great hands to snared rebounds or loose balls away from bigger players.

JR appears to not bend his knees when he shoots FT. Looked very relaxed and fundamentally sound. Other than his arms and hands, he only raised his ankles to elevate in his motion.

Team FT shooting was bad. KM was 50%. WR looked to have a good stroke early in the year last year, but has clearly gone the other way.

One thing I liked about this team was there did not seem to be any angst when we were behind early in the second half. RM wasn't yelling or acting angry at the team. BS would have needed O2 in the second half of this one.

Whoever said it ain't easy being a Billiken fan?

mhg

[thetorch]

Mitchell is our best player but the season rests on Willie. I don't care if they are sagging on him. We have to find a way to get him more touches. Mitchell will be the leading scorer but we won't win if Willie isn't getting the ball more. Really the only time we played well as a team was when Willie was active on the offensive end.

Reid had a nice game. I think Rammer, Earl and others are going a little overboard with it but it was a complete turnaround from his disastrous debut. Reid, Femi, KM, CS, and JJ are all scrappers who get on the floor at every opportunity.

Cassity must really be good defensively for Majerus to play him this much. I don't see it though. To me Cassity is the 6th best perimeter player now after Reid's strong performance, yet he continues to start. I may be ignorant but I don't see what he is bring to the team over CS or now Reid.

Mitchell was playing off the ball a lot. I wish we had somebody else on the perimeter who could get their own shot. Mitchell is going to look like Marque Perry a lot this year. Mitchell can score from every spot on the floor. Teams won't be able to stop him. We just don't have anybody else nearly as good offensively on the perimeter.

I love Reed but he has humongous holes in his game. He is a good help defender in the post, he gets all his blocks on help, but is a very bad post defender straight up. His positioning and boxing out are not good on rebounds. Offensively I think he is at a star level right now, defensively he will get chewed up by some of the big men in the A-10. I thought he would be farther along.

Free throw shooting is unacceptable.

If Conklin is out for an extended period of time this team won't win 10 games.

[Major Majerus]

Reid is a gunslinger - he doesn't have the green light yet, or doesn't think he has it, but he's a guy with a quick release and confidence in his shot who will hit shots right in your face, imo. He's letting the game come to him, but I think he's one of the missing links we've had for years. Time will tell.

[Bluesman]

If WR can only get 5 shots attempts against St. Ambrose, aren't you worried that more accomplished teams will be able to shut him down as well? Either WR needs to work harder to get himself in position to be fed the ball, and the ball needs to be fed to him, or/and the team needs to run more sets/concerted effort to get him increasingly actively involved in the offense. If WR could develop a bit of a game 12-15 feet away from the basket that would help things immensely in this regard. At this point that facet of his game appears to be limited.

[p diddy]

Mitchell is our best player but the season rests on Willie. I don't care if they are sagging on him. We have to find a way to get him more touches. Mitchell will be the leading scorer but we won't win if Willie isn't getting the ball more. Really the only time we played well as a team was when Willie was active on the offensive end.

Reid had a nice game. I think Rammer, Earl and others are going a little overboard with it but it was a complete turnaround from his disastrous debut. Reid, Femi, KM, CS, and JJ are all scrappers who get on the floor at every opportunity.

Cassity must really be good defensively for Majerus to play him this much. I don't see it though. To me Cassity is the 6th best perimeter player now after Reid's strong performance, yet he continues to start. I may be ignorant but I don't see what he is bring to the team over CS or now Reid.

Mitchell was playing off the ball a lot. I wish we had somebody else on the perimeter who could get their own shot. Mitchell is going to look like Marque Perry a lot this year. Mitchell can score from every spot on the floor. Teams won't be able to stop him. We just don't have anybody else nearly as good offensively on the perimeter.

I love Reed but he has humongous holes in his game. He is a good help defender in the post, he gets all his blocks on help, but is a very bad post defender straight up. His positioning and boxing out are not good on rebounds. Offensively I think he is at a star level right now, defensively he will get chewed up by some of the big men in the A-10. I thought he would be farther along.

Free throw shooting is unacceptable.

If Conklin is out for an extended period of time this team won't win 10 games.

IMO, I don't Reid's contributions were overstated. Plain and simple. If he doesn't play with the kind of energy that we saw from him on Saturday, this board would be lamenting a painful loss against a NAIA team that finished sixth in its conference last year.

[brianstl]

If WR can only get 5 shots attempts against St. Ambrose, aren't you worried that more accomplished teams will be able to shut him down as well? Either WR needs to work harder to get himself in position to be fed the ball, and the ball needs to be fed to him, or/and the team needs to run more sets/concerted effort to get him increasingly actively involved in the offense. If WR could develop a bit of a game 12-15 feet away from the basket that would help things immensely in this regard. At this point that facet of his game appears to be limited.

It was an ugly exhibition game. They happen. I wouldn't read too much into it.

[billiken_roy]

IMO, I don't Reid's contributions were overstated. Plain and simple. If he doesn't play with the kind of energy that we saw from him on Saturday, this board would be lamenting a painful loss against a NAIA team that finished sixth in its conference last year.

i agree with p diddy. that game would have probably been lost without the game ending play of reid. the power forward, kennedy, was doing pretty much whatever he wanted and had changed the complexion of the game until reid came in to defend him. i think he had one free throw made after reid took over on him.

[saluki762]

It was an ugly exhibition game. They happen. I wouldn't read too much into it.

True in most instances. If they are an indicator of future performance, the SIU game in Dec. might go down as one of the worst games in CBB history. Think GW a couple of years ago with neither team scoring.

[Bluesman]

It was an ugly exhibition game. They happen. I wouldn't read too much into it.

My comments about WR and the need for integration into the offense are not based solely on the St. Ambrose game.

[bonwich]

Mitchell + Reid + Salecich = Clags + Highmark + H? Ahhh, for the days of multiple long-range sharpshooters.

And to paraphrase an old joke, Jimbo might have woken up sober this morning, but that game was still ugly. 8)

[milwaukeebill]

1) why does jordan still not have a uniform with his name on it?

2) anyone else notice the walk on? went to kirkwood. Freshmen. would love a scouting report on him. I overheard someone say he hasn't passed the clearinghouse yet.

3) Also overheard an assistant AD say we were going to sign a 7 foot Aussie in the late part of the signing period. seemed confident we'd get him.

4) more students then i expected. looked like a sub par conference matchup from last year. and it was only a exhibition match up. kind of nice to see.

[NH]

1) why does jordan still not have a uniform with his name on it?

2) anyone else notice the walk on? went to kirkwood. Freshmen. would love a scouting report on him. I overheard someone say he hasn't passed the clearinghouse yet.

3) Also overheard an assistant AD say we were going to sign a 7 foot Aussie in the late part of the signing period. seemed confident we'd get him.

4) more students then i expected. looked like a sub par conference matchup from last year. and it was only a exhibition match up. kind of nice to see.

2) Darrin Young, played at SLUH for three years before going to Kirkwood. Played football as well. Quick and athletic, not a great shooter. Was a good high school defender.

[NH]

1) why does jordan still not have a uniform with his name on it?

2) anyone else notice the walk on? went to kirkwood. Freshmen. would love a scouting report on him. I overheard someone say he hasn't passed the clearinghouse yet.

3) Also overheard an assistant AD say we were going to sign a 7 foot Aussie in the late part of the signing period. seemed confident we'd get him.

4) more students then i expected. looked like a sub par conference matchup from last year. and it was only a exhibition match up. kind of nice to see.

what do you mean "late part of the signing period"

[milwaukeebill]

i overheard an someone in the athletic department talking to the people next to me...he said "in the lat part of the signing period". I assume he meant they haven't got a commitment. Probably going to sign him a little before the deadline(which i don't know when that is). But he sounded like he was pretty much locked up.

[milwaukeebill]

might be Jake Kreuser. i don't know why i heard him say Australian.

Also said that the team is going on an Australian Tour after this year or before next year. Playing 10 teams. Essentially trying to get more experience for our team.

[Billikan]

If WR can only get 5 shots attempts against St. Ambrose, aren't you worried that more accomplished teams will be able to shut him down as well? Either WR needs to work harder to get himself in position to be fed the ball, and the ball needs to be fed to him, or/and the team needs to run more sets/concerted effort to get him increasingly actively involved in the offense. If WR could develop a bit of a game 12-15 feet away from the basket that would help things immensely in this regard. At this point that facet of his game appears to be limited.

As I was watching the game I was amazed that Willie was not getting the ball more in the low post. I came to the conclusion that we seemed to be running almost entirely a motion offense which often was being run by guys who were inexperienced and the passing and ball handling was very suspect at times. With so many turnovers we had fewer chances to work the ball into the post and at times we looked like a high school all star game where the guards seemed to forget we had Willie in the low post. We also rotated the bigs quite a bit and the two young freshmen seem lost at times on the offensive end--running some sort of low post offense when the rest of the team is running motion. All in all, I would think the staff will solve some of these problems by talking to the guards. I also suspect that we will be running more set plays for Willie once the real season starts!

[brianstl]

My comments about WR and the need for integration into the offense are not based solely on the St. Ambrose game.

They were not trying to feed him the ball for most of the game. I highly doubt they don't make that a priority when they count.

[brianstl]

1) why does jordan still not have a uniform with his name on it?

2) anyone else notice the walk on? went to kirkwood. Freshmen. would love a scouting report on him. I overheard someone say he hasn't passed the clearinghouse yet.

3) Also overheard an assistant AD say we were going to sign a 7 foot Aussie in the late part of the signing period. seemed confident we'd get him.

4) more students then i expected. looked like a sub par conference matchup from last year. and it was only a exhibition match up. kind of nice to see.

The only Aussie I have heard of considering SLU is Jeromie Hill. He is a 6'7" PF at AIS. He was supposedly considering SLU and Arizona St.. The tallest kid I saw on the current AIS roster is 6'9".

[Guest BillikenReport]

The only Aussie I have heard of considering SLU is Jeromie Hill. He is a 6'7" PF at AIS. He was supposedly considering SLU and Arizona St.. The tallest kid I saw on the current AIS roster is 6'9".

Hill is in the U.S. right now -- or he just left -- looking at colleges. I don't think he's considering SLU and I don't think SLU is looking at him.

[billiken_roy]

They were trying to feed him the ball for most of the game. I highly doubt they don't make that a priority when they count.

brian i disagree. in the second half i was right at the left wing and willie would come across the lane and ask for the ball and they would just swing it around again without even looking inside. the guards were obviously preoccupied with running an offense.

imo, our advantage was our inside height and we never really utilized it yesterday like we could have. when willie got the ball, he had 5 foot jump hooks at minimum all day long.

once the game got close, we should have gotten inside to willie, conklin, remekus or smith every possession and all too often they never even got a look.

[brianstl]

brian i disagree. in the second half i was right at the left wing and willie would come across the lane and ask for the ball and they would just swing it around again without even looking inside. the guards were obviously preoccupied with running an offense.

imo, our advantage was our inside height and we never really utilized it yesterday like we could have. when willie got the ball, he had 5 foot jump hooks at minimum all day long.

once the game got close, we should have gotten inside to willie, conklin, remekus or smith every possession and all too often they never even got a look.

I meant to type they were not trying to feed him the ball. I am going back to correct it.