Highlights from St. Ambrose game

[Clock_Tower]

KC is disapointing. From last season and now into this season, he misses open shot upon open shot. I can't recall a time when he has knocked down an open jumper. He has a nice stroke, I can't figure out why the ball wont go down...but it doesnt....EVER.

How can somebody say that he is the "best passer" on the team? He doesnt drive to the basket and dish the ball, he runs around a screen passes along the perimeter.

Maybe Majerus likes his hair. I've agreed to let willie eat creatine with me but I cant help KC with his shot.

Sorry I didn't put that statement about KC being such a good passer in quotes. Actually, on RM's radio show this past Spring, RM himself made that statement and has made similar comments on several occasions.

Frankly, I agree with him. KC can pass the basketball. Being tall at 6'3 or 6'4 (or whatever RM has him listed now at) also helps.

As to playing time, KC will sit the bench if he doesn't find a way to score. With DP, we had no choice since he could single-handedly break a press. With that said, other teams simply stopped guarding him b/c of his lack of an outside shot. Because of his small stature, he also couldn't go inside or dribble penetrate effectively. DP was really like playing 5 v. 4 at times. KC is not there yet. KC is also a Sophomore who played a good game in the first exhibition. 4 for 6 is pretty damn good. 2 for 9 in the second game isn't.

Personally, I am more concerned about WR -- his strenght, stamina and ability to perform at the high level we need all year long. I did not watch the second game (St. Ambrose), but taking 35 minutes off is a bigger concern to me.

[Clock_Tower]

You're right. Dwayne "DOUBLE PENETRATION" Polk never shot less than 33% from the field for the season. Kyle "KOP CILLA" Cassity shot 26% last year. I like EVERYTHING about Kyle except that historically, when he takes a shot, three out of four times we don't get any points. And that SUCKS. We just can't ever have four on five out there on offense and hope to make the tournament. Granted, I'd like to just make the A-10 tournament this year, but this needs to be a step up year for KC. "Get him out of there" was a knee-jerk reaction. "Hit a F-ing shot", which I will now state, is not.

Jimbo. Why do you fail to recognize that KC shot 4 for 6 in the home opener? Last year's stats are last year. I will place money down that KC shoots better than 26% this year? Do you want to take that bet? You really think he will shoot worse?

I didn't realize that I turned into this Board's only supporter of KC but so far this season, KC is 6 for 15 (4 of 6 and 2 of 9). Even with a bad game (2 for 9), he is shooting 40% for the season. Still want to compare KC to Polk?

Glad to see that you noticed deficiencies with other guys's games as well. FJ is now 3 for 14 (3 of 6 and 0 of 8). FJ may be tough and strong, but we will need production.

[davidnark]

Just like we shouldn't get too excited when we win by 30 in an exhibition game, we shouldn't get too analytical when we play crappy in one. Because of the nature of exhibitions, the scouting, game plans, player rotation, etc. are completely different than in real games. In exhibitions, you typically see the home team trying to work on sets and player evaluations, while the other team is treating the game like their NBA finals. This can create weird results, particularly when the more talented team features 4 sophomores and 6 freshmen.

I don't understand why everyone is so hard on KC. He didn't shoot it will last Saturday (I thought it looked like he didn't have his legs), but he certainly shot it well the first exhibition game. If he doesn't shoot it well this season, his minutes will decline. If, however, he does shoot it well, he brings good size and athleticism from the guard spot, great intangibles, and a nice first step. For those who forget, I recall Cassity making a beautiful, game-winning pass to seal a win last season (I forget which game). Because of our weird roster, I think we tend to forget that Reed, Cassity, Mitchell, and Conklin are still less than a year removed from their first college game. Give the kids a chance to develop.

[Quality Is Job 1]

Roy, it's Remekun, not "Remekus."

[Quality Is Job 1]

Personally, I am more concerned about WR -- his strenght, stamina and ability to perform at the high level we need all year long. I did not watch the second game (St. Ambrose), but taking 35 minutes off is a bigger concern to me.

Willie Reed DID NOT take 35 minutes off! His teammates didn't get him the ball. Eight point on 4/5 shooting and nine rebounds is not taking most of the game off.

[jimbofive]

Jimbo. Why do you fail to recognize that KC shot 4 for 6 in the home opener? Last year's stats are last year. I will place money down that KC shoots better than 26% this year? Do you want to take that bet? You really think he will shoot worse?

I didn't realize that I turned into this Board's only supporter of KC but so far this season, KC is 6 for 15 (4 of 6 and 2 of 9). Even with a bad game (2 for 9), he is shooting 40% for the season. Still want to compare KC to Polk?

Glad to see that you noticed deficiencies with other guys's games as well. FJ is now 3 for 14 (3 of 6 and 0 of 8). FJ may be tough and strong, but we will need production.

I believe that he will shoot better than 26%. But he's got a LONG way to go. And 4 for 6 once is great, but by no means solicits the Nintendo Stamp of Approval®. He shot 2 for 3 twice last year, but his best shooting game w/ 4 shots or more, percentage-wise, was 2 for 6 versus Duquesne. There's no two ways about it, he does not shoot well. If, by the end of out of conference play, he's flirting w/ 40%, then I'll sing his praises. That I promise. But there comes a time when potential and good form run out and the reality of missed shots sets in. I'm still waiting for KC's first "big" game. BC, WR and KM have had theirs, several times over. I'm hoping KC has many this year. We're going to need them.

[Clock_Tower]

I believe that he will shoot better than 26%. But he's got a LONG way to go. And 4 for 6 once is great, but by no means solicits the Nintendo Stamp of Approval®. He shot 2 for 3 twice last year, but his best shooting game w/ 4 shots or more, percentage-wise, was 2 for 6 versus Duquesne. There's no two ways about it, he does not shoot well. If, by the end of out of conference play, he's flirting w/ 40%, then I'll sing his praises. That I promise. But there comes a time when potential and good form run out and the reality of missed shots sets in. I'm still waiting for KC's first "big" game. BC, WR and KM have had theirs, several times over. I'm hoping KC has many this year. We're going to need them.

Jimbo. What happened? Did KC kill your dog or sleep with your wife? Why the animosity and misleading stats?

To be fair, I just looked up his season stats last year. As a reminder, KC played only part-time last year and was not relied upon or expected to produce during his Freshman year. KC played 16 mpg which is actually quite abit considering that he played behind KM (32 mpg), KL (35 mpg) and TL (35 mpg). Also, KC started only 4 of 32 games whereas KM, KL and TL each started 31 games. During his limited minutes, KC attempted a total of 66 shots for the entire season and, yes, he made only 17 shots for 26%. At the same time, 66 shots for the season amounts to only 2 shots per game!! 2 shots per game in a part-time role during one's Freshman year is not a fair evaluation. If KC had only 66 shots for the entire season (2 per game), then I question how many games he really had in which he attempted 4 shots or more. Cut the guy some slack.

So far this year, he already shot the ball 15 times which is approximately 25% of his entire season totals last year. Furthermore, despite having what nearly all would conclude to be a poor shooting game (2 for 9), his shooting percentage is still 40% for this year which is nearly double his success rate from last year.

[slu72 fan]

here are a few, quick observations based on the St. Elsewhere game Saturday:

freshmen turnovers and just flat out bad ball control/bad passes/lousy movement -- all terrible and I hate to think how many turnovers we could pile up against the likes of top-tier teams in our league. CS made three horrific decisions in a row in the first half.

I am having trouble seeing where the scoring might come from. I cannot explain the lack of feeding the post guys either (esp. WR, who should have scored 20 on those guys)

JR was a surprise but honestly if that is the highlight for this board, I'd say we have big trouble ahead. He looked better than I anticipated.

CR & JS should red-shirt but we need them both to play big minutes, evidently. Can either of these guys score against good teams?

I'm worried about where this may all end up -- just being honest among friends and that's the way it is!

Couldn't agree more. Add, the limited time Conklin and Reed play due to fouls and exertion and we have the makings of a real disaster. If we get double digit wins, which I doubt, it will only be due to the schedule being garbage. \

The real poll should be what will be highest RPI rating on a team we beat. My guess is not better than 175.

[Hawk]

Couldn't agree more. Add, the limited time Conklin and Reed play due to fouls and exertion and we have the makings of a real disaster. If we get double digit wins, which I doubt, it will only be due to the schedule being garbage. \

The real poll should be what will be highest RPI rating on a team we beat. My guess is not better than 175.

If and when CE gets here, this team instantly gets better. I'm not talking about from the standpoint of personnel-wise (because that is obvious) but once Cory and the rest of the bigs have a more talented player to go against, that should also translate to games and they'll get better. If he doesn't come, it will hinge on how well these guys learn how to play tough against bigger and more talented players.

Someone asked me how the team was going to do this year and I told them either towards the top or towards the bottom. No really middle ground on that.

[DoctorB]

???!?!!!?

toward the top ?? what brand of coffee are you drinking? that's a good one...

You have an over-inflated vision of how much Ellis might be able to help almost immediately, IMO. But I do like your optimism.

Frankly, if Ellis does come, and if he is ready to play right away and score 12 or so a game, it seems plausible that we may able to finish somewhere in the vague middle. NOT toward the top. But that would be IF Ellis is special. He has to fly over, unpack, and start almost immediately for even the vague middle of the pack to be plausible, I fear.

Without Ellis, how many road games do you see us winning?? Zero would not be a bad guess, at this point.

(ps -- please be specific and tell me WHICH road games might end in victory for the Bills)

[billiken_roy]

You have an over-inflated vision of how much Ellis might be able to help almost immediately, IMO. But I do like your optimism.

doc B brings up a great point. i too have been thinking about the growing "legend" of cody ellis. while i expect him to be able to give major minutes and indeed will make the team better, the longer it goes on he seems to be approaching freshmen status the likes of lisch or liddell or even hughes. folks you need to temper that. it isnt fair to cody if he indeed ever gets here. let's let him practice with the team and learn some plays and blend in first before we expect him to be the reincarnation of ed mccauley or anthony bonner immediately. he is just going to be a freshman and we shouldnt expect him to be the difference between a disasterous losing season and finishing near the top tier of the A-10. i just dont think that is fair.

[cheeseman]

St. Ambrose looked like a high school team....not even a good high school team at that. #3 looked and was built like Screech Powers from Saved by the Bell. We were MUCH more talented and not out-sized (how many times will we be able to say that this year?)

If the team played with half the enthusiasm as Billiken05 cheers with it would have been a blowout.

Props to Billiken05, the guy is a maniac in the stands and its hilarious to watch! Beer on me next game.

A bit hard on them don't you think - to say that they were not good enough to beat a good h.s. team is just silly.

[davidnark]

Couldn't agree more. Add, the limited time Conklin and Reed play due to fouls and exertion and we have the makings of a real disaster. If we get double digit wins, which I doubt, it will only be due to the schedule being garbage. \

The real poll should be what will be highest RPI rating on a team we beat. My guess is not better than 175.

This is a bit of an overreaction considering it is based upon only a few weeks of practice and two exhibition games by a group of largely brand new kids who are only likely to get better as the year goes on.

Kwamain will continue to be one of the best guards on the court every game. Reed will continue to be the most athletic big man on the court most every game. We will continue to have good size, athleticism, and options in the backcourt. Conklin may be back by week's end. Cassity and Femi will shoot a lot better. We will continue to have very good coaching and preparation. Will this team have some really ugly games? Definitely. Will they also surprise some teams on the road and knock off some really good teams at home. Most likely.

The "sky is falling" approach after three weeks of practice and one and a half bad exhibition games is absolutely insane.

[Cowboy]

-from doc - You have an over-inflated vision of how much Ellis might be able to help almost immediately, IMO. But I do like your optimism.

-rick and porter have said the same thing and have offered cautionary words on just this subject

[Clock_Tower]

What a difference to the start of this season.!!

Only a few years back, when IV flirted with the NBA and we played 2 good exhibition games, this Board thought we'd win 25+ games. Instead of WR, we had an experienced "NBA future star" in IV. Instead of "weak" and "unimpressive" freshmen like JS and CR, we had guys like BH, AK and JJ. Other than the heroics of IV and youngsters TL and KL, we really had few other good players (DM, DB, etc.) and we learned that even though we had 3 really good players -- if their names are not Jordan, Pippen - insert your 3rd guy -- the team will not reach its high goals.

Then, with the start of the RM era, we truly relied upon a bunch of lower level D1 players and new JUCO BE to play alongside KL and TL and everyone thought we'd have considerable success and win at least 20 games or so. This time, our starting center was BH and we relied upon walk-on PE and hoped/expected that RM would somehow turn AK, DM, AM, MR and others into top players.

Then, lead by Seniors KL and TL (and based upon the hope that "BE" improved in the off-season) and an influx of good young Freshmen, again expectations were high. Recall that KM did not play really that well at the beginning of last season but then made adjustments, became more comfortable and confident and ended the year as our best player. The team developed and improved as time went on.

Now, with 2 years worth of good young players -- whom I don't believe compare with the likes of BH, JJ, DP, AK, AM, MR etc. -- this Board now doesn't think we will win a road game?? We still have our "best player" from last year in KM and our best bigman in WR. If KM can dribble penetrate and make others play better and if WR can play a good/solid game for 30 minutes, this team will, in fact, "win a road game." Maybe it's just me, but I think guys will take advantage of the playing time, step-up their games and not be afraid to shoot/wait for TL and KL to score each time down the floor.

Sure hope RM and the team doesn't give-up on this year like some posters apparently have.

[Hawk]

???!?!!!?

toward the top ?? what brand of coffee are you drinking? that's a good one...

You have an over-inflated vision of how much Ellis might be able to help almost immediately, IMO. But I do like your optimism.

Frankly, if Ellis does come, and if he is ready to play right away and score 12 or so a game, it seems plausible that we may able to finish somewhere in the vague middle. NOT toward the top. But that would be IF Ellis is special. He has to fly over, unpack, and start almost immediately for even the vague middle of the pack to be plausible, I fear.

Without Ellis, how many road games do you see us winning?? Zero would not be a bad guess, at this point.

(ps -- please be specific and tell me WHICH road games might end in victory for the Bills)

To clarify, I said that back in August before all the crap with the NCAA clearinghouse was apparent.

How would Ellis not have an immediate effect? At 6'8'' 240 (correct me if I am wrong), he'd be the biggest post on the team, something we don't have right now. I realize no one has seen him play since the U19 in New Zealand, but he would at depth and skill to the team, assuming he gets here. Even if he gets here and has exactly the same skill set as Conklin plus a jumpshot, it will likely be an upgrade to what we currently have. Even if he just gets second team reps in practice, Willie, Cory, and Smith would have to go against him every day. Will he have a learning curve? Of course. He's months behind the other guys on the team in terms of chemistry and learning the system. Also won't be in game shape, which will hinder him as well. I never said he was the next Larry Bird, just that he would help this team out if and when he gets here.

All the freshman are still learning the system. You could argue the sophs are still learning the system. It's way too early though to say how this team will do. The big games on noncon schedule (UGA, Nebraska, ISU, ND if we play them) will no doubt be rough but I'd be willing to bet there will be a similar mid conference run through the schedule like what happened last year. Let's just take it one game at a time until then.

[brianstl]

doc B brings up a great point. i too have been thinking about the growing "legend" of cody ellis. while i expect him to be able to give major minutes and indeed will make the team better, the longer it goes on he seems to be approaching freshmen status the likes of lisch or liddell or even hughes. folks you need to temper that. it isnt fair to cody if he indeed ever gets here. let's let him practice with the team and learn some plays and blend in first before we expect him to be the reincarnation of ed mccauley or anthony bonner immediately. he is just going to be a freshman and we shouldnt expect him to be the difference between a disasterous losing season and finishing near the top tier of the A-10. i just dont think that is fair.

I know he has connections to the program, but Biancardi rates him the third best incoming PF in the country. Not Hughes level, but better than Lisch and Liddell coming in.

The kid will have an impact if he plays.

[Hawk]

I know he has connections to the program, but Biancardi rates him the third best incoming PF in the country. Not Hughes level, but better than Lisch and Liddell coming in.

The kid will have an impact if he plays.

He was being recruited by high majors too, like Wake Forest and Washington State. I don't think that is coincidence.

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

give KC some time, it was the 2nd friggin game. He will rise to the challenge this year. it doesn't appear to me that they are running any of the high screens that we will see later on.

Watch it Jackie...

And why does KC need a screen anyway? Nobody guards him on the perimeter. Brick City.

[eastsidejoe]

Watch it Jackie...

And why does KC need a screen anyway? Nobody guards him on the perimeter. Brick City.

you wouldn't know basketball if it hit you in the back of the head. You need to order some of that stuff that Jumbofive smokes.

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

you wouldn't know basketball if it hit you in the back of the head. You need to order some of that stuff that Jumbofive smokes.

Jackie-

I think you are on a 1 man island with your KC enthusiasm....at least you can build a house on that island with his bricks...actually a neighborhood. Come back to reality.

As far as basketball- Pick the court and time.

Im off to the gym.

[Pistol]

He was being recruited by high majors too, like Wake Forest and Washington State. I don't think that is coincidence.

Not to mention, just having another body on the roster is huge for us right now. We're depleted, pending the outcomes for Reid and Conklin.

[Clock_Tower]

Jackie-

I think you are on a 1 man island with your KC enthusiasm....at least you can build a house on that island with his bricks...actually a neighborhood. Come back to reality.

As far as basketball- Pick the court and time.

Im off to the gym.

'Rican. Guess I'm on that same island as well. Frankly, though, it's not so much I have "KC enthusiasm" I just don't have the unfounded pessimism you seem to spout. In place of Jimbo, go ahead and respond to my posts about KC. How fair is it to label a Soph with comments about his "bricks" when he played only sparingly, and in back-up roles, for KM, KL and TL while learning all 3 positions during his Freshman year? 2 shots per game - coming off the bench cold - is alot different than being a regular player this year.

If KC ends up playing more of a "lead role" at guard this year and is still shooting 26% and "throwing up bricks" after the first 10 games, I will be the first to say that KC should sit the bench more.

[eastsidejoe]

Jackie-

I think you are on a 1 man island with your KC enthusiasm....at least you can build a house on that island with his bricks...actually a neighborhood. Come back to reality.

As far as basketball- Pick the court and time.

Im off to the gym.

hey rican. i ordered some of jimbofive's favorite for you. you don't have a clear head without it and don't understand that KC will be a weapon down the road. you have your head up your a##. maybe with jimbo's help you will begin to see the light, just like jimbo. by the way the Aussie is going to be a great player also when he learns how to play defense.

[bhayes520]

'Rican. Guess I'm on that same island as well. Frankly, though, it's not so much I have "KC enthusiasm" I just don't have the unfounded pessimism you seem to spout. In place of Jimbo, go ahead and respond to my posts about KC. How fair is it to label a Soph with comments about his "bricks" when he played only sparingly, and in back-up roles, for KM, KL and TL while learning all 3 positions during his Freshman year? 2 shots per game - coming off the bench cold - is alot different than being a regular player this year.

If KC ends up playing more of a "lead role" at guard this year and is still shooting 26% and "throwing up bricks" after the first 10 games, I will be the first to say that KC should sit the bench more.

Agreed, I don't understand why everyone is jumping on KC already. He didn't shoot nearly enough last year for anyone to pass judgment on his ability, IMO. No one went apeshit after the first game when Kwamain couldn't of hit water if he fell out of a boat. If through KC's first 66 shots this year he is shooting 26% then let him ride the pine. I think him being more involved in the offense this year (in terms of actually looking for shots while he is on the court) will help his shooting rhythm. He will be fine.