Observations after MISS VALLEY STATE!

[Billikan]

Can any of us not be surprised at this point? I, for one, never expected this quality of play this early from such a young team. We may fall on our face in Chicago but I am really impressed so far.

The best thing I see is how much better our sophs are now than when they started as freshmen. Willie is amazing in terms of his improvement and his understanding of the game. He is patient, he is clever, he is athletic and he is aware--you would have never used one of those adjectives except that he is athletic when he started playing last year. He made a beautiful variety of shots and was very efficient. He was credited for only one block but I thought he had 2 or 3 and he altered many other shots. Wonderful game for Wille.

Then comes KM -- he has really earned my respect. He is so much better than when he arrived and it is because of the coaching but mostly his own desire to get better and play smarter. He is calm, cool and collected and he does not force the play or the shots. Six assists and no turnovers and five steals--Wow

Then comes Kyle--He played a great floor game, hit some nice shots and played tough defense, including help defense when others got beat. When our starters are in the game we are just plain good--on both ends. And much of the credit goes to these 3 guys who are all playing way beyond their experience level--one year and four games. Congrats to all three guys.

Christian and JJ are fun to watch! When they are hitting shots we are extremely hard to play against because we have so much firepower in the other 3 guys.

Our team defense is getting better--but these guys are not Iowa State or ND or Northwestern. Man, it is hard not to get excited--and I know there will be some tough losses this year but this sure is a fun team to watch--WE PUT UP 27 three point shots! Welcome back Claggett and company!!!!

[jimbofive]

We went on a 35-5 run in the second half. BET YOUR ASS. This team is exciting and the best part is, they're going to be around for 3 more years. Don't want to put the cart before the hooker, but we're going places. We've got some shooters, some playmakers, Willie Reed, hustle, teamwork and a great coach. I'll temper my enthusiasm as soon as we lose. But so far, we haven't lost. And that doesn't happen every year.

[davidnark]

He was credited for only one block

My god, can we launch an investigation into whomever keeps the official stats? I remember 4 blocks by Willie tonight. Someone is robbing him of some potentially record-breaking block stats.

[Pistol]

I didn't see the game but love the enthusiasm I'm seeing on this board tonight. Sure, it was just MVSU but our guys haven't stumbled yet, which is impressive because of their youth.

Iowa State is going to be a challenge; they're 5-0 and nothing has been close. Once again, not the toughest competition so far but they've been really convincing in each win. They beat MVSU by 41. We'll be the best team they've played yet. Brackins is almost certainly a lottery pick. The top 3 scorers are forwards and they have 5 averaging 11.8 or more. Even with Johnson lighting it up for Syracuse now, this is probably the best ISU has been since the Fizer-Tinsley days.

That said, I think we'll give them a good game. The thing that strikes me about what I've seen and heard from this SLU team so far is the balance. Never have I seen such balance every night in the stat sheet. Everyone is working hard, everyone is getting it done. If that means Mitchell taking 15 shots or 5 shots, he'll do what is necessary. Cassity is becoming a complete player, and hopefully his shot is here to stay. Conklin is playing his butt off, and hopefully sustains his tenacity without a slump like last season. The Aussie has a green light from downtown and isn't afraid to put it up. Willie's a beast down low. Jordan may have been a real recruiting steal for us. John, Remekun, and Smith all have a great group to learn and develop with and seem to be playing hard off the bench. On paper, I can't think of another SLU team that has been so balanced and so (seemingly) unselfish. I'm absolutely pumped to see these guys on Friday and Saturday.

GManAlum made a good observation to me that he gets the impression that even when this team loses, it won't be because they're not working or having a complete off night. He remarked that those Soderberg teams always had a handful of games a year where it looked like no one was with it that night, and doesn't see that kind of thing happening with this team. There are definitely going to be nights (like this coming Friday) when we'll be overmatched, but I like the idea of this being a young, hungry team that won't be intimidated and won't throw in the towel for any reason.

I remain, as always, cautiously optimistic.

[Duff Man]

I know what Winston Wolf would say if he were here...but he's not so lets just bask in the glow of a bona fide ass kicking.

Say what you want about KM's maturity, WR's progression into a dominant big man, KC's newly found rhythm, and JJ's outside shooting - the thing that excites me the most is Salecich's all-around game. He shoots from the outside. He can penetrate and dish. He grabs rebounds and plays aggressive defense. He's got good instincts and a bit of a swagger. The fact that our offense continues to function when KM is on the bench is also quite comforting to see. This is a completely different team from the one that struggled to beat Screech and St Ambrose.

I know the competition is shite and they haven't played on the road yet, but when this team is rolling they look unstoppable.

[kevinfootes]

I know what Winston Wolf would say if he were here...but he's not so lets just bask in the glow of a bona fide ass kicking.

Say what you want about KM's maturity, WR's progression into a dominant big man, KC's newly found rhythm, and JJ's outside shooting - the thing that excites me the most is Salecich's all-around game. He shoots from the outside. He can penetrate and dish. He grabs rebounds and plays aggressive defense. He's got good instincts and a bit of a swagger. The fact that our offense continues to function when KM is on the bench is also quite comforting to see. This is a completely different team from the one that struggled to beat Screech and St Ambrose.

I know the competition is shite and they haven't played on the road yet, but when this team is rolling they look unstoppable.

Now that's a bold statement!

[cheeseman]

I wish we could not have these scoring droughts but at least we only seem to have them once in the game and they do not go for 10 minutes. In previous years we would go through 3 or 4. This team really moves the ball around on offense and can shoot very well. We will see what happens in Chicago but they clearly are much better at this point then I had thought they would be. I figured they would be 3-1 with the wins being much closer but what they have shown is a an ability to roll something we have not seen for some time.

[Duff Man]

Now that's a bold statement!

You'd dig it the most.

[RB2.0]

You'd dig it the most.

Now that's a win. I'm glad we kicked their @$$.

[BIG BILL FAN]

My god, can we launch an investigation into whomever keeps the official stats? I remember 4 blocks by Willie tonight. Someone is robbing him of some potentially record-breaking block stats.

He had at least 4...Only real negative of the game is some on the silly fouls, particularly by BC...We need him on the court.

[former_d1]

I am a pretty big Billiken homer, but refuse to read anything into a win over a SWAC school. Did Miss Valley State have any talent? I know they probably played street ball which falls into the hands of a well coached team with better talent.

[slu72]

I am a pretty big Billiken homer, but refuse to read anything into a win over a SWAC school. Did Miss Valley State have any talent? I know they probably played street ball which falls into the hands of a well coached team with better talent.

TT wrote they were a pressing team much like Kennesaw State, evidently we didn't have too many problems with it if they did. 19 asst's to 8 to's is very impressive. ISU's going to be a load to handle for these kids, but if the 3 pt shooting stays hot any games winnable.

[brianstl]

My god, can we launch an investigation into whomever keeps the official stats? I remember 4 blocks by Willie tonight. Someone is robbing him of some potentially record-breaking block stats.

The block stat keeping has been a joke.

[DoctorB]

MVS also played a nice 3-2 zone for long stretches, and we had trouble scoring against it. They were not as good as Kennesaw but again, they were athletic and worked hard.

I'll say it again: our outside shooting needs to be good to very good for us to compete against the better teams. When they zoned us and our outside shots faltered, we looked very beatable and they got within about 5 or 6.

I also am really impressed with CS's floor game, although Cassity is getting a lot of raves right now. Salecich looks very mature to me, for a freshman. He has a real chance to be better than Kevin Lisch (sorry Roy, hear me out): he's bigger and rangier and can guard bigger guys, and he can fight for tough rebounds. Kevin is probably my all-time favorite Billiken, so please read this as a very strong endorsement of a freshman in his 4th game. He had that one no-look pass to Conklin on a fast break that was the highlight of the night; he also had that great reverse lay-up. His 3-point shot has excellent form, and when he misses it is always close, on top of the rim; and he is very confident when he shoots it. How many boards did he get? Assists? I'll bet at least 5 of each. He could be getting major minutes at most teams in the BCS right now, would be my guess: a major recruiting steal!

Nobody mentioned Remekun yet, but he also is improving rapidly -- he had to get a lot of minutes last night due to foul trouble and his defense and toughness are quite obvious.

As for Reed's blocks: he had one play where I thought he had 2 in a row, and had at least 2 others for a total of either 3 or 4. He was also posting up with a vengeance: really wanting the ball; he did get his own shot blocked a couple times. twice right in front of me he was double-teamed and still went up strong for a shot. Plus: he seems to swoop in from out of nowhere a lot for big rebounds. He eats up a lot of space on rebounds and his arms are really long!!! None of that would have never happened last year. Wait till we see this guy after more time in the weight room!

HO HO HO -- Santa is coming early this year for the Bills: this weekend will be very interesting!

[bauman]

My god, can we launch an investigation into whomever keeps the official stats? I remember 4 blocks by Willie tonight. Someone is robbing him of some potentially record-breaking block stats.

David and other posters,

This issue of blocks seems to a question after many games. Here's a suggestion. If you are at the game make a note of the time of each of WR's blocks. It would seem like we could get this simple matter corrected quickly if our "official" scorer can't seem to count correctly or doesn't know what a "blocked shot" is.

[cheeseman]

TT wrote they were a pressing team much like Kennesaw State, evidently we didn't have too many problems with it if they did. 19 asst's to 8 to's is very impressive. ISU's going to be a load to handle for these kids, but if the 3 pt shooting stays hot any games winnable.

They pressed at some times but not as much as KSU and when they did we had no trouble beating it.

[cheeseman]

I am a pretty big Billiken homer, but refuse to read anything into a win over a SWAC school. Did Miss Valley State have any talent? I know they probably played street ball which falls into the hands of a well coached team with better talent.

To say that MVS did not have any athletes is not true - they played hard and made it a game for 20 minutes then things went south for them in the second half. What puzzles me by your post is if we were playing UNC and had the same thing happen to us you would be saying that we just did not have the horses and we wore down - well is that not what good teams do - wear their opponent down.

[bauman]

I didn't see the game but love the enthusiasm I'm seeing on this board tonight. Sure, it was just MVSU but our guys haven't stumbled yet, which is impressive because of their youth.

Iowa State is going to be a challenge; they're 5-0 and nothing has been close. Once again, not the toughest competition so far but they've been really convincing in each win. They beat MVSU by 41. We'll be the best team they've played yet. Brackins is almost certainly a lottery pick. The top 3 scorers are forwards and they have 5 averaging 11.8 or more. Even with Johnson lighting it up for Syracuse now, this is probably the best ISU has been since the Fizer-Tinsley days.

That said, I think we'll give them a good game. The thing that strikes me about what I've seen and heard from this SLU team so far is the balance. Never have I seen such balance every night in the stat sheet. Everyone is working hard, everyone is getting it done. If that means Mitchell taking 15 shots or 5 shots, he'll do what is necessary. Cassity is becoming a complete player, and hopefully his shot is here to stay. Conklin is playing his butt off, and hopefully sustains his tenacity without a slump like last season. The Aussie has a green light from downtown and isn't afraid to put it up. Willie's a beast down low. Jordan may have been a real recruiting steal for us. John, Remekun, and Smith all have a great group to learn and develop with and seem to be playing hard off the bench. On paper, I can't think of another SLU team that has been so balanced and so (seemingly) unselfish. I'm absolutely pumped to see these guys on Friday and Saturday.

GManAlum made a good observation to me that he gets the impression that even when this team loses, it won't be because they're not working or having a complete off night. He remarked that those Soderberg teams always had a handful of games a year where it looked like no one was with it that night, and doesn't see that kind of thing happening with this team. There are definitely going to be nights (like this coming Friday) when we'll be overmatched, but I like the idea of this being a young, hungry team that won't be intimidated and won't throw in the towel for any reason.

I remain, as always, cautiously optimistic.

Here is another positive vs. prior years-------we are not starting each game or half, off with 2 pts. in the first 3-4 minutes. It looks like we are coming out on the court hungry.

Still a couple of items to work on-------eliminate the long scoring droughts and get off better shots as the shot (or game/half) clock is winding down.

All in all a really fun team to watch. Hopefully, JS and CR begin to show some skills on offense and CE arrives in shape and ready to contribute for conference play.

Just think about how far they've come in just a couple of weeks. Keep it up guys.

[slu72]

To say that MVS did not have any athletes is not true - they played hard and made it a game for 20 minutes then things went south for them in the second half. What puzzles me by your post is if we were playing UNC and had the same thing happen to us you would be saying that we just did not have the horses and we wore down - well is that not what good teams do - wear their opponent down.

A good 3 point shooting will wear down a poor 3 pt shooting team. Puts a lot of pressure as they have to make 3 fg's to our 2. Problem is can we count on this every night like we did during the Clags/Highmark era? Probably not, but now we've got WR and BC inside which is something those teams didn't have. And, hopefully, CE after the break. I'd read where MVS had some athleticism but not much of a perimiter game. Seems to be the case last night.

[jjray]

MVS was no patsie. When our bigs got in foul trouble, they out rebounded us by a wide margin for stretches of the game. As doc said, the game tightened up when they switched to zone after we showed we could beat their press. Then we collected ourselves and showed we can bust a zone.

We can talk all we want about ball movement and Willie getting stronger but the bottom line difference for me is the plethora of players we put on the floor that can hit an outside shot. It extends the defense, gives Willie 1x1 matchups down low and creates lanes for Mitchell to drive. Last year we desperately needed K. Cassity to knock down open 3s and he could not. In the Nebraska game, everything changed. We went 5 deep with guys showing they can make 3s. That took the pressure off of Cassity and he found his stroke. This pattern has remained in the next two wins. Teams like KS and MSV would have given us fits in past years. This Billikens team is just much deeper with scorers. Our Achilles heal is lack of depth up front. Can't wait to see what this team looks like with Cody Ellis in the lineup.

[billiken_roy]

couple of things:

stats. it is not just blocks. vs kennesaw state cassity had at minimum 4 more rebounds. i am positive as i really focused on him after his fast start that game.

doc b on salacich. while i agree with his size and potential scoring dont even compare his defense to anyone let alone lisch. he is the worse on the ball defender on the team right now. i will admit he has gotten better, however part of that "better" seems to be rickma making sure he guards the slowest of the three guards/small forwards on the floor all the time. i also still beleive he isnt our answer as our backup pg. that was an awesome pass last night. highlight of the night imo. but i would much rather have him finding an open seam and be ready to shoot than playing the point.

as to mississippi valley delta state college or whatever their name was, i just checked and in 11 days they have traveled to washington to play washington state and gonzaga came home to play a junior high baptist team of some sort called champions baptist, then on the road to play iowa state and then to st louis to play us. in my view the team on the floor the second half was exhausted. not saying that was the deciding factor, but i am sure they made us look even better than we were last night.

bauman has a great observation, since spoon has been gone, we really havent consistently started games offensively very well as we have this season thus far. that has got to be huge in not only relaxing and giving the kids confidence but also doing just the opposite to the opponents.

overall, all is looking bright.

[Box and Won]

On MVSU, the name Cor-J Cox is pretty hilarious/awesome.

[SShoe]

Our Achilles heal is lack of depth up front. Can't wait to see what this team looks like with Cody Ellis in the lineup.

Could not agree more. The ebb and flow of every game thus far has been the same. Us getting a nice lead early and then struggling as the first half goes on when Willie and/or Conk go to the bench. Additional depth at the forward position (CE) would go a long way to changing this.

[jjray]

doc b on salacich. while i agree with his size and potential scoring dont even compare his defense to anyone let alone lisch. he is the worse on the ball defender on the team right now. i will admit he has gotten better, however part of that "better" seems to be rickma making sure he guards the slowest of the three guards/small forwards on the floor all the time. i also still beleive he isnt our answer as our backup pg. that was an awesome pass last night. highlight of the night imo. but i would much rather have him finding an open seam and be ready to shoot than playing the point.

Agree but I think Salacich's importance to the team goes beyond the skill set he brings to the floor. We are very young. Given his international experience, Salacich has played on the biggest stage and bigger games than anyone the Billikens put on the floor. That Aussie swagger he's got is infectious. Nothing seems to rattle the kid. That confidence is infectious.

I'm very glad coach decided not to yank Christian when he fired away 5' behind the arc with a man in his face. It sends a message to the kids that those with the green light to shoot the 3 should not be shy about it. A player like Salacich would get so far buried on Uncle Brad's bench it'd take one of those dogs that sniffs through rubble looking for bodies to find him.

[Guest BillikenReport]

Agree but I think Salacich's importance to the team goes beyond the skill set he brings to the floor. We are very young. Given his international experience, Salacich has played on the biggest stage and bigger games than anyone the Billikens put on the floor. That Aussie swagger he's got is infectious. Nothing seems to rattle the kid. That confidence is infectious.

I'm very glad coach decided not to yank Christian when he fired away 5' behind the arc with a man in his face. It sends a message to the kids that those with the green light to shoot the 3 should not be shy about it. A player like Salacich would get so far buried on Uncle Brad's bench it'd take one of those dogs that sniffs through rubble looking for bodies to find him.

I really like Christian's passing ability. He made some nice passes last night.

It seems like this team is very unselfish and everyone is willing to make an extra pass.