Mo State observations

[Quality Is Job 1]

Just an FYI...Fuehrmeyer isn't just the only senior who gets minutes, he is the only senior on the team. Hell, we recruited the JUCO national Player of the Year (Ricks, #2) to come here and play point guard and Fuehrmeyer is still playing more than he is. He doesn't really do much...usually gets 3-4 assists per game, 3-4 points, and turns it over a couple of times, all the while being poor defensively, but they still play him a ton.

Is that what Kyle Cassity will turn into in a couple of years?

[rchif0]

Fuehrmeyer is a point of contention among the MSU fanbase. He's a hard worker, good ethic, good leadership, lots of energy, but maybe not the most gifted athlete. He makes Trout go limp, but some of us appreciate him for the non-statistical things he does.

[billiken_roy]

Fuehrmeyer is a point of contention among the MSU fanbase. He's a hard worker, good ethic, good leadership, lots of energy, but maybe not the most gifted athlete. He makes Trout go limp, but some of us appreciate him for the non-statistical things he does.

personally i thought he was one of the keys to the game as he usually took on whomever the billikens were using to start the offense, thus he was mainly responsible for the poor start the billikens got almost every possession by forcing the point guard to detour his progress right or left (and usually it was in the direction our guard did not want to go and thus would cause the guard to pick up their dribble too early) or even worse to stop and back towards the half line and start again or look to pass off. when they passed off it was usually to either conklin or willie having to come out and rescue them.

the point is, fuehrmeyer did an excellent job on the ball defensively imo.

[jimbofive]

personally i thought he was one of the keys to the game as he usually took on whomever the billikens were using to start the offense, thus he was mainly responsible for the poor start the billikens got almost every possession by forcing the point guard to detour his progress right or left (and usually it was in the direction our guard did not want to go and thus would cause the guard to pick up their dribble too early) or even worse to stop and back towards the half line and start again or look to pass off. when they passed off it was usually to either conklin or willie having to come out and rescue them.

the point is, fuehrmeyer did an excellent job on the ball defensively imo.

w/out knowing anything about him, i took 00 to be a gamer who would just be pesky, but not necessarily dominate our guards. seemed like a smart, make the most of what i've got type player. hence my prior reference to him as "ahearn's afterbirth"

[Bearvision]

personally i thought he was one of the keys to the game as he usually took on whomever the billikens were using to start the offense, thus he was mainly responsible for the poor start the billikens got almost every possession by forcing the point guard to detour his progress right or left (and usually it was in the direction our guard did not want to go and thus would cause the guard to pick up their dribble too early) or even worse to stop and back towards the half line and start again or look to pass off. when they passed off it was usually to either conklin or willie having to come out and rescue them.

the point is, fuehrmeyer did an excellent job on the ball defensively imo.

Just listened to the end of the game (Christmas party thanks to the wifey), so I have no visual evidence either way, but if that is the case, SLU might be in a little more trouble than I thought without Mitchell. If the guards can't get past Fury, there is a problem there. Fury is a very hard worker, and is a player coaches always love for that, but he is very limited athletically, and the next time he stops a dribble drive will be the first (that I've seen).

Most of us would agree his biggest deficiency is his inability to stop dribble penetration...perhaps with coaching Fury is starting to learn to use tendencies, or keys, or anticipation to force the ballhandler where he wants him to go? Remember, Fury missed most of the early part of the season, so though I've been to every home game but one (three day tourney, wife nixed the final game), we have limited film of him thus far. Perhaps he's made improvements like most every other player has for us this year.

[NH]

I was in Lawrence, Kansas this weekend and I did not get to attend the game (The first I have missed since last year). I am watching the replay of the game right now. On the drive home I read billikens.com and was saddened by the description of went down during the games. People on here are questioning the players, coach, administration and students, with some justification. Here are my thoughts on the situation:

(on the students and fan support in general)

The student support is pretty pathetic and people don't need me to tell them that. I just don't understand why kids wouldn't want to come support their school and have a good time. But, winning will solve it all, once we get going, kids will come. Im also all for that student liaison position.

I don't like saying it, but SLU doesn't have many fans. In st. louis, the majority of people in St. louis just aren't aware of SLU basketball. I cant tell you how many times someone has asked me, "are they even D-1?" Win and they will come, but I still wish we would have some support.

(On the Missouri State game and the team in general)

I have kind of assumed we are going to be good next year, we will return all of our players. But reading posts on this board lead me to question if, despite our experience, will we have the talent to succeed. I thought long and hard about this, but I came to the conclusion that we do have the talent to play at a high level.

You cant underestimate just how good Willie Reed is right now as a sophomore.

(Willie Reed's stats as a sophomore; PPG, RPG, FG %)

14.8, 10.5, 59%

(Anthony Bonner as a sophomore)

13.8, 8.8, 54%

Right now, Willie stacks up favorably with the best billiken big man of all time. Im not saying he's guaranteed to be better, but he has a chance to. He has shown the work ethic to improve and with added weight and a jump shot, he could be unstoppable.

Also, you cannot overestimate how much of an impact KM's injury had on the game. We were playing the game without a point guard. Our offense was disoriented and we were not running our sets correctly. We gave up at least 15 pints off of turnovers and I dont think that would have happened with KM in the game.

We still need another scorer to step up, but we have the pieces in place. If you offered me a trade of MSU's roster for SLU's, I would take SLU's.

Right now, our guys are so inexperienced, that they are worrying too much about doing eveything right, they dont think about attacking. Missouri State attacked SLU, but SLU backed down and thats got to change.

Say what you want about JJ's defense, but he stepped up. He was not afraid of MSU's aggressive defense. He attacked the rim and shot the ball, even when they weren't playing. The same can be said for Christian.

Im not gonna talk about Kyle other than to say I echo those sentiments already expressed. Hes got to step up because right now he is not helping the team.

After posting this, I am looking forward to the game tomorrow, with or without KM. I want to see our guys come out and be aggresive and dominate UMKC. Lets go Bills!

[saluki762]

Will the people here that say SLU would have beat MSU with KM playing be willing to admit that you would have lost to SIU had our best player not been injured and played? Just curious, I believe SLU wins the MSU game with KM playing but think you lose to SIU if Freeman plays.

[slufanskip]

Will the people here that say SLU would have beat MSU with KM playing be willing to admit that you would have lost to SIU had our best player not been injured and played? Just curious, I believe SLU wins the MSU game with KM playing but think you lose to SIU if Freeman plays.

No. Why would we? Will SIU fans admit that if assault was a crime on a basketball court you couldn't field a team? You have a dirty thug team, with a dirty thug coach. Is your board so piss poor you have to come here?

[jimbofive]

No. Why would we? Will SIU fans admit that if assault was a crime on a basketball court you couldn't field a team? You have a dirty thug team, with a dirty thug coach. Is your board so piss poor you have to come here?

HATE.

[Box and Won]

Will the people here that say SLU would have beat MSU with KM playing be willing to admit that you would have lost to SIU had our best player not been injured and played? Just curious, I believe SLU wins the MSU game with KM playing but think you lose to SIU if Freeman plays.

If Michael Jordan hadn't played for the Bulls, they probably wouldn't have won so many championships.

[Bearvision]

If Michael Jordan hadn't played for the Bulls, they probably wouldn't have won so many championships.

This made me chuckle...

[brianstl]

This made me chuckle...

Just sweep the Salukis this year. I know it will be tough considering this was the year that many Salukis fans said they were going to get to the Final Four after Lowery locked up that recruiting class of Booker, Hare, Dillard, and Roundtree.

Half that group has either been arrested or had drug problems.

Chris Lowery is among the nations best in developing thugs.

[TheChosenOne]

Cassity, Conklin, and John needed to step up yesterday.

Is anyone else disappointed in Conklin's complete lack of offensive ability? The kid plays his heart out, but he really has no ability/skill on the offensive end. He reminds me of the high school football lineman that the basketball coach convinces to come out for basketball. The kid just cannot make any contested shot and just throws his body around and fortunately draws some fouls.

[brianstl]

Is anyone else disappointed in Conklin's complete lack of offensive ability? The kid plays his heart out, but he really has no ability/skill on the offensive end. He reminds me of the high school football lineman that the basketball coach convinces to come out for basketball. The kid just cannot make any contested shot and just throws his body around and fortunately draws some fouls.

He is averaging 9 points a game and is the teams third leading scorer. What more did people expect out of him at this point?

[Hawk]

Is anyone else disappointed in Conklin's complete lack of offensive ability? The kid plays his heart out, but he really has no ability/skill on the offensive end. He reminds me of the high school football lineman that the basketball coach convinces to come out for basketball. The kid just cannot make any contested shot and just throws his body around and fortunately draws some fouls.

He's a tough guy that play below the rim. It's too he can't get up more. That would help his game some...

[saluki762]

No. Why would we? Will SIU fans admit that if assault was a crime on a basketball court you couldn't field a team? You have a dirty thug team, with a dirty thug coach. Is your board so piss poor you have to come here?

I think he should have hit that showboating little baby a little harder. No point in hitting someone for showboating unless you are trying to injure, otherwise it was a wasted hit.

[Billikan]

Is anyone else disappointed in Conklin's complete lack of offensive ability? The kid plays his heart out, but he really has no ability/skill on the offensive end. He reminds me of the high school football lineman that the basketball coach convinces to come out for basketball. The kid just cannot make any contested shot and just throws his body around and fortunately draws some fouls.

I assume you never go to any games and know nothing about our team. Brian has had some very nice offensive games this year and he improves all the time. He can be clever and he is very tough inside.

[NH]

I assume you never go to any games and know nothing about our team. Brian has had some very nice offensive games this year and he improves all the time. He can be clever and he is very tough inside.

Conklin is tough and strong, but it would be ignorant to say he has a strong offensive aresnal. 90% of his points come on right handed layups and the rest are on free throws. He needs to develop a left hand and a jump shot.

[TheChosenOne]

He is averaging 9 points a game and is the teams third leading scorer. What more did people expect out of him at this point?

I am not upset with him averaging 9 points a game, but his points seem to be grind it out points or from the free throw line. I am not saying that is a bad thing, but his prep accolades made me think he would be more than just an effort guy. Offensively he is very limited and has a lot of trouble finishing. Fortunately he has been able to draw contact and get fouls called in his favor. I was just expecting more from him on the offensive end. His post moves consist of barreling into guys and missing the layup and relying on a foul being called. He rarely finishes these shots and he has not shown any ability to hit shots more than five feet from the hoop.

[TheChosenOne]

I assume you never go to any games and know nothing about our team. Brian has had some very nice offensive games this year and he improves all the time. He can be clever and he is very tough inside.

The only games I have not seen were the games in Chicago and those may be some of the games he showed nicely in. In the games I have seen he has shown no kind of post moves and he just looks very limited offensively. I love his toughness and am not trying to be overly harsh on him, but I am surprised at his lack of offensive ability based on his prep numbers. I was just wondering if anyone else shared this disappointment.

[Hawk]

The only games I have not seen were the games in Chicago and those may be some of the games he showed nicely in. In the games I have seen he has shown no kind of post moves and he just looks very limited offensively. I love his toughness and am not trying to be overly harsh on him, but I am surprised at his lack of offensive ability based on his prep numbers. I was just wondering if anyone else shared this disappointment.

More disappointed in Cassity. He had the reputation of a shooter, good ball handler and an excellent passer.

[kmbilliken]

Is anyone else disappointed in Conklin's complete lack of offensive ability? The kid plays his heart out, but he really has no ability/skill on the offensive end. He reminds me of the high school football lineman that the basketball coach convinces to come out for basketball. The kid just cannot make any contested shot and just throws his body around and fortunately draws some fouls.

I'm not disappointed in his scoring. He'll fight for his points and get 6 to 8 a game. If he can play good interior defense and rebound that's all we need from him. However, he's not giving us the defensive rebounding we need from him. He seems to really fight for offensive rebounds and get his share, but for some reason doesn't pull down many on the defensive end. The result is too many second chance baskets for the opposition. He needs to step up the defensive rebounding to solidify his position as our third best player.

[Pistol]

The only games I have not seen were the games in Chicago and those may be some of the games he showed nicely in. In the games I have seen he has shown no kind of post moves and he just looks very limited offensively. I love his toughness and am not trying to be overly harsh on him, but I am surprised at his lack of offensive ability based on his prep numbers. I was just wondering if anyone else shared this disappointment.

I don't know if I'd call it disappointment in his overall offensive game, but I know what you mean. I think the football player-turned-basketball player is not a bad way of putting it. He doesn't have much of an arsenal of offensive moves- he doesn't create his own points, for the most part. Most of his points come from grinding it out, getting position, hitting free throws, and the like. I thought he might have a little bit more natural game offensively, with more of a knack for finishing and the ability to step out and knock down the 8-15 foot jumper. I also thought we might see some more dunks from him.

That said, I've seen three games so far, and two of them were the Chicago games, in which he played really well. But his points came largely from the things I mentioned above- mopping up underneath, not really asserting himself as a scorer. That's fine, if that's his game and he can get his points consistently and with high percentages. My fear is that he'll hit long cold snaps like he did last season, where he has several frustrating games in a row. He also had a lot of offensive rebounds in Chicago, and I'd be willing to bet that there's a high correlation between his rebounding total and point total in each game overall, though I'm too tired to go back and look at that now.

[MusicCityBilliken]

I for one love Brian's play. He kind reminds me of my favorite Cincinnati player Bobby Brannan or my favorite NY Knick, Dave Bebusschere and Laker Kurt Rambis. It seems that every great team has a type of player like Brian.

The ideal would be for Brian is to come in off the bench during periods when we are really getting beaten up in the paint. Re-establish the defense and get plenty of garbage points on the offensive end. Nothing fancy just good old fashion hard work.

For me, that's the best kind basketball to watch

[billiken_roy]

Will the people here that say SLU would have beat MSU with KM playing be willing to admit that you would have lost to SIU had our best player not been injured and played? Just curious, I believe SLU wins the MSU game with KM playing but think you lose to SIU if Freeman plays.

not sure what you are talking about. freeman played 24 minutes in the slu-carbondale game.