Observations on Green Bay and Princeton

[Billikan]

All year this team has shown real true heart but I must say that when we went down 11 and they were hitting from everywhere I was losing faith!

The defensive effort of the whole team from that point forward was truly magnificent. KM, Christian and Kyle chased and chased and chased those guards and it was really a beautiful thing to watch. They just refused to lose. How about the KM steal at the end of the game--amazing!! It reminded me of the Celtics steal of years ago that they would play over and over again.

Cody had completely lost his shot for the first half of the game yet the coaches were smart enough to work him inside in the second half and he made some nice shots and had a very important impact on our comeback when we were defending great but could not score.

Willie continues to improve and he is developing a better feel for the finesse part of the game. His development is truly amazing and these extra CBI games are a real plus for all of these young players. Conklin and Cory gave us some good minutes and Conklin, in particular is a real strong presence off the bench.

The coaching staff was really, really happy with this win. They were going crazy on the sidelines with all of the horrible calls but they stayed with it and were even laughing with the team.

Princeton will give us all we can handle. They lost twice to Cornell by three points in low scoring games--an indication of two things, first, they slow the ball down on offense and second, they can really defend as well.

Who would have picked 22 wins with a chance for more. Nice work young Billikens!!!!!!!

[moytoy12]

All year this team has shown real true heart but I must say that when we went down 11 and they were hitting from everywhere I was losing faith!

The defensive effort of the whole team from that point forward was truly magnificent. KM, Christian and Kyle chased and chased and chased those guards and it was really a beautiful thing to watch. They just refused to lose. How about the KM steal at the end of the game--amazing!! It reminded me of the Celtics steal of years ago that they would play over and over again.

Cody had completely lost his shot for the first half of the game yet the coaches were smart enough to work him inside in the second half and he made some nice shots and had a very important impact on our comeback when we were defending great but could not score.

Willie continues to improve and he is developing a better feel for the finesse part of the game. His development is truly amazing and these extra CBI games are a real plus for all of these young players. Conklin and Cory gave us some good minutes and Conklin, in particular is a real strong presence off the bench.

The coaching staff was really, really happy with this win. They were going crazy on the sidelines with all of the horrible calls but they stayed with it and were even laughing with the team.

Princeton will give us all we can handle. They lost twice to Cornell by three points in low scoring games--an indication of two things, first, they slow the ball down on offense and second, they can really defend as well.

Who would have picked 22 wins with a chance for more. Nice work young Billikens!!!!!!!

Good observations Billikan. I'd like to note how far Christian's defense has come this season. He did a great job in defending smaller, quicker players. And the clutch shot speaks for itself (even though i'm on board as wanting a true SG).

Willie is indeed playing well, but he has really got to work on securing the ball. Too many times I have seen it get away from him.

Good for CE! His confidence and energy had to be running low, but he came through.

Not a great game on the offensive end by KC, but he was good on defense.

Here's hoping we break 20 points on Wednesday.

[NH]

Here's hoping we break 20 points on Wednesday.

We might not even need that many against Princeton.

[Runnin'Billiken]

Serious props to KC when he guarded Cotton HARD down the stretch.

Also to budge (CS) for knocking down the ballsy 3 in 2OT.

And of course, KM stealing the inbound with x seconds left. I'm not even surprised anymore when he drags our a$$e$ out of the fire time and again. It's expected.

[slufan13]

Pretty good game...thought we were bad offensively at times, but got it done when we needed too

Will definitely have to be more efficient Wednesday....No JJ, so everyone will have to contribute a little more...

Would have liked to see Kwamain shoot the ball at the end of the first OT, but it was a good shot by KC.....just would have liked to see Kwamain take over a little more, but we got the W anyway.....

Can't wait.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

And of course, KM stealing the inbound with x seconds left. I'm not even surprised anymore when he drags our a$$e$ out of the fire time and again. It's expected.

KM with the PLAY OF THE GAME!!!!

On a different note, I was at the game and dvr'd the game. I just watched the last portion of the game and with about 1:30 left in regulation Pearson had that dunk on a missed layup to put WGB up by 2. It was impressive, but the announcer screams that it was the best play he has seen all year, at any level!!! This guy must not watch too much ball. This is the same announcer for SLU's last game where Kwamain put that crazy double move and drove to the basket, which in my opinion was by far better than that dunk. The refs were idiots and the announcers are idiots. Exciting Game. Bring on Princeton!

[Ron Rimmerman]

MAJERUS:

"That was a really good team. Both teams were so tired there at the end. It was like two punch-drunk fighters going at it. It was a helluva college basketball game."

[JohnnyJumpUp]

Would have liked to see Kwamain shoot the ball at the end of the first OT, but it was a good shot by KC.....just would have liked to see Kwamain take over a little more, but we got the W anyway.....

Can't wait.

Kwamain clearly took over the game and led us to a victory. Just because he didn't score every time down the court doesn't mean he didn't take over the game. Without that amazing steal at the end of regulation and the ability to tip the ball to Reed, while falling out of bounds, we would not be playing Wednesday. In both overtimes he helped create shots, got assists and had another big steal. KC's shot at the end of OT was a good one but without KM drawing the defender off KC he wouldn't of had that look. KM had a hell of a game.

[thetorch]

Great crowd for a small showing.

KC is fatigued. No hands tonight. He manned up on defense late in the 2nd half and the overtimes though. Was shot happy, not a lot fell but it is progress.

Salecich also did a helluva job on the defensive end. He mostly stood and watched on offense but took over in the final minute. His inactivity probably led to his wide open look he got late.

Willie got posterized tonight. I don't know if it was Smith or Peirson but he dunked on Willie and put him on his ass. Next defensive possession Willie sent the first shot over the WGB bench. Reed has really taken advantage of the small lineups we've been facing. WGB's big men couldn't handle him at all. Nice switchups on the high lows too. Reed made some crisp passes to Ellis for easy buckets. Outside of Ian I don't think any recent Billiken centers could have made those plays.

Mitchell willed us to victory. The steal was the highlight of the season. He had another half court steal as well, didn't dunk this time.

Ellis is never ever afraid to shoot. He did a good job inside in the 2nd half but he was the only one who missed a couple defensive assignments during our comeback.

Jordan was in extreme pain. Sad to see the end of his season. Darrin Young will play Wednesday and see some big minutes. I don't think we can go 3 forwards for very long unless Smith catches lightning in a bottle again. We'll need Smith or young to step up for us against Princeton.

[billiken_roy]

the inbounds play where mitchell stole the ball was a classic case of over coaching. mitchell started out behind his man and all 20 would have had to do was break to the baseline and he would have been handed the ball and then the billikens would have fouled. instead they run him across court around a double screen and mitchell read the play and slid around the picks on the inside and just beat him to the spot. great play by mitchell, very puzzling play by green bay.

that said, we did not look inside enough after the green bay bigs fouled out. they were basically playing 5 guards reed and ellis were 6 inches taller than the players guarding them. ever single trip the ball should have went inside.

[slu72]

I listened to the 101.1 feed and the crowd sounded really into it and bigger than it's 4,200. Get well JJ. Sure he had a sleepless night. Good to see CE has some inside moves, kid's a real baller if he has an inside and outside game. I don't know if this is affecting his shot but against RI he had on one of those arm wraps, ala KL, is he still wearing that? KM is truly the soul of this team. Kid just doesn't give up and no doubt leading both verbally and by example. Keep it up KM. WR is coming on big. It's seemed all season he's got problems controlling the ball. Does WR have smallish hands for a 6'9" guy? I recall a discussion about Greg Oden in the NBA and an expert said what Portland failed to recognize with him are his small hands. Still, for guys in the 6'8" to 7' range their hands ought to be big enough to catch, grab and control the ball. Something to work on in the offseason, but no complaints about his play or desire this season. 3 for 18 from 3 land is 12 friggin' %! Not good! But will chalk it up to a bad game, still it would be nice to see some guys develop into deadeyes over the summer. This tourney is a great learning experience. Yeah, it ain't the show and it's little cousin, the NIT, but teams are playing like it is. I think in the first rd of the A-10 we were unprepared for the intensity of one and done games. So these games can only help for next year. Keep it going Billikids and win this damn thing. By the way is HD Net TV available on Comcast? I checked our listings and can find nothing about it.

[slufanskip]

the inbounds play where mitchell stole the ball was a classic case of over coaching. mitchell started out behind his man and all 20 would have had to do was break to the baseline and he would have been handed the ball and then the billikens would have fouled. instead they run him across court around a double screen and mitchell read the play and slid around the picks on the inside and just beat him to the spot. great play by mitchell, very puzzling play by green bay.

that said, we did not look inside enough after the green bay bigs fouled out. they were basically playing 5 guards reed and ellis were 6 inches taller than the players guarding them. ever single trip the ball should have went inside.

From underneath the basket it appeared as if KM had it read and just relaxed for a second so they thought they had the easy inbound and then stepped in front.

[Box and Won]

How about the KM steal at the end of the game--amazing!! It reminded me of the Celtics steal of years ago that they would play over and over again.

Right after it happened, I said to my wife, "Havlicek stole the ball!!" and she gave me that same look she always gives me when she has no idea what I'm talking about. What a play. The legend of Kwamain continues to grow. I can't wait to see his career highlight reel after his senior year has come to a close.

[brianstl]

the inbounds play where mitchell stole the ball was a classic case of over coaching. mitchell started out behind his man and all 20 would have had to do was break to the baseline and he would have been handed the ball and then the billikens would have fouled. instead they run him across court around a double screen and mitchell read the play and slid around the picks on the inside and just beat him to the spot. great play by mitchell, very puzzling play by green bay.

that said, we did not look inside enough after the green bay bigs fouled out. they were basically playing 5 guards reed and ellis were 6 inches taller than the players guarding them. ever single trip the ball should have went inside.

Agreed. I would add that I don't think we were looking inside enough before that happened. They had big problems all game when Ellis and Reed would post up.

Saw more post up moves out of Cody last night than I saw all year. I think that is a very good sign. Get some added muscle on him over the summer and I think that is something he can really add to his game.

[ACE]

It wasn't always pretty, but what a fun game. What a great crowd. It sure seemed like more than 4,200. I started in section 212 and moved down to 113 behind the Billiken bench after the first time out. Others either had the same idea or some arrived late, because the lower seats filled in a little better as the game progressed. After a few bad calls early in the second half, the crowd really got into and I think helped SLU pick up the intensity. We were sleepwalking at the start of the 2nd half. I loved it when Majerus freaked out and slammed the laptop on the scorer's table. That is the most upset I have seen him. It looked like a terrible call against Christian. Good adjustment by Majerus to start feeding it inside to Cody. Kwamain is a winner. Looking forward to Wednesday.

[cheeseman]

KM with the PLAY OF THE GAME!!!!

On a different note, I was at the game and dvr'd the game. I just watched the last portion of the game and with about 1:30 left in regulation Pearson had that dunk on a missed layup to put WGB up by 2. It was impressive, but the announcer screams that it was the best play he has seen all year, at any level!!! This guy must not watch too much ball. This is the same announcer for SLU's last game where Kwamain put that crazy double move and drove to the basket, which in my opinion was by far better than that dunk. The refs were idiots and the announcers are idiots. Exciting Game. Bring on Princeton!

Whether it was the best or not you have to admit that it was pretty spectacular.

[SLU_Nick]

Agreed. I would add that I don't think we were looking inside enough before that happened. They had big problems all game when Ellis and Reed would post up.

Saw more post up moves out of Cody last night than I saw all year. I think that is a very good sign. Get some added muscle on him over the summer and I think that is something he can really add to his game.

Okay, the people watching on HDNet saw the greatest comedy ever. I was laughing out loud for about 30 seconds. CS was called for a blocking foul when RM thought it was a charge. Rick starts pounding the scorers table and then takes a girls dell laptop and goes to rip the screen off it....it was hilarious...

[DirtyRican]

the inbounds play where mitchell stole the ball was a classic case of over coaching. mitchell started out behind his man and all 20 would have had to do was break to the baseline and he would have been handed the ball and then the billikens would have fouled. instead they run him across court around a double screen and mitchell read the play and slid around the picks on the inside and just beat him to the spot. great play by mitchell, very puzzling play by green bay.

that said, we did not look inside enough after the green bay bigs fouled out. they were basically playing 5 guards reed and ellis were 6 inches taller than the players guarding them. ever single trip the ball should have went inside.

That Mitchell play was better than any cross over he will ever do. It was amazing.

As for feeding the Reed, it seemed to me that the smaller players GB had out there did a good job of fronting Willie. They were alot faster and it was hard for the passer to get a clear look. The most effective pass was the over the top and Ellis showed great hands by catching most of them. Another reason we didn't feed the Reed more was maybe a little fear of Hack-A-Willie. He did a great job on the line last night but I wonder if the coaches discussed that.

[ACE]

One more thought on the game. Green Bay had a nice guard listed at 5-10. It was funny that when I saw Kwamain stand near this guy, he looked a lot taller. And Willie looked a lot taller than their players listed at 6-9.

[Cowboy]

that said, we did not look inside enough after the green bay bigs fouled out. they were basically playing 5 guards reed and ellis were 6 inches taller than the players guarding them. ever single trip the ball should have went inside.

-i agree and during the game i was questioning why the heck we couldn't, but it wasn't from lack of trying, i think their guards did a pretty good job of denying our ability to make the entrance pass and willie needed to present himself better to be able to have the pass thrown to him - guessing willie might have a height advantage Wed, hope we have a plan for that already in the can

-i am impressed by the ability of our players to overcome adversity, injuries, scoring droughts, snowbound in phlly, whatever, and they keep coming back, i will attribute this to a combination of great kids and coaching

-will we need to play some zone on Wed to try to keep our guards somewhat fresh?

-i think we have had more than our share of injuries, whoever is doling them out can please stop!!!

[Chicago Billiken]

On a different note, I was at the game and dvr'd the game. I just watched the last portion of the game and with about 1:30 left in regulation Pearson had that dunk on a missed layup to put WGB up by 2. It was impressive, but the announcer screams that it was the best play he has seen all year, at any level!!! This guy must not watch too much ball. This is the same announcer for SLU's last game where Kwamain put that crazy double move and drove to the basket, which in my opinion was by far better than that dunk. The refs were idiots and the announcers are idiots. Exciting Game. Bring on Princeton!

must have been Wayne Chapman.....

Love the HD for all of our games but they need to get some new announcers.

Official Billikens.com sponsor of Kevin Shortal

[MB73]

The kids might have jelled / bonded to the "next level" as a team last nite.

I think they actually got mad at Green Bay for the dirty crap and decided to kick their ass after GB's early 2nd half run.

KM is the star, he, Cassity and CS stopped GB's three point nonsense with incredible intensity.

WR seemed pissed, too, fought like a warrior. CE overcame a disasterous start and turned the game around with some great post play.

Conklin fought hard, made his FT's.

KM's steal was "Bird-like", CS scores the last 6... his late "3" was as gutsy as it gets.

One of the best games I have seen in a long time.

We are wounded, down to 8 players, tough to play Majerus style "D" with 8.

But win or lose vs. Princeton, this was a game to build on for next yr. Hit the weights, take in plenty of protein.

[billikenfan05]

The kids might have jelled / bonded to the "next level" as a team last nite.

I think they actually got mad at Green Bay for the dirty crap and decided to kick their ass after GB's early 2nd half run.

KM is the star, he, Cassity and CS stopped GB's three point nonsense with incredible intensity.

WR seemed pissed, too, fought like a warrior. CE overcame a disasterous start and turned the game around with some great post play.

Conklin fought hard, made his FT's.

KM's steal was "Bird-like", CS scores the last 6... his late "3" was as gutsy as it gets.

One of the best games I have seen in a long time.

We are wounded, down to 8 players, tough to play Majerus style "D" with 8.

But win or lose vs. Princeton, this was a game to build on for next yr. Hit the weights, take in plenty of protein.

I didn't think GB was dirty I think they were physical and fouled often and it wasn't called. I think they had a chip on their shoulders from the screwjob the refs were layin' on us.

[moytoy12]

I didn't think GB was dirty I think they were physical and fouled often and it wasn't called. I think they had a chip on their shoulders from the screwjob the refs were layin' on us.

The cheap shot on Conk was dirty. Other than that, what I saw was that they were going to play as physical as they could get away with.

[billikenfan05]

The cheap shot on Conk was dirty. Other than that, what I saw was that they were going to play as physical as they could get away with.

Didn't see that, will have to look that up.