Nike World Summit

[kcbilliken]

Heres some video of RL doing some post drills in the Hoop Summit practices. He is Number 13. Enjoy.

[Zink]

Like Cody, he may not be a great natural rebounder and may take some time adjusting to the physical U.S. game.

This was the only thought in this post i didn't think was spot on. We're kind of projecting the stereotypical soft foreign big man image onto Rob Loe, and while it may often be accurate, having watched Loe's play for NZ at the U-19 tourney, he is excellent at finding his man and boxing out on the defensive glass (as can be seen in the highlights on the FIBA website). I am really hoping he continues to be as fundamentally sound in this aspect of his game, and see no reason as to why he wouldn't.

[ACE]

This was the only thought in this post i didn't think was spot on. We're kind of projecting the stereotypical soft foreign big man image onto Rob Loe, and while it may often be accurate, having watched Loe's play for NZ at the U-19 tourney, he is excellent at finding his man and boxing out on the defensive glass (as can be seen in the highlights on the FIBA website). I am really hoping he continues to be as fundamentally sound in this aspect of his game, and see no reason as to why he wouldn't.

That is good to hear. And you are right, I was doing some projecting. It is a question I have about his game, but hopefully it is nothing to worry about.

[bsheldon]

I could possibly put up a few clips. If someone would be so kind as to give me times in the game in which he played/made a play so I dont have to flip through it..

That would be great.

[GOSLU68]

This was the only thought in this post i didn't think was spot on. We're kind of projecting the stereotypical soft foreign big man image onto Rob Loe, and while it may often be accurate, having watched Loe's play for NZ at the U-19 tourney, he is excellent at finding his man and boxing out on the defensive glass (as can be seen in the highlights on the FIBA website). I am really hoping he continues to be as fundamentally sound in this aspect of his game, and see no reason as to why he wouldn't.

I would be excited if he could catch, pass, dribble, and run the floor better than Bryce Husak who should have been getting minutes as a soph and junior so that when he started as a senior the rest of the team could have figured out how to use the skills he had. You have to like that RM lets them play as

freshmen if they have talent-no redshirting for Cody Ellis although that might have made for a good team in 3-4 years.

[moytoy12]

You have to like that RM lets them play as

freshmen if they have talent-no redshirting for Cody Ellis although that might have made for a good team in 3-4 years.

Plus the fact that we're all fresh and sophs. If RM had the luxury, then i bet he redshirts someone last year.

[GOSLU68]

It definitely was organized basketball, but it involved highly skilled offensive players and a 24 second shot clock.

why the 24 second shot clock instead of 30 like college basketball and were any other rules different? Are these international rules? was the 3 point line different?

[NH]

why the 24 second shot clock instead of 30 like college basketball and were any other rules different? Are these international rules? was the 3 point line different?

Yes, they were international rules.

[NH]

He set plenty of good picks on the perimeter without moving (take note of that Conk), which is a staple of RM's offense.

Rick Majerus teaches moving screens, as do many other respected college coaches.

My thoughts on Loe:

Seems pretty agile for a big guy, quicker than I expected and pretty coordinated. Solid Hands, though not as long a wingspan as you would hope. Weak but not soft (I will take that over soft any day). Decent release on the three, I guess I got spoiled by Cody but Rob has a pretty nice release. Will be a big factor off of pick and roll. In some ways next to Thompson, Kanter and Maesli he looked like a underclassmen playing with seniors, but I expect him to be a star in the A-10. He seems like a decent complement to Willie.

Keep in mind it is impossible to find good big men (for example, Ryan Pierson was in some ways a hot commodity just because he was 6'10" and coordinated) so Loe seems like a steal. I expect him to be a solid contributor Fr and So year before taking a bigger role after WR leaves.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

why the 24 second shot clock instead of 30 like college basketball and were any other rules different? Are these international rules? was the 3 point line different?

They were playing by international rules. I wasn't familiar with the goaltending rule in international ball until early in the first half when someone knocked the ball off the rim and it wasn't called. Apparently there has to be a portion of the ball that has crossed the plane of the rim, and began to go through the basket in order to be goaltending.

[moytoy12]

Rick Majerus teaches moving screens, as do many other respected college coaches.

That may be so, but Conk gets called for more moving screens than anyone I can recall.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

Rick Majerus teaches moving screens, as do many other respected college coaches.

My thoughts on Loe:

Seems pretty agile for a big guy, quicker than I expected and pretty coordinated. Solid Hands, though not as long a wingspan as you would hope. Weak but not soft (I will take that over soft any day). Decent release on the three, I guess I got spoiled by Cody but Rob has a pretty nice release. Will be a big factor off of pick and roll. In some ways next to Thompson, Kanter and Maesli he looked like a underclassmen playing with seniors, but I expect him to be a star in the A-10. He seems like a decent complement to Willie.

Keep in mind it is impossible to find good big men (for example, Ryan Pierson was in some ways a hot commodity just because he was 6'10" and coordinated) so Loe seems like a steal. I expect him to be a solid contributor Fr and So year before taking a bigger role after WR leaves.

On what I believe was Loe's first touch of the game, he got the ball beyond 3point and drove to the basket. Although he ran into two defenders at the basket, and couldn't finish, I was impressed with his quickness and ball handling skills. He seemed to have a quick first step and the ability to handle the ball well for a near 7 footer. That was just one possession, but with that possession I saw something that I haven't seen from a SLU 7 footer for as long as I can remember.

[Zink]

That may be so, but Conk gets called for more moving screens than anyone I can recall.

CR's pretty close. once a game at the 16 minute mark in the first half. every time

[moytoy12]

The game is being replayed right now on my local fox sports affiliate. If there's no baseball game in your area, it may be on.

[Clock_Tower]

On what I believe was Loe's first touch of the game, he got the ball beyond 3point and drove to the basket. Although he ran into two defenders at the basket, and couldn't finish, I was impressed with his quickness and ball handling skills. He seemed to have a quick first step and the ability to handle the ball well for a near 7 footer. That was just one possession, but with that possession I saw something that I haven't seen from a SLU 7 footer for as long as I can remember.

Guys. 4 years ago, we were excited when Justin Johnson made a move past some D3 guy or some low-level D1 guy. Then, we relied our whole season upon the likes of BH. Yes, he was weak, slow, did not rebound the best, couldn't finish, etc. but all we said was "wow, he sure altered that shot" or "how many 7'2" guys can make a 3 pointer"!!

Now, one of the best big men to ever commit to SLU plays against McDonald All-Americans and, while he doesn't dominate, he still is good enough that he belongs on the same court with them. I did not watch the 9 minutes of RL fame, but it seems to me that if RL had played against "regular" competition, blown past his man from the 3 point line as set forth in the above post to which I am responding and then had a clear lane to the basket (b/c the other 2 guys were not McDonald All-Americans or b/c they were abit lazy and not trying so hard, and if RL then used this clear lane to dunk the ball, we'd all be talking about what a great stud RL is and he'd be talk of YouTube.

Also, if RL is considered soft, but not weak, against this caliber of guys, what would we have said about WR and BT? Those guys were not even close to getting an invite to play in such a game. Remember when WR was 195 lbs? Remember when BT was 50 lbs overweight? RL is 7' tall (will soon shrink to 6'10" though) and weighs 235 lbs. He can shoot the 3, he has a nice release, he's quick, he has good hands and feet and yet we are concerned about his wingspan?

Despite the doom and gloom, I'm still going to renew my season tickets. And BTW, RL will play 25 mpg and score 12 - 14 ppg while getting 7 rebounds per game. If not for our depth, RL would play and score even more. Things are sure different now when RL will be a freshman as compared to when WR, KM, BC and KC were freshmen!!

[NH]

Guys. 4 years ago, we were excited when Justin Johnson made a move past some D3 guy or some low-level D1 guy. Then, we relied our whole season upon the likes of BH. Yes, he was weak, slow, did not rebound the best, couldn't finish, etc. but all we said was "wow, he sure altered that shot" or "how many 7'2" guys can make a 3 pointer"!!

Now, one of the best big men to ever commit to SLU plays against McDonald All-Americans and, while he doesn't dominate, he still is good enough that he belongs on the same court with them. I did not watch the 9 minutes of RL fame, but it seems to me that if RL had played against "regular" competition, blown past his man from the 3 point line as set forth in the above post to which I am responding and then had a clear lane to the basket (b/c the other 2 guys were not McDonald All-Americans or b/c they were abit lazy and not trying so hard, and if RL then used this clear lane to dunk the ball, we'd all be talking about what a great stud RL is and he'd be talk of YouTube.

Also, if RL is considered soft, but not weak, against this caliber of guys, what would we have said about WR and BT? Those guys were not even close to getting an invite to play in such a game. Remember when WR was 195 lbs? Remember when BT was 50 lbs overweight? RL is 7' tall (will soon shrink to 6'10" though) and weighs 235 lbs. He can shoot the 3, he has a nice release, he's quick, he has good hands and feet and yet we are concerned about his wingspan?

Despite the doom and gloom, I'm still going to renew my season tickets. And BTW, RL will play 25 mpg and score 12 - 14 ppg while getting 7 rebounds per game. If not for our depth, RL would play and score even more. Things are sure different now when RL will be a freshman as compared to when WR, KM, BC and KC were freshmen!!

I bet you that he doesn't play 25 minutes a night. And it is not a bad thing that he is weak, he is a freshman, I was just stating observations. Also, you can't really compare BT or WR getting an invite since they are from America. If BT or WR were from New Zealand, maybe they would have gotten an invite, there is no way of knowing.

BT weighed 260 at 6'11". If that is 50 pounds overweight then Willie is like Dwight Howard.

I am being positive about Loe, yet your post seems to suggest I think he will suck. Are people not allowed to point out the flaws in a player? And of course wingspan matters, otherwise how would Willie block so many shots and get so many rebounds.

[Clock_Tower]

I bet you that he doesn't play 25 minutes a night. And it is not a bad thing that he is weak, he is a freshman, I was just stating observations. Also, you can't really compare BT or WR getting an invite since they are from America. If BT or WR were from New Zealand, maybe they would have gotten an invite, there is no way of knowing.

BT weighed 260 at 6'11". If that is 50 pounds overweight then Willie is like Dwight Howard.

I am being positive about Loe, yet your post seems to suggest I think he will suck. Are people not allowed to point out the flaws in a player? And of course wingspan matters, otherwise how would Willie block so many shots and get so many rebounds.

NH.

Appreciate the discussion and your thoughts. Only time will tell. Not intended to single you out. Instead, just noting how far things have changed in 4 years - and for the good!!

Also, just giving my thoughts on RL for the upcoming season without me ever watching him play. 25 mpg, BTW, would be 3 less than CE played this past year and 2.5 less than WR. Based upon his track record and prior accomplishments, RL appears to be far ahead of most freshmen - especially the freshmen who walk SLU's campus. WR will not lose many significant minutes but will probably play less minutes due to my prediction that we have many blowout wins allowing RM to rest the top players.

As for invites, CE did not play in this tournament and all he did was come to SLU half way into the season, play 28 mpg, score 10.5 ppg (3rd highest) and score more points for the entire season (despite missing the first half of the season) than every player except for WR and KM. CE is a force, and if he had been here all year, then he would have been even better. RL has put up similar numbers and will do the same here at SLU. RL will score alot of points but so will our whole team as I expect us to score an extra 10 ppg as we increase our team scoring average from 63 ppg to 73 ppg.

[jimbofive]

RL will score alot of points but so will our whole team as I expect us to score an extra 10 ppg as we increase our team scoring average from 63 ppg to 73 ppg.

This is what I'm expecting. I was thinking earlier today, "When will we finally start scoring like a normal team?" I don't necessarily think that we'll play any more uptempo, but I believe we'll shoot a better percentage, from three and hopefully the FT line. And we should definitely be getting more second chance points if RL and DE can rebound worth a ######. Getting excited already. Need to slow down...

[NH]

NH.

Appreciate the discussion and your thoughts. Only time will tell. Not intended to single you out. Instead, just noting how far things have changed in 4 years - and for the good!!

Also, just giving my thoughts on RL for the upcoming season without me ever watching him play. 25 mpg, BTW, would be 3 less than CE played this past year and 2.5 less than WR. Based upon his track record and prior accomplishments, RL appears to be far ahead of most freshmen - especially the freshmen who walk SLU's campus. WR will not lose many significant minutes but will probably play less minutes due to my prediction that we have many blowout wins allowing RM to rest the top players.

As for invites, CE did not play in this tournament and all he did was come to SLU half way into the season, play 28 mpg, score 10.5 ppg (3rd highest) and score more points for the entire season (despite missing the first half of the season) than every player except for WR and KM. CE is a force, and if he had been here all year, then he would have been even better. RL has put up similar numbers and will do the same here at SLU. RL will score alot of points but so will our whole team as I expect us to score an extra 10 ppg as we increase our team scoring average from 63 ppg to 73 ppg.

I cannot imagine WR playing less minutes simply for the fact that his increased endurance (hopefully) will lead to more minutes. I also expect CE to log at least 10-15 minutes at the 4 (I'm a little skeptical that he will be able to be a 3 after only one off-season). So, my question for you is, how many minutes do you expect guys like BC, CR and JS to get. I predict RL will have a lot of flaws, a lot more than people think, and that he will need a lot of improvement. But I also believe that the positives will outweigh the negatives and he will be a valuable contributor.

My guess is you see our lineup as:

WR

RL

CE

KC

KM

My worry with that lineup is defense. Can CE guard a Chris Johnson? Can RL guard a Chris Wright? I'm not so sure at this point that is the best Idea. And you may say "well, those guys can't guard Loe or Ellis" which is a good point, but I think a guy like Loe (and to a much smaller extent Ellis) will not have the size and experience to exploit their height advantages.

sorry for rambling

[NH]

This is what I'm expecting. I was thinking earlier today, "When will we finally start scoring like a normal team?" I don't necessarily think that we'll play any more uptempo, but I believe we'll shoot a better percentage, from three and hopefully the FT line. And we should definitely be getting more second chance points if RL and DE can rebound worth a ######. Getting excited already. Need to slow down...

If we score 73 a game without increasing our tempo too much (although I am sure we will increase our tempo) we will be sitting pretty.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

RL will score alot of points but so will our whole team as I expect us to score an extra 10 ppg as we increase our team scoring average from 63 ppg to 73 ppg.

I would be surprised if we averaged more than 70 points per game next season. I can see an increase in ppg but I believe maybe a five point jump is more realistic than a 10 point.

[GoBills]

I cannot imagine WR playing less minutes simply for the fact that his increased endurance (hopefully) will lead to more minutes. I also expect CE to log at least 10-15 minutes at the 4 (I'm a little skeptical that he will be able to be a 3 after only one off-season). So, my question for you is, how many minutes do you expect guys like BC, CR and JS to get. I predict RL will have a lot of flaws, a lot more than people think, and that he will need a lot of improvement. But I also believe that the positives will outweigh the negatives and he will be a valuable contributor.

My guess is you see our lineup as:

WR

RL

CE

KC

KM

My worry with that lineup is defense. Can CE guard a Chris Johnson? Can RL guard a Chris Wright? I'm not so sure at this point that is the best Idea. And you may say "well, those guys can't guard Loe or Ellis" which is a good point, but I think a guy like Loe (and to a much smaller extent Ellis) will not have the size and experience to exploit their height advantages.

sorry for rambling

I see what you are saying about match-ups, but on the flip side, can Chris Johnson guard Cody if he posts up? If a match-up like Johnson becomes a problem, Coach Majerus has a lot of options - Femi, Christian (who I think guarded him last year) and Evans.

[NH]

I see what you are saying about match-ups, but on the flip side, can Chris Johnson guard Cody if he posts up? If a match-up like Johnson becomes a problem, Coach Majerus has a lot of options - Femi, Christian (who I think guarded him last year) and Evans.

I hear you, but I tend to think in a matchup like that coach goes with defense over offense.

[bsheldon]

Our depth and available options is the most beautiful about what next year is going to bring. RM not only has many, many line-up options, but many QUALITY line-up options. We should be able to match up with just about anyone defensively. We only had a couple of games where we had some defensive match-up problems last year. With the addition of another big and CE's and hopefully DE or even JS's ability to guard a 3 we should be real, real solid on the D. Heck we forget that KC and CS are both good sized guards and could hang with 6-4 6-5ish guys if they are not wide body post players. If they have beef down low we always have the "Conk" and Cory came a very long way this year and had some terrific games down the stretch.

I know I am rambling again, but bottom line, I think RM will have the ability to dictate the match-ups to the other team and not the other way around. It is is going to be fun.

[Archy McNally]

Despite the doom and gloom, I'm still going to renew my season tickets. And BTW, RL will play 25 mpg and score 12 - 14 ppg while getting 7 rebounds per game. If not for our depth, RL would play and score even more. Things are sure different now when RL will be a freshman as compared to when WR, KM, BC and KC were freshmen!!

I don't think there was any doom and gloom. I just think "Thicks" was pointing out that the Billiken Freshmen Hype Machine was putting him on a pedestal that was a little too high.

My guess is that he is coming in at a level close to Cody and in any other year would be a sure-fire starter, but he will be in a tough battle to find starter's minutes because of the sheer amount of players coming back who have been through the D1 experience and are using it to improve. It is just a guess.