Sixty-Eight Predictions Entering the New College Hoops Season

[iamitalian85]

66. The preseason loss of Kwamain Mitchell and Willie Reed will prevent Saint Louis from contending for an NCAA tournament bid.

Not anything we all didn't know...at least we got mentioned?

Hope they are wrong though.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Sixty-eight-predictions-entering-the-new-college;_ylt=ArD3NGtPaDQF6TUm3vj3IPQ5nYcB?urn=ncaab-283102

[Hawk]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/14257443/projecting-the-field-preseason-edition

CBS has us in...

[kshoe]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/14257443/projecting-the-field-preseason-edition

CBS has us in...

I'm sure that was done prior to the suspensions...

[iamitalian85]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/14257443/projecting-the-field-preseason-edition

CBS has us in...

I like their prediction a lot better. Just have to have someone step up and play down low. I don't think replacing Kwamain is going to be as tough as replacing Willie; by virtue of being able to spread the scoring at the 1, 2, and 3.

[NashvilleBilliken]

66. The preseason loss of Kwamain Mitchell and Willie Reed will prevent Saint Louis from contending for an NCAA tournament bid.

Not anything we all didn't know...at least we got mentioned?

Hope they are wrong though.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Sixty-eight-predictions-entering-the-new-college;_ylt=ArD3NGtPaDQF6TUm3vj3IPQ5nYcB?urn=ncaab-283102

I was not going to accept anything less than an at large bid to the dance....when I thought KM and WR were returning. Without them, I'm HOPING for a chance at the NIT. After our two exhibition games, I continue to think the loss of Willie will be too much to overcome. There is simply no "presence" down low. We'll miss Kwamain and he was our only true "go to" guy, but I honestly feel good ball movement and solid offense can come close to overcoming that. You can't teach what Willie brought to the game in terms of the athleticism, height and skill combo. These guys are spot on, IMO.

[billiken_roy]

first let me qualify i am talking willie AS A FRESHMAN compared to loe.

for my money, i will take loe over the freshman willie reed. while willie is explosive dunking and blocking shots, loe is further along overall offensively. second, while loe is getting pushed around the very under weight freshman willie reed also got pushed around.

loe has made great strides imo in just a week. leading me to think he is also very coachable.

let's watch this play out. loe might turn out to be quite the freshman surprise imo. one things for sure, i am betting he has a higher free throw percentage this year than willie ever did or will have.

[SShoe]

one things for sure, i am betting he has a higher free throw percentage this year than willie ever did or will have.

I sure as hell wouldn't argue with that, but hopefully he (and the rest of the team) will get to the line a little more often than they did during the two exhibition games.

[Cowboy]

one things for sure, i am betting he has a higher free throw percentage this year than willie ever did or will have.

-i don't disagree with this at all, one question will RL equal or top 52 points from the line this season?

[SpencerFilibuster]

loe has made great strides imo in just a week. leading me to think he is also very coachable.

let's watch this play out. loe might turn out to be quite the freshman surprise imo. one things for sure, i am betting he has a higher free throw percentage this year than willie ever did or will have.

My favorite shot of the last exhibition game was by Loe. He got the ball with his back to the basket, then did a turnaround shot from about 10 feet out (on the wing). If we can get Loe the ball in the high post (or mid-range in general), and give him just enough time to hoist up his quick release shot, we might have something there to work with. If he can't get a shot off from the high post, he has already displayed great court vision, and could probably make a productive pass.

[Tonka]

first let me qualify i am talking willie AS A FRESHMAN compared to loe.

for my money, i will take loe over the freshman willie reed. while willie is explosive dunking and blocking shots, loe is further along overall offensively. second, while loe is getting pushed around the very under weight freshman willie reed also got pushed around.

loe has made great strides imo in just a week. leading me to think he is also very coachable.

let's watch this play out. loe might turn out to be quite the freshman surprise imo. one things for sure, i am betting he has a higher free throw percentage this year than willie ever did or will have.

While I agree with this, I am still nervous about the end results. If CR does not magically improve and surprise us all, then I think we are in for a challenge. Like many, I thought KM would be harder to replace, but clearly Willie is after seeing the first two games. I would agree RL is "coachable" and may be a quick learner, but will it be enough to give us the guy underneath we need?

[NashvilleBilliken]

first let me qualify i am talking willie AS A FRESHMAN compared to loe.

for my money, i will take loe over the freshman willie reed. while willie is explosive dunking and blocking shots, loe is further along overall offensively. second, while loe is getting pushed around the very under weight freshman willie reed also got pushed around.

loe has made great strides imo in just a week. leading me to think he is also very coachable.

let's watch this play out. loe might turn out to be quite the freshman surprise imo. one things for sure, i am betting he has a higher free throw percentage this year than willie ever did or will have.

I agree with this, actually. But where we're getting killed right now is on that weak side defense or defensively down low. Between Willie or Jon Smif, if a guard got beat on a drive, there was a very high probability that the layup was gonna be swatted into Biondi's lap. We don't have that anymore. We went from having 2 ultra athletic guys who can intimidate people from driving, to having several very skilled players who can barely dunk. No, the game isn't about dunking, but you gotta have the guys who can play above the rim with all those BCS guys. I really hope I'm wrong...and maybe an Evans/Remekun combo can become what we need down low....i'm just pretty concerned after our two games on how we're going to handle athletic big men. It's been the age old question for Billiken fans...

[NH]

I sure as hell wouldn't argue with that, but hopefully he (and the rest of the team) will get to the line a little more often than they did during the two exhibition games.

That is a big question of mine. CS, KC, CE, PE and CR are all not adept at drawing fouls. However, I think this freshman class could be outstanding at getting to the line, DE and JJ in particular.

[kshoe]

first let me qualify i am talking willie AS A FRESHMAN compared to loe.

for my money, i will take loe over the freshman willie reed. while willie is explosive dunking and blocking shots, loe is further along overall offensively. second, while loe is getting pushed around the very under weight freshman willie reed also got pushed around.

loe has made great strides imo in just a week. leading me to think he is also very coachable.

let's watch this play out. loe might turn out to be quite the freshman surprise imo. one things for sure, i am betting he has a higher free throw percentage this year than willie ever did or will have.

I agree with all this as I am high on Loe, but in my mind he was the perfect compliment to WR, not the perfect replacement. WR's strengths (great leaping ability, low post moves, rebounding) are Loe's weaknesses. The two would have been dynamic together on the court. Instead we are left hoping that Loe can do all the things WR used to do, even if Loe isn't naturally suited to do them.

[Tonka]

I agree with all this as I am high on Loe, but in my mind he was the perfect compliment to WR, not the perfect replacement. WR's strengths (great leaping ability, low post moves, rebounding) are Loe's weaknesses. The two would have been dynamic together on the court. Instead we are left hoping that Loe can do all the things WR used to do, even if Loe isn't naturally suited to do them.

Well said

[billiken_roy]

i like the aggressive nature of loe a lot. he isnt bashful about trying to score. (god cant he give a bit of that to kyle cassity ) i am betting that also translate in a will to succeed. and for loe to succeed he has to bring his inside toughness up a notch. good chance playing overseas with the different style of play, he just hasnt seen what he is going to have to become. that doesnt mean he doesnt have the ability and mindset to ever become that. it will just take time. same as it took willie.

[bonwich]

I sure as hell wouldn't argue with that, but hopefully he (and the rest of the team) will get to the line a little more often than they did during the two exhibition games.

Well, at least against Villa Nova, the refs seemed to have dates after the game. They called all of, I think, 7 fouls in the second half.

[willie]

Well, at least against Villa Nova, the refs seemed to have dates after the game. They called all of, I think, 7 fouls in the second half.

Maybe they had 9:15 reservations at Tony's?

[J.J. Loscutoff]

Like many, I thought KM would be harder to replace, but clearly Willie is after seeing the first two games.

Count me in the first camp you mention (even though your post makes a lot sense to me). I just recall how much SLU struggled when KM did not play the whole game--or, was even on the bench. I agree that the defensive presence and "Dunkenstein" moments provided by WR (in his 20-25 minutes, say) will be missed. I think, however, without KM (and all those minutes per game), the team will be rudderless for a while.

Sure seems to me that the Frosh blend right in. The question is, to what level of play are they blending? A lower one than where the Bills were at the end of the year last year, or about the level at the end of the year? Has to be a lower level at the moment, anyway.

RickMa and his staff and the guys on the team will give it their all. Of that, I am confident. Whether their all will lead the Bills out of the wilderness, well, the answer lies ahead--beginning Friday. Any "W" is a good "W" (especially before the end of the semester).

[Tonka]

Count me in the first camp you mention (even though your post makes a lot sense to me). I just recall how much SLU struggled when KM did not play the whole game--or, was even on the bench. I agree that the defensive presence and "Dunkenstein" moments provided by WR (in his 20-25 minutes, say) will be missed. I think, however, without KM (and all those minutes per game), the team will be rudderless for a while.

Sure seems to me that the Frosh blend right in. The question is, to what level of play are they blending? A lower one than where the Bills were at the end of the year last year, or about the level at the end of the year? Has to be a lower level at the moment, anyway.

RickMa and his staff and the guys on the team will give it their all. Of that, I am confident. Whether their all will lead the Bills out of the wilderness, well, the answer lies ahead--beginning Friday. Any "W" is a good "W" (especially before the end of the semester).

I just think the development time for Loe will be greater than it will be for Jett and McCall. I didn't think this originally because for some reason I thought CR would be a solid 5 this year for us (and he still might) and Loe would not be expected to play down low but without WR, Loe will have to play the 5 at times whether we think he should or not. We can only go on seeing two games.

I am hoping for a vast improvement in the first game Friday by everyone, as hopefully they will be playing and being coached like it's regular season.

[slu72]

I just think the development time for Loe will be greater than it will be for Jett and McCall. I didn't think this originally because for some reason I thought CR would be a solid 5 this year for us (and he still might) and Loe would not be expected to play down low but without WR, Loe will have to play the 5 at times whether we think he should or not. We can only go on seeing two games.

I am hoping for a vast improvement in the first game Friday by everyone, as hopefully they will be playing and being coached like it's regular season.

We beat Richmond last year w/o WR, but had KM. We lost to Mo. St. w/o KM but with WR. I think those two games speak volumes as to who we'll miss the most, and we lucked out, he's coming back.

[J.J. Loscutoff]

I just think the development time for Loe will be greater than it will be for Jett and McCall. I didn't think this originally because for some reason I thought CR would be a solid 5 this year for us (and he still might) and Loe would not be expected to play down low but without WR, Loe will have to play the 5 at times whether we think he should or not. We can only go on seeing two games.

As I said, your post makes a lot of sense--just like you have outlined. Loe's outside shot will stretch the defense. It seems that the Bills tended to peal back last year after a shot went up--so it did not seem to me that the Bills had a lot of opportunity for offensive rebounds. With defensive rebounded, however, well, that calls for men amoung "Yutes". The way the A-10 "refs" seem to call the game most likely means the Bills might simply have to be tougher and smarter when it comes to positioning. As you said, though, all we have to analyze so far is two scrimmages against guys no one knew.

One reason to support your notion that CR could still be solid is that he is young--he came to college at what, 17? It does take time to develop bigs--especially if they are not done growing.

Not having WR and KM will be on fans' minds for a while--but, I do not think it will be on the mind of the guys on the court At least, it better not--the other team could care less and RickMa will not allow it. The Bills gotta "run what they brung" and we, as good fans, gotta support the team on the floor--especially because they will give us a lot of effort.

[jimbofive]

"Yutes"

"Uhh... uhh... two whhhhatt?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpNgONH2ncI

[J.J. Loscutoff]

"Uhh... uhh... two whhhhatt?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpNgONH2ncI

Hehe...glad to see someone paying attention. "Oh, yeah. You blend."

[Tonka]

Off topic - SLU has CR listed at 6'8" and last year at 6'7". CR always seemed a lot bigger than 6'7", so I guess 6'8" is better but I would guess 6'9" if not a hair taller. Maybe it's just my perception. RM usually lowers the guy's heights, although Loe is listed at 6'11" and Ellis at 6'8" so who knows.

I think CR is actually a young sophomore so the upside for CR could even be better than what I hope for.

[Quality Is Job 1]

first let me qualify i am talking willie AS A FRESHMAN compared to loe.

for my money, i will take loe over the freshman willie reed. while willie is explosive dunking and blocking shots, loe is further along overall offensively. second, while loe is getting pushed around the very under weight freshman willie reed also got pushed around.

loe has made great strides imo in just a week. leading me to think he is also very coachable.

let's watch this play out. loe might turn out to be quite the freshman surprise imo. one things for sure, i am betting he has a higher free throw percentage this year than willie ever did or will have.

But we were looking forward to the junior Willie Reed this year, Roy. Besides, Loe and Reed are different kinds of player.