slu72 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I really haven't been paying much attention to the schedule listing on the home page until I read we're playing Vermont. Correct me if I'm wrong, and I know you will, but this has got to be about the toughest opening 5-7 games in recent years that I can recall. As someone posted yesterday about the Canada trip thank God we're doing it this year. If this group doesn't come together relatively quickly we could find ourselves in a very deep hole very early in the season. Don't get me wrong I love the upgrade in quality teams, just wish we had a couple of breathers before taking on the likes of Wash, SIUC away, then heading out to Anaheim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I really haven't been paying much attention to the schedule listing on the home page until I read we're playing Vermont. Correct me if I'm wrong, and I know you will, but this has got to be about the toughest opening 5-7 games in recent years that I can recall. As someone posted yesterday about the Canada trip thank God we're doing it this year. If this group doesn't come together relatively quickly we could find ourselves in a very deep hole very early in the season. Don't get me wrong I love the upgrade in quality teams, just wish we had a couple of breathers before taking on the likes of Wash, SIUC away, then heading out to Anaheim. I don't get the theory some on this board are talking about that this team needs time to gel, improve, etc. All teams need that to some extent but this is a very experienced team that will have the Canada trip to get extra practice and "gelling" time. Compared to other teams that will be working freshmen into major roles we ought to be fine at the start of the season as our top 10 guys have all been in the program for at least one year already. Personally, I'm glad we are playing the harder teams first as it will allow a relatively experienced team such as ourselves an advantage over other teams still trying to figure things out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM28 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I don't get the theory some on this board are talking about that this team needs time to gel, improve, etc. All teams need that to some extent but this is a very experienced team that will have the Canada trip to get extra practice and "gelling" time. Compared to other teams that will be working freshmen into major roles we ought to be fine at the start of the season as our top 10 guys have all been in the program for at least one year already. Personally, I'm glad we are playing the harder teams first as it will allow a relatively experienced team such as ourselves an advantage over other teams still trying to figure things out. +1 - It is not just SLU that needs "time to gel." There are plenty of times in the early season that an eventual elite 8 team gets knocked off by a patsy at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsrmajic Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I don't get the theory some on this board are talking about that this team needs time to gel, improve, etc. All teams need that to some extent but this is a very experienced team that will have the Canada trip to get extra practice and "gelling" time. Compared to other teams that will be working freshmen into major roles we ought to be fine at the start of the season as our top 10 guys have all been in the program for at least one year already. Personally, I'm glad we are playing the harder teams first as it will allow a relatively experienced team such as ourselves an advantage over other teams still trying to figure things out. My thinking as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldo027 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 UW has 6 incoming freshmen and 1 redshirt freshman. They have a 5 star PG who I would guess will be a starter from day one (Tony Wroten). They are talented but we should definitely have the edge in team chemistry early in the season. SIU is also not exactly a powerhouse anymore. 5-13 in the MVC last season and they lose their top 2 players. We should definitely win there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Metzinger Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 +1 - It is not just SLU that needs "time to gel." There are plenty of times in the early season that an eventual elite 8 team gets knocked off by a patsy at home. My thoughts exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kappy96 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 UW has 6 incoming freshmen and 1 redshirt freshman. They have a 5 star PG who I would guess will be a starter from day one (Tony Wroten). They are talented but we should definitely have the edge in team chemistry early in the season. SIU is also not exactly a powerhouse anymore. 5-13 in the MVC last season and they lose their top 2 players. We should definitely win there. According to a friend of mine who follows the SIUC program closely, the Salukis are a mess and a large portion of the fan base is calling for Lowry's ouster. They have had 11 recruits leave the program in the past few years...most on less than positive terms. This should be our year to get a win in Carbondale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I think back to Spoon's breakthrough season. That team had a strong core of returning players in Clag, Highmark and Dobbs, but they hadn't done a lot of winning. They added H and several jucos and that team was able to hit the ground running and get off to a great start. Now if I recall I think that team had a pretty easy early schedule which gave them time to get into a groove and reel off a bunch of wins, while this upcoming season, we'll have some tough games right off the bat. I think the return of KM and to a lesser extend JB can make a similar immediate impact the way H did back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p diddy Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 what is different and refreshing about this year's team is that we won't have to count on the three incoming freshmen. Unless one comes in and starts beasting, like Willie did. bad boyz for life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share Posted July 14, 2011 Unless one comes in and starts beasting, like Willie did. bad boyz for life Boy would that be nice. I'm not as concerned as my initial post may have intimated. My point was it's a lot different early schedule than what we're used to seeing and we always seemed to get taken down by a couple of teams we should beat, eg Austin Peay, BG. Now granted we were playing these teams with very young lineups and that won't be the case this year, still it's a tough schedule when we'll likely to be starting 3 sophs; RL, JB, and DE who've never played a real D1 game alongside KM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Here is where I would come from regarding this "gel" issue - Last year we had MM, JJ and KC starting most of the games with BC and DE RL or CE in the starting mix. MM got lots of minutes as a pg as did JJ and KC - at times and other times as a shooting guard - now with KM taking back the pg role MM has to fine his new niche. Not saying he will not just that it may take him a bit to do so. JJ will lose playing time and so he will have to adjust to that as well and KC will be a man without a position to start with. I do agree that DE and RL know their place as does BC but CE is displaced again to a different position. I am not saying we will be all out of sorts but we will have some redefining to take place. I do agree that the Canada trip will be a huge help in this regard and I expect us to improve as the season goes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Here is where I would come from regarding this "gel" issue - Last year we had MM, JJ and KC starting most of the games with BC and DE RL or CE in the starting mix. MM got lots of minutes as a pg as did JJ and KC - at times and other times as a shooting guard - now with KM taking back the pg role MM has to fine his new niche. Not saying he will not just that it may take him a bit to do so. JJ will lose playing time and so he will have to adjust to that as well and KC will be a man without a position to start with. I do agree that DE and RL know their place as does BC but CE is displaced again to a different position. I am not saying we will be all out of sorts but we will have some redefining to take place. I do agree that the Canada trip will be a huge help in this regard and I expect us to improve as the season goes on.We'll certainly have some "gelling" to do, but so does every other team. I'd be shocked if there aren't adjustments as the season progresses. But will we have a larger learning curve than other teams? Given the experience of the players on this team, the lack of reliance on freshman, the fact that Mitchell and Barnett have been practicing with the team since last year, and the Canada trip, the answer is no and we should have considerably less "gelling" to do than other teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 They'll come together quickly. In the first 2 minutes of the 1st scrimmage KM is going to dunk over Manning, then get in his face and tell him ... if you ever get dunked on again, I'll personally drag you to the locker room, beat your ass, and then let my teammates have a go at you. (They'll be no situation this time as this kind of sharing is condoned by RM and Manning won't run to his daddy) Manning will never be dunked on again and from that moment forward, he will be a shot blocking defensive beast. Everyone else will take notice and it's done, the team has "gelled" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 They'll come together quickly. In the first 2 minutes of the 1st scrimmage KM is going to dunk over Manning, then get in his face and tell him ... if you ever get dunked on again, I'll personally drag you to the locker room, beat your ass, and then let my teammates have a go at you. (They'll be no situation this time as this kind of sharing is condoned by RM and Manning won't run to his daddy) Manning will never be dunked on again and from that moment forward, he will be a shot blocking defensive beast. Everyone else will take notice and it's done, the team has "gelled" I heard DE and Conk already have pillow cases full of bars of soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I heard DE and Conk already have pillow cases full of bars of soap. Can we not discuss the team, bars of soap, and the locker room together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbofive Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 They'll come together quickly. In the first 2 minutes of the 1st scrimmage KM is going to dunk over Manning, then get in his face and tell him ... if you ever get dunked on again, I'll personally drag you to the locker room, beat your ass, and then let my teammates have a go at you. (They'll be no situation this time as this kind of sharing is condoned by RM and Manning won't run to his daddy) Manning will never be dunked on again and from that moment forward, he will be a shot blocking defensive beast. Everyone else will take notice and it's done, the team has "gelled"HATE HATE HATE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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