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Practice observations 12-8


billsfan12

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I was fortunate enough to attend the tail end of practice this afternoon with my brother and two older boosters. I was excited at first when Tom Keith walked us in and dropped a, "we can't be held responsible for any language you might hear in there today" disclaimer. However, Rick noticed he had an audience and seemed to tone it down when we got in there. They were running some very hard defensive drills when we walked in and switched to running through offensive sets without defense shortly thereafter. BC, KC & CE were all absent with finals apparently so It was tough to take that much away, but here are a few observations:

-Coach Harriman was very involved. Rick was never on his feet and barked from a chair on the sideline the whole time. He commands so much respect and has an unbelievable attention to detail. Crews and Whitesell were quiet and did individual work with players on the sidelines.

-RL had the green light to shoot. Almost every time he got a touch on the perimeter when they were running through sets he would launch one up. There wasn't any defense, but he was very confident out there.

-After practice, GG and Harriman worked on simple catch and pass drills for about 15 minutes. He's so raw but it was good to see him stick around and work hard.

-ET might as well have been a walk on. I know he's taking a red shirt, but he wasn't involved at all in a practice that was missing 3 top players.

Once practice was over, Rick had a couple tables set up and we got to eat dinner with the coaching staff, KM, JB, GG, ET, & the walk ons. A few more observations from the conversation:

-Rick was very humble about 500 wins, mentioned that it had been a goal but gave all the credit to having good players all these years.

-Majerus mentioned how nice it was to have experienced guys like Whitesell and Crews to analyze film. Players said they typically watch an hour of film per practice day, more if they are coming off a loss.

-Rick plans to put a few zone defenses in during practice the next few weeks. (he mentioned box-1 & triangle-2)

-Canada trip: KM spoke about how the practice time helped the team, complained that they had to take a 7 hour bus ride through Canada and that it affected their performance. JB mentioned it being a good trip to bring the team together and white water rafting and Disneyland have been good for chemistry.

-Rick mentioned that GG has a long way to go adapting to life at SLU, he came from a ghetto in Canada.

-Collectively, expectations are high for the season. They said the 76 gave them lots of confidence and they all want a tournament appearance badly.

-Grad asst. Tanner Bronson from Wisconsin had some great insights. He played in the tournament every year he was in school and said that if SLU can get in, they'll be a real tough out. He said the Bills are one of the hardest teams out there to prepare for. The offense is so complex, we've got 9 guys you need to scout, and we're not like a lot of other teams out there. Couple that with the incredible game prep SLU's staff does and he thinks they can win multiple games in the tourney.

-Tony Young mentioned how the LMU game got away. He said that our guards do a great job of keeping guys in front of them, but they aren't tall enough to contest sometimes if somebody isolates. Could be an area of concern if other guards get confidence shooting against us.

-KM said that his favorite opponent every year is Dayton because we match up so well against them. He and JB had a ton of confidence about playing and winning at Dayton. They joked that the new coach wouldn't make a difference.

-They were really happy with the student turnout so far this year. Young joked that the nerds at SLU need to go out for more weekday games. Everybody wants a packed house for when we beat X at home this year.

That's all I've got for now. Unfortunately I had to sit through night class afterwards so I couldn't post right away. I know its random but it was a great couple hours with the team and I really appreciated getting to pick the brains of some brilliant basketball minds.

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Very good report and thanks for sharing it with us. I really enjoy watching this year's team and agree that we will be a tough out in the tourney as there is no one player that an opponent could say if we shut this one player down we will win. We really share the ball well and play tough man to man. I think the LMU game was a combination of things, but we seem to be over that loss. I have seen Xavier play a couple times at Vandy and last night at Butler and they have another very good team. That will be a heckuva game.

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I was fortunate enough to attend the tail end of practice this afternoon with my brother and two older boosters. I was excited at first when Tom Keith walked us in and dropped a, "we can't be held responsible for any language you might hear in there today" disclaimer. However, Rick noticed he had an audience and seemed to tone it down when we got in there. They were running some very hard defensive drills when we walked in and switched to running through offensive sets without defense shortly thereafter. BC, KC & CE were all absent with finals apparently so It was tough to take that much away, but here are a few observations:

-Coach Harriman was very involved. Rick was never on his feet and barked from a chair on the sideline the whole time. He commands so much respect and has an unbelievable attention to detail. Crews and Whitesell were quiet and did individual work with players on the sidelines.

-RL had the green light to shoot. Almost every time he got a touch on the perimeter when they were running through sets he would launch one up. There wasn't any defense, but he was very confident out there.

-After practice, GG and Harriman worked on simple catch and pass drills for about 15 minutes. He's so raw but it was good to see him stick around and work hard.

-ET might as well have been a walk on. I know he's taking a red shirt, but he wasn't involved at all in a practice that was missing 3 top players.

Once practice was over, Rick had a couple tables set up and we got to eat dinner with the coaching staff, KM, JB, GG, ET, & the walk ons. A few more observations from the conversation:

-Rick was very humble about 500 wins, mentioned that it had been a goal but gave all the credit to having good players all these years.

-Majerus mentioned how nice it was to have experienced guys like Whitesell and Crews to analyze film. Players said they typically watch an hour of film per practice day, more if they are coming off a loss.

-Rick plans to put a few zone defenses in during practice the next few weeks. (he mentioned box-1 & triangle-2)

-Canada trip: KM spoke about how the practice time helped the team, complained that they had to take a 7 hour bus ride through Canada and that it affected their performance. JB mentioned it being a good trip to bring the team together and white water rafting and Disneyland have been good for chemistry.

-Rick mentioned that GG has a long way to go adapting to life at SLU, he came from a ghetto in Canada.

-Collectively, expectations are high for the season. They said the 76 gave them lots of confidence and they all want a tournament appearance badly.

-Grad asst. Tanner Bronson from Wisconsin had some great insights. He played in the tournament every year he was in school and said that if SLU can get in, they'll be a real tough out. He said the Bills are one of the hardest teams out there to prepare for. The offense is so complex, we've got 9 guys you need to scout, and we're not like a lot of other teams out there. Couple that with the incredible game prep SLU's staff does and he thinks they can win multiple games in the tourney.

-Tony Young mentioned how the LMU game got away. He said that our guards do a great job of keeping guys in front of them, but they aren't tall enough to contest sometimes if somebody isolates. Could be an area of concern if other guards get confidence shooting against us.

-KM said that his favorite opponent every year is Dayton because we match up so well against them. He and JB had a ton of confidence about playing and winning at Dayton. They joked that the new coach wouldn't make a difference.

-They were really happy with the student turnout so far this year. Young joked that the nerds at SLU need to go out for more weekday games. Everybody wants a packed house for when we beat X at home this year.

That's all I've got for now. Unfortunately I had to sit through night class afterwards so I couldn't post right away. I know its random but it was a great couple hours with the team and I really appreciated getting to pick the brains of some brilliant basketball minds.

And what qualified you to get this chance?

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The opportunity was purchased in an auction and gifted to me and my brother as an early Christmas gift.

Awesome! And a great report too. Thanks!

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I was fortunate enough to attend the tail end of practice this afternoon with my brother and two older boosters. I was excited at first when Tom Keith walked us in and dropped a, "we can't be held responsible for any language you might hear in there today" disclaimer. However, Rick noticed he had an audience and seemed to tone it down when we got in there. They were running some very hard defensive drills when we walked in and switched to running through offensive sets without defense shortly thereafter. BC, KC & CE were all absent with finals apparently so It was tough to take that much away, but here are a few observations:

-Coach Harriman was very involved. Rick was never on his feet and barked from a chair on the sideline the whole time. He commands so much respect and has an unbelievable attention to detail. Crews and Whitesell were quiet and did individual work with players on the sidelines.

-RL had the green light to shoot. Almost every time he got a touch on the perimeter when they were running through sets he would launch one up. There wasn't any defense, but he was very confident out there.

-After practice, GG and Harriman worked on simple catch and pass drills for about 15 minutes. He's so raw but it was good to see him stick around and work hard.

-ET might as well have been a walk on. I know he's taking a red shirt, but he wasn't involved at all in a practice that was missing 3 top players.

Once practice was over, Rick had a couple tables set up and we got to eat dinner with the coaching staff, KM, JB, GG, ET, & the walk ons. A few more observations from the conversation:

-Rick was very humble about 500 wins, mentioned that it had been a goal but gave all the credit to having good players all these years.

-Majerus mentioned how nice it was to have experienced guys like Whitesell and Crews to analyze film. Players said they typically watch an hour of film per practice day, more if they are coming off a loss.

-Rick plans to put a few zone defenses in during practice the next few weeks. (he mentioned box-1 & triangle-2)

-Canada trip: KM spoke about how the practice time helped the team, complained that they had to take a 7 hour bus ride through Canada and that it affected their performance. JB mentioned it being a good trip to bring the team together and white water rafting and Disneyland have been good for chemistry.

-Rick mentioned that GG has a long way to go adapting to life at SLU, he came from a ghetto in Canada.

-Collectively, expectations are high for the season. They said the 76 gave them lots of confidence and they all want a tournament appearance badly.

-Grad asst. Tanner Bronson from Wisconsin had some great insights. He played in the tournament every year he was in school and said that if SLU can get in, they'll be a real tough out. He said the Bills are one of the hardest teams out there to prepare for. The offense is so complex, we've got 9 guys you need to scout, and we're not like a lot of other teams out there. Couple that with the incredible game prep SLU's staff does and he thinks they can win multiple games in the tourney.

-Tony Young mentioned how the LMU game got away. He said that our guards do a great job of keeping guys in front of them, but they aren't tall enough to contest sometimes if somebody isolates. Could be an area of concern if other guards get confidence shooting against us.

-KM said that his favorite opponent every year is Dayton because we match up so well against them. He and JB had a ton of confidence about playing and winning at Dayton. They joked that the new coach wouldn't make a difference.

-They were really happy with the student turnout so far this year. Young joked that the nerds at SLU need to go out for more weekday games. Everybody wants a packed house for when we beat X at home this year.

That's all I've got for now. Unfortunately I had to sit through night class afterwards so I couldn't post right away. I know its random but it was a great couple hours with the team and I really appreciated getting to pick the brains of some brilliant basketball minds.

Great post and enjoyable read, especially the input from Tanner Bronson and the player's feelings towards playing UD.

Welcome to the board.

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Nice report Billsfan. Wonder if RM is making the same mistake with ET as he did with a red shirted JB last year. Using them just for practice fodder.

What did they serve for dinner? :P

Tony Pacco of Toledo hot dogs and, for desert, a nice gooey square of bacclava.

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Best post I've seen in awhile. Glad to hear they are working on some zones. The more looks they have available, the easier it is to stop an opposing team's run and it adds flexibility to adapt on the fly in the tournament.

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I was fortunate enough to attend the tail end of practice this afternoon with my brother and two older boosters. I was excited at first when Tom Keith walked us in and dropped a, "we can't be held responsible for any language you might hear in there today" disclaimer. However, Rick noticed he had an audience and seemed to tone it down when we got in there. They were running some very hard defensive drills when we walked in and switched to running through offensive sets without defense shortly thereafter. BC, KC & CE were all absent with finals apparently so It was tough to take that much away, but here are a few observations:

-Coach Harriman was very involved. Rick was never on his feet and barked from a chair on the sideline the whole time. He commands so much respect and has an unbelievable attention to detail. Crews and Whitesell were quiet and did individual work with players on the sidelines.

-RL had the green light to shoot. Almost every time he got a touch on the perimeter when they were running through sets he would launch one up. There wasn't any defense, but he was very confident out there.

-After practice, GG and Harriman worked on simple catch and pass drills for about 15 minutes. He's so raw but it was good to see him stick around and work hard.

-ET might as well have been a walk on. I know he's taking a red shirt, but he wasn't involved at all in a practice that was missing 3 top players.

Once practice was over, Rick had a couple tables set up and we got to eat dinner with the coaching staff, KM, JB, GG, ET, & the walk ons. A few more observations from the conversation:

-Rick was very humble about 500 wins, mentioned that it had been a goal but gave all the credit to having good players all these years.

-Majerus mentioned how nice it was to have experienced guys like Whitesell and Crews to analyze film. Players said they typically watch an hour of film per practice day, more if they are coming off a loss.

-Rick plans to put a few zone defenses in during practice the next few weeks. (he mentioned box-1 & triangle-2)

-Canada trip: KM spoke about how the practice time helped the team, complained that they had to take a 7 hour bus ride through Canada and that it affected their performance. JB mentioned it being a good trip to bring the team together and white water rafting and Disneyland have been good for chemistry.

-Rick mentioned that GG has a long way to go adapting to life at SLU, he came from a ghetto in Canada.

-Collectively, expectations are high for the season. They said the 76 gave them lots of confidence and they all want a tournament appearance badly.

-Grad asst. Tanner Bronson from Wisconsin had some great insights. He played in the tournament every year he was in school and said that if SLU can get in, they'll be a real tough out. He said the Bills are one of the hardest teams out there to prepare for. The offense is so complex, we've got 9 guys you need to scout, and we're not like a lot of other teams out there. Couple that with the incredible game prep SLU's staff does and he thinks they can win multiple games in the tourney.

-Tony Young mentioned how the LMU game got away. He said that our guards do a great job of keeping guys in front of them, but they aren't tall enough to contest sometimes if somebody isolates. Could be an area of concern if other guards get confidence shooting against us.

-KM said that his favorite opponent every year is Dayton because we match up so well against them. He and JB had a ton of confidence about playing and winning at Dayton. They joked that the new coach wouldn't make a difference.

-They were really happy with the student turnout so far this year. Young joked that the nerds at SLU need to go out for more weekday games. Everybody wants a packed house for when we beat X at home this year.

That's all I've got for now. Unfortunately I had to sit through night class afterwards so I couldn't post right away. I know its random but it was a great couple hours with the team and I really appreciated getting to pick the brains of some brilliant basketball minds.

Very cool!

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