KM needs to lead, LIKE, RIGHT NOW

[slu72]

We all marveled at KM during his soph year. He gave us a lot of great moments such as the 3 against UD, taking over a couple of games at the end w/ drives to the hoop, making clutch FT's etc. And since the team was all SO's and FR that year, there was no doubt who our go to guy and leader was, Kwamain Mitchell. We all expected KM would just step right back into his Superman suit this year and fly higher, be faster than a laser beam, and leap the Arch. For whatever reason, he's not the sophomore KM. In the X game the X announcers were down on Tu H, saying he's not the player he was last year and for X to be dominant again he has to step it up. I see it the same way for us; KM needs to step up. Right now, BC's been our go to leader guy. Great. Hope he continues in that role. But BC is limited in just how much he can do. That said, what he's done has been amazing for a 6'6" big man with the vertical of a snail. But BC not a franchise player who can do it alone. We need the old KM back. I'm guessing part of the problem is there's some hangover from last year's train ride that' s at the heart of this. You can see where that might be a confidence shaker, see Tiger Woods. Maybe he's questioning whether it was worth coming back for all this hard work, when his buddy WR left and just hanging out at Applebees every day. Who knows? But why is not the issue at this point, it's how to get him to back to being the player/leader he was his SO year. The guy who wanted the ball at the end and could finish games for us. I kept waiting in that UMass game for him to just say to himself " f*&% it, we should not lose this game and since no one else wants to take control, I'm going to." We need that guy back, and I'm wondering if RM wasn't directing some of his rant at KM about "wanting to be a bb player but not wanting to play bb." If so, pull him aside and make him want to play again, RM, because right now we need the sophomore KM back in uniform.

[Billboy1]

Agree he has the ability but it seems that he's hesitant to take control. Maybe he feels that there are other options than himeslf. One definite thing we lack is somebody who will drive the lane and at least get fouled. Unfortunately, we don't have the "big" athletic guards other teams have. JJ is great but a bit to small to fill the role in the land of the giants. But then the way we've been shooting FTs it probably wouldn't make too much difference.

[Taj79]

Frankly, I don't know who or what our guards are, short of small. Is Kwamain a point or two guard? Seems Jordair is a point because his shooting is limited. I thought Mccall was a two but now he's a point also? And we have a point coming in next year in Carter. Cassity is a shooting guard who doesn't. And Barnett is a shooting guard who's lost something. And all of them tend to the scary side of the street when it comes to foul shooting (with the blessed exception of the Xavier game).

I have no real idea who Majerus called out in the papers this past weekend but I suspect a lot of the guys on the team could look at the comments and say "gosh, he's talking about me." Maybe that's the psychology here. The negative side of things is I expected more from KM, MM, JB and CR. Exceeding expectations are JJ and BC. About where I thought they'd be are CE, RL and DE. Below the line is KC and I might put both JM and GG there more because they are so incomplete in terms of grading and I thought we'd see something somewhere from each. I guess not.

What did Yogi say ... 50% of the game is 90% mental or something to that effect? I still see KM struggling to find a consistent groove. As far as point guards even in this league go, Holloway is better. So is Dillard and McConnell and Ferenandez and Williams, who just ate his lunch. Neither GeeDub nor La Salle could run without Taylor or Duren. And wait until you see this Jones kid at St. Joe's. Kwamain is protecting the ball and up there nice enough in the assit-to-turnover numbers and maybe that would be all the more better if he had a known shooting guard to utilize. I understand it's pretty hard to assist on your own shots.

Let's go as far back as two games ago --- I said Holloway was deserving of an Academy Award because every time he drove, he jumpoed into people, initiated contact and wen to theline where he was shooting 86%. Our guy blows by people, never getting touched but misses the layup. Not good and even more demoralizing than missing a clock-expiring three.

Lots of work available out there and about a month and a half to figure it all out.

[billiken_roy]

Agree he has the ability but it seems that he's hesitant to take control. Maybe he feels that there are other options than himeslf. One definite thing we lack is somebody who will drive the lane and at least get fouled. Unfortunately, we don't have the "big" athletic guards other teams have. JJ is great but a bit to small to fill the role in the land of the giants. But then the way we've been shooting FTs it probably wouldn't make too much difference.

currently we dont make enough free throws for rickma to push this option.

[The Pelican]

I believe this thread warrants a decent amount of attention and am surprised it has taken this long to be discussed.

In terms of KM, he has been underachieving all year. He lacks the killer instinct from two years ago and it really shows. I think the TW analogy is a very good one, unfortunately. KM may be broken and beyond complete repair and I am afraid we will never see the old KM consistently again.

So, who becomes the new leader after BC leaves. KM will shoulder some leadership by default but I believe DE will be the next leader with Carter being groomed to be KM of Soph year.

In terms of JB, I wouldn't expect too much in the next two years. He will be a bench, role player at best. I think his stock was obviously overinflated since he has been here.

Don't be surprised if ET is a one and done. If a big comes along then the rights may get exercised.

KC - he has earned his comments on here. A person getting those minutes with nearly zero production needs to be examined. His minutes have only been cut lately so he is not exempt from discussion.

CR - Non-entity. Looking forward to his eligibility expiring. Nice kid, non-factor.

JJ - pumped to see him develop.

MM - streaky but can shoot and is quick. Next year he could be huge especially with JJ and if KM continues to be stagnant.

JM and GG - nobody knows so impossible to comment on.

The ups and downs are hard when you are a Billiken fan.

[The Pelican]

By the way, KM and KC's defending have been enough to earn both of them time on the pine. They are both getting blown by on D which is disturbing.

In addition, KM should be getting to the line often especially when down to stop the clock and get points on the board by nailing FTs.

Bunnies and FT are obvious problems that are mainly mental which is scary.

[Taj79]

@Pelican: I agree on the FTs which folks used to tell me was a matter of practice and repetition. I disgaree however that it's that simple. I would not want to be out there all alone with the game on the line and 13K folks screaming at me. Hell, I couldn't make them with lesser crowds in high school. But that's me.

Bunnies. I have a different thought on this. I think our guys need to relax and recognize that the shot is not going to be blocked all the time. Stop over-respecting the defender. Shot blacker all go for th epiump fake, according to Bobby Knight on ESPN Saturday. We all know Conk is vertically-challenged but he has eaten everyone up all year. But he needs to slow down. Evans too. I felt he was rushing things against Umass and while that is easy to say, I know it's a lot harder to correct. I want Loe to gather himself and explode to the rim in the lane and slam it down. That worked for one shot against Umass. It can and should work all the time. He's a ruler notch shy of seven feet tall. With arms the ball has got to be at 9'6". Onbly six inches left top the iron. The guards are missing a lot of their fair share too. If you don't like the forest, saty out of the trees. Mitchell, McCall and even Jett, althought Jett delivers far more in this area than the others. But they are smallish to begin with. Initiating contact ala Holloway puts you at the line. And we all know how that goes.

[slufan13]

I think that KM can and should be the guy at practice and in the locker room who really pushes and gets on the players. I feel like BC is the guy that keeps everyone positive. He tells them to put that loss past us and move on, but we need someone like KM who will call a guy out for not enough effort or who will take a loss personally and make sure that he pushes himself and others that week before the game. Guys should stay after practice and work on free throws or on their jump shot. I have classes with a lot of these guys and we don't have homework every day so it's not like everyone needs to get back and do work. Obviously practice is a lot about running your offense and defense and playing with the scout team to prepare for the game, so there isn't much time to necessarily work on your individual game. I don't want to question anybody and they might do this now, but if they are, I'm not really seeing the results.

Good/great teams shoudn't lose 2 games in a row. They should be so upset after a loss that there is no way they let themselves lose again. Now I understand you can get upset one game and then lose to a great team the next, but I don't think that we should have lost 3 of 4 earlier with the schedule we have.

Are we taking too much from this loss? Maybe, but I think the problem is that the reasons we lost Saturday (free throws, poor jump shooting, missed layups, lack of a go to guy) are the reasons that we've lost earlier in the year and I think we're all just frustrated that they haven't been fixed yet.

[SpartanBilliken]

We all marveled at KM during his soph year. He gave us a lot of great moments such as the 3 against UD, taking over a couple of games at the end w/ drives to the hoop, making clutch FT's etc. And since the team was all SO's and FR that year, there was no doubt who our go to guy and leader was, Kwamain Mitchell. We all expected KM would just step right back into his Superman suit this year and fly higher, be faster than a laser beam, and leap the Arch. For whatever reason, he's not the sophomore KM. In the X game the X announcers were down on Tu H, saying he's not the player he was last year and for X to be dominant again he has to step it up. I see it the same way for us; KM needs to step up. Right now, BC's been our go to leader guy. Great. Hope he continues in that role. But BC is limited in just how much he can do. That said, what he's done has been amazing for a 6'6" big man with the vertical of a snail. But BC not a franchise player who can do it alone. We need the old KM back. I'm guessing part of the problem is there's some hangover from last year's train ride that' s at the heart of this. You can see where that might be a confidence shaker, see Tiger Woods. Maybe he's questioning whether it was worth coming back for all this hard work, when his buddy WR left and just hanging out at Applebees every day. Who knows? But why is not the issue at this point, it's how to get him to back to being the player/leader he was his SO year. The guy who wanted the ball at the end and could finish games for us. I kept waiting in that UMass game for him to just say to himself " f*&% it, we should not lose this game and since no one else wants to take control, I'm going to." We need that guy back, and I'm wondering if RM wasn't directing some of his rant at KM about "wanting to be a bb player but not wanting to play bb." If so, pull him aside and make him want to play again, RM, because right now we need the sophomore KM back in uniform.

I heard KM had a 30ish minute meeting with Majerus on Sunday morning - you might not be far off in your assessment.

[Billikan]

We all marveled at KM during his soph year. He gave us a lot of great moments such as the 3 against UD, taking over a couple of games at the end w/ drives to the hoop, making clutch FT's etc. And since the team was all SO's and FR that year, there was no doubt who our go to guy and leader was, Kwamain Mitchell. We all expected KM would just step right back into his Superman suit this year and fly higher, be faster than a laser beam, and leap the Arch. For whatever reason, he's not the sophomore KM. In the X game the X announcers were down on Tu H, saying he's not the player he was last year and for X to be dominant again he has to step it up. I see it the same way for us; KM needs to step up. Right now, BC's been our go to leader guy. Great. Hope he continues in that role. But BC is limited in just how much he can do. That said, what he's done has been amazing for a 6'6" big man with the vertical of a snail. But BC not a franchise player who can do it alone. We need the old KM back. I'm guessing part of the problem is there's some hangover from last year's train ride that' s at the heart of this. You can see where that might be a confidence shaker, see Tiger Woods. Maybe he's questioning whether it was worth coming back for all this hard work, when his buddy WR left and just hanging out at Applebees every day. Who knows? But why is not the issue at this point, it's how to get him to back to being the player/leader he was his SO year. The guy who wanted the ball at the end and could finish games for us. I kept waiting in that UMass game for him to just say to himself " f*&% it, we should not lose this game and since no one else wants to take control, I'm going to." We need that guy back, and I'm wondering if RM wasn't directing some of his rant at KM about "wanting to be a bb player but not wanting to play bb." If so, pull him aside and make him want to play again, RM, because right now we need the sophomore KM back in uniform.

It is always hard to be fair and analytical after a disappointing loss so we all have to be careful not to overreact to a single game like I did the LMU game early in the season.

That being said, I think the single biggest variable to this team being a great team as opposed to a very good team is the inconsistant play of KM. Most of us had very high expectations of KM and they were based upon his play his soph year and his continued excellent play in practice before this season started. However, even before the season started I was concerned that there would be issues with KM working his way back and melding with our young returning guards. At times, they have played fantastic together and we look like world beaters. At other times when KM is not at this best on both ends we look beatable. The young guards still make some mistakes as you would expect with sophs. As 72 says KM really needs to take charge and play better--with better fundamental defense and better shot selection with a strong finish at the rim. Perfect examples of what is possible can be found in our big run against Charlotte and the second half against UMass until the last 5 minutes. In both of those stretches KM was excellent on defense and it propelled the team to better offense. I am sure the year off and all of the issues had a real impact on KM and I give him huge credit for being tough enough to fight his way through all of that. I am also very happy to hear he had a meeting with Coach, who I know respects KM a lot and wants him to succeed. Let's hope he can really finish strong and the young guards can continue to improve. That would bode well for a strong finish this year and an excellent tandem of guards next year when Carter arrives!

[moytoy12]

I don't know the answer for KM on the defensive end other than to match him up with the lesser evil.

However, on the offensive end, I think KM just needs to relax and let the game come to him a little more. He looks rushed in most everything he is doing. A lot of drives are out of control. A lot of shots (at least early in the season, which has been corrected) were ill-advised.

I think I expected too much of KM. He's a helluva player that just needs to find his comfort zone and he hasn't looked comfortable all year to me. The skill is there. Let's hope the desire is still there.

A lot like this board, and myself personally, KM just needs to take a deep breath, relax and play the game he knows how to play.

[BigBills]

I know Kwamain has proven himself as the takeover leader on this team, but if we expect so much out of him, we stop expecting anything out of anyone else. I mean if the team just looked to Kwamain to solve all their problems, they wouldn't be much of a team would they? The last 4 minutes of our games can't be played 1 v 5.

Obviously Kwamain has that potential and it can only help the team if he unleashes it again. But while he's still trying to get back to where he was, I have no problem with expecting some leadership to show up in other players. Kwamain was a sophomore when he dazzled us all with his leadership abilities. Why are we not expecting this talent to show up in our current sophomores, Jett, McCall, Evans and Loe? Why are we not demanding leadership from our other juniors, Ellis and Remekun? I know those guys aren't the same kind of player Kwamain is and might not have the same level of talent, but I'm wary to pin all the expectations on one guy and just let everyone else off the hook. Pretty soon our leaders are all going to graduate and who will we look to? Guys who have left it up to Kwamain and Conklin these two years won't have any idea how to lead the team.

I sincerely hope to see sophomore Kwamain again, but at a certain point someone else needs to step it up.

Long time follower of this message board, first time poster.

[wgstl]

I believe this thread warrants a decent amount of attention and am surprised it has taken this long to be discussed.

In terms of KM, he has been underachieving all year. He lacks the killer instinct from two years ago and it really shows. I think the TW analogy is a very good one, unfortunately. KM may be broken and beyond complete repair and I am afraid we will never see the old KM consistently again.

So, who becomes the new leader after BC leaves. KM will shoulder some leadership by default but I believe DE will be the next leader with Carter being groomed to be KM of Soph year.

In terms of JB, I wouldn't expect too much in the next two years. He will be a bench, role player at best. I think his stock was obviously overinflated since he has been here.

Don't be surprised if ET is a one and done. If a big comes along then the rights may get exercised.

KC - he has earned his comments on here. A person getting those minutes with nearly zero production needs to be examined. His minutes have only been cut lately so he is not exempt from discussion.

CR - Non-entity. Looking forward to his eligibility expiring. Nice kid, non-factor.

JJ - pumped to see him develop.

MM - streaky but can shoot and is quick. Next year he could be huge especially with JJ and if KM continues to be stagnant.

JM and GG - nobody knows so impossible to comment on.

The ups and downs are hard when you are a Billiken fan.

ET one and done? Like as in one year transfer!? or what I think your talking about...

[moytoy12]

I know Kwamain has proven himself as the takeover leader on this team, but if we expect so much out of him, we stop expecting anything out of anyone else. I mean if the team just looked to Kwamain to solve all their problems, they wouldn't be much of a team would they? The last 4 minutes of our games can't be played 1 v 5.

Obviously Kwamain has that potential and it can only help the team if he unleashes it again. But while he's still trying to get back to where he was, I have no problem with expecting some leadership to show up in other players. Kwamain was a sophomore when he dazzled us all with his leadership abilities. Why are we not expecting this talent to show up in our current sophomores, Jett, McCall, Evans and Loe? Why are we not demanding leadership from our other juniors, Ellis and Remekun? I know those guys aren't the same kind of player Kwamain is and might not have the same level of talent, but I'm wary to pin all the expectations on one guy and just let everyone else off the hook. Pretty soon our leaders are all going to graduate and who will we look to? Guys who have left it up to Kwamain and Conklin these two years won't have any idea how to lead the team.

I sincerely hope to see sophomore Kwamain again, but at a certain point someone else needs to step it up.

Long time follower of this message board, first time poster.

Good post. A couple of thoughts:

1. I'm not sure we're asking KM to do everything.

2. Also, I think most of us realize the other guys have to step up with KM (or at least maintain consistency). We could probably have this type of thread for every player (e.g. JJ and FTs, RL and toughness, CR and focus, etc.)

3. KM's sophomore year was a year that we didn't have much senior leadership, if any. It was a young team and he was forced to be a sophomore leader. With this team, we have seniors and juniors that play significant minutes. It's a more traditional roster where the younger guys have upperclassmen to look to.

[slu72]

I heard KM had a 30ish minute meeting with Majerus on Sunday morning - you might not be far off in your assessment.

Sometimes this is all it takes. A face to face where he says something like, "this is your team. Take it and make it work." I get the feeling despite RM's gruffness w/ the media about players and in practice, he's probably not a screamer in a one on one meeting.

[slu72]

Good post. A couple of thoughts:

3. KM's sophomore year was a year that we didn't have much senior leadership, if any. It was a young team and he was forced to be a sophomore leader. With this team, we have seniors and juniors that play significant minutes. It's a more traditional roster where the younger guys have upperclassmen to look to.

But these are the same players he led his SO year. I hope the report he and RM had a sit down is true and we start to see him assert himself both as a leader and a player.

[moytoy12]

But these are the same players he led his SO year. I hope the report he and RM had a sit down is true and we start to see him assert himself both as a leader and a player.

DE, JJ, MM, RL and to a certain extent, CE, hadn't played much or at all with KM until this season.

[slufan13]

But these are the same players he led his SO year. I hope the report he and RM had a sit down is true and we start to see him assert himself both as a leader and a player.

I agree. He is our best player and he seems like he has very good leadership skills. He's proven to be mentally tough especially wanting to come back after the situation. I really hope that report is true because I really think if this team is going to go far, he has to elevate his game to his sophomore year level or beyond. It may not be fair to put that on him, but he's proven that he can take over games and be a leader.

[BigBills]

Good post. A couple of thoughts:

1. I'm not sure we're asking KM to do everything.

2. Also, I think most of us realize the other guys have to step up with KM (or at least maintain consistency). We could probably have this type of thread for every player (e.g. JJ and FTs, RL and toughness, CR and focus, etc.)

3. KM's sophomore year was a year that we didn't have much senior leadership, if any. It was a young team and he was forced to be a sophomore leader. With this team, we have seniors and juniors that play significant minutes. It's a more traditional roster where the younger guys have upperclassmen to look to.

I definitely understand that Kwamain was in different circumstances as a sophomore than our current sophomores are. My main point is just that I hope our guys know that if Kwamain or Conklin are struggling (not necessarily saying they are), that it's up to them to change the game. I want to see more confidence and can't-lose attitude in our younger players that can sustain the team when Kwamain and Conklin aren't at their best. I'm afraid if our guys look up to KM and BC for so much, they'll stop looking up to themselves to take on some leadership. Maybe Kwamain will never fully get back to how he was two years ago (taboo, I know), and if he doesn't it can't just be game-over for the team. I may be expecting too much from the younger guys though, or I'm naively hoping they'll all start fighting to be the go-to guy. Still it would be great to see all of them expect that from themselves.

[moytoy12]

I definitely understand that Kwamain was in different circumstances as a sophomore than our current sophomores are. My main point is just that I hope our guys know that if Kwamain or Conklin are struggling (not necessarily saying they are), that it's up to them to change the game. I want to see more confidence and can't-lose attitude in our younger players that can sustain the team when Kwamain and Conklin aren't at their best. I'm afraid if our guys look up to KM and BC for so much, they'll stop looking up to themselves to take on some leadership. Maybe Kwamain will never fully get back to how he was two years ago (taboo, I know), and if he doesn't it can't just be game-over for the team. I may be expecting too much from the younger guys though, or I'm naively hoping they'll all start fighting to be the go-to guy. Still it would be great to see all of them expect that from themselves.

Good post. I agree. JJ and DE are getting there, I think. If JJ makes some FTs and DE makes some bunnies, we're all singing a different tune. But, I hear you and agree.

[jbizzle09]

I definitely understand that Kwamain was in different circumstances as a sophomore than our current sophomores are. My main point is just that I hope our guys know that if Kwamain or Conklin are struggling (not necessarily saying they are), that it's up to them to change the game. I want to see more confidence and can't-lose attitude in our younger players that can sustain the team when Kwamain and Conklin aren't at their best. I'm afraid if our guys look up to KM and BC for so much, they'll stop looking up to themselves to take on some leadership. Maybe Kwamain will never fully get back to how he was two years ago (taboo, I know), and if he doesn't it can't just be game-over for the team. I may be expecting too much from the younger guys though, or I'm naively hoping they'll all start fighting to be the go-to guy. Still it would be great to see all of them expect that from themselves.

No place on this board for a post like this...way too reasonable and optimistic!

[slufan13]

Usually I'd let Jimbo do this, but I think what this thread needs is this..

[slufan13]

Figured these 2 videos were fitting considering who we play this week.

[Bobby Metzinger]

This crap on Kwamain is pretty bush league, fellas.

Not only has the kid more than likely hit a wall from a physical standpoint, he's probably dealt with a ton of psychological issues getting his mind right and back on the books too. He's gone through plenty of adversity and hasn't once badmouthed the school, the process or anything like that in public. He's kept his mouth shut, his head down and has my admiration for that.

Compared to his counterpart at Xavier, Kwamain is an exemplary student-athlete and a young man trying to get back on track. He doesn't run his mouth or try to be something he isn't (i.e. a gangsta).

Let's all just relax here a bit. He's a good kid and while he's struggling a bit, just put yourself in his kicks for a bit for some perspective.

[billikenfan05]

This crap on Kwamain is pretty bush league, fellas.

Not only has the kid more than likely hit a wall from a physical standpoint, he's probably dealt with a ton of psychological issues getting his mind right and back on the books too. He's gone through plenty of adversity and hasn't once badmouthed the school, the process or anything like that in public. He's kept his mouth shut, his head down and has my admiration for that.

Compared to his counterpart at Xavier, Kwamain is an exemplary student-athlete and a young man trying to get back on track. He doesn't run his mouth or try to be something he isn't (i.e. a gangsta).

Let's all just relax here a bit. He's a good kid and while he's struggling a bit, just put yourself in his kicks for a bit for some perspective.

This coming from the guy who wanted to cut, waive, trade, etc.. Kyle Cassity. You are the biggest two faced rat on the planet. You are in no place to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't say. With that said , criticism is valid but people do seem to be piling on a bit