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I keep reading posts that say RM says he will be all league, dominant etc. But watching him as a freshman he didn't seem to run well. I trust RM's judgment but you can't teach speed. Has anyone else noticed JM's ability to get down the floor? We can't always be in a half court offense, and getting back on d is a Majeurus trademark.

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I was not looking at the same guy, he beats Loe down the court by 20 feet. For a 6' 11" 250 pound dude he runs very well, above average. He already has the physique IV did not have when he was a freshman. Give him two years in the offense and he becomes a dominant Big man on offense, and defense..

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Maybe I was seeing things but he seemed to be moving like Bryce Husak when I saw him. Happy to read what you said. I must have seen him when he was gassed. As said, I trust RM. But the fans around me were kinda wondering about JM's speed too. Agreed Loe is slow and suited for half court game.

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I'm not sold on Manning. In the limited time he played, I didn't see anything to get excited about aside from some mid-range shooting touch. I'm glad Rick has high expectations for him but I think he looks more like a project at this point than anything else.

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He was more advanced than just about any freshman Billiken center I can remember. Just remember how awful Ian was his freshman year and how much he had improved by the time he was a junior - Manning is way ahead of where Ian was at the same point in his career. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw from him last year, and he's only going to get better.

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I don't like saying negatives about any of the players and I know we had a deep rotation that went to the NCAA's... but they never got in. SO, to think that Manning and/or Glaze will be significant contributors is wishful thinking. I hope that they come through but I cannot be confident.

So who do we have down low?

Majerus can work magic, the progress that WR made from freshman to soph was amazing. But WR played a lot as a freshman.

Manning should get a personal trainer and lift weights and pound down calories, especially protein & creatine all summer, basketball itself should not be a significant part of his day to day regimine.

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I don't like saying negatives about any of the players and I know we had a deep rotation that went to the NCAA's... but they never got in. SO, to think that Manning and/or Glaze will be significant contributors is wishful thinking. I hope that they come through but I cannot be confident.

So who do we have down low?

Majerus can work magic, the progress that WR made from freshman to soph was amazing. But WR played a lot as a freshman.

Manning should get a personal trainer and lift weights and pound down calories, especially protein & creatine all summer, basketball itself should not be a significant part of his day to day regimine.

Why is everyone fretting? Reasons I'm not worried:

1) Cory showed signs of improvement towards the end of the year. I'll hope he keeps it up.

2) Rob Loe will become a junior. The transition from sophomore to Junior is generally when bigs make the most progress. He get's stronger, both mentally & physically, and that will be huge.

3) Majerus has said John Manning will not only hold his own, but can become an All League player. Good enough for me. They don't need him to score a bunch, he just has to play great D. I think he's capable of doing just that.

4) GRANDY GLAZE is the new sheriff in town. And he took lessons from Brian Conklin.

5) Conklin Summers for all.

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I keep reading posts that say RM says he will be all league, dominant etc. But watching him as a freshman he didn't seem to run well. I trust RM's judgment but you can't teach speed. Has anyone else noticed JM's ability to get down the floor? We can't always be in a half court offense, and getting back on d is a Majeurus trademark.

JM ran just fine. Not sure what you were watching.

We need solid contributions from JM, and to a lesser extent, GG. RL, CE and CR will get the majority of the front line minutes. We need JM to come in and spell either RL or CE and make solid contributions during that time. We do not need JM or GG to be saviors next season.

And JM should hit the weights and work on his low post play (offense and defense). To say basketball shouldn't be a significant part is just stupid.

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We can't be sure any of our bigs next year will have good years. But between the four of them, and a coach like Majerus, I'm very confident that AT LEAST one of them will step up and that all four will show improvement.

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I'm not sold on Manning. In the limited time he played, I didn't see anything to get excited about aside from some mid-range shooting touch. I'm glad Rick has high expectations for him but I think he looks more like a project at this point than anything else.

What he did show in the few game minutes I saw was an instinctive baby hook shot with either hand. Hard to defend those. His jumper is a nice, soft high shot. We've gone for years without a big player with those skills...and you're not born with'em...it's lots of practice that he did before we ever laid eyes on him.

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IMO, clearly our best hope is that RL becomes our post player, he is getting stronger and with his height he can make multiple moves down low. He's an asset as a 3 point shooter, but he needs to play a different role and stow that 3 pt shot (yes), let the others play on the outside. CE can help, too, and become more of a banger.

Manning and Glaze are unknowns, so how can anybody here state definititvely that they will contribute? There is hope, though, in Manning's brief appearances, he seems to know how to play the game, has decent, soft hands and reasonably nimble feet, so at 6'11" he has huge "plus" potential, but he definitely needs to get a lot, lot stronger, that is what is missing. It is too early to be sure, but he seems to have the rest of the package.

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Manning and Glaze are unknowns, so how can anybody here state definititvely that they will contribute? There is hope, though, in Manning's brief appearances, he seems to know how to play the game, has decent, soft hands and reasonably nimble feet, so at 6'11" he has huge "plus" potential, but he definitely needs to get a lot, lot stronger, that is what is missing. It is too early to be sure, but he seems to have the rest of the package.

Exactly. None of us have seen them, so we'll put our trust in the coaches and players who have raved about him.

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What about Ellis? He showed the most improvement down low last year and he is playing much more aggressively and physically. Plus, he is an inch or so taller than Brian and a better shooter.

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IMO, clearly our best hope is that RL becomes our post player, he is getting stronger and with his height he can make multiple moves down low. He's an asset as a 3 point shooter, but he needs to play a different role and stow that 3 pt shot (yes), let the others play on the outside. CE can help, too, and become more of a banger.

Manning and Glaze are unknowns, so how can anybody here state definititvely that they will contribute? There is hope, though, in Manning's brief appearances, he seems to know how to play the game, has decent, soft hands and reasonably nimble feet, so at 6'11" he has huge "plus" potential, but he definitely needs to get a lot, lot stronger, that is what is missing. It is too early to be sure, but he seems to have the rest of the package.

I would actually say that what makes Loe effective is the fact that he can shoot the trey. His ability to shoot from the outside spreads the court and creates openings for others. When you have a PF/C who can shoot from deep, it makes the opposing team have to make a decision. Do you send your low-post defender out there to defend, or do you leave him open and hope he misses? If you defend, then it frees up down low and allows open lanes, of if he stays put, you have Loe open from deep. It can become a win-win situation. I think this is why you'll notice that Majerus will typically have Loe shoot a trey within the first minute of play. It makes the other team's coach have to decide about defending.

To be honest, I think you make some very valid points. Mainly, you see a 6'11" player with obvious skill and want him to concentrate on being a low-post player first. However, I don't think that is Majerus's MO here. I think with Cody and Loe, he sees ways to kill zones and free up lanes. I think this is why he thinks Manning might be ready to have a breakout season, and it is also perhaps a big factor into why Conklin had a great season last year. When you have big forwards (like Cody and Rob) that can streetch the floor, it allows for another low-post player to either get mismatches or at the very least one-on-one coverage. Cody and Loe firing from downtown last season helped allow Conklin to work one-on-one down low and score at such a good percentage.

It looks to me like Manning and Glaze are purely low-post type players, and that is where their scoring opportunities will arise. Also, Cory may have that 'Conklin Summer' in him, especially as it is his senior year and he has the opportunity to be the team's primary low-post presence. He showed flashes last season, and if the team is firing well from deep, it can allow him a chance to score at will down low. Personally, I think this team is built perfectly and I wouldn't change anything about how Cody and Rob play on offense. Remekun, Manning, Glaze and Evans (to a degree) can take care of the low-post offensive presence for the coming season. I am willing to bet that if Conklin can go from 8.7 PPG his junior year without a scorer like Kwamain to scoring 13.9 PPG with both Cody and Kwamain also scoring double-digits his senior season, then it isn't too difficult to imagine somebody else filling that void next season.

Finally, I will say that I understand exactly where you are coming from with all of our players and the concern for the front court. I don't really see anything wrong with anything you've stated in your posts on the subject recently. I just think that you shouldn't worry too much. Also, in regards to Manning, I don't think you should worry about his strength. The kid is quite strong for his age and height. He is definitely not the string-bean that many think he is. He is pretty darn solid for a 7 footer. Not sure if he will have a big impact offensively next season, but I guarantee that he will be a big time rebounder and shot-blocker right away.

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We all had concerns going into last season because WR wasn't coming back. How'd that turn out for us? Relax, folks, our interior play will be fine. Do we have an AB2? No. But we didn't last year either. As good as BC turned out to be, he still didn't set any records for rebounding. DE and CE got most of those.

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We all had concerns going into last season because WR wasn't coming back. How'd that turn out for us? Relax, folks, our interior play will be fine. Do we have an AB2? No. But we didn't last year either. As good as BC turned out to be, he still didn't set any records for rebounding. DE and CE got most of those.

True, but did you predict Conklin having a breakthrough year? He was clearly the difference. We needed a post up player, a threat. He was a "go-to" guy at crunch time. Everyone else did about as expected (KM was sluggish until the last 10 games, then came back to his old self, that was another key).

Conklin's low post play drew attention so others could hit from outside more than the other way around.

What I am saying is we have all of the other pieces coming back, but someone has to step up (do a Conklin) and replace Conklin's low post threat. Someone has to have a breakthrough season or adjust their game to be an inside force. RL is the best bet, with some help from CE and Evans. Or Manning or Glaze, unknowns since they didn't play, could come through in that role.

So, you predict "who" will do it? Or are you suggesting post up by committee?

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Another negative starter post from our 59 fan? Call me shocked.

Right now, we do not have a proven inside presence. We did not either at this time last year but we had Conk back who managed some monster games games his junior year (at Xavier for example). I never expected Conk to do what he did but he did post some signs. We don't even have that much to bank on.

Cory's a huge stretch right now and for all who think our outside foreign bigs are going to get American religion and develop into consistent inside players, well, good for you. Can it happen? Sure. Just let me say I doubt it. Cody has his moments, but if I defined him, he's more perimeter player than insider. And it seemed to me that if he devoted more timeand energy to his inside play, his exterior play, his strength, suffered. But we will see. Dwayne needs some work; his missing so many bunnies told me he was rushing to beat a bigger man's block --- real or perceived.

With no real help on the way, that leaves Manning and Glaze. Again, I predict (not project here) that we will see alot of soul-searching and experimentation in the OOC schedule next season as Majerus tries to either find that inside presence, or commit to a more pure exterior game. Wecould have a better team, but a lesser record.

Bottom line: success is only achieved by hearing our name again on Selection Sunday.

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I wouldn't worry about Manning he'll be good next year and very good before it's done. I'm generally amazed by how quickly knowledgeable basketball people want to determine so quickly that a 7 footer won't be good. JM has soft hands, a nice touch around the basket, and runs the floor well for his size. Like at least 90% of the kids his age and size, he needs to get stronger and he will.

I'm with Biz on RL, I don't want to turn him into a low post banger, lets let him be who he is and concentrate on getting better at that. Imo we need RL to shoot the 3 more consistently.

I have no problem with CR and JM getting the bulk of the work at the 5 next year.

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