slufan13 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Other then generic "improvement", what do you need/want to see in A10 play to give you more optimism and confidence for next season? The 2010-2011 team isn't a great comparison for various reasons, but they did show a lot throughout A10 play to me, both in the moment and looking back. They played close road games at Temple and Xavier who were 2 of the best teams in the conference. They finished strong and beat Duquesne (who was ranked #60 by kenpom and who had beaten SLU by 22 earlier so they weren't the Duquesne that you think about today) and then they went on the road and beat Dayton by 18 to finish. You also saw Evans really establish himself as a solid player and you had McCall end the season as our leader in points. So things I'd like to see this year (in no particular order) McBroom to show he can be effective for an entire season. He doesn't have to be Jett or Mitchell, but we have to be able to count on him for a full slate. Yacoubou to start knocking down more shots. We've seen more of this lately, but there is still work to do. This should also give him more open lanes to the bucket. It's not a bad thing if he's our best player. Yarbrough to back up the talk and be a consistent go to guy and scorer. He can be the next Dwayne and could be a focal point. Crawford to be a consistent scorer. Only asking for 6-8 ppg, but he can't have goose-egg games like Vandy. He needs to have the game where he fills it up like Pan American, but we need 8 points on a consistent basis. Role player. For either Lancona or Agbeko to establish themselves as a capable player. Ideally both, but realistically that's asking for a lot I guess. Simply strength and weight for Gillmann. For at least another of the freshmen to emerge. Roby seems to be buying in on defense and he gets consistent minutes so from him I just want to see some offense, but I'm not too worried. Either Bartley or Reynolds needs to establish themselves as the backup PG (and ideally take over for AM and let him be more of an instant offense guy). Bartley looks the type, but hasn't shown me much outside of a couple games. Reynolds seems more like a spark type player, but I'd like to see him get more minutes. For Crews to get this team playing a more identifiable and crisp offense. He probably got too much credit in recent years and now too much criticism this year, but I think it's fair to expect a much more crisp and solid offense by March. To hear something (positive or negative) about our incoming recruits. To make Tatum's next cut (if there is one) To beat a top 5 A10 team To not lose multiple home games by double digits To win games that come down to the last minute 7 A10 wins The return of billiken_roy SLU to finally stop the joke of Guy Phillips and permanently replace him Another sell-out crowd Alternate uniforms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmith19 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I don't expect McBroom to shoot 49% all year. I'd be quite happy with anything 40%+. That said, he needs to continue being a double digit scorer the rest of the way. Hopefully Yarbrough ends up first on the team by the end of the season, and not in a flukey Mike McCall way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Progress, especially from the Soph class. If we don't see that, next year could get nasty as well. Right now, I don't expect more than 4 conf Ws from this group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizziken Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Good topic. - I'd like to see some semblance of a Point Guard emerge. I don't care who it is. We don't have one coming in next season, and we won't go anywhere without one, so..... - Sturdy on and off-ball screens on offense. They've been lazy. And part of it is our guards not running their man into it - Gillmann improving enough on D to fill the stretch 4 role instead of the 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettFlight5 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 No more 20+ point beatdowns The PG thing mentioned above. A return to the defensive ways that made this team what it was An identity on both sides of the ball. A leader to emerge like Jordair did so at the end of games, we know where we can look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmbilliken Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Myles Reynolds to realize he could play himself onto the rotation if he becomes a crazed defensive player. He has the speed, coordination and smarts. He needs to realize he can be a shut down defender if he dedicates himself to it. That will get him PT and the offense will come on the run outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Honestly, to say we need our sophomores to improve for next year may be asking for something not possible. AG and MC are having trouble finding anything that they can do consistently to help the team now and TL - tired of hearing he needs more confidence. If confidence is his problem then send him down to the local CYC team. He is in the big leagues now and confidence is something he should already have in spades. If he is playing scared then find the end of bench until you find Dorthy and the yellow brick road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Got my doubts about the Sophs too, Cheese. They've got 18 games left to prove they are players at this level. If they don't, it's pretty much a wasted class that will contribute little going forward. The question of this thread was what we'd like to see, I'd like to see us not have a busted class as this will make next year a difficult season as well. Right now, I'm worried they won't make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSLU68 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Good topic: I would think a coach who figures TL is indispensable the last few minutes of the game would let him play enough to break a sweat. It takes a miracle to take off warm ups and be a savior when the game is going south at the end. I Like both Tanners and both can see what is going on during the basketball game. Crews is so rigid the opposing coach knows after 4 minutes MC comes in; a minute later we bring other thin players. If Manning and Gilman are playing well why not go twin towers. I think Miles Reynolds has speed if MB can play so should MR Crews needs to leave the team alone and not substitute when we are winning. Crews needs to put men on line when opponents are shooting fouls-they can't be that winded that they need to stand over the half court line when we have trouble in bounding. We should have won the last two games we had early and substantial leads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyJumpUp Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Crews needs to put men on line when opponents are shooting fouls-they can't be that winded that they need to stand over the half court line when we have trouble in bounding. You lost me here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Well, w/ the exception of MC, and that wasn't much, the Soph class continues to frustrate. Watching RA out there today was extremely painful. Athleticism's one thing, being clueless at this level is another. Jeez, RI pulled off an 11-0 run with him on the court turning it over just about every time down the court. TL saw the floor towards the end and immediately threw up two threes- both misses. Yes, still 17 games left for that class to do something... anything... positive at this point. But if this continues, the Soph class will be like a bad debt that you carry on the books as an asset you know you can never monetize. Other than that, this went about as expected score wise. However, this was a game we could have stole. Too many TOs and missed FT's pounded the nail in the coffin today. I'll wait for "from the MD couch" to give the rest of my amateur observations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmbilliken Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Agbeko needs to be told not to put the ball on the floor except as a last resort. He needs to set screens, crash the boards and maybe get some put backs. He obviously has no touch and lacks a feel for the game. He is strong, quick and aggressive going after the ball. The coaches need to reign him in and try to take advantage of his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. The only player I recall regressing as much as Lancona, is a player from the Ecker days. I don't recall his last name but think his first name was Jeff. He was a 6'4" guard/forward who was named to the all league freshman team. Looked like he was going to be good. He got soft as a sophomore and was never heard from again. Lancona wasn't all league freshman, but he did show promise and talent. I don't know where tha has gone to this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I'd like to see billiken_roy take MB73's place on this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU_Nick Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I think lancona bulking up affected his bball skills in a negative way. He was always destined to be more of an Ellis type player than a Conklin. Ellis matured, but definitely didn't forget what got him there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikenboy Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I think lancona bulking up affected his bball skills in a negative way. He was always destined to be more of an Ellis type player than a Conklin. Ellis matured, but definitely didn't forget what got him there TL is not Ellis even though you might want him to be and him bulking up has not hurt his performance. The trainer knows more about what his best performance weight is than anyone on this board. Granted he and others did not play well last game but the sky is not falling in either. If anything a more aggressive TL might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I'd like to see billiken_roy take MB73's place on this board. I would like to hear from jbizzle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmbilliken Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 TL is not Ellis even though you might want him to be and him bulking up has not hurt his performance. The trainer knows more about what his best performance weight is than anyone on this board. Granted he and others did not play well last game but the sky is not falling in either. If anything a more aggressive TL might help. Sometimes a shooter like Lancona just needs to hit a shot. That should come as long as he keeps putting them up. What I wonder about him is last year he showed some post moves. Where have those gone? He needs that versatility in his game to really help us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billboy1 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Need to see improvement and that will show coaches are using practice time to correct problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikenboy Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Sometimes a shooter like Lancona just needs to hit a shot. That should come as long as he keeps putting them up. What I wonder about him is last year he showed some post moves. Where have those gone? He needs that versatility in his game to really help us. Yes I understand your point but what is sorely missed on this board is that even with all the practice and skill work done with these kids they must be given time in game situations to use those reps. If you get very few minutes then growth is slowed. For TL I am sure the lack of playing time has hurt him and his confidence. Their mistakes must be made on the court in game situations in order for them to grow and when they do coaching staff has to address them, correct it, then reinforce positive growth that they learned from the mistake. That is going on right now but it is awful to watch. So my thing is play them now since you did not do it much in OOC schedule. Almost like not giving the sophs meaningful mins last year surely hurt their development. So it has got to happen now somehow. I would also like to see roles clearly defined out there because sometimes I cannot tell who is doing what. Proper technique will go a long way too. I do not mind RA putting the ball on the floor but his technique is bad so correct it to make him more effective. TL shooting quick 3s, that is what he was told to do. He missed them but if he made them then we will say he should have been brought in sooner. MC is not a confident dribbler and tends to hold the ball too long in transition. So make him better. So much to work on and the season is passing us by. Just some thoughts.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufan13 Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 It's maddening to see the same mistakes over and over again. Whether that's on the coaches or players or both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikenboy Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I think coaches have their hands full just trying to be competitive and win games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pretty_ricky Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Anyone else think MR's point guard skill set may have been hurt by having okafor on his high school team? Seems like he tries to force it inside too often and usually resulting in turnovers because our guys aren't able to catch every single ball inside like his old post mate. Still think if he stays dedicated to the process he could make the rotation with good defense. He seems like an able ball handler in terms of bringing the ball up the court (something that makes me nervous more often than it should), just needs work in the halfcourt offense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milwaukeebill Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Anyone else think MR's point guard skill set may have been hurt by having okafor on his high school team? Seems like he tries to force it inside too often and usually resulting in turnovers because our guys aren't able to catch every single ball inside like his old post mate. Still think if he stays dedicated to the process he could make the rotation with good defense. He seems like an able ball handler in terms of bringing the ball up the court (something that makes me nervous more often than it should), just needs work in the halfcourt offense I've mentioned this before. MR looks like a guy who played with the best player in the country for years and no longer has that. With okafor he could drive and there'd be tons of space inside because defenders can't leave okafor. If they did he had an easy pass to the best player on the floor. I think MR can be good but not this year, his offensive game is wayyy too reliant on people fouling him. Just look at that game he dominated. If he doesn't get bailed out regularly im not sure how great he is inside at this level. Defense always looked above average for a frosh which is good to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmbilliken Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Agree MR should make the rotation with by being a good defender. He has the speed and athleticism to be a shut down defender. Offensively, he really needs to work on his outside shoot. He has a terrible looking shot. Sort of a two handed push shot. Ugly is ok if it works, but his doesn't. I focused on him in warmups last game and he misses the vast majority of his 3s and they are not near misses. It just looks like its a skill he hasn't worked on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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