Collegesportsmadness' Top 144

[SShoe]

On 9/2/2018 at 9:10 PM, kmbilliken said:

Malik has to be the focus of the offense. He would not have been here.

He also would’ve graduated already if he hadn’t transferred. 

[HoosierPal]

54 minutes ago, wgstl said:

St Joe clocks in at #63

So that leaves George Mason as their #3 A10 pick. 

[Taj79]

I can't believe Davidson is #1 with only Grady and Gunmundsson.  We shall see.

[slu72]

2 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

I can't believe Davidson is #1 with only Grady and Gunmundsson.  We shall see.

I agree. Mystery to me why Davidson's getting all this love. 

[Glorydays2013]

26 minutes ago, slu72 said:

I agree. Mystery to me why Davidson's getting all this love. 

The only A10 player they know is Grady is my best guess. Just wait until SLU destroys in the noncon

[RamJAMTIME]

10 hours ago, Glorydays2013 said:

The only A10 player they know is Grady is my best guess. Just wait until SLU destroys in the noncon

They shall soon know The Werewolf.

[HoosierPal]

12 hours ago, slu72 said:

I agree. Mystery to me why Davidson's getting all this love. 

I find it a mystery why MBM's can't see why Davidson is getting all the love.  Bottom line is that they can shoot. Sure they lost Aldridge, but last season they were 27th in 3 pt FG% hitting 38.9% as a team.  Returning are Jon Axel at 40.6%, Pritchett at 43.8%, and of course Grady, at a pedestrian 37.2%. (Aldridge was a 'below average-for Davidson' 38.1%)  Highly hyped wing Luke Frampton is coming back from an ACL tear, and he will only add to their 3 point arsenal.

McKillop is bringing in two foreign bigs.  They are usually raw, but you never know with foreign players.

Grady will be the preseason A10 POY.  He is listed as a potential first round 2019 NBA draft pick.  He is listed on some mock drafts as a lottery pick in the 2019 draft.  He is good but by no means is he all Davidson has returning.

Will they win the A10?  Who knows.  Will SLU finish ahead or behind Davidson?  Who knows, and which team finishes on top is not the reason for this post.  It is obvious to me why Davidson is getting preseason hype.  They will be good.

[SLU_Nick]

21 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

I find it a mystery why MBM's can't see why Davidson is getting all the love.  Bottom line is that they can shoot. Sure they lost Aldridge, but last season they were 27th in 3 pt FG% hitting 38.9% as a team.  Returning are Jon Axel at 40.6%, Pritchett at 43.8%, and of course Grady, at a pedestrian 37.2%. (Aldridge was a 'below average-for Davidson' 38.1%)

Grady will be the preseason A10 POY.  He is listed as a potential first round 2019 NBA draft pick.  He is listed on some mock drafts as a lottery pick in the 2019 draft.  He is good but by no means is he all Davidson has returning.

Will they win the A10?  Who knows.  Will SLU finish ahead or behind Davidson?  Who knows, and which team finishes on top is not the reason for this post.  It is obvious to me why Davidson is getting preseason hype.  They will be good.

Yea, Davidson really hung with UK last March in the tournament and Aldridge didn't really take over that game.  They seem to be the easy consensus pick to me too.  

It is difficult for national writers to look at recruiting rankings from a team that has not historically had success getting players like French, Goodwin and Gordon, and declare that we are going win 27 games and be a 4 seed when we went 17-16 last year.  As far as the national scene goes, CG is just another middling 4 star recruit.  (This however is absolute trash because he was top 15 before he picked SLU).  We are going to have to prove our worth all year and have very little margin for error if we expect to vault into the same conversation as those 12-13, 13-14 teams.  Think about it, if we lose on 2 buzzer beaters to FSU and Seton Hall and lose to Butler...we will likely struggle to crack the top 25 all year.  

The lack of a shooting threat also scares me to death.  There will be a game where a team gives us open looks that our guys "have to take" but go cold.  That of course probably wont be a problem though, because we will get every single available miss with our rebounding beasts.  

[Taj79]

Sorry, the thought of Grady, Gudmundsson, Pritchett and Frampton scares me no more than the threat of Grady.  Don't get me wrong, I like Jon Axel as a steadying influence and a heady point guard but I don't default to him as a shooter -- just yet.  Pritchett launched 89 three pointers over 33 games last year --- three a game is not a shooter to me.  And Frampton?  Kid was a two-star recruit from Poca, West Virginia.  Call me skeptical at this point.  Sho wme.

Your point on the Euro-bigs is well-taken.  Plus McKillop has shown he is not one to trifle with.  But if this is THEE top team, I think it says the A10 is again down this year.  And that national sentiment I snot a good thign to have when all the selection committee dufus are just looking for ways to keep the mid-majors either at home or in a lesser evil come March.

Here's something else ---- what did Davidson lose?  Sure you noted Aldridge and his below-Davidson-3pt% of 38.1% but Magarity shot 38.2%, Michelson 39.4%, and do-it-all-Ace Rusty Reigel a whopping 49.1%.  They are all gone.  Now, between the three, they hoisted about 200 treys for the year or a collective 6 or so per game.  But the fact that they COULD shoot it made it a much more difficult coverage scheme than if you could slough off and just wait on Aldridge and Grady all night.  This is a huge spacing difference that now needs to be made up and adjusted for.  In two injury-plagued years at Davidson, Koracevic has launched 15 treys.  Can the English and the Austrian big be able replacements for Magarity and Michelsen?  I doubt it.  I see more of the Olivia kid from St. Joe's freshman year coming than a Cody Ellis type.  But again, we shall see.

To me, Davidson would be selected #1 based on two players .... Grady and Gudmundsson.  That's all.  Plus kudos to McKillop.  I might have less heartburn with mason at #1 .... are Grayer and Livingston better than Grady and Gudmundsson?  Mason has more knowns coming back and they ain't that bad.  Plus is an ACC transfer worth more than a rehabbed, two-star kid from West Virginia? 

If it's not us, I think Mason is the pick ....

[wgstl]

1 hour ago, SLU_Nick said:

Yea, Davidson really hung with UK last March in the tournament and Aldridge didn't really take over that game.  They seem to be the easy consensus pick to me too.  

 

I dont know who Davidson has brought in since last year, but to me, the talent really falls off after grady, jon axel, and pritchett.  The next averaged only 3.4 as a sophomore on a already not so deep team.

 

starting five looks like:

 

Grady 18ppg

john axel 13 ppg

pritchett 5.9 ppg

Frampton n/a

Ekwu 3ppg

Nice three headed monster, but the rest of the team has too many question marks

[slu72]

My biggest question for Davidson is their lack of proven depth. Yes, Grady is a hell of a talent and McKillop a hell of a coach who's kind of Majerus like in getting his kids to play better as a sum of their parts than their individual talents would indicate. They'll be good, but I feel we can wear them out because of our physical style of play. 

[Billikenbooster]

They cant shoot the ball, if they dont have the ball.  We should out rebound most teams, and our TOs will hopefully be down with the 'loss' of our walk on PG from last year.

mhg

[Taj79]

bbooster --- yours is a good point.  It echoes along the same lines as my point about who Davidson lost and what that means about team chemistry and floor spacing.  We lost a walk-on point guard who couldn't distribute and couldn't shoot -- so turnovers should go down and shooting percentage up.  Ergo we are better by subtraction. 

wgstl:  I can see no way Davidson goes with that lineup.  But on the flip side, why not?  Again, Davidson is two players short of a full load and the front line is injury-prone (Kovacevic and Ekwu) or freshmen.  Ekwu is 6'7" and the other four are all around 6'5" or above.  I've seen that before at Illinois and Louisville so it won't be anything new.  I can also see McKillop running a straight zone to protect his short bench and lack of experience.  Did Davidson play zone last year?  I don't recall.  Davidson is one injury away from a serious flat tire.  And I don't think Pritchett makes for anything like a three-headed monster.

Short on talent, short on the bench, unknowns recruits.  Seems like quite a leap ..... but the games will be won on the floor.

[Old guy]

I know I would cringe whenever Hines took a shot way before a shot was required. However in all truth last year we would not have done as well as we did without Hines. Yes, there are and were much better PGs, but we did not have any and were playing with a close to empty tank. it was a miracle that we got a (barely) winning season last year.

[SLU_Nick]

3 hours ago, Taj79 said:

Sorry, the thought of Grady, Gudmundsson, Pritchett and Frampton scares me no more than the threat of Grady.  Don't get me wrong, I like Jon Axel as a steadying influence and a heady point guard but I don't default to him as a shooter -- just yet.  Pritchett launched 89 three pointers over 33 games last year --- three a game is not a shooter to me.  And Frampton?  Kid was a two-star recruit from Poca, West Virginia.  Call me skeptical at this point.  Sho wme.

Your point on the Euro-bigs is well-taken.  Plus McKillop has shown he is not one to trifle with.  But if this is THEE top team, I think it says the A10 is again down this year.  And that national sentiment I snot a good thign to have when all the selection committee dufus are just looking for ways to keep the mid-majors either at home or in a lesser evil come March.

Here's something else ---- what did Davidson lose?  Sure you noted Aldridge and his below-Davidson-3pt% of 38.1% but Magarity shot 38.2%, Michelson 39.4%, and do-it-all-Ace Rusty Reigel a whopping 49.1%.  They are all gone.  Now, between the three, they hoisted about 200 treys for the year or a collective 6 or so per game.  But the fact that they COULD shoot it made it a much more difficult coverage scheme than if you could slough off and just wait on Aldridge and Grady all night.  This is a huge spacing difference that now needs to be made up and adjusted for.  In two injury-plagued years at Davidson, Koracevic has launched 15 treys.  Can the English and the Austrian big be able replacements for Magarity and Michelsen?  I doubt it.  I see more of the Olivia kid from St. Joe's freshman year coming than a Cody Ellis type.  But again, we shall see.

To me, Davidson would be selected #1 based on two players .... Grady and Gudmundsson.  That's all.  Plus kudos to McKillop.  I might have less heartburn with mason at #1 .... are Grayer and Livingston better than Grady and Gudmundsson?  Mason has more knowns coming back and they ain't that bad.  Plus is an ACC transfer worth more than a rehabbed, two-star kid from West Virginia? 

If it's not us, I think Mason is the pick ....

No way GMU finishes above Davidson in the rankings this year.  I smell a wager.  Taj - any interest in betting 2 large sized arena beverages when I see you at the A-10 tourney this year.  If GMU has a lower number next to their name, drinks are on me.  

[White Pelican]

17 minutes ago, Old guy said:

I know I would cringe whenever Hines made a shot way before a shot was required. However in all truth last year we would not have done as well as we did without Hines. Yes, there are and were much better PGs, but we did not have any and were playing with a close to empty tank. it was a miracle that we got a (barely) winning season last year.

I think you meant to say "took" a shot not made a shot. He MADE damn few. My issue was not only his "shooting" but Ford saying he told him to just keep on chucking. Now maybe this was just coach-speak to cover for his player, but it made for some terrible possessions. It WAS a miracle to have a winning season I agree. I'd say Goodwin gets a ton of credit for that.

Also, have to give Ford his due too. Seems to not only recruit well, but manages to get the most out what he has. Very much looking forward to this season.

[brianstl]

17 minutes ago, SLU_Nick said:

No way GMU finishes above Davidson in the rankings this year.  I smell a wager.  Taj - any interest in betting 2 large sized arena beverages when I see you at the A-10 tourney this year.  If GMU has a lower number next to their name, drinks are on me.  

The Mason love is far more confusing to me than the Davidson love.  They finished at 220 in Pomeroy’s ranking.  I know they bring a ton back, but people are predicting a huge jump in where they will finish this year.  I think that kind of jump just isn’t realistic.

[SLU_Nick]

1 minute ago, brianstl said:

The Mason love is far more confusing to me than the Davidson love.  They finished at 220 in Pomeroy’s ranking.  I know they bring a ton back, but people are predicting a huge jump in where they will finish this year.  I think that kind of jump just isn’t realistic.

Shhhh....I am trying to get some free drinks. 

[Cowboy]

45 minutes ago, White Pelican said:

I think you meant to say "took" a shot not made a shot. He MADE damn few. My issue was not only his "shooting" but Ford saying he told him to just keep on chucking. Now maybe this was just coach-speak to cover for his player, but it made for some terrible possessions. It WAS a miracle to have a winning season I agree. I'd say Goodwin gets a ton of credit for that.

Also, have to give Ford his due too. Seems to not only recruit well, but manages to get the most out what he has. Very much looking forward to this season.

-we literally had no one else to play the 747 minutes AH logged, I hope the bashing of former Billikens can end

[ACE]

2 minutes ago, Cowboy said:

-we literally had no one else to play the 747 minutes AH logged, I hope the bashing of former Billikens can end

Agreed. If the kid had not decided to walk on and pay his own way, things would have been a LOT worse. He was overexposed, but that's not his fault. Some of the hate is a bit strange. Some folks on this board used to love some of the pesky walk-ons like Paul Eckerle. Not sure why Hines doesn't get some of the same love. I heard him interviewed on one of the coach's shows last year and I was impressed with the kid.

[Taj79]

Define "rankings."

[slu72]

Hines was Hines. He's graduated. Let's thank him for his time as a Billiken, as I'm sure he worked harder than any of us fans did when we were at SLU.

[WVBilliken]

Without Hines the past 2 years ..... oh my!  Grateful to the kid, put in his all.  Could never criticize a walk-on.

 

[Taj79]

To criticize the kid is ridiculous, just ask Jim Harbaugh.  Unfortunately, Aaron became the poster child for the [dead] regime.  We can all recall the video of [dead] awarding him a scholarship on the trip to the Bahamas.  By default, he became the prime example of [dead]'s overall recruiting failure -- and the reminder that remained two years after [dead] was long gone.  Hines became the long-lasting embodiment of Jared Drew, Lancona, Agbeko Jolly, Gillmann, Bartley, Reynolkds, Yarbrough, Neufeld, Bishop and Zeke Moore --- with Moore being the consolation "prize" instead of Tatum.  [dead] should be made to reimburse the school for the insanely wasted scholarship money. 

Unfortunately, Hines could not be restricted to dribble and pass, he had to be at least a viable option.  And he kept us in some games and won some others as well.  Hell, Miles Reynolds won a game for us at the foul line -- Marcus Bartley made all his threes in one game once --- do-do happens. 

I think of Aaron Hines the same way I think of Kevin Williams and Luther Burden ---- great Billiken alums whose tiem at SLU was just in a dark period of Billiken history.  Now, let's fix that backboard and get back to practice.

[MusicCityBilliken]

50 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

Moore being the consolation "prize" instead of Tatum.  [dead] should be made to reimburse the school for the insanely wasted scholarship money. 

 

I was never that optimistic that we would have landed Tatum. He would lost millions if he had Crews coach him and would had no one around him. My big beef is we never went after Mike Lewis II. Big miss. Always impressed me when he played us, would have been a 4 year player & would have solved our current outside threat guard issue.