Practice Observations: Warm-up for open practice TODAY!

[brianstl]

One thing about Bell is he didn't play many minutes in high school.  He wasn't in good enough shape.  I think many of his deficiencies at this point are a result of just not having the amount of game reps your typical recruit has coming in.  There is going to be a lot of on the job learning in Jimmy Bell's development, but the sooner you can get him minutes the better for his development and the team's long term prospects.  

[NextYearBill]

58 minutes ago, Cowboy said:

 

-thanks to CFord and staff for having the open practice and the two old guys near me that complained after their third trip up the stairs that at 10.15 that the donuts and coffee were gone, get a life

I enjoyed a peaceful morning from 9am-10am... eating my donuts, sipping my coffee..... then around 10am a family with 3 kids sits behind me to kick my seat and complain the coffee and donuts were gone.

go bills

[ACE]

20 hours ago, davidnark said:

He cannot play a classic 5, but it isn't uncommon to see top D1 teams play without a center or even a true power forward for long stretches. 

I agree.. if French if in foul trouble or needs a break and Bell needs a break (which will probably be quite often) who else will play the 5? There aren't many options. There will certainly be times when Hankton is the lone big on the floor.

[BIG BILL FAN]

3 minutes ago, ACE said:

I agree.. if French if in foul trouble or needs a break and Bell needs a break (which will probably be quite often) who else will play the 5? There aren't many options. There will certainly be times when Hankton is the lone big on the floor.

Just stop with the Jimmy Bell needs a break nonsense...no one has ever expected him to play 30+ minutes a game....fatigue will not be an issue, there is at least 1 break every 4 minutes in college basketball.....the man has proven he is a hard worker.....

[ACE]

7 minutes ago, BIG BILL FAN said:

Just stop with the Jimmy Bell needs a break nonsense...no one has ever expected him to play 30+ minutes a game....fatigue will not be an issue, there is at least 1 break every 4 minutes in college basketball.....the man has proven he is a hard worker.....

uh ok...  And where did I say people were suggesting Bell would play 30+ minutes/per game? 

Back to my main point...  "There will certainly be times when Hankton is the lone big on the floor."  Feel free to agree or disagree with that, rather than going on a tangent about Bell.

[dennis_w]

there has been numerous posts that Bell will be too fatigued to play more than a couple of minutes, wouldnt describe bbf as a tangent and i have said in the past that hankton will be a player

[BIG BILL FAN]

1 hour ago, ACE said:

uh ok...  And where did I say people were suggesting Bell would play 30+ minutes/per game? 

Back to my main point...  "There will certainly be times when Hankton is the lone big on the floor."  Feel free to agree or disagree with that, rather than going on a tangent about Bell.

uh, you were the one who brought up Bell.....

[slu72]

Let's not forget Hargrove. He may only be 6'5" but he can leap tall buildings. 

[Clock_Tower]

Guess we will all have to just wait and see about the possible 40 minutes of hell pace of the game.   If so, it does solve alot of issues:   gives alot of minutes to alot more players and thereby keep more happy; it gives much needed touches and minutes to all who apparently have had prior development issues (from bad coaching, to played different positions, to not played enough b/c of weight issues, injury issues...; it gives more minutes at the higher level D1 game to most all who need the same; we will certainly make mistakes but each mistake/turnover/missed shot will be lessened if we have significantly more possession and take more shots than in prior years; it allows for needed evaluations and chemistry issues which are best resolved with game situations rather than just with practices, and it keeps down criticism from from us MBM's as we will all be talking about things other than the same complaints from last year, and the year before...

[RiseOfTheBillikens]

On 10/26/2019 at 3:07 PM, moytoy12 said:

I share ‘72’s frustration. Those center court lower bowl seats are often empty. I’m not sure what the solution is, but it’s damn frustrating. 

@Major Majerus, I don’t see any way we can redshirt Diarra. Our front court is thin enough as is.

I was thinking about the empty lower bowl issue while drinking some adult beverages with some friends over the weekend. I know it's probably not possible but a system where they text season ticket holders halfway through the game and give them seats in a better location. So I have 3 season tickets, they shoot me a text halfway through and say you can move down to these 3 spots. That way towards the end of the game you have more people in the more visible lower section. Just an idea. Of course there's all kinds of issues with this but I feel like for certain games where there will be plenty of open seats (La Salles, Fordhams) this would at least help how the program looks on TV.  

 

[billikenfan05]

4 hours ago, Cowboy said:

-speaking of traveling, one thing that stuck with me was during one of the first drills where it was fast break against no defense there were many times our guys traveled, again there was no defense, CFord would comment to them about details on spacing but not about traveling, unless the rule changed and you get 4 steps then it would be okay otherwise we seem to practicing bad habits

-thanks to CFord and staff for having the open practice and the two old guys near me that complained after their third trip up the stairs that at 10.15 that the donuts and coffee were gone, get a life

That drill was just wind sprints with basketball skills involved

[Clock_Tower]

15 minutes ago, RiseOfTheBillikens said:

I was thinking about the empty lower bowl issue while drinking some adult beverages with some friends over the weekend. I know it's probably not possible but a system where they text season ticket holders halfway through the game and give them seats in a better location. So I have 3 season tickets, they shoot me a text halfway through and say you can move down to these 3 spots. That way towards the end of the game you have more people in the more visible lower section. Just an idea. Of course there's all kinds of issues with this but I feel like for certain games where there will be plenty of open seats (La Salles, Fordhams) this would at least help how the program looks on TV.  

 

All I can say about the lower bowl is that I, and my family, all believe that Fr. Biondi purposefully held back ALOT of seats before the first season ticket holder selected their seats.    Been too many years now, but If my parents (season ticket holders since 1983) had their priority ranking of 500 (I am making this number up), then you would expect 1,000 to 2,000 tickets (2 to 4 seats per ranking number) off the the board/covered up the time they first selected.   Instead, there had to be double the amount off the board/covered up when they first selected.   No complaints in that my parent's seats are still really, really good... and close.   But no regular season ticket holders sit in their row and below them.   Often, prior players sit together and in these seats/this section.  Troy Robertson and Larry Hughes come to mind.   But I suspect, and would bet a large amount, that Fr. Biondi took 500 to 1000 seats off the the board to later sell to big donors and/or when it was expected that season tickets would be sold out - and unavailable.  In the meantime, season tickets remain available and SLU has simply used these rows of seats as PR for the school,   

[billiken_roy]

33 minutes ago, RiseOfTheBillikens said:

I was thinking about the empty lower bowl issue while drinking some adult beverages with some friends over the weekend. I know it's probably not possible but a system where they text season ticket holders halfway through the game and give them seats in a better location. So I have 3 season tickets, they shoot me a text halfway through and say you can move down to these 3 spots. That way towards the end of the game you have more people in the more visible lower section. Just an idea. Of course there's all kinds of issues with this but I feel like for certain games where there will be plenty of open seats (La Salles, Fordhams) this would at least help how the program looks on TV.  

 

i like the idea, but i can attest to some of the folks near my seats, they sometimes dont show up till halftime.   not really sure why they buy tickets if they come then, but they do.   

[billiken_roy]

7 minutes ago, Clock_Tower said:

All I can say about the lower bowl is that I, and my family, all believe that Fr. Biondi purposefully held back ALOT of seats before the first season ticket holder selected their seats.    Been too many years now, but If my parents (season ticket holders since 1983) had their priority ranking of 500 (I am making this number up), then you would expect 1,000 to 2,000 tickets (2 to 4 seats per ranking number) off the the board/covered up the time they first selected.   Instead, there had to be double the amount off the board/covered up when they first selected.   No complaints in that my parent's seats are still really, really good... and close.   But no regular season ticket holders sit in their row and below them.   Often, prior players sit together and in these seats/this section.  Troy Robertson and Larry Hughes come to mind.   But I suspect, and would bet a large amount, that Fr. Biondi took 500 to 1000 seats off the the board to later sell to big donors and/or when it was expected that season tickets would be sold out - and unavailable.  In the meantime, season tickets remain available and SLU has simply used these rows of seats as PR for the school,   

it seems to me, hughes has 8 season tickets as they sit in the exact same seats all the time.

[Sheltiedave]

3 hours ago, BIG BILL FAN said:

Just stop with the Jimmy Bell needs a break nonsense...no one has ever expected him to play 30+ minutes a game....fatigue will not be an issue, there is at least 1 break every 4 minutes in college basketball.....the man has proven he is a hard worker.....

Maybe you were at the games all last year, and missed the many times Scott Highmark would note that CG was gassed, and needed to come out after three minutes of normal pace play.

Bell is dragging 30 to 40 more pounds around than Gordon, has a lot poorer base conditioning level, and is by no means a graceful gazelle...and you expect him to not need quick blows, when we are projected to press a lot.

Look at Gordon’s usage last year, keep in mind that Ford likes to keep his players on the court longer to round them into shape when possible, and cut that in half for Bell.

Gordon was a gazelle big man, Bell is a heavy footed troll, and will do well to hit Ian V’s freshman stats. A lot of people are forgetting Bell was a backup, not even a starter.

[almaman]

I think a lot of tickets are bought by folks as much to support the program as to actually go to the games.

[dennis_w]

2 minutes ago, Sheltiedave said:

Maybe you were at the games all last year, and missed the many times Scott Highmark would note that CG was gassed, and needed to come out after three minutes of normal pace play.

Bell is dragging 30 to 40 more pounds around than Gordon, has a lot poorer base conditioning level, and is by no means a graceful gazelle...and you expect him to not need quick blows, when we are projected to press a lot.

Look at Gordon’s usage last year, keep in mind that Ford likes to keep his players on the court longer to round them into shape when possible, and cut that in half for Bell.

Gordon was a gazelle big man, Bell is a heavy footed troll, and will do well to hit Ian V’s freshman stats. A lot of people are forgetting Bell was a backup, not even a starter.

CG doesnt have jb's work ethic, jb will be fine, how did he become a heavy footed troll?

 

[BIG BILL FAN]

18 minutes ago, Sheltiedave said:

Maybe you were at the games all last year, and missed the many times Scott Highmark would note that CG was gassed, and needed to come out after three minutes of normal pace play.

Bell is dragging 30 to 40 more pounds around than Gordon, has a lot poorer base conditioning level, and is by no means a graceful gazelle...and you expect him to not need quick blows, when we are projected to press a lot.

Look at Gordon’s usage last year, keep in mind that Ford likes to keep his players on the court longer to round them into shape when possible, and cut that in half for Bell.

Gordon was a gazelle big man, Bell is a heavy footed troll, and will do well to hit Ian V’s freshman stats. A lot of people are forgetting Bell was a backup, not even a starter.

heavy footed troll???? i'm more inclined to think you are a troll.....I actually was quite impressed by Bell's appearance at the open house....again, the man has been working out with the team since June and you want us to believe he can't play for 4 minutes at a stretch???? not buying it.....

[billiken_roy]

17 minutes ago, Sheltiedave said:

Bell is a heavy footed troll

that wasnt very nice. 

[Sheltiedave]

Just because Gordon was a head case, and down the road, and just because the national team Ian played on was Greece, and down the road, does not negate in either case they were in much better physical shape, with a better conditioning level, than Bell.

Being a fan does not preclude one from being able to make critical assessments. Bell, at this point in time, plays on the ground, very much like a football lineman, which is very much like Kenny Brown during his tenure.

He May be strong, and have a great work ethic, but he will get run into the ground for at least half the season. A lot of people are forgetting that new players who flash an all conference impression in practice become role players in season games.

[dennis_w]

33 minutes ago, Sheltiedave said:

Just because Gordon was a head case, and down the road, and just because the national team Ian played on was Greece, and down the road, does not negate in either case they were in much better physical shape, with a better conditioning level, than Bell.

Being a fan does not preclude one from being able to make critical assessments. Bell, at this point in time, plays on the ground, very much like a football lineman, which is very much like Kenny Brown during his tenure.

He May be strong, and have a great work ethic, but he will get run into the ground for at least half the season. A lot of people are forgetting that new players who flash an all conference impression in practice become role players in season games.

So coach ford says he is a starter and you call him insulting names. Your assessment of his season may end up being correct, but to name call and insult one of the billiken players is uncalled for

[3star_recruit]

6 hours ago, DoctorB said:

Thanks for all the great feedback on here. Just a few further responses:

--Yes, JB will need to drop more weight, and muscle up.  I am confused why anyone would say he does not.  Maybe they were seated too far up in the stands?  Anyway, yes, his body is still in transition and a work in progress. Bigger issue with him will be stamina: he can really only play in short bursts.  by the way:  I think my evaluation of JB's hands is more upbeat than some others: he has pretty good hands.  His feet and dexterity are truly special.  Strength is off the charts for a freshman, body-wise: oak tree.

--The questions about Perkins are legit, but I think he is a quiet force and do think he will become a major contributor. He and many of the other new guys are really given a lot of teaching and game planning stuff early on, and some do better learning the systems than others. Different players get chewed out in different practices for different reasons, but overall it is a challenging learning curve and one thing is this: if a player fails to grasp the defensive sets and gets burned a couple times, they will be on the bench.  But Perkins does have a scoring ability and finds ways to contribute.  Impact scorer?  let's see but he could be like Isabell last year -- it may take most of a season for us to really get a feel for how much of an impact he will have on this team.

--In that regard, I also have noticed in practice a lot of work on defensive positioning, pressing, and running through presses, etc.  I am struck by the claims by Coach Ford about playing 40 minutes of press.  He talks it up a lot in practices, too.  "People are going to hate playing us; they're going to fear us!" that sort of thing... Will we really do it? and will it work out?  In that scenario, yes stamina is a huge factor and a large rotation is required.

--last but not least: my kool-aid report is premised on any of these guys working hard, making grades, and improving over 4-5 years.  Give them some time and let's see how they progress.  I have not yet heard anything close to any knucklehead type stuff from any of the new guys -- or anyone for that matter. Knock on wood.  Actually have heard great stuff about the character of new guys.  (The knucklehead stuff really infuriates me, a basketball wannabe in the old days who just never had the pysical equipment of this kind of player.)  I truly hope I'm right about the knucklehead factor.  That said: it is the "age of transfers" so who knows? 

Overall: Let's see how this season works itself out (I have refrained from predicting a W_L record, because I really don't know what to think about this work in progress as a TEAM playing real competition). But I think it will be FUN to watch -- most of the time...

 

Nobody really presses for 40 minutes anymore. The days of Arkansas averaging 90 ppg, spearheaded by their defense, are over. But Coach Ford's rhetoric does serve a purpose. It conditions the team, physically and mentally, to be aggressive on defense for long periods of time. Even several 5 minutes stretches of pressure defense throughout the game would strike fear into a lot of teams.

[Clocktoweraccords2004]

How did talk of Bell being a starter turn into this a week later?

[billiken_roy]

56 minutes ago, Sheltiedave said:

Just because Gordon was a head case, and down the road, and just because the national team Ian played on was Greece, and down the road, does not negate in either case they were in much better physical shape, with a better conditioning level, than Bell.

Being a fan does not preclude one from being able to make critical assessments. Bell, at this point in time, plays on the ground, very much like a football lineman, which is very much like Kenny Brown during his tenure.

He May be strong, and have a great work ethic, but he will get run into the ground for at least half the season. A lot of people are forgetting that new players who flash an all conference impression in practice become role players in season games.

i dont remember ian v being a candidate for the slu decathlon team.  in fact his freshman year he was probably physically weaker and more out of shape than bell will be first game.

[Sheltiedave]

1 hour ago, BIG BILL FAN said:

heavy footed troll???? i'm more inclined to think you are a troll.....I actually was quite impressed by Bell's appearance at the open house....again, the man has been working out with the team since June and you want us to believe he can't play for 4 minutes at a stretch???? not buying it.....

If we press, and Bell is the back line, he will be lifting his hand in less than two minutes.

Base level conditioning for 40 minutes of pressing a game requires all players to punch out a sub six minute mile, sixteen quarter miles under 60 seconds with a twenty second break in between each, and then the damn shuttle runs on the court. These are just the running time tests, not the running conditioning.

I have been around programs that successfully turned heavy footed trolls into NBA centers(Archibald, Meyers, and Augustine yes, Clark no)We all have also seen programs that had trolls who were great college centers that washed out in the pros(Ostergag at Kansas, Big Country Reeves at OSU.)

You have working hard, you have great work ethic, and then you have hammerbody hard, like Conklin and Bess. Currently Goodwin and French are the best in conference at their positions because they are hammer bodies.

Ford may be using starter talk to motivate Bell, I would do the same. Btw, I called More than one Bills center a heavy footed troll, and they laughed. They will be the first to not worry about ground clearance when they jump. Once you are over 250 lbs, rebounds are just as much about sealing, clearing out, and positioning...ask Dobbs about that.