GDT: Hungry for some wolves

[NH]

Also, going back to the game:

• Manny Bates was a monster for them. We will face a maximum of one more big guy this year that causes us as many issues as he did and that's Osun Osunniyi on St. Bonaventure; I think fans may underestimate how much of an impact having a rim protector makes. That is the biggest difference when we play Has vs. Linnsen
• In the first half I thought too many guys were trying to make a play. They weren't being selfish, but too many instances of forced passes or unnecessary drives. In the second half Yuri, Goodwin, Perkins and Jacobs all did a much better job of taking what they defense gave us
• Honestly, this is the close to the perfect Hasahn game in my book. Didn't force the issue offensively, and we didn't play through the post much. He is an elite shot-blocker and rebounder and is best when we don't rely on him to create offense.
• Is Jacobs our most talented player? If he's not, he's got to be up there. He and Ford should accept nothing less than an All-Conference season from him next year when he takes on a bigger role.
• I thought Fred showed some flashes of why he can be really valuable; first time all year I've really felt that way

[jonny karate]

Such remarkable and dramatic experience last night. These guys play for each other.

[cheeseman]

30 minutes ago, Old guy said:

Last night's win over NC St. by 11 pts, well over the spread, was a good thing for our ranking. TeamRankings had us at #24 just before the game, today they have us up to #18. NC St. was at #21 before the game, today they are down to #28.

Minnesota was undefeated until 12/15 when they got blown away by Illinois (92 to 65), they are now at #48. This does not mean we will walk over them, it will be a tough game for sure. Coming after such a defeat by Illinois, Minnesota is likely to be determined to blow us away. I think we can beat them, we will see Saturday.

The rest of us will see Sunday.

[wgstl]

As i said last night, the type of game played last night should help us for our first road game 

[HoosierPal]

2 hours ago, CBFan said:

Got to remember Roy a lot of posters did not have the pleasure to see Bonner play like we did.

I remember the day when it was announced in the post dispatch that Bonner and Jones signed.  That was huge, SLU got a couple of Floyd Irons kids.

3/1/1990  45 points, 20 rebounds. 

[Schasz]

Had some concerns in the first half with the sloppy play and even the early part of the 2nd half; however, once the Bills get rolling in the 2nd half there was no stopping them. We owned the boards against an ACC team. I like our chances even on the road at MN but lets not commit 21 TO's again. Great win last night. 

[billikenfan05]

44 minutes ago, NH said:

Also, going back to the game:

• Manny Bates was a monster for them. We will face a maximum of one more big guy this year that causes us as many issues as he did and that's Osun Osunniyi on St. Bonaventure; I think fans may underestimate how much of an impact having a rim protector makes. That is the biggest difference when we play Has vs. Linnsen
• In the first half I thought too many guys were trying to make a play. They weren't being selfish, but too many instances of forced passes or unnecessary drives. In the second half Yuri, Goodwin, Perkins and Jacobs all did a much better job of taking what they defense gave us
• Honestly, this is the close to the perfect Hasahn game in my book. Didn't force the issue offensively, and we didn't play through the post much. He is an elite shot-blocker and rebounder and is best when we don't rely on him to create offense.
• Is Jacobs our most talented player? If he's not, he's got to be up there. He and Ford should accept nothing less than an All-Conference season from him next year when he takes on a bigger role.
• I thought Fred showed some flashes of why he can be really valuable; first time all year I've really felt that way

Manny Bates and the word face separated by 7 words made me giggle because I'm a mean child. Longest face in the NCAA.

[brianstl]

51 minutes ago, NH said:

Also, going back to the game:

• Manny Bates was a monster for them. We will face a maximum of one more big guy this year that causes us as many issues as he did and that's Osun Osunniyi on St. Bonaventure; I think fans may underestimate how much of an impact having a rim protector makes. That is the biggest difference when we play Has vs. Linnsen
• In the first half I thought too many guys were trying to make a play. They weren't being selfish, but too many instances of forced passes or unnecessary drives. In the second half Yuri, Goodwin, Perkins and Jacobs all did a much better job of taking what they defense gave us
• Honestly, this is the close to the perfect Hasahn game in my book. Didn't force the issue offensively, and we didn't play through the post much. He is an elite shot-blocker and rebounder and is best when we don't rely on him to create offense.
• Is Jacobs our most talented player? If he's not, he's got to be up there. He and Ford should accept nothing less than an All-Conference season from him next year when he takes on a bigger role.
• I thought Fred showed some flashes of why he can be really valuable; first time all year I've really felt that way

We caused some of our own problems offensively in the first half, but NC State deserves a lot credit for just how well they played defensively in the first half.  They played at a level that is basically impossible to sustain for a full game defensively.  I think a full strength NC State could be a contender in the ACC.  Keatts has some really nice pieces to work with, and really game planned well for the Billikens on short notice.

[NH]

1 minute ago, brianstl said:

We caused some of our own problems offensively in the first half, but NC State deserves a lot credit for just how well they played defensively in the first half.  They played at a level that is basically impossible to sustain for a full game defensively.  I think a full strength NC State could be a contender in the ACC.  Keatts has some really nice pieces to work with, and really game planned well for the Billikens on short notice.

Agreed. They were also meaningfully better and more aggressive defensively than any team we've played thus far and I think it took our guys a well to adjust, which contributed to the turnover issue. 

[3star_recruit]

54 minutes ago, NH said:

Also, going back to the game:

• Manny Bates was a monster for them. We will face a maximum of one more big guy this year that causes us as many issues as he did and that's Osun Osunniyi on St. Bonaventure; I think fans may underestimate how much of an impact having a rim protector makes. That is the biggest difference when we play Has vs. Linnsen
• In the first half I thought too many guys were trying to make a play. They weren't being selfish, but too many instances of forced passes or unnecessary drives. In the second half Yuri, Goodwin, Perkins and Jacobs all did a much better job of taking what they defense gave us
• Honestly, this is the close to the perfect Hasahn game in my book. Didn't force the issue offensively, and we didn't play through the post much. He is an elite shot-blocker and rebounder and is best when we don't rely on him to create offense.
• Is Jacobs our most talented player? If he's not, he's got to be up there. He and Ford should accept nothing less than an All-Conference season from him next year when he takes on a bigger role.
• I thought Fred showed some flashes of why he can be really valuable; first time all year I've really felt that way

Minnesota's 7 footer Liam Robbins is actually a more well-rounded player. Can block shots, score inside and out.  And their lead guard Marcus Carr is a legitimate first team candidate in the best conference in America.  Glad Coach Ford and company have a couple of days to prepare.

[Littlebill]

13 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

Minnesota's 7 footer Liam Robbins is actually a more well-rounded player. Can block shots, score inside and out.  And their lead guard Marcus Carr is a legitimate first team candidate in the best conference in America.  Glad Coach Ford and company have a couple of days to prepare.

Yep. Illini ran them out of them gym because they're a perfect matchup (and U of I's pretty good)

[rgbilliken]

41 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Manny Bates and the word face separated by 7 words made me giggle because I'm a mean child. Longest face in the NCAA.

Lmao glad I'm not the only one

[BuiltFordBills]

41 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Manny Bates and the word face separated by 7 words made me giggle because I'm a mean child. Longest face in the NCAA.

A buddy sent me this and said it reminded them of Bates 

I felt bad laughing but not that bad because he destroyed us all night

[almaman]

12 minutes ago, rgbilliken said:

Lmao glad I'm not the only one

He looks like a cartoon character can’t remember who. 

[brianstl]

For all the talk about NC State falling a part because their players just got worn down and had to play too many minutes because of a lack depth......

Heavy minutes didn't seem to wear down Collins(38 minutes), Goodwin (36) and Perkins (34).  Those three didn't come off the court in the second half.

[HoosierPal]

6 minutes ago, brianstl said:

For all the talk about NC State falling a part because their players just got worn down and had to play too many minutes because of a lack depth......

Heavy minutes didn't seem to wear down Collins(38 minutes), Goodwin (36) and Perkins (34).  Those three didn't come off the court in the second half.

I agree 100%.  Bell and Hargrove each played only 4 (valuable) minutes, and Thatch 6.  If Linnsen or French had not gotten their second foul in the first half, Bell may not have seen the floor.  I think that NC State had not played since Dec 2 had a lot to do with their game fitness. 

[Aquinas]

Saw a post game interview with the NC State coach. He said the lack of depth hurt most because he had a couple of players that were off their game, and couldn't sub them out.

[billikenfan05]

35 minutes ago, BuiltFordBills said:

A buddy sent me this and said it reminded them of Bates 

I felt bad laughing but not that bad because he destroyed us all night

Easter Island Head is a good comparison too

[David King]

10 hours ago, BilliesBy40 said:

They really shouldn’t be compared, as their games are very different. But since we’re all having fun here: Jett’s career high in rebounds was 10, which he did once. We all know Goodwin AVERAGES that per game.

Some day soon we will all regret not appreciating Goodwin more during his career. He is truly a once in a lifetime player.

JGood is easily the best player on the team, and we'd be lost without him. It's pretty clear that he's trying to show the NBA he can hit the three, and IMHO he's succeeding. he's shooting it more this year vs. last- 3.3/gm vs 2.3/gm, and he's hitting it more this year than last-35.0% vs 28.2%. His FT% is also a little better at 62.5%. Let's hope he can keep it up and make it to the NBA.

[juniorbill76]

In a post-game interview I think Coach Ford said they were able to grind it out. It wasn't that long ago when a Billikens grind-it-out game would have ended 52-49.

[cgeldmacher]

11 hours ago, SluSignGuy said:

Yup.  You are exactly right.  I personally have a bias towards more disciplined teams, so that colors my view.  Even in college, I begged for GW to play more disciplined, and one of the years they only lost 1 regular season game playing more run and gun.

 

Yup again.  I think we can become more disciplined, but as @cgeldmacher said, Ford recruits a different type of player.  And this type of player came in handy tonight (e.g. Jacobs contributing in the second half).  But it can also result in some unforced errors.

I have been very much in the same mindset as you about wanting our teams to play disciplined basketball.  Only recently have I allowed myself to trust Ford and the athletic players that he has recruited.  It still makes my skin crawl sometimes when we look like we're playing too fast or without a plan, but at the same time we are beating upper half SEC and ACC teams with that style of play.  My point is that I feel you, but "In Travis We Trust."

[kshoe]

3 minutes ago, David King said:

JGood is easily the best player on the team, and we'd be lost without him. It's pretty clear that he's trying to show the NBA he can hit the three, and IMHO he's succeeding. he's shooting it more this year vs. last- 3.3/gm vs 2.3/gm, and he's hitting it more this year than last-35.0% vs 28.2%. His FT% is also a little better at 62.5%. Let's hope he can keep it up and make it to the NBA.

I was surprised to see only 62.5% on fts as to me he looks much better at the line. I really like his process this year at the line where he pulls the left leg forward, dribbles and then shoots. Looks confident.

All that being said, percentages are tough to judge this early in the season with small sample sizes as he's a grand total of 10 of 16 on fts. 2 extra makes and he's 75%, 2 makes instead rattle out and he's only 50% and we are bemoaning how he hasn't improved.

[cgeldmacher]

11 hours ago, wgstl said:

What I said was a fact.  What more do you want.  Perkins missed 3(!) gimmies with no points and a few TO's with just 2 minutes left. 

But is it necessary to say that as a fan of a 6-0 team that is headed for the Top 25 about your team's best offensive player.  I guarantee that Michael Jordan had stretches at NC where he wasn't great.  Should the NC fans have been comments like that?  My point is that even national championship teams lose games.  National championship teams have bad halves.  National championship teams have bad stretches.  The same is true of the best players on those national championship teams.

I'm not saying that you're wrong, but maybe "Perkins is really struggling right now," might be a better statement to make about our best offensive player when he's not scoring 10 points in every five minute stretch of the game.

[ACE]

2 hours ago, NH said:

Also, going back to the game:

• Manny Bates was a monster for them. We will face a maximum of one more big guy this year that causes us as many issues as he did and that's Osun Osunniyi on St. Bonaventure; I think fans may underestimate how much of an impact having a rim protector makes. That is the biggest difference when we play Has vs. Linnsen
• In the first half I thought too many guys were trying to make a play. They weren't being selfish, but too many instances of forced passes or unnecessary drives. In the second half Yuri, Goodwin, Perkins and Jacobs all did a much better job of taking what they defense gave us
• Honestly, this is the close to the perfect Hasahn game in my book. Didn't force the issue offensively, and we didn't play through the post much. He is an elite shot-blocker and rebounder and is best when we don't rely on him to create offense.
• Is Jacobs our most talented player? If he's not, he's got to be up there. He and Ford should accept nothing less than an All-Conference season from him next year when he takes on a bigger role.
• I thought Fred showed some flashes of why he can be really valuable; first time all year I've really felt that way

Tre Mitchell is a monster big that we will have to deal with twice.

 

I agree on your last point about Fred. It didn't like he did much by looking at the box score, but I thought he provided a lot of energy and did a lot of good little things in the first half. We're going to need him on Sunday to help slow down Carr.

[slufanskip]

27 minutes ago, brianstl said:

For all the talk about NC State falling a part because their players just got worn down and had to play too many minutes because of a lack depth......

Heavy minutes didn't seem to wear down Collins(38 minutes), Goodwin (36) and Perkins (34).  Those three didn't come off the court in the second half.

I posted the same in Hochman's write up in the Post which imo made it sound like we hust had and used so many more players it wore them down.  NC State's top 7 199 min. Our top 7 186 min. basically 2 min per player difference.