crymdg2 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I know that it is still early and all, but I was wondering what people's predictions were for the upcoming season. My predictions: 20-7 leading scorer-reggie bryant 19 ppg leading rebounder-vn 6 rpg leading assist- Polk 4 apg opening day starting lineup c-tf pf-io sf-vn sg-rb pg-dp 6th man-clarke 7th man-iv What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Drejaj has fallen to 8th man? Doubt it. I think Drejaj will average 20+ minutes whether he starts or comes off the bench. Coach has trouble keeping him off the court due to the intensity he brings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 It's too early yet with the big question being, "how are they going to be defensively?" I think we have more offensive talent or potential than we've had in some time, but we lost some really good defenders and we still don't have the offensive skills of the top CUSA teams. So defense is the key again, as it should always be. That's why AD will still be first off the bench, he can play D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 since we arent hearing any overwhelming reports about dwayne polk in practice, unless drejaj is still injured, by the time the first real game rolls around down in the virgin islands, i expect anthony to be in the starting lineup. that said, by the time the season winds down in memphis, again assuming no injuries, young mr polk will be driving the car by then. the question imo us who will play the other wing. will they go small and throw clarke out there, will they go bigger and play newborne on the wing? imo that is the lineup question to decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Drejaj 6th man Clarke 7th man Vouyoukas 8th man Meyer 9th man 20-9 regular season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crymdg2 Posted October 25, 2004 Author Share Posted October 25, 2004 My fault, I completely agree with you about Drejaj. For some reason he completely slipped my mind. I agree then that Drejaj would be 6th man followed by Clarke and Ian. For anyone who has attended practice has Danny Brown been a surprise to you? Sure I have never seen him play but I think he has the potential to be a very good player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 shouldnt you be in class? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I didn't get the feeling people who have seen practices were down on him, except for his D. Actually reports have been promising...you know something we don't. But, I do expect AD will get the nod over DP come regular season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 i never said the reports were disappointing. what we are hearing are reports that his athleticism stands out. however, my own view of his first practice was one of a lot of turnovers (grants not all his fault) and not fully grasping the pack man to man and the motion offense. i.e. he is still learning. thus, imo he will gradually win the spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I would be shocked if Drejaj starts for this team. He didn't start most of last season, and by all accounts there is much more depth at the guard position this year. Plus, the thought of Anthony as our primary ballhandler and distributor kind of scares me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 since we arent hearing any overwhelming reports about dwayne polk in practice Huh? Other than the SLU_Nick post, the reports I've read have been glowing. Drejaj may still start, but it won't be because of what Polk is showing in practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 "i never said the reports were disappointing. what we are hearing are reports that his athleticism stands out. however, my own view of his first practice was one of a lot of turnovers (grants not all his fault) and not fully grasping the pack man to man and the motion offense." That was eight practices ago. Looked great late last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 david, while polk promise four years of excitement, if you think dwayne will not double our turnovers from day one compared to last year, imo you are looking with a blind eye. the night i watched practice polk turned the ball over more than the rest of the squad combined. again, some of that is simply because of the nature of his play and his teamates not being used to it, but still some of it is reckless as well. does reckless and brad soderberg go together? i understand the apprehension of giving the keys to drejaj as well, but at this point in time, he is less scary protecting the ball than young mr polk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 3 star, i reported after the first practice the turnovers and less than grasped aspects of the pack man to man and motion offense. i believe someone else other than nick has posted the same. but my point is that unless polk steps in from day one showing the maturity of isiah thomas, we know the value that brad soderberg has for maturity and strong leadership and doing all the right things not shortcutting any drills in practice etc. if polk is doing all those things every day, then i agree, he will start. if not, then i believe he will send a message with drejaj. to be honest, the first night, if i came in with no preconcieved notions of the team or the players and watched that first practice, darren clarke would have been my choice if someone would have asked me to point out the probably point guard. brad used clarke to demonstrate all the drills, clarke worked hard, and more than held his own on any scrimage situation. cant say the same for polk. again, i am stating that polk has to be the starter eventually. just way too much talent to hold back. but brad's track record isnt one that hands it over to a freshman. and when anthony beane stopped thicks in his tracks at the billiken club meeting and made sure it was known that polk isnt the starter yet, that spoke volumes imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I think it is still too early to tell who will get the first start at PG. My hope is that Polk will be able to handle the job from the start as he offers the most promise as it is his natural position. I would much rather see AD coming off the bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I agree it is going to take a while for Polk to learn the system and to fully grasp Brad's expectations; however, I have seen both Drejaj and Polk play many times, and Polk is a vastly superior ballhandler. Polk is also much, much quicker and more athletic. At some point (hopefully early in the season) these factors become real important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 That's not what happened. If he had "stopped me in my tracks," I wouldn't have finished the question. Second, he didn't even address that issue first. You heard what you wanted to hear, but the way you describe it isn't accurate. Just because Dwayne Polk hasn't been handed the starting position after six practices (as of the meeting) doesn't mean he can't earn it by the beginning of the season. I doubt that anyone has been handed a starting position (or any playing time) just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 >>he question imo us who will play the other wing. will they go small and throw clarke out there, will they go bigger and play newborne on the wing? imo that is the lineup question to decide.<< How long has it been since SLU had legitimate multiple options at wing? I can never remember it being the case. We can go large at wing with Newborne. Clarke if we want to go small (at 6'4", he's still big enough to be credible out there). Then we have Luke Meyer for depth at wing. Drejaj will get minutes when we go 3 guard lineup. Last year, it was Izik (not really suited for SF) or 3 guard. This is a vastly improved situation at wing IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 i think it is a great point that we are arguing over positions with who has the MOST credentials for once. here is clarke apparently competing at three spots for time. probably wont start, but that versatility makes him all the more valuable. newborne came in as what we believed to be the next pf. while it appears izik will take that spot, newborne is good enough with the ball and shooting wise to slide over to the wing and will get mucho minutes at probably both spots regardless of who starts where. in truth, our point guard spot is also well defined. we have the previous year all-state guard in dwayne polk who will end up probably making us dream for the fantasy match race with david burns and you have brad's returning just put me out there grinder anthony drejaj. not like we are trying to convert a wing to the spot or grabbing david ferguson at the last minute to play the point. by all accounts, ian has greatly improved, thus tempering our concerns over tom frericks all too often illness/injury of the week and his tendency to foul occasionally. all in all, one has to feel pretty good about the upcoming billikens. of course it just wouldnt be right to not point out that in it's last season of existence as we knew it, this might be the toughest conference usa ever. thus while it might be a better team than we have seen in awhile, they are going to play better teams after january 1 than they have seen in awhile as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bauman Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Roy, based on seeing VN just a couple of times, I can't see a way that Brad doesn't start him. He is just too good to be a 6th or 7th man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 bauman, if you remember, i was mr skeptic on newborne all summer long. but i am ready to eat my helping of crow after seeing him at the midnight practice. i agree completely that he has a lot of skills and surely should be a part of the lineup for huge minutes. i only mention the possibility of his not starting to illustrate the flexibility our latest roster exhibits as compared to years past. if vashun has the quickness to stay up with the cusa small forwards like banks and garcia, we got a gem that is for sure. the only concern is his more or less tweener size. while we were hoping for a power forward, he appears more suited for the wing sizewise, but the likes of chris sloan, jeff harris and donnie dobbs have all thrown such typecasting in the trash before. in this instance though, mr newborne appears to have more outside skills than the aforementioned trio, thus, i think he has to play the wing. he may lose out on some offensive rebounds, but i trust he will make up for it on the defensive end since the pack man to man keeps all the players close to the rim to hawk rebounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU_Nick Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 A lot of people are talking about DC playing some time at point guard. He has gotten much bigger but he didnt really display (last year) he could protect the ball like a pg. He would get the pass on the wing and then pass quick inside or back out. He didnt really show me anything last year as far as pg skills come. At practice he is attacking the basket which I dont think I ever saw him do last year (maybe the garbage minutes of the UAB game). I liked what I saw from him. Not saying he couldnt handle point, but I think I would rather have him a penetrating wing man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bauman Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 18-11 record b/4 CUSA tournament leading scorer- RB--16.3 rebounder--VN--6.2 assists- DP-- 4.7 starters: c-TF pf- IO sf- VN sg- RB pg- DP 6th man DC 7th man AD 8th man DB 9th man IV 10th man LM If JJ is reinstated make him the 6/7th man depending on if we need a big or a little first. Losses are to Cin, Char (2), L'ville, SIU, Depaul, Gonz, Marq, UAB, Iowa and Memphis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 If JJ returns and is SLU's first big man off the bench ..... that only could mean that he had a heart transplant during his six-week suspension. Amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I agree with that. My starting 5 DP RB VN IO TF The 6th man will depend on the game I would say we have a 1st off big which would be IV. Then a first off guard which will be AD or DC probably AD first but I think they will get both get plenty of minutes. As we have discussed ... I think what will make this team good is the ability to adapt to the game and the opponent. We could go big or quick or traditional. We will be able to make up for foul trouble easier. We just have so many more options than in the past Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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