Quality Is Job 1 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Tom Frericks sat out all but one drill. Anthony Drejaj didn't participate in any drills except for one, when he was a passer. Danny Brown wasn't present; one of the coaches told me that he was getting an MRI on his knee, which he hurt in practice Friday. Most of my individual observations will merely echo what others have reported. Dwayne Polk is lightning quick and is the first true point guard SLU has had in a long time. Vas'shun Newborne is for real; he'll play -- a lot -- and be a key contributor for the Bills. Ian Vouyoukas is definitely skilled on offense around the basket, but his footspeed leaves much to be desired. The athleticism and talent of the team is definitely higher, and the team should be able to score more points this season. That brings me to the team observations. They're still a work in progress. They do pretty well in the drills, but they seem to have trouble translating that into five-on-five action, especially defensively. There was a brief scrimmage; Coach Soderberg was displeased with the results. The white squad (Coach Beane, Ian Mooney, Bryce Husak, Luke Meyer, Newborne, walk-on Peyton Jacks, and a manager named Brian) beat the blue squad (Polk, Vouyoukas, Izik Ohanon, Darren Clarke, and Reggie Bryant) by the score of 16-9. Newborne scored 10 of the 16 points. The white squad got any shot it wanted. Brad lambasted the defense after practice. I'm sure it didn't help that Frericks, Drejaj, and Brown were out. Frericks told me that he hopes to be back in action Wednesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bauman Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Did I miss info on TF sitting out? Any word on what the problem is? By the way, I saw about 30 minutes today, and although it has been mentioned, IO looks like the player we all hoped he would be 2 years ago. Much more aggressive and much stronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 In my opinion, the jury is out on Izik until he competes against C-USA teams. For three years now observers (including Anthony Bonner) have raved about IO's skills when he's going up against his teammates and friends of the Billikens; let's see him do it against Cincinnati, Memphis, Louisville, Marquette, Gonzaga, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 thicks ...... on the one hand, in your original post you state that "Newborne is for real; he'll play -- a lot -- and he will be a key contributor for the Bills". Then in the above post regarding Ohanon you state, "imo, the jury is still out on Izik until he competes against C-USA teams ..... let's see him do it against Cincy, Memphis, Louisville, Marquette, Gonzaga, etc." It appears you have different standards for a previously unseen recruit (Newborne) versus the third year player (Ohanon). You give VN a free pass to being a "key contributor", yet IO has to hit homeruns against the C-USA's top teams. Just curious as to your thinking! (btw, I think VN is solid, both in the skills area and with the intangibles. We are fortunate to have him.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 This will be Vas'shun's first go-round in a Billiken uniform, so we'll have to see if he'll really live up to expectations, but for the time being he hasn't had an opportunity to succeed OR fail as a Billiken. IO, on the other hand, has teased us twice before and come up short both times, thus he'll have to "show me." It's not to say that Izik won't have a solid, consistent year, but I hesitate to declare it prematurely after being twice burned. Izik should average 12 and 5.5 -- and is capable of more -- but for now that's in pencil, not ink. (I hope he makes me dine on crow.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I agree with Thicks. There are times where IO can look unstoppable then disappears als Matt Baniak. We need him to bring it every night for us to win. Newborne sounds promising. Was surprised at the scrimmage results. Question for Thicks, can we be the defensive team we've been in the past two years or are these extra points going to be needed? Extra points are always nice, but stopping the other team is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 >I agree with Thicks. There are times where IO can look >unstoppable then disappears als Matt Baniak. We need him to >bring it every night for us to win. Newborne sounds >promising. Was surprised at the scrimmage results. Question >for Thicks, can we be the defensive team we've been in the >past two years or are these extra points going to be needed? >Extra points are always nice, but stopping the other team is >better. Well, I think the Billikens CAN be as staunch defensively as they've been over the last few years -- Brad will settle for nothing less -- but the question is Will they? Perhaps Newborne will provide double-figure scoring. He outscored the blue squad all by himself yesterday. The blue squad comprised four veterans and Polk, the point guard of the future. Coach Soderberg won't be able to play Bryant, Clarke, and Polk together on the wing until they mesh more soundly on defense. Furthermore, Newborne, Frericks, and Drejaj need to be in there, as they are the better defenders. That may reduce the explosiveness of the offense somewhat. AFter what I saw yesterday, I project the opening day starters as Drejaj, Bryant, Newborne, Ohanon, and Frericks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I wasn't there yesterday but it appears that we don't have anybody on this team that can defend Newborne. That has been the case regardless of who is defending him, at least in every pick-up game or practice that I've watched. Not surprising, since skilled small forwards have been whipping our tail during the season for at least the last 5 seasons now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Is it fair to make a favorable comparison of Newborne to Eddie Badson of Charlotte. If so, we have oursselves a great ballplayer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 That's a pretty good comparison. What makes me even happier is that we finally have somebody who can match up defensively at the small forward. This team has no chance of making the Dance if almost every team with a skilled, athletic small forward can be pencilled down for 15 points and 7 boards against us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I know Badsen sunk us last year in Charlotte, we had no one who could match up with him. Now the question is can IO stop Withers....can anyone stop Withers? Charlotte's got a chance at being pretty good this year. I think Dee Brown graduating will help them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 "Now the question is can IO stop Withers....can anyone stop Withers" Nope. Most effective player in the conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewey33 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 IO had a good game against Withers last year at our place... http://slubillikens.collegesports.com/spor.../021404aaa.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.