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2021-2022 Season


Aquinas

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45 minutes ago, ACE said:

Getting anything out of Lorentsson would be a pleasant surprise. It's always nice to have a stretch big. Based on pictures and video he certainly looks like he has bulked up. Not sure about his defense and rebounding, but if he can do it at a passable level, maybe he carves out a niche this year. 

Disagree.  I expect Lorentsson to play as Big #3.  10 minutes or so a game.  He came in last year really late.  So learning the system, the defensive and offensive schemes, had to be learned DURING the season.  One season, a workout Summer, and he should be comfortable with the team, plays, his surroundings, etc.  You can't teach 6'8".   

Hargroves tried playing the 4 at times last year and was exposed on defense because of his size.  Can see Lorentsson taking some of those minutes if he can adequately defend.

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12 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

Disagree.  I expect Lorentsson to play as Big #3.  10 minutes or so a game.  He came in last year really late.  So learning the system, the defensive and offensive schemes, had to be learned DURING the season.  One season, a workout Summer, and he should be comfortable with the team, plays, his surroundings, etc.  You can't teach 6'8".   

Hargroves tried playing the 4 at times last year and was exposed on defense because of his size.  Can see Lorentsson taking some of those minutes if he can adequately defend.

I said he reminded me of a less thicc Cody Ellis on Sunday. 

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24 minutes ago, abas115 said:

 

  • Nesbitt is a stud, but I think he has an attitude problem. Christian Nunez was his scrimmage team's HC and more times than I can count on one hand had to ask him to keep his cool and focus on the game. I wouldn't say he's a Grandy Glaze or Carteare Gordan type of problem, but his talent and ability paired with his immaturity and popularity might prove problematic this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ford make a point early in the season by giving other guys minutes over him as a punishment for that type of behavior. 

-I was hoping he outgrew this, perhaps you saw the last exhibition of it and it will be smooth sailing

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1 hour ago, abas115 said:

That is me. 

Grandpa got the invite for us to attend practice and half a dozen of us went. I was blown away by a variety of things I saw and my thoughts are as follows:

  • Lorentsson looked as comfortable and confident as anybody. He took smart shots and made most of them, >50% from deep but hit a couple of midrange and got to the rack too. I didn't keep stats but he stood out as much if not more than anyone else and he was likely the leading scorer in that scrimmage - not to mention he shot ~80% throughout all the other drills and shoot arounds. I don't know how he'd fit in the rotation, or how often he'll fit in the rotation, but he exceeded my expectations tenfold and looked like a player that will have a role...then again so did 11 other guys. 
  • Okoro looks more like a basketball player than any Billiken I've ever seen. Every one of his dunks looked like he wanted to shatter the backboard. He communicated really well with everyone on the court and I loved to see that kind of involvement from the big man - also loved his accent. 
  • Yuri looked as Yuri as ever and with the amount of talent on this roster he might be one of the best PGs in the country 
  • this year and will DEFINITELY improve over last year's APG. 
  • Nesbitt is a stud, but I think he has an attitude problem. Christian Nunez was his scrimmage team's HC and more times than I can count on one hand had to ask him to keep his cool and focus on the game. I wouldn't say he's a Grandy Glaze or Carteare Gordan type of problem, but his talent and ability paired with his immaturity and popularity might prove problematic this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ford make a point early in the season by giving other guys minutes over him as a punishment for that type of behavior. 
  • We're fuoking deep at every single position. Every one of them. And the team knows that because even in a random closed Sunday scrimmage practice each player had the intensity level of a mid-conference play game and at times didn't even look like they were playing against their own teammates.  
  • Perkins really did get big, but unfortunately it looks like none of it went to his legs. He did tweak  his ankle in practice and sat out the final 2/3 of it but he’s most certainly fine and it was just precautionary. I’m hoping fragility isn’t an issue this year but had he gained in his legs what he did in his torso I’d be far more confident that it won’t be. 
  • Traore looked good. He’s big and definitely has the potential we saw in the limited footage. Likely just serves a practice role this year but could see him being serviceable in situations where Okoro and Linssen are in foul trouble. 
  • Jones and Yuri really went at it and it was a contest. I’m the biggest Yuri fan there is and I’ll be the first to say he can pick up the slack when Yuri has to step off the court. 
  • Rashad is as good of a shooter as we could’ve hoped for and maybe even better. From deep, contested, of the dribble, spot up…saw him make them all. 
     

I have more thoughts but I’ll sit on them unless anyone is looking for something specific. I plan to expand on them after Friday. 

What one person calls having an attitude, another person calls firing himself up.  It's a character Nesbitt plays on the court, a la Kevin Garnett.

 

 

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8 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

What one person calls having an attitude, another person calls firing himself up.  It's a character Nesbitt plays on the court, a la Kevin Garnett.

 

 

Star. Are you related to Nesbit? Any question or concern is met with a vigorous defense. 

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15 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

What one person calls having an attitude, another person calls firing himself up.  It's a character Nesbitt plays on the court, a la Kevin Garnett.

 

 

Disagreed. 
 

I know the difference and what I saw was an ego problem, and one that the players and staff alike were both used to and tired of seeing. 
 

I do however trust in Ford’s ability to beat it out of him and believe guys like Yuri, Fred, Linssen won’t let it slide on the court. 

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35 minutes ago, willie said:

Star. Are you related to Nesbit? Any question or concern is met with a vigorous defense. 

You don't have to be related to a player to have a difference of opinion.  Coach Ford's thoughts about Nesbitt's ability and projected playing time, for example, seem to align more closely with mine than with some other posters.  And the idea that other players are going to restrain a player's personality sounds like wishful thinking to me.  Nesbitt's 20 years old.  He is who he is.  

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30 minutes ago, abas115 said:

Disagreed. 
 

I know the difference and what I saw was an ego problem, and one that the players and staff alike were both used to and tired of seeing. 
 

I do however trust in Ford’s ability to beat it out of him and believe guys like Yuri, Fred, Linssen won’t let it slide on the court. 

Attitude problems can matter or not matter. If it is a clinical behavioral disorder, where he cannot be coached (we all know who that was), then it is a problem. If it is just overconfidence, then it generally gets ignored if the player proves himself in a game. It is hated when it is unearned. Goodwin came across like he had an attitude problem, and then he kind of became the center of the team. We will see.

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16 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

You don't have to be related to a player to have a difference of opinion.  Coach Ford's thoughts about Nesbitt's ability and projected playing time, for example, seem to align more closely with mine than with some other posters.  And the idea that other players are going to restrain a player's personality sounds like wishful thinking to me.  Nesbitt's 20 years old.  He is who he is.  

I think some of us are just saying let’s wait  until he plays a few games before we put him in the Billiken Hall of fame. 

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4 hours ago, abas115 said:

That is me. 

Grandpa got the invite for us to attend practice and half a dozen of us went. I was blown away by a variety of things I saw and my thoughts are as follows:

  • Lorentsson looked as comfortable and confident as anybody. He took smart shots and made most of them, >50% from deep but hit a couple of midrange and got to the rack too. I didn't keep stats but he stood out as much if not more than anyone else and he was likely the leading scorer in that scrimmage - not to mention he shot ~80% throughout all the other drills and shoot arounds. I don't know how he'd fit in the rotation, or how often he'll fit in the rotation, but he exceeded my expectations tenfold and looked like a player that will have a role...then again so did 11 other guys. 
  • Okoro looks more like a basketball player than any Billiken I've ever seen. Every one of his dunks looked like he wanted to shatter the backboard. He communicated really well with everyone on the court and I loved to see that kind of involvement from the big man - also loved his accent. 
  • Yuri looked as Yuri as ever and with the amount of talent on this roster he might be one of the best PGs in the country 
  • this year and will DEFINITELY improve over last year's APG. 
  • Nesbitt is a stud, but I think he has an attitude problem. Christian Nunez was his scrimmage team's HC and more times than I can count on one hand had to ask him to keep his cool and focus on the game. I wouldn't say he's a Grandy Glaze or Carteare Gordan type of problem, but his talent and ability paired with his immaturity and popularity might prove problematic this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ford make a point early in the season by giving other guys minutes over him as a punishment for that type of behavior. 
  • We're fuoking deep at every single position. Every one of them. And the team knows that because even in a random closed Sunday scrimmage practice each player had the intensity level of a mid-conference play game and at times didn't even look like they were playing against their own teammates.  
  • Perkins really did get big, but unfortunately it looks like none of it went to his legs. He did tweak  his ankle in practice and sat out the final 2/3 of it but he’s most certainly fine and it was just precautionary. I’m hoping fragility isn’t an issue this year but had he gained in his legs what he did in his torso I’d be far more confident that it won’t be. 
  • Traore looked good. He’s big and definitely has the potential we saw in the limited footage. Likely just serves a practice role this year but could see him being serviceable in situations where Okoro and Linssen are in foul trouble. 
  • Jones and Yuri really went at it and it was a contest. I’m the biggest Yuri fan there is and I’ll be the first to say he can pick up the slack when Yuri has to step off the court. 
  • Rashad is as good of a shooter as we could’ve hoped for and maybe even better. From deep, contested, of the dribble, spot up…saw him make them all. 
     

I have more thoughts but I’ll sit on them unless anyone is looking for something specific. I plan to expand on them after Friday. 

Awesome write-up @abas115  My biggest question is how did TJ look? How did he look defensively, and how did his jumper look? 

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Nesbitt’s difficulties at Memphis were no secret, least of all to the SLU coaching staff. They were thrilled to have him join TeamBlue and so I am thrilled as well. He’s had to deal with some tough circumstances in high school and I’m glad to have him in the supportive and welcoming team culture and fan base that TeamBlue and Billiken nation offers. 

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66. Saint Louis: Wings Javonte Perkins and Gibson Jimerson will play off the creativity of PG Yuri Collins to give the Atlantic 10 another NIT-at-worst team. The Billikens were a No. 1 seed in last season's NIT, missing the NCAAs on account of a 14-7 record that kept them out due to major schedule disruptions because of COVID. Travis Ford has had an NCAA Tournament-worthy group once in his five seasons with SLU, but this one can be another. Its ceiling is that of a double-digit seed ... if it avoids multiple bad losses.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketball-no-1-358-rankings-preseason-countdown-concludes-with-top-68-teams-for-2021-22-season/

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Other notables:

#8 Memphis 

#19 Bonnies

#31 Auburn

#38 Belmont

#41 Richmond

#60 Buffalo 

#71 Dayton

#71 Drake

#74 Boise state

#75 VCU

#80 UAB

#93 Rhody

#100 Davidson

 

According to this, we'll have a lot of games against top 100 teams

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13 hours ago, Reinert310 said:

Awesome write-up @abas115  My biggest question is how did TJ look? How did he look defensively, and how did his jumper look? 

Confident, strong, and prepared. He showed me exactly what I expected to see out of him - the same type of improvement and as much or more than we saw from year one to year two in year two to year three 

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57 minutes ago, NashvilleBilliken said:

Anybody hear if they are going to stream the open practice tomorrow night? I can't find anything about it online, but remember they announced streaming the last pre-season event at the last minute.

No stream according to the @Midtown Madness guys:

Hopefully we'll get some re-caps from fellow MBMs who are in attendance.

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19 hours ago, abas115 said:

Disagreed. 
 

I know the difference and what I saw was an ego problem, and one that the players and staff alike were both used to and tired of seeing. 
 

I do however trust in Ford’s ability to beat it out of him and believe guys like Yuri, Fred, Linssen won’t let it slide on the court. 

Yes that worked with Gordon.  No coach is beating anything out any player in today's world.  If Ford even has to do anything with him it will be by convincing him it is in his best interest.

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