2021-2022 Season

[Billiken Rich]

Perkins defending a true power forward can't be seen as optimal by anyone.  At worst our depth takes a hit.  Can Fred, TJ, and Gibson defend the typical Big 10 power forward?  Not well.  The typical A10 power forward? better. 

 

 

[billiken_roy]

57 minutes ago, Bills By 40 said:

  

He's proved himself a leader and his shot has looked fantastic on the three occasions I've gotten to see it recently. He knows, the team knows, the coaches know, and the fans know too that there's a hole to fill and by both scoring himself and creating points for others is how he's going to do it.  Top 10 PG in the country this year mark my words. 

We will be seeing more of LT than we planned for and I bet Ford has already started focusing on developing Lorentsson's interior defense. 

Hot take but I personally don't think JP was all that great at guarding the 4 so replacing his defense will be nothing compared to replacing his offense. 

lorentsson appears to be physically weak and a step slow.   those can be improved in the weight room and with training.   i am questioning by the eyeball test if he put a lot of effort in building his body the last year.   imo he wont play until he gets stronger and puts more effort into playing defense and rebounding.  just my opinion.   i would love to be wrong as he appears to be a very nice shooter.  

[billiken_roy]

a lot of hand wringing about who will guard the power forward position.  if you all think perkins was equipped to effectively guard a power forward, well i got this bridge.     seriously, he would have done good enough to get by while he outscored his opponent that would have guarded him.  i.e. the old highmark spoonhour dilemna, ("you arent playing much defense, better outscore your guy.")

i think we are no worse off defensively and as i sing every year, it could be negated a lot if we just would speed up the tempo at both ends.   use our depth at the 3 outside positions.  run, pressure almost havoc like defense, use the deep bench of wings as much as possible.   but if we play half court with everyone, it only takes away that advantage.   

[NoCoBillsFan]

I’m not worried about the defense. Like Roy said, Javonte was never a plus defender at the 4. I’m more concerned that we no longer have that “go-to” guy on the offensive end. We don’t have that player you can just give the ball to when you need a bucket late in the game. Just think about his performance against LSU; he was going bucket-for-bucket with Cam Thomas, an NBA draft pick. Nesbitt definitely has the tools to become that guy, but that’s not guaranteed. Gibson has the shooting, but he doesn’t have the finishing and seems to lack the ability to create off the dribble. TJ is a possibility with his improved offensive game but he still needs to take a leap. Yuri has to prove that he can make outside shots regularly. Williams is still unproven.

Obviously the team will be okay and will find a way, but there’s still a lot of question marks offensively 

 

[Bills By 40]

29 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

lorentsson appears to be physically weak and a step slow.   those can be improved in the weight room and with training.   i am questioning by the eyeball test if he put a lot of effort in building his body the last year.   imo he wont play until he gets stronger and puts more effort into playing defense and rebounding.  just my opinion.   i would love to be wrong as he appears to be a very nice shooter.  

I think he would create the opposite offensive mismatch that he's a victim of on defense - traditional 4's won't be able to guard him outside of the paint, but he won't be able to guard them inside of it...so we think. I think he's a good fit in select situations and match ups and will see his minutes for that reason. 

Playing small with a rotation of Okoro/Linssen at the 5 when we can't afford to play them both at the same time. 

[Bills By 40]

3 minutes ago, NoCoBillsFan said:

Gibson has the shooting, but he doesn’t have the finishing and seems to lack the ability to create off the dribble. TJ is a possibility with his improved offensive game but he still needs to take a leap. Yuri has to prove that he can make outside shots regularly. Williams is still unproven.

Obviously the team will be okay and will find a way, but there’s still a lot of question marks offensively 

 

Gibby showed a lot of that in the exhibition game and in practices.

I think TJ has show us that he HAS taken that leap, and Travis starting him is testament to that. 

Yuri showed a lot of confidence in his shot from both mid range and deep and given the recent increased share of offensive possessions I think we will see Yuri be a double-double guy, maybe even a 10-10-5 guy with his energy and lack of fear of the paint.  

[NoCoBillsFan]

3 minutes ago, Bills By 40 said:

Gibby showed a lot of that in the exhibition game and in practices.

I think TJ has show us that he HAS taken that leap, and Travis starting him is testament to that. 

Yuri showed a lot of confidence in his shot from both mid range and deep and given the recent increased share of offensive possessions I think we will see Yuri be a double-double guy, maybe even a 10-10-5 guy with his energy and lack of fear of the paint.  

I hope you’re right, but practice and an exhibition against a D-II team are very different from games against actual D-I competition. I agree that all three guys have the potential to break out this season but I’m tempering my expectations until they actually do so.

[A10Ref]

this team will beat richmond twice in the regular season

[Bills By 40]

2 minutes ago, NoCoBillsFan said:

I hope you’re right, but practice and an exhibition against a D-II team are very different from games against actual D-I competition. I agree that all three guys have the potential to break out this season but I’m tempering my expectations until they actually do so.

I'm not arguing the difference between the upcoming schedule and what we've seen the team compete against so far, but so far it's all we have to analyze. 

[billiken_roy]

16 minutes ago, Bills By 40 said:

I think he would create the opposite offensive mismatch that he's a victim of on defense - traditional 4's won't be able to guard him outside of the paint, but he won't be able to guard them inside of it...so we think. I think he's a good fit in select situations and match ups and will see his minutes for that reason. 

Playing small with a rotation of Okoro/Linssen at the 5 when we can't afford to play them both at the same time. 

i see where you are going.   and if he had the strength and quickness i would agree.   but you would expect more of a wing like ability from him.  but outside of making shots IF OPEN, he didnt appear to have that much in common with wings and he doesnt have the strength to play inside or go to the basket.   he is the true one dimensional player from my viewpoint it seems to me.   time for him to get serious in the weight room and then maybe next year........

[NH]

I think it’s basically impossible to try to come up with a way in which we “replace” the likely A10 preseason player of the year. What separates a guy like Perkins is his consistent ability to bring it every night and then sometimes explode and blow a game open singlehandedly (LSU, St Joe’s) or bury the opponent late (NC State, St Bona).

When I look at the roster, I still see multiple talented players at every position. There is still plenty of shooting. There are not many guys who have proven an ability to get their own shot, we will need Jimerson to improve here and Nesbitt to be a shot maker from day one. We will be a small but athletic team so it will be important to rebound as a group. I think defensive rebounding and getting to the foul line will be the two biggest keys for this ream to reach a level near what I expected with Javonte.

[billiken_roy]

how good would claggett and highmark and waldman have been if they had linssen and okoro as their inside guys?   my point is, we have enough size.   we just have to play right and utilize the tools correctly that we have.

[NH]

2 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

how good would claggett and highmark and waldman have been if they had linssen and okoro as their inside guys?   my point is, we have enough size.   we just have to play right and utilize the tools correctly that we have.

I agree. We still have “enough” of everything. Now it’s like you said, we have to play right and have guys who are flat out better than the competition. We have less room for off nights than we did before and we need guys to raise their level just a little bit.

[HoosierPal]

1 hour ago, NH said:

I think it’s basically impossible to try to come up with a way in which we “replace” the likely A10 preseason player of the year. What separates a guy like Perkins is his consistent ability to bring it every night and then sometimes explode and blow a game open singlehandedly (LSU, St Joe’s) or bury the opponent late (NC State, St Bona).

This is it.  You don't replace Perkins.  You figure out the best fit, the best rotations and move onward. 

We have played a 4 guard offense for the past few years.  In the A10, maybe a team or two plays with a center, two true  forwards and two guards, but those are few and far between.  You can put whatever label you want to on Perkins, he was going to play on the wing just like he did the past two seasons. 

The one player we could least afford to lose was Perkins.  He was going to be the guy who had the ball in his hands in the final possession.  He is the one who was going to average close to 20 points per game.  As you wrote, he was the one who you look for to blow open a game.  He was the one who was going to play 30 minutes a game. We can't replace Perkins, so we move forward with what we have.

There are 30 extra minutes available.  I think the only given is that Collins is now the foundation of the team.  The rest of the team will fit in as they deserve to.  Nothing is off limits.   Play small, play big, play fast, play slow.  Coach said earlier this preseason that he doesn't worry about matching up with the opponent, but he wants the opponent to match up with us.  That may be a bit more difficult now, but I look for Coach to keep the upper hand on matchups.  

[Billikenbooster]

We could possibly have a Closer By Committee this year. No ONE guy to get the ball to and clear out.

CBC keeps the opposition honest, not knowing who is going to shoot it. Less likely to get double teamed. Requires a true team effort, no heroes, everyone pulling for each other. 
 

I think this team can do it.

mhg

 

[A10Ref]

we'll win the A10, and I can't be convinced otherwise until March 13th.

[slu72]

To my way of thinking there are 3 guys who could make up for the loss of JP. Not individually, but as a group either on the floor at the same time or in rotation. They’re Gibby, Williams, and Nesbitt. 
I get from the exhibition Gibby was more than just a 3 shooter. Supposedly created some mid range shots. Not at the JP level but still a good sign. Of course that’s against a low level team. Still, his main role will be a sniper if we get him the rock in the right spots. 
Williams is fire and ice. On fire his shots will fall. Ice then sit him for a while. 
Nesbitt’s the real mystery. He’s a shot creator but that was in HS. He’s gonna take some patience. But when it kicks in and the game slows down we could have a mini JP come Feb or March. 

[slufanskip]

43 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

This is it.  You don't replace Perkins.  You figure out the best fit, the best rotation and move onward. 

We have played a 4 guard offense for the past few years.  In the A10, maybe a team or two plays with a center, two true  forwards and two guards, but those are few and far between.  You can put whatever label you want to on Perkins, he was going to play on the wing just like he did the past two seasons. 

The one player we could least afford to lose was Perkins.  He was going to be the guy who had the ball in his hands in the final possession.  He is the one who was going to average close to 20 points per game.  As you wrote, he was the one who you look for to blow open a game.  He was the one who was going to play 30 minutes a game. We can't replace Perkins, so we move forward with what we have.

There are 30 extra minutes available.  I think the only given is that Collins is now the foundation of the team.  The rest of the team will fit in as they deserve to.  Nothing is off limits.   Play small, play big, play fast, play slow.  Coach said earlier this preseason that he doesn't worry about matching up with the opponent, but he wants the opponent to match up with us.  That may be a bit more difficult now, but I look for Coach to keep the upper hand on matchups.  

Exactly, We can't just replace Perkins. He will be replaced by a group and everyone stepping up. One person maybe Nesbitt, maybe TJ, maybe someone else may rise to the top and become that go to scorer that Perkins was. What we don't need is everyone or anyone trying too hard to be that guy. Just play your game, we have enough depth to get this done and still be very good. 

[billiken_roy]

21 minutes ago, slu72 said:

To my way of thinking there are 3 guys who could make up for the loss of JP. Not individually, but as a group either on the floor at the same time or in rotation. They’re Gibby, Williams, and Nesbitt. 
I get from the exhibition Gibby was more than just a 3 shooter. Supposedly created some mid range shots. Not at the JP level but still a good sign. Of course that’s against a low level team. Still, his main role will be a sniper if we get him the rock in the right spots. 
Williams is fire and ice. On fire his shots will fall. Ice then sit him for a while. 
Nesbitt’s the real mystery. He’s a shot creator but that was in HS. He’s gonna take some patience. But when it kicks in and the game slows down we could have a mini JP come Feb or March. 

i dont think nesbitt and perkins compare perkins is a far more pure shooter and quiet offense.   you look up and somehow he has 20+ points.  Nesbit is more of a loud in your face guard scorer.    totally different players.  imo, (and this is still somewhat an exageration but just a comparison of what he COULD bring) nesbit is a poor man's hughes trying to create many different ways and places on the floor.   

[Littlebill]

Ford about to go on at a10 media day on espn+

[Bills By 40]

This was one of my favorite TF interviews in a long time. 

https://twitter.com/BillsBy40/status/1453782015564779535

 

[cheeseman]

7 hours ago, wgstl said:

Thinking the same now, that's why I added that last little nugget

Sorry I guess I didn't see it.

[AnkielBreakers]

The problem with losing Perkins is that he was our best high volume shooting percentage player. Hopefully, Nesbitt, Gibson, Hargrove, Thatch, and Williams can up their games this season. That said, even if our overall point total dips, we can still be a good team. 

[Old guy]

Whatever the fix turns out to be, Perkins will not be playing this year and we will have to make do with what we have. Interesting problem, having to change the whole style of play with just a few weeks to go before the season starts.

[billikenblue]

I was at the dome when Trent Green went down and the groan from the crowd was obvious thinking the season was over..then came Kurt Warner. Hang in there Billiken fans …there is a long season ahead and who knows what can happen.