SShoe Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 In a nice sit down, Brad made an interesting comment on Polk. He remarked that as a coach, he is not used to a player like Polk who doesn't need to grind it out all the time. He then suggested he would be failing as a coach if he didn't adjust his style to better suit Polk's style. I think that is an impressive trait in a coach. It seems to me that many coaches (especially in college football) are "it's my way or the highway" despite the personnel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bauman Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 rterstaBrad continues to impress. I wonder what will happen to our and our opponent's ppp (points per possession) with this new style. It should make for more entertaining bb to watch as long as we continue to play winning ball. Good defense is often key to success when trying to play uptempo bb since this style works better after a rebound or a steal as opposed to inbounding after a score. This type of play also argues against much time for IV and BH based on their footspeed (or lack thereof). Also, if TF and VN can clear the defensive boards and we are able to push the tempo then I would expect BS to use a deep guard rotation to keep them fresh-good news for the non-starters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 I disagree with your conclusion re IV this year and ultimately Husak. IV is in fact the perfect center for a fast breaking team because when he gets the ball he understands the meaning of OUTLET PASS! In watching him in practice and games I think he is the best passing big man that we have had in over 20 years. What you need to be a running team is to get the defensive rebound and then have a great point guard who can rocket down the court with the two guard and the small forward filling the lanes. It is not necessary for the center to be on the wing. Think Wes Unseld with his great outlet passes. The center's job is to get the ball and hit the open guard on the outlet. IV understands that pass better than anyone on the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 i will believe the billikens are a full fledged fast break team when i see it. the pack defense and the rebounding demands that brad puts on everyone in years past are conducive to anyone getting an outlet pass. even if he gives polk the green light to flash out, the pack defense says you have one foot in the pack circle at all times unless your man has the ball. i.e. the shooter's defender would be in a position to really break out and receive a pass. now if we are talking about polk taking off on steals and loose balls, that is one thing, but i dont see a bill walton to keith wilkes type thing developing. if it does, it would come at the expense of our defense and allowing open people in the case of second chances, i just dont believe brad will compromise his defense for that. the better utilization might be spreading the floor more on offense and not being as absolutely patient and restrictive on the offensive end. however, that said, brad has always said that anyone can shoot the ball providing they have a good look and are shooting shots they can make. time will tell. and remember, umsl isnt louisville. i.e. we might see fun and games friday nite that wont be seen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Thats a good point and I agree. I did not watch the show but I have it taped on Tivo. Did he say anything else? Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Majerus Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 ...and his offensive skills range farther from the hoop than any current center we have. He'll get his minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 The question is, how good a rebounder is IV? Guess we'll know in a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 as we continue to become more uptempo in the future with the additions of KL and TL. What Brad always came back to as his reason for slowing the game down was his example where he says if you are playing Michael Jordan in one on one and each player is given 30 possessions you have no chance to win. But, he pointed out that if you and MJ each have one possession there is a chance that you could put up a jumper that goes in and he could dribble off his leg. Basically, he did not feel past Billiken teams were as talented as their competition and wanted to limit the number of possessions. with the addition of Polk and TL and KL next year I suspect Brad realizes he will be doing this team a major disservice by limiting the possessions as we will likely be the more talented team in most games we play. the real question is will Brad stick with an uptempo style after a game where we get run out of the gym (a UAB perhaps) or will he stick with the new uptempo system throughout the season. I could definitely see him reverting back to the slow it down style which has worked so well in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 I think in some games, when the Billikens are superior athletically (such as what happens in some of the guarantee games even in recent years when the Bills have been relatively lacking in athleticism), they will push the ball and look to score more quickly. In other games, when the opponent is on par with the Bills' athleticism or is more athletic, they will probably use more of the possession clock before shooting. Teams that are better defensively take longer to break down, meaning more of the possession clock must run off before a quality shot opens up. Regardless of how quickly the Billikens get a good shot, the defense will still play at the same pace (unless it can get a steal or force a bad shot more quickly). Teams like Iowa and Marquette will still force low-scoring games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 I like your point thicks--our style may change from game to game based upon the matchups. Roy's point is how are our guards (plus at least one forward) going to get out and run if they are packed into the lane defensively? Might we not play more of a traditional man d against teams where we are superior athletically allowing us to play more transition offense? Could be. But we would be in trouble against the Louisville's and Cincy's of the the b-ball world if we try to play that style religiously all season. Thus, I like your point that just because we might play up-tempo against UMSL don't expect to see us married to it in the heart of the CUSA schedule. Very anxious to see how it all plays out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 We have one of the best senior guard/center combos ever at SLU, coupled with skill and athleticsm at every other position on the court. This is not a transition year; this is a year in which we should expect to make the NCAA tournament and even make some noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 izik is the igniter. if izik comes up big this team will soar and it is the beginning of a lot of good years imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 transition from a slow down tempo to an up-tempo game. I did not mean transition as in we won't have on court success. Sorry if that was not clear. We have the talent to make the tourney, but the ball will have to bounce the right way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 When healthy, all 11 players practicing and ready to go, this SLU team should be pretty good because of the depth. However, if Polk gets into foul trouble our fast break opportunities diminish big time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 but do you think Polk will get a bunch of cheap fouls this year? I certainly hope not. I know Brad has a hard and fast rule on sitting a guy with 2 fouls but I hope he is a little more leniant with the rule this year. In particular, I think you can leave a guard out there with two fouls as its very hard for the other team to take advantage of his lack of aggresiveness but when a guy like TF gets two fouls on him you just know the other team will post him up the next few possessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 UNCA S.....I did not see the show, who are you referring to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheltiedave Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 On defense, Polk will take 3 to 5 games to learn what he can and cannot do defensively. He will be in foul trouble a fair amou8nt until the third or fourth game in conference as well, as he adjusts to how collegiate refs call hand checks, hip bumps, and reach-ins. I would be happy with 25 mpg of quality time from Polk - specifically using his jets to tire the opposing guards out as much as possible without playing out of control on offense. Rebounding and playing well by using the secondary break will determine how the season goes..IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Majerus Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICHAELSPAPPY Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 >Think Wes Unseld >with his great outlet passes. True. The best there has ever been at that. And they said he could not play center in the NBA because he was too small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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