thetorch Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Brad was just on the radio with Rammer and said Ian will be starting against UMSL tonight(along with Izik, Newborne, Bryant, and Polk). I am somewhat surprised to see Tom not getting the start, even if it is just the exhibition season. I have no idea if this is a permanent thing and Tom will be coming off the bech this season but if Ian is good enough to usurp Frericks we may just be looking at the best billiken big man ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 I'm sure that Ian has played well in practice but I imagine Brad is giving Tom a message. You need to be in shape and stay healthy or I've got someone else I can play. That said I bet both players will get about 20 min. per game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Hopefully Tom's injuries aren't acting up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 unless it is an injury or illness thing, i seriously doubt ian would start over tom to send a message or plan for the future. i.e. ian just plain beat tom out. and it that is the case, knowing how hard frericks plays, this is unbelievable and good news because it would mean that ian has improved tremendously to be able to beat out frericks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Why do you think Brad would be above sending Tom a message. Coaches send players messages all the time. Tom's missed a lot of practices for whatever reasons. Injury or illness real or unreal you need to practice. I never said anything about planning for the future but since you brought it up Ian is the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobile-iken Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Brad told us when he signed Ian that he may very well be the best center in Billiken history...Maybe that starts tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 I thought Frericks would be a "go to" guy. He can score and is a fighter underneath for the boards. I have no idea what UB's thinking is or if TF is injured, but hopefully it's simply that IV beat him out. I was pleased everytime I saw IV last year. Thought he played under control, disciplined, and didn't do much that hurt the team. Maybe this summer's experience in the world juniors has been a real boost to him. Also, remember he was a freshman in a strange country playing a different kind of hoops than he's used to in Greece. And who are we to second guess UB anyways? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 i dont think a frericks situation falls into the "message" category. he isnt the type of player that one would associate with needing to be sent a message. now if frericks wasnt hustling, or screwing off, or constantly messing up in practice, that is one thing. we know from the past year and justin johnson vs ross varner, he makes that message known immediately. however we are talking about ian vs frericks. it is my observation that one would think the message sending if needed would be the other way around not directed at frericks. as far as tom missing practices, i did qualify my response with injury exception. i.e. if frericks is injured or still recovering from an injury and that makes ian the better choice right now, i totally understand that. but if it is a matter of straight up tom vs ian, that is where my surprise comes into play. of course if it indeed is a message being sent to tom, the need to do such is also a surprise as tom frericks seems to be an all out guts guy to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Exhibition games are a great time to experiment the line-up combinations. I'm not putting much stock into who starts on Nov5 as I think all three centers will get minutes. Brad may be experimenting to see if TF plays better coming off the bench, versus getting some cheap early fouls due to being over excited. In addition, playing TF for shorter periods of time (say 4-5 minute stretches) well help with his breathing issues. As stated last year, IV has good skills and he now has lost some baby fat around his hips, plus he has the benefit one year experience playing and practicing in the US. Bryce has had good pre-season practices and he is technically still a freshman. Still expect Bryce and IV to have up and down moments this season. I can't wait for the A10 time to get here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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