Welcome Mike Meadows II

[billiken_roy]

thanks Wiz.   always make me think and double think.   what his signing brought to my thoughts was "well if the team that needs experienced bigs badly instead signs another guard when the billikens seem fairly well suited in guards, he must be good."  so that would seem to coincide with the facts you bring to light.   hope you are right.  we need a difference maker.

[The Wiz]

3 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

thanks Wiz.   always make me think and double think.   what his signing brought to my thoughts was "well if the team that needs experienced bigs badly instead signs another guard when the billikens seem fairly well suited in guards, he must be good."  so that would seem to coincide with the facts you bring to light.   hope you are right.  we need a difference maker.

In addition to the above, he has been trending up in shooting ...FG%, 2P%,  3P%....only his FT shooting was down a little last year and even then he missed being an A+ by only 1 shot.

Two years ago Meadows was 16th ITN in FT% with a 91%.  An elite FT shooter is definitely a difference maker in a close game with time running out.

All signs point to him being a player.

[HoosierPal]

1 hour ago, The Wiz said:

Two years ago Meadows was 16th ITN in FT% with a 91%.  An elite FT shooter is definitely a difference maker in a close game with time running out.

Parker 87.5% FT; Jimerson 83.7% FT

And now Meadows.  Take your pick on who you want to foul in a close game.  Feels good to me.

[wgstl]

21 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

Parker 87.5% FT; Jimerson 83.7% FT

And now Meadows.  Take your pick on who you want to foul in a close game.  Feels good to me.

Yep. Not we just need to hope to be in close games. 

[Old guy]

So, let's do some comparison math. Who believes that the stats or the current roster, at this time in August, are better than the stats for last season's team at the same point in time? I know there were wild expectations about specific player performance last season at this point in time last season which do not appear to be there this season. So, who thinks we are going to the NCAA this season?  Or in a more modest manner, who believes we will do better this season than we did last season?

[willie]

Who knows. Games aren’t played on paper. 

[Old guy]

Willie that was a good answer. What I see is a very low level of optimism for this season. 

[Lord Elrond]

10 minutes ago, Old guy said:

Willie that was a good answer. What I see is a very low level of optimism for this season. 

I plan on re-watching the movie “Hoosiers” and regenerating my optimism for the new season.

[wgstl]

3 hours ago, Old guy said:

So, let's do some comparison math. Who believes that the stats or the current roster, at this time in August, are better than the stats for last season's team at the same point in time? I know there were wild expectations about specific player performance last season at this point in time last season which do not appear to be there this season. So, who thinks we are going to the NCAA this season?  Or in a more modest manner, who believes we will do better this season than we did last season?

depending on stats we're using, but no way its better.  Its close on offense, miles back on defense.

[WVBilliken]

17 hours ago, wgstl said:

depending on stats we're using, but no way its better.  Its close on offense, miles back on defense.

Only way the Bills are better is if one or two of the Big International guys plays like a high 4 star recruit and Ezewiro is eligible.  Plus Jimerson has to be improved, Parker becomes "the old Perkins" and Hughes and at least one other player like Thames steps up big on D. 

 

[shempie]

18 hours ago, wgstl said:

depending on stats we're using, but no way its better.  Its close on offense, miles back on defense.

We were 153 in defensive efficiency per Kenpom last year. What is miles back? Bottom third in the nation? If that is the case, it will likley be a miserable season. I think by this metric (defensive efficiency) alone we will be better defensively based on a bigger lineup and slower tempo. 

[RUBillsFan]

36 minutes ago, shempie said:

We were 153 in defensive efficiency per Kenpom last year. What is miles back? Bottom third in the nation? If that is the case, it will likley be a miserable season. I think by this metric (defensive efficiency) alone we will be better defensively based on a bigger lineup and slower tempo. 

If we aren't so putrid at generating turnovers, it won't be that hard to tread water or even improve on defense.  Theoretically more playing time for longer / athletic players like Hughes (led the team in stl % last season) & Thames should lead to more steals.  I think (hope?) we can also put more pressure on the ball when our lead guard / primary on-ball defender isn't being asked to carry such a heavy load on the offensive end.

 

[juniorbill76]

This season is going to be like Christmas morning: some fun surprises, some disappointments.

[Dr. Holly Hills]

I don’t know how we could get any softer on D than last year..

[thetorch]

Meadows looks to me like a poor mans Isabel.

Smallish combo guard, high usage numbers, streaky shooter, has a lot of bad games, some great games, not much in between.  

I think it will take a while to get his game under control and be effective at this level.  He may be a starter, certainly will be a rotation player but expect highs and lows.  I could see this guy scoring zero points in a few games and scoring 25 in a couple.

To me that type of player its a little presumptuous to call him a difference maker.  Can't argue with his FT rate.  He never misses.

[Compton]

6 hours ago, WVBilliken said:

Only way the Bills are better is if one or two of the Big International guys plays like a high 4 star recruit and Ezewiro is eligible.  Plus Jimerson has to be improved, Parker becomes "the old Perkins" and Hughes and at least one other player like Thames steps up big on D. 

 

Last year's Bills team must have really been something special for all of those things to have to happen for them to be better.

[wgstl]

27 minutes ago, thetorch said:

Meadows looks to me like a poor mans Isabel.

Smallish combo guard, high usage numbers, streaky shooter, has a lot of bad games, some great games, not much in between.  

I think it will take a while to get his game under control and be effective at this level.  He may be a starter, certainly will be a rotation player but expect highs and lows.  I could see this guy scoring zero points in a few games and scoring 25 in a couple.

To me that type of player its a little presumptuous to call him a difference maker.  Can't argue with his FT rate.  He never misses.

Echo most of the same. Will be an important piece, but I think LHJ or maybe Cian at some point end up starting at point for us 

[WVBilliken]

16 minutes ago, Compton said:

Last year's Bills team must have really been something special for all of those things to have to happen for them to be better.

Better .... is an NCAA bid.  Last year's team fell well short in that regard.

[wgstl]

36 minutes ago, Compton said:

Last year's Bills team must have really been something special for all of those things to have to happen for them to be better.

No one knows how to Underachieve like we do 

[Box and Won]

14 hours ago, juniorbill76 said:

This season is going to be like Christmas morning: some fun surprises, some disappointments.

Or my prom night - low expectations, but disappointment nonetheless.

[VeniceMenace]

12 hours ago, thetorch said:

Meadows looks to me like a poor mans Isabel.

Smallish combo guard, high usage numbers, streaky shooter, has a lot of bad games, some great games, not much in between.  

I think it will take a while to get his game under control and be effective at this level.  He may be a starter, certainly will be a rotation player but expect highs and lows.  I could see this guy scoring zero points in a few games and scoring 25 in a couple.

To me that type of player its a little presumptuous to call him a difference maker.  Can't argue with his FT rate.  He never misses.

Looks dependable — dude has all that college experience, serious minutes last season, averages only 1 turnover per game.

[slu72]

Parker could be a pleasant surprise this year. I think he played a little tentative last year in fear of the hook. One play that stands out in my mind was a dunk where he started from the baseline and powered his way over the defender to complete the jam. I think it was against St B’s. It seemed to me he just decided to throw caution to the wind and said I can do this. If he doesn’t feel constrained I think he may surprise us all. 

[Pistol]

19 minutes ago, VeniceMenace said:

Looks dependable — dude has all that college experience, serious minutes last season, averages only 1 turnover per game.

Low TO rate was something we highlighted as a positive when discussing his transfer on @Midtown Madness, especially given the youth of the rest of the backcourt. Key factor.

We also made the Isabell comp based on a couple of his big-game performances, although he's a different looking player.

Bottom line is you're not going to land a home run transfer without any question marks in August. This is probably as good as we could've hoped for at this point in time. He has the potential to be a pleasant surprise.

[3star_recruit]

3 minutes ago, slu72 said:

Parker could be a pleasant surprise this year. I think he played a little tentative last year in fear of the hook. One play that stands out in my mind was a dunk where he started from the baseline and powered his way over the defender to complete the jam. I think it was against St B’s. It seemed to me he just decided to throw caution to the wind and said I can do this. If he doesn’t feel constrained I think he may surprise us all. 

Four out of five MBMs project Parker as a 14+ ppg scorer next year.  The only way he could surprise at this point is to be all-conference.  Never have I seen so much weight placed on a Billiken who was a role player the previous year.

[VeniceMenace]

58 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Low TO rate was something we highlighted as a positive when discussing his transfer on @Midtown Madness, especially given the youth of the rest of the backcourt. Key factor.

We also made the Isabell comp based on a couple of his big-game performances, although he's a different looking player.

Bottom line is you're not going to land a home run transfer without any question marks in August. This is probably as good as we could've hoped for at this point in time. He has the potential to be a pleasant surprise.

That’s where I heard that turnover stat first, good show Pistol, thank you!