2023-2024 Season

[Aquinas]

Now that Ez is good to go, I think we have a shot at winning the conference tournament. That assumed the return of Parker to his previous level of play. I also think we must have Zang and Ez playing the lions share of min at the 5. Also have Van B play a few min. I would like to see TJ and Dalger tag teaming the 4 position with each coming in with high defensive energy and going super hard, knowing they will be tagged out and to recover.

We can beat weaker teams with small ball, but we have to be bigger to beat better teams. While Zang's numbers are modest, he alters what teams want to do. We need to play these bigs now, to get them to their max potential by tournament time.

[wgstl]

We have no clue about Brad.. and he would have to be all conf for us to be good enough to think we can win like that 

[Lord Elrond]

Our chances before Brad were slim and none, so I’d say our odds of winning the conference tournament have improved significantly 

[HoosierPal]

14 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said:

Our chances before Brad were slim and none, so I’d say our odds of winning the conference tournament have improved significantly 

I suggest we give Brad 4+ games before we make any declaration on his value to the team. 

[Taj79]

@HoosierPal: why four games?  The guy has been practicing since the summer.  Being in shape should not matter.  Speed of the game might be an issue but this is not a Zhang/van Bussel clone but rather a guy who has been there before.  His numbers at his two previous spots were mediocre to say the least but that's kind of why you transfer.  All season I have heard ..... "if we only had Brad."  Well, now we do.  So I am watching him this game with great curiosity.  Not setting the bar too high; focused on his rebounding and defensive presence to start.

Are Meadows and Hughes playing?

[Adman]

47 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

@HoosierPal: why four games?  The guy has been practicing since the summer.  Being in shape should not matter.  Speed of the game might be an issue but this is not a Zhang/van Bussel clone but rather a guy who has been there before.  His numbers at his two previous spots were mediocre to say the least but that's kind of why you transfer.  All season I have heard ..... "if we only had Brad."  Well, now we do.  So I am watching him this game with great curiosity.  Not setting the bar too high; focused on his rebounding and defensive presence to start.

Are Meadows and Hughes playing?

Taj,

I’d be careful not to get expectations too high here. I saw him in the pre-season open scrimmage. He looked reasonably good - definitely better than what we’ve seen from Zhang and VB - but nothing to write home about. Perhaps had an impact somewhat less than Dalger. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a net positive and  will help under the basket at the 5. But a savior he is not.

[Soderball]

1 hour ago, Taj79 said:

@HoosierPal: why four games?  The guy has been practicing since the summer.  Being in shape should not matter.  Speed of the game might be an issue but this is not a Zhang/van Bussel clone but rather a guy who has been there before.  His numbers at his two previous spots were mediocre to say the least but that's kind of why you transfer.  All season I have heard ..... "if we only had Brad."  Well, now we do.  So I am watching him this game with great curiosity.  Not setting the bar too high; focused on his rebounding and defensive presence to start.

Are Meadows and Hughes playing?

He averaged 4 points on. Horrible Georgetown team. He's going to help us but good grief man. He sounds like the second coming of Anthony Bonner according to this analysis.

He's especially going to help us when Dalger or Hargrove are having a bad game. I don't think we get outrebounded by 15 ever again.

[Crewsorlose]

I talked to an insider in October and the sentiment was that, of the newcomers, Brad was the one closest to being a difference maker. The view of the team was pretty non-plussed, "but if Brad gets eligible" the idea was that they could be pretty good. 

If Parker can return next month, the team can be top 4 in the A-10. This of course assumes health and a little luck. 

[The Wiz]

I think some posters are missing the point on the "Ezewiro effect"....It is not just about the points and the rebounds but the "X" factor.  Players will go back to their more normal positions.  There will be more opportunities to score ...for everyone.  There will be more depth.  We will no longer be as predictable.  In other words , he  makes the team better by just being in the mix. The concept of 4+1=6.  For those having trouble grasping this concept,  you have company as the computer too has this issue.  But as outcomes and stats change the computer will adapt and "see" what is going on. Hopefully so will our fan base.

In my original post , the computer refused to change the spread if Ezewiro was added to the roster.   It did say that for this game there was a 70% chance that the game would fall within a +5 to -5 range. It said if we win by more than 5 then it would attribute any overage to an "Ezewiro effect".  Anything less than a 5 pt win would be considered little effect.  Of course this is just one game.  For instance if you have a series of forecasted close games and we win them all then the computer will again sense something different is happening.  And finally , if we start to exceed spreads consistently,   it will indicate a new trend.

We will see. 

[3star_recruit]

1 hour ago, Adman said:

Taj,

I’d be careful not to get expectations too high here. I saw him in the pre-season open scrimmage. He looked reasonably good - definitely better than what we’ve seen from Zhang and VB - but nothing to write home about. Perhaps had an impact somewhat less than Dalger. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a net positive and  will help under the basket at the 5. But a savior he is not.

MBMs are looking ahead to a possible future where 1) we have our full team on the floor and 2) everyone is playing their correct position.  Brad's not the savior but without him on the floor, neither point one or two can happen. 

Parker is the most impactful player on the team.  Jimerson is 2.  But Big Brad may be tied with Hargrove for 3.

 

 

[HoosierPal]

2 hours ago, Taj79 said:

@HoosierPal: why four games?  The guy has been practicing since the summer.  Being in shape should not matter.  Speed of the game might be an issue but this is not a Zhang/van Bussel clone but rather a guy who has been there before.  His numbers at his two previous spots were mediocre to say the least but that's kind of why you transfer.  All season I have heard ..... "if we only had Brad."  Well, now we do.  So I am watching him this game with great curiosity.  Not setting the bar too high; focused on his rebounding and defensive presence to start.

Are Meadows and Hughes playing?

Others have already mentioned several issues. One not posted, there is a significant difference between practice and games. You know what to expect in practice. Games are difference. Intensity, chemistry and the opponents game plan all aren’t duplicated in practice. 4 games may not be the right number but I’m not going to have a final decision after one game no matter what he does. 

[Aquinas]

I dont expect Ez to be a great player, but I do expect him to be a big improvement. We have been so weak at the position,  that we have played TJ, an undersized 4 at the 5. We have had to provide help when the ball goes inside, which has resulted in a lot of open 3s. Ez strengthens the weakest position on our team. As The Wiz said, it puts players like TJ back in position. Helps keep us from running out of gas, like we did 2 games ago.

We need Parker back to be actually be good, but now is the time to play our bigs at the 5. Tune the bigs up and see what this team can do by playoffs. 

[Minerva N. Owl]

41 minutes ago, The Wiz said:

I think some posters are missing the point on the "Ezewiro effect"....It is not just about the points and the rebounds but the "X" factor.  Players will go back to their more normal positions.  ... We will see.

TJ Hargrove has had several games this season where he played with a very high motor while playing out of position. The big question, as I see it, is whether Hargrove is able to bring that energy tonight (and moving forward) to the 4 position. 

I see #22 on #22 as a key matchup tonight: TJ Hargrove v. Isaiah Crawford.

***

3Star wrote: "MBMs are looking ahead to a possible future where 1) we have our full team on the floor and 2) everyone is playing their correct position."

One big question for tonight is whether the "Ezewiro effect" impacts TJ.

Can Hargrove play with a high motor? Can the Hargrove and the Bills shut down #22 Isaiah Crawford?

The Wiz, in his pre-grame report (posted prior to the news that Ezewiro would be available?) pointed to #22 Isaiah Crawford as a key player for LAT. The Wiz noted that #22 Isaiah Crawford "leads the team in Pts, Assts, 3P shooting and steals."

I see 22 on 22 as a matchup to watch tonight.

 

 

 

 

[Taj79]

@Soderball you reply to me and then you state "good grief man .... he sounds like the second coming of Anthony Bonner according to this analysis."  What analysis?  I surely didn't make one.  I'm taking a "wait-n-see" approach with Ezewiro hoping (against likely hope) to be Wowed.

[SLU_Lax]

Compared to our alternative options, he might be the second coming of AB. 
 

if we had solid and ready backups, Brad wouldn’t be nearly as exciting or important. He addresses a team need that may be the most glaring need the Bills have had since we played VCU in the CBI and were getting close to running out of players. 
 

 

[billikenfan05]

9 hours ago, Minerva N. Owl said:

TJ Hargrove has had several games this season where he played with a very high motor while playing out of position. The big question, as I see it, is whether Hargrove is able to bring that energy tonight (and moving forward) to the 4 position. 

I see #22 on #22 as a key matchup tonight: TJ Hargrove v. Isaiah Crawford.

***

3Star wrote: "MBMs are looking ahead to a possible future where 1) we have our full team on the floor and 2) everyone is playing their correct position."

One big question for tonight is whether the "Ezewiro effect" impacts TJ.

Can Hargrove play with a high motor? Can the Hargrove and the Bills shut down #22 Isaiah Crawford?

The Wiz, in his pre-grame report (posted prior to the news that Ezewiro would be available?) pointed to #22 Isaiah Crawford as a key player for LAT. The Wiz noted that #22 Isaiah Crawford "leads the team in Pts, Assts, 3P shooting and steals."

I see 22 on 22 as a matchup to watch tonight.

 

 

 

 

Jesus.

[slufan13]

Sweet 16?

[Taj79]

As I saw the game, the 22's didn't really meet up, did they?

[Minerva N. Owl]

9 hours ago, Taj79 said:

As I saw the game, the 22's didn't really meet up, did they?

It's mostly true that for the first 30 minutes or so, the #22 on #22 match-up didn't really happen. During the first half, it was mostly Dalger who defended Isaiah Crawford, and (as a couple others have noted) Dalger shut down LAT's #22. Isaiah Crawford, LAT's leading scorer, went scoreless in the first half. But it was a different story in the second half, especially as Dalger got into foul trouble, and when Dalger sat in the second half. During that stretch, Isaiah Crawford lit it up, and emerged as LAT's (co)leading scorer for the game. Had the game ended at the 30 second mark, one would have to say that LAT's #22 got the better of it.

But Hargrove (#22) and the final 28 seconds is obviously the headline.

Notice in the video below of TJ's 28 second flurry, Isaiah Crawford is almost constantly a step or two behind TJ: on TJ's drive for the slam dunk at the 28 second mark, when TJ goes around Jimmerson's screen (with #22 Isaiah Crawford getting screened by Jimmerson at the top of the key), and even on the final shot at the buzzer. The main defender on TJ's shot at the end is #2, but Isaiah Crawford is close by. It's a bit fun to see Isaiah Crawford's shoulders slump as TJ's buzzer beater swishes. #22 Isaiah Crawford had an amazing second half. TJ had an epic, historic, amazing final 28 seconds.  Did the 22s meet up? Watch the end again.

 

[Minerva N. Owl]

 

[wgstl]

Up to 16int in 3% shooting .

[Lord Elrond]

The victory over Louisiana Tech moved us up to #215 in the NET, just behind Fordham

[almaman]

on2 top 200>!>!>!>!>

[CenHudDude]

1 hour ago, Lord Elrond said:

The victory over Louisiana Tech moved us up to #215 in the NET, just behind Fordham

Just behind Fordham?  There’s no justice

[cgeldmacher]

I do not know what thread to put this in, but Brock Vice has recorded zero stats at Creighton this season.  Does anyone know if he is injured?  If not, I hope he realizes the amount of minutes he would have been getting if he had kept his commitment to SLU.