cheeseman Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Roy, I agree with you about our inside play is the problem. However, if you don't give Ian, Husak and JJ a chance to play regular sustainable minutes, then they will not improve. I am willing to risk them in the game for their ability to be able to contribute next year. We are going nowhere with IO and TF right now. Is it me or is Newborne awfully slow on the court? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I do think that Dreja is part of the problem but I also agree that the bigger problem is inside. I would like to see Brad give JJ 30min.per in the next 2 games. Lets find out if this kid is ready to be a large part of this team or not. My guess is he's not but how do we know untill he gets his extended shot. As for Dreja-he is what he is. He's not going to get any better. He's not a kid. Let's see if somebody{Brown} is better. Reggie must play. We'd be lucky to break 30 points without him. If you give the younger guys a shot and it doesn't get better you can always go back. What do we have to lose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 if ian would have come in with a greatly expanded chest and shoulders and a smaller waist with a significant increase in his vertical jump and bench press, i would be the first to agree with giving him more time. but for the life of me, i dont see a significant difference between the 2003-2004 version of ian and the 2004-2005 one. same with husak. has he gotten any stronger? it sure doesnt look like it. in 17 months on campus, there should be more noticeable difference and that difference would indeed justify his rights to more time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 as much of a drejaj defender that i am, at this point in the season i totally agree. let brown and meyer play. as i stated with ian and husak, it is disappointing that drejaj didnt come back this year slimmer and with his jump shot fixed. everytime i see that elbow fly out i cringe. plus, i really assumed with the heart that drejaj has exhibited, he would have really worked on his dribbling over the summer and came back to campus with a rightful stake on the point guard position. the truth is his handles are no better than before and polk on sheer athleticism alone deserved to start from day one. knowing coach soderbergs affection for experience and toughness that should have never happened. thus, imo, drejaj is no different than the bigs on this view. it is my guess that now famous drejaj moxie is the reason he keeps getting trotted out there. who else has it? as i said before, someone has to have that rockylike attitude, drejaj does, no one else has showed it. it is a shame he doesnt have the skills to go with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I don't see much of an improvement in Ian's game, but he is definitely in better shape than he was last year. He's slimmer, and his arms are bigger and a lot more defined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Roy, if those two don't get any playing time now then when? If they do not get better for next year, then we are really in trouble. The problem here is Brad signed them and now he has to develop them one way or another. If he does not, then we are in big trouble next year - is he a good evaluator of talent or not - if yes then play them if not then we all pay the price. I vote lets see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 All good points about AD - so all that being said - let Brown and Clarke give it a real shot. I don't mean 3 minutes and then never seen from again for the game. Put them in for decent periods - 10 minutes then sub and bring them back for another 10 or long if warranted. JJ has to play more than 23 minutes one game and 4 the next. Put him in for 15 minutes and the sub if necessary but bring pack for another extended period or longer. This should happenf or at least 3 games in a row to give these kids a chance to get into the flow of playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 The one player that is discounted is Bryce ... he really only played a significant amount of minutes in the ORU game and he looked good. Not an offensive star ... but I think he can hit the 10 footer he just needs to play and shoot a few. Defensively he was huge against ORU ... I have not seen a better defensive center played at SLU in the last 10 years than Bryce's 15 - 20 minutes against ORU. Also he should be easy to get the ball inside to (as we don't seem to be able to do that). I would like to see us go with DP, RB, DB, IO, and BH. I for one thought IV had made significant improvement over the summer ... but I will admit we haven't seen it in the games. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Remember the first Tip-Off Club meeting when Angres Thorpe praised Meyer and Brown for their mental toughness? I'm sure they haven't lost that, but they are freshmen and will defer to the upperclassmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 to show how far our expectations have fallen, you call bryce's game against oral roberts as "good". others have said that justin's johnson's game vs oakland was great (myself included). the fact is maxiell and hicks at cincy AVERAGE 15 points and 8 rebounds a game. that's average. not good or great. average. good or great nights are 20 and 15 or at least 20 and 10. until we have that kind of inside presense, we will always be inconsistent. where or where is bonner II? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Bryce is also a lot younger than those guys ... playing in his first collegiate game for any amount of real minutes. Yes I think it was a good game. It was also a game you had to see to respect. His impact on the defensive end did not show up completely in the box score. In that game he altered the game with his defensive presence. His offensive contribution was negligable ... but I believe I said he played a good defensive game ... and I think he did. I also think with more minutes and some confidence he can't be any less productive than TF or IV have been this year. What I would really like though is for TF to play 30 minutes a game and shoot the ball 10-12 times ... I don't think we can find the real TF until that starts happenning and we need the real TF. I don't know why we can't get the ball inside to him on a consistent basis ... We have all wondered what is up with him including me ... here are his stats 10 games 16.1 minpg 31 shots shooting 42% for 3.1 shots per game 42 rebounds 18 offensive 12-17 from the line 24 fouls for 2.4 pg How could he possibly get it going ... 3.1 shots a game with 18 offensive rebounds ... lets say a good percentage of offensive rebounds he puts a shot back up say 10 times ... (which is probably low it is probably 14 or 15) ... that leaves him with 2.1 shots a game ... who could get going ... He is not in foul trouble ... yes they are a little high ... but he could get 30 minutes most games. TF needs to play ... he needs to shoot the ball 10-12 times a game ... as an offense we have to be able to deliver him the ball down low ... we clearly don't ... TF is the forgotten man ... and he is equally as important as Reggie, Izik, and DP to the success of this team ... Izik also needs to learn his limitations ... he needs to play within 10 feet of the basket ... when he gets the ball up top he needs to be looking for the non-existent cutter or to feed the ball down low or to the wing for a 3. He does not need to put the ball on the floor from there ... we all know why ... he WILL walk. When he gets the ball down low he is effective ... he has a nice 8-10 foot shot and has the quickness to get to the basket at will (and please dunk it once in a while with authority). If we would start feeding the ball to these guys we might make an opponent respect our inside game and open up our wings ... then if we can get DP to penetrate once in a while we will get some additional looks that should be open from the 3. If Reg gets the ball with time from the 3 he is deadly ... if his defender is having to close in on him quickly ... he will be easy to beat with the dribble and this opens up opportunities for Reg to drive and pull up, get to the rim, pass off inside or kick back out to DP or another shooter ... it also keeps the defense scrambling ... With as slow as we move the ball on the perimiter now ... Roy, I, and Brehms could defend the Bills with decent success. UB has to let them open up the game and he has to feed the ball inside. Let Tom play. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 i like your thinking and while on the surface switching to an inside focus seems crazy, your point that tom isnt getting the ball much is well taken and might explain a lot. if the ball goes inside to tom and izik and they begin to have more success, that would hopefully open things up for reggie and polk to have more success on the outside as well. skip i think you are a genius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I wouldn't go there ... but I have played the game at pg and at a decent level ... I was also one of those guys that was not very athletic even for the lower level I was playing at ... so I had to learn the game and play smart and I did. The thing that puzzles me most is that TF was successful last year for his limited minutes ... we know he can do it ... so why don't we get him the ball ... IO is playing better than we expected and if we keep him inside he can score and defend ... we just have to take the negative (mental lapses) with the positives and so far this year the positive far outwieghs the negative and would do so even more if we would feed him down low even more. DP ... his best asset is his quickness and we only occasionally utilize it ... once we get in a half court set he doesn't use his quickness at all ... and the very few times he has, he has thrown up a wild runner instead of looking to kick out or pass off inside. RB ... a fantastic shooter when given space ... we don't seem to do anything to get him the ball with the opportunity to get that shot off. We just swing the ball half assed around the perimiter to him, and he has to create his own shot off the dribble ... regardless of what anyone says ... that isn't his strongest point ... he can do it but he needs the advantage that he will get if he hits a couple or 3 quick 3's. Why don't we have a couple of plays we run to get Reg an open look or two early in the game ... we are a better team when Reg is hot. I think the entire team is tense and afraid to make a mistake ... UB needs to ease up and let them play ... it's a game. Maybe this Christmas break will help and they will come back with a renewed outlook. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I agree with your point that we play tight,too tense. Our offense is too constrained,too structured. It's probably against his nature but Brad should loosen up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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