Billikan Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Tonight's win can be almost directly explained by our new intensity, particularly on the help defense. Earlier this year the help was terrible. Tonight we had several good steals off the help defense that lead to excellent running opportunities. Overall, I thought this was Polk's best game. He handled the ball well, defended well, stole the ball three times, and played with enthusiam and intensity. Danny Brown is getting better each game. His confidence is sky high and that is a plus, mostly. He hustles, defends with energy and runs the court. His shooting from outside is still suspect but he hit a big three off a nice pass from Reggie. We can really see a nice future for this athletic 6'5" wing man. Anyone who suggests that IO should not play much fails to understand his incredible importance to this team. He had a strong game on both ends and he rebounded well. He has really improved and he looks to be the senior that may give us the leadership that is so badly needed. JJ had some good moments and made a couple of prayers. He also made two beautiful free throws. VN played with more energy and made a couple of nice shots inside including a great fast break lay up on a pass from Danny Brown. Drejaj still drives me crazy on the offensive end. His shot was off and he drove many times with very limited success. He still hustles like a mad man and his flying touch pass on the fast break to IO was the highlight of the year. Reggie's shot from outside is still off--it is amazing that such a good shooter is shooting such a low percentage. But he did some good things and seemed to be hustling more on defense. Late in the game the coach played the twin towers of IO and Ian and it was fairly effective. By the way, we had some terrible calls from the refs early and I thought Brad was going to have a coronary. But he calmed down and we seemed to get a fair share of our calls in the second half. Overall, a very nice win even that gives us something to build on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 the ref made 10 walking calls 2 of them correct ... then he misses 5 walking calls on them ... The black ref was the worst basketball ref I've ever seen. While the game was going on he was arguing with Brad, with his back to the game ... the ball was in play. At one point I yelled "You suck" the security guy told me to watch my mouth ... I forgot we had to act like we were in church at Billiken games ... Needless to say I didn't listen. The crowd was better today ... but more about getting on the refs than cheering the Bills ... but either way I like the noise Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 IO had a good game - he played consistent throughout the entire game. When IO does this he deserves to play - the problem is he has often done it only in spurts and not the entire time. I agree, that ref was a real piece of work - he was arguing with Brad during the play and did you see the stare down between him and Brad? I am not sure who blinked first but I have never seen anything like that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I was waiting for the T during that stare down. I'm glad Brad didn't let the f'er get to him. Those a'holes would have ejected me for running my mouth....... I'm surprised nobody talked about it in the post game show (that I recall.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trich Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I know what you mean but sometimes there is nothing like bad officiating to really get the crowd into the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 overall, while i thought we did some things right, the biggest factor was that tulane really sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 i had a guy tell me at halftime that pollard was the guy that got lisch at the shootout. i just laughed. he said his entire section was all over pollard the whole first half about fouling lisch out of the shootout. that is great stuff that this guy has painted his a$$ in the corner over that and the billiken fandom keeps reminding him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 trich, btw, i hope you saw the band shot clock countdown work to perfection last nite. they got the tulane knucklehead point guard to force a shot with a fake out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Tulane has a young team but more importantly, does anyone know if they played a soft non-conf. schedule in order for them to be 6-5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Quite frankly the teams that have been beating us this year, with two notable exceptions, aren't exactly elites. A win is a win is a win and a conference win to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 there rpi is like 301 so it must be bad. according to kenpom they have lost to lsu, louisiana state, new orleans, northwestern state, princeton and the billikens. they beat prarie view, loyola of new orleans, savanaugh state, north carolina a&t, alabama state and vmi. vmi is the highest rpi with a 255 in the winners, princeton is the only sub 150 rpi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehms13 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I think the defense was on point tonight, I heard via radio of the game that even Newbourne had some steals, Anthony's passes, Reg's passes and most importantly Reg's defense. His offense is still off, mainly because is vision is tainted, but he still did well, and helped the guys significantly. I'm loving Danny Brown, his game will develop so well, I'm glad he's getting an opportunity. Polk played well he got the ball to the open guys.. I can't wait until Saturday, and see the intensity and confidence the guys bring to the game. I watched Cincy on their Las Vegas trip on ESPN play against Longwood..so It will be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 The Polk to Brown play in the first half was awesome! It seemed to me like all the guys played with a lot more energy tonight. Reggie looked great on defense, and you could tell that Polk was fired up. His confidence seems to be growing, and he really showed some flashed of his excellent jumping ability. I thought that JJ and Ian played pretty well also. What is it with Drejaj and layups? I always cringe when I see him about to attempt a layup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 VN also took one to the hole in traffic from up top ... nice play and good to see from him ... the bounce pass from DB to I think VN on a break was also pretty ... I also like DB ... he hustles, isn't afraid to attack the basket and has made some good passes ... he also plays good D. I hope he really works on his shot during the off season ... specifically from 3 ... and a little pull up once he gets in the lane. He is strong and can get there almost at will ... he just hasn't shown the touch yet to finish it consistently ... He is playing very well for a freshman ... I just hope he is the type of guy that works hard in the off season to improve ... watching him gives me the idea that he is. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Brown reminds me a little of Josh Fisher. I didn't think much of his signing since nobody'd heard of him but I like what I've seen so far. He plays with a hell of a lot of confidence for a freshman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 actually, brown is far stronger than josh was as a freshman. if brown has the work ethic that josh has, he will be a player! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Haven't I read here someone comparing Danny Brown to Maurice Jeffers? That would be great. It looks to me that Brown may keep one of the local stud recruits on the bench next season (or limit that guys playing time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted January 6, 2005 Author Share Posted January 6, 2005 Actually, I was saying last night that I could not wait to see him and Polk play with Lisch and Liddell. I would not be surprised to see 3 of the four of them get major minutes at the three outside positions. Our offensive ability will immediately improve and our defense should be at least as good. Polk and Brown are getting better every game on the defensive end. Most good teams today have at least 6 good outside players with 4 or 5 getting the major minutes. It will be interesting to see how this plays out next year with these 4, Clarke, Meyer and Drejaj. By the way, no one commented but in Brad's new rotation it seems that Clarke and Meyer are out of the picture for now. Meyer seems to have maintained a great attitude on the bench. Clarke is more subdued but does not seem to be negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 i would not compare danny brown to mo jeffers at this point yet. he is not as good as lisch or liddell right now imo. he is bigger and stronger though (or at least the tommie l i remember from last year. jalensdad says he has gotten stronger). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 i thought in the semo game, clarke showed some speed and quickness. i wish he would play more as well, but we just havent seen enough of him to comment accurately on his basketball skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 It is hard to compare the three ... Brown is truly a slasher who has a big strong body. He passes decent and defends better than his age. We have to remember he has a year of prep school under his belt ... His development says good things about what we should expect from Tommie. I think if he works on his 3 pt shot and gets better at finishing in the paint ... he will be hard to keep off the floor. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basketbill Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 you had to like how the team responded once the lead was wittled down to 4 points twice. Sound defense and steals, and Drejaj's pass to Izik, as well as Izik being in position took the wind out of Tulane. A few games ago, they might have thought about every missed shot, and stepped out of bounds, dribbled off their foot, or Izik might haven given up on the pass..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 The great thing about Brown is that we have him for 4 years. Mo, unfortunately, was a 2 year deal. I'm glad to see Brown getting more playing time and looking better as the year progresses. This kid has a high ceiling. There will be a log jam at guard next year for sure. Having the guys fight for minutes can only make us a better team. If I had to vote, Drejaj would be the guy who would lose minutes next year and become a defensive energy guy off the bench something like John Redden was for most of his days at SLU (although he got big minutes his senior year). Luke Meyer is another guy who is going to have a tough time getting minutes next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 I agree ... there are 120 minutes to split between the 3 guards ... I guarantee if healthy Polk gets 30 ... that leaves 90 between the other 3. There won't be many extra and I like that ... I do not like playing to large of a rotation ... I wonder where that leaves VN also ... unless we are playing a smaller team and he is playing the 4 ... I don't know where he fits in ... Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 skip, why would you guarantee 30 for polk but not anyone else? if tomorrow lisch and liddell could start playing but only for polk, i guarantee you that either lisch or liddell would be in my lineup instead of dwayne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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