Brad on KMOX Tonight

[SLUMS81]

A few of Brad's comments tonite on KMOX:

1. Team is frustrated, but will not give up.

2. Brad was very pleased with the defensive effort against Marquette. He credited the other team's shooters for making contested shots down the stretch.

3. With regard to the press, Brad said that they practice against the press every day. He said it takes more stategy and team execution to break a zone press than a man-to-man. He did not have a great answer to the question of why he did not cross mid-court before calling time out at the end of the game.

4. He took DB out of the game because of his turnover against the press. He put AD in because of his greater experience. AD then promptly made a similar turnover. Brad was not happy with his substitution in retrospect.

5. Pleased with IV's progress.

6. Wishes RB could get more open looks. Opposing teams are really clamping-down on Reggie.

7. Keeps at least 2 players back after a missed shot, sometimes 3, to avoid easy transition baskets. He said that Marquette is quite adept at transition baskets and did not get any yesterday.

8. They are looking for a "zone-busting" shooter as well as a power forward. He re-iterated that they would prefer four-year players if at all possible. He noted that he was successful with four-year players at Wisconsin.

He is trying to sound as positive as possible in the face of an unhappy season.

[Quality Is Job 1]

I heard the Soderberg show, and (regarding Point no. 3) I disagree you that his explanation was unsatisfactory. He said that if he's afraid that a 10-second violation is imminent or that players aren't in the right positions to break the press, then he'll call a timeout while the ball is still in the backcourt; however, if he just wants to set up a play, he'll wait until the ball is across halfcourt.

[billiken_roy]

that timeout though was called early in the ten second count and imo allowed marquette to set up the press out of the huddle and contributed to that turnover. it was maybe the biggest mistake of the day.

[SLUMS81]

The problem with that is that SLU had just rebounded a missed shot, and Marquette was not set up in a press formation. He also mentioned that he did not have a clear memory of the situation.

[courtside]

I would disagree with the Marquette transition baskets, ...for this year's Marquette team. I would say they are struggling to get those easy transition baskets this year, that they have gotten in other years.

Also, I would take issue with the offensive boards comment. Marcus Jackson is a good rebounder, but if you look at recent Marquette games or stats, they are being challenged on the boards. Sure against teams more athletic than SLU...but SLU was never close to offensive boards and after every shot it seemed 3-4 Marquette players would battle only each other for the board. I guess that means against the more athletic conference opponents that will only get worse.

SLU needed to do more to create opportunities for Bryant. Sure he needs to be more active and take more initiative too. I thought he was guarded a little too easily. Marquette didn't do anything special, rotating Townsend, Mason and Chapman on him. With limited options, he needs to be more involved.

[3star_recruit]

Yeah, it's kinda hard to get offensive rebounds when you're sending 3 guys back in transition. Also, Marquette with Diener is the danger of transition. Who exactly was Brad trying to stop from leading the break in Saturday's game -- Joe Chapman?

I get the feeling that Brad really believes his rhetoric that more experience in his system will fix our problems. If his philosophy is to send 2-3 guys back in transition and not to let Polk outrun zone pressure, we're going to continue getting beat on the offensive boards and turning over the ball against pressure. His assertion that he didn't let Marque beat zone pressure by himself doesn't jibe with what we saw Perry's senior year.