BILLIDOC Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 if you dont build cofidence in your players you will never achieve anthing by juggling line ups.bad move again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 I'm not sure you can really suggest Brad's coaching move of playing the younger guys was a bad idea. In fact I would suggest it worked for the most part. He started the youth and what happened. We opened up with a 15-5 lead. When the upperclassmen came in, the lead vanished. Meyer had 9 and Polk had 16. What did Drejaj do? 0 points. The only thing I would complain about is the way he used Izik. We lacked in rebounding and he could've helped. But overall this was a much better game, and you now have a group of young (more confident) freshman in Meyer and Polk. Depaul is a good team. They are better than Marquette (without Diener). I am happy he shook this up and now we get to see what some of our young guys can really do. Thus far I'm impressed with the youth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 There are a few to have today: 1) Once again we were out of timeouts at the end of the game. Brad called one right before a t.v. timeout and Depaul wasn't even on a run. 2) Although we got extrememly lucky with the Diener turnover we let 20 seconds run off the clock before going for the ball...and we only had 5 team fouls. 3) After the LM 3 pointer we didn't foul Diener immediately even though we had 5 team fouls. Somebody on the bench should have known the foul situation. 4) Any time he put Drejaj in for Polk except when Polk was tired. 5) Not putting the better rebounder (IO) in the game instead of VN on the final three pointer. All that being said I thought Brad did a very good job getting the kids in the game and leaving them in at the end. Also, Brad designed at least two plays to do directly after timeouts and both ended up with points. the offense also seemed more fluent probably under order from Brad to be more aggresive. All in all, today was one of the best games we've played all year and I think most of that has to do with the energy from the kids and the great play of Polk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 ... saying he ain't chucking it in and playing the youngsters. He is later quoted as saying he doesn't know what we're playing for. This was extremely depressing ot me. Then, I read where he benches the seniors and goes with the youth. Frankly, I don't know what to make of all this. Anyone got any insight or stuff on this flip-flopping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 I was a critic of Brad's last week, but I strongly disagree with you today. Brad's decision to play the kids was wondeful. It kept the fans interested in the game from the start. We saw things from Polk and Meyer that we hadn't seen all year (but were hoping to see based upon their high school play). With the kids in, we played better defensively, played better in transition, and ran the offense much smoother. The difference in style and energy between the seniors and underclassmen was noticable. It should give all of us reason to be optimistic for the future. Plus, what did we have to lose? After today's game, I concluded that this season has been a bust for three reasons: 1. The expecations put on Reggie by everyone associated with the program, particularly us, were way too high and unreasonble. Reggie is an excellent spot-up outside shooter, with good, but not great, ability to create some shots off the dribble. He is not, however, a good defender or creator. Reggie is the perfect complimentary offensive player; unfortunately, he was forced to take the leading role on offense. 2. Our starting point guard is still learning the college game, and our backup point guard isn't very good. 3. We still don't have the right power forward for this system. Izik is a highly-skilled basketball player, but he has never really been the strong finisher that this offense has so sorely needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 He was using the media to sell his agenda. He didn't want to give the impression to the fans and media that he was giving up the season if he goes with the kids. However, he stated that would play the kids if they were better and had "earned" the spot over the seniors. If we are to take Brad at his word, then we would conclude that the kids have all earned starting spots. Frankly, it may be true. Brown, Meyer, and Polk all looked better than Bryant and Drejaj today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 While the quote was in the Sunday paper, perhaps the quote was made to Stu before Friday's practice session. Perhaps, after Friday's and Saturday's practices, Soderberg decided to LM and DB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 As it has been stated numerous times ....... minutes are earned or lost in practice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU_Nick Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 It was a good idea to start the youth. Soderberg knows he has ATLEAST one more year to get to the tournament. If the young kids bring just about the same production as the seniors, why not start them. It has been a dissapointing season but Luke brings a spark, and DP obviously felt more comfortable without the "I better pass it to the seniors" mantra playing in his head. They played great, Lisch and Liddell should be excited to come here next year. On Isik. It really looks as if he realized at the age of 18 that he had a good body for the game of basketball. His ball handling skills are worst than drejaj's (wow did I say that) and his basketball knowledge is extremely limited as evidenced by his quick missed shot against marquette that led to the loss. With that said, he is still a big body and an above average rebounder who we will miss next year if we dont get a star with our last 2 scholarships. START THE YOUTH! PLAY THE YOUTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 I think courtside pretty nailed it with his post about coach desperately looking for something positive. He's never been in this situation before and is at a loss for answers. I think continuing to rely on his young players to make plays instead of relying on Bryant and Ohanon all the time is a step in the right direction. We're playing for next year, whether Brad wants to publicly admit it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 Izik is 25 or 26 Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 Billidoc - you are absolutely wrong. The line up played today is what many of us have been saying should be done some time ago. What you saw today in the first 8 minutes or so was the future and it looks bright! I am surprised nobody mentioned the technical - without it we are down by 1 at the end of the game. The use of AD on Diener was truly a mistake and IV on their #45 - at least Brad recognized that quickly - IV on #45 and put Newborne on him and he did a good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLUMS81 Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 Brad has had confidence in his players and the result is a dismal record. I applaud his personnel decision with today's starting lineup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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