Westy03 Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 With the improved play of Luke Meyer and Danny Brown over the last 5-10 games who do you guys feel will get more minutes nezt year if not start. All I know is that its going to be a crowded backcourt with Polk, Liddell, Meyer, Brown, Lisch, Drejaj, and maybe Clarke. I feel that Danny Brown will be perfect giving us a spark off the bench with his defense and athletic ability and LM will be better suited starting and im sorry but Drejaj has to be the odd man out. Just looking forward to next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillikenButch Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 This is not meant to be offensive, but if Meyer starts next season, I believe that we may be in for another long year. His starting would suggest to me that either: (1) he has dramatically improved his play (OK I'll take that from anyone) (2) Lisch and Lidell are either injured or not as good as advertised (3) Polk is not the player we anticipated I believe he has a very important role to play, but if it is as a starter, I will be concerned until proven otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 My only thought is that Darren missed out on a golden opportunity to get himself back into the mix after his 15 pt. performance a few games ago. Apparently he has a bad back again (shades of Floyd McClain?) and now Reggie is back with the team. Absent injury, I don't see Darren getting another shot this year. If Darren couldn't work his way into the lineup this year, I don't see it happening next year (again absent injury or grade problems). It's a luxury to have a guy with his talent waiting on the bench just in case but I feel bad for the guy. Wouldn't surprise me if Darren reaches this conclusion as well and leaves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Maybe we should trade him. Wouldn't that be nice. We could package a couple of guards for a nice 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 I don't think Darren will transfer - don't ask me why it is just my thought. I think he may very well have put himself in a position to get playing time. The only way I think he might transfer is if he is not on target to graduate. I think AD is on the hot seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Polk has been playing 30 minutes a game as a freshman even though his shot has been off for the vast majority of this season. Now that his shot has come around, I expect him to play similar minutes as the incumbent point guard next season. Drejaj has played 25+ minutes a game every season he's been here. Coach will lean on Drejaj for senior leadership as he does with all his experienced seniors so Anthony will be in the rotation. If Kevin Lisch was not coming in next year, I would pencil Drejaj in as a starter (not the decision I would make but I'm trying to think like Brad here). Hopefully Lisch will be ready to go by fall practice and Drejaj will be a sparkplug off the bench. Brad is a system coach and in his opinion Luke Meyer has the best grasp of his system. Now that Luke has gotten the opportunity to prove he can score at this level, that may spell bad news for Danny Brown. Not only is Danny competing against Meyer but if Tommie Liddell qualifies, he basically brings everything to the table that Danny does, plus he's a better playmaker and rebounder. Newborne, who is a great practice player, is our de facto power forward. Hopefully he'll have more success rebounding against the smaller A-10 interior players. JJ has survived being kicked off the team earlier this season and will be an upperclassman so I expect him to be a solid contributor off the bench. IV is our only legitimate post threat so he will be counted on to play mega minutes next year. Husak's job will be to play good interior defense, swat some shots and box out while IV is getting a breather. Any offense we get from him is gravy. Other folks have covered Clarke's situation already. If Coach finds this 6'5 three-point specialist he's looking for, I expect the kid to redshirt to maximize his minutes over his 4 year playing career. I don't have much confidence in the staff finding a high school power forward who's able to quickly grasp Brad's offense and strong enough to beat out upperclassmen. We don't exactly have a history of bringing in power forwards who are ready to play right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 >Maybe we should trade him. Wouldn't that be nice. We could >package a couple of guards for a nice 4. I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 I hope you are wrong about D. Brown. I'd very much like to see what this guy could develop into with a full year of 20 minutes per game. He brings so much more to the table than Meyer. But, trying to think like Brad, you just might be right ... which is disappointing. Well, you can only hope he keeps his spirits up and gets minutes the following year after Drejaj leaves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobile-iken Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Danny Brown brings so much more to the table than Luke Meyer??? jjray, why the personal vandetta against Meyer? The guy is doing everything asked of him and then some, he is a very smart, pure basketball player. He handles the ball extremely well, he aggresively takes the ball to the hoop, he passes well, he never stops moving, he plays defense, he rebounds, I could go on and on... He may not have the quickest release on the floor but he gets his shot off, have you ever seen one of his shots get rejected??? I don't understand your thinking here at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 I think it is really unfair to both players to start pitting Danny against Luke. In fact, they both have the potential to make a huge contribution next year and into the future. Luke is rock solid fundamentally and he plays with toughness and discipline. I have come to respect him and his game very much. He is just like Chris Sloan in that the team seems to play better when he is on the floor and he busts his butt on every single play. He will probably be a starter for those reasons and the fact that he has demonstrated a much improved defensive ability, including defending the 3 position. Danny is a much more explosive athlete who can run the floor with anyone. He is not as fundamentally sound as Luke but as he gets more experience I see him as a major contributor. He is extremely quick and he is just what the doctor ordered in running the floor with Polk. His shot selection and consistancy are not what we would hope to get eventually but he is a fine overall player with lots of potential. With regard to the rotation, I watch a ton of college basketball and I have for years. What I have learned is that every good team has at least 5 players who can move between the 1, 2 and 3. They are generally solid with some strong attributes and the coaches use them interchangably. I could definitely see us using 5 or 6 players to rotate in the three positions. Given the fact that we could have injuries and virtually all of the key players--except Drejaj--will be freshmen or sophomores, I think we will be very happy to have depth and quality to put on the floor. I, for one, am very excited about the potential of this group. I will be the first to predict that this team will be much better next year, particularly in terms of our record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillikenButch Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Danny Brown is the Billikens' best finisher on the break. As SLU transitions to a more uptempo offense, DB will be a key component. I salivate at the thought of Polk leading the break with Liddell on one win and Brown on the other. Luke Meyer will definitely have a major role. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 In a rare instance this season, I agree with a 3star post ....except, I see Danny Brown at least repeating the 20' minutes a game that he is averaging thus far this season. If Soderberg likes LM because Luke has an excellent grasp of the motion offense, then Brad likes DB equally as well, because Danny may be SLU's best perimeter defender at this point in this season. I except Brown to work hard this spring, summer, and fall, and I believe he will come back next season stronger and a better FG shooter. Litsch and Liddell have to do it on the practice/game court, press clippings and hype won't get it done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 thicks, it appears that you are coming around a little bit on Luke Meyer. What about Luke has caught your eye? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 >>He may not have the quickest release on the floor but he gets his shot off, have you ever seen one of his shots get rejected???<< I guess you didn't watch the Louisville game. It's my opinion MAC. Everyone is entitled to theirs. From my perspective, I can't fathom that someone would even question that D. Brown has a greater upside potential than L. Meyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 I agree that it is not one against the other ... Luke and Danny will both get plenty of playing time. I would agree that Danny seems to have more upside athletically ... but I think Luke has a knack for playing the game. How come someone so slow has taken the ball to the hole successfully as much as anyone else on the team since he has been starting. He knows when to put up his shot and when to pass it up. Luke just has basketball savvy. He has also been at the top or near the top of the team leaders in offensive rebounds since he has been starting. How does that work for a guy who has less athletic ability than Danny Brown. I think some people are overestimating athletic ability and underestimating basketball smarts and hustle. This is not a knock on Danny ... I think he will be very good, but I also think Luke will find a way to be just as succesful if not more. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobile-iken Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Well said Skip. I am in no way trying to compare Luke Meyer to Larry Bird here, let me repeat I am NOT comparing the 2...Was Larry Bird a great athlete? No. Did he have the quickest release on the floor? I doubt it. Was he one of the 3 greatest basketball players that ever lived? In my eyes, yes. Why? Because he was a basketball player that understood the game and worked his ass off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 What happens scholarship-wise IF Clarke does transfer? How soon do we get an open scholarship? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 I've accepted that Brad is going to stick to his half-court system come hell or high water and being a great athlete doesn't really give you an advantage the way Brad grades offensive players. Being in the right place at the right time, hitting the open jumper and keeping turnovers down is what will endear you to the coach. The only place where Polk, Liddell and Brown are going to run the break on a regular basis is in the minds of Billikens.com posters. I believe its way down the list of offensive priorities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 if i had to pick this second on what they each do right now and no thoughts of potential, i would play luke meyer over danny brown. his basketball iq is off the chart compared to brown. that said, there is no comparison at this point on potential imo. danny brown is bigger, stronger, faster, and jumps higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU_Nick Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Luke Meyer is more solid than DB and I would rather have someone that can make good decisions with the basketball, then one who can dunk impressively. We are being extremely biased thinking that we need Richard Jefferson like athletes to compete. If you look at top tier teams they have athletes that make good decisions. If we want a team of running "non fundamental" athletes than lets mimic San Diego State or UAB. They are good, but in crunch time (ie Cincy vs UAB)they have no one with high basketball IQ to pull out the close wins. UB can only teach so much and then instincts take over. With all that said, I think DB and LM should both start next year until an incoming freshman earns a spot over them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Even in the half court set, there is a place for athleticism. On defense, it's crucial if one wishes to defend on the perimeter outside of Brad's pack D. This is an area we are particularly weak. Taking your man off the dribble or defending against dribble penetration ... athleticism factor. Rebounding ... factor. I've seen this billikens team get more opportunities on the break than any other for many years (not aware of any stats to quantify though). Anybody got access to stats on Billiken points off of break this year? Versus prior years? Agree with your point about the way Brad uses his players (it de-emphasizes athleticism) but disagree with suggestion that it is essentially an irrelevant player commodity on a Soderberg team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 Skip - I am not sure I heard anyone say that LM is slow afoot - what has been said is that his release is slow and low. He does have trouble getting off a shot before the defender closes in on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 JJ, I completely agree that this team has had more fast break opportunities than any other team since I've been following SLU ('98). Unfortunately, I'm sure there are no stats to back this up. We definitely aren't what I consider a fast break team, but i think we are on our way. I think it is a VERY bad idea to play a transition game if nobody can hit a shot and finishers are limited. I believe Brad 100% that we will be picking up our pace over the next few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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