Billiphan Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Is TL the only one with the size and quickness to cover Pinnock? Does IV get Pops and JJ get Hall. KL on Rice. I don't know that we can score with these guys. I would think we'll have to play a pretty deliberate, slow game to keep within reach. Aren't we due to shoot the ball well? Why not this game? Hopefully Dreja can provide a spark. It's gonna take a big effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Personally, I agree that we're due for an offensive game. We have some athletes on this team, and they can score. I think it's just a matter of time. Had a week off. Playing a ranked opponent in the nations capital. I see the over is at 133.5. Call me crazy, but i would take the bet. 75-70 SLU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 We've been due for an offensive explosion for the past 2-3 years (not counting the preseason). On a side note, does consistent practice make a team better at shooting? Honestly, I played many sports growing up (never basketball). And it stands to reason that more extensive practice of a fundamental aspect of the sport would garner better results than we have shown. Is basketball different, can you not become better shooters? I know, i know, games are different, blah blah blah. But do we practice shooting enough? If I had a soccer team that missed the goal consistently, the pendulum of practice time would move more to shooting and less to other fundamentals. I know, what a dumb question, but given our poor offense and poor shooting on a consistent basis over the last few years, one would think we could fix this problem or at least improve the deficiency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Shooting is like any other skill. You practice it repeatedly in order to become better at it. JJ Reddick didn't become the best shooter in the country because he sat around. The man shot a 1000 shots a day for years. Unfortunately for us, you can only improve your shot so much in a week. That doesn't mean you don't work on it, but getting into shape and gaining a better understanding of the offense tends to be coach's bigger priority during season. In the off-season and out of practice do players become better shooters. Speaking of which, I walked by practice on Monday saw everybody there. An hour later I walked by again after practice was over and everybody was gone except for Lisch who was still in there shooting by himself. You gotta love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Seems to me this is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, deficiencies with this team. When does this coach make it a priority during practice and/or rewarding players that make it a priority outside of regular practice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 It is, but at this point you just can't do that much about it. Shooting improvement takes a long time and you can't spend all your time working on that. Just instill some confidence in them so they take them when open, go out and recruit some shooters, and hope your players spend their off-seasons working on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I would agree with that strategy if this was a one-year thing, but we haven't exactly recruited many sharp-shooting contributors in recent years past. As we are finding out, good D against really good teams only takes you so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Very true...I think that's why we recruited Dustin over some might argue better overall players and are still considering a sf/pf who can stroke it from the outside. Brad has said in the past he wished he would've recruited more shooters. I for one think Ahearn would be a perfect fit for this team (don't want to get into this discussion again). We are also still relying heavily on freshman and sophomores. I think we can assume that as the years go on, these youngsters will become better at stroking the three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 however, i firmly believe that the mechanics have to be there. you will be hard pressed to name more than a couple great shooters that didnt have the right mechanics. and if you practice bad mechanics, your shot will likely only be worse or remain inconsistent. i think that no one will all at once become a good shooter from a bad or mediocre one by shooting more in a week or so. imo, if your shot is bad, it takes a concentrated effort of changing the poor habit of the bad hitch or mistake in delivery over a long period of time. i remember when coach soderberg first got the job of billiken head coach, he was asked at a billiken club meeting about randy pulley's shot and if it could improve. he shook his head and basically said what i said above only he added in his opinion, a players shot is made by the time they get to high school. and if it flawed, considering all the playing they will do thereafter, it likely cant be improved much without shutting themselves out from everything else for an extended period of time. of course pulley proved him right as the last time we saw randy pulley in the pre-conference season at mi$$ouri, he demonstrated the worst shot in the country until pretty q kicked him off the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 The only shooter with bad mechanics of the young players is probably Tommie and maybe Dwayne who's body is moving around a lot during his shot. Kevin has great mechanics, Danny good, and Luke has a nice release, but too slow (that can be worked on). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bauman Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I agree that Luke has a nice looking shot, but I think he needs to do more than speed it up. As I watch him shoot his shot might better be described as a set shot with a little elevation rather than a jump shot. From my standpoint he needs to change his shot to a jump shot not just speed it up. I'm surprised that the staff has not had him make the change-maybe they are afraid to mess with a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 dwayne imo has a big problem getting his feet set under himself and typically you will watch his body drift and his follow through come across his body. luke is not the quickest release plus his release still comes from relatively low. i believe that luke has tremendously improved his shot and i am betting by next year it will be even better. liddell is just a long way from being an outside shooter. but boy does he do everything else right with the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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