Taj79 Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 ... for this program, namely to innudate Ian with boides whenever the entry pass occurs. Get used to it folks. This is going to be the defensive modus operandi for the next year and a half unless we develop other options. And I don't just mean exterior players. It became painfully obvious as that game wore on that GeeDub could do this without fearing the consequences of any retaliation from our other interior players. Whether that was JJ or VN. Why? Because neither JJ nor VN is an "interior" player. Frankly, both are mid-range jump shooters at best. And JJ went 0-for-5 while VN was a more respectable 4-for-8. But few, if any of the 12 PF shots were of the bunnie variety. VN's making some meant that some GW player had to find him and put a hand in his face and if that happened, but being 12 to 15 feet from the basket meant that a GW guard could switch off his man and be the distraction. If that distraction occurred, and the pass went to either AD or DP if he was in there, they were not viable options to shoot so the defense did its job. AD was not at full strength nor speed. I can understand Brad playing him as he did but his contributions, had he lasted the whole game, were questionable at best. I can't fault Brad, I would have done the same thing. In hindsight, it was not a good decision but all decisions viewed in hindsight are done with 20/20 vision. Any news on his status for Saturday? I think this team is not far from being more complete now that I've seen it in person. If DB can maintain his ending of the soph funk, if Lisch can continue to get more comfortable with his shot and stick it with his defense, if TL stays at the point and gains the killer edge, and we add some more dependable snipers to the fold next year, then the interior will definitely open up and give Ian the needed room to move and allow JJ and Obi to mop up the garbage, that will work well. Role players like DP and LM can then be expected to add more quality minutes and therefore more contributions and time to the line up, taking the edge off that late game tiredness mentioned in another thread. Its a work in progress ... I hope that as this year progresses, the current pieces buy into it and a few more wins come from it. I still believe we make the A10 tourney (some may consider this a given right now but I don't). I still don't see much hope for a post season berth in this group. Making the NIT would be a welcome stretch for this group. Not impossible but I don't see it just yet. I was one of the low guys on the preseason predictions ... posting an 11 and 17 guess ... right now, I think this team is one game above where I thought they'd be at this point. I believe I picked SIU over our Bills at Savvis. Everything else has been what I would call typical .... we won a road game at Oakland so maybe they are actually two games above where I thought but I'm not sure right now. Or did I think they'd beat Oakland? I can't recall for sure. The games that bear watching now are the home games against some of the A10's better folks ... can we beat Umass, Dayton, St. Joe's and Fordham at home? Now I think so. I also now believe the Richmond, Duquesne, Dayton and Rhode Island road games are toss ups. La Salle is overinflated and Dayton is having problems so winning there is possible. Given these potential toss-ups now, the youth of this team is going to have to do something. If that something results in wins, next year looks even better. If its to continue with this excruciatingly hard losses, well ... that's not good. On the most positivie optimistic side ... 12 and 4 in conference would be the best we could do as I look at it again and I don't think its a stretch to see a complete reversal of that on the negative side. I am guessing its somewhere in between but am extremely positive on the team's overall direction. Seeing them in person makes me see a whole lot of diamonds shining in the current rough. A bogey from here would be the expected score on this hole but I think par is doable. A birdie? Time will tell ... The despair of last season has been replaced with some renewed hope. The typical Billiken fan emerges..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I disagree with your comments on AD. It was obvious to me[and one of my sons] that he was not and full speed ,could not get his shot off,had trouble keeping up with his man. Brad should have limited his time to no more than 5 min. per half. You don;t miss 3 weeks then play extended min. Those extended min . kept Kevin,Tommie or Danny on the bench when they were playing better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I'm actually kind of down on this team right now but setting goals of just making the A-10 tournament? Talk about setting the bar low. You predicted us to win 11 games this year. We currently have 7. We just took the best team in the league to overtime on the road and you still expect us to struggle to make the top 12 of the league? Take a look at the records and schedules of teams like Duquense, Fordham, St. B. Richmond etc. Do you really think any of them are better than us? Here's a news flash. The NIT takes 48 teams these days. That means you roughly only need to be in the top 113 teams and finish with a record of .500 or better. Our current RPI is 96. If the Bills don't make the NIT tourney this year I will be very disapointed and call this season a failure. Similarly, if we don't make the NCAA next year its a failure. Perhaps the most common characteristic of all of Brad's teams is that they have played better as the season progresses. Expect nothing less from this team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 and I see that its not as negative as I first thought. Maybe its just your style of writing but you just seem to put every thought you have on paper, even if they contradict eachother. I got stuck on some of the early negativity and didn't see that later you said 12-4 in conference is possible. I still think you underestimate our chances for the NIT. If we finish .500 or better we'll be in in the NIT. p.s. pretty bold prediction there saying we could finish anywhere from 12-4 to 4-12 in conference play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 to be honest, the first time that the one gw guard blew by drejaj, it was obvious he wasnt ready to play. in hindsight, i would have called it a day very early in the night for anthony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I'll be disappointed if we don't make the NCAA tournament THIS year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 unless we win the A-10 tourney. With 7 losses already we'd pretty much have to run the rest of the regular season and this team doesn't shoot consistently enough to do that. Now I could see us playing well down the stretch, getting a four or better seed and needing only 3 victories to go dancing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 one thing that is emerging is the shooting and play of both lisch and brown. they both have their 3 point % up and their overall % are on the rise as well. i also expect tommie to continue to get more comfortable now that he is at the right position and has the ball in his hands more. win out january. that is my wish and i truly believe it can happen. if that indeed does happens, we got a lot of people in a tizzy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 in my opinion they will win the conference, and we should be thrilled to get a split with them. I watched them play the Illini in Chicago and if not for a late game collapse would have won that one. Roy, are you still boycotting the UMass game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 They are good and deep, imo, the class of the A10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 As long as we continue to play to the level of our competition, we will continue to be roughly a .500 basketball team. That may get the job done against St. Bonaventure but we'll always be susceptible to the better teams just asserting their athleticism late in ball games if we allow them to hang around. Realistically I don't expect freshmen and sophomores to understand what it takes to put a D-1 game away. This isn't high school where they can simply drive the lane and elevate over a 6'4 post man. Seeing Tommie surrounded by 3 skywalkers in the final seconds, two of which were 6'9, kinda puts things in perspective. Next year he'll just pull up from 15 feet and hit the game winner, taking the shotblockers out of the equation. Or better yet our players would have understood that when they got up 9 and Hobbs took a time out, one more blow to the head would have put GW on the mat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonka Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 As much as could be predicted with this team I still think more is unpredictable. I know everyone is high on Danny Brown at this point and with good reason, but Danny played well early in the year and one poster even made a comment that he was the most underrated player in the country. While I think that was said based on pure emotion it points out the ups and downs so far. That being said, just 3 games ago many were calling for Danny to get minimal playing time. He comes out and has 2 great games and now most say he should play a key role. JJ started showing signs and played two very good games in a row and now has gotten quiet. I don't think anyone of us expected that from Brown the past 2 games. As many have said, others have to find success in their perimeter shots and Ian will quit being mobbed. The puzzling thing about going into most games, especially as of late, is that we sometimes feel comfortable that we may win the game, but we really don't know how we're going to. There really has been no pattern so far. Even Brad has mentioned that our defense is nowhere near he thought it would be this year. I didn't expect that. Knowing the offense would change slightly I saw a slight drop in defense but other than maybe 3 games, it consistently has been worse than last year. While I love players stepping up when we need them to, it scares me that the guy who we think is going is not going to contribute often becomes the key to winning the game. I know we are young, but this inconsistency makes me nervous as hell. We are way better than last year, but like someone said, let's hope our goal was not just to be that. I did think we would be 2 games better than we were at this point but that was based on pure optimism. I'd love to say we'd the Big Dance this year, but unless we show more consistency, I don't think it will happen. But, looking at the suprises we;ve had, we may very well do just that and I don't think it is that far stretched. I think we will absolutely make the NIT, but again I go into every game thinking this will be the night I see you we really are and can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 .. on AD were this: AD was not at full strength nor speed. I can understand Brad playing him as he ... I can't fault Brad, I would have done the same ... In hindsight, it was not a good decision ... Both willie and broy agree with the strength assessment and based on your comments I am guessing you agree with my last comment about the decision not being a good one. Let me expalin the other two .... if I'm going into a ranked opponents home court I would think I would want all my senior experience with me. I think,to a man, we all agree that AD leaves it all on the court. And the medical reports must have given him some clearance to resume. So from a "going in with all weapons available" attitude, I understand Brad's rationale. Plus ... there were at least a hlaf dozen or so Drejaj family members there ... probably made the drive down from Jersey to see the kid play. I understand it from those points of view and still stand with my rationale that if I was faced with the same situation, I'd probably do the same thing. I also certainly agree with both of your assessments of what the results were. I think broy said it best that the minute these GW guards blew by him, it was definitely the time to rethink the decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 i sold my tix, however, i am getting very itchy. i believe my daughter's team is in a high school tourney in the morning/afternoon, so if done by 4 or 5 pm, we will drive out to beat the rush and i guess sit in the rafters (if not able to leave belleville before 5, i wont go as i would think it will again take me nearly 2 hours to get in seats from belleville). my billiken addiction is going to win out over my disgust with this game being played at this very poor venue unless she plays in the evening. no way of knowing saturday times for her tourney at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 .. and I have the passt history of going round and round over some of this and I've always respected that. I'm glad you re-read the post and yup .. I probably pour more into things than needed. But I try to do that to make it one-stop-reading as opposed to five or ten one-word or "nm" or "bumps" just to get my poster numbers up (not indicting anyone in particular!). Some of my messages get answers like "what team have you been watching?" or "were you even at the game?" Again, I'm in Baltimore and all I get is from the papers, occassional TV appearances, and you guys. The most recent posts are based on in-person viewing ... which used to only happen come tournament time and is now oh-so-much better because the only real team NOT in an acceptable driving range with the A10 is actually Saint Louie Uie! Based on Wednesday night, I am loving this A10 stuff! The wide "mood" swing you see from 12 and 4 to 4 and 12 is the optimism still flowing from Wednesday's game grounded in the fear of the reality that is youth and a short bench. AND IT WAS A LOSS! Good things are on the horizon ... provided the team grows and competent, able-bodied recruits fill the voids. I made my first preseason prediction this year ... and here we are one half season removed and its obvious the information used has evolved. Am I asking for a mid-season relook? Hell no, I am content to eat crow. Besdies, I still don't know what to make of this team and that is why the wild record swings were noted. As I've said on many occasions, an average to good team defends the home turf almost without question. We have lost at home to Gonzaga, Iowa and almost to the Bonnies. I now, I know ... the Zags and Iowa are pretty good and the Zag game hung in the balance but then factor in the Bonnie game. Throw up ChicoState as well. Those items tend to have me notch this team a little below good, closer to average. And it hacks me off to no end to have not one but two home courts to talk about. I am therefore somewhat hesitant about this weekend's Umass game. It ain't really a home game to me. So what's left and what's my rationale? We have St. Joe's, Fordham, X, Temple, Rhodey and Dayton left at home beyond Umass. Umass is down from where it was in the most recent past so if we're a good I think we take 'em ... no matter the home. But Ihave us at average so I just don't know. St. Joe's is still once-removed from a very great year. Does it carry over? Fordham supposedly was an up-and-comer in the A10 last year, regressed at the start of this year, and now has some guys coming back or getting eligible that make them bette than last year. Hmmm? X bugs me because I was there and a season ticket holder when we couldn't get over the X hump. That tints my judgment there. Temple has that confounded match-up zone and the national aura that is Chaney. Rhodey and YouDee have to be wins in my book right now .. anything less is a huge, huge, HUGE disappointment. So at home, I see two wins with the rest being somewhere in the blog middle and I'm thinking X beats us straight up at home. On the road ... we've got Richmond, X, Rhodey, Dayton, Duquesne, Charlotte and La Salle. I don't think as an average team, anybody wins at either X or Charlotte. Add in the fact that we've won one road game all year ... a lesser opponent in Oakland. But, thi sis a down year at the remaining three road opponents and Dayton is a team in turmoil right now. So how does one balance our negative road woes against this? Right now .. if we lose to Duquesne, don't tie my bungee cord when I make my leap off the Arch. So there's my third win added to the Bonnie win and the two noted above for the low end 4 wins in conference. On the positive side, there's my four losses .. one in the books, two to X and one on the road at Charlotte. If we win the rest, I got those balancing wins. Overall, going from 7-7 and taking the positive side, that's 18 and 10 prior to the A10 tourney. On the dark side, the record is flipped. I think the future is bright. Its just when does that future arrive in earnest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 In looking at the Conference schedule now and pre-GW game I had us at 10-6. The schedule plays into our favor and the A-10 is not that good. Had we beat GW, I might of had us going 12-4 or something like that in conference. I have hopes that we can win the A-10 tournament still and if not I think the NIT is a certainty this year. This team is already good enough to finish in the top 6 of this conference. It sucks because our record could/should be much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Huh!... We could win ... but then maybe we could lose. I guess thats true for every game. You are confusing me. I know you picked 11 wins ... so what. If you still think thats the case say it. If you think we will do better and your 1st pick was wrong ... then say that. You basically said we could end up anywhere from 11 - 18 or 19 wins. Way to taks a stab at it. I think in the Denver - NE game either Denver or NE will win. Do you want my reasons why? Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenmetz Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I still think that if we finish conference strong that we can win the A-10 Tournament and get a birth. Why not? Watching this team play this year is exciting and if we can get on a run and build some confidence, watch out. Lisch is far and away the most promising recruit in the Soderberg era. Kid has no fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Lisch is more promising than Liddell? Playing well down the stretch is nice, especially if it gets us a 4 or better seed and a 1st round bye but lets not forget that the conference tourneys are unpredictable at best. Case 1: the year the Bills won CUSA we had just lost an ugly game to Southern Miss and were playing poorly. Case 2: Romar's 2nd year we were playing well down the stretch including the last game of the season when we convincingly beat Tulane @ Tulane. 1st round of the tourney we play Tulane on a neutral court and lost. Case 3: Last year Memphis stumbled into the conference tournament, including a loss to us and only missed free throws by their point guard against UL with no time left on the clock kept them from winning 4 straight and dancing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 What is with you? It seems like you always must insult someone, if not directly, by implication. I love Kevin, and I think he will mature into an excellent player and a leader on this team but your post is an insult to Ian and it is an insult to Tommie among others. Why not just say Kevin is an excellent recruit and that we look forward to big things rather than try to put him on some pedestal that requires that others be demeaned. This is a TEAM sport! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 How is saying Tommie being more promising to Kevin an insult? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 My reply was not to your post. It was to the unjustified "far and away most promising recruit" comment by the other poster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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