davidnark Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 My thoughts (disclaimer--this is only my opinion): This event was a thud. The event lasted almost two hours, but we only witnessed 15 minutes of the men's basketball team scrimmaging and a few short minutes of layup drills. Why did they force an hour of women's basketball down our throats? (I don't mean to disrespect the women, but nearly everyone there came to see the men.) There was no great information about the new arena, new conference, etc. They didn't offer food or drink. They didn't promote good merchandise. Next year I will just spend my two hours watching the men practice on a Saturday morning. A couple thoughts from the fifteen minutes of scrimmage: -Darren Clarke impressed me. He just looked like a good ballplayer. He hit a couple outside shots, took it to the hole, played solid defense, and handled the ball well. -Izik was the most dominate player on the court. -Sloan looks strong and confident in the post. -The big men didn't get the ball much (and Frericks sat out the scrimmage). -Reggie flashed his sweet jumper a few times. -JJ proved in layup drills that he can dunk with authority, but he is going to need to improve his defense and soften his hands to contribute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dribbler Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 Actually, Mrs. Dribbler and I enjoyed the evening. We thought it was fun to see both Jill's ladies and the men's team, and visit with other fans. Consider it a tune up, for all the athletes, the spirit teams, and the blue crew. The game clock for the ladies was set for 20 minutes, and the men played for 15. After the scrimmage, the men had their normal practice routine, so it was indeed practice. See you all Monday night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 31, 2003 Author Share Posted October 31, 2003 I remember back in the Grawer days they used to do Blue/White scrimmages. They were full 40 minute, two half games with real refs. You didn't have to sit through an hour of women's basketball promotions to watch 15 minutes of men's basketball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 david you should have stayed for the whole practice. all i will say is i hope tonite wasnt represenative of our season. the best player i saw for the two hours straight was ross varner. end of comentary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 david it was a hell of a lot more fun watching some of kristy holloway's passes and angie lewis followups than much of any of the men's scrimmage which i thought was attrocious basketball. i would wager that sunday afternoon's at the y present better play than what we saw tonite. i will say that clarke was the surprise player. izik disappeared after the first five minutes he indeed dominated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 Heck, from these reports on 15 minutes of practice, we better cancel the season, and just mail in our supposed 7th-8th place CUSA finish...no reason to play the darn games! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 31, 2003 Author Share Posted October 31, 2003 I was actually impressed by how the team looked during the 15 minute scrimmage. The individual performances were not spectacular, but the defense and passing were fairly sharp, and the guys got after it on the boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobile-iken Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 My thought (In no particular order): 1) Coach really got after the guys late in the practice, we are VERY lucky to have him! Again, thank you Lorenzo Romar and the University of Washington. 2) Varner will have a roll on this team this year and it will be more than just spot duty. 3) Ohannon, not Bryant, will lead this team in scoring average, but he needs to pick it up on the defensive end...Darren Clarke seemed to have his way with him...Which leads me to #4. 4) We are going to love Darren Clarke over the next 4 years! Did anybody see what happened to Sloan's knee? He spent several minutes talking to who I am guessing is the team doctor. The doctor then went to talk to coach for several minutes and Sloan sat out the rest of practice with an ice pack on his knee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 31, 2003 Author Share Posted October 31, 2003 >the men's scrimmage which i thought was attrocious >basketball. i would wager that sunday afternoon's at the y >present better play than what we saw tonite. > >i will say that clarke was the surprise player. izik >disappeared after the first five minutes he indeed >dominated. Why did you think the men's basketball was attrocious? I was very impressed by the tight defense. Too often scrimmages become run-n-gun showcases that bear little resemblance to a real game. That wasn't the case in tonight's scrimmage. There were few easy baskets, and the guys hustled on both sides of the ball. Izik disappeared because he tweaked his ankle. He was on the sidelines with a trainer for about ten minutes and didn't play well when he returned. I left the scrimmage relieved to know that we will have four good guards, an exceptional small forward, and great size and bulk up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 i agree on the clarke statement completely. he will be a nice player. he is far more of a talent than i expected and is a little taller than expected. i think coach brad made the right choice in bringing darren to st louis. i just wish izik would have kept up the pace he started the scrimmage at offensively. i think izik is the team difference maker. reggie is going to be steady, izik can be spectacular at the three. that said, when he disappears like he did the last 2/3 of the scrimmage and then during most of the practice, that isnt good. coach really got after him in the practice. soderberg's fire in the practice was the highlight of the night no doubt. he is a gamer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 31, 2003 Author Share Posted October 31, 2003 Roy, See my post above. I don't know which side of the gym you sat on, so you may have missed it, but Izik tweaked his ankle in the middle of the scrimmage and spend a few minutes on the sidelines working with the trainer. I hope Sloan is OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 sloan scored at will on johnson. has sloan become mike miller? i doubt it. no d. izik did whatever he wanted the first 5 minutes. no d. why would anyone guarding izik not overplay him right? that is high school basketball thinking there. no excuse for those drives right side to the basket multiple times. darren was being guarded by a man 6 inches taller and hit two standing jump shots. no d. i guess it wasnt as bad as a y pickup game. that was overstated. but i expected a better effort defensively. i agree with the guard statement completely though david. bryant, fisher, drejaj and clarke will be fine and will hold their own with every team we play against. while fisher didnt stand out, i dont remember any flaws in his night. if anything, maybe he needs to become more of a vocal leader and DEMAND the action of those around him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 I think it's hilarious how some of us try to make projections based on an hour of observation. C'mon guys, it's just one practice! I wouldn't be confident in projections based on three games, let alone one practice. Shouldn't Reggie Bryant's scoring success in the Big East be a better gauge for his potential contribution than a 15 minute scrimmage? Also, Ross Varner has been an impressive practice player for a couple of years now. That hasn't meant much in actual games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 31, 2003 Author Share Posted October 31, 2003 I just tell it how it is. This so-called brilliant marketing scheme was to (i) close men's practice for ten days and (ii) host an event that focused more on the women's team than the men's. Even worse, the event was essentially closed to the public. If our goal is to market the men's basketball team, then why didn't they host a public scrimage and invite all of the local media outlets. Shouldn't a marketing event attempt to develop excitement and support from persons other than the most die-hard fans? This was not the "special" event that we were promised--It was a large disappointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 I did not attend the event so I can only respond accordingly to what I have read on the board. If anybody thinks that Woolard will ever do a good job of marketing the only question I have for them is - where have you been the past few years? This has no marketing acumen at all - at least that he has shown. As far as the men vs. women situation goes - they have always worked harder to build up the women BB program in context to the revenue and exposure it brings as compared to the men BB program. Now I am not saying they do more in the gross sense but that they do not do enough for the men BB given the revenue it produces and that it is the flagship program - soccer people don't get upset, I am strictly speaking from a revenue side. I also agree that we have all been to these types of events in the past and saw great things from some players that night but it never translated into actual game playing performance. Lets wait until the season starts and in fact, we may have to wait until after Jan. given the 2 suspensions to really know what kind of team we actually have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 I was was kind of PO'd that I didn't get an invite being mearly a long time season ticket holder and not a current Billiken Club member but after these reports I see I was the one who didn't get screwed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 31, 2003 Author Share Posted October 31, 2003 Screwed? You mean you wouldn't be excited about over an hour of women's basketball promotion and practice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 I love women! My mother is a woman! My wife is the best woman on the planet! (guess why) However, I thank God everyday for giving me a son so I don't have the fear that she might play competative athletics forcing me to feign interest. Good luck to the Jillikens! Just don't make me watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newberry Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 Watching the womens team last night was horriable!! they wont be any good this year, I mean Pizzotti won last year but but that was one year, last night she wasnt even coaching either of the teams, her assts did, they look like they knew what they were doing, I dont know there names, the guy with gotee and the black guy. Those 2 actually look like they knew what they were doing unlike Pizzotti all she does is rant and rave on the side lines like [edited by moderator]! At least she could have reffed the game like Soderberg did. The only way the womens team could win if those 2 were coaching the team, I am sorry to say the men looked bad but they look more intense in other practices though, they will be alright not great not bad either just okay, next year will be the year. They wont be as bad as the ladies team or I mean he Jillikens!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.