slufanskip Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Lets get some basketball talk started. I'd be interested in hearing everyones preseason grades for the Bills so far. 1. BS / A- ... Continues to win with less than big time talent. Players play within his system and win with strength, grit and hustle. Great game planning almost pulled out a win against Arizona. Recruiting early signs look very good. 2. CS / B ... Plays to the best of his ability almost every night. Averaging 10.7/5.2/2.6 pg. Early foul trouble has taken him out of a couple of games early hurting the team. 3. JF / A- ... The backbone of the team ... has played very consistently every night. One of the best defensive gds in the country. Won the K. State game with his brain and strength. Averages 12.7/3.5/4.0. Needs to improve 3 pt shooting 4. RV / D ... Just doesn't have the skills to compete at this level. Has consistently missed front of 1-1 ft attempts which is something he should be able to do. 5. RB / A- ... Has proven to be a clutch scorer and surprising rebounder. He is not afraid to shoot and that is something we need badly. Averages of 16.9/4.8/2.0. Needs to get on track earlier in the game. If he puts 2 great halves together he can score 35 -40 pts. 6. IO / C ... Has the athletic ability to beat his opponent from the outside or the inside he just hasn't put it all together yet. His defense is better than expected. He seems ready to take off. Averages 6.3/2.9/1.3 Needs to finish stronger at the rim and rebound better. 7. AD / C ... Plays tough and gritty defense. Very inconsistent offensively but he seems to hit the clutch shot when needed. TCU was a good game for him he may be ready to come on strong. Averages 7.7/2.7/2.3 Needs to work on 3pt shooting, free throws and assist to turnover ratio. 8. TF / C+ ... Foul trouble and health have hampered his play. His rebounding of late has been excellent. Has shown the ability to score when he gets the ball. We need Tom on the floor for 30 minutes a game Averages 6.8/5.8. Needs to work on free throws and staying on the floor for longer periods of time. 9. PH / C ... Has done all he can do. Provided minutes and floor leadership early in the year. His real worth to the team is in practice. 10. JJ / C- ... Has played well when on the floor, just not there enough. We need him on the floor more. Averages 2.8/2.0. He needs to impress coach enough in practice to get more playing time. 11. DC / C- ... Seems lost when on the floor. He has shot the ball ok in his few attempts. Averaging 3 ppg Do you agree or disagree ... why? Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 I would agree with most of your assessments. I would probably give Sloan a B+ and JJ and DC incompletes as we've hardly had a chance to see them play. Maybe a B for TF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bauman Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Pretty tough grading for an 8-4 team of overachievers-only 2 A- s and one B for the players. I'd raise JF to A, CS to either B+ or A-(the former for play, the latter for heart and leadership) and TF to B. I'd also raise BS to A as I think he has done more with this team than just about any Bills HC that I can remember going back to John Bennington (I'm including last year in my rating of BS). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Generic grades are a bit vague. What are you grading against? Are you grading against the player's realization of his ability given his experience level or against the hypothetical perfect player at a given position. For instance, Josh Fisher is a converted small forward pressed into playing point. He is one of the very top defenders in a Billikens uni in the last decade (I'd have to rate Maurice Jeffers at the top as well). He makes few turnovers and contributes on offense. Is he an "A" point guard? No but very serviceable. Has gotten the most out of his god-given ability and experience level? Most definitely. On that scale, I give him an A+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 I'm sorry, but if you can give Phillip Hunt a "C" based on the fact that he's done all he can do, how can you justify giving Ross Varner a "D"? Varner deserves no lower than a "C+." He also has contributed despite his athletic limitations (but you said, "Just doesn't have the skills to compete at this level"), and Ross is a leader in practice and helps explain things to the more inexperienced players. He's better than a "D" player. I would give Justin Johnson and Darren Clarke grades of "Incomplete," as they haven't played enough to be assessed. Ian Vouyoukas gets a "Delayed" grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Give me some time this weekend, and I'll try to break down "grades" based on my IQ formula. Teaser: Only one player gets a solid "A," and it's not Reggie Bryant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 My grades were based on my expectations ... so they were really just meant to be topics for conversation. For JF ... If he would have shot the three m ore consistently ... I would have given him an A PH was a walk on ... RV got a D because of his poor free throw shooting and the fact that he shot the ball in early games in situations that I didn't think he should have. CS got his grade due to the fact that I think he didn't perform well for a couple of games. These are just my opinions ... I know that it doesn't make them right. I appreciate 8-4 but think we could have been 9-3 maybe 10-2 SMS we played horribly and the same goes for the 1st half at W. Virginia Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 I've been one to complain on this board about Ross's playing time but I have to agree with Thicks that a "D" is too harsh. The guy gives 100% at all times. Also, positionally he is sound on defense and sets good screens. Earlier in the year I was very upset to see him launching 3s during crunch time (and sheer number of his shots for the game). The last 3 or so games, Ross has cut down the number of attempts which has resulted in his field-goal percentage climbing. Judged just on the last 3 games, I give Ross a B. I don't see how we could expect much more from him. It's not his fault that personnel deficiencies (or coach's reluctance to use JJ) results in Ross being asked to do more than the role he is best suited to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 besides jeffers and josh, i would add carlos mccauley and john redden on the great defenders list. i recall penny hardaway stating mccauley was the toughest defender he played against in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 with the right breaks we could/should be 12-0. georgia tech was ours for 35 minutes and arizona was there for the taking. those two could have been huge for this team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 I second Carlos as the best defender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj_arete Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 who was fantastic his first three seasons at SLU. While he had a breakout offensive year when he was a senior, I don't think he was quite as quick as he was as a freshmen. Carlos was very tough, too. Now I'm throwing out a name here, Jeramy Biles... I know his time was all too brief at SLU, but man, he could pick a ballhandler's pocket. I really loved his game and how he used to attack the basket with his lack of size. It's just a shame his time was too brief at SLU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 10, 2004 Author Share Posted January 10, 2004 Jeremy and Carlos and Corey Frazier are all related ... cousins, I believe. Jeremy went to SEMO and I think only played 1 year there. They are all from Charleston High. My ex-wife is a friend of the family Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 With all due respect there is no way that carlos is a better defender than Josh. Josh is much stronger, much bigger, has quicker hands and is a shut down defender on big time players. Dwayne wade would have eaten Carlos alive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj_arete Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 before running into some personal and legal troubles. Had a family that he had to support and quit playing basketball. I truly hope he has turned his life around. I hear he's a great guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 Carlos and Fisher are different type players. Fish is a big size wise guard who can shut down pretty much any perimeter player even guys alot bigger than him, but he does have trouble against the real little guys who are really really fast. Carlos now was not as big but he could shut down any pg. Of course he can't take a guy like Wade who several inches on McCauley who I think was under 6 feet. But match McCauley up against a tiny pg like TJ Ford and he can do a much better job than Fish. Carlos always was mistake free, never ever was out of position. He was fundamentally sound enough like Roy said to shut down a big pg like Penny who admittedly was rail thin in college. Different type players but equally good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 i never said that carlos was a better defender than josh. that said, penny hardaway was a far better player than dwayne wade was and carlos did well against penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 Yeah, I really like watching Redden pressure the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 biles would have been quite a player by the time he was a senior. it is a shame he didnt do the job in the classroom to reach that potential. you are correct he too was a very very good defender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bauman Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 Man, you guys are driving me nuts. I've been a Bills fan a long time and yet have no recollection of Biles. When did he play, with who and for what coach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj_arete Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 He came after Corey Frazier and played under Spoonhour. I want to say it was the year before Jamal Walker came abroad, but I'm not sure. He was highly touted coming out of Charleston. He didn't have a great shot, but was a remarkable athlete for 5'10. He could jump out of the gym, and penetrate with ease. Plus, he had the knack for coming up huge in close games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 he was best compared to perry as a freshman before the injury. he had that kind of speed and quickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 Didn't J.J. Haliburton only last a year as well, around the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 Jeremy Biles arrived at SLU after both Corey Frazier and Jamall Walker. He would have been a sophomore the year Larry Hughes was here. In fact, I'd been looking forward to seeing Biles in the backcourt with Larry, but, alas, it never happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 the ONLY thing i remember of jj haliburton was he led the team onto the west pine floor for midnight madness doing backflips. after that it was all down hill, soon to be never heard from again as many of spoon recruits seemed to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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