Important 2019-2020 SIU MBB stats follow (if I did it right):
Put your thinking cap on (and take off those maroon-colored glasses 😉).
Take a good hard look at Barret Benson's numbers...and then add the following special sauce: by all accounts he was an uncommonly effective leader...on a team that really needed a heavy dose of leadership.
I can ask this question (and those responding now can answer it) without casting aspersions on anyone in particular...since no roster additions have been announced:
What are the chances that Barret Benson's replacement (presumably a graduate or junior-college transfer), whoever he is, will add more overall value to the team in 2020-21...than Benson did in 2019-20?
Answering this question more-or-less demands that you also answer the following question:
Just how good was Barret Benson in 2019-20?
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to reading your responses.
(1) US COVID-19 statistics (February 29, 2020-June 16, 2020): 2,124,000 reported cases and 115,052 deaths
(2) Donald Trump (June 15, 2020) told a group of senior citizens that there would be very few cases of COVID-19 if the US stopped its testing and contact tracing: "If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, actually."
(3) Donald Trump [(Jan 20, 2020), when asked if he's worried about a pandemic]: “No. Not at all. And we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s — going to be just fine.”
IF SIU can land a guy that provides as much as Benson did last season, that would return them to the state they were in last season (ups and downs), in my opinion.
Benson's leadership was invaluable last season and he provided stability to a roster full of new-comers. His leadership ability may have been his best asset.
That being said, SIU needs to drastically improve their rebounding efforts. This may require SIU to play two low post players, and three guards/small forwards. SIU has to have a couple of skilled post players for next season in order to take a step forward.
I thought Benson came in more raw than I expected coming from a Big Ten program but once the season got going, he provided a ton of value on the court. And his value off the court was probably bigger than his value on the court. I wish we got to see more than one year of him in a Saluki uniform.
Barrett Benson did a fine job. I hate to think where we would've been without him. The real problem was we had no back up Center.
@1987saluki BB leadership was an unbelievable asset . And BB did the best he could with what he had .......
however he had a massive amount of opportunity ..... and would have had more if it hadn’t been for foul trouble.... with the amount of opportunity he had , 12 and 7 was very attainable .... which would have put his numbers up there with quite a few Saluki greats and may have won us a few more games ...... heading up to the tourney in stl I was thinking if BB gets 14 and 10 we win , now looking back had that happened we would have advanced ... nevertheless he was an amazing leader , don’t know where we would have been without him
IF SIU can land a guy that provides as much as Benson did last season, that would return them to the state they were in last season (ups and downs), in my opinion.
Benson's leadership was invaluable last season and he provided stability to a roster full of new-comers. His leadership ability may have been his best asset.
That being said, SIU needs to drastically improve their rebounding efforts. This may require SIU to play two low post players, and three guards/small forwards. SIU has to have a couple of skilled post players for next season in order to take a step forward.
I agree we need a couple of skilled post players for next year, but coach will only play one at a time. His philosophy is a center and 4 guards, Domask qualifies as one. Playing 2 low post players would mean Banks is on the bench, we will need that ball-handling in the lineup. On the other hand, it’s very early and we only have half a team.
@cowboydawg It seems to me that the concern with posts is on defense rather than offense. As last year wore on Domask had trouble guarding the second post when teams played 2 offensive posts. It may have worn him down. If you have ever guarded the post for a lengthy time you know the physical contact can wear you down, which can effect your offense. If we are going to play only one post, one of the 4 perimeters must guard a post. Bradley, MSU, both ISU's play 2 posts as well as many power-5 schools. I do not believe we can win championships unless we can guard 2 posts. This is in no way a criticism of Coach Mullins, he and his staff are outstanding!
@cowboydawg It seems to me that the concern with posts is on defense rather than offense. As last year wore on Domask had trouble guarding the second post when teams played 2 offensive posts. It may have worn him down. If you have ever guarded the post for a lengthy time you know the physical contact can wear you down, which can effect your offense. If we are going to play only one post, one of the 4 perimeters must guard a post. Bradley, MSU, both ISU's play 2 posts as well as many power-5 schools. I do not believe we can win championships unless we can guard 2 posts. This is in no way a criticism of Coach Mullins, he and his staff are outstanding!
This is a good post. For example, Bradley had a couple 7-footers, plus Childs at the 4, and defending a rugged 4 like Childs isn't easy when you're also the focus of other teams' defenses on the other end.
However, it does seem like Mullins has little interest in playing two bigs together ... a lot of teams play that way and it can work, but you need some bigger guards/wings on the floor who are athletic and can rebound.
- I believe your opinion of Coach Mullins not wanting to play 2 bigs at the same time might have been a roster limitation not a true philosophy as he is still trying to build the roster so let us have patience and see what transpires9
- I believe your opinion of Coach Mullins not wanting to play 2 bigs at the same time might have been a roster limitation not a true philosophy as he is still trying to build the roster so let us have patience and see what transpires9
I've been thinking the same thing
When I saw Benson early I was not impressed. He struck me as a poor rebounder who lacked the ability to score inside. I was dead wrong. He was invaluable to SIU this year. He contributed on the floor way more than I expected and even carried us offensively at times. When he was not there to man the inside, our defense suffered.
But I agree with some of the previous posts...his leadership was the biggest contribution of all. I was so impressed with his calm demeanor and positive attitude throughout many stretches of adversity. Barret Benson may have been here only one season, but he made a huge fan out of me and was a critical foundation in the Mullins turnaround. When we look back in a few years, having returned as a perennial MVC contender, I hope we don't forget his significance.
IF SIU can land a guy that provides as much as Benson did last season, that would return them to the state they were in last season (ups and downs), in my opinion.
Benson's leadership was invaluable last season and he provided stability to a roster full of new-comers. His leadership ability may have been his best asset.
That being said, SIU needs to drastically improve their rebounding efforts. This may require SIU to play two low post players, and three guards/small forwards. SIU has to have a couple of skilled post players for next season in order to take a step forward.
I agree we need a couple of skilled post players for next year, but coach will only play one at a time. His philosophy is a center and 4 guards, Domask qualifies as one. Playing 2 low post players would mean Banks is on the bench, we will need that ball-handling in the lineup. On the other hand, it’s very early and we only have half a team.
Mullins and his staff need to be able and ready to adjust the lineup based on the team they're playing. Playing a center and 4 guards against a team that puts some serious length on floor (Bradley) didn't work for SIU last season. In these instances, SIU got crushed on the boards and the guards couldn't shoot over the length down low. If SIU is playing a team with a center and true power forward, Mullins has to be ready to go with a couple of bigs to combat that. Domask didn't fair well in the low post and it's really playing him out of position when he's forced to do that. Mullins ability to adapt will dictate how successful he's going to be.
IF SIU can land a guy that provides as much as Benson did last season, that would return them to the state they were in last season (ups and downs), in my opinion.
Benson's leadership was invaluable last season and he provided stability to a roster full of new-comers. His leadership ability may have been his best asset.
That being said, SIU needs to drastically improve their rebounding efforts. This may require SIU to play two low post players, and three guards/small forwards. SIU has to have a couple of skilled post players for next season in order to take a step forward.
I agree we need a couple of skilled post players for next year, but coach will only play one at a time. His philosophy is a center and 4 guards, Domask qualifies as one. Playing 2 low post players would mean Banks is on the bench, we will need that ball-handling in the lineup. On the other hand, it’s very early and we only have half a team.
Mullins and his staff need to be able and ready to adjust the lineup based on the team they're playing. Playing a center and 4 guards against a team that puts some serious length on floor (Bradley) didn't work for SIU last season. In these instances, SIU got crushed on the boards and the guards couldn't shoot over the length down low. If SIU is playing a team with a center and true power forward, Mullins has to be ready to go with a couple of bigs to combat that. Domask didn't fair well in the low post and it's really playing him out of position when he's forced to do that. Mullins ability to adapt will dictate how successful he's going to be.
I would say Domask had a decent amount of success offensively on the block, depending on the matchup. He has really nice footwork and touch around the basket, and he's only going to get stronger. He didn't have as much success there (or anywhere) the last few weeks, but as has been said, a lot of that seemed to be fatigue. Domask's versatility as an inside and outside threat is and will continue to be one of his strengths.
I was impressed by the way Brown was able to handle inside players when giving up 6 or more inches. I don't want to be impressed with that again this year. Let's get some bigs and let Brown be one of the first guys off the bench.
“The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.”
-- Al McGuire
I was impressed by the way Brown was able to handle inside players when giving up 6 or more inches. I don't want to be impressed with that again this year. Let's get some bigs and let Brown be one of the first guys off the bench.
It's ALWAYS a bad sign when you have a 6'0" guard attempting to guard a guy that's 6'8" in the post. It doesn't work. I agree, Mullins has to land low post guys.
