Live by the 3 Die by the 3. Shots were not falling tonight having said that I see shots missed were every potential re-bounder has their heads turned back down court the minute the shot is taken apparently with zero intent on judging were the ball might land in an effort to get an OR. IMO that's fixed or it's another disappointing season. I'm so old that when I was a kid and I took a shot that I sensed was going to miss I yelled to my team mates.
AJ is coming along nicely but I do wish he wasn’t quite so lean. I know some guys just have certain body types but he has a hard time finishing through contact/keeping his balance on a lot of his drives where he gets jostled. That’s something I’ve noticed not just last night but even moreso in some previous games. Reminds me somewhat of Coupet, who also was pretty easily knocked off balance.
Hopefully another offseason in the weightroom will help a bit so that he can further capitalize on his willingness to slash into the lane, which is great to see.
Live by the 3 Die by the 3. Shots were not falling tonight having said that I see shots missed were every potential re-bounder has their heads turned back down court the minute the shot is taken apparently with zero intent on judging were the ball might land in an effort to get an OR. IMO that's fixed or it's another disappointing season. I'm so old that when I was a kid and I took a shot that I sensed was going to miss I yelled to my team mates.
The running back on a shot is coached. Usually have certain people identified for crashing the glass and others to get back to limit fast break opportunities…which we still struggled with even with guys back. You can’t have the entire team crashing for offensive rebounds and you typically only notice the guys running back because it’s so obvious. We had guys crashing for rebounds…they just didn’t get many. Brodie especially (at 33 years of age) and Devries grabbed anything around them.
Long shots lead to long rebounds and poor passes lead to easy baskets on the other end also makes for lack of offensive rebounds either Drake had a philosophy of making Southern shoot 3s or Southern's game plan was this but there was no effort to establish a low post game the only success against Drake in the DeVries years was last year when Southern put Domask in the post to me Drake's philosophy is to beat you by making 2s and preventing you from making 2s which is totally against the analytics of today but they are a winning machine and you can't argue with success
As long as Darian and Tucker are at Drake, they're gonna keep kicking our ass. Whether it's at Carbondale, Des Moines, or St. Louis. They kicked our asses with 2 Big Ten starters on our roster.
Death, taxes, and SalukiWorld mentioning that we had 2 B1G starters on our roster last year.
Not seeing a pathway to post-season after this loss.
There are great coaches in this league. Bryan Mullins is a good coach, but he's not there yet. There are two great ones at Drake and Indiana St that routinely put on clinics against SIU.
Last night, DeVries had all of SIU's actions scouted and his players prepared to defend them. We didn't just miss open shots. We had trouble just getting our guys to their spots -- much less actually getting them the ball in positions to be successful. Often, Drake defenders were where we wanted to be before we were. They also knew everywhere X wanted to go with the ball and did a great job staying disciplined, ensuring he never got into a good flow. Our best offense only came when things were broken down. We had NO answers, and it looked like we had nothing prepared in anticipation to counter.
I still believe we have the talent to compete at the top of this league, but Bryan simply needs to be better against his top-flight peers.
--Insert something witty here--
It was definitely a disappointing night at Banterra last night. The Dawgs shot poorly from three and when that happens, they will struggle like last night.
It was mentioned in an earlier post about Drake shooting two’s which is not in sync with all the analytics of today. It also mentioned they are being very successful doing that. It has also been mentioned they want their opponents to shoot three’s. I agree with these observations and when you do not shoot three’s well against them, you will struggle. Belmont shot lights out against them and won because of it. I wish we would shoot more pull-up two’s instead of relying on the three so much. A made two is better than a missed three.
I wish we would push the ball in transition more. I wish we would crash the offensive boards more. Sometimes the best way to stop opposing transition is make them stay in and rebound. When you don’t go to the offensive boards, the other team turns and runs out knowing they can easily secure the rebound. Drake’s transition baskets, along with their baskets off back door cuts, really hurt.
Two calls did not help the Saluki cause. The charge call on D’Amico should have been a block on DeVries. That would have been the second on DeVries and probably would have meant him sitting out the rest of the half plus giving the Salukis free throws. The technical on Johnson was an unnecessary call. There was not nearly enough pushing/shoving/mouthing to merit that call, which gave Johnson foul number four. Drake concentrated on making Johnson guard the ball the rest of the game knowing he was hampered defending with four fouls.
Looking forward to Wednesday’s game with Bradley. Hope fully we regroup and have a better outing on Mike Reis Night
This is EMBARRASSING! Mullins hasn’t played Ebube against Brodie all night. Physically Ebube is SIU’s best bet against Brodie and our head coach doesn’t have a damn clue. This team isn’t prepared to play for 1st place in the league tonight and that’s on the coach.
Now why on earth would you want to put Ebube in the game when Brodie is in there? Don't you know Scottie can learn everything there is to know about being a D1 big man by going up against Rupert and Hensley in practice??!
All kidding aside, that was . . . odd. So what if he gets schooled? He just might learn some things in school. And it's not as though Rupert was doing a great job protecting the paint (all those layups) or keeping Brodie boxed out.
(Inflammatory political snark)
Bradley at home on Wednesday almost seems like a must win.
There are great coaches in this league. Bryan Mullins is a good coach, but he's not there yet. There are two great ones at Drake and Indiana St that routinely put on clinics against SIU.
Last night, DeVries had all of SIU's actions scouted and his players prepared to defend them. We didn't just miss open shots. We had trouble just getting our guys to their spots -- much less actually getting them the ball in positions to be successful. Often, Drake defenders were where we wanted to be before we were. They also knew everywhere X wanted to go with the ball and did a great job staying disciplined, ensuring he never got into a good flow. Our best offense only came when things were broken down. We had NO answers, and it looked like we had nothing prepared in anticipation to counter.
I still believe we have the talent to compete at the top of this league, but Bryan simply needs to be better against his top-flight peers.
Someone said they tried to force us to shoot three. They did a good job of jamming the middle, but they also did a good job guarding the three. Weren't many easy threes. They have good quickness and play tough D.
Agree that Ebube should have played more - no excuse for Hensley guarding Brodie. Guaranteed score.
Ebube needs more minutes, even if he is getting beat, if we want him to get better. When SE and JH played together, our rebounding was better.
AJ Ferguson has talent and quickness. He did get pushed around some. Could bulk up a bit.
We weren't out of reach at half, but they came out and whipped us that first 7 or 8 minutes of the 2nd half. I mean whipped! Devries must have kicked some booty in the locker room. That's often where games are won or lost.
Disagree that we have the talent to compete at the top. Big difference between us and Drake/InSU.
After seeing Drake in person, I am trying to figure out how Belmont beat them.
Looking at the box, Dia had a big game (32), Belmont made 7 more threes and outrebounded them.
Devries had only 13 pts, an off shooting night for him.
Still surprised.
After seeing Drake in person, I am trying to figure out how Belmont beat them.
Looking at the box, Dia had a big game (32), Belmont made 7 more threes and outrebounded them.
Devries had only 13 pts, an off shooting night for him.
Still surprised.
Belmont is pretty unbeatable at home. Who knows though without Gillespie who hurt his wrist in the SIU game
I really don’t know where I am at right now. I love Bryan as a coach and person. A true Saluki in every way. I just can’t anymore it’s been so long. This year ain’t it and we lose 3 starters at least . I am in the give up ledge
I really don’t know where I am at right now. I love Bryan as a coach and person. A true Saluki in every way. I just can’t anymore it’s been so long. This year ain’t it and we lose 3 starters at least . I am in the give up ledge
Not sure if others will be back but X, Trent Brown, and RJ McGee are the only ones out of eligibility.
