Unrelated to the D'amico conversation, for a team on a 7 game win streak, this game thread was absurdly pessimistic. This team has earned some benefit of the doubt when it comes to falling behind early. We'd all love to not have to come back every game but way too many people were throwing in the towel and trashing the rotations immediately
I’m not going to complain about wins but 4 of those 7 games were against bottom tier D1 teams or division 2 teams and only the Lincoln win was very impressive. The 3 Valley wins are great but I’m not sure how sustainable it is long-term if the offense doesn’t significantly improve. Domask bailed them out on the offensive end last night. The defense has and continues to be great, I really don’t want to see it wasted.
Right now, SIU is 237th in the country in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency. The last 2 years they were ranked higher, and they weren’t impressive then either (189th last year and 219th 2 years ago)
@salukiworld Absolutely but defense travels, and defense doesn't go up and down like shooting. So as long as that is solid, on a hot shooting night we could take down anyone. As old as we are, we've still got some pieces integrating themselves into the offense. I do think most of the rotation is set, with Trent's minutes continuing to slip away to being a small part late in the season. Would love to see Newton, Banks, and Foster entrench themselves late in the season as go to guys in their own ways. But with how elite this team's defense has been, the calls for Foster to play more have got to be with the caveat that he's gotta be in ahead of someone with comparable defensive ability. He's still a freshman, so let's see how his progression takes place over the next month. I'm optimistic.
Mike Reis highlights from last night:
Nobody remembers who you beat as long as you win in the immortal words of Al Davis "Just Win Baby"
Some of our best teams were offensively challenged and depended on great defense. This team may not be that good but fits the mold.
Some of our best teams were offensively challenged and depended on great defense. This team may not be that good but fits the mold.
Those teams were all top 100 in adjusted offensive efficiency except the 2005-06 team that ranked 166th but also had the #5 defense in the country.
SIU 18th in the nation in scoring defense, this winning streak is no fluke, credit to the guys and Bryan's staff. They have made other teams play their style of basketball. Shots just gotta start falling for us sometime.
We gotta start packing the house too, free tickets, year supply of Quatro's, pull in the Marketing majors out of class and get some ideas going!
Saluki Insider? I barely know her!
Not sure you've noticed, but Brown isn't playing much anymore. Since Rupert started starting, Brown hasn't played 20 minutes in a game. He is probably only averaging like 15 min a game for the last 7 games.I'll keep taking wins no matter how they get them but the offense has got to be figured out. Guessing Wonders sat because of Drake's athleticism but man they could have used some points in the first half. Can't rely on Domask going Superman every night to bail out the rest of the team.
If there’s equality in fair competition, Trent Browns minutes should be there for the taking. Great kid and teammate, but his play does not justify his starting spot or minutes played.
We desperately need another reliable scorer.
Absolutely thrilled with this win though. Battled through bad shooting to get the huge W.
Actually you are cherry picking more than he is, you are including two games played over a month ago, while he is talking about our 7 most recent games.I'll keep taking wins no matter how they get them but the offense has got to be figured out. Guessing Wonders sat because of Drake's athleticism but man they could have used some points in the first half. Can't rely on Domask going Superman every night to bail out the rest of the team.
We need the guys on the floor to shoot better as much or more than we need the bench guys. To put it in perspective, Foster is 3 - 13 (23%) in his last 6 games and that includes a 2-4 against Div 2 Lincoln, otherwise it would be 1-9 (11%). Surely he is a MUCH better shooter than that, but he isn't the ultimate answer. The answer is to somehow get the experienced/proven guys like Jones, Newton and Domask to start hitting their shots more consistently.
You're cherry picking.
Foster is our best 3 pt shooter. Conference games:
Foster ... 50%
XJ .... 43.8%
Trent .... 41.7%
Marcus...33.3%
Troy...28.6%
Lance ... 26.3%
Dalton...25%
What makes me happiest about the win over Drake is that this team proved to itself that it can beat Drake. They had our number lately and this win will help down the road in conference and in St. Louis.
Actually you are cherry picking more than he is, you are including two games played over a month ago, while he is talking about our 7 most recent games.I'll keep taking wins no matter how they get them but the offense has got to be figured out. Guessing Wonders sat because of Drake's athleticism but man they could have used some points in the first half. Can't rely on Domask going Superman every night to bail out the rest of the team.
We need the guys on the floor to shoot better as much or more than we need the bench guys. To put it in perspective, Foster is 3 - 13 (23%) in his last 6 games and that includes a 2-4 against Div 2 Lincoln, otherwise it would be 1-9 (11%). Surely he is a MUCH better shooter than that, but he isn't the ultimate answer. The answer is to somehow get the experienced/proven guys like Jones, Newton and Domask to start hitting their shots more consistently.
You're cherry picking.
Foster is our best 3 pt shooter. Conference games:
Foster ... 50%
XJ .... 43.8%
Trent .... 41.7%
Marcus...33.3%
Troy...28.6%
Lance ... 26.3%
Dalton...25%
I don't think looking at the conferences games, the really important ones, is cherry picking, but looking at 7 recent games and concluding JN should be relied on for 3 pt shooting more than FW is way out there. I'd rather have FW shooting threes than any player not named Marcus or Xavier.
Cherry picking all games:
FW 39.4%
XJ 39%
MD, DB 34.8%
TB 32.1%
LJ 29.6%
TD 26.1%
JN 22.2%
I do believe the injuries to Muila and Ebube forced Mullins to force fit Troy into the 5 spot.I think Troys current role and minutes played are just about right now that Mullins has canned the silly notion of force-fitting him into a 5. He’s got good size/strength, is a fundamentally good defender, and is sneakily more athletic than people give him credit for.
To me, the more obvious holes are Brown and, to a lesser extent, Newton. Definitely need more consistent production from those two seniors quickly, or Wonders and Ferguson should without a doubt be eating into their minutes. They already should be, imo.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
I also want to say that while I think Lance is at his best attacking the rim and not popping 3s, he really did a great job on DeVries once he was switched onto him. He was strong enough to hold his own and quick enough to stay in front. Also, D’Amico is probably our best 3/4 defender, though admittedly, I haven’t seen much of Ferguson at the 3.
Great observation on Jones. Lance really struggled shooting, but he still had a HUGE impact on the game. I was watching him body up on DeVries and was so impressed. I don't see what you see regarding D'Amico on the defensive side, but I'll make it a point to observe the next few games.
I do believe the injuries to Muila and Ebube forced Mullins to force fit Troy into the 5 spot.I think Troys current role and minutes played are just about right now that Mullins has canned the silly notion of force-fitting him into a 5. He’s got good size/strength, is a fundamentally good defender, and is sneakily more athletic than people give him credit for.
To me, the more obvious holes are Brown and, to a lesser extent, Newton. Definitely need more consistent production from those two seniors quickly, or Wonders and Ferguson should without a doubt be eating into their minutes. They already should be, imo.
I agree to an extent, although I genuinely believe that Rupert was underutilized and there was a bit of a missed opportunity to get Cade more valuable minutes as opposed to playing Troy at the 5 as much as he did during those injuries.
--Insert something witty here--
