well someone is a Debbie downer. Siu also leads the country in my trivial pursuit of liver reimbursement but hey. Something like that. You’re probably right. But at leastSIU has 3 of the 62 biggest collapses in college basketball this year by KenPom win probability % and all 3 came at home. (Bradley was 2.5%, Missouri State was 2.8%, Austin Peay was 3.1%). All double digit blown leads at home.
I have nothing of substance to add, but this was another atrociously managed game by BM. I would also love to know the +/- differential on Troy. He’s had a rough couple games with a lot of bad turnovers.
Do we think there is any dissension in the coaching ranks with regards to how recent games have been tossed away with the slow play approach?
A terribly disappointing loss. Terrible turnovers throughout the game, not just at the end, and lack of offense at the end were hard to watch. Clay ate us up.
It bothered me that two of the players who hurt us at big times, Clay and Mayo, are from the St. Louis area. I was excited when we recruited Kennard Davis from St. Louis. During the heyday years so often discussed on here, players such as Darren Brooks, Randall Falker, Paul Lusk, Chris Thunnel, and Stetson Hairston all hailed from the St. Louis area. Kent Williams is now coaching at De Smet so I would think we could get some help from him on who from the area could be someone we need to look at and/or pursue.
My last comment is that the loss of Cade H hurt us more than anyone may have thought. We do not have a big who is a polished inside scorer who can also step out and hit an outside shot.
Okay, one more thing. Can we please drive and pull up for a 8-10 foot jump shot instead of thinking we will get fouled if we take it to the hoop?
I said the exact thing while saying don’t throw it away cause he does that. And he did. Doesn’t change the fact the game should have been over. Refs screwed x on the foul when he clearly had the guy in the air. Game over. No overtime.What in the actual fuck was that. D’Amico had two really bad turnovers down the stretch.
If Ebube had done any one of those things, he'd have been yanked and not seen the floor for another two games.
Hell, he doesn't even have to do that for that to happen.
that said zero Hensley development and no Cade last year. No post and shoot threes is their motto. This game doesn’t change anything but seeding. My concern is if they can play with the top and still two games to prove that. But probably go man against Drake and see another 30 in the paint and get carved against isu, would love to be wrong. Not giving up on the team or the staff but not dropping 2k for a stl trip. The real proof in the pudding is how they handle and adjust to the top teams, in reality our only hopes may be in the lawnmower man and sharp blades. Sorry that game sucked guys
Hey I resemble that lawnmower man comment. I don't have enough mowers or blades to save this team. My mower collection is just like the Valley Tournament next month. One and done.
In football it’s called a prevent defense. Apparently SIU basketball is trying to perfect the prevent offense.
“The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.”
-- Al McGuire
Big stat you hear about all the time in basketball is the middle 4/8 (last 2-4 of first half and first 2-4 of second half). We were great at the end of the first half (built our lead from 5-11 points)…the second half not so much. Our possessions of the first four minutes of second half went: Troy missed layup, Trent blocked layup, X jumper, X miss, AJ miss, Trent miss, Clarence layup, Clarence turnover, D’Amico turnover, X turnover. That’s where you pull away and leave no doubt. MSU only scored 6 points during that stretch. You knew they were going to make a run at some point…still had a 12 point lead with 5 to go. Have to close that out.
In football it’s called a prevent defense. Apparently SIU basketball is trying to perfect the prevent offense.
My father coached high school basketball in the '60s and '70 in the Chicago area and was relatively successful (he won one more conference championship than Mullins has as a head coach, anyway). Approaching 90, he still watches as much college basketball as he can. In his day, there was no shot clock and many coaches, including Dad, often went into a stall in the final five minutes or so if they had, say, a six- or eight-point lead. Dean Smith with his Four Corners Offense at North Carolina was the most prominent example of that. Talked to Dad this morning about SIU's approach last night and it's his opinion that a slowdown game with the idea of protecting a lead is not a smart idea in the shot-clock era unless a team has a well-organized offense capable of producing a good shot as the clock winds down --and even if that's the case, you're at the mercy of your shooters being able to make those shots. Told him SIU has struggled to organize itself on offense throughout the Mullins era and long possessions often end chaotically, and he said, "Better to stick with what got you that lead in the first place." Of course, if the slowdown strategy works, the coach comes out smelling like a rose.
I have given this some thought and it basically comes down to this in my opinion first we all want to see success and yes there have been many disappointing finishes at times in the Mullins Era so do you give a first time head coach and an alumnus more time to fix his problems or do you blow it up with someone new and hope the new staff improves to the NCAA tournament but it is a tough call and one I am glad I don't have to make
I have given this some thought and it basically comes down to this in my opinion first we all want to see success and yes there have been many disappointing finishes at times in the Mullins Era so do you give a first time head coach and an alumnus more time to fix his problems or do you blow it up with someone new and hope the new staff improves to the NCAA tournament but it is a tough call and one I am glad I don't have to make
My first question is, how is next year going to be a contending year? Because right now they’re losing the 2nd highest leading scorer in the nation and Trent Brown, both of which played 43+ minutes last night. They also have 0 HS commits. Now you can turn your program around in an offseason with a good portal class but how can I trust this staff to do that when last year’s portal class looks like a huge flop? Stulic and McGee have left the rotation, Hensley is down to getting scrap minutes, and Miller hasn’t been playable as a backup to X.
I have given this some thought and it basically comes down to this in my opinion first we all want to see success and yes there have been many disappointing finishes at times in the Mullins Era so do you give a first time head coach and an alumnus more time to fix his problems or do you blow it up with someone new and hope the new staff improves to the NCAA tournament but it is a tough call and one I am glad I don't have to make
My first question is, how is next year going to be a contending year? Because right now they’re losing the 2nd highest leading scorer in the nation and Trent Brown, both of which played 43+ minutes last night. They also have 0 HS commits. Now you can turn your program around in an offseason with a good portal class but how can I trust this staff to do that when last year’s portal class looks like a huge flop? Stulic and McGee have left the rotation, Hensley is down to getting scrap minutes, and Miller hasn’t been playable as a backup to X.
Honestly it sounds very familiar to this last offseason (aside from us having Davis signed in the fall). The difference this year compared to last year is the unknown. We had no idea if Domask and Jones were going to stay until Late March/early April. That could certainly have affected the decision making of some transfer targets (e.g. Swope who we had offered…not saying we were going to get him either way).
This year we know for sure our seniors are gone and what we have to replace. We also just hired someone to help fix the recruiting problems (mainly the portal recruiting I would imagine). If you aren’t going to give the guys at least one season why even make the hire to begin with? The frustration from yesterday still lingers for me, but I haven’t changed my mind on what I would like to see happen (for as much weight that carries 😂). Short 2 year school friendly extension and see what they can do. Who knows if Mullins would even accept that.
I have given this some thought and it basically comes down to this in my opinion first we all want to see success and yes there have been many disappointing finishes at times in the Mullins Era so do you give a first time head coach and an alumnus more time to fix his problems or do you blow it up with someone new and hope the new staff improves to the NCAA tournament but it is a tough call and one I am glad I don't have to make
My first question is, how is next year going to be a contending year? Because right now they’re losing the 2nd highest leading scorer in the nation and Trent Brown, both of which played 43+ minutes last night. They also have 0 HS commits. Now you can turn your program around in an offseason with a good portal class but how can I trust this staff to do that when last year’s portal class looks like a huge flop?
My fear -- and admittedly it's a worst-case scenario -- is that along with the graduating seniors, we see major player defections and lose many of the guys who should/could contribute next year (Rupert, Scottie, Ferguson, Davis, and I'm including Cade among that group). That would leave Mullins, assuming he returns, scrambling to fill even more of the roster than he did this past offseason. As he seems to have gone cold in recruiting both high schools and the portal, he might have to sign a lot of leftovers and dregs at the last minute out of sheer desperation. Being a fan from way back, I have a fear about seeing a bunch of Lawrence Stubblefields and Rob Kirsners running around the court next year. For anyone not around then, it wasn't pretty! Maybe Coach Howard, with more time to be a difference-maker this year, could salvage the situation -- but who knows if even he will be back?
Like AJC commented the slow down game in this era just doesn't work. When I was in HS everyone ran Dean's sets and we simply called them "Carolina"
I hope Mullins can improve in that regard. But I am largely indifferent on another year or not.
More concerning, as many of you have noted, is recruiting. Sadly, I am wondering if it may be getting harder and harder to recruit players to Carbondale. It is frequently brought up as one of the most annoying/hardest places to travel to. Combined with a much smaller enrollment than the past can't help either.
I know people say Banterra is rocking sometimes. But it rarely looks like that to me on TV. That's a complete aside but something I thought I'd bring up since I rarely get down there for games.
Banterra would be rocking if this team ever was a contender again. It’s so frustrating to watch games like Saturday at Indiana State and how nuts that place was going. Our fans have been dicked around since 2008 with 0 trips to Sunday in St. Louis (something even Valpo and Evansville have done). Hard to get excited when you never have any expectations of beating the contenders of the Valley.
Welp, I shut the game off with SIU leading by 11 with about 6:00 left.
Could not believe when I checked for the final score however many minutes later and saw it was in overtime.
Unless the university is strapped for cash or a donor decides to pay for more Mullins, I can’t see any way they bring him back.
He’s done after SIU loses in STL early like usual. I will continue to say how surprised I am that he is this damn bad at this HC job.
Better days ahead. I am gonna miss Ebube. What a waste of size & talent, which I blame mostly on the coaching staff.
Supporter of the Fab 4: Scottie Ebube, Foster Wonders, AJ Ferguson & Cade Hornecker.
They’re the ones that can get us where we haven’t been in 15 years.
Like AJC commented the slow down game in this era just doesn't work. When I was in HS everyone ran Dean's sets and we simply called them "Carolina"
I hope Mullins can improve in that regard. But I am largely indifferent on another year or not.
More concerning, as many of you have noted, is recruiting. Sadly, I am wondering if it may be getting harder and harder to recruit players to Carbondale. It is frequently brought up as one of the most annoying/hardest places to travel to. Combined with a much smaller enrollment than the past can't help either.
I know people say Banterra is rocking sometimes. But it rarely looks like that to me on TV. That's a complete aside but something I thought I'd bring up since I rarely get down there for games.
With being season ticket holder I can say last night was different. It was as if the crowd was just waiting for the here we go again moment. Starting with the second half you could just feel it start to trickle in. I have never heard the boos rain down like they did at the end of the game. The 5k in attendance were definitely not happy.
Here is my take….for what it’s worth. I don’t think Mullins is worthless or the worst coach in the valley. Mullins has shown he can coach well enough early in the game to get big leads. Seems to have team prepared in scouting and pre game planning etc.
My observed struggles:
1. In game adjustments
2.Substitution patterns.
3. Drawing up set plays( Ford did a much better job drawing up SLOB and BLOB plays last night that got a couple huge baskets late in the game.
4. Late game situations. It has seemed these situations have him a little overwhelmed and tightening up.
Can these things be fixed, absolutely. He is a young coach with lots of things to learn. Here is my question: Who is on the staff helping him grow as a coach? Where is he getting input from to help him be able to fix these issues. I am not completely out in him….I truly fear the unknown. I feel we need a veteran assistant coach with experience that can help him grow and help overcome his short comings.
Growth is all about being able to take constructive criticism and learning from people that has gone through similar situations….Not sure he has those kind of people around him currently.
