Foster Wonders ain't NOBODY'S back-up!!!!
1PG Lance Jones 6'1" SO
2SG Foster Wonders 6'4" FR
3SF Marcus Domask 6'6" SO
4PF Anthony D'Avanzo 6'8" SR
5C Scotty Ebube 6'10" FR
BOOM!!!!
If I had to bet, I would expect to see Muila start before Ebube, simply because he has more experience. It would also not surprise me to see Filewich as a starter. I believe all three will see decent minutes, barring injury.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
I'm worried about what we'll get with Muila after basically two straight seasons lost to injury. I think as of now, the job is basically Kyler's to lose.
What I really like is if all three are at full strength, they each bring their own unique compliments to the 5 spot. Add in Dembele, who's shown flashes, for depth and we're in really good shape with our rotation of bigs.
If Dembele sticks around, which as of now it looks like he will, I expect SIU will take the best available option between an athletic wing or an experienced PG, whichever comes first.
--Insert something witty here--
I'm worried about what we'll get with Muila after basically two straight seasons lost to injury. I think as of now, the job is basically Kyler's to lose.
What I really like is if all three are at full strength, they each bring their own unique compliments to the 5 spot. Add in Dembele, who's shown flashes, for depth and we're in really good shape with our rotation of bigs.
If Dembele sticks around, which as of now it looks like he will, I expect SIU will take the best available option between an athletic wing or an experienced PG, whichever comes first.
I like Kyler a lot, but if we're going to say Wonders is unlikely to start because we don't think he'll be a good defender right away, it seems that Filewich would need to sit behind guys like Muila and Ebube who are likely to bring a lot more athleticism and rim protection to the table. Filewich really struggled defending the conference's top big guys. Or is it a different standard because it's a different position? All I know is a starting frontcourt of Domask, D'Avanzo and Filewich would leave A LOT to be desired when it comes to quickness and athleticism. And we know Domask will start if healthy. 😀
Overall, I'm bullish on the improving depth and agree with some of the previous posts that we all tend to make too much of who will start, especially this far from the season starting and with at least one more player likely to be added, but I'm still down for the fun debates ...
I'm worried about what we'll get with Muila after basically two straight seasons lost to injury. I think as of now, the job is basically Kyler's to lose.
What I really like is if all three are at full strength, they each bring their own unique compliments to the 5 spot. Add in Dembele, who's shown flashes, for depth and we're in really good shape with our rotation of bigs.
If Dembele sticks around, which as of now it looks like he will, I expect SIU will take the best available option between an athletic wing or an experienced PG, whichever comes first.
I like Kyler a lot, but if we're going to say Wonders is unlikely to start because we don't think he'll be a good defender right away, it seems that Filewich would need to sit behind guys like Muila and Ebube who are likely to bring a lot more athleticism and rim protection to the table. Filewich really struggled defending the conference's top big guys. Or is it a different standard because it's a different position? All I know is a starting frontcourt of Domask, D'Avanzo and Filewich would leave A LOT to be desired when it comes to quickness and athleticism. And we know Domask will start if healthy. 😀
Overall, I'm bullish on the improving depth and agree with some of the previous posts that we all tend to make too much of who will start, especially this far from the season starting and with at least one more player likely to be added, but I'm still down for the fun debates ...
I honestly think who starts at the 4 and the 3(Domask) will dictate who eventually starts at the 5. Muila's health and game shape will factor a lot. As you say though, Filewich, D'Avanzo, Domask likely won't be able to guard in some of the ways Mullins expects. The starting lineup may start the year with those three in it, but I doubt the three of them play a ton of minutes together, especially as the season progresses.
--Insert something witty here--
I'm worried about what we'll get with Muila after basically two straight seasons lost to injury. I think as of now, the job is basically Kyler's to lose.
What I really like is if all three are at full strength, they each bring their own unique compliments to the 5 spot. Add in Dembele, who's shown flashes, for depth and we're in really good shape with our rotation of bigs.
If Dembele sticks around, which as of now it looks like he will, I expect SIU will take the best available option between an athletic wing or an experienced PG, whichever comes first.
I like Kyler a lot, but if we're going to say Wonders is unlikely to start because we don't think he'll be a good defender right away, it seems that Filewich would need to sit behind guys like Muila and Ebube who are likely to bring a lot more athleticism and rim protection to the table. Filewich really struggled defending the conference's top big guys. Or is it a different standard because it's a different position? All I know is a starting frontcourt of Domask, D'Avanzo and Filewich would leave A LOT to be desired when it comes to quickness and athleticism. And we know Domask will start if healthy. 😀
Overall, I'm bullish on the improving depth and agree with some of the previous posts that we all tend to make too much of who will start, especially this far from the season starting and with at least one more player likely to be added, but I'm still down for the fun debates ...
I honestly think who starts at the 4 and the 3(Domask) will dictate who eventually starts at the 5. Muila's health and game shape will factor a lot. As you say though, Filewich, D'Avanzo, Domask likely won't be able to guard in some of the ways Mullins expects. The starting lineup may start the year with those three in it, but I doubt the three of them play a ton of minutes together, especially as the season progresses.
I also think that there will be times we see 2 of the 3 guys playing together. If Filewich, Muila, and Edube all turn out to play well this year, I highly doubt each one gets only 13 minutes a game this year. I would expect a few minutes a game where somebody plays the 4. Maybe not much, but a few minutes.
Here is a "way too early" projection of our starting 5 next year. With us most likely signing at least 1 more transfer this could certainly change. A transfer PG or transfer PF/Wing could start, if they end up having that significant or immediate of an impact:
PG - Dalton Banks 6'2", backups - Jones, potential transfer
SG - Jones 6'1" backups Brown, Verplancken
SF - Domask 6'6", backups Wonders, Harvey
PF - D'Avanzo 6'8", backup Troy D'Amico, potential transfer
C - Muila 6'8", backup Filewich, Ebube, Dembele (Filewich could also start, but I would expect Muila and Filewich to get a similar amount of PT next year no matter who starts)
This is very interesting to look at. I think Mullins really likes Brown's propensity for defense, so I could see Jones still starting at the PG with Brown sliding in at the 2. Jones is really explosive with the ball in his hands, just had too many turnovers last year for a PG (hopefully his decision making improves next year). I thought Banks did a pretty good job not turning it over and I expect he improves quite a bit over the summer. In the end, I like Jones at the 2 more so this starting 5 feels right given the current roster construction.
Looking a bit deeper at the roster, I can't decide if I feel like we are thinner at the point or the 4. My gut says PG should be first priority for the last scholarship b/c Domask can slide to the 4 when needed though I like he and Harvey better at the 3. The big question in my mind is whether Harvey/Domask/Wonders can guard at the 3 (especially Harvey). All the guys need to work on their lateral quickness b/c they have to be better at stopping dribble penetration if we have a shot at top 4 next season. We had to overhelp so often, which led to slow rotations and wide open 3s. Watching Loyola in the tournament (especially against U of I), you could see the blue print for the kind of D Mullins wants to play...after all he's the one who installed it there. They were so good at limiting dribble penetration and when they did get beat, their rotations were so quick.
Super excited for next year, if for nothing else, hopefully getting to watch these guys play in person!
No. People on here still don't give Moser the credit he deserves. BM was Director of Basketball Ops for his 1st two years. That 2nd year, Loyola won 24 games and the CBI tournament, finished in the middle of the MVC, and had wins over Boise St and Texas Tech. They already had Donte Ingram, Milton Doyle, Devon Turk, Ben Richardson, and Montel James.
Brown needs to improve his offensive game if he wants to keep the the minutes he's been getting.
Lance Jones was our leading scorer in conference. I really thought his TOs were better this year. He had a few really high TO games that skewed his total. Had 8 and 7 against Loyola, but he played 43 minutes and scored 30 pts in the OT loss. Ayo Dosunmu played 38 minutes against Loyola, had 6 TOs and just 9 points. Curbelo also had 4 TOs.
Lance had a number of games in which he played 40 minutes. Of course you'd like to see no TOs, but if you're playing PG for 40 minutes, you're usually going to have some TOs. Fatigue has to be an issue.
(He played 40 against UNI though, had only 2 TOs, 27 pts, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 5 rbs - maybe his best game of the year.)
Jones soph year (25 games) 79 TOs, 35 steals, 73 assists, 13.4 ppg
Jamaal Tatums soph year (35 games) 56 TOs, 40 steals, 78 assists, 12.3ppg
Darren Brooks soph year (31 games) 54 TOs, 62 steals, 103 assists, 12.9ppg
Kevin Dilliards soph year(29 games) 72 TOs, 33 steals, 146 assists, 12.3 ppg
Darren Brooks senior year (33 games): 85 TOs, Stetson Hairston 76 TOs
Jamaal Tatums senior year (35 games) 83 TOs, Falker 91 TOs
Randall Falker's senior year (33 games) 82 TOs, Bryan Mullins (31 games) 75, Matt Shaw 75
Kevin Dilliards Freshman year (31 games) 101 TOs
I think he'll still be the PG next year.
My wish: Brown's offense really improves, Foster is wondersful, Banks and Filewich learn to make FTs, Jones cuts down on TOs, Domask and Mulia are healthy, and everybody improves, especially swiping the ball. I think we could be really good next year.
Here is a "way too early" projection of our starting 5 next year. With us most likely signing at least 1 more transfer this could certainly change. A transfer PG or transfer PF/Wing could start, if they end up having that significant or immediate of an impact:
PG - Dalton Banks 6'2", backups - Jones, potential transfer
SG - Jones 6'1" backups Brown, Verplancken
SF - Domask 6'6", backups Wonders, Harvey
PF - D'Avanzo 6'8", backup Troy D'Amico, potential transfer
C - Muila 6'8", backup Filewich, Ebube, Dembele (Filewich could also start, but I would expect Muila and Filewich to get a similar amount of PT next year no matter who starts)
This is very interesting to look at. I think Mullins really likes Brown's propensity for defense, so I could see Jones still starting at the PG with Brown sliding in at the 2. Jones is really explosive with the ball in his hands, just had too many turnovers last year for a PG (hopefully his decision making improves next year). I thought Banks did a pretty good job not turning it over and I expect he improves quite a bit over the summer. In the end, I like Jones at the 2 more so this starting 5 feels right given the current roster construction.
Looking a bit deeper at the roster, I can't decide if I feel like we are thinner at the point or the 4. My gut says PG should be first priority for the last scholarship b/c Domask can slide to the 4 when needed though I like he and Harvey better at the 3. The big question in my mind is whether Harvey/Domask/Wonders can guard at the 3 (especially Harvey). All the guys need to work on their lateral quickness b/c they have to be better at stopping dribble penetration if we have a shot at top 4 next season. We had to overhelp so often, which led to slow rotations and wide open 3s. Watching Loyola in the tournament (especially against U of I), you could see the blue print for the kind of D Mullins wants to play...after all he's the one who installed it there. They were so good at limiting dribble penetration and when they did get beat, their rotations were so quick.
Super excited for next year, if for nothing else, hopefully getting to watch these guys play in person!
No. People on here still don't give Moser the credit he deserves. BM was Director of Basketball Ops for his 1st two years. That 2nd year, Loyola won 24 games and the CBI tournament, finished in the middle of the MVC, and had wins over Boise St and Texas Tech. They already had Donte Ingram, Milton Doyle, Devon Turk, Ben Richardson, and Montel James.
Brown needs to improve his offensive game if he wants to keep the the minutes he's been getting.
I said zero about the roster construction, I think Moser deserves a ton of credit for what Loyola has accomplished. I was strictly speaking about the defense they currently play and Mullins was the D Coordinator while he was an assistant. This is the exact style of defense he wants to run here.
Edit to further illustrate my point:
I pulled Loyola's defensive efficiency while Moser has been the coach (remember they were in the Horizon League until 13-14) and noted Mullins presence on the staff. I think his influence on the defensive end speaks for itself.
Year Defensive Efficiency
11-12 218
12-13 139
13-14 240 (Mullins-DBO)
14-15 119 (Mullins-DBO)
15-16 55 (Mullins-Asst Coach)
16-17 95 (Mullins-Asst Coach)
17-18 13 (Mullins-Asst Coach)
18-19 40 (Mullins-Assoc HC)
19-20 50
20-21 4
I would not be surprised to see Verplanken have a big year. I have a good feeling about him.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
I would not be surprised to see Verplanken have a big year. I have a good feeling about him.
He has really good instincts and size for a guard. He's a good shooter and an extremely hard worker. I suspect this last season was a pretty big adjustment for him considering the step up in competition, new team, new system and defining his role within it.
If I had to pick a Saluki most poised for a breakout, he would be my choice.
--Insert something witty here--
I would agree with all of that also. I think his ability was evident at the beginning of the season and the improvement/progression he made during it was evident also. I think he will just keep getting better and has a good chance of being a big contributor.
I would not be surprised to see Verplanken have a big year. I have a good feeling about him.
I thought D'Avanzo and Verplancken both seemed to hit their stride at the end of the year. Couldn't have been easy to make the jump from Division 2 to Division 1 during a pandemic year and a shortened schedule.
I'm going to go ahead and post this now (after re-watching an old highlight film)...... ** IF HEALTHY ** JD Muila will make the all new comer team. He also will be the teams most important player. Having someone of that size, with that athleticism who can also defend will have a huge impact. I'm going to enjoy the remainder of spring and summer, but after that basketball can't get here fast enough !!!!
I'm going to go ahead and post this now (after re-watching an old highlight film)...... ** IF HEALTHY ** JD Muila will make the all new comer team. He also will be the teams most important player. Having someone of that size, with that athleticism who can also defend will have a huge impact. I'm going to enjoy the remainder of spring and summer, but after that basketball can't get here fast enough !!!!
Here’s hoping for favorable reports of his progress as we get into the summer. Rim protection and quick rotations on defense and occasional put-backs and dunks on offense would all be very much welcome for the Salukis these next couple seasons.
Any update on Marcus' foot injury?
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
