Respectfully, Long is not banged up, he's just not a very good player. I also fully get giving players time, but the fact that Butler is not able to provide meaningful minutes in a year where there is a "Free Red Shirt" is crazy. Defense typically plays and since he came in for that reason, to not be playing is a mystery or concerning (or both).
This team needs SIZE. Assuming several players will jettison after the season (Long, Butler, Dembele,etc) here's hoping beyond hope that Mullins gets taller, stronger and more athletic players to come in. If this team had just 1 or maybe 2 players like that, they'd be fighting for the top 3 in the conference, which is currently saying a lot.
Size and athleticism, with the latter being even more of an issue.
Teams with superior athletes and length will continue to give the Salukis fit until they change their recruiting model. This has been an ongoing issue dating back as long as I’ve followed SIU hoops. Always undersized at every position. The Floorburn U teams got away with it because of the type of D they played. I would’ve liked to see a scholarship or two given to big guards or wings with athleticism and the ability to jump out of the gym to match up with teams like Drake, Bradley, Missouri State. There’s a lot of roster redundancy on this team with Harvey, Brown, Verplanken, Banks, Jones, Butler, Long, etc. I would trade Verplanken or Butler or Long for someone with some length, bounce and athleticism just to mix up what we can throw at opponents and spark the effort off the bench. We get our shots blocked so often and have a hard time defending teams with bigger physical guards
That's cuz those guys are playing for Ohio St., Illinois, Iowa, Indiana.... Will always be tough to get those guys! It's rare when a non-power 5 school can get 7' centers that are really good or 6'9" forwards or 6'6" athletic guards!
Wayne Abrams, Darren Brooks, Tatum, Amaya, Jerry Jones, Roberts etc type players are pretty rare in the MVC.
Yes, I know this but I’m watching a team of about 12 of them in the Valley destroy the Salukis tonight. Bradley also is full of them. So is SLU. Missouri State has a ton of athletes. Illinois State always has freak athletes. In the world of the transfer, guys are constantly leaving high majors. JUCO basketball is also full of them. Just have to do a better job supplementing our talent and roster with 1-2. Maybe Long was supposed to be that guy as he was originally an Iowa State transfer and he’s banged up at the moment. We also had Davis as a Nebraska transfer last year. Just need a little more if physicality, length and athleticism to supplement Harvey, Domask, Jones, Banks, Brown, etc.
I think Davis was quite a loss. He was athletic and needed more playing time and experience.
Long was a stud in HS - seems to have lost all confidence (or desire) - just looks tentative and so so out there!
Good transfers needed for sure! Tough to get those highly recruited guys directly out of HS when competing with Big 10 etc (and other mid-majors). I still think we will be vastly better next year and the year after! Very young and reboundingly challenged!
Hot take time:
I don't know that these guys have enough defense or athleticism to compete in the Valley. Who on the floor could Harvey guard tonight? D'Avanzo? Even (I know this is going to be unpopular) Banks? Tonight, zero, not a single person.
Regression to the mean on 3 point shooting was going to happen, but I wouldn't have minded hitting a couple less 3s against the Sisters of the Poor and banking some of them up for Valley play. LOL!
Riding Domask into the ground every game is not a good long-term solution. You begin to wonder if this is contributing to his inaccuracy from 3 this year (and the end of last year). He's consistently our #1 option on offense (even running the offense at times this game) and has shown wear. Even Long to spell him would be reasonable, or Filewich/D'Avanzo (playing his natural position) would be better. While we aren't playing that many games, they are all back-to-backs, and it adds up
It is really unfortunate that Verplancken has started the year in such a funk. He's big, just enough athleticism, willing passer, gets where he wants on the floor... and then bricks the shot. I still wonder if he shouldn't be on the floor more just to guard someone instead of Harvey, even if it takes away from the offense a little bit. I hope the couple of times he saw the ball go in tonight leads to something.
On a related topic, Harvey should be the 6th man, and focal point of the offense when Domask is out or when he comes in the game. Domask and Harvey are very similar players on offense, and so I think Harvey without Domask on the floor would unleash him rather than the bit role he is getting currently.
I agree with previous posters that we don't have enough high level athletes. You can get away with just being skilled at a lot of positions, but our best Saluki teams always had at least one pure athlete. We are athletic at point guard (and back-up point guard), otherwise... we are a below the rim team in general, which also contributes to our poor rebounding.
Free Kyler? I feel like we get a good shot whenever we put Kyler or Marcus in the post, either their own, or for someone else. When we run our sets with the double screen at the top of the key, not so much. Kyler has great touch (especially for a freshman), size (or girth), strength, and is a decent passer. We pass the ball low, he gets an easy lay-up, and then... we don't do it again for 5 minutes and take him out after he gets gassed. Start him and bring D'Avanzo in to spell him to try to give him more minutes overall. Anytime we can get him on a player where he has a 40 lb weight advantage, just let him go to work.
Boy, this team really misses Muila. Having to double on just about every decent big really opens them up to get raked from long-range. No one worries about getting their shots thrown in their face when they drive. Hope you come back healthy, big fella!
Hoping our IL HS Senior commits are able to play some basketball this year, but not holding my breath. I think Iron Mountain (Wonders) played tonight? Will be looking for a recap of that game.
Rodney Watson - coaches take this kind of beat down much harder than young players. Not the end of the world - happened with some of the Herrin teams too. Need more practice and get ready for Terre Haute!
I think when you lose by a combined 50 points to the top team in the Valley it forces you to recalibrate a little bit. I probably got a bit ahead of myself thinking this was a team that could compete for a top 3 spot. I’d be happy if they get 4-6. That’s not drastic, just realistic.
Bow Em
4-6 is very realistic. The top 3 are just a lot better than everybody else. SIU was always a year away. Butler just fooled people
I think when you lose by a combined 50 points to the top team in the Valley it forces you to recalibrate a little bit. I probably got a bit ahead of myself thinking this was a team that could compete for a top 3 spot. I’d be happy if they get 4-6. That’s not drastic, just realistic.
I think I picked them 4th or 5th, prior to Valley play. I'm now picking them 6th or 7th. I think this team has a better shot at competing with Loyola than they do Missouri State or even Bradley.
It's weird to see SIU in the red for a lot of the defensive stats. 3 point shooting against is a problem, they're bottom 20 in the country:
KenPom has SIU finishing 9th in the Valley right now at 6-12. ISU Blue and Evansville are 7th and 8th at 7-11
Didn’t take long for the torches and pitchforks to come out.
They're down 35 on national TV after losing by 20 last night on national TV, I think everyone has a right to be unhappy here. Drake is good but if you're not competing with the top of the MVC, you're in trouble.
We are all unhappy at the moment. A Chris Lowery era bad comparison reference is a torch/pitchfork use to me.
We are already talking about next year and we have 14 Valley games left? Take an extra Xanax tonight and a big breath. Good thing is we don't have to play these guys again until St. Louis (Basketball Gods willing and I hope they are) It will be a nice barometer of how much we have or haven't improved.
Didn’t take long for the torches and pitchforks to come out.
They're down 35 on national TV after losing by 20 last night on national TV, I think everyone has a right to be unhappy here. Drake is good but if you're not competing with the top of the MVC, you're in trouble.
We are all unhappy at the moment. A Chris Lowery era bad comparison reference is a torch/pitchfork use to me.
Tonight was as bad as I've seen it. They were down 35 halfway through the 2nd and Drake called the dogs off, could have easily been a 50 point loss. SIU is 2-9 in the Valley in their last 11, this is becoming a major problem.
Are we 3-7 or 7-3? Calm down.
UK is 2-6 with the highest payroll in D1.
You want the huckster back?
If not then just settle down and stop acting entitled like a shocker fan.
I took a chill pill many years ago. Life is good 🙂
Are we 3-7 or 7-3? Calm down.
UK is 2-6 with the highest payroll in D1.
You want the huckster back?
If not then just settle down and stop acting entitled like a shocker fan.
Straw man argument. It’s perfectly understandable to be concerned about the way the team has looked in four MVC games, and recognize some needed areas for improvement, while still being appreciative of what Mullins is building and optimistic about the future.
Are we 3-7 or 7-3? Calm down.
UK is 2-6 with the highest payroll in D1.
You want the huckster back?
If not then just settle down and stop acting entitled like a shocker fan.
Straw man argument. It’s perfectly understandable to be concerned about the way the team has looked in four MVC games, and recognize some needed areas for improvement, while still being appreciative of what Mullins is building and optimistic about the future.
While definitely frustrated about three bad games in a row, I am still optimistic about the future of this team. I do think we will need to supplement this sophomore class of Harvey, Domask, Jones, Brown, Verplanken, etc with one dynamic transfer wing/big. Hopefully Muila is the guy, similar to when Weber added Roberts to a promising core of Dearman, Brooks, Williams, Hairston, Willis, Korn. Not saying Muila will be as good as Rolan, but I feel we are one piece away. This was definitely a 3-4 year rebuild for Mullins and he took the right approach with signing so many high school kids. While Drake is impressive with what they’ve done, the upperclassmen transfer rebuild is not sustainable since you have to replicate lightning in the bottle over and over again with so much turnover. They will get a little luck with the NCAA granting an extra year
