Troy and Avila played together on the same AAU ball team during a summer of high school. I'm sure Troy would know Avila's offensive weaknesses. Troy at 6'7" is not that much smaller than Clarence and would be a good match up defensively on Avila. As USMCSaluki wrote, that would allow Clarence or Scottie to stay down low and protect the rim.
Jumping wise and quickness wise. Clarence is a foot and a half taller than Troy.
Playing Troy vs. InSU last year while Clarence sat on the bench is exactly why we lost to Indiana State at home. T
I am not sure where you got your info on the athletic stats of Clarence versus Troy, it is sure not from watching each one play. I truly do not believe that the athletic difference between the two players translates to a foot and a half of height advantage for Clarence. Clarence is quicker, but I don't believe his vertical leap is much better than Troy's. As a statistical point to my disagreement of your post, Clarence finished last season with 12 blocks and Troy had 10. Not much difference in vertical defense there.
Troy was playing the 5 in that game which was not smart. Avila only finished with 12 points (their third leading scorer in that game) Indiana State ended up with 46 points in the paint because our 5 man was guarding Avila strolling around the perimeter for most of the game. Henry, Kent, Courvoisier, and Gibson went 16 of 31 by driving the lane while our 5 was on Avila on the perimeter. Avila scored 12 points against SIU at Carbondale and scored 12 points against SIU at Terre Haute. Avila's performance in Carbondale last year did not beat the Dawgs. By-the-way, Avila scored 16 points against Drake in Terre Haute last year and then torched Drake in Des Moines for 22 points. 6'10" Brodie played in both games on Avila.
The point I was making in my post was that having Troy defend Avila, with either Clarence or Ebube at the 5, would allow a post presence to defend the drives in the paint. It's not rocket science. That would be an entirely different scenario than what happened last year in Carbondale.
I was at the game last year and watched in disbelief that no coaching correction was made to close the open lanes allowed for Indiana State guards to drive to the basket.
Troy and Avila played together on the same AAU ball team during a summer of high school. I'm sure Troy would know Avila's offensive weaknesses. Troy at 6'7" is not that much smaller than Clarence and would be a good match up defensively on Avila. As USMCSaluki wrote, that would allow Clarence or Scottie to stay down low and protect the rim.
Jumping wise and quickness wise. Clarence is a foot and a half taller than Troy.
Playing Troy vs. InSU last year while Clarence sat on the bench is exactly why we lost to Indiana State at home. T
I am not sure where you got your info on the athletic stats of Clarence versus Troy, it is sure not from watching each one play. I truly do not believe that the athletic difference between the two players translates to a foot and a half of height advantage for Clarence. Clarence is quicker, but I don't believe his vertical leap is much better than Troy's. As a statistical point to my disagreement of your post, Clarence finished last season with 12 blocks and Troy had 10. Not much difference in vertical defense there.
Troy was playing the 5 in that game which was not smart. Avila only finished with 12 points (their third leading scorer in that game) Indiana State ended up with 46 points in the paint because our 5 man was guarding Avila strolling around the perimeter for most of the game. Henry, Kent, Courvoisier, and Gibson went 16 of 31 by driving the lane while our 5 was on Avila on the perimeter. Avila scored 12 points against SIU at Carbondale and scored 12 points against SIU at Terre Haute. Avila's performance in Carbondale last year did not beat the Dawgs. By-the-way, Avila scored 16 points against Drake in Terre Haute last year and then torched Drake in Des Moines for 22 points. 6'10" Brodie played in both games on Avila.
The point I was making in my post was that having Troy defend Avila, with either Clarence or Ebube at the 5, would allow a post presence to defend the drives in the paint. It's not rocket science. That would be an entirely different scenario than what happened last year in Carbondale.
I was at the game last year and watched in disbelief that no coaching correction was made to close the open lanes allowed for Indiana State guards to drive to the basket.
The foot and a half remark is just hyperbole but Troy has no business playing the five against a team with Avila or any other big forward. I was at the game that Mullins lost last year and he was booed at the end of the game. Troy was completely eaten up inside with drives and put backs that would not have happened with Rupert. He's far more of a presence inside, way quicker and a better leaper. I say that having watched every single game last year. Troy belongs at forward and we need a big guy like Rupert or Ebube in the middle.
Avila was 6-8 when we were recruiting him, 6-8 players are a dime a dozen. Cade was offered by two Power 5 programs, among a dozen or so other offers, and was 7’ tall. Taking him over Avila was the proverbial no-brainer. Paradoxically, in The Wonderful World of NIL, you don’t want a player to be “too good” or they will ride off into the sunset with a pot of gold.Hard not to think we screwed up taking Hornecker over Avila at this point….
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
- The beauty of mid major recruitment is you try to get a guy before he becomes a star then develop them into a star at the time Cade was the guy things happen guys get better guys get hurt which stunts development so let's not go off a cliff when at the time most would have taken Cade and if teams would have thought Avila would have grew and develop the way he has the tree's wouldn't have gotten him in the first place
Hoping Ferguson is healthy for this big week ahead, with some athletic teams in Southern’s path. If not, I can realistically see Davis playing around 30 minutes a game if he can stay out of foul trouble.
The foot and a half remark is just hyperbole but Troy has no business playing the five against a team with Avila or any other big forward. I was at the game that Mullins lost last year and he was booed at the end of the game. Troy was completely eaten up inside with drives and put backs that would not have happened with Rupert. He's far more of a presence inside, way quicker and a better leaper. I say that having watched every single game last year. Troy belongs at forward and we need a big guy like Rupert or Ebube in the middle.
Glad you agree with me!
Having Troy at the 4 guarding Avila, one on one and especially on the perimeter, with Clarence or Scottie in the lane will be the best defense against this Indiana State team.
I hope we can hang tough... Conference games in November suck. I absolutely hate it.
Early season and early conference might be able to steal one especially on the road
The foot and a half remark is just hyperbole but Troy has no business playing the five against a team with Avila or any other big forward. I was at the game that Mullins lost last year and he was booed at the end of the game. Troy was completely eaten up inside with drives and put backs that would not have happened with Rupert. He's far more of a presence inside, way quicker and a better leaper. I say that having watched every single game last year. Troy belongs at forward and we need a big guy like Rupert or Ebube in the middle.
Glad you agree with me!
Having Troy at the 4 guarding Avila, one on one and especially on the perimeter, with Clarence or Scottie in the lane will be the best defense against this Indiana State team.
I don't agree that Troy and Rupert are equivalent defensively. Rupert is much more of a force on the inside and has a better vertical.
Shot blocking requires timing ... not just height and vertical. I'd rather see Clarence block fewer shots and grab more rebounds. He and Ebube need to keep out of foul trouble for us to be successful.
InSU scored those points in the paint last year, because Troy was our center and got beat on bunnies and putbacks.
Troy's a good player but not a 5, which I believe he has already played this year. Might get away with it against some teams but usually not.
A lot of folks on here are selling Cade short IMO. He only played 48 minutes last year. Hard to make an informed judgement based on that. I believe if he had played as much as Avila, he would have developed his game, improved his D, and added a lot of scoring and rebounding.
In 48 minutes, CH had 16 points and 10 rebounds - not bad at all. Made 4-4 FTs and shot 6-8 FGs.
I do believe that Cade will be a big part of this team, and overall team improvement/chemistry moving forward. A former 3 star, and a 7 footer? Obviously Power 5 schools saw the potential.
He has not had the playing time to develop, or demonstrate what he can do. I certainly hope he can heal, and eventually show folks what he can do. Would be extremely disappointing if it was another Sam Bowie or Bill Walton situation.
In the meantime, we need a lot from Scottie and Big C. Stay out of foul trouble, and we won't need Troy playing out of position.
GO DAWGS!!!
Southern has played more uptempo and scored it at a better clip than most would have expected so far, which has been great to see, but I'm still skeptical that Mullins will want to play a fast-paced game tomorrow against Indiana State, especially on the road. The Sycs have scored 80 or more points in five of their six games (the only time they didn't was a 76-74 win over Toledo) and thrive playing uptempo.
It's been a really good start for Indiana State, especially considering one of their main portal adds, Aaron Gray, has been ineligible, much like Hensley for Southern. Swope and Conwell were strong additions for them, and it looks like Jayson Kent, who transferred in from Bradley a couple years ago, has stepped his game up quite a bit this season.
I don't expect SIU to win this game: Indiana State is probably a top-three team in the conference and it's in their gym, but I would like to see Southern play well enough that it doesn't take too much air out of their sails headed into the SLU and Oklahoma State home games. If they somehow pull off the road W, it would be quite a feat.
I don't expect SIU to win this game: Indiana State is probably a top-three team in the conference and it's in their gym, but I would like to see Southern play well enough that it doesn't take too much air out of their sails headed into the SLU and Oklahoma State home games. If they somehow pull off the road W, it would be quite a feat.
THIS !
I always expect to win why would you expect to lose also I bet the team and staff expect to win why else play the gameSouthern has played more uptempo and scored it at a better clip than most would have expected so far, which has been great to see, but I'm still skeptical that Mullins will want to play a fast-paced game tomorrow against Indiana State, especially on the road. The Sycs have scored 80 or more points in five of their six games (the only time they didn't was a 76-74 win over Toledo) and thrive playing uptempo.
It's been a really good start for Indiana State, especially considering one of their main portal adds, Aaron Gray, has been ineligible, much like Hensley for Southern. Swope and Conwell were strong additions for them, and it looks like Jayson Kent, who transferred in from Bradley a couple years ago, has stepped his game up quite a bit this season.
I don't expect SIU to win this game: Indiana State is probably a top-three team in the conference and it's in their gym, but I would like to see Southern play well enough that it doesn't take too much air out of their sails headed into the SLU and Oklahoma State home games. If they somehow pull off the road W, it would be quite a feat.
Bryan Mullins with Harry Schroeder of Valley Hoops Insider:
