Benson played 34 minutes and recorded 2 rebounds. How is that even possible, while Phyfe played 33 minutes and had 18
Harvey shot 75.3% from the line
Okay, not bad. Thanks SW.
March on triumphantly!
We lose by 12: our leading scorer is 10 below his average; none of the starters pick up the difference; we miss half our free-throws; we have the dreaded Egyptianpoorrebound virus. Positives: Suggs and Francois finally gave us some good bench play. Result: We still need some things to work on.
“The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.”
-- Al McGuire
This game went south when Benson got 3 quick fouls. I'd leave it to the coaches to explain why,but that's the what and when of the second half disaster.
If Francois has his shot back the Dawgs will be much more dangerous on offense down the stretch.
I know McGill scored 11, but he took a lot of ill-advised, wild shots today, mainly because we were just having trouble getting off a shot.
We need more offensive firepower, especially when MD is being smothered. That's one reason I say Davis can possibly help. However, he never got in the game today. Was he on the bench, sick?? No idea.
I can't speak for this game bc I didn't get to watch it (no ESPNU) but my opinion on Davis is that he is often out of position, specifically slow to react on defensive switches. I've seen it both with him and Francois. Mullins would rather put up with someone who has been woeful on offense (Brown) but gives 110% effort and he trusts on D vs the alternate.
It seems like part of what's going on is the lack of height in the front court and depending on Barrett to do too many minutes. When he is foul trouble, the team is in trouble. Secondarily we have freshmen carrying way too much on their shoulders while at the same time making the adjustment to college ball from high school. Mullins and crew will address this. Look at what they've accomplished so far and how the new guys have stepped up. The "culture" is there, now we need some more talented players for next year. I watched the game on ESPN over the weekend and it was hard to watch. The team appeared to be worn out. Good things are coming for next year, and I don't count us out for a good showing in the conference tournament.
WOOF!
This game went south when Benson got 3 quick fouls. I'd leave it to the coaches to explain why,but that's the what and when of the second half disaster.
If Francois has his shot back the Dawgs will be much more dangerous on offense down the stretch.
Really simple... 2 possessions in a row UNI attacked Jeramic down low and scored to swing the tide. Jeramic is, and I hate to do this to a kid, atrocious. We could not score when he was in because UNI literally just planted his man in the middle to cut off drives then pressed up on our ball handlers. He ruins our offense and even for a 7 footer gets easily scored on defensively by anyone who is half way decent. The Benson fouls absolutely changed the game.
That said, this team is 100% capable of beating anyone, any time, anywhere. I truly believe that. If we see them on a Saturday afternoon in STL I give us more than a punchers chance to pull it off.
Also, Trent can't play. I am sorry but his turn overs and unwillingness to even attempt to rebound were absolutely glaring. He watched someone get two rebounds over him while he literally stood and looked up. He can't make an open shot, can't take care of the ball. Rather Francois play or ever Gooch at this point.
It’s a shame Malik William didn’t work out. He had really impressive rebounding numbers in minimal minutes in 2018 with Clemson
That said, this team is 100% capable of beating anyone, any time, anywhere. I truly believe that. If we see them on a Saturday afternoon in STL I give us more than a punchers chance to pull it off.
Also, Trent can't play. I am sorry but his turn overs and unwillingness to even attempt to rebound were absolutely glaring. He watched someone get two rebounds over him while he literally stood and looked up. He can't make an open shot, can't take care of the ball. Rather Francois play or ever Gooch at this point.
It wasn't just Trent watching Panthers pull down boards. Barrett Benson can't get his feet 6" off the floor. Several easy opportunities for a RB he never bothered. I don't dislike him and he's been pretty much better than expected and overall solid, but his RB skills aren't where they should be. Everyone was tired though, it's been a long season with a short bench. These guys are all playing their hearts out. We're ragging a bit on them here where we should be excited about what they've accomplished.
I'm excited for Arch Madness and next November can't come soon enough!
We have almost no depth - guys get tired!
It's nice to be so passionate about wins and losses again. What this team has been able to accomplish has been nothing short of remarkable. It makes it easy to forget the adversity this group has faced in getting here.
Imagine if William had stayed and Cook and Dembele hadn't gotten hurt. We could've very realistically been looking at a Saluki team in position to win the MVC.
--Insert something witty here--
Looking ahead we need to replace Benson. We also need a power forward. Domask is a real player, but he is more a shooting forward than an inside guy (although he's done his best at times). It would not only help rebounding, but free MD and the guards for more and better looks at the basket. I noticed UNI did some nice inside passing for easy baskets, something we need to work on, also. Ya' know for only having 1 big man, no power forward, a rookie point guard, and a bunch of newcomers, our patchwork quilt of a team has done quite well.
“The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.”
-- Al McGuire
Looking ahead we need to replace Benson. We also need a power forward. Domask is a real player, but he is more a shooting forward than an inside guy (although he's done his best at times). It would not only help rebounding, but free MD and the guards for more and better looks at the basket. I noticed UNI did some nice inside passing for easy baskets, something we need to work on, also. Ya' know for only having 1 big man, no power forward, a rookie point guard, and a bunch of newcomers, our patchwork quilt of a team has done quite well.
I think you’re looking at Harvey and Domask being the two forwards going forward. I think Domask has gotten much better at rebounding since the start of the season and that’s why you’ve seen less rebounding problems compared to the beginning of the season when we were all freaking out.
Harvey was the best defensive rebounder on Eastern Illinois last year among the players that got major minutes. His 16.1% defensive rebounding percentage would be 2nd on this current Salukis team behind only Barret Benson (18.3%, 375th in the country). Domask is at 15.5% for comparison. Sekou Dembele was at 20.8% in the minimal minutes he played. In recent history, Bola Olaniyan was 9th in the country in defensive rebounding % with 29.5% in 2016 so that’s the extreme bar Saluki fans have seen recently
I really hope Dembele can come back completely healthy and can get work in over the summer. I think he can really be a force on the boards and with additional coaching at least a contributor offensively. Seems like a hard working and I think the talent is there with time.
