I'm disturbed by:
*the score: very run and gun, which seems very un-Mullins-like
I thought the defense looked good for the most part. A few lapses by the guards that let to easy baskets but thought the defense won them the game down the stretch. SEMO hit a bunch of contested shots and I think the final score is mainly reflective of not getting rebounds more than them playing poor defense.
Thanks for the insight. I was unable to watch a lot of the game, so I will trust you on that; the score was startling to me, is all.
But if we're playing decent D but still giving up points like that, then rebounding/second chance points are a REAL concern. Ouch.
(Inflammatory political snark)
I'm disturbed by:
*Brown still not shooting well (but probably doesn't matter, as there are clearly other options now)
He shot 1-2 from 3 tonight. 1-5 from the field. I know quite a few have already made up their mind about him because of last year...but I find it odd how many people are making comments about a 1-2 performance from 3.
Ben Harvey and Brendan Mullins postgame:
Highlights:
https://twitter.com/SIU_Basketball/status/1334355022931496961
Like Harvey's set shot..reminds me of Bob Cousy!!
Who is Bob Cousy??
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cousy
Here's the win probability chart from KenPom for tonight. SIU had a 6.1% chance of winning at their lowest point when it was 65-56 with 4:32 left in regulation:
The bottom parts tell you it's the 11th lowest minimum win probability for a win this season in Division 1 basketball.
Ok that’s it analytics have gone too far. 🤣
Nice comeback win at SEMO. I think we found our PG for the next four years in Dalton Banks. And Ben Harvey appears to be the real deal. I like D'Avanzo, too. I wish he didn't have to play the 5-spot.
The rebounding deficit is a huge concern. D'Avanzo is playing out of position and Filewich could've used a redshirt year. Now he may be our only true big. Tough role for a Freshman. Muila was an even bigger loss than most of us expected. He was signed to be our main rebounder. I hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't look like Dembele is ever going to be healthy enough to be a factor.
If there's still an uncommitted Grad Transfer out there who's 6'8" 240 lbs. and can play....please come to SIU next semester!
Filewich might move more awkwardly than any person I have ever seen.
Didn't we have football players on our roster during the early Hinson years?
didn't want to dive thru 12 pages but my thoughts. 1- Harvey, as expected the real deal. 2- played horribly the first 10 minutes or so, to be expected with such limited practice time 3- really bad a rebounding and Muila was the guy we could least afford to lose 4- thought Banks looked VERY good and was interesting he played during the clutch instead of Jones. Lance, start making your free throws and you'll be there in the clutch
didn't want to dive thru 12 pages but my thoughts. 1- Harvey, as expected the real deal. 2- played horribly the first 10 minutes or so, to be expected with such limited practice time 3- really bad a rebounding and Muila was the guy we could least afford to lose 4- thought Banks looked VERY good and was interesting he played during the clutch instead of Jones. Lance, start making your free throws and you'll be there in the clutch
Banks and Jones can and will be on the floor together in crunch time. Those two are both ballers and hopefully they can develop some good chemistry together these next three years.
Filewich might move more awkwardly than any person I have ever seen.
I'll bet he can outskate you.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
I'm disturbed by:
*Brown still not shooting well (but probably doesn't matter, as there are clearly other options now)
He shot 1-2 from 3 tonight. 1-5 from the field. I know quite a few have already made up their mind about him because of last year...but I find it odd how many people are making comments about a 1-2 performance from 3.
I am not one of those people who has a problem with Brown getting a lot of playing time, nor was I last year. My point is that even if his shooting woes continue (and yes, I'd call 20 percent shooting "woes"), it doesn't matter so much this year since we have other shooters who can step up. (I hope we do, anyway. 😆 )
(Inflammatory political snark)
I was a huge fan of Brown before he started his career. I continued to back him while some called for his head throughout last season. But that was last season. I stand by my thoughts for this year. If he does not improve his shooting, he should not see as much playing time. He may have only missed 1 3pt shot last night, but bc of his struggles, he did not look for his shot like a shooter does. There were also several instances where he was open and his teammates did not pass him the ball. I cannot say for sure that the reason was their lack of trust in him, but it is at least plausible. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but the fact remains is he is supposed to be a shooter, if he cannot vastly improve in that area this year (which I believe HE CAN), then I wouldn't be surprised that he will not be playing much at SIU next year, if at all. I also believe that Banks should be starting over him and move Jones over to the SG position.
on offense, we have multiple players now (domask, harvey, jones) who can create their own shots, shoot the ball, and get to the rim. it's been a long time since we had that many options. we won't worry about being late in the shot clock.
on defense, i don't know how they solve the size/rebounding issues. my guess is that defines the season.
