I hate the short turnaround excuse because you're gonna need to figure out short turnarounds in March when you're in St. Louis and so far in the 3 years under Mullins, they haven't figured that out yet. They've won one game in St. Louis and it was against a Bradley team that essentially had their entire roster suspended or injured.
I think the main problem is it's year 4 and they're still having to ride Domask 39 minutes to win games
Safe to say Newton has not yet found his niche from a scoring standpoint. At Evansville he was pretty effective getting to the foul line but there hasn't been much of that in the early going this season.
He would be one of the candidates to hopefully pick things up from a production standpoint to get the offense out of the mud.
I was thinking the same thing this morning. Newton should have a lot of upside for us, considering he is very well familiar with most of the teams in the MVC as well as the fact that he was the best player for the Aces. Maybe Mullins should stop relying so much on Domask and Jones and start giving these new guys more opportunities. Also thought it was interesting on the post game when Rodney Watson related the story of Oklahoma State came to play a game at the Arena in 1964. Jack Hartman, SIU's coach at the time, played college basketball under legendary Oklahoma State University basketball coach Henry Iba. As a favor to Hartman, Iba brought his OSU team to Carbondale in 1964 to play the first basketball game ever at the SIU Arena. The Saluki's were not even a D1 school at the time. SIU won that game, beating OSU by a whopping 23 points, 78-55. Just goes to prove that the David's can sometimes beat the Goliaths. What we have to figure out about this team is are they a David or a Goliath?
Not to state the obvious, and I know this isn't an easy thing to do, but Mullins needs to start hitting on some impact guards who can create offense. Outside of Jones (does Mullins get credit for Jones?), we appear to have virtually no one at this point who can be that guy.
What do we have to show for the last 3 years of recruiting ? Those are the years that coach should have been able to bring in some real talent, not just role players. Am I missing someone ? Think about it. Do not get me wrong, I loved the Mullins hire. Barry H was a waste of time for the program. Just not sure anymore when I look at it from the recruiting aspect if we are really making progress. Please, someone tell me I am wrong.
What do we have to show for the last 3 years of recruiting ? Those are the years that coach should have been able to bring in some real talent, not just role players. Am I missing someone ? Think about it. Do not get me wrong, I loved the Mullins hire. Barry H was a waste of time for the program. Just not sure anymore when I look at it from the recruiting aspect if we are really making progress. Please, someone tell me I am wrong.
Cade Hornecker and Kennard Davis Jr are two of the highest rated recruits in program history so the recruiting has been fine and they're doing a great job at retention. But Hornecker is redshirting and who knows if Davis does too. Just like Ebube and Wonders redshirted last year. Maybe if Wonders played last year and learned the D1 game as he played (the team was .500 anyways so who cares if he costs you a few games), he'd be more ready to play now. Will that be Hornecker next year too?
I appreciate the program building and maybe it'll pay dividends at some point but eventually the program has to take the next step.
I think the mid majors that can retain players will be the best programs going forward. Ben Jacobson even says that he is going to continue to get high school kids regardless of the landscape. There is pros and cons to both, but taking Mullins’s approach with recruiting will probably eventually pay off. Granted, they’ll need to win to keep that player retention up. I’m gonna try to be patient with Mullins because I think we will benefit long term. But this team really needs to win. Hopefully USI was the exception and the guys will bring it on Thursday night.
My anger Level is still far too high to really comment.
What do we have to show for the last 3 years of recruiting ? Those are the years that coach should have been able to bring in some real talent, not just role players. Am I missing someone ? Think about it. Do not get me wrong, I loved the Mullins hire. Barry H was a waste of time for the program. Just not sure anymore when I look at it from the recruiting aspect if we are really making progress. Please, someone tell me I am wrong.
It's very reasonable to look at these Mullins rosters to date and see a bunch of decent role players and not much all-conference caliber talent. I'd like to see more from the current redshirt freshmen Ebube and Wonders before drawing conclusions there, but only the most koolaid-y of fans could say these Domask/Jones-era teams have had sufficient offensive talent to compete for championships (we'll see how this year unfolds).
I do like the fall signee from St. Louis for next year and Hornecker will get his chance eventually, and there's nothing wrong with bringing in solid role players like D'Amico and Banks, but winning an MVC title takes multiple guys who can truly threaten opposing defenses ...
What do we have to show for the last 3 years of recruiting ? Those are the years that coach should have been able to bring in some real talent, not just role players. Am I missing someone ? Think about it. Do not get me wrong, I loved the Mullins hire. Barry H was a waste of time for the program. Just not sure anymore when I look at it from the recruiting aspect if we are really making progress. Please, someone tell me I am wrong.
Cade Hornecker and Kennard Davis Jr are two of the highest rated recruits in program history so the recruiting has been fine and they're doing a great job at retention. But Hornecker is redshirting and who knows if Davis does too. Just like Ebube and Wonders redshirted last year. Maybe if Wonders played last year and learned the D1 game as he played (the team was .500 anyways so who cares if he costs you a few games), he'd be more ready to play now. Will that be Hornecker next year too?
I appreciate the program building and maybe it'll pay dividends at some point but eventually the program has to take the next st
Potential is great but JUST because there are 3 stars behind a recruit's name doesn't do anything for me. I can think of several former recruits that were highly thought of that turned out to be duds and several that weren't highly thought of that turned out to be 1st team all MVC players. SO far the only such recruit for Mullins that he and his staff have brought in is Domask, Jones was a Hinson signee.
Rodney Watson on In the Dawghouse:
https://www.1035espn.com/episode/in-the-dawghouse-11-14-22-rodney-watson/
I think the recruiting had been pretty solid especially considering that Mullins inherited a team pretty devoid of talent and had to rebuild it basically from scratch.
They lean on the portal(especially grad transfers) a bit too much but that is just the way things happen now.
I remember back in the day when Southern list in the MVC tourney championship to Creighton by 34 made the dance and went to the sweet 16 things happen let's not panic
I remember that game. Weber said he tried everything he could think of, but the basketball Gods had ordered a Saluki shit show!
It happens. BUT we have to have an inside presence or it may happen a lot. More Rupert! (he needs to cure the fouling issue)
My take on recruiting is still out. I know recruiting is just brutal and incredibly competitive. Domask was a great get. Jones was a BH recruit. Wonders, Ebube, Hornecker, and Davis could be great - have to wait in see. D'Amico is a solid player. I think Rupert needs minutes. He's quick, a good defender, and I think he could be an offensive threat if coached up.
Fact is, I guess I'm a bit concerned. Wait until February and see where we are.
Thank you, coach Watson, to act as a voice of reason and help calm the stormy sea. We all love the Salukis, and it hurts to see something like this happen. I am sure none of us feel as bad as any of the players and coaches. Tomorrow is another day. Let's get up and get after it. Taking a loss like that is part of the process. First you build the culture. This is part of how the culture is built. Learn from it. Use it. Push forward because of it. Go Dawgs!Rodney Watson on In the Dawghouse:
https://www.1035espn.com/episode/in-the-dawghouse-11-14-22-rodney-watson/
We do have an inside presence, but presently 13 feet, 6 inches and 510 lbs. of that presence is injured. What is your suggestion for remedying that?I remember back in the day when Southern list in the MVC tourney championship to Creighton by 34 made the dance and went to the sweet 16 things happen let's not panic
I remember that game. Weber said he tried everything he could think of, but the basketball Gods had ordered a Saluki shit show!
It happens. BUT we have to have an inside presence or it may happen a lot. More Rupert! (he needs to cure the fouling issue)
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
