I was wondering the same thing unless Mullins wanted Sharp and Miller to get more minutes but yes he should have playedWhy did Cross not get in? Or did I just totally miss that
Yeah walk-ons bust their butts all year helping get the rotation guys prepared. The least Mullins could do is give him a minute off the bench. Maybe there's more to situation I don't know
Think they just wanted to give Miller and Sharp some run, which will be more important long-term than getting Cross a minute.
Once Sharp got in and got 6 minutes of meaningful basketball, I was fine with how Bryan played the game. As long as the NET and KenPom hold as much value for College Basketball as they do, you can't really let the foot off the gas against some of these teams you're expected to beat by a lot. It's something that likely cost this team a shot at an NIT bid last year when they were in battles with Alcorn State.
I agree with this. It would be nice to get Cross in the game but it was more important to have Miller and Sharp play those minutes. I do want to see Scotty get more minutes. I would like to see Scotty at the 5 and Hensley at the 4 some.I was wondering the same thing unless Mullins wanted Sharp and Miller to get more minutes but yes he should have playedWhy did Cross not get in? Or did I just totally miss that
Yeah walk-ons bust their butts all year helping get the rotation guys prepared. The least Mullins could do is give him a minute off the bench. Maybe there's more to situation I don't know
Think they just wanted to give Miller and Sharp some run, which will be more important long-term than getting Cross a minute.
Once Sharp got in and got 6 minutes of meaningful basketball, I was fine with how Bryan played the game. As long as the NET and KenPom hold as much value for College Basketball as they do, you can't really let the foot off the gas against some of these teams you're expected to beat by a lot. It's something that likely cost this team a shot at an NIT bid last year when they were in battles with Alcorn State.
At the chalk talk prior to game last night, Brendan said that Cade was going to require surgery. Think he said he would be out for the year, but a group of guys in the back were talking so loudly it was hard to hear coach.
I love watching this team. As much as I was bummed out about the departures of Domask, Jones and Banks, this team and coaching staff have given me a lot of hope for what could be a surprisingly good season. X is certainly an unexpected surprise and the additions Davis, Stulic and Hensley along with the emergence of Trent Brown as a 3 point sniper have all added to my enthusiasm. The team is playing a more uptempo game, we are not winding the clock down to a last second 3 point attempt as we did so much last year and the number of assists each game shows how unselfish this group is. Now if we could only fix the rebounding and Scotties free throws....
I love watching this team. As much as I was bummed out about the departures of Domask, Jones and Banks, this team and coaching staff have given me a lot of hope for what could be a surprisingly good season. X is certainly an unexpected surprise and the additions Davis, Stulic and Hensley along with the emergence of Trent Brown as a 3 point sniper have all added to my enthusiasm. The team is playing a more uptempo game, we are not winding the clock down to a last second 3 point attempt as we did so much last year and the number of assists each game shows how unselfish this group is. Now if we could only fix the rebounding and Scotties free throws....
Agree with your observations. It's refreshing to witness a team concept this year. I also believe that Coach Mullins is evolving, adapting, and improving as a young head coach. He's not perfect, however none of us are. I still believe he is the correct person for the job, and will win championships at SIU.
GO DAWGS!!!
I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd, the young kids were really into it. On another note, I must admit to being sardonically amused by the comments of the “usual suspects” after SIU covers the spread by 200%. Don’t know how we did that with such an incompetent coach! But hey, message boards perform a needed function, everybody has a chance to be somebody! Merry Christmas y’all! Go Dawgs!
The good news is, when Mullins gets fired for incompetence, we have plenty of experts right here to take over and bring us some Valley championships. 😉 🤣
It sounds like we want to be Oprah with playing time……this is D1 basketball. Coaches see these guys performing in games or practice 20hrs a week. While we see game action of 2 hrs. Most rotations are 8 man. If player A b or c isn’t getting PT I guessing the coaching staff are seeing something in practice or game film. If I’m a betting man they spend more than the 4 hours of game play each week determining who is going to play. This board is sounding like a bunch of disgruntled high school parents complaining about little johnnys playing time. We need to quit being Goldie Locks…..this coach didn’t recruit the right kids, this coach didn’t schedule hard enough and this coach doesn’t play the right players.
It sounds like we want to be Oprah with playing time……this is D1 basketball. Coaches see these guys performing in games or practice 20hrs a week. While we see game action of 2 hrs. Most rotations are 8 man. If player A b or c isn’t getting PT I guessing the coaching staff are seeing something in practice or game film. If I’m a betting man they spend more than the 4 hours of game play each week determining who is going to play. This board is sounding like a bunch of disgruntled high school parents complaining about little johnnys playing time. We need to quit being Goldie Locks…..this coach didn’t recruit the right kids, this coach didn’t schedule hard enough and this coach doesn’t play the right players.
Or maybe the coach's approach is flawed, he needss to expand his thinking, and that's worthy of discussion?
Let's maybe start with "didn't recruit the right kids." Ebube. Why was he recruited?
XJ? Why was he playing so much in a game that was over halfway to halftime? That is not an insane question. At all.
Just as BM is not an idiot, he is also not infallible. God forbid these things be discussed on message boards! Crazy!
FFS.
(Inflammatory political snark)
Oprah here! 😜
It is so rare to have a D1 game where you blow a team out by so much that you can just cruise with your second team and give guys meaningful game experience (in contrast to that truly meaningless 90 secs at the end of a game where the second team spends the last 15 secs dribbling it out so as to not magnify the opponent's embarrassment for getting whipped). If you think a 30 pt margin vs a 20 pt margin makes any difference in your NET, I think you're dreaming.
I repeat myself, but game time is so different than practice time - real experience vs simulation. Last night was the perfect game to provide Ebube, Sharp, Miller, etc. some good playing time. Would have been nice to give them a bit more.
In Mullins defense, he's so involved in the game, it's hard to think of the best way to proceed all the time. That's where assistants can make suggestions, assuming the HC allows it.
It's interesting to watch proven coaches like Tom Izzo interact with their assistants during a game. They really listen to those assistants, who are usually really proven, experienced coaches themselves.
I also agree with the earlier comments that Mullins seems to be adapting and improving. The improved offense, attention to the bigs, ball movement, etc. are definitely better than last year. Recruiting still has a ways to go.
Go Dawgs! Go Oprah!
Girls are ICKY!
JFC . . .
What all these guys need is MORE practice, LESS game time! That is the recipe for success!
(Inflammatory political snark)
You keep your starters in longer because in today's ncaa, margin of victory matters more than the victory itself. If you want to make postseason, you need high kenpom and net rankings. You get those by blowing out teams, not just winning by 10 or 15. Not doing this last season cost us a postseason chance. This isn't the play nice league anymore where you don't want to embarrass your opponent. In today's game, you embarrass them as much as possible if you want to play in the postseason.It sounds like we want to be Oprah with playing time……this is D1 basketball. Coaches see these guys performing in games or practice 20hrs a week. While we see game action of 2 hrs. Most rotations are 8 man. If player A b or c isn’t getting PT I guessing the coaching staff are seeing something in practice or game film. If I’m a betting man they spend more than the 4 hours of game play each week determining who is going to play. This board is sounding like a bunch of disgruntled high school parents complaining about little johnnys playing time. We need to quit being Goldie Locks…..this coach didn’t recruit the right kids, this coach didn’t schedule hard enough and this coach doesn’t play the right players.
Or maybe the coach's approach is flawed, he needss to expand his thinking, and that's worthy of discussion?
Let's maybe start with "didn't recruit the right kids." Ebube. Why was he recruited?
XJ? Why was he playing so much in a game that was over halfway to halftime? That is not an insane question. At all.
Just as BM is not an idiot, he is also not infallible. God forbid these things be discussed on message boards! Crazy!
FFS.
Even beating USI by 31 yesterday barely moved the needle. SIU moved up from 106 to 103 in KenPom because of how bad they are (they're at 101 now). Better than moving down though.
It barely moved the needle because the quality of the opponent you beat or lose to is more important than the margin of victory. I think we took a huge drop after losing to Austin Peay.
I imagine Missouri state's going to get a very nice bump from beating a good St Mary's team.
Our NET is #87. We moved up about 10 places after the USI game. F Kenpom, it's weighted for the big boys even more than the NET. The committee is supposed to look at the NET.Even beating USI by 31 yesterday barely moved the needle. SIU moved up from 106 to 103 in KenPom because of how bad they are (they're at 101 now). Better than moving down though.
It barely moved the needle because the quality of the opponent you beat or lose to is more important than the margin of victory. I think we took a huge drop after losing to Austin Peay.
I imagine Missouri state's going to get a very nice bump from beating a good St Mary's team.
That is simply not true. Iowa state is #5 in NET simply be blowing away bad opponents. No Q1 wins. I remember Loyola getting a huge boost years ago by beating Evansville by 60 on the road. The bad teams can impact your NET just as much as the good ones if you win by enough.
