Good win. If Bol can bring anything resembling that sort of defensive tenacity consistently, and Hinson is unable to find a way to get him and Pippen on the floor together for stretches, there will be some interesting minutes distribution decisions to be made.
Credit Sean Lloyd with a few big plays to help Southern gain a bit of separation.
What was attendance last night?
A little over 5,000, I think.
The SLU win moves us up to 81 in the NET; Buffalo is now at #12 in the NET, and Murray State sits at 105. Maybe Goro can use that quantum brain of his 😀 to forecast just how high we could rise if we somehow are able to win out the non-con. My guess would be around 40-50 if we ran the table, but that game in Buffalo will be extremely tough.
Actual attendance: 5,021
SLU reminded me quite a bit of our really good teams of the mid 2000's. This was a very physical game. Both teams were capable of shooting much better, but poor shooting often happens with games like this. SLU is a good team. Their physicality and talent is obvious, so credit SIU quite a bit for how they made them look last night. They'll be there in the end. This was definitely a good win, and a win this program really needed. That fact shouldn't be diminished.
Things that need to be shored up: Rebounding! We have the size and athleticism to be very good in this department, but we're often caught horridly out of position. This needs to be fixed ASAP.
Pippen has taken a bit of a step back. Barry needs to figure out how to get both he and Bol on the floor together more often. It will be needed at some point if this team is truly going places.
AC is clearly inside his own head right now. I think he'll be fine, but I've noticed lapses in his mental focus on occasion. He's definitely a better player than missing some of the easy shots and free throws like he has.
--Insert something witty here--
Who is AC?
Who is AC?
Aaron Cook
Damn brain fart. I even went through the entire team in my head lol.
SLU reminded me quite a bit of our really good teams of the mid 2000's. This was a very physical game. Both teams were capable of shooting much better, but poor shooting often happens with games like this. SLU is a good team. Their physicality and talent is obvious, so credit SIU quite a bit for how they made them look last night. They'll be there in the end. This was definitely a good win, and a win this program really needed. That fact shouldn't be diminished.
Things that need to be shored up: Rebounding! We have the size and athleticism to be very good in this department, but we're often caught horridly out of position. This needs to be fixed ASAP.
Pippen has taken a bit of a step back. Barry needs to figure out how to get both he and Bol on the floor together more often. It will be needed at some point if this team is truly going places.
AC is clearly inside his own head right now. I think he'll be fine, but I've noticed lapses in his mental focus on occasion. He's definitely a better player than missing some of the easy shots and free throws like he has.
The rebounding is a huge cause for concern: we are getting murdered on the offensive boards so far. It's puzzling. Were Wiley and Smithpeters REALLY so valuable in some intangible way that they kept this from happening last year? That is hard to believe.
Fans and coaches both are talking about our great D last night. I can't really comment since I wasn't able to watch the game, but what jumped out to me from the box score was SLU getting 16 offensive rebounds. The D might have been fine in other areas, but that is NOT good defense. If that happens in a game here or there, you shrug your shoulders, say "That's the way the ball bounces sometimes," and move on. But this has been a trend this year, and it needs to be fixed.
(Inflammatory political snark)
Really nice win by The Dawgs last night.
As for the comments on rebounding. It's all about boxing out and desire....SIU doesn't do a good job of boxing out and rebounding doesn't necessarily seem to be a focus for any player on this team.
Really nice win by The Dawgs last night.
As for the comments on rebounding. It's all about boxing out and desire....SIU doesn't do a good job of boxing out and rebounding doesn't necessarily seem to be a focus for any player on this team.
Like the win and the team. However, as noted in several posts, rebounding is a huge deficiency and has to be corrected soon. Definitely seems like a lackadaisical approach. Not getting positioned and more worrisome, not caring. Kind of like, hope the ball comes to me, rather than I have to fight for the ball. Rebounding is positioning and desire.
March on triumphantly!
I watched the replay of the second half again. Bol's second half is the biggest monster half I have seen a dog have in years. He must be on the floor...cannot be riding the pines He dominated the paint, blocked six shots, altered a bunch of others. Rebounding? What do you guys expect when you play four and sometimes five guards? St. Louis was, most of the time, playing two bigs and sometimes three. Playing four guards must translate into making more of those outside shots because many of those guards just do not rebound well. If not, find a way to get Bol and Pippen on the floor at the same time and get them a breather with Strad.
I want to buttress my argument a bit. Big players (6'8 and more) comprised 43% of the season minutes so far for the top 6 players in terms of minutes played for St. Louis. For us, it is 14%. That's right...Bol is 7th in minutes. That would definitely change going forward if I were coaching. Now, I know Bol just did round into form, so I understand a bit about what has transpired and I'm willing to give it a pass thus far, but going forward, that 14% number must go up.
