without watching any of the games, and knowing the team has bought into Mullins' hard nosed defensive mentality and work ethic, let me play devil's advocate for a minute.
Isn't blocking out and rebounding part of "hard work"? And because Mullins was a point guard that knew how to run a team, has he complemented his staff with asst. coaches who are coaching up the post players on rebounding, and defending the rim, etc.?
I know it's his first season with a makeshift roster (which he and his staff worked hard to cobble together), but a rebounding deficit of 44-20 is alarming. Is the lack of size in the frontcourt that glaring? I'm going to guess depth in the post will be an issue this season.
without watching any of the games, and knowing the team has bought into Mullins' hard nosed defensive mentality and work ethic, let me play devil's advocate for a minute.
Isn't blocking out and rebounding part of "hard work"? And because Mullins was a point guard that knew how to run a team, has he complemented his staff with asst. coaches who are coaching up the post players on rebounding, and defending the rim, etc.?
I know it's his first season with a makeshift roster (which he and his staff worked hard to cobble together), but a rebounding deficit of 44-20 is alarming. Is the lack of size in the frontcourt that glaring? I'm going to guess depth in the post will be an issue this season.
The lack of frontcourt size/quality depth is glaring without Dembele available. When he returns, that should help to an extent, though Southern will still play small for the most part.
I know McGill is a pretty good rebounding guard, so him being hobbled probably didn't help matters in the Oakland game, but yeah, I'd imagine rebounding will be a focal point of practices this week.
As mentioned a few games back, rebounding is certainly an issue, and I agree with above posts with a few more thoughts.
Positioning and boxing out is key and this is a primary problem. Not necessarily because we're small, which we are, but because we have a youthful and unfamiliar team. And even some of the big's, while experienced, have not played together as a team that much e.g. Benson. Also, as another poster mentioned, there have been an awful lot of unusual bounces off the rim that ricochet beyond well positioned Salukis. This, I somewhat attribute, to the extended 3-point line, along with the inexperience and a short front court bench.
They say rebounding is 10% positioning and 90% desire. The effort and desire is there, but frequent rotation changes, inexperience, strange venue, injuries, player's role's, etc. all add up to a bit of unintentional confusion.
So, I'm not overly concerned at this point. This will work itself out with time. Hopefully by MVC play, the numbers will be better.
March on triumphantly!
The missing players will improve rebounding
The reality is when you play 4 guards, you play small and will often get out rebounded. It's generalizing, but it's true. That on top of the extended 3pt line and being down a few key players all factor into it. Also, hitting more of our 3pt shots on offense will help too since you can't rebound a made shot!!
We ALL knew this would be a process. This team is NOT going to win 20 games nor finish in the top 3 of the conference. As long as they show improvement from week to week, if not game to game, I will be more than pleased. Remember this is just Phase I of Saluki Basketball returning to be one of the top mid majors in all of basketball.
Patience
The return of Dembele will help a lot with rebounding. He's a strong, physical player and exactly what this team needs to help shore this area up.
I don't think this tourney is a good indication of what this team will be towards the end of the year if they remain intact. The January/February version could be a threat to the entire MVC come tourney time.
Play good defense and shoot efficiently, and you'll have a chance to win on any given night.
--Insert something witty here--
