I Hope I am Still Welcome?

[wufan]

Wow check out their forum, those people are crazy! Most are convinced that Marshall said in post game that the dude took out Fred on purpose? Didn't hear him say it like that at all.

I know it's easy to pick up on the crazy posts, but several respected posters stated emphatically that WSU was a top 5 team that could play with anyone in the nation...that no Illinois State players could play for WSU, etc.

[BRocca]

I know it's easy to pick up on the crazy posts, but several respected posters stated emphatically that WSU was a top 5 team that could play with anyone in the nation...that no Illinois State players could play for WSU, etc.

As with any fan base, we've got our irrational ones. I watched all but the last couple min of the game last night. I watch a ton of college basketball and ISUr is the only team I root for. So, I like to think I have a pretty unbiased opinion of college ball as a whole.

We have some guys that have some talent but they're young in D1 ball. You guys know that jucos don't dominate early. They went up against the best team they'll face all year and just got beat. If a couple more shots fall in the first half and you guys don't shoot more than 50% from 3 in the first half, it's a closer game at halftime. But we still would have had no answer for the second half. We got beat on the road in a tough environment to a better team. Tough to be upset about that. I thought the game wasn't officiated great, but that was on both sides. Not entirely one sided and not near enough to change the outcome.

FVV is good. Just so level headed. He handled our zone and pressure better than anyone has, including an experienced guard group from VCU. Behind Tyler Ennis at Syracuse, I think he's the best all around PG in college. There maybe a few that have a better ppg avg., but his asst/to margin, decent steals, and the ability to score make him really complete.

As far as your team, having just watched the ohio st/michigan st game the night before, I think you guys would compare favorably in the big 10. No doubt a top 5 team. And I know some ISU fans complain about Marshall. His job is to win games. He wins games. Hard to get mad at someone for doing their job well.

As for us, ideally, our jucos and freshmen continue to improve. I think Hunter is leading the conf at 50%+ in 3pt %. Lynch is still real raw but avg 5+ blocks per 40 min. Paris Lee is a solid defender and can knock down some shots. Knight had his worst game but should be a 14 point minimum guy. Lofton should be the same but really forced way too much last night. He's way better when he lets the game come to him. Tony wills off the bench has been a nice surprise. A couple others have been hit or miss. We're not a top tier league team now. Hopefully this group continues to grow and the additions next year fill holes. I think DM has done a decent job on the fly and is trying to restore a decent program. There have definitely been upticks in different areas, but too soon to know how he'll shake out in the long run.

I hope we give you guys a more competitive game in Normal. Good luck the rest of the way.

[wufan]

Good luck the rest of the way!

[WuDrWu]

As for us, ideally, our jucos and freshmen continue to improve. I think Hunter is leading the conf at 50%+ in 3pt %. Lynch is still real raw but avg 5+ blocks per 40 min. Paris Lee is a solid defender and can knock down some shots. Knight had his worst game but should be a 14 point minimum guy. Lofton should be the same but really forced way too much last night. He's way better when he lets the game come to him. Tony wills off the bench has been a nice surprise. A couple others have been hit or miss. We're not a top tier league team now. Hopefully this group continues to grow and the additions next year fill holes. I think DM has done a decent job on the fly and is trying to restore a decent program. There have definitely been upticks in different areas, but too soon to know how he'll shake out in the long run.

I hope we give you guys a more competitive game in Normal. Good luck the rest of the way.

I agree with you on Lee and Hunter and Lynch. Lots to be excited about if you're a Redbird fan with Lee and Lynch around for 3 more years. Unfortunately, the complete lack of size is forcing a gimmicky type defense and that's no way to be consistent. It may work at times, and I'm sure there will be games ISU outscores/outathletes the other team this season, but I wonder if it's really a good thing long term? Winning basketball at the high D1 level is about playing solid man to man defense, first and foremost. Nobody is learning that this season. I'm not sold on Muller as a coach, and I know he's young and has lots of time to learn and improve. Trust me, WSU NEEDS ISU to be good. I am not yet convinced they're going about it the right way. I hope they're learning, because they need to be.

[WuDrWu]

I believe Gregg does very little without a purpose, and last night was no different. I think he intentionally kept the foot off the gas to both get some other guys some time and to give ISU nothing to get excited about for the return trip in a couple of weeks. Teams of shooters can always be dangerous at home, especially when motivated. All the Redbirds can take away from last night's game is that they were the 2nd best team on the court, and a probable feeling at least internally that the outcome wasn't likely to change in the near future.

Did anyone see anything last night that made you think the outcome would be any different in Normal? Not me.

[shock]

Well Gibbs is just plain old. I'm sure if my grandpa was in there, he would have parts falling off too.

[ShockTalk]

I believe Gregg does very little without a purpose, and last night was no different. I think he intentionally kept the foot off the gas to both get some other guys some time and to give ISU nothing to get excited about for the return trip in a couple of weeks. Teams of shooters can always be dangerous at home, especially when motivated. All the Redbirds can take away from last night's game is that they were the 2nd best team on the court, and a probable feeling at least internally that the outcome wasn't likely to change in the near future.

Did anyone see anything last night that made you think the outcome would be any different in Normal? Not me.

No doubt about it. There was a reason he started Lufile in the second half and we saw it in the first 3 minutes. When he had Derail being the first off the bench, Marshall went right by all the other scholarship players on the bench to get Derail in with other starters and HCGM made several other substitutions without taking Derail out of the game. He gave Derail an good opportunity to play with the regulars in a real game situation and not for just a minute or two. In 14 previous D-I games, Derail saw 24 minutes....last night, 12 in one game.

[WuDrWu]

Compare and contrast Coach Marshall with Coach McDermott at Creighton. McDermott's propensity to keep the starters in to make a statement has come back to haunt him I believe. Gibbs has parts falling off now, and Doug is also beat up, pretty early in the conference season. Could these have been prevented with a little common sense by the head coach? Who knows? Just a thought.

Maybe....I don't think he's developed his bench enough, and I also think Dingman and the big kid deserve more PT but obviously I don't care. That being said, they've dodged the injury bullet quite a bit over the last couple of years. Odds are bound to catch up at some point. I know they had the kid that had to quit similar to DJ (last year or year before?) but I think I'm right that last season they had the same starting lineup for all 36 games. That's an incredible run of luck for a team with so many weak and soft players. Then again, they don't play defense so that helps.

[Dave Stalwart]

last season they had the same starting lineup for all 36 games. That's an incredible run of luck for a team with so many weak and soft players. Then again, they don't play defense so that helps.

In Doug's career, he has 11 blocks. Freshman-4, Sophomore-3, Junior-2, Currently-2

Nice work.

Also the team has 32 so far this year. We have 78. 32 would be dead last in the big priest and just about last in even THIS year's MVC. Right next to Loyola at 33 and barely ahead of Drake with 29

[ShockTalk]

In Doug's career, he has 11 blocks. Freshman-4, Sophomore-3, Junior-2, Currently-2

Nice work.

Also the team has 32 so far this year. We have 78. 32 would be dead last in the big priest and just about last in even THIS year's MVC. Right next to Loyola at 33 and barely ahead of Drake with 29

OK. Who do you like? #1 or #2?

MIN FG% 3P% FT% REB AST BLK STL, PF, TO
32.1 .484 .429 .906 7.3, 1.7, 0.1, 0.3, 1.7, 2.2

32.0 .488 .447 .860 3.6, 5.4, 0.2, 1.8, 2.0, 1.1

[TheDover1018]

#2

[wsushox1]

#2 cause it is fred.

[ShockTalk]

#2 cause it is fred.

Indeed it is!!

[pogo]

Sometimes #1 can be a huge relief but nothing beats a good #2.

[RoyalShock]

Well Gibbs is just plain old. I'm sure if my grandpa was in there, he would have parts falling off too.

I think Gibbs is the same age now as Carl Hall was last year.