MVC Media Day...

[FanOfTheGame]

I agree with the SIU statement. I'm still not quite sure why they're getting so much love in these preseason polls. They were far from impressive last season, while we only finished one game out of 3rd. I say JL should make every single player carry this poll around with them everyday from now until the end of the season. I would also enlarge it into a poster and put it up in the offices and the locker room. The players need a constant reminder of just what the rest of the league thinks of them!

SIU fan here. I think we could be very good this year. We return 4 guys who averaged double digits as starters last year.

Fay averaged 10.8 as a sophomore but was much better at the beginning of the year before a back/oblique injury slowed him considerably.

Dillard averaged 12.2 as a freshman. and despite his miserable game against you guys in the tournament is thought of by just about everyone as one of the better players in the league.

Freeman averaged 13.8 as a junior at Iowa. 3rd team all big ten, bad Hawkeye team or not he should be pretty good and figures to be our floor general.

Bocot- this one may surprise you... 13.2 in 9 games as a Prop 48 sophomore starter after Mullins season was ended. He had shown glimpses before but really came into his own as a starter at the end of the year, even putting up 28 on ESPN at Mo State. He was considered by some as the best scorer in Illinois outside of Rose his senior year of HS.

Despite the loss of Hare, we are pretty good in the back court. Hare would have been nice to have as the first guard off the Bench but I think his role would have been smaller this year as he was consistent but without much upside.

Our 5th starter will be Anthony Booker who was a top 50 recruit in 2008. As a freshman last year he spent half a year being useless and the second half showing enormous potential. Over his final 12 games he averaged 14.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2 blocks per 40 minutes. I am hoping we get at least that much per 40 production from him this year which could make us scary good.

The first guy off the bench will be 6'4" Juco all american Jack Crowder. He averaged 22 points and 7 rebounds a game as a juco sophomore last year. I think he will give us the athletic ability and size to guard the MVC tweeners like Justin Carter of Creighton and if he scores like some think he can then he will be hard to keep off of the floor.

I think I am a pretty realistic fan andI see that as a top 5 team easily with the talent and potential to challenge the top teir. Not sure why anybody thinks we are not going to be good?

I am curious to see your responses!

[SFP]

Most of us feel that SIU will always be tough because of your D. If and when the O catches up you have a huge upside. If you have read my other posts you would see that I have said that SIU has proven that this may be a guard league but defense can win. That is why I have not written off WSU and probably believe CU is over-rated. I'm hoping our D can step up because I know if our guys stay healthy we'll be able to put the ball through the hoop.

[SaintLouBrave22]

SIU fan here. I think we could be very good this year. We return 4 guys who averaged double digits as starters last year.

Fay averaged 10.8 as a sophomore but was much better at the beginning of the year before a back/oblique injury slowed him considerably.

Dillard averaged 12.2 as a freshman. and despite his miserable game against you guys in the tournament is thought of by just about everyone as one of the better players in the league.

Freeman averaged 13.8 as a junior at Iowa. 3rd team all big ten, bad Hawkeye team or not he should be pretty good and figures to be our floor general.

Bocot- this one may surprise you... 13.2 in 9 games as a Prop 48 sophomore starter after Mullins season was ended. He had shown glimpses before but really came into his own as a starter at the end of the year, even putting up 28 on ESPN at Mo State. He was considered by some as the best scorer in Illinois outside of Rose his senior year of HS.

Despite the loss of Hare, we are pretty good in the back court. Hare would have been nice to have as the first guard off the Bench but I think his role would have been smaller this year as he was consistent but without much upside.

Our 5th starter will be Anthony Booker who was a top 50 recruit in 2008. As a freshman last year he spent half a year being useless and the second half showing enormous potential. Over his final 12 games he averaged 14.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2 blocks per 40 minutes. I am hoping we get at least that much per 40 production from him this year which could make us scary good.

The first guy off the bench will be 6'4" Juco all american Jack Crowder. He averaged 22 points and 7 rebounds a game as a juco sophomore last year. I think he will give us the athletic ability and size to guard the MVC tweeners like Justin Carter of Creighton and if he scores like some think he can then he will be hard to keep off of the floor.

I think I am a pretty realistic fan andI see that as a top 5 team easily with the talent and potential to challenge the top teir. Not sure why anybody thinks we are not going to be good?

I am curious to see your responses!

I do like Bocot's game even though his shot looks real unorthodox and I like Freeman's game...

Your comment about Dillard...man, the proper wording there is "shut down" as in Edge completely dominated him in the STL

The proper terminology for Fay is "hacker" as that will be his biggest question coming into this season determining how long he can stay on the floor

Then there's Booker...still haven't quite gotten over his cheap shot foul on Theron in STL where he literally tried to take him out of the game...that being said, he's young and learning how to play the Tony Young system of defense (ie dirty)


I think your team will be good, BUT can someone step up in the front court and fill the lane AND can someone fill Mullins' shoes on both ends of the floor...

Like everyone else your season will rely on one key word: CONSISTENCY

[FanOfTheGame]

I do like Bocot's game even though his shot looks real unorthodox and I like Freeman's game...

Your comment about Dillard...man, the proper wording there is "shut down" as in Edge completely dominated him in the STL

The proper terminology for Fay is "hacker" as that will be his biggest question coming into this season determining how long he can stay on the floor

Then there's Booker...still haven't quite gotten over his cheap shot foul on Theron in STL where he literally tried to take him out of the game...that being said, he's young and learning how to play the Tony Young system of defense (ie dirty)


I think your team will be good, BUT can someone step up in the front court and fill the lane AND can someone fill Mullins' shoes on both ends of the floor...

Like everyone else your season will rely on one key word: CONSISTENCY

I guess these are the points we disagree on that make out outlooks for the Salukis differ.

Dillard was shut down big time in saint louis but averaged 17 points the other two games against BU. He is a very good player in most peoples eyes. Theron Wilson was shut out in 36 minutes against UNI and everyone in the Valley knows how good he was.

Fay isnt so much a hacker as he is a poor decision maker. He took a whole lot of charges but with that comes a whole lot of blocks. He also didnt seem to understand that you can't contest an easy layup when you are already in foul trouble and things like that. Hopefully in his third year he starts to pick up on that and become a smarter player. Even so, he is good and mostly consistent.

Booker's foul on Theron was a very hard foul and deserved the intentional foul call but i think it may be a stretch to say he was trying to hurt him. It was probably not a cheap shot, rather him trying to avoid the easy bucket on a breakaway. That happens alot in college basketball. The fact he went in so hard is regrettable and everyone is lucky TW was okay but i dont think it is fair to assume that he was trying to intentionally hurt him or that he a bad person or a dirty player for one really hard foul his freshman year. I am sure over a course of a year BU has been in a similar situation at least once.

[SaintLouBrave22]

I guess these are the points we disagree on that make out outlooks for the Salukis differ.

Dillard was shut down big time in saint louis but averaged 17 points the other two games against BU. He is a very good player in most peoples eyes. Theron Wilson was shut out in 36 minutes against UNI and everyone in the Valley knows how good he was.

Fay isnt so much a hacker as he is a poor decision maker. He took a whole lot of charges but with that comes a whole lot of blocks. He also didnt seem to understand that you can't contest an easy layup when you are already in foul trouble and things like that. Hopefully in his third year he starts to pick up on that and become a smarter player. Even so, he is good and mostly consistent.

Booker's foul on Theron was a very hard foul and deserved the intentional foul call but i think it may be a stretch to say he was trying to hurt him. It was probably not a cheap shot, rather him trying to avoid the easy bucket on a breakaway. That happens alot in college basketball. The fact he went in so hard is regrettable and everyone is lucky TW was okay but i dont think it is fair to assume that he was trying to intentionally hurt him or that he a bad person or a dirty player for one really hard foul his freshman year. I am sure over a course of a year BU has been in a similar situation at least once.

Well for Dillard, I never said he wasn't a good player...he is a decent player, but as all young guys, he's yet to find his consistency.

Fay I'll never change my mind on as I just feel he shows up occasionally but only when he doesn't have to guard someone who is quicker than him (very rare). Just look at what Theron did to him both times last year and what matchup problems all the schools in conf. could make if they watched those game films.

As for Booker, maybe I'm a little shortsighted BUT I was 5 rows off the court right in front of the play, and I played enough ball myself to know when a guy is coming in from behind to block a shot or try to take a guy out. We'll see what changes this year for him, but as of now, I have to group him in with Tony Young.

The only thing he has on Young is that he didn't gloat and say thats what he was trying to do after the game.


That being said, good luck to your Salukis. I will say one thing, I was quite impressed at how cordial your fans were both before and after the meeting in St. Louis. (Unlike all Bluejay fans I met)

[Bradleyguy10]

Cordial? Are you kidding me? The saluki fans that were around the Bradley student section were extremely rude and were yelling at the students at points. These were older people mind you...not students. Then after the game my friends and I went out to eat at a downtown bar and grill and some saluki fans, again older fans, started heckling us again from across the room. It may have been more embarrassing for them but it was still annoying. This group of older men trying to start trouble with a bunch of college students, which by the way only had 4 guys in the group and the rest (about 8 ) were girls. Some great alums that SIUC has.

[SaintLouBrave22]

Cordial? Are you kidding me? The saluki fans that were around the Bradley student section were extremely rude and were yelling at the students at points. These were older people mind you...not students. Then after the game my friends and I went out to eat at a downtown bar and grill and some saluki fans, again older fans, started heckling us again from across the room. It may have been more embarrassing for them but it was still annoying. This group of older men trying to start trouble with a bunch of college students, which by the way only had 4 guys in the group and the rest (about 8 ) were girls. Some great alums that SIUC has.

Which I don't see how that happened because we basically beat them from bell to bell

I guess your experience was much different than mine...


Given how badly we beat them though is why I had such high hopes goin into the UNI game, well, until CRob got called for that ridiculous intentional foul...