Very Impressed...

[SaintLouBrave22]

Agee. If a person criticizes JL, and I have done so in past posts, then JL needs to be given credit for changes that work well.

Maybe so, but it has been stated publicly, even as recently as this week on the radio that Coach Platt has been working with the bigs and he implemented that part of the offense...

Not to take anything away from Les or the guy who had to throw that in as a blast to me...

This was one of his better coached efforts of the year given the foul trouble we had and being forced to play AT more minutes than he had his entire BU career.

[BradleyJD]

Great crowd

Worst refs of the year

We played really well, we have improved tremendously

Alumni band was impressive

Dear cheerleader coach guy: your little squad throws shirts and balls to the same sections every game. We on the ends paid our money to get in as well.

Good win. Not looking ahead, not looking back, we did well tonight. I'm enjoying it.

BnC....

Great post. The refs were beyond horrible. I have never seen so many ticky-tack foul calls 30 feet from the basket. Just brutal.

I sit in section 21....we have not had a t-shirt or mini-bball in our section the entire season. My nephew stands on his chair every game and has never seen one thing near him this year. They usually hand it to the front row fans. Last night they gave two to the ball boys!?!?!

The team played well in stretches last night. They built a nice lead and then hung on down the stretch. BU has to find ways to win, and they did just that last night.

Well done.

[SaintLouBrave22]

McCallum was good at handling the ball but only made one outside shot and you would think a 5 star player would be a better free throw shooter, he was not good at the line.

That was I believe his worst FT shooting outing of the year...as a Fr you will find many struggle at the line...

Also, 15 PTS 9 A 1 TO...

I'll take that line from any Freshman, regardless the name on the back of the uni.

Plus, look at the difference between the sets...I thought we don't screen enough and sometimes poorly...Detroit seems to rely too much on spreading the floor and Mc doing most of his work solo on iso's.

[lefty]

That was I believe his worst FT shooting outing of the year...as a Fr you will find many struggle at the line...

Also, 15 PTS 9 A 1 TO...

I'll take that line from any Freshman, regardless the name on the back of the uni.

Plus, look at the difference between the sets...I thought we don't screen enough and sometimes poorly...Detroit seems to rely too much on spreading the floor and Mc doing most of his work solo on iso's.

I agree...pretty solid line and 15 points on only six shots. He will have a nice college career.

[cpacmel]

And when ISU was 21-9 in 2000-2001 and had everyone coming back including 23 ppg scorer Tarise Bryson, ISU was unanimously the team to beat in the Valley in 2001-2002 --
but when just that ONE player went down, ISU's season turned sour, they took 2 months to recover, and finished 17-14 and they went nowhere.

ISU didn't return everyone for that 21-9 team though. Rich Beyers (starter) and Dan Luczywko (18 games) graduated. Cedric Knight( 30 games played) transferred. Traves Wilson (18 games) left the team.

We did return our top 3 scorers (Bryson, Jeppson, Ford). But 4,5 and 6th did not return for 01-02.

We did still finish alone in 3rd place that year without Bryson.

[Braves4Life]

McCallum is good but if Walt Lemon learns to shoot better I think he is just as dynamic a player (if not more so). I really like what I see in Walt.

[lefty]

McCallum is good but if Walt Lemon learns to shoot better I think he is just as dynamic a player (if not more so). I really like what I see in Walt.

I think Walt can make just as dynamic plays but I thought McCallum was pretty consistent(where Walt struggles sometimes) and you would think he would only get better too. Hard to compare since they play different positions.....but both are good for sure

[Da Coach]

By the way- Big Mike and I talked to an NBA scout who was at Carver Arena last night to scout Eli Holman of Detroit.

[Braves4Life]

By the way- Big Mike and I talked to an NBA scout who was at Carver Arena last night to scout Eli Holman of Detroit.

And? Any comments on BU's players?

[SFP]

What I have seen of WL is that he is a freshman through and through. He has the talent to be special and will wow us this year and give us a ton of hope. I do not though expect him to carry this team and what I'm hoping come March he will have matured on the court to be difference maker. What I like about how JL is coaching him is that he is not stopping him from playing his game. I have heard the he is a real gym rat so we can expect him to improve that jumper for next year.

[BUfan14]

Just watched last night's game. Very nice win. Good game overall, especially the first half. DD was very good, and the best I've seen him at the point. JE really stood out to me, as his hustle just makes things happen, plus he made a couple shots and took a couple 3's which was good to see. AW is on a roll right now, and JP is getting better and better. AT contributed a little, can't expect more than that. WE played well in the first half, but still has got to be smarter and consistent game to game. WL is a freshman so I expect a game like this from time to time, but he is fine.

One thing I wonder about in terms of the future is DSE's role. With Sammy and Walt next year maybe being the starting guards, and RA and DS waiting in the wings after that, it will be interesting to see what happens to DSE, who at one time I thought would be a star. Of course, I'm assuming we play big and put TB/JE/SH at the 3 next year, with JP/WE/AD/MK/AT and some minutes from TB/SH at the 4/5 next year and beyond. But if RA/DS are as good as advertised, then I don't see where DSE ever gets back to a starting role, but just a high bench guy. These kinds of things change all the time and always work out of course, and DSE is only a sophomore still, but just something I was thinking about right now.

Back on topic though, great way for the Braves to end their non-con (besides BB) slate. I'm feeling like the Valley is up for grabs, and I'm very confident in the Braves right now, which I didn't think I would be a couple of weeks ago. Hope the Braves have a merry Christmas, as well as everyone here! I'm looking forward to seeing what we do on the 1st against WSU.

Also for those that said JL could not remake this team on that 12 day break, it appears at least for now like you were wrong.

[houstontxbrave]

By the way- Big Mike and I talked to an NBA scout who was at Carver Arena last night to scout Eli Holman of Detroit.

Just my observation... Holman is a load, very nice touch and can shoot free throws. He would need to rework the body for any pro chances. Egolf was able to move him off the post but when he got on the post and got set he was not easy to contain. I thought when Bradley made him move on defense he was slow to get into any defensive position.

But man if he could redefine his body he is big enough to make an impact somewhere but not in the NBA.

Did either of you get any indication on what the NBA scout thought of Holman?

[dogsrus]

Nice win.....good to see JP making layups. Can't recall the last time I saw so many drive and dishes.

They were overplaying us, especially Warren, and if anyone could get past them going to the hoop was a strong play. DD did a great job late when they doubled and followed Warren across the free throw line and DD faked a pass to him and had an easy drive with the left hand.

AT was ok early but got owned on several possesions late...Will HAS to stay out of Foul trouble.

We REALLY need a second shooter/corer.....teams are just going to hound AW. SOMEONE...anyone has to make em pay. Last nite we did it by driving...it doesn't have to be an outside threat but that would be nice.

The crowd did a ood job late when we really needed them.....just wish we could bring that energy earlier.

Didn't see the UMass tourney live but Detroit looked like the best team we have played so far....good to get the W.

Keep working hard guys....

[squirrelgotdead]

Hate to be a party pooper, but I'm not going to get too excited about either win this week.

Sure, there were a number of areas of improvement and it's clear that the progress did occur in practice during the layoff.

While Detroit is clearly a talented team and will win a lot of games this year, it is also a young team that had clearly lost its shooting legs and was definitely road weary playing its 4th road game in 14 days, playing a team that is well conditioned and in excellent game shape. If they hadn't missed 2 dunks and a half dozen other shots from point blank range, we're not celebrating today.

We open league play against a team that will not have played in 11 days and will be a much more accurate measuring stick than either contest this week.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we won both games (and I thought we could very well lose them both). It's good to get off the schneid and enjoy a couple W's but let's also not lose perspective.

[Braves4Life]

If they hadn't missed 2 dunks and a half dozen other shots from point blank range, we're not celebrating today.

How many 5-foot or less shots did we blow? Sorry squirrel. I don't buy that. Our guys earned and deserved that win.