Donivine Stewart

[SFP]

Correct. I trust geno to make the right decisions for his team, however, the few comments here that could be called negative are barely at the level of what could be called "criticism". Rather, I see them as simply comments by fans who are tired of losing and watching games turn into a copies of the others and not seeing adjustments made.
It is incredibly mild by comparison with what we have seen the past 5 or more seasons, so please spare us the admonishing that only the coaches know best, or that fans don't deserve the right to voice an opinion.

Sorry if I sound like I'm admonishing people for voicing their opinion its just that I was one who voiced my thoughts of why a certain player did not play more under JL and I see that we are seeing the same thing from GF. What I have observed the last few years is that fans have very little insight of why coaches do what they do and 99% of the time the coaches are spot on and that 1% left is more likely some personality issue. Yes we are losing but I believe it has more to do with a lack of personnel at certain positions then the coaching itself. You can't build a house correctly if you do not have a plumber or an electrician. I do not care how good of an architect you have.

[real fan]

I'm with you on this one Chico. We are 6-16 with basically the same old same old lineups and substitutions. I never saw DS play high school, but from what I have seen on a limited basis this year, DS appears to be a team player. He has 1 less steal than Crawford in 128 fewer minutes. Rivals listed DS as a 3 star recruit with offers from Depaul and West Virginia. Yet we sit the kid on the bench and get him little division 1 experience in his freshman year.

This is the hardest thing about recruiting local kids as if they don"t play you get a lot of the local fans wanting to know why, I never saw him play in high school either and I know several people that talk about what a good person he is yet those same fans saw him play a lot and do not believe he is quick enough to play for BU, I was hoping he would play as we need help yet the few times he has it is apparent that he is not ready to because this is a whole different level then high school.
A good work ethic only takes you so far and 2 things he can"t change is lack of size and quickness.

[ManMythLegend]

I've never seen DS play, not once. But SM was rarely ever the quickest guy on the court...very rarely was he the most athletic. But there were very few guys on the court who put in more effort than he did. I don't know, so I guess I'm asking...is DS this kind of player? The guy who leaves everything on the court and goes hard on every possession on BOTH sides? If he isn't this type of player yet, can he be?

Please note, I'm not trying to start a feud by bringing up SM, he's just that type of leader and point guard that I think could help us, especially right now because I feel that is one of our major deficiencies.

Discuss...

[Guest]

DStew

The facts are this..he went to a hs where he could go 50% and that was good enough...they let him take all the shots..and hid him in that 1-2-2 zone..they never taught him man to man defensive principles and they never played against great competition...unfortunately there are no Cantons or Dunlaps in the MVC...great IQ of the game..he is 5'11" and his "feet" are the problem. He has bad lateral foot speed and even his north and south foot speed is average at best..if you are 5'11" and cant move then you are probably not gonna play under GF style..I like DS just as much as anyone and he is a leader its just not gonna work out on the hilltop for him.

[bu fan 9]

I know what you are saying about his foot speed Gerry but in Geno's style no one plays defense anyway so his foot speed and defense should not be a big deal.

[real fan]

The facts are this..he went to a hs where he could go 50% and that was good enough...they let him take all the shots..and hid him in that 1-2-2 zone..they never taught him man to man defensive principles and they never played against great competition...unfortunately there are no Cantons or Dunlaps in the MVC...great IQ of the game..he is 5'11" and his "feet" are the problem. He has bad lateral foot speed and even his north and south foot speed is average at best..if you are 5'11" and cant move then you are probably not gonna play under GF style..I like DS just as much as anyone and he is a leader its just not gonna work out on the hilltop for him.

Thanks for coming foward and pointing out why he is not playing, I wish he was playing and doing well as we need help.

[Guest]

i agree

real fan i couldnt agree more..can you imagine if he would of ended up at West Virginia? He would be back in Peoria already..know way Coach Huggins lets him sit on the bench all year..look at last year he tossed all those freshman off the team before the season was over..thank God for Geno Ford.

[Beninator]

I know what you are saying about his foot speed Gerry but in Geno's style no one plays defense anyway so his foot speed and defense should not be a big deal.

+1

[bu fan 9]

If your not going to play the kids why not toss them off the team?

[bu fan 9]

Send them packing at the sem break.

[FlyingSpaghettiMonster]

I've never seen DS play, not once. But SM was rarely ever the quickest guy on the court...very rarely was he the most athletic. But there were very few guys on the court who put in more effort than he did. I don't know, so I guess I'm asking...is DS this kind of player? The guy who leaves everything on the court and goes hard on every possession on BOTH sides? If he isn't this type of player yet, can he be?

Please note, I'm not trying to start a feud by bringing up SM, he's just that type of leader and point guard that I think could help us, especially right now because I feel that is one of our major deficiencies.

Discuss...

In the limited time I've seen DS play for BU, he does not remotely compare to SM.

[Samd2]

Lets not say he played in a weak conference, its the same one that DSE played in and he has been doing ok. Also he was the all time leading scoring from a conference that has produced several div 1 players that have done well. He was the all time leading scorer of the Mid Illini, he has a high iq for basketball and he will work to improve

[45otseoj]

improve his speed

Can't make slow, fast.
Can't make short, tall.

[Bravesfan]

The facts are this..he went to a hs where he could go 50% and that was good enough...they let him take all the shots..and hid him in that 1-2-2 zone..they never taught him man to man defensive principles and they never played against great competition...unfortunately there are no Cantons or Dunlaps in the MVC...great IQ of the game..he is 5'11" and his "feet" are the problem. He has bad lateral foot speed and even his north and south foot speed is average at best..if you are 5'11" and cant move then you are probably not gonna play under GF style..I like DS just as much as anyone and he is a leader its just not gonna work out on the hilltop for him.

If that's the case, then this was probably not the type of player who should have been recruited here, unless of course the coaching staff thought they could develop him into a good player, which may yet occur. Hopefully he can take a page out SM and work his way into Geno's system and be of value.

[Bradleyfan1]

Naysayers see ya in 2 yrs

Studies show college players make there biggest strides through the offseason after there soph season. Donivine is going nowhere except a big point guard roll and atleast all 2nd team before he's done, most improved team. For being so slow he sure can drive the ball! Plays smart! Finishes convential layups, ill take 65 to 70 percent from the line if hes shooting 20 free throws a game! Yes he would have better fit in Jim Les is still mores system but hes gonna be fine and a big part of turning this around, not rebuilding but turning it around, or maybe he ends up at uc davis? Go Braves! Go Aggies!