Well, where do we go from here?

[Bravesfan]

I told myself before the Wichita St game that if Bradley beats WSU and splits the next two road games, they would be back on the right track for at least an NIT bid. Having laid an egg last night against WSU, the Braves can still make for this past week by sweeping SIU and UNI on the road.

My question is, is this even remotely possible? I really don't know what to expect Tuesday night at SIU since they are in the same quandry as we are. I do know it's at Carbondale, and that makes things a lot more difficult, but I do think this game is there for the taking as we are meeting SIU at the right time.

A win at UNI would make up for the home loss against them. Then with more home games following, maybe we can get some momentum. But this still will be a tall order. I'm just saying that our season is not a lost cause, at least not yet. But it will take a huge effort to pull this off.

I'm a lot happier with our offensive game tof late, but not at the expense of defensive fundamentals and rebounding. Let's see if they can actually put together a solid game on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes, and see what happens.

If anyone thinks I've hit the liquor cabinet a little too much, let me know!

[bu fan 9]

My hope is for the young players get better each game and Auston and Collins see more time on the floor.

[pfunk880]

I do think this game is there for the taking as we are meeting SIU at the right time.

Replace SIU with WSU and that's exactly how I felt (even more so) 24 hours ago.

I'm very concerned about this team's confidence, especially with losing two games we probably should have won - not to mention the odd substitution patterns have to be affecting some guys.

[Braves4Life]

There came a point in time two years ago when men were asked to stand up and be men............................Now is that time!

[Big Mike]

Right now IMO we need to play more than 6 player's in a game......way too many minutes for the gaurds to be able to compete on either end of the court! Go with 2 bigs on the inside to get some boards and maybe some inside pts.....move TW out to a 3.....again 6'4 and 190 lbs is just too small to play 4 in the MVC!

[bu fan 9]

You are right TW should be at the 3.

[houstontxbrave]

If JL continues to play his 4 guard line up and we continue to allow ourselves to get out rebounded by huge numbers and let teams shoot over 60% from the field we will win one game this month... versus Evansville at home. Other then that we will not win a game in January.

This team continues on its current path we will be very lucky to get to 5 total wins within the conference.

[ph]

Ever since the 9 point half, out offense production has actually been above average. Lack of offence is probably the worst thing to JL and he made it a priority to get decent O.

I wonder what it'll take for rebounding to become a priority...

[DUBrave5]

we will win one game this month... versus Evansville at home.

After watching the Evansville - Drake game today, I don't even know if we can win that game at home. As lost as Evansville looked at times today, they still played a very competitive game against a Drake team that is looking very good this year.

[SFP]

Right now IMO we need to play more than 6 player's in a game......way too many minutes for the gaurds to be able to compete on either end of the court! Go with 2 bigs on the inside to get some boards and maybe some inside pts.....move TW out to a 3.....again 6'4 and 190 lbs is just too small to play 4 in the MVC!

BigMike you are right on. 6'4" is usually where the 2 guard plays for most major teams! TW has the athletic ability to defend a 3 but the 4! The 4 for any good team is usually at least 6'6" - 6'9" 230 lbs and on the elite teams they start at 6'9" 240 lbs and are just as athletic as TW.

JL let's move these guys to their natural position and start recruiting guys that can/should play the 4-5 position for you. MS would be decent playing the 4 but is terrible at the 5. I'm not sure how this is helping the team in the long run, come March. The only way we win is if we can control the paint (rebounding) and score in the paint which we are doing neither. Either DC starts playing so he can be ready for March otherwise there will be no improvement with this team with the status quo.

[BradleyBrave]

I wonder what it'll take for rebounding to become a priority...

Defense and rebounding have never gotten more than lip service from this regime. I wouldn't expect it to change anytime soon.

[Dallas Brave]

The good news is that we are much more than a team of guards. The coaching staff has the opportunity to rearrange the minutes and the associated schemes to play our big men more. The three conference teams that beat us are 1-5 excluding the 3 victories that they have over BU (i.e., they are 4-5 including the victories over Bradley). We were outrebounded 126-86 in those 3 games. The current team scheme is clearly not working. This is not about individuals, nor is it about earning playing time in practice as an individual ... it is about putting the best "team" of players you have on the floor and what type of game plan you devise to take advantage of their profile. Once line-up and playing time adjustments are made and the coaches rework our schemes to adjust to a revised game plan for playing the big men more, I think we'll see a some BU conference victories. I have confidence that we have the players and the coaches to put it together.

[ER3]

The good news is that we are much more than a team of guards. The coaching staff has the opportunity to rearrange the minutes and the associated schemes to play our big men more. The three conference teams that beat us are 1-5 excluding the 3 victories that they have over BU (i.e., they are 4-5 including the victories over Bradley). We were outrebounded 126-86 in those 3 games. The current team scheme is clearly not working. This is not about individuals, nor is it about earning playing time in practice as an individual ... it is about putting the best "team" of players you have on the floor and what type of game plan you devise to take advantage of their profile. Once line-up and playing time adjustments are made and the coaches rework our schemes to adjust to a revised game plan for playing the big men more, I think we'll see a some BU conference victories. I have confidence that we have the players and the coaches to put it together.

Wow, I had no idea that fixing this team was so simple...Here we are, 15 games into the season...and now "all" we need to do is just completely throw away our entire offensive and defensive system and come up with a brand new one centered around a bunch of big men that have looked pretty lousy all year? Cool! Let the wins start flowing!
Collins, Austin, and Egolf don't look like they have exactly fully grasped the current system after 3 and a half months in it...but I'm sure they'll hit the ground running and completely pick up all the nuances of the new system that you are suggesting we put in place in 2 whole days of practice before the SIU game....

[Dallas Brave]

Wow, I had no idea that fixing this team was so simple...Here we are, 15 games into the season...and now "all" we need to do is just completely throw away our entire offensive and defensive system and come up with a brand new one centered around a bunch of big men that have looked pretty lousy all year? Cool! Let the wins start flowing!
Collins, Austin, and Egolf don't look like they have exactly fully grasped the current system after 3 and a half months in it...but I'm sure they'll hit the ground running and completely pick up all the nuances of the new system that you are suggesting we put in place in 2 whole days of practice before the SIU game....

I'm not saying it is simple to do. It will take a lot of work, time and commitment. It will not happen in the next game, but will will take several games to establish. I would target the team hitting stride around game 9 or 10 of conference play. It may be painful to watch develop, but it will pay off for the second half of the conference season and prepare us to win the MVC tournament.

As Janis Jopin sang, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." This team doesn't have to fear hitting bottom anymore which frees them up to dramatically retool. The only way to the NCAA this year is to win the tournament. Do what is necessary between now and the tournament to develop the best team and scheme possible based on this year's players, not last year's.

[Beninator]

I think that the worst thing we can do is to NOT CHANGE the lineup.
The status quo is getting us losses to teams like WSU at home. I am not saying that starting MS and DC is the instant fix to get wins, but it allows DC to get game experience and allows us to move TW to the 3 where he belongs.