Postgame, BU wins 75-73

[bigger-stronger-faster]

Don't want to harp too much on the negative because we won, but it is a good question. I'd like to see him get some minutes so he can continue to grow as much as it seems like Sam M. is growing up right in front of us. With that said, our bigs played remarkedly better tonight, good effort from both Sam S. and Matt Salley.

ms looks so much better playing the 4 spot rather than the 5 and this can happen
when another big (singh-austin-collins) is on the floor with him to handle the duties
of the 5 spot - the inside/outside game with the penetrating guard play gets jc
many more set looks at the basket than the weave game and WE ALL KNOW that
jc's strong suit is set looks and he's one of the best in the nation when he's allowed to
get a GOOD look.

[jasonpeoria911]

Well this was the scene on BU's campus last night LOL, not really. Well it was good to finally get a win but i'm not sold that this team is back until we beat Drake on wednesday. I mean, we nearly beat UNI at home after only scoring 9 points in the first half and getting out rebounded by about 15. They just aren't good besides Coleman. The D still allowed a 55% FG shooting which was UNI's highest of the season after allowing nearly 70% FG at SIU. Some of last nights game defense could be contributed to the refs. Any little bump of the body was called a foul, wasn't allowing any intensity on the D whatsoever. So we'll see how the D does against Drake. Nice to see Austin getting into the flow more but still had 4 fouls and 3 TO's in 16 minutes of play. He did make a few excellent rebound plays and can make his FT's. SM's shot was off but no turnovers, 6 assists and only 2 fouls in 38 minutes of game time for a rookie is almost unheard of. Our bench production will be much more stable once Ruffin comes back. Production off the bench from 3 players was 3 for 11 shooting, 11 points, 14 boards, 2 steals, 1 block and 5 fouls. Much better than the last few games where we were lucky to get 5 points off the bench. Missed quite a few layup shots, whats up with that? Overall it was a decent game but Drake will be the true test on if we are back, well back without Ruffin that is.

[Dallas Brave]

Yes its only one win but I still think this team can be a factor in this race. We all knew it would take awhile for the newbies to develop. Losing Danny just really cut into our small margin for error.

Its not WHAT happens to you that matters its HOW you react. We haven't reacted very well since DR went down. Last nite could give em a sense of confidence that yes we CAN win without Ruffin. Now come home to a soldout crowd and make the place rock again.

I know some get all bored with this RedOut stuff and many don't believe the crowd has much to do with the outcome but if I was in charge I'd get the word out that the next game has been declared a red out. Get this crowd charged again to help turn this thing around.

Hey DRU! Maybe the newbies are getting a bit, but I think the coaching staff might also be coming around a bit on distribution of minutes. IMO, I don't totally buy in to the statements that playing time is earned in practice. I think the staff was trying to structure a game plan around a smaller line-up in earlier games and the 6 losses in a row forced them to adjust their game plan. Started to see it in the SIU game and saw more adjustments last night.

[Big Mike]

Another thing to ponder.........TW was howlered at by JL when he took his 1st 3' attempt only 5 secs into the shot clock......this shot went in! A little later in the game TW fires off another 3' and hits nothing but net! He was not howlered at this time....so I looked up TW's stats from beyond the arc.......10-24 for .417 pct.........I say keep em coming if their within the O'.....move TW out to the 3 and get DC back in the game at the 5....this also in turn gets more rest for our gaurtds who really play a lot better with shortened minutes in the 2nd half.....last night could have been decided by SS fouling out and TW playing with 4! Now were down at the end of the game with RA and MS the only post players who have played in the game.....a couple more fouls or and injury to either player would bring in DC who has not touched the court yet in this game.....this is very hard on a player...at least get DC a couple minutes in the 1st half (same for WE) so to get them some warm up time and game-time jitters gone! This way they can contibute as part of the team....otherwise they enter the game in the 2nd half about as warmed up to play as the fan who has been sitting for 2 hours in their seats! Again....TW @ 6'4 and 190 lbs is too-small to win any battles at the 4 in the valley! TW might even increase his rbs from the 3 with all the 3 pt rbs bouncing out 4 to 5 feet from the rim! Rember all the boards JJ used to get from missed 3's?

[Dallas Brave]

Another thing to ponder.........TW was howlered at by JL when he took his 1st 3' attempt only 5 secs into the shot clock......this shot went in! A little later in the game TW fires off another 3' and hits nothing but net! He was not howlered at this time....so I looked up TW's stats from beyond the arc.......10-24 for .417 pct.........I say keep em coming if their within the O'.....move TW out to the 3 and get DC back in the game at the 5....this also in turn gets more rest for our gaurtds who really play a lot better with shortened minutes in the 2nd half.....last night could have been decided by SS fouling out and TW playing with 4! Now were down at the end of the game with RA and MS the only post players who have played in the game.....a couple more fouls or and injury to either player would bring in DC who has not touched the court yet in this game.....this is very hard on a player...at least get DC a couple minutes in the 1st half (same for WE) so to get them some warm up time and game-time jitters gone! This way they can contibute as part of the team....otherwise they enter the game in the 2nd half about as warmed up to play as the fan who has been sitting for 2 hours in their seats! Again....TW @ 6'4 and 190 lbs is too-small to win any battles at the 4 in the valley! TW might even increase his rbs from the 3 with all the 3 pt rbs bouncing out 4 to 5 feet from the rim! Rember all the boards JJ used to get from missed 3's?

It would be very interesting to see a game where that happens. Something like:
5 - split 40 minutes between SS and DC
4 - split 40 minutes between MS and RA
3 - TW for 28 minutes; AW/JC for 12 minutes
2 - split 40 minutes (plus the 12 minutes at the 3) between JC and AW
1 - 32 minutes to SM, 8 minutes to TCS

I think that lineup would punish the other team on the boards

[Beninator]

Sign me up..........I still think theres room at the table for 1 more.....DC!

Da Coach wrote:
"I am with you, Mike.
We're ready to join the Rashad Austin fan club!"



Hey wait a minute guys you forgot someone.

[Beninator]

Now lets get the 7 footer going..

Agree Dogs. I think getting DC going is the key to completely turning around the season.

[ph]

Another thing to ponder.........TW was howlered at by JL when he took his 1st 3' attempt only 5 secs into the shot clock......this shot went in!

That's how JL coached Boogie. (Even though Boogie played the 3)
TW's athleticism is too great to "give up" by only playing as a shooter. TW's goal should to be drive first. If TW gets respected as a shooter and penetrator, then he becomes more dangerous.

[ph]

It would be very interesting to see a game where that happens. Something like:
5 - split 40 minutes between SS and DC
4 - split 40 minutes between MS and RA
3 - TW for 28 minutes; AW/JC for 12 minutes
2 - split 40 minutes (plus the 12 minutes at the 3) between JC and AW
1 - 32 minutes to SM, 8 minutes to TCS

I think that lineup would punish the other team on the boards

Until SS and DC fouled out. They both seem to catch fouls too quickly and should only be counted on for 15 a game. Anything more would set the team up for failure late in the game.

That is the overall pre-season thought I (and many others) had. (With AT and WE in the 3rd depth spot at 4 and 5) Too bad it couldn't work out...

[Beninator]

TW's athleticism is too great to "give up" by only playing as a shooter. TW's goal should to be drive first. If TW gets respected as a shooter and penetrator, then he becomes more dangerous.

Agree with the TW comments. I also think that what we need to do down the stretch is to put a couple of bigs in the lineup and get the ball in Andrew Warrens hands for him to drive to the hoop. Chances are AW will draw a foul and we get Mr Automatic (AW) to the freethrow line.

[BradleyBrave]

It's time to stop worrying about David Collins. Jim isn't trying to lose games on purpose, so clearly Collins is not doing something effort-wise or execution-wise in practice to warrant playing time. I don't care how big he is, if he gets lost on defense (which happens a lot), turns the ball over (which happens a lot), and isn't doing it in practice effort-wise, execution-wise, or attitude-wise, then he doesn't deserve time. I don't know what is keeping him off the court, but the staff isn't going to keep him off the court if he deserves to be there. Clearly, he doesn't right now.

Last night's big man rotation was as good as it has been all year. I think we may have finally found roles that all of our big men can excel in. Despite Coleman's big night, I thought our bigs played very well. Had we converted a couple more point-blank layups, our frontcourt would have had a great night. If Collins ends up being part of it, great. If not, oh well. I liked what I saw last night.

[BUBraves25]

Television

Does anybody know if the switch from Insight to Comcast has allowed the games to be broadcast further outside of Peoria?? I'd sure like to watch the Braves other than when they are on National Television.

[Da Coach]

Does anybody know if the switch from Insight to Comcast has allowed the games to be broadcast further outside of Peoria?? I'd sure like to watch the Braves other than when they are on National Television.

As far as I know, nothing has changed yet, and there hasn't been any release of information about how or if the change will affect the broadcasts.

[Dubl R 1]

He's taken over Webster's role from the last two seasons.

Yessss!