MS is gone- who will be our enforcer now?

[BradleyBrave]

We were not a NCAA team because we did not have another big that could bring it to the table and we had to start MS. That is not a slight on MS but the state of our big men last year. I never said I loved MS and thought he was a star but he did bring an intangible that is maybe missing from this year's team. I still say every great team has someone if not a few guys willing to protect the paint.

The NBA looks for a bit of nastiness in their players. Larry Bird would bite your head off, the Pistons would well they were the nasty boys, the Jordan Bulls did not get past them until they got a bit nasty...I can go on and on about an attitude that the best teams have.

The comparison to the NBA is about as bad of a comparison as it gets. Intimidation is more mental than anything, and Matt Salley didn't show much mental fortitude with his senseless T's in key moments last season. There certainly weren't any opposing bigs that were intimidated by our 'enforcer'. Who have the 'intimidators' been on CU and SIU for the last decade? Let's see - guys like Sears, Korver, Funk, Williams, Tatum, and Young are guys that were intimidators...because they were good. Not because they could miss layups and get pointless T's by shoving people or dropping an F-bomb.

[Stryker]

The comparison to the NBA is about as bad of a comparison as it gets. Intimidation is more mental than anything, and Matt Salley didn't show much mental fortitude with his senseless T's in key moments last season. There certainly weren't any opposing bigs that were intimidated by our 'enforcer'. Who have the 'intimidators' been on CU and SIU for the last decade? Let's see - guys like Sears, Korver, Funk, Williams, Tatum, and Young are guys that were intimidators...because they were good. Not because they could miss layups and get pointless T's by shoving people or dropping an F-bomb.

I agree with that 100%. Intimidation only works when you have a reputation or you are good enough to make the other teams players think twice. MS will not be missed a lot on next years team. Yes he was a decent player but had to play out of position during his tenure. He was way to emotional and did not have the talent to back up his attitude and play.

Overall I'm glad he was a brave, but he isn't someone that will be hard to replace.

[BUconnorD]

This is silly. When the Illini was second in the NCAA tiorney a few years ago they didn't have an enforcer. they played good basketball period.
That is what BU needs to worry about.
I agree with BB completely on this.

James Augustine was the enforcer on that team
he was tough and played really rough

also, this leads to my feelings on the matter

JA led to UofI's loss that year...he got in foul trouble in like 5 minutes into the first half.
MS was a pretty good player...he was tough and such, but he got in foul trouble very easily and didn't produce to make up for it. I like having a calm reserved team taht doesn't go nuts when there's a foul called.
The most annoying player in the NBA (Rasheed Wallace) always complains and gets T'd up for it. I HAAATE seeing one person being the cause of a teams demise.

If DC starts he is going to need some fire lit underneath his ummm butt. but not to the extent that MS had

cannot wait for this year
early predictions: SS will throw down one of the greatest dunks in Carver history and it will be awesome.

[lefty]

Well if you want to claim JA was enforcer than that word is really interpreted differently by many on this board. To me JA was not an enforcer he played tough and hard but it wasn't like anyone who comes down the lane should watch out.
The whole "enforcer" thing is still silly in my mind.

[Out of Bounce]

Yes, Matt Salley brought such nastiness that our team was regularly destroyed in the paint and on the glass. Yes, a very intimidating and 'nasty' streak that Matt Salley brought to this team. How are we ever going to replace such intimidation?

Honestly people - This 'enforcer' concept is stupid, and there were bigs on just about every team we played that I would have rather had starting at center, and at least one other guy on our roster (Collins). Matt Salley was a 6th or 7th man on a good team, and a starter on ours. If we are seriously worried about replacing what he brought to the table, we have some serious, serious problems. It sounds like I am the only one NOT worried about replacing him.

I agree on Matt Salley, Collins no way but maybe this year.

[MacabreMob]

This is silly. When the Illini was second in the NCAA tiorney a few years ago they didn't have an enforcer. they played good basketball period.
That is what BU needs to worry about.
I agree with BB completely on this.

James Augustine was the enforcer on that team
he was tough and played really rough

also, this leads to my feelings on the matter

JA led to UofI's loss that year...he got in foul trouble in like 5 minutes into the first half.

Ok, I am gonna let everyone know again about UIUC and the 05 run.

Yes - they were great. Yes - they were talented.

But...

That team's success was predicated on the use of ILLEGAL/MOVING SCREENS.

Nobody saw them because everyone got so wrapped up with the beautiful fast snappy ball movement that eventual found a wide open shooter. It was so fast and perfect everyone struggled to keep up with the movement of the ball.

--POW--

--Zombies--

And then everyone misses the action AWAY FROM THE BALL.

Screens were set all the time. One right after another. Continuously. And they moved. (Augie and the red-head white dude from Oklahoma or Texas were great at it) Forcing defenders to drag in response time... and the next began to drag a little longer.... the next longer... til finally a great shooter was left wide open.... AND THE FINAL SCREEN SET DOES NOT MOVE.

So all you see on tv is a defeated defender burnt chasing a guy thru like 3-4-5 moving screens and finally his guy gets the ball just as the final screen is set with no hope of defending the shot.... Thhhhhrrreeeeeeeeeee ---- GOOD!!!!

[tulip]

Who will be our Provost now?

Has anyone noticed that we now have only one VP at Bradley? The VPs for Academic Affairs and Advancement are open positions. What does this mean for Bradley?

[Rusty 54]

Ok, I am gonna let everyone know again about UIUC and the 05 run.

Yes - they were great. Yes - they were talented.

But...

That team's success was predicated on the use of ILLEGAL/MOVING SCREENS.

Nobody saw them because everyone got so wrapped up with the beautiful fast snappy ball movement that eventual found a wide open shooter. It was so fast and perfect everyone struggled to keep up with the movement of the ball.

--POW--

--Zombies--

And then everyone misses the action AWAY FROM THE BALL.

Screens were set all the time. One right after another. Continuously. And they moved. (Augie and the red-head white dude from Oklahoma or Texas were great at it) Forcing defenders to drag in response time... and the next began to drag a little longer.... the next longer... til finally a great shooter was left wide open.... AND THE FINAL SCREEN SET DOES NOT MOVE.

So all you see on tv is a defeated defender burnt chasing a guy thru like 3-4-5 moving screens and finally his guy gets the ball just as the final screen is set with no hope of defending the shot.... Thhhhhrrreeeeeeeeeee ---- GOOD!!!!

I think that many say that about us, too.

Has anyone noticed that we now have only one VP at Bradley? The VPs for Academic Affairs and Advancement are open positions. What does this mean for Bradley?

where did this come from?

[That Guy]

Has anyone noticed that we now have only one VP at Bradley? The VPs for Academic Affairs and Advancement are open positions. What does this mean for Bradley?

I think we should fill those positions with enforcers, someone who will really intimidate other schools in and out of the office. A real "Matt Salley" type of leader...

[LG281]

early predictions: SS will throw down one of the greatest dunks in Carver history and it will be awesome.

Maybe...if SS took a course in jumping over the summer. Dunking is about the last thing I want to see SS trying. Ever watched the bigs during pregame?

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG !

[Braves4Life]

Maybe...if SS took a course in jumping over the summer. Dunking is about the last thing I want to see SS trying. Ever watched the bigs during pregame?

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG !

Yes.... I must admit I got a good laugh out of BUconner's post I hope that was a joke If not, have you seen SS jump?

[Scouter]

Yes.... I must admit I got a good laugh out of BUconner's post I hope that was a joke If not, have you seen SS jump?

I hoped it was a joke, as well.

Maybe we can set up a dunk contest between Sam and Brandy Heemskerk ... with 8-foot rims.

[bradleybasketballfan]

Don't agree with this. Salley's attitude was a problem which resulted in more technical fouls on a player than I can remember on the Hilltop. His off the court attitude also resulted in a number of our players getting into trouble. I agree with those who say Sam M could set the 'toughness' tone...kind of like a point guard from Chicago did for us about 23 years ago.

BradleyBrave. We usually agree on stuff but I have to disagree here. I actually think Bradley will miss Matt Salley more than many fans want to admit. It seems many (myself included at times) focused on what Matt couldn't/didn't do and less on what he did.

Yes, he struggled offensively at times. Yes, he got too many technicals. Yes, he had a poor attitude at times. But he WAS clearly our best interior defender. On a team that plays four perimeter guys all the time that shouldn't be taken lightly. He was also clearly BU's best rebounder. He led the team in that category by a nice margin. He also added a "physical" presence that must be made up.

Salley's deficiencies were made larger because the other big men didn't fulfill expectations. Salley was forced to play more because David Collins was inconsistent at best and didn't play for long stretches. Same for Rashad Austin. Will Egolf has potential but didn't contribute. Sam Singh was ok.

So, if Salley had been a 15 minute a game guy then his contributions would have been great. But because the other recruited big players underachieved we had to overexpose Matt.

Finding someone to provide toughness, good interior defense and rebounding isn't that easy.

[Beninator]

I really wasnt going to respond to this thread, but will now throw my 2 cents in...fwiw Instead of an enforcer, I think that we need to adopt the Michigan State approach with SS, WE, DC, and AT. With the MSU approach I mean that when we get these guys in practice, we set up drills to emphasize aggressive rebounding. I read somewhere that Coach Izzo sets up a drill where some guys are dressed in football gear and the forwards and centers fight after each rebound against the guys in football gear. If we establish this concept, we wont need the enforcer that we are talking about in this thread.imo

[lefty]

Ok, I am gonna let everyone know again about UIUC and the 05 run.

Yes - they were great. Yes - they were talented.

But...

That team's success was predicated on the use of ILLEGAL/MOVING SCREENS.

Nobody saw them because everyone got so wrapped up with the beautiful fast snappy ball movement that eventual found a wide open shooter. It was so fast and perfect everyone struggled to keep up with the movement of the ball.

--POW--

--Zombies--

And then everyone misses the action AWAY FROM THE BALL.

Screens were set all the time. One right after another. Continuously. And they moved. (Augie and the red-head white dude from Oklahoma or Texas were great at it) Forcing defenders to drag in response time... and the next began to drag a little longer.... the next longer... til finally a great shooter was left wide open.... AND THE FINAL SCREEN SET DOES NOT MOVE.

So all you see on tv is a defeated defender burnt chasing a guy thru like 3-4-5 moving screens and finally his guy gets the ball just as the final screen is set with no hope of defending the shot.... Thhhhhrrreeeeeeeeeee ---- GOOD!!!!

Cmon MM what's that got to the enforcer mentality. You are still talking about illegal screens that all the officials didn't seem to call? all the officials were mesmorized by the other action going on the court?
People talked about it all the time and stuff was very rarely called so why keep beating that horse.

Now back to topic...I don't think the Illini had anyone that everyone feared when they went down the lane. My point is BU doesn't need an enforcer they need 5 tough players on the floor at every position all the time