MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Denny McKinney]

Coach Wilde, Coach Hall, get those boys ready for February.. I hear there's an open spot in the conference tourney!!  Heck, Iowa Wez should be thinking about it too....

Don't get mad at me.. I know what I saw tonight....

Know one is going to be Mad at a true statement. What did you see last night?

[hopefan]

Coach Wilde, Coach Hall, get those boys ready for February.. I hear there's an open spot in the conference tourney!!  Heck, Iowa Wez should be thinking about it too....

Don't get mad at me.. I know what I saw tonight....

Know one is going to be Mad at a true statement. What did you see last night?

ahhh Denny, I won't kick the dead horse... I was critical enough when they were winning...  I saw this thing coming...  in reality, Webster changed to man and made up 15 points of the 19 point half time deficit in about 6 minutes at the beginning of the 2nd half...mostly on one of those Hunter Ward 3 point shot streaks (4 in a row)... but the three pointers come and go, and they go quickly... take away that four shot streak, and Webster was 1 for 12 on the rest of their 3 pointers.. the biggest mismatch you could see existed in the middle, some guy that was about 6'2, 280 was guarding Griffin most of the night.. yet Griff only saw the ball often enough to get 20 points.. he should have had 40... and the defense, particularly the zone, which granted, has been darned effective in the past, was laughable, particularly at the end of the first half... IWC getting layups at will...

Apropos play of the night... IWC banks in a 30 foot prayer as shot clock winds down in last seconds of game... Good, they deserved it, they really came to play from the outset... I'll bet it was a heck of a fun bus ride back to Mt. Pleasant....

I'm crazy disappointed... can't believe the team would lay an egg like this  (oh wait..two eggs if you include the Eureka game too)... well, at least Jonathon Odjo went to the basket a couple times... layups are easy...

Does anyone on this team know the meaning, the purpose, of moving without the ball, screening off the ball, weakside cuts, backdoor cuts, screening away.... does every offensive set have to end with a one on one move originating from 25 feet...
NOT once can I remember saying "Good Pass" after an offensive play by Webster... Webster got credit for 14 assists last night.. some stat guy is being very generous...

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ That pretty well sums it up. I actually left the game early -- a little over 3 minutes left. Something I don't think I've ever done. I think we have to accept that there is lots of work for Webster to do if they are going to make the conference tournament. Having said that, I am a Gorlok fan and I will support the team, win or lose and not leave another game early. I just have to adjust my expectations for what kind of season it is going to be the rest of the way. I'm sure Westminster fans are having the same problem.

[WU FAN]

Last night's "game" was arguably the worst I've seen in all my years watching Webster MBB.  It's like the Gorloks never showed back up to play after break.  Lazy passes, no rebounding (only boards they got were from the bricks they shot that came off so hot they made it to the perimeter), less than no defense......embarrassing all around.  The good news is this is the SLIAC and all of us know that, once the dust settles, it will all come down to the last week of the season anyway.  It's going to be an interesting couple 45 +/- days here that's for sure.

Hopefan I saw you picking Coach Creal's brain last night.  Any good insights come out of our conversation?

Last point.  IWC got 2 wins last night in the men's game.  One over the Gorloks and the 2nd for the WORST uniforms in the history of bad uniforms!!!!  As a friend of mine has often pointed out "coaches need to stick to coaching and let someone who knows what they're actually doing pick out the uniforms!".  Dark purple numbers on black uniforms?  Come on man!  At least outline the numbers in white.  It doesn't matter how good the stat people are there's no way they can get the stats correct since you can't identify the players.  Whoever made the decision to purchase those things should be more embarrassed than the Gorloks after last nights performance.......

[Denny McKinney]

Some very candid posts. Very appreciated by this reader. Who can't get there to watch. Yes Yjak as a fan we have to support our team in good times and bad. Don't I know it!!!

[hopefan]

the WORST uniforms in the history of bad uniforms!!!!  As a friend of mine has often pointed out "coaches need to stick to coaching and let someone who knows what they're actually doing pick out the uniforms!".  Dark purple numbers on black uniforms?  Come on man!  At least outline the numbers in white.  It doesn't matter how good the stat people are there's no way they can get the stats correct since you can't identify the players.  Whoever made the decision to purchase those things should be more embarrassed than the Gorloks after last nights performance.......

http://www.d3boards.com/Smileys/classic/undecided.gif
Wow, do I ever agree with that... you know I love to give individuals praise, and I still can't figure out who is who for IWC because I can't read the numbers... that's part of what Coach Creal and I were talking about... he was telling me names of IWC players... the uniforms were so bad I couldn't tell if the symbol on the front was a number... it looked like everyone was wearing no.6 or 8, until I realized that the front symbol must have been something representing IWC identity..

The one player that did stand out to me was Chris Fowler.. little point guard who really made things happen.. and he didn't even start... there is definitely talent on this team... coach did a nice job of using numerous players....  watch out if they get a little size in next year... they could easily be a top 4.

[hopefan]

So let's get past last night and look to Saturday's line up of games..

Fontbonne plays at MacMurray.... Mac is on a roll... I have a pretty good idea that Deavis Johnson will be a permanent addition to the Mac starting 5... this game is strength vs strength.. both teams have solid front courts... but Mac is clearly bigger and better..  For Fontbonne, a win would be HUGE.. as I said last night, the door is wide open for that 4th spot now...  Font has got to play their best game, and they have to play BIG... 

Prin at BC...  if players really care about standings, W/L within the league, this is a huge game because it's obviously going to play a role in the 7-10 positions in the final standings.... Prin just looked real good against Westminster, Parker Davidson played like the potential newcomer of the year.. but it's very tough to play at BC for the first time.  I still want to have positive vibes on the potential of the young BC squad, but they have to give me something positive.  Hoping 'other' Chris Davis will be available to help tomorrow... If BC sets the pace, make it a high scoring run run run game, they can win... but if Prin can avoid turnovers and pound the ball to Ross, Davidson, and Ball, they are likely the more consistent team..  Can BC recover from the loss of Tommy Ulinski...

Iowa Wesleyan at Spalding... Spalding will not come out dead like Webster did... If IWC could maintain their level of play, it could be interesting, but I'm not sure they're ready to travel that distance and still play that well.... and if they keep the game close, I gotta go with Brandon Gabriel, Brandon Goeing ability to know how to win for Spalding in the last minutes...

Greenville at Webster... Greenville looked very good 2 nights ago, Webster looked very bad last night... but things can change quickly... still, it would seem that Greenville has answers for the things Webster has been doing... They are strong on the boards, they have a couple of perimeter shooters to combat the zone, a point guard that can penetrate and dish, and their help defense may force a continuation of poor shot selection from Webster.  Quite honestly, after seeing Greenville play vs Eureka, I came away saying Greenville would be favored vs Webster; The Webster performance last night only magnified that point of view...  Webster has to change their mind set if they are to compete tomorrow.. if they think 3 pointers from Ward and Smith is the way to win this game, I think they're wrong....

Eureka at Westminster... I can only hope I saw Westminster on a bad night at Prin... I came away far more impressed with Eureka's performance at Greenville (and THAT was not a very good performance)... Huge game for Eureka, as they need to beat the 'lesser' teams to stay in contention for a top 4...I think Kent, Saathoff, James can play better than what I saw... I see a Eureka win here..

[Denny McKinney]

I'm afraid tomorrow could get ugly in Jacksonville. Mac has a talented front court with a lot of size. FU plays 3 guards, with Greenlee 6'5 and Rucker 6'3. Who can check Johnson? Good Luck Griffs...

[WU FAN]

Well after 20 minutes in Grant Gymnasium it would appear the Gorloks finally decided to come back from Winter Break.  They lead the Panthers 33-19.

[SliacChamp]

Who are these Gorloks?

[WU FAN]

Well they looked like the team everyone thought they'd be at the beginning of the year.  Now the real question is which team will take the bus ride down to Louisville.  Gotta love SLIAC MBB.  Just when you think you know what's going to happen it throws you for a loop.  As I said earlier this week it's going to come down to the last week as always. 

[y_jack_lok]

Happy to see Webster come to play today. Nice job by the players and coaches not to let one bad game affect them. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Iowa Wesleyan was playing a zone Thursday night. Eureka's second half zone was the difference up there last Saturday. If Webster's offense is vulnerable against a zone, then it's time to figure out how to play against one.

[hopefan]

Busy with family.     Will comment later.    Who knows???

[Denny McKinney]

That's retirement, Hopefan.

[SliacChamp]

Completely different Webster Team tonight. Held GC to 30% from the floor. They still committed a bunch of turnovers but we're able to capitalize off of the GC turnovers. Big test next Wednesday, let's hope Webster brings the heat on D like they did today.