MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

GU1999 · November 17, 2023, 11:47:54 PM

GU was down by 23 with 10:30 to play (97-76). GU ended the game on a 59-23 run and end with a 135-120 win against Wilmette (OR).

y_jack_lok · November 18, 2023, 08:40:41 AM

Quote from: GU1999 on November 17, 2023, 11:47:54 PM
GU was down by 23 with 10:30 to play (97-76). GU ended the game on a 59-23 run and end with a 135-120 win against Wilmette (OR).

I notice that Carter Clark, Greenville's 7'1" player you posted about back in the spring, hasn't played in a game yet. Is he injured?

GU1999 · November 18, 2023, 11:20:34 AM

I think he's starting the season on JV.

GUHoops1 · November 20, 2023, 02:51:13 PM

Early season prediction: GU will finish 1 or 2 in the SLIAC this year. Picked 8th preseason.

GU1999 · November 21, 2023, 11:12:31 AM

GUHoops1 - Top 1 or 2 would be a great improvement. Count me in as a bit skeptical at this point. I am hoping that this new group of players buys into to just how hard you have to play in order to be successful in Dr. Barbers version of the System. It is not easy to commit the way in which he asks his players to commit. The Dr. Barber led system teams that have committed fully and unselfishly (and were not at a significant talent deficit like the 2022-3 team) have had real success in the SLIAC. We will see if this team has it in them. So far they this season GU has fared well against teams that are similar to SLIAC level. The next two games are similar to SLIAC level games with Dominican and Knox. CUC is a different animal. CUC would be a clear favorite if they were in the SLIAC. If GU were to win the next three, I would be willing to start entertaining the thought that they could be a top 3 team in the league.

Just for fun, how are you connected to the program?

GU1999 · November 21, 2023, 11:17:24 AM

Also to the general reviewers of these boards, has anyone else noticed that the spell check function has gone the way of the Brits?

I got red squiggles for both skeptical and favorite. Wanted me to use sceptical and favourite.

Have to say, its kinda fun.

GU1999 · November 21, 2023, 09:59:38 PM

Panthers move to 4-1. Nice win for the panthers. Lost by 20+ against Dominican last year.

GU1999 · November 22, 2023, 07:53:45 AM

Big conf opener last night.

Westmin over Webster 71-70.

Video of the game winner linked below

https://x.com/wc_bluejays/status/1727094812581724452?s=46

Greek Tragedy · November 23, 2023, 07:29:51 AM

Quote from: GU1999 on November 21, 2023, 09:59:38 PM
Panthers move to 4-1. Nice win for the panthers. Lost by 20+ against Dominican last year.

Greenville is interesting. I was at the Carroll game and, although they were down a lot and lost by a lot, they made it a game, cutting it to single digits late in the contest. I didn't think either team was particularly good, but here we are, GU is 4-1 and Carroll is 5-1. Carroll's only loss is to Whitewater by single digits. Granted, GU's wins aren't against national powers, but they are wins, something that didn't happen too often last season. Carroll is picked last in the CCIW, Lakeland 9th of 13, Willamette a distant last in the NWC, Covenant last in the CCS and Dominican last in the NACC. But as I said, a win is a win and that only helps the confidence.

hopefan · November 23, 2023, 01:03:14 PM

Quote from: GU1999 on November 22, 2023, 07:53:45 AM
Big conf opener last night.

Westmin over Webster 71-70.

Video of the game winner linked below

https://x.com/wc_bluejays/status/1727094812581724452?s=46

THANKS GU1999... I was hoping to see the winner!!!

GU1999 · November 29, 2023, 06:28:12 PM

Off to CUC to see the Panthers tonight. This will be a HUGE test for Dr. Barber and the team. The Cougs are really skilled with the ball and shoot it very well. CUC looks very comfortable playing fast. As for the shooting, most of the teams that are very successful against system choose not to shoot 3s, but most don't shoot it like CUC does.

y_jack_lok · November 30, 2023, 08:42:49 AM

^^^ Even though it was a two point loss, I gather that was still a decent showing for Greenville given your pre-game views on CUC.

GU1999 · November 30, 2023, 11:00:04 AM

Quote from: y_jack_lok on November 30, 2023, 08:42:49 AM
^^^ Even though it was a two point loss, I gather that was still a decent showing for Greenville given your pre-game views on CUC.

y_jack_lok - Tim Daniel '16, and a 2016 Jostens finalist, who lead GUs first system team in scoring, and I watched the game together. His assessment was that this GU team played the best system ball he has seen yet at GU. High praise from a guy who knows what it looks like. I could not argue with him although the I am still pretty fond of the 2016/17 team.

The talent level is way up with 9 new players playing most of the time on the top two shifts. One thing that has been evident with GU system teams is that in years where there is a big influx of new players there is a pretty steep learning curve to to learn just how hard one needs to play order to see the benefits of playing this style. For example, the 2015/6 team started 2 and 10, but came back to win the conference only once they learned just how hard they needed to play. This team is already there and if (AND ITS A BIG IF) they can replicate the effort from last nights game, I think that they are a top 3 contender in the SLIAC.

An example of how well GU played is this. They only won the TO battle by 6. And they only shot 30.5% from 3. And they lost by 2. HUGE credit to the effort on the glass. GU typically gives up a huge deficit on the boards, and last night they were only -3.

Huge props to CUCs on campus game experience. Gym was electric with a lot of fans. Very professional game management for the visitors.

As for CUCs team, they are really good (despite the 3-3 record) with fantastic guard play in Greenlee and Matthews. Unless there are some new dudes in the SLIAC, these are the probably the best two guards GU will face from here on.

RFMichigan · November 30, 2023, 12:34:58 PM

I had heard a lot about the System, so when I saw that RF was playing Greenville I had to check out the video.

Verdict: I was exhausted at the 10 minute mark just watching it! It's frenetic, fast, and furious and I can't imagine how you would even practice against it. At first I was going to say that it looks fun but it's not basketball, but that takes away from the discipline and athleticism that you must have to play within the System.

I agree with the above comment that this system would take a bit of time for new players to get acclimated, and I think Greenville will improve greatly over the next month. I thought that they shot the ball well overall. I also thought that CUC took too many threes. (Isn't that a no-no against System teams?)

GU1999 · November 30, 2023, 01:47:30 PM

You are absolutely correct about the 3s. That is the most threes I've seen taken against GU in a long time. That said, with a team that shoots it as well as CUC, it can be ok. The cumulative effect of the pace on shooters legs typically renders a team much less effective from 3 in the second half. I think the numbers bear that out from last night.