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AT's "hype"

ph said:
Didn't Oden average less than 20/game. I think counting on any center to always play more than 20 (That did not play 20+ in the previous year) is setting yourself up for failure, especially when you know there will be foul issues..
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I never said that one center would play 20 minutes. I said if we get 25 minutes of decent play from SS and DC things are looking up. Nowhere did I ever mention one of our 5s ringing up 20+ a game.
 
squirrel said:
I've said multiple times AT would've more than likely been our best inside player last year. To have him starting as a freshman after a year of strength and conditioning is a very good thing.
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What's the basis for that opinion? Not disagreeing at all . . . just curious.
 
In the scrimmage and exhibition, I felt he was the best defender, best finisher, and most athletic of our big men. IMO, he would've been no worse than Salley from Day 1 and would've only improved with experience from that point.
 
The main reason AT redshirted was because players like Matt Salley were so much stronger that they negated any skill and height advantage AT had. If he had played last season, he would not have seen much time.
 
Exactly. I think red-shirting was the best possible thing that could have happened to him. he knows the system now, is way more fit and conditioned, and has the opportunity to come right in at the start of the season and play well.
 
For someone who loves every aspect of the game (save a few very rare things), I'm looking forward to someone "bigger" than Theron taking the tip this year and getting things started.

Man I can't wait for this "big" year to start.
 
basketball nut said:
From what I have heard from people that have seen AT play is he is very quick and can really get down the court in a hurry. Actually the comment was that AT & WE are both very quick and it is really fun to watch those two go from one end to the other. The only knock was that AT can still be pushed around under the basket but that can be offset by his quickness and jumping ability. Let's hope that part is true. I really think we will see a lot from both AT & WE this year.
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I really hope you heard right because from what I saw of WE during games last year he was way too young and immature. Hopefully a year of practice and age have given him some basketball IQ to go along with those abilities. I'm pretty sure he was convinced he was a three point shooter last year and that his job was to jack triples asap after coming in the game.

As a disclaimer I'm not ripping on him because I think he has the chance to be a pretty special player...I'm just hoping he brings a little more IQ to the table this season.
 
squirrel said:
I've said multiple times AT would've more than likely been our best inside player last year. To have him starting as a freshman after a year of strength and conditioning is a very good thing.
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Sorry Squirrel I have to disagree bigtime. First IF he would have been THAT good JL would have NOT RS'd him. I'm afraid he was to thin, weak......I agree I saw some good things to build on but NOT during the season. He needed time to build strength and to add polish to his game.

I agree he has the tools but no way he would have ousted MS in the middle. JMHO.

I also don't see him starting this year. My hope is DC has improved enough and that those two, along with SS, can bring us a unique 3 headed monster. If we can get 14-16 ppg and 7-9 boards from these three combined I think BU will be happy.
 
Wow.... I am seeing comments reminding me how many thought of OB in the 06 season (maybe not on this board but from people I talked to).

Maybe AT won't be at Bradley after the 2010 season. And that's a good thing.... I think. Whoops.... sorry AT - that's too much pressure and too lofty expectations put on you. Blame me if you wanna blame anyone.

Now go tear 'em up big fella!
 
dogsrus said:
7-9 boards from these three combined I think BU will be happy.
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We're not going to win the MVC with that. I agree with you on the ppg, but if our 3 centers, our BIGGEST guys, combine to only get 7-9 boards/game...then yeah we will be playing a 4 guard system again and end up anywhere between 3-6 in the valley. I want ONE person to step up at center and to play the big minutes and GET rebounds!! One person to average 6-9 rebounds/game by them self, and then you can add in the other 2 with a few rebounds..hopefully 3-5 in the minutes they play. Bottom line our centers have to take care of the rebounds this year and combined for that position we NEED to be getting an average of around 15. Theron will help out, and our guards will add some also, but the bulk needs to be the centers. If we have AT and DC/SS out there at the same time....forget about it.
 
Are you kidding me.. 7 to 9 rebounds would not be good enough?
Have you looked at the top rebounders in the country.. guys who play 30+ minutes per game? I did a little research.

In the Big 10 the top rebounders:
10.3 / game
8.4
8.2
7.3

ACC
10.5
8.3
8.1
7.9

SEC
10.1
9.3
8.5

Missouri Valley
8.5-Coleman
8.3-Cox
7.9-Clemente
7.1-Falkner

8th-6.4 Salley
9th-6.3 Wilson

If we get 7-9 rebounds out of the center position that would put it near the top of the league. Up that average by one or two if you like for the sub who plays the other 5-10 minues per game. But 7-9 rebounds/game is pretty good out of the center position. If you are thinking more than that you've got your head in the clouds.
 
KillerB said:
Are you kidding me.. 7 to 9 rebounds would not be good enough?
Have you looked at the top rebounders in the country.. guys who play 30+ minutes per game? I did a little research.

In the Big 10 the top rebounders:
10.3 / game
8.4
8.2
7.3

ACC
10.5
8.3
8.1
7.9

SEC
10.1
9.3
8.5

Missouri Valley
8.5-Coleman
8.3-Cox
7.9-Clemente
7.1-Falkner

8th-6.4 Salley
9th-6.3 Wilson

If we get 7-9 rebounds out of the center position that would put it near the top of the league. Up that average by one or two if you like for the sub who plays the other 5-10 minues per game. But 7-9 rebounds/game is pretty good out of the center position. If you are thinking more than that you've got your head in the clouds.
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Huh!?! From the center position? They're not saying one person. Salley got 6 and half from 25 minutes a game, That would be like us going the next 15 minutes with NO REBOUNDS from our big man next year. All the stats you posted were for one person, so I think you might be confused on what exactly is being discussed.
 
I didn't go through every Valley school.. but I checked some rebounding stats for last year on Rivals.

They don't list a C for SIU.. they list all as G or F.
The top 4 rebounding Forwads.. Falker, Shaw, Boyle, Fay & Armstrong average 18.7 r/game

Drake.. all players listed as G or F.
Top rebounding Forwards- Cox, Korver Heemskerk & White
average 18.9 r/g

Creighton.. 1 Center listed the rest F or G
Top rebounding F/C-Watts, Lawson (C), Millard & Walker
average 15.9 r/b

ISU-1 center listed the rest F & G
Top rebounding F/C-Slack, Odiakosa, Sampay & Dyer (C)
average 17.6

If our center position grabs 7-10 rebounds per game.. do you think the other forward position can average 7-10 (Wilson 6+ last year). If so does that not have us competitive with the top conference competition from last season?

By the way.. No Iowa looked to be the monster on the boards.. they have 2 C listed who average 14 boards/game and a F at 5.8. But they are the exception in the Valley from what I see.

If our trio averages more than 10/game.. great! But I'm not sure if that is realistic or not. And if they grab 8-10 and the other players do their job on the boards we will be competitive.
 
You guys are all missing the point. For the most part rebounding is a team effort. If the guards are not boxing out their guy and lets them through no matter where our Center is he still may not get it because the opposition's guard is in a better position. There are exceptions to this rule where there is someone on your team that just loves to rebound and has the knack to get every lose ball. The Bulls had one of those guys! We really need to look at team rebounds and probably totals from the 4-5 position. Regardless, our rebounding was horrific last year and by no means was it MS's fault. Our 1-3 players need to remember that there is no fast break if you can't rebound the ball.
 
I'm not missing the point.. in fact I am in complete agreement with you. That is why I say 7-9 out of the center position would be ok. 10-12 would be better.. but it doesn't matter who gets the rebound for the Braves as long as everyone boxes out and someone gets the ball.
 
SanFranciscoPete said:
You guys are all missing the point. For the most part rebounding is a team effort. If the guards are not boxing out their guy and lets them through no matter where our Center is he still may not get it because the opposition's guard is in a better position. There are exceptions to this rule where there is someone on your team that just loves to rebound and has the knack to get every lose ball. The Bulls had one of those guys! We really need to look at team rebounds and probably totals from the 4-5 position. Regardless, our rebounding was horrific last year and by no means was it MS's fault. Our 1-3 players need to remember that there is no fast break if you can't rebound the ball.[/QUOT

I don't have the numbers with me now, but I believe that we did rebound better last year than in 06-07, and we weren't out-rebounded in many games. However, it is a part of the game that we need to improve upon to have a better season.
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In our non-conference schedule last year, we were only outrebounded 2 times (Michigan State, UWM) out of 13 games

In our conference schedule last year, we were outrebounded 10 times out of 18 games

So we were outrebounded 12 of our 31 regular season games
 
dogsrus said:
Sorry Squirrel I have to disagree bigtime. First IF he would have been THAT good JL would have NOT RS'd him. I'm afraid he was to thin, weak......I agree I saw some good things to build on but NOT during the season. He needed time to build strength and to add polish to his game.

I agree he has the tools but no way he would have ousted MS in the middle. JMHO.

I also don't see him starting this year. My hope is DC has improved enough and that those two, along with SS, can bring us a unique 3 headed monster. If we can get 14-16 ppg and 7-9 boards from these three combined I think BU will be happy.
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If we believe what Jim said on his show last year: essentially AT started the year with an incredible raw skillset, but had no foundation (footwork) So, AT was not the best option at the beginning of the year. They (coaching staff) took the RS opportunity to work intensively on his footwork, After several months, AT got his "foundation" and by the beginning of 2008 became the described "2nd best offensive big man JL ever coached" By the end of the season I think AT was our best big man.
On the same page, had AT not been redshirted, his development would be farther behind. I think this year will start to be telling what Merfield can accomplish with our bigs in practice
 
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