Magnetic Curses

why the hate on weber? it's not like he left KU for UI, is it? all he's done is be much better than self, but so have a lot of coaches.

it's a pet peeve of mine, that's all. i'm no definitive expert on college basketball, but i know enough about the BT, and wisco (being a current resident and all) to be offended when someone asks me that question. tucker's just not a back-to-the-basket player. he's an inside-out guy, similar to roger powell, but with more skill and less power. he gets his points driving into the lane, shotting from mid-range, and exploiting mismatches down on the blocks. randle is not a mismatch. i'm predicting 10 points from tucker tonight. if i'm wrong, i'll face up. Sorry, if I came across snippy there. Wasn't my intent. I was just pumped about the game and wanted to talk some basketball. I agree that he doesn't play excusively with his back to the basket but he does post up about as much as anyone else on the team. Then again, basketball isn't really my strong suit when it comes to sports. So I could be wrong. 10 points it is! If he scores under 20 then I'll come back and eat my crow as well. God, I hope it's not 10 points. That would be really really bad for Wisconsin's chances of winning. Looks like you both lose! well, randle didn't shut him down, but he DID play him to a virtual standstill, which canceled out his production. as i've said before, strictly based on defense, the illini are at least a sweet sixteen team.

i think that randle will shut tucker down. I would think that pretty unlikely. Especially considering the fact Weber said he was giving Randle a "Crash course in post defense." He's likely to get in foul trouble on the road anyway. If Tucker scores under 20 I'd consider it a job well done by Illinois. that would be a first, seeing as how nobody has scored 20 on randle yet, and he always draws the opposing team's best offensive player. Even if that player is a guard? Somehow I doubt it. you must be kidding.

i've heard lawrence is nice as well, and much more of a college town. it's hard to imagine that downs has given up already as far as getting playing time. he's a freshman for pete's sake, and he's not exactly a candidate to jump to the pros. when a kid leaves school after 1 semester, i'd believe it has to do with homesickness.

Uhh? Gordon, Smith, Frazier, McBride, Pruitt, Randle, Semrau, maybe Freemen, Beverly, and Rose. Am I forgetting anyone? I'm sure they'll be ranked at least. Gordon doesn't come in til 2007-2008 class, Beverly has stated that Illinois is out of it now, Rose no one knows about. Hopefully we get Freemen (if he qualifies) or Darquavis Tucker who shortened his list down to I think Mich St. Illinois and Uconn.. fwiw, beverley has said that illinois is still in the hunt, it's his coach that has claimed to have removed illinois from the list. i'm sick of coaches trying to dictate where players go. Sulley I thought that Beverley went ahead and removed us too. I think I read that in the Sun Times. I would rather have any of the other guys though as Beverley has some major issues at this point. He has never played on a team that plays man to man defense. He won't send his transcript to the U of I which basically is like admitting he won't be elligible. I read what Sully read--his coach removed UI from the list. Beverly hasn't. i haven't heard anything about beverley removing us. i have also heard that he's said that he's already qualified.

he's put on some serious muscle in the offseason. he might be lean, but he's strong enough to play straight up against tucker. plus he's taller than tucker, which should also account for something.

my point is that randle matches up very well with him.

Robinson, Chlamers, and Rush are a prety solid three-headed monster. Chalmers in particular is a menace on both ends of the court. If there's one thing to say about this KU squad, they're never dull to watch. I've never seen a more bipolar team. Look great one -second, look completely inept five mnutes later. a 13 point lead with two-minutes left is still nerve-wracking. Still, I'm really starting to like them. And I'm looking forward to the rematches w/ KSU and MU. I've been telling some KU fans at work that this year kind of reminds me of Bill Self's first year at Illinois when he had a young team. They stunk for the first three and a half months of the season and finished last in the Big Ten, but won their last few regular season Big Ten games and as the bottom seed made it all the way to the Big Ten championship game only to get blown out by the eventual national champs Michigan State. I said all of that to say this, KU will be fine this year. I heard that Micah Downs left school because he missed his girlfriend back home. I know he wasn't getting a lot of playing time, but knowing Bill Self from Illinois I bet he wasn't doing anything in practice. That's really the only time you get in his dog house. I think you're right. Self repeatedly said, "We need Micah to play his way into the rotation." Apparently he didn't. Personally, I think Downs was upset about it. And for a person to give up that easily--after only one semester--doesn't say much about the kid's fortitude. There are lots of other rumors, though, so I'm not sure what to believe. Whatever it is, hopefully he'll get it all worked out at Gonzaga, because if he gets his head on straight, he could be a great player. downs just realized that he left one of the most beautiful regions of the world for kansas. i'm betting he was homesick. :P

:lol: :lol:

it's a pet peeve of mine, that's all. i'm no definitive expert on college basketball, but i know enough about the BT, and wisco (being a current resident and all) to be offended when someone asks me that question. tucker's just not a back-to-the-basket player. he's an inside-out guy, similar to roger powell, but with more skill and less power. he gets his points driving into the lane, shotting from mid-range, and exploiting mismatches down on the blocks. randle is not a mismatch. i'm predicting 10 points from tucker tonight. if i'm wrong, i'll face up. Sorry, if I came across snippy there. Wasn't my intent. I was just pumped about the game and wanted to talk some basketball. I agree that he doesn't play excusively with his back to the basket but he does post up about as much as anyone else on the team. Then again, basketball isn't really my strong suit when it comes to sports. So I could be wrong. 10 points it is! If he scores under 20 then I'll come back and eat my crow as well. God, I hope it's not 10 points. That would be really really bad for Wisconsin's chances of winning. no problem, i understand why you asked it. gentleman's wagers make everything more fun.

it's a pet peeve of mine, that's all. i'm no definitive expert on college basketball, but i know enough about the BT, and wisco (being a current resident and all) to be offended when someone asks me that question. tucker's just not a back-to-the-basket player. he's an inside-out guy, similar to roger powell, but with more skill and less power. he gets his points driving into the lane, shotting from mid-range, and exploiting mismatches down on the blocks. randle is not a mismatch. i'm predicting 10 points from tucker tonight. if i'm wrong, i'll face up.

I guess we'll see tonight. It's my impression that Tucker plays more of a 4, which is why I thought he won't make it to the NBA becuse he's not a good size for what he's good at. Nixon, despite his greater size, plays more the role of the 3. In Bo's swing offense, every position has to be able to post up when called upon. If Randle is more of a perimter defender, as it seems, I think we'll see Tucker with his back to the hoop many times tonight. i know the swing-offense well, it's very similar to the offense that bill self initially recruited randle to play in. however, randle is more than athletic enough to get around tucker in the post or deny the high entry pass, tucker is simply not big enough to bully randle around on the blocks. i have a feeling that tucker will be very frsutarted if he's not getting every single call.

against shaun pruitt. How can Randle "always draws the opposing team's best offensive player," play 35 mins, but not be on Killingsworth? Not being combative, I just didn't see the game. Did he get into early foul trouble and spend some time ont he bench? If so, that's what I think is likely to happen tonight. killingsworth is a post player, tucker isn't. can he go inside? sure, but why put your best perimeter and mid-range defender on a post player, opening up shaun pruitt and marcus arnold for an even worse matchup? no, tucker is the exact kind of player that randle matches up well against. Tucker isn't a post player? What? Tucker spends most of his time in the post and around the hoop. so, tucker is your prototypical back-to-the-basket player? I wouldn't say prototypical but he gets a majority of his points in the post. Have you ever watched Tucker play? Do you understand the swing offense? Why do you think Weber said he had to give Randle a "crash coruse" in post defense specifically to gaurd Tucker? He may not be a prototypical post player, but he is absolutely not a perimiter player. have i ever seen tucker play? i watched him play in high school, and i've watched him play in college. what kind of ridiculous, meant-to-be-insulting remark is that? weber's a freaking goofball. his interviews are hilarious and he generally makes strange statements to members of the media. tucker is absolutely NOT a back-to-the-basket player. he's not going to dazzle randle with any kevin mchale-box moves, and he's not going to match-up to the same player that killingsworth matched up with. they're different players.

from what i can tell, tucker is a mid-range player, a slasher who relies on his athletic ability to play inside and out. more of a 3, really, which is what randle excells against on the defensive end.

against shaun pruitt. How can Randle "always draws the opposing team's best offensive player," play 35 mins, but not be on Killingsworth? Not being combative, I just didn't see the game. Did he get into early foul trouble and spend some time ont he bench? If so, that's what I think is likely to happen tonight. killingsworth is a post player, tucker isn't. can he go inside? sure, but why put your best perimeter and mid-range defender on a post player, opening up shaun pruitt and marcus arnold for an even worse matchup? no, tucker is the exact kind of player that randle matches up well against. Tucker isn't a post player? What? Tucker spends most of his time in the post and around the hoop. so, tucker is your prototypical back-to-the-basket player?

against shaun pruitt. How can Randle "always draws the opposing team's best offensive player," play 35 mins, but not be on Killingsworth? Not being combative, I just didn't see the game. Did he get into early foul trouble and spend some time ont he bench? If so, that's what I think is likely to happen tonight. killingsworth is a post player, tucker isn't. can he go inside? sure, but why put your best perimeter and mid-range defender on a post player, opening up shaun pruitt and marcus arnold for an even worse matchup? no, tucker is the exact kind of player that randle matches up well against.

Reagan was a huge CUB fan, not just baseball. Besides working Cub games for WHO, he went to Eureka College and was born in Dixon, the guy was true blue Illinois all the way. You can change your home base in your adult life, and he did, but you can NEVER change your baseball roots, as we all know. Dutch was a Cubbie, and like my Grandpa never saw the Cubs win a World Series. :-( reagan was history's greatest monster.

against shaun pruitt.

You are a marxist. :wink: While I find your opinions insightful, based largely in fact, and most often correct, they are still opinions. Requiring someone to be indoctrinated before posting is ridiculous. i'm half-kidding, and i tend to vent my frustrations often. besides, i'm not saying that people should be indoctrinated before posting, but should choose their battles wisely, and understand that if they post regarding the benefits of small-ball, they should be prepared to make a solid defense. they should also know that many have come before them with the same ideology--possibly, they should be linked to the best of those threads in which the subject has been debated, so they're not just rehashing the same things day after day. i think a hierarchy of needs has been established by those who have fought the battles, but i'll only state my interpretation of what that hierarchy looks like. 1. starting pitching is king. not only good starting pitching, but peripherally static starting pitching. a consistent G/F ratio is an amazing predictor of success, as is K/9 and K/BB. Those are the three things that i look at first when evaluating a starting pitcher. if those are good, the pitcher will most likely be a stud. the less often a hitter is able to put the ball in play in the air, the better. strikeouts and groundballs are the most efficient ways of reducing these variables. furthermore, starting pitchers rack up the most innings and are thusly, the most important of the pitchers. while relief is also important, it's significantly less important than starting pitching. 2. OBP is second in command. it effectively measures the rate at which a hitter makes an out. possibly, the number should be inverted and shown as it's opposite. a batter with a .400 OBP makes an out 60% of the time. there are more telling metrics introduced by more intelligent people, but i like to keep it simple. OBP is the best orthodox stat there is, no doubt. a hitter that strikes out a lot is a problem, but if he is able to offset the strikeouts with a great rate of not making an out, he's very valuable. exhibit A: Adam Dunn. as opposed to a player who strikes out a lot and does not offset it with a good walk rate. exhibit B: corey patterson. seeing a lot of pitches is also beneficial to a hitter, and is really the best thing you can do for the team. PPA goes to wearing down an opposing starter. if you have a hot starting pitcher on the mound, taking alot of pitches can be much more beneficial than bunting or hitting and running. corey patterson has a very low PPA rate for a guy who strikes out a lot, while dunn has a very high one. we've seen how effective this strategy can be against our own stud starters, no? 3. SLG. this pairs with OBP nicely to make OPS. measuring how many bases you average per AB. while OBP is your propensity to NOT make outs, SLG is your propensity to get bases when you're swinging away. this goes also to creating runs. if you have OBP and SLG peppered throughout a lineup, you're going to score plenty of runs without having to gamble by bunting and stealing bases. 4. relief pitching. see #1 minus the last 2 sentences. everything else is icing on the cake if you have these four factors. you don't need great team speed, great team defense, or great team chemistry to win if all or most of these are present on your baseball team.

i think that randle will shut tucker down. I would think that pretty unlikely. Especially considering the fact Weber said he was giving Randle a "Crash course in post defense." He's likely to get in foul trouble on the road anyway. If Tucker scores under 20 I'd consider it a job well done by Illinois. that would be a first, seeing as how nobody has scored 20 on randle yet, and he always draws the opposing team's best offensive player. He draws the best offensive player in Big Ten play tonight, without much post defense expierence, at the Kohl Center. I feel fairly confident that Tucker will get his. the illini have already shut down the best two offensive players in the big ten, i seriously doubt that he goes for 20.

i think that randle will shut tucker down. I would think that pretty unlikely. Especially considering the fact Weber said he was giving Randle a "Crash course in post defense." He's likely to get in foul trouble on the road anyway. If Tucker scores under 20 I'd consider it a job well done by Illinois. that would be a first, seeing as how nobody has scored 20 on randle yet, and he always draws the opposing team's best offensive player.

i think that randle will shut tucker down.

Uhh? Gordon, Smith, Frazier, McBride, Pruitt, Randle, Semrau, maybe Freemen, Beverly, and Rose. Am I forgetting anyone? I'm sure they'll be ranked at least. Gordon doesn't come in til 2007-2008 class, Beverly has stated that Illinois is out of it now, Rose no one knows about. Hopefully we get Freemen (if he qualifies) or Darquavis Tucker who shortened his list down to I think Mich St. Illinois and Uconn.. fwiw, beverley has said that illinois is still in the hunt, it's his coach that has claimed to have removed illinois from the list. i'm sick of coaches trying to dictate where players go.

I think it's more that a healthy Williamson > Wuertz. I don't think anyone's really "down" on Wuertz. We have a surplus in the pen right now, and Wuertz is right on the fringe. It's a good thing. The two posters I replied to said "I have zero confidence in Novoa or Wuertz," and the other "i agree. wuertz and novoa are the weak links." If that's not down on Wuertz, I don't know what is. I agree though, that a healthy Williamson is tough to beat. If both of those two guys have the type of years I think they're capable of behind Howry, Eyre, and Dempster, then we could have the best pen we've ever had. insofar as the pen looks like this: ohman rusch howry williamson eyre dempster novoa and wuertz would be the weak links, and the odd men out. wuertz has put up some good peripherals, but his walks are still too high and he doesn't get an exceptional amount of GBs. if williamson returns to form, he's one of the top setup men in the game. hopefully, his arm is ready to go. i don't know what hendry's plan for rusch is, and if miller returns in may, there won't be enough spots to go around. if miller is counted on to start, then it's williams, novoa, and wuertz who are looking for jobs. i don't see the cubs bumping ohman. needless to say, it's not a bad problem to have.

it's not a good topic because there's only one real argument. 1. walker is a better hitter than cedeno.