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Post by prestonp on Dec 15, 2021 18:22:49 GMT -6
Glad Brown is here and truly hope it works out for all. The reality is that he will be playing for a horrible coach that will not utilize his lineups or match ups. If watching his past eight years as coach is an indicator, me thinks all of us will again be disappointed by March.
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Post by loganberrie on Dec 15, 2021 18:59:41 GMT -6
If we have one player on our roster capable of swatting balls away around the rim, in my opinion, it would be Blake Huggins. Personally, I would rather have a player take a charge than block a shot, however taking a charge almost seems like a lost art in college basketball. We could debate everything we have debated on this thread until the cows come home, but in reality, we just have to wait and see how things play out. No question it’s going to take Brown time to get acclimated to a plethora of things that are paramount at the collegiate level beginning with getting to know and playing with new teammates, learning the offensive and defensive plays and systems, getting in physical condition to play at the collegiate level etc. This isn’t going to happen in a week, so hopefully BSU fans will show some patience and give Brown the time he needs. We all want BSU basketball to succeed or we wouldn’t be on this thread. Personally, I love the interest and passion all of you show on this forum. Thank you for your support of Ball State Basketball! Go Cards!
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Post by BSU Card Fan in AZ on Dec 15, 2021 19:13:03 GMT -6
Basketball is basketball. If he has high skills we will see it early. Obviously he will need to adapt to the differences in the game, but I think we will see his basketball IQ early.
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Post by reds37 on Dec 16, 2021 10:01:23 GMT -6
I think my biggest “concern” is we have two guys who transferred in who think they are the PG. It’s just a matter of time before Whitford will feel he has to give all their minutes to brown. ( who hopefully will proves he’s earned them). So now you got guys sliding down a spot on the bench. How will Cochran or Jacobs take that? Can we really put Cochran at the two? He can’t shoot. Personally I think he’s a tremendously undersized 4….. what do you do with Bumbalough? Catch and shoot off guard? Jacobs? Now, if brown is spectacular fairly quickly and we’re suddenly winning consistently you’ll hear those guys talk about “team.” But if brown is overmatched and still gets the minutes because Whit is desperate, well, guys start to think “why did I come here” and off we go. So if Cochran or Jacobs or Bumbalough decide to transfer because of Brown or even another situation, are we devastated? Have we determined that any of those are key players in our next MAC championship? Agreed. we are not devastated if any of these guys leave. I kind of have gotten the impression that Bumbalough, Bryan, and Brown (did the Astros ever trademark the "Killer B's" nickname?) are all kind of buddies now even though they were pretty heated rivals in HS. I am pretty sure Brown and Bryan wouldn't have transferred in if they had a problem. Someone else on here made a good point about how, if Brown does play well and start making an impact, he is going to inevitably rob Bumbalough of some minutes because i think to play both of those guys at the same time is going to put immense pressure (and that may be putting it nicely) on the defense. I am worried that Brown may come in and do quite well, but it may not translate in the W/L column. Moral of the story is we are beating a dead horse because we are in year 9 and we are sitting here saying "if this happens....." or "If our freshman transfer can make an immediate impact..." or "If we make over 65% of our 3's maybe we can win........(General Sherman  )" It just would really be nice to have 1 competant big man. We may have one in Sparks though. potential is there but he needs to develop. |
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Post by 00hmh on Dec 16, 2021 11:01:04 GMT -6
So if Cochran or Jacobs or Bumbalough decide to transfer because of Brown or even another situation, are we devastated? Have we determined that any of those are key players in our next MAC championship? Agreed.... It just would really be nice to have 1 competant big man. We may have one in Sparks though. potential is there but he needs to develop. Getting Huggy some minutes while we play vest pocket guards might be an idea. Not that he is a great shot blocker but probably better than Sparks and if we're talking a second line of defense we are asking for Sparks getting into foul trouble. Sparks has more potential to score inside so playing him with a more conventional lineup makes some sense. Getting Sparks some rest is also important.
We have a few options inside and a little more size than we have had so I would guess we need to figure out how to use backup guys enough to see what they can do.
Thomas actually played center some last year, but that can't work except maybe if play some in a small pressing lineup where we run and gun. We need to find another forward to pair with him if we aren't playing a center. When we are playing small with a slasher like Sellers at guard, then we might try Thomas together with Jihad who apparently is shooting well outside in practice. High screen and roll with some pick and pop might fit his game.
Sparks is doing slightly better than we could expect from a Freshman. He can improve over the rest of the season which is the good news. But although he may become a good conventional post man, he is not going to be rim protector.
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Post by david75bsu on Dec 16, 2021 12:00:34 GMT -6
Jihad also has good ability at forward.
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Post by realitycheck on Dec 16, 2021 12:19:54 GMT -6
Fellas, we do not have a legit rim protector on the roster. Huggie is not going to play significant minutes for us. He's gonna pop in occasionally and have games where he won't play at all. He is a great kid who should be playing a step down somewhere. Sparks is as ready of the three freshman to play starter minutes but he's not ready to add rim protector to his game yet, IMO. Jihad is playing more outside and the speed of the game has been challenging for him a bit. Also, he and Sellers are not yet ready to contribute a ton and probably won't be this year. They will be contributors who will throw up a game or two in conference where they approach or get double digits but will not be consistent offensive performers.
Thomas has been underwhelming, frankly through 10 games or whatever we've played. So have the two transfer guards. Cochran has driving ability and can finish at the rim but he's wildly out if control as a PG. Jacobs has just been meh. The player who's been better than I expected so far has been Windham. Looks comfortable and has shot with confidence. He's kind of a one-trick pony though in this offense. Bumbalough too mercurial. When he's hitting shots he's an asset and when he's not he doesn't bring much else.
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Post by cardfan on Dec 16, 2021 13:14:19 GMT -6
Basically, we’re in year 9 and still have roster holes and inadequacies. We’re about to add a much ballyhooed player to the team yet any excitement about that is dampered by the knowledge that A: Whitford is still the coach snd B: the talent level is too thin to contend. We have some guys who can play, but they don’t put together strings of games. Consistently inconsistent is a consistent hallmark of Whitford teams. Will brown make enough difference to make up for deficiencies in coaching and roster limitations?
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Post by sweep on Dec 16, 2021 13:50:35 GMT -6
Guys we don't have enough DI quality players , XAVIER BEAT US BY 50. Let that sink in some more. Xavier is a just a borderline tourney team, AND THEY BEAT US BY 50. F-I-F-T-Y...........50.............
Whitford throws away scholarships on way too many guys who aren't DI talent.
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Post by bsucardinalfan on Dec 16, 2021 13:59:05 GMT -6
How tall is this kid?
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Post by 00hmh on Dec 16, 2021 14:10:38 GMT -6
Marginal tourney team? Sagarin has them in the top 20. We played badly, they played well. They are not rated 50 points better. We aren't close to them at this point. But that's no surprise. We have a lot to improve to compete but don't exaggerate it. |
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Post by sweep on Dec 16, 2021 14:53:28 GMT -6
Marginal tourney team? Sagarin has them in the top 20. We played badly, they played well. They are not rated 50 points better. We aren't close to them at this point. But that's no surprise. We have a lot to improve to compete but don't exaggerate it. They have exactly one quad 1 win at this point. Sagarin also has Indiana in the Top 30, are they going to get an at large bid ? I freaking doubt it. "don't exaggerate it." This from the guy who called Zach Gunn "highly skilled" and "an elite shooter". |
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Post by CallingBS on Dec 16, 2021 19:52:15 GMT -6
Bio says 6'1", so probably about 5'10" |
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Post by loganberrie on Dec 16, 2021 21:27:45 GMT -6
Brown grew 4 inches as a freshman in high school from 5’9” to 6’1.” He is nearly 6’2” now. His sister came to BSU on a volleyball scholarship in 2016 and she was 5’11.” She injured her back before the season started and was on a medical scholarship her 4 years at BSU.
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Post by bsucardinalfan on Dec 17, 2021 8:19:54 GMT -6
Brown grew 4 inches as a freshman in high school from 5’9” to 6’1.” He is nearly 6’2” now. His sister came to BSU on a volleyball scholarship in 2016 and she was 5’11.” She injured her back before the season started and was on a medical scholarship her 4 years at BSU. Well now I’m more excited. I was afraid he was like 5’8” |
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