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11K views 101 replies 43 participants last post by  Title_BU 
#1 · (Edited)
Clearly it’s too early to make judgments about our two newest members, but the games on Wednesday certainly gave us A-10 fans a taste of what to expect.

Personally, I partly discount the Butler loss. The Bulldogs looked very much like a work in progress and a team searching for its identity.

Start with the offense. I didn’t see the normal sharp cuts, crisp passing and ball motion I associate with Butler. Clarke and Dunham looked for their shot too quickly and they hoisted some contested treys after a few dribbles. That’s why they didn’t shoot so well.

The guards need to move the ball first, try to set up teammates and shoot within the flow of the offense. It’s a lot easier to hit a trey behind a good screen than shooting in the face of a defender. Quick shots by the guards also leads to other players standing around. It happened last night.

Yes, it would help if Butler showed a better inside game, but a good team doesn’t have to have a consistent post presence to run a crisp offense. Ball movement and player movement – the Butler way! - is critical. That was mostly absent last night.

The defense, for its part, was subpar. Frankly, I cannot remember the last time an A-10 team started two white guys in the backcourt. Dunham especially looked like a freshman on defense - couple of picks almost knocked him to the floor. Clarke isn’t known as a great defender, either.

That's going to be a problem all year long. Neither one of those guys can guard a topflight A-10 PG like Williams or Duren and so forth.

The Butler frontcourt was beaten up pretty good by Xavier, too. The Bulldogs don’t have great length and athleticism inside. Doesn’t mean players can’t box out, however.

The good news is that Xavier actually has more length and athleticism in its frontcourt than a majority of A-10 teams. Still, Andrew Smith is not going to dominate in our league. He tends not to play well against big, athletic frontcourts. Marshall is not a go-to post player, either.

I expect Butler to show lots of improvement over the year, and Hinkle will prove to be a very tough place for most A-10 teams to play. Finishing in the top 5 of the league, however, won’t be easy. Not at all.
 
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#70 ·
Butler undeniably has the two best wins of an A10 team so far this season. Both Butler and VCU are the favorites for the conference right now. I hate to have the new guys come in and immediately do so well, but there is a reason they were invited to the conference. St. Joes has been a little disappointing, St Louis without Kwamain and Majerus isn't the same, Xavier is decimated but still competing, and Temple isn't quite as good as they usually are. There are still many games to be played, but right now I would put Butler at 1 and VCU at a close 2.
 
#72 ·
Agreed. Tons of parity with several very good teams after Butler and VCU. All are capable of beating anybody in the league, but inconsistent for whatever reason. It's still early and teams could still be putting things together. I expect Saint Louis for example to be much better when Kwamain Mitchell gets back. How much better? I'm not sure.

UR has shown big-time offensive ability and an experienced high-scoring back court like the one the Spiders have will win a good amount of games. I still think Richmond has work to do defensively if they want to finish that high. That switching man-to-man that was so effective in 2010 and 2011 is not quite as good as it was. I'm sure Mooney is working on that. Getting Nelson-Ododa more involved is also important. He can be very, very good and the Spiders need his size against some of the bigger squads in the A-10.
 
#74 ·
our newcomers haven't experienced the unique a10 phenomenon of the ooc/conf equivalency coefficient. your performance ooc is directly inverse to your performance in conference. if there was a team that was expected to do well and has a poor ooc, they will get their shit together in the conference and bring down some teams that did well ooc. happens every year.
 
#76 ·
DB, very good points. Mooney has shown an unwillingness to change defenses even when the constant switching is beaten for constant layups. He has experimented with some pressure defense early in seasons against weaker opponents and had success but always abandons it come conference time. I wish we would mix defenses some since it would help energize some of our guys. I love Mooney but this is my main criticism of him.
 
#80 ·
Butler fans have to be honest and say they didn't really expect them to be this good. I knew they would be good but not necessarily this good.
 
#84 ·
mm4cc,

Honestly?

EXACTLY right and that is what you go with?

The correct response is "I was wrong and Im very surprised."

Side note: Butler has been in the top 15 6 of the last 7 years, its neither really news when it happens nor is it hard to spot given the familiarity.
 
#86 ·
Great Butler win! Stevens is a master, and he smiles that innocent, cat-with-the-canary-feathers-sticking-out-of-the- corners-of-his-mouth smile in the post game.

Many Xavier fans hate Hinkle, but with the crowd really on top of the floor at both ends, it is an awesome atmosphere, and what college ball is about for me. That was just a great great back and forth game at the end. Reminded me of Xavier-Creighton game NY eve several years ago.

I love this league!
 
#89 ·
I think Butler has a nice little team. The next time they play X, they will most likely be able to keep the final within 10 or so.

Kidding, my new found league brothers. Butler is playing some outstanding basketball. Love the gritty style, the coaching, Hinkle...all of it. Many years of continued rivalry ahead, I hope.

Congratulations on a great win!
 
#90 ·
The targets have changed to Butler and VCU. Nobody worried about little old X and Temple. Too bad they may not stay around for another year so everyone can plan their "white-outs, red-outs, blue-outs" against them. Nice to see Butler finally selling out. long overdue imho.
 
#91 ·
I'm plenty worried about both since we're playing you both on the road, and Chris Mack is once again doing well in A-10 play. Temple is hot and cold, but they have one of the league's best wins against Cuse so clearly when they're clicking they can beat anyone.

Butler is the best team in this league, and VCU is coming up behind them, but we also haven't played any real upper-echelon programs yet either. St. Joe's is the closest to it and they took us to the wire at home, but they're looking more mid-pack now than top-tier.

We'll see how it pans out.
 
#99 ·
And why doesn't it sell out every game?
Simple Economics:

Pacers, Colts, IU, Purdue are all within a simple drive. Don't forget, Indiana leads the nation in high school attendance too - and its much cheaper.

4,000 Student base, with many students from out of town (Chicago & East Coast) means many don't stay.

Local TV covers all home games, so that probably hurts a little too.
 
#101 · (Edited)
Butler got a commitment tonight from former Laker head coach Mike Brown's son, elijah brown, He had said the other day he cut his list to Butler, Georgetown, Miami, St Marys, and Vandy

Eric Bossi more or less said Brown will move into the 150 at the next reset in his update a week or two ago

With 3 Rivals Top 150 guys and an unranked 3-star, I'd imagine BU will rank Top 20/25 in the rivals 2013 team rankings.
 
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