Jim French Stepstool
-
Posts
5,133 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
20
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Events
News
2026 Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects Ranking
Milwaukee Brewers Videos
2022 Milwaukee Brewers Draft Picks
Milwaukee Brewers Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits
Guides & Resources
2023 Milwaukee Brewers Draft Picks
2024 Milwaukee Brewers Draft Picks
The Milwaukee Brewers Players Project
2025 Milwaukee Brewers Draft Pick Tracker
Store
Downloads
Gallery
Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool
-
Besides the obvious differences on the boards & defensively the lack of Wahl really showed by not having him & Crowl on the floor together. Two bigs who can score, one available to step out & shoot, and both more than capable passers. And yeah, the screen & roll was there, more often than we utilized it. As mentioned before, I just hope this extended time can be a springboard for Ilver. McGee, yeah, it's been a bit of a disappointment. Sometimes a system is just "wrong" for a kid to get comfortable in. Other than shooting the ball he gives them more than Lindsey IMO, so hopefully the comfort level & consistency can go northward.
-
It's so satisfying---to me anyway---when a team just finds a way to win. Tonight they overcome Wahl having to sit & just being curb-stomped on rebounds & 50-50 balls. Still quite a ways to go for Ilver but maybe the minutes tonight serve as a starting point as far as his defense & rebounding are concerned. Hepburn's defense in late-game situations, don't know if i've ever seen anything like it. 3 or 4 times this season they need a stop, you want to force a tough shot, he takes it a step further with a steal. Just outstanding. For anyone ancient enough to remember, Max Klesmit reminds me so much of some of the guards Dick Bennett had at UWGB. Smart, competitive, a leader, and a dynamic defender in the half court.
-
It gives me the cold sweats thinking about Hiura making the team & being the 26th man, because to some fans the resulting sporadic ABs that role causes will be "the reason" why he isn't hitting. Would much rather see him dealt, which is much easier said than done.
-
They were a little better than I expected them to look. They stayed in the game by having to put up a lot of 3pt shots that I suspect Gard was happy with them taking-----and making them. They were something like 7 for their first 12 from three. It was nice to see Crowl assert himself. We certainly didn't touch the post enough in the first half. Once that happened there wasn't much WMU could do about it. It was an 18-point game until a late run by the WMU regulars against Candelino, Isaac Gard, Chris Hodges, Ilver & Isaac Lindsey. I guess making the score relatively respectable is more important to Dwayne Stephens than getting a couple minutes for his end-of-the-bench kids. He was waving his kids up to press before a FT attempt too, with maybe a minute or so left. Found that a little strange.
-
Surprisingly, they aren't. The last few years I thought their defense in the half court & overall fundamental soundness were just laughingly bad. It's almost as if Hoiberg has given up on just letting everyone do what they want & decided to coach basketball. They have some toughness now with guys like Breidenbach, Griesel & Bandoumel. A couple of years ago I'd bet Hoiberg wouldn't have even been interested in those guys.
-
So, it might be quite a sprint to the unemployment line shaping up btwn Howard & Fran. Iowa falls behind by 20 in the 1st half tonight in Lincoln & never recovers. And Michigan loses by 2 to Central Michigan, running the Chippewas' record to 5-8.
-
If he can increase the pop while reaching the numbers you mentioned, I'd be OK with that. I would just rather he lessen the Ks & target a higher number in the BA-OBP strata. Which I think would happen. Have to admit though, I didn't know he graded 60 in power.
-
Honestly, the last thing I'd want is for him to change his swing to tap into whatever power potential he may have. If he can make an adjustment that results in more consistent contact, great.
-
What I loved about Mitchell's debut was how he seemed to consistently use the middle third of the diamond, as the above highlights illustrated. Surprised by the high K rate, but we need to remember it was his first taste of big league pitching, and he had nowhere near a full season under his belt (including his first taste of AAA, only 20 games worth). And I have no idea what comprises the 2023 projections in the above graphic (I'm not a stat geek), but if he does indeed play in 109 games he's stealing a lot more than 15 bags. That's 2/3 of the games. I think he'll be on the field more than that assuming health.
-
Agree with all of this. When I heard Salome was having "issues" & wanted to move to the OF it really bummed me out. Guy had a cannon. And I absolutely loved Palmisano. Way too early to be totally sold on Quero, but guilty as charged.
-
I guess it would come down to: How much they feel they can rely on Turang from the get-go Can they get him w/o having to give up very much Will the Mets eat a respectable amount of the salary My gut tells me it'll be tough to consummate something with the Mets that reaches the last two points to our satisfaction. But I never thought they'd pull off Contreras while only giving up Ruiz, either.
-
OK, so 166 isn't all that horrible. I guess that game will always stick in everyone's memory banks due to the "1 vs 16" aspect.
-
Also McCaffery has one more son in the pipeline, although that's not a great reason to keep him around if it's the ONLY reason. They were burned once before when they moved from a proven commodity (Tom Davis) & had to suffer through the Alford soap opera & then Lickliter. So I think you're right.
-
I guess so, since the Cavs usually keep the # of possessions down compared to a lot of others. Still surprised it wasn't more than that though.
-
That's quite the factoid. The UMBC-Virginia NCAA game was a lesser spread? Iowa under Fran seems to be obsessed with the up-tempo style & press. It leads to them putting up some real impressive point totals against some overmatched non-con foes, but all it seems to do in the league is hurt their ability to defend in the half court because the game gets in scramble mode & they aren't THAT athletic. Fran or Howard going first could make for a pretty good side bet.
-
While it's always easy to cheer against Michigan, I respected the work John Beilein did when he was there. Averaged 23 wins with a couple title game appearances. But this clown..........they must've thought he'd recruit at an ultra-high level because of his name & pro background cuz there ain't much else there, coaching-wise. Then you throw in the behavior. He's a detriment to the program if this continues.
-
That's why you see games with opponents like this around exam time. Certainly weren't focused in the 1st half, which sucks but is understandable to a point. Throw in the fact that Lehigh IMO played pretty well, and it's a struggle. Defend & turn the ball over like they did tonite vs a majority of their last eight opponents & they're down double digits at half. Right now they have only one big on the bench they trust, which is a little scary. Gard said in the presser he liked what Ilver did in his few minutes. Hoping he & Hodges get/earn an opportunity in the next two games. There's little doubt Winter & Yalden are more talented but let's not dismiss the value of being in the system & developing some reliability. That may not happen, but there's time for the light to come on for Ilver & Hodges.
-
The game reminded me a little of the Michigan game when Brust hit the shot to send it into OT, except we were Michigan. Had it in hand, then a miracle run sends it into OT. Facing a hostile crowd, all the momentum with the opponent. Then Iowa comes out & runs some good stuff in the half court & scores 15 points in OT. For 5:00 of basketball that's really good. But that's where the similarities end. We just kept answering, and answering, and answering. Wahl hits a 3pter. Davis, who hits the mammoth three in OT in Milwaukee last weekend, does it again in another hostile environment. Essegian puts the earlier miscue behind him & finishes strong. Crowl stops the bleeding--literally-- & comes up with an enormous hoop. And in two of Iowas' most important possessions of the game, Hepburn & Wahl come up with steals. And not someone fumbling the ball away or making a horrible pass either. They STOLE the ball. Gotta mention Gilmore in the 2nd half too. The possession where he picks up an offensive rebound, then corrals another a few seconds later for the putback. Tough team, indeed.
-
To me the reffing problems are a self-fulfilling prophecy. You add so much to the rule book in recent years, when there's going to be more to interpret, more to look for, of course there will be more screwups. So we go to the monitor. Maybe that "gets it right". Or maybe it's still inconclusive. Or maybe like last week in Milwaukee, it shows something you didn't see the first time, and you incorrectly use the technology to execute a makeup call. It does seem UW gets the short end of the stick, but my glasses are cardinal-colored, too. The foul call on Wahl late in regulation might've been the worst of all. We're up eight, and he gets called for a foul on the made jumper for the and-1. No one can convince me that's called a foul midway in the 1st half, or with 14:00 to go in the game, or if we're up or down by 15 points. It's like the umpire in baseball calling an 0-2 pitch a ball, when on 2-0 or 3-0 the same pitch is a strike. I don't know if any team or fan base emulates its' coach more than Fran. There never seems to be a call against them that's justified. But it IS kinda entertaining watching the volcano heat up, build pressure, and then erupt.
-
Like Robo said, it was pretty obvious we'd be dealing one of the "Nashville four" OFs at some point. I like this deal, provided there isn't an extra piece or two included that I'm particularly enamored with. He's also still controlled when Quero should be ready, adding to your flexibility & options.
-
This goes back a little more than 30 years, but there's some similarity to Tim Locum. About the same size, similar ability to catch-and-shoot off screens. But Locums' off the ball movement wasn't as good as CE, and Essegian is much more athletic & has a higher ceiling. Rick Olson, who was smaller, had similar scoring ability. But that's going back to the stone age.?
-
I saw Herro play quite a bit when he was at Whitnall. One of the things he did real well was moving w/o the ball, being in constant motion working to get open. To me that's maybe the biggest comp btwn him & Essegian. Connor always seems to be moving. It's gotten him some nice looks on backdoor cuts. There's some fearlessness a la Reddick, for sure.
-
I'll add Davis to your Klesmit remarks. Decision-making is huge. Klesmit has a knack for it; I think Davis is getting there. And they play, in essence, three guards. Davis has the chops to rebound well enough to allow them to do that, I hope he continues to grow in that area. Still hoping at some point Ilver or Hodges emerges as a 4-5 mpg guy in the front court to help with the depth when there are foul issues. The way Essegian comes off screens & shoots without hesitation, yeah, that's quite a weapon.
-
I don't like it either. It supposedly has to do with the extra conference games brought about by conference expansion. You could just start the conference season a couple weeks earlier & keep it self-contained, but I think they want to avoid going in-conference during exams/Christmas. That's a big part of the reason you don't see as many tough non-league games at that time of the year. Exams going on, students leaving. These more unattractive games have a purpose. A MEAC, SWAC or other such school pays the lions' share of it's athletic budget expenses by being the visitor for 4-5 of these games. And if I'm UW, after the eight-game stretch they went through once they get done playing Iowa I'd welcome a lesser challenge. I'd love to go back to conference starting in January, with a balanced home-and-away sked. The obsession with conference expansion probably makes that impossible.
-
Yeah. I've been to UW-MU games in Milwaukee. That's a road game in every way, shape & form. Only one true road game thus far. But another way of looking at it is they've played nine games, four of them on their home floor.
