Jim French Stepstool
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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool
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Iowa strikes me as kind of odd, especially when they play at home. Fran always puts on his little passion play with the refs, which seems to rub off on his players--I don't think there is any team in the Big Ten whose student-athletes are as demonstrative with officials as theirs--right down to the yellow clad fans at courtside doing their latest installment of "Look at me, we're getting screwed, I'm going berserk!!!" Just a freakshow. Dangerous team though. Some are making it out that Michigan State choked that lead away today. I don't think MSU was all that bad in the last couple minutes. Made most of their FTs, only turned it over once or twice. Iowa just didn't miss.
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Spring Training Game Thread
Jim French Stepstool replied to MVP2110's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
I saw his first one, oppo. Didn't know he hit another one out. Nice start to his Mar..........err, late February. -
For anyone who's been around long enough to compare the two, are there any similarities between Misiorowski and Nick Neugebauer? I'm a big Tyler Black fan. Hope he can stick at 2B, but his recent usage makes me wonder if that's in the cards. If Mitchell never totally taps into the power but cuts back on the K rate I'll be more than satisfied. There have been very, very few players I can recall that are able to beat out what are more-or-less routine grounders. He's one of them.
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- jacob misiorowski
- eric brown jr
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We're on the same page. I'm not suggesting you turn down Rohde if he wants to come due to the walk-ons. It's just that IMO it's an indictment of how the current system pollutes what has been part of the basis of college sports for a long time. I know that sounds high & mighty, but both Leonhard & Fickell made similar references, and Tom Izzo is not at all a fan of what's going on. What I'd like to see, is when a student-athlete is stuck in a competitive situation for playing time at his school, or not receiving media attention due to being at a mid-major, he uses THAT as fuel & accepts the challenge. As long as Rohde can guard wings at this level, I'd like to see him in Madison. I just feel a little for St Thomas. Rohde was flying under the radar in HS & the Tommies took a chance on him, only to be treated like a farm team. I imagine someone will post "That's the way it is now, you have to adapt". And they'd be right. I just think it's kinda sad.
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I could see a "pick & pop" game from Yalden as well. Sort of what they used to do with Keaton Nankivil, although Keaton was probably a purer shooter while Gus is certainly a better post scorer. I also expect Crowl to get back some of his touch from outside after a year removed from the added strength. I agree that if anything holds Gus back from day one it'll be on the defensive side. IF Rohde were to come here, that might also create roster movement as Luke Haertle & Jack Janicki play the same spot. I know, I know..........who cares, they're walkons. But we're not talking about guys who were added to be nothing more than scout team players. Janicki in particular had other options, including an offer from Wake Forest. It is what it is, when you can leave a place & immediately suit up elsewhere.
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The "Big Baby" reference made me smile. Not a bad comp. If he can defend in the post..........I mean, he can, but can he from day one, or will it take a little time? I think the roster makeup determines Winters' role--if any--next year. redshirting doesn't seem to be the "thing" it was in past years but I could see a scenario where it would be a good choice for him.
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I like what I've heard about Yalden, but one of the few question marks regards his post defense. He probably isn't the size advertised but supposedly plays bigger. If he struggles early with rotations, hedging on ball screens, boxing out & the like Carter might still get primary bench minutes. But sooner or later yeah, I expect Gus to pass him. If Rohde can guard high-level wings he'd be a nice addition for sure. He'd fit in UW's offense; he'd also fit pretty well in Iowa's, who is also supposedly in the picture. Blackwell is quietly having a real nice year. He's a talented wing on both ends of the floor. And if the 2/3 spots are a little crowded next year he could even challenge for backup minutes at the point. Agree with your comments re Winter.
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Excellent thoughts. The automatic-eligibility thing w/regards to transfers has up to this point certainly benefitted UW. That said, I don't like it from an overall standpoint, due to your comments regarding how it effects mid to low-majors. I fear it'll put them in the position of a AA or AAA farm team to the power fives, which would stink. I'd much rather see a young man, after choosing a school, actually live out the definition of the term "commitment". Having said that, I could live with a kid being eligible right away if a coach left/got fired/retired.
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Yeah, it's really a tale of two teams (home vs road) for Iowa this season. The announcers were making a big deal of Iowas' misses from three, but UW was 1-for-whatever from long range until about 12 minutes left in the game. I agree it helped UW that Iowa settled. Wahl & others did a great job on Murray but he didn't seem to be too determined to get into the lane. It was one of those games where someone was going to have the edge heading to the stretch if they could string together a few makes, and fortunately it was UW. What made it sweeter was 3 game-turning threes, each by a different player. Balance has to be a huge part of any success going forward. Good point re Hepburn. He did seem focused on breaking down the D on the drive whenever he could.
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All the conferences get an automatic bid. If you're referring to an outstanding mid-major that would make it either way getting knocked out in their conference tourney, yeah, that "steals" a bid from someone else. If one can assume they win in Minneapolis (the way this season has gone, you really can't), then one other win gets them the 3 out of 4. Problem is you're talking about either another road win or a win vs Purdue. I'd feel much better about the latter if Crowl was shooting from 3pt range like last season. As things stand now there's no one to pull Edey away from the hoop. They received some really solid bench play tonite on both ends of the floor.
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So we're down to four games left, and things are still very, very muddy. The inconsistencies, spotty rebounding & inability to "own" the last 3-4 minutes recently are offset by the overall strength of schedule & competitiveness in most of their games, which is offset by the inconsistencies, spotty rebounding & inability to "own" the last 3-4 minutes. Lather, rinse, repeat........ Not that he's the bastion of what's right & wrong with college hoops, but I remember Dick Vitale once saying that he'd like to see teams have to finish at least .500 in their conference to get an at-large berth. It would still lead to arguments on Selection Sunday but that really isn't a bad idea. Of course he probably would've backtracked if one of Krzyzewskis' teams didn't reach that minimum. Maybe they should look into rescheduling Grambling, That could add another win.
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The defensive rebounding has certainly been a disappointment. It's cost them some games. It's always nice to have a guy who can block/alter shots, but they're usually built around position, post feed denial, making shots as tough as possible. If a better job was done in those areas, especially on the glass, they'd probably be comfortably on the good side of the bubble. Kai Rogers of Tosa West is a big-time shot disruptor. But there will be a ton of competition to sign him.
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Sorry, I responded to RedStick instead of you. See above. As he mentioned, Buckyville has some value.
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I'm a member of B'Ville. I think it's a terrific site for keeping up on recruiting news, future schedules, and other inside stuff you can't normally find. There are some extremely well-connected folks on there. But I only go there for info. Haven't posted in years due to it being too toxic & unwelcoming for my taste. And IMO too many of the threads devolve into garbage due to a few too many posters thinking they're funny. But like I said, a good place to keep up with the latest.
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Yeah, I read Gards' quote. I guess we'll have to see how things unfold. If Crowl & Wahl are both on the roster next season, I just have a hard time envisioning a significant upgrade at those two spots--or any additions-- via transfers. There could also be knowledge on Gards' part that Wahl has decided to forego next season, or is leaning that way. Just a lot of variables. JMO, but with the exception of Klesmit & probably Gilmore I think everyone else in their top eight has room to get better and/or more consistent.
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There was a time in college hoops...not so long ago, actually.....where improvement from one year to the next was in large part based on returnees getting better. Being more consistent. Adding something to their game. Benefitting from experience. In the current climate, I probably sound like I'm crawling out of a peach basket by bringing up these things. But there are different ways to improve from one year to the next, and the above points will always be vital.
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The drought when it was 45-all..........I'm not excusing them for it, they had some decent shots that were missed. But almost all of them were from long range, without real great inside-out ball movement. That's mainly because the defense Rutgers played inside of 15 feet was about as good as you can play. RU was cold at the same time, it was that kind of game. It came down to a couple of possessions late where they got something going to the hoop, something we were unable to do vs the wall they built with Omoruyi & company. Not a good day for Essegian to struggle, because it was obvious we were going to have to make shots from outside, and we weren't getting to the line. The play Gard drew up with 11 seconds left was terrific. I thought he really caught Pikiell with his pants down; Essegian just didn't make the shot. Then thanks to Klesmit he gets another look & someone (Hyatt?) gets a finger on the ball. Kudos to the bench guys, obviously. I did get ticked off at Davis for when he tipped someone's miss instead of grabbing it, gathering & either going back up or kicking it out. But overall one of his best games. And the way McGee has looked, maybe all the backup point guards on the market & their agents will have to look elsewhere.
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Club wins Burnes' arbitration case (source)
Jim French Stepstool replied to Brewermania101's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
And, if he loses & doesn't like some of what was said, can fly right to the nearest jamoke with a microphone & camera. What sucks about this whole process is that the player/agent can state his case as enthusiastically and positively as he wants to, while being in no danger of disparaging management. Ownership can't do that w/o being in danger of looking like the bad guy. From a PR standpoint one side can't win without taking risks. The other has no such worries. -
The short answer is they lost 34ppg, 19-20 of which couldn't possibly be pre-planned to replace. Nevertheless they have 15 wins, and the 2-3 they could have in addition to that but didn't win weren't due to any shortcomings on Gard's part. Deserves a statue? So far this season, nah. But if anyone wants to rip him for the last six weeks, to me the only argument that comes close to holding water is he didn't automatically replace Davis via free agency. At this point in time that line of criticism doesn't sit well with me. Pardon me if this isn't accurate because I haven't paid much attention to it but I thought I saw a graphic that their schedule was like the eighth toughest in the nation or something like that. You don't need to face a ton of helmet schools to have a very hard road. Everyone in the Big Ten save for Minnesota has proven that at one time or another this season (Now that I said that, if UW goes into Minneapolis & lays an egg it's all on me lol).
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Yeah. VanderPlas & Basile weren't coming w/o assurances, Vander Plas probably not even with them. And when you factor in both ends of the floor the kid from Brookfield East who's at Colorado State might very well not even be ahead of Gilmore. It was early in the portal era so we had no way of knowing at the time, but it might prove to be a pretty rare thing to have been able to secure a commendable backup like Vogt.
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UWs bigs pass pretty well. The backdoor cuts & flashes down the lane off-ball were really effective last night, which I attribute to good scouting/coaching. UM is certainly a team that leaves itself open to that stuff. Wahl at times "appears" to be a good rebounder IMO. But he's just shown so much inconsistency this season, in all areas. Still has ample time to be an X factor. It was nice to see McGee step up on a day Hepburn just wasn't feeling it. Maybe the "consistency" light is finally coming on there, after changing programs. Believe it or not, the FG drought was something like 10:45. Fortunately the FT bugaboo went away, at least for one night. Here's what I would've liked to see during the handshake......Gard approaching Howard with right hand extended, and his entire left arm tied to his torso, just to point out the absurdity of the whole "he put his hands on me" garbage from last year. Between Howards' tantrum issues & Dickinson acting like a nine-year-old, a real satisfying win. EDIT: My apologies to nine-year-olds everywhere for the insult I just laid on them.
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Couldn't disagree more. If you're basing it on not having a lot of teams in the top ten or fifteen, OK. Or if you feel a team simply having a shot at making it into the tourney means their "meh", duly noted. I think it's a tough league, top to bottom.
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I'm not president of the Carter Gilmore Fan Club or anything, and I'd like to see minutes harder for him to come by because it'll mean the frontcourt depth is better. But I think anyone expecting him to be buried on the bench next year will be surprised. There are things he does well that don't show up in the stat sheet & certainly don't get noticed by the talking suits. If Ilver & Hodges did those things more consistently they'd be ahead of him. It WOULD be nice if next year there was a different bench option to guard seven-footers. I agree the next couple recruiting classes are extremely important. As for the Michigan game, I thought they looked very similar to a lot of their recent outings, the major exception being that they really showed a lot of energy on the 50-50 balls. The offensive rebounding was astoundingly good. In their 2nd half run, two buckets by Essegian---on drives. And TEN FT attempts. If he keeps on this trend he'll be incredibly tough to guard.
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There's a lot to this. In their infinite search for TV $$$ & the flawed idea that "more is better", the NCAA has created a tournament that contains a number of teams in its' final handful of at-large qualifiers that are flawed in one way or another. There's certainly ample opportunity for them. The sticking point is they haven't, for over a month now, shown any propensity to put together the consistency needed to take advantage. Again, the defensive rebounding is flying under the radar a bit but it's been a big problem. And the bench situation is causing some major minutes to pile up from the starters.
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The comeback in the second half.......obviously Tominaga got hot, which he is prone to do. He hit some open looks, and he hit some that were well-guarded. Even the cold spell by UW that accompanied it, is something you could almost expect after the way they shot it in the first half. What bugged me was the handful of Nebraska possessions in that stretch I like to call Hoiberg specials--really dumb low-percentage shots--that were missed, but they secured the rebound & got points. THAT'S what you can control to stem a rally, and we didn't. It's been a problem all year. Other than that, almost every shot from behind the arc we had in the 2nd half was a good look; you just seldom if ever see a team knock them down at a high clip for 40 minutes. That's why you want to have a post presence. We had one in State College & today it disappeared. The last possession in regulation couldn't have been much uglier. And if Hepburn made the shot it still would've been ugly, just with a positive outcome. We're talking about a 68-team tournament. They have enough talent to at least make the field. But with the lack of depth the consistency needs to be somewhere far north of where it has been.
