Jim French Stepstool

I don't know if playing Texas Tech was lucky. Actually you can make the argument that UVA might've had an easier time of it if they drew a faster-paced team in the final. You're right, it isn't a guaranteed recipe for success. Neither is any other style of play.

I remember the early days of the DH, when many teams used it as a way of getting ABs for a well-worn slugger who couldn't regularly be used on the field anymore (Cepeda, Tommy Davis, Deron Johnson, Tony Oliva, Frank Robinson). With the exception of Aarons' two years here the Brewers didn't use it in that way. Easily the most subjective position in this whole exercise.

Years ago I worked at a place where people were constantly leaving each other notes at their desks. I would sabotage some of them by writing "love" above the name at the bottom, so instead of it simply saying "Stan" it would say "love, Stan". Anything to make the day go by faster.

IMO the style a team plays has nothing to do with whether they make a run in the tourney. It's more about hitting a consistent stride at the right time & getting favorable matchups along the way. Favorable to your personnel, not necessarily "easy". The offense they ran last year often did have too much standing around, which can happen when you have a large discrepancy btwn your #1 option & the rest. It was somewhat similar to Alando Tuckers' last couple seasons.

Sometimes, oversimplification is best😉. Points 1 & 2......There IS a lot of backing down done, both by Wahl & Crowl. It looks tedious, and the off-the-ball movement often isn't good enough. But 90% of the problem there is that at the end of the backdown, the shot isn't going in often enough. Crowl was money in the low post for several games, when he was making the shots no one was complaining (or shouldn't be). And Wahl, he's just missing shots he's made in the past. If they go in, I really don't care how many dribbles it takes. When you clear out, it's tough to make a backdoor cut because you're clogging up the clearout. But yes, there should be more movement, off-ball screens, etc. The problem with attacking the rim, is no one is very good at it. Hepburn used to confound me with his pullups & fallaways, but when I see him try to get to the rim I can understand why he resorts to it. Needs to get people on his hip to finish at the rim. They don't seem to be running the swing, which is interesting because a couple of the guards might be OK in the post. But you can't invert with Wahl or Gilmore. Crowl, maybe if he starts knocking down threes again. 3.......They ARE being outrebounded. Too many 2nd & third shots, which has hurt them much more than some of the other stuff people bring up. I agree the 50-50 balls seem to be mostly going the other way, which might be a byproduct of #4, the depth factor. 6......I've seen enough of Wahl to know he's a quality defender that can guard multiple spots on the floor. Since the Northwestern game, for whatever reason he hasn't shown that. And his floor game offensively--the decision-making, passing, propensity for turnovers--has been pretty bad. Just not the level he's performed at before. Maybe just a bad stretch after having to sit, or maybe feeling pressure from being something other than a "supporting cast" guy ???? He does need to be better. The good news is he has been. I don't know what changes Gard could make with what he has on hand right now. Like, Meyer schooled Essegian on Saturday. From where I was sitting I would've liked a change in the defensive assignment, but it was brought up in postgame and when Gard went through his options I could see that he was pretty much stuck, unless you wanted to sit Essegian when Hepburn was the only guy consistently making shots. I like the class coming in next season. I like the kids he's recruiting right now who are 24s & 25s, hopefully he can get his share of them.

I don't know what you mean by "on the periphery", but if you're referring to low & mid-majors I think the changes could hurt them in a variety of ways. The criticism about the style of play only seems to emerge when they aren't winning. It isn't immune to slumps, injuries or a lack of talent & depth, just like other styles. I'm pretty sure Louisvilles' pace of play is acceptible to those who love And-1 mixtapes & Sportscenter highlights. They're 2-19. And there's nothing wrong with an uptempo style, if it fits. It's just that I have this odd attraction to winning, and a strange inclination towards putting more weight on a 7-8 year stretch (or 22 years; Bo Ryan had a "boring" style in the eyes of many, too) over one season, or one month. I still remember when one of Dick Bennetts' teams lost in the 1st round to Texas. Tom Penders was holding court after the game in his presser, talking about style of play & how the "modern" game is played. Again, nothing wrong with ANY style of play vs another. It's just that UW was in the Final Four a few years later. Penders had a losing record his next season, left UT, and in his last ten years of coaching never won another tourney game. The two times he made it in, he gave up 108 points to Indiana & 89 to Maryland. But his teams averaged over 80 in those two games, so I'm sure it was really exciting.

I guess we'll find out how much as this whole thing unfolds. I think a "rich will get richer" aspect is certainly possible. One thing---I'd hate to be a fan of a low-to-mid major school right now. In that world you want the players to have success, but not too much or they'll look to the "next level"----a power five school. UW is one of the "haves" & the Varsity Collective they've put together sounds like a really effective model so it shouldn't bother me, but it does. I'd hate for college hoops to degenerate into one level of a top 70-80 schools with the rest left behind; I think that would rip out the very soul that has made college hoops what it is. As for Bo, that's a heckuva good question. My best guess is he'd have tried to surround himself with assistants who were good at the "new stuff" so he could focus on what he did well.....day-to-day coaching & closing the deal on HS kids. I think he would've disliked it about as much as Chryst, but was so much more of a personality & so much better with fan events & the media & such that it wouldn't have cost him his job. A lot of coaches hate this stuff, but keep it under their hats. I know Izzo thinks we've all lost our minds.

I think there's way too much comparison to Fickell going on. FB & BB are two vastly different animals. Right now they need their top 3-4 players to simply play with more consistency. The margin for error is really thin. Last year Hepburn was surrounded on the wings by a combined 33-34 PPG. With Essegian starting, it's half that. Before he started it was considerably less than half. The next couple recruiting classes are very important. Let's see how they play out before saying Gard can't recruit effectively. Or better yet, let's remember many of the recruits of the past decade who experienced a lot of success here. Guys that Gard recruited. Maybe he forgot how? Or maybe it's just tough to replace your top two scorers, especially when one of them averages almost 20 per game & leaves after his sophomore year, something absolutely no one saw coming until last season was well underway, making the loss next to impossible to replace. Yeah, I know, the portal. We should've outbid UK for Reeves.....😄 They have four really important veterans they need production from who start. All of them are shooting the ball the same or worse from the field compared to last year. Three of the four are worse from the FT line than last year. And more than enough of the shots are makeable. There's nothing wrong with the offense. Funny how it suddenly looks "boring" when the ball doesn't go through. Wahl & Crowl are getting plenty of good looks & not making them. Then again, maybe we should go more up-tempo. Never mind we've struggled to rebound the ball as it is. Let's have 2-3 fewer players hit the boards, get those guys out on the break.🙄 Bottom line, anyone who wants to blame Gard for the circumstances that created the current roster, have at it. I think a large amount of this is out of his control. I mentioned the next couple classes (24 & 25). Anyone who wants a change, pull for him to strike out there, I guess.

Four of six on the road, right? MSU & Penn State were home games. Valid points regarding the depth, though. Watched some of Oregon State-Utah tonight. I certainly wish he was here to give us another option, but after watching Ben Carlson & knowing what Gard would be asking of him I'm not totally convinced he'd make a huge difference.

Over the years I've seen teams ranked in the top 1 or 2 in the nation drop totally out of the rankings a month later. I've also seen a team that was at one point 13-12 make it to the final four. If they don't enjoy better luck with health & start building some momentum, yeah, the bar is low. If they do, then something else. They're built on gathering momentum through getting stops, then letting that fuel the offense. Two of their best defenders have been available together for about 17 game-minutes in the last six games. Let's get Klesmit back, hopefully stay healthy, & let it unfold.

Of the recent losses, I felt they could've won any of them if healthy, with the exception of Indiana. Now you can add this one to the list. Poor paint defense, from allowing dribble penetration to sealing off the weak side, and way too many 2nd & 3rd chances. I don't want to pick on Davis, but on this team he's really needed to be active on the boards on both ends, work hard on D & don't do anything dumb in the halfcourt. Kinda like the mindset of a more athletic Gilmore. It was nice to see his contributions in Evanston but my worst fear is him thinking he can/should score 15 pts every time out. Don't want this to sound like an excuse---there's no doubt they aren't playing nearly well enough---but it would be nice if they ran into someone who didn't go out & play 40 really solid minutes. Even in the win, from where we were sitting I thought Penn State played a very solid game. Chucky is a good kid who really seems to be letting the pressure get to him these last couple games.

They'll have to figure out how to run offense when being overplayed in the half court. Indiana did it for 40 minutes, as well as i've seen that team defend for an entire game since Bob Knight was there. Tonight was the same, with a different wrinkle--Wahl & Crowl were doubled in the post, and neither handled it very well. It was frustrating that it took 20 minutes to adjust, but sometimes it takes getting 10-15 minutes in the locker room. Seemed to have things figured out, then went dry the final 4-5 minutes, in particular the possession coming out of the TO with maybe 3:00 or so left. I think they wanted to go to Wahl, but that was blown up & the whole thing just got really ugly. Davis was active & gave them some scoring. But he also missed 2-3 box outs in the 2nd half that really hurt. Frankly I'd rather see him score 6-7 & do the other stuff consistently, like it seemed he was doing earlier. Didn't see the box, but we left some points on the FT line again. Maybe the rollercoaster is going uphill again for McGee. He looked a little more comfortable in the flow tonight. They virtually never go high-low with Wahl & Crowl & I'd like to see it sometimes. It worked a time or 2 vs Penn State. Either one in either spot, really. This is neither here nor there, but I found it curious that Northwestern was so decimated by sickness & injury that they couldn't play Saturday, but two days later everyone in their rotation was available.

Great point. That's what's frustrating. In three of these four most recent losses we were missing someone who would be an ideal defender for a guy that really hurt us.

I remember being surprised to find out he was from Massachusetts and not Baton Rouge.

Just learned the starting time for this game has been moved to 5:30, for anyone interested.

You beat me to it Louis!!!!! While reading this I thought of Freeman. The 80s certainly was the decade of splashy hitting prospects who hit a ceiling--Robidoux, Freeman, Randy Ready, Dion James, Ernest Riles all had gaudy numbers (although James & Riles carved out a niche & contributed some elsewhere). I even remember George Bamberger in his second go-around with the team extolling the talents of one "Joey Mi-yah, a big strong boy who can hit da ball outta da bawlpahk". I never thought Robidoux would be a big HR guy but still liked his chances as someone who could drive in runs from the LH side & make the pitcher throw strikes. Oh well.......

Sure seems that way, yeah. I knew very little of McGees' game when he transferred, but averaging 10ppg as a freshman, even in the Horizon League, leads you to think he'd be pretty good giving you 5-8 minutes as a backup PG. You hear about the "rules" they need to follow on the court. I suspect he had very few of those to follow on a bad GB team last year. Now THAT could be labeled a mistake, not seeing that he wouldn't acclimate here. But I think the role is still a competition btwn him & Lindsey so we'll see if the light comes on. I wrongly thought Bowman would plug right in & produce at Oakland. Hope his issues are behind him.

Good points in this post. But I disagree with Davis leaving early not being a "legitimate reason", unless you expected them to anticipate his blowing up the way he did & leaving after two seasons. In that vein, maybe they should be criticized more for not getting Antonio Reeves to replace him than missing out on the frontcourt depth. At least you had a starting spot to dangle there. Either way, sure you'd like to have another good big. I just don't know of anyone of quality who would've answered to "Come to Wisconsin & be a backup frontcourt guy." That's what they had to sell. From the aspect of that specific role, I say the best you could hope for was Carlson not bailing (can THAT be pinned on the staff? I have no idea). You could say they should've gotten better people than Ilver & Hodges. Maybe. But at that time Wahl was already here and Crowl was here or on his way, as was Carlson. Kids look at stuff like that. Bottom line, they lost one of their 2-3 most important players for a few games. In games he was available the depth was sufficient to help them get to 12-2 & 4-0 thus far. Lose a guy of Wahls' importance & it's tough for them to absorb that, I agree.

The cancelled game vs Northwestern has been scheduled for Monday at 2:30 (BTN).

I've always liked to look at it from a "fill out a lineup card" perspective, which of course eliminates someone from winning two spots. I like TPlushs' idea of going by longevity at a position or where you spent your prime years. Of course that disqualifies Molitor at 2B which would conveniently open up 3B for Cirillo. As you said, all methods have validity. For the record, if Molitor isn't eligible at 2B then to put it in a "division standings" format Vina is my 1st place guy, with Gantner percentage points behind & Weeks about a game back.

The tough thing about these lists is when you have someone who played multiple spots. Where do you put him? Heck, there are Brewer fans in their early 40s who don't remember Robin Yount as a shortstop. If Molitor is considered a 2B IMO it's him & not particularly close. Weeks, despite not living up to his draft rep, did some solid work with the bat. He worked really hard to improve what was a weak glove. But 2B isn't a position where you can overlook defense. All considered I think you can put him, Gantner, and Vina in a dice cup & shake 'em out in whatever order.

He has a little bro who just committed to Kansas State. Perhaps He'll land there. Their dad hasn't taken another coaching job that I know of, at least not yet.

Neath averaged over 5ppg in the ACC as a freshman & shot 48% from deep. He just hasn't been able to get healthy. That's bad luck more than anything. And as I said in an earlier post, you identified early & recruited a wing that was such a monumental success you only had him as a starter for one year. Those two add to the talent level quite a bit. As to the rest, you had a kid (Carlson) who would help the current roster. He left, and Vander Plas & Basile just weren't coming here with Wahl & Crowl both on the roster. Mors was a big miss, for sure. McGee had a nice freshman year at GB; his ineffective play has been really curious to me. Lots of bigs have contributed to success here after not playing much their first couple years, so I'll tap the brakes for now regarding Hodges & Ilver. Don't know what the roster will look like in the years to come, but IMO the kids who have committed & the ones they're currently recruiting possess more than enough talent.

I've felt this about Hepburn for awhile now. He isn't the type of PG that will get all the way to the cup on quickness alone, but has the strength & body type to do so if he can get people on his hip. Certainly way too many cases of finishing maybe 70% of the drive, then either having to make a tough pass in traffic or shoot the fallaway. Looking forward to seeing Wahl get further removed from the injury & rebuild the endurance. Gard said he had no intention of playing him the minutes he did. He was the catalyst behind PSU scoring 24 pt in the second half, could've easily been only 19 or 20. His shots in the paint just haven't been falling with regularity this season, looking for that to balance out.

They don't think it's going to happen Saturday according to Gard postgame. Apparently Sunday is still on the table.