Northern Iowa - 12/31/2022 - 2:00 PM - Marquee

[Hamdonger]

Yes I’ve changed my tone but not about the shooting of this team at all. It’s the system to be honest. Did you know the Redbirds are the only team in the conference that have 3 players in the Top Ten for players 3 PT %? If this doesn’t tell you it’s more about the system then I don’t know what to say. With all the turnovers coupled with players doing too much that their skill set don’t allow causing the turnovers how can it be anything other than the system.

This is glaringly obvious, but I don't believe Ryan has what he needs to play in regards to how he wants to play. His job, especially this year and offseason, are to find specific kids who fit his pedigree. Will he find those players???

As far as this year...I'm probably one of the very few here but I'd like to see Schmitt on the floor a good 10 minutes of most games. He's got liability but what I like is Coach's 'system' seems to flow much better with Schmitt in the game. The ball just seems to move better and more effectively. Plus he brings the RIGHT attitude and he hustles his ass off. Maybe he's my teacher's pet. Not a real good player but man do I want to see him impact our team.

And...I still believe that if Kendall will settle down he's the heart of our team when we're on the floor.

 

[dpdoughbird06]

Pedon has said what offense he wants to run. Through a big man in the post. We don’t really have that so this is what we are doing.

Last two games have come against coaches who are good at messing with opponents who lack an identity. Defense was always Coach Yak’s calling card, and UNI has forced teams into playing their methodical game while they sell the officials on questionable calls.

But until Pedon gets his guys in and can run his system through them, we’ll have these growing pains.

He’s still growing into his role as a HC, too; I remember what it was like transitioning from being a restaurant manager to the owner - it’s totally different when everyone looks to you to make decisions on the fly.

Best/only way to learn is through experience, but you can’t rush it.

 

[Scipio]

I’m as frustrated as a lot of you. But I think we have to remember that we didn’t fall to this level overnight. And we’re not crawling out of this hole overnight. It’s going to take time. I believe Coach is doing what he can with what he’s got. Happy New Year to all!

 

[Hamdonger]

Last two games have come against coaches who are good at messing with opponents who lack an identity.

Any good IQ team on one end of the ball...we're gonna be exposed all year.

 

[Popsto4]

This is glaringly obvious, but I don't believe Ryan has what he needs to play in regards to how he wants to play. His job, especially this year and offseason, are to find specific kids who fit his pedigree. Will he find those players???

As far as this year...I'm probably one of the very few here but I'd like to see Schmitt on the floor a good 10 minutes of most games. He's got liability but what I like is Coach's 'system' seems to flow much better with Schmitt in the game. The ball just seems to move better and more effectively. Plus he brings the RIGHT attitude and he hustles his ass off. Maybe he's my teacher's pet. Not a real good player but man do I want to see him impact our team.

And...I still believe that if Kendall will settle down he's the heart of our team when we're on the floor.

Well said. I believe Schmidt can be useful just by posting up. It does seem to open the floor up a bit when he’s out there. Reason being he’s so big you just have to respect his size down low if nothing else. With him down there I believe it’s possible to play inside out allowing our shooters to get more open looks. A lot of this are on the players just playing smarter. They have to know if they’re driving and drawing defenders someone has to be open. Maybe try a line up with Mal, Luke, Lewis, Liam and Schmidt. Maybe spelled his name wrong but you get the picture. Idk man just putting it out there. As far as getting players in, the big kid that committed seem to be a back to post down low. Players in the portal if they keep up and are students of the game can easily figure out a spot on next years roster here by watching just one of these games for real. Any capable big should be all over coming here next year. But once again quite a few will go somewhere and quickly find out they bit off more than they can chew. That’s not a coaching staffs mistake, it’s the player’s.

 

[Popsto4]

This is glaringly obvious, but I don't believe Ryan has what he needs to play in regards to how he wants to play. His job, especially this year and offseason, are to find specific kids who fit his pedigree. Will he find those players???

As far as this year...I'm probably one of the very few here but I'd like to see Schmitt on the floor a good 10 minutes of most games. He's got liability but what I like is Coach's 'system' seems to flow much better with Schmitt in the game. The ball just seems to move better and more effectively. Plus he brings the RIGHT attitude and he hustles his ass off. Maybe he's my teacher's pet. Not a real good player but man do I want to see him impact our team.

And...I still believe that if Kendall will settle down he's the heart of our team when we're on the floor.

Another thing is a team should play comparable to its skill set. Talking about not having a pure pg is not as big a problem as not having capable players of putting it on the floor at the wing or 4 spots. That my friend is a huge problem for this team. If you’re a wing you should be able to handle the rock as well as a 2 guard. If you’re an undersized 4 you need to be able to handle it outside of the paint. If you can’t you should remain on the block and only come out to set screens for shooters on the offensive end. Look at Liam’s skill set. He’s not doing anything that exposes himself on the offensive end regarding putting it on the floor. If you’re turning it o er roughly half of your dribble drive penetrations you shouldn’t be handling the rock past the free throw line point blank period is just my take. Another problem is the pg or 2 guard bring it up the court around 95% of the time. Sometimes we have 3 guards in the game and none of them bring it up the court. My question is why is that happening or even allowed. Yes I say play Schmidt. He’s smart enough to give it to whoever is pg at the moment. All of those things tie into awareness/basketball IQ.

 

[Popsto4]

How do you get the type of PG everyone thinks we need? Our program has fallen so far, there isn’t a whole lot this program can offer up to recruit the type of talent we need.
Chicken and egg….

Most of that type of thing is actually up to the recruit actually. They make the final decision. Knowing a program need a true pg is a great selling point but the player needs to recognize that first himself. Hearing it from a coach could be looked at like he’s just telling me that to get me here. On the other hand if a player know that without hearing from the coach a second time by doing his homework about the program and its games, he believes it own his own because he see it. That’s the difference maker on a commitment or not.

 

[Bird Friend]

Most of that type of thing is actually up to the recruit actually. They make the final decision. Knowing a program need a true pg is a great selling point but the player needs to recognize that first himself. Hearing it from a coach could be looked at like he’s just telling me that to get me here. On the other hand if a player know that without hearing from the coach a second time by doing his homework about the program and its games, he believes it own his own because he see it. That’s the difference maker on a commitment or not.

I believe we have a PG coming who will fill the bill, maybe not next year, but definitely coming. I believe we have a post coming who will fill the bill, definitely not next year, but eventually. I believe we have a wing coming who will fill the bill, probably not next year, but eventually. We have a stretch-4 who can spread the D, but he needs to add strength/muscle. We do not have a sniper, a spot up shooter (yes, Mal might be one and Luke might be one, but I’m not yet convinced). Burford is a slasher who needs to improve his 3-pt shooting to make slashing more effective. We do not have a defensive stopper.

As I said about this team: “We play hard, but we play dumb. Frankly, there's nobody on this team willing to be THE leader on the floor. We have nobody on this team that can take over a game. We have nobody on this team we can count on to be the defensive stopper. We throw soft passes, dribble high, and run soft screens . . . and nobody knows how to use a screen to get open.”

Recruiting-wise . . . We need a good ready-to-play post player with 2+ years of eligibility. If Pedon wants to run the offense thru the post, we need a guy who fills that role. We need a true PG for next year who can fill the gap to Kinziger. Pedon also needs to decide if he wants to commit to competing next year or committing to rebuild the program with a look to the following year.

I‘d be fine with losing or releasing Petrakis, Kotov, Schmitt, and Sissoko. The first three have shown me nothing I feel can’t be replaced with much better. I love Sissoko, but he just cannot figure out how to play D. UNI ate him alive on the defensive side. Athleticism can only take him so far.

If I’m going to be really honest, Cheese is the only player on the roster I would hate to lose after this season. I believe the rest of our players are “easily” replaceable.

 

[ISU86]

Pedon has said what offense he wants to run. Through a big man in the post. We don’t really have that so this is what we are doing.

If Lewis and/or Schmitt are the closest we have to that on the roster, then Ryan should roll them out there and see what the results are. At 6-9, no harm ... no foul.

 

[cubird]

Knight had 8 rebounds, but was held scoreless on only 2 shots. That's the ballgame. A guy that usually at least can get to the ft line. Everytime he drove inside NIU had another defender coming from the week side.

 

[BirdGrad2011]

Yes I’ve changed my tone but not about the shooting of this team at all. It’s the system to be honest. Did you know the Redbirds are the only team in the conference that have 3 players in the Top Ten for players 3 PT %? If this doesn’t tell you it’s more about the system then I don’t know what to say. With all the turnovers coupled with players doing too much that their skill set don’t allow causing the turnovers how can it be anything other than the system.

I disagree with completely blaming the system. I think part of the problem is for a lot of the shot clock we are looking for the perfect shot or drive situation then it gets late in the shot clock and sometimes it’s a great look while others it’s a forced shot or turnover from forcing action. The system creates plenty of good looks. It’s about decision making and as we’ve all pointed out the lack of a go to guy hurts.

Having zero true 5s kills a lot of what we want to do on both ends of the floor. I love Liam’s game but he’s far more of a 4 than a 5. Same with Lewis, Petrakis. Kotov and Sissoko never developed under Dan and it’s clear now they aren’t skilled enough. Schmitt is a great kid with a great attitude but isn’t cut out for this level.

 

[redbirds2000]

I believe we have a PG coming who will fill the bill, maybe not next year, but definitely coming. I believe we have a post coming who will fill the bill, definitely not next year, but eventually. I believe we have a wing coming who will fill the bill, probably not next year, but eventually. We have a stretch-4 who can spread the D, but he needs to add strength/muscle. We do not have a sniper, a spot up shooter (yes, Mal might be one and Luke might be one, but I’m not yet convinced). Burford is a slasher who needs to improve his 3-pt shooting to make slashing more effective. We do not have a defensive stopper.

As I said about this team: “We play hard, but we play dumb. Frankly, there's nobody on this team willing to be THE leader on the floor. We have nobody on this team that can take over a game. We have nobody on this team we can count on to be the defensive stopper. We throw soft passes, dribble high, and run soft screens . . . and nobody knows how to use a screen to get open.”

Recruiting-wise . . . We need a good ready-to-play post player with 2+ years of eligibility. If Pedon wants to run the offense thru the post, we need a guy who fills that role. We need a true PG for next year who can fill the gap to Kinziger. Pedon also needs to decide if he wants to commit to competing next year or committing to rebuild the program with a look to the following year.

I‘d be fine with losing or releasing Petrakis, Kotov, Schmitt, and Sissoko. The first three have shown me nothing I feel can’t be replaced with much better. I love Sissoko, but he just cannot figure out how to play D. UNI ate him alive on the defensive side. Athleticism can only take him so far.

If I’m going to be really honest, Cheese is the only player on the roster I would hate to lose after this season. I believe the rest of our players are “easily” replaceable.

Last paragraph nails it. I said it earlier, there's not a single player on this team that is the catalyst to a trip to the NCAA.

 

[SgtHulka]

I want to believe that McCheeseMan is our best player, but until he fills in the intangibles consistently...I don't believe he's there yet or frankly anywhere close. I'll say it again but a few of those intangibles are offensive rebounding, altering shots, and consistently being a double figure scorer. We see his offensive promise with a couple of high scoring games...but he also can be completely shut out of the offensive end with defenders that want to really belly up to him physically. So...when he's not scoring (which I anticipate is going to be 50% of games)...how is he impacting the game and our team? When that impact is as high as a 25 pt game...then the kid's a player. THAT'S what I want to see out of him and I do believe he is capable. His lower body does limit his capability, however.

His ceiling is high and I'm rooting like heck for him. I think he's the kind of player that constantly needs to be pushed to be better. I'm curious...who on staff is the bad cop with him??

Happy New Year, Hulk!

Nobody has shown any consistency on the team, but he's our most complete player at both ends at this point

Happy New Year!

 

[RedbirdSoxFan]

I wish Illinois State had a Bowen Born. And I also wish Illinois State had a player who could step up to the challenge and actually play tough defense against Bowen Born. He makes the game look so easy. Coach Jacobson may have a challenge keeping him out of the transfer portal.

 

[BirdGrad2011]

I wish Illinois State had a Bowen Born. And I also wish Illinois State had a player who could step up to the challenge and actually play tough defense against Bowen Born. He makes the game look so easy. Coach Jacobson’s may have a challenge keeping him out of the transfer portal.

Johnny Kinziger fits that mold. He just probably won’t be that year 1.

 

[MadBird]

Got some thoughts and observations, like a lot of folks here, they don't all fit together, contradict each other, etc.

We've got folks on the board who want a shorter bench. And then some who want to see more from Schmitt and Petrakis.

We've got folks who want who want to see less passing around the perimeter, less "sharing" the ball, who want guys to "hunt their shots" and be more selfish, and then folks who say the problem is the team is too selfish, or at least some players are.

I have been surprised, disappointed, by the number of just plain old ugly air balls tossed up in the last couple games. Nice open three from 20+, guys line it up, and toss up an 18 footer. Ouch.

My thought is that the movement of the ball around the perimeter has been much better this year, much more "with purpose" (as Coach Donewald liked to say), quicker rotation. But when the ball finds an open shot, it has to be drained.

I was hoping to see Sissoko get some more PT, and he's had some and he's contributed. But he can't control himself on D very well, or at least for a long period of time. I like him in the starting line-up for the tone he sets, but he might be better off the bench so that he can "pace" himself for 5-7 minutes to rack up his 2 fouls.

I feel like/hope Schmitt could be useful in "small" doses, 5 minute stint. Not sure he's a 20 minute a game man for us, but seems like he can give us something.

We're talking about the offense "running through the post". Thing is, I don't think Pedon is necessarily saying "the low post", down in the blocks, so to speak. He's got the "post" guy up at the top of the key, taking a pass, handing off, setting a pick or two, then rolling down the lane. Sissoko can do that, so can Schmitt. So could Knight and Lewis. I'm thinking Ohio State, they had our friend from Belleville play a lot of high post and now Zeb Key does that. Not that we have anyone in that mold at this point.

I don't wanna single anyone out, but I gotta say I thought we'd get a hell of a lot more out of Petrakis. Was hoping he'd at least be able to D-up on the other team's 5, much less hit some 3's and jumpers from the FT line - see paragraph above. He averaged 22 mins/game, 8 points p/g and was leading 3 point shooter at W.Carolina last year, both number made and %.

Burford, the player who makes you pull your hair out - move him from the point so he can "create" his shot, and he's got some good moves, but then TO's, bad shots, etc. If he could be more consistent, we'd really be someplace. I think he can get there.

The season stats are there for both Lewis and Knight - but then, you look at a game like yesterday and say, helloooo, anyone home?? Several games this year those two have been outgunned by the likes of UNI, UIC, Northwestern State, etc. Outworked. Getta get after it every game, come on guys.

I'm not that hung up on the point guard situation. Yes, would be nice to have a "real" PG. Poindexter's doing fine, Burford and Sandage can pitch in and help just fine. Altho we have a crap load of TO's, I don't see that as a reflection on the PG situation - Lewis and Knight and Burford are the leaders in that category.

Overall, I like what's going on, I like what Pedon's doing, I think he's letting folks figger it out, he's trying to figger it out - these guys are all new to him, he's gotta figger out who he can trust, who can do what the best, etc. Gonna take some time. We look better but the results aren't coming yet.

 

[Tpguy]

We may not have a Paris Lee, but Burford and Poindexter, and even Sandage have shown that they have the ability to penetrate into seams to create opportunities…they just don’t do it enough. Instead we either run a weave at the top of the key or pass it around the horn, both mostly to seemingly find open threes. I really feel these guys are playing well below their ability. Like everyone else, I don’t understand the 11-12 deep rotation at this point….

Don't forget Jamar Smiley

 

[Tpguy]

Pedon has us going in the right direction. Those close games will fall the Redbird's way in a year or two.

I'd like to see it sooner, I'm 75 years old

 

[Tpguy]

Things could be worse, at least we can sink free throws

 

[Redbird222]

IF I was Pedon in my first year trying to rebuild a program, I would run the system I want to run and start putting the pieces where they fit best long term. You can make small compromises but stick to your plan with conviction. You will know

1. What talent needs to be retained
2. What talent needs to be brought in
3. If your plan needs to be tweeked

If Liam, Luke, Mal, and Darius are the future of the team, then play them primarily where you see them being successful in your system long term. If Liam is a piece that causes mismatches and potential feature in your program, then start defining that role within your system. I know he hurt is ankle against Eastern Michigan but why is he not starting against UIC if he is that person? If you see Mal as a shooting guard running off screens, then play him there.

The other pieces plug accordingly ..
But within your system. If you need a big than put the one that's fits your system the best and recruit the talent for long-term success.

Instead we just seem to keep rotating pieces during games and as starters. Schmidt plays well and then he starts. Sissoko doesn't play the entire year and plays well against SIUE and he starts. Sandage plays 5 minutes one game, the next game plays well off the bench and then he starts sending Poindexter to the bench. Liam doesnt start against UIC ... his ankle looked fine that game. Lewis plays poorly against UIC and he doesnt start against UNI. We have played 15 games and it feels like we are still experimenting versus working towards a plan. I think most fans are realistic about this year and more concern about the long term sucess. I think the coach is too but I think he is probably sacricing long term success trying to achieve some small success this year.

I know the message has been be ready when your number is called, but if injury or fouls are not dictating extented rotstions, it could also be interpreted as lack of confidence in those that are playing. 9 - 11 players in the first half is way too much for this part of the season.

A lot of rambling here on my part.