at Bradley - 01/25/2023 - 7:00 PM - MVC TV (BSIN/BSKC/BSMW/BSS/BSSE/NBCSCH)

[Hamdonger]

Go take that statement to the women's basketball office, look KristenG in the face, and utter it again. Then go to Kyle. Then go to Prez.

 

[cubird]

Watching some P5 games...mostly Big 10 and 12. I have yet to see the flop called.

 

[MadBird]

Watching some P5 games...mostly Big 10 and 12. I have yet to see the flop called.

I've seen it called, not a lot, but let's call it regularly. Not a lot, maybe not in every game I've watched, but regularly. There was one in the Wisconsin game last night.

 

[Redbird222]

Watching some P5 games...mostly Big 10 and 12. I have yet to see the flop called.

I have seen it in Big 12 games but I believe they use the same referees as MVC. I think thats the third or fourth flop called on Sandage this year. I think 2 defensively and 2 while shooting

 

[SgtHulka]

- Last night was tough being in the Ice Rink but I am proud how the Birds hustled and really fought last night. I think Everyone was concerned how we would play after the VU debacle and they fought their tails. Its tough to win when 3 starters play over 40 minutes and a bench guy plays 38 minutes. Everyone knows the problems this team has but its being realistic with Pedon coming in on year 1 and throwing a roster together as he was trying to put a schedule together. Year 1 is building a culture and with the guys that played coach Pedon is doing that.
-A conversation I had with Luke's dad at half. I thanked him for Luke and asked him what he thought about the PU rivalry. We both went on to say that we love what coach Pedon is doing. With Mal, DB and Luke we have a core in the backcourt that is building what coach Pedon wants. Its not going to happen overnight but these kids are establishing a foundation that we both think will lead to success. The success might be after Mal, DB and Luke leave but with next year and the coming years they will be what got this train started.
- Also hates off to Kyle Brennan. Kyle told us before the game that he is putting a Redbird Athletics billboard right in the heart of the PU campus and I can't love that enough.

You had your 3 seconds of fame during one of the crowd shots

 

[SgtHulka]

I have seen it in Big 12 games but I believe they use the same referees as MVC. I think thats the third or fourth flop called on Sandage this year. I think 2 defensively and 2 while shooting

He's a flop machine. The Flop is the NCAAs best worst invention ever. Not only do they signal the flop, but they let the play continue then call a foul on top of it. If a flop is illegal, blow your whistle, stop the game and call it. Too many examples in the same game where one is called, and a few plays later under similar circumstances it isn't. If a guy flops with no contact its a fair call, but it seems there generally is and refs who have enough on their plates have to judge intent. Just another reason for refs to get over involved

 

[dpdoughbird06]

Horsepooooo, Reggie. The admin cares. You can be pissed about our results, absolutely. But to make a blanket statement like this is ridiculous. Also...Illinois State was on the front end of TitleIX nationally and Jill Hutchison and Linda Herman were and are big reasons for it and they are more than deserving.

I get what you're saying. But bullshite statement.

We’re getting pretty good bang for our buck with women’s sports lately: KG has turned around basketball, Leah passed off a team fresh off three straight NCAAs to Matters, and soccer had a nice run a few years ago.

I’m going to try using “Horsepooooo” as shorthand to complain about the officials. If everyone here does the same, we’ll know how bad a call was by tracking the Horsepooooo.

 

[Redbird82]

We’re getting pretty good bang for our buck with women’s sports lately: KG has turned around basketball, Leah passed off a team fresh off three straight NCAAs to Matters, and soccer had a nice run a few years ago.

I’m going to try using “Horsepooooo” as shorthand to complain about the officials. If everyone here does the same, we’ll know how bad a call was by tracking the Horsepooooo.

Actually Volleyball had 4 in a row, the last 3 were autos the first was an at large.

 

[cubird]

Obviously, the refs are aware of Sandage and he really needs to adjust to the refs not giving him the benefit of doubt.

 

[Buffett1]

Actually Volleyball had 4 in a row, the last 3 were autos the first was an at large.

Woman's tennis to the show 2 outta last 4 seasons. ( helped WSU moved on fron conf)

 

[Phantom]

Anybody notice how bad we are at simply catching the basketball? We mishandle/bobble about every other pass.

And corralling 50/50 balls and securing the ball in general. If your hoops IQ is in the shithouse and you're going to turn it over 600 times a night, then you better at least be able to secure the most basic passes & loose balls. Our hands are embarrassingly weak, or they shake & guys can't control them. Need to hight the weight room full force in the off-season. That said, we did a great job on the boards in Peoria. Played well most of the night, just couldn't keep our foot on the gas pedal. It's maddening and frustrating to no end, but all these close losses, even getting blown out at home by Valpo...all pretty classic symptoms of a brand new team and first time HC. But those crutches go out the window once this season ends. Hopefully we have a better final month.

 

[BirdGrad2011]

It's maddening and frustrating to no end, but all these close losses, even getting blown out at home by Valpo...all pretty classic symptoms of a brand new team and first time HC. But those crutches go out the window once this season ends. Hopefully we have a better final month.

It tells me Pedon’s system is working we just don’t have the talent or horses yet. We have a slew of Muller holdovers that never won anything. Then we add in the transfers that were kind of in the same boat or like Malachi and getting there on a great team. The hard part about turning around a program is learning how to win. We are in almost every single game (minus MTE). These painful losses should help the core guys that would be back.

Look at Bradley. Wardle inherited just as bad if not worse situation and promptly went 5-27. Won 20 games by year 3. Some steady improvement of that nature should be our expectation.

 

[Phantom]

It tells me Pedon’s system is working we just don’t have the talent or horses yet. We have a slew of Muller holdovers that never won anything. Then we add in the transfers that were kind of in the same boat or like Malachi and getting there on a great team. The hard part about turning around a program is learning how to win. We are in almost every single game (minus MTE). These painful losses should help the core guys that would be back.

Look at Bradley. Wardle inherited just as bad if not worse situation and promptly went 5-27. Won 20 games by year 3. Some steady improvement of that nature should be our expectation.

A few similarities between this year and Moser's first year too. Only won 10 games but were competitive most nights and as the season went on you could see what he was trying to do. Year two, big improvement. Went 17-13, had some big early wins and stayed in the top 4-5 in an extremely good league but ran out of gas down the stretch. Different era/different players of course but I'm confident we can have a similar jump next season.

 

[SlackBooDom]

It tells me Pedon’s system is working we just don’t have the talent or horses yet. We have a slew of Muller holdovers that never won anything. Then we add in the transfers that were kind of in the same boat or like Malachi and getting there on a great team. The hard part about turning around a program is learning how to win. We are in almost every single game (minus MTE). These painful losses should help the core guys that would be back.

Look at Bradley. Wardle inherited just as bad if not worse situation and promptly went 5-27. Won 20 games by year 3. Some steady improvement of that nature should be our expectation.

Totally agree with this. Any rebuild starts somewhere. The starting point here was devoid of talent. Because of your take, I'm curious what your view is of Pedon's system. How do you define it? What about the system seems to be working? Wardle came in and had a top 130 defense in the country year one and that was his calling card at UWGB. What do we do well or are we looking to do well?

 

[BirdGrad2011]

Totally agree with this. Any rebuild starts somewhere. The starting point here was devoid of talent. Because of your take, I'm curious what your view is of Pedon's system. How do you define it? What about the system seems to be working? Wardle came in and had a top 130 defense in the country year one and that was his calling card at UWGB. What do we do well or are we looking to do well?

Think you saw the best of the offense (that it will be under this roster) Wednesday. Look how sharp the cuts were and how the ball moved. Sure there were the same boneheaded errors and they just flat ran out of gas. We have an offense. I’m not sure we ever did under Dan. Defense remains to be seen. Our post is too big of a liability right now to truly judge.

 

[dpdoughbird06]

Think you saw the best of the offense (that it will be under this roster) Wednesday. Look how sharp the cuts were and how the ball moved. Sure there were the same boneheaded errors and they just flat ran out of gas. We have an offense. I’m not sure we ever did under Dan. Defense remains to be seen. Our post is too big of a liability right now to truly judge.

Playing only six guys paid off in everyone being more in-sync - and likely sent a message to those who didn’t make the cut after the Valpo embarrassment.

Not that we’ll have high hopes at Arch Madness, but I’ll take gassing our core six on Thursday if it means we’re more likely to make it to Friday.

 

[stielowp]

And that’s very fair to all involved

I echo everything you say about the coaches, team and program. My only kicker is not the 3 year prediction. I believe even with a first year true pg or by way of the portal and a viable big the Birds can make some noise next year. Even if the only big we get is suppose to be the incoming committed kid it will help. He’s big enough to draw attention down low. Now we’re talking about some serious screens being set too. That will definitely allow Pedon to play inside out. I expect Luke and Mal to come back along with Liam. I’ve been saying from day 1 this team can really shoot it. Their shooting is taken away from them first by turnovers and secondly no inside presence. I can tell teams are really trying to take the 3 ball away from Mal. Only three attempts last night, two at the end of the shot clock. It’s no coincidence the one he made was coming off a screen set for him by Liam. Trust me brighter days are ahead for this program much sooner than 3 years.

Maybe it will be different with this coach, but didn't it usually take about a year for a post to figure out how to set a legal screen and play defense without fouling. I can see Walker averaging more fouls than rebounds next year.

 

[Popsto4]

Maybe it will be different with this coach, but didn't it usually take about a year for a post to figure out how to set a legal screen and play defense without fouling. I can see Walker averaging more fouls than rebounds next year.

I see that from Walker also but doesn’t mean it will actually happen. I believe it will take more time for him to get in shape than learning to play his roll. He’s a big kid that will be used minimally I think. I think the best option for a big is to grab one through the transfer portal. A big going forward is a great need for this team. I think kisinger will be a huge help for next year as well.

 

[DaveBird10]

You had your 3 seconds of fame during one of the crowd shots

So I heard. Got a few text messages afterwards telling me smile.

 

[SlackBooDom]

Think you saw the best of the offense (that it will be under this roster) Wednesday. Look how sharp the cuts were and how the ball moved. Sure there were the same boneheaded errors and they just flat ran out of gas. We have an offense. I’m not sure we ever did under Dan. Defense remains to be seen. Our post is too big of a liability right now to truly judge.

Offense is 281st in the country right now. The lowest it was under Muller was 240. Objectively, this would be the worst ISU offense since 2011.

I’m only playing the other side for the sake of conversation because I, mostly, agree there are pieces there to build on and the offense will get there with better players. I just don’t have blind optimism to say it’s the best our offense has looked in a decade when we have 9 assists and 24 turnovers. I want Pedon’s system, whatever that is, to work perfectly but to say we have something foundational right now feels a little skewed to me.