Lourdes - 11/6/2023 - 7:00 PM - ESPN+

[DoubleDeuce]

30 more wins for a perfect regular season!

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

Portal or not, that feels like the prudent choice at the time being. His weight loss was an achievement and that work ethic will pay off, but watching him labor at times against IWU I don’t think he could withstand a full college basketball season right now.

i have been excited about the Chase, his weight loss and ultimate ability to help the redbirds soar up the standings. the mention of Chase laboring and potentially struggling to withstand a season of basketball is a bit shocking and puzzling. i get it if he has some injury... it sucks but it happens to many. i hope the reference of laboring and inability to withstand a full season is due to an injury rather than his overall health?

 

[Redbird Alum 2004]

If it means Chase sheds more weight and his foot can heal then I am fine with it. I'm fact I could see Chase and his family respecting thinking of his entire career and not just a single season. Chase is explosive and with that weight it is extremely hard on the feet. Need to get him to the 250-260 range I would think to help alleviate that. If we press him into duty now then we could cause some permanent damage to the feet and have him develop some bad habits as he tries to compensate for the pain.

 

[SlackBooDom]

i have been excited about the Chase, his weight loss and ultimate ability to help the redbirds soar up the standings. the mention of Chase laboring and potentially struggling to withstand a season of basketball is a bit shocking and puzzling. i get it if he has some injury... it sucks but it happens to many. i hope the reference of laboring and inability to withstand a full season is due to an injury rather than his overall health?

More due to the fact he’s a young freshman making the adjustment to a new body and a more grueling game of basketball. Just opinion, guards and wings transition easier to the college game than bigs - specifically back to the basket bigs. He’s playing against full grown adult men now who are going to be physically challenging him. He isn’t ready. People keep talking about the IWU game like it was a revelation and he’s ready. He was 0/3 from the floor with 3 fouls against a 4th place CCIW team with bad bigs and couldn’t jog off the floor when he was subbed out he was so tired. Laboring. You have to be able to sit in a stance, hit cutters, box out every play, front the post, do early work, etc…. Chase’s skill level is there. His ability to be an effective big man in college basketball at 18 years old just isn’t.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

More due to the fact he’s a young freshman making the adjustment to a new body and a more grueling game of basketball. Just opinion, guards and wings transition easier to the college game than bigs - specifically back to the basket bigs. He’s playing against full grown adult men now who are going to be physically challenging him. He isn’t ready. People keep talking about the IWU game like it was a revelation and he’s ready. He was 0/3 from the floor with 3 fouls against a 4th place CCIW team with bad bigs and couldn’t jog off the floor when he was subbed out he was so tired. Laboring. You have to be able to sit in a stance, hit cutters, box out every play, front the post, do early work, etc…. Chase’s skill level is there. His ability to be an effective big man in college basketball at 18 years old just isn’t.

Thanks for the feedback… will begin to dramatically temper expectations as respects to Chase’s impact on the Redbirds this year and keep fingers crossed that we get to see his healthy skills showcased while wearing a Redbird uniform.

 

[Scipio]

More due to the fact he’s a young freshman making the adjustment to a new body and a more grueling game of basketball. Just opinion, guards and wings transition easier to the college game than bigs - specifically back to the basket bigs. He’s playing against full grown adult men now who are going to be physically challenging him. He isn’t ready. People keep talking about the IWU game like it was a revelation and he’s ready. He was 0/3 from the floor with 3 fouls against a 4th place CCIW team with bad bigs and couldn’t jog off the floor when he was subbed out he was so tired. Laboring. You have to be able to sit in a stance, hit cutters, box out every play, front the post, do early work, etc…. Chase’s skill level is there. His ability to be an effective big man in college basketball at 18 years old just isn’t.

One of the things I respect about Pedon (and there are many) is his obvious attention to his players. That and he is trying to build a winning program here. If Pedon and staff believe Walker will benefit in the long run from redshirt; I for one will support that decision.

 

[ISU86]

Good call. Hopefully we don't take last years performance from the line for granted.

Take out the two outlier statistics (Burford turnovers, Foster free-throws) and the numbers are more in-line with expectations (especially given that Lewis was unavailable). Not concerned just one game in. Solid performance for an opener.

 

[Scipio]

Some thoughts on the Birds so far:
- Guards! Banks, Davis & Kinzinger. We’ve not had that depth and ability at Guard since Paris Lee.
- Poindexter/Burford. Not being forced into a Guard situation frees up these two to run off the ball and produce some offense.
- Myles Foster. Flat out stud in the paint. Good defender and something that we’ve not seen in a Redbird squad before. Coaches will work on his offense and free throws; but I’m loving his power and presence under the rim.
- Lieb! I feel like I’m seeing a player getting used to a new system and style of play. However, solid defense and offense. I’m optimistic he could thrive in the Valley. I don’t ever recall us having a big of his quality.
- Pence looks like the real deal. Love his hustle and defensive commitment.
Overall I like what I see. My hope for this year was to have a team that was competitive; and I think that’s what Coach has given us.

 

[crazzymark]

Attendance: 2,416

Right.....must of counted all the season ticket holders no shows. And no college students section at all

 

[isuquinndog]

So word is Chase asked for the redshirt and I appreciate Pedon trying to respect his wishes....but.....

man, with the portal I just don't like redshirting guys for non-medical reasons. You put that year into him, give him a scholly and then he can suddenly be at Drake or something and you get nothing in return. I hope Chase reconsiders this year and he can be a contributor.

 

[Phantom]

Right.....must of counted all the season ticket holders no shows. And no college students section at all

Monday night against a team nobody has ever heard of. I'll give this one a pass for the tiny crowd. And we've had a student section exactly one time in the last 3 years (Horton game last year), so that's not a surprise either. No way in Hell would they get excited about this game.

What is something of a surprise, and one that causes immediate concern is Chase. Either he has a lingering injury, simply isn't ready to contribute, or is eyeing the portal. All 3 possibilities are not good.

 

[DaveBird10]

Nobody is gonna say anything about the FT shooting?
That was our Achilles heel a few seasons ago and needs to be addressed if we’re gonna do anything this season.

Foster in 3 seasons at Monmouth was a career 50% free throw shooter or so and he was 1-5 from the line last night. That certainly needs to change or Judson needs to work with Foster pronto on free throws.

 

[Manchester Matt]

So word is Chase asked for the redshirt and I appreciate Pedon trying to respect his wishes....but.....

man, with the portal I just don't like redshirting guys for non-medical reasons. You put that year into him, give him a scholly and then he can suddenly be at Drake or something and you get nothing in return. I hope Chase reconsiders this year and he can be a contributor.

Or maybe Chase really likes it here and just wants to get his body prepared for the rigors of competing against high level athletes in a long season.

From what I gather, he doesn’t seem like the type of individual who is going to take a redshirt and then bolt immediately.

Guess we will see.

 

[stats]

In the lower bowl from tunnel to tunnel (on the player's side) was between 250 and 300. It looked like there was a good number of students under the basket on the band side.

Also, does anyone know why no one parked in the lot closest to the football field on main street?

 

[DoubleDeuce]

Monday night against a team nobody has ever heard of. I'll give this one a pass for the tiny crowd. And we've had a student section exactly one time in the last 3 years (Horton game last year), so that's not a surprise either. No way in Hell would they get excited about this game.

What is something of a surprise, and one that causes immediate concern is Chase. Either he has a lingering injury, simply isn't ready to contribute, or is eyeing the portal. All 3 possibilities are not good.

There maybe good reasons for Coach and Chase to consider redshirting. We don't know the situation and we can only have faith that they are doing what's best for the young man AND the program.

 

[SgtHulka]

In the lower bowl from tunnel to tunnel (on the player's side) was between 250 and 300. It looked like there was a good number of students under the basket on the band side.

Also, does anyone know why no one parked in the lot closest to the football field on main street?

That’s always been a season ticket holder lot

 

[DaveBird10]

So word is Chase asked for the redshirt and I appreciate Pedon trying to respect his wishes....but.....

man, with the portal I just don't like redshirting guys for non-medical reasons. You put that year into him, give him a scholly and then he can suddenly be at Drake or something and you get nothing in return. I hope Chase reconsiders this year and he can be a contributor.

Or maybe Chase really likes it here and just wants to get his body prepared for the rigors of competing against high level athletes in a long season.

From what I gather, he doesn’t seem like the type of individual who is going to take a redshirt and then bolt immediately.

Guess we will see.

Pedon also mentioned to Randy in the Pentagraph that they are on the same page and that he has had great communication with Chase, his family and his high school coaches on what's best for Chase.
I am excited for Chase but we do have depth I think that is there this year. We got through a game yesterday without KLew and even Sissoko who could give minutes if needed where we played a freshman on a kid who was an all-American at the NAIA level. If Redshirting Chase is best for Chase in the long term and for ISU I'm all for it especially if minutes might not be available.

 

[DWRedbird]

So word is Chase asked for the redshirt and I appreciate Pedon trying to respect his wishes....but.....

man, with the portal I just don't like redshirting guys for non-medical reasons. You put that year into him, give him a scholly and then he can suddenly be at Drake or something and you get nothing in return. I hope Chase reconsiders this year and he can be a contributor.

If true that Chase is asking for a redshirt, I think that's great. He realizes that he's not ready to compete at the level he needs and wants to get better.

As to the portal, he has a free transfer no matter what, so whether he sits a year as a redshirt or plays 2 mins a game for us right now, it wouldn't impact his choice to leave and go somewhere else if he wants to. Might he have an extra year somewhere else if he elects to go? Sure, but you can't treat every player like they are guaranteed to transfer, or you are going to fulfill your own prophecy every time.

As to the game, I only got to watch the second half as life got in the way, but my thoughts are:

• We looked better than last year on both ends of the floor, but in my opinion we still spent more time outside of the 3pt line than I want overall.
• Lieb looks like the defensive big man we've been looking for.
• Mal looked way more comfortable off the ball, than he looked last year as the PG. Having Banks and JK are going to help him a ton.
• Foster is going to be a handful for the Valley this year.
• Banks is the type of PG I haven't seen in a redbird uni since Paris Lee. I'm not saying he has the same type of skill/talent, but he is the same type of PG.
• I agree with others, FT shooting has to get better, especially in the second half. If it doesn't, that's how other teams will beat us.

 

[fdbird83]

Some thoughts on the Birds so far:
- Guards! Banks, Davis & Kinzinger. We’ve not had that depth and ability at Guard since Paris Lee.
- Poindexter/Burford. Not being forced into a Guard situation frees up these two to run off the ball and produce some offense.
- Myles Foster. Flat out stud in the paint. Good defender and something that we’ve not seen in a Redbird squad before. Coaches will work on his offense and free throws; but I’m loving his power and presence under the rim.
- Lieb! I feel like I’m seeing a player getting used to a new system and style of play. However, solid defense and offense. I’m optimistic he could thrive in the Valley. I don’t ever recall us having a big of his quality.
- Pence looks like the real deal. Love his hustle and defensive commitment.
Overall I like what I see. My hope for this year was to have a team that was competitive; and I think that’s what Coach has given us.

I will counter Lieb with this former bird. Jeff Wilkins (basketball) - Wikipedia

Joe Galvin (2004) - Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame - Illinois State University Athletics

Joe Galvin, Class: Induction: 2004 Sport(s): Basketball - Men's Basketball (1977-80)Three year starter at center ... finished his career with 1,022 points on 53

goredbirds.com

 

[DoubleDeuce]

We could probably quit trying to feed Lieb as he rolls to the basket...that didn't seem like a winning play.