Redbirds @ #25 Drake 2/1 6:00 PM ESPN3

[ricohill]

Rico you were doing so much better not posting.

I guarantee you 100 percent Gregg Marshall gets hired again as a head coach. It’s not like hiring him is a crazy notion.

 

[redbirdfan04]

I guarantee you 100 percent Gregg Marshall gets hired again as a head coach. It’s not like hiring him is a crazy notion.

I agree he probably will get hired again, make tons of money, and win but I sure hope to God not at ISU.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

Three things:

a.) Moser's tenure was the worst (so far) overall in the Division I era - only one of four seasons avoiding play-in night at Arch Madness
b.) seen enough Dedric Boyd - not hot enough for long enough to merit rolling the dice putting him on the court for any length of time
c.) minus Fan 1, I think all of the "coach head on a stick" torch carriers managed to make it to the message board village tonight

And... beating his players, accused of cheating, and his wife making racist comments drunk at games.

Allegedly

 

[WoodlandWarrior]

I’ve followed Redbird basketball since 1970-71 season. The last four years of Muller have definitely been a low point. Who wants their alma mater to be a national joke of a program? One more time....we don’t recruit to a system because there is no system.

 

[redbirdfan04]

How do you know what Dan has done or is doing? We have had coaches that have not been so nice to players. Winning can over compensate being a jack@ss. It has that effect. I’m not saying that makes it right. I’m sure you weren’t calling for Stallings to be fired.

Being a jackas@ and what Marshall did are not the same. As for Stallings it was before I became a redbird! My father in law has told me some pretty crazy stories about him though.

 

[redbirdfan04]

Allegedly

Do we need to say that for legal reasons!

 

[redbirds2000]

And... beating his players, accused of cheating, and his wife making racist comments drunk at games.

Take the 3G era away. Still a better history than ours.

 

[Redbird222]

I hear a lot of comments about our offense standing around the perimeter like prior years ... I don't see it that way.

Coming into tonight's Drake game tonight's, ISU was 19th in the nation in shooting 3s at 39.0% and our 3pt shooting defense was 53rd at 30.1% ... its actually one of our strengths.

We are 187th in 3 point shots per game. We don't just stand around and chucks 3s this year. We may not like the execution at times but the team doesn't just settle for threes.

So why is our offense inconsistent

1. Too many turnovers .... yep. Way too many.
2. Bigs convert at very low% compared to other teams front line.

In my opinion our turnovers and lack of assists has a direct correlation with the inability of our front line. Its not like the Malik years where one person tries going 1:1 and 3 others just stand at 3 point line. Dusan rolls hard but cannot finish consistently. Teams are willing to bang him because he shoots less than 50% from FT line. Abdou doesn't roll and he doesn't have soft hands. All of this contributes and creates more pressure on the guards.

Defensively our Achilles has been interior defense and rebounding. Dusan cannot protect the rim and players like Brodie and Krutwig have punished him in the paint despite his size. I think he will struggle against Prem too. They body up and he has shown and inability to push them away from the rim prior to receiving the ball. There are still man to man principles in that zone defense which he has not mastered. Dusan brings great energy and enthusiasm but he would be better served as a role player in my opinion used in the appropriate matchups. However due to our lack of depth and options he is forced to play a larger role than he is capable of doing. Abdou show glimpses defensively but his lack of strength and hands hurts him. Now.many times does he have his hands on on rebound but cannot secure it.. His timing on blocks was much better today as he didn't go for every fake. He is a quick leaper and needs to learn to be patient and time those leaps. This is his greatest assets. That being said he seems to be a role player too. I would think both would better coming off the bench and excel in certain matchups vs having to play prominent roles daily.

So that being said does Dan have to be accountable... yes. He needs to desperately recruit some interior players. Fisher would not have been a savior but he definitely would have helped. He would have made the difference in a few games. We need to add two post players that contribute consistently both on offense and defense otherwise we will be wasting the talent we have at the underclassmen guards. Better post play will alleviate some of the pressure on the guards which in turn which will cut down on turnovers.

I understand the frustration ... I really do. 22 years from a NCAA bid and nines years under Muller; however,

1. Muller isn't going anywhere this year or next year
2. I do think the team is playing better than at the beginning of the year
3. You have 4 players ... Horne, Reeves, Fleming, and Washington that can be the nucleus for a good team
4. You have a few others that can suffice as role players
5. Add the appropriate front line help and we could be competitive next year in the MVC ... my opinion

 

[Loyl2u]

So both teams had to play two days in a row- and while we were pleasantly surprised with yesterday, today was unfortunately “what we expected”. Yesterday, the aggressive 2/3 look created problems for the Drake perimeter. Today, they’d seen it, played against it and had time to address. Unfortunately, the Birds didn’t give them any different defensive looks and Drake took away the birds open 3’s/shooting accuracy from our guards wasn’t as good today. Without rebounding and any type of front line offense- relying on the 3, Birds are going to have days like today. The offensive scheme is one dimensional & the defense needs to be able to show different looks. With only one big on the floor w the 4 guard offense, the Birds were unable to stop Drake‘s #4s Murphy or Hemphill who combined had 48 points and 13 rebounds. 6 for 11 from the line. The Birds don’t create FT’s w/ perimeter game and even when they get them, ISU is #329 out of 340 D1 teams in FT %. And then there are to TO’s. Still pulling for wins, but days like today hurt all Redbird Fans.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

I hear a lot of comments about our offense standing around the perimeter like prior years ... I don't see it that way.

Coming into tonight's Drake game tonight's, ISU was 19th in the nation in shooting 3s at 39.0% and our 3pt shooting defense was 53rd at 30.1% ... its actually one of our strengths.

We are 187th in 3 point shots per game. We don't just stand around and chucks 3s this year. We may not like the execution at times but the team doesn't just settle for threes.

So why is our offense inconsistent

1. Too many turnovers .... yep. Way too many.
2. Bigs convert at very low% compared to other teams front line.

In my opinion our turnovers and lack of assists has a direct correlation with the inability of our front line. Its not like the Malik years where one person tries going 1:1 and 3 others just stand at 3 point line. Dusan rolls hard but cannot finish consistently. Teams are willing to bang him because he shoots less than 50% from FT line. Abdou doesn't roll and he doesn't have soft hands. All of this contributes and creates more pressure on the guards.

Defensively our Achilles has been interior defense and rebounding. Dusan cannot protect the rim and players like Brodie and Krutwig have punished him in the paint despite his size. I think he will struggle against Prem too. They body up and he has shown and inability to push them away from the rim prior to receiving the ball. There are still man to man principles in that zone defense which he has not mastered. Dusan brings great energy and enthusiasm but he would be better served as a role player in my opinion used in the appropriate matchups. However due to our lack of depth and options he is forced to play a larger role than he is capable of doing. Abdou show glimpses defensively but his lack of strength and hands hurts him. Now.many times does he have his hands on on rebound but cannot secure it.. His timing on blocks was much better today as he didn't go for every fake. He is a quick leaper and needs to learn to be patient and time those leaps. This is his greatest assets. That being said he seems to be a role player too. I would think both would better coming off the bench and excel in certain matchups vs having to play prominent roles daily.

So that being said does Dan have to be accountable... yes. He needs to desperately recruit some interior players. Fisher would not have been a savior but he definitely would have helped. He would have made the difference in a few games. We need to add two post players that contribute consistently both on offense and defense otherwise we will be wasting the talent we have at the underclassmen guards. Better post play will alleviate some of the pressure on the guards which in turn which will cut down on turnovers.

I understand the frustration ... I really do. 22 years from a NCAA bid and nines years under Muller; however,

1. Muller isn't going anywhere this year or next year
2. I do think the team is playing better than at the beginning of the year
3. You have 4 players ... Horne, Reeves, Fleming, and Washington that can be the nucleus for a good team
4. You have a few others that can suffice as role players
5. Add the appropriate front line help and we could be competitive next year in the MVC ... my opinion

Strong, well throughout post. However, the notion that HCDM isn’t going anywhere sounds like pure speculation. Since we hired the new AD, Muller is winless, and in embarrassing fashion. If getting rid of HCDM this season isn’t our AD’s top priority (finances be damned), then we hired the wrong guy.

 

[Redbird222]

Take the 3G era away. Still a better history than ours.

Lets take away 3G Era.

1. The 14 NCAA appearance got to 7 .. Similar to ISU's 6
2. They went 18 years consecutibe without an NCAA appearance ... sound familiar
3. Part of their rich history was on 64 and 65 (the other final four ) before ISU was even a D1 school. So maybe we should discard those appearances
4. Since ISU was D1 school, I would say only the Gene Smithson/Ed Fogler era (79 to 86) and (87 to 89) produced any substantial results. I guess Turgeon had one good year.

Marshall put them back on the map.amd was the game changer. Kudos to them but their rich history prior to that looks very similar to ISU. I have not done the math but I am willing to bet if you look at the years ISU was a D1 school and throw out Marshall years ... iSU has more wins and NCAA appearances.

 

[Redbird222]

Strong, well throughout post. However, the notion that HCDM isn’t going anywhere sounds like pure speculation. Since we hired the new AD, Muller is winless, and in embarrassing fashion. If getting rid of HCDM this season isn’t our AD’s top priority (finances be damned), then we hired the wrong guy.

It's definitely speculation on my part.... for sure. I have no insight. Someone corrected me on the years left on his contract a few weeks ago (I was off by a year). I think there's just too much guaranteed money left and with budgets being hit by the pandemic ... I just don't think it's realistic.

So in the meantime I know I may be frustrated but I will celebrate when there are moments of success, try to stay grounded.and not get too high or low, continue to support the team/program, pray we can keep that nucleus together, and hope we add 2-3 more pieces so that for the love of God we finally return to the dance.

 

[Birdfriend72]

I hear a lot of comments about our offense standing around the perimeter like prior years ... I don't see it that way.

Coming into tonight's Drake game tonight's, ISU was 19th in the nation in shooting 3s at 39.0% and our 3pt shooting defense was 53rd at 30.1% ... its actually one of our strengths.

We are 187th in 3 point shots per game. We don't just stand around and chucks 3s this year. We may not like the execution at times but the team doesn't just settle for threes.

So why is our offense inconsistent

1. Too many turnovers .... yep. Way too many.
2. Bigs convert at very low% compared to other teams front line.

In my opinion our turnovers and lack of assists has a direct correlation with the inability of our front line. Its not like the Malik years where one person tries going 1:1 and 3 others just stand at 3 point line. Dusan rolls hard but cannot finish consistently. Teams are willing to bang him because he shoots less than 50% from FT line. Abdou doesn't roll and he doesn't have soft hands. All of this contributes and creates more pressure on the guards.

Defensively our Achilles has been interior defense and rebounding. Dusan cannot protect the rim and players like Brodie and Krutwig have punished him in the paint despite his size. I think he will struggle against Prem too. They body up and he has shown and inability to push them away from the rim prior to receiving the ball. There are still man to man principles in that zone defense which he has not mastered. Dusan brings great energy and enthusiasm but he would be better served as a role player in my opinion used in the appropriate matchups. However due to our lack of depth and options he is forced to play a larger role than he is capable of doing. Abdou show glimpses defensively but his lack of strength and hands hurts him. Now.many times does he have his hands on on rebound but cannot secure it.. His timing on blocks was much better today as he didn't go for every fake. He is a quick leaper and needs to learn to be patient and time those leaps. This is his greatest assets. That being said he seems to be a role player too. I would think both would better coming off the bench and excel in certain matchups vs having to play prominent roles daily.

So that being said does Dan have to be accountable... yes. He needs to desperately recruit some interior players. Fisher would not have been a savior but he definitely would have helped. He would have made the difference in a few games. We need to add two post players that contribute consistently both on offense and defense otherwise we will be wasting the talent we have at the underclassmen guards. Better post play will alleviate some of the pressure on the guards which in turn which will cut down on turnovers.

I understand the frustration ... I really do. 22 years from a NCAA bid and nines years under Muller; however,

1. Muller isn't going anywhere this year or next year
2. I do think the team is playing better than at the beginning of the year
3. You have 4 players ... Horne, Reeves, Fleming, and Washington that can be the nucleus for a good team
4. You have a few others that can suffice as role players
5. Add the appropriate front line help and we could be competitive next year in the MVC ... my opinion

Results are the only thing that matters. We hardly ever cut after a pass, we pass-stand there. Our bigs aren’t good enough to be the focal point of this offense. If we are to win it’s going to be because our guards are the leaders on the floor. More pick n roll with Ndyaie and Dusan is a must. The guards also need to cut. Instead we rely on our gun slinging from the outside. Unless our guards should 40 percent from three on a regular basis this is who we are. It’s easy to defend.

 

[Birdfriend72]

It's definitely speculation on my part.... for sure. I have no insight. Someone corrected me on the years left on his contract a few weeks ago (I was off by a year). I think there's just too much guaranteed money left and with budgets being hit by the pandemic ... I just don't think it's realistic.

So in the meantime I know I may be frustrated but I will celebrate when there are moments of success, try to stay grounded.and not get too high or low, continue to support the team/program, pray we can keep that nucleus together, and hope we add 2-3 more pieces so that for the love of God we finally return to the dance.

Here is the problem. Fundraising from basketball had to be down before Covid. It wasn’t like people were lining up outside Redbird Arena to get the ticket. You have the loyal fans of about 3000 that are there regardless- good for them. You throw covid in the mix and the donations are down probably another 30-40 percent I would guess. We can’t rely on our football program to increase those donations as only 25 football programs at most throughout the county are solvent. We need to turn this program around at some point if we expect to stay financially stable as an athletic program. Mullers last year on the books is 2023/24 I believe. That’s too long. That means it will be 5-7 years before we turn this around. Good luck on getting money in the mean time.

 

[Birdfriend72]

So both teams had to play two days in a row- and while we were pleasantly surprised with yesterday, today was unfortunately “what we expected”. Yesterday, the aggressive 2/3 look created problems for the Drake perimeter. Today, they’d seen it, played against it and had time to address. Unfortunately, the Birds didn’t give them any different defensive looks and Drake took away the birds open 3’s/shooting accuracy from our guards wasn’t as good today. Without rebounding and any type of front line offense- relying on the 3, Birds are going to have days like today. The offensive scheme is one dimensional & the defense needs to be able to show different looks. With only one big on the floor w the 4 guard offense, the Birds were unable to stop Drake‘s #4s Murphy or Hemphill who combined had 48 points and 13 rebounds. 6 for 11 from the line. The Birds don’t create FT’s w/ perimeter game and even when they get them, ISU is #329 out of 340 D1 teams in FT %. And then there are to TO’s. Still pulling for wins, but days like today hurt all Redbird Fans.

This is good stuff. I remember Bob Donewalds teams. They could play tenacious man to man defense. I always wanted him to TEACH a little zone. It would be a different look and go back to that aggravating man to man. Here we have guys that can’t play man to man, and we have to settle for zone. That’s the problem on defense. If you can play man, you can learn zone. If you can learn zone, doesn’t mean you can play man.

 

[redbirdfan04]

Here is the problem. Fundraising from basketball had to be down before Covid. It wasn’t like people were lining up outside Redbird Arena to get the ticket. You have the loyal fans of about 3000 that are there regardless- good for them. You throw covid in the mix and the donations are down probably another 30-40 percent I would guess. We can’t rely on our football program to increase those donations as only 25 football programs at most throughout the county are solvent. We need to turn this program around at some point if we expect to stay financially stable as an athletic program. Mullers last year on the books is 2023/24 I believe. That’s too long. That means it will be 5-7 years before we turn this around. Good luck many on getting money in the mean time.

Do you think ISU is the only program down because of covid and donations? I would think the number is actually higher than 30-40% but not just for ISU. We have a new AD let him get his feet wet and then see what he can do. He is not going to change wins/loses this year and probably not next. Do you have reports or data to show the ISU athletic department is not financially stable? I know for a fact WIU, SIU, and EIU are not. Multiple reports have come out saying so. If the entire stability of the ISU athletic department is based off of Bball donations we would have been in trouble many years ago. People continue to forget ISU is an Education and nursing school. Yes we have other programs but those two are the foundation of the school. Big donors are not coming from alumni. I 100% agree that waiting until 2023/24 to move on from Dan is ugly at best. I hope they find a corporate donation or a generous local or else that will be the case.

 

[RedbirdSoxFan]

That’s fine. We will get to sit back and watch the same ole show for the next three years!

Actually, you don’t have to watch them! I hate the cubs, so I choose not to watch them.

 

[gobirds85]

It's definitely speculation on my part.... for sure. I have no insight. Someone corrected me on the years left on his contract a few weeks ago (I was off by a year). I think there's just too much guaranteed money left and with budgets being hit by the pandemic ... I just don't think it's realistic.

So in the meantime I know I may be frustrated but I will celebrate when there are moments of success, try to stay grounded.and not get too high or low, continue to support the team/program, pray we can keep that nucleus together, and hope we add 2-3 more pieces so that for the love of God we finally return to the dance.

This program is going nowhere with the current head coach. Face the facts. He has had better teams and look what the results were. We are 2-2 in nit action in the last 8 years. Wow!

I believe we have some pieces here currently to get better but that's not what muller does. Look at all the break downs yesterday during the game simply in the fundamentals. We don't block out, our passes are weak and lazy, our big man gets stripped bringing the ball up court (why is he handling the ball here?), we dribble too much, we dribble into double teams and turn the ball over at alarming rates. At the line, we just flat out suck.

Yes, some players mature and become better players, but overall as we have seen for 9 years now, they don't. #firedanmuller.

 

[RedbirdSoxFan]

Strong, well throughout post. However, the notion that HCDM isn’t going anywhere sounds like pure speculation. Since we hired the new AD, Muller is winless, and in embarrassing fashion. If getting rid of HCDM this season isn’t our AD’s top priority (finances be damned), then we hired the wrong guy.

Winless? Pretty sure he sat in Redbird Arena observing Redbirds thumping PU!

 

[SgtHulka]

Winless? Pretty sure he sat in Redbird Arena observing Redbirds thumping PU!

Don't let facts get in the way of a good rant. This is Merica