New bellarmine thread

[KnightStalker]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Duke did not get the award. Interestingly, UofL did. Florida State(!), West Virginia(!) .

I guess if the school curriculum for the basketball team is Basket-Weaving 101, the players get easy A's and their GPA looks good!

[Knightmoves]

Re: New bellarmine thread

You forgot Exotic Dancing 101 and Deviant Human Sexuality 402.

[glvcpro]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Duke did not get the award. Interestingly, UofL did. There were very few D1 power 5 schools on the list. Besides UofL there was Illinois, Kansas, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Florida State(!), West Virginia(!) and maybe some others I missed. The award is interesting because all college basketball teams were eligible, including NCAA, NAIA, NCCAA.

UofL after that stripper scandal!!! LOL!! They can't be serious.

[Knightmoves]

Re: New bellarmine thread

UofL after that stripper scandal!!! LOL!! They can't be serious.

The award is objective, it's simply having a team GPA over 3.0. Of course the school's own grading is far from objective and obviously team GPA is not the sole indicator of whether the basketball team is seriously composed of student athletes. The other thing is that every 4.0 cancels out a 2.0. so you can stack the non-playing bench with 4.0's. My experience at schools like Bellarmine is that there are very few faculty members who care enough about basketball to cut a player a break and the school curiculm is not big enough to find hiding places for non-student athletes. Maybe not the case at big schools, but if it were that easy, you'd think you would see more basketball factories on the list.

I suspect that the UofL GPA is fairly legit because they have a number of foreign players who are known to be very good students

[Knightmoves]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Slowest sports week of the year has put me in mind to talk BU basketball:

Keys for each player for next season:

Adam Eberhard: Keep bringing it. Would like to see a decrease in turnovers without losing the aggressive passing mind set. Wouldn't be surprised to see his scoring numbers decline a little because of more talent playing more minutes around him. 16.5/7/5.5 per game.

Alex Cook: Needs to keep better care of the ball, and there is little doubt that he will make that improvement. Best natural rebounder and most athletic on the front line. Potential to be a POY in GLVC by his senior year. Conservatively, I see him as 13/7/4 per game.

Ben Weyer: First and foremost, stay healthy. Needs to continue his marked defensive improvement. He is the slowest of the likely starting front line, but obviously the best pure shooter. I would like to see improvement in rebounding, although I do not think the team will be dependent on him for that. He has the ability to be a true inside post player as well as perimeter shooter, which is a rarity. He brings alot of flexibility to the offensive attack. Conservatively, 13/4/2.5 per game.

Tyler Jenkins: Defensive leader of the team. He is not afraid to play some bruising defense. Continue to be an opportunistic scorer. Needs to be little more consistent, but if he were to play exactly as he did last season, he would be a valuable cog. 9/4/3

Jarek Coles: Just do what you did last year, but for increased minutes. Most important skill is keeping care of the basketball and perimeter defense that prevents penetration. 9/3/5

Caleb Taylor: Biggest question mark for the season. He just needs to show that he is good enough to play 10 minutes per game. Obviously needs to stay healthy and start the season in tip top condition. The team is good enough without having a great contribution from him, but if he makes a significant contribution, this team may overwhelm everybody.

Parker Chitty: Big question mark in my mind, but probably not in Scotty's mind. He may be pushing Coles for minutes. There is little question that he can distribute, his shooting is the concern. He did play significant minutes at EKU as a freshman, which means he should be ready to play solid defense

Brent Bach: Instant offense, I am hoping he gets more minutes this year.

Daniel Ramser and Skyler Hunter may end up being significant contributors, but you begin to wonder where the minutes will come from. I think that both of these guys could be good players if they got to play more, not sure how that will happen.

If any of the freshman play much, they are going to be very good players.

Last year I was mildly pessimistic about BU making a deep post season run when the season began. This year I am already looking into travel arrangements to Souix Falls. If Weyer and Cook make the expected improvements from freshman to sophomore year, the team is going places. We should remember, however, that the team is still young on the front line. I am afraid that a number one ranking would not be out of line.

[KnightStalker]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Slowest sports week of the year has put me in mind to talk BU basketball:

Keys for each player for next season:

Adam Eberhard: Keep bringing it. Would like to see a decrease in turnovers without losing the aggressive passing mind set. Wouldn't be surprised to see his scoring numbers decline a little because of more talent playing more minutes around him. 16.5/7/5.5 per game.

Alex Cook: Needs to keep better care of the ball, and there is little doubt that he will make that improvement. Best natural rebounder and most athletic on the front line. Potential to be a POY in GLVC by his senior year. Conservatively, I see him as 13/7/4 per game.

Ben Weyer: First and foremost, stay healthy. Needs to continue his marked defensive improvement. He is the slowest of the likely starting front line, but obviously the best pure shooter. I would like to see improvement in rebounding, although I do not think the team will be dependent on him for that. He has the ability to be a true inside post player as well as perimeter shooter, which is a rarity. He brings alot of flexibility to the offensive attack. Conservatively, 13/4/2.5 per game.

Tyler Jenkins: Defensive leader of the team. He is not afraid to play some bruising defense. Continue to be an opportunistic scorer. Needs to be little more consistent, but if he were to play exactly as he did last season, he would be a valuable cog. 9/4/3

Jarek Coles: Just do what you did last year, but for increased minutes. Most important skill is keeping care of the basketball and perimeter defense that prevents penetration. 9/3/5

Caleb Taylor: Biggest question mark for the season. He just needs to show that he is good enough to play 10 minutes per game. Obviously needs to stay healthy and start the season in tip top condition. The team is good enough without having a great contribution from him, but if he makes a significant contribution, this team may overwhelm everybody.

Parker Chitty: Big question mark in my mind, but probably not in Scotty's mind. He may be pushing Coles for minutes. There is little question that he can distribute, his shooting is the concern. He did play significant minutes at EKU as a freshman, which means he should be ready to play solid defense

Brent Bach: Instant offense, I am hoping he gets more minutes this year.

Daniel Ramser and Skyler Hunter may end up being significant contributors, but you begin to wonder where the minutes will come from. I think that both of these guys could be good players if they got to play more, not sure how that will happen.

If any of the freshman play much, they are going to be very good players.

Last year I was mildly pessimistic about BU making a deep post season run when the season began. This year I am already looking into travel arrangements to Souix Falls. If Weyer and Cook make the expected improvements from freshman to sophomore year, the team is going places. We should remember, however, that the team is still young on the front line. I am afraid that a number one ranking would not be out of line.

Great analysis (what is it too hot out there to hit the links?) I agree with you that Ramser and Hunter could make big contributions, if they got the time. I think Ramser, in particular, will make the contribution. He was in line for more playing time last season until the concussion in the UofL game. I think Cook benefited from the injury and got even more time with Ramser out. He has the shooting ability plus enough size to add some on the boards as well as play defense on 6'5, 6'6 guys. so he will probably see more time as replacement for one of the front line guys.

I think therefore the amount of improvement in Taylor's game will determine a lot of Ramser's playing time. Taylor will either be the 6th or 7th man in or he will be down the bench behind even some of the freshmen.

There are many different combos I see coming off the bench (I do think barring injury the starting five is pretty much set.) I could the first rotation in around the 14:00 minute mark is Chitty, Bach and Ramser. Depending on Taylor's maturation, he could end up coming in then instead of Ramser. Hunter would come in next rotation and get 3 or 4 minutes a half.

With this kind of depth, I think we see the team really turn up the defense even more. Jenkins will be free to play aggressively knowing that he has Bach and Ramser to back him up. Coles will be able to be aggressive too. Both are good, stay-in-front of their guys defenders, but they lack the quickness of a Davis to be a major thief. Probably see Eberhard pick up the majority of the steals as of a result of the guards aggressive defense.

Unlike Moves, I was mildly optimistic last year going into the season. Most of that optimism revolved around my belief that Rusty would be a contender for National POY. This year I am not so reliant on one player (although Eberhard has a good chance of getting the POY honors) because this team has the best frontline in a long time, along with guards who are solid at what they need to be (defense, taking care of the ball, and good shooting.) There may not be the slasher, like Rusty, or the perpetual motion machine like Al, but with this frontline potential, there is not the great need for those things.

One last thought, I'm thinking it's going to be a #2 ranking, the defending champs have too much coming back not to get the nod at #1. Doesn't mean that I don't think BU will win it all, however. It's just what the meaningless initial polls will be.

[Knightmoves]

Re: New bellarmine thread

You are right about NWMSU. I forgot that Pitts was just a junior. They only lost 2 significant players, who look to be statistically easily replaced. They did lose the guy with the most bizarre stat line in basketball, Schneider. Played 36 minutes per game and shot 4 two pointers all season, 2 of them in the national quarter final. He did have a 3.0 assist to turnover ratio. He averaged .6 apg and .2 turnovers. He only turned the ball over once every five games, which is impressive, but makes you think that they were only asking him to shoot 3's.

[KnightStalker]

Re: New bellarmine thread

You are right about NWMSU. I forgot that Pitts was just a junior. They only lost 2 significant players, who look to be statistically easily replaced. They did lose the guy with the most bizarre stat line in basketball, Schneider. Played 36 minutes per game and shot 4 two pointers all season, 2 of them in the national quarter final. He did have a 3.0 assist to turnover ratio. He averaged .6 apg and .2 turnovers. He only turned the ball over once every five games, which is impressive, but makes you think that they were only asking him to shoot 3's.

Those stats were unbelieveable, and he was tall like 6'7 wasnt he? Did he not ever get an offensive rebound and put back? He probably did get the rebound and dribbled back to the 3 point line to shoot.

[#1KnightFan]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Rick Bozich posted this on WDRB online Sunday:
"Scott Davenport has a big, big, big announcement coming at Bellarmine University basketball. I wish that I could share more information. But I agreed to wait until Davenport has the details confirmed. But the Knights will get your attention. How's that for a tease?"

Any thoughts?

[KnightStalker]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Rick Bozich posted this on WDRB online Sunday:
"Scott Davenport has a big, big, big announcement coming at Bellarmine University basketball. I wish that I could share more information. But I agreed to wait until Davenport has the details confirmed. But the Knights will get your attention. How's that for a tease?"

Any thoughts?

Maybe a big pre-conference tourney or exhibitions against UK and UofL? The only other thing I could think of is a new arena. I don't think it is a transfer, that just doesn't sound like it. More like an event than a player.

[MrAugustana]

Re: New bellarmine thread

You are right about NWMSU. I forgot that Pitts was just a junior. They only lost 2 significant players, who look to be statistically easily replaced. They did lose the guy with the most bizarre stat line in basketball, Schneider. Played 36 minutes per game and shot 4 two pointers all season, 2 of them in the national quarter final. He did have a 3.0 assist to turnover ratio. He averaged .6 apg and .2 turnovers. He only turned the ball over once every five games, which is impressive, but makes you think that they were only asking him to shoot 3's.

This is absolutely correct. The NWMSU fans all love Schneider though. He was sort of a glue guy who happened to be a very solid shooter for them. And because of his height, he could basically get his shot off over everybody and he had a really quick release on top of that. He's one of those guys who might not do anything of note for 35 minutes and then hit three or four 3's in the final 5 minutes and just kill you.

Unfortunately for non-NWMSU fans, the Bearcats also picked up a transfer from our neck of the woods (the NSIC). Joey Witthus was 2nd Team All-NSIC at MSU-Mankato this year and would've easily been 1st Team if he hadn't injured his leg about halfway (maybe 2/3 of the way?) through the conference season. He was probably Mankato's all-around best player before his injury, and he will definitely contribute immediately for the Bearcats. Unless they suffer some injuries (or Pitts gets abducted by his alien family and returned to his home planet), I will be incredibly surprised if NWMSU isn't back at the Elite Eight in 8 months.

I just hope the Vikes are better equipped this year to at least hang with them or pull off the upset if we meet in the Regional Tournament. This past year they got us pretty good. Wouldn't be shocked if the Knights are there too. Then again, you guys have a brutal region. As always, it should be a fun year. Being a basketball guy, I'm ready to just bypass football entirely and get on with basketball season.

[Knightmoves]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Maybe a big pre-conference tourney or exhibitions against UK and UofL? The only other thing I could think of is a new arena. I don't think it is a transfer, that just doesn't sound like it. More like an event than a player.

That's a heckuva tease. Not one, not two, but three "bigs". Agree that a transfer would not warrant three bigs. Move to D1? That would warrant three bigs. New arena or rebuild of Knight's Hall? That may warrant 3 bigs. An exhibition game against UofL would not even be noteworthy, maybe an exhbition against some other big basketball power, i.e. Kentucky, NorthCarolina, or Duke? To me that would not be three big worthy. You would think it would have to be program changing to warrant three bigs.

P.S. UofL just renegotiated their lease with Yum Center and had to give up some dates. Maybe UofL is agreeing to play Bellarmine at Knight's Hall. (Complete speculation, but would be fun).

P.P.S. Maybe a partial home schedule at Freedom Hall?

[BellarmineGrad]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Agree that a transfer would not warrant three bigs. Move to D1? That would warrant three bigs. New arena or rebuild of Knight's Hall? ... You would think it would have to be program changing to warrant three bigs.

Totally agree. My first thoughts were a move to D-I or an arena redo.

A couple of years ago or so, I remember reading, and posting here, something about how the Vision 2020 plan included a renovation of Knight Hall with a new lobby and skyboxes (!) -- maybe that's coming to pass?

[Knightmoves]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Totally agree. My first thoughts were a move to D-I or an arena redo.

A couple of years ago or so, I remember reading, and posting here, something about how the Vision 2020 plan included a renovation of Knight Hall with a new lobby and skyboxes (!) -- maybe that's coming to pass?

My preference has always been a redo of Knights Hall. Increase the capacity and amenities without losing the old timey feeling. The stage could easily be blown out and 1,000 seats added, and of course, REMOVE THE COLUMNS.

I wouldn't complain about a new arena along the lines of Drury's or the facility where the Elite Eight was held in Souix Falls. I believe a new arena could be economically feasible because there would probably be plenty of opportunity to rent out that size facility to outside events.

[BellarmineGrad]

Re: New bellarmine thread

Oh, yeah -- I'm completely onboard with the idea of nixing the stage and the support columns!