I've begun doing postgame analysis so why not do a little pregame as well. For those who haven't seen this before I was a student manager for the program from 2018-2022 and I just like giving my perspective and observations.
What I NEED to see: We need to see somebody begin to emerge as a consistent offensive threat. I believe there are multiple candidates in East, Bates, Grill, and hopefully Tonje (if he's healthy). I purposefully left Noah out because I think he's more of a complimentary guy. He thrives if the perimeter guys are remaining as threats so he can operate more freely down low. We also need to see a smoother offense. This was an issue I had last year in the games where we got blown out but it seems like many times when the first and second passes of the possession are denied, the movement stops and the play is dead. These guys need to keep moving, setting off-ball screens, backdoor cutting, etc. to keep the possessions moving.
What I'd LIKE to see: I'd like to see none of Kaleb Brown, Zeus, and Majak. Those experiments are over Coach Gates. It's clear he's trying to find the best rotations so throwing those guys out there is greatly hindering the ability to find those rotations. They don't fit into any type of rotation we'd want to have on the floor so let's just stop with that. I'd also like to see Caleb Grill get his shot going. The majority of his misses have been straight on-line but just short. It hasn't been getting above the rim. I'd be willing to bet it may be because of his body transformation and he's still adjusting a bit to his added weight and strength but I think he'll come around. I'd also like to see more Tamar Bates. I was confused as to why he didn't play as much in the Memphis game but he's maybe the most complete offensive player on the roster and I'd love to see him start but at least play significantly more. I'd also like to see more of all three freshmen play. They were bright spots against Memphis and I'd love to see some confidence instilled in Pierce. I'd love to see a few plays designer for him to get him going.
What I'm CONCERNED about: I'm not concerned about losing this game just to be clear. This should be an easy win and I expect Mizzou to cover the -17 spread (little bit of degeneracy there). However, I am concerned Gates keeps the rotation too big. I talked already about this but I think he's not willing to give up on some guys yet which will hinder the some actually valuable guys on the team. I am also concerned the team will stop playing hard once the deficit grows to a comfortable lead. This is something that happened last year and in the first game against UAPB but I really want to see them keep their foot on the gas and keep control over the game for 40 minutes. Lastly, I'm concerned about the shooting. Shooting was the clear obvious issue against Memphis and I know this team wants to run and gun but I think they might be taking it a tad too far. They settled for threes in transition against Memphis and while they were decent looks, they weren't falling. I think they should try to attack the rim more.
PREDICTIONS: Mizzou: 86 / SIUE: 61
Leading Scorer: Caleb Grill (22 pts)
Leading Rebounder: Caleb Grill (8 rbds)
Leading Assister: Nick Honor (5 asts)
M I Z
What I NEED to see: We need to see somebody begin to emerge as a consistent offensive threat. I believe there are multiple candidates in East, Bates, Grill, and hopefully Tonje (if he's healthy). I purposefully left Noah out because I think he's more of a complimentary guy. He thrives if the perimeter guys are remaining as threats so he can operate more freely down low. We also need to see a smoother offense. This was an issue I had last year in the games where we got blown out but it seems like many times when the first and second passes of the possession are denied, the movement stops and the play is dead. These guys need to keep moving, setting off-ball screens, backdoor cutting, etc. to keep the possessions moving.
What I'd LIKE to see: I'd like to see none of Kaleb Brown, Zeus, and Majak. Those experiments are over Coach Gates. It's clear he's trying to find the best rotations so throwing those guys out there is greatly hindering the ability to find those rotations. They don't fit into any type of rotation we'd want to have on the floor so let's just stop with that. I'd also like to see Caleb Grill get his shot going. The majority of his misses have been straight on-line but just short. It hasn't been getting above the rim. I'd be willing to bet it may be because of his body transformation and he's still adjusting a bit to his added weight and strength but I think he'll come around. I'd also like to see more Tamar Bates. I was confused as to why he didn't play as much in the Memphis game but he's maybe the most complete offensive player on the roster and I'd love to see him start but at least play significantly more. I'd also like to see more of all three freshmen play. They were bright spots against Memphis and I'd love to see some confidence instilled in Pierce. I'd love to see a few plays designer for him to get him going.
What I'm CONCERNED about: I'm not concerned about losing this game just to be clear. This should be an easy win and I expect Mizzou to cover the -17 spread (little bit of degeneracy there). However, I am concerned Gates keeps the rotation too big. I talked already about this but I think he's not willing to give up on some guys yet which will hinder the some actually valuable guys on the team. I am also concerned the team will stop playing hard once the deficit grows to a comfortable lead. This is something that happened last year and in the first game against UAPB but I really want to see them keep their foot on the gas and keep control over the game for 40 minutes. Lastly, I'm concerned about the shooting. Shooting was the clear obvious issue against Memphis and I know this team wants to run and gun but I think they might be taking it a tad too far. They settled for threes in transition against Memphis and while they were decent looks, they weren't falling. I think they should try to attack the rim more.
PREDICTIONS: Mizzou: 86 / SIUE: 61
Leading Scorer: Caleb Grill (22 pts)
Leading Rebounder: Caleb Grill (8 rbds)
Leading Assister: Nick Honor (5 asts)
M I Z
