Drake Nation / Specific Sports Topic Forums / Bulldog Men's Basketball

D vs SMS

The_EDJ — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:08:43 GMT

I believe that's how you old whippersnappers would post this game thread.

Pivotal matchup in the Valley Saturday night. How do you think it's going down?

It will be interesting to see the Kyle Weems vs Rayvonte Rice/Ben Simons matchup.
Hopefully they are without big man Caleb Patterson again. That'd be a major book to their front court depth and we wouldn't have to collapse on someone as much.

Missouri State is also only one of 12 teams in the nation with 8+ road victories this year. No BCS Conference team can claim such a thing, and Creighton and Wichita State are also up there. (Stolen from the MSU website)

We've got our work cut out for us this game. Let's get it done boys!

Ben Simons-Future NBA player?

zman2 — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:35:08 GMT

You guys might think I am crazy, but if Simons can keep improving as much next year as he has this year I think he has the potential to play in the pros. 6-7 shooting guard. He is as good or better athlete than Korver, who has made a living just shooting 3's in the league. Keep in mind, I said if he keeps improving!

Quantifying the cost of free throw shooting

Lime — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:01:55 GMT

Drake is not a good free throw shooting team. Mark Phelps himself is an excellent shooter (as I recall). Assistants Brent Nelson and Ryan Wedel were both 80%+ shooters from the line. The current team has some very good shooters (Simons, Alexander), some solid if inconsistent shooters (Jeffers, Madison, Rice), and three guys who are shooting as poor from the line as you will see a D1 basketball player shoot.

Clarke is 38-for-89 this year (42.6%).
Woods is 23-for-56 this year (41.1%).
Hawley is 15-for-29 this year (51.7%).

Woods, remarkably, is actually improved from last year--- he shot just 35.6% last year. It's minor, but that improvement alone is worth at least .13 PPG more for Drake (I'm too lazy to figure out lost/gained 1-and-1s for all of these). Unfortunately, Hawley's steep decline is worth .29 PPG. Clarke's decline from 49.6% to 42.6% has cut another .26 PPG off Drake's scoring.

If Hawley was shooting at the 75% clip he did his first two seasons and Clarke and Woods were even at 50%, Drake would average .8 PPG more this more. Drake's Pythagorean expectation would move from .549 to .591, which is going from 16.5 wins to 17.75 wins in a 30-game schedule.

If Clarke and Woods shot at 60% (generally the low end for big men), Hawley at 75%, and Rice polished out his rough spells to 75%, Drake's Pythagorean expectation is .678 which is 20.35 wins over 30 games.

Free throw shooting must be an emphasis of this staff going forward.

Drake @ Indiana State

dudistance — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:25:44 GMT

Hopefully we can use the Wichita State game as a momentum. This game worries me a little - it's your classic trap let down game and it is on the road. If we win, Creighton wins (vs. Illinois State), and Wichita State wins (@ Missouri State) -the Bulldogs would be in sole possession of 3rd place.

I believe it will be broadcast on Fox Sports Midwest.

Wichita State @ YOUR DRAKE BULLDOGS !!!

Mc Bulldog — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:33:16 GMT

Early line has Wichita favored by 8. Ya know ... if Drake wins tomorrow night, the Dogs have a great chance of being in the race for the Valley regular season title. For whatever reason(s) .... I'm feel'n good about the Dogs tomorrow night!

Welfringer

Royals Rule — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:33:45 GMT

Anyone know what is up with Welfringer? I was shocked to see him in the game against UNI. I thought maybe he was injured and going to be redshirted. He's now played in 4 games this season. I would hate to imagine that Phelps burnt a year of Judd's eligibility for 4 games this season.

Wichita State Versus Drake Video on Youtube

MVC_All_The_Way — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:25:21 GMT

Looking for highlights of the game, came across this instead:

Drake University versus Wichita State University Game Video/Slide Show Recap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEHwOTJlhRw

Rayvonte Rice - NCAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK !!!!!!!!!

Mc Bulldog — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:20:53 GMT

-linkage

Bracket Buster

Royals Rule — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:31:28 GMT

We are shaping up to have a pretty good opponent for the Bracket Buster. Heading into tonight realtimerpi.com had us listed at #97. Does anyone know when they announce opponents for the Buster?

MVC Pick Em Week 13

nheeren — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:51:11 GMT

A lot of folks have dropped off the selections..might be the last year to do this.

Standings

1/31/2012Southern Illinois@UNI *

2/1/2012

Drake@Indiana State *

Evansville@Bradley *

Wichita State@Missouri State *

Illinois State@Creighton *

2/4/2012

Evansville@Southern Illinois *

Creighton@UNI *

Missouri State@Drake *

Bradley@Illinois State *

Indiana State@Wichita State *

Starting PG

BTL Drake — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:11:18 GMT

Just wanted to get a couple of different views on the starting pg spot. Phelps seems pretty suck on madison. I personally think kurt should be starting. From what I have seen he shoots better and gets to the basket better. As Far as turnovers are concerned all three of our pg's are about equal. Everyone talks about someone else stepping up and scoring and I think kurt is a viable option.

Opinions?

Chat Drake men’s basketball with the Register’s Mark Emmert at 12:30 p.m. today

Mc Bulldog — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:22:04 GMT

- linkage to chatage

Drake mentioned in "At the Watercooler"

4Bulldogs — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:46:00 GMT

ESPN "At The Watercooler" RE: ISU's win over KU"

Hating on Drake.

"EB: From a bubble perspective, with the possible exception of that loss to Drake, there really aren't too many bad losses on the Cyclones' profile. (I believe there should be added "bad loss" points awarded for losing to a school with the same name as a rapper who released an entire song of him dirty-macking on some other dude's girl. But that's just me.)"

Drake > ISU > KU

Home Court Advantage

Royals Rule — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:07:13 GMT

I know there are several members on the board here that do not like the Knapp Center. Personally I think it's a great arena to watch a basketball game at. I like it much better than Hilton or Carver. And I think the Knapp is starting to turn into a great home court advantage for the Dawgs. By my count they've won 14 of the last 16 games at home and I look for them to get a couple more Ws before the season is out. Now lets get some more people to join us all at the games!!!

Change of heart...maybe

Dawg_tired — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:17:50 GMT

I know one game doesn't mean anything, but when I look at this team...no seniors on the floor...this looks like a contender next year. I've been impressed by both Madison and Jeffers. Rice and Simon are both players. Jordan Clark has come to rebound. While they lack road stones at this point, that's usually what you get with young teams.

I'm still not wild about our coach. I think his substitutions blew the lead last night. But he got it back in the second half. They stayed agressive the entire game. They ran and they finished. They did a little over and under loop of the forwards....looked like a new twist.

I would hate to run 99 yards and trip on the one, which might be exactly what we'd be doing by firing Phelps. Damn, I can't believe I said that. Think I'll go take a shower. Feeling a little dirty.

For those looking ahead too far...

Darth Vader — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:39:45 GMT

I'm sure the blue kool-aid is being drunk en masse in D country. For those with a penchant for putting their head out too far in front of their skis, below is information about the 3rd-6th place teams and their remaining schedules.

In the spirit of full disclosure:
I am NOT yet dislodged from my comfy spot in The Abyss..this is strictly informative with some perspective from my perch.
I assume E beats IND Sunday so D/E/ILL/SMS all 6-5 after 11 MVC games

D: @IND, SMS, @ILL, E, @B, SIU, @WSU
+: Two games against bottom feeders (@IND, @B), only one game against 1st/2nd
-: Four road games, only one game ahead of UNI for 7th due to UNI sweep, SMS/@ILL/E back-to-back-to-back

E: @B, @SIU, C, @D, UNI, @C, SMS
+: done with WSU
-: Four road games, two games with C, only one road game against bottom feeders

ILL: @C, B, D, @UNI, @IND, WSU, @B
+: Three games against bottom feeders, done with E and SMS, get D at home
-: Four road games, two games against 1st/2nd

SMS: WSU, @D, @SIU, B, @WSU, IND, @E
+:Two games against bottom feeders at home, done with C, four of five losses by 1pt or OT, best non-conf strength
-: Four road games, two games with WSU

It's hard to say who has inside track. Given that SMS beat C and lost to C by 1pt, they've lost very close games, and win the secondary seeding tiebreaker (non-conf strength of schedule) ,they might have the best chance to get the 3 seed. Interesting to note all four still have four road games.

Also, if one assumes D can stay 6th or above, it is critical UNI stays in 7-10 range (so D/UNI can't accidentally meet in quarterfinal). With D maintaining only a one game lead on UNI, D falling to 7th (or beyond) is still quite possible.

The Consistent Roster Problem

DUlawFan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:37:17 GMT

I know we have discussed this sometimes before, but who is our third scoring threat? But the truth is that the Creighton game revealed that we don't need a third scorer (although that would be nice). Rather, we need a glue guy. Take a look at Creighton's roster. Gregory Echenique is the perfect model of what Drake needs. He is an enforcer, can score when needed, and really makes a difference when he is on the court. Drake has their star: Rice, their shooter: Simons, and their bench producer: Alexander. What we are missing is someone on our roster who brings the intangibles, not just a threat to score. We lack the depth for that. The truth is that KW and Hawley shouldn't be seeing more than a few minutes a night. KW is a liability on offense, and Hawley is a huge liability on defense. Clarke is great on the boards, but really lacks the ability to create athletic plays and mismatches. This is why Drake needs someone in the starting roster is capable of going off at a moments notice, can provide leadership, deck some guys on the court, and do everything to keep the team confident.

Maybe SVD is that guy next year...he is probably not a 20-10 guy, but a 10-8 guy. Still the difference is that it spreads the court out. Reece is the next man off the bench, but still I'm not sure we have someone on our roster like Echenique to come out, compete, and give confidence to our guys. I'm sorry but Rice is not the kind of leader we need right now. He is a scoring guard, he is a great teammate, and a good off-court leader. But Drake needs a floor general. Not someone at the point necessarily, but someone who can provide the difference. I was hoping Jeffers could be that guy, but the touches he gets are so limited that there are some nights he cannot even get to 5 points because he never gets the ball. Take for instance at the 3 minute mark in the 2nd half. Alexander drives off a high pick and roll from Clarke, Jeffers is on the wing with no-one around him. Drake is down 5. He is wide open for a 3pt shot, and Alexander looks right at him, and doesn't give up the ball. This team lacks confidence in each other to make the big shot outside of Rice and Simons. They really need someone to step up, demand the ball, and make the difference. Until that changes, Drake will be the 5th place team in the Valley and struggle against teams like WSU and Creighton and UNI. We need the next starter who is a consistent 8pt a game player, efficient scorer, and capable of doing more when needed.

Chicago Tribune article on Rayvonte Rice ...

Mc Bulldog — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:31:24 GMT

- Linkage - "Catching up with Champaign Centennial's Rayvonte Rice at Drake"

Creighton at Drake

PubGuy — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:46:39 GMT

Hey All:

This was from a chat with OWH columnist Tom Shatel today. Was interesting:

Tom...I will be cheering loud at the Knapp Center for the Jays tomorrow. As of right now, it is still far from sold out. What do you believe the major difference between Drake and CU is as far as putting rear ends in seats...simply facilities?
Tuesday January 24, 2012 12:43 Guest

12:46 shatel: I once asked a sports writer at the Des Moines Register if Drake could do what Creighton has done in Des Moines. This was a few years ago, when the Dogs won the Valley. Could they move to the Wells Fargo Arena? Could they become Des Moines' team and pack the place? He said no. He said Drake doesn't have the presence, or the alumni, in the area to pull it off. Lo and behold, they didn't sustain their success, either. If it's not sold out, that means there aren't enough buses loaded with barley heading down from Omaha. People in Des Moines are always wide-eyed when they see the buses from Omaha unload outside their Knapp Center every year.

Not much else about the game. Just Husker angst.

Ball Screen Defense

Kid Knapp — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:23:06 GMT

Why did Phelps switch on all of Creighton's screen and roll plays tonight?

McDermott sets the ball screen, our guards switch onto him.....He rolls to the post....Our guards try to front him....Jays throw the ball over our 5-11 guards to the 6-8 McDermott for easy bucket.....after easy bucket..... after easy bucket.

Unbelievable.

Kurt Alexander and Karl Madison down in the post trying to defend McDermott by fronting him, while our post guys are on the perimeter switching onto the Creighton guards.

Where else do you see this defensive strategy? Phelps has no clue. Would love to see video clips of the countless times this happened.

Coach Greg McDermott and the Jays are laughing all the way back to Omaha about Drake switching their pick 'n roll plays and how easy the two-foot lay-ins were for Doug.

It was too easy.

With under 2:00 minutes left, Drake finally had the guard slide under the screen and the big man stayed with McDermott on the roll, but it was too late in the game to matter.

Hopefully the Register drilled him on this in the press conference. Creighton radio couldn't figure out why Drake was doing this either.

Anyone else catch Coach Johnson and Phelps screaming at each other on the bench midway through the first half?

Time to Fill The Knapp Center

DogsRHot — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:29:10 GMT

I think its time we start actually supporting this team. So many fans say if the team wins then I will start going to games. Well...they have won their last four in the Valley and are in 3rd place. Ticket prices are reasonable, less than $10 for a General Admission ticket you teams in the MVC over these next couple home games. (Creighton, Missouri State, Wichita State) Plus i heard on the radio that there is a deal going on since the Bulldogs won last night that you can call the Ticket Office today or tomorrow (1/19 or 1/20) and get 5 tickets for only $25. At what point are we going to start supporting this team?!

New BIG 4 Basketball Blog

BIG4BBall — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:43:40 GMT

Hey Drake Fans!
I just wanted to let you know that I have just started a new basketball blog focusing on the BIG 4 basketball programs in the state of Iowa. I hope to give balanced coverage of all the schools. There isnt much content on the site right now, but there are a few polls you can participate in. Be sure to stop by and check it out at: http://iowabig4blog.blogspot.com/

Thanks!
Good luck the rest of the season!

Drake at UNI

Knappdog17 — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:13:26 GMT

It's going to take a heck of an effort if we want to get the win on the road. UNI has been up in a bunch of games lately that they have let slip away. We need to outhustle them on both ends of the court. Big statement game for the dogs. Lets get it.

MVC Pick Em Week 12

nheeren — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:45:22 GMT

The race is getting tight for Conference Champion and Overall Champion.
Standings
Get those picks in soon!

1/24/2012
Bradley @ Southern Illinois *

1/25/2012
UNI @ Indiana State *
Missouri State @ Illinois State *
Evansville @ Wichita State *
Creighton @ Drake *

1/28/2012
S. Illinois @ Illinois St. *
UNI @ Missouri State *
Bradley @ Creighton *
Wichita State @ Drake *

1/29/2012
Indiana State @ Evansville *

A little Bulldog love from the PJStar BU writer

braves12 — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:12:32 GMT

link

Thought you guys might be interested.

The Dagger on MVC's multi-bid chances

The_EDJ — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:24:16 GMT

The Dagger blog post.

Here's to hoping Creighton and Wichita State lock up multi-bids and a surprise team wins in St. Louis to give us 3 teams.

Showing the love

Drake Fan in St. Louis — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:02:50 GMT

Fellow bloggers--

I just want to tell each of you how much I appreciate you (even Drakie), your interest in DU athletics, and this site. I have been a true-blue Drake fan since I grew to understand the rules of basketball (sometime during the '70s). For years I've languished alone, cheering for the Bulldogs while the rest of my family chided my futile efforts to support a hopeless athletic program. Every once and awhile, I'd run in to a fellow alumnus--but even they scoffed at the idea of following DU athletics. I was beginning to think that I was alone. No, I take that back, I WAS alone. I felt like I was the only DU fan left on earth. ESPN.com and sportsillustrated.com never reported anything regarding the Bulldogs. Even the Des Moines Register relegated DU to the back of the sports section. Finally, every single retailer in Des Moines discontinued their line of DU merchandise. I was painfully depressed. I seriously considered ending it all. I even tried on a Hawkeye sweatshirt once, but I quickly took it off--I didn't let it touch my skin for more than 3 seconds & I had a t-shirt on. (So it doesn't count, right?)

Then, a few days ago, I found this site!!! And I realized that there are other hopeless romantics out there like me who refuse to abandon their true-blue faith in truth, justice, Spikey, and the American way! If Butler can make two appearances in the National Championship game, why can't we!!! I BLEED TRUE BLUE, AND SO DO YOU! And for that, I thank you.

But for every lost sole recovered, like me, there are dozens more out there who haven't found this site and the support they need to continue the carry the blue torch. Let us all continue to search for our blue brothers who are MIA and languish alone in the DU faith.

Drake in third place

Drake Fan in St. Louis — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:00:45 GMT

Drake should be real proud of their win tonight AT Southern Illinois. Carbondale is an intimidating venue to play. I went to a Drake vs. Southern Illinois contest a few years ago at Carbondale. Their basketball arena doubles as a livestock arena on non-basketball nights. It has the familiar ring of seats in a round arena that is about 10 feet off of the floor. Then, they fill in the floor with bleachers. There is rarely a vacant seat in the arena (unlike the Knapp Center) even during poor SIU seasons. When I went, my 3 year son and I were the lone Drake fan represenatives in a sold-out crowd of 7,500. It was an eary feeling to hear the audacious roar of the crowd when SIU scored and the dead silence (but for my 3-year old and I) after a Drake bucket.

Third place! I am surprised by this standing given that the Valley is loaded with talented teams this year. Also, the drubbing of Illinois State last week looks even bigger after the Redbirds smoked Indiana State last night. Now if we can just ride this wave through Cedar Falls this weekend. UNI lost, but showed remarkable improvement at Witchita State. This should be a good one!

Drake at Southern Illinois

dudistance — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:44:40 GMT

Wednesday will be an interesting day in the MVC. If we can take care of business on our end we could be in sole possession of third place or we could be only one game out of first (depending on the other results). Creighton plays at Missouri State. Wichita State plays at UNI.

MVC Referees

dudistance — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:21:26 GMT

I would be curious to hear non-bias Drake opinions. I think the last two home games (Bradley & Illinois State) were very poorly officiated – on both sides of the ball, not just on Drake’s end.

In addition, the UNI – Iowa game was one of the worst officiated games this year and the Creighton – Illinois State game was horrible the other night.

Does the conference do anything to maintain the integrity of officiating or is it a buddy-buddy system?

MVC Pick Em Week 11

nheeren — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:59:15 GMT

I'm coming for you Fro!

Standings

1/18/2012
Indiana State @ Illinois State *
Wichita State @ UNI *
Drake @ Southern Illinois *
Bradley @ Evansville *
Creighton @ Missouri State *

1/21/2012
Indiana State @ Creighton *
Missouri State @ Bradley *
Illinois State @ Evansville *
Southern Illinois @ Wichita St. *

1/22/2012
Drake @UNI *

Drake vs. Illinois State

dudistance — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:58:20 GMT

Hard to believe we have a game again tomorrow. Both teams are now traveling to DSM with very little preparation time. Drake has to travel a little longer distance (Evansville vs. Normal), but we will be playing at home. Illinois State played Creighton which may have been a more challenging game than ours vs. Evansville. It will be interesting to see how the one day rest effects each team.

Ben Simons---MVC Player of the Week

DUBulldog — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:43:42 GMT

link

Congrats, Ben. Well deserved!

Drake at Butler

dtdog — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:34:59 GMT

I haven't seen anything on the Butler website about them asking their fans to do something special for the game Saturday. Therefore, the Drake fans should do something unifying, distinctive, and the same. This to show the team where we are in the stands, and possibly get some face time for Drake during the telecast. Unless Darth has 200-300 Jr. Darth Vader helmets in the garage, we may have to resort to the white or blue shirts.

Opinions?

MVC Rankings/Poll

dutl — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:10:30 GMT

Want to try something here. Rank 1-10 the teams in the MVC. As we get 1/3 of the way through the conference season, where do you rank the MVC schools and why? Here is my vote:

1. Creighton
2. Wichita State
3. UNI
4. Missouri State
5. Illinois State
6. Drake
7. Indiana State
8. Evansville
9. Southern Illinois
10. Bradley

UNI might be higher than they should, but their numbers are tremendous from their non-conference wins. I feel like if they get on a roll they are the key to the MVC getting three bids (that or CREI and WICH sewing up bids and someone surprising at Arch Madness). Missouri State is just as capable of going on a roll. Illinois State is really dangerous, absolutely giving Creighton a game tonight (so far).

Drake is more than a step behind all of those teams, but seems slightly ahead of the rest. I struggle to put Indiana State so low, but they probably belong even lower -- what an absolute disappointment.

I find this to be a really intriguing year in the MVC.

Drake at Evansville, Friday 1/13

DUBulldog — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:42:07 GMT

Evansville has lost a bunch of really close games lately.

Anybody heard anything about Clarke's status?

Channel 8 (KCCI) story on Jordan Clarke

DUBulldog — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:56:06 GMT

link

Just another reason we have the best mascot in the world. Fact.

TheTinMan — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:33:04 GMT

Just another reason we have the best mascot in the world. Fact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3yUKsfWZlM&list=UUfepdesPG5BySPkE3n0Bvdw&index=1&feature=plcp

Remaining Schedule

Gallo — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:27:21 GMT

Was looking at it on ESPN. 7 of the remaining 13 games are on ESPNU or ESPN3. I'd assume there's a bracket buster in there somewhere as well.

The Phelps Disaster

Dawg_tired — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:59:27 GMT

I didn't think it was possible to find a worse D1 coach than Kurt Kanaskie. But Sandy baby, you found him. I feel sorry for the players. It took me two years to decide that Kanaskie couldn't coach. It's taken three games. Mark Phelps was a gigantic mistake. I'd say the offense is inept, but there is no offense. Defensively, fork...I've got nothing to say. Mecha...did you give this guy poopy problems. Because he looks to me to be a truly shatty coach.