Could SIU Play Their Way Back Onto the Bubble?

by **Kip Dynamite** » February 6th, 2012, 8:28 pm

Discuss-

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by **oneNEIGHBOR** » February 6th, 2012, 8:51 pm

Their BB game against Ball St. is very important. Win that and we can talk. If they win St. Louis what do SIU fans do?

by **pafan** » February 6th, 2012, 9:25 pm

oneNEIGHBOR wrote:If they win St. Louis what do SIU fans do?

Dippin' Dots. Free Dippin' Dots and cyanide at SIU Arena all day Monday.

by **DawgieStyle** » February 7th, 2012, 8:35 am

This either has to be some kind of sick joke or someone trolling way to hard.

Seriously?

by **Jet915** » February 7th, 2012, 8:49 am

Not even the CIT bubble....

by **Snaggletooth** » February 7th, 2012, 9:31 am

Kip Dynamite wrote:Discuss-

Win in stl and they burst somebody bubble.

by **DawgieStyle** » February 7th, 2012, 10:38 am

Snaggletooth wrote:
Kip Dynamite wrote:Discuss-

Win in stl and they burst somebody bubble.

As interesting as it would be for a team like SIU to crash the party in St.Louis....it's not gonna happen.

I'm an SIU fan, and trust me on this. There is no way SIU can win 4 games in 4 days in St. Louis. They'll be lucky to win on Thursday night and make Friday, let alone the championship game.

SIU is far too young (Again, thanks to Lowery running players off at a record pace), makes far too many mistakes, and simply doesn't have the talent to compete. The biggest factor? Lowery is the head coach.

The guy seems to just sap the energy from his teams by the end of the year. He doesn't teach, he doesn't motivate, he doesn't grow his players. He doesn't foster a positive or disciplined environment. Usually by seasons end, the players are so disgruntled at the situation they transfer out or some other scenario plays out where they are no longer part of the program, whether it be due to poor academics or off the court problems. By the time March rolls around, the last thing the players in my opinion are concerned about is winning some games in St. Louis, and are more interested in figuring out how to get out of carbondale permanently.

If you want to ignore Lowery and focus on the players. We can do that. One thing I do have to admire about this team in comparison to the last couple years is that they do hustle and they don't mail it in when things get tough. Maybe that can offset some of the past issues discussed above, I don't know. Despite that, SIU is very weak at the guard position, makes a lot of turn overs. There is promise in the post with guys like Daniels, Drinkard, and Setty, and Seck certainly helps, but all told, they are too young at this point to make too much of an impact.

The biggest factor? Our defense. SIU once known for that, is now atrocious. Our perimeter D is the worst I've ever seen. Rotation on 3 point shooters in non-existent. You'd think if your D is bad on the perimeter its because you're guarding the lane, but with SIU, opposing guards penetrate the lane at will. It's just pathetic. Again, this has a lot to do with Lowery, and his stubbornness. Teams have figured out the SIU defensive schemes, traps, etc. over the last several years, and rather than changing or adapting, Lowrey keeps plugging away with the same system because of distant past success. Sorry, Lowery, other teams are on to your scheme.

To be fair, there is some young talent on this team that could develop into future success someday. Daniels and Setty are nice prospects. Sadly, as long as Chris Lowery is coach that, that development will never happen, and neither will winning in St. Louis this year.

by **Snaggletooth** » February 7th, 2012, 11:58 am

DawgieStyle wrote:
Snaggletooth wrote:
Kip Dynamite wrote:Discuss-

Win in stl and they burst somebody bubble.

As interesting as it would be for a team like SIU to crash the party in St.Louis....it's not gonna happen.

I'm an SIU fan, and trust me on this. There is no way SIU can win 4 games in 4 days in St. Louis.

No need to try and convince me, I saw SIU play - and they suck and suck badly. Saying they are in the "abyss" is to kind. But frankly I would love it if they would go on valley win streak in the conference games and maybe somehow save Lowery job. Someone has to be a perennial Thursday team - why not SIU?

by **Hail Our Panthers** » February 7th, 2012, 12:48 pm

to be fair, SIU has shown vast improvement since their 0-16 Valley season in 1980

by **Aargh** » February 7th, 2012, 1:07 pm

A better question. this one's actually legitimate.

How Many Years Until SIU Could Play Their Way Back Onto the Bubble?

I'm going with 2024.