Musketeer Madness

Do we anticipate Stan guarding Brian Roberts? I chuckle everytime I see/hear CBS or ESPN singing the praises of IU's Eric Gordon, remembering how Stan and X held him down.

You can bet on it. In fact, it is the crucial matchup of this game. If Stan shuts down Roberts, game over! I think he will be up to the challenge. Miller has been excellent in taking away a team's first option and forcing others to make plays. It has worked so far and I see no reason to think it won't work on Thursday.

without Wright & Little, Stan should be assisted by DBrown quite a bit; Drew should also provide some help considering neither Johnson nor Warren are big offensive threats.

I got the impression that it took more than one person to slow Roberts down during the Umass game. I expect the same for X, however, I know that Coach prefers one-on-one. So, I'm really not sure what to expect. Stan's probably a better defender than anyone on the Umass team.

I hope that Stan maintains his focus and plays with the same intensity on the defensive end as he has been. There's been a lot of talk about him needing to shoot/score more. While that would be a plus, I think his defense will be the most critical aspect of this game.

GO X!

xubball93 wrote:I chuckle everytime I see/hear CBS or ESPN singing the praises of IU's Eric Gordon, remembering how Stan and X held him down.

He did have 20 points...he must be alright if we shut him down and thats what he could scratch together.

12 of his 20 points came from the free throw line; he was 4 for 12 from the field.

Brain Roberts will likely get his points just like Gordon did. The fact that Gordon padded his numbers from the free throw line doesn't cause his scoring stat to get the hated asterisk next to it. One might ask how many of those shots or drives to the basket might have turned into field goals for him.

I am not saying that Stan didn't do a good job on Gordon or that he won't defend Roberts well either. The fact is, when you have players with the offensive skills of a Roberts and Gordon, defensive stars like Stanley can only be expected to prevent them from carrying their team to a victory over Xavier. Stan did that in the Indiana game. I have confidence that he can do it tonight also.

Nick, I hope you mean tommorow night (1/24/2007). The schedule indicates the game is on Thursday vs. UD.

muskienick wrote:Brain Roberts will likely get his points just like Gordon did. The fact that Gordon padded his numbers from the free throw line doesn't cause his scoring stat to get the hated asterisk next to it. One might ask how many of those shots or drives to the basket might have turned into field goals for him.

I am not saying that Stan didn't do a good job on Gordon or that he won't defend Roberts well either. The fact is, when you have players with the offensive skills of a Roberts and Gordon, defensive stars like Stanley can only be expected to prevent them from carrying their team to a victory over Xavier. Stan did that in the Indiana game. I have confidence that he can do it tonight also.

Couldn't have said it better, Nick.

If they can hold Roberts to his average or less we should be in good shape.With Little and Wright out,UD doesn't have another double digit scorer.I think UMASS's strategy was to make someone else beat them not Roberts.