Some highlights for those unable to attend.



Definitely a few guys knocking a little bit of rust off at times, but overall thought everyone looked pretty solid. Valentine was not afraid to pull a guy after making a mistake to talk through it. Feel like that was more of an exhibition game deal, but he can keep a short leash with the depth we have.

Some very high level, very superficial, completely unsolicited, almost entirely positive notes on each player.

Just an initial thought, but it is crazy the size we're capable of putting in a line up now. I looked up at one point and we had Kennedy (6'1), Schwieger (6'7), Saint Thomas (6'7), Aher (6'7), and Hutson (6'10) on the floor. Plus still having Tate (6'6), Knight (6'7), Anderson and Welch (6'8) on the bench.

Norris: Looked super comfortable, nailed his open looks, and played off the ball at times with Kennedy of the floor

Kennedy: Missed both 3s he took, but stroke looked good. Also sneakily had 5 assists and chipped in 4 rebounds

Williamson: Played his typical great defense, efficient 4-6 with 11 points

Uguak: Looked like the aggressive Aher we got last year that earned him 3rd team all MVC.

Hutson: Has so much potential. Had a few turnovers, and got pulled a one point after seeming to miss defensive assignments on back to back possession, but feel he could make a leap this year.

Hall: Made some nice moves down low or in the lane on mismatches, but took two 3s that were way off the mark. Played hard defense, which I think is what will earn him his playing time this year.

Welch: Saw some time on the floor in the "4" spot with Hutson on the floor (maybe with Knight too, can't remember for certain), and as the "5" with Aher. Always working hard out there. Had the most minutes of the three centers, but some of that was garbage time near the end.

Schwieger: Did not know what to expect from him, but was impressed! Is really long, took good shots, and just seemed like a smart player out there.

Knight: Think the the fouls (as was mentioned early, was being called tight) might have had him out of rhythm. Also didn't get much going for him offensively.

Johnson: Seemed to get more comfortable as the game went on, think he was adjusting to the speed a physicality. Made a crazy circus layup you can see at the end of the highlight tape. Not quite a quick as Kennedy, but think he has a better handle and touch around the hoop. Might need a little time to grow, but could be great.

Thomas: Just a different level of athlete than I feel Loyola usually has. Played hard on both ends and think if he keeps it up on defense he'll get his share of minutes. Once he gets comfortable with the speed he could be a threat to take over a game any night.

Smythe and Alcock: Glad both Wills got some minutes! Hopefully we will get to see them frequently.

I enjoyed the game very much. As others have said, it was not high competition. I'm curious why some of the players didn't dress, but a lot of players received some decent minutes tonight. I was expecting more from the ivy transfers than I got, but they also haven't missed a whole season. Saint Thomas was impressive on offense. He can shoot the three and is much taller than I thought. He looked a little taller than Uguak. If he bulks up and sticks with the culture and program (and it appears that Drew is rather hard on him due to his high expectations), then I can see him being an all-valley player within a year or two.

I'm looking forward to our true opener next week. That will be a lot of fun and will serve as a better gauge on how we'll look during the season.

Can anybody explain to me what this FOUR MINUTE business is? It looks like it's going to be a part of every home game.

With the game clock stopped at 3:59 to go in the game, all the Rambler players walked into the huddle holding up four fingers. I noticed, but didn't know what was going on. Then on the big screen they started playing a
MTV-type video with a Four Minute theme, featuring Rambler players.

It looked like some fans in the stands were hip to this, but I'm totally clueless.

I was unfamiliar with it as well, perhaps its a new thing similar to what Wisconsin does in football heading into the 4th quarter. I believe the song they played in the video and to get the students excited was 4 Minutes of Hell by Chicago artist G Herbo. So maybe its a close the game out strong cultural thing that Drew is trying to create.

I know that last year, the team would hold up four fingers as they were huddling up going into the final media timeout (always the first stoppage under four minutes). Guessing this is just a way for the fans to get involved as well. I dig it.

I left at the under 8 timeout, but the team started holding up four fingers at the U4 timeout last year or the year before. It's just a "close out strong" kind of thing. I think it's taken from college football where players do that at the start of the fourth quarter.

A couple of things I noticed about Drew:

He didn't take a timeout in the first half. Granted, we were up by a million, but you hardly ever see a coach not use that "use it or lose it" timeout. Unless the timeout rules changed.

He had a quick hook on TY a couple of times, but when Porter pulled a guy, I felt like he would almost always immediately put his hand on the guy's shoulder and coach him up (often emphatically). Drew gave more of an exasperated stare down when the guy walked off. Happened with Hutty, too. I saw him coach up TY during the next timeout and put him back into the game. I don't know that it means much, if anything, but those were a couple of things that struck me after having watched Porter coach for 10 years.

We "Drew" up a nice play after a timeout once that got a layup for Schwieger, but he missed it.


ETA: Wow, swella you have three people answering your question! Lucky you!

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MBB Scholarship Chart

One sad note is that long-time Public Address Announcer (and former Ramblermaniac) Pat Schultz is no longer working the mic. This was confirmed by Ramblermgr 9599.

End of an Era. Will miss his dulcet tones and player intros. Hope he's doing well.

That sucks. I thought the new guy did a good job last night, but I was hoping Pat would be back for the regular season.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

I figured there would be some pop cultural thing going on that I wouldn't get. Anything post-dating Gerry And The Pacemakers goes over my head.

So anyone know what was up with the guys who did not dress? Most curious about Anderson - really am starting to wonder about what is role is going to be.

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Merle Webb: Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here.