Saint Louis searches for shooters
Brad Soderberg likes almost everything about his Saint Louis University men’s basketball team. The Billikens defend, rebound, dive on the floor after loose balls and play with an abundance of energy.
What they don’t do well, though, is make baskets – which might explain the shabby 1-5 record they will carry into the McCarthey Athletic Center for today’s 6 p.m. non-conference matchup against 25th-ranked Gonzaga.
“We’re just struggling to score right now,” explained Soderberg, who is in his third season at SLU. “And I don’t have a solution for that, quite frankly.”
The Billikens are shooting 37.4 percent from the field and averaging 53.2 points per game. They have made 24 of 89 attempts (27 percent) from 3-point range.
“Naturally, our confidence is a little shaken, just because of how we’re struggling offensively,” Soderberg admitted. “I’m really worried about it.”
SLU, which lost to Wisconsin-Milwaukee 57-47 on Tuesday, is led by Reggie Bryant, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, who is averaging 13.5 points per game.
“If we do have a guy who can be called a natural scorer, it’s Reggie,” Soderberg said of Bryant, a second-year transfer from Villanova. “He’s really an excellent shooter with very nice mechanics. And he’s very offensive-minded.”
On the flip side is Bryant’s teammate, Tom Frericks, a 6-9, 250-pound senior center, who is shooting 34.8 percent (8 for 23) from the floor after leading Conference USA in field-goal percentage (57.4) last season.
“That’s been kind of frustrating and a little bit disappointing,” Soderberg said of Frericks’ shooting woes. “Needless to say, we’re not playing as well as I hoped we would, and I don’t exactly have my finger on the pulse of what the problem is.”
Still, GU coach Mark Few expects his Bulldogs to have their hands full against the Billikens, mainly because of the way they defend.
There are many similarities, he explained, between Saint Louis and Washington State – which makes sense, considering Soderberg played under WSU head coach Dick Bennett at Wisconsin-Stevens Point and later spent five seasons as an assistant on Bennett’s staff at Wisconsin.
“They share a similar philosophy on how to play the game,” said Few, whose Zags held off Bennett’s Cougars 54-52 in Pullman on Tuesday. “It’s going to be a very similar challenge, although (SLU) seems to have bigger and more physical inside guys than the Cougars.”
Soderberg said it’s only natural that his teams mirror those of Bennett’s.
“Aside from my own father, Coach Bennett has had as big an influence on me as anybody – and I don’t just mean from a basketball standpoint,” he explained. “I try to emulate him and the way he does things, so it’s hard not to see some of the same characteristics in our teams.
“I assume our personnel is a little different, but we’re going to try to defend well in the halfcourt, take care of the basketball and get good shots on every possession.”
With that in mind, Few said he likes the fact that his Bulldogs have played back-to-back games against a pair of teams – Massachusetts and WSU – that like to slow the tempo, work the shot clock and limit possessions, much like the Billikens.
“It’s not like we’re having to prepare for a team that’s going to press and run like the (Washington) Huskies did,” he explained.
In preparing for Gonzaga, Soderberg said he is impressed by the inside play of Bulldogs scoring leader Ronny Turiaf, who is averaging 23.4 points and 9.9 rebounds, and the fact that the Zags have attempted 77 more free throws than their opponents.
“Which indicates they put the ball around the basket a lot,” Soderberg added. “And (Zags scoring leader) Ronny Turiaf is certainly a big part of that. We’re going to have to play our best game of the year to even have a chance to be in the running.”
GU has won three straight games since a loss to now-No. 1 Illinois.