A Reminder: Kevin Gregg Sucks

You know what's sexy?  Megan Fox bent over a motorcycle.  You know what's not sexy?  Kevin Gregg.

Zach Links of mlbtraderumors.com (a must-read for baseball addicts) says in a recent blog post Gregg, "is admittedly not one of the sexier names on the free agent market" but "should garner a fair amount of attention this offseason."

The blog post is titled "Discussion: Kevin Gregg."

Kevin Gregg sucks.  Discussion over.

Talk about wasting 140 words, a blog post and precious internet space on a guy who blew harder than a hurricane last season.  I mean, we're talking about a guy who turned what could have been five Cubs wins into losses because of his appearance.  He had a career-worst 4.72 earned run average and his WHIP was at its highest since becoming a full-time closer.  (I use the term "closer" in the loosest terms possible.)

Jim Hendry already traded a young, talented arm for Gregg's services last year.  Then inked him to a deal worth $4.2 million to avoid arbitration.  Nothing says "baseball savvy" like trading a hard-throwing right-hander under team control for one year of a shitty middle-reliever posing as a closer.

I know the Cubs hate going to arbitration and haven't done so in more than a decade, but you have to think an arbitrator would look at Gregg's numbers, notice how bad the numbers are and rule that Gregg owes the team money for false advertisement of a product.

Hendry is the only GM in baseball that would go out of his way to re-up with Gregg and offer him a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal.  And since he's already fallen for that trick once, he wouldn't fall for it again, would he?

OK, he probably would.

I guess I'll start pre-writing a post about why Hendry should be fired after signing Gregg to a four-year deal worth $44 million.

Saluki Men's Hoops 2009-10 Preview: Kevin Dillard

[Ed. Note: This is the first in a series previewing the 2009-10 SIU men's basketball team.  After finishing the 2008-09 season with a disappointing 13-18 record, Chris Lowery's Salukis are one year stronger and one year smarter as they will look to extract revenge on the Missouri Valley Conference teams that took advantage of a young squad.  Those teams will get their comeuppance soon enough.  And what better way to warn them than with a preview of each player that will tear their hearts out and step on their souls.]

Kevin Dillard became the first Saluki freshman to lead the team in scoring since Kent Williams.  So how does the former Illinois Mr. Basketball follow up a stellar first-year campaign?

By bulking up.

Dillard earned many accolades as a true freshman, including being named to the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Freshman and All-Newcomer teams and being named the conference's Freshman of the Year.  He averaged 12.2 points per game leading SIU and ranking first among all freshmen. Dillard also finished second in the Valley in 3-point percentage (45.2 percent) and third in assists (4.2 per game).

Still, it didn't mean that there wasn't room for KD to improve.

A microcosm of the talented guard's season can be found in the SIU men's basketball team's 73-72 overtime loss on Jan. 14 at Creighton.  This story, written by yours truly details the action.

Freshman guard Kevin Dillard led the Salukis with 21 points in 39 minutes of play and dished five assists, but a pair of freshman mistakes hurt the team in the game’s closing seconds.

After hitting a pair of free throws to give SIU (7-10, 2-4) a 63-60 lead with 10.4 seconds remaining in regulation, Dillard fouled guard Cavel Witter as he attempted a 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds, giving the Bluejays a chance to tie the game.

Witter proceeded to hit all three free throws to tie the game. Senior guard Bryan Mullins had a chance to win the game in regulation, but his desperation 3-point heave near midcourt glanced off the rim to send the game into overtime.

It's a situation I replayed about a month ago with SIU head coach Chris Lowery who said now that Dillard has added some muscle, situations like that will likely never happen again.

KD has bulked up in the offseason, a process that began shortly after the team's season ended with an opening round loss to Bradley in the MVC Tournament.  And even though Dillard is stronger, his added strength has not altered the sugar-sweet jump shot that helped him to carry a hefty scoring load.

With Bryan Mullins completely out of the pictuer, Dillard becomes the team's main ball-handler.  He will be in charge of running the offense and getting his teammates involved -- all while trying to create his own shot.  It seems like a tall task for a sophomore floor general. 

The biggest area in which Dillard can improve as a sophomore is in the turnover department.  Dillard needs to handle his business in regard to his ball handling skills because 1.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio isn't going to cut it.  Not at SIU.  Not when your head coach is Chris Lowery, who knows a thing or two about running the point as a Saluki.  And especially not when you're following one of the best point guards, not just in school history, but in Missouri Valley Conference history.

Expect Dillard to bump his scoring a tad into the 13 or 14 ppg range, especially if he can improve on his stroke from the charity stripe, where he shot only 72 percent.  KD should also see his assist numbers rise, especially if his turnover rate dips.

Saluki fans are always craving a big man, but the truth of the matter is that guard play will carry you not only through the conference season, but through postseason play as well.  There will be 12 other ballers decked out in maroon and white joining him in the huddle this upcoming season.  But the team' will go only as far as Dillard (and the rest of the guards for that matter) will take them.

BREAKING NEWS: That Kevin Dillard guy is gonna be something special

SIU freshman guard Kevin Dillard has struggled of late hitting his shots.

Illinois' reigning Mr. Basketball is the Salukis' leading scorer and biggest offensive threat on the court. When he's not slashing to the hole making acrobatic lay-ups, he is a dead-eye 3-point sniper.

Yet, the youngster from Homewood, Ill., has had his shot elude him of late.

Not Wednesday, though.

KD went 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-8 from the 3-point line as he scored 20 points ... and it wasn't enough to carry Southern to victory.

SIU fell 60-57 in overtime.

Dillard fouled out with 1:08 to play in regulation, and the lack of a true point guard (and the team's best scorer) hurt the Salukis down the stretch.

When I came to SIU in the fall of 2004, my goal was to become sports editor at the DE and cover one of those dominant Saluki hoops squads that ran roughshod over the Missouri Valley Conference.

And while this team won't win the Valley regular season, I still wouldn't be surprised if they caught lightening in a bottle.

SIU has a strong coach and some playmakers on offense. A few hot shooting nights will take you far in early March.

To be honest, I'm not even sure this team is going to make postseason play, but the future is bright. My only regret is that I won't be around to see this team be elite.

Not unless I fail out, which I'm sure my parents would appreciate.

How Dillard can dictate the Salukis season

Photo Credit: Stephen Rickerl

When SIU men's basketball head coach Chris Lowery said freshman guard Kevin Dillard had moved into the starting rotation, the wheels in my head started moving like the players in the motion offense.

Having two freshmen in the starting lineup isn't necessarily something any hoops head coach wants, but Lowery has officially made the first step to improving the Salukis' postseason chances by moving Dillard into the starting five.

Why?

Because the motion offense will run better because of it. Well, it should at least.

When SIU was giving opposing teams fits en route to all those Missouri Valley Conference championships and NCAA Tournament bids, the Saluki offense excelled because it had multiple ball handlers on the court at the same time. And I'm not knocking the ball-handling skills of Wesley Clemmons or Torres Roundtree, but Dillard causes matchup problems because of he can put on a ball-handling clinic on one possession, slash on another and pop a 3-point jumper on the third.

Bryan Mullins, Tony Young and Jamaal Tatum each shared the ball handling responsibilities in 2007 and 2006. Tatum and Young did it in 2005. Tatum, Young and Darren Brooks did it in 2004. Watch Purdue's three-guard offense and you'll see how the motion is properly run. And why is it run properly? Because the personnel employed by Matt Painter's bunch calls for at least two ball handlers.

The added ball movement should benefit forwards Carlton Fay and Tony Boyle who should excel with Dillard's court vision and ability to provide crisp entry passes into the post. And it gives defenses a third name to focus on in scouting reports. Team's can't zero in on only C-Fay or B-Mull when Illinois' Mr. Basketball also lurks on the perimeter.

We'll see how the team responds tonight in its first home game on its MVC schedule against Northern Iowa.