Lisch story

[SIUSalukis]

I wasn't hating on SLU by any means. I was just stating that the majority of posters on this board were not being realistic in regards to some topics, including Shaw as well as creating a powerhouse program.

I do not think SIU is anywhere close to being a final four caliber team. I'm not stupid! I was saying SLU is many many years away from that as well.

Oh and those SOS numbers.....it doesn't mean much when you are around .500 basketball. I sure do wish we had a chance to go to all those places SLU plays and host those same teams. That would give us a chance to upgrade our SOS. But teams do not want to play mid-majors like us. Even SLU dropped out of our game this year because they did not want to play us and SMS both on the road. SO instead, they wanted to play great home games against Savannah St. and Eastwhatever carolina state.

You guys are a mid-major caliber team that is lucky enough to play in a good conference. So enjoy those chances to knock off ranked teams at home, because that will be all you have come March, while SIU WILL be in the Dance.

[billiken_roy]

35. Southern Ill (14-2)

59. Creighton (14-2)

77. Wichita St (11-6)

104. SW Missouri St (13-6)

114. Northern Iowa (10-5)

166. Illinois St (4-11)

170. Bradley (8-10)

175. Drake (6-9)

176. Indiana St (8-8)

251. Evansville (2-14)

better not stumble. one loss in this rpi graveyard (besides maybe creighton or wichita) probably will have you coming back eating crow in march. your conference is teetering on one bid this year.

no one here is going to argue your point about the schedules. that is the main reason we didnt want to be in the mvc. sorry you are stuck there and we arent. but i wouldnt trade places with you for anything.

[p diddy]

when tom crean took the job at marquette, their program was ina state of mediocrity. marquette was a .500 team during his first two years. dwayne wade becomes eligible during the third year, robert jackson comes back from mississippi state for one year and a few good locals stay home and voila, you have a final four team.

so you see, when crean took over, marquette was "light years" away from going to the final four. but they went anyway.

when dick bennett took over at wisconsin, the badgers were an also-ran in the big 10 conference. they were the whipping boys for the michigans, michigan states, illinois', indianas and everyone else. dick instilled a tough, disciplined brand of basketball and the badgers became a winning program and eventually a final four team in 2000. and this was without players with big-time names and reputations coming into college. one of the starters was a transfer from a Division III school while another came from a Division II junior college. I think it's safe to say that wisconsin was light years from the final four when dick bennett took over. by the way, his top assistant and right hand man for that entire tenure was brad soderberg. unless your are a big badger fan like UB, you would be hard pressed to name any one of wisconsin's starters on that team. i know people won't have a problem naming the top players for michigan state, north carolina and florida, who were the other three teams in the final four.

when bruce webber took over at SIUC for rich herrin, the program was in pretty bad shape. SIUSalukis, I ask you, did you envision in those early days that SIU would become a Sweet 16 team four years later. Were you thinking Sweet 16 when the team was 14-14 and Kent Williams was thinking about transferring. Were you thinking Sweet 16 when DArren Brooks was redshirting and wanting to transfer to moberly to be with his High school teammate nick benson. or when stetson hairston went to prep school after a sub-par senior year at belleville east. i think it was pretty safe to say that the salukis were light years from the Sweet 16 when Bruce Webber took over the program. Don't you think? it aldo didn't hurt when rolan roberts got run out of virginia tech for his "problem" and bruce took a chance and was rewarded.

i'm not going to say that the billikens are going to a final four, but i'm definitely not going to say that it's impossible either. when you spout off otherwise, it sounds so uninformed and ignorant. Brad is laying down a solid foundation for success over the long haul. It doesn't happen with a bunch of one and out guys. It takes a group of four-year guys who develop and mature over the course of their careers. They made the NIT last year. Although we don't know what will happen this year, the team is clearly better than last year. And the local recruiting class has been very good and hopes to get even better (three of the top four seniors in town have signed and the top junior is a good possibility). Now, there's a new building on the way in the next few years with a chance to grab a little east coast exposure in the a-10 (hasn't hurt dayton or xavier one bit).

in the past 10 years, SIU has been to the NCAA tournament five teams and made the NIT a few other times. In that same span, SLU has been to the NCAA Tournament four times and the NIT two times. So, you see, while the Salukis have been in the tournament, the Billikens haven't been just sitting around twidling their thumbs. They've done a few things as well. i welcome your response now that you're a little more informed than you were about45 minutes ago.

bad boyz for life

[3star_recruit]

You have to determine what your borders are. I say our borders are within 30 miles of campus, with kids whose main goal is to graduate, not improve their lottery status. Certainly we'll also get kids outside of a 30 mile radius, but the St. Louis metro is where our recruiting base is strongest.

[slufanskip]

I agree with what you are saying ... but 30 miles is pretty narrow. How about 50-60 miles

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[orphanfan]

Shaw really liked SIU because of Matt Painter. He was the one recuiting him since his soph year, then he becomes the head coach. Rick Moss had a lot to do with it at the end. Matt loves Rick.