Most Amazing Transformation

[brianstl]

It's clear to me that you don't know the game ! Eckerle hopefully is weighing his options for next year. I think McKendree would be a good fit for him !

That was a great crowd MU had this weekend for that exciting brand of basketball you think teams need to play to draw.

[hoops88]

Ekerle will be at Saint Louis U regardless of basketball he is studying pre-med.

He would walk on before going elsewhere and from what I have seen he will be one of those depth people who spells another guard for a few minutes per game in the future with out any drop off.

Wonderful !

[moytoy12]

That was a great crowd MU had this weekend for that exciting brand of basketball you think teams need to play to draw.

Why even respond to him Brian? His role on this board has become pretty obvious.

[brianstl]

Why even respond to him Brian? His role on this board has become pretty obvious.

Your right I resisted all day, only to get sucked in now.

[hoops88]

That was a great crowd MU had this weekend for that exciting brand of basketball you think teams need to play to draw.

Brianstl,

With half the students gone for the break at Mizzou it wasn't bad . SLU can't draw in a major city ! You put Mizzou's team in SLU's place and the Scottrade is packed each game ! SLU has to score more than 30 at the half before people start spending money ! Paul will be at a NAIA school next year. It will be good for him.

[billiken_roy]

"now if the coaches can spend xmas break doing extra credit time with our two best freshmen that are supposedly behind in majerus basketball class 101"... Based on your earlier comment, who were you referring to when you said our "two best freshmen"?

I agree that we are much better when Luke is at the 4, that's why some of us were so frustrated with last year's recruiting. It looks like maybe Relphorde has leapfrogged ahead of Knollmeyer in terms of who sees the floor. Or maybe Majerus will play one or the other based on match-ups.

i should have worded it differently. eckerle has proven his worth and based on what we have heard from the coaches obviously has that high basketball iq. and is the better billiken at this time.

however if they went out to the playground and played with no refs i believe that mitchell would beat him. that doesnt mean mitchell is the better billiken freshmen right now. eckerle is because eckerle fits the team better and provides the minutes and confidence from majerus that enables lisch, polk and liddell to take breaks. but i believe that mitchell and eckerle head to head on sheer one on one basketball mitchell would beat him.

same with relphorde.

that is why i am bringing up the basketball 101 class. do what we can to get them to the same level eckerle is at and then we add two more subs like paul that can contribute in short bursts to give our starters a few minutes occaisionally. maybe having them up to speed let's us play that last four minutes of sammy houston more than four minutes once in awhile.

i dont want to make this a "who's better" string. i want to make this a "what needs to be done to bring the two talents up to par so they can contribute" string. use the players we have to make the team better.

[ACE]

Why even respond to him Brian? His role on this board has become pretty obvious.

Yes it has, but I think it is long overdue for the moderators to exterminate this one. If we know what his role is, why keep him around. Now he's trashing Eckerle? Come on. Just speed up the inevitable and get rid of this loser.

And yes Brian, the Mizlosers drew 4,000 to their last game. What a joke.

[Billikan]

Brianstl,

With half the students gone for the break at Mizzou it wasn't bad . SLU can't draw in a major city ! You put Mizzou's team in SLU's place and the Scottrade is packed each game ! SLU has to score more than 30 at the half before people start spending money ! Paul will be at a NAIA school next year. It will be good for him.

You and I and Moytoy may disagree on some things but we are in full agreement on this one. Mr. Hoops is an idiot that does not ever deserve a response!

[slufanskip]

Majerus Magic,

Paul will probably be playing NAIA ball next year. That's pretty straight forward !

can we get rid of this guy.

[Quality Is Job 1]

Your right I resisted all day, only to get sucked in now.

This may sound like a broken record (urr, a dirty CD), but I'm telling you all, the "ignore feature" works. Not only have I not responded to hoops88, I haven't even read any of his garbage. If the rest of you would get on the bandwagon and ignore him, he'll get bored and go away.

[ACE]

Brianstl,

With half the students gone for the break at Mizzou it wasn't bad . SLU can't draw in a major city ! You put Mizzou's team in SLU's place and the Scottrade is packed each game ! SLU has to score more than 30 at the half before people start spending money ! Paul will be at a NAIA school next year. It will be good for him.

A Mizloser. LOL! Figures. No wonder he was ashamed to admit his allegiance right off the bat. They also got 7,000 for Purdue. Pathetic!

Can the troll.

[hoops88]

Yes it has, but I think it is long overdue for the moderators to exterminate this one. If we know what his role is, why keep him around. Now he's trashing Eckerle? Come on. Just speed up the inevitable and get rid of this loser.

And yes Brian, the Mizlosers drew 4,000 to their last game. What a joke.

Ace,

I'm not trashing Eckerle. He will have a solid career at a NAIA school. There is nothing wrong with that ! RM is bringing in better players next year and Paul won't get many minutes. Go where you can play !

[ACE]

This may sound like a broken record (urr, a dirty CD), but I'm telling you all, the "ignore feature" works. Not only have I not responded to hoops88, I haven't even read any of his garbage. If the rest of you would get on the bandwagon and ignore him, he'll get bored and go away.

Come on thicks. This guy is now personally trashing players like Eckerle. He is just a nuissance who is not interested in discussing basketball. He will continue to try to hijack threads. Has he made one redeeming post?

If this was the offseason where things where slow, I could see keeping him around, because it's always fun to kick a Mizloser troll. But we're into the season and there has been a lot of good bball debate going on.

[billiken_roy]

Ace,

I'm not trashing Eckerle. He will have a solid career at a NAIA school. There is nothing wrong with that ! RM is bringing in better players next year and Paul won't get many minutes. Go where you can play !

hoops, how much you want to bet on eckerle's minutes? he has proven his worth. majerus has declared his admiration for the kid. no way he goes away and thank god. he will only get better as he matures. you should have hannah watch paul sometime he might learn something about self control with the ball and position defense.

[NashvilleBilliken]

I guess I have to repeat things 4-5 times a day to combat some of your roymors. The latest one you continue to throw out there is that somehow Majerus is holding back these "talented" freshmen (Relphorde and Mitchell), by not playing them. Your criticism of Majerus is way off base. Those "talented freshmen" were not highly regarded. Relphorde could be a nice player in time, but he got a chance on Saturday. Timmermann made it sound like he was overmatched. The box score backs that up. As for Mitchell, he wasn't on anybody's recruiting radar. Hopefully he will be a diamond in the rough, but just because you saw him play in high school and thought he looked great against some po-dunk Illinois high school, doesn't mean the kid is ready to compete as a D1 freshman. Plus, one of the few positions of strength on this team is at the wing, where playing time will be a little harder to come by. I may be way off base here, but I think I'm going to trust RM's ability to judge talent over that of BillikenRoy and Billikan.

You make it sounds like since MR was overmatched, he has no place on the court. But the fact is, he was overmatched against Shaw. Shaw is a senior starter and a top power forward in the MVC...MR is a freshman with less than an hour of playing time. Big difference there. You keep talking about Sodie. You're position seems to be that all things Soderberg are bad (and all things Roy for that matter). All things Majerus are good. Can't there be middle ground? I mean, Sodie had recruiting problems, but this idea of "since Soderberg recruited them, they must suck" is a little ridiculous. I think a lot of us are in the middle. But everything seems black and white to you.

[Quality Is Job 1]

Come on thicks. This guy is now personally trashing players like Eckerle. He is just a nuissance who is not interested in discussing basketball. He will continue to try to hijack threads. Has he made one redeeming post?

If this was the offseason where things where slow, I could see keeping him around, because it's always fun to kick a Mizloser troll. But we're into the season and there has been a lot of good bball debate going on.

I have suspended hoops88 from posting for three days with the warning that if he doesn't fit in better afterward, the discipline will be harsher. In the meantime, I request that you guys begin to use the "ignore user" feature.

[ACE]

That's not it at all. Follow the debate. I am refuting Roy's point that suggested Majerus was some how holding back Relphorde and Mitchell. I simply trust Majerus' judgement. He has a long track record to prove it. I think he knows how to bring along players.

As for Relphorde, he sounded like he had a pretty good resume when we signed him. I expect him to develop and Majerus to work with him. He will not throw him aside like an old shoe or whatever Roy was saying. Actually, if the choice is between Knollmeyer and Relphorde, I'd rather give Marcus a shot. That seems to be exactly what RM did last game. It's just that he's not likely to make a big impact as a freshman. Be objective about it. This recruiting class was not highly regarded.

Don't misrepresent what I said. I never said Marcus "sucked." I just pointed out he is going to have a hard time playing the wing on this team playing behind KL, TL and even Danny.

As for Sodie, I was more than fair with him. My biggest beef with him was recruiting. Like everybody I was excited when we landed KL and TL. He failed to capitablize on that. His recruiting got progressively worse. When I pointed this out, some of Sodie's apologists would always defend it. Well, they were wrong which is why Sodie is no longer the coach.

Now this year, some of the same people that were preaching patience in the past are freaking out after a dozen games. The bottom line is that Sodie left a roster with gaping holes at point, the four and five. Not sure why some folks can't recognize that. The bottom line is that even with some of the struggles, our record is exactly where it should be. We have won as many games as we were favored to win. With more practice with RM, I think come conference play, I won't be surprised to see us steal a few games we are the underdog in.

[drkelsey55]

The ignore option works very well..just wanted to say GOOD BYE HOOPS88!!

[NashvilleBilliken]

That's not it at all. Follow the debate. I am refuting Roy's point that suggested Majerus was some how holding back Relphorde and Mitchell. I simply trust Majerus' judgement. He has a long track record to prove it. I think he knows how to bring along players.

As for Relphorde, he sounded like he had a pretty good resume when we signed him. I expect him to develop and Majerus to work with him. He will not throw him aside like an old shoe or whatever Roy was saying. Actually, if the choice is between Knollmeyer and Relphorde, I'd rather give Marcus a shot. That seems to be exactly what RM did last game. It's just that he's not likely to make a big impact as a freshman. Be objective about it. This recruiting class was not highly regarded.

Don't misrepresent what I said. I never said Marcus "sucked." I just pointed out he is going to have a hard time playing the wing on this team playing behind KL, TL and even Danny.

As for Sodie, I was more than fair with him. My biggest beef with him was recruiting. Like everybody I was excited when we landed KL and TL. He failed to capitablize on that. His recruiting got progressively worse. When I pointed this out, some of Sodie's apologists would always defend it. Well, they were wrong which is why Sodie is no longer the coach.

Now this year, some of the same people that were preaching patience in the past are freaking out after a dozen games. The bottom line is that Sodie left a roster with gaping holes at point, the four and five. Not sure why some folks can't recognize that. The bottom line is that even with some of the struggles, our record is exactly where it should be. We have won as many games as we were favored to win. With more practice with RM, I think come conference play, I won't be surprised to see us steal a few games we are the underdog in.

Ok, "sucked" was an exaggeration. However, as a charter member of the Kool Aid club, I can't seem to remember when anybody defended BS's recruiting. It was more of a let's wait and see how they pan out. Even at the beginning of the year, I was on people about doggin DM and AK. Perhaps they were closer to right than I was, but I still stand by my wait and see approach.

How can we take a different perspective with RM? Well, I'll tell you. First off, RM isn't a 17 year old kid. He is a proven commodity and a grown man. After 40 years of coaching, RM isn't gonna have some drastic change. This plays into reason number 2....expectations. When we pay a guy one million dollars, that comes with expectations. When a company replaces a CEO, do the shareholders just allow thousands of dollars to be lost and chalk it up to a new guy? Absolutely not. Now, if they hired Joe in IT who looks promising but doesn't really have any experience...well, that's a different story (and probably no a public company!).

All that being said, let me reiterate that I'm fully on the RM bandwagon. I think we are going in the right direction and I think he's a hell of a coach. I DID, however, expect our record to be better and I DID expect to beat SHS at home. And I sure as hell didn't expect to look like a JV team and get blown out by Kent State. I don't it's negative or hypocritical to voice displeasure in that.

[Majerus Magic]

Brianstl,

With half the students gone for the break at Mizzou it wasn't bad . SLU can't draw in a major city ! You put Mizzou's team in SLU's place and the Scottrade is packed each game ! SLU has to score more than 30 at the half before people start spending money ! Paul will be at a NAIA school next year. It will be good for him.

Paul was recruited by both MSU and SIU before he told them he wasn't interested.

[billiken_roy]

I am refuting Roy's point that suggested Majerus was some how holding back Relphorde and Mitchell.

ace, surprisingly you have developed comprehensive reading problems recently. i said i would love to see the coaching staff spend extra time during the holiday break to coach up the two players they have inferred are not mentally up to the task yet. that isnt accusing majerus of holding them back.

i later after i clarified my eckerle vs mitchell and relphorde points, said again it is about getting them on the same basketball iq plane.

last, once again it was you that brings up soderberg. not anyone else. maybe you should seek help for this obsession. i am worried about you.

[Pistol]

I have suspended hoops88 from posting for three days with the warning that if he doesn't fit in better afterward, the discipline will be harsher. In the meantime, I request that you guys begin to use the "ignore user" feature.

But with the 'Ignore User' feature, then wouldn't you miss what everyone's getting upset about? Wouldn't the threads make less sense because a lot of the sequential comments from one user would be missing? It seems to me that it would just be easier not to respond than to miss what's being said, even if it is moronic drivel.

[Quality Is Job 1]

But with the 'Ignore User' feature, then wouldn't you miss what everyone's getting upset about? Wouldn't the threads make less sense because a lot of the sequential comments from one user would be missing? It seems to me that it would just be easier not to respond than to miss what's being said, even if it is moronic drivel.

No, you don't have to miss anything. There are two reasons for that. For one thing, when others reply to the offender, they typically quote the post, which is then visible as a quote (for me, once I see "hoops88," I skip the quote and go straight to the response). For another thing, the program allows you to view the ignored post if you choose to. Personally, I have enjoyed reading the responses without knowing exactly what hoops88 has written.

I believe for most posters it's harder to refrain from responding than it is to not read.

Besides, if everyone were to ignore a troll, there wouldn't be "everyone getting upset." There would be posts saying "You have chosen to ignore all posts from..." and no responses to him -- he would be talking to himself.

[Pistol]

No, you don't have to miss anything. There are two reasons for that. For one thing, when others reply to the offender, they typically quote the post, which is then visible as a quote (for me, once I see "hoops88," I skip the quote and go straight to the response). For another thing, the program allows you to view the ignored post if you choose to. Personally, I have enjoyed reading the responses without knowing exactly what hoops88 has written.

I believe for most posters it's harder to refrain from responding than it is to not read.

Besides, if everyone were to ignore a troll, there wouldn't be "everyone getting upset." There would be posts saying "You have chosen to ignore all posts from..." and no responses to him -- he would be talking to himself.

Thanks, just curious as to how it actually worked. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't miss what was going on. Plus, Metz wasn't well-liked here but was always an entertaining read. Hoops88 just isn't worth bothering with unless you like run-on sentences and tons of exclamation points.

[ACE]

ace, surprisingly you have developed comprehensive reading problems recently. i said i would love to see the coaching staff spend extra time during the holiday break to coach up the two players they have inferred are not mentally up to the task yet. that isnt accusing majerus of holding them back.

i later after i clarified my eckerle vs mitchell and relphorde points, said again it is about getting them on the same basketball iq plane.

last, once again it was you that brings up soderberg. not anyone else. maybe you should seek help for this obsession. i am worried about you.

Relax Roy. I'm sure RM knows what he's doing. The staff is trying to develop these kids. If you listened to the radio show last night he talked specifically about Anthony and MR. He raved about Anthony's work ethic. Marcus, on the other hand, sounds like the more polished player, but they are trying to get him to really step up his intensity. The jump from intensity required from high school to college is something Marcus will have to develop.

As for Soderberg, he is relavent to the debate because this is primarily HIS roster. This is the team he recruitied. The major deficiencies at the 1, 4 and 5 and general lack of depth are because of his recruiting failings. Not sure why that concept is so difficult to grasp. Now as more of Majerus' recruits begin to enter the program, then he will begin to be judged with more scrutiny regarding the level of talent on the team. If there is any blame to be thrown out about how the team has played, imo, it has more to do with the talent deficiencies on Soderberg's roster than it has to do with deficiencies in RM's coaching. The big guy has won a few games in his day. I don't think he has forgotten how to coach. We're in good hands. Relax. Better times are ahead. Patience.