Majerus on 590

[BIG BILL FAN]

RM, had a lot to say. As usual he rambled a lot but did offer some insight for next year. He did confirm that neither Cotto or Reed have obtained their necessary ACT score as of yet.

Danny Brown - RM, said if he knew was that good he would have red shirted him last year.

KM and RC (if eligible) will battle for the pg position.

Willie Reed - (if eligible) is not expecting much from him next year, but feels he will be a force by his sophomore year.

Kyle Cassity - loves his passing ability, but needs to lock himself in the weight room.

Femi John - loves his ability, but need to learn a more discipined style of play.

BT - named him as a starter. He said that the center should have the easiest time transitioning to college basketball ( surprised me ) and that the pg would have the hardest time.

Conklin - sounded like he would be a starter too from his comments.

BE - says he will be a big factor if he loses some weight.

Of note, apparently RM has been reading this board. He made a point to mention that he has criticized on different blogs for his public comments about his players, but felt that he should be honest with those who cover team. He emphasized that anything that he said to the media had been conveyed to the players first.

RM again reiterated his disdain for the A-10 conference.

[NashvilleBilliken]

RM, had a lot to say. As usual he rambled a lot but did offer some insight for next year. He did confirm that neither Cotto or Reed have obtained their necessary ACT score as of yet.

Danny Brown - RM, said if he knew was that good he would have red shirted him last year.

KM and RC (if eligible) will battle for the pg position.

Willie Reed - (if eligible) is not expecting much from him next year, but feels he will be a force by his sophomore year.

Kyle Cassity - loves his passing ability, but needs to lock himself in the weight room.

Femi John - loves his ability, but need to learn a more discipined style of play.

BT - named him as a starter. He said that the center should have the easiest time transitioning to college basketball ( surprised me ) and that the pg would have the hardest time.

Conklin - sounded like he would be a starter too from his comments.

BE - says he will be a big factor if he loses some weight.

Of note, apparently RM has been reading this board. He made a point to mention that he has criticized on different blogs for his public comments about his players, but felt that he should be honest with those who cover team. He emphasized that anything that he said to the media had been conveyed to the players first.

RM again reiterated his disdain for the A-10 conference.

Thanks for the recap. I hope this interview is posted on the 590 website. That's a damn shame about Ruben and Willie. I really hope they can get qualified. That makes a huge difference in next years outlook.

The comments on FJ are a little disheartening. I wasn't expecting big things out of him this year, but that's basically the same thing he said about Anthony Mitchell. I always though AM had a bunch of potential just waiting to be unleashed. I hope Femi does a better job of picking up the system (and given more of a chance to pick it up). For the locals, what is McCluer North's system?

I hate to hear that RM is still on the anti-a-10 bandwagon. We're gonna get stuck in the MVC. And that is going to suck.

[SLUDrew]

Thanks for the recap. I hope this interview is posted on the 590 website. That's a damn shame about Ruben and Willie. I really hope they can get qualified. That makes a huge difference in next years outlook.

The comments on FJ are a little disheartening. I wasn't expecting big things out of him this year, but that's basically the same thing he said about Anthony Mitchell. I always though AM had a bunch of potential just waiting to be unleashed. I hope Femi does a better job of picking up the system (and given more of a chance to pick it up). For the locals, what is McCluer North's system?

I hate to hear that RM is still on the anti-a-10 bandwagon. We're gonna get stuck in the MVC. And that is going to suck.

As long as Father Biondi is in charge, and he still is, SLU will never join the Valley. From an academic point of view it makes ZERO sense.

[bauman]

RM, had a lot to say. As usual he rambled a lot but did offer some insight for next year. He did confirm that neither Cotto or Reed have obtained their necessary ACT score as of yet.

Danny Brown - RM, said if he knew was that good he would have red shirted him last year.

KM and RC (if eligible) will battle for the pg position.

Willie Reed - (if eligible) is not expecting much from him next year, but feels he will be a force by his sophomore year.

Kyle Cassity - loves his passing ability, but needs to lock himself in the weight room.

Femi John - loves his ability, but need to learn a more discipined style of play.

BT - named him as a starter. He said that the center should have the easiest time transitioning to college basketball ( surprised me ) and that the pg would have the hardest time.

Conklin - sounded like he would be a starter too from his comments.

BE - says he will be a big factor if he loses some weight.

Of note, apparently RM has been reading this board. He made a point to mention that he has criticized on different blogs for his public comments about his players, but felt that he should be honest with those who cover team. He emphasized that anything that he said to the media had been conveyed to the players first.

RM again reiterated his disdain for the A-10 conference.

A couple of corrections or clarifications.

RM did NOT say WR was having trouble with his ACT. He talked about his eligibility issues in more general terms, but seemed to be implying that they were related to transfer of credits. Obviously, if ACT results were indeed sent out last week and RM was still concerned about Cotto, then RC did not get a qualifying score.

As he discussed the new recruits (FC asked who would contribute the most, early on) his comment on BT was cautious as he stated that BT has not played against any size or physical players in HS, and that he would have a big adjustment to make because of that point.

He said that Conklin was more used to physical play, but that he was used to playing with his back to the basket and that his adjustment would primarily be learning how to play facing the basket as a 4 or maybe a 3.

RM seemed somewhat reluctant to discuss KM, but after FC asked twice he did say that there are 3 types of passes and that KM was good with 2 of the 3, but had little experience passing the ball into the post, and he would have to work on that.

He really likes PE, but said if TL & KL were healthy and their grades were in order, that Paul would not take minutes from them-I found the grade comment interesting and maybe a signal that TL has some work to do in the classroom (KL has been honored for his grades).

RM also commented that the incoming players would have to concentrate on school and basketball and not devote much, if any, time to social activities.

I didnot hear RM make any comment on the A-10 other than having to work on improving road game scheduling. Earlier, our new AD, Chris May was interviewed and he made very clear that the MVC was not going to happen and that RM's preference regarding any conference move would be to the Big East. Sounds like RM is planning to move beyond the mid-level Valley.

Two final points, he spent a lot of time talking about the need to get Missouri on the schedule. He talked about that as his most important scheduling issue saying it is important to the fans of both schools to play that game. Finally, although he admitted to bias, he put our new arena in the top 5 of all arenas for college teams, along with the facilities for Duke, Kansas, Utah and NM (NMS?) (the Pit), the first two for what he described as the Wrigley Field or Fenway Park factor-old and historic.

[slu72]

A couple of corrections or clarifications.

RM did NOT say WR was having trouble with his ACT. He talked about his eligibility issues in more general terms, but seemed to be implying that they were related to transfer of credits. Obviously, if ACT results were indeed sent out last week and RM was still concerned about Cotto, then RC did not get a qualifying score.

As he discussed the new recruits (FC asked who would contribute the most, early on) his comment on BT was cautious as he stated that BT has not played against any size or physical players in HS, and that he would have a big adjustment to make because of that point.

He said that Conklin was more used to physical play, but that he was used to playing with his back to the basket and that his adjustment would primarily be learning how to play facing the basket as a 4 or maybe a 3.

RM seemed somewhat reluctant to discuss KM, but after FC asked twice he did say that there are 3 types of passes and that KM was good with 2 of the 3, but had little experience passing the ball into the post, and he would have to work on that.

He really likes PE, but said if TL & KL were healthy and their grades were in order, that Paul would not take minutes from them-I found the grade comment interesting and maybe a signal that TL has some work to do in the classroom (KL has been honored for his grades).

RM also commented that the incoming players would have to concentrate on school and basketball and not devote much, if any, time to social activities.

I didnot hear RM make any comment on the A-10 other than having to work on improving road game scheduling. Earlier, our new AD, Chris May was interviewed and he made very clear that the MVC was not going to happen and that RM's preference regarding any conference move would be to the Big East. Sounds like RM is planning to move beyond the mid-level Valley.

Two final points, he spent a lot of time talking about the need to get Missouri on the schedule. He talked about that as his most important scheduling issue saying it is important to the fans of both schools to play that game. Finally, although he admitted to bias, he put our new arena in the top 5 of all arenas for college teams, along with the facilities for Duke, Kansas, Utah and NM (NMS?) (the Pit), the first two for what he described as the Wrigley Field or Fenway Park factor-old and historic.

Would surmise from both posts, no discussion on who else might be on his radar. I hope these kids are committed and strong, RM ain't gonna' be easy on 'em. If WR and RC do not qualify, where really working with a short inexperienced bench next year. Yeah, I wish DB had been redshirted as well. UB should have done it the prior year. His JR year was wasted as was half his SR year.

[BIG BILL FAN]

Would surmise from both posts, no discussion on who else might be on his radar. I hope these kids are committed and strong, RM ain't gonna' be easy on 'em. If WR and RC do not qualify, where really working with a short inexperienced bench next year. Yeah, I wish DB had been redshirted as well. UB should have done it the prior year. His JR year was wasted as was half his SR year.

A follow up on Danny Brown, RM said he never considered redshirting him, because when he viewed tapes of him the prior year, he was a turnover waiting to happen. It's a shame that his potential wasn't realized earlier in his career.

[MusicCityBilliken]

I hate to hear that RM is still on the anti-a-10 bandwagon. We're gonna get stuck in the MVC. And that is going to suck.

Agree, once in the MVC we stay in the MVC. They will make SLU sign such a tough contract it will be almost impossible to get out. At least with the A10 the consequences would not be so financially draining if better options come up.

Also, Ruben and Willis can re-take the ACT the 2nd week of June. I hope both are 'buckling down' with some prep course.

[NashvilleBilliken]

A follow up on Danny Brown, RM said he never considered redshirting him, because when he viewed tapes of him the prior year, he was a turnover waiting to happen. It's a shame that his potential wasn't realized earlier in his career.

haha. Funny he should say that. Although we rarely got to see games on TV around here, me and my friends coined him Danny "turnover" Brown. The kid just couldn't hold onto the ball. I wonder how he turned that around.

[moytoy12]

haha. Funny he should say that. Although we rarely got to see games on TV around here, me and my friends coined him Danny "turnover" Brown. The kid just couldn't hold onto the ball. I wonder how he turned that around.

I agree that our prior coach didn't handle DB's tenure at SLU well. However, I do have a question which i don't know the answer to, should we have expected RM to recognize DB's ability? After all, RM is supposed to have a great eye for talent and potential. I don't know and tend to think that is unfair to ask of any coach coming into the situation RM came into. But I do think it's a fair question to ask.

[Guest BillikenReport]

The comments on FJ are a little disheartening. I wasn't expecting big things out of him this year, but that's basically the same thing he said about Anthony Mitchell. I always though AM had a bunch of potential just waiting to be unleashed. I hope Femi does a better job of picking up the system (and given more of a chance to pick it up). For the locals, what is McCluer North's system?

Femi John is similar to Anthony Mitchell in terms of body type and athleticism, but he's actually a guard and not an undersized forward.

McCluer North wasn't known for having a system or even running an offense. I truly believe John will thrive with some coaching, especially good coaching.

- Nate

[billiken_roy]

Femi John is similar to Anthony Mitchell in terms of body type and athleticism, but he's actually a guard and not an undersized forward.

McCluer North wasn't known for having a system or even running an offense. I truly believe John will thrive with some coaching, especially good coaching.

- Nate

mitchell played guard at eastside. he brought the ball down against the press and even handled the point when sain was out of the game. yes he scored under the basket more than most guards, but that was mainly because he was so quick and strong he could get there off the dribble and he crashed the boards with a liddell like enthusiasm. mitchell will play guard where ever he lands.

[moytoy12]

Also, disappointed to not hear anything like "we've still got 2 offers out for '08 and feel like we'll bring in 1-2 more guys."

[courtside]

I hate to hear that RM is still on the anti-a-10 bandwagon. We're gonna get stuck in the MVC. And that is going to suck.

Agree, once in the MVC we stay in the MVC. They will make SLU sign such a tough contract it will be almost impossible to get out. At least with the A10 the consequences would not be so financially draining if better options come up.

Also, Ruben and Willis can re-take the ACT the 2nd week of June. I hope both are 'buckling down' with some prep course.

You are an example of exactly what Majerus discussed today. I rarely listen to local Stl media stuff, but I did catch Rick speak today, and he wasn't on an anti-A-10 tirade. The above poster who did not hear that was 100% correct. In fact, Rick discussed with Cusamano and Ramsey how easily it is for bloggers and others to post incorrect information, and also to take information out of context.

Rick made exactly one comment, one sentence long which stated he'd like to tweak the schedule to better fit players academic schedules, ...that he didn't like taking a bus at times.

He mentioned the MVC exactly zero times. He said nothing negatively about the A-10. I don't think he'd like regionally bus trips to T either.

Big boys take charter flights.

A poster comes on here and posts misinformation and quickly someone reads it and believes it as truth and it snowballs from there. Welcome to the internet.

[NashvilleBilliken]

I agree that our prior coach didn't handle DB's tenure at SLU well. However, I do have a question which i don't know the answer to, should we have expected RM to recognize DB's ability? After all, RM is supposed to have a great eye for talent and potential. I don't know and tend to think that is unfair to ask of any coach coming into the situation RM came into. But I do think it's a fair question to ask.

Judging by the comments, I don't think it was a matter of recognizing the talent. It seemed to be a matter of DB being able to concentrate. I don't think anybody (our former coach included) doubted Danny's skills. From his freshman year, he had some of the best...if not the best...hops on the team. He also showed the ability to knock down the shots. But, for the life of him, he was completely unable to hold onto the ball. People made comments about not allowing him to handle the ball as much this season, but I didn't see that. I saw some crossovers, behind the backs, etc. moves this season that DB of past would NEVER have been able to make. It's hard to say if it was coaching or just Danny growing up and learning to concentrate. Or maybe his injury was just that brutal.

Either way, I don't hold it against Rick. He went off of tape, and the tape showed he wasn't worthy of a redshit. Don't forget, Rick never got to see Danny play prior to December.

[moytoy12]

Judging by the comments, I don't think it was a matter of recognizing the talent. It seemed to be a matter of DB being able to concentrate. I don't think anybody (our former coach included) doubted Danny's skills. From his freshman year, he had some of the best...if not the best...hops on the team. He also showed the ability to knock down the shots. But, for the life of him, he was completely unable to hold onto the ball. People made comments about not allowing him to handle the ball as much this season, but I didn't see that. I saw some crossovers, behind the backs, etc. moves this season that DB of past would NEVER have been able to make. It's hard to say if it was coaching or just Danny growing up and learning to concentrate. Or maybe his injury was just that brutal.

Either way, I don't hold it against Rick. He went off of tape, and the tape showed he wasn't worthy of a redshit. Don't forget, Rick never got to see Danny play prior to December.

Good points. The only other thing I would say is if RM knew DB was going to be out until December, that would be one more factor in favor of a redshirt in my opinion. Again, I don't blame rick for not redshirting DB, just thought I'd throw the question out there.

[NashvilleBilliken]

Good points. The only other thing I would say is if RM knew DB was going to be out until December, that would be one more factor in favor of a redshirt in my opinion. Again, I don't blame rick for not redshirting DB, just thought I'd throw the question out there.

oh, it's a legit question.

Personally, I think the biggest mistake so far was getting rid of both MR and AK. I'm sure he thought we would get Harrelson, but now that we don't, things could get real ugly next year. Two guys not qualified and two open scholarships. It's still early and anything can happen. But I probably would have felt better with those two on the roster for next year. I'm sure our incoming players are more talented, but two 6'7+ guys on the roster would have been nice.

[3star_recruit]

Having Danny Brown available after a redshirt season would be a nice luxury but it still does absolutely nothing to fill the glaring hole at the 5. Without that, all this talk of going two deep at the 4 goes out the window. Thompson can't play 40 minutes a game. Per RM, even if Reed qualifies "I don't expect him to have much of an impact."

[BIG BILL FAN]

You are an example of exactly what Majerus discussed today. I rarely listen to local Stl media stuff, but I did catch Rick speak today, and he wasn't on an anti-A-10 tirade. The above poster who did not hear that was 100% correct. In fact, Rick discussed with Cusamano and Ramsey how easily it is for bloggers and others to post incorrect information, and also to take information out of context.

Rick made exactly one comment, one sentence long which stated he'd like to tweak the schedule to better fit players academic schedules, ...that he didn't like taking a bus at times.

He mentioned the MVC exactly zero times. He said nothing negatively about the A-10. I don't think he'd like regionally bus trips to T either.

Big boys take charter flights.

A poster comes on here and posts misinformation and quickly someone reads it and believes it as truth and it snowballs from there. Welcome to the internet.

First of all, no where in my post did I mention anything about the MVC, secondly if you listened to the interview, you could tell my Majerus's tone of voice that he was very frustrated by the travel schedule of the A-10 (which is not going to change). In fact, he blamed this travel schedule for a subsequent poor effort. Lastly, RM not being happy with the A-10 is nothing new, he has made this point repeatedly. I personally, think RM has hopes of being in a newly formed conference some day (just a guess). Lastly, I think a bigger problem with internet bloggers is those who read them tend to take out of them what they want. Relax... Again, where did I say anything about the MVC? Point made...

[dewey33]

Good points. The only other thing I would say is if RM knew DB was going to be out until December, that would be one more factor in favor of a redshirt in my opinion. Again, I don't blame rick for not redshirting DB, just thought I'd throw the question out there.

The problem was is that Danny was playing out of position...as Luke's sub, he stayed out of situations that would create turnovers.

Danny was Drejaj's Tommie's and kevin's sub under BS....he just didn't have that good of handles.

[billiken_roy]

to defend rickma on the mvc issue, if rickma really wanted to be in the mvc instead of the a-10 because of travel and proximity then why does he quite often pine for the big east? same travel and geographic concerns. only even better competition.

no rickma wants to just play bigtime. and that is why we can never go to the mvc. if that big east monster ever does break up, we have to be united with dayton and xavier to react accordingly then.

[MusicCityBilliken]

You are an example of exactly what Majerus discussed today. I rarely listen to local Stl media stuff, but I did catch Rick speak today, and he wasn't on an anti-A-10 tirade. The above poster who did not hear that was 100% correct. In fact, Rick discussed with Cusamano and Ramsey how easily it is for bloggers and others to post incorrect information, and also to take information out of context.

Rick made exactly one comment, one sentence long which stated he'd like to tweak the schedule to better fit players academic schedules, ...that he didn't like taking a bus at times.

He mentioned the MVC exactly zero times. He said nothing negatively about the A-10. I don't think he'd like regionally bus trips to T either.

Big boys take charter flights.

A poster comes on here and posts misinformation and quickly someone reads it and believes it as truth and it snowballs from there. Welcome to the internet.

Hey Courtside, I took it from the Big Bill Fan, who initiated the thread. Why did you single me out and get on my case .

Anyway I am glad you clarified that. I think the A10 is the best option for the moment. Also, I never get to see a game if Charlotte was not in the conference

[jjray]

Having Danny Brown available after a redshirt season would be a nice luxury but it still does absolutely nothing to fill the glaring hole at the 5. Without that, all this talk of going two deep at the 4 goes out the window. Thompson can't play 40 minutes a game. Per RM, even if Reed qualifies "I don't expect him to have much of an impact."

If RM doesn't pull a serviceable big out of the folds of fat in his belly for the upcoming season, we're hosed for 2008-2009. I'm starting to think Conklin will be playing some 5 next year. It's going to be a huge adjustment for Brett Thompson going from the type of competition he was accustomed to at Vienna versus the A10. We're pulling for you Brett.

[bauman]

First of all, no where in my post did I mention anything about the MVC, secondly if you listened to the interview, you could tell my Majerus's tone of voice that he was very frustrated by the travel schedule of the A-10 (which is not going to change). In fact, he blamed this travel schedule for a subsequent poor effort. Lastly, RM not being happy with the A-10 is nothing new, he has made this point repeatedly. I personally, think RM has hopes of being in a newly formed conference some day (just a guess). Lastly, I think a bigger problem with internet bloggers is those who read them tend to take out of them what they want. Relax... Again, where did I say anything about the MVC? Point made...

BBF, you are right, you did not mention the MVC, HOWEVER, you did say RM expressed his "disdain for the A-10" in your original post and then in your 2:50 post you backtracked to a tone of voice which made you say that he was very frustrated by the A-10 travel schedule, which you then indicated would not change.

As in my original post, I am just trying to get interpretations/misinformation clarified so that those who rely on this Board (primarily out-of-town fans) do not get what we think RM and other Billikens spokespeople said, but rather what they actually said. I believe it is harmful to misquote or use the HC's words in a way to state something as fact when it really was a poster's interpretation. Rather than state things as fact, I like what you did in your above post-----"I personally think."

Your interpretation of RM's tone and disdain are not supported by what he said or how he said it. All he did was use an example of a travel problem, which resulted in his players getting very little sleep as a problem that needed to be addressed this year in scheduling. I have no idea where your comment that it wouldn't be changed this year comes from or what support you have for making that statement, when RM said they were working to get that situation corrected. (By the way, this whole issue didn't even qualify as a minor part of the interview in my judgment.) Much more important was his discussion of scheduling Missouri and a point I didn't make earlier about us playing N. Dame in Chicago---probably a small tourney, but he wasn't clear on that point, just that we would play ND in Chicago.

My only point in taking this amount of time is to make sure our out-of-town posters realize what RM said or didn't say with regard to the A-10. In this case I was lucky enough to hear the interview, if not, I would have relied on your post and gotten a number of what I believe to be, false impressions.

[NashvilleBilliken]

BBF, you are right, you did not mention the MVC, HOWEVER, you did say RM expressed his "disdain for the A-10" in your original post and then in your 2:50 post you backtracked to a tone of voice which made you say that he was very frustrated by the A-10 travel schedule, which you then indicated would not change.

As in my original post, I am just trying to get interpretations/misinformation clarified so that those who rely on this Board (primarily out-of-town fans) do not get what we think RM and other Billikens spokespeople said, but rather what they actually said. I believe it is harmful to misquote or use the HC's words in a way to state something as fact when it really was a poster's interpretation. Rather than state things as fact, I like what you did in your above post-----"I personally think."

Your interpretation of RM's tone and disdain are not supported by what he said or how he said it. All he did was use an example of a travel problem, which resulted in his players getting very little sleep as a problem that needed to be addressed this year in scheduling. I have no idea where your comment that it wouldn't be changed this year comes from or what support you have for making that statement, when RM said they were working to get that situation corrected. (By the way, this whole issue didn't even qualify as a minor part of the interview in my judgment.) Much more important was his discussion of scheduling Missouri and a point I didn't make earlier about us playing N. Dame in Chicago---probably a small tourney, but he wasn't clear on that point, just that we would play ND in Chicago.

My only point in taking this amount of time is to make sure our out-of-town posters realize what RM said or didn't say with regard to the A-10. In this case I was lucky enough to hear the interview, if not, I would have relied on your post and gotten a number of what I believe to be, false impressions.

All the more reason for 590 to post the interview on their website. I'm sure it would get 200 hits from this site alone. That should be enough advertising $$ to justify the 10MB of disk space.

[MusicCityBilliken]

All the more reason for 590 to post the interview on their website. I'm sure it would get 200 hits from this site alone. That should be enough advertising $$ to justify the 10MB of disk space.

Great suggestion.