Ya gotta Love It

[WVBilliken]

Under Uncle Brad we would not be recruiting for next year. Heck, he would not even recruit over other players. That is why we never had any competition for starting spots on the team. But RM never stops recruiting. Just in case. You gotta love it!

I see that Rivals shows us recruiting a bunch of players with offers out to Bradley Beal, Mycheal Henry, and Christian Kirk.l It will be interesting to see what happens during the November signing period. Yeah, Beal will never come to SLU, but what about the others?

[tenthyearsenior]

Under Uncle Brad we would not be recruiting for next year. Heck, he would not even recruit over other players. That is why we never had any competition for starting spots on the team. But RM never stops recruiting. Just in case. You gotta love it!

I see that Rivals shows us recruiting a bunch of players with offers out to Bradley Beal, Mycheal Henry, and Christian Kirk.l It will be interesting to see what happens during the November signing period. Yeah, Beal will never come to SLU, but what about the others?

Where are the scholarships going to come from?

[WVBilliken]

You have to be ready just in case the last guys on the bench get unhappy and say see you later.

[joe_davola]

Where are the scholarships going to come from?

I'm sure Rick will be giving the dead weight a boot to the curb...probably buy them a lunch at Pappy's on the way out.

[tenthyearsenior]

You have to be ready just in case the last guys on the bench get unhappy and say see you later.

I guess you can always ask somebody to leave.

[joe_davola]

I guess you can always ask somebody to leave.

Yeah...with the lunch at Pappy's

[WVBilliken]

Listen, I don't want any of the current players to leave. But you have to be prepared just in case. I think that is what RM does.

All kids want to play. But the 12th and 13th guys often get unhappy. Heck with Eckerle I am guessing we will have a scholarship player way down at the 14th player on the team. Eckerle certainly will be one of the top 10 or 11 next year.

[jgcurtin]

I understand what you're saying about Eckerle, but with RM's unknown plans for use of players, I'm not going to bet he'll get a lot of PT. Their new recruits and the development of some of the currnet players may move him down the ladder. I enjoy watching Eckerle and believe he always gives 110%, but we're a different team than 2 years ago. Hopefully, he'll be 3 or 4 off the bench as he does give the team a spark.

[WVBilliken]

I didn't say he would be high in the rotation, just that he would be ahead of one or two of the scholarship players.

[brianstl]

I'm sure Rick will be giving the dead weight a boot to the curb...probably buy them a lunch at Pappy's on the way out.

Hey, can we not refer to the kids as dead weight? Because the are not dead weight. The kids that may leave are guys that can actually really play at different places.

[joe_davola]

Hey, can we not refer to the kids as dead weight? Because the are not dead weight. The kids that may leave are guys that can actually really play at different places.

I was being sarcastic b/c I think we all know tenthyear was trying to stir the pot...Geez...I would think you would know by now that I don't write crap like that.

[Bishop]

There will be a spot or two open in the next year. Guaranteed.

[doowop]

I didn't say he would be high in the rotation, just that he would be ahead of one or two of the scholarship players.

He shouldn't be.

[GoBills]

No disrespect to Paul, but with the caliber of player that is now coming into the program, I have to think he is the 14th player. Certainly he is the best 14th player this program has ever had.

[slu72]

I don't think any future Billiken coach will sit back with a static roster. Plus, it's a given there will be some unhappy players at the end of next year because there just aren't that many minutes to go around. To assume everyone will want to stay at SLU is naive. This is not a bad situation to be in... in fact it bodes well. Think back just 4 short years ago when we were scraping the bottom of the barrel just to fill uniforms with the likes of HD, Obi Wan, et al. Recruiting to non open slots in order to continue upgrading the talent is not something we should fear, rather we should embrace it.

[Box and Won]

Think back just 4 short years ago when we were scraping the bottom of the barrel just to fill uniforms with the likes of HD, Obi Wan, et al.

Brad's problem was that he got us Obi Wan when we needed Chewbacca.

[brianstl]

I was being sarcastic b/c I think we all know tenthyear was trying to stir the pot...Geez...I would think you would know by now that I don't write crap like that.

My bad.

[cheeseman]

I don't think any future Billiken coach will sit back with a static roster. Plus, it's a given there will be some unhappy players at the end of next year because there just aren't that many minutes to go around. To assume everyone will want to stay at SLU is naive. This is not a bad situation to be in... in fact it bodes well. Think back just 4 short years ago when we were scraping the bottom of the barrel just to fill uniforms with the likes of HD, Obi Wan, et al. Recruiting to non open slots in order to continue upgrading the talent is not something we should fear, rather we should embrace it.

I would not rule out WR leaving early. I know he needs bulk and conditioning but that is something he could do this summer - lets just wait and see.

[bsheldon]

This discussion has taken place many times over the last couple of months. Who would have ever predicted us in this situation 5-6 years ago. Times they are a changing--and for the better. Player turn over may not be the most PC, freindly, kind, or even morally correct thing to do, but it is the state of the game today. Best player wins--just as it has always been. Every single "traditional" powerhouse program has dealt with this "issue" for many, many years. It is the nature of the beast. The beast is WINNING. By all indications we need to get used to winning and its consequences. I myself, as a fan of the program, am very excited about the future--where 20+ win seasons with dance tickets are the norm and not just an anomaly.

I obvioulsy don't WANT to force kids out that have made huge committments and sacrafices to the school and the program, but if you do not have the goods to play and you want floor time, you may have to go elsewhere to find it. Welcome to the the competitive world.

[billiken_roy]

This discussion has taken place many times over the last couple of months. Who would have ever predicted us in this situation 5-6 years ago. Times they are a changing--and for the better. Player turn over may not be the most PC, freindly, kind, or even morally correct thing to do, but it is the state of the game today. Best player wins--just as it has always been. Every single "traditional" powerhouse program has dealt with this "issue" for many, many years. It is the nature of the beast. The beast is WINNING. By all indications we need to get used to winning and its consequences. I myself, as a fan of the program, am very excited about the future--where 20+ win seasons with dance tickets are the norm and not just an anomaly.

I obvioulsy don't WANT to force kids out that have made huge committments and sacrafices to the school and the program, but if you do not have the goods to play and you want floor time, you may have to go elsewhere to find it. Welcome to the the competitive world.

"the competitive world" doesnt neccessarily equate to living up to promises and treating people the right way. if that is the "consequences" of winning, i think we should be ashamed to embrace such.

if you truly believe that every single player that left left the program because he sought more playing time and was not pushed out the door, you are naive. i laugh when i hear folks talk about how thompson quit on his own even though we all know that he was ridiculed and harrassed daily by the coach and the last straw was the coach bringing it up again at the year end banquet. yes i guess thompson quit on his own, but no doubt he was more than "encouraged" to leave as well.

no argument the roster is stronger than it has been in my lifetime, and i am happy that we are winning. but it is somewhat of a hollow feeling for me as well to know how saint louis university treated those athletes that were excited about a slu education and then to have their world reshuffled and started again at a much lesser institution. i value my slu education very highly, and i doubt that if given the chance i would trade it for a couple of seasons of increased playing time at northsouth western state college of the mountains. not sure why we couldnt have just spent the extra year or two of said players time to replace their spots naturally as they came up at graduation. was there a fear that our coaching staff wouldnt have been able to accomplish that? the staff has proven they can find players. so why burn those player bridges? sighhhhh. but we have been through the subject enough. it is what it is. and i have the peace of knowing i will be a billiken club member long after this regime is gone.

[billikenfan05]

"the competitive world" doesnt neccessarily equate to living up to promises and treating people the right way. if that is the "consequences" of winning, i think we should be ashamed to embrace such.

if you truly believe that every single player that left left the program because he sought more playing time and was not pushed out the door, you are naive. i laugh when i hear folks talk about how thompson quit on his own even though we all know that he was ridiculed and harrassed daily by the coach and the last straw was the coach bringing it up again at the year end banquet. yes i guess thompson quit on his own, but no doubt he was more than "encouraged" to leave as well.

no argument the roster is stronger than it has been in my lifetime, and i am happy that we are winning. but it is somewhat of a hollow feeling for me as well to know how saint louis university treated those athletes that were excited about a slu education and then to have their world reshuffled and started again at a much lesser institution. i value my slu education very highly, and i doubt that if given the chance i would trade it for a couple of seasons of increased playing time at northsouth western state college of the mountains. not sure why we couldnt have just spent the extra year or two of said players time to replace their spots naturally as they came up at graduation. was there a fear that our coaching staff wouldnt have been able to accomplish that? the staff has proven they can find players. so why burn those player bridges? sighhhhh. but we have been through the subject enough. it is what it is. and i have the peace of knowing i will be a billiken club member long after this regime is gone.

I'm counting down the days till someone leaves and you stroke out Roy.

[DirtyRican]

College athletics should be more like tee ball. We should let every kid have a spot on the team and get equal playing time. We should also let their parents stand on the field with them to make sure they are happy.

[Quality Is Job 1]

"the competitive world" doesnt neccessarily equate to living up to promises and treating people the right way. if that is the "consequences" of winning, i think we should be ashamed to embrace such.

if you truly believe that every single player that left left the program because he sought more playing time and was not pushed out the door, you are naive. i laugh when i hear folks talk about how thompson quit on his own even though we all know that he was ridiculed and harrassed daily by the coach and the last straw was the coach bringing it up again at the year end banquet. yes i guess thompson quit on his own, but no doubt he was more than "encouraged" to leave as well.

no argument the roster is stronger than it has been in my lifetime, and i am happy that we are winning. but it is somewhat of a hollow feeling for me as well to know how saint louis university treated those athletes that were excited about a slu education and then to have their world reshuffled and started again at a much lesser institution. i value my slu education very highly, and i doubt that if given the chance i would trade it for a couple of seasons of increased playing time at northsouth western state college of the mountains. not sure why we couldnt have just spent the extra year or two of said players time to replace their spots naturally as they came up at graduation. was there a fear that our coaching staff wouldnt have been able to accomplish that? the staff has proven they can find players. so why burn those player bridges? sighhhhh. but we have been through the subject enough. it is what it is. and i have the peace of knowing i will be a billiken club member long after this regime is gone.

It's a long way down from making that leap (see bold). I agree that I don't want players forced out, but I seriously doubt that any scholarship athlete comes to SLU primarily because of the academic facet. It's a very good school, but it's not Ivy.

[Billiken Rich]

I'm counting down the days till someone leaves and you stroke out Roy.

I'm counting the days till Roy actually gives Rick the benefit of the doubt on any matter or subject........How many years has Rick been here..........

[bsheldon]

College athletics should be more like tee ball. We should let every kid have a spot on the team and get equal playing time. We should also let their parents stand on the field with them to make sure they are happy.

Hilarious.

Roy,

I am not so naive to think that players are not forced out. Again, it sucks for those kids, but they wanted to play ball and aren't up to snuff. Again, best players win. That is by definition competition. They chose to play and these are the rules of the game. Even for the kids that were forced out, they got a $30,000+ year of education for free. Not exactly a terrible deal. Sure, if they truly want to pursue their basketball careers they may have to go to West Eastern State, but that is how it works. By the way, some do very well in other programs. Furthermore, they are not kicked out of school, they just loose the money to pay for tuition. If they truly are committed to getting a SLU diploma instead of a elsewhere, they will have to do what thousands of us did: Pay for it. One way or another--through grants, good grades, work study, mom and pop, inheretance from great granny, working three jobs while at school etc.

I hope RM keeps recruiting over every player on our roster, year after year. That is how you get better. If the current players don't improve and earn and the playing time--they may have to go. Don't be so naive to think that rick got hired to hold the hands of these kids and be nice to them--he got hired to WIN basketball games--period.

For the record, the naive statement wasn't a shot at you--it is naturally how it came out of my head.