billiken_roy Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 this past week billikens.com discussions: -ok, please enough on the stupid statue. please, please, please take that discussion elsewhere. -seriously, somebody explain the chaifetz flirting with buying the nba team? you seriously think the hawks come to st louis? nba would have been parading exhibition games here like crazy the last few years if there was a snowball chance of that. -bracketology as it stands today, the a-10 imo has 4 teams in the ncaa tourney minimum. vcu, dayton, umass and davidson. richmond not completely out of the picture but likely an nit team, rhodey an nit team. everyone else still dreaming of their upcoming spring break trip. actually if 6 a-10 teams make postseason in a “down” year, that’s pretty good. btw, missouri valley has two top 20 teams and is only the 11th ranked rpi conference. i thank god every day we are not in that horrible conference. -yarborough – while i understand the need for a coach to flex his muscles to show who’s the boss, i truly don’t understand the yarborough handling. here’s the one guy that seems to be showing great promise and the chance to be a difference maker not just a foot soldier, and you basically bench him in a winnable game when he is having a very very good game? meanwhile you continue to play the centers that are not showing much promise or play the second string 4 in front of malik. you don’t think other coaches needing a talented 3-4 player aren’t taking notice? while it would be “tampering” for another program to make direct contact with one of our players, (i want to highlight the word DIRECT) you would be naïve to think that there isn’t a way that the other programs that recruited malik don’t have their ways to let him know they regret him not coming there. coach you don’t have to cater to malik, but i don’t understand the message. please don’t let this happen. i still am not over ricky fraizer. -will someone tell me why we care about biedshceid and willie reed? Geez let it go. -all century team ceremony was good. i wish hughes would have been there himself. Strange, as he has been to most of the games this year. jimmy irvine wasn’t at the game. he rarely misses. i am sure his exclusion stung him a little. i wish i would have gotten to see jimmy play. he was right before my time but those that did see him rave. i thought having the alumni there as well and them lining the the floor behind the all century team came out was nice. i love seeing the old players come back. while all deserved big ovations, does it speak volumes to the makeup of our crowd that evans and jett got the biggest ovations? my gosh slu, bonner should have been the last guy out not the first guy out. i don’t think the crowd was ready to “perform” and anthony was already out and the second guy being introduced. i will miss the game today. one of the few i have missed since i became a billiken in 1977. here’s hoping they get another w for their own self confidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Chaifetz flirting with an NBA team? I am not sure what you mean by explain it. Majerus said years ago that this was a goal of Chaifetz, to be involved in NBA ownership. That team of course would not be playing in St. Louis. While it will take his time, attention, and physical presence elsewhere, it doesn't mean he still won't be a supporter of SLU. Like others, he can support a college program in one part of the country and an NBA team elsewhere. ...And, when SLU is playing well, he will come in town for more games. Reed played for SLU so I understand the interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Blood-shot eyes viewing day here on the East Coast ...... Rhode Island at L Salle at 12:30 (NBC SN); Dayton at VCU at 2:00 (ESPN2); GeeDubya at Davidson at 7:00 (MASN2); Mason at our Bills at 7 (MASN); and Richmond at St. Joe's also at 7 (TCN). Only the two 4 pm games are off the net in Duquesne at the Bonnies and Fordham at Umass. Picks: La Salle, VCU, Davidson, St. Joe's, the Bonnies and Umass. All the home standers. And the Bills to avoid the cellar. Mason is the leading offensive rebound team in the A10. Look out big skinny white guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 UMass is nowhere near being an at large team at this point. They have an RPI around 60 and don't even show up in Lunardi's last 8 out. Agree on Davidson and Dayton but neither team can afford to finish the season poorly. Agree with Roy's thoughts on Milik. Crews is playing with fire by benching him and he is the one player we can build around and should be doing everything possible to keep happy. Willie Reed is an ex-Billiken and currently is the closest to playing in the NBA. I appreciate the updates on him even if others don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Not sure what JC's thinking is with MY. Granted, you can't show him more affection than others, but you damn well should be playing your best player. Is there some sort of issue with his D that he's just not getting or refusing to accept? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 my gosh slu, bonner should have been the last guy out not the first guy out. i don’t think the crowd was ready to “perform” and anthony was already out and the second guy being introduced. If I recall, I think things were done alphabetically Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 If I recall, I think things were done alphabetically And Joe Wiley was last, so there you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doowop Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 this past week billikens.com discussions: -ok, please enough on the stupid statue. please, please, please take that discussion elsewhere. -seriously, somebody explain the chaifetz flirting with buying the nba team? you seriously think the hawks come to st louis? nba would have been parading exhibition games here like crazy the last few years if there was a snowball chance of that. -bracketology as it stands today, the a-10 imo has 4 teams in the ncaa tourney minimum. vcu, dayton, umass and davidson. richmond not completely out of the picture but likely an nit team, rhodey an nit team. everyone else still dreaming of their upcoming spring break trip. actually if 6 a-10 teams make postseason in a “down” year, that’s pretty good. btw, missouri valley has two top 20 teams and is only the 11th ranked rpi conference. i thank god every day we are not in that horrible conference. -yarborough – while i understand the need for a coach to flex his muscles to show who’s the boss, i truly don’t understand the yarborough handling. here’s the one guy that seems to be showing great promise and the chance to be a difference maker not just a foot soldier, and you basically bench him in a winnable game when he is having a very very good game? meanwhile you continue to play the centers that are not showing much promise or play the second string 4 in front of malik. you don’t think other coaches needing a talented 3-4 player aren’t taking notice? while it would be “tampering” for another program to make direct contact with one of our players, (i want to highlight the word DIRECT) you would be naïve to think that there isn’t a way that the other programs that recruited malik don’t have their ways to let him know they regret him not coming there. coach you don’t have to cater to malik, but i don’t understand the message. please don’t let this happen. i still am not over ricky fraizer. -will someone tell me why we care about biedshceid and willie reed? Geez let it go. -all century team ceremony was good. i wish hughes would have been there himself. Strange, as he has been to most of the games this year. jimmy irvine wasn’t at the game. he rarely misses. i am sure his exclusion stung him a little. i wish i would have gotten to see jimmy play. he was right before my time but those that did see him rave. i thought having the alumni there as well and them lining the the floor behind the all century team came out was nice. i love seeing the old players come back. while all deserved big ovations, does it speak volumes to the makeup of our crowd that evans and jett got the biggest ovations? my gosh slu, bonner should have been the last guy out not the first guy out. i don’t think the crowd was ready to “perform” and anthony was already out and the second guy being introduced. i will miss the game today. one of the few i have missed since i became a billiken in 1977. here’s hoping they get another w for their own self confidence. Jimmy Irving was one of the best guards to ever play for SLU. He is a local player who played at Beaumont in the late '60's. It's been a while since SLU has had a guard as good as he was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufan13 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Regarding Yarbrough - http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/STLSports/SLUBillikens/tabid/328/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/16674/Billiken-Bytes-February-27.aspx Here's what Jim Crews had to say about the decision: "It's the whole game. People concentrate on points, and Milik does a good job with that most of the time, but we're also having Milik -- we're trying to coach him into becoming a complete and really complete and a good player. [To do that] you have to be able to do other things. You have to be able to screen, you have to block out, you have to play defense, you have to be able to do those things. He's done a good job in growing with it, but at times dissipates -- and it's everyone, not just Milik, not even close, but we're doing that with all the guys so that's why it happens sometimes." As for if it's difficult to hold guys out even when they are the hot-hand during the first half: "No, because -- I mean on the one hand it is, but on the other hand, we have a lot of young guys and they're getting unbelievable experience because everything a first time through, so they're getting tremendous experience. But also at the same hand, there has to be a good accountability or you're not going to get a good foundation for where you want to go. That's sometimes the tradeoff, but really not because if you don't develop good habits you're not going to get results. I mean, you might for an night or something but big picture you're not." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Pine Jim Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Jimmy Irving, my favorite Billiken of all time. I'm partial because he was in my class of 1971. Jimmy the Jet. Was a thrill to meet and talk with him a bit last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock_Tower Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Roy. Agree with you about Malik. The one thing going for us is Calbert Cheney who sure seems to be taking him under his wing, is making passes with him prior to games and who appears to be imparting his knowledge upon Malik. As previously mentioned, Malik sure reminded me of Calbert patrolling the lane on offense. Frankly, I have not seen enough of Malik at the 3 so I will not comment upon him on his ability to be an effective 3. As for the 4, he has sure had his ups and downs, but then again, he is a true Freshman playing a new position and the A10 has some strong/veterans in the post positions. By recent comparisons, Cody Ellis sure had the outside shooting/passing of a 3 but IMO lacked the guard skills and was therefore a better stretch 4. Likewise, Dwayne Evans never developed the guard/dribbling/perimeter skills and therefore found more success as a unique college player for us playing with his back to the basket. With Malik's size and his length (arm span), Malik has a really nice future in college at the 4 but might be undersized and need to play the 3 if he is able to ever play in the NBA. Right now, and at least for us, Malik appears to be groomed as our power forward, is doing quite well, has a bright future and I cannot imagine a better mentor for him than Calbert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldo027 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 UMass is nowhere near being an at large team at this point. They have an RPI around 60 and don't even show up in Lunardi's last 8 out. Agree on Davidson and Dayton but neither team can afford to finish the season poorly. Agree with Roy's thoughts on Milik. Crews is playing with fire by benching him and he is the one player we can build around and should be doing everything possible to keep happy. Willie Reed is an ex-Billiken and currently is the closest to playing in the NBA. I appreciate the updates on him even if others don't. Milik is not the only player we can build around. If he listens to the staff (who have infinitely more basketball knowledge than him) and busts his @$$ in the offseasons, then he'll be a star. If he wants to pout and mope and do things his own way, then he won't. If he'd rather do the second, then perhaps he isn't the player we want to build around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff Man Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I'm willing to give Crews some benefit of the doubt with Yarbrough...I remember Majerus holding inexplicably holding Evans out of a winnable game early in 2010-11 and it really bothered me at the time...but in hindsight I understand that player development is more important than wins and losses during a rebuilding season Crews will lose that benefit of the doubt if Yarbrough transfers, though. I was originally okay with his unorthodox stance on FT rebounding...when you factor in the slim chance of offensive rebound, the risk of an over the back foul, and the advantage of having all 5 guys back to cut down the transition game, it makes some sense... But not every damn time! Especially with a bad FT shooter (<60%) at the line who is more likely to throw up a brick yielding a long/odd rebound. Twice in the first half at Duquesne we had a bad FT shooter at the line (Agbeko, Yarbrough), brick the front end of a 1 and 1 and the rebound went long - I'm not saying we'd have gotten the offensive rebound each time, but there was a chance on both...and then salt in the wounds in each case Duquesne came down and swish a quick 3. Lot of good having everybody back on defense did us there. Missing front ends is a whole other deal...I'm not sure what can be done about that beyond simply timing the rotation to keep the bad FT shooters out when we're in the single bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock_Tower Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I'm willing to give Crews some benefit of the doubt with Yarbrough...I remember Majerus holding inexplicably holding Evans out of a winnable game early in 2010-11 and it really bothered me at the time...but in hindsight I understand that player development is more important than wins and losses during a rebuilding season Crews will lose that benefit of the doubt if Yarbrough transfers, though. I was originally okay with his unorthodox stance on FT rebounding...when you factor in the slim chance of offensive rebound, the risk of an over the back foul, and the advantage of having all 5 guys back to cut down the transition game, it makes some sense... But not every damn time! Especially with a bad FT shooter (<60%) at the line who is more likely to throw up a brick yielding a long/odd rebound. Twice in the first half at Duquesne we had a bad FT shooter at the line (Agbeko, Yarbrough), brick the front end of a 1 and 1 and the rebound went long - I'm not saying we'd have gotten the offensive rebound each time, but there was a chance on both...and then salt in the wounds in each case Duquesne came down and swish a quick 3. Lot of good having everybody back on defense did us there. Missing front ends is a whole other deal...I'm not sure what can be done about that beyond simply timing the rotation to keep the bad FT shooters out when we're in the single bonus. +1 Totally agree with you on the FT's. Personally, I don't agree with Jim Crews on pulling all players from the FT line but will not hold this against Crews if he is willing to make adjustments. For instance, I deferred to Gary PInkell on his spread offense but questioned why he was so inflexible and refused to run the ball from the 1 yard line - especially at key situations. PInkell made the change while not compromising his spread offense and is more successful for it. Likewise, I never agreed with Tony LaRussa batting the pitcher 8th but to his credit, he was willing to make double switches late in the game and this unorthodox approach really didn't hurt us that much. Sure there were times when the pitcher came up men on base and two outs but there were also times when the we were able to start rallies with and score key runs with our 9th place hitter. Jim. Structure, order and discipline are fundamental - especially for youngsters. At the same time, please be willing to make adjustments. A zone defense every now and then can be helpful. Putting guys on the FT lane can sometimes help. Playing two (2) fours instead of a traditional 5 (especially when the 5's are not producing) is sometimes best. Please keep and open mind and be willing to make changes as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB73 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Irving and Rogers both deserved to be on the all time team, and yes, at the expense of some who were named. Most here are too timid, afraid about the handling of Yarbrough, he is almost certainly not fulfilling all of his assignments, let's let Crews and Cheney manage him. We just found out, for instance, that Reynolds never played man to man defense in high school, so he had to be held back for awhile until he was ready for A-10 action. There are reasons for Crews' actions. Again, ever seen coach Norman Dale when a player did not do as he was told? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majerus mojo Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Milik is not the only player we can build around. If he listens to the staff (who have infinitely more basketball knowledge than him) and busts his @$$ in the offseasons, then he'll be a star. If he wants to pout and mope and do things his own way, then he won't. If he'd rather do the second, then perhaps he isn't the player we want to build around. Uhh, what? I don't think anyone has seen Milik pouting or moping around.. if anything, those of us on the board are doing it for him. Unless I missed it... Take it down a notch or two.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Norman Dale is a fictional character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufan13 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Uhh, what? I don't think anyone has seen Milik pouting or moping around.. if anything, those of us on the board are doing it for him. Unless I missed it... Take it down a notch or two.. He does mope and pout when he comes out of the game from time to time. But who doesn't? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldo027 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Uhh, what? I don't think anyone has seen Milik pouting or moping around.. if anything, those of us on the board are doing it for him. Unless I missed it... Take it down a notch or two.. Not predicting doom and gloom. Just a hypothetical. If he does what needs to be done, he'll be a star. If not, then he won't. But when Crews says stuff like "some guys need to trust the offense and not try to do it themselves" he's talking about Milik. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I really don't see anything unique about this process of breaking a kid down before you build him up. It's been done with talented kids who you're grooming for greater things ever since there's been basketball. The reality is we don't have a player at the 4 who can seriously challenge Milik for minutes. If we did, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. That's why Coack K and Pitino can bench more talented players and be lionized for it while mid-major message boards plead for a gentler, kinder handling of potential stars. We are a high mid major. Tough love in our situation is a risky proposition. If it works, the upperclass version of Milik will be Crews' coach on the floor. He'll be able to correct an undisciplined freshman with a look and all these wordy interventions by Crews won't be necessary. If the experiment fails, Malik won't be the centerpiece of our team going forward either because he transfers or because Crews can't trust him to think team first. If the coaching staff signs a 4 in the spring who can contribute right away at the 4, the team could be just fine in either scenario. Milik is a spring signee himself, so the staff has done it once before. But it sure would be cool if this coach and this player, who couldn't be more different, eventually formed that special bond that propels a team into greatness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majerus mojo Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 If someone could explain the offense JC wants the team to trust.. I'd be more inclined to not treat that statement as BS every time I heard it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_davola Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 In regards to MY...I see nothing wrong in the way Crews is handling the situation. If a player is told to do things such as boxing out, playing solid defense, etc, and that player is not doing what the coaching staff is asking him to do, why in the world do you just let him continue to play and repeat the same offenses? Yeah, he is one of our two best freshman, but he isn't Michael Jordan attempting to carry us to a championship. Let's get real here. Coach Crews is not a creampuff and I would hope these guys watched Crews enough and learned about him enough to know what they were getting into. My take is that if MY decides to transfer because our coaching staff is trying to teach the kid, well then in my mind he doesn't have the guts to tough it out. Would it suck, yes. But in the long run, this type of coaching will help, IMO. And do we know if MY screwed up once and got yanked or was he repeating the same things over and over before getting benched? I honestly don't know. Either way, I hate to even speculate that someone is transferring so I'm not going to talk about or speculate anymore about that. I played baseball for one of the biggest a-holes to those on the outside looking in. It didn't matter if you were the star of the team or middle of the road, if your head wasn't in the game or you weren't putting forth the effort needed, you sat your ass on the bench. And that coach was very well respected by all the players and everyone became better because of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 If someone could explain the offense JC wants the team to trust.. I'd be more inclined to not treat that statement as BS every time I heard it +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldo027 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 If someone could explain the offense JC wants the team to trust.. I'd be more inclined to not treat that statement as BS every time I heard it More or less the same 4 out 1 in motion offense that RM ran. 4 guys on the perimeter, 1 guy in the paint, a lot of screening and cutting. This is why Majerus brought Crews here in the first place. A good stretch 4 would be very useful, as he would draw a big out of the paint and open up cutting and passing lanes for easy layups. Gillmann or Welmer could be this guy in the future. We've been taking quicker shots and playing at a faster pace under Crews than we did under RM too. Granted the players aren't executing very well this year, and it often looks like they're just passing the ball around with no purpose. Milik grabbing a rebound and sprinting down the court by himself, or catching the ball in the paint, getting doubled, attacking anyway, then getting swatted, or chucking up a contested jumper from wherever he wants is not trusting the offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samslu Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 More or less the same 4 out 1 in motion offense that RM ran. 4 guys on the perimeter, 1 guy in the paint, a lot of screening and cutting. This is why Majerus brought Crews here in the first place. A good stretch 4 would be very useful, as he would draw a big out of the paint and open up cutting and passing lanes for easy layups. Gillmann or Welmer could be this guy in the future. We've been taking quicker shots and playing at a faster pace under Crews than we did under RM too. Granted the players aren't executing very well this year, and it often looks like they're just passing the ball around with no purpose. Milik grabbing a rebound and sprinting down the court by himself, or catching the ball in the paint, getting doubled, attacking anyway, then getting swatted, or chucking up a contested jumper from wherever he wants is not trusting the offense. Good explanation on the offense. They just aren't running it real well right now because of lack of experience . As they get stronger and play with each other more the offense will get better. Also Milik is a three playing a four. At times he is being guarded by 6'10"-6'11" guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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