New Asst Coach

[Clock_Tower]

21 hours ago, bauman said:

And again, you have watched how many UMASS and OSU games and have enough basketball coaching knowledge to make those assumptions about us getting outcoached???  Give the "He can't coach $#!t" a rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

 

Talk about negative nellies!

Bauman.

Calm down big boy!!  One simple response to a fear brought up by the creator and owner of this Board - hardly a troll.  You have twice given your opinion plus 14 exclamation marks. If anyone needs to stop, it's you. High blood pressure is not good. 

You do realize that Travis Ford was fired at OSU, right?  And that more than a handful of OSU fans question his game day coaching abilities, right?  The good and bad reputation of Ford is that he can recruit, his teams win and make the tournament but that his in game coaching is not his strong suit.  His track record, together with the opinions of OSU fans, all support this. I personally believe coaches (like the rest of us) learn from our mistakes and get better over time.  Hopefully, Ford has learned from his own mistakes -- from game day decisions to personnel and coaching decisions -- at both OSU and UMass so that he will be even more successful here.

Unlike you, I must not be drunk on Blue Koolaid.  And without trying to raise your blood pressure too much further and at the risk of being called a negative nellie again (possibly with even more exclamation marks) I am also concerned about Ford not recruiting enough PGs.  To me, I was surprised that a former D1 guard like Travis would make this mistake at OSU. So far at SLU, though, I love the new attitude and positive direction of the program, I love the new recruits he has signed, I love that helped push some of last year's guys out the door and I love this hire of Cory Tate. 

[slufan13]

OSU fans aren't the only ones who have questioned Ford's coaching. But I'm fine with taking a wait and see approach. If Ford was a great Xs and Os guy, he would have had a lot more success at OSU but I think he'll do well enough here

[Old guy]

OK Clock all you say about coach Ford is truth that can be verified from the records. However, life is rarely a matter of absolutes (absolutely good, absolutely bad, etc..) and getting fired from a job as fickle as that of a D1 basketball coach is an event that recurs every year with someone or the other getting the boot. What does this really mean, and what does this mean for us at SLU the place Ford is coaching presently.? Well it means many things all at the same time. While it is absolutely true that Ford fell from the good graces of the Administration (and possibly the Board) and the fans at OSU, to put it polite terms, it is also true that there may have been lofty but really unjustified expectations as to what he could achieve there. Yes, I am aware that Ford himself may have fostered these expectations. How bad he actually was as a coach at OSU is something that cannot be determined by his fall from grace. We need to know a lot more about the way he coaches and how he deals with a contested game or play before we can really affirm he is just mediocre or lackluster as a coach.

From a very different point of view, that of SLU, the situation is very different. Here we have a team and a program that suffered a terrible degradation through the years of coach Crews tenure. What can we say about Ford, except that he appears to be superior to Crews. He is a better speaker, he can recruit talent (as evidenced by the 3 high caliber transfers we got, now red shirting). Is he a good coach? well guys he will have to be a really bad coach to be worse than Crews, I believe we can all agree with this. Our Administration and Board likes him, and what is there not to like. Yes it is true, OSU fired him, yes it is true OSU's fans do not like him. Oh well, such is life, maybe their lofty expectations were not met by Ford. Whoopy Do, I say, he looks and acts in front of the media much better than Crews ever did, he is recruiting much better than Crews ever did. Hell, I think we got a good deal here, one that warrants a certain level of optimism.

We will see soon enough how well Ford coaches, and please let's keep in mind that this season is likely not to be a stellar season either, the real test will come the following season. Until then, if someone wants to be ecstatic and drink gallons of blue Koolaid, just let them enjoy themselves. Certainly, whatever Ford did or did not do at OSU does not apply here. It is only if and when he blows it here that we have any factual basis to turn against him, not before.

[cheeseman]

18 hours ago, Old guy said:

OK Clock all you say about coach Ford is truth that can be verified from the records. However, life is rarely a matter of absolutes (absolutely good, absolutely bad, etc..) and getting fired from a job as fickle as that of a D1 basketball coach is an event that recurs every year with someone or the other getting the boot. What does this really mean, and what does this mean for us at SLU the place Ford is coaching presently.? Well it means many things all at the same time. While it is absolutely true that Ford fell from the good graces of the Administration (and possibly the Board) and the fans at OSU, to put it polite terms, it is also true that there may have been lofty but really unjustified expectations as to what he could achieve there. Yes, I am aware that Ford himself may have fostered these expectations. How bad he actually was as a coach at OSU is something that cannot be determined by his fall from grace. We need to know a lot more about the way he coaches and how he deals with a contested game or play before we can really affirm he is just mediocre or lackluster as a coach.

From a very different point of view, that of SLU, the situation is very different. Here we have a team and a program that suffered a terrible degradation through the years of coach Crews tenure. What can we say about Ford, except that he appears to be superior to Crews. He is a better speaker, he can recruit talent (as evidenced by the 3 high caliber transfers we got, now red shirting). Is he a good coach? well guys he will have to be a really bad coach to be worse than Crews, I believe we can all agree with this. Our Administration and Board likes him, and what is there not to like. Yes it is true, OSU fired him, yes it is true OSU's fans do not like him. Oh well, such is life, maybe their lofty expectations were not met by Ford. Whoopy Do, I say, he looks and acts in front of the media much better than Crews ever did, he is recruiting much better than Crews ever did. Hell, I think we got a good deal here, one that warrants a certain level of optimism.

We will see soon enough how well Ford coaches, and please let's keep in mind that this season is likely not to be a stellar season either, the real test will come the following season. Until then, if someone wants to be ecstatic and drink gallons of blue Koolaid, just let them enjoy themselves. Certainly, whatever Ford did or did not do at OSU does not apply here. It is only if and when he blows it here that we have any factual basis to turn against him, not before.

I have no idea if Tate is a a good or a bad hire but for years people have been complaining that none of the SLU coaches have hired a local guy with ties to all the local players/coaches.  Now Ford hires one and people are saying that maybe it is not a good thing.  This board is amazing sometimes.  At this point, Ford has shown he knows how to play the game and that is something we have not had in recent memory.  Tate has to help locally- can't hurt - but who will be the game AC - lets just wait and see just how bad or good the other AC are before we start saying the sky is falling. 

 

Not sure what I am doing wrong but some reason this keeps coming up this way - what I wanted to say is I do think what a person has done in the past is important.  Crews for example never showed any real history of being able to recruit well and on a consistent basis.  Therefore his inability to do so here should not have been a surprise to anyone.  If Ford has trouble - I do not really know either way - game day coaching in the past then it will rear its ugly head here - the question is did he learn to be better from his past situation - time will tell.  I will agree that you can get better as a game day coach a lot easier then getting better as a recruiter - personalities and style are hard to change.

[NextYearBill]

TFord will go down as the greatest coach in SLU history

[majerus mojo]

cheese idk what thread you are reading, but this is a no brainer of a hire and most are reacting as such. torch's post nailed it 

[cheeseman]

10 hours ago, majerus mojo said:

cheese idk what thread you are reading, but this is a no brainer of a hire and most are reacting as such. torch's post nailed it 

I am not saying he is a bad hire - what I saying is past performance/history does matter.

[ACE]

21 hours ago, cheeseman said:

I have no idea if Tate is a a good or a bad hire but for years people have been complaining that none of the SLU coaches have hired a local guy with ties to all the local players/coaches.  Now Ford hires one and people are saying that maybe it is not a good thing.  This board is amazing sometimes.  At this point, Ford has shown he knows how to play the game and that is something we have not had in recent memory.  Tate has to help locally- can't hurt - but who will be the game AC - lets just wait and see just how bad or good the other AC are before we start saying the sky is falling. 

 

Not sure what I am doing wrong but some reason this keeps coming up this way - what I wanted to say is I do think what a person has done in the past is important.  Crews for example never showed any real history of being able to recruit well and on a consistent basis.  Therefore his inability to do so here should not have been a surprise to anyone.  If Ford has trouble - I do not really know either way - game day coaching in the past then it will rear its ugly head here - the question is did he learn to be better from his past situation - time will tell.  I will agree that you can get better as a game day coach a lot easier then getting better as a recruiter - personalities and style are hard to change.

Keep in mind, some of what you are hearing is by guys who may also have a Mizzou allegiance... he's not good in interviews? Who cares! It's funny, most SPUMAC fans were celebrating the hiring of Tate just a year ago. However, as is typical of their fans, media cheerleaders, etc., as soon as he leaves you start to hear the smear campaign - "they're better off without him, etc."  

Smart move by Tate - jump off the SPUMAC Titanic, his wife works here, he has known Ford for a long time and a move that makes a lot of sense for SLU. We shouldn't have to hear crap about SLU ignoring the local market. I hope Ford/Tate don't lower their standards for local players. In other words, go for guys like Goodwin, but don't make offers to players whose best offer is Murray State.

[Old guy]

I will agree that the sorry state of Mizzou was most likely a major reason for Tate's relocation to SLU. This is not a real concern for us, or should not be a real concern for us, as long as he is able to achieve what is expected of him.

 

[RiseAndGrind]

Corey Tate is going to kill it at SLU. Guaranteed. 

 

[Bobby Metzinger]

On 7/29/2016 at 10:33 AM, SluSignGuy said:

I am not trying to be a negative nancy but is anyone else concerned that all of our assistants seem to be recruiters first rather than have one Xs and Os guy?

I'd rather them be recruiters than "exes and oh's guys" like Majerus said. If a kid doesn't know how to play basketball, why even recruit him in the first place. You can only teach a player so much. We need athletes with pure basketball talent. High basketball IQ. Elite play-makers with size and ability.

[NextYearBill]

53 minutes ago, Bobby Metzinger said:

I'd rather them be recruiters than "exes and oh's guys" like Majerus said. If a kid doesn't know how to play basketball, why even recruit him in the first place. You can only teach a player so much. We need athletes with pure basketball talent. High basketball IQ. Elite play-makers with size and ability.

THANK YOU

[ACE]

“Congratulations to Corey Tate on his move back to the St. Louis area, where his family has continued to live during his time on the Mizzou Basketball coaching staff,” Anderson said in a release from MU. “We appreciate Coach Tate’s efforts while back home at his alma mater, the flagship institution of our great state.”

“We will identify a new member of our coaching staff that is prepared to tackle the challenges of coaching and recruiting in the Southeastern Conference, while continuing to be a strong mentor and role model for our student-athletes,” Anderson said.

 

[Bobby Metzinger]

2 minutes ago, ACE said:

“Congratulations to Corey Tate on his move back to the St. Louis area, where his family has continued to live during his time on the Mizzou Basketball coaching staff,” Anderson said in a release from MU. “We appreciate Coach Tate’s efforts while back home at his alma mater, the flagship institution of our great state.”

“We will identify a new member of our coaching staff that is prepared to tackle the challenges of coaching and recruiting in the Southeastern Conference, while continuing to be a strong mentor and role model for our student-athletes,” Anderson said.

 

Boilerplate.

[Old guy]

Well Bobby, they have to say something that skirts the issue of the current ongoing train wreck at Mizzou

[SluSignGuy]

4 hours ago, Bobby Metzinger said:

I'd rather them be recruiters than "exes and oh's guys" like Majerus said. If a kid doesn't know how to play basketball, why even recruit him in the first place. You can only teach a player so much. We need athletes with pure basketball talent. High basketball IQ. Elite play-makers with size and ability.

I am probability in a minority, but I would rather have a good coach than good recruiter.  Majerus himself was better at coaching than getting 5 star recruits.  The thing with Majerus was that he seemed to go for players he knew he could develop as a coach and not take many players who were pure athletes.  There are few kids that come into college with extremely high basketball IQs.  Even among Majerus' players, the only one (that I can immediately think of) that I would put in that category is Evans.  This is not meant as a knock on Mitchell, McCall, Jett, etc.  But Majerus did a lot to "coach" his players.

From the little that I know, I think Tate is a good hire with his Eagles and StL connections.  My underlying concern with Ford is the coaching.  When I was at GW, Karl Hobbs could recruit, but he couldn't coach and it drove me nuts (especially with the talent he had).  It worked for a few (amazing) years, but there is a reason why Karl is an assistant now despite making the tournament 3 years in a row.

I admit, however, my opinion of Ford's coaching is completely based off of what I read from message board posters, and I can tell you next to nothing about the backgrounds of the other assistants beyond their initial reputation seems to be as recruiters.  Ford has been fantastic in terms of developing relationships with the media, St. Louis area, and bringing in players to what is not a immediately desirable situation.  I renewed my season tickets last night, and I look forward to seeing how he handles in-game situations and how players develop this year.  He has to be better than Crews.

[White Pelican]

6 minutes ago, SluSignGuy said:

I am probability in a minority, but I would rather have a good coach than good recruiter.  Majerus himself was better at coaching than getting 5 star recruits.  The thing with Majerus was that he seemed to go for players he knew he could develop as a coach and not take many players who were pure athletes.  There are few kids that come into college with extremely high basketball IQs.  Even among Majerus' players, the only one (that I can immediately think of) that I would put in that category is Evans.  This is not meant as a knock on Mitchell, McCall, Jett, etc.  But Majerus did a lot to "coach" his players.

From the little that I know, I think Tate is a good hire with his Eagles and StL connections.  My underlying concern with Ford is the coaching.  When I was at GW, Karl Hobbs could recruit, but he couldn't coach and it drove me nuts (especially with the talent he had).  It worked for a few (amazing) years, but there is a reason why Karl is an assistant now despite making the tournament 3 years in a row.

I admit, however, my opinion of Ford's coaching is completely based off of what I read from message board posters, and I can tell you next to nothing about the backgrounds of the other assistants beyond their initial reputation seems to be as recruiters.  Ford has been fantastic in terms of developing relationships with the media, St. Louis area, and bringing in players to what is not a immediately desirable situation.  I renewed my season tickets last night, and I look forward to seeing how he handles in-game situations and how players develop this year.  He has to be better than Crews.

Not to pick on Sodie but I think the general consensus is that he was a far better game coach than a recruiter. And that's putting it mildly. If good players aren't acquired, John Wooden himself couldn't win. There's gotta be a balance but you have to start with getting good players.

[SluSignGuy]

Just now, White Pelican said:

Not to pick on Sodie but I think the general consensus is that he was a far better game coach than a recruiter. And that's putting it mildly. If good players aren't acquired, John Wooden himself couldn't win. There's gotta be a balance but you have to start with getting good players.

Completely agree there needs to be a balance, and even the best chefs cannot make something out of bad ingredients.  I just hope Ford is not a Hobbs.

[slufan13]

If the coach is gonna be a Xs and Os guy, it has to be a Majerus. Otherwise in a conference like ours, I'll go for superior talent and take my chances that we don't blow too many games against bad teams.

[Cowboy]

21 minutes ago, SluSignGuy said:

I am probability in a minority, but I would rather have a good coach than good recruiter.  Majerus himself was better at coaching than getting 5 star recruits.  The thing with Majerus was that he seemed to go for players he knew he could develop as a coach and not take many players who were pure athletes.  There are few kids that come into college with extremely high basketball IQs.  Even among Majerus' players, the only one (that I can immediately think of) that I would put in that category is Evans.  This is not meant as a knock on Mitchell, McCall, Jett, etc.  But Majerus did a lot to "coach" his players.

From the little that I know, I think Tate is a good hire with his Eagles and StL connections.  My underlying concern with Ford is the coaching.  When I was at GW, Karl Hobbs could recruit, but he couldn't coach and it drove me nuts (especially with the talent he had).  It worked for a few (amazing) years, but there is a reason why Karl is an assistant now despite making the tournament 3 years in a row.

I admit, however, my opinion of Ford's coaching is completely based off of what I read from message board posters, and I can tell you next to nothing about the backgrounds of the other assistants beyond their initial reputation seems to be as recruiters.  Ford has been fantastic in terms of developing relationships with the media, St. Louis area, and bringing in players to what is not a immediately desirable situation.  I renewed my season tickets last night, and I look forward to seeing how he handles in-game situations and how players develop this year.  He has to be better than Crews.

-Steve, since you mentioned renewing your tickets, any idea how many staff tickets are sold? guessing we don't release that sort of info but thought I would try

-have you seen anything new to market the program to the staff?

[Quality Is Job 1]

I think it's too early to say that Travis Ford is poor at game strategy (X's & O's).  Keep in mind the analysis that Wiz has given us.  Even a great strategist would have to be transcendent to excel in the Big XII.  It won't be so stringent in the Atlantic 10.  To put it another way, Coach Majerus, a master strategist, had his success outside of the elite conferences.  Would he have fared as well if he coached in the Big XII, ACC, or Big Ten?

[For-DaLove]

37 minutes ago, slufan13 said:

If the coach is gonna be a Xs and Os guy, it has to be a Majerus. Otherwise in a conference like ours, I'll go for superior talent and take my chances that we don't blow too many games against bad teams.

This is a good point. I prefer an Xs and Os couch but I was spoiled by Majerus. The reality is that anther Hall of Fame coach isn't walking into Chaifetz anytime soon. 

[SluSignGuy]

43 minutes ago, Cowboy said:

-Steve, since you mentioned renewing your tickets, any idea how many staff tickets are sold? guessing we don't release that sort of info but thought I would try

-have you seen anything new to market the program to the staff?

No real idea how many staff tickets are sold.  I personally know of less than 10 people who tickets through the staff discount.  SLU does more to promote its program within staff than I experienced at Princeton or Vanderbilt if that says anything (mainly through staff ticket days).  I, however, pay a lot more attention here than I did in Jersey or Tennessee.

[TheChosenOne]

8 hours ago, RiseAndGrind said:

Corey Tate is going to kill it at SLU. Guaranteed. 

 

I hope so. If he helps at all with landing Goodwin it will be a good hire.

As far as Mizzou fans, I don't think many had a high opinion of Tate, so I doubt many truly care he is leaving. Plus they will be looking for a new coach/coaching staff in a few months, so I assume most understand him jumping ship (good decision for him). Mizzou is such a mess right now that I don't take too much away from his short time there beyond coming across really poorly in interviews, noticeably bad.

[3star_recruit]

After you've been a head coach in the NCAA for 10 years, you're usually what your record says you are.  Ford has a .552 winning percentage after 16 years as a head coach. That's Seth Greenberg territory.

I think Coach is quite aware of his weaknesses as an X and O coach.  His strengths are his charisma and his tireless work ethic. His best chance for success is to build the best roster in the conference.  And at the A-10 level, if early results are any indication, he's quite capable of that.