billikenblue Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Over my 20+ years of watching the Billikens this in my estimation is the worst team I have witnessed. Even in the down years I never felt like this as it is impossible to believe we can pull off a win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Been following since the end of the 1988-89 season; this is the worst. Full stop. Even going 5-23 in 1991-92, that team showed more than this one. Next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Gotta be 1991-1992, the last Grawer team. 5-23 overall, 0-10 in conference. We're looking mighty close to replicating that feat. A win over NC A&T gets us to 5 wins overall, and you have to squint pretty hard to see an A10 win. The only problem is the NC A&T game will be on the heels of so many losses, how do you even get up for it? I'd say that's worse than Grawer's first season, 1982-1983, where he had the same overall record of 5-23. They won 2 conference games that season, and it was coming on the heels of the Ekker Era, so there was hope for the future. I was born at the end of Grawer's first season and 8 years old during that 1991-1992 season, so I have no memory of either. This is the worst team I've seen, and I said that about the two teams preceding this one. These past three seasons have made me wistful for my senior team, 2004-2005, when we won 9 games. That team would've killed these past three. I'm told the Ekker years were abysmal; someone needs to break them out on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Louis_Billikens_men's_basketball - Roy says those were the darkest years and that Crews has brought us back to something similar. He went 10-17, 12-15, 9-20, and 6-21 in four seasons. That last one had to feel close to this. But on paper, Grawer's last one was worse. Squint Hunter's SLU team went 0-14 in 1926-1927. I guess that technically has to be considered the worst season in SLU history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 If we don't win a conference game, that will be 26 losses. If we drop the NC A&T one, that'll be 27. Can you imagine 4-27 as a final record? 5-26 is a very real scenario. Even the bad Fordham teams find a couple A10 wins here and there. I've gotta think we have a hot night at least once or twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierBilliken Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Watching since Spoon years and nothing comes close. I feel worse for the kids. The pressure has got to be intense. I pray it gets better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I don't know if this is the worst team in my 50 years of Billiken basketball but it has the least talent. The Ekker years would have a David Burns or a Kelvin Henderson. Coleman had Rickey Frazier. Randy had. Billy's Morris. Grawer had a Luther Burden. Kevin Foutes and Orlando Stewart were bad teammates but had talent. Worst team? I don't know. Least talent? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeniceMenace Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 12 minutes ago, willie said: I don't know if this is the worst team in my 50 years of Billiken basketball but it has the least talent. The Ekker years would have a David Burns or a Kelvin Henderson. Coleman had Rickey Frazier. Randy had. Billy's Morris. Grawer had a Luther Burden. Kevin Foutes and Orlando Stewart were bad teammates but had talent. Worst team? I don't know. Least talent? Yes. Agreed...least talent, and Ford said it himself when the season started when he said they're the least athletic team.... On the flip side we simultaneously have the other extreme -- the most highly touted incoming recruits as a group ever in the modern era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryB Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Grawer's 5 - 23 team was much more talented - no comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I've been telling this board for over a year. This is ekkertime . Worst billiken team in my Fandom (since 1978). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I've never seen a less talented more hopeless Billiken squad........going back to Grawer's last year....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM28 Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 2008 Lions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 If this years Billiken squad beat you, you should consider another sport........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeniceMenace Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 1 hour ago, billiken_roy said: I've been telling this board for over a year. This is ekkertime . Worst billiken team in my Fandom (since 1978). Billiken Roy nailed it long ago, Crews recruited D2 level players...JGOOD's jersey next year needs an emblem that states "Certified Billiken Roy Recruit (20,000 posts)" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wiz Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 This is a tough one. It is hard to compare teams over the decades because of a lack of stats. Stats really didn't appear until the late 40's and early 50's and then only in the form of points and rebounds. After all who would care decades later about stats. I notice many of the posters who go back in time will settle in around 20-25 years ago...which is about the time stats started to become serious. Prior to 1986, there were no 3 pt shots. And today's current shot at 20.9 ft didn't start till 2008...prior to that it was 19.9. Finally, with the advent of computers we had the explosion into metrics. I had a friend who played for a D-1 school in the 70's. He was a good player and had been considered for that school's Hall of Fame a few times and fell short. I wrote a paper to their HOF Board explaining why he should be in. Most of the players he was competing with for those few HOF spots were post 1986 and had better numbers. However, they also had 3 pt shots and 4 years of eligibility. When my friend played, you had to be a soph to make the varsity team. Needless to say he got in after I wrote the paper. The point is that it is difficult to compare different decades and time periods. With all that said...If it looks and feel like a duck ..it's a duck. This feels like the worst season.. I remember after doing the first report card and seeing clouds start to form around an 0-18 conference season that I knew something special was happening ....but not in a good way. We are fast approaching a grade of F. That would be the lowest Bills grade since I have been grading them. I only created F subsets for the first time during the Crews years. I haven't done tomorrow's numbers yet but even if we are not there, we only need 1 more game where we exceed the point spread and we will arrive at the worst season, at least in modern numbers. Remember...this will all be that much sweeter once we start winning next year. Just think how much more you will appreciate it. Can't wait to see the return of the scalpers outside the Fetz. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobillsgo Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 It's nothing against the players on a personal level.... if Jim Crews offered me a $50,000 scholarship to play basketball you'd better believe I'd take it. Forget that I never made it past the second round of cuts in high school basketball. It's not the players' faults that they aren't relatively close to being D1 players. Its so crazy to think that none of these guys will see the floor in two years. Maybe only two will even see it next year: Welmer and Moore. And they'll be phased out by the following year. Absolutely unreal how bad this team is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 This is the worst team ever. 30 plus years of fandom I have never been less interested in the games. I've been to more women's games than mens this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicCityBilliken Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 5 hours ago, willie said: I don't know if this is the worst team in my 50 years of Billiken basketball but it has the least talent. The Ekker years would have a David Burns or a Kelvin Henderson. Coleman had Rickey Frazier. Randy had. Billy's Morris. Grawer had a Luther Burden. Kevin Foutes and Orlando Stewart were bad teammates but had talent. Worst team? I don't know. Least talent? Yes. The only positive for this year is those years had a lot of on-the-court and off-the-court drama. No one has walked off the court in the middle of a game never to be seen again, popped the coach or another player or the coach has an affair with a cheer leader yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I can't pass judgement on the Dark Ages of Ecker, Albrecht, and Coleman, since I knew nothing about those teams other than to see the results in the column of scores by region in the sports page. Did get to see some games back in the late 70s early 80s when they played in Cincinnati and, while they weren't great, I can't recall anything this embarrassing. So, from what I consider my modern era of Billiken hoops when a reconnect became possible, the early 80s thru today, this team is the worst of the worst. As someone above pointed out, it's not their fault or Travis Ford's. Who would turn down a D1 scholie, especially if no one else was offering you won except for Jim Crews? I for sure don't believe those "interest from Duke" rumors about Reggie and Neufeld. I don't know if Roby really had interest from SEC schools. As for the departees from last year, I guess the only credible report was that Bartley had an offer from Creighton, which even now find hard to believe. Jolly, Gillman, Reynolds I don't believe had anyone knocking on their doors except for us. Malik may have had a few offers from Mid Majors. And there you have it in a nutshell, Jim Crews recruited about 3-4 players that would have been subs on most D1 teams, and only two of them are still here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Based on my memory of Grawer's last year, that team was a total sh!tshow, but it had way more talent than the current squad. They would dominate this team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwyjibo Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Last year I made a point to say that the team was bad but there were worse years. That was true as this year's team bears out. Statistically, measured with a rating system that takes into account margins of victory and strength of schedule this is the farthest team from the mean ever. This year is worse than Grawer's last year by a far measure (that year was the first in the Great Midwest and as such SLU had a greatly improved schedule). This year is also worse than previous lows of Ekker's last year and Grawer's first year (the latter I witnessed in person--Ice-saih Singletary was SLU's greatest FT shooter). Also, the Coleman year was against decent competition (Metro was one of the best that year and had 5 good teams including two excellent NCAA teams in a 7 team conference) and as such should not be considered even in the top 5 worst years. It can and should change (I am sorry but this is not just about bad players but bad coaching) but this could very well be the worst team ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 13 minutes ago, Box and Won said: Based on my memory of Grawer's last year, that team was a total sh!tshow, but it had way more talent than the current squad. They would dominate this team. Plus their was hope with the talented freshmen you could actually see play. The hope on the bench this season can't even suit up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyRican Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 No joke but I have a real live, breathing human interested in buying my tickets to a few games. It feels so wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff Man Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I think this team is pretty clearly the worst since at least 1991-92, but that 1991-92 team that went 0-10 in a very good conference, with 2 losses to Final 4 Cincy, 2 losses to Elite 8 Memphis with Penny Hardaway (the game here was only by 2), 2 losses to NCAA tournament DePaul (SLU did force OT in Chicago I believe thanks to Quitman Dillard 3 at the buzzer - but I could be wrong about that), 2 losses to 20-win UAB, and 2 losses to a decent Marquette team. That team had turmoil with players leaving for a myriad of reasons preseason/midseason, and you had Kevin Grawer playing too many minutes, and Julian Winfield playing out of position, but it also had Billiken HOFers Scott Highmark and Erwin Claggett. Their record looks bad, and in the moment it felt like a sinking ship, and a bunch of peeps got jobbed on their seats in the transition to the Arena...but in hindsight I'd much rather watch that team play Penny Hardaway tough than this current team get blown out by crap opponents. This team is on the list with the worst. Probably the worst since late Ekker or Grawer's first year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmith19 Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 The SRS on sports-reference goes all the way back to 1949, and this team has been the worst SLU team on there for several weeks, and just keeps dropping. At this point the question isn't whether we can beat any A10 teams; it's whether we can lose by 10 instead of 20. The next worst team on sports-reference hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet--the '68-'69 team that went 6-20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Pelican Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 1 hour ago, DirtyRican said: No joke but I have a real live, breathing human interested in buying my tickets to a few games. It feels so wrong. Be sure to get the money up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.