Box and Won Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 I guess Shimmy couldn't convince her to stay: SLU loses leading scorer Mia Johnson Mia Johnson, the leading scorer for the St. Louis University women's basketball team as a freshman, has told new coach Shimmy Gray that she plans to transfer. "We talked, but she had made up her mind before the new coach was announced," Gray said. "She felt she needed to go somewhere else, and I'm going to support that. I want kids to want to be here." The 5-foot-9 guard started every game last season, averaging 17.1 points and 4.0 rebounds. However, she shot only 31 percent from the field. Gray is interested in possibly signing one more player. Gray also said she has retained assistant coach Tony Francis, who was on Jill Pizzotti's staff for three seasons. She has made offers for the other two coaching jobs and is waiting for responses. Gray said Francis "has really kept the program together since Jill left. He didn't let any kids or anything slip through the cracks." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted May 5, 2005 Share Posted May 5, 2005 >Gray said Francis "has really kept the program together >since Jill left. He didn't let any kids or anything slip >through the cracks." All except the team's laeding scorer who happens to be a freshman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu_lover Posted May 6, 2005 Share Posted May 6, 2005 the torch,no one at slu really cares that johnson is leaving. after all that i have heard about the terrible teammate she was i guess i wouldnt care either. it does not matter if you are the leading scorer of a team if you have a bad attitude. and it really does not matter if the team you are on goes 4-23. had mcilwrath and javis been healthy this year johnson would not have gotten as much credit. gray needs players that want to be there and help make the program better, not someone who thinks they are better than the team. i wish her the best of luck and i look forward to seeing the womens program take off under gray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsboys Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 Thanks for the post Jill P. When you lose a leading scorer as a freshman that is a huge loss. You can't blame a 18 year old girl for having a bad attitude that was involved with a team that got crushed all year and was in disaray from day one. Shimmy Gray has a lot of work to do to clean up after Jill. Go Bills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenfan05 Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 I hate to see it happen she is a great player but she needed to learn to share the ball it might be a winfall. I haven't been on the boards in a while. This board is like a tv series you miss one day and you are completely out of whats goin on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu_lover Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 Billsboys, i am not Jill for sure. What do you mean you can't blame an 18 year old for having a bad attitude? bad attitudes are unacceptable whether a team is winning or losing. it's people like you and Jill that condone that behavior that end up with players like johnson. its okay. gray will put some discipline into the program and they will succeed without johnson. GO BILLS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 while i dont disagree with most of what you are saying in general about attitude, the fact that mia johnson by far was the best player that the lady billikens has had in jill's reign makes me at least question your negative thoughts towards mia. maybe you need to specifically explain her negative actions more for us to understand how you can justify letting her get away from a program that is dismal at best at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volfan Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 Mia is transferring to DePaul. SHe is going to have to sit out one year because of the transfer rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gandolf69 Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 What I am typing is not about Mia, per say. It is in regards to any coach, manager, or employer that has a player/employee that wants to leave. To announce you are leaving is a major decision that most folks put a lot of thought into. When they make the decision to go, my experience is to thank them for everything they have done, ask them what you personally could improve on, and to wish them well! Meaning, don't try to talk them out of it! Just a thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu_lover Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 trying to convince someone to stay somewhere they dont want to be is not healthy for any program. johnson was a bad seed & wanted out when jill was fired. enough said. let her go. she is transferring to michigan state. best of luck to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 a couple of posters have alluded that mia was "a bad seed". yet nothing specific is ever said. all i know is that i havent seen her name in the paper for anything other than being the leading scorer for the lady billikens and then her announced transfer. nothing has ever been said about examples of behavior that would make quin $nyder proud. i've asked the kids that i know that live on campus if they have ever witnessed anything. and no one says anything. now if we are talking about her actions with the team, what did she do? did she yell at her teamates for losing? did she not pass the ball to a lesser teamate a few times. what did she do? sounds like sour grapes to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 The one game I saw ... my girls team played at half time. Jill was suppossed to speak to them after the game as they sold 100 tickets for the privilege of playing, she did not come out and left my girls standing ... after a while most of the girls came over and spoke with the team ... all the girls were incredible, very nice and thanking our team over and over for coming signing any and everything. 3 girls stood out and hung around for about a half hour just talking to the girls. Rachel Diener, Mia and Krystle Hatton. IF Mia was a bad seed it certainly wasn't evident on that day. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Skip, interesting story you tell - no wonder Jill could not recruit consistently and could never get attendance up. Cherly did the correct thing letting her go. Jill's behavior was not only poor but just plain rude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Not even an Asst Coach came over ... if it wasn't for the players and Tere Smith who organized it for us ... and by the way was fantastic to work with ... I would have been very upset. The players especially the ones I mentioned above really turned it around and made it a great and memorable experience for the girls. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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