Taj79

Turned the game on and saw we were down ——-a man. We can’t score the way it is so down a man meant pray for a scoreless tie. Prayer answered.

As I have said before, given the nomadic mercenary posture of major college athletics nowadays, picking this kind of stuff is somewhat ridiculous. This site is pretty good as far as a comprehensive listing of A10 rosters and who the starters are expected to be: 2025-26 NCAA BB Rosters - Google Drive Chemistry and integration will be key, including for us. VCU's entire starting lineup is projected to be transfers added to a new coach in Phil Martelli, Jr. Now two of the transfers are coming with him from Bryant so who knows. One is Barry Evans, who started his career at Bonaventure where he was okay. Frankly, I don't disagree with the media poll very much as far as the order is concerned. I happen to believe Geedubyua should be the favorite as they return three guys and add an all-conference guy in Duquesne's Tre Dinkins. As for the all-conference selections, again a crap shoot. Deuce Jones is transferring from La Salle to St. Joes and he was Freshman of the Year at La Salle if memory serves. Outside of him, the Joeys return four starters. I think they are undersold in this poll at 7th. Billy Lange is gone -- which might be more positive than negative. Two of VCU's second teamers are transfers and the third, Ward, is coming in from LSU after a year off. He last played in 19 games two years ago. Dasante Bowen, second teamer from Bonaventure, sat out all but 10 games last year with an injury. On the third team, Keontae Jones was an all-conference performer last year at Cal State Northridge. While Javon Bennett is listed on the first team and Amael L'Etang is a second teamer, Dayton will need more and Jones is a very nice addition. I think the key there will eb how transfers from NC State and Villanova perform. Dejour Reaves was good performer at Iona, but is still only 6 feet tall and it's Fordham, which boasts 10 other transfers. Ahmad Nowell transfers into VCU from Uconn, where he didn't do much last year but it is Uconn. I don't think much of Mike Walz at Richmond but he is 6'11" and a senior. As for defense, Bennett led the league in steals and Castro, Rubin and Ajogbor are all rim protectors and shot blockers. Not surprised at their selections. Jennings played all 35 games at VCU last year, starting none.

Since my name was taken I feel compelled to point out 9 games x 90 minutes = 810 minutes = nearly 17 hours of soccer totaling six goals. Just sayin' ......

Offensive j-u-g-g-e-r-n-a-u-t.

Seems simple to me ..... guys outside the Top 50 are going to places where they can get better money, and more playing time. Then, in a year, jump into the transfer portal and portal up to the big boys for more cash. And thisidea plays into the big boys now mining the transfer portal more so than taking marginal high school players (marginal as in below top 50). Sancomb won't finish at Liberty just like Jackson won't finish at VCU.

Believe it is a subscription stream.

The schedule is a dead topic. It is what it is. Now awaiting the conference schedule and East Coast road trips.

Proof will be in the play on the court.

Scott Brand is not very exciting but the 30 minutes are well worth listening to in terms of understanding the VCU mindset. The piece doesn't answer my question of just who is going to handle the ball for VCU. They lost significant guard play in Russell, Bamisile, Jackson and Shulga. They seem content to rely on the talents of freshmen Lewis and Jackson. Martelli is bringing two big guys from Bryant but Barry Evans didn't do too, too much when at Bonaventure. Neither did Tracey when at St. Joes. VCU aims to be in the Big East but the Big East says VCU doesn't fit their profile. Not a single mention made of Saint Louis U. Top A10 picks are VCU (of course), Geedubya, Loyola and Mason. I don't get Mason. Anyway a good 30-minute listen.

According to Verbal Commits, Brutus has offers from Houston, Gonzaga, Penn State, Maryland, Ol Miss, LSU, Texas A&M and Dayton among others. That's some rarified recruiting air.

Offensive juggernaut .... again.

It is my understanding, recognizing how off-base it might be, that the success of the Blues rubbed off in a way that created the Hockey Billikens with Saloman's backing. I understand crowds were large in those first few years but waned as the novelty of the Blues faded. The largest crowd I did (I was the PA announcer at the Arena 1977-79) was the day after they announced the disbanding of the program. The Bills played and beat #1 Bowling Green in front of about 13,000. I thought there were a lot of similarities between the hockey program and the basketball program. No on-campus home arena. No on-campus practice facility. Rental units with other entities. A weak in-house following. Bus rides to home games. No local connections between the team and potential fans. Sidney Salomon was in failing health and failing finances when, in 1977, he sold the Blues and The Arena plus $8.8 million worth of debt to Ralston Purina. Ralston Purina saw it as a "civic responsibility" to buy the team. Then, in 1983, RP sold the team a Saskatoon group. The NHL rejected the bid and took ownership of the team until a buyer was found. The Blues dodged Saskatoon and contraction. Harry Ornest became owner of the Blues and the Checkerdome in 1983. Read all about it: The Saskatoon Blues: The Story - St. Louis Game Time St. Louis has a long and storied history of losing pro sports franchises. The Hawks. The Spirit. The Steamers. The Browns. The Rams. The football Cardinals. I guess, technically, the lost the Blues in 1983.

Who was the first St. Louis university to join the D1 ranks? Us? A program that went defunct in the late 70's/early 80's? No offense but if St. Louis is such a great hockey community, how did we fail? And didn't the Blues try to move to Saskatoon in 1983? I hope they make it and are good; getting a ticket to a 2,000 seat arena will be quite a chore.

Looks a lot like TJ Hargrove.

That is interesting. And the A10 women’s juggernaut gets thumped again by Penn State.