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Bryce Drew to Grand Canyon. I'm so happy to have been so wrong wanting him over Travis Ford. Probably my dumbest take yet.

This is the 2nd time you've mentioned SLU being interested in a big. I have a feeling there is some knowledge you're withholding from us here...

You can safely ignore the interior scoring in that highlight video. It's a highlight video. In real life, Russell struggles to score in the paint. At the A-10 level, he will be almost exclusively a three-point shooter offensively. Maybe after a couple of years of bulking up he will capable of doing more.

Toppin was way more impressive vs us than Powell. SLU wasn't anywhere near ready for the Seton Hall game and Powell was 6/18 from the floor. Plus Seton Hall was still good when Powell was out for a couple games. Give me Toppin over Powell everyday

(I was a lot more impressed with Powell than I was Toppin)

We got the right guy but wanting Bryce Drew was not necessarily a dumb take. He's just not a high-major coach. At that level you have to be a monster recruiter or very good at team preparation or some combination of the two.

I think Oklahoma State fans viewed thier program as an elite program and expected Travis Ford to deliver annual trips to the dance and runs to the sweet sixteen and beyond. Ford got them to the dance 5 0f 8 years and didn't get to the tournament's second weekend. Maybe they should have rolled out the red carpet for Pitino and looked the other way. It does not appear that elite coaches are waiting for the chance to coach there. I think the marriage of Ford and Saint Louis is a good one. He is a proven recruiter and the St. Louis area is producing high quality players. Billikens fans and the University want NCAA tournament teams and would love to see a team go on a run. But we are not going to get a rope if if the stars don't all line up. I don't think coach Ford came here for a quick hit and run. I believe he wants to prove to the college basketball world and himself that he can build a top 25 program and be successful in the tournament.

On average, every program in the country loses two players per year. No coach can rest easy. Can you imagine how it would be if there were still 15 available scholarships, instead of 13? I wonder what percentage of athletes there are who play out their full 4-year eligibility for one school anymore. Davell Roby is the most recent Billiken, and he was the only one in his class. Before that Mike Crawford and Reggie Agbeko stuck it out. There's a two-year gap between Roby and the double-double tandem of French and Goodwin. Three guys in four years.

This is like arguing with a five year old WG and I said we were more impressed with Powell than Toppin. Toppin is unquestionably a better pro prospect. These aren't mutually exclusive

We will know something in a couple days, Houston’s commitment is supposed to be the 20th so we will have an idea if anyone is going to leave. I like all the young men on our team so if there are no defections then that is fine and we have a lot to be excited about next season. My greedy feelings are commitments from Houston and Russell.

Here's hoping Jacobs stays. He is a valuable piece of this team for next year. And from what I saw with his team interaction, he enjoys his teammates. Stay Demarius .........

Are you sure you don't have some say?

Please elaborate as to how Powell is more deadly than Toppin haha. In my opinion, shooting is a large part of it hahah Toppin is a better shooter, rebounder, defender, more athletic, better in transition, the key piece of arguably the best offense in the country, and the list goes on

I think Russell coming to SLU would require a guard leaving. I won’t speculate on how realistic that is, or who could or would leave in order for that to happen. But I just can’t see him committing to SLU unless another guard transfers. It would make no sense otherwise.

I really like him. Finishes with both hands. Has a knack for when to drive into contact and when to avoid Great feel for how and when to use a little hesitation move with the dribble and a nice subtle head fake off the catch. Great change of pace and sense of when to use it. Great floater with both hands when he gets in the lane. Very quick release and pretty good form. Good passer. Compared to Yuri, he clearly isn't the passer Yuri is, but he's a much more polished offensive player in regards to his own scoring ability.

Agreed with all of this, not arguing in the slightest. With just providing further commentary on Drew.

Well the Country is pretty much shut down so here's a 10 min video . It's 11 months old so I assume he's better now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=zmRaSihiEa4&feature=emb_logo

Unless a top local recruit commits to a school and then decommits randomly. In that case you will hear Frank say he think the kid is a SLU lean but was poached by Martin (Waston/Pickett/Tilmon). This is him decommitting because of coaching change so don't think it would apply.

ill be shocked if powell makes an nba splash. seems like there a lot of powell's out there. i am in the camp that toppin can turn into a superstar considering he showed some shooting ability along with his high flying act. sky's the limit for obi.

Here is a recap of the season....a little earlier than I expected to do it....but hopefully there are enough grades. stats and analysis to ease the pain of no more basketball till next season First let's start with my preseason comments...I forecasted based on 30 games ...no Maryville. Nov 3 2019 Best case scenario (everything goes right....Players develop, team gels early, the press works , we hit shots including foul shots and the board gets together for a blue kool-aid party..........we finish 22-8 and 14-4 in conf for a 2nd place finish...possible NCAA bid Here is how the season looks to play out....A good start leads to some early kool aid drinking and NCAA talk....then reality hits when we play Seton Hall....this leads to a downturn as play turns mixed going forward... at this point the board declares the season is over. Optimism rears its head again as conf play begins ...a weak Jan and the talk shifts to 20-21....but then we gel and have a good Feb which leads to sugar plum fairies and A-10 tourney championship talk...the board dreams of a a miracle repeat. Bottomline....All of the above scenarios are based on how the computer sees the game patterns playing out. Prepare for a roller coaster ride ...complete with some vicious blowouts with the Bills on both ends of those blowouts. Also some very close games....hair pulling games...games that will end in overtime...We win some of these games because of our superior depth and lose some because we can't buy a foul shot. This season will not be for the faint of heart. The pattern has been that no matter what we have in players and talent , Ford maximizes it by Feb. This year should be no different Enjoy the ride....Go Bills 3/13/ 20....I hit the forecast but was too optimistic in conf play...had we won another 2 games as forecast ...we would have finished 2nd and we would have had an NCAA bid. Next up are the 3 report card forecasts....from 3 different posts during the season...preseason, real data (after 8th games) and preconference (before the 1st conf game... dated Jan 1) Round 1 The Wiz's Preseason Forecast 2019-2020 By The Wiz, November 3 in Billikens.com Main Board A-10 Dav........................B+......... NCAA 35% or NIT 80% VCU.......................B+.......... NCAA 35% or NIT 80% Day..........................B............NIT 50% RI.............................B............NIT...50% St. B.........................B............NIT...50% Rich.........................B- SLU..........................B- Duq.........................C+ GM..........................C+ LaS.........................C UMass....................C GW...........................C- St. J..........................C- Ford...........................D Round 2 The Wiz's A-10 Forecast with Real Data By The Wiz, December 10 in Billikens.com Main Board .................................Overall......................Trending..................................................SOS.....................................................Curr record Day..............................A..................................A+.......................................................B...............NCAA....................................7-1 VCU..............................A-................................B+.......................................................D+............NCAA......................................7-2 Duq..............................B+...............................B+........................................................F..............NIT............................................8-0 Rich.............................B+................................A-.........................................................D+...........NIT...........................................8-1 SLU..............................B..................................A-.........................................................D..............67% NIT...................................8-1 Dav..............................B...................................B-........................................................A-..............67% NIT..................................4-5 RI..................................B................................B+..........................................................B+..............67% NIT.................................6-3 LaS...............................B-................................B...........................................................B+.............................................................5-3 GM...............................C+................................B+..........................................................F+...........................................................10-1 St. B.............................C+.................................B............................................................D+............................................................5-4 UMass.........................C...................................D+..........................................................C...............................................................5-5 Ford.............................D+.................................C-............................................................F-....easiest sched ITN...........................5-3 St. J.............................D+..................................F+.............................................................B.............................................................2-8 GW...............................D.....................................C.............................................................F..............................................................5-5 Round 3 .................................Overall......................Trending..................................................SOS.....................................................Curr record Day..............................A.................................A+..........................................................B-.......NCAA bid......................................11-2 VCU.............................B+...............................A-...........................................................C-....35% NCAA...85% NIT......................10-3 Dav...............................B+...............................B-..........................................................A-.......50% NIT..........................................6-6 SLU..............................B..................................A-.........................................................C-........15% NCAA...50% NIT....................11-2 RI.................................B..................................B+........................................................B+.........50% NIT.........................................8-3 Rich..............................B..................................B-........................................................C+........20%NIT..........................................10-3 Duq..............................B...................................C..........................................................F+......15% NIT.........................................10-2 St. B.............................B-..................................B-.........................................................C-.......10 % NIT..........................................8-5 GM...............................C+.................................B..........................................................F+.......10% NIT..........................................11-2 LaS...............................C+................................B...........................................................D-........10% NIT..........................................9-3 UMass..........................C..................................D+.........................................................B-...............................................................6-7 St. J..............................D+................................D+.........................................................B+..............................................................3-9 GW.................................D.................................C-...........................................................F-....14th easiest ITN...............................6-7 Ford...............................D.................................D-...........................................................F-...2nd easiest ITN...................................6-6 Teams with the greatest chance to exceed the variance on the upside SLU....the difference could mean an NCAA bid GM & LaS....the difference could mean an outside chance at an NIT bid GW....the difference could make them a spoiler Teams with the greatest chance to exceed on the downside Dav...the difference could knock them out of a decent chance to make the NIT Duq....the difference could wipe out their small chance to make the NIT UMass....the difference could turn a 500 season into a bad one Finally ...one last point...How could a team ( Fordham ) with the 2nd easiest schedule in D1 be only 6-6 at this point...quite an accomplishment...I guess that is why even though they are a D team they are still trending down . Bottom line ....Could be a promising year for The Bills if they continue to improve and play to their potential ( A- ) Go Bills. And finally ...The Final 3/13/20 Round 4...The Final ...........................Overall.......Trending.......Variance from the Final grade... Preseason.......8th game.......Preconference Day........................A+.................A+......................................................................+4.......................+1....................+1 Rich.......................B+..................A.........................................................................+2.......................0.....................+1 RI............................B+.................B+.......................................................................+1......................+1.....................+1 SLU.........................B...................A-.........................................................................+1.......................0.......................0 Dav.........................B....................B+.........................................................................-1........................0......................-1 VCU.......................B.....................C............................................................................-1.......................-2......................-1 Duq........................B-....................C+...........................................................................+1.....................-2.....................-2 St. B......................B-.......................C...........................................................................-1.....................+1......................0 GM........................C.......................C.............................................................................-1.....................-1.......................-1 LaS........................C.......................C..............................................................................0......................-2......................-1 UMass...................C.......................B-.............................................................................0.......................0........................0 Ford.......................D+.....................D+............................................................................+1......................0........................+1 GW..........................D+....................F+............................................................................-1.......................+1......................+1 St. J........................D.......................D-..............................................................................-2.......................-1.......................-2 Within 2 notches.............................................................................................................93%.....................100%..................100% Within 1 notch..................................................................................................................79%.......................79%....................86% The notches are a variance from the Final grade....as an example...SLU's preseason was a B- ...they finished overall as a B...therefore they were a +1....on the other hand...St. J started as a C- but finished as a D...therefore they got a -2.....a zero means you matched your final score at some point in the season. And of course, we finish with Team stat report card with Top 100 ITN ..............................SLU.........................SLU...... ..............................OFF..........................DEF............... PPG.........................C+...........................B+.............. FG%.........................B.............................A-............... 3Pt%........................C+...........................B.............. FT%.........................F-... WITN............................. Reb.........................A...............................B........ OFF Rebs = total rebs...DEF rebs = opp reb Change from last game (UP means improvement ...Down means worse).......UP ....Def 3P%.....DOWN.....none Report card notes....A very nice defensive report card ...not bad for a team that started shaky on D.....Offense not bad either sans FTs...we needed 7 more FTM to climb out of the cellar. Bills Off Reb...A+...16th ITN.....unchanged Assts...Y Collins....37th.....up Rebs.....French..20th.......Goodwin...23rd....up and down...French wins the rebound battle by 2 extra rebs for the season This was a close battle all year. Off Reb....French ...28th...Goodwin...32nd...down and up Def reb......Goodwin.....35th ....French ...42nd.....up and up Stls......Goodwin...27th ...up Blks.....French....17th....up Dbl-Dbl.. Goodwin...19th and French 41st......down and up WWN2D..Stay healthy...and get ready for the best year since RM Bottom line...This wraps up the year for me... I will still be on the board from time to time...especially with baseball on hold. Be well all and start hoarding blue Kool-Aid for next season. 20-21 will be our year Go Bills

If you have really good sound guard play That system is not that hard to beat. Same with Mike Anderson. You’ll win a lot of games. But when you go up against quality older guards that don’t rattle they’ll pick you apart.

Yes, my thoughts are: Post a link when you're referring to something on another site. What FB page?

What else is there to do for a diehard Billiken fan on non-Selection Sunday? It hit me that we had been ranked as # 143 by the Top 144 website so I decided to see how their pre-season 2019-20 rankings did. Of course some of their top 15 were pretty much no brainers and wound up in the final NET top 25 such as Kansas/Duke/Nova/Mich St/Gonzaga. But they were pretty far off on a few of their top 15 picks. The following are shown with the first # the top 144 ranking and the second # the final NET #. KY 2/21; UNC 5/80; UVA 7/44; FLA 10/29; Memphis 15/59. Of course they were way off with a few of the A-10 teams like us. SLU 143/49; Dayton 51/3 and Richmond Not in top 144/38. The Top 144 guys, in general, seem to over-rate the Power 5/6 schools while under rating the other conferences. If they don't have SLU in the top 50 next year then they will lose a lot of credibility with this poster.

-how to you get all 18 Big 10 teams into a 16 team event? I imagine this was the hurdle they couldn't clear

Agree with your entire post and especially with the bold. Our defensive discipline was improving by the game and will be such an asset for our team next year.

I love love love the way Yuri pushes the ball up the floor, looks for an advantage and pulls back if there isn't one. Early in the season, he was prone to making a mistake / forcing something, but down the stretch he was great at exploiting the D being late getting back or stopping if there wasn't anything there. However, on the defensive end, I actually thought we did better when we slowed things down and stopped trying to force steals / jump passing lanes all the time. We were just forcing tough shots, grabbing rebounds, and then pushing off of those if the opportunity was there. That is the kind of defense that the Majerus teams played and I feel like it can be totally demoralizing for an offense. Of course, match ups will dictate everything. We'll see the 1-3-1 against some teams and that will force more steals. Generally IMO our best bet will be fast / controlled on offense and grinding / tough on D.