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I think the Crews vs. Porter thing is a bad argument, mostly because the timelines don't add up. Porter took the Loyola job in 2011. The first NCAA team under Majerus was the 2011-2012 team or the first year without Porter here. (The 2010-2011 team should have been but ya know, John Cook Sucks.) If Porter doesn't take the Loyola job, I think it is a foregone conclusion he slides into Majerus's seat that next year as Majerus's health issues were apparently well known that offseason after the Michigan State tourney loss. Crews wasn't even the replacement for Porter though on the assistant coach job. Whitesell, who coincidentally had been fired from Loyola, was the replacement for Porter who went to Loyola. Crews was hired late in the offseason that year when Alec Jensen took the D-League job in like September or October. So in 2010-2011, the staff was Majerus-Porter-Harriman-Jensen. The next season (The only Majerus tournament team) was Majerus-Whitesell-Harriman-Crews. Which then morphed into Crews-Whitesell-Bronson-Platt. Probably never a bigger downgrade across the board than that 2 year swing. But without revisionist history, I recall a lot of people not wanting Porter to take over for Majerus. I was one of those, I believe. We would point to the few games where Rick was out that Porter coached. He was like 0-3 or something. I also didn't want Crews though.

Add Oral Roberts to the ever growing list of 80s era MCC teams that have advanced to the Sweet 16 ahead of SLU. Best finish in parentheses. Xavier (2x Elite Eight) Marquette (Final 4) Butler (2x National Runner up) Dayton (Elite Eight) Loyola (Final Four) Oral Roberts

Rutgers coach is to blame on that loss. You cannot get out of the aggressive offense and switch to the stall run the clock out offense with over 3 minutes left against Houston. Play defense and keep the foot in the gas on offense until time runs out.

also recruiting with Bitcoin seems like a game changer.

Wrong. Jim Crews should never have been hired, and if so, should have had a minimal buy out. Our AD who hired him is still here cashing his paychecks. Our program stupidly hired him and stuck with him too long to allow the program to sink to new depths. And BTW, Crews underperformed with a stacked team - the best I have seen assembled here at SLU, so I choose not to think back and at Jum Crews positively. Crews added no help and then left an empty cupboard - which is relevant for our current status of the program. Nonetheless, Ford quickly rebuilt this program from scratch only to be set back by a dishonest and uncontrolled campus department in S2 only to again rebuild and have COVID take away last post season and then to come back this year only to have its own campus COVID “police” and City of St Louis ignore science to ruin this season causing basketball neophytes on this Board to unfairly take shots at our head coach.

Jordair was an Al Jensen recruit. In fact he had to talk Rick into taking him because of his high school grades. Remember, he had to go the prep school route.

If Porter thought there was a good chance of getting the SLU job, he never would have left for the Loyola job. But since this is all hypothetical, let's play the game. Porter is chosen as the head coach after Coach Majerus's untimely passing. We have a similar run with Majerus's guys running on automatic. After they graduate, Moser has to recruit and teach the Majerus system to a new crop of players. Did Porter have a firm grasp of how to teach that system in 2012 or did he need a run up period similar to what occurred at Loyola? If it's the latter, we get our brains beat in with the next crop of players, similar to Crews, only for a different reason. The only data points we had for Porter as the lead SLU guy prior to his departure were dismal failures. Going somewhere like Loyola where he had the opportunity to experiment and fail without losing his job is the best thing that could have happened to Porter. I wish more experienced coaches would take similar jobs and stay there once they discover the secret sauce. College basketball would be the better for it.

Love the Street & Smith reference. It’s been a while! That and an old Beckett’s baseball card price magazine were staples of my DeMatt lounge collection!

There were definitely some people who were very high on Porter Moser at the time and even more people who were low on Jim Crews at the time. Our recruiting took a nosedive after Porter left and I do think the trajectory of the program looks different if he were able to stick around for another year prior to taking a head coaching job. The timing of him leaving right before Majerus’ health took a turn for the worse was unfortunate. Porter seems like a really good coach who has that program humming. That said, I think SLU can and will find coaches who are as good for our program as he would’ve been. I don’t think he’s the next Brad Stevens or Chris Beard, but would have him a level below that.

I wish I had the time to dig into the archive of this Board regarding Porter. No one was really was high on Porter. When Majerus had him fill-in, I don't believe he won a game. Back then, the board was high on Harriman. He'll make us the next St Mary's. Not to what is said here really matters. When Porter left for Loyola, he did not turn them around over-night. His record his 1st 2 years in the weak Horizon was he had Loyola as the doormat. Then when Loyola switched to the MVC the attitude was, he is only going to make a bad situation worse. I recall watching Loyola and you could see him trying to institute a Magerus type style and the players were just not getting it. Kind of like the 1st 2 years of Majerus tenure here only Loyola had less talent. Porter in his 4th year did score a CBI championship, probably saved his job. Then the 7th year it all clicked with the final 4. He is young and if he remains he can possibly turn them out to be Gonzaga Midwest for the next decade. If he goes to some P6 school, he risks what Dan Monson & and now Archie Miller is. Good for Loyola on sticking with him. Also in fairness to Porter, when he was at Ill State, he was screwed by the the AD situation they had. I seem to recall Majerus telling the story on one his radio shows.

Hey guys, stop the presses. Clock said he would trade two of SLU’s big men for top 75 recruits! while we’re at it, I’d trade Yuri for Jalen Suggs and Goodwin for Cade Cunningham. Brilliant stuff here

Grawer saved the program. Ekker was a dog.

The Big 10 is the best conference in the...(checks notes...) Big 10.

Great, that means we’re gonna have to deal with threads like this for a loooooooooooooong time.

good comparison. you're at least as old as i am!

This will be an obscure reference for most of you, but some of you may remember the South Carolina guard from the early 70s, John Roche. That's who Reaves plays like and actually looks a lot alike. Roche was the most hated ACC player of the era, but very good. When he played in the ABA and came to Greensboro for Carolina Cougar games, the boos reigned down on him and didn't stop until he was taken out.

Much respect for Gonzaga from me. Non Conference Kansas, Auburn, WV, Iowa, and Virginia. Baylor scheduled but cancelled.

Why don’t we just land a few 6’8” - 6’10” beasts that can fill the middle, run the floor, and one of them with a jumper. I dunno. I think this would fill a lot of needs on our team.

What credit - give the ball to Jett and let him drive each possession. Great coaching - give me a break. My guess is Jett told him to sit down and shut up.

Chill They're the best team in the country. They're treating them like the best team in the country.

I’m all in on Mckissic to SLU. He’s the perfect fit for what we need in terms of ballhandling, playmaking and perimeter defense

Observing the near total collapse of the all high and mighty Big Ten is amusing and entertaining. The Big Ten has been on my list since that 9th NCAA bid was unjustly rewarded to Michigan State. All that are left are Michigan and Maryland (not considered a real Big Ten member here), both play today vs. LSU and Alabama, respectively. Michigan is a 4.5 point favorite, but Maryland is a 6 point underdog.

Apparently Mr. Chapley doesn't know any of this because all he saw was "Summit League", turned his brain off and started tweeting.

I love seeing the Big 10 schools lose. Maybe we can have 9 Big 10 in and none in the sweet 16. Play someone non conference Big 10 then you can see if you can beat anyone other than your own conferences overrated teams.

Someone from the other side of the War on 74 used to question Porter Moser's bench coaching prowess. It appears the 4 year apprenticeship he served at SLU under the Maestro, Rick Majerus, did Porter Moser a world of good. Watching Loyola dismantle #1 Seed, Big Ten Tournament Champion Illinois yesterday was like watching a Basketball clinic. Are the Loyola Ramblers the Nephew of Majerus, or the Grandsons of Majerus?

Mason Madsen who has announced he is transferring from Cincinnati, might be a name to keep an eye on. Would have four years of eligibility left.

For what it's worth I often saw Moser recruiting in gyms, and when he liked a player, he would later bring Majerus. I saw this personally with Mitchell, McCall, Evans etc...Moser did much of SLU's heavy lifting with regards to recruiting.

Biancardi left in 2008. I think it is a stretch to give credit for guys like McCall, Evans and Jett to him. McCall and Evans were definitely Moser recruits. Those were Chicago area kids.

Is Loyola the next Butler? Not too long ago, Butler was in back-to-back title games. Since then? Consistent for the most part but not really close. Probably about the sixth or seventh best program in the Big East (Nova, Uconn, Creighton, Xavier, Seton Hall, maybe St. John's) right now. Loyola was actually pretty good in the old MCC days with Alfrederick Hughes, Carl Golston and Andre Moore. If Xavier wasn't beating us Loyola was. But that was like almost 40 years ago. I don't think Moser will leave Loyola unless his wife is on board with it. How old are his kids now? She is a Chicagoland lady although Marquette, Indiana and Minnesota aren't too far. Neither was St. Louis and she wanted home from us. Who knows. Archie Miller found life very tough in ol' Bloomington. The natives are not patient there. @A10 ref --- I am not forgetting [dead}'s crowning achievement but I agree with @Clock Tower in his assessment that that team ran on its own fumes. I think what the salient point of COY is is that once he won that, May had no recourse but to hire him full time. That is the rub there. I remember the talking heads (Digger Phelps seems stuck in my mind) all screaming and yelling that [dead] deserved the full time hire. In that regard, May's hands were tied. A shorter contract? Nope, [dead] was smart enough and times were such that anything under a four-year deal would be unacceptable. That's a full cycle of recruits and makes sense. Except [dead] was dead and gone in terms of the current basketball recruiting landscape and showed his true colors there rather quickly. I know many an old-timer who disucssed just how bad the [dead] hire was back then. We had seen it. From his playing days at Indiana, to his scowling and unfriendly sideline conduct at Evansville, and then to the understanding this he was fired at Army for abusing a cadet. That is somewhat unfathomable to me. May did the only thing I saw humanly possible in hiring [dead] ---- even though we knew it was a bad route to go. You don't hire a dinosaur to drive a Mercedes .... or in our case even a Volkeswagon. What coach in his right mind would have said "hey, they just fired the national COY. I want to go to that program."? In this case, I'd add that situation to the on going belief by some that this program is cursed. Even our success comes back to bite us in the arse. I don't disagree with Clock Tower's take in some context but 1) what was May to do, and 2) if you are a businessman or have an agent, as I am sure [dead] did, would you not advocate for the best deal possible? It's all water under the bridge and the old hindsight item remains intact. To me, we are a program shaped by numerous bad decisions, bad judgements, bad hires, bad recruits and just plain bad luck. I really thought we'd break the streak this year but that was not to be. Next year will be interesting. Why next year? My #1 point will be to watch just what Ford does. This will be his first year without Goodwin and French. He is no longer tied or beholden to either but he also can't use them as a comfortable crutch. Some of you believe Okoro is coming in to be better than French. Some believe Thatch is going to step into the Goodwin role and replace some of that. While they are decent expectations, I'll watch those roles play out as well. I am very curious to see how Ford starts over. Right now, not knowing anything about our roster, I have expectations that a Top Four finish is doable. The Bonnies return all five but I don't respect them to begin with. VCU is all Bones --- what if he leaves early? Dayton is young and talented, but freshmen are freshmen. Umass is in shambles. Mason has no coach. Geedubya has no roster. The rest are varying stages of bad basketball teams. I think we are okay. Now let's see how the transfer portal swings --- both in and out.

I think we owe most of the recruiting success of that era to Biancardi... even kids that signed after he left were scouted and earmarked by him. He was crucial.

It would also be revisionist history for many to suggest they would have been on-board with hiring Porter back then. Many on this board were less than impressed by the handful of games he coached when Rick was out. Most belief in Porter back then came from having an “in Majerus we trust” attitude. Rick always made a point to specify that Porter was not an assistant coach but his associate head coach.

Tell that to the people here that lived through Ekker and Grawer.

Not saying this changes must of your story Taj, but I think it is important context.

Love the Valley but that would be a step down for SLU.

It wasn’t a game plan. It was relentless implementation of fundamentals in practice which allowed them to execute their game plan and beat a team with far superior athletic ability

One thing for certain...Porter Moser can coach rings around Ford. Whatever were the reasons he really left the Bills lost a heckuva HC because of it!

Someone should check to see if her house is on the market.

Gut wrenching season but I am all in on Ford. Guy has been dealt some bad hands. Remember how loaded we were gonna be in just our 2nd year after a complete rebuild? Then situation 2 happened. We had Henriquez and our all freshman team Bishop ready to join Bess, DJ, Has & JGood. Didn’t happen. We were gonna loaded the next year with Santos and our local Gordon. Santos gets roped into Situation 2 which was worse than the late call in the VCU game this year and Gordon turns out to be a complete knucklehead. We still make the tourney. Last year we were playing well then we have the 1st pandemic in 100 years. Then we get Covid crushed again this year. Yes, it is hard being a Bills fan but not much Ford could do about these scenarios. That being said, I hope everyone returns and is on board with team blue and kicks some ass. JGood should consider a proper send off in a packed Chaifetz while breaking every Billiken record. I need a mental break and a full season of Cards baseball to reset the batteries. Go Bills.

OP I am a lurker here, but have posted some throughout the years. I wouldn’t consider this site toxic or to have any impact on free thought. It’s actually probably the best space online to find the most accurate and updated billiken info you can. It has its flaws.. but it’s a FAN site. You just don’t like the ideology of the majority of the posters here. Or maybe they don’t like yours. It doesn’t mean you’re wrong. It just means most people here view the team and program differently than you do. but I would say it’s far from free thought oppression or toxic.. if you don’t like it, I would recommend finding a new site or even start a new site if you don’t like the culture. Personally, I don’t disagree with talking MVC. I think it’s a fun topic. But some of the heavy posters here aren’t going to listen to it because it’s been discussed here 1000 times... I do think somebody telling you to kill yourself is stupid. Even if jest or intended as a bar scene insult.. (Which it was.. and you know it..) But for liability reasons in today’s environment, it should be deleted. And shouldn’t be said. Unfortunately there are people who might take it serious, that might be struggling with mental illness and suggesting this to anyone you don’t know even as a joke is pretty ignorant. But you seem intelligent enough to realize he was just being an ass hole and didn’t want you to kill yourself over a suggestion on which conference a basketball team should play in.

Agreed

Not seeing “pass first” PGs in the Tournament. Also not seeing bigs like French and Bell. And not cherry-picking from a top rated program but I would trade them for Jaquez and Juzang all day long. Remember when our bigs could shoot ? And not just FTs and from within 5 foot? Cody Ellis and Rob Loe Most talented team in our lifetime? I would take Ellis, Loe, Evans, Jett and McCall over this year’s team? BRoy. Close your ears but I would have already run off Jacobs by now.

Agreed. I admit that I haven’t been a big fan of Porter. And in my own defense, he wasn’t much of a coach when he arrived here at SLU. Young guy. Tried hard. Recruiting accolades. Not an x’s and o’s guy. Complement to RM. IMO, and from a distance and without inside information other than being a MBM, Porter had a true conversion and really did learn alot from RM. Sure, recruiting is the lifeline of college sports, and sure you cannot teach height or athletic ability but Porter is winning bc he has implemented RM’s fundamentals and has demanded /recruited kids who are willing implement these fundamentals. Personally, I have not seen screens set and used like they do since RM - and that includes Jett, McCall etc on auto pilot under Jim Crews. JGood, Perkins, French, Yuri don’t set, wait for or even use a real screen. Not lightning in a bottle, luck... just fundamentals, attention to details and kids who can shoot. Fundamentals are timeless.

No doesn’t change it at all. Any one of us MBM‘s could have coached equally as well as Jim Crews. In fact several on this Board could’ve done better.

We really need to let go of the Jim Crews hate. He was a really (or at least pretty) good coach at one time. He ran out of gas. He should have retired, and thought about retiring, then tried to keep going with us, but just didn’t have it. We have every right to be mad. But time heals all wounds. He coached some of the best teams in Bills history. He at least didn’t screw that run up, and others might have. It honestly takes wisdom to know when not to tweak with a good team. Travis Ford has turned the corner. It is time to start remembering the good things from Crews.

Porter Moser wasn’t good enough to be the SLU coach after Majerus, he wanted the job too. But same guy that pushed him out hired Crews and what we have now. Not to mention same guy that got out maneuvered by Creighton trying to get into Big East. At least we got to go to the NCAA’s one time in last five years after 6th place finish in A10 that season. Very happy for Loyola and Coach Moser. Good things happen to good people and people that aren’t so good, eventually karma comes around and this time it sure looks a lot like Sister Jean, Porter Moser and the Ramblers!