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Maybe I’m missing something about McKissic, but if he doesn’t come to SLU, whatever. I’m sure he’d be a nice add to SLU, but I’m not going to get discouraged by it if he goes somewhere else. If this is the big “not encouraging news” for SLU fans, I’ll take that as a win.

He's been told 20-25 minutes a game. Brandon wants to continue playing basketball after college. At the moment he sees the way to do that is by playing Overseas. He also wants to play for a team that has a chance to make it to the tournament. He's very basketball savvy. He knows minutes will vary depending on which team he goes to. Playing close to home is one factor but he's looking for the best fit. SLU is in the mix but other teams are showing more interest. As of last night Brandon had heard from Tate but not Ford. Bill Self has called him...talked to him about minutes and set up a zoom meeting for today with Brandon and his parents. Talked to Mike Rhoades as well. If Levi returns that could be a bonus. Brandon and Levi have played AAU together.

It adds up that he might be committing to KU based on this timeline: Kansas is recruiting multiple grad transfer guards and probably wants an answer from one of them soon, Coach 314 says McKissic may not have as much time as he originally thought to make a decision, Self meets with and offers McKissic, Carter says we may hear bad news. If that is the case and he does end up going to Kansas, good for him and hope he is able to make a difference there. Working your butt off for 4 years at a low-major and earning a chance at a power program isn't the worst story in college basketball these days.

You all seem to assume slu wants this young man. You dont think out of the likely approaching 2,000 players that might transfer there is not a single other combo guard that would check all the boxes ford is looking for that he'd rather have? I think ill trust Ford on who he wants and gets.

Mario McKinney is headed to New Mexico State. I know nobody cares, but I just posted his name a few minutes ago, so I thought I'd let you all in on the conversation I am having with myself.

what a crap way to handle "news"

I've said this before about McKissic - he grew up in my hometown (Ferguson) and starred at my high school (SLUH) at which his coach was an idol of mine as a kid (Claggett). I hope he chooses SLU as he would instantly be my favorite player on the team based on those things alone, but I also really like his game. I really just hope he ends up somewhere that #1 he can actually get playing time & not sit on the bench behind bigger name transfers or 5 star recruits who were promised time (cough KU cough) and #2 play somewhere he has a chance to win & make the tournament instead of toiling in mediocrity (cough Mizzou cough).

-my gosh, writing off any team for next season with the unprecedented number of potential players to fill a roster seems out of touch

Because the Romar era was such a resounding success for SLU? I wouldn't rank youth or charisma as good indicators of future coaching success. Enthusiasm is certainly important, but a coach can be enthusiastic at any age. We've have more NCAA Tournament bids, have played in more NCAA Tournament games, and have more NCAA Tournament wins under Chris May than any other AD in school history.

Lol well Bill Self called him today. As well as VCU

Nah because they won’t get top flight guys out of Chicago. They will end up being like Belmont. There’s too much competition for the city they’re in. All of the B1G and Illinois schools go there. Plus you get teams from Big 12 and AAC going in there as well as Big East. They will be a good team but won’t be huge, just because they aren’t national recruiters. If you have offers from Illinois Michigan Michigan St Northwestern DePaul Creighton Butler Cincy You’re not going to Loyola. Gonzaga went international and didn’t have the competition locally Loyola has. Loyola is like Tulsa in the Nolan years. The Valley is a league of runs. One school will run it then disappear.

what rickma taught better than any coach i have ever studied was precision. setting screens the right distance, releasing the right way, using a screen the correct way, defending against a screen, blocking out, moving without the ball. all the lunch bucket stuff that is a difference maker. i saw a lot of that stuff this weekend watching loyola. that is what moser learned and carried with him from his time being a billiken.

as taj stated, there probably arent a handful of AD's in the world that would have the guts to have did what you hindsight wish.

So Self going to use McKissic to try to convince Goodwin to use his extra year of eligibility at KU?

I'm sure that he would disagree with this take, but I think Carter is being passive aggressive about McKissic because he was so far off in his original assessment of his recruitment. First McKissic is just another guy and now his receiving an offer from Kansas is not so encouraging news for Billiken Nation. If he's going to do this for every recruit, this will be a looong offseasson. Being a sports media guy on twitter is a big responsibility. Herm Edwards gave some advice on thoughtful social media usage to athletes years ago but media folks could also learn something from him:

You mean not as long making a decision with SLU or just in general? In other words, I would figure SLU is also pursuing a variety of options... as they should. If you wait too long on one recruit to make a decision, you may be losing out on some other really good options who are making decisions on quicker timelines. McKissic clearly has no shortage of solid options, but I feel Ford and SLU will also have a number of good player options as well - the kid from UC being one that we've already heard about.

It's just the natural reaction of posters wanting someone who a bunch of other people want. There wasn't nearly this amount of respect by MBMs for his game when we played his squad back in December.

I will talk to you so you don’t have to have a conversation with yourself. The new transfer rule for this year is something else and a great conversation subject for basketball boards who’s favorite teams have finished their seasons. I cannot wait to see who coach Ford signs to send us off to a summer of excited conversation about the possibilities of Billiken basketball next season. I was curious about where Mario McKinney went too.

Per the interview with Frank C, McKissic said he wanted to decide by the end of April, beginning of May. Once the coaching carousel stops spinning my expectation is that open slots will fill quickly. While I admire McKissic having a plan I hope his preferred locations remain open.

I know some on here seem to be dialed in locally, has there been any additional noise around where Fletcher might end up? I thought I saw Florida State was considered a favorite. Also, has anyone seen the rumors about Caleb Love possibly leaving UNC after one season? And the last local rumor I am looking to see if anyone has knowledge of, Mario McKinney kicked off of his JUCO team? Who is the local TMZ to answer my word vomit questions?!?!

I'm no fan of Cuonzo/Mizzou, but he did take over a 10 win or so Kim Andersen team and take them to the NCAA tourney the next year when he was hired. He did it on the promise of playing with Michael Porter Jr., but it was still a major turn-around. This transfer market and available playing time is tailor made for him. Take McKissic. He may prefer Ford and SLU, but Cuonzo is going to rightly point out that Yuri is the starting PG, Gibson and Thatch are going to play a lot and Perkins is going to take most of the shots. Also, no chance Cuonzo gets fired after taking a team that was predicted 10th in the SEC into the NCAA tourney.

Isn’t that kind of creative accounting? They haven’t had too much trouble raising $ for recent football upgrades, so if the right folks want him out a year from now $ won’t be much of a factor in my opinion. I know fans aren’t high on him, but I’m not sure how the $ folks in Columbia view Cuonzo. The optics currently are kind of bad, fans want a guy fired who has 2 tournament appearances in 4 seasons coming off of Kim Anderson.

I agree, but there’s a pretty big difference between trying to fill in a couple roster holes with the portal and trying to replace (assuming none of the seniors come back with the free year, that could obviously change) 5 of your top-6 players in minutes played, plus your backup point guard in Buggs. Finding 6 transfers at all different positions who are going to be ready to immediately compete in the SEC seems pretty far-fetched too.

I think Jacobs never recovered from COVID. When he came the MS game, he actually lost his legs on a drive where no one touched him . I welcome him back next year, hopefully fully recovered.

Yeah when I think of coach poach, integrity and character are what come first and foremost to mind.......

that's just coach speak and messaging to save his a**... Mizzou is about to have some bad years, and they had four seniors playing significant minutes, if not starting, this year. This was the "show me" year for them, and they finished 7th in the league with as early of a departure as you can have against a covid-stricken OU.

Whittenberg was 3-25 in his last full year in the Bronx. Started out the 2009-2010 season 1-4 and was fired. He took over a bad team and he did lead some respectable teams. There were rumblings of some personal, non-criminal, non-sexual, issues, but I shouldn't repeat their nature as they aren't verified. At NC State, he got let moved from Assistant Coach to University Community Relations, so he's not that connected to the basketball program anymore.

Mason bringing in English will immediately help their recruiting prospects. Former (briefly) NBA player. Young. Exciting hire for the school... I think this could easily bring them back to relevance in the league and with all of the available transfers it might be sooner than later.

This was a joke. If I'd have told it it would've caused much pearl clutching and consternation.....

Yes. As would basically every school in the country.

I agree. It was refreshing to watch a team actually run set plays, instead of ball screen, dribble drive, if it’s not there look for the three. Loyola and Gonzaga were the only two teams that I noticed had a different flow on offense.

Madsen was a 180 shooter out of high school who missed the first 8 games of Cincinnati's season due to an ankle injury. Even though his shot was erratic as a freshman, he demonstrated a nice all-around game off the bench. His 10 pt, 4 rebound performance was crucial in helping Cinci knock off Wichita State in the conference tournament. We've got three scholarships open. Madsen has four years of eligibility. The posters who want us to sign a high school player with one of the scholarships should love that there's mutual interest. Madsen has already shown he can be an effective player at this level.

I would not be to quick to write off Jimerson,thatch, jacobs and bell. I am for bringing in the best players you can get, but those four have had their moments, i think jacobs was hit hard by the virus or was injured he had star like moments before covid

If you want to stay in Chicago to play you are going to Loyola instead of DePaul or Northwestern if Porter is still coaching Loyola. Plus, Porte doesn’t really need to change how he recruits. He has won more NCAA tournament games in the last four years than the Illini, DePaul and Northwestern have in the last 15 years combined.

I don't care how bad his numbers are. We both know that's not true

Funny how things change. When he was an assistant here, a strong opinion on the board was that he was not a good X's and O's coach. I didn't really have an opinion, because frankly I wasn't very dialed in on what was going on at his two previous stops Little Rock and Illinois State. The consensus was that he was primarily just a good recruiter. That ability has been on display at Loyola. I don't care how many stars his players had in high school, they are a talented team and kudos to Porter for identifying those players and successfully putting a roster together. Majerus was very skilled at putting together a roster where the pieces fit. During his Final Four run, Moser repeatedly pointed to the value of his experience with Majerus as being a key to his evolution as a coach. Moser's success, also dispels a common notion that was thrown around on the board - that Majerus had no successors or a coaching tree. Well, now he has one very good one, which only enhances the Majerus legacy. Porter's success is a great story, that I think SLU fans should take pride in and celebrate, rather than settling old scores or some of the other tangents. He always struck me as a very committed assistant who played a big part in putting together a nice three year run here, so I'm happy for his success. Moser's success also shows that coaches, like players can develop and improve. IF Porter was not a good X's and O's guy previously, nobody can say that now.

These feel like somewhat lazy narratives to me. Our offense was objectively bad under Majerus every year but 2011-2012. Our offense has been above average the last two season under Ford (though certainly was bad before that). Our offense was better this year than 2 of the 3 tournament teams from 2012-2014. Our offense has also been brutal at stretches under Ford. But it’s kind of hacky to throw Ford under a broad umbrella of just getting by with better athletes. Loyola has had the best or second best recruiting class in their conference for 4 straight seasons. He’s doing more than finding diamond in the roughs who fit a system. They are winning games because of outstanding execution, agreed with everyone on that. But they’re also winning partly because they’re more talented than most teams they play. Moser also doesn’t exactly run the “Majerus system”. There are plenty of differences in Loyola’s offense and the offense Majerus ran at SLU. I don’t blame someone for being wary of Ford, but fans love to put coaches in broad categories like recruiter, Xs and Os coach, etc. when the results tend to be much more nuanced than that.

Yep, Fitzgerald, after twelve years of blood, sweat and tears was able to build the program into an Audi A4. Monson quickly upgraded to a BMW 5 Series and handed the keys to Few. Few has upgraded the program to a Rolls Royce. Crews was handed the keys to a BMW 6 Series and totaled it. Ford wasn't even given a functioning car. Five years later we're driving in an Audi A4. Not sexy, but significant progress nonetheless.

NCAA football calls the extra coaches “analysts” and they coach the coaches as they are not allowed on the field to with the players. Instead, they watch from above, from their own practice film and game film and by scouting other teams.

All I meant by “investigating” was that Chris May performed the normal due diligence any good AD would do when presented with a new hire recommendation and was aware of the prior allegations which led to Jim Crews being terminated by Army. Agreed. Chris May does not override RM or deny RM his proposed new assistant coaches but he most certainly reviews who they are and what they did and did not do prior to us. My only real point is that Chris May cannot have it both ways. Either he was a good AD, who vetted new hires and had his finger on the pulse of the program and knew things the rest of us did not know because Crews was a well-known commodity and had been on campus a full season or he did not. Either way Chris May should have been fired. Chris May had time and knew in August that RM was not coming back for the entire season when RM stepped down in August and then knew RM would never come back in that RM died in early December. What was Chris May’s plan in December? Wait the year out and see if Crews can win with that loaded bc that would be a true test of whether Crews was the right man for the job? Brilliant plan. Not his plan after the season was over when Chris May knew we would win - which we did, made the Tourney and Crews received the National COY honor - which I contend was more of a tribute to RM than Crews. Leaders lead from the front, not the rear. Leaders make tough choices and don’t get led. BTW, I believe this Friday is payroll day - another paycheck.

In deference to me and others on this Board, Moser himself has repeatedly stated that he, in essence, was not a good x's and o's coach prior to RM. And yes, Porter had alot of RM's knowledge in his head but it did take him awhile to learn how to teach this knowledge and to know which players would accept the knowledge and style and which would not. Porter was given this freedom to experiment and to grow further at Loyola. And RM had his share of failures over the years as well. As to RM's coaching tree, yes, he now has Porter Moser. But again, my take has always been that RM used his coaches to compensate for his own issues and to compliment him - the Master - as opposed to develop any heir apparant. And to answer an earlier question, RM felt true passionate coaches should be like him -- eat, sleep, drink basketball. RM had no wife or kids. Family time each evening and weekends was not the RM way and likely ran afoul of coaches' wives such as Mrs. Porter Moser.

Not true. Yes, only a handful of AD's would not hire Crews after being silent all year and then watching Crews take us to the Tourney and win National COY but many good AD's would have (and should have) stepped in early, controlled the narrative, said Crews was our Interim Coach, is the perfect Interim Coach but that he won't be our permanent coach, that SLU is forming a blue ribbon national committee, that our next coach would be young, enthusiastic, would be our coach for the next 10 years, that after RM and Crews we would be returning to a youthful coaches such as Romar when hired by SLU, examples could have been given, leaks of possible names could have been given.... this is not that unusual. But because Chris May was silent, did nothing, took no leadership, then yes, only a few AD's with a sack of stones would have not hired Crews after he won National COY. And that is not Chris May.