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And I don’t want to hear about the great job May has done with the other sports. None of that will matter if the whole athletic department can no longer compete in the NCAA’s top division because the basketball program isn’t attractive enough for a conference that doesn’t get left behind.

It isn’t just Noland. It is the pattern of how things have gone.

Don't worry Ford has several Daniel Rivera level recruits ready to commit. They all can't break their legs can they?

This is what happens when you let a coach be a lame duck.

Don’t worry guys, we are well positioned to attack the transfer portal. When does that open?

I'm still here. But I was just disappointed with the season post Iona as everyone else. It was a lost season. The last 5 months of posts have all been a variation on that theme. So I decided to focus on my other hobbies instead of contributing to the negativity.

Remember when the one period Ford could actually win was the off-season?

Good thing May kept on giving raises and contract extensions to are “great recruiting” head basketball coach. Athletic department malpractice from the May.

I love when we get to the point where Noland was brought it but he wasn't really going to play. That might give me even more concerns about the coaching staff.

It is easy to want to write him off as someone who wouldn't have helped, but the staff made Noland their top target early in the transfer period. Ford and company thought Noland could be a difference maker. They could very well be wrong, but that then brings up a different issue.

There are still 13 scholarships per team in the P6 leagues. SLU wasn’t competing with the UNC, Duke, KUs of the world for recruits at any point in the most recent 30 years. There are plenty of P6 schools that have no NIL collective or programs setup. SLU is at an advantage not having football in this game. you can sit around and mope and ***** about how it used to be and say aw man if the NCAA hadn’t changed the rules we’d be great. Or you can play the game by the rules in place today and succeed.

I can answer the question. It just means that we're back to the same BB program hierarchy we've always had but fans spend more money and players move and get paid. Programs that had deep pockets won and they still will.

Ah yes, his freshman season playing on a roster with Ryan Kalkbrenner (another recruiting miss for us) will be a good measuring stick for whether he was a miss. Very similar roster makeups and leagues between SLU and Creighton. I do commend you for continuing to carry water for the program on this site. Who cares if priority prep or transfer recruits decommit......

I don't think a combo guard who was a 4-star top 100 recruit playing in the Big 12 looks at our roster and questions whether he can find a role on our team. Certainly guys can and will develop and improve, but outside of Jimerson, there isn't much production returning. It remains to be seen whether losing Noland or Vice will be significant losses, but both certainly filled needs.

Ugh I wish

Am not happy that he backed out, but It's really hard to say what we have lost. His stats were very modest. He was signed for his potential. Whether he actually reaches anything close to his potential, remains to be seen.

Mickey Pearson level toolery

Not too late to fire Ford.

moytoy GREAT to see you. you are greatly missed. need you back

Suppose I told you we had a replacement for Noland. The sub's career slash line graded out to B / D- / F-...translating to 45.3 / 31.9 / 59.4 AND his numbers were trending down. Would you be excited with this replacement? Well there is no replacement...those are CJ Noland's numbers and grades. While his overall numbers are still too small for a forecast (except 3s) they are large enough to make a projection. I asked the computer what role would you see Noland playing in the coming year if he suited up as a Billiken in the 23-24 season. Answer...He would be a contributor coming off the bench...not a difference maker. Bottom line..There are dozens of players left on the portal who have similar or better numbers who can be a bigger part of next year's team.

One other thing that hasn't sorted itself out yet. The covid year going away and flushing out of the system will help competitive roster balance a bit as well.

1 tourney in 7 years is what's hurting us more than anything. And it wasn't even an at large.

Comparing this program to the Cardinals is straight up laughable.

The problem really isn't the amount of money SLU is spending on basketball and perhaps NIL although NIL is less transparent (for now). As @JMM28 pointed out, we were never / will likely never be competitive with the likes of Duke, UNC, Kansas, etc. SLU spends plenty of money compared to the rest of the A10 & even outspends some of the lowest spending Big East teams despite not having the same TV revenue rolling in. The issue is that SLU has had a piss poor ROI on that money that is being invested in the basketball program.

Glad you're still around!

Yes he did, and he was wrong. More often than not, the going down is not as good as the going up. It's no coincidence that the A-10 was a one bid leage last year for the first time in a long time.

Couldn't, sadly, agree more. I really fear that free agency and NIL means that SLU is facing an uphill and maybe impossible battle. I've never been so worried about the future of our program and that has nothing to do with Ford or May. My concerns have to do with forces beyond anyone at SLU's control. Not sure how anyone can think that we can be the next Gonzaga when literally no one in the A-10 can keep its good players. The players A-10 teams are getting to replace the players leaving aren't replacing the quality of the players it is losing. I'm not sure that Gonzaga is going to be able to continue to be Gonzaga in a few years under the current rules.

BVF is too busy paying players that graduated out of the program like Yuri, Perk and Thatch. The BVF has clearly stated paying those guys and not attracting or retaining players is the BVF's number one priority. Seems strange for your top priority to be paying players that no longer will play for the program, but what do I know.

Vanover was at Arkansas before ORU. You are correct that he had minimal minutes as a Razorback.

This roster will struggle to win 20 games and finish in the top 4 of the A10. Key word struggle. Maybe a cupcake schedule could help them reach 20 but nothing like we need.

Yes, Vice and now Noland are a sign that our roster has gotten too strong.

the difference is if 23 is the benchmark currently, Ford is on the hot seat because he fell below that. That said, After lookin at it by year, 24 is the goal. 24 would have been enough to get us there in 19/20 and 21/22. meaning you will get in more times than not with 24 wins.

The Cardinals just do that to sell tickets. It’s a $35 ticket to sit with the school group to go watch your 10yr old in the field. I could buy $5 stub hub tickets for the same Tuesday night game. Having high school jazz bands might actually sell a few more tickets. But I don’t like that option. Leave it the way it was.

-oh boy -the sunny side of the street will say it's still May, the dreary side of the street might say we still have May

If someone doesn't want to be a billiken, it's best to know sooner than later. Just like I'm no longer buying preseason hype, I'm also not conceding defeat 4 months before the first practice. We'll fill the 3 spots with transfers because Ford needs immediate results. Maybe we'll get a nice surprise. As it sits now, season tickets will decline.

I beg to disagree. There are hundreds of players left unsigned, many many of A10 caliber. Heck, the portal just closed less than 3 weeks ago!

We don't know the details.......go jump off a bridge if you want but I'll wait and see what happens next.......

Hahahaha.. sure… why not.

Can Zhang play center and shooting guard?

I really hate what has happened to the business of college basketball

Too lazy to blue font, but this is definitely because fans are too negative on Twitter and the board.

The Billikens need to win more games, period. Good A-10, bad A-10, the current level of success for SLU isn’t enough. The team the last two seasons has not had enough to truly be an at-large candidate. 25 regular season wins has to be the benchmark. If we’re still missing the tournament and hitting that mark? Then it’s time to focus on the conference.

Love to Arizona

Loyola brought down the conference NET/RPI/all rankings significantly in year 1. I wouldn't call it an improvement in any realm except having a program a little bit closer to St. Louis.

Personally think we should be focused on internal improvement of SLU, and not worried about the conference as a whole. Even with a stronger A-10, the last two years wouldn’t have led to bids. Internal performance, and department expectations, are a way bigger concern right now.

This really sounds like you are calling all criticism of Yuri Collins racist?!?!? Meyer and Sloan were role players, who played out of position for the good of the team. Of course they are well liked. What that has to do with Yuri is beyond me. The defense of Yuri has really gotten out of hand. I also like how its only Ok to criticize Ford if its in the context of Yuri. Outside of that Ford is also above criticism. Many past Billikens stars have had had love/hate relationships with the fans. It usually occurs earlier in their career though and as they get older they get more love. I would say the two who would be similar to Yuri were Kwamain and Monroe Douglas. All 3 of them set high bars early in their career. All 3 of them rode hype trains into their final seasons. Collins was a pre-season POY pick. Mitchell & Douglas as well. None of them got better. They never expanded their game. Douglas grew to dislike Grawer and didn't put in enough effort on the defensive end. Mitchell lost a season and lost a step and got passed up by his teammates. Collins never expanded his game offensively and again regressed defensively. They all had a peak and that peak was reached sophomore or Jr year when it should have been their senior years. Just not how it breaks for everyone's career. I still like Collins, just like Douglas and Mitchell. I can also recognize that their careers plateauing cost SLU success on the court. If Douglas remains a top wing scorer, stays in shape, and plays a little defense SLU makes 2 tournaments. If Mitchell didn't get suspended and remained that vibrant lead guard in crunch time we probably make a sweet 16. If Collins remained a 2-way force and shot and finished just a little better we probably make the tournament. Collins will be remembered differently because of the way his career ended. He still has all the national accolades and maybe he is a better player than someone like Dwayne Evans or Jordair but his legacy at SLU will never be as great.