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I guarantee he could not. As was said above, Majerus recruited guys that were "his guys" and fit his system. I was always amazed how Kevin Lisch and Tommy Liddell, both hard working dedicate players, could not fit into his system, but they did not. We did not succeed until Majerus got his players in. This season and last season are failures. Ford is not as bad of a game day and practice coach as some on here make him out, but he's proven he's not above average either. This year's results and the reason for there to be not much hope for the future are due to a failure of recruiting. That was supposed to be Ford's strong suit. This past offseason was his worst recruiting since he's been here. If you want results, you have to do it all. He can make up for his coaching shortcomings with stellar recruiting, but he has not done that recently.

Embedded in Coach Ford's recruiting strategy is "locking down the borders". That has been consistent everywhere he's been. The problem with that philosophy is that getting the best 3 stars from your local area and adding an out-of-state impact player here and there does not lend itself to an offensive scheme. You're just throwing players together and cobbling together an offense from it. Hence we get Bullyball. Yurimania.

It's not a question for me. Roster construction is absolutely a weakness of Coach Ford. If you don't have a fixed offensive scheme, then you at least need an offensive philosophy. Ideally, how are we going to score? What is plan B if our first option is taken away? You can't just continue rolling the dice and fixing the gaps in the offseason. You'll invariably find yourself in a situation where you're sacrificing defense to fix offensive problems. Let's say Coach Ford survives the season, fixes the defensive problems and we make the tournament next year. What happens the next year after the seniors graduate? Since there is no discernable offensive philosophy, then it's another 2-3 years of recruiting the best player available and hoping the pieces fit together. What's to stop us from being right back here when the pieces don't fit? Coach Ford is making his job a lot harder than it needs to be. Just pick an offensive scheme and recruit accordingly. Now that NIL allows teams to replace half their squad every year, coaches who can plug players into a scheme have a distinct advantage over coaches who don't.

french, goodwin and bess came into the program with defensive skills and understandings. they also had exteme heart, desire and effort. i.e. they already knew what it took to play defense at a higher level. their efforts were contagious to the others and it seemed to me that no one wanted to be the player that stood out as the problem and all bought in. it had nothing to do with what ford was teaching. the results mirrored the crewsplatt first years when the players pretty much coached themselves. now all that experience and attitude and focus is gone. and none of this current team apparently knows what they are and think they are doing the best they can. that is b.s. as defense and rebounding is as much effort and focus as it is any taught skill. and ford bad mouthing them and their effort isnt going to fix it. ford literally should be spending the majority of practices getting the team to learn precision, responsibilities and getting them to put out the needed effort and focus to make themselves better. my perception watching these games, they are definitely not bought in, they have little to any focus and the efforts arent there. at one time i applauded ford's ability to get the players to play to the best of their ability. it seemed like he was a very good motivator. but now that we havent seen that transpose to the teams after goodwin, bess and french, one has to wonder who the real team motivator's were on that team. the team seems to be a mess. what's so frustrating is it seems that athletically they arent that far off. we have speed, we have leaping ability, we just dont have that team focus, we dont have the individual efforts and that translates into the horrible results we are seeing. time to make a change. will it happen? im betting it wont. no wants to pay the piper all at once to make the change. i would be thrilled if at year end it happens, but i wont be surprised if we have at least 2 more seasons after this season to deal with this. it's a mess and it's embarrassing for the fandom. we dont deserve this.

By the way, my group trip was this weekend. We had 22 guys in the Siegel Center wearing royal blue t-shirts that read "I'd rather by at Chaifetz Arena." This was our 11th trip to a road Billiken game. One of the worst games we've watched. We had been to VCU once before (2016) and things got chippy with the crowd in that game. It started out that way this time. We were chirping back and forth with some VCU fans. That went away as fast as the Billikens chances did in the game. It's bad when old ladies there to support the Rams felt comfortable enough to come up to our group in the 2nd half and ask us about our trip.

There's a climalite tag on the bottom right. Feels like that indicates that it's more contemporary

Successful teams come in all shapes and sizes. The problem isn't the size of the guards. The problem is the collective skill set of Coach Ford's teams. You can press with a small team but you need ball hawks. We are in short supply. You can counter length with good passing. We're the worst passing team the conference. You can win on the road but your leaders need to be road warriors. We don't have that either. Even if Meadows would have been healthy all season, his career stats say he's not the 5-6 apg guy we need at the position. Dalger is an effort guy but he's not a ball hawk. Our underclassmen are probably our best defenders but they are our worst offensive players. Jimerson and Hargrove's performance in road games make it almost impossible for us to win against good teams in their building. This season is all about making a run in February when we have some winnable road games. That's all it's ever been about ever since Parker went down 4 games into the season. We have too many weaknesses in the roster that can't be masked against good teams. It's nice that Coach Ford is addressing these weaknesses with recent offers but damn it he should have done a better job of addressing them in the off season.

I haven't done a full-scale update in a while. Here are all the former Billikens suiting up overseas this season. Kwamain Mitchell - In his 11th season as a pro. He is playing this season for CSO Voluntari in the Romanian National League, the top league in Romania. This is his 2nd season in this league. Voluntari is currently 11-4 in the Romanian League and 5-1 in the North Atlantic multi-country league. Mitchell is coming off the bench but getting good minutes. In league play, he is averaging 10 points, 4 assists, 2 boards, and a steal. In NABL play he is averaging 9 points, 5 assists, 2 boards, and 2.5 steals a game. Awards in Mitchell’s career 2014 Czech Republic All Star & League MVP 2015 Polish League Hon Mention All League 2016 Latvian League Champion, League MVP, Finals MVP 2017 French ProB Finals 2018 French Pro All League Hon Mention 2019 Russia Superleague MVP, Regular Season Champion 2020 Russia Superleague MVP, Regular Season Champion 2021 Adriatic League All League 2nd Team 2021 Serbian League All League 2nd Team, League Champion 2022 Swiss League All League 2nd Team, League Champion Ian Vougioukas - He’s back. 38-year-old Ian hasn’t played in nearly 2 years but signed with the Greek Tier 2 League Panionios Athens. He is working his way into the lineup and is averaging 6 points & 4 boards in 13 games. Panionios is 12-4 on the season, 1st place in the Greek Elite league. This is Ian’s 16th season as a pro. Reggie Agbeko - Agbeko is starring in the Norwegian League for the Tromso Storm. The Storm are in 4th placein the league with a 13-8 record, Agbeko is the starting center and averaging 17 ppg, 11 rpg on 58% shooting. He was the Player of the week the first week of the season, when he had back-to-back games of 21/19 & 26/13. Javon Bess - Bess is playing for 10-5 fifth place Wuerzburg in the German BBL. Bess is averaging 10 ppg and 5 boards as a starting forward. This is Bess’ 2nd season playing in the BBL. Dwayne Evans - Evans stars for 15-15 Hiroshima Dragonflies in the Japan B1 league. This is Evans' 2nd season with the Dragonflies and his 4th season in Japan. He is currently averaging 15 ppg, 8 rpg, and 3 apg. Evans is a multi-time All Star in the league and has been on all-league teams all 3 seasons he has completed. DJ Foreman - Foreman appears to be injured currently. He was playing for Cordon in the Uruguayan League, averaging 8 points and 4 boards in 5 games but he hasn’t played since November. This was Foreman’s 2nd year playing in Uruguay after starting his career in Iceland. Last season Foreman was a star in Uruguay, averaging 17 and 8 for Larranaga and was recognized as an All-league player. Jake Forrester - Plays for Artland in the 2nd tier German ProA league. Artland is 4-14 but Forrester has done well his first season. A consistent starter at forward he is averaging 10 & 6 while shooting 57% playing 18 minutes a game. Demarius Jacobs - Currently playing in the top league in Cypruss for 10-3 4th place Apoel in his first pro season. Jacobs is averaging 10 ppg, 4 apg, and 3 rpg. Jalen Johnson - Also in his first pro season, Johnson is in Portugal playing for Alianca Sangalhos in the 2nd tier Portuguese league. Johnson is faring well averaging 19 ppg and over 8 rebounds, both top 10 in the league for his 7-5 squad. Marten Linssen - Plays in the same league as Forrester. 2nd year playing in German ProA. Linssen now plays for Trier, the top team in the league. He’s in a backup role averaging 6 ppg and 3 boards. Linssen and Forrester will only play each once, on 3/9. Rob Loe - Loe currently plays for Melbourne in the Aussie NBL. Melbourne is in 1st place in the NBL and Loe has been a steady backup center averaging 6 & 5. Melbourne is led by former NBA star Matthew Dellavadova. Loe had a rough time playing with injuries during COVID but has rebuilt his career quite well. He played in the NBL finals in 2022, averaged 15 & 9 for NZ in the Asian FIBA World Cup Qualifiers last year, then went on to win MVP & Defensive POTY in the New Zealand NBL, leading his team to the league finals averaging a stunning 19 ppg, 11 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks while shooting 39% from 3 before going to Melbourne. Francis Okoro - Okoro started off the year in France, but left Rouen after 5 games. He averaged 6 and 4 there. He has now caught on with Nevesis in the Lithuanian league and is doing well. Okoro is not starting and averaging 8 and 8. His last game he scored 18 points on 7-7 shooting. Nevesis is 4-14 on the season but 3-4 since inserting Okoro in the lineup. Luis Santos - Santos also plays in the Uruguay league for Aguadado. He dominates the league, he’s the 2 time reigning MVP. This season he is averaging 19 & 13. Santos plays year-round in leagues in Central & South America and the Caribbean and is one of the top players in Latin America. Brian Conklin - Conklin recently signed to play in the Japan B League for 2-28 Iberaki Robots. I haven’t seen that he has played yet but next week the Robots will face off against Evans’ Dragonflies. Conklin is coming off a good season in Mexico for Panteras averaging 11 ppg and 5 boards.

General Outlook.... We took a big hit to the report card in the last game (see below)...a reason why we took a whupping at VCU. As a result of the loss we have dropped to C-. Dav comes in with a grade of B- and currently 11th place both in my rankings and in the standings. Why is that important? Because if you are trying to escape the PIG pen that is where you need to go...to the 11th spot (one step at a time). Beating another pen member will not get you out. This game is very winnable . We don't need to play great to win . If we play poorly we lose. Let's take a look at the game Game Preview....Dav key players are Skogman and Huffman. Huffman leads the team in Pts...Asts..Stls..Rebs...Skogman leads the team in Pts (tied)..FG% and Rebs(tied) Dav is worse on Off than the Bills but their D is better than ours. If we can step up our D a bit especially on those 2 players , we should be able to put up a W. Let's take a look at this game's report card.... Report Card.... The card is negative...1 up and 5 down......1 up and 3 dn on Off....None up and 2 dn on D...a big hit to the card .................SLU............Dav................SLU..........................Dav ...........................OFF..........................................DEF............. PPG..........D+..................D+..................D.-...........................B FG%.........C-....................C-...................D-............................C+ 3P%.........A-.....................C-..................D+..........................D+ FT%.........B-....................C-..................................................... Reb..........D.....................C-.....................D...........................C- OFF Rebs = total rebs...DEF Rebs = opp reb UP...............Off....FT%......Def....FG%...3P%...PPG Down.........Off....none......Def...FG%...3P% Top 100 In The Nation SLU Min /gm...Jimerson ...33rd...dn Dav Ast...Huffman...54th Injury /Illness report and misc The Bills.... None Dav....None Keys to the Game.......Stop Skogman and Huffman... We need to beat Dav at the FT line...we need to make some shots...in and out ...their 3P Def is weak...we need to take advantage of it. When Huff or Skog are not in the game we need to outscore Dav. WWN2D2W...Target slash...47/39/75....Hold Dav to 69 pts....Match Dav on TOs AND Rebs....Hold Skogman & Huff to 21pts...Beat Dav on FTM...Out score them from the arc Bottom line....A win would be big...it would get us away from the PIG.

First man overboard. Plenty to come. Soon there will be other coaches picking over the wreckage of this program like its an estate sale. Thanks Chris and Fred!

Does BVF get a refund?

Hope things turn out well with him and his family

Best wishes to Tim and his family.

Thats the pathway to 20 wins...

I'm not sure Majerus could take this roster and be a top 50 team. Lots of individual talent but the roster construction makes no sense. There is no team identity. I wasn't sold on the bully-ball identity as something that could take us to a Sweet 16 but at least you had a roster and a gameplan that all fit together.

That is part of what made Rick so good. He recruited guys to his system...and he demanded excellence of execution.

He could have the McDonalds all american roster annually and maybe reach a Sweet 16. The guy has shown for decades he cannot develop players. He has also shown he can't game plan nor adjust. He has to out-talent you for 40 minutes at every position to win.

Oh yeah, no question there. I was merely commenting that I have found Ford to be fairly candid over the past 12+ months with regards to the deficiencies of his teams and his commentary is in line with what those on this board complain about. Again, that doesn't make me feel any better about the team or change my evaluation of Ford, merely commenting that I at least appreciate him directly acknowledging the issues as opposed to pretending they don't exist like so many coaches do when speaking to the media. My commentary was completely limited to the quote and his direct acknowledgement of our deficiencies as a team. I have little trust in Ford ever being the guy to "fix" a roster that has deficiencies. The key for a guy like Ford is building the right roster that makes up for his deficiencies as a coach. Unfortunately, he has not found or stumbled into the right mix of players since guys like Goodwin and French moved on (he never maximized those rosters either) and it now has me questioning whether talent evaluation and roster construction is another deficiency of Ford's.

I hear you, but at this point the problem isn't about the 2023-24 Billikens. Because it's been the same issue for 4 years now. It's about not addressing the defensive deficiencies after it was so clearly the reason last years team underachieved.

Yeah, as much as I think I am done with Ford, in his interviews over the past few weeks he has said everything I would want him to with regards to assessing the team and I thought he often did a year ago too. I realize some coaches never say anything to the media critical of their team, but he has highlighted all of the areas we have said the team needs to get better at which to me I like to hear. I don't listen after games, but in the interviews before the games he is candid with the deficiencies of this group. I would note on Pomeroy, our defense is ranked #305. Obviously, it is his job to fix it, but he clearly sees the same deficiencies as we do. So, he just leaves it up to his son and his buddies to make the excuses!

That could be. If it is a SLU replica it couldn’t be after the late 90’s. After that they stopped ever using St. Louis and they always went with Saint Louis.

The last year SLU had Adidas as the men’s soccer team supplier was 1989. I think that predates that Adidas logo, but if it doesn’t it would be Tim Strange’s jersey. After that the soccer team used Umbro until going with Nike in 1998. My guess is it is probably a 1999 DiMaria replica.

I want to know who signed off on giving Travis Ford his annual salary and buyout? That contract could be one of the dumbest/worse in all of sports right now. I think this is a valid ask too. IF Chris May recommended that Fred and BoT should sign off, he 100% needs to get fired too. I don’t care if he’s healthy or not, May could be in greatest shape of his life and running marathons each week, if he’s behind this mess, he’s gotta go with Travis. I hear buyout is anywhere from $5-7 million! Which slu has to pay to get rid of Ford. Yet, you have programs like baseball, softball, field hockey, track, tennis, swimming all under funded and counting pennies for their budgets. How is this acceptable? If he as the AD was on board with Travis Ford contract, plus hiring Crews, how is he allowed to hire a third coach? Please give me one good reason why he has earned that responsibility? CC not paid off, ALL students still can’t eat there, just soccer and basketball, that was a lie, dropped ball on Big East, hired Crews, hired Ford, no NIL money raised or real plan except I bet hope one or two “big” donors step up and save the day (my guess but I bet I’m right). We need an AD that takes program in a more focused, strategic, business savvy, creative, successful direction. Chris May isn’t that guy.

This is the kind of player we need to stay away from: A volume shooter with subpar assist numbers. We already had Rashad Williams.

You shouldn't build it and talk up how much it is going to help all your athletes if you don't already have the funding in place. Chris May was the one out there talking about how all of the Champions Facilities were to benefit all of SLU's athletes. I would not have a big problem with this if the message from those at SLU the whole time wasn't different than the actual reality. May was saying these things even on the day the facility opened.