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Just not true. Tim was booted from the program after constant head butting.

“Decent show”

Travis said before the season that they expected BE to get a waiver, they thought they had a good case. Did he not prepare BE as if he was going to be the guy? Does he not realize this is how it’s been in college basketball for decades: center plays a handful of minutes as an underclassman and then gets handed the keys as a junior or senior? Are the people still defending Ford not paying attention or just not using an ounce of critical thinking when reading or listening to him? You don’t have to have some great knowledge of basketball to read through the contradictions and lazy excuses.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/outrageous-north-korea-propaganda-shows-11439296

All the people who think we can't afford to move on from Ford are not factoring in the lost revenue piece if you keep him. Instead of losing a couple of hundred season tix renewals you will be probably looking at 1000 or more especially if this season spirals even further out of control. This doesn't even factor in the loss of concessions and parking money that will accompany this. You can say well give the tix away and the concessions and parking money will be replaced - the problem with this is it is hard to give tix away even to youth groups if nobody has an interest. The loss of the season tix holders also means a loss of Billiken Club memberships. Also, once you lose a season tix holder you probably are not getting them back ever. At this point I am seriously considering dropping my season tix for next year if Ford returns - I have had tix for 44 years so this is not a decision I make easily. My point is that the overall health of the program will take years to recover if that even happens - I suggest that getting rid of Ford is not a difficult decision to make if you care at all about Billiken Basketball future. Too much is at stake to keep him but then again people often make decisions that are contrary to their own best interest when they are short sighted.

I'm going to be honest, I still am not sure if Dalger was metaphorically butting heads with staff or actually headbutting people.

Also a bit telling that he would contradict the narrative that SLU put out.

If @TheOneposted it, you can be sure that is what happened with Dalger. Very few as close to the program as he is. He is someone that would know this.

He was actually a huge William Hurt fan.

He was one of the most selfish players ever to be a Billiken. He had moments he was very good, but more times than night he'd dribble into trouble then throw up a shot that had absolutely no chance. I won't miss him hope the family "personal problems" work out. I don't wish family concerns on anyone.

Talented loser.

TBH im not sure what it was over. And I agree as far as hires go, he's made some good ones. I just don't think May is even remotely close to being Fired. I do Think Ford is likely gone, worst case 100% gone after next year, but I just don't see it from May. I don't think the university takes sports serious enough for that.

gaslight Trav

So is the training staff not doing their job as well if these guys are just absolutely blindsided by the fact that they need to be in shape? Or is the coaching staff not preparing guys the right way? Or both? Tried something 10 or 11 times and VCU shut it down every time? Limited depth of coaching there.

Yeah. He could be heading to help out his brother like Reacher. It will take roughly a month in some small southern town. Say what you will about his basketball skills, but he looks like someone you don’t want to mess with.

Decent show. This is the first significant injury Parker has had and he thought he would be back, full load, in the same shape he left. Parker had asked to sub out of the Dayton game, being gassed. He was out for 2 1/2 months. Getting into game shape and relearning the offense and defense has been the focus. Good on both ends today. "Give it to Sincere and let's go". Brad basically did not play at LSU. Something like a total of 27 minutes. At Georgetown he was a sub, roll player, hold the line until the starter came back in. He played more than 20 min only 3 times. At SLU he was on the scout team and then bingo he was supposed to be a major player. This is totally new for him. He has never been the guy before. Lots of talks between Brad and Coach getting his expectations to line up, and the staff is being patient with him. Great passer for a big man. He and Jimerson work the "Yo Yo Two" two man game. Tried it 10 or 11 times against VCU, but VCU shut it down. There is opportunity for Thames and Hughes getting more minutes with Dalger gone. They can get their minutes in different ways. Both have had injuries that have slowed them down. Thames is hitting 67% from the field and 52% from three. Thames takes good shots, ones he can make. (I’m guessing we will go to a 9 man rotation. We shall see Wednesday.) Typical Davidson team coming in. Motion offense hasn't changed. As a team they are hitting 8 three pointers per game in conference play. PG Huffman is averaging about 16 ppg in conference play. Their 5 shoots 5 threes per game. He has an inside-outside game.

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!

Chris May hiring his third head mbb coach after Crews and Ford is a joke. Does SLU want to just go D3 and call it a day? I’m thinking that makes most sense.

05 has been all over this stuff for a while. We're at a point where I trust all aspects of the government more than SLU.

We went thru this before. I don't believe anyone on the board with the exception of billikenswin knows what his contract status is. Rumors are rumors. Maybe right but most turn out to be wrong. My gut tells me he would not have been extended last year if even extended before.

Good stuff here. Thanks Wiz.

At this point you have to give Ford an extension. Just too many things going against him.

SLU did not press early in the season. They played bad teams.

This is the kind of content i'm here for.

I don’t know why CTF doesn’t play that entire bench. This team looked pretty good in the first 4 games, pressing full court, and making plays in transition. You need bodies to play that style, so use the bodies on your bench. There’s no reason Curcic is getting zero minutes. And I love the idea of playing 2 of the bigs together. SVB isn’t good (yet), but he’s big, athletic, and strong.

Of course. But there is at least one person here that continues to peddle the official SLU line. Now that would be totally fine if they weren’t just constantly full of sh*t. I’m not leaving anything to chance.

This past off-season looks worse and worse the further into the season we get. Took on multiple guys with eligibility concerns, a guy who eventually gets kicked off the team, 2 de-committed players, and were also allegedly strung along by the Memphis big man. Doesn’t really seem like a great sign of where the program is at.

Kevin Footes was a damn legend! His time was short but I dont remember him leaving in season. Could be wrong.

This is all Yuri's fault

I'm just going to go ahead and requote this because it appears as though it's being overlooked.

Dalger struck me as a guy on the brink of senioritis. He seemed quite a black hole on offense ---- once the pass went to Tim, it was never (rarely) coming back. He was that way against VCU but so too was Sincere. Sincere at least could score. He's our sole creator on offense but it is a creation for mostly himself. Hopefully, this gives more developmental time to Thames, Zhang and van Bussel. Maybe go big at times with Ezewiro and Zhang and then use van Bussel for relief. If nothing else, it will show us if van Bussel can stay or should depart.

So he was basically the same guy here as he was at Tulsa.

I repeat: there is no reason to take any official AD/SLU basketball statements as gospel.

I was told that getting him up to was only half the problem. Once up he didn’t want to do anything until the morning cartoons were over. Crazy.

SLU Training staff, "hey coach should we also train Ez to be game ready?" Ford, "Nah he's on the scout squad." Trainers, "Ok EZ hit the showers no sprints for you." It's so dumb to use this excuse of not being game ready. He's been a D1 player. Oh he didn't play more than 20 minutes per game?! Why would you even utter such a ridiculous excuse? Everyone on the team needs to prepare to play the game. If they're not then what the hell are they doing?

I agree...Dav is a C- 3P shooting team....below average by anyone's standards. I also agree that you can't just give a flat number of 3s like 8.3/gm. You have to look at it and ask-- were these the right shots to take. In other words, when should I take a 2 and when should I take a 3. In Davidson's case they should have passed on some of those 3s as it was costing them points on missed shots. The risk/reward formula is simple. You take your 3P% and multiply it by 1.5. If the product is less than your 2P% shooting rate , you shouldn't be taking as many 3s or at least redirecting the shots to better 3P players. Let's look at the Dav case. 3P%x1.5=50.1%...Dav is hitting 52.3% from 2...The breakeven point is 34.9%....this means they are inefficiently shooting 3s and should be taking less or redirecting shots to players who are shooting 35% or better. While we are on the subject, we should take a look at SLU. SLU is shooting an excellent 37.4% from the arc....we are shooting 48% from inside the arc(grade D). We are a 3P shooting team. But further than that are a couple of more points. #1... Most 3P shots should be taken by players who are shooting more than 32%. For the most part this is happening. Unfortunately, Dalger was shooting 27.3%...so at least with this stat , it will be addition by subtraction....ie this stat (2P/3P ratio) should improve(addition) now that he is gone(subtraction). Btw, this is not a knock on Dalger ...I liked his hustle and toughness...just pointing out the facts. #2 ...We need to improve 2P shooting dramatically . Just because you can make 3s doesn't mean you should overlook 2s especially the bunnies and short stuff. The good news is this number is starting to trend up. Finally, one data item I find annoying is the lack of reporting on 2P info. It is missing from most box scores and some data bases. This stat is vital to determining who shoots 3s and how many the team should take as a whole. Perhaps one day it will be included in box scores.

I get the feeling they will suddenly show improvement against us.

They make 8.3 3-pointers per game. They attempt 24.8 per game. Their .334 3-point shooting percentage is good for 208th in the nation. Not very good by Davidson standards.

-Davidson averages 8 3pa per game -CFord used the line "those that are getting minutes" -CFord said go be the best defender, rebounder, screener (I laughed at this, I laughed a lot) scorer and you'll get minutes

Once Ford said EZ was basically a freshman I tuned out.

Preview - we're banged up - need reps together - the guys need to be better on offense - bad refs against Dayton - NIL makes it tough Rammer throws softball after softball

I’m betting the lack of minutes in conference played a role. I also don’t blame Ford for cutting his minutes. would that be considered “problem with the coach?” That said I hope everything is Ok with him and his family.

here I show up to Humps for a discussion on defensive fundamentals and this guy isn’t even going to be there!

Does BVF get a refund?

the recruiting class this year has also been awful. All production is coming from the guys in previous recruiting classes(Jimerson, Parker, Hargrove) .. I know posters here like to be upbeat and positive about our new guys but it is pointing us falling down the Jim Crews hole of bad play if we continue with these recruiting classes. Meadows has been terrible, Dalger is Dalger and he's gone, Van Bussel and Curcic can't even find the floor in the middle of this disaster. Ezewiro can play but he's also showing us his limits as he increasingly looks like he's ready for bed time by half time. It's been that way all year. It's not encouraging.

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.

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.

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.

Gordon calling T Ford and asking for a second chance.

Jimerson will be an odd player to rank. Was he the best player on a team? Really only this year, and he may share that distinction with Hargrove. The team he was best on isn't good either. 2 NITs but he was more of a role player on both teams. Not a great all around player. Really bad defender, made himself average, OK rebounder, not a great ballhandler or much of a 1 on 1 player. He has some great counting stats. He's not better than Highmark, Gray, Lisch or Liddell I don't think. His scoring records will count, his games played are well within range. We have had a lot of players who came in as shooting specialists at the wing. Out of all those guys Jimerson has turned out to be the best and improved his game the most.