jjray

How many players did Romar bring with? Fish but he had to sit out one year. Romar didn't bring one recruit who played his first year as HC at SLU.

When we hired Rick Majerus, how many players did he bring with? Let's be realistic with expectations. If we hire a rising assistant or low level D1 coach in late March after a committee search, do you really expect the new coach to land serious recruits immediately? I would agree its possible but not probable. Especially not bigs because it is harder to find under-recruited bigs. Undersized guards always slip through the cracks but serviceable bigs rarely do. About the only way I see our program being able to do some level of solid recruiting is if the team plays well during the season and the administration removes the interim tag from Crews while there is still time to sign a few players. If we lurch to a committee search after the season then 2013 class recruiting is pretty much dead in the water.

He can't sign any recruits while he's the interim. No kid with multiple offers is going to sign with SLU until there is a permanent coach in place. To think otherwise is delusional. However, I think you are right that there will be no new HC until after the season. What that means is that SLU will piss away essentially a whole year of recruiting time. The new HC (even if it is Crews) hired at the end of March / early Apr only has table scraps left to choose from for that year's recruiting class.

Rick also said Brian Conklin couldn't play professional basketball. He says lots of things he does not mean on the radio, especially when he is upset (like when Alex left for the NBAD). Coach also said Alex was in on several high priority recruits so it was one of the reasons he was upset Alex bolted when he did. This I clearly remember coach saying during a radio interview right after Alex left. BTW, put me in the camp of those who never heard nor read a quote from Coach to the effect that Alex Jensen can't stand to recruit.

Agree with kshoe. Cody and Cory leave after this season. Rob will be a senior the following season. This team is under tremendous pressure to recruit a big in the next recruiting class ... but it will be impossible for an interim coach to recruit anybody. We have effectively shut down recruiting until a permanent HC is named. I hate the idea of waiting until after the season to address the situation. To do that seriously risks pissing down the toilet all the momentum the program has built under Majerus.

I'm with WestCoastBilliken. Crews was the contingency plan. Whitesell had been the Ass. HC but got passed over because Crews possesses the better coaching resume. What happens in corporate America when an internal candidate for the vacant CEO position gets passed over in favor of another internal candidate? The guy who got passed over leaves. Why is anyone surprised Whitesell is looking for a another job? It's just part of the game. The broader issue in my view is how to build stability and continuity right now. If this year's team wins and goes to the NCAA tourney, the credit will largely flow to Rick Majerus. Even though he sits in a hospital bed in California, this is still Rick Majerus' team. How do we capitalize on the legacy of Rick Majerus moving forward? If Alex Jensen (Rick's adopted son) were still at SLU this would be an easy answer but Crews only coached with Majerus for one season and Danny Brown played only 1 or 2 season for Majerus off the bench. We don't have a staff chocked full of Rick Majerus guys. The only way to get Jensen back would be to name him the HC. I'd be fired up for a Jensen-Crews regime at SLU but that would be something of a bold move that would have to be done immediately. Nothing happens quickly at SLU. A less bold move that could help build continuity would be to hire a well-known former Majerus player as an assistant. We need somebody the players know and Crews knows. The only guy who fits that description is Brian Conklin. Yeah, former players right out school don't get jobs as asst. coaches. Also, Brian intends to play professionally. Well, this is something of a crisis situation so I'd throw the rules out and hand Conklin a two year contract if he is wiling to forgo playing in Europe to be an asst. at SLU. That also means if a new coach were hired after the season he would inherit Conklin for at least a season. Conklin resumes his role as a media darling, provides a connection back to Coach Majerus, and provides leadership to the current players.

Even if the earlier rumor turns out to be true I think it was alarmist in suggesting someone in serious heart failure either needs a heart transplant or dies. Dick Cheney is exhibit 1 of what modern science can do in such cases. I don't know that coach is to that point but there are other options. Cheney went around giving media interviews while he was on his heart pump (before later getting a transplant).

It's 3 am. He's one year out of college. Don't you think the comments of KC might have been influenced just a tad by alcohol?

Mike Claiborne loves himself some Jim Crews. I was surprised by that but nice for Jim to get some love from the local media. Crews isn't a very magnetic guy but comes across as a steady hand. I'd rather he was associate HC and we had a guy with a little huckster in him as the head coach. Sad to say but a college HC needs a little used car salesman in him.

That's the rub. Given the budget restraint of Biondi (and the well publicized meddling of our dictatorial president in all aspect of the university) we have limited choices. a) An up and comer asst who has zero track record as an HC, b ) a guy who has had some success as an HC but is tainted for some reason (such as Gaudio) and c) an old HC with a nice but not great track record who is looking for one last stop (someone like Crews).

How have things turned out at Wake since Gaudio was fired? You complain about Gaudio as an offensive coach yet Wake was 228 in the country last season in offense. Off the court issues with players? It seems our future hall of fame coach had some off the court issues with his players during his tenor at SLU. Just saying.

+1 billion

To amplify. Fr. Biondi reports to the Jesuits but the University does not per se. That said, 8 of the trustees are in fact Jesuits. http://www.slu.edu/x19167.xml They are a voting block that is a minority; however, you can bet a certain number of the trustees who are not Jesuits vote with the Jesuits. This is why it would be very difficult to oust Fr. Biondi from his position. He would have to offend a large majority of the trustees who vote independently. Not impossible but difficult to accomplish.

That's an interesting thought. The guy deserves another shot. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/375410-the-downfall-of-dino-gaudio

Let's see if this guy is available for the job.

Dr. B, if you are hinting that a regime change may be in the offing for the SLU dictator, then I say viva la liberte!!! May the conspirators prevail. And when you go for the hit in the Wolf's Lair, make sure to set both charges before placing the bombs underneath the conference table. Don't rely on a one-arm guy for job.

The NBA D league is not a destination. One coaches there to get a job somewhere else. I highly doubt Jensen is locked up in a contract with Cleveland.

Keeping Carter and Drew is now thrown into question. Majerus is almost assuredly done so the university should plan as if that is the case. The current interim situation leaves the program dead in the water for recruiting and in danger of losing current players from the roster. One approach would be to bring back Alex Jensen, name him head coach (not interim) and keep the Majerus' staff intact. That keeps as much continuity as possible and removes the doubt. Alex can start bringing in his own people after the season. The downside is that we might be able to land a HC with a better resume in an open search after the season. If a contract for Jensen were structured with a lot of years (like 6) but a relatively small buyout, the university might be able to have it both ways. They get some measure of continuity but are not tied long-term to a young coach brought in under duress. Also, if Rick's health improves somewhat he come back to the program as an adviser much like Gene Keady at St. John's. I can only see Rick coming back as an adviser if it is Jensen who gets the job. We need the experience Crews brings to help Jensen transition for the next year or two, so take part of Rick's salary and bump up what Crews is receiving. No available option is a good situation. If we wait until after the season to find a new head coach, then we lose an entire year of recruiting and, potentially, our current class of recruits. I don't like either option but I think I'd go with Jensen immediately if he was willing to take the job. ** Another thought on the Jensen buyout. You could write something akin to a vesting provision that escalates the buyout amount for NCAA appearances. Alex knows his security goes up if he wins.

I always thought the flirting was aimed at getting concession from Biondi.

It's been reported that RM's contract allows him to self-extend. The flirtation with SMU would seem to indicate that RM is unhappy with something else other than his contract. Salaries for his assistants and charter air travel are speculated to be the issues. Rick paid part of Crews' salary for last season. One would think these are issues that can be overcome but negotiating with Father B is like ... (just fill in the blank).

Good news on Crews, understand he is working with the bigs. I noticed Rob and Cody occasionally posting up in the paint late late season. Perhaps Crews can persuade them into becoming at least part-time post players. That would be huge.

+1

What really sucks is the staff turnover. All three assistants from the staff two years ago are now gone. 2 of 3 assistants from last season have departed. We need a recruiter badly.

######!!!!

The dancing, half-naked fat man is epic. He looks like one of our South Grand peeps with a good buzz going (before he has has one beer too many and morphs into an angry drunk). Thanks for posting.