3star_recruit

Medley just came in at a bad time. If we were coming off an NCAA bid, his gradual progression into serviceable starting point guard would have been more appreciated. He's the second best passing freshman point guard in our program's history. Add some offense and he's another top flight Billiken point guard by his junior year.

I don't think 10 year old boys today hate the players or the coach of their favorite team. They root for their team. If the team isn't winning enough, they go play video games or something. They don't hyperfocus on all the flaws of an organization the way we do. This is an adult problem. It's why the worst behaving people at youth sporting events are adults, not children.

It's why we have such fond memories of childhood fandom. We rooted for the players on the team. This preoccupation with pocket watching, return on investment, the political leanings of the coach, etc. comes with the hangups of adulthood. It makes fandom a more miserable experience than it has to be.

I'd be interested in seeing when other programs actually hire their coaches this season. Firing a guy and then taking two months to fill the position isn't a good look either.

I hear what you're saying. But based on your criteria, then the likes of Matt Painter and T. J. Otzelberger would not have been hired by P5 programs. Because they didn't beat anybody at the mid-major level either. What they did do is have dominant seasons in their conference. The next school's job is to evaluate whether a coach's approach translates to a different level of competition. A coach's inability to beat good P5 teams with 2 star rosters doesn't prove anything.

If a coach's system can succeed without standout athletes, that's a good thing. Expands the pool of players from which he can recruit.

It's standard operating procedure for social media to announce a a firing days before the actual firing. That's literally how Trilly Donovan got his reputation.

Agreed. Unless the player proves he is starter quality by year's end, you're always looking to upgrade the point guard position.

Worst scoring freshman point guard, ok. Worst overall freshman point guard, nah. He's a good passer. Not Yuri-level of course, but better than most of our freshman point guards.

Boosters are gonna booster. If certain men want a certain coach then the AD role in that process is glorified secretary. We have about 30 years of evidence.

If <insert coach here> had led the Billikens to back-to-back seasons of 12-20 and 13-20, regardless of conference finishes, MBMs would not be engaging in semantic arguments about what bottoming out is. We would be claiming, rightly, that the program had cratered. As Spider Nation nation did back then.

Mooney's program absolutely bottomed out in 2018 with a 12-20 season followed by a 13-20 season. That's where the Fire Mooney billboards came from. But there was a path to redemption because he at least had a system.

Same thing that system coaches have been doing since the beginning of time. Subscribe to a system, build a roster of players that is compatible with that system and teach that system. Mooney had some bad years over the last decade but the AD stood behind him and the pendulum has finally swung his way. Other than bully ball -- which Coach Ford abandoned the last two years -- he doesn't have a coaching north star. There is no system. He's recruiting the best local/regional players he can get, filling in the roster with some transfer role players and apparently, hoping everything works out.

A down year doing the Spoonball era still drew bigger crowds than the best years in the Majerus era. It was just a different time. Using the Spoonball attendance numbers as a measuring stick is not fair to the next coach.

I love the mid to late 90s era of Billiken basketball. I wish we could go back there. But I don't think it's useful to rehash what happened 30 years ago in a very different social environment. We had strong crowds even in a down year during that period. That would not happen today. Bandwagon culture is a lot more ruthless now. There were a lot more families attending sporting events back then as well.

Good point. Even if you land the coach, that doesn't mean you get the player. Avila's stock is through the roof right now.

Jay Wright left just in time. The coaching landscape is a mess.

I have no doubt that Coach Ford can grab a couple of pieces to restore the defense to a level to which we've grown accustomed. But that just gets us back to 18-20 win territory. I don't see a path to an NIT bid next year, never mind an NCAA bid.

Every program needs fans who will write checks and go to the conference tournament, rain or shine. The rank and file boosters are not the problem. The problem is the Board of trustees hasn't changed the way they've done business in 30 years. More basketball savvy and nimble boards have blown right past them.

Because quick turnarounds are hard. We laser focus on the 10% of programs that manage it and mock the 90% of programs who don't.

I've been listening for 3 minutes and Schertz made it very easy to understand what offense he runs. He runs the offense through the 5. He understands that guys at that position who can pass, dribble and shoot don't grow on trees. Curious as to what his roster construction would look like if he doesn't have a 5 to build around. I don't enjoy watching the NBA but I do like that Jokic is making the passing/shooting big man fashionable again.

Some of us MBMs have been waiting 30+ years for the AD to work in an advisory capacity to the Board. All we've ever seen is the Board or the President running over the AD. That's the culture at SLU. We have no reason to believe that hiring another AD will change the culture. A small group of boosters will determine who the next coach will be and whoever the AD is will rubber stamp the decision. I'd love to be proven wrong.

Tate is also our lead juco recruiter. Parker is our leading scorer. I don't think Tate's recruiting is even in the top 5 of our problems. A new coach will most likely bring in his own staff anyway.

Zyree is more of a combo guard. But considering Medley's offensive struggles and Meadows' health problems, he's probably an upgrade at the point.

The high school talent in the St. Louis metro area has been solid but unspectacular in the last two years. That's not Coach Tate's fault.