MusicCityBilliken

Does Ford ever do a call-in show like our previous coaches? Love for Gary to have go at him BTW: Those who never heard of Gary or are too new for this board, Gary used to call in at every Majerus call-in show and the two of them would go at it on strategy. Actually made the show interesting.

Belmont was mentioned. I live in Nashville. They have a small gym, similar to a LaSalle or GW, and only draw about 2000/g. Yea the school is in Nashville but that's about it. Vandy sucks up all the basketball oxygen in Nashville. Bradley more than doubles that attendance and as I said, has a far better basketball heritage. BTW Bradley NET today is 71 (which would be 1st in the A10), Belmont is 127. Another ho-hum middle of the pack A10 school. On a personal observation, for Bradley home and away games, people will know who we are playing and get into it. You play Belmont, most people attending either home game will not even know where either school is. I get tired of folks asking me where I went school here, I say Saint Louis and they say oh, you went to Wash U. Would be good for me, sure. Only have to drive about 30 minutes away for a game with no problem getting a seat. I just want what's best for SLU!

Regarding Big East, the New Big East was establish end of 2012 and they took XU and Butler. That was our time to get in. Chaifetz was still new and we had the strongest teams in my tenure of being a Billiken fan. We had our best Chaifetz attendance and a future HOF coach. It was our heyday and they ignored us. Maybe we get in, not in my life time. It's over, let us improve on what we have. We have Fordham in thee biggest market, do folks go to the games or watch them on TV in a NYC metro area? I believe Fordham was big mistake that gives the A10 or SLU nothing. Like LaSalle, once they are in you cannot get rid of them. Also it gave us no recruiting advantage in the talent laden NYC/No NJ recruiting area. I doubt it ever entered in French's decision to come here. What is left in the major metro areas that the A10 can get? Georgia State, Boston University, etc.. come on, more garbage.

One the classic ESPN E60 was the show they did on SMU's death sentence. The quote by, I think the Arkansas coach, "I was in a bidding war for Eric Dickerson and could not compete". You're right all legal now.

Here is my recommendation to benefit SLU. First, give up on the Big East, ain't going to happen, that boat sailed when they admitted UConn. A10 needs to go get Bradley. They are not bad now, they have a very rich basketball history and they are very capable of being very good again. They are also (most important) an old SLU rival from the MVC days. Maybe some of you old timers like me remember the 1971 home game with Bradley but we put 14,000+ in the Old Barn. Jimmy 'the Jet' Irving went crazy that night. Also they check the box of being private. I know we all complain about Bernadette but she gave us nice gift with Loyola. I was worried she was going to come up with another school from the Southeast. I know Loyola stinks but look at Porter's first couple of years at Loyola in the Horizon. They I feel are capable of being, maybe not a Final 4 team again, very competitive. Still remember the Alfredrick Hughes days. Look at the crowd we put in the Gentile. Kind nice with folks making up from St Louis and nice alum base in Chicago. If Loyola was a little better this year and was on a weekend, SLU probably would have tripled that crowd. We can get that same relation with Bradley. It's close (back when I attended SLU in the early 70's I made it up to the old Robertson Field House and back the same night) and a large alum base in Central Illinois. The A10, as the Great Majerus stated, "is an East Coast League, I look out from my window in Atlantic City and see the ocean". Other than UD, I don't know if they consider us and we really have not lived up to our end of the bargain, our only rival. Do really have anything in common with New England state schools or Davidson (was good for me when I lived in Asheville). What did we draw the other night with URI, barely made 5000. We should be drawing with crappy conference game at least 8000 and a SRO with the better games (VCU & UD). Over the years I been to games at Charlotte, USM, ECU, UAB, and like I heard from Davidson fans asking "what is a Billiken"? May needs to advocate to make the League more Central Time Zone. I think it would improve the A10 a lot for SLU's interest in MBB.

You have to remember that folks in Carolina consider Duke a Yankee school. Everyone on Tobacco Road hates Duke. I have a close friend that graduated with Packer at Wake in 62. He knew him and said he was nice guy. Keynote speaker at Wake's Class of 62 50th class reunion. My friend said he very entertaining and funny speaker. Also, he played on Wake's 62 Final 4 NCAA team.

I was never Billy Packer fan. "The sun rose and set on the ACC". I have to admit, the McGuire vs Packer confrontations were classic with Enberg having to officiate. RIP Billy

Thanks, Thicks was always on me with grammar, punctuation and spelling. I will miss that.

This is very sad. Thicks has been with us since David's mid-1990's Rivals board. He was always was objective and totally in control. Kept the board in perspective. Recall him jumping on me over my grammar. Made the perfect moderator. RIP Thicks. You presents here will be deeply missed.

I am a boomer and I am addicted on playing pickleball. Fortunately, where I live has 10 courts. They just converted 2 of the 6 tennis courts we have to pickleball courts. Also, to be good at it is not easy. You have to play it a lot.

In 20-21 Penny won the NIT. In 21-22 he made it to the round of 32. He's presently 11-4 with a ranking of 34 on the Pomeroy. Memphis attendance averages around 15,000 at the Fedex. If Ford had similar achievements we would not be having this discussion.

As an old Mets Fan, it did not help:

Football (well they try and have rabid fans) and baseball. They hate Clemson (who they play annually Thanksgiving weekend) with a passion who has been far more successful with Dabo. Was at the NCAAs Baseball opening round in Columbia when SLU Baseball Team played close to a decade ago. The ballpark looks like a Double A park with all the bells and whistles and amenities. They fill it during the season. Martin a darn good coach. He's been to the Promise Land-Final 4. His defense is Majerus like. Heard opposing SEC coaches complain when I used have XM radio and listen to the SEC station and College Basketball station, "we dribble down the court and nothing. Can't run the offense." Also, give Archie a little time.

Dead has two, I am guessing Spoon.

That was idea when they started with the organ. To make it like the old Chicago Stadium or Madison Square Garden. I grew up in NY and used to get into late 60s Knicks games for $2 with your HS ID. The organ was great. For some reason, maybe the particular organ, the organist or acoustics, it just didn't work. Fans never really got into it like at a Knicks game. It didn't help that the fan crowd was sparse.

They did that in the early 70s. Each game featured a different HS. Might have been 74-75 season when Lew Mckinney played. It was bush league. Prior to that they had the organ in the Old Kiel. That didn't work either.

Hard to tell. At Duke, you don't recruit you select.

The first time I heard the Band was when I attended those 2 Grawer NIT finals back in the late 80s. I believe it was called the St Louis U Jazz Ensemble. When I was at SLU early to mid 70s we had no band. Couple times, if it was a big game they bring in a 3-4 piece band-but that was it. During the 1/2 time they played "McArthur's Park". All of Madison Square Garden was in awe! They sounded great.

Love to get Carrawell to come. Could be our Shaheen Holloway. Watched him when I lived in Asheville playing in the G league. He checks a lot of the boxes> Local, played for Coach K and was his assistant, assistant at Marquette, lots of overseas playing experiences, able to teach, etc..) I think if he's successful, rather than him running off to a P6 school, we could make it worth his while to stay.

If we are stooping that low, at least go for Marshall.

I always regretted that Cody Ellis came in mid-season and burned a year. Would have preferred he started his eligibility in the class with Evans/Loe/Jett/McCall. Recall he hung around that Fall semester he was not eligible to get his degree.

What is the status of Zhang? Did he sign?

So you think 2.6 mil is bad pay for a mediocre coach? 700 grand more then the next highest payed coach in the A10.

Agree, I believe his salary around 2.6 mil. As of last year the next A10 coach, Rhoads of VCU made about $700,000 less. I am guessing Martin and Miller are making good salaries but no where near Ford's.

yea, especially if we have to make a big payout. we payed big bucks to fire Crews which probably came from him and a few other donors