bauman

No smack intended. An update to my orig. post---UNC only beat Gardner-Webb by 3, I think 83-80, after being tied 46-46 at half. I assume it was at UNC. Looks like their young players may need some time to adjust to college ball.

Mississippi clobbered as was E. Ill. Ken St beats Lamar by 19 and Cinn. barely beats Murray St. Could be tough yr. for Bearcats in Big East w/o Huggy. Hawaii beats Mich St. by 22. Marq. 9 behind Nobody U. with about 10 minutes to go and DePaul lost by 15 to Bradley. Maybe the schools who thought they were too good for CUSA should have stayed. (except Louisville)

Part of what I learned last night was that JJ is capable of playing at the 5 if necessary, and after watching IV play against two much smaller and less talented 5s, I think we may need JJ at the 5 during some games this year. (Due to foul trouble) He played very good in spurts and even had BS giving congrats after some plays. I learned that TL can fly under the radar for 5-10 minutes and then turn it on and dominate for 3-5 minutes. Also learned that Tommie can be careless with the ball once in a while. I learned that DP & AD still can't be counted on to make free throws-not something desirable in a point guard. I learned that it's going to be fun watching this young team run the ball, but I wonder how well that will work with no dominant rebounder. All in all I think we will get better quickly as TL & KL become comfortable playing at this level and that attendance will improve throughout the year as word gets out about this groups ability and style of play. Finally, I learned that Brad can be patient with the errors a young team will make when playing more of a run and gun offense. He remained calm at times he might have exploded last year(I know these were only ex. games).

N.W. Mo. St is in Maryville Mo but Maryville U is a small school in West County St. Louis. This should be the most one-sided exh. game we have played in my memory. The only way to hold down the score is to play our two walkons for 40 minutes and tell the other 3 players not to shoot. Seriously, the UMSL game showed that we have the best top to bottom depth we have had in many, many years. All scholarship players are just that, players. No big time weak spots, even JJ and BH can give us some short term quality minutes. I would like to see JJ play a while at the 5 to see if that is even a possibility during the season if IV gets in foul trouble.

Wow, for someone who is probably 23-24 yrs. old, you have vast knowledge of all the high schools in STL, ESTL, Chicago and Detroit. I'm amazed. Reading your posts on this and the Offseason Board leads me to give you some advice if you ever graduate from SLU Law School. You don't know everything, or even close to it, that you claim as factual knowledge for yourself. As a practicing lawyer (DN can probably confirm this) I suggest you learn a little humility if you ever enter the profession. While confidence is a good thing, excessive confidence equates to arrogance and will only hurt you, especially as a younger member of a firm or a Company.

VTIME, agree with most of your analysis and hope DP has really improved his shot as much at it seems right now. HOWEVER, if you go to Bills games you need to watch DP a lot closer when he is on defense. If you are truly objective you will have to note that he has not regained all of his high school quickness. His man often gets by Dwayne on the first step or two. Not a criticism of DP, just an observation-I love the way he plays and the energy he brings to the offense.

DJ is a prime example of the failure of our City public school system and of the U. of Mo. "He don't take...." Real good grammar, DJ. Let's see, according to "I don't recruit Floyd", everyone is out to get him because a. they don't like him, &/or b. he wins too much. Too bad most of those involved with the audits are Black, which takes away, "I don't recruit Floyd's" usual argument when he gets in trouble. I suspect that FI is not really interested in a college coaching job since it would actually involve a pay cut. Can't wait for what Tuna has to say about everyone ganging up on poor FI. After Tuna weighs in watch Bernie fall in lockstep.

One of the reasons I won't listen to Slaten was his frequent (last year) comments about BS, QS and B. Weber lying to his son about scholarships. During those rants he always said they didn't know how to judge BB talent and, I know this is laughable, that they don't know much about BB. Somehow BW managed to get to the NCAA Final Four and go most of the season undefeated-I don't know how the Queen managed to rationalize that with his prior statements about Weber. I can't say what he has said recently since I never listen to the show except during interviews on 1380, of people in whom I have no interest. I made an exception Thursday for 1 1/2 hrs just to see what he and Rammer would say after broadcasting their (590) first game as home of the Bills.

Speaking of Billiken gear, go to our "official, home of the Bills" station web site and click on their Fan Store. Thank god I can get Blues, Tiger and Illini gear there, BUT no Bills shirts, hats etc... Also, I listened to the KS & BR show for about 1 1/2 hrs yesterday just to see what was said about the Bills v. UMSL game. Maybe I listened the wrong time, but I heard nothing. Rammer is so politically correct as to never give any indication that he is a Bills' fan that he pretty much ignors the Bills and Kevin would clearly not be able to say much about the game since the Queen's son failed to represent the Queendom in a manner that Slaten could brag about. When your son gets shut down by AD it's time to shut up about how he got jobbed by all Div. 1 coaches. As a father I don't like bringing up another person's son, BUT KS has put him in play with his frequent references to how Troy is a Div. 1 talent playing at a lower level only because of coaches not knowing anything about how to judge talent.

It is interesting to me that only my remarks re "E" are worthy of comment. Obviously, he/she(what is it)excudes(sic) something that I don't get. That's allright, but I never said I liked "French Cuff Boy" either. In both cases I believe they drag the hoped-for class, that I would like to see SLU BB return to, down. I want this program to be something we all can be proud of, w/o gimmicks, and I personally view "E" as lessening the class of the program. Obviously, many/most of you are of a different opinion and to some of you I say, "settle down." You don't have to get personal just because we disagree about him/her. Go Bills (and "E-man")!

Thr PD had no choice but to cover this game and I'll admit that an exh. game is usually no big deal, but I hoped for a little better article given the new recruits (KL makes a three the first second he touches the ball) and the new style, along with the opponent being local. (I would have enjoyed a story with the angle of Slaten's kid proving that he is not a DIV. 1 quality player so the Queen should just shup up about all the big time programs that screwed his kid over and enjoy watching Troy compete well at the Div II level) Seriously, as I read TT's article I was struck with the thought that he probably wasn't even at the game-just reading a box score and listening to BS's post-game interview! A SORRY example of journalism. DB is quick & will do well this year, BUT he needs to keep his head in the game at all times. As I watched him at various times in the game, he clearly lost focus 3-4 times. Otherwise excellent game, especially the FT shooting. KL played like a Jr. not a FR except for some stupid fouls. When he was out of the game we were not as organized as when he was playing-he seemed to control tempo and take charge, unusual for a FR. TL gave a decent showing, but hardly spectacular. I think we will see much better games as he gets more at ease. JJ needs to play 30 minutes against Maryville to get his confidence up. We will need his size against bigger teams. Sorry, to differ from many/most of you, but I was embarrased by what I saw. If we need a guy dressed like a clown to add some excitement to the program then I say shut down the program. Is that the act you were all so gung ho about at Billiken Madness? Overall a great night. How nice is it to have such depth that no matter who we played they did very well. No weak spots just means BS may have difficulty picking an 8-9 man rotation (and we didn't even have Luke available). Should be a fun year. I like my 20-12 prediction even more after last night---I know, I know it was UMSL.

Broy, you mentioned that you are e-mailing Starks, the "Sports" editor. I have tried to do likewise, but can't find his e-mail address in the Contact Us section of the Post. Can you provide it so that I can write him? Thanks.

Also note in the MU article above the SLU article they included a paragraph on expected signings today-TT and Starks probably aren't aware of DM. (i know he appears in the table below, with all the volleyball and softball signees)

Size wise, I think TL and DB could be considered small forwards and therefore should be able to help out on the boards more than most true guards. BRoy, I'm on with you! I've got the Bud Light.

BS will be on 590 @ 10:45 with Frank.

The post sports section is defenseless. BRoy, I am following your suggestion and e-mailing Starks (I didn't even get the courtesy mof a response last time even tho my tone was polite) and the new editor. I also encourage others to do likewise. If a subscriber we should all complain about the new page 2 which indicates that they think we 1. cannot read, hence the unbelievable amount of space taken up daily by a picture and 2. care about any of the written copy that is included (exception for me, at least, Dan O'Neill). The Timmermann stuff recently has just been awful so I'm not sure we'll be happy even if he starts writing stuff about the Bills. I will say that their Sports Dept. is now largely made up of a bunch of clowns with zero credentials (TT and G. Watson of the MO beat being the two prime examples). Bob Broeg must be spinning in his grave as he views from afar what has happened to a once great Sports Section. Why don't we get articles on a regular basis from T. Wheatley, V. Gregorian and/or Jeff Gordon. Whether you like all 3 of them or not, you must agree that they are a major step up from TT & GW. They only possible reason for subjecting us to cub reporters like TT & GW is that they come cheap compared to experienced writers. Anyone who has forgotten what a real Sports Section looks like should go to a bookstore or a library and just read the Dallas Morning-News once. It will then be clear to you why the PD is in a death spiral, at least with regard to the Sports Dept.

Broy, as I said a few days ago, I look for AD and DP to start over KL, at least at the start of the season due to, 1. Loyalty (to a senior who has worked hard for 4 years) and 2. Politics (for the St. Louis HS powerhouse-Vashon). That said, I believe KL will play more minutes than AD and/or DP because he is CLEARLY superior to them. From what I have seen, KL is a AD with outstanding offensive ability, who I think BS will play 25 minutes a game even if not a starter at the beginning of the year.

BUT, what about the Post???

When you say 3 scholarships available for next year, have you already subtracted one for DM? If not, then I think we have 4 to give total. We only have 11 on sch. this year and lose 2 of them (AD & VN) leaving us with only 9 returning. That makes 4 available b/4 DM w/ 3 if he in fact signs.

Based on what I've seen, I like your lineup and agree with what DP, AD and VN would give you off the bench. BUT, I think BS will start AD (loyalty) & DP (politics), yet give them less than 20 minutes/game.

D. Vaughn of KMOV-CH 4 did a nice report on the Bills focusing on the two new guards and how much BS thinks of them. Might be repeated at 10:00 or may be on their web site later. Caught a few minutes of practice today-it is impressive watching Brad teach defense-he accepts nothing less than total effort. Players catching my eye--IV, JJ, VN and KL. All the rest did fine just nothing to stand out while I was there. Much praise by Brad included with his "motivation." Teams seems to be jelling w/ lots of hi-5s to teammates-good karma.

With regard to your point that playing AD less time means giving up some defense, I'd have to disagree if KL was picking up the time. He impresses me as just as tough on D as AD.

It looks like he regressed. Today he had a walking cast on.

Frank just did a nice fluff piece on the 6; 00 news, pretty much limited to TL. Often the 10; 00 news replays these reports. Nice words from BS and AD about TL.

He certainly looked like he has improved a great deal since last year. However, I can't annoint him as the next great Billiken center (wait who was the last great Bills center) until he plays against actual opposition. He is in much better shape than last year, but I still don't see any real ability to get up in the air. Most of the rebounds I have seen have come from the fact that the coaches are allowing mayhem to occur under the boards. If he plays like that in games he will only play 10 minutes a contest. He has always shown skill around the basket with the ball and I think he is even better this year shooting. At this point I am encouraged.