slufanskip

Rich ... meet me at the Billiken Club tent at 7 Anyone else going to the game tonight

Vedad is the real deal I've seen him play a couple of times. DiRaimondo is a prominent member of the US U17 team. They are playing right now ... so he will not be playing tonight. He is one of the top players on the team. You can see the games on GLV, I beleive it it if you have satelite. I have yesterdays game taped and will watch it tonight. They also play Sunday. Freedy Adu is also on the team he is a 14 year old that is being courted by English first division teams and MLS. He is unbeleivable. If you are a soccer fan and have a way to watch ... you should.

Try the local Nebraska Alumni Club ... you may be able to get tickets through them or if not try the Nebraska Athletic Department

Good to see Polk in there. You have to wonder where he would be ranked had he not been injured. If he returns to 100% ... we could have a big time player in our midst.

Ricky will probably be loyal to whomever has the largest cash handout. So keep the funds flowing and all will be ok

You would probably get lifetime season tickets to soccer ... but only if you could get Rich to accompany you

I guess you would be one of the first people picking seats at the new arena

Definately

It is a soccer and a rugby term for someone who defends another player ... usually the other teams main threat one on one

Rich, Rich, Rich relax buddy and go get an orange. You are giving away your lack of knowledge about soccer. Our best player in recent memory did not transfer from Harris Stowe. Dipsy was good and scored a lot ... but he was basically a trash man. Brad Davis is the best player we have had since Brian McBride. Who is a SLU grad and arguably a top 25 player in the world. Jason Cole was also very underated ... If his head was on defense he would be excelling in MLS right now. He was the best man marker I have ever seen in college .... and that is a lot of soccer, all over the country. I'll meet you in the Billiken Club tent on the 15th ... I'll know who you are by the paper bag on your head

I agree with the assessment of CB's defense ... virtually nil. There was a huge dropoff from when KB went out. Though I thought KB was the best interior defender that we have had in many years, I would take 25% less defense inside for 25% more offense from the position. If we do not improve our inside scoring ... it will be tougher for our guards to penetrate and score. The fact that we could not score at all last year ...made what Marque did all the more amazing. There were times when he was picked, held, bumped, elbowes, you name it when he was off the ball. Our guards this year will need more room to operate. I see AD as I see CS ... I just think there makeup is right for coming off the bench. I love there grit, strength, hustle and enthusiasm that they both play with. I don't think it matters who starts. It is how much you play and who plays at the end. I see our starters initially as BM, RB, IO, or JF depending on big or small, CS and TF. I would be estatic if by Jan. our starters were BM, RB, IO, JJ, and TF ... that would leave JF, CS, and AB coming off the bench ... That is pretty strong. Therefore I see JJ as a key this year

I hope Fish doesn't read this site ... He may stert to really feel the pressure

Thanks for the info ... is there anywhere we can get a roster and the statistics for the tourney. Is Monroe playing? How is he doing?

YES YES YES

good point Roy ... I agree, we seem to protect the ball well ... not great assist numbers either though. I think that our style last year probably had something to do with both numbers being low. Not a lot of cutting to the basket or driving passes.

Of course Soccer doesn't have the popularity of Baseball or Football, If we had an MLS team you would hear more talk. IF you weren't a Billiken fan ... how many people would just initiate a conversation about Billiken Bball. Not many. Come on out to a game ... I'll buy you a hot dog in the Billiken Club tent.

I couldn't agree more with Josh's potential

Thank You David ... I agree 100% with your statements about Kenny Brown. He was very good defensively ... but that is it. I'm sorry but I thought he was a terrible offensive player. He was a liability at the end of the games. If he could have made any free throws at all Marque may not have had to hit so many game winning shots. Brad seems to think that TF is a good defensive player and any shortage he has as compared to KB should easily be made up on the offensive end. I also agree Marque will be hard to replace ... but overall depth should relieve some of the offensive burden he carried. CS, IO, and AD should all be improved. AD especially made great strides as the season progressed ... I will bet he is working incredibly hard on his perimeter shooting. I can't possibly believe some JJ and Ian won't give more production than CB did last year. I am cautiosly optomistic about this coming year. Having Brad as our coach is also a definite plus.

You may be right Roy ... I'm just hoping, because I see Chris as a great 6th man. Just his hustle alone would be a spark. Many times a teams 6th man is just as important as the starters. I just feel Chris has the make-up to excell in that role.

Roy is right .. you get points for how much you donate to the Billiken club each year, how long you've had your tickets and a couple of other categories. Also if you are going to join the Billiken Club make sure to put that you were referred by someone ... if you don't know anyone who is a member ...pick out one of the long time posters and list them as your referral source, as they will get points for inviting you to join the club. I've really enjoyed being a member ... I am not a SLU grad and didn't know anyone but have made some friends through the club. They usually go on one trip to an away game per year ... I've been to New Orleans and Memphis and had a blast both times. I've also attended the banquet at the end of the year for about the last 6 or 7 years besides this last one that I couldn't make it to. They usually have a tent at the soccer game with some free snack food. I think you can meet up with Rich there. All in all if you are a Billiken Fan you should join the club ... I think you can start as low as $150. It may have changed ...but I think that is the entry level. The more you donate the more points you will get. Margo is fantastic and will help you out with more info at 314-977-8180. Also if any of you have kids they have a Billiken Kids Club that only cost $15. per year. I think it is 13 and under, they get free tickets to most of the minor sports including Soccer and Baseball. They also get tickets to selected mens and womens Bball games, newsletters, an instructional clinic from Billiken Coaches, a T-Shirt, and more ... I just signed my two daughters up today, so I am reading from the Brochure ... It seems like a really good deal. Plus I think the more interested they get ... the easier it is to get away to the various games.

I agree with you David. It seems to me that because Chris is such a hard worker and a fan favorite .. his skills and athleticism are being overrated. I love Chris also ... but if he puts up 9-11 pts and 5-6 boards a game I'd be happy. Best bet would be for JJ and IO to have developed enough to start and for Chris to provide that spark or burst of energy off the bench.

Actually it is like that still .. even outside of SLU. St.Louisans have a knowledge of the game that people in most cities do not. Now as the rest of the USA catches up ...and second and third generation kids start to play the gap will lessen. But don't discount St.Louis as a soccer city ...our young talent is still as good as anywhere in the USA ... especially when you count the size of ST.Louis as compared with the east coast, Dallas-FT.Worth, and Southern Cal. Look at our National Youth teams we are always well represented sometimes with 2, 3, or 4 players. When was the last time STL. had 2 or 3 of the top basketball, football, or baseball players in the country. How often does it happen ... it is the norm in soccer.

I didn't say he would be coming off the bench ... I said best case scenario, just think if JJ and IO develop enough to be the starting 3 and 4. How good would we be with Sloan bringing his attitude and aggresiveness off the bench

As I stated ... I don't like the tie situation either ... they should play until someone wins. But ... sudden death isn't any better ... it is not evenly balanced a coin flip decides who may get the only opportunity to score. Baseball and Basketball have it right. If you had to play until someone won ... maybe teams wouldn't go so defensive near the end of the game, fitness would become more important. To paraphrase St.Louisan Craig Hawksley in todays Post ... St. Louis is not a Baseball Town ... baseball players come and go, and most of them aren't from here anyway. St.Louis is a soccer town ... our sons and daughters play it and they stay here to coach it to there sons and daughters ... It is part of our fabric. I am not from here and grew up playing soccer in Dallas and LA. in the 70's. Everyone I knew who was a real soccer player knew St.Louis was the soccer capital. A kid Joel ... can't remember his last name moved to Dallas from ST.Louis during my senior year .. wow was he good .. he understood the game and had great skills, that really cemented my belief in St.L as the capital of Soccer in the USA. I didn't go to SLU but used to watch them play SMU a couple of times in the late 70's and early 80's. It has always stuck with me. Every where I have lived .. I have always been the soccer nut .. I played in Europe ( very low level ) coached High school in OK city ... I've always had more understanding and knowledge of the game than any one I knew. Here in STl it is different ... I go to a SLU game and talk soccer and so many people know the game. It is not like that elsewhere. So Rich my point is that either you are a renegade who just want's to stir the pot are you are an outsider trying to infiltrate STL. and destroy the city's backbone. COME CLEAN RICH EXACTLY WHO ARE YOU?

I would be shocked to see Sloan even come close to duplicating Maurice's senior year. First of all they are completely opposite style of players. Jeffers was a slasher with a decent outside shot, very athletic with good leaping ability. Sloan is none of the above ... except I think he has a good 3pt shot if left open and he will mshoot it consistently. Sloan is stronger inside where Jeffers relied upon his athleticism. Jeffers was a 2-3 ... Sloan is a 3-4. Defensively they both play hard and are probably the teams best defender .... I think if Sloan is our #2 scorer we are in trouble. I think he can avg 9-11 pts and 5-6 boards a game if he gets 25 - 30 minutes a game. ... The best scenario though would be for JJ to develop throughout the year and by the end of the season our starting frontline would be TF, JJ, and IO with Chris coming off the bench at either the 3 or the 4 depending on need