ACE

I just skimeed the RPI and there is some strange stuff. Loyola is ranked around 28, we're in the 40s and Texas A&M is ranked in the 60s?!?!

That's a frightening thought. Timmermann seemed to think that we would have been screwed, but doesn't the arena have a cameras that they use for highlights, replays, etc?

The one thing that has impressed me in recent years about SMS and SIU is that their "role" players always seem to play well. They do "the little things." We really need guys like DP, Luke and JJ to bring it consistently for us. If that happens, I like our outlook for this season.

Hilarious. Alumnifan would be perfect in that role.

>i am not qualified to post about the game last night because >i wasnt there due to my daughter's belleville west vs >althoff game last night. if i would have been there, i >would be posting about the great win. and regardless of the >opponent it was a great win. I guess we can have a debate about labels, but I wouldn't call last night a "great" win. Now if we beat Mo State, then I will be right here with you saying it was a "great" win.

>please post the link to the time i "rooted" for huggins? > >you have become such a whiney worthless pr!ck. now add liar >to to the list. Roy rooted for Huggins? Maybe I missed something. When did that happen? I thought he actually hated Huggins more than Queen Snyder and Slick Rick Pitino.

Relax. It's just a message board. I think this board can do a pretty good job of policing itself and I'm not talking about having to run to the principal every time somebody states an opinion you don't agree with. There are a few losers who are not SLU fans, typically Mizlosers or fans from some other school, who come on here to stir it up or take shots at the program. They usually get smoked out quickly and their trash talk shouldn't be taken seriously. Then there is a group of die hard fans who don't always drink the kool-aid. These folks are by no means Anti-Billiken. They want nothing more than to see the Bills win. I think they tend to be cautious. They also tend to be criticial of missed opportunities in recruiting. They expect more of the program. The best way to bring Billiken fans together is really quite simple. WIN! Tomorrow is a good place to start. IMO, it's the biggest game of the season at this point. We gotta win this game at home. It's a great opportunity to show we are for real. Beat a Valley team, beat Ahearn, get a real quality win against a regional rival. This is the show me state. It's time to show people, rather than talking about how good the Bills can be.

> i said it seems that the haters are basing their posts on >their personal feelings towards coach soderberg. i.e. to >me, there is no logical reason for the level of discard >towards this team. they are off to the best start in ten >years and there is a huge percentage of posters here that >are writing with a tone that if someone didnt know they >would swear this team hasnt won a game yet. if it isnt a >personal hatred towards coach soderberg, then what else >explains the wacked out feelings towards our team? Roy, what SLU fan has a "personal hatred" of Soderberg? Most criticisms from SLU fans involve wanting Coach to have recruited better in the last few signing periods or perhaps wanting us to run, things of that nature. There's nothing personal about it. I may not agree with all of the criticisms, but I at least recognize that these folks want to win very badly and that's what motivates them.

Let's call them the hate Brad first crowd! As we've saw in the old political debates, setting up the strawman is a common tactic.

I think what is encouraging is that we were able to fight back after being down in two road wins (Loyola and Pacific). What is troubling is that when we faced a top team, we got thumped. To this point, I'm still right in the middle and a lot remains to seen about this team. We'll get another opportunity to play an elite team (UNC) and a very good team (Mo St.). The next month will really prove what we're made of. We gotta go 7-1!

Nice road win, now we got to take care of business at home. 7 of the next 8 at home - I think we can realistically put ourselves in at-large contention by winning 7 of these 8. Let's say we lose the UNC game, the key games are Mo State, Ole Miss and Xavier. All tough games, but if we're going to be a tourney team, we have to expect to win these games on our own floor. The only road game during this stretch is at St. Bonaventure. This will be a crucial month coming up. I don't think I'm drinking the kool-aid when I say 7-1 is a realistic goal.

Roy, you just stated why a lot of us have an issue with the a-10. Playing in this crap conference leaves little margin for error.

Talking about a one-time game made possible by the fact that Hansborough is playing for UNC has nothing to do with trying to establish conference rivalries. Playing games in front of 500 people at Duchesne and 1,000 at Fordham is really going to increase our East Coast presence. The games are played in big markets, but is anybody there?

In addition to being better geographically, the MVC has better leadership as you point out, better SOS, better tv coverage, better attendance and better performance. Based on what others have said, they are also better in the non-bball sports. The MVC has more alums in the area. Geography helps create rivalries. Rivalries help create fan interest. The last I checked, our attendance has been in a slow, steady decline over the last decade.

>"Early Returns."....was the comment above. This is a long >term process, and I expect improvements to be made. >Basketball pays the bills at non-football schools. > >A10 has 12 of 61 tv markets. 73 million people in those >markets, roughly 25% of the U.S. population. > >SLU is a private, city school, nothing in common with the >Valley..and SLU has stated it wants more of a national >school reputation. > >The Valley is a nice conference, well run in St. Louis...it >just isn't the best fit for SLU. Not really sure why this >comes up so much to be honest. Sure short term, some of the >non-revenue sports teams aren't as good, thus SLU's ability >to be more successful than they would be in other >conferences...perhaps a plus. But this is a long term >business deal. The stats about population seem a bit misleading. Programs like LaSalle, Duchesne, Fordham and GW, while located in big cities, play in tiny gyms and have small fan followings. This conference is getting little or no national exposure now. I'm not sure what we have in common with schools like Rhode Island and Charlotte. Athletically speaking, I like to think we don't have a lot in common with the likes of LaSalle, Duchesne, St. Bonaventure and Fordham. Creighton seems quite comfortable in the Valley even though they don't fit the profile of a lot of the other schools. We have to hope the long term is better for the conference, because the short term sure hasn't been good. I guess I'm just a little skeptical that programs that have never really done anything like Duchesne, Fordham, LaSalle and St. Bonaventure are all of the sudden going to get better. We also have to hope that some of these idiots buy a clue about how to schedule. To Brad's credit, he made a real effort to step up the RPI. Unfortunately, some of these other programs just don't seem to get it or care. On top of having bad strength of schedule, some of these weak programs are performing very poorly in the non-conference part of the schedule. Where does that leave us? Scrambling for 1 or probably 2 at the most NCAA bids. Those bids raise $$ for the athletic department and bring national exposure.

>do you know for a fact it would have stayed??? >I understand that the tourney has been in STL for years. >I understand that the mvc is based in STL. >But since this is all specualtion, let's look at SLU winning >the mvc tourney 4 years in a row. Do you think the other >AD's and coaches in the conf would just sit there and allow >that to continue while the tourney is played in STL? >You think SLU was negotiating from such a position of >strength to get a guarantee the tourney would remain in >STL??? >If this guarantee was in place, then slu is nuts for not >going to the valley. I think SLU absolutely was netotiating from a position of strength. Elgin makes no bones about how badly they wanted SLU. The rest of the conference travels well to St. Louis and they are used to coming here so I don't think most of them would want to chenge either. It wouldn't have purely been a home court advantage, but it would certainly help playing in a conference tournament here as opposed to freakin' Atlantic City.

Going to the A-10 certainly isn't going to build that. We never get A-10 fans visiting us. SoIL and Mo State fans turnout for our games. There's a much better atmosphere. There are alums from those schools in the region. I went on a roadtrip during the Spoon years to Chicago and I thought SLU had a big turnout there. If we have a really good team, more people will travel. I think a lot of SLU fans would make the journey to the Scottrade if the Bills were playing in the Valley Tourney! We'll likely NEVER host an A-10 Tourney.

>conference usa was one of the best baseball conferences in >the country and that sure didnt bring us better baseball >players. It shows you that players recruited to a bad C-USA program were still better than A-10 teams. Now that we're in the A-10, the program will likely become even less attractive to recruits.

>"While the A10 is not ideal, it is significantly better for >the school than the MO Valley...or SLU would be in the >Valley. I am not exactly sure how this is even a >discussion." > >Well, this is a basketball message board and we are >discussing how bad our current conference is and how good >the conference that we spurned turned out to be. That is how >the discussion started. > >Your point that SLU wants to attract more East Coast kids is >a good one, but I'm wondering if anybody has any evidence >that this is working. Did we see a large spike in kids >interested in SLU from New England and Philly during the >past couple of years? Well said. I'm not sure how this is not a discussion. Basketball is your most highly visible and biggest money making sport. It better be a big priority in your decision. Being in a league with more bids and the strong possibility of having the conference tournament in your home town are huge pluses. NCAA Tournament bids are worth a lot of $$$, which in turn benefits the entire athletic dept. The travel for the non revenue sports would certainly be much better in the Valley. This is not a fan friendly conference. Think of all the basketball roadtrip possibilities in the Valley - Mo State, Il State, Bradley, SoIL. The best atmosphere at our home games now seems to be when we're playing some of these regional teams. If the move to the A-10 got us more tv exposure or had some other benefits, I would be for it. I haven't seen any evidence of it yet. I kept an open mind about the move to the A-10, but I don't like the early returns.

>I think our baseball team would not have been as successful >in the MVC - Missouri State, Creighton, Evansville, etc. >would have given us a hard time. You also tend to recruit to the level of your conference. If the MVC is a better baseball league as you suggest, we would probably be more likely to attract a better caliber player. Good players tend to like to play in good conferences.

If it makes you feel better, I'll amend the word "always", but do you know for a fact that the Valley would've moved the tournament if SLU had joined? When is the last time the Valley didn't have their tournamnet here? I know the Valley really wanted SLU. I'm sure part of the negotiations could've included SLU getting a guarantee that the conference would continue to host their tournament in the home of the Valley.

I don't think this is what Soderberg was expecting when they scheduled Pacific. He was hoping for a 20+ win team. Let's get out of there with a win.

>No one will ever convince me that SLU should have joined the >MO Valley over the A-10. Not thrilled with the A-10 by any >means, but that is where SLU was at during the time. > >As for MO Valley soccer inquiry...yes it is a good >league...however SMU, South Carolina etc..play in the league >for soccer only. Not true Valley teams. > >This to me is more than just about sports, it is about the >whole school, and attracting more kids from outside of the >Midwest. I am all for it. How does this attract kids from outside the area? Because we play Fordham and Rhode Island in sports more east coast kids will want to go to SLU?

Considering that the Valley has been hosting their conference tourney in St. Louis for a long time and considering that their conference headquarters are located here, I can at least say that it is a hell of a lot more likely that a Valley Conference Tourney (w/SLU) being held here is more likely than an A-10 Conference Tourney ever being held here.

The A-10 sux. I think the Valley would have helped us develop regional rivalries. It would reduce travel expenses. It would also be easier for our fans to travel to away Valley games. Also, how cool would it be to always be playing your conference tournament in your home town!