NashvilleBilliken

Yeah, i know. I have Direct TV with both the complete Fox Sports package (about 20 different FoxSports channels)and the ESPN Full court package. I have Fox Sports Midwest; however, as I said above, it will be showing the Big 12 Showcase followed by the detroit/illinois-chicago game.

I don't get it. The game is showing on Fox Sports midwest in two states (according to the k-state website). I just checked the Direct TV guide and it looks like the rest of the country is stuck watching the Big 12 Showcase. I can't wait till we get a decent TV contract, because this one blows....

I could not get the game either, so I emailed them. They said the flag ship station was not carrying the game so it was cancelled on real player. I guess this is one of the games KFNS isn't doing...

Check out the new story from the PD. It puts to rest the questions about why JJ and Clarke arent' playing. Basically it boils down to them not giving the effort in practice. However, Soderberg said he also wanted to shorten his rotation.... http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/st...t+for+Billikens

Belmont is a small university here in Nashville. It's right across the street from my office here at Vandy. It's acedemics are VERY well respected in Tennessee. However, it's athletics are pretty bad....

Yeah, this guy/gal comes on here every few weeks and posts something about how bad Pizotti is. He's basically Triangle and Too for the women's team....

Yeah, that is what I meant. I can't focus on much these last few hours at work.....

What is the rule concerning red shirts? Has he been practicing with the team for the past few months or was he required to sit during practice also? If he was able to play, has anybody seen him in practice lately? Is he going to help us at all this year?

Man, if I were in St. Louis I would call in and say exactly that, Roy. I would love to hear his response to that one. He would look like a moron and Billiken fans would eat it up....

I agree with every point you make. I really wish Chris would start to score a little more. He appears to have a decent shot, but he rarely takes it. I would love it if he could score down low from time to time. His offensive game is the same way it's been the past 3 yrs. He's a senior now and we NEED senior production out of him.

I hope it's Izik and JJ. From what I have seen, these two provide the biggest upside to anybody on the roster. If they can increase there productivity by 25%, we will be in good shape. Justin has showed good development thus far, he just needs the minutes and confidence. After being outgunned by a team like SMS, hopefully coach will say/do something to these guys to help them understand how much there athleticism is needed and what they need to do to be productive on the court.

I agree wholeheartedly that we need to develop more of an offense in the paint. Tom has shown that he has the ability to score on the blocks, but he is just not getting a lot of opportunities. I think that is in part to our strenght at the gaurd position. With Ian coming in and Tom showing he can score, I really hope Brad gives them more offensive opportunities.

Do they think Pitino would actually take that job? Am I missing something? From all accounts, he is doing great at Louisville. Has a high ranking team and has for the past few years. He is moving to the Elite baskeball conference. He is making tons of money. And he is working for a school with a great tradition. Why would he want to take the St. Johns job. Can someboy educate me as to why his name is being thrown out there? However, I agree with Roy in that I can definitely see Cal heading up north....

nm

I think dismantling the Blue Crew would be a very bad idea. Every major team in the country has a "Blue Crew" of sorts. Many teams have multiple student support groups. Why should SLU be any different? I will admit that sometimes the Crew can get a little obnoxious, but they are also very loud. This is what there job is...be loud and disrupt the opposing team. If you don't like it, move a few rows back. Or make a case to Woolard to buy them tickets at center court so you and the other law kids can sip on your cocktails and enjoy the game in peace.

I would be willing to bet if you checked a lot of different message boards across the country, there would have been Mizzou threads that week. The story was/is huge. Just like we had a lot of threads when Eustachy got caught at the frat party. It's dramatic and; more importantly, bad for Mizzou. Those are two things that interest Billiken fans. We commented and that was it. As Roy said, your responses are what prompted the continuation of the threads. For fans of this program, it is very hard for us to understand this scenario. This would not happen at SLU, and if it did, there would be prompt, decisive action. The faculty, alumni, and fans would DEMAND it. Just the fact that matters of lack of institutional control became public is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. We operate in a classy fashion. See the hiring of Soderberg. It wasn't the media circus you saw at Washington or other institutions. Again, an example of our class...

nm

Dude, you make your entrance to the board by getting everybody riled up and dissing SLU. Then a few days later you say it is all a joke and you just wanted to see everybody's reaction. Then you are on the BILLIKEN message board taking a pro Mizzou stance on the "issues" in Columbia. Then you start a stupid thread asking why we like SLU and count the responses (the "hate Mizzou" thread was obviously a response to MUTiger's comments). I'm not sure why you think you deserve respect...around here, you have to earn it. Stick around and contribute some worthy material and maybe you'll get the responses you're looking for. Until then, don't be suprised by the anomosity...you HAVE earned that one.

I read that article this morning and was happy with what it had to say. If Tom is just getting better and better as his health returns, I am very optimistic. I was going on the assumption that this was a permanent asthma condition and we'd just have to deal with it...glad to hear otherwise! I thought he played quite well at GT and showed the ability to score in the paint...which is something we've lacked for awhile now. When he did a spin move, I was very impressed since any other SLU 5 in the past few years would have lost it out of bounds. If Tom starts adding a few more pts per game, that would be fantastic.

Burwell had a great article on the whole Mizzou mess. It really echo's the thoughts of many on this board. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/co...n+Missouri+saga

Yeah, I really think we need to hit a little winning streak. Although we lost, I think we saw some good things at the GT game. Darren is finding his shot and hit some big 3's. If he can start scoring 8-11 pts per game, that would be huge. IMO, that is our biggest problem. We are a great defensive team and can keep our opponents right around 60 pts for the most part. However, we can't really score much more than that ourselves. With Darren putting up some numbers and JJ coming around, I am really optimistic about the rest of the season. Even though they may have some defensive problems, their offense could more than offset it. They are not BAD defenders, they just have a tendency to look that way on such a great defensive team.

You're right, we're always the sleeper team. At what point do people decide that we play great defense and will generally hold our own with anybody in the country. It seems people are starting to come around, but I guess I kinda enjoy being the underdog.

IMO, if we win tomorrow, there is no telling what could happen. GT is one of the most talked about teams in college basketball lately and many feel they should even be ranked higher than they are. With our very close, nationally televised game against Zona, and a win AT arguably the best team in the country, the Bills momentum and recognition would be huge. If we win and win the next one or two, we will be a top 25 team. However, I honestly don't think we are going to pull this one off. But I guess this is the life of a Billiken fan....

It's good to see the Bills mentioned positively in the national media (it's only a sentence, but it's still nice) http://www.foxsports.com/content/view?contentId=1943356 And that's 7-0 Georgia Tech (which hosts a dangerous and well-coached Saint Louis club that nearly stunned Arizona a week ago). Here's a look at Paul Hewitt's Yellow Jackets and the four other teams we would rate just behind them based on performance, not hype or potential. Georgia Tech: We were all lulled into thinking Hewitt's rebuilding process in Atlanta had been (at least momentarily) derailed with the one-and-out decision of 6-10 Chris Bosh last spring, and the transfer to UConn of his second-best post player, 2002 ACC Freshman of the Year Ed Nelson. But, man-oh-man, our collective minds have been blown by the way Georgia Tech has played. The Yellow Jackets' average winning margin is 25.9 points and only three of those games have come in Atlanta. Against the three best teams they've played — Connecticut, Texas Tech and Ohio State, all outside of Atlanta and the latter in Columbus — that margin doesn't slip all that much (18.3). Hewitt is easily the "Coach of the first month of the season", and sophomore point guard Jarrett Jack is playing better than any player in the country.

Here's Stu's latest from the post.....Thanks! Soderberg settles on starting 3 guards By STU DURANDO Post-Dispatch 12/10/2003 SLU's Reggie Bryant (left) shoots around Arizona's Mustafa Shakur last week in the Billikens' 68-67 loss to the Wildcats. Bryant lead the Bills in scoring with 24. (Tom Gannam/AP) The long-awaited arrival of Reggie Bryant for St. Louis University created a bit of a challenge for coach Brad Soderberg in devising a starting five. Thus far he has decided to go with a three-guard lineup, and it's a look that might continue regardless of the matchup. Soderberg has used Bryant with Josh Fisher and Anthony Drejaj the past two games, and figures to do so again when the Billikens travel Saturday to play Georgia Tech, which also has a guard-oriented team. "I'd like to settle in with three guards if I feel comfortable it's our best team," he said. "In a couple of early games, we started with the bigger team, and I felt I was adjusting more to the opponents' quickness. I don't mind starting a smaller lineup because it might force teams to adjust to us." Without Bryant available, SLU started a more traditional lineup for the first three games with forward Chris Sloan, forward Ross Varner and center Tom Frericks. However, the guards have been among the team's most productive offensive players. Bryant has averaged 18 points in his two games. Fisher is third on the team at 13.8 points a game, and Drejaj is fourth at 9.6. But defense is more important to Soderberg, and that will be the ultimate factor. "I want to find the best defensive lineup that can provide us with some points," he said. "I'm moving closer to believing that the team we started against Arizona fits that bill." Coach is calling for reinforcements Soderberg is still waiting for another perimeter player to step forward so that he can give his three starting guards some rest. Bryant has averaged 35 minutes, Fisher 34.4 and Drejaj 30. "I can't continue to play those guys that much," he said. "They're playing close to 115 minutes as a threesome and that's too much. The most capable is Josh. I don't think Drejaj is ready to be a 36- to 40-minute guy, and I suspect Reggie isn't because he's not as big as Josh." Johnson is earning trust Redshirt freshman forward Justin Johnson is slowly working his way into a key role off the bench. In limited minutes he has shot the ball well (62 percent) and played solid defense and has only one turnover in 67 minutes. "I'm trusting the fact that he won't turn it over and that defensively he knows his responsibility," Soderberg said. Johnson played 15 minutes against Arizona and did a good defensive job on Channing Frye. He also made his two shots. Foul trouble Frericks returned to the starting lineup against Arizona but was banished to the bench after two minutes with two fouls. He leads the team with 15 fouls despite averaging only 17.6 minutes. Soderberg says the problem is Frericks' positioning. "It's pretty simple," he said. "We have to improve his positioning. When he gets out of position his solution to get back is to just grab the guy and move him out of the way."