Marlow

Because Terry Evans had a history as an outstanding high school player, and because he was coached by Marvin Neals, in my estimation, warranted a scholarship offer from SLU. Kids from Marvin's program are rock-solid in fundamentals and character. . .plus Marvin Neals is a great guy to have working on your side if you are the coach at a local university. Terry Eveans, hindsight or not, was definitely a better bet (even with the injury) than Danny Brown because there was more upside to an Evans scholarship.

It is not "necessarily true" that a new coach will set us back, but it is highly probable because, if you trace the history of the last four coaches, there is definitely a trend--a trend of initial excitement, followed by so so records and then acts of desperation. Rich Grawer got us hyped up because he had a St. Louis connection and was a high school coaching legend. With some active recruiting (Douglas, Gray, and Bonner), he got us to the NIT. But then things got tough, the recruiting pipeline slowed, and he settled for some questionable characters--and the program hit the skids in the CUSA. Ironically, his freshman class served Spoon well, and he got us to the NCAA tournament. But then that dried up, and, except for Larry Hughes, things pretty much went south again. Out of desperation, Spoon even started a freshman point guard (Jeremy Biles) whom he knew wasn't going to be eligible after the season. He recognized a sinking ship and got the heck out of Dodge. Romar used some of Spoon's players to pull of the Miracle in Memphis, was the talk of the town, had some so so seasons, recruited players like Pulley, McClain, and Edwin out of desperation, and he headed to Washington before the posse arrived. Brad has had a similar fate--he upset Louisville with Perry and Sloan, had some so so seasons, and I feel that his playing of the walk-on last night was an act of desperation: he, like the three coaches before him, will probably suffer a similar fate. Boys and girls there's a sickening trend. Like Roy has always said, we'd better check the infrastructure. Something is rotten in Denmark. and no new coach is going to get lasting results when he's on the island all by himself.

Spoon did not recruit Clagget and Highmark, Rich Grawer did. That class with Clagget, Highmark, Julian Winfield, and Ryan Grant is arguably the finest recruiting class in recent memory. . .and it probably happened because Julian's father was an assistant coach. It is a shame that Grawer had to reach for some talent by signing some "character issues" prior to this class, and it cost him his job.

SLU72 is exactly right. Bill Self is a terrific coach, but he was allowed to be a terrific coach by the University of Tulsa. In contrast to SLU, Tulsa has an amazing infrastructure to support their athletics: everyone is on the same page. The players know it. The fans know it. The coaches know it. And the coach's network knows it--and that is extremely important. When a BBall job opens up at Tulsa, all prospective coaches who want a future in the game will fight for that job. It is no accident that Nolan Richarson, Tubby Smith, and Bill Self, just to name a few, all got their start at Tulsa. They know that the infrastructure is solid and will bounce them to the next level. Because the coaching network knows the gold mines from the salt mines, I would bet that a list of applicants to Tulsa would be dramatically superior to a list for SLU.

Precisely. Anyone who expected Brad, or any other coach trying to respond on air to such a question, to say anything different is wishing up a tree. He would be absolutely insane to criticize his budget on air. Biondi would hear about that, and, in 5 minutes, he'd have Brad in his office--and it wouldn't be pretty. One thing we have to acknowledge Brad on is that he stands up and faces the music. Spoonhour, and a lot of other coaches, would never take the risk with the fans the way that Brad did tonight.

Roy, I agree that Timmerman's blog is a welcome addition. However, I believe that the traditional lack of media coverage for the Billikens is directly tied to your ealier post about the woefully inept infrastructure for athletics at SLU. The PR/Marketing folks at SLU are so ridiculously far behind the curve when it comes to promoting this team that it is no wonder that the media types like Karraker and Bernie make light of the program. A top-flight PR/Marketing group would be working the media of this town from sun up to sun down, and they would take a crowd of 9,000 as a personal affront. But then again, that would mean that everyone in the SLU organization is on the same page, and that has never happened. And folks wonder why BBall coaches at SLU have had such a difficult time recruiting--they have to not only woo 18 year old kids, they also have to constantly look over their shoulder to see just what kind of help they are getting from the dysfunctional group back at West Pine. This inept system also creates the results that Courtside has detailed in another thread. . .and, all the while, we avid Billiken fans keep our fingers crossed for a victory on the court. Is there any solution?

Good luck trying to talk recruiting budget with Lawrence Biondi. He'll eat you for lunch.

I agree with Vee. Luke is one of those players who can be aptly named "a winner." I know that is an overused expression, but in his case it applies. As a four year starter in high school, he often carried the team on his back, while being double teamed in most instances--and his team won. He knows what to do and how to do it, including setting up other players, to create victories. If I'm not mistaken, the Bill's fared much better as a team when he finally began to start last year. I know that they only had nine wins, but I wonder how many of those nine wins came when Luke was a starter.

Charmain Smith is from St. Louis. She played high school ball at Ladue High School. She then played four years at Stanford. I believe that she even played pro ball for a few years. For several years, she worked at Rich Grawer's basketball camps, and she was a big hit with the campers.

My point. Roy said that the academic jump from Harvard to SLU would be a downward jump, but not as big a jump as the one from Harvard to a "state-like public school." That comment is, at the very least, provincial and definitely ignores the academic excellence of MANY "state-like public schools." While we all support Billiken basketball, we need to be aware of academic excellence everywhere.

Nor would I put St. Louis U. in the same class, or the same universe, as Harvard.

Be careful about slamming "state-like public schools." Try the University of Michigan on for size. Or Illinois. Or Ohio State. Or Oklahoma University. Or Mizzou. All of them provide top flight educations, and their graduates will certainly rival SLU's.

I agree that Rammer sometimes takes the role of the objective fan and offends Billiken fans. I also think that his connection with SLU needs to be a two-way street. SLU needs to involve him more as a PR person. He should have been the MC at last week's unveiling of the new arena project; they need to have him front-and center at most SLU athletic functions. Then he will begin to become SLU's Mike Kelly. Is Rammer employed by SLU? He should be. If not, it is once again a huge faux pas on the part of the antiquated/backward policies of the athletic department at SLU.

The one point about playing as you practice, which I'm sure Brad realizes, is that you have to be careful that key players, like Sloan and Anthony, don't have their "best games" at practice. And I can see that as a possibility with high energy players like those two. I would almost want to see them sit out highly competitive drills at times so that they "leave it on the floor" during games rather than at practice. Has anyone seen the routine at practice lately?

I too am excited about the design of the new arena and about its connection to the campus. I share your concerns about the parking, the availability of space for restaurants, and the cost and politics of assigning seats. I have an additional concern: do the university and "the powers that be" have the foresight and the awareness to seize this opportunity to change/improve the chemistry of a Billikens basketball event. While the Bills have been renting space at Kiel, the Arena, and Savvis, they have had to play by someone else's rules, and, as a result, they have been shorthanded in trying to get students involved and in trying to create their own persona. Now that we have our own place on the horizon, we need to be proactive. We can't just think that because this Arena is on campus, the students will show up. If the University does nothing except open the doors, we will have the same-old-same-old: the crowd that sits on their hands and dreams of the days of the 1948 NIT championship. A crowd of 6000 fans in a 13,000 seat Arena will kill the golden goose. I've been to several basketball games at the University of Tulsa's Reynolds Center, and each game was a happening. They have created their own "hostile environment" that is highly student-centered and SRO for many games. SLU's Marketing folks and the Athletics department need to be on top of this way before the doors open in 2005. I feel that the persona of a Bills game is as much of a drawback to a potential recruit as the facilities. With the proper marketing and development, a new persona coupled with a new arena can be a huge plus for the recruit, the fans, and the University.

Steve Wyche, the writer of the Washington Post article on Larry Hughes, is a native St. Louisan. It's nice to know that Larry has someone in the D. C. press who shares a connection.

Kenny Brown's improvement on offense throughout the course of last season was remarkable. At the beginning of the season, he couldn't hit a layup, a ten-footer, or a free throw to save his soul. I'm sure most fans were praying that no one would throw him the ball--I know I was. Even though his defense was solid and necessary, he was a huge offensive liability. As the season progressed, so did Kenny. Heck, by the end of the season, he was even hitting a few ten footers. KB did not improve this dramatically under Romar. Kenny Brown's improvement last year is one heck of a testament to the coaching of Brad and his assistants, as well as the system that Brad plays--and KB's willingness to work. With KB as evidence, I have faith that Brad knows precisely what he is doing. He is recruiting players to fit a system, and he has hired assistants who are capable of coaching the daylights out of players so that each one becomes a better fit for the system. As a result, he needs players who are willing to listen and work (ala Kenny Brown) so that the coaching and the system can take root. This is precisely how they beat Louisville, Cincy, and Memphis--three schools who are loaded with athletes who probably lit it up during all star games. Granted, we'd all like a few McDonald's All Americans fit Brad's system, but in the meantime I have total confidence that he has brought in players who will max out just the way Kenny did. Those players and that system will always cause problems for the all-star heroes.