cheeseman

To say that Brad is holding back schollies on purpose is silly - he would love to give them out to qualifed kids who can help the program. But to just give them out to say you have filled them is not a good option. Spoon did that all the time and we got the likes of Sekue Barintine, and that kid from the Kan. Juco program - sorry his name escapes, along with the kid from West Virginia and the one from NY. While I understand that you can not continue holding schollies back indefinetly I do agree with holding them back when you can if you can not find suitable recruits. You may very well be homing in a several hot underclassmen who if you do not have a couple of schollies in your back pocket you would have to pass on some of them.

Sorry, I did not see any recent posts by Roy on this topic so maybe my response is not on target inregards to Cowboys.

Holding schollies is a common practice by schools - I would much rather not sign a player who is not good enough to help and can only sit on the bench their 4 years and hope to get someone better next year. Doing without for 1 year rather than being stuck with someone for 4 makes more sense. I know some would say just take the schollie away if the kid does not pan out - and yes some schools do that - but if SLU started that then people would attact them for bein unfair and amoral. Brad has 3 schollies open to give this year - the spring and summer recruiting periods are coming up so you can not bang him for this until those periods have passed. Out of fairness you have to give him a chance to fill those. If he comes up empty handed then I will be standing right next to you asking what is going on. The arena announcement was made by Biondi and when Woolard was here. Unfortunately for us, when the announcement was made, several things happened that was unexpected - 1. we hit a recession and when that happens giving drops 2. we thought we were going to build it in the Grand Center and then plans for getting the remaining land fell apart when owners tried to stick the school - not blaming them just pointing it out 3. The fund drive for the science bldg slowed for the reasons listed in #1 causing Biondi to say the science bldg comes first 4. Woolard was not the person to raise this kind of money - nice guy but not a hard driver 5. Levick is hired and she ramps everything up for the fund raising - not her fault the arena was prematurely announced 6. She has raised a good sum and increased interest in her 1.5 year tenure so things are back on track 7. Now I agree, I am getting a little antsy with this a big announcement is due any day now but I do understand that when you are raising money you are at the avarice of the those who have it. Spoon's issues with Woolard were well documented - Woolard was a bean counter and not a leader. Besides, AD's like to pick their own coaches and Spoon was not his choice. That being said, Spoon was not good at playing the organizational game. D1 athletes - good ones are hard to find, coaches have to be good at evaluating talent - Spoon and Romar were not given all the players that they turned down that went on to have good careers at other places - the list of these players has been talked about on the board much so no need to plow this field again. I am not minimizing what you have pointed out but simply trying to give you a broader context as why we are here and how we can get and are getting out of it.

I have no idea what you are deluding about - this topic has been discussed fully before and after the schedule was released - your conspircy theory was brought up and dismissed early on.

You do not need to replace Ian or Bryce necessarily - you can replace them easily with two good #4s. Lots of teams play without a bonifide center. It is nice to have one but not necessary if you have good 4s.

Brad is fine as a coach - what you are complaining about is recruiting - two different things. Look at MU - he can recruit but can not coach. See my point.

My thoughts exactly - this could actually be a blessing in disguise. With AD out for awhile, KL and TL will have to step up and this could be the key to quickening their maturity and development in becoming the "go to guy" we still need. The loss to Gonzaga was directly the cause of us still not having that type of player yet. It won't get any better until that happens and the sooner the better.

Vtime - that is what I said. Reread the post.

Actually, I think things look rather bleak for DB to get playing time. Vtime is correct - with AD out, everybody moves up but DP is still at the end of the line. KL will get more playing time now and LM has enhanced his position. Before AD got hurt, LM was for the most part not in the picture so he was not a real threat to garner pt but now he is so DB finds himself no better off really than before AD's injury. I agree with 72 that JJ's emergence is making it even harder for guards down the depth chart to get pt. I also think the LM will take minutes from VN given the right circumstances.

I know we have to walk before we can run but long term, we have to be thinking about more than just winning in the A10. That is the Norm Steward goal - win your conferece and beat Kansas and that is all that really matters. I do agree that if we can become a consistent winner of the A10 it will help us recruit for the bigger event - although it did not work for Stewart.

Before people rant on DP and the shot - remember that the time clock was ticking down and somebody had to take it. Don't forget that we had 2 3ptrs that night and one was made by DP. Nobody was open for taking a shot and it might have gone in if it was not tipped.

From where I sat you looked like it was an accident - I am not saying it was but I could see where the refs were confused themselves. BlueCrewz - if the Savvis needs to put more ushers in that area then they should do it when there is a big game. The truth is the Savvis has always been slow to respond to a big crowd and possible problems. It would have been hard to give a tech fould when there was no warning given. Actually, I would have prefered no stopping of the play to have happened - I know some think it might have been our advantage but don't forget, it gave Gonzaga a chance to reset their defense and not be running back trying to figure out who to cover.

Giving more touches to IV won't change anything until we figure out that we have to hit a few shots from the outside. You can throw the ball in to IV all night long but when 2-3 guys are always hanging on him he will never be able to do the kind of damage he is capable of.

You take 11 pts from TL at this time - the killer was nobody hit from the outside - we still do not have a consistent shooter (KL you have to be more consistent, 3 pts for the minutes played is not enough. Actually, I thought Husak played well enough filling in. JJ had the kind of game we need every night. The problem tonight was that Morrison hit 3 key shots at the worst possible time. That fall away 3pt shot was a killer. We had a few defensive lapses tonight but none bigger than at the end of the first half when their man was left wide open for a 3pt shot with .8 seconds left. We will a game like this just as soon as we figure out how to hit consistently from outside - I am sorry 2 of 11 from the 3pt line is not acceptable nor is shooting 38% from the field - it is that simple!

Nate - thanks for the info - they saw a good game and nice crowd. Intersting that Tyus was there.

Bphan - I got your response and thanks. From what I saw it was not deleted unless I missed a different one.

I turned on the radio todaya and something that Frank and Bryan said led me to believe that Brad was on the show today - did anyone hear it and could you summarize - thanks.

Frank C. on his show last week - I think - according to a poster said that 14,000 tickets had been sold.

No arguement from anyone here - we have been lamanting Brad's inability to land big men for sometime now.

KShoe - most of the tickets were sold as part of the "Community Night" event so those seats would be in the upper tier sections. I have to admit that sitting behind the baskets (end zone type seats) are not very good. You get a compressed view of the game - very flat. If I have to sit there I would personally sit up top in the center in the first few rows.

SLUM - my question was not negative but simply asking for a clarification on the knee comment. The other nice stuff said about Obi was self explanatory and I did have any question about it.

I agree - UNCC did not look good - there offensive and defensive was really lacking. Certainly not the UNCC we have become seen in the past.

Dr. B thank you for trying to reinterate what I was trying to say all along - mabybe you will have better luck.

I gave you the source as valid - it simply was not my uncle who heard it from the mailman who heard it from the guy who runs the taco stand outside of the Savvis. If you do not think that h.s. bb coaches are valid sources then so be it but I happen to believe that they are. I have been consistent and will continue to be consistent. I am finshed with this thread since obviously you have lost complete control of yourself.

Yes, I made those comments and I cited my source as a local h.s. basketball coach. Too have given his name would have been unfair to him. Additionally, others have posted similar things about this situation not from a rumor but from informed sources. I did not say them and then use as proof - my uncle heard this from..." who is the uncle, what is his connection to the situation, why would he have this inside info? A local baskeball coach is a valid source and anybody would agree that these coaches know all about the players and their situations since it is a small fraternity.