cheeseman

You know what the dept needs is to have focus groups - randomly picked from the season ticket base and have them come in to not only answer questions but to give ideas. This group can not be the same big money people because they often are the ones supporting the current practices. We often did that when we were thinking of running tax iniatives and you would be surprised with some of the ideas that came out regarding what we should focus on regarding what to do with the money. Like I said, we could not simply use those patrons who volunteered all the time - they were only one vote and we needed to capture lots of votes. Maybe the AD dept does this already - I not sure.

He knows what he has at the perimeter. Obi might be great but coach has not seen him play or practice live yet only film and word of mouth. What I took from him was that he knows the perimeter play will be good and that is what it takes to be successful today - at least that is what he said is a common thread among teams that have currently done well.

3star - if Brad can stay awhile and keep the borders closed for the most part he can do well and perform as a top 50 program each year. If he can land a top 50 player or two every 3 years from outside the area then we can even end up as a consistent top 25 program. If you can do that then anything can happen as far as the NCAA tourney is concerned. I still think that SIUC will be seeing a drop back over the next 2-3 years - no way they can continue to bring in lower tiered players and have them hit grand slams like when Weber was there. We can be a Gonzaga but it will take time and a slow infusion of $ into the program. If the program can be successful in the next 2-3 years, the $ will come. We need the announcement on the arena ASAP.

Fair point, Roy. Here is another thought, why not go to the physical therapy grad dept and get a few of those students to pitch in for free or partial tuition.

Then your statement about why play the game if it does not count is valid.

Roy, good question - do you think what was reported for all schools was reported the same way - in other words, often when this info is gathered, schools use different items to make up what they submit.

Thanks for the info - I accept that I was wrong but it was based on what was reported in the papers.

Roy, maybe not from a maintenance stand point - all costs are not directly related soley to square footage. It could very well be that the size of the staff and types and quanities of equipment are much the same. I realize that supplies would be more that is small potatoes. Good point on the financing part - except once again, the extra space might not be that much more in comparision. For example, you can build a space that is 6 ft in lenght but to make it 8 ft would not cost a penny more since you are buying 8ft material and cutting 2 ft off. I know this is an over simplification but I think you can see where I am going.

Kahok - you make some good points - for the life of me I can not figure out why nobody jumped all over your offers - at least to say thanks but here is a better idea that would really help us do you want to participate. Maybe the new people CL hired will run a tighter ship - lets hope for.

Roy - he has not written anything about select soccer either this summer. BMetz - nobody is asking the PD to hype the team just provide good information about the team and its players. Heck, if somebody drove through St. Louis or spent a night here, we hear about it when they become an athletic player in the pros - as if that really is a St. Louis connection. The least they could do is write an article or two about the topics that Roy shared.

As I said - the new arena is going to have a larger S/C room so this issue is resolved once the arena is built. KF - good point about Lee. However, I think when the S/C coach talked with the Tip Off Club last year, he said that it is his job to design programs for the athletes but it is their's to implement. He said he is in the room daily and at times that the athletes normally work out so he can monitor and offer advice. Sounds to me like what they provide is fine. SIU - thanks for answering my question about the number of S/C coaches - also you raised a very salient point about once the program is designed then it is up to the athlete to do it. Here is another thought - maybe the BB coaches should - maybe they do already - monitor the work out schedule of the players to make sure that they are showing up regularily and making progress. It would seem to me that if they were my players and I wanted them to work out more then it would be to my benefit to check up - as they say in the army - you must inspect what you expect!

I thought someone said that KS has moved up to D1 for this year which would make the game one that counts.

Big Al - reread your post - it clearly is presented as a question to the board - " has anyone heard anything about the Aug. 05 announcement about the arena." If any of us had any more information it would have been shared already. I still say - ask the AD department and then maybe you can share what you find out with us.

KN - do you have data to back your statement that the SLU basketball budgets are not equal to that of MVC teams? If so share it - if not, and I don't think you have it because this topic has been discussed many times on this board and it has been shown that SLU was right in the middle - in other words on par - with the CUSA teams. It is wild unsubstantiated statements like yours that simply show how uniformed some of SLU's fans are.

Before you all start hollering about the strenght and conditioning program - lets ask a few questions - 1. how many s/c coaches do other D1 schools have that do not have football? 2. will the new arena have an increased s/c space? - thought I heard that but needs to be validated. 3. Do other D1 schools provide individual one on one daily training for athletes like a personal trainer does at a Hammer Bodies? 4. Do other student athletes from other schools go to a Hammer Bodies type place on their own for this one on one attention - seems to me I remember David Lee doing it. I guess the point I am trying to make is - perhaps we offer what we are allowed to offer and the new arena could be an upgrade of space and equipment.

Roy, the only problem with your logic is that then ticket prices would have to be higher to make up for the lost revenue from the 4000 less potential ticket sales.

Al - why ask us - ask her!

I am starting to worry about you guys - you all seem to be rather preoccupied with Ian and his body. Now if you were talking about the cheerleaders I would be less concerned.

I hope Brad knows what he is doing - worrying about the NCAA selection committee with the young team he is going to war with seems a little silly to me. While I am a big supporter of running with the big dogs if you want to be a big dog - I am also smart enough to know that if the big dogs can beat the sh## out me then when is it being tough or being stupid. I would think we and Brad need to be more worried about surviving this year with players who do not become gun shy or loose faith in Brad than what the NCAA selection committee might think of us at the end of the year - it could be that what they think of us is irrelevent. I hope the team responds well and can look back at the season and feel good about what they accomplished.

Oakland is one of those teams that got lucky with some transfers and they all graduated so who knows how good they will be. Roy, actually, I think they lost to MU at their house.

I am not sure if he gets reclassified as a junior if he can play 5 years or not according to MSHAA - does anyone know that answer? Since he goes to a private school, they have great lattitude in deciding what credits they accept or not. While it might be in our best interest for him to be a senior - it maybe best for him to repeat his junior year from a scholastic reason. After all, we all need to hope any kid does what is best for him and if that works out also for us then great but if not, he has to make his decisions based on his long term needs.

How could you tell who was Ian? - I could not find him in the 5 photos shown.

I think you are correct - TL certainly will have a big impact. At this point, all that I have seen about TL and KL says they are different types of players and so the impact that both might have will manifest in different ways on the court.

Roy, I would not argue with your position - the point I was making was that the other team's defense would at least early on target DP and IV since they are known quantities. You could be correct that as the season progresses - TL and KL might take that role over.

3Star's point about which freshmen in the A10 were starters or played significant minutes is the key question. If the 5 listed started or played big minutes then the fact that there were 5 that avg. 10 pts is support to the idea that KL and TL can do so also. I do agree our front line has to chip in more than in the past. As far as Ian getting 10 pts per game - clearly doable for him. It is ok to talk about a more push the ball offensive style but even if Brad had 5 stallions he would still lean to a more conservative approach. He is a Bennett devotee and that is what got Bennett to Wisc. and got him out. Hopefully, Brad took note.