Quality Is Job 1

>>Maguire visited the Lisches at their Belleville home Thursday and wound up on the court with Kevin and his dad, Rusty. I sure hope Kevin wasn't doing anything other than watching!

I didn't realize you were talking about a summer season. That's interesting to hear. If Anthony Bonner is going to continue playing professionally, even after taking this past season off, it means either that he's not ready to give up playing for coaching or that he still wants to make (relatively) big money (which he wouldn't get as an entry-level coach). Or perhaps the offers termporarily dried up back in the fall but someone decided to re-up some dough for him, and he recanted on his desire to get into coaching, for the time being.

I know this post is way, way, way late (I've been going through some transitions and am weeks behind on this board), but I have to respond to this post, old or not. JJ, Anthony Bonner did not play in Puerto Rico or Europe this past season. He was in St. Louis all winter. I saw him personally. I heard him tell Gerald Jones (Berkeley's head coach and a former Vashon teammate of his) about his coaching plans for next year and beyond. Furthermore, Gerald has told me that SLU boosters are trying to get Bonner to coach at SLU in 2005-06. I don't know what will happen, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Bonner is a graduate assistant on the bench this coming season. Bonner helped coach the Missouri all-stars to a victory in the Riverwar game.

Romar made that statement in the fall during an interview by Frank Cusumano. I don't remember the exact time, but I'm sure I posted about the interview and what was said. If anyone has the time to do so, he can search the archives and pinpoint the day of that statement.

I can't believe this online community is actually breaking down the NIT and its bracket! And SLU isn't even playing in it. I hope that for the next 15 years or more the Billikens (and maybe the Mizzou Tigers, too, if they wake up and make the needed changes) will be playing in the NCAA Tournament and no one will be talking about the NIT, unless it's to note that Marquette is in it again.

if I'm not mistaken.

I've heard Lorenzo Romar say that he won't schedule SLU as long as Brad Soderberg is the coach. Washington St., where Dick Bennett is, wouldn't be a logical choice, either. Gonzaga is playing here. So, if the Bills were to play a West Coast game on the way to Hawai'i, it would probably have to be against a team in the state of California. How about St. Mary's? Or how about Santa Clara?

That's not a safe pick. Now, a 12 over a 5, and you're talking.

No. Leon fouled out with zero points. He missed at least two free-throw attempts (I saw a little over three quarters of the game).

...was impressive in last night's championship game.

> Everyone seems ready to just hand over the team to new guys >who has to learn Brad's system which we all know "takes a >minute". (brehms13) >______________________________________________________________________ >I think is goes without saying that Soderberg is not going >to hand over spots to undeserving players, however I hold >the belief that Liddell will step in and contribute >immediately. (Jalensdad2002) I agree with both, but I would like to point out that Coach Soderberg is a good evaluator of players' skills, and he virtually anointed Dwayne Polk as this year's point guard back in the summer, before Dwayne even had the opportunity to practice with the team.

...of the 1992 Preseason NIT?

>Can't argue with your system, 3 star. But can't feely >sympathy for UB having to coach under pressure. Biggest part >of a D1 HC's job is recruiting talent. If he gives a free >ride to a bunch of 2 stars year in and year out, he's gonna >feel the heat. By the way, under your system would our >returnees and incomings be rated as follows: > >1 star-Husak, AD, walkons > >2 star-LM, DB, IV, DC, JJ, VN > >3 star-DP, KL, TL > >4 star-none > >5 star-none Drejaj is a two-star player, not a one-star. Danny Brown and Justin Johnson are three-star recruits. Tommie Liddell is a four-star recruit.

I'm guessing Lisch will be unable to play in the all-star game late in June.

As far as I'm concerned, the countdown is already down to zero. The Billikens are in the A-10 now, and I care more about the A-10's postseason than C-USA's.

I'm sure that BLaw would counter that Travis Diener was out and that the outcome of the game surely would have been different had he been playing.

>Up here in the great Mid-Atlantic, we don't even get the >Bills game on ESPN II. Sure, I get Marquette and TCU at >noon followed by DePaul and Tulane at 3:00 but the switch >over occurs at 7:00 when we here in Baltimore get the big >Wagner/Fairleigh Dickinson NEC final on the Duece! That's because the evening session games are NOT scheduled to be on ESPN2; rather, they're scheduled to be on ESPN+.

Dwayne Polk, at 2.3 reb per game, is far from one of the team leaders in rebounding -- not that we want or need him to be grabbing lots of boards. With 9 blocks this season, Dwayne is second (behind Ian Vouyoukas, who has just 19). Dwayne's performance at Marquette Saturday was his best of the season. His IQ for that game was 54.

...Conference USA wasn't considered a new conference by the NCAA. Enough members of the Metro were remaining together for the "new" conference to use that bid. Either that, or the big that the Great Midwest would finally get came to fruition because that conference had enough members remaining together.

Yes, a new coference would lack an automatic bid for five years. However, as the Great Midwest demonstrated, if there are enough good teams in the conference, it will garner multiple at-large bids.

If I'm not mistaken, Lorenzo Gordon was one year behind Joel Shelton and one year ahead of Jimmy McKinney. McKinney is now a collegiate junior, and so, apparently, is Gordon.

...the Great Midwest never got an automatic bid until AFTER it merged with the Metro to form C-USA.

Nope, KFNS didn't have it. I mostly doubted it, and that's why I said, "might."

I recorded the radio broadcast (because I had things to do this afternoon) and am listening to it now, so when I reach the end, if the KFNS feed has the foray you're referring to, I'll quote it.