Quality Is Job 1

...the Billikens' success on the court?

I, like most of the posters here, expected the 2004-05 Billikens to be considerably better than this. After all, they had last season's leading scorer (Reggie Bryant), a 2nd-team all conference pick, and last season's leading rebounder (Tom Frericks), who led the conference in field-goal percentage, returning. But now it appears that the seasons that Bryant and Frericks had last year were largely a product of Josh Fisher's and Chris Sloan's (and Ross Varner's) experience. Every year I mentally note the number of "returning letters." It's the sum of "letters" each player on the team has earned; a player gets a letter for each season he plays (not redshirts) at the school (as I'm sure most of you already knows). The stat doesn't mean everything, else the 2003-04 Missouri Tigers wouldn't have failed so miserably (though their problem was the lack of a point guard) and the 2002-03 Syracuse Orangemen wouldn't have won the National Championship with all those youngsters -- among many other pertinent examples. However, it's probably a good yardstick of how a team will come together. This year the Bills returned 9 letters (two for Ohanon, one for Bryant, one for Frericks &l;just four combined for the seniors!&r;, two for Drejaj, and one each for Johnson, Vouyoukas, and Clarke). If a team had three four-year recruits in each class (and a fourth freshman), it would have 18 letters (nine for the three seniors, six for the juniors, and three for the sophomores). (In three years, this hypothetical average team would have 21 returning letters.) What it means is that there's continuity. Players have gotten accustomed to the system and to each other. And the more letters a team has, the more one might expect it to flourish. It helped significantly last year that Sloan and Fisher were playing their fourth seasons together (and Varner was there for the last three of those). It helped the team overcome the adjustment to a new system as a result of a coaching change during their time. Heck, last season the squad had a fourth-year walk-on (Phillip Hunt)! This season's three seniors are playing just their second season together, one of the juniors is a newcomer, and even the walk-ons are young (two sophomores and a freshman). Next season (and I'm presuming Darren Clarke will transfer after this season because he's ridden the pine, been passed over by freshmen, and has more competition coming next season), the Bills will have 12 returning letters (three for Drejaj, one for Newborne &l;still just four for the seniors!&r;, two each for Johnson and Vouyoukas, and one each for Husak, Polk, Meyer, and Brown). &l;For comparison, the 2003-04 squad, which made the NIT and won a game, had 10 returning letters (three each for Fisher and Sloan, two for Varner, one for Ohanon, and one for Drejaj), but it may be important to note that the seniors combined for eight of them.&r; The 2006-07 squad, the one most of us point to as when the Bills should reach the NCAA Tournament, else Brad Soderberg's job is probably in jeopardy, will see 18 returning letters (three each for Johnson and Vouyoukas, two each for Husak, Polk, Meyer, and Brown, and one each for Liddell, Lisch, and two recruits to be named later). &l;Note that that's presuming the departure of Clarke after this season and that the schollie won't be filled this summer.&r; Thoughts?

As you worded the poll, I responded "10 seed or better"; however, besides the players you named, Justin Johnson will be a senior (I don't have much faith that Darren Clarke will still be around( and there will be four or five other recruits to draw from -- two or three of which will (probably) be in the sophomore class with Liddell and Lisch. Who knows: one or more of those recruits "to be named later" could be major contributors. Combining that fact with the possibility that JJ could figure it out and be a fabulous contributor gives me hope that the Bills could be "5 seed or better" (Sweet 16 caliber) in two years. And if not that year, then certainly one year later, when Polk is a senior and Liddell is a junior (reminiscent of the Nelson/West tandem at St. Joseph's last year).

Central Visual & Performing Arts. It's a magnet school.

It's disappointing that, so far, that the recruits that Brad Soderberg signed either in the late signing period or later have contributed significantly more, in general, than the recruits he inked in the early signing period. Among the early signees: Brandon Morris never made it; Darren Clarke has played little; Luke Meyer has faced a tough adjustment to D-1 ball; Dwayne Polk has experienced growing pains; and we've had to wait an extra year for Tommie Liddell. Among the stopgap recruits: Justin Johnson hasn't done much but seems to have potential; Reggie Bryant has been the primary scorer; Izik Ohanon has (finally) become a complementary scorer; Anthony Drejaj has been a solid contributor (until this year); Bryce Husak is tall; Tom Frericks had a solid junior season before injuries ended his career prematurely this year; Ian Vouyoukas is a starter and appears to be coming around; Vas'shun Newborne has been the biggest disappointment; Antwon Alexander didn't make it; and Danny Brown has been a pleasant development. I hope that Liddell and Kevin Lisch show why they were coveted recruits and that the two (or three, if someone transfers) late signees continue the trend of demonstrating they are more than expected.

If he transfers after the school year ends and enrolls in his new school in August, he'll sit out the requisite year and resume playing the following year without losing any eligibility (meaning he'd be a junior).

Trust me on this. Players that transfer in mid-season sit out a year of residence at their new school, and they're one class further along in their eligibility than when they transferred. If transfer in the middle of your sophomore season, you'll be a junior the next season and you won't be able to resume play until after the end of the first semester. That's why you rarely see players transfer in mid season. Players can't play part of the season and still use a redshirt for that season, unless it's a medical hardship, which must be approved by the NCAA. Even then, a player can't have played in more than a small percentage of his team's games -- usually around two or three. Clarke can't redshirt this season, so next year he'll be a junior, period.

Darren Clarke is a sophomore now, and he can't get any part of his soph. year back. If he had transferred at the break, he would have lost a full year of eligibility. At the break of next year, he would have joined his team as a second-semester junior.

...is the nagging thought that if the Bills were to have scheduled Savannah St. this season, there would be no guarantee that our guys would have avoided being the only team to lose to the hapless Tigers. This Billikens team just shoots so poorly, nearly any team could jump up and bite them.

I heard the Soderberg show, and (regarding Point no. 3) I disagree you that his explanation was unsatisfactory. He said that if he's afraid that a 10-second violation is imminent or that players aren't in the right positions to break the press, then he'll call a timeout while the ball is still in the backcourt; however, if he just wants to set up a play, he'll wait until the ball is across halfcourt.

Additionally, I think Brown is a better slasher and better finisher than Drejaj.

...on his show on KMOX this evening said that Kevin Lisch was at practice one day last week and told him that he feels fine.

...last year? Sure, Vashon was 4A, not 5A, last year, and while they did have to limit themselves to "small" schools en route to the state championship, not every team on their schedule was 4A. They still played their PHL rivals, among other large schools. I don't know Vashon's 2003-04 schedule. Do you? But even without knowing, I wouldn't say their classification as a "small" school is the reason they didn't lose last season.

I know the Bills beat Louisville at their place when Denny Crum was there, but I can't recall an occasion when the Bills won there under Pitino. Please refresh my memory.

Where did Palmer go before going to Oak Hill (if anywhere else)?

I heard that Alex was taken off of his team by his dad because he got a C grade in one of his classes.

Justin Johnson's having limited playing time is not a result of his "being a loose cannon," notwithstanding his previous difficulties adjusting. Rather, it's because Izik Ohanon deserves so much more to be on the floor. It is when Ohanon is in foul trouble that Johnson is pressed into extended action. Luke Meyer's time has also been limited; does that make him a loose cannon?

Assuming the Bills beat Fort Wayne, they'll need a 12-4 C-USA record to offset their seven-game-under .500 3-10 non-conference record. And that would put them at just 15-14 with the Conference USA Tournament looming. Now, that 12-4 record might get them a bye in the tourney, yet they probably couldn't get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They'd probably still have to win the quarterfinal to stay eligible for an NIT bid. However, it doesn't seem reasonable to think that the Bills are going to go 10-2 in their last 12 regular season games. But, we'll take it one game at a time and see what happens.

If Gonzaga can do all the stuff you mentioned, so can SLU. The nuances of your satirical suggestion indicate you think SLU can't get it done, ever.

...give me a sense of what he said?

...is that now that everyone knows Tom Frericks is done for the season, Ian knows he's the center and is going to play: the time for him to step up and be a force in the middle is NOW, not next season.

...YOU'RE fired -Ian Vouyoukas Why don't you write another such vitriolic rant prior to the next Billikens game; apparently Ian read your post and decided to SHUT YOU UP with his play today. As my contemporaries in high school would have said, "You feel crunchy."

Bills win 65-63!!!! The seniors, Bryant and Ohanon, stepped up big time, and Vouyoukas was big. Someone please call Kevin Slaten tomorrow and tell him he was WRONG for saying that SLU would be 3-13 after today's game and that the Bills wouldn't score even 60 points.

"Hopefully, Coach Soderberg has gotten a good taste of how it feels to lose." Unless the Billikens go on a spectacular run, it looks like Brad will wind up with his first ever losing record as a coach.

We have to make up for the lack of media coverage our own selves. I'm really appreciating this site!