Quality Is Job 1

Dwayne Polk will start from the beginning, anyway, and he will be ready. Sure, he'll make some freshman mistakes, but his talent and quickness will more than compensate for his inexperience. He'll put in the effort on defense, too, even if it takes him time to pick up the system and gain strength. It's difficult to pinpoint a rotation by position, so I'll do it by generalities. Bigs - Frericks, Ohanon, Newborne, Vouyoukas, Johnson (if he's reinstated), Husak Wings - Bryant, Drejaj, Clarke, Brown, Meyer Ballhandlers - Polk, Drejaj, Clarke

...at two o' clock in the morning? He should be sleeping!

...the article isn't about the Big XII as much as it's about point guards in the Midwest. Part I was about West Coast point guards, and Part III was about East Coast point guards. Yeah, the article centered on Texas's and Missouri's incoming point guards, but it also listed incoming points to follow throughout the Midwest. I'm disappointed that Dwayne Polk was overlooked. Trust me, he won't be ignored by March! Lindy's preview also disses the Billikens, picking them 10th in the conference and neglecting to mention Polk among SLU's newcomers. Do they not know that Polk is coming? Perhaps they don't know and see no one to fill Fisher's slot and thus the team will drop.

...it's Jeff, not Ryan, that BLIKNS is talking about, probably.

It's just eight days away (seven, for those having a midnight start). One question will be whether or not Coach Soderberg will close the first week of practice to the public, like he did last year. I have not seen any pick-up action at West Pine this year, but I hope to get down there Monday. That will probably be my last opportunity to see pickup before practice starts.

You are a cynic.

Hope for KFNS, which streams for free (unless the university forbids their airing the game).

Well, if KMOX won't air the games, KFNS will. I'm sure KMOX would be willing to air the Sunday afternoon game, even if they relegate the Friday game to KFNS.

Folks will have to do like I do -- listen to Bob and Earl on the radio broadcasts. As the Friday and Sunday games of the Paradise Jam are on at 4:30 p.m., they will make nice afternoon diversions after work and after church.

Tom returned to school out of shape because of his shoulder injury, but Coach Thorpe has been working with him, and I believe he'll be in great shape by the time practice starts.

That release was to announce the Charter schedule; Charter will be picking up some ESPN+ broadcasts. ESPN hasn't released the schedule for this season, as far as I have seen. I guess it will be out shortly. I figure SLU will have at least one ESPN game this season.

http://slubillikens.collegesports.com/spor...er_jason00.html

>Wasn't AA from Chippola? If so he didn't qualify. I hate >counting on juco's these days, though we'd be lost inside >without TF. Vas'shun Newborne is from Chippola (where Frericks came from). I don't remember where Antwan Alexander went, but I know it wasn't Chippola.

...even with the black slang version of the S-word. Hear, hear, Marlo!

Well, if (as tseugnenkillib reported above) fans can no longer watch pick-up games when an official visit is in progress, information becomes scarcer.

>Southern Illinois is this year; is SMS or SIU up next year? Since you have an informant.

You all had me going for a minute. Ranking grade school students is just ridiculous

Sorry, David, but I'm not a golfer. It's even been years since I played putt-putt (not that I have a problem with that activity). However, if anyone from Billikens.com wants to have a bowling team in a league, count me in! Also, one thing we could do for a get-together is go to Six Flags (bringing our families and friends, of course). My employer lets me purchase tickets for about half of the regular admission price. We could plan something like that for next summer.

aj_arete wrote: I'm trying to contain my excitement but the way you describe this Lisch kid, he's the greatest player in the area since Larry Hughes. No, he's the greatest player in the area since Tommie Liddell. From what I hear, if we can get two or three years of Liddell in a Billiken uniform, we may forget Larry's quick departure.

Brad is very secretive about who he's recruiting because he doesn't want to possibly disappoint the fans. If we were to find out that he covets a certain recruit, and that recruit doesn't come, we may be disappointed.

Southern Illinois is this year; is SMS or SIU up next year?

First you say that you believe that, among others, the games with Iowa and Southern Illinois will flip next year, but then you say that SLU at Iowa will not be returned (make up for "hosting" the Hawkeye's in the NIT, perhaps?) and that I'm right on the SMS/SIU alternation. Which is it?

Roy, I don't think Southern Illinois will come to SLU next year; rather, I believe SIU will play at SLU in 2006-07, and SMS will play at SLU next year (2005-06). Apparently, the folks at SLU don't want to play both SMS and SIU in the same season anymore.

I didn't get down there, either, but I did read about the result in the American. Polk's team consisted of former Vashon players, including Jimmy McKinney, Joel Shelton, and Lorenzo Gordon.