Quality Is Job 1

It's too bad that Kevin Slaten has such a prominent forum in which to express his views, but those who could definitively refute him do not.

"Don't talk while I'm talking!" (while he walks all over you).

...on the dispersions/aspersions matter. Let me amend the statement to say that I don't want to disparage either man.

, just because he's made some mistakes in the past doesn't mean I want to dismiss everything he says as lacking credibility. How can I resolve this "rift" without casting dispersions on either man? Well, basically, I think they just misunderstood each other. What I need to know is what words were actually used. In the absence of that knowledge, I speculate that the word that was used was "recruit" (the verb). I imagine the conversation went like this ([span style=color:black]parent[/span], [span style=background-color:black;color:white]recruiter[/span]): [span style=color:black]Are you recruiting my son?[/span] [span style=background-color:black;color:white]Yes, we are.[/span] [span style=color:black]If you became the head coach, would you still recruit my son?[/span] [span style=background-color:black;color:white]Yes, I would.[/span] The problem with this seemingly innocuous conversation is that "recruit" means different things to each person. To the parent, [span style=color:black]recruit means "offer a scholarship", "sign," "bring to the program."[/span] To the coach, [span style=background-color:black;color:white]recruit means "evaluate," "form a relationship with," "consider, in light of the several other recruits we're considering and who are considering us."[/span] If such a conversation took place between Slaten and Soderberg, there's no doubt that the egocentric Slaten, who probably believes his son is one of the best players in St. Louis, believed that Soderberg was saying he definitely wanted Troy Slaten to be a Billiken regardless of whoever else was available. What is everyone else's thought?

Unfortunately, Slaten refused to say what Brad lied to him (and "the other parent") about. He gave hypotheticals, but he didn't provide any evidence that Brad lied to him. Therefore, I'm inclined to choose Soderberg over Slaten in this battle of "he said/she said." Slaten's credibility isn't unquestionable.

Despite qualifying academically, Troy went the juco route before going to ASU. Perhaps former_d1 can supply more analysis.

Kevin Slaten spent some time talking about college coaches and the recruiting process, and he talked about his personal impressions regarding his son's recruitment. He said that he dislikes Bruce Webber and Dickey Nutt the most because, not only did they lie to him, but they also gave him strange responses when he "called them on it." He counted Roy Williams and Bob Knight as genuine guys. He mentioned that Quin Snyder lied to him. The conversation went on, in a different direction, and he said some things about SLU -- some positive, some critical -- but then he drew to a close and said that he doesn't think highly of Brad Soderberg because Soderberg lied to him. I have trouble believing that. I wonder what Brad could have said to Slaten that he construed as a lie. I'd call and ask, but I don't want to talk to him, based on how he's treated callers in the past. If anyone else here has the courage to accost Slaten on the air, please ask why he has a negative opinion of Soderberg and why he came to that opinion.

I shudder to think where the Billikens would have been (or would be) without Tom Frericks. Also, I believe Vas'shun Newborne, who's already in SLU, as of this summer, will be a significant help to the team. They're both juco transfers: did Brad "waste his time" recruiting them? These things happen everywhere; it does little good to dwell on them.

The best thing about Ian's game today is that he was on the floor at the end of the game. He entered the game with 3:23 remaining and scored a basket, drew three fouls, and hit three out of four free throws.

He was asking Unca Sodaberger if he was being serious about "overhearing" a conversation between Coach Soderberg and Coach Thorpe about the triangle offense -- at White Castle, no less.

Vouyoukas played 10 minutes a game this year. With improvement, he should be able to handle 12 to 18 minutes per game this year. I expect him to average 15 minutes per game this year, and he'll play every game. That means that he'll "replace" his own minutes, plus five of Sloan's. Also, I don't expect Vas'shun Newborne to play as many minutes as Chris Sloan did last year. Besides, don't we expect Tom Frericks to play more minutes per game this year than he did last year? If so, then that would mean fewer minutes for Vouyoukas and Husak unless they come from somewhere else.

Greece defeated Serbia & Montenegro 72-59 today, establishing itself as the favorite to win its preliminary group. Greece's remaining preliminary opponents are Ukraine (winless so far) and Lithuania, which lost to Serbia & Montenegro yesterday. Ian Voyoukas appears to have had a pretty good game. In 24 minutes, he logged 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, two turnovers, and three fouls. After three games, his averages are 9.7 points and 5 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game. (Those numbers probably would have been higher had he not been saddled with foul trouble in Game 2.) For comparison, a year ago, playing with pretty much the same team and against pretty much the same opponents, Ian averaged 4.7 points and 4.5 boards in 10.2 minutes per game (and those numbers are skewed by his 20-point, 11-rebound outburst in 28 minutes in the final game -- without that game his averages were 6.6 min, 1.6 points, and 3.2 reb.). IV translated that into 10.5 min, 2.2 pts, and 1.7 rebs for SLU last season. If Vouyoukas's summer 2003 to summer 2004 increase in production is reflected by a similar increase from his freshman season to his sophomore season, then the Billiken frontcourt should be in better than decent shape in 2004-05.

While I can't authoritatively answer the question, I would have to believe the university has insurance to cover its athletes.

In Game 2 of the preliminary round of the Under-20 European Championships, Greece defeated Belarus 81-60, though the game was tight for the first half. Ian Vouyoukas was limited to 13 minutes of playing time because of foul trouble. He played only 20 seconds in the second half of the game. He picked up his second foul of the game 1:39 in, though he played another three minutes before being pulled. He got his third foul early in the second quarter but stayed in and picked up his fourth late in the first half. He had just begun to get on a roll when he picked up number four. He finished the game with six points and one rebound.

40:00 game finished 39:50 substitution in GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 39:50 substitution out GRE 14 Mavroeidis Dimitros 39:50 time GRE 39:50 steal GRE 39:50 turnover SLO 7 Venta Matej ... 30:00 substitution in GRE 14 Mavroeidis Dimitros 30:00 substitution in GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios 30:00 substitution in GRE 8 Apostolidis Georgios 30:00 substitution in GRE 7 Vasileiadis Konstantinos 30:00 substitution in GRE 4 Xanthopoulos Vasilis 30:00 new period ... 28:04 substitution in SLO 14 Rizvic Hasan 28:04 substitution out SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 28:04 substitution in SLO 5 Vrecko Zan 28:04 substitution out SLO 8 Fon Miha 28:04 substitution in GRE 4 Xanthopoulos Vasilis 28:04 substitution out GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios 28:04 substitution in GRE 14 Mavroeidis Dimitros 28:04 substitution out GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 28:04 personal fault SLO 8 Fon Miha 28:04 time GRE ... 27:49 rebound defensive SLO 6 Lorbek Domen 27:48 block SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 27:46 short 2pt failed GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian ... 27:10 rebound defensive SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 27:08 long 2pt failed GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian ... 25:22 personal fault GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 25:22 acquired foul SLO 4 Mocnik Jure 25:19 steal GRE 7 Vasileiadis Konstantinos 25:16 turnover SLO 4 Mocnik Jure 25:12 steal SLO 25:12 turnover GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 24:57 rebound defensive GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 24:55 3pt attempt failed SLO 11 Zagorac Saša 24:37 steal SLO 24:37 turnover GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian ... 23:44 assist GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios 23:43 long 2pt scored GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian ... 22:55 short 2pt scored GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 22:52 rebound offensive GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 22:51 3pt attempt failed GRE 13 Vasilopoulos Panagiotis ... 21:12 rebound defensive SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 21:11 free throw failed GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 21:11 free throw failed GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 21:11 personal fault GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 21:11 acquired foul SLO 8 Fon Miha 21:02 steal GRE 4 Xanthopoulos Vasilis 21:01 turnover SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem ... 20:36 personal fault GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 20:36 acquired foul SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem ... 20:00 steal SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 20:00 substitution in SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 20:00 substitution in SLO 14 Rizvic Hasan 20:00 substitution in SLO 8 Fon Miha 20:00 substitution in SLO 6 Lorbek Domen 20:00 substitution in SLO 4 Mocnik Jure 20:00 substitution in GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 20:00 substitution in GRE 13 Vasilopoulos Panagiotis 20:00 substitution in GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios 20:00 substitution in GRE 7 Vasileiadis Konstantinos 20:00 substitution in GRE 4 Xanthopoulos Vasilis 20:00 new period ... 17:46 substitution in GRE 8 Apostolidis Georgios 17:46 substitution out GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 17:46 substitution in GRE 7 Vasileiadis Konstantinos 17:46 substitution out GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios 17:46 substitution in GRE 5 Sourlis Giorgios 17:46 substitution out GRE 4 Xanthopoulos Vasilis 17:46 substitution in SLO 11 Zagorac Saša 17:46 substitution out SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 17:46 time GRE ... 16:45 assist GRE 4 Xanthopoulos Vasilis 16:44 break successful GRE 16:43 short 2pt scored GRE 12 Mavrokefalidis Loukas 16:42 rebound defensive GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 16:38 block GRE 12 Mavrokefalidis Loukas 16:35 short 2pt failed SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem ... 15:47 short 2pt scored GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 15:46 rebound offensive GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 15:45 short 2pt failed GRE 4 Xanthopoulos Vasilis ... 14:37 assist GRE 13 Vasilopoulos Panagiotis 14:35 short 2pt scored GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 14:21 rebound defensive GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios ... 11:30 acquired foul SLO 4 Mocnik Jure 11:30 personal fault GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios 11:30 rebound defensive GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios 11:29 block GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 11:28 short 2pt failed SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem ... 10:00 steal SLO 10:00 substitution in SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 10:00 substitution in SLO 14 Rizvic Hasan 10:00 substitution in SLO 6 Lorbek Domen 10:00 substitution in SLO 5 Vrecko Zan 10:00 substitution in SLO 4 Mocnik Jure 10:00 substitution in GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 10:00 substitution in GRE 13 Vasilopoulos Panagiotis 10:00 substitution in GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios 10:00 substitution in GRE 7 Vasileiadis Konstantinos 10:00 substitution in GRE 4 Xanthopoulos Vasilis 10:00 new period ... 05:28 substitution in GRE 12 Mavrokefalidis Loukas 05:28 substitution out GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 05:28 free throw GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 05:28 substitution in SLO 14 Rizvic Hasan 05:28 substitution out SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 05:28 acquired foul SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 05:28 personal fault GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 05:28 short 2pt scored GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 05:28 rebound offensive GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 05:26 block SLO 6 Lorbek Domen 05:25 short 2pt failed GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 05:23 rebound offensive GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 05:22 3pt attempt failed GRE 7 Vasileiadis Konstantinos ... 04:44 assist GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 04:42 short 2pt scored GRE 7 Vasileiadis Konstantinos 04:27 steal GRE 04:27 turnover SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem ... 03:38 rebound defensive SLO 11 Zagorac Saša 03:36 short 2pt failed GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 03:34 rebound offensive GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 03:33 3pt attempt failed GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios ... 02:49 free throw failed SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 02:49 substitution in SLO 11 Zagorac Saša 02:49 substitution out SLO 12 Julevic Mensud 02:49 acquired foul GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 02:49 personal fault SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 02:49 short 2pt scored SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 02:48 rebound defensive SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 02:46 long 2pt failed SLO 6 Lorbek Domen ... 01:47 free throw GRE 13 Vasilopoulos Panagiotis 01:47 free throw GRE 13 Vasilopoulos Panagiotis 01:47 acquired foul SLO 12 Julevic Mensud 01:47 personal fault GRE 13 Vasilopoulos Panagiotis 01:37 rebound offensive GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 01:35 3pt attempt failed GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios ... 01:16 free throw SLO 4 Mocnik Jure 01:16 personal fault SLO 4 Mocnik Jure 01:16 acquired foul GRE 13 Vasilopoulos Panagiotis 01:16 break successful SLO 01:16 short 2pt scored SLO 4 Mocnik Jure 01:13 steal SLO 8 Fon Miha 01:12 turnover GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 00:58 rebound defensive GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 00:57 short 2pt failed SLO 12 Julevic Mensud ... 00:38 short 2pt scored GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian ... 00:00 steal GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 00:00 substitution in SLO 15 Lorbek Erazem 00:00 substitution in SLO 12 Julevic Mensud 00:00 substitution in SLO 8 Fon Miha 00:00 substitution in SLO 6 Lorbek Domen 00:00 substitution in SLO 4 Mocnik Jure 00:00 substitution in GRE 15 Vougioukas Ian 00:00 substitution in GRE 13 Vasilopoulos Panagiotis 00:00 substitution in GRE 11 Perperoglou Efstratios 00:00 substitution in GRE 7 Vasileiadis Konstantinos 00:00 substitution in GRE 4 Xanthopoulos Vasilis 00:00 new period

It made loading the page take forever.

The game log doesn't list any dunks for 15 Vougiuokas, Ian. It could be a tip attempt, or he could have been just jumping to tip the ball in and it stayed in (remember, in international rules, players can touch the ball above the rim/in the cylinder so long as it touches the rim, first).

In Greece's first preliminary round game of the 2004 Under-20 European Championship, Ian Vouyoukas started and played 21 minutes, scoring 13 and grabbing nine rebounds (six offensive). Greece won 91-84 over Slovenia. Vouyoukas committed three turnovers and had one assist, one steal, and at least one block. I'm somewhat befuddled, though, about how Ian started the first three quarters but sat out all but the last 10 seconds of the fourth quarter (in a tight game).

1. Northwestern 2. Illinois 3. Arkansas 4. Bradley 5. Evansville

nm

Archie, in addition to the fact that Dwayne Polk is the only true point guard on the roster, I urge you to trust in Brad Soderberg's ability to coach and Polk's coachability. Polk will give his all on defense and will not be a liability, and Soderberg will have the Bills prepared to be as staunch on defense as ever.

It's difficult to project the entire starting five this early in the offseason, particular without having seen Antwan Alexander and Vas'shun Newborne play. But I'll try, anyway. Reggie Bryant will start at one guard all season and lead the team in scoring. Tom Frericks will start at center all season and will probably lead the team in rebounding. Izik Ohanon will start at one forward most of the season. Dwayne Polk will start at the point most of the season. Anthony Drejaj will start at one guard part of the season. Vas'shun Newborne will start at one forward part of the season. Antwan Alexander will be in the rotation at guard and may occasionally start. Ian Vouyoukas will be in the rotation at center. Darren Clarke will be in the rotation at guard; he may see a couple of starts. Justin Johnson should be in the rotation at forward; who knows -- he might surprise. Bryce Husak may see some time at center. Luke Meyer may see some time on the wing; I still wouldn't be surprised if he redshirts. Again, look for the team to score more and play offesively at a quicker tempo to take advantage of Polk's quickness and the team's increased athleticism. While he's inexperienced and needs to add some muscle mass to withstand the rugged wear and tear he'll see, Polk is quicker and more skilled at the point than Drejaj. Furthermore, while Drejaj is a bulldog and may be the heart of the team for the next two years, Polk is defensive-minded and may become a better option than Drejaj against most teams. Moreover, Ohanon, Johnson, Clarke, Alexander, and maybe Newborne will probably thrive under the style of play Polk will lead. Look for Ohanon and Johnson to do the things on the back end of Polk's passes that Curtis Muse did last year. But, still, it will be Reggie Bryant's team this year.

>Perry played alot until he tore up his ankle. I don't >remember him starting. Actually, while Marque Perry didn't start his first game, he stared all season after John Redden got hurt (I think that was in the first game of the season), until he dislocated his ankle. That was with Dave Fergerson as a senior on the team.

...Lorenzo Romar, a former NBA player, wasn't able to translate that network into getting top-notch recruits into attending Saint Louis.