Quality Is Job 1

>Looking back on the past five years Mizzou went to 4 >NCAA's an Elite 8 and a sweet 16. Missouri's record in Quin Snyder's four NCAA Tournaments is 5-4. They reached the Elite 8 once and were eliminated in the second round twice (and had one one-and-done). There was not an Elite 8 and a Sweet Sixteen.

If Doug Woolard is offered the USF position (for what I'm sure will be more money), then I think he should take it -- because of football and the Big East -- and I would be happy for him. I don't think it would be bad for SLU to find another person for the position, but I, too, don't necessarily want Woolard out. This is not really the best time for change in the position, but at other times I think both Woolard and SLU could benefit from a change.

>....This would allow Shaun to be drafted >this year, not sign a shoe contract or hire an agent, play >for a year at Duke, and then sign with the team which >drafted him, if he likes that team. This would give Shaun a >leg up on his second, non-capped contract in the NBA, and >save his team 2.2 million in development pay while Shaun >sits the bench his first year. Such would be a win-win for >both parties involved. Unless the rule has changed, high school players cannot declare for the NBA draft and retain any college eligibility. If they declare for the draft out of high school, they can never play Div. I ball.

I've seen Fish dunk during offseason scrimmages. He can do it with relative ease. I don't know why he never dunked in an official game. Perhaps it's because in a scrimmage -- against guys who are friends and teammates -- the resistance is far less than it would be in a game against another team.

Let's exhibit some patience (and faith). Tommie will be a Billiken. I believe he'll make a formal recommittment, but we may have to wait a while. His focus should be on school right now, anyway.

However, I would like to make a couple of corrections. 1. The player's name is Sekue Barentine, not "Seke." 2. David Robinson is the assistant coach here at McCluer South-Berkeley High School (I worked with him this past season), but he doesn't teach here. He works in the St. Louis Public School District. 3. The name of the junior college where Jamall Walker is an assistant coach is Redwoods.

Hmmm. I think some of those Illini fans have sampled the sour grapes, too. A significant number of them took shots at KL, calling him a "Mama's boy" and saying that he's not good enough for Illinois.

>I grew up in Peoria, and everyone wanted to play for >Richwoods if they could, at that time. A packed gym with >screaming fans means the world for the players, and these >days will be back for SLU if we have Polk, Lisch, Liddell, >and Meyer walking on the court to play. Not "if," "when."

>Also rules people, Brad wasn't at this >scrimmage. Are coaches not allowed to have organized >practices now or something, or does anyone else have an idea >why Brad wouldn't be there? NCAA regulations do not allow coaches to run team practices outside of the window of the season. It is a violation of the rules for them to even watch the team scrimmage (but I'm sure many have their spies). During the academic year (outside of the season window), coaches can have workouts with individual players (or small groups of players, but not most of or all of the team). During the summer, they aren't allowed to have even individual workouts. For those reasons, Brad wasn't present at the scrimmages. However, Brad was surely in the building -- in his office. I'm sure the players stopped by and spoke to the coaches before and/or after the scrimmages. Let me caution that what you see during offseason scrimmages is not necessarily indicative of what you'll see from player during the season. As Brad told me last fall, they don't play that hard, they don't play much defense (particularly TEAM defense), and they don't run the plays they would run when they're coached. This word of caution especially applies to Izik Ohanon. I think he always looks awesome during the offseason, but he hasn't been a star during the season. I sure hope it changes for his senior season, but I'm not betting on it.

While it sounds like a pretty good idea, I have to wonder how well it would work. I think many people in the athletic department, including Coach Soderberg, consider internet sites and their communities an annoyance, if not "the enemy." Once Brad found out I like to post on the internet, he decided he didn't want to engage in much conversation with me, and when he would see me, before I could say, "Hello," he would say, "No comment." I would like to be able to have a casual conversation with him without being distrusted.

>Paranoid conspiracy theories? namecalling? making implied >claims about my ability (and the ability of others) to make >reasonable decisions for ourselves about the officials we >choose to elect? > >You're opening up a pandora's box with inflammatory >statements like that. cheesycow, are you referring to me, bauman, or NYBill? I can't see how you could be accusing me of the things you named.

Just because you don't agree with his political views doesn't make him "very sick" and you necessarily (and everyone else who disagrees with him) reasonable and responsible. I do agree that this forum may not be the appropriate place to express political views -- but only because the majority of the community wants to keep the forum free off that discussion -- but I think many of the ideas NYBill has expressed have merit.

...let me say I think it's unfortunate (for us) that you waited until after your son completed his eligibility to begin contributing. Chris Sloan will be missed. I will wait until I've seen Vas'shun Newbourne play before I post any thoughts about whether the Billikens will be better or worse off at the power forward position following Sloan's graduation -- as it pertains to newcomers. I will say, though, that an improved and more mature Justin Johnson would easily upgrade the Bills at the power forward spot, but it remains to be seen.

Zip Rzepa broadcasts weekday mornings on 1380 the Team. I rarely listen, but I know he's there.

How old are you?

As I've said before and as I told Dwayne Polk last month, I envision Polk and Tommie Liddell as SLU's version of the St. Joseph's duo, Jameer Nelson and Delonte West. The difference would have been that Polk and Liddell would be in the same class, whereas Nelson was a year ahead of West. Now the similarities will be more congruent. 2008 Elite Eight (or Final Four), here we come! (hopefully sooner)

> >slu72, > actually, one of those 6'8" 240lb. forwards from baltimore >did want to come to slu. his name is dennard abraham, who is >one of reggie runnng buddies. he has been discussed quite a >bit on the board in the past. he committed here, but did not >qualify. he is not at south plains j.c. in texas where he >had a good freshman year. word on the street is that he is a >high priority for the recruiting class of 2005. > so, reggie has been looking out for us on that front. > >bad boyz for life "he is not at south plains j.c. in texas" or "he is now at south plains j.c. in texas"?

nm

I nominate Jason Edwin. He went from playing sporadically as a freshman to averaging nearly double figures as a sophomore, with some 20-point performances.

Justin Johnson probably has the most upside. Darren Clarke might be the one to see the biggest increase in contribution this year, but let's see what they do this summer before guessing. Personally, though, I don't think we'll get a whole lot more out of Anthony Drejaj. He'll be key, but I don't think he'll be a whole lot better than he has been.

>I'm more excited about SLU since the Claggett/Highmark era. >However as has been pointed out within the thread, Liddell >will hear from recruiters that will badmouth SLU. They'll >talk about TV exposure, the conference affiliation, and >their few NBA alumni (Hughes, Bonner and...). I wish I was >as confident as Jalensdad, but I don't see Liddell in a SLU >uniform. Will all those negative recruiters be able to tell Tommie Liddell anything that will outweigh the relationships that have started to form between himself and Brad Soderberg, Dwayne Polk, and Kevin Lisch (who we all hope and expect will commit to SLU before Tommie enrolls at whatever school he goes to)? If the things you mentioned were so important to Tommie AND were missing from SLU, why did he choose SLU in the first place? I just don't think all the things that appealled to Tommie in his decision to sign with SLU will disappear. I still believe Liddell will be a Billiken, and I still have some hope that it will be this coming season. He still has another chance to take the ACT. Dennard Abraham got a qualifying score late (too late, though, as SLU had already given his scholarship away), so maybe Tommie will, too. And hopefully his scholarship won't be given away.

I want to be careful about making projections about a player who has yet to suit up in a Div. I game, but I do have fairly high expectations out of Dwayne Polk. He's quicker than Marque Perry and shoots considerably better from the outside (though I think he's a bit streaky). He'll quarterback the team from the start, just as Perry did. I believe Polk is capable of putting up 10 points per game without too much difficulty, but will he defer to the veterans Reggie Bryant, Tom Frericks, and Izik Ohanon? Also, assists are tricky to project, because they depend upon the pass-recipient's ability to finish the shot after the pass. The other factor to consider is how much of a step up from high school ball (especially in Missouri, where Kalen Grimes is awarded the Gatorade Player of the Year) Div. I ball is. Players are much taller, faster, quicker, stronger, and more skilled, and all but an elite few take some time to adjust. I don't know if Polk is one of those elect few. (Plus, the general trend has been that Floyd Irons-coached players -- except for Anthony Bonner -- peak in high school. I hope that Polk, under Brad Soderberg's tutelege &l;remember, Brad played Dwayne's position in college&r;, can be another exception to that trend.) I'm going to say that Dwayne will give us 7.5 points and 4 assists per game as a freshman. Also -- perhaps this is going out on a limb -- I think by the time his career at SLU is over, he will have had at least one season average of 12 points and 6 assists per game and at least one regular-season conference championship.