Quality Is Job 1

>If Coach wants wings who can shoot, dribble and pass, that's >all the more reason it's a blessing Drew is gone. > >The numbers don't lie. Edwin was a far superior player to >Diener in every aspect, including shooting - look at the >3-point shooting percentages. Are you being sarcastic? 2000-01 - Diener shot 39.3%; Edwin 44.4% 2001-02 - Diener shot 42.3%; Edwin 37.9% Considering that each played nearly equal minutes per game (though not necessarily games) each of those two seasons together and that they both played more in 2002 than 2001, the numbers are virtually equal. How do these statistics support your claim that Jason Edwin was *far* superior to Drew Diener in shooting? (This is not a comment, in agreement or disagreement, with any other claim or insinuation in your post.)

I have to agree with Roy. I hope that Darren Clarke is an "overachiever" and plays a lot as a freshman. I think that Anthony Drejaj may have already "overachieved" yet could still blossom, ala Maurice Jeffers. I agree with the concept that we would like all SLU players to be athletically gifted. However, it would also be nice if the players that come to SLU also work hard to fulfill their potential and bust their tails to EXTEND that potential.

I noticed "recruiting" as I was reading through this series of posts the second time to see what the responses were, but when I read it the first time and responded to it, I missed that word. I guess I was tired then.

>Remember these guy are growing up, that has to be the scary >thing about recruiting, a coaches career is dependent upon >the decisions made by a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds. I don't think the youngest players on the team are 16 or 17. More likely, they're 18 and 19. Maybe an occasional freshman is 17. I agree with your point that the players are young men who need to mature, but it's not THAT bad (I work with high-school kids from 14 to 19 years of age).

I believe that's what we're expecting out of Tom Frericks. Personally, I'd like the standard to be 8-plus rebounds per game.

I love Jimmy McKinney, and I hope he stays at Mizzou and helps that program get to the Final Four and win a National Championship, and I think he's got the potential to be a very good player at Mizzou, having a career among the top five to ten guards. Nevertheless, McKinney was not an elite recruit. He was not a Top 10 or Top 20 recruit. Nor, obviously, was he a national freshman of the year type. (If you made me pick Larry Hughes or McKinney, I'd take Hughes before you could even get the Mac out of your mouth.) The thing that Jimmy needs to realize is that just because you weren't an elite recruit doesn't mean that you can't become an elite player (and on the flip side, some extremely highly-touted recruits never become elite players -- I seem to remember that Travon Bryant was a McDonald's All-American, but I've yet to see him consistently perform at a level that proves he deserve(d/s) that honor). McKinney should allow Coach Snyder's (probably) unintended slight to motivate himself to demonstrate that, though he may not have been an "elite" recruit, he will be an elite player. And he should do it at Mizzou. Of course, I wouldn't be at all mad if he would decide to transfer to SLU (you'll recall that that's where I wanted him to go in the first place).

Whenever you want to see a list of the top posters, go to the lobby (pull-down menu at the bottom of the main board page). Then click the "check who's online" link. Then, under "Sort by which field?" choose "Sort by posts." Then select "Check last month" from the pull-down menu under "Select another time range." Then click go, and you will get a relatively accurate list of the top posters (and everyone else who's checked in in the last 30 days). Here are the Top 20 posters (who've visited in the last month): billiken_roy Jun-02-03 03:23Â PM 2865 Triangle andToo Jun-01-03 00:36Â AM 1050 Schasz May-20-03 08:03Â PM 709 Basketbill Jun-02-03 12:06Â PM 583 thetorch Jun-02-03 07:29Â PM 574 aj_arete Jun-02-03 11:04Â AM 546 thicks Jun-02-03 08:10Â PM 546 davidnark Jun-02-03 08:54Â AM 531 DeSmetBilliken May-30-03 02:15Â PM 513 jjray Jun-02-03 02:41Â PM 432 3star_recruit May-31-03 08:09Â AM 422 BLIKNS May-30-03 11:31Â PM 381 SluSignGuy Jun-02-03 05:49Â PM 363 TheA_Bomb May-21-03 10:06Â AM 328 Billiken Law Jun-02-03 06:17Â PM 322 Taj79 Jun-02-03 07:58Â AM 297 Billiken Rich Jun-02-03 10:53Â AM 294 slu72 Jun-02-03 10:47Â AM 246 BigMacSLU88 May-29-03 03:28Â PM 241 UNCA SODABERGER May-17-03 05:14Â PM 226 Torch, you are No. 5. I move into sixth place by myself with this post. I used to be third, but during the season I was busy working two jobs, and people passed me. Or should I say I used to have a life?

Don't be fooled. There's no such thing as "basketball-only." SLU, et al, are not "basketball-only" schools. Rather, they are non-football schools. All of the conferences and conference realignments everyone has been talking about are for all sports. It's just that the one many of us are pining for would be made of non-football schools. It would be a great thing for SLU if the Big East non-football schools merged with SLU, Marquette, DePaul, Charlotte (and maybe also Xavier and Dayton from the Atlantic 10). Short of that, I'd rather see the Billikens as part of C-USA, because conferences without football will be minor (okay, okay: mid-major) players in the NCAA unless schools like Georgetown, St. John's, and Villanova are involved.

The article refers to the speculation that Syracuse will likely leave the Big East for the ACC. >>Too bad Syracuse won’t be around to play Pitino’s Cards every year. As one Big East insider said of the move to the ACC by Miami, SU and Boston College, "It’s a done deal." >>The stench is beginning to make me sick to my stomach. You’ll pardon me; time to get acquainted with my map of Tobacco Road.

The Big XII has north and south divisions yet works very well. The standings may not be divided, but the schedule is. Mizzou, Kansas, Iowa State, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas State play a double round-robin and play one game against each of the other teams: Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. They have only been the premier league in the country for the past two years.

I don't know what Coach Soderberg said about Darren Clarke, but if he did say that he will be a difference maker, then what I'd like to envision is that, by the time he is a junior or senior, he'll be a dangerous scorer who can get his and help his teammates get some, too -- someone who makes his teammates better. I'm not, however, expecting waves from him in 2003-04.

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Please note that I didn't say SLU couldn't or shouldn't have ANY lumbering giants manning the interior position; I just said that there should be more players in those positions that are long, lean slashers. Also, for a four or five, "slashing" doesn't have to mean driving from 15 feet (a la Izik Ohanon); it could be a quick move in the lane or a reverse -- like a Nick Collison or Jared Jeffries.

>>Clarke could be a great find--or the addition of another overhyped swing man. I hope 3star is right about him. Earl Austin Jr. told me back in December that Darren Clarke can really shoot and he's very athletic. Furthermore, he hasn't gotten enough hype to be overhyped. I'm thinking we may have a sort of poor-man's Dwayne Wade (or, at worst, another version of Jason Edwin -- hopefully one who'll play all out). In a month, I believe we'll all know more.

Please keep in mind, folks, that SLU's coach, Brad Soderberg, got his degree in Physical Education.

Thanks to Billiken of C-USA Talk and based on information from Earl Austin Jr. of the St. Louis American, I'm pleased to pass along that the annual Demetrius Johnson Charitable Foundation high school all-star basketball game will be played on Saturday, June 28, at Fontbonne. The game consists of top area players against a team of top players from around the country. Johnson typically invites SLU, Mizzou, and Illinois recruits. I think Darren Clarke and Bryce Husak will probably be there.

The problem with that thinking is that Brad Soderberg now coaches in Conference USA, not the Big 10, and has said that he will recruit athletes who can win in C-USA. I believe he (SLU) will need more lean, long, slashing leapers at the four and five spots than lumbering giants.

Marquette has never been a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. It was a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1990 and 1991 (I don't remember that, but that's what my Inside Sports College Basketball (1998) says.

...I do think I remember reading something like that. Thanks; good looking out.

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Has the NCAA changed its rules so that high school graduates who have not enrolled in a member institution can declare for the draft and retain their college eligibility? This has not been the case in the past.

If Kendrick Perkins doesn't go to Memphis, then they should lose those nine points (I think it's an asinine rating system) and drop to 14, which would put SLU ahead of the Tigers.

...is a wonderful thing if you're a student. In the real world, though, improvisation is important. If you have anything to add, I'd love to read your comments.

>So Thicks, in your opinion a major has nothing to do with a >team, or a program, but the conference to which it belongs? It's not a matter of being my opinion; it is the definition. >Cincy is not a major program in Bball? Cincinnati is definitely a high-major athletics program. Conference USA has Div. 1-A football. >What got me thinking about this was the post below about >someone stating that Butler would have to be thought of as >more than a mid major, due to their recent success. Should >Butler continue its string of NCAA appearances, and get to a >sweet sixteen or two, I would have to think of that program >as a major in bball. Especially if the coach decides to >stay and not move on to another program, to continue to >build what he started years earlier. As a member of the Horizon, Butler can't be considered anything above a mid-major. The level of success they've had doesn't change that. The same thing applies to Gonzaga. Nor does the lack of success that Northwestern has had in basketball make them a mid-major as opposed to a high-major. I think many fans try to use the terms "high-major" (or just "major") and "mid-major" synonymously with "top-notch" and "mediocre," respectively. Technically, that's incorrect. There are mediocre high-major programs, and there are top-notch mid-major programs.

Billiken wrote: Ritter's Kenny Burke announced, at least tenatively, that he will join Carbondale's Maurice Gibbs at Moberly JC next year. He is still holding out hope of a mid level D-1 offer. Currently he has offers in hand from Evansville and Western Illinois. He will visit Northern Arizona after this month's graduation. [Earlier this year someone posted that Arizona was interested in Burke. Guess they forgot the N.] You may be referring to me. I posted that, while at the Normandy Tournament, I'd talked to a spectator who is the father of a Ritter player (JV last season, though). He told me that Kenny Burke was going to Arizona and that Terry Evans would be going to Oklahoma. If anyone forgot the "N.," it was he, not I. Also, we'll see how correct he was about Evans. If Burke (wasn't he the Post-Dispatch POY?) has an offer from Evansville, why is he holding out for "a mid-level D-1 offer"?