GOSLU68

he wasted everybody's time with people like Darius Miles who would never be eligible for college; he was very lucky to get out out of town when he did; name his big recruits, name his wins that came because of coaching; brad does have a clue about recruiting in the midwest and last year and this year have shown that he can get the right types; romar had real fan support and in spite of a lack of SLU background was really accepted by the fan base; if the media and fans gave brad half the credit and hope they gave romar we would be ahead of schedule. brad seemed a little younger but really had more experience at coaching and romar seemed very content to travel the west coast he was familiar with and to let the players play and not interfere very much. I would have liked brad to have assistants who were his equal and I think the one thing romar did to show he wanted to at least try in the midwest was hire brad-we have had growing pains with brad but he certainly has SLU way out ahead of MO or we would not have the new recruit from Linn

if not I've got him confused with someone else we had as an assistant? thanks for any information I hate to have the wrong thing in my mind

Bonner was great but not as good as Larry Hughes who was not here long enough to make an impression on NBA starved St. Louis fans and now that Laurie has fizzled. SLU arena will reign as the best place in town for basketball. McCauley (Easy Ed is hands down, the winner of any best awards and Bob Ferry was better in his era than Hughes-there may be others our chances of seeing Hughes are nil; I would like to see Bonner on the bench, too; my guess is associate coach would only tease him. Back to Jamal. He is from Wichita and Kansas City so was Angres. Brad must figure we can recruit against KU, KState, Mizzou, and Oklahoma schools. We certainly can attract city kids to St. Louis and everyone sees the demographics are way up on people playing and living in the city. Maybe Brad will move in after his son starts college

Dayton sells out all the time and has a large season ticket percentage and they have to compete with X and Cincy just down the road. Surely, 10,600 is a better number than 10 flat. If we sell out every game can we reach the heights of the Charley Spoonhauer-Larry Hughes single season?

the but is Floyd Irons has been passed over many times with regard to SLU jobs; even when the program was down and he had good recruits to follow him. Vtime it is great to have your participation from near the SLU campus and to get the local feedback that you work at gathering; however, many of the St. Louis audience have been affected by recent (see the Demetrius Johnson and Floyd Irons) co hosted program that has been on local TV many times supporting Quin; yes, it is that old, and they still replay it. It is the same conversation where they question whether TL will stay at SLU and can accept Brad's coaching style; and it ends with Floyd Irons questioning whether Brad can get along with black players. A lot of the program was a retribution to Slaten and his interference with Irons coaching Slaten and Iron's son on an AAU team, I believe. I wouldn't listen to Slaten on radio for a minute; but to Seque (not sure of spelling) onto Brad after that conversation showed little interest in giving SLU or at least treating the balding coach as if he were a racist skin head because they are at least biased toward public schools for the money they represent. Harris Stowe has become a power in the public school system in St. Louis and it has always had a special place in St. Louis history. We hope you work as hard at keeping their ambitions alive and that you benefit from staying in the city. I have a couple of degrees from SLU and live in the city and grew up on the Eside;but this is my adopted hometown, now. Vtime keep reporting, and leave the editorials to old folks too lazy to dig for the facts

Ahearne and his family begged for a chance for the kid to go to SLU; he would have been the best free throw shooter on the team and the best ball hawk since the tenacious Scott Highmark and that would have been fun to watch with DP, AJ, etc. Darren Clarke was intimidated by D1 opposition, he only looked good when left unguarded; he had no toughness. Our coach is tough on himself but not brutal with his players like Spoon or Grawer; remember how Spoon made Virgil Cobbins play with such a bad ankle? We definitely need some more intimidating players. They need to qualify academically and not come out of prison but some multisport types or banger rebounders wouldn't hurt us. Carlos Skinner played his heart out for Grawer and was rewarded with minutes for rebounding not shooting; we need a rebounder; we can not count on a guard to be our second best rebounder

Would you rate Steve Novak a top post player or a tall 3 point shooter? Burwell says he rates ahead of IV as a post player-he has none of the true center characteristics that make IV a top college center-can IV shoot a jumper like Novak? Unequivocably, NO. So IV is going to enjoy a great senior year leading the Bills and we are going to have a great year with a recruit or two more that can start at 4 or hit 3's or slash to the basket or rebound. We were a weak rebounding team when a freshman guard is the second leading rebounder. Burwell doesn't belong on the front page of the Post sports section. He does not do his homework. He just dreams and fantasizes. His aritcle was an agrandizement of the one on page three that offered details, reports but no suppositions. Did Burwell glance over and see what the other guy was writing and say I can give a take on that to stir the pot. Nice try but we can see you hardly follow the Billikens.

blame Romar who tried to recruit basketball players from the West Coast and non scholars; he was the luckiest guy to get out of here before he ran out of miracles to save him; he may be a coach now, but maybe you don't remember all the game he just let the team play-not even calling time outs when the other team went on a run. Brad is growing as a coach and once he gets acclimated in the new league and with the new refs we will be just dandy. We do need a starter 4 but that is no news. AK looks like the future can you imagine us in 4 years if Ian's younger brother comes on board at 6" 8" and growing.

If a kid is smart and he has parents more concerned about what he does after he is 30 years old all he has to do is look at the numbers: do I want a $100,000 education and name recognition in the St. Louis Metro or do I want to go to school in some college town that people visit on homecoming and get a $25,000 scholarship for 4 years to yet another state school. SLU and the Jesuit education can compete and the A10 is a draw if you want to play in Ney York and Philadelphia instead of a soybean patch

we need this kid and others who can score and for any local kid who wants to see his name in the Post Dispatch or Sporting News-Saint Louis is a major market that could lead to TV or sprts show jobs for the future; we already have the two best TL and KL and an allstater coming from the East Side. Romar tried recruting top ball players with bad academics and couldn't place third. Wasn't it bad boy Darius Miles, who walks out on his NBA team that Romar wanted so badly? Stemler is a shooter we will have to have guards looking for long rebounds if DM and Stemler are added to the mix; by the way Bryce does rebound and block shots-he seems to be more threatening to lay up opponents and short jumpers than I. V. Also BM Nebraska handled Marquette, easily, in there only head to head last year. Lots of kids who want to go to SLU for a Jesuit education end up at Marquette when they can't qualify for SLU-non basketball players- you probably think we should lower the bar for intramural sports, too

I forgot to mention DB, who shows streaks of shooting but likes to sit on his spot ala Brett Hull or Reggie Bryant, for my tastes. DB could not have started for Air Force this year, they were loaded with agressive, full charge guys who hustled as starters or alternates and who could shoot straight. We have to get back to Brad's motion offensive instead of playing half court ball and Twin Towers only works if Bryce is in good enough shape to run both ends of the court, same for OBI. Otherwise, Dustin is better potential than a very hard working AD who had less size and talent. JJ had a game the year we beat De Paul, away, that showed the kid can play with anyone; he just needs to make grades in the classroom and on the practise court because Brad won't take chances on guys who only get up for games and look like they aren't breaking a sweat; Eugene Moore who went to the NBA, Mel Robinson and a few others including TL sometimes make it look so easy they can't convince the coach they are trying even if they get 5 steals, 2 assists, 3 blocked shots, 20 points, and 8 rebounds. BM talent is hard to assess from a kid sitting on the bench. I.V. was mediocre on the bench and as a sub. He only woke up from naps on the bench when they decided he should start and he was being depended on. We would see a different JJ and a different DB and a different DM and a diffferent BH if they were told they were starters and had to play 25-30 minutes a game. These guys play like they are going to get 5 minutes and have to be perfect for 5 minutes. If anything this team needs is the knowledge that 8-9 guys are going to have to play for 20 minutes or more and let the others sit the whole season. John Duff was well loved by the fans, but mostly, he came off the bench for three four shots and then back to the wood. Not many guys can add impact from the bench.

Brad is honest, straight forward, and has a clue as to who he can trust in a game; maybe he is a little stuck on guards-but SLU fans had to put up with that with Spoonhauer and Grawer, as well. At least, he shows signs of growing and maturing on the job. He is well liked and takes time to talk to fans, alum, and students. He has a problem with the refs trying to whine or hammer them for bad calls and he quieted himself this past season. He had a problem with doghousing talented ball players and I'll bet you see fewer of them banished to the bench after poor weeks in practise. If you remember how Spoon forced Virgil Cobbin to play on a bad leg, it was embarrassing to think this kid may not walk after a a few seasons with SLU and maybe Brad can get Bryce to run both ends of the court and maybe he can get JJ enthused about practice so he can get more game time; but those are coaching problems he has yet to conquer. You want instant fixes? How is your personal financial situation. Buy a gold brick. or better yet, send in $5,000 earmarked for Eurpean recruitment. Word on the street has been with the basketball camps for your in Europe they will dominate the NBA in the future, not urban kids from public schools. In fact, tell me what public school grads are having a positive effect on Missouri, St. Louis, Illinois? We here about Clagget, Corey Frazier and others coaching-do you have any doubt they learned more than basketball at SLU?

didn't we just have two kids who week in and week out be freshman player of the week; I am confused did you go to any games? When was the last time you saw this team; it's been two years since our brain concussed center had to quit with half the season left and we did not have any one fast enough or sharpshooter enough to do anything but get out of I.O.'s way; if you went to the games that season you will recal I. O. stepped from the shadows to show some real quality. Last year we were a little better but not there yet because Polk lost his shot and A.D. had a bad foot slowing an already speed challenged player who lost his ability to finesse his opponents; most of us do care that we recruit kids our sisters, daughters, and wives can be on campus with and who can graduate. I just talked to a retiring professor's family at K-State and they say 5,000 ticket holders are protesting the hiring of Huggins, who graduated maybe one kid while at Cincy and still couldn't beat Xavier (we did twice last year, did you notice) They are saying Huggins is attracted to Manhattan because of the proximity of Leavenworth for recruiting. Where do you think he will live in the off-season? Did you happen to notice how long it took him to get a job in spite of having some players of the type you covet lined up? Yes, we have to compete with Temple, St. Joe, Charlotte, and I am sure our kids prefer going to New York and Philadelphia to play a lot better than being bussed to somewhere in Iowa or Evansville or Omaha. B. H. has good hands, makes good passes, blocks shots, and has a decent shot. He probably is as far along as I.V. was after his freshman and sophomore years. Big kids rarely are impact players right out of small town high schools thus the need for redshirts. Please rush to the doctor and get medicated or counseling because you need to go watch some professional sports for awhile before becoming a college amateur fan, again. You are probably one of the guys predicting Rolen and Edmonds to be washed up because they had off years and can be streaky players. Try and have a better day before you get on the board, again. Kids with 19-20-21-22-23 24-25 will not compete in the class room at SLU and they will not feel they belong, they should go to Western Illiniois, Carbondale, Mo. State. or other mediocre learning institutions which are good environments for middle class American but not up to SLU standards.

Bryce plays the 5 and IV gets to play the 4 which is the only position he could play in the NBA; OBI, JJ, LM come in if Bryce gets in foul trouble and DM starts as the three and is backed up by JJ or LM; you lose some mobility and defensive quickness-but you get better block shots, rebounding, and 3 point shooting than with AD this year; we can be sure everyone will do better than VN who was only in shape for the last 4 games- this means Bryce and OBI have to be able to run without getting oxygen and it means NIT 18-12 type season; not one team in the league would have an answer for Bryce and IV and we could play the others into the scheme with Polk and others having to drive to the basket and park some threes. DM will be better than what we had this year and he could be a 4 year starter

what city would the tournament be in?

SLU is tougher than Illinois State in basic educational requirements; if you have Dentmon who commits to Illinois State but has to go to prepschool because he can't get in and later he goes to Washington because he still can't qualify for SLU-couple that with the fact that Romar lost his chief recruiter, Cameron $ Dollar for recruiting violations his very first year at Washington and couple that fact that Romar brought us Randy Pulley who is just about as infamous as a bad juco choice at Mizzou and you have to believe Ohio State, Huggins, Calipari, Romar, all bend the rules way beyond what SLU alums and coaches are willing to allow or afford in the way of funding and you get the dilema that places SLU in the A 110 where people are upset about George Washington prep schoolers- guess what all these guys went to the NCAA this year- yes, Ohio State did have to pay $800,000 fine but no tournament sanctions- how level is that playing field? We need smart kids who can shoot straight and rebound and see the floor for an assist type pass

our coach called Houston and hooked him up after he did summer school or some special summer look see program to see if he had the maturity for the class room because of his low grades and ACT he was the in and out man that Melvin Robinson had at Vashon and the two would have been the best twosome since Roland Gray and Monroe Douglas; they new each other on the floor and liked to play together. Afterwards Grawer could never figure out how to use the talent of Melvin who was a big body but a finesse player who could catch and pass and shoot but not a banger; all Grawer wanted from his bigs was rebounds and pass back ou t to the guards; he even ended up with us losing Carlos Skinner who did exactly what he wanted 12 boards a game and no shooting or you sit.

vashun came in overweght, and never got in shape untill the 5th last week of the season-he was the third slowest guy on the team most of the season after Husak and Drejaj whose feet never left the ground all season and who never played as well as he had the year before- he did try hard- but medical problems with his foot-remember-the coach had nothing to do with that-fear of getting stuffed kept polk and luke in check aGAINST TALLER, QUICKER ATHLETES-it wasn't coaching but it was inept recruiting Ahearn begged for a scholarship and they chose that wimpy darren clark-Brad needs to stop collecting opinions and start making his own decisions

good point rebounding certainly limits Liddell's ability to be free for a fast break and he prefers to pass to a finisher; I am not sure if that is unselfish or just protecting his body Clagget did the same thing and although lacking Tommie's height none of us wanted Clagget exposed to "intentinoal fouls" Next year is going to be exciting if we use three scholarships to replace two seniors who got marginalized by Lisch and Liddell; Let's hope we have kids in the program like JJ, OBI, DB,DP who work to improve this summer and we get two more recruits beside Dustin who scored 24 out pf 54 for his teams' final gane in state semi finals and other kids who can shoot and rebound; I left out Luke we all know he will give his all like Drejaj, did. I had been led to believe Brad was Dick Bennet's star recruiter and that was why Romar picked him up; if we could affurd him as an assistant why can't we upgrade the obes we have. None come fron major programs, do they?

Huggins could be convicrd Manhattan, KS is like Manhattan, NY

coaches have to play what is available; a year ago IO did not really emerge as the go to guy until Soderberg realized the only true mismatch the opposition had to contend with was IO; someone like Grawer would not have picked that up; he used to bench Kevin Footes for dribbling AND TAKING THE GAME AWAY FROM "THE PLAN"

what if Jeter goes to Iowa State would Brad go back to the snow at UW-Mil? Anyybody have an idea if he is up to Spoon's paygrade, yet?

until we get 8 players who can shoot we won't be a top 50 program; Dustin should be an upgrade in height and shooting. If he is quick or strong enough to get 5 rebounds that would be more than we got out of VN or Drejaj per game. I don't know that he can start by the end of the season like Lisch . Luke works hard like Drejaj and LM is not much slower getting his shot off than Highmark was; however the defence was not distracted by the threat of other shooters this year. LM is not going to make a move on his defender unless it is driving to the basket and if he goes we need a teamate trailing him not standing by watching him get stuffed. Highmark had the luxury of better teamates who could shoot. Highmark could drive or knock down the wing shot. Hopefully, we will be better at the three and 4. And if we have competition for playing minutes at the 3 and 4 it will be a welcome change as this year at times it looked like we had three players in Lisch, Liddell, and Ian and two guys on the floor watching and waiting for someone to find them standing on a spot or just lost. I really think DP plays hard and will get more minutes but he has to defend fiercely and play almost out of control speedwise if he is going to be effective and shoot his 3 from from 5 feet deeper; he was left unguarded too often; he has to regain his shot; he has the talent and is a good athlete. Dustin, OBI, JJ or recruits will certainly jump better than Drejaj; if we get one with his heart to match what we see in Lisch we are going to be better

It would help if next year we get our minutes spread out over more players and the starters and alternates all feel comfortable taking an open shot instead of trying to find the designated shooter with the hot hand; we can't expect Ian to get double teamed all the time without looking for the open forward or wing and we can't have our second best rebounder be the point guard some other guys have got to step up and the coach has to encourage them to steal the ball and fight for the rebound; I watched Spoon and Romar practises and they tried to toughen the players; we seemed to condone finesse against thugs with the refs in the A10 we need to rethink how to get free for shots

short and to the point "over 100 RPI and did not deserve it" re NIT and my thought the way the team shot a year ago with IO making up most of the offence as RB faded we were going to be ugly again this year and in 16 games we were better