philliken
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Posts posted by philliken
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As a proud alum, I was in attendance at the ceremony on Monday. I loved the whole ceremony, but the highlight to me was the aforementioned Shimmy Gray-Miller. She was charismatic, pleasant, but above all convincing in her speech.
I was a BIG fan of Jill over the past few years, and was very sad to see her leave. Last season was a disappointment to me for the women's team (at NO fault to Gray-Miller). After hearing the passion, commitment, and dedication of Shimmy, I am now convinced that she is the coach for the women's program. She effectively convinced me (and obviously several others) that her #1 goal is to have a competitive team (given the fact she's given a 'fighting chance'). This is the kind of coach we need in all of SLU's athletics. A coach who doesn't care about rankings, statistics, or the past....one who wants to build, and WIN. My question is, do you think that she will be the future, or be responsible for the future success of the Billiken's women's basketball program?
Either way, coach Gray-Miller, if you read this....make us proud.
The Philliken
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this is one RARE time I will talk about my former employment with channel 5...I still talk to these guys frequently, and the contacts they have is incredible....and they all say the same thing...SLU HAS to win the conference tourny to get in (period). If GW wins the tourny, they are alone...anybody other than GW, it's a 2 bid....in some inconceivable fashion, if GW wins, and all other major and mid-major conference tournaments are won by FAVORITES (teams already going to the dance), then we are Bubble...but only a mention. Believe me, I want to be there; but because of the overall conference RPI, we CANNOT compete. The way I see it, we have beaten X twice (When they were 2nd in conference), Charlotte, and ALMOST beat #1 GW. With the loss of Bonsu - the ONLY THING WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW is winning that tourny. We all thought of it as unrealistic throughout the season, but it is now possible. If we draw X second round or UMASS or whoever, we can make a run. I am betting GW won't even be in the finals because of their guaranteed spot - they want to stay healthy. We need to think about winning that tourny, and guess what - besides the obvious nationwide pick of GW, we're the team to beat that week. Let's just hope Brad and co. can keep playing these hardnosed games.
By the way, does anybody else think we should be playing more fast-break or higher tempo offense? I mean our scoring average is up 12 points per game over the last 6 games. Fast breaks for us aren't resulting in a lot of buckets; but as we've seen in the last two games, they are resulting in a lot of odd-man breaks which means the opposition is fouling us to stop the easy lay-in....well Lisch, Meyer, and who would have thought Voyoukas are hitting free-throws and are going to continue doing such. We can win games by actually trying to convert on these situations. Any thoughts?
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i used to work at channel 5 - not something i talk openly about since there is some 'frank bashing'...but i still talk to frank and two of the producers almost daily - if you still need a copy, i can get one tomorrow...e-mail me directly if you do want one
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Couldn't find it on DirecTV for tonight...anybody know where to see the game...I manage a sports bar so I can't venture out to the game, but I wanna show it at the bar...let me know. Thanks.
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It wasn't that they were comparing their abilities or coaching strategies, but saying that he can do the job just as good as Quin if not better at this point - probably mostly because he can control his players, he runs an honest and clean program, and let's face it, he is almost as charismatic as Ronald Reagan.
I did forget to mention in my last post though - they keep getting Sloan in trouble on the radio. Apparantly, he met his ex-girlfriend DURING a timeout and they always bring it up on the radio and it cost him his last relationship. Also, they talked about how Sloan was supposed to go to Mizzou - but as soon as QUin took over, Mizzou stopped, and as soon as Romar came, SLU recruited hard. Finally the talked about the little discussed recruiting hijinks. Sloan with the Robertsons at the casino with little Robertsons ID and drinking at a ripe young age. Funny stuff really.
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It was mostly Sloan telling 15 minute stories...but other than that, it was about the progress of KL and TL. The Robertson bros told stories of SLU and KU, and a lot of Q and A about what coach would you rather play for and who is the best at yadayada. A lot of notice was given to UB as being comprable to Quin - this before knowledge of Quin resigning. Frank always gives a good show, and for those of us Billiken fans, we'd love to hear Robertson and Sloan. There was not much Billiken post-season talk, or much of this season to be honest...but it was a good show today.
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Thank you for pointing out my OBVIOUS typo. They are shooting 37%...how I hit the 7...is beyond me. Thanks for the correction.
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Is Xavier in one of the MAJOR b-ball conferences? - No
Are they considered to be one of the powerhouse teams? - No
Do they get strong national recognition? - No
Should they?.....Absolutely.
I think this team is one that has literally flown under the radar of college basketball this year. This appears to be a COMPLETE team, with a solid coach, and solid fans.
Xavier is averaging 10,000 fans per game. That may not seem like a hell of a lot more to you, but figuring the size of the school...it sure as hell is. Now granted, they may be drawing more fans because of an overly impressive 12-2 record. But they didn't just beat Coppin St. and Troy. Here is a summary of some of their BIG wins:
Game 1: Xavier: 80 - Eastern Ill: 35 (we won by 21 over EIU)
Game 2: Xavier: 74 - Purdue: 55 (not a strong bball program much anymore, but you can never overlook the big schools)
Game 3: Xavier: 78 - Charlotte: 65 (big win over a good team)
Game 4: Xavier: 73 - Cincinnati: 71 (ot) - 'Nuff said.
Throw out a loss to Creighton, even Sean Miller doesn't know how that happened; and you're left with one more loss....to Illinois! And they only lost that game by 3 points when their defense stepped up huge.
Their field goal % is 77%! Not to mention 38% from beyond the arc. Add in a stifling defense (under 60pts per game) and you have the winning components.
This is a game where we can REALLY judge our talent and our POTENTIAL. If we happen to suffer a loss and break our previously seemingly unbreakable streak, we cannot be too hard on ourselves. I can't wait to see the game AT George Washington on Feb 2nd. I think we'll all see Xavier exit a winner and suddenly the attention of the A-10 will be focused on X.
Don't get me wrong, I am praying for a SLU victory, and nothing would make me happier. I just always research our opponent days before a game, and I am simply amazed by this Xavier team. They could have won that Cincy game by 10. Call me crazy, but look for Xavier to make some run at the Sweet 16. Maybe a 5 seed in the tourny?...too crazy? Let me know.
The Philliken
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I am going to post a reply and mean it in a respectful way to all who read:
Do NOT blame Blue Crew or it's prez. These students make up their own minds to go to games or not. Blue Crew DOES recruit (I know this as a recent grad of SLU - 2004). The students have the power to choose Natty Light and Jenna Jameson or go to see their team. I know I went to nearly every game (partially knowing that Jenna and Natty would be there when I got home). But if Blue Crew recruits via campus wide e-mails and has meetings to get students excited, they cannot help student apathy. It is the UNIVERSITY's job to get the students about SLU in general - not just for basketball. If students choose not to participate in Blue Crew or in the College Republicans or the Latin Club or whatever, shame on them. Going to college is not just about the $120,000 piece of paper...it is about the experience. I know the basketball program serves as MANY of my greatest memories. I will never in my life forget rushing the court after we knocked off the #2 Louisville Cardinals. Students will miss out on great games like that and have to think to themselves "Damn, I should have been there." It is their fault and they are cheating themselves on a great experience and the University of a great program. Blue Crew Prez: Good job! Thank you for doing what you can and getting students out there. Without you, that 50 would be 0. To the rest of us posters; we still need to do our job - and I know we are. We will beat the Xaviers (ok...maybe not this weeknd), but those wins will come, and draw more students in; which will help the program. We also cannot blame the programs record solely on students or on attendance - yes it plays a factor. I will tell you though, that the program and the attendance will RISE! Go SLU.
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In the spirit of the old Game Picker Contest. I'd like to see your guys predictions and explanations, and we'll see who comes closest.
Richmond is not a team to overlook. Their record is deceiving at 9-7 (2-1). NONE of their 9 wins came against ANYONE special (seeing as Dayton completely fell off the map). However, some of their losses were impressive. They fell to Wake Forest by I believe 6 or 7, and played Louisville to an 8 point game in which they were in contention most of that contest. They are an impressive 7-3 at The Robins Center. The key in my mind is shutting down the perimiter shooting. Richmond shoots an above average 32% from downtown, but is a porous 37% overall from the field. Kevin's defense, and the shutting down of Jermaine Bucknor (but mostly from beyond the arc) will lead to a Billiken victory. My prediction:
Billikens 62 - Richmond 54
Bills (+8)
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You had a good point...no I do not want to take him out solely to get other young players the experience...however, what if (God forbid) he gets hurt, or has an off game. Who can step in and take his place right now? I don't want to take his time away JUST to take it away, I want to get the whole team up to the same speed and preparation.
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I remember when I was a kid, my father took me to Billiken games. We got autographs, and talked with the players AND SPOON. It was such a great experience that at the ripe age of 6, I was a die-hard Bills fan, and even after moving to Chicago for 8 years, I still decided to go to SLU. I will forever be a Bills fan because of the aforementioned events, and who knows what life-long fans we could be turning away because they were distraught (maybe a bit extreme) by Saturday's game. I think Cheryl should set up another autograph session for a Saturday home game, and ensure that all willing fans will get an autograph, picture, or whatever. My thoughts.
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This is a tough topic to be opposed to or an advocate of. The positives are that it brings basketball TO campus. We will draw more fans, and it will actually serve as an intimidation point to opposing teams (see Cameron Indoor). However, with it's seating capacity, for games against teams like Duke (who Brad wants to get inagural year), Louisville or Cincy (if they want to play a former C-USA rival) or even the Iowa's, there is more than a probability that the game will sell out. In my mind, there is a difference between packed and loud, and not having enough seats. The worse part is, is that this forces alumni to buy season seats. There is no way in hell that alumni will get last minute seats against the foes. We are now REJECTING fans out of a Billiken game. When is the last time any of you have had a problem getting tickets to see the beloved Buddhas. That is my biggest complaint, and a selfish one at that. The most important thing though is to get a respectable program and make some serious runs at the tournament - which draws better recruits - and in turn makes us stronger to build for the dance. It's the same cycle that keeps Duke, UNC, and all the big programs competetive. I guess, unfortunately, this arena really is the best thing for thie Bills.
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Expanding on the earlier playing time topic; do you think it is smart to give Mr. Lisch all 40 minutes of yesterdays games? A quick recap for those who did not watch Saturday's game: Lisch played all game, had a decent 14 points on 3 of 4 from downtown. My opinion is that he deserves SOLID playing time (30 minutes or so). Besides the 14 points, he was in complete control of the ball all night having a mere 2 turnovers. However, explain to me how a guy who touches the ball on every posession ends a game with 0 assists? Given, Kevin is still JUST A FRESHMAN, but he needs to spend a lot more time learning Brad's spread offense. I'm not downing the guy, because I absolutely love having him on our team and the way he's playing. But should that extra ten minutes a game be used to get Polk and Meyer up to speed for fatigue reasons, injury reasons, or whatever else? Ok, enough of me - to the gallery, what are your thoughts?
Do we know where the game is being shown tonight?
in Billikens.com Main Board
Posted
crymdg, that's where i'll be probably about quarter to 7 in the bar area