JMM28

Sure, he has 300k of severance to live on, >but he has a soon-to-be-in-college son who will no longer be >guaranteed to be playing basketball at a certain Jesuit >university for free. > Yeah, I mean, I have no idea how he will survive for the next year on a measely 300k. Better start buying the Dierberg brand potato chips.

>Time will tell! I think this was a classless and bush league >set of firings. No matter if we are better in 3 years or >not, and we will never know because Brad was not allowed to >stay, this is a black day for SLU. And the academy award for best drama goes to... The Pride of Peoria, BMetz. Sorry Billikan, however, calling this a black day for SLU is being a bit dramatic. It was a black day for VaTech. It was an interesting day at SLU. Brad was an NGB. Nice guy, but.... He had 5 years to do something. He didn't do much. Drejaj gave him 1 postseason win. He didnt prove himself as much of a game coach, and definitely didn't prove himself as a recruiter. He would be a good assistant, which I think he will go back to being.

The whole point of the entire story can be summed up in a few sentences. Don Imus sucks, he always has, his show isn't entertaining and it never was. So long. Al Sharpton is an idiot, and always has been one. He is a loudmouth that does more harm than good. He is one of the top 5 racists I've seen. The Rutgers coach is painful. She is using this as some sort of platform to get her name out there. Her incoherant rambling at the press conference made me want to hurl. Womens basketball is painfully boring. Brad's style of play would fit in perfectly there. That's about it.

>$ $ $ $ $ $ $ Nah, Tubby was the highest paid coach in the NCAA at Kentucky. The reason he went to Minnesota was less headache, more security, and no more living in the shadows of rupp.

>My bottom line, I would give Brad a D+/C-, which should not >be good enough to keep his job. A D+/C- average at SLU will land you on academic probation. Figuring in a C- or D+ for the past 2 years, he would have been kicked out by now.

>It was a "historic" season in the sense that it was the >first 20-win season Brad Soderberg has had as a head coach >anywhere and SLU's first 20-win season in nine years. Well...20 win season is kind of misleading. 19 wins versus division 1 opponents. Can we stop referring to this as a 20 win season, because in the eyes of the RPI/official type standings, it was a 19 win season. Good.

>combined for 9 shots total. Oh wait, Ian disappointed tonight? Oh wait, what about all year? I forgot, it was all year..

>These kids were so gassed I could have taken them off the >dribble. It just wasn't meant to be tonight. Then get tougher. Poor babies had to play 2 games in two nights and then they were spent. I feel so bad. What a disgrace. The entire season.

>Indiana State, Evansville, and Illinois State. Is Dr. Tom >Davis staying on at Drake? > >Anyway, where's Bernie on this? Where's Doug Elgin? This >is a sign of bottom of the conference Valley weakness. This >is a sign of Valley rebuilding years at the bottom and >possible low RPI's. This could be the end of the rigged and >inflated Valley RPI's. > >Illinois State has potential with a good facility, but has >been down for some time. Ha. Give me a break. The reason these coaches were fired/forced out/resigned was because the success of the Valley. These other schools see the success of SIU, CU, Bradley, SMS, Wichita and hold their coaches accountable for not acheiving such feats. I know accountability is a crazy word around here, but it means to hold a coach responsible for his failures.

>By the way I would guess that when Weber turned around the >program at SIU it was with 1 & 2 or no star players. You could guess that, but then you would be wrong. Kent Williams and Rolan Roberts were pretty touted. Roberts being a transfer, but Williams straight out of HS.

> >I know most of the active posters on this board see it >somehow as ALL Brad's fault, but, as I have stated many >times, I just don't think this team is as good as most of >you let yourselves believe. Some people let the crowd sweep >them away with hyperbole and that is exactly what >happened here. Instead of blaming everyone else, mainly >Brad, maybe accept that your expectations were out of line >with reality. > I believe the talent is there to be an NCAA team and wipe away a weak A10. In your belief, Who's fault is it that this isn't that great of a team then? If this team doesn't have the talent to be more than an 18-12 team, who didn't recruit the neccessary talent? I mean, either way youre making an argument that makes Soderberg out to be a failure. Your "This team isn't that good" argument just means you dont think he has recruited the neccessary talent. The simple damn fact, which you are COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to, is that Brad is responsible for the team on the floor. He recruited them. So what is it?

>There are arrogant SLU fans and stupid, self-absorbed SLU >fans, the latter of which we seem to have locked up the >market on. I'd assume that SLU has the market locked up on every kind of SLU fan...

>Cry me a f*****g river! > This nonsense doesn't really deserve a reply, but I have some extra time so you get lucky. You are obviously out of touch with the reality of 90% of student body. Many have mom and dad pick up the tab. Many have some sort of scholarship/grant that pays for a lot but have to pick up the rest of the tab, and many don't get much and still have to pick up the tab. Your scenario is virtually impossible, but I'm sure youll claim that you did it. I am not crying about having to pay loans, because I did get a good job and am able to support the program, not to the extent of most, but Rome wasnt built in a day. Not that it is really any of your business to begin with, and i refuse to enter your pissing contest you want to start. However, your attitude is idiotic. Plain and simple. You are a fool. You cannot alienate the young fan base. Thats the point. Saying "you have no right to have an opinion because you dont financially support the program" is complete hogwash horseshit. That is the absolutely WORST stance a team can take. Look what happened to Oldsmobile. Their main clientele was age 60+, and now where is that brand? Dead. You lose the young fan, your program will fail. Attendance is down for the last how many years? Is student attendance down for the past how many years? See any relation there? You always have to replace old with new. You may not know this, but people do get old, people do die, and people do move away/along/etc. Just keeping you up to date.. My program would encourage the young fan to be involved, whether it be financially or not. What happens if one of these fans that your program has alienated becomes CEO of a large corporation in 20 years? You may not know this, being so out of touch with reality, but CEO is not exactly a right out of college job opening. It takes most people decades to become the big booster writing checks for players type. I'm not saying these fire brad signs or whatever are a good idea. Thats each individuals choice, not yours. But to say that just because somoene is young and doesn't have "writing ANOTHER check to slu for basketball team" on the top of their list of priorities is absolutely ridiculous. And I'd personally say that they have their priorities straight. And yes free speech works both ways, but forcibly taking someones sign out of their hands is assault. I hope anyone who has or has had something happen to them like that has said person escorted from the arena and arrested. Better bring a pillow, I've heard from some of my drunk boozehound friends that the city jail isn't comfy, because that's what I did my time at SLU. Big beers at humphreys!

> A) ages of people who >passionately and vociferously suppport the program, Those fans will be old soon and.... > the money that certain younger fans provide to the program, GREAT IDEA! Ok how about this, let's go ahead and discount the opinions and thoughts of any recent grads because theyre too busy paying off loans after providing 30k a year to the school, JUST BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE SOME EXTRA CASH LYING AROUND TO THROW AT A LOSING PROGRAM! Wonderful idea...maybe instead of doing that, say 'hey SOMEDAY BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, you'll be our middle aged fan base that will be in a financial situation to support the team' It is the fault or responsibility of recent grads or younger fan that they cannot donate financially. If they completed 4 years at SLU, you figure they could be up to 120k in the hole. Most are probably under that, but they are now trying to pay rent/mortgages, insurance, and car payments on their own for the first time in their life, making what is probably in the 30-50k range. Not the best time to budget a thousand or so for the basketball program. Young fans become old fans someday! Although I am sure you were donating to the team when you were in diapers..

>I am pretty sure that you and Putz and Hardball and other >like you are in your 20s and probably drink a lot so your >brain cells have had serious damage. > Be sensitive to their feelings, jeez... >I think it is an incredible insult to SLU that you guys >claim to be graduates, if you did graduate. Your annointment >of yourselves as the all knowing and dictatorial leaders who >want to destroy the coach and the program is an insult to >every person who ever got a diploma. > Kinda like the pot calling the kettle black isn't this? >I try to live my life under the credo "do unto others". I >would just like to ask you the question--if you personally >or a close family member was in difficulty how would you >like to be treated? Maybe you have be so incredibly lucky in >life that everything has been perfect. Let me give you a >clue, it will not always be that way and when you are having >problems you will hope that someone is there for you and >that person has a more caring and supportive attitude than >what you are demonstrating in this situation This is why you're not a college basketball coach. This is why you aren't paid 6 figures. In a job as high profile as a midmajor division 1 program, the criticism is constant. Thats why 20-30 coaches lose their job each year. I just hope that these patriot fans signs won't get in the way of the old blue hairs that don't do anything except write a check. It is about time something about this program gets mean. We've got a nice guy coach, a nice guy center, a nice guy SG, and a bunch of pussyfooting fans. Brad hasn't done his job. Period. Bad recruiting, poor results. No NCAA. NITwhat? Who cares. After this year, who is playing center? Anyone? Anyone? Soderberg? Sodergberg? Does this scare anyone else that we have no recruits this year? And one of our recruits from this year is already on his way out... But we do have an extra scholarship just in case! State of the program. Mediocre.

Looks like it's time to start looking around. Unless Soderberg pulls a Jim Les at the end of this year, he gone. This team has to win the conference tourney to get in the NCAA. For sure. There aren't enough decent teams in teh conference to justify an at large bid now. Sometimes nice guys finish last. I don't really care about the class of 2008. Bring in a "name" type coach and youll get those types anyways.

Anytime that you shoot 20something percent, score 36 points, and get beat by 30+ you should be very alarmed. Embarassing. Time for Brad to whip these boys into shape.

> I'm still proud of Carmelo. He >really showed the world something. He has to be the 1st >player to make 3rd team all-nba and not make the all-star >game the same season. How can you be a top 15 guy in the >league and not make the all-star team. Are you proud of his videotape with known thugs/drugdealers/pimps/whathaveyou? And then he thought there was nothing wrong with being in it! And then he said he surrounds himself with good people! What is wrong with him? Stop snitchin! Oh yeah, he said he threw his bronze medal in a lake in that video too. Good for him, the loser. I wouldn't let him sniff another US team. Bad news.

>I dont think Bruce Bowen would've helped. There was no one >player who killed us at any point in the tournament. Yeah, defense is so overrated. >Everyone played team ball and Bruce Bowen wouldn't have >valuable as he couldnt score, coudlnt keep up with the >transition game of his teammates and Greece had no >individual star for him to shut down. Do you realize that EVERY SINGLE OTHER PLAYER ON THE TEAM CAN SCORE? They don't need more scoring. They could have used a Ben Wallace type as well. GREECE PLAYED THE >GAME OF THEIR LIVES, shooting 62.5%. Or the US played AllStar Game defense, led by YA BOY Melo. >Greece shot >the ball incredibly and had to do so to win as every team in >the Olympics would have to do against USA. Thats why we haven't won gold in how long? >Melo, Brand, >James, Wade, and Howard should all be back on the next 2 >teams. Everyone else was way too inconsistent. Those 5 >brought it every game and Brand, Wade, and Anthony were the >most dependable. Did you even watch the game? Brand had 0 points, 2 fouls, 2 blocks, and 2 rebounds and played a whole 12 minutes. He got worked in the post by some NBA wannabe. Get serious. I'd keep Wade, Lebron, Hinrich, and Bosh and get some role players on the team. Or better yet, let the NBA champs go play in the olympics.

Oh no, they know how to shoot. They alll looooooove to shoot. Their problem is that most of them don't play defense. That is part of the reason Bruce Bowen should have been on the team over Shane Battier or Joe Johnson. As goofy as he is, Ron Artest should have been on the team as well. Another example of Coach K coming up just a bit short. As usual. For all his preaching of defense, ha. Greece shot 60%. Thats pathetic. The US team shot 50% and lost. Don't see that very often. Especially when Greece took 10 fewer shots. Oh wait, another fundamental that these so called stars haven't mastered. The FREE THROW. 60%. Wonderful. There will never be a US team as good as the original dream team. That was the best team that will ever be assembled. Its a shame Bird couldn't play all that much on that team, or maybe they would have beat those guys by 60 instead of just 40.

>Logged onto slubillikens.com to check the time for the >groundbreaking. Try it -- it's an eye-opening experience! In all the years, I have never once been impressed with the athletic department. There has never been a single thing I can remember that I said "wow thats a great/novel/noble/etc idea". Success starts at the top. Breed an attitude of winning, not of incompetence. Maybe it is time to start hiring some new fresh people?

>Box and FGWL are both right: SLU's students are not into it >at all. I don't know what can be done to reverse this >trend, but I felt like one of the few students there who >actually considered SLU my team. Agreed. >All of my friends from >outside of St. Louis carried whatever team loyalties they >had coming into school, and laughed when SLU lost. That is a big problem. The Cinci people root for XU or UC, the Milwaukee people root for the devil, i mean Marquette, and the guys from KC just think theyre way too cool for everyone. > >While winning is the best cure to this, the marketing >department could do more to manufacture some fan interest, >both among the students and the city. Might I suggest sending out an email announcing upcoming games/on game days? Last year, when playing UNC on ESPN2, 90% of my friends at school had no idea that game was going on. I wound up going to Humphreys with oh...10 other people. I mean its a nice effort to put a dry erase board out in front of the gym, but many people dont walk by there. Try email, try newsletters, try putting things around the coronado and lindell towers area. Come on. Get on the ball.

>First of all, how is Bradley going to continue its upswing >after losing its top 2 players? They had a lackluster first >half of the season last year, got hot late, tore through the >Valley tournament, and carried it over into the tournament. >Now they lose their top two, and this upswing is going to >continue? I don't see it. > Well, an upswing means they will continue to be better than they have been in the past. The 10 years before this past year, they were horrid. They are taking their first steps to returning to their former glory. Just like any good program, when you recruit talent you're going to lose a lot of it unexpectedly. The team will continue to be strong this next season, and the season after next(07-08) will be even better than last year. >However, I don't see the >league being as strong as it was last year or potentially >could be this year for more than another season or two. I'm >not rooting against it, but I don't see it happening. > Why not? I just gave you 8 reasons why it will continue. Continuity in coaching, strong and smart scheduling, basketball cities, solid recruiting bases which can be coupled to the continuity in coaching as well as past/recent successes. This past year the MVC was the "darling" of some media. Theres no such thing as bad publicity. >The scheduling done by the MVC last season was smarter than >it was strong, and I think people realize that. Missouri >State had an RPI of 21 heading into the tournament, and >Arkansas was the toughest non-conference team on its >schedule, a game it lost. They didn't play a hard schedule, >but they didn't play Savannah St. This year they have plenty of teams going to/bring in solid opponents. Bradley is goin to Michigan State, and has something working with UCLA for a 3 year deal starting next year. Wichita is going to Syracuse and signed a 3 year deal with LSU. Just to name a few off the top of my head. > >The Valley schools do play in basketball-crazed cities, but >most of them are tiny compared to the A-10 markets. Sure, >St. Louis is the geographic center and headquarters of the >MVC, but does the biggest program in St. Louis want to play >in the same conference with traditionally smaller programs >who recruit the players we pass on? It's just not a good >situation from SLU's standpoint, and the conference has to >be playing out of its mind to matter to anyone outside of >the immediate region. > Who cares if we play in Pittsburgh in front of 500 people? When was the last time we were recruiting the east coast? Drejaj was a bottom of the barrel addition. We are more likely to recruit someone from Peoria, Wichita, or Omaha then we are to recruit someone from Rhode Island, Philadelphia, and/or Boston. You say biggest program in St Louis like...there are any others? I mean besides Harris Stowe's powerhouse. >Now we're in a conference with huge markets (the largest >market in the Valley is #60 in the US: Omaha-Council Bluffs, >which happens to lie 2 spots below Dayton), more similar >schools, stronger academic schools (go ahead with the St. >Bonaventure jokes, but the Valley schools are not impressive >as a whole), and we're in a stronger position than we would >be in the Valley when and if the conferences realign again >(and they will, eventually). > The only advantage I can dream of with the "huge" markets is the exposure to random potential students in those cities. I am not sure about the stronger academic schools. The Valley has 6 state schools and 4 private schools. The A10 has more catholic schools, but still has the 4 public schools. How are we in a stronger position for realignment? I can only think that we are in a stronger position because we don't make sense in the A10. Conferences would see us as an easy addition. It is not like we have a higher profile now. CUSA we were in a major conference. We chose between 2 mid majors. One doesnt make any geographical sense, and another did. This way we don't have to tear away from the good fit, just the bad fit. I hope someday we wind up in some sort of realigned conference more similar to the old MVC or even the GreatMidwest/Metro days. >I'm sick of this discussion because I think it's asinine >that people wanted to settle for the Valley. It would have >been a dead-end move, and the administration, athletic >department, and Brad's coaching staff all know that and like >where we are now. Thats your opinion.

>I agree, I think the A-10 was a better long-term choice for >basketball. Whether or not the other sports were a major >factor in the decision, I don't know, but you have to do >what's best for your money sport(s). > >I would have been pretty disappointed to wind up in the MVC. > Sure, it's up lately and the A-10 has been down, but I >think the MVC is kind of stuck in that mid-major hell- the >kind of conference programs don't really work their way out >of. That said, they sure know how to put together an >RPI-friendly schedule, and they're the preseason darling >conference this year. Theyre preseason darlings because they had 2 teams in the sweet 16, 4 teams in the tourney, and plenty of returning stars on the top teams. SIU, WSU, Creigton, UNI, and SMS should challenge for the tourney this year. SIU has proven they can stay strong through multiple coaching changes. Turgeon and Altman have committed to their programs long term. There is no reason to think these 3 teams will be down anytime soon. UNI lost their coach to another instate team, but had the replacement waiting in the office next door. Bradley should continue on the upswing, although losing their top 2 players will hurt. Les is re-signed/goingto for a long long time. There is no reason to think that the MVC will fall anytime soon. This wasn't just a 1 year luck thing, it was the first season their longterm plan took effect. Strong conference leadership, strong/smart scheduling, solid base of veteran coaches, and basketball crazy cities. I hate to tell you, but the A10 is a midmajor. Any conference that lacks major football is going to be considered as such nowadays. At least the MVC is getting some positive press lately. And noone is playing in front of 300 people.

I still wish we would have joined the MVC. We could have scheduled Xavier or Dayton nonconference instead of SIU and SMS. There are many more natural/existing rivals in the MVC. The a10 switch never made sense to me, and it still doesn't.