Quest

I wish you would put down your copy of "Utopia," pick up a copy of our media guide, thumb through the part about our coaching staff, find the page where our head coach is listed and think to yourself, really hard, why we won't land any of these players.

We won't get any of them because of our head coach.

NO! We don't want another Brad Soderberg, Moy. Where the hell is Northwest State? Isn't that in like Nacadoches, LA or something? Quit smoking crack. We need a BC or Georgetown assistant or some guy from Michigan State or Texas or something who knows what it's like to win and who refuses to lose. Soderberg accepts losing. "Oh, we just got out played, aw shucks, aw golly gee willikers." No more. I'm sick and tired of you people. 20 wins is not enough. Are we playing horseshoes here? "Boy, you came pretty close to ringin' that one, Brad Soderberg...how 'bout a contract extension??" -BiondiLevick Idiots.

I got into Southern Illinois by writing "I would like to go to your school" on a cocktail napkin and sending it to Carbondale in the beak of a messenger pigeon.

Really, Nick...a lie? Your whole life is a lie.

You never know... Soderberg does have Iowa roots, if I'm not mistaken. Why settle for Chaefitz when you've got Carver-Hawkeye.

According to a friend of mine who is a trainer in the Iowa athletic department, Soderberg was contacted yesterday about the Iowa vacancy. He overheard a conversation in the Hawk Lounge and said there was a good chance Brad might be in Iowa City by the end of the week for an interview. Developing...

ROY!!! I have tried to listen to your side, but kids want to play for a coach, not a program or school. Do you think Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Jason Williams, Cherokee Parks and Lul Deng chose Duke because of the expanded new cafeteria? You are an idiot.

Well, just like Soderberg's brother at Marquette High, Randall steers recruits away from SLU... "...Oshkosh West team led by Wisconsin recruit Tim Jarmusz..." Thanks, Lance, for telling him about our program.

Brian, that's because Google's system of return uses the number of hits a web site gets to determine popularity. I guess more people hit this site than slubillikens.com that's very interesting...

Now I know people are talking about the problem recruiting when our facilities are sub-par and that the anti-Brad camp doesn't take this into consideration when we're brandishing our axes at the front door of West Pine, but I'd like a serious answer here. In year two of the arena, the new facilities, the improved weight center/locker room/players lounge/whatever, if Brad cannot sign premier players, fill gaps in the program, win games and get to the NCAA Tournament consistently, are we all in agreement that the Soderberg era has run its course? Would we be in agreement that it would be time for a change of direction? Second question -- what makes you think that he can turn the program around with the arena/facilities/locker room/weight center/players lounge? Is that all recruits these days are looking for in a program? Doesn't playing and winning ballgames mean anything to kids these days? What gives? Do you think that this is the ONLY thing standing between SLU and a top-25 program?

My collegiate choices were between DePaul, Saint Louis, College of the Holy Cross and San Diego, but having lived in St. Louis as a kid when my father was working on the dealer side of Caterpillar at Fabick, St. Louis always had a home feeling for me. Making my visit as a senior in high school, I ran into at least five kids who were freshman at SLU who were friends of mine in high school, so I realized that while I was leaving home, I was close enough at SLU -- no regrets about that. When I was a junior in high school, a buddy of mine was wearing an old "What's a Billiken" t-shirt in the weight room before football practice and that was my first true recollection of being curious about Saint Louis. My experiences with Billiken basketball will always be from working with Terry Elmore in events staff for three years when we were in C-USA and getting pictures with Huggy and Pitino and Calipari; rushing the court sophomore year after upsetting Louisville. Being a life-long sports fan, I knew I would dive head first into being a fervent supporter of the Bills. As I'm sure you all know, sometimes I can be a pain, but all I want is for our program to be as successful as Georgetown, BC and Marquette. It can happen - we just need a change of direction. My re-birth into being a Billiken fan will be when that happens.

What the hell? <<>> Ok, then fire Angres Thorpe? What the hell? You don't know a thing about college basketball....Brad doesn't like their style of play?!?! What?!?! Are you insane? First of all, Brad can't be picky about recruits and this excuse DOES NOT FLY WITH ANYONE! He hasn't even been to Chicago to recruit, according to my sources within the Athletic Department. No KC, no Chicago, no anywhere. You are all idiots. Doesn't like their style of play...Soderberg is no Bob Huggins.

I think this COULD happen at SLU. The BLUE CREW took a road trip to Dayton a few weeks ago, and I got a chance to hang out with (and drink under the table, mind you) the President and Vice President of the Flyers' student section, the Red Scare. They actually do something very similar to that which I have thought could be a great idea here for when the arena opens. The difference is that the Red Scare (the STUDENTS) is in charge of figuring out who gets to sit where at the basketball games. Your seat is based on how many other athletic events you have attended (students scan I.D.s at the doors to these games) and each week these students are loaded onto a database and are put into a points system. It is a time-consuming process for the people who have to keep track, but if people really want the good seats at the basketball games, they have to support other athletic events. The only hitch would be that the BLUE CREW section seating is currently based on seniority...so I don't think many people would be thrilled about waiting all this time to get the front row as seniors just for it to be changed on them. Diane, You know who this is, so I'm not going to bash you or anything, but please be realistic --- SLU won't pay for ID scanners or anything like that. Great idea, but not going to work because they know the tendencies of the student body -- an apathetic bunch who unless there's free beer won't go to any athletic events. It was embarrassing for me as a Blue Crew alum and fervent supporter of Billiken Athletics for that Guy Phillips assclown to announce the Blue Crew as the Sixth Man of Billiken Basketball when there were in fact six people in the Blue Crew. Irony aside, when we get the new arena, there needs to be a meeting of old Blue Crewers, current Blue Crewers, students, the Athletic Director (no marketing people because they are horrible), the Band Director, Alumni people, etc to come up with a new strategy for making the Cheifetz Arena the loudest place to play in college basketball. We need people who aren't afraid of getting arrested in the front row heckling opposing players and coaches. We need to come up with better cheers, clapping sequences, signs, banners, whatever. Blue Crew was disappointing this year, and I know we didn't have much to cheer for, but when that Arena opens up, I want people camping out for tickets, someone pitching the media to get them to cover it, people having to urinate in cans so they can get tickets - I want the Cheifetz Crazies to rival the Cam-ron Crazies at Dooke. Screw all you old people.

No. This time of year gets me fired up to. For all the wrong reasons. 1. No NCAA in Soderberg's tenure 2. No 4 or 5 star recruits or even a 3 star that play like a freaking monster/gorilla down low and bruise people and has the determination and character to lead this team 3. No NCAA tournament trips 4. Embarrassed by George Washington in the A-10 on national television 5. Recruiting woes 6. Recruiting woes 7. Recruiting woes 8. No student support/school spirit 9. Horrendous marketing by the athletic department 10. No one on our staff can recruit

No, SLU needs to be bashed. What are you smoking? Did SLU get to the post-season this year????!?!?!? Soderberg has had five seasons to right the ship and he has done NOTHING. What are we waiting for?!?!?!?!?!?! I don't care if he's a good Christian person. Christian people get fired everyday from Fortune 500 companies, car dealerships, even non-profits like Catholic Charities. Soderberg is the one reason why fans are leaving this program and buying those stupid tiger tails to put on their trunks. This has to end. Hire Tommy Amaker

Great post, SLUSER. This is exactly the kind of ##### we put up with at SLU. All these old people think that the NIT is great. Well that was in 1950, when these guys were drinking Schlitz beer where Griesidieck Hall now sits. The NIT is not the standard. We need Tommy Amaker.

Nark, get off your high horse. A 2-star is all Soderberg can get. He will not be a difference maker like Gerry MacNamara, who in seven years at Syracuse was the most underrated player in the country.

You just wasted a bunch of people's time. THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AT SLU.

I think what Metz is trying to say is that you can't make chicken salad or the NCAA Tournament with Chicken ######. And Chicken ###### is what Brad Soderberg has recruited. I agree with Metz 100%. This is the Show-Me-State. Show me, Brad, what you have done for us lately. Nothing.

http://firebradsoderberg.wordpress.com/

is the score??

Aren't you supposed to say "Comanche Indian?" What kind of a name is "Poon?"

hey, if you'd be a pal and give us all your user name and password, i'm sure we'd all chip in and buy you an $8 beer at the next game. In all seriousness, this would be a very charitable thing for you to do.

No, they are not better than us, but they do have athletes. Guys who can't read, yet play intercollegiate athletics. Guys with criminal records, yet slide through the "admissions process" at Southern. It's a shame we can't get players who are like that -- who have no respect for authority, yet average a double-double a game. We need some kids from Compton or South Bronx to play for us.