Pistol
-
Posts
17,453 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
146
Posts posted by Pistol
-
-
and the Blues were playing the Blackhawks on the same night!!
Did anyone else have trouble getting a table at any of the restaurants close to the arena? We showed up at the Good Pie at 6:30 expecting a relatively smooth meal with plenty of time to get to the game, but they had a 45 minute wait. So I told my family to wait while I checked out the other places; Buffalo Brewing had at least a 45 minute wait, Vito's was 40 minutes, and Triumph was an astounding 90 minutes. I guess this is good for the area, but it was damn frustrating when we've never had to get to the dinner spot more than 90 minutes before tip.
Anyway, after waiting for three older couples to sit and talk for a half hour after finishing their food (some people can look so nice and be such jerks), we sat down about 7:25 and got to the arena with 19:20 left in the first half. I never thought I'd miss the tip.
-
I don't thibk anyone is going after any specific person. The names and stats are on the scoreboard, someone is responsible for keeping it correct. That person is operating that portion of the scoreboard, hence scoreboard operator. I think it was made clear it was the names, numbers, and stats that were frequently incorrect.
I don't think it was made clear that it is a different person from the official scoreboard operator. I know the guys that run it and they get tired of people criticizing them for something that they're not even doing.
-
I was very candid when rating GP performance as PA announcer.....a change is neccessary. In addition, it would be nice if the scoreboard operator could keep up with the changes on the floor. I'm tired of looking at the wrong 5-person line-up on the corner screens.
I posted this a couple weeks ago when people were unjustly going after the scoreboard and shot clock guys for this, but the scoreboard operator does not do the lineup changes or points/fouls for each player. The official scoreboard operator only handles the clock, team points, team fouls, time outs remaining, and horn.
There is a separate person who does lineups, and whoever it is hasn't been very good this year.
-
How about at the end of the game when GW threw the ball across the court and it hit the backboard. Can you imagine if he had made that?
I had this conversation with a few friends after the game- what exactly happens if that had occurred?
We agreed that it would not count, but would the ball be live since it would be in the court of play after going through the hoop? That was my guess- I don't think it would be dead.
We speculated what would take place if it happened, and there would be a lot of chaos since it's late in a close game. A SLU player might see it go in, then take it out under the hoop to inbound it, in which case he would have taken a live ball out and therefore turned it over (just a guess).
-
ok, splendid was overboard. but he did make up the ncaa shortcomings to get that year back. that isnt an easy task especially at a school the magnitude of slu.
I'll give you that.
And p diddy, thanks for listing the guys Romar had waiting in the wings. I forgot about Jamaal Tatum. He and Grimes had some off-court issues in college but since we're playing a game of 'what if' anyway, you never know how those kids turn out differently with a different coach in a different school. His player relationships were so good that I'd be surprised to see guys act up to a serious degree on his watch.
-
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
you could have one of the Jesuits do the job that Holder did..........
I am not necessarily a Guy Phillips fan, but its obvious he is trying to his game to a new level in the new arena.....its too bad he has to "guilt" our fans into getting off their butts at the beginning of the game.
If we replace Guy, please do it with someone other than Holder
I thought Holder did a decent job, which is all you need from a PA guy. I can't think of other places where the PA guy tries to make it his own show, like Guy does. Fans don't want an obnoxious PA guy telling them what to do; it comes off as bush league when he tries to pump people up. A good product on the floor and good attendance in the new arena will help build a good atmosphere, and we'll get there.
It's one of those jobs where if you don't notice him, he's doing well. It was Holder's first time doing it, and he had 2 'corrections' that I can remember, which is a lot less than Guy has each game even though he's been doing it for years.
I hope the rest of you season ticket holders out there who got an online survey from SLU's athletic department last week used the opportunity to voice an opinion about the PA announcer- there were a few questions to rate him. I gave Guy the lowest score possible and said he's the worst of anyone I've heard in any arena I've been to.
-
it had nothing to do with his academics that he didnt stay around. in fact he did splendid at slu in the classroom. his not staying around was all about tatum vs romar personalitywise. i doubt lorenzo was invited to justin's wedding.
btw, tatum has a 6th or 7th grade son that is a pure stud.
Splendid in the classroom? You must have him mixed up with someone else. Tatum was a nightmare in the classroom. His last year there he was still taking a freshman math class, and on the rare occasions he showed up, he spent the whole class hitting on the young grad student teacher in front of the whole class. His attitude and poor work ethic caused issues with Romar, a guy who could keep a lot of other less-than-perfect students at least somewhat in line.
-
I did not mean it as such. The Beal twins are 8th graders at my alma mater and could potentially be playing varsity football in the fall as freshmen. I am sure they will be anchoring the offensive line at Chaminade for years to come.
They are each about 6-0 and north of 200. They're looking like a ready-made offensive line for Chaminade in a couple years. I laughed when I saw you write 'butterballs' because that is not the least bit inaccurate. It's unlikely they'll be basketball players unless the freshman coach just wants some big bodies in there next year.
-
I'm very disapointed that you don't agree with me on what constitutes winning big. There are very few coaches that win big imo. Had Romar followed up those 2 good years, I'd feel differently, he didn't.
Can I get an email, in the future I'd like to run my opinions by you to insure I get it right. I mean you do have that inside info on what players would or wouldn't have done had he stayed.
I don't appreciate the sarcasm when I choose to disagree with you on something and feel I am fairly arguing my point. Check your PM.
-
Romar was a game below .500 his final season at SLU. Obviously he would have been fine the following season with Marque Perry, Josh Fisher, Kenny Brown, Chris Sloan, and Ryan Hollins as the core of the team. The following season is where things would have gotten dicey. Edwin and Pulley both had their academic issues the summer Romar left and I don't know enough about it to say whether that would have really changed whether or not Romar was around. I know Sodie was not a fan of either of those guys so who knows if he just encouraged them to move on. Obviously he would have brought guys in like Soderberg had to, but who knows who those players would have been. Wasn't there rumors that Taj Gray would have been a Billiken? I know from conversations with Kalen Grimes' mother that he likely would have been a Billiken had Romar stayed. Gray, Hollins, and Grimes in the frontcourt would have been pretty good in the A-10 and I know Romar was a huge fan of Tommie Liddell. It is really hard to predict what would have played out though so I will just stop there.
I am happy with the talent level we have in the current freshmen class and the recruits we have coming in next year, so I don't care to dwell on it too much more.
Taj Gray was supposedly going to walk on his freshman year and have three years on scholarship after that. Had Romar stayed and Kern likely wouldn't have been admitted, Gray would have gotten his scholarship. In hindsight, it's amazing that Romar had an arrangement like this with a guy who turned out to be an absolute stud in the Big 12.
-
Woulda shoulda coulda.
No one knows how Romar might have done beyond year three. You can speculate all you like. My point is that his teams declined while he was at SLU and IMO he would have need to start showing results in year 4, or year 5 at the latest. Maybe he would have done just that, but I get a sense that at least you and roy believe that Romar's success at SLU was a guarantee. I disagree.
Nothing's a guarantee. I'm just surprised that so many on here have such dismissive attitudes about Romar, especially a lot of the same people who defended Brad for so long. I obviously can't state that it is a fact that Romar would have brought a lot of success to SLU because he left and we'll never know. But I strongly believe that he was the right guy and would have gotten it done. We had 5 stagnant years after him, and Brad's most loyal supporters can't argue that.
-
Your idea of winning big and mine are obviously just different. I didn't say I didn't want Hollins. You seem to have alot of inside info on what players would have or wouldn't have done.
Lets drop it, we disagree on Romar. I like him, I always did, and this is turning into a subject that makes it appear I'm bashing him. I'm not, I just don't think he's done what I would call "winning big"
Okay, so your definition of "Winning Big" is 30 wins or 3 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances. It's settled. There are very few coaches that "Win Big" if that's the case.
-
I've been away for a few days, so I thought I'd summarize my thoughts on Romar in a separate post rather than make several replies in the other thread.
I think we can all agree that Romar was a likeable guy. I think we can also agree that he's had more success at Washington than most of the rest their history. Here's what I think about Romar at SLU...
He had a great run in the conference tourney to make the big dance in his first year, using a lot of Spoon's leftovers.
His teams got worse each of his three seasons at SLU, including a losing record in year three.
He seemed to come in second place with some nice recruits, but never seemed to have a very good backup plan.
Even though he finally landed Hollins before leaving, I'm not sure he would have been enough to change the trend of getting worse each season until he was at least a sophomore and maybe a junior.
Romar left the cupboard bare for SLU in terms of talent.
IMO, Romar was within a year or so of being on very thin ice at SLU. Spoon had a nice run and things were starting to slip. IMO, the move to Washington couldn't have come at a better time for him. He's been able to land the west coast players that he was trying to bring in here.
Again, I think Romar was a likeable guy. I just don't view his tenure quite as fondly as roy.
His records did get worse as he was at SLU, but that second and third year dip happens to a lot of coaches inheriting a program- the older guys are products of the old coach, his recruits are young or not there yet, and there is generally some attrition. Keep in mind that his 2001-2002 team had exactly zero seniors on the roster. I have no doubt that the 2002-2003 team would have posted a better record than his 15-16 last year or the 16-14 record that Brad had with them.
Is "left the cupboard bare" a fair argument? He didn't sabotage SLU's program; those guys left on their own, and he had discussions with each of them encouraging them to stay. Some did, but a lot didn't. Floyd McClain actually did stay, and 2002-2003 was his second straight medical redshirt season. His frustration and poor relationship with Brad led to his departure. And like I said before, Edwin would have stayed but probably had a semester of ineligibility, Pulley also would have been academically ineligible, Seyfert got homesick, Kern may have never been admitted, and Ryan Hollins was never going to play for Brad. Is it Romar's fault that the cupboard was bare when he built strong relationships with his players and recruits? Why should they stay when their coming to SLU was based on him?
Marque Perry, Drew Diener, and Chris Braun were the guys on the 2001-2002 team who Spoon recruited (he told Romar when he took over, "You're gonna like the little fella.") and Romar got them all to stay and honor their commitments. Fisher, Sloan, and Brown were all Romar's recruits. Soderberg's first year would have been an unmitigated disaster without them and his second year would have been a lot harder without Fisher, Varner, Hunt, and Sloan.
Also, you are all ignoring the inroads that Romar was making with the local high school players while he was at SLU. Soderberg may have been his top assistant, but he was there for the X's and O's, not to be the pitch man for these kids. Liddell was the one guy who had a relationship with Romar who came to play for Brad (when they were all underclassmen trying out for the 2002 Eagles squad in the WPG, Romar told me Liddell would be the best of what looked to be a big class for the area- Grimes, Jackson, etc.- and that he was confident he liked SLU. Tommie wasn't trying out because ESL was in the playoffs). A lot of the area high school kids at the time loved Romar, and when he left SLU was out of the picture for them.
Sure, he might have not had a 20-win season in 2002-03 or 2003-04 (then again, he may have), but he was only going to come in second on those big recruits for so long before it started to pay off. I'm confident that with two more seasons, we would have been a totally different program with a totally different caliber of talent. The other thing to remember is that he actually went after the big boys- Brad didn't even bother with the top area players and took too long on the next tier.
-
I met him numerous times and liked him alot. There s a huge difference between he'd have been successful with better support and he was on the verge of hitting it big.
Players left due to grades Edwin, injuries McClain, and Nick Kern was never coming regardless of the coach. The Cal kid Hollins didn't turn out to b the 2nd coming either. Personally, I think Romar would have done well eventually. He wouldn't have done as well as RM will and he wasn't on the verge of hitting it big.
Those Sweet 16 years were back-to-back 29-win seasons. Romar has won big, and in consecutive years. I have never met a SLU fan who doesn't consider 29 wins "winning big."
I also can't imagine a SLU fan who wouldn't have wanted Hollins. Are you serious? A 7-footer who started on a UCLA team that went to the NCAA finals? A third-year NBA player? I've never heard anyone use the term "second coming" to describe him (and second coming of whom? Ed McCauley?), but I would have been happy to have him.
You're also forgetting that the two freshmen from 2001-02 left: Pulley, who only stayed for Romar and whose grades were going to be an issue, and Seyfert, who claimed homesickness. McClain's back issues and consecutive medical redshirt seasons were no one's fault. Edwin may have been ineligible one semester but would have been worth keeping, and he would have stayed for Romar.
You also say "He wouldn't have done as well as RM" about Romar. Really? He went 19-14 and got us in the tournament his first year, went 17-14 his second year, and 15-16 his third year. Majerus went 16-15 in his first year and is 10-6 now against a bad schedule, and both of those records include a win against a D-II team. So I can only presume that your statement is based on how you feel Majerus will do, because he certainly hasn't done it yet.
-
he didn't and he wasn't on the verge of it.
I guess we differ on "win big" He had 2 good years out of 6 for a Pac 10 school. No great years. To be honest, I thought he'd have Wash consistently top 25 or 30 but he hasn't.
I know it's not easy for me to make this argument when he left before anything happened. I guess you and cheeseman never met him. His recruits and the players who left had close relationships with him; for most of them, there was no reason to be at SLU if he wasn't there and Soderberg certainly wasn't the same type of guy or coach.
He was handcuffed by a limited budget, a terrible practice facility, an oversized off-campus arena, a poor AD and antagonist associate AD (Flanagan). In spite of all of this, Romar is a guy I had full faith in and his players would do anything for him. Why do you think there was an exodus once he left? Those guys had no relationship with Brad and didn't want to play for him. One or two may have missed the first semester of play for academic reasons, but we wouldn't have lost entire consecutive classes.
By the way, this freshman class at Washington is a top 20 class (on a very young team overall) and he has another nice one on the way, including one of the top point guards in the country.
-
I have been critical of our current A. Dir. and the lack of energy and visibility he seems to provide for the program However, I think his idea of providing 4 general adm. tickets to STH to give out to friends/family is great. We need to fill the place for conference games and this should help do that. Besides, it serves as a meaningful "thanks" to those of us who ponied up at the beginning. As more and more people get a chance to see our exciting young players, hopefully they will purchase tickets in the future.
Good job, Mr. May.
So when I'm in town for Saturday night's game, can I walk up with the 4 extra people and hand that voucher to the ticket office for 4 tickets on the spot? Also, who's name is supposed to go on the form- mine or a guest's?
-
I was not really talking about that comment. I honestly could care less about that quote since I do not read it as being negative in the least bit. I am more just replying to some of Roy's comments concerning how he is less of a fan now because of things he has heard concerning Majerus. I am assuming Roy hears a lot of things being close with the Lisch family. I have other connections to the program and have likely heard similar things as Roy.
I think there is certainly a way to be successful and treat others with respect. Someone commented on Lorenzo Romar not being clean as whistle. Lorenzo Romar was one of the nicest and most honorable men I have ever met. He is an outstanding role model for anyone who has ever played for him. My problem with Majerus has nothing to do with whether or not he follows the rule book to the T, it is with regards to how he treats people and I would guess this is what Roy is saying as well.
Another anecdote: I heard when the team went to Boston last year he bought a suit and proceeded to walk out of the store without paying. When an employee asked him what he was doing Majerus asked "do you know who I am." The employee said he had no idea who he was, but that whoever he was he still had to pay for the suit. Majerus stormed out telling the guy he would send someone back to pay for the suit. Apparently a student manager had to head to the store to take care of paying for the suit.
Got it- I misunderstood. He's certainly a mixed bag as a coach, a lot of things I love about him, and some others I don't feel great about.
Couldn't agree more about Romar, and no matter what Skip says in his comments above, Romar was very much on the verge of putting together a special program here. I guess you can either believe that or not, but anyone close enough to the program knows it. I just wish he had been here long enough for everyone to see it happen.
-
My younger brother was so excited to tell me that Willie Reed's alley oop was one of the top 10 plays on ESPN after the Xavier game last week. That's pretty sweet I don't care who you are.
I don't think that this was mentioned anywhere, so sorry if it has.
It had to be lower down the top 10 than Derrick Brown's alley-oop that night, right? Still cool that we made it.
-
Won Big?
I wrote that with tongue placed firmly in cheek.
However, the Romar example works, as I think he could have won big or was on the verge of winning big (if by SLU standards). He was squeaky clean, treated every person he met with the utmost respect and kindness, built incredible relationships with his players, and knew how to recruit. I was talking with a buddy recently about what Washington would be like if he didn't have so many players leave early- the blessing/curse of getting the one-and-done guys.
Oh, and Dollar acted on his own (even though, I know, the head coach is in charge and will be at least partially blamed).
-
Lorenzo Romar?
I kind of feel the same as Roy on this one, but not to the same extent. I have heard a number of stories concerning Majerus and how he treats people and it is a shame. I would encourage anyone on this board to sit down with any member of the athletic department, former player of Majerus, or even a student manager to hear about his ways. It truly is an embarassment. I still cheer for the Billikens to win, but it is because I want to see the players experience success. I guess that is why I would consider myself more removed from the program than I used to be.
I don't think the comment is a huge deal. However, tact is not one of the strong suits of Majerus, as we've all seen to some extent by now. He does seem like a guy that would not be fun to work for or with, but that people are willing to take the bad with the good because of his knowledge and abilities.
A quick anecdote: I heard that he has a habit of ignoring cars ahead of his waiting at the gate to get in that new lot adjacent to the arena. He apparently just drives over the curb, sidewalk, and through the grass to get into the lot before any of them without using the key card entry. I guess a few people complained and he recently got a $100 fine for it. Of course, he gave his pal Larry a call and told him (I'm sure in the nicest way possible) that he would not be paying the fine.
-
Indiana will be fine, but it will take some time to rebound from the mess Kelvin Sampson created. They will be very good in a few years.
Here's a link to their roster:
http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl...baskbl-mtt.html
They have NINE freshmen, two sophomores, four juniors (one who is out as a transfer) and one senior. Of the eight players who have started games for them this year, six are freshmen. The five guys who have started the most games are four freshmen and a JUCO junior.
Of the 75 shots Matt Roth has attempted, 67 of them are 3-pointers. That's all you need to know about his role.
Roth seems to be basically Indiana's version of Brad Redford.
I'll never feel sorry for Tom Crean. He was always a jerk and I wish more SLU fans realized that. He's never been as dirty as Sampson, but he knew what he was getting into. That program has to start from scratch with personnel, and he's got to recruit his butt off over the next few years. He's fortunate in that he has one of the best programs in history, a nice school, and great facilities to sell kids on. As impatient as fans are at programs like that, I think they realize he needs at least 4 years before they can start scrutinizing his job security.
-
Roy, you were born about 50 years too late. Name me one coach who's won big without a hint of taint, running the gamut from dirty recruiting to not being nice to everyone he meets. There isn't one.
Rick may be a crude, pigheaded, perfectionist. He may well have been brutally honest with those who've left to the point that YOU would consider them "run off." Given your standards, I don't think you'd have been happy with any other successful coach.
You may want to consider supporting a division two or NAIA team. The excesses of the modern world intrude far less often the lower you go.
Brad Soderberg?
-
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm actually worried about Reid joining the SLU roster. Between him and Willie Reed, this is a nightmare come true for Guy Phillips. The word "correction" will be forever echoing through the Chaifetz Arena.
-
I guess when you make the "zero tolerance" statement you have to do something.
Your post reminds me of the Jimmy Johnson story about him cutting a player for not paying attention during a spring meeting after winning the super bowl. I don't remember the player's name, but he was on the fringe. A reporter asked Johnson what he would have done if it had been Emmitt Smith or Troy Aikman, and Johnson said something like "I would have said 'please pay attention'".
Read Jeff Pearlman's Boys Will Be Boys if you want more stories on those early-90s Cowboys teams. Jimmy Johnson cut dozens of guys on impulse but rarely confronted any of his stars or former Miami players.
In the grand scheme of things, this Lyons incident is pretty minor. But the fact remains that Anderson has tightened the reins on these guys and Lyons did get arrested. He could have just paid the fine two years ago and this thing doesn't happen.
TT: Cotto to Juco in Philly
in Billikens.com Main Board
Posted
Possibly, but the commenter on Timmerman's blog pointed out that we don't have a natural backup for Mitchell next year. I love Mitchell's game and want him to play as many minutes as possible, but who gets the PG job done if he goes down with an injury? That would have been Cotto but now looks to be a backup-PG-by-committee deal.