Pistol

So our players were just gonna settle for a heave and not consider a timeout?

Got it, just curious. I figured you wanted to retain Ford and May given how annoyed you seem at the "Fire Ford" posts. I feel like given how much of a disaster the season has been, an avalanche of that is going to be happening everywhere SLU fans are talking. I don't even know what "hire Heeke" is in reference to, but you say it in every post now so it seems like you're doing the exact thing you're upset about. When all else fails, the Ignore function works really well.

Real question: What would you do if you could call the shots for SLU?

Odd recording schedule. Three episodes in the past week after over three months without one.

So many red flags for both Ford and May in 2016.

I actually think there's real value to be had in the NIL age by signing the second tier of HS recruits and then spending to retain them. There's an opportunity to build a more stable program with guys that have careers at your school instead of one-year wonders, and those are the guys fans connect with. It doesn't have to be either-or. I just don't think we should be overlooking the guys we can train up and build around.

Big Tuna was my exact thought, as well.

It will be no fault of his own if he doesn't end up here. I actually think he's a pretty nice looking prospect. It just depends on what the next coach wants to do.

No. These places are designed to meet NCAA requirements. Plus, how many guys have you seen be academically ineligible out of HS anymore? It just doesn't happen like it used to. A lot has changed since Reed's time; his school that was shady at the time is now the norm. State government agencies are barely paying attention to the schools they're ostensibly overseeing. The NCAA is toothless. If a player can get into a given college, he'll be eligible. If it were a normal HS, it would be covered by local news (like the stat pages in STLToday - not perfect, but they try to record what every regional HS is doing). Social media is going to vary by program no matter what kind of school it is. But for prep/charter schools, lack of information is often the point. I don't know where Middlebrooks falls on the spectrum. They may be doing right by the kids or they may be unscrupulous actors squeezing money out of the system. There are plenty of examples of each.

The other thing these threads reminded me was that the process was excruciating for us. It dragged on, went through ups and downs, and had a total lack of transparency. We were worried about the warning signs for Ford but ignored that the search/hiring process was loaded with red flags for May.

I have also been frustrated by the lack of information about Williford's final prep season. He attends Middlebrooks Academy - a charter school named after its founder and head coach. The address of the school per the California Department of Education is a one-story home in Alhambra. The mailing address is a mail center between a dog groomer and sushi restaurant in a strip mall in Studio City. Middlebrooks' website lists Cathedral High School under the facilities, but I can't figure out if Middlebrooks students actually use the physical classrooms at Cathedral, or whether they attend classes with Cathedral students, or if they just use the gym and weight room in off hours. A lot of schools like this just use online classes. Cathedral is located just across the 110 from Dodger Stadium, just north of downtown Los Angeles. Middlebrooks does not update its social media accounts often. The schedule on the website has not been updated since after their win on 9/30, the first game of the season. If the schedule is correct, they just had "Post-Grad Nationals" this past weekend. From what I can find on Twitter, this is not a tournament but a weekend showcase event. Middlebrooks played Ascending Life (AZ) on Saturday and Grand Canyon Club (AZ) on Sunday. Middlebrooks competes in the PEC-6 Conference, which was "established in 2013 to create a credible, NCAA-compliant governing body on the West Coast for post-grad basketball programs". The PEC-6 has its playoffs on March 16-17. Per Middlebrooks' website, they have PEC-6 games at Cathedral this weekend. Per the PEC-6 website, they don't have conference games again until February 16-18. Williford also doesn't post often, but he will repost SLU-related things in his Instagram stories. He has a current one, so it seems like he's still engaged with the program. If you can't tell, I'm mildly annoyed that so many players have shifted toward the "prep" schools from traditional high schools. These range from perfectly legitimate institutions that in some cases offer a fifth year to Bishop Sycamore-type "schools". It's really hard to say what's what, and information is often hard to come by.

This thread is a fascinating read. We seem almost universally skeptical of the initial hire and by late 2017 we're eating crow and by 2018 we're full speed ahead. Should've trusted our initial instincts.

Man, I was dead wrong. I expected multiple NCAA Tournament appearances. (And stronger recruiting.) (I was a lot meaner back in 2016, geez.)

It's not just one student, it's like 5 of them right behind the announcers. Loyola apparently got the dollar store headsets for the ESPN+ crew and the mics are picking up everything in the front row behind them. Loyola fans are in our Twitter mentions saying it's been a problem for a long time and no one has made an effort to fix it. I imagine that if we're this sick of it after one game, they're losing their minds by now.

That other burner is back in a different handle today. As if Twitter couldn't get any more entertaining today after the Jeff Goodman/Rob Dauster nonsense.

Yeah, shooting <30% in back-to-back quarters against a 17-4 team is not ideal.

Thought SLU was shooting its way out of the game with a brutal second quarter offensively, but they forced 10 turnovers and are only down 3 at halftime.

When SLU won 11 of 12 last season, Richmond was the sole loss in that stretch. Would be cool to get them back, especially given that they're stronger this season. Took 2 minutes, but Richmond was first on the board in the second quarter with a 3. SLU missing easy layups. Grrrrr.

Maybe the one with 35.3 seconds left? He hits his hands together a few times and messes with his hair. Looks frustrated.

Parker played limited minutes tonight so if anyone was frustrated, it was him (or Medley). But I just went back to the final media timeout in the broadcast and I didn't see what you're talking about. He's visible behind the huddle sitting down and back up on the bench. Just curious exactly when this happened.

I don't begrudge this strategy, honestly. Pitino teams do it, too. I've watched SLU lose to these teams too often to think it isn't right.

We were down by more than this to a much better St. Joe's team. This Davidson team is bad. The worst I've seen since they joined the league 10 years ago. It's not over. (But if we lose, this is a BAD loss.)

Looks a lot like Dave Franco in the face.

Softball HC Christy Connoyer.

I don't think she's been paired with Troy yet. Scott has been helpful for her so far.