RUBillsFan

More in Scott Highmark's juicy new business endeavor: http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/smoothie-chains-look-to-st-louis-to-juice-up-expansion/article_9dd932e6-e7fc-5335-b064-9eff62fc9fca.html

I like McBroom already. He hasn't played one minute yet for SLU, but he is already out there working on recruits.

You don't need to tell Cory Remekun how bad the parking situation is: Cory Remekun ‏@Cantbefaded321h Lol it be tight on class if i can't find a parking spot...slu got terrible parking Cory Remekun ‏@Cantbefaded321h Then i got a ticket for parking at a meter because it was the 3rd Friday... type of shid is that

I was thinking the same thing. Rotnei was their PG last year and he is gone. I suppose Barlow will handle the point for them or one of these freshman SG. Good thing for them they're are going to a different league or SLU (and VCU) would tear them up again next year.

I think the whole "why has this taken so long" thing is getting blown out of proportion. Obviously, Crews was going to be retained, he was out recruiting and basically acting as if he had the job already this whole time. Not being officially announced as head coach has not hampered him in any way (as evidence by the Agbeko commitment). Perhaps, SLU wanted to wait until after the NCAAs were over to make the announcement and then decided that a Friday would be the best day. Maybe as has been reported they were waiting on Biondi to get back from Asia to make the announcement and then with his brother passing, it was delayed further. Does it really matter since Crews has basically been the HC the whole time? I do think it is funny that before there was a lot of angst about whether or not Crews should be the new head coach. With all of the waiting that has turned into "why the heck hasn't Crews been named as the head coach yet." Much better for the SLU basketball program, IMO, because instead of people questioning the coach, now you have people questioning the university president and the basketball program doesn't catch any of the heat.

Katz posted on twitter that it is a long term deal with Crews.

On the original topic of Billikens in the NBA, I made sporcle quiz about it a while back if you want to test your knowledge: Can you name the NBA & ABA Players Who Attended Saint Louis University?

Louisville really just plays as physical as the refs will allow (read: fouls multiple times on every single possession).

Apparently Dieng can just travel all he wants when he gets the ball inside.

I think you are right. The point about balancing classes is still valid, but having 3 bigs in the Glaze/Manning class wouldn't be ideal. I still like Djambo though.

Not sure if this has been posted yet or not but according to Timmerman on twitter Crews is scheduled to throw out the 1st pitch and the Bills will be honored as A-10 champs on Saturday at the Cardinals game. One would have to assume that Crews will be officially announced as the head coach by then. Heck it wouldn't be a bad idea to announce it at the game as that would generate a lot of publicity.

This is why I'd like to see the Bills get Djambo and Yacoubou. Djambo the top choice being a big and slotting into the McBroom class and Yacoubou gets the nod over the other guards because he seems to be more talented and fits into that class as well. I really like having the classes balanced. That way you avoid a big drop off when a bunch of guys graduate. Also, it seems like it would be difficult to recruit the year following a big class because some recruits would wonder where any playing time is going to come from until their senior year. Finally, as we saw with the 8 man class RM put together his 1st year, it is very rare to keep a bigger class together for 4 years because kids who don't end up getting playing time get frustrated and leave. I don't think SLU should settle for less talented players just to even out the classes, but in this case it seems to work perfectly as what looks like the 2 most talented players slot into the smallest class. Yacoubou not being a point guard doesn't worry me too much because we still have 3 (JJ, MM, & AB) for next year. As long as we get a good PG for 2014 we're fine.

I could be wrong, but I thought I read somewhere that the 1st semester is really all that counts for the one-and-done guys. Therefore, all they have to do is pass a few basic classes 1st semester (perhaps only 12 credit hours if they have already taken a summer class) and then all 2nd semester they are basically already pro players who just aren't being paid yet.

They can probably jump out of the gym with the best of them just like Horace Dixon.

Oregon's Daymean Dotson is 0-6 from the field on 0-3 from 3pt land. Against SLU he was 8-12 and 5-6. On the season he is shooting 44% and 33% on 3pts. His hot shooting is one of the main reasons SLU lost. Bummer.

Different article: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/slu-has-ingredients-for-another-ncaa-trip/article_3594e273-8c41-53d4-bfeb-842f8dfee681.html My favorite part: Richard Chaifetz is the reason SLU is in good shape going forward no matter who the head coach is. He has raised the bar.

Very good game between Ohio St and Iowa St earlier. Aaron Craft has some huge balls to take (and nail) that shot at the end of the game. RIght now Khalif Wyatt is holding his own against IU. Wyatt 20 (the rest of Temple 6) and IU 24.

I'm uncertain about where I stand on the the head coach decision right now. With that said, anyone demanding that SLU hire a "better" or "bigger name" coach than Crews should shut their mouth and open up their wallet to donate to the SLU bball program. A big name coach isn't going to come to SLU unless he is getting paid.

Complaining about our Billiken's draw in the Midwest regional now is a bit like crying over split milk, but I can't help wondering how far we could have gone as the #4 seed in the West regional. Midwest Seed. Team (highest AP ranking during season/current kenpom rank): 1. Louisville (1/2) 2. Duke (1/6) 3. Michigan State (4/7) 4. SLU (13/19) 5. OK State (13/26) 6. Memphis (17/42) 7. Creighton (12/16) 8. Colorado St. (22/30) 9. Missouri (7/21) 10. Cincinnati (8/40) 11. St. Mary's (26/23) 12. Oregon (10/32) West Seed. Team (Highest AP ranking during season/current kenpom rank): 1. Gonzaga (1/5) 2. Ohio St. (3/4) 3. New Mexico (10/24) 4. Kansas St. (9/34) 5. Wisconsin (17/10) 6. Arizona (3/15) 7. Notre Dame (17/38) 8. Pittsburgh (16/11) 9. Wichita St. (15/20) 10. Iowa St. (36/33) 11. Belmont (31/51) 12. Mississippi (16/29) The only seed you can definitively say was better in the West was #6 Arizona/Memphis. All the rest are either a toss up or the Midwest wins easily. I included the highest AP poll because I think that shows how good a team can be when playing at their best. Clearly we ran into the Oregon team that was playing at a #10 level rather than the one that wasn't ranked. Midwest had 6 teams at one point ranked in the top 10 compared to 5 in the West, 8 top 15 vs 6 in West, 12 top 26 vs 10 in West. Hindsight is 20/20, but it would have been nice to have K State's spot in Kansas City and have a clear path to the Elite Eight. Oh well. Heck of a season. Go Bills! Loe, Glaze, Evans, Jett, McCall (Manning, Barnett, McBroom, Drew, Crawford) is a very good team for next year. Hard work over the summer and we can be in a similar spot next year hopefully with better luck.

Well... way to go out. This team had a fantastic season. They can be proud of the season they put together.

Right on cue Dwayne Evans is raped down low going for a rebound and then Dotson nails another deep 3.

Not that it matters because the Bills can't hit the broad side of a barn and Oregon can't miss, but SLU has picked up some cheap fouls. I hate that the refs usually try to keep the fouls pretty even. Bills have been getting the ball inside and driving to the hoop while Oregon has mostly been shooting from the outside (and hitting). Oregon has a few more fouls, but IMO it shouldn't even be close.

Dotson is 4/4 from 3. He is around a 30% shooter on the season. Ugh.

Oregon can't miss.

A10 related: St. Joes takes a hit for next year. CJ Aiken is going pro: http://cityofbasketballlove.com/2013/03/c-j-aiken-leaving-hawk-hill-going-pro/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter