inthelou

Brad went into Division I coaching with his "eyes wide open." If he didn't he was a fool. If he tooked the SLU job because he thought it would be "easy" and he would have more family time he was also a fool. And if he's taking the Lindenwood job because he thinks it won't take that much effort he will probably fail there.

Best post on this subject. Really who cares and who is to judge if he's a "good Catholic"?

I agree. Here's a guy that was head coach at two pretty good Div I programs. He also learned under two very good coaches while an AC. I'd be shocked if ended up at Lindenwood.

I kind of like the signing. We needed depth at guard. He could be a very pleasant surprise. Sounds like he played good competition in high school.

Courts - I don't disagree at all. You make excellent points. Personally I'd rather have the good player/athlete and risky student. I was more saying that, given SLU's resources and administrative attitude at the time, I don't think it was really that out of line or unexpected. Some people are posting like it was this big shock and unexpected injustice. And I still think it's time to move on and that the conjecture surrounding the whole incident is just that - conjecture.

"Severe reading problems" and "disabilities" and "questions read out loud" for the SAT. Enough said. I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about. It's pretty obvious what happened.

So you were in the living rooms when it was "hurting us"? C'mon. One recruit!! One!! Go out and get somebody else!! Build better facilities. Hire better recruiting assistants. There's a ton of factors involved here. To cling to that is a loser's mentality.

How do you know that? It's 20 year old pure speculation at best. You have no idea how Upchurch would have done with his teammates, his academics once he got in school etc. To say a single player not qualifying or being admitted cost you all kinds of "NCAA berths and recruits" is really lame. Look at Lisch and the recruiting victory he was and Lidcell for that matter. The Pied Pipers. Studs. They both appeared in exactly zero post-season games if I'm thinking clearly. I look forward and don't make excuses based on a singular event when a basketball program like ours has a ton of moving parts and critical elements that are so much more important than one guy.

It's over. Long over. There's no need to revisit it and it was a vastly overrated story at the time anyway.

That is a bizarre quote. He's got to by fudging on that. I know these coaches are under tremendous pressure but come on.

Every conference is going to have some weaker sisters. The thing is, in this day and age of economic turmoil most small schools won't be able to justify making a "commitment" like we did a few years ago

He's a good guy and a pretty darn good coach. I'd love to see a guy like Soderberg given all the tools and facilities and see what he could do. In some ways SLU was a perfect job for him. The timing just wasn't there.

I think his point is more that Roy wants that done by a coach. I don't think he was saying he expects it or it's realistic or achievable.

Good post nark. I like Majerus a lot although I see Roy's view to a point. However, the kids he recruits and those that stay will do so by choice and therefore must feel somehow he DOES care. Only they really can know or feel that from the man. If he truly cares and connects with enough kids his on court achievements and graduation rates will speak for themselves.

I completely agree. Who in world do they have on their team now that we would have even been remotely recruiting? Maybe Steve Moore, and he hardly plays from the times I've watched them. They have players from all over the place as do we. A number of years ago we had two of our best teams at a time when I believe they were very good also.

You wonder sometimes if that isn't where football is headed in Division I. To me basketball is a five man game. Much easier for a smaller school to compete, even without the infrastructure and fanbase because you only need a few players to really turn things around. I would think football would go to this before basketball. And that hasn't happened. Yet.

Roy - you really can't blame some of the fans for looking at this. I totally understand your points. But our head coach brought it up and has brought it up repeatedly. Given his national profile that's going to cause some fans to take pause. And there are some decent points for the MVC although I personally favor slightly right now staying in the A-10 and making the best of it.

Renee Knot is in bed with Mike Anderson. It's a joke and he has no objectivity. On the other hand Knot is a joke and makes so many errors in grammar and reference in his sportscasts no one really takes anything he says seriously.

One thing I think is a little funny is the pro-A-10 people (again I'm undecided) always name teams like UMass, Rhode Island and Temple as "positives" and teams that give the conference prestige and what an "academic fit" it is for us. UMass made the Final Four by cheating and have kids on the team with .02 GPAs like Marcus Camby. Rhode Island made its "run" under the dubious leadership of Jim Harrick. Temple has had one of the worst graduation rates in Division I for years and a history of taking guys that couldn't get in anywhere else. I just don't think the academic argument washes when talking about not going to the Valley or even some other conference. If you are going to keep talking about the UMass Final Four as a reason we should stay in the A-10 then look at how those "runs" were built.

I am somewhat undecided on this whole issue. I use to be totally on board with the A-10 but now I'm not, particularly if our coach is going around bad-mouthing it. One point though is that a school like Memphis, with all its rich tradition and talent, seems to be thriving in a "lesser" conference, getting high seeds in NCAA, national TV games etc. They play a tough OOC schedule and have really made the best of their situation. I think the "major metropolitan areas" thing is overblown. I don't think that really means that much to kids or recruiting. It certainly hasn't help the A-10 TV contract.

I agree. We will get there. I really do believe Majerus is trying to build this thing the right way. It just sucks to out of the post-season for this many years and it gets you down.

While I agree it is very sad that these so-called "fans" left early on Senior Night, there is nothing wrong with criticizing a Division I basketball player. It's part of the deal. These players have to be able to take it. It happens all over.

We joined the conference it is our duty to try to make the best of it in a positive way. Win it a few times, develop some rivalries, etc. before we try to start booting schools. Who is to say certain other programs won't "step up" in the near future? You just don't know. As far as "great years" ....how many NCAA berths have we had since we joined this conference? I just don't get your point. We voluntarily joined this conference...invited by the schools already there. There is no utopia. If we thought we could find a better situation elsewhere we should never have joined this conference.

Give me a break. I guess we should have advocated Memphis and Cincinnati kicking us out of the Great Midwest or some of the other conferences we've been in. The "commitment" at that time was not exactly up to snuff as you say. If there's one thing I can't stand it's hyprocrisy. And if you weren't advocating SLU getting booted from those conferences at that time you shouldn't be just arrogantly advocating booting other schools from a conference they helped build.

Completely agree also. I've never really understood it. You don't join a conference to start kicking others out. You join it because it's a positive thing to do and you want to join with the others already there. It's really tremendous arrogance that doesn't really flatter us.