Clock_Tower

Skip. Not really. Whether it was Ahearn or not -- every bust, miss, whatever you want to call it, is a missed opportunity, a waste of time and effort and prevents us from taking a chance on someone else. By taking a non-student like Edwin and losing him, not only did we not benefit from what he could offer but also lost our on the ability toi benefit from someone else. With a promising young Edwin on the roster, other guys (not Ahearn) no doubt chose to go elsewhere. But yes, hard to keep straight all the different busts from 2 poor/mediocre coaches for us -- Romar and Soderberg. Now, if you are saying that Romar was incapable of recruiting a decent player to SLU (not Washington), then you may have a point and support my premise. Romar had no one set to replace Edwin, Pulley or Kern (who Romar knew as not qualifying either) other than a then average Hollins who would not have helped much that year. Taj Gray couldn't qualify either. Had Romar stayed one more year at SLU, Romar would have received the blame he deserved and no way would he be offered ANY P5 job. Best thing Romar ever did was get the hell out of town before things collapsed on him.

Yes. Darren Clarke. Thank you

Good try. Didn't study? The truth is that he flunked out. He probably did a lot more than "didn't study." Probably didn't go to class, didn't do his homework, didn't read, didn't participate in class... All college players are student athletes. Apparently, Edwin wasn't a student. Same with Randy Pully (Romar) who also flunked out, Nick Kern (Romar) who could not qualify for any D1 program, Taj Gray (Romar) who could not qualify for any D1 program… Anyone see a pattern? And just for the record, I never said Jason Edwin was a bad basketball player. Was he a great player? No. I didn't see greatness and most great players don't drop down to the MAC. Instead, I said he was a bust -- which he was - especially in the context of this article/topic -- evaluating the merits of what Romar did here as head coach for us. We planned on having him for 4 years, invested time and opportunity recruiting him, (didn't we turn Blake Ahearn down for him?), spent a year teaching him, made recruiting decisions b/c of him... and he failed to keep up his end of the bargain -- be a good student. Yes, I call that a "bust"

What was he then?

True. Though didnt he committed to Pepperdine and follow Romar to SLU?

Yes. Ryan Hollins would have played for us had Romar stayed fir his 4th year. He would have been the FIRST AND ONLY West Coast player to arrive - hardly a pipeline. And Hollins was not good early in his college career. If speculation is allowed, he likely would have missed home here in the Midwest and transferred after another mediocre year when all of Spoon’s guys (our best) were gone. Further He would have replaced Kenny Brown - but who would have replaced the others? And Taj Gray went to JUCO. Not buying he chose 2 years of JUCO over playing for someone other than Romar.

Yep. Every so many years, the fish stories surface. Again, here's a dose of reality. Spoon left the cupboards full with Justin Love (SR), Dave Ferguson (SR), Troy Robertson (SR), John Redden (SR), Larry Simmons (SR), Justin Tatum (JR), Maurice Jeffers (JR), Chris Heinrich (JR), Matt Baniak (JR) and youngsters Drew Diener, (FR), Marquee Perry (FR) and Chris Braun (FR) Romar coached up these players and made the NCAA Tourney with Spoon's guys. Thereafter, Romar did not get along with Justin Tatum (believe his son turned out to be a pretty good player) who never reached his potential and left the program early. Romar also brought in major busts in Jason Edwin, Floyd McClain.Randy Pulley and John Seyfert. Romar gets no credit for Nick Kern (understand his son is also a pretty good player) who never made grades and who Romar knew would not make grades/enroll at SLU. Darius Miles was not coming to SLU. And sure, the high school kids liked Romar (I did too) but why did they not not sign with us if they liked him so much? Instead, the cupboards thinned as the talent graduated. Romar left the cupboards relatively empty: Marquee Perry (SR), Kenny Brown (SR), Drew Diener (SR), Josh Fisher (JR), Chris Sloan (JR) and Ross Varner (JR). Yes, I would rather coach the team Spoon left than the one Romar left. And yes, Brad Soderberg did one of his best recruiting efforts by just getting enough warm bodies to practice and fill out the team with late Spring additions of Anthony Drejaj and Izak Ohanon to offset the loss of our only Freshman/returning Sophomore (Pulley) who quit and Kern who could not/did not qualify. Brad did the best he could with Romar's guys (plus Drejaj and Ohanon) and still could only win 16 games. Why would the great West Coast pipeline suddenly start in year 4 after another poor season if it was empty the prior 3 years dating back to when we were a good team?

I liked John Sondregger, and always thought he did a good job for us, but he is a grad of Mizzou's J School as well.

Yes and no. When our Bills win a big game, there is coverage. When we won the A10 Tournament, yes, there was coverage. When we played our NCAA Tourney game, yes, there was coverage. No complaints from me as to these. And the more games we win, yes, it follows that there will be more coverage. So yes, the more we win, the more the coverage. At the same time, the local media likes to put our wins and accomplishments "in perspective" for us. After Grawer and Bonner, Gray and Douglas took our neglected program from the ashes to The Big Apple - NIT Final, Kevin Horrigan found it necessary to throw cold water on our program and let all local fans know that the NIT is not what it was in 1948 or what the NCAA Tourney now is. Thanks Kevin, did not know that. When our program made the NCAA Tournament under Spoon (which Grawer could not do), our accomplishments were compared to Mizzou and the Illini to put our accomplishments "in perspective". When we actually got to play Mizzou and the Illini, the games were soon stopped by Mizzou and Illinois and our local media kindly reminded us that we were not on the level of Kansa, Michigan State, etc. and that games against us were not necessary -- no need for Mizzou and Illinois to play in St. Louis twice in a given year - not when these titans play each other in the Bragging Rights game. Apparently, the local media did NOT want more big games played here locally - why would they? When we then made more NCAA Tournaments, our local media found it necessary to provide an equal update on Mizzou for all our benefit. And not just when we win, the local media looks our for us such as when we struggled and the Valley enjoyed their success, the local media found it necessary to assist us by telling us which conference would be best for us. And when we land a big local recruit, just seems like a good time to provide an update on local recruits going to Mizzou as well in the same article - fair and balanced, right? Funny, but when Mizzou lands a big name recruit, the name SLU never appears in the article or same day/week of coverage. Not that local writers should be cheerleaders, but we seem to have more coverage after the game/season than prior. And if the game/season does not go so well, then it turns out there really is no need for the coverage.

Just a look back at some of the better known local sports writers and the college they attended. I am sure that I am missing many others so please add to the list. In the meantime, I think I see a pattern: Bob Burnes - SLU - Globe Democrat Bob Broeg - Mizzou - Post Dispatch Dave Dorr - Mizzou - Post Dispatch Kevin Horrigan - Houston & Mizzou - Post Dispatch Rick Hummel - Mizzou - Post Dispatch Dan O'Neill - Mizzou - Post Dispatch Jeff Gordon - Mizzou - Post Dispatch Ben Frederickson - Mizzou - Post Dispatch Frank Cusumano - UMSL - KSDK channel 5 TV/local radio

Believe we had a good year in 1948 as well.

Thanks for the updates!! Jordair Jett?

Yep. We got burned by 6’9” athletic guys. And when teams could match our shooting but also dominate the interior, we lost, and lost big. I recall very close games at home, often wins against Cincy, UAB ... but blowout losses on the road at The Shoe (Cincy) and on Bartow’s home court (UAB). We are built differently now.

Best 20 minutes of SLU basketball I have seen was the first half against Romar and his Washington Huskies at Chaifetz. A real clinic!! Not that we played bad in the second half, but the game was out of reach ...

Wrong. We get limited coverage

Yep. And multiple PGs, physical defense, hard nosed tough play, recovered most loose balls and we seemed to never lose close games. I watched many of Spoon’s practices. His coaches would put 2 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds on the clock and the offense would practice, and practice and practice “closing out a game.” Same on defense: practice without fouling, practicing who to foul, when to foul and where to foul... whistles blown. Spoon would yell stop, guys would freeze, then he would teach. Spoon was a master.

Very odd that so many in the local media have pressed forward giving the the cold shoulder to the Billikens. It's like a source of pride to be a popular local media guy and yet not cover the Bills very much. I just don't get it. Cover the teams based upon revenue, alumni, ratings, attendance, clicks or whatever. Most likley in the following order: Cardinals, Blues, Mizzou and then SLU - but cover them ALL. Give them each time, print... even if pro-rated. So many seem to make a living and have a source of pride in dismissing programs such as the Bills or in taking negative shots at the Bills. Again, why? Even if the market is smaller than the other markets, a market still exists. Do they believe coverage of the Bills will lose Mizzou fans/followers? Do they believe they will no longer be considered "big time" if they cover any program less than the Cardinals, Blues and Mizzou? Are we in their category of Webster U, Maryville and Harris Stowe? Why refuse to tap into all markets in your area? Seems either very stupid - and I don't believe - or relates more to the other conspiracies: jealousy by the Mizzou honks, etc. - though Bernie is not from Missouri or have ties to Mizzou. Frank has been the only local sports caster to truly be excited for all the teams and programs. Very odd.

RM reached out to Bernie and they had unique personal relationship over health, weight issues and sports generally. I agree - Bernie like RM but not SLU

Interesting take. Best fast breaks I ever saw were lead by H. When he was able to push the offense, it was fun to watch. Half court offense, though, was more difficult and when our outside shots didn’t fall. It was tough. But Spoon was a really good game coach, we ran a motion offense, w set pieces, set alot of screens and our offense clicked. And yes, the inside was mostly wide open which gave our undersized and less skilled bigs a chance - but I still believe a more balanced inside game would have made things easier on Highmark and Claggs

Fair points. 2 great players. They did have the benefit of being able to complement each other -- a shorter, athletic guy who could create this own shot vs. a taller, marksman who sure knew how to use a screen effectively. Similar point for both -- both would have even higher shooting percentages if they had teammates with a more robust or powerful interior games. Imagine these 2 on the perimeter with French and/or Bonner on the inside.

Yes. And when guarded on the 3 point line, he just stepped back and hit a longer 3 pointer. And when guarded 3 foot further back from the line, he would step back even further and make the even longer shot. May have the longest range of any Billiken I watched.

As to HIghmark - one of my all-time Billiken favorites - just want to add the following. As good as Claggett was (Claggs could create his own shot and break loose for a final, game-winning shot and he was far better dribbling than Scott while being very good with shooting percentages from anywhere on the Court - 3 pointers, mid-range and FTs), I would rather have Scott shoot the final shot of the game. Never seen a more accurate perimeter shooter than Scott. And his FTs were automatic. Now, keep in mind that Scott played on teams with 3 top shelf guards/outside shooters (H, Claggs and Scott) but that our teams' deficiencies were our average big men -- Donnie Campbell 6'6" David Robinson 6'5". Had Scott played with an interior force -- Bonner, Baniak/Tatum, Jamal Johnson, Voyoukas, French/Bell, then Scott woudl have had more room to work. Just like French not having as much room to work b/c the lane has been packed, and just like Jett did have room to work b/c of Loe, Evans and Ellis, Scott never had the benefit of a strong interior game. As such, teams took huge risks by guarding us heavily on the perimeter. Scott played for us during the prior conference days where we played top ranked Cincy and Memphis teams along with strong Marquette and UAB. Spoon would call a timeout and eveyone in the building would know Scott would be taking the shot. Double and triple screens were set -- and sure enough, Scott came off the last screen and shot the ball - all net. In short, Scott took alot of shots and yet he had very few open or "easy" 3 point shots. Had we had a more balance offense, had defenses played our bigs more honest and had Scott been given more open or "easy" 3 point opportunties -- I believe his shooting percent age would be more like 45%

Don't be confused. I listed 4 of our outside shooters who will make shots from the outside and stretch defenses - and prevent teams from packing the lane. In hindsight, I should have included Hargrove and Jacobs - and if so, I am not advocating we try and play 6 players vs. 5 or that 5 of these guys be our starting lineup. And why would a shorter guard possibly defend Andre? Because Andre is a perimeter guy - not an inside guy - and bc opposing teams usually don't have a roster of tall, lanky guards.

We already know that. So you are just restating what has already been said? And Scott Highmark was not an inside guy either - but when a short guard tried to guard him - he posted him up and used his 6'5" size to exploit the mismatch. And Scott made a very high percentage of these shots - but no one ever said he became an inside guy.

Nope. That wasn’t a lineup.