Clock_Tower
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Posts posted by Clock_Tower
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Agree as the walk-on. Have previously posted that I don't care for Brad's stubborness in not playing the younger kids.
Too early to talk about wasting KL and TL. Instead, could easily be argued that we are undefeated in the A-10 if KL had remained healthy.
Show me a team with only 2 seniors, one being of the experience and talent of JJ, and I will show you a mediocre team. While IV is good, we are seeing that he cannot carry the team on his back. He alone cannot make up for the lack of other Seniors. Like it or not, we are paying the price for poor recruiting 4 years ago.
Add this the fact that BH has been a mistake (also should have been in our current Senior class) and you find that our "decent/good" Junior class, together with our "good" Sophomore class (KL and TL are special but the lack of others drops my view of the Sophomore class down to only "good" are just not enough to win consistently , especially conference road games.
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While good intentioned, the RPI as currently calculated may be the worst thing to happen to college basketball in recent years. Checked Ken Pom's RPI and see that SIUC has an RPI of 9? Missouri State is 19? Two good teams but not great teams. What a joke. Each team now has 4 losses but guess losses to other "great" Valley teams will have little impact from here on out. In only a month, Doug Elgin will be all over the news, our local media bows at his feet lobbing softball questions at him and we will be hearing about the RPI and how wonderful the Valley. Already getting sick.
Cannot understand why other conferences, including our own, cannot realize how to schedule and otherwise act as a league. Have absolutely no regrets about not joining the Valley (believe they have peaked) but am quite disappointed with Linda Bruno and the A10. Just watched Mizzou and Kansas, believe it or not, on national TV - ESPN. Maybe some day the Big 12 will be led by Bruno and sign a "lucrative" TV conference so that their fans can follow their team over their laptops on pay per view. As Cowboy likes to say, Linda "It's hard being a Billiken fan."
Oh, got to go in that Gonzaga (the program our Board expects SLU to be if only we could get a good coach) is now on ESPN!! Anyone else notice that MO State, SIUC, Mizzou and Illinois were all on TV over the weekend? My wife, a very casual fan, asks me, "Why isn't SLU ever on TV?" To which I reply, who needs TV when we have AM 590 radio. TV is but a fad. Radio is forever.
Ms. Bruno, what time do I tune my best home radio so that I can follow the SLU v. Temple game on Wednesday?
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In that all will no doubt agree that recruiting this Spring will play a large role in both the future of Brad and SLU BB, can anyone give any insight into Brad's assistant coaches? Don't recall any of the assistants receiving much credit or blame for past recruiting classes.
Recall that Angres is from Chicago but don't believe, (and as mentioned in another thread) that he and/or Brad have landed a Chicago kid.
Recall that Anthony Beane left the program (believe it was reported that he retired from coaching and was pursuing private business interests) but at the same time recall no great successes attributed to him. Was he pushed out by Brad? I'm hoping that Brad recognized a deficiency on his staff and has replaced him with Jamal Walker.
Grunk appears to have no great history either. Ohio connections including 2001 Miami OH grad, Moeller (Cincy) highschool grad but do not recall SLU even pursuing anyone from Cincy, or the entire state of Ohio for that matter, in years.
In short, much has been said about recruiting budgets but our assistant coaches, as a group, don't appear to be what you would find on a Top 50 program. In that I want and believe we need stability for the longterm growth of SLU BB, I would bring back Brad next year but tell him it is on the condition that he make serious changes to this staff. One (1) recruit last fall and none so far this year is not acceptable and someone on the staff should be held accountable.
At the same time, in that I really do not want to watch a frontcourt of LM, BH and AK next year and in that I know that Brad unfortunately won't play any freshmen he might sign this Spring, I am placing all of my hope in the hands of Jamal Walker. Understand that Brad cannot be blamed for Frericks and his injuries but Newborn is the only other JUCO that comes to mind and that was simply not a good recruit. Other than eternal optimism, Brad, Angres and Grunk have not shown an ability to land a decent JUCO. While new to the program as a coach (enjoyed watching him during the Spoonball), Jamal appears to be the only one with JUCO connections. Understand that he is from and has connections in Kansas City and Eastern Kansas. But not sure of any recruits from that area. As a sidenote, if Cheryl Levick could negotiate a decent radio contract, maybe that would help land a recruit from the other side of the state - 2 hours away. I know that the KFNS 590 radio signal can barely make it to West County so I know that Kansas City is out of the question. With two (2) strong AM radio stations in town that could boom a signal throughout Missouri and Illinois, I cannot understand why SLU is content with its radio agreements but that's probably for another thread.
Back on point, can anyone provide an update about the assistant coaches. Are they given a territory or a position to fill other than best available player? Is Jamal watching more JUCO kids than high school kids? How are our assistants received in the local basketball community? AAU coaches, high school coaches, etc. Angres has been around the longest but is he the best recruiter among the assistant coaches? Is there anything which would support optimism for this Spring?
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Could not make the game tonight. Probably best.
May not have made a difference if your veteran guards have 17 turnovers against a team packing in or IV and playing a zone, but cannot understand the unwillingness to give DM a shot if they play a zone, our outside shooting is poor and Lisch (1 of 7) is struggling/injured.
It's one thing not to win but it's another not to make any change. Our line-up is basically the same as last year and we did not make the NIT then. How much longer must Brad go with JJ over AK. Recall he was quite stubborn to play our current Juniors 2 years ago when they were Freshmen as well. Cannot tolerate stubborness.
I'm trying to support you Brad but it's getting more difficult.
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Taj.
Agree with your comments including probably premature to list as the Liddell & Lisch era. Guys with this talent ... possibly I'm already envisioning their leadership not only this year but the years to come.
I do, though, think you need to reconsider the recent 3 recruiting classes:
DP, DB and LM is not a bad class - definitely a good start
KL and TL obviously a good class but not great b/c there should be 3 good recruits each year. Who knows about OI albeit he redshirted
AK and DM seem solid and HD had talent but is not suited for any college. I applaud the late effort and try by Brad.
To me, these are three decent classes. It is the senior class that is the problem. Yes, IV is good, possibly great, but JJ is weak and there is no one else. Good teams, and especially NCAA teams who don't get the McDonald All-Americans to lead the team as Freshmen, have senior leadership. Look simply at recent SLU history: Sloan really picked up his game his final year. Even Carlos MacCauley had a fine Senior year. Face it, we are paying the price for poor recruiting 4 years ago, not these past 2.
Fault can, and should be leveled against Brad for not bringing in a JUCO for this year. Fine, we lost Stemler to IU but if he could only have brought in a servicable guy: Justin Johnson, Tyrone Caswell, Eric Jones, David Robinson. If the guy didn't turn out, then fine, it's only a scholarship for this year and next.
Fault can be leveled against Brad for no fall recruits, however, I really believe that Brad thinks he can get 1 or 2 JUCOs and is holding out for the Vashon kid.
With all that said, it is really disappointing that Brad ca
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I have absolutely no inside information but if Powell has the talent others claim he has, then his status seems to depend upon grades and SAT. Nothing else makes much sense.
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Ace. Romar did make an inroad with Hollins but I do recall some question of whether he would change his mind about coming even if Romar had stayed. Believe other West Coast schools started becoming more interested. He did not follow Romar to WU. Granted, this would be one top recruit who had 3 mediocre years at UCLA before his Senior year. A kid like that could easily have left SLU after 1 year claiming he was homesick and not fitting in to our program.
Romar supporters: please explain how Romar would have had a good year if stayed 1 more year. His only other recruit, Nick Kern, was not coming, Floyd McClain was leaving and Jason Edwin and Randy Pully (Romar's only recruit the prior year) were gone due to grades.
How does a HC leaving a program impact the new HC:
Easy. Brad would not have had to grasp at guys to simply fill a roster. We are still feeling the impact of these grasps - JJ who redshirted his first year.
No doubt that Brad laid an egg in his early recruiting: Husak, etc.
Since then, I consider LM, DP DB a step in the right direction. Then, his next class of TL and KL an even better step. Frustated with the uncertainty but DM and AK also appear good. These players (even TL and KL) are guys that will truly lead a team in their JR and SR years. TL and KL are not in the same class as Larry.
While I hope for an NCAA tourney team this year, frankly, I think our roster indicates that we are more of an NIT team this year. Should Brad have added more talent on it this year as Spoon did in prior years? Yes. Brad's future will be decided by Brad not by this year's NCAA v. NIT bid but by his spring signings (JUCOs) and next fall's recruiting.
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Dayton's facilities are light years ahead of SLU's. 13,500 facility which had been slightly "off campus" but now, with the growth and expansion of the University in that direction, can be considered "on-campus." UD's facility regularly is an NCAA Tourney site because of its facility. SLU's new arena will never be an NCAA site.
I recognize that being an NCAA site is not a requirement to a good program/recruiting but keep in mind Gregory currently has an advantage over Brad especially for a guy with only 3 years left.
Even after this recruit by Gregory, not sure I would want Gregory here.
Agree regarding your comments on "stepping stone." Many on this Board would like our program to equal the schools you listed, those listed by others like Gonzaga. Add XU to that list.
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Sure, SLU has a lot to offer but the deficiencies (facilities, exposure and tradition) are glaring. Recruiting obviously got tougher recently with the A10 v. the old Conf USA. Easier to say to a recruit, "Play for SLU and you get home & away against Cincy, Memphis, DePaul & Marquette..." Nothing we can do about this now. We can only hope to rekindle old rivalries with X, UD, etc. With the new facilities being built, SLU will have even more to offer.
The secret of the Valley seems to be solid but not spectacular recruiting of player who stay for 4 years (become stars in their Jr. and Sr years), an increase in basketball budgets and facilities and commitments to their coaches to keep them from having to start over every few years.
I know we all wanted Brad to get a guy like Stemler to add a positive impact now, for Ian's last year; however, our Jr and Sr talent simply does not stack up with that found in top 50 programs. Next year, now that OI and HD have not panned out, the JUCO route must be used. Assuming we can find at least one (hopefully two) JUCO replacement(s) for Ian, we will finally have the upper classmen talent by which to fairly judge Brad.
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Taj79
Your post reads in part:
... no real solutions to overcome said problems. Its seems like we all waiting for that miracle to drop into our laps .... a stellar local class stays home (Gray/Douglas or Claggs/Hmark/Winfield) or someone who walks on water walks through our door (Hughes). Both have happened before but the problem was that no one used the impetus to push on and capitalize. Maybe some believe this is the next step come class of 2008.
Actually, since the early 1980's, I think it would be fair to list four (4) real bright spots in SLU's basketball program:
1. Gray, Douglas and Bonner years;
2. Claggett, Waldman and Highmark years;
3. the Larry Hughes year plus his impact of helping bring Tatum, Baniak and Heinrich to the team; and now
4. Lisch and Liddell years.
If you agree as to these four (4) "eras", you will note a few common threads with each:
* poor talent and results just prior and immediately after each era
* inabilitiy to get the additional recruits to get SLU to a higher level
Does any of this sound familiar?
Without taking much credit away the coaches who recurited, because for whatever reasons the players chose SLU over all others, playing time over 4 years and being a "star" or "re-builder" of the program may be more responsible for their choice than anything else.
Solutions: steady building of recruits each year and less coaching changes while SLU works on the issues I listed at the top of this thread (academics excluded). Granted, no doubt that much stated in my post has not been posted before.
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As a loyal fan since the announcement of Rick Grawer as head coach at SLU, I have noticed a continual problem at SLU which has plagued not only Grawer, Spoon and Romar but continues to plague Brad as well: lack of depth and quality players. Despite the claims of many on this Board, much of this cannot be laid solely at the feet of our head coach. Without being negative, be honest:
1. SLU's facilities (practice court, weight room, player "lounge", etc) are worse than what most recruits are used to at high school. The new arena in 2008 cannot come soon enough. As mentioned in other threads, this Arena, though, will only eliminate the enormous gap betwen SLU and our competitors for recruits. Not provide us with an advantage. Fault: Biondi and SLU Administration.
2. SLU "TV package" these past few years has been a joke. Local access channel on Charter cable does not provide the program with the much needed exposure. Recruits want to play for schools that get exposure. Recruiting comparisons now have been made by others on this Board between Brad and Anderson/MU. Sorry, there is no comparison. Mizzou is and has been on Fox Sports Midwest and will continue to get exposure when the Big 12 season begins. Charter's local broadcasts and now CSTV is not the same as FSN, ESPN and CBS. Remember when Channel 5 would broadcast some of the games to a large audience. Fault: Woolard and Levick.
3. SLU's "Radio package" on KFNS 590 also is second tier. St. Louis now has 2 major radio stations: 550 and 1120 but we cannot get on either. Only one radio in my home (West County) can pick-up 590. Between the static and need to frequently turn the radio to keep reception, I recall the "old days" - Grawer era - when I listened mostly to static as SLU basketball was intermittently broadcast on AM 1380. Remember when KMOX broadcast the Bills only a few years ago? Fault: Woolard and Levick.
4. SLU's coverage in the local newspaper is woefully inadequate. While many on this Board state that we are the only Div 1 in town, that there is no competition within 100 miles, you would not know such by the amount and quality of press given to the Bills. By comparison, locally, Missouri State gets top billing in Springfield (newspaper, radio and TV) and, other conference foes such as Dayton, likewise get top billing where it is not uncommon for 3 or 4 stories (on page 1) following a big win since there is nothing else going on (NFL, NHL, NBA, etc) in these smaller cities. Fault: Woolard and Levick.
5. SLU's lack of winning tradition -- Easy Ed and Bouska era excepted. Seriously, since the 1950's, SLU has had relatively little success. Many on this Board like to compare SLU to Marquette. Remember, though, that while MU was still basking in their glory (1978), SLU Administration (1980)was discussing cutting scholarships and changing to Division II or III. Fault: Administration but actually plenty of fault to go round.
6. Academics. As you know, SLU's academics are tougher than many competitors. Do other schools have tough academics too? Of course. At the same time, for those who don't recognize this limitation, let me remind you of Craig Upchurch - the type of 4 we need today. Had he been teamed with Bonner, SLU would have been the one going to the NCAA while XU sat home. Others on this Board know more than me, but I believe SLU, at least for a few years, would not take Prop 48 recruits.
Do many other programs suffer from some of these problems? Sure. Do many programs face ALL of these problems? Not nearly as many. Are there exceptions who have overcome them? Sure, but they are more rare than common. When they are overcome, are they overcome solely by changing the head coach? No. Would winning by the head coach improve some of the above? Sure.
But think about it. Romar came to the program with some talent left by Spoon - Love, Baniak, Tatum & Heinrich - and proved he could coach but had difficulty recruiting at SLU. Brad's last three recruiting classes (decent but not what I would have hoped for) are probably better than what Romar actually did here at SLU. Now that he is at Washington, he has definitely done a good job of both coaching and recruiting, is rightfully labeled an excellent recruiter, but certainly did not show it here. If a guy like Romar had trouble recruiting here, maybe we should look at other issues within the program - other than the head coach. Sometimes, the salesman needs a better product to sell.
For that matter, Spoon (IMO SLU's best coach) won many games and went to the NCAAs but could hardly be considered a great recruiter. He won with guard play while his 4's measured only 6'2", 6'4" and/or role players. Only after Larry Hughes committed did Baniak and Heinrich commit. Also, recall that Spoon's recruiting class following that of Larry Hughes was horrible - Virgil Cobbin - recruits had already committed (both fall and spring signings) before Larry surprised everyone by going to the NBA after only season.
Grawer had similar problems and had to promise recruits that they would be a "starter", that they would receive a certain amount of playing time or that they would play a certain position (PG for Winfield) to induce a recruit to select SLU.
Just some thoughts.
PS Longtime "lurker" but first time poster.
Soderberg will waste Lisch and Liddell
in Billikens.com Main Board
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You are correct. Agree with all your reasoning but believes he needs two (2) full years and not just one more. Maybe he will surprise and be ready after next year but...