MrKnowItAll

"Or Michigan...Ah yes, just what the board needed more trolls who do not have clue no. 1. If Mr Thinks He Knows It All really has been gracing the SLU class rooms lately then all I can say is God help us!!!" If you are considered a billiken basketball fan then all I can say is God help us!!! you obviously have no idea when it comes to basketball. get off of sode's rod.

there are schools that get almost no tv time and still manage to make a tournament just about every year (and gets recognized).... and THEN, that particular school starts getting regular season tv time (just look at the missouri valley). why should any network put us in a national time slot? the past two seasons, we were blown out by unc on national television.

"Pony up for the buyout. Don't settle for just some mediocre bitching. Make something happen" I think i have paid my fair share over the past 6+ years in tuition & etc... All these other schools are able to afford new coaches, why can't we?? we are raising undergrad tuition by 12.5% (i think, or somewhere around that number) next fall...

good one... you offer so much to the forum.

you certainly come across like you are... in the eyes of someone who joined the board a week ago.

>"I hate the fact that we havent made posteason and all those >other stats you posted but the reality is Brad is going to >be the coach next year. Does that mean the fans love being >mediocre? I guess I can get Levicks number and tell her to >fire Brad and i am sure she will listen to me and do it >tomorrow. We can either ***** everyday about Brad, which is >your idea or just move on. Reality is Brad is the coach >next year." With that frame of mind... Reality is that we will not be in the postseason next year.

Ok, i am only saying this once. I have never been on this message board before. So, get over it. Get off your knees before soderberg gets tired of ya.

"Our coach has underperformed, has a .500 win percentage, ZERO NCAA tourney appearances, yet people on this board still want to keep Brad around." I couldnt agree with you more. Soderberg is running our program into the ground, and alot of people on this message board have no idea of the ramifications that will be created if he is kept around too long. I am starting to believe that alot of the people here are contempt with mediocrity, or afraid of success, or know NOTHING about the game of basketball. Soderberg is an assistant coach, not a head coach. The head coach is not supposed to be disliked by most of his players.

">Why should it becoming out of any of the money the coach >earns. It doesn't matter if it is SLU or any other school >in the country, this expense should not be coming out of the >coach's pocket. > >Brad does pay for his and his staff members cell phones. >Basketbeall camp money is money that is part of a coaches >compensation. So write it down and put it in your wallet: >BRAD PAYS THE STAFF CELL PHONE BILL AND IT IS BUSH LEAGUE." I feel for Soderberg that he has to pay for his and his staff's cell phone bills. BUT, should that keep him from using them?? He makes 400K per season, i think he has the spare change to pick up an expensive cell phone tab. Im sorry, but if this cell phone conspiracy is really keeping soderberg from seriously recruiting, he must go. I mean, come on.. the cell phone excuse is getting old, and ive only known about it for a day.

well... maybe what separates SLU and schools like Gonzaga, Marquette, etc.... are the expectations. we deserve better.

>"I get your point moytoy, but the situation at Arkansas is >just a little bit different. When in recent history you >have won a championship, finished second, been to multiple >final fours, elite eights, have a great on-campus venue, and >a monstorous budget the expections are justifiably >different." So.... your telling us.... our expectations of our beloved billikens basketball squad should be lower than those that follow arkansas??

Perry was the man.. great basketball player, and a great person. anybody know what he's up to now?

if berg coached him in '03, Perry's freshman year had to be under Romar. Unless he was a redshirt in '99

it was the berg... that game was awesome.. i thought it was romar at first because of perry, but soderberg had the honor of coaching one of the greatest billikens of all time for a season...

ok... you must be really bored.

"In three years at Saint Louis, Romar compiled a 51-44 (.537) record, including wins over nine different conference champions. His 51 wins rank No. 7 among all-time SLU coaches and is the fourth-best three-year total in the school's history. Romar was named head basketball coach at Saint Louis on March 26, 1999. In his inaugural season at the school, Romar guided the Billikens to a 19-14 record that marked the third best debut season-record in Saint Louis annals. His basketball life has been marked by success at every level beginning with his playing career from high school to the NBA through his coaching career. He continued that success with a notable run of firsts in his initial season at Saint Louis. In directing the Billikens to the Conference USA Tournament title and an automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament, Romar became the first Saint Louis coach to accomplish either feat in his debut season. The 1999-2000 season marked many other notable firsts as well. Romar became the first coach in history to lead SLU into the NCAA Tournament in his debut season after winning the school's first conference tournament title. Saint Louis upset a No. 1 team, Cincinnati, for the first time since the 1952. The 2000-01 SLU squad posted a 17-14 record and became the first team in Conference USA history to defeat perennial power Cincinnati in back-to-back games. Riding the momentum from back-to-back successful seasons, the 2001-02 Saint Louis squad faced a tough schedule that included 14 games against teams that earned postseason invitations in 2002. The Billikens finished with a 15-16 overall record, but lost seven games by five points or less. Despite the close losses, Romar's players rallied to win their last four games to qualify for the conference tournament."

geez... where is the logic in that??? what is biondi thinking?

that is on the athletic director...

.

"The main problem is that this horse has been beaten all year long, which makes your post just another "should Brad go or stay post" Imo ... enough already, believe me you can't say anything on either side of the argument that hasn't been said well over 3,000 times." What else is there to talk about when you have a college basketball program grossly digressing and underachieving? Do you understand the significance and dire importance of the head coach in college athletics??? As far as im concerned, there is nothing else to talk about besides recruiting... which also largely correlates with the head coach.

Romar spent his entire tenure in the C-USA... which was one of the best conferences at the time. CUSA was consistently sending 5-6-7 teams to the NCAA tournament during Romar's time at slu.

He had bigger wins than soderberg could ever dream of. AND, he was in the C-USA,... how did soderberg fare in the CUSA???? yeah, thats right. how is soderberg faring in the weak A10??

your misunderstanding me... i was contrasting the personalities of a former coach (romar - who is successful) to our current coach (soderberg - who is mediocre). it is easy to not understand the points i was trying to make, and use sarcasm as a 'defense mechanism'.

Hello everybody, i am not here to bash anybody nor am i here to upset anyone. I love our basketball team, and i want us to win just as much as the next guy. My first year at slu came during the last season Romar was our head coach, and i can see significant differences between Romar's style and Soderberg's style. (I know many of you do not want to hear about our head coach, but I believe a college basketball program begins and ends with its head coach, so it is worth noting.) When Romar was our head coach, i remember at the beginning of the season i was walking down west pine mall and saw him.... i looked up at him, and said "hey coach, goodluck this season, blah blah blah (small talk)".. and he looked up at me, and shook my hand and genuinely seemed nice and from that point on, anytime i crossed Romar he had his head up smiling and he always said hello to me if he saw me. He seemed like the type of coach that his players would jump off a bridge for, a personable/knowledgeable coach. Over the past 5 seasons (under Soderberg), i cannot compare him to Romar, it is more of a contrast. When i see Soderberg around campus he always has his head down and he is walking rapidly to get where he is going. He appears like he does not care about the common student of the university, and he did not even offer me a hello when i built up the courage to try to offer our coach some support. Ok, where am i getting at this? Some of you are going to bash me with the idea that i am butt hurt that Soderberg did not say hello to me, and that it is not a head coach's job to associate himself with the student population. But, (in my opinion) this contrast between Soderberg and Romar is what makes Romar a successful coach and Soderberg a mediocre coach. Gosh, i cannot even begin to tell you how nice Romar was, and i think about it, and it only makes sense that he is a great recruiter and coach. With Soderberg, he seems arrogant and disinterested, and i believe that is why he has a hard time landing recruits. His demeanor reminds me more of a football coach than a basketball coach. It seems like his (Soderberg's) players are not willing to "jump off a bridge for my coach" (figuratively, of course). So, now to the present... in 5 seasons under Soderberg we have 2 NIT appearances, and we are currently undergoing a 2 year postseason drought despite the talents of tommie liddell and kevin lisch. The more i watch the tourney, and hear the announcers and analysts preach "college bball is all about guard play".. and i think, what the hell?? we have two great guards, but we consistently underacheive. Whose fault is this? I do not know, but the common finger will be pointed at our head coach. I think Soderberg is a good coach, but is better fitted at the assistant coach position. I know a few of the players, and i have been told that many of them do not like Soderberg as a person. If we are to be a good basketball program, we have to have a personable head coach (as well as intelligent). We need a coach to adjust midgame, draw up creative plays, and recruit according to his team's needs. All in all, if we want to become a reputable basketball program changes may have to be made. If Soderberg made up for his lack of recruiting with excellent game preparation/plan/adjustments (and vice versa); it would be another story... but he does not. Does anybody here want us to be a recognizable basketball team?? I am sure the consensus is YES, so we have to look at our lack of success from all angles, and that certainly includes the most important pillar: the head coach. Have a good day everyone, GO BILLS!!!

> "No more than giving advice on what a coach should or >shouldn't do in a game or whether he should or shouldn't be >fired when your opinion has absolutely no bearing on the >actual outcome. Do you think Brad reads the board to find >out where he went wrong during a game?" When did i say anything about soderberg being fired??? The two statements i made concerning his coaching style are my opinions. who are you to mock me when i have the right to state my opinion? what do you want me to say... "lets applaud our coach for doing such a great job and he's the best"... im sorry, but anybody who knows college basketball can easily point out those two observations i made regarding soderberg. i am not out for his head, but i am not complacent with mediocrity as you appear to be. lighten up, quit being such a 'yes man'... think for yourself.