Duff Man

and now we will be born into new worlds where his flesh becomes our key...

No doubt it was a major gut check - as was the Richmond game - but let's take a close look at that 4-game streak... 2 point home win over St Bonaventure (RPI 195) 3 point road win over La Salle (RPI 116) 4 point road win over St Joes (RPI 186) 3 point double OT home win over Dayton (RPI 30) Previous to this, they let a game slip away at GW (RPI 133) and got smoked at Richmond (RPI 27). At this point, they are still a very flawed basketball team. When the open 3-pointers are dropping, they are good enough to play with anyone at home, yet they are still capable of losing to anyone on the road. Improved FT shooting and maturity from their low post players are what they to consistently win.

I'm as excited as anyone following the comeback against Dayton, but in the grand scheme of things it's really just 1 win - at home - against a team/coach who loses here on a regular basis. FT shooting as a whole is still the team's biggest liability at this point. 60.4% just isn't going to get it done. WR needs to adjust to the increased quality/speed of competition. When he gets the ball, he needs to either make an immediate move to the basket or kick out to a guard. Hakeem Olajuwon he is not. JS needs to stop picking up ticky-tack over the back fouls on the offensive glass. Pick your spots young jedi. If they can improve in these areas over the last 6 games, while continuing to hit a good number of their open 3s, then they'll be in a position to make some noise in AC.

The only consistency about SLU's retired numbers is the degree of inconsistency. I'm pretty sure #s 50, 43, 24, and 34 are all supposed to be retired. The 06-07 media guide indicates that... scroll down on the very same page... I'd love to hear someone rationalize how 'retired number' means something different than 'retired jersey'...the best I can gather it's a technicality for the purpose of putting Ed McCauley above everyone else. Earlier this year during a similar halftime tribute I'm pretty sure Guy Phillips implied Ed McCauley was the only Billiken to have his number retired. What's really funny is that they gave Melvin Robinson #50 his freshman year, but he wore 54 after that. I'm pretty sure it was because they realized 50 was supposed to be retired for Ed McCauley. They didn't have raised jerseys until the mid 90s at Kiel Center - and initially it was just 50, 43, and 24 for the 3 first team All-Americans. I'm guessing 43 and 24 were not retired before that ceremonial jersey raising in the 90s, because Roland Gray wore 24 in the late 80s. Numerous players (Dillard, Dobbs) wore 34 in the years following Bonner, but no one recently (i.e. since his jersey was raised). Anyone with actual knowledge on specifics can correct me if I'm wrong on any of this...

This has a killer opening riff and would be a fantastic intro song imo... the band (Surfer Blood) played an awesome set the Billiken club last Friday

You'd dig it the most.

I know what Winston Wolf would say if he were here...but he's not so lets just bask in the glow of a bona fide ass kicking. Say what you want about KM's maturity, WR's progression into a dominant big man, KC's newly found rhythm, and JJ's outside shooting - the thing that excites me the most is Salecich's all-around game. He shoots from the outside. He can penetrate and dish. He grabs rebounds and plays aggressive defense. He's got good instincts and a bit of a swagger. The fact that our offense continues to function when KM is on the bench is also quite comforting to see. This is a completely different team from the one that struggled to beat Screech and St Ambrose. I know the competition is shite and they haven't played on the road yet, but when this team is rolling they look unstoppable.

Who decides this anyway...It has to be the head coach, right? I can see it being a motivational thing with KM and especially WR to keep them from settling in like they're established stars or whatever. Eckerle (if healthy) would make sense as the only upperclassman. KC is just weird - like it's being done to boost his ego so he plays with more confidence. Whatever works! I guess I'm in the minority on the intros. Let me be clear I'm not against them doing something loud and fun - I just think what they currently do is extremely derivative/lame and would prefer something more original/unique/inspirational - maybe have some kind of montage intro that incorporates previous Billikens legends, great moments, etc... That would get the long-time season ticket holders excited in a way that metal and hip-hop never will...

JJ had one pass to the invisible man who was wide open in the corner where I'm pretty sure he was thinking, "That's where I'd have been..." I agree his ball handling is fine. I haven't seen anything to indicate he can drive to the hoop like KM, but the combo of CS and JJ has been adequate when KM is out.

anything to make it more of a show is only going to excite most anyone the kids. those that want to sleep watch basketball can just wear earplugs and close roll their eyes. /fixed

Are you serious? You used climax and rickma in the same sentence, so there's at least a small chance this was meant to be funny/ironic. Although I guess almost anything would be an improvement over climaxing with KC (not trying to pick on the kid - just being real about it - everyone knows KM should be the last starter introduced). This is a basketball game, not one of GOB's magic shows. The average SLU season ticketholder has been going to games for decades. They are not going to be brainwashed into cheering harder by some pregame light show. Home court advantage is not something than can be synthetically engineered. When the team is playing well and the games start to matter, the crowds are infinitely better.

What exactly are we clinging to here? From my seat there is not some insane kinetic buzz flowing through the crowd between the intros and the tip off. It is my opinion that the over-the-top intros do more harm than good. I'm 28 and I think they are silly. I can only imagine what the more *ahem* mature fans think... I'm fairly confident the student section would still manage to get psyched up without such theatrics. The band is the real engine behind the crowd, anyways.

This concept was played out 10 odd years ago whenever SLU started doing it. It actually discourages me from cheering because it's so incredibly lame. The Billikens are not an indoor soccer team, nor are they the World Champion Chicago Bulls (insert Kyle Cassity joke here) . Leave the lights on, let the band do their thing, and introduce the players like we always used to.

Even during the glorious 2-year Claggett/Waldman/Highmark run they didn't draw for ###### until X-mas time (also remember they weren't playing exhibition games in October). The SIU game right before Christmas in 1993 was the watershed moment (removing the banners in the vertigo seats at the old barn). From there on out (possibly with the exception of the following home game) it was pretty much a full house every game. The following year (at Kiel) they didn't sell out the early games, but I'm pretty sure they had over 20k for Austin Peay the week between X-mas and New Years and continued to draw 16-20k the rest of the year. November Sunday afternoon games against unfamiliar opponents are never going to draw well. also, it was a beautiful day outside - there will be plenty more opportunities for students to see Billiken basketball over the next 3 months. There may not be many more weekend days like yesterday weather wise...

KC got himself into trouble more than once by picking up his dribble and holding the ball in the backcourt. He had a good game overall though. He's certainly playing with more confidence (taking open 3s without hesitation, taking the ball to the basket). KM was fouled hard midway through the first half and spent a few minutes in the locker room/tunnel getting his non shooting arm checked out. He returned to action and played like his usual self. CS has no conscience when it comes to 3 pointers. As long as he continues to hit them, this will work to our advantage. Aside from a few bad turnovers here and there, the guards all played very well. Even FJ did well with the minutes he was given. It's encouraging to see the offense flow without relying on KM to be the scorer.

were you at this game? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkAOVObydMM

precedent...you mean like those 4 times SLU lost to Xavier in the MCC Tourney from 1986-1991... /goes into convulsions

The refs were bad as usual, but the Bills blew this game on their own. LaSalle hit their open looks and SLU didn't. Kwamain was great for most of the game, but forced shot or two when he should have been running the offense and missed a critical front end of a 1 and 1 (don't get me wrong - I'd still go to war with the kid). Willie had his moments but got banged up midway through the 2nd half and never really got back into the game. Kevin hit a big shot late to pull them back within 3, and had a heartbreaker rim out that would have tied it with under 30 to play. Tommie couldn't buy a basket for most of the game. Just a miserable finish to an up and down season - on the plus side, some dude won $900 by swishing a 40 footer during a timeout - and 2 of the 3 halftime contestants hit layup/FT/3pt and launched half court shots with a chance to win a car - brought back memories of the ole Suziki shootout...

God bless the Internets...