Billiken Bob

Does anybody have a link for a stream of tonights game for those of us that are out of town.\? Thanks for your help.

I don't post here unless it is something I deem to be an important item. This is one of those items. I don't know who 3Bill is, but I do know he has his facts correct. The assistants got no reward for the successful year the team had. A bonus is pretty standard around the country for the assistants after a team makes the NCAA. The head coaches usually have it written into their contracts. As far as Harry and his salary is concerned--those who thought he would be doubling his salary are off by a bit. He will be nearly tripling his SLU salary at Nebraska. Some changes desparately need to be made so Rick can bring in good people as assistants and keep them here. They come because of him. They leave because of the constant battle with the Administration across Grand Ave. to give the program what it needs to succeed. (Let's not start talking about charter flights again). This is just another example. I don't believe that this is a lack of knowledge or willingness on the part of the AD. BTW, 3Bill is also correct about Crews, who was a tremendous influence on Rick and did a great job with the players. He will be back. Also,for those that keep score about such things, Coach Whitesell, who doesn't get credit for much on this board, was the coach responsible for working on Keith Carter and then of course Rick closed the deal. Hopefully something good can come of this, and if anyone on here has the ear of the right people, try to educate them on the way things are done in the top 50 programs in the country. After all, that was Father B's stated desire all the way back to the Rich Grawer era. One last thing, in response to my long time friend Willie (who remembers the quote about a top 50 program)--they do have summer camps and the assistants get to keep the entire profits. They are held at SLU and different high schools around town, such as Whitfield, et. al.

OK, so I am an idiot am I?. I have had it. As you can see I post on here very infrequently. I only posted on this yesterday because I have watched threads like this get totally out of control. It wouldn't be too long before see some of the Majerus haters might take this to the next level and blame him for everything--including cheating. I only posted this to try to stop the direction it was going--that we might be investigated by the NCAA. I have been very fortunate to be allowed "inside the ropes", which includes watching practices, and being out socially with the coaches and AD. There are several people on here, including all 3 Shoes, Billikan, and Bill Ken R, who have known me for many years and know I wouldn't talk without knowing what I was talking about. BTW, if you don't think Paul Eckerle is the team leader, you really can't be helped. Ask any of the players. Because of conversations like these, I will not be posting again. My intentions were solely to aid the program. I don't think everyone here has the same intentions. BTW, I have also backed up my mouth with my checkbook, and continue to do so. GOOD BYE for good. BOB R

The truth of the matter on Kowal and why he isn't a Billiken is that his grades were not good enough to get into the graduate school. As far as the Billikens cheating, let's get serious. You don't cheat to get a kid that at best would be a third string center behind Willie and Cory, and merely would be used as a body in practice. I am quoting someone from within the basketball program. We haven't cheated to get any player that is in Majerus era, and I don't think you would change your philosophy over a player like this. So for all of you who want to predict that the sky is falling--go ahead and. But the reality is we did nothing wrong and I am not sure from what I have been told that we would have taken him even if he could have gotten into school. It would have meant taking a scholarship away from Paul Eckerle who is the team leader behind closed doors. I can just hear the criticism of that move.

The factual answer to the question regarding the attendance numbers, and this is coming from the AD himself, that the school is trying to report an accurate number of people in attendance. I can testify that all the way back to the Grawer era and up to the current era that the attendance numbers were terribly inflated. The way it would work is the SID would come by with the actual count and then a few people, depending on the era, would chat and determine what number to report. It was always inflated "significantly", meaning in the several hundreds.

Let's get real. Do you thin all 25 of the Cardinals like Tony Larussa. There is no way to make everyone happy. In fact if you have someone who isn't playing much and is happy about it, guess what, he doesn't have the attitude it takes to win. There may be some kids that aren't happy with Majerus, but I will bet you cannot find one who will not admit that he is a great teacher.

It is interesting to hear one of Majerus' own players (one who essentially has made no contribution to the team, through no fault of his own) talk about Majerus. Could this actually be the same coach that people like Billiken Roy like to blast concerning his handling of the players? Perhaps those on the inside, like a player for instance, have a lot better picture of the way things really are, rather than how some posters here try to portray Majerus. I have been fortunate to have an inside look at the program and I can guarantee you that he sincerely cares about his players as individuals and as students. Is he hard on them at practice--sure. Will he get rid of a player that fights him at practice every day and wants to be a one on one player and do it his own way(see Univ. of Colorado)--sure. Most good coaches do the same thing. Do you really want the inmates running the asylum? I have a suggestion. Why don't the people that continually insist on posting negative comments on here about our coach who has our program a lot closer to achieving the status that we all have begged for for a long period of time stop posting their negative commentary. Believe it or not, people recruiting against us use some of the negative comments against us with potential recruits. I believe we should all get back to rooting for the Billikens who I believe are only a year away from something special, and I don't mean just a one year fluke.

Will Clyburn is playing JUCO in Iowa. I know that Al Jensen is in touch with him on a regular basis. He is being recruited by Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and Utah. However, if he finishes strong it is quite common for the "big-timers" to come in late. (see Josh Harrelson). I have seen him play. He is 6-5/6-6. His is a Kevin Footes type player. I saw him on his unofficial and his official visits. He fits in very nicely as another option at the three spot or even the 2.

Just talked to someone inside the Dept. He has been cleared. The NCAA is cooperating to expedite things. Need to get government clearance. Best guess he will be here and available and ready to play for the Richmond game, if not a little earlier.

Yes. That is exactly what he meant. He didn't just mean it, he said it.

Will Clyburn has been in for his official visit since Thursday. His mom flew in from Detroit to be part of it. His head coach (not John McIntyre, who is the assistant) drove him in. Coach said it was easier to drive than fly from Marshaltown, Iowa. He is a very nice, quiet kid. Very clean cut. Described as a gym rat. In his bare feet he is probably 6'4--6'5". He played open gym with our guys. This is the second time I have seen him play. He rebounds well for a thin kid. Very athletic. He can bring the ball up the floor and lead the break like a guard. He can slash to the hole. He has a good outside shot, not a great outside shot. He has good form, and the shot should get even better. Truthfully, he has a lot of the same skill sets as Tommie Lidddell, only he is stronger already. . Right now he would probably start as our 3-man. He presently is better than any of the freshmen. Remember, he is older, and this was the first day of scrimmage for the freshmen during their freshman year. He and all of the freshmen will get better, but the freshmen in general were playing like freshmen do--a little timid, deferring to the upper classmen. He is being recruited to play the 2-3 position. He is a priority recruit and we are in very good shape with him. Our main competition is Iowa State. I would not be shocked to get a verbal commit in the near future. By the way, the head coach at Highland Community College was on campus to visit with Majerus. We were talking about Anthony Mitchell who played for him last year. He "could not believe that SLU ever recruited him out of high school". Far cry from competing with the likes of Iowa State for a recruit.

All players have to pay for their own transportaqtion. The airfare from Australia is not cheap. His father has a ticket for him to come over. Every day, after checking with SLU about word from the NCAA, the father cancels that days reservation and books one for the next day. SLU has the academic side of things worked out so that he can enroll once he gets here. He will be eligible the 1st semester, as long as he gets here reasonably (?) soon. In general, everyone is optimistic that he will be eligible, but when you are dealing with the NCAA, all bets are off as far as common sense is concerned. BTW, the English class scenario that Coach told Frank on the radio is the exact same story that he and several others within the dept. told me last week. So, the sky has not fallen. Let's sit back and hope for good news this coming week.

I just checked with my inside source. Thereis no offer and will there will be no offer to this kid. He will not be a Billiken no matter what the outcome of his court case is. Why can't we just sit back and relax and quit trying to find something wrong with everything. Time will tell us who was right. I totally trust my source. They definitely know what is going on.

He is a 2nd year JUCO player who was here with his assistant coach, John McIntyre (yes, the former Mizzou player). McIntyre has remained very close to Coach Majerus since high school when Majerus helped him. McIntyre drove him here for an unofficial visit. He is trying to direct him here. He is still about 6'5" but is a perfect athletic 3 man who can aove over the rim. He handles it very well and showed a good shot.

The coach, AD, and University all have the same game plan. Doing your homework on a kid is not the same as offering him a scholarship. Why are you trying to make something out of nothing. He was not offered and will not be offered.

If you recall, last year at this time the very same Strickland was reporting that Willie Reed would not be eligible. This wannabe reporter has absolutely no credibility. I know who my source is and it is a lot better than his.

No it is not Bob Ramsey. I was Billiken Bob before he was.

Please don't pay attention to my number of posts. Billikan and especially Willie know my credibility. We were fraternity brothers and they know my past history. I watched KShoe and SShoe grow up. I don't want to sound like a big shot, but I do have access to the Coaching staff and the Athletic Dept. I only say this so that you doomsayers quit worrying. I only post when I feel something important needs to be straightened out. I do read the site every day.

Just spoke to the same inside source referred to in the post about Ellis regarding the kid who was arrested for burglary. "We have not, and will not be offering him a scholarship". Yes, we looked at him and inquired about him, but will not be signing him or offering him. When you recruit a kid it is like dating. You have to meet the kid, spend some time with him, find out more about him. We "dated" the kid, but we will not be marrying him. I have been lucky enough to spend a good bit ou time with our players and coaches. I have never seen a closer knit and cleaner cut bunch of young men on one team. Majerus put them together. Do you think that he would put someone with the background of this kid in with the rest of our players? How long do you think he would last? So, everybody should sit back and relax. He will not be a Billiken. As an aside, if they can close the deal on the Clyburn(JUCO) kid, then we will be getting a very good player. I same him play with our guys. Picture a bigger, stronger Liddell, with more aggressiveness.

Just spoke to a very reliable, high placed inside source about Cody Ellis. Right now, Cody is going through the clearinghouse process, just like every incoming freshman has to do. He is in better shape at this time of the year than Willie Reed was last year. The Univ. of Colorado has a kid named Tomlinson who is from Australia and had the same situation as Ellis. Tomlinson played last year with no restrictions and missed no games. So, let's sit back and relax and let the people that know how the system works take care of things. As of this morning, they are not worried. The sky is not falling.

That site says it is not streaming. Anyone else having any luck? We out of towners sure could use a live stream. Thanks