dneuner

It's possible that no one leaves, just loses their scholarship. For instance, Cassity is a 3.5+ student. He could probably get a full ride academically.

After listening to Majerus' comments last night, it seems as if the coach wants Ellis to redshirt but realizes it probably won't happen. He basically acknowledged it would probably not be in SLU's best interest for him to redshirt in the near-term, and that kids usually don't want to. But, as a coach and as a teacher of the game, Majerus also recognizes that Cody will get to play a little over three months, tops. Assuming he gets here in time for Richmond, he would have 17 games (assuming we don't progress in A-10 tourney) to find minutes. That's basically half a season. So, does he want to forfeit that first half or not? It sounded to me as though Majerus will present him with a very objective reasoning for both situations. If I was a betting man, I'd say we'll see Ellis on the floor against Richmond. But, as I've said before, I definitely see positives to redshirting Ellis.

Good things are perking over at SLU Bryan Burwell LINK When observing a young college basketball team, it's usually wise to contain your emotions. You're never really certain from day to day if you're looking at what is or what will be. So the smart thing to do is to never dwell too long on the here and now. The fans may not know that, but the coaches surely do. So men like Mike Anderson and Rick Majerus stand on the sidelines every night pacing back and forth either during a game or practice dutifully looking for signs of promise, those little glimmers of hope that portend the future. "This time of the year, you're just trying to get an idea of where you are," said Anderson, Missouri's head man. So he uses the games as a measuring stick to figure out which of his players are quick studies and which ones are slow learners and how long it will take before it all comes together. "One game doesn't make or break a season," Anderson said. "But you can get an idea of where are we as a team." Over at St. Louis University, Majerus would love to use practices as an intense laboratory to see what the youngest team in college basketball (eight freshmen and four sophomores) is learning. But that is a struggle sometimes because the youthful Billikens have been so battered lately that there are days when there are only seven healthy players who dress for practice. "Then we have one of the best player-to-coach ratios in the country," Majerus joked. "There are days when it looks like we have one coach for every player." But on a day when St. Louis buzzes a little bit extra with some holiday college hoop fever because of tonight's annual Braggin' Rights game between Mizzou and Illinois, the surprise is how much buzz Majerus' Billikens are about to start generating. Who could have imagined that the most fascinating story on this day would be about the future of a SLU basketball program that has laid dormant for so long? Tuesday night, the Billikens improved to 8-4 for the season with a 61-54 victory over UMKC at Chaifetz Arena, behind another brilliant show by sophomore point guard Kwamain Mitchell. The liquid-quick guard lit up UMKC for a career-high 33 points, the only Billiken in double figures. He made 11 of 18 shots from the floor (two for two from 3-point range), nine of 15 from the foul line and reminded you all night long that he is one of those breathless little guards who can take over a game because he can beat most college defenders off the dribble any time he feels so inclined. Mitchell is one of those glimpses we keep talking about who can help Majerus deliver on his promise to return SLU basketball to the national college hoop map. At SLU, where the basketball program has lacked any national relevance for most of the decade and hasn't fared much better locally either, things are about to get a lot more interesting. You can finally look at the Billikens and see a program on the verge of gaining some traction. Majerus has two special players already in Mitchell and lanky center Willie Reed. But the team is so young that you know that Mitchell and Reed won't be enough to survive the battles inside the suddenly potent Atlantic 10 (ranked the fifth-best conference in the country this season based on RPI ratings). Majerus received a splendid holiday gift from the NCAA on Tuesday when he learned that 6-foot-8, 240-pound freshman power forward Cody Ellis is on the verge of being cleared to play for the second semester. If you want to know how big a deal this is, you need to just spend a few minutes listening as Majerus — normally a cool customer when it comes to dishing out compliments about unproven players — gushes about this kid. Maybe it's asking a lot to expect Ellis to become a difference maker this season. He hasn't played one minute with the team or participated in a single practice. But know this: Adding Ellis to the mix should make the Billikens a drastically better ballclub rather quickly. The freshman from Perth, Australia, who was the co-captain of the Australian team at the world under-19 championships last summer, was the No. 1-ranked power forward out of Australia and the No. 3 player overall. Scouts Inc. ranked him the No. 76 power forward among college prospects. The scouting report on the kid from the world championships says that he can bang inside or step outside and drain the 3-point jumper (he averaged 14 points and eight rebounds and hit 42 percent on 3's for the Australian Institute of Sport). So now the Billikens will have three legitimate players to count on, Mitchell in the backcourt and Reed and Ellis in the front court. Reed is a big man who is only beginning to develop into what he could be. When he learns to avoid foul trouble, the 6-9 forward can provide rebounds, shot blocking and a low-block scorer. When he bulks up and adds another 15 pounds of muscle onto that skinny frame, he could develop into a legitimate pro prospect. And so could Ellis. We're not necessarily talking the NBA for all three, but if Mitchell, Reed and Ellis prove to be as good as advertised, all three will be earning pro checks either in the States or overseas in four years.When was the last time a SLU team had three players who had real chances at playing professionally after college? Maybe Ellis' late arrival makes it impractical to believe that the 2009-10 season will be the big splash year that Majerus had originally hoped for. But for the first time since he got here, there is a very good reason to at least be interested in the possibilities of what might be happening over at Chaifetz.

BTW, the audio of this quick interview is posted on Frank's page, at KFNS.com http://www.kfns.com/pressbox.aspx

The Kentucky Fried Movie Released: 1977 Quote: Klahn: We are building a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. We forge our tradition in the spirit of our ancestors. You have our gratitude.

I think coming in Ellis is as good as anyone on the team. While I hope he doesn't redshirt, because no doubt we will feel his impact immediately, I can see very strong arguments for it. Plus, think of what this team would be like in three years with Ellis, McCall, Evan, Roe (maybe), Christian... we could really be a force in NCAA basketball.

Agree, good points, but here's my biggest beef with Cassity: if he's not going to step it up now when there are no upperclassmen how do we know he will as an upperclassman? This is when he needs to be maturing and growing and taking chances. He's a great guy, great for the program, probably will make a great coach someday, but I can't tell you how many times Art Vollinger and I are yelling "TAKE THE SHOT KYLE!" during a game. I would much rather see him go 10-30 than 0-1. Right now, he's something like 6-26 on the season. 26 shots in 11 games. That's just not acceptable when this team needs the sophomores to carry the weight.

I wonder how many A10 teams will find the top 25 this year. It seems we're running out of time for them to meet big non-con opponents. In any case, it does seem that we're getting more teams into that "top rung" of programs. Dayton and Xavier, of course, but La Salle, Temple, and Richmond are all solid programs this year and have been in the last 2-3 years (since I've been paying attention, basically). I'd like to see the A10 get more than one team in the Dance this year; we need to be in a league with good NCAA presence. For example, has anyone given any thought to this: the A10 conference champ game is the LAST game before Selection Sunday on national CBS. Hmmm..

After reading the deal again, I agree it was a mistake to put the student section up for sale. I didn't realize that was the case. I did notice there was another section up top that was empty and I wondered why the MSU fans weren't put there. However, I will say that I think a few people are getting overly worked up about it. It was a very emotional loss because there were a lot of MSU folks there. And I know its the principle but regardless of where you put them, they would have still been very loud. I do want to commend both SLU and MSU fans for (on the most part) being cordial to each other. Maybe we can make this series into something bigger, since the real Missouri won't play us (yet).

Listen, folks, here's the bottom line. The offer was there for SLU students to buy the tickets for $5. When they didn't and a massive group of MSU students showed up, SLU had to sell them the tickets. It's that simple. There really is no reason to be mad at the athletic department. You have to remember, NCAA Basketball is a business. All those MSU fans helped us pay for the Arena, for Majerus, etc. If you want to be furious at someone, be furious at the students who didn't show up. You should have seen the massive waiting line at the box office. That main lobby was swamped for almost the full hour before the game with MSU fans wanting tickets. Don't blame them for showing up or for wanting the "best available" seats. Men's basketball games are NOT general admission. Those MSU fans bought tickets to sit in that section. It's the same as if you go to the Cardinals game; the computer found the "best available" seats. That section, while during the semester is the student section, is open to the public when SLU is out of academic session. This isn't the first time that non-SLU students have sat there (though it's usually Billiken fans who do). And, I'd like to think that if our team was 10-0 and we were going to play MSU, we'd have a bunch of SLU fans that would want to go and sit together. Again, it's that simple.

Majerus was, rightfully, very frustrated tonight after the game. He came to the media room right off the floor (only Nate and I were there) and talked for about five minutes, and that was only because TT had to come running in and throw a few questions out, otherwise he was going to leave after about 2 minutes. Following that, he went to the locker room and we never got a player, so you fill in the blank. I really only have one thought: I'd hate to be Kyle Cassity. Majerus has invested a lot in bringing him here, and tonight, in a game where Cassity could have proved why he deserved to be here, it seemed to me that Kyle just dug his hole deeper. Because I am a Billiken fan, I have resolved not to root against a player. But for goodness sake's, tonight Cassity gave us no advantage on the floor. I thought Willie had an okay night, the free throw shooting was good, but besides that, no real positives to talk about. Christian finally started hitting 3s but the defense couldn't keep the gap closed. Other than the three 3s (I believe, I don't have the stats) from Christian and some good shots from Femi and Justin, our beyond-the-arc shooting is terrible. Our layup shots tonight looked like freshmen from high school.. But I think we saw this team has heart and they definitely gave a good effort (most of them anyway). I'm sure Nate will put up Majerus comments later, but one thing that was repeated three times is there's no sense thinking "what if Kwamain was in." We still got the L and really this team has to learn to play in tough situations. You can't assume you'll always be playing with every weapon in every game. They needed to play this game tonight. It's all part of the process.

I find it worth discussing that Remekun did not have six boards... haha. but you're right. a lot of very positive signs so far this year. Let's not get too presumptuous about this, but I think conference play is going to go better than expected... NCAA '10!

I think the Belmont kid played after the whistle and Brian reacted aggressively (which I have no problem with) but, instead of seeing it as that, the ref called the foul. It happened right in front of where I was sitting, and I will say that Brian swung his elbow out, but it didn't seem to be an "intentional" foul. But, Conklin had been warned just a few minutes prior, and it was obvious that the refs were loosing control of the game, so the foul was called. Majerus seemed furious on the court (I also heard him yell at least twice on two different plays "No way was that a foul") but he didn't bring it up with us, which surprised me, so I guess bygones are bygones. EDIT: In my opinion, if Conklin was deserving of the T, then absolutely the Belmont head coach was. You don't go over and talk to a coach and tell him to settle down. You T him up. That was absolutely outrageous. In fact, I think I'm more upset that Belmont didn't get the T than I am that Brian did. Inexcusable.

No, he's just having day-to-day problems with his concussion. Since symptoms surrounding head injuries are complicated, the training staff is playing it safe and trying to keep him away from loud noises, high stress issues, etc.

I doubt, since he hasn't been cleared (so far as we know), that he'd get here before the holidays. No sense spending the money to come to America if you're not going to get cleared to play. Does this year count in his eligibility since he's not technically enrolled at SLU either?

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You can watch Brian's post-game press conference at SLUBillikens.com http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.htm...mp;media=158527

Sure doesn't seem like we'll hear anything new today. You would think that one of the coaches, in the at least three public interviews they've given this week, would have said "we'll know more on Friday," but that was never said.

Well, Illinois is because of Chicago and Ohio/Texas is because of the Jesuits. But good point.

Well, Illinois is because of Chicago and Ohio/Texas is because of the Jesuits. But good point.

That's four words.

Oh yeah, I understand that what I proposed is completely outrageous. There's so much history at those schools and its those traditions that makes each of those programs what they are today. But hey, if we can build conferences at will, why not dream big??

Because I'm a geographic guy. Just like in professional sports, why should the St. Louis Rams be in a conference with Arizona, Seattle, San Fran? They should be with Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas, and New Orleans. Make it a Mississippi River League. Plus is Nevada really Midwest? Time to ponder...

Definitely do-able, would be impressive and encouraging.

Oh ok, I honestly have no idea. I had read on her resignation statement (which looking back I interviewed her for my second article at SLU) that she was in charge of the transition from CUSA to A10 and presumed (you know what they say about that) that she headed the committee that moved SLU to the A10.