jimmy two times

Look, I just don't think the right approach to the loss is talking about some random statistical event like it was a bad beat in poker or something. Why is it a math problem? Regardless of Oregon's atypical hot shooting, we got outplayed in just about every facet of the game and unfortunately, we got blown out. It was devastating. It doesn't detract form the regular season accomplishments, but like it or not, the tournament is THE goal. It isn't regular season titles, as nice as they may be. And I do think some of the guys checked out, got frustrated, flustered and didn't rise to the occasion. What is the harm in saying that (admitting I originally said it a bit too harshly...but if you have issue with that, I cringe to think of what you would have thought of my comments on Saturday night). I love this team and I want the best for these guys, but my fear is that if they aren't honest with themselves about why they lost, they won't take the next step, which in my mind is making the second weekend of the tournament.

Perhaps I shouldn't have wrote it in the regard that it is a typical characteristic of them as people or in most basketball games because I did not mean it that way. But that is what happened in the NCAA tournament and it was a basketball comment, not a personal one. Them losing RM and Mitchell and their regular season success (all well documented and the accolades well deserved) has nothing to do with the failure against Oregon.

That article was completely spot on. Trying to blame Oregon's hot three point shooting as a statistical anomaly is a cop out and the team needs to realize they got completely outplayed and out coached. If JJ, RL and DE are sitting at Vito's right now saying anything along the lines of 'we played our game, nothing we could do about Oregon's three point shooting, that will never happen again' then we have big problems for next year. That's not to put down all of the accomplishments they had this season, which were significant and they gave us a great run, but the fact remains they shrank from the moment on the biggest stage they've been on yet. We have too many guys that completely disappear and check out as soon as things aren't going their way. That has to change, because this team can and should do better. We all believe in them, but improvement starts with being honest with yourself about why you lost and belaboring the "3-21" and "8-11" over and over is going to get you nowhere. Kudos to the author. Couldn't have captured my sentiments any better.

Totally. Great season. But such a downer how yesterday transpired.

What's the point of even whining about the seeding? We got outplayed, they shot the lights out and we got blown out. We had to play MSU last year when they were the #1 seed and we fought them down to the wire. If you want to advance, you're going to play tough games almost immediately in the tournament. Good teams get stronger and fight through, they don't ask for an easier schedule in the name of seeding justice. Waste of energy.

Totally agree on Manning. Wasn't impressed with anything I've ever seen out of him. He has the physical attributes but is tentative, has no court sense and looks like he just picked up a basketball. Everyone clings to Majerus' claim that he could be an NBA player. Well, right now, he isn't even a viable D1 player and believe it or not, Rick has been wrong about people before. It happens. Lets just say he has a hell of a lot of work to do this summer.

it is going to be tough given the game time, but there will probably be a decent group there. Usually it is a good crowd and they have the games on with sound (though they sold out on Saturday for the Butler game and played bummer music instead of the game sound and I was pissed off).

What kind of workplace productivity will our alumni base be turning in on Thursday? 10%? 5%? I'm already checked out.

You could make a good case for all those guys. I loved Mo Jeffers too. He had a Sportscenter top 10 dunk once...tried to find it on YouTube to no avail.

You are right. I double checked and he didn't make one. I thought he did 04-05 when he averaged 22ppg, 6 rebounds, 4+ assists and 2.9 steals, but he didn't.

Sucks. But glass half full, we are a solid 4 seed.

How could my opinion (which included that I thought Hughes was a better player) be factually incorrect. It was an opinion. Hughes was a 1 time first team all-defense pick in the NBA and an all-star the same season. He parlayed that into a disastrous contract that earned him the tens of millions of dollars you speak of. How exactly does that impact what he did when he was at SLU? Regarding his defense, objectively, he averaged 2.9 steals that season and lead the league, and never approached that mark again. Not even close. Not to mention that subjectively, he was often referred to as a gambler on defense and was never considered a Tony Allen type "stopper." I saw him for the season he was with the Bulls and he was a nice player, but certainly nothing to rave about on defense. Bear in mind too, Larry was here for one season (my freshman year) and he was breathtaking to watch. But, we went what, 22-11 and to my knowledge were never even ranked that season. We beat UMass in the tournament and then went home. Like I said, he was obviously a better player than DE, but the impact he had on our program? Not a ton. What does he do now for the Billikens? From my standpoint, he has very little visibility with the program. He isn't exactly an ambassador for us (unless he participates in things I'm not aware of) and I really don't see him doing much in STL at all unless it involves a party with Nelly (not saying he's a bad guy at all, I just don't get the feeling that the SLU program is high on is priority list).

I think Larry Hughes was a better player and more exciting to watch, but he was only here one year to pick up a heart transplant. Dwight Evans is probably a better Billiken...it would be hard to find a better Billiken than him.

Yeah, I'd say that's at least arguable.

Also, better defensive player than offensive? Seriously?

He led the NBA in steals one season. That doesn't necessarily make him a good defender and he had a reputation as a river boat gambler out there. You can chase steals by gambling on defense. He always drew Kobe because they played the same position.

Um, okay then.

I wouldn't say Larry Hughes was great at everything. He wasn't a particularly great passer or defender. He was a good rebounder for a guard. He was not a good long range shooter. What he was, was an elite scorer at the college level that could generate high volumes of shots whenever he wanted. He had 40 points against Marquette. If you fed someone on the current roster a ton of shots, could they get 40? I really doubt it.

I won't be...but what about Saturday? I know it is St. Pat's weekend and all, but are we good to go with the game and sound at noon on Saturday?

Nobody cares.

That's perfect. He was great as Art Howe in Moneyball. However, I wouldn't green light this movie until Hoffman agrees to a scene where he takes a dump in a towel and hands it to a shocked, nervous student manager played by Justin Bieber.

He seems to have good court sense and fundamentals. Not just a good shooter, but a good mid-range game, will post up smaller guards, can finish on the baseline, tough down low...a scorer.

I didn't think the announcing was that great (and the Gonzaga slip up was bush league telecasting at its best), but Kaplan isn't quite as big of a tool as he seemed (from someone who watches him all the time) and he gave a neutral broadcast in my opinion. He was giving LaSalle credit in the early going because, well, they were outplaying us. In the second half, there was a lot of SLU gushing as we dominated LaSalle. Guys, they have to give a neutral broadcast. We were the ranked team, at home, favored, on senior day. And as expected we blew LaSalle out. As expected our team, Majerus, our season, our seniors, our court garnered far more attention than LaSalle. I don't see anything wrong with them giving LaSalle credit and trying to maintain some sort of interest in their team as they were probably going to be overshadowed by everything else we had going on (and they were). You can't just flip out because the announcers weren't SLU homers. This board goes crazy every single game whining about the refs and/or any broadcast that doesn't involve Rammer and a circle jerk about SLU. We got a ton of attention yesterday...do you really think any LaSalle fan watched that broadcast and thought they got a proper due? I doubt it. The entire second half served as a coronation of our team and endless gushing about our seniors, our season, Majerus/Crews and how "LaSalle ran into a better team." It was great. What more did you want?

The main think you'd like to see him do more of is just play with some aggression. I saw it a few times in the LaSalle game where he pump faked a jumper and took it to the rim. If he had the motor of Evans, he would be a beast, but you can say that about a lot of people. Evans is special in that regard. I liked Loe's intensity taking it to the basket a couple of times (room for improvement, really go up strong and try to dunk the ball...layups trickle out, dunks don't) and also protecting the rim. He seemed more active in trying to block and change shots at the rim defensively. Now we just need him to grab rebounds strong and with both hands (see Evans, Dwayne) instead of batting it around like it is beach volleyball. Overall, great game by him. I only dropped two F'bombs watching him play yesterday. My season average is 12.4.

He certainly played a lot tougher today and shot well.