BillyKen

Did Cody Ellis finally show up???

WHAT have you been watching this year? CODY has BEEN AWFUL... All of our scoring runs have been when he is out of the game. He comes in, and MAYBE hits a few shots, but his man dominates him on the other end. RM has run set plays for Cody, coming right out of a few minute stretch where he rested and he STILL misses (grant it that one went in and somehow jumped out, but a miss nonetheless). If Cody played last night, we would have score a bit more but given up much more. This year's Cody Ellis is NOTHING like kid we saw last year come out of the gates. Yeah, he knows the system better, but he has not provided a spark what-so-ever! What have you been watching??

As a lifetime New York Yankee fan, I can tell you that the curse thing is absolute BS. I would have thought that Cardinals fans would agree and lets face it, the Red Sox and Cubs just SUCKED for all that time. There is no curse...SLU is making the transition of bringing in the sports culture onto campus. There are actually people who are not all about sports and are not fans of the change. Let's not forget, we just got our own on campus stadium and made the brought in a top notch coach to bring in top players. The cultural transition that SLU is going through is a means of improving education by increasing the school's athletic profile. Unfortunately, that time comes with some rough bumps in the road. SLU is going through an identity crisis and is unsure of whether to go all out with the academic push (which, let's face it, has not gotten SLU much national recognition...and that is coming from someone who went to SLU from NYC) or to incorporate athletics into the main picture. The "cursed" SLU team of the 70's-90's is long gone because the school has changed, or tried to change, its philosophy. This recent "curse" is simply the clash of two philosophies...those who support the bball push and those who fear the changes that accompany an athletics push. This change effects the type of students who apply to and are interested in the school (and I am not referring to black vs. white thing) but the type of student actually changes. SLU is going through this change, and is magnified because it is a small-mid size PRIVATE JESUIT school. There is no curse. It is an adaptation to the times that is inevitable to occur to some extent when a traditionally academic based school attempts to weave athletics into its culture. And yes, SLU has been successful in soccer and a few other sports here and there, but college sports are really all about Football and Basketball because they bring in the $$.

Rick Majerus has a great quote in this article... "Saint Louis University coach Rick Majerus: If there's no ref, then I pick LeBron. He's bigger, stronger and longer. Kobe would brace up and get more charges, but who calls charges in one-on-one? LeBron's length will bother Kobe, too. He'll block shots from behind. He's got that huge tight end body. If there's a ref, I pick Kobe because he's relentless and because of his heart. Kobe wouldn't take a possession off. LeBron might. LeBron doesn't always treat the game with the seriousness and determination that Kobe does. Kobe is the ultimate in efficiency. He has the most beautiful economy of motion. People! No refs! Sheeesh." http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5680638

Who will be the better foreign born center in Billiken history? ROB LOE OR IAN VOUYOUKAS?? Ian Vouyoukas' Career Stats: Career Stats YR G/S MIN/AVG FG/A PCT 3FG/A PCT FT/A PCT O/DR R/AVG PF/D A TO BS ST TP/AVG 03-04 21/7 220/10.5 18/46 .391 0/0 -- 10/13 .769 15/21 36/1.7 24/0 4 13 3 3 46/2.2 04-05 27/17 652/24.1 68/131 .519 0/0 -- 51/93 .548 48/97 145/5.4 72/1 22 32 20 11 187/6.9 05-06 29/29 934/32.2 136/248 .548 0/5 .000 132/182 .725 81/134 215/7.4 76/2 48 78 55 16 404/13.9 06-07 33/32 939/28.5 154/298 .517 5/23 .217 96/160 .600 66/178 244/7.4 101/1 49 81 57 9 409/12.4 Total 110/85 2745/25.0 376/723 .520 5/28 .179 289/448 .645 210/430 640/5.8 273/4 123 204 135* 39 1046/9.5 http://www.slubillikens.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/vouyoukas_ian00.html To breakdown that chart: MIN PTS REB Blocks (total) FR 7 2.2 1.7 3 SO 17 6.9 5.4 20 JR 32.2 13.9 7.4 55 SR 28.5 12.4 7.4 57 Honestly, I would have to say that Ian will end up the better Billiken. I think Rob might have better total numbers when all is said and done, but Ian had a strong Jr. and Sr. year, even though we all expected even more out of the Big Greek. Ian was also the only reliable big we had for quite some time. He didn't have the talent around him that Rob will have. I don't know if the scoring will be there for RL but hopefully he can put up solid rebounding numbers. I would have to give the edge to Ian, but I hope I am wrong!

Thanks for all you do bro!

"He never won a national championship but is only the Billiken in the last five years to go into the MLS." Is going to MLS really a positive? Common now, MLS sucks. Being a coach at a top 10-15 ranked US College is more prestigious than the MLS.

Appreciate all you do Steve! Account works just fine.

http://www.projo.com/uri/content/URI_Rams_...v3.36f436b.html Vedder is definitely a project.

Absolutely agree with you. Experience against world competition would be far better. Also, if RM and his staff REALLY thought that it would be a huge benefit for SLU's program for him to be on campus then they would have asked him to not even try out.

Food for thought: After completing my initial post I sat in front of my computer screen for several minutes and was quite frustrated. As a New York Yankees fan, I do not understand the feeling of not getting the coveted free agent. I have never experienced such anguish as a sportsfan. I hate it. Anyways, I was also thinking about the players that Miami will need to fill its roster with. OBVIOUSLY, I know that this will NEVER HAPPEN, but give it some thought.... The Heat have the new "Big Three." They drafted big men and a small forward. They need guys that can play D. Sure another big will help, but they need a guard who can D up and who will work his ass off on defense. This guard will be able to keep Queen James off the ball on D so he can make the SportsCenter blocks that we are so accustomed to seeing. The Heat also need a guy who can shoot the three and hit free throws. Someone who can do all the little things. Hmmm, a guard who is a hard nose defender, can hit threes (especially if open, as will be the case in South Beach), and someone who is motivated, determined to win championships, and can learn in the process how to be an NBA point guard. Oh, and the Heat can essentially only offer league minimum contracts. If the Heat expand their horizons, and believe me I am a KNICKS fan so I AM NOT thrilled that I might be forced to cheer for the Heat, but they can find the perfect fit.... HMMM.... you guessed it.... KEVIN LISCH!!!!!!!!!!! I would actually be happy if Queen James going to Miami would ultimately bring Kevin to the Heat. Of course it's a super long-shot at like maybe 1,000 to 1. BUT WHY NOT OFFER HIM A 10 DAY CONTRACT AND SEE WHAT THE BOY CAN DO???????? You heard it here first....Kevin Lisch to the Miami Heat.

As a Knick fan I am very disappointed this evening. Sure it was a super long shot, but a shot nonetheless. We spent 2 year ridding ourselves of selfish players such as Starbury, Randolph, Crawford, Al Harrington, terrible contracts, and Isiah Thomas. Now it is the unselfishness of Queen James that kills us. If QJ truly wanted to "be a championship" (as was stated in his articulate speech) than why not at least go to Chicago? THAT would have made sense. But no, he goes to South Beach. The New York Knickerbokers are left with Amare Stoudemire's MAX contract, who is playing on a microfractured knee and is one poke in the eye away from a career ending injury. Well, at least I can say that I don't need to watch the NBA and can focus on my Billikens. They are my only hope for experiencing a fan's version of basketball immortality.

Oh, because the World's most popular sport and the most watched sporting event is boring. Just because there isn't much scoring doesn't mean it is boring. After all, you are a Billiken fan and hey, we don't (or at least not until this season ) haven't scored much.

Last season, schedule was not released until late August/Early September. Hope this helps.

Dolphins did well. Tough division though but they are looking strong. If you talk about the entire off-season you gotta love giving Henne a top WR. As a JETS fan though, I love our off-season. Not crazy about dealing Leon and releasing Faneca, but those were financial deals so that they can ultimately resign Mangold and D'Brickashaw. Rumor has it that they will release Shaun Ellis as well at some point. But hey the best D in the game just added Cromartie, Wilson (solid CB rookie), Taylor (thanks Miami...he will get 11+ sacks in a Rex Ryan Defense), Santonio, Tomlinson, and more. And they will also have Jenkins back from injury. So that D will be able to hold WR's and attack that qb. If the Jets win, they won't have the "chemistry" issues that people worry about. Winning solves that.

I didnt say you could have partial scholarships. It was part of a quote and to not appear to be manipulating the quotation I included the entirety of that section while also siting my source. Second of all, INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS!!! That was a BS course offered by SLU not that long ago. There are LEGAL ways to play with the system. Did I say abuse the system? NO. But playing within the rulebook. BillikenRoy, PLEASE follow me on this... from reading your past posts this may be difficult for you, but I urge you to try your best... SLU's Presidential scholarship, which you mentioned, is offered for INCOMING Freshman (meaning NOT PAUL ECKERLE). Assuming you are right that he has the Presidential Scholarship, which I inferred from your " other than eckerle, i havent read or heard of any slu basketball players that are on the presidential scholarship level" than clearly Saint Louis U has "played with a rule." I know the NCAA is SUPER strict with scholarships but check it out...(I didn't think I needed to SPELL things out for a guy like BillikenRoy, thought with your 2 billion posts (exaggeration) that you actually read some relevant SLU info. While the NCAA is strict, IF POSSIBLE, and naturally with the consent and willingness of the players, Majerus could be the one to convince them. Rick is quite a convincing individual. 1) it had been reported that evans scored above a 30 on the ACT which would net him a significant academic scholarship. given the fact that it had also been reported that evans' parents were fairly well off, it would be reasonable to hypothesize that it might be affordable for Evans to take an academic scholarship. 2) To reiterate, I was not talking about partial scholarships. OR...in an alternate scenario...Brian Conklin, academic A-10 first team, could also get an academically merited scholarship, along with KC who RM said on the radio could be slu's next academic all-american (post-Lisch). If these guys would WILLINGLY switch this would give SLU extra athletic scholarships. BillikenRoy, I am looking forward to your response, but as I ask my fourth grade students...please think before you speak.

Well, I used the word "switch" casually. By "switch" I meant coaxed to agree to accept the academic scholarship that they "earn" in order to do it for the "good of the team." Take a look at this website... http://www.athleticscholarships.net/academicscholarships.htm "Most coaches work very closely with the college financial aid office; they have to. The first thing a coach will do is see if the athlete qualifies for some other form of financial aid. The coach will determine what "needs based aid" the player can get and then try to boost this with a partial athletic scholarship. If you qualify for an academic scholarship then that money does not count against the total athletic scholarship budget the coach has to work with. You can see why this is so attractive to the coach. You need to meet one or more of the following criteria to qualify. (this can vary depending on the institution)...3.5 core GPA. 25 ACT or better. 1200 SAT or better. Rank top 10% in your class." I was freshman at SLU 6 years ago. Across the hall lived a freshman tennis star. As a freshman he took a course called "The Introduction to Numbers." He had a worksheet that was his homework proudly hanging on his minifridge. The worksheet had teddy bears and turtles on it say "Beariffic Job!" and "You can do it" as he multiplied and divided simple whole numbers. Well I absolutely admit that SLU is probably one of the better school in terms of not offering too many gimme classes for jocks, common you gotta be kidding me. And then students manage to pull very high GPA's putting them into the top echelon of their year in terms of GPA. So no, I dont think Rick "cheats" but there are loopholes and ways to work the system legally to an extent. The following link is a list of all the Academic Scholarships that SLU offers. Notice, how the majority of the SIGNIFICANT academic scholarships are for "incoming" freshman. But, we all know that SLU athletes have "SWITCHED" from an athletic to a academic scholarship. Hmmmm, so you mean that all of these guys are just great people and fantastic human beings that would take a financial hit for the greater good of the team? After all there is no I in team....HELLL NO!! There are ways and funds available that clearly are for athletes and the coaches, such as Rick know the system and how to legally move around it. NO, Rick hasn't "kicked" JJ or Smith off the team but he probably sat them down and was real with them. JJ, you are not in our future plans. While you are on scholarship naturally we will respect it, but I don't see you playing significant time in this system. But I know you can work hard and play in a DI system, just not here...athletes want to play. You work hard, you want to get in the game. They can be swayed to transfer if they know they wont play significantly with their current team.

Rick has some tricks up his sleeve. Probably going to push Cassity and even Conklin (perhaps eventually Evans) will switch to Academic Scholarships. And goodbye Jordan.

C- Rob Loe- Cory Remekun PF- Willie Reed- Brian Conklin- Cory Remekun SF- Cody Ellis- Dwayne Evans- Femi John- Paul Eckerle SG- Kyle Cassity- Christian Salecich- Justin Jordan- Paul Eckerle PG- Kwamain Mitchell- Mike McCall- Justin Jordan- Paul Eckerle Rob Loe completes us.