cgeldmacher

So, who's out there to fill MY's spot? I assume Ford will want to fill it to balance out the recruiting classes a little better.

Even Coach Crews beat GW this year. I'm considering it a good thing we didn't get Drew.

Any chance we could poach Jamal Walker from the Illini staff?

https://www.facebook.com/cowboybasketball/videos/889069864508807/ Hopefully, this link works. This is a must watch. Someone going to the press conference needs to ask Coach Ford if he's going to recreate any music videos with our team.

Coach Ford, welcome to SLU. Now please help quiet your doubters and deliver us that 4 star recruit that decomitted from Oklahoma State when you were fired.

I have been a season ticket holder for several years. I can't tell you what to do with your money. You are absolutely correct that choosing to invest in tickets is a personal choice and you have the right to make yours. Having said that, I could have dropped my tickets after Spoonhauer left, or when they hired Romar (I wasn't totally on board, but thought I would wait and see), or when they hired Sodeberg. I could have done that, but I am not a fan of any particular coach until he gives me reason to be. I'm a fan of the Billikens. The bad days we suffered through after Spoonhauer, and they weren't all bad, made the three tournaments in a row with Majerus's kids all the more sweeter. If I canceled my tickets every time things didn't go exactly as I wanted and then renewed again once the team was having success, I would be the worst example of a fair weather fan. Like I said, no one can spend your money but you. However, I would invite you to keep your season tickets and see what happens. It's always a bumpy ride, but I, personally, don't want to miss any of it.

So, if Drew told SLU that he didn't want the job, then SLU had no real chance to have you as a season ticket holder next year, correct?

Exactly what I was worried was going to happen happened. Several guys on this board got overly excited about a guy who was likely never coming here. Then when we get a decent coach who might do well at SLU, and everyone is disappointed, because it's not the pie in the sky guy that the board had built up as the only coach who could possibly be successful here. Drew was never coming here. He has allegedly turned down better jobs. When he does make the move from his alma mater, it will be to a BCS program. Taking the SLU job the year after Majerus died may have made sense. Taking our dumpster fire now when he's probably got an tournament team at Valpo next year would be dumb. If he doesn't take the Pitt or Vandy jobs this year, he can take Valpo to the tournament next year, and maybe he ends up coaching Indiana or Michigan or Louisville the following year. When the speculation about him coming, mostly self created on this board, was at a frenzy, I admit I allowed myself to get excited about the idea. Now I feel stupid for getting caught up in it. Let's get behind the new coach and help make his era a success. If anything else, it seems he can recruit. So, I'm excited about being able to follow the recruiting threads agains and get fired up about who we might get to turn this thing around.

Here is Ford's resume at OK St.: - They miss the NCAA tournament three years straight before he gets there - He immediately takes them to two straight NCAA tournaments in his 1st two years as their head coach - They miss the tournament the next two years - Then he takes them to three consecutive tournaments - They have a bad year last year and they fire him His record in the NCAA tournament is not good, but he has shown he can get there out of a very tough conference. This hire is not as bad as many of you are making it. Give the guy a chance. Give him support. Let's see what happens.

I don't really care what May said in different articles about what he wanted. Way too much is being made of that. Just get us the best coach. My list: 1. Drew 2. Stallings 3. Stansbury 4. Inglesby Beyond that I don't have a real preference. As I've said, I'm not as down on Ford as some others, but him vs. guys l like Rice, Terry, Grant, etc. all seem about the same to me.

When you're an also ran in the Big 12 or SEC, it doesn't matter what resources you have, you will always suffer from not being Kansas or not being Kentucky. How many coaches graduated from success at a mid major only to not be able to get teams like Texas Tech or Auburn over the hump. Does it make them bad coaches? Was their success at the smaller school just an accident? If Drew, Stallings and Stansbury are off the table, I would be fine with Ford, and I truly believe he could be successful here.

I'm not as down on Ford as everyone else. I think he's the kind of guy that will do better in the A-10 than at a BCS school. Some BCS jobs just have a ceiling (Vanderbilt, Oklahoma St., Mississippi St). That's why I would have taken or would take Stallings, Stansbury, or Ford. I agree that Drew is the first choice, but if we're not his choice, I'd be happy with Ford.

On the flip side, maybe the NBA money that provided him with a certain comfortable lifestyle is starting to dry up. Maybe turning down Iowa State was fine last year, but the wife is starting to look at the bank account this year and wonder if the $300,000 salary is enough.

Continue three years of high level success? I assume that is what our program/coach "could have done" to make Tatum come here. We did what we needed to do recruiting wise (showed up at the right times and contacted them in the right ways), but not all that we could have done (continued success).

I don't disagree. I just meant that Brad didn't elevate the program like others had. Also, while we might agree that his era and the Crews era need to be categorized differently, I still don't think that our hiring of him was a success.

Let's look at the past hires: Rich Grawer - Saved the program Charlie Spoonhauer - Can't argue that was a good hire Lorenzo Romar - Several have called getting him back now a home run. His initial hire was a good one. Brad Sodeberg - Miss Rick Majerus - Home Run Jim Crews - Miss, but extenuating circumstances lead to it being very difficult not to hire him So, how exactly are we predisposed to SLU making a mess of this. Of the last six hires, four have to be considered to be handled very well and were successes. I get that two of the last three were bad hires, but I would assume when you make a comment like we "are predisposed to assuming SLU will make a mess of this," that there is more history behind it.

Well, then, I like your theory. If it's true, then either way, we get Stallings eventually.

I've been on the Stansbury bandwagon since early on. He would be my plan B to Drew and Stallings.

One possible scenario: Vandy wants to dump Stallings, they were about to, and then someone in their athletic dept. says wait a minute "he's going to SLU either way, we can save money on his buyout if we leverage his wanting to go home to St. Louis." A game of chicken ensues where both sides try to wait each other out to save money.

If we don't already have a deal with Drew, I say get Stalling signed now. I will be very happy with that outcome.

Unless neither ever wanted to truly come here. If that's true, how is that the AD's failure.

That conversation should be happening right now? You mean the one that is 100% based upon speculation from guys on this board and may not have any basis in reality. Right now, I'm 1 and 1a on Drew or Stallings. I think either would be an excellent hire. However, it is possible that neither has any intention of coming here. Not saying that's the case, just saying its possible. If so, I would feel a little weird about demanding that a conversation should be happening about a fictitious scenario.

Also would mean we are in for a long wait before naming the coach.

That might finally be the job Archie jumps at if they offer enough money. Very near his recruiting base.

It speaks to our "lackluster AD" that he's not soliciting a $20M donation to build an ice rink for a sports team we don't even have? Really! There are a lot on this board that may be upset if that is what he was spending his time doing rather than working to improve the sports we already have at the university. I wouldn't mind having hockey at SLU, but it would have to start more grassroots, eventually working its way to games at Scottrade and then years later, after a great deal of success, maybe then a donor decides to sink disposable money that no one else is stepping up to donate toward an on-campus hockey arena. So, now the athletic department is negligent in its duties because it's not soliciting money for a new hockey arena. That's crazy.