cgeldmacher

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2017/08/09/willie-reed-wife-not-pressing-charges-after-arrest/552433001/ Similar article from USA Today.

I'm sure you don't care, but I've only known that you were a poster for a few minutes now, and I have zero respect for the fact that you don't seem to know how to have a conversation without obnoxious insults. This is in no way a comment about any argument you have attempted to make above. Simply a comment on the way you have conducted yourself while trying to make your points. Please proceed now with hitting me with all sorts of childish insults. I'm ready.

We're wasting a lot of keystrokes over not much of an issue. Some think Jordan should start immediately. Some, myself included, think it would better for him to get thirty two minutes a game off the bench for a few games and then have a moment when Coach tells him "Congratulations, kid. You earned a starting spot with your outstanding play." Either way, let's just be happy that we have a guy that this is even a question about. Some of the arguments for him starting have swayed me a little bit, but I still think he and French are better served coming off the bench at the very beginning. Either way, I don't think anyone, Goodwin, French, local recruits, local coaches, etc. are going to meltdown if these guys don't aren't starting right away. If the team and coaching staff would read this thread, I bet they would laugh their asses off.

I don't know how Coach Ford does things, but I can certainly see a situation where Goodwin and French don't start, but are the first guys off the bench and get starter playing time. I can also see both Goodwin and French, and recruits for that matter, being perfectly fine with that. Under this scenario, I can see both of them starting by mid December, because it becomes obvious that they are two of our best five guys, if that is what happens. Saying that Goodwin needs to be starting Day 1 or else he will be unhappy may just be an insult to Jordan. It also might be an insult to Coach Ford that he's so not in control of his own team that he has to start certain guys over others, not because its what he feels is best, but because he's beholden to recruits. I think the best case scenario is that Roby, AD, JJ, Bess, and Foreman/Welmer begin the season in the starting lineup. Goodwin and French are the first guys off the bench and get significant playing time. A month into the season, it becomes obvious that Goodwin and French need to be starting and that happens then. Under this scenario, both guys get the feeling that most college basketball players get to have in their careers. They get to feel like they earned their way into a starting spot. That is much better for them and their development than handing them a starting spot just because Coach is fearful of the impact on recruiting. Let's give Goodwin and French the benefit of the doubt that they are not petty glory hounds that will pout if they are not starting day one. From what I've heard, they're both better than that.

Your assuming that we will get the recruits we are getting now if we were in the Valley. If we went to the Valley, which will never happen, we'd regress to that level due to not being able to recruit.

That goes on the all-time bad drunk night list.

Agree about needing a guy or two to be near all-conference level to be successful. Remember when Ash sat out his transfer year and all we heard was that he was going to be the best player on the court. He was, but he didn't light it up and carry the team like we thought. The difference with the team this year is that we have a group of guys who have the potential to be that star player. If one does, we'll be doing okay. If two do, then we're talking competing for the A-10. If none do, then we have a problem. We'll still be better than last year, but we'll have a problem.

I'm excited about this year's team. If I conveyed otherwise with my comments, that's on me. I just worry that the reasonable end result for this year's team is not what many are setting up. I'm worried that some will be down on the team by the end of the season simply because they set their sights too high. I don't want that to happen. I believe that our true success is a season or two away.

I think everyone who commented both interpreted my comments correctly and incorrectly. That's probably my fault for how I worded it. My point is that some people are already celebrating a successful season. Comments like "we should be in the top 3 in the A-10" or "we should be a tournament team this year" are misguided. Celebrate success when it happens, not now. If people tell themselves that a certain level of success will occur without acknowledging the challenges of this season, they are setting themselves up for a fall later. If that happens, those guys won't recognize their excessively high expectations as the true culprit. They'll blame Ford's in game coaching or take it out on a scapegoat player (this board loves that one). The program is heading in a great direction. Let's not submarine that progress by proclaiming that this team should be a top A-10 team or a tournament team this year to everyone that will listen and then hurting the program's momentum when/if that doesn't occur.

This is not directed at any particular post. From the standpoint of being a fan, why wouldn't you set your expectations conservatively? The other way of saying it, why would you set your expectations too high? If you are fair about your expectations, they are likely to be met or exceeded. If they are met, your satisfied. If they are exceeded, your ecstatic. Isn't that what you want out of your fandom. If you set your expectations too high and they are met, then you're only getting what you expected. If they are not met, you very unhappy. The summer doesn't mean anything for college basketball. You saying that you think the Billikens are going to be a tournament team doesn't help the Billikens achieve that and won't mean anything when discussing things with your friends that are fans of other schools. It only sets you up to be disappointed. Take off your Royal Blue colored glasses and tell yourself that the Billikens will finish middle of the pack in the A-10. Convince your brain that it's true due to all of the challenges SLU will face this year. Then sit back and enjoy the ride.

I've never seen a recruiting video like that. Rarely do I put any stock in these videos, but this one focused so heavily on Collins talent for seeing the court and finding open players, that I really want this kid now.

Nice to see that there is actually quite a wide selection.

I think we need to temper our expectations, or this season will be set up for a perceived failure. That will be unfair to the players and the coaches who have been doing a good job recruiting them. This season's team will be made of the following groups: 5 transfers - Good players, but not good enough to be successful with their last program. 2 Freshman - Highly thought of, but haven't played a single college game. One is coming off of a surgery. Guys from last year's team - Don't need to say any more about that. I predict a finish between 4 and 8 in the conference. Anyone predicting us coming in 1st or 2nd is doing a disservice to the program. Let's not even talk about the T word until the following season.

Bruce Weber always does well in St. Louis. Not sure what connections he and his staff have hear other than the fact that he has coached in the region.

Someone still makes a decision to host the camp. SLU doesn't have to allow the camp to take place on its campus. Someone at SLU makes that decision. Obviously, Coach Ford is taking advantage of the fact that the camp is at SLU to show off the facilities. Also, are you sure that the camp doesn't take place at Chaifetz? I honestly don't know. Either way, the decision to host the camp, or continuing to host the camp, is a good one.

This camp seems like a very smart move by the program. One of our best selling points right now is the Fetz. Get these kids in here and accustomed to our facilities. Then, when they head elsewhere for a visit and see facilities that don't match up to the Fetz, they may question whether they want to go to that other school. Also, they've already had exposure to our coaching staff at these "unofficial" visits. I know it might not send high level recruits our way in droves, but its a smart move.

I know people will disagree with me, but rarely in the modern college game does a kid dribble the ball up the floor, stop near the three point arc, look around, and decide who to distribute the ball to. That may have been the role of a point guard in the 60s, 70s, maybe 80s, but that's not what happens now. Watch a tape of any college game from last season and tell me how many times that happens in a game. You will probably be shocked to find out that the answer is very rarely. When it does happen, fans typically complain that it doesn't seem as if the team has an offensive plan. In the modern game, someone brings the ball down the court and immediately distributes it to a player on the wing at which time the team's offensive scheme kicks in involving the ball being rotated around the floor in a way that hopefully results in a high percentage shot. In this system, used by almost everyone, at least three or four players touch the ball and are expected to try to distribute the ball before a shot is taken. The most a "true" point guard does nowadays is help make sure that a team breaks the press, but even that is a team function. I know its not a popular opinion on this board, but craving a true point guard is an outdated thing given the way offenses are run.

Coach, I have been on your side with some of your stuff, but C'mon Man! I'm sure this kid has spoken to other coaches as well. Why would you go out of your way on the Billiken site to point out that he has spoken to Martin? For that matter, how would you know that this kid spoke to Martin unless you have inside information with regard to Mizzou's program?

Would that also mean that we would have our 1st Sweet 16 appearance?

This is what I hope that people are saying about Ford in a few years.

I agree that the two I think will be better with better guys around them are Roby and Johnson. I expect that they will both get significant minutes and give us good production next year. I predict a lot of three guard/two PF sets with Goodwin, Roby, Henriquez, Johnson, & French, especially against athletic opponents. EDIT: Totally forgot about Bess. Through him in with the five I mentioned.

I don't know the answer to this, but who's the better player, Thatch or Watson? Any opinion? Doesn't really matter, because we have Thatch, and I'm excited that we have Thatch. Just wanting to get some thoughts.

Stu reported yesterday that the Detroit Mercy game on Nov. 22 was part of the 2K Classic. How is that if it's after the 2K Classic?

I think you are putting more stock in the transfers that maybe is deserved. I'm excited about them as well, along with Goodwin and French (actually much more excited about Goodwin and French). However, I expect Welmer, Roby, Bishop, and Johnson to get more PT than it seems that you do. Remember, regardless of how good we feel about them, the transfers were all guys that were not getting PT at other schools.

Regardless of our thoughts on his abilities as a PA announcer a Billiken games, he is probably deserving of this type of honor. He on almost 40 years of doing the same show successfully in the St. Louis market. I don't listen to the show, but you can't deny his longevity and ongoing success in that media.