cgeldmacher

He doesn't realize that once Tatum picks a school the only transfer he will be making is to the NBA.

Programs the Billikens are currently better than (per the rankings): North Carolina UConn Kentucky Georgetown UCLA Memphis Louisville Indiana Texas Ohio State etc., etc., etc.

Just from what I've heard and read, he will enter next season as my favorite active Billiken player. One through five are leaving.

They have to be smart about it. If it won't cost us, go for it.

+1

Great story. Every program has or should have a legend that they can look back on. We had one of the best in Easy Ed. I assume LaSalle will be honoring Mr. Gola the rest of the season.

I'm convinced that MC will be a big scorer in the future. This board is flooded with negative comments about every freshman every year. As soon as a guy gets on campus, if he doesn't average 20 minutes and 10 points a game, he starts to get criticized. All three of the freshmen have shown me enough to tell me the are keepers and starters in the not so distant future. However, what MC has show makes me confident that he's going to be a scoring threat from nearly everywhere on the court. He will hit threes when open, he will hit midrange shots, and he will drive and lay it up in a way that will remind you more of KM than JJ.

Totally disagree. There are billboards on every major highway. I'm sure SLU had a lot to do with getting one hour coach show on 101.1. I see TV adds on Fox Sports Midwest. Whether we like it or not, the Groupon & Living Social deals are a marketing effort to put people into the building. There is more marketing of this team going on, IMO, than ever before.

What was the story behind McClellan getting dismissed from Vandy?

As someone with young kids, I will say that many of the places mentioned are not the most kid friendly. Pappy's has been named one of the best, if not the best, barbeque places in the country by several publications and TV shows. However, if your kids don't like barbeque, that won't matter. Vito's (pizza and italian), Triumph (moderately upscale grill), The Fieldhouse (sportsbar), and Humphreys (prototypical campus bar) are the closest, but not are particularly kid friendly. If you are staying downtown, there are a lot of more kid friendly options downtown where you could go and then head over to the game. SLU is not in downtown, but it's not very far either. If your driving, just get on Olive and head east. You'll make it there in 10 minutes.

I agree with Pistol. SLU has been getting more local radio media coverage in the past three weeks as it has in about three years combined. I have heard Coach Crew, Coach Chaney, Scott Highmark and others interviewed on shows daily. On some of the shows, SLU is brought up in even casual talk as a story in the local sports scene now. This is going to ruffle the feathers of other fans, but who cares. With the momentum we have, and the truth on our side, the local hosts will do our arguing for us when some idiot calls in. I prefer sitting back and enjoying the accolades to forcing myself into arguments that only diminish our new found attention.

Linus Kleiza (sp.) is also still on a roster, I think.

Maybe a letter to be printed on the Editorial page of the University News chastising the students' lack of enthusiasm and support of the team is in order. We can get a bunch of people to sign or see if the U News would allow us to just sign it "SLU Alumni." The purpose would be to shame them into supporting this great group of kids down the stretch in the conference schedule.

My group of 10 guys is staying in Cincinnati Friday and Saturday nights and commuting to the game. We got tickets through SLU. Going to be hard to get up to go to the breakfast at the Marriott, but we'll have to make it work.

Do you or anyone else have the +/- stats for the year? I have seen Timmerman throw those out at times on Twitter. This stat may explain JB's playing time, if he is better on defense than the alterative. My first thought upon seeing your stats was to think that maybe MC should be getting some of JB's minutes, but if JB is much better defensively, he may be the better option.

+1 to everything. With DE leaving after this year, there's certainly an opening for a lot of minutes in the small forward spot. Also, who could complain about the way DE has been used the past few seasons. If CB gets put into that role, what is the downside for him. I hope he and his father see that.

Who was the guy on the PA for the NC A&T game? Was it a joke or prank that he called DE Dwight during introductions and when he first scored? This was not a situation where he may have said Dwayne, but it sounded like Dwight. It was clearly Dwight both times. The guy next to him corrected the PA guy after the second reference and the PA guy back pedaled and said his name correctly two seconds later. I know Guy Phillips takes heat for the same mistake, but now a new PA person doing the exact same thing. I know this may sound like an exageration, and maybe it is, but if I was a recruit at the game, and I heard the PA announcer getting the name of our best player wrong consistently, that would definitely make me question the program's commitment to its players. I know that sounds like a stretch, and I'm admitting that it is, but sometimes little things like this make a difference to people. I can see a kid saying that if they can't get DE's name right, and he's a pre-season all A-10 pick and SLU's best player, how worried will they be about getting my name right when my family and friends come into town.

Didn't we have several guys post that it was "guaranteed" that Tatum was coming to SLU. I never believed it, but I just wonder those guys think about this new information.

Also, hotels should be mini Chaifetz Arenas and houses should be Billiken statues.

I love it. There's gotta be a way to get this actually made. Seems like there's a Monopoly game for just about everything. Why not Billiken basketball? I would buy it. A few minor disagreements. I would put McCauley and Ferry as Boardwalk and Park Place. Then Bonner, Gray, and Douglas. Then everything else the same, but pushed back, with final two spots being Lisch and Liddell. By doing this, I am adding Gray and Douglas and eliminating Vouyoukas and Boushka. Nothing against each, I just wanted Gray and Douglas with Bonner. Actually, you could eliminate Perry, Fischer, Sloan and go with a group of older guys using Boushka. Perhaps some guys from those years in the 50s when we were always in or near the top 10.

I think you are confusing folks being happy that we signed a kid with an "unwarranted sense of optimism about" a commitment. I haven't seen anyone say that he is going to come in and dominate his entire SLU career. All I have seen is people welcoming this kid to SLU and saying that he looks to have potential. If the staff thinks a kid is a fit and makes him an offer, and then the recruit thinks enough of SLU to commit to our school, that is reason enough to celebrate the commitment in the short term, even if the long term results are yet to be determined. Having said that, in the future, when the staff offers and a kid commits, let's try to refrain from welcoming an 18 year old to the Billiken family by calling him a "stiff." If I have to choose between your assessment of the kid from what you've watched on U-Tube vs. Jim Crews or Calbert Cheaney's assessment of whether they think he can have an impact at SLU and earn his scholarship, based upon seeing him play live and speaking to AAU coaches and probably running him through some drills, I think I'm going to go with the staff's thoughts. No offense.

+1 We're not saying JM is a superstar, but I agree with this assessment. I think the refs are subconsciously trying to enforce the new rules and, at the same time, not foul out the star players on either team. The answer is to call the extra fouls on the big, somewhat awkward backup center. He knows he's getting fouls called on him left and right and it is making him more timid.

The shirtless guy was outstanding, but the best part was the shark mascot being removed from under the basket by the refs.

+1 to everything you wrote

I think a lot of people would have holiday parties scheduled for that night. Maybe a 12:30 start would have allowed people to do both games and get to their holiday party.