Aquinas

The Okoro signing is big. It would appear that Okoro had his pick of SLU, Illinois, Mizzou and more big named schools. His choosing SLU sends a message to local St. Louis area players. Good things are happening at St. Louis. The local players are playing, having fun and winning. They are playing an exciting brand of basketball and our local Billikens are recruiting for SLU. The next big step for SLU is to play our way into the top 25. If French and Goodwin return, then I believe that will happen this year. Martin tried to rebuild their program with a big splash in his first season, with big signings and made a trip to the tournament. However he has not been able to build on that. Instead the team has fallen back to mediocracy and inconsistency, with good wins followed by terrible losses. It looks like coach Martin goes for the best available player and just hopes the pieces will fit together. His individual player development also seems to be lacking. I think the shine is off of the Martin apple. Illinois seems to be making progress under coach Underwood, but I don't consider them to be the threat to SLU in the St. Louis area that Martin was with his local ties. At this point, for the coming season we seem to be the better of the 3 teams and well ahead of Mizzou. Coach Ford has a vision for the team and it is coming together. Going into this season, I believe we have a good player at each position and high quality players coming off of the bench. We have depth at the forward position, which is something that we did not have last season. We also have a path to success after this year's big seniors graduate. That means we have a successful program shaping up. We have a team that can run and looks to score of a fast break, a team that can dominate inside, a team that can press and one that can hit outside shots. That is a tough combination to beat. Coach Ford has sailed this team through rough waters. I believe we are positioned now, to attract top local area recruits. Go Team Blue and congratulations Coach Ford!

Think of how big we will be with Bell and Okoro up front.

Wow

Jett would not have had the success scoring the last few years, that he had when he played. At that time, we had bigs who stretched the floor and opened up driving lanes, and Jett took full advantage of it. The team was designed to give guards the opportunity to drive to the basket, by using bigs who would hit outside shots to pull defenders away from the basket. Jett would have struggled against the packed zones that we have face the last couple of years. I don't want to take away form the things that he did well, but top 6 of all time, in my view should be players that didn't have a significant short coming in their game. I still remember cringing when Jett would get fouled at the end of a game that we were trying to close out.

I listened and loved the season ending show, followed with the top 5 +1 Billikens of all time. I generally agree with Pistol's list with the exception of one player. I have to take issue with is Jordair Jett. I loved him as a Billiken and he was a force on the floor and could drive with power to the basket, however.... He did not shoot well enough to be on this list, especially for a guard, 25% 3 point shooter and 61 percent for the line. Somebody else had Highmark on the their list, he was not much of a defender, not very athletic and basically just a good spot up 3 point shooter with 38% and 77 from the line I would nominate H Waldman, a great passer and we have not had anyone close until Yuri arrived. And H hit 42% of his 3s and 77% from the line.

SLU and Okoro seem like a perfect fit for both parties. He wants to sit a year, then play 2. That gives him a year to heal, improve his fitness and learn the offense and defense. French graduates and Okoro gets a great shot at a starting power forward position. The articles I read said that he has been playing center at Oregon. I have to believe that his best NBA shot, would be playing the 4. So with Jimmy holding down the 5, he would be freed up to play the 4. If he signes with a school like Illinois, he could end up in the same situation he had at Oregon and struggle to get on the floor. SLU and the A10 would give him a chance to get his feet on the ground, build his confidence and still have big games agaist good competition. It would also be good for him to have a year working against Bell and French in practice. If I had to choose between putting my son in the hands of Coach Underwood or Coach Ford, in Ford I trust. At this moment, most of the preseason predictions have us ahead of Illinoise. I think we are likely to finish in the top 25, so Okoro would be in a good position to keep that going, step into a good situation and do it in a major metro area like St. Louis, while still close to home. He would hav Yuri feeding him highlight real passes ending in dunks on ESPN.

I think it is better to look at Yuri's scoring on a play by play basis. For example, Yuri has the ball at the top of the key, is it better for him to take the shot or pass to an open Perkins, Jimerson or French or a cutting Goodwin or Hargrove. The percentages are generally better for a pass. It really doesn't matter what Yuri averages as long as the highest percentage shot is taken so the team average improves. Yuri has already shown great clock awareness, and will put up a good 3, before letting the clock expire. Yuri basically gives some of his shooting opportunities to other players, lowering his scoring totals, while inflating those around him. Yuri is all about exploiting the best shot opportunity on every possession.

For what it is worth, the Max Prep stats on Markhi that I saw showed him scoring 35% from 3, which is good, but less than 50% from the free throw line, which is bad. Now if those stats are wrong and he actually shot over 70% from the free throw line, I would say he is a good shooter. The SLU press release didn't have any stats. I think Ford sometimes speaks of the player he envisions them becoming, rather than the player they have been to date. There is also the adjustment to division 1 distance on the 3 to consider. I look at Markhi a lot like Hargrove. They both of the potential to become good shooters and if they do, look out. That combination of athleticism and an outside shot is a nighmare to defend. Defenders on a fast break, have to guard against an alley oop dunk or the player swinging to the outside for an open 3. In the half court you have to play close enough to get a hand in their face, but too close and they blow by you. If somebody has better stats on him, I would love to see them.

Markhi - based on the video I've seen, he reminds me a lot of Hargrove, very athletic not a great shooter. It will be interesting to see if he keeps his height or shrinks like Hargrove did. At 190 he is undersized for a 4, doesn't shoot well enough for a 2. So he falls into our crowded 3 spot. Unless we have injuries, I expect his first year will be spent hitting the weights, learning to play defence and working on his shooting. He will be able to press and provide some highlight video dunks. Minutes will open for him once Goodwin graduates. Andre - We dont have another player like him. He is an under weight stretch 4. He can shoot from outside. We need to get him on campus ASAP, in the weight room and working with the team. He is supposed to have a high BB IQ, so hopefully he will get up to speed quickly. If he can come in cold and hit some shots, he will get some playing time. I dont expect alot in his first year. He needs to muscle and adjust to Div 1 BB. Marten - Fills an immediate need. He is a physical inside forward with a nice mid range jump shot. He will play behind Bell and French. He picks up fouls, but gives us more to give, when games are called tight. He is probably ideal at the 4, but can also play the 5. He will allow Ford to continue to play big, when Jimmy would otherwise come out and one of our wings play the 4. He also gives us a forward in addition to Jimmy, who can hit his free throws and close out a game. I dont think he will be a star, but will provide significant work horse minutes. He is the missing piece that we needed for this season and will help transition after next. We need him to hit the Bully Ball weight room and catch up to the Billikens offence and defense. All of the new players will be hurt if the summer program and workouts are restricted.

ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis head coach Travis Ford announced today that forward Andre Lorentsson has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University and play for the Billikens. Lorentsson begins his four years of eligibility in the 2020-21 season. "We are very excited about Andre joining our Team Blue family," Ford said. "He is a high-level shooter with great size who can play multiple positions. Andre's high basketball IQ translates to him having tremendous perimeter skills. He is a really good passer and is great with the ball in his hands." "First and foremost, I want to thank my family for always being there for me, supporting me and always telling me to dream big," Lorentsson said. "Thank you also to my teammates and coaches for being such huge factors in my development as a player and a person. I am extremely excited for the opportunity to become a member of Team Blue and play in the A-10. I cannot wait to play in Chaifetz Arena in front of all the great Billiken fans." Lorentsson is a native of Gothenburg, Sweden. His high school team, RIG Mark Kinna, competed in the National Prep School Invitational in Rhode Island in January and posted a 2-1 record. Lorentsson, a stretch four, averaged 20 ppg in the NPSI, with a large portion of his scoring coming from beyond the arc. In 15 games with RIG Mark Kinna last year, Lorentsson averaged 17.7 ppg on 55 percent shooting from the field, including a 45 percent (44-97) mark from 3-point range. He averaged more than 6.0 rebounds per game while dishing out better than 3.0 assists per game. Lorentsson was an 85 percent shooter from the free-throw line. Lorentsson has also spent time with the Swedish National Team, playing for his home country in the U16 European Championship (2017) and the U18 European Championship (2018).

I really like this addition. Linssen will get minutes right away and will allow Ford to keep a big lineup on the floor if he wants to. Linssen can sub for either Bell or French and also provides insurance against injury and foul trouble. He appears to be a physical inside player who can hit a jumper. He also hits free throws which improves our ability to close out games. We also had games where French had to dial down his game, for fear of picking up another foul, so it will imrpove the quality of the minutes we get from French. He of course makes life after French look easier.

From the perspective of a transfering student athlete; Has the transfer year adding a fifth year for the student under scholarship, improved the percentage of students who actuall graduate? Many non-scholarship students take 5 years to graduate. Yes I realize a student athelete could take a redshirt year and accomplish the same thing, but if they don't do that the first year, it doesn't happen.

Especially since Saint Louis University is a catholic university, I think it is apropriate to wish all of you a happy and holy Easter. This has been a very strange holy week, but it is still a time to recall the death and resurection of Jesus. I also want to encourage all of our members, especially those who are catholic to watch one of the online Easter masses. I will be watching Fr. Mike Schmitz Easter Vigil in about 15 minutes. I will also offer to pray for any of our board members or their family who come down with the virus. We are living in a very strange time and sometimes faith is all we have to sustain us. I hope you all have a happy Easter.

I'm close to this list. Bonner Hughes H Mitchell Grey Ellis Goodwin French Yuri

So how many weeks or months do we wait? How much debt are we willing to put on the Millenial credit card? How many businesses do we let fail? How long can we do this before our economy reaches the point of no return?

My point is that the disease is one threat and economic collapse is the other. Our current strategy of shutting down whole states and some desire the whole country, put our economy at great risk. There is little discussion about the financial consequences of this shut down strategy. A lock down could take a dip in the economy and turn it into a tail spin, where the housing market collapses and the banking industry then manufacturing. We would have to "borrow" or print more money to bail out Fannie may and Freddie mac again, and GM and Chrysler again, and the airlines. Right now, people are not working because the states are telling them to stay home. But if we wait too long, the jobs will not be there when it is "safe" to return. Many small businesses are going out of business. The shutdowns dont stop the virus, they just slow it down. We can wreck the economy and the futures of our children, and we will still have the virus.

I'm in my 60, the edge of the higher risk group. My wife and I have made many sacrifices to help our daughters get good educations, good jobs and have the opportunity to enjoy good careers and pursue their dreams. I have been concerned about trillion dollar annual deficits and the threat they pose to our economy and our country. Then last week Congress and the president approved adding 2 trillion more to the deficit. So who is going to pay that 2 trillion? Our children and grand children. It is easy to say, chose life over money. But a more sober way to look at it is what spending and programs would we need to cut to come up with 2 trillion dollars? Our fed gov roughly spends 4 trillion per and roughly 1 trillion of that is social security. So if we could cancel social security for 2 years, to come up with the 2 trillion dollars to cover it. But that would create tremendous hardships. Those 2 trillion dollars represent life, and you can't come up with 2 trillion dollars without affecting lives, quality of life and physical life. If our government and the citizens lack the will and desire to actually pay the debt back, the only other option is to just print more of it..... lots more. If we continue to treat our dollars like Monoply money, soon it will be Monopoly money. We are pretending that shutting down this economy has no real cost, but we are stealing from our children. We must get back to work, yes there will be consequences. Maybe I will get sick, and maybe I will need a ventilator and there won't be one. That is a risk that I am willing to take, before I watch this country and the future of our children collapse. We must take reasonable precautions, isolate those at greatest risk, but we must go back to work and we can not live in fear.

Coaches are part of the package. The bigger and more successful the coach, the bigger part of the package he is. Proof: Much better players are going to go commit to Iona this year, than last. Why... Patino. More proof. It is common for players to leave a program, when the head coach leaves.

If we lose French, given the players we have right now, we would get every minute that Bell can play. I think he would surprise us and I think we would be a good team in most matchups, with Bell and a 4 guard lineup. The big hit comes when Bell sits down. Then we are looking at an unknown in Madani, or one of our wings at the post. We would probably see Madani, ready or not. If we play one of our wings at the post, we could probably still score, but we would not be able to stop anyone with a decent inside game. I'm in the camp that says our next recruit would ideally be a rebounding forward. All of that said, Ford knows what he has in Madani. If he is confident in that, he can go with a transfer that sits a year. If not he needs to go after a freshman or grad trasfer. On the other hand, it's one thing to say our greatest need is a rebounding forward, it's another thing to sign one. Ford went with Bell and Madani last year because he couldn't find a good grad transfer. So I think that players available to us will also play a role.

We follow a sport played by young men at a university dedicated to the future of young people. Where is this 2 trillion dollars coming from? It's being charged to the credit cards of young people and it will have a devastating impact on them in the future. What good is a degree, when the dollar collapses? In my view, we have taken time to size up this virus. We know that the most vulnerable are the old and those with health issues. We need to isolate that population as best we can until a vaccine is available. The rest of us need to get back to work. Yes our hospitals will be over run and people will die, maybe even me. But even if we stay cooped up, our hospitals will still be over run and people will die. We lose roughly 35,000 people per year to car accidents. We could drop the national speed limit to 20 miles per hour and drastically reduce that number. Why dont we? If we all had to go to work this week to put food on our tables, we would do it. The millenial credit card we are using to shut down the country, provides the illusion that we can sit around for however long we want to, with no consequences. At 62, I'm on the edge of the risk pool. I am willing to take my chances with the virus. I have and will continue to isolate my 86 year old mother as best I can. But I dont want to wreck the financial futures of this country, my children, and God willing, future grand children. No matter what we do, the virus will spread

Post article on Hankton leaving. https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/billiken-beat/slu-s-hankton-to-transfer-opening-another-scholarship/article_6dc55e3e-cb1e-5b4a-be63-a8670556c4d8.html

The 90s was the time I was thinking of. I think Spoon would have killed to have French or Bell.

I'm with you on the need for a rebounding power forward, especially after French graduates. We will lose a lot of rebounds when French and Goodwin graduate. I think Bell will get his share, and I think Hargrove will get his share, but a real rebounding athletic 4 will be required if we want to continue to lead the conference. Next year, God willing, we are going to be a team that can force the ball inside and nail outside shots. That will be a nightmare to defend. The simple packed in zones we have seen for the last 2 years won't be the answer. What I really like about Jimerson and Perkins is that they are consistent and dont shut down if they miss thier first 2 shots.

I hope you are wrong about Thatch, but I thought he played impressive defence his freshman year. I didn't intend to cast any shade on Jacobs. I see him as a more balanced player, each of the others, Bell, Jimerson, Thatch and Hargrove each have one really strong tallent that they bring to the floor. When it comes to unknowns, we have a lot fewer than last year, but I would agree that Diarra, Andre and Strickland are unknowns and I would add Thatch because of his illness. I would like to think there is still potential in Hankton, but clearly we have yet to see it in his first 2 years.