Slu let the dogs out?

While a game against OSU would certainly generate a few intriguing storylines (Travis versus his old team, OSU's talented young guns versus SLU's veterans and tough and gritty defense), it looks like their front court has been depleted after losing their top scorer in McGriff and top defender/center to transfer on a team picked to finish towards the bottom of the B12. Of course games aren't won and lost on paper but wouldn't you rather SLU play teams that, at this point in time, appear to be stronger non-conference opponents?

As @HoosierPal has stated, if you're a decent P6 team why pad your non-conference schedule when your tourney chances rest on conference play? Although not sure how good Washington and Ole Miss are supposed to be this year. K State sucks. Luckily there are still some good P6 teams willing to play quality non-conference opponents.

Still only showing 11 teams. Are they really going to be able to get to 16? Would be TITTS if we can grab games against LSU, Northern Iowa, and Western KY (probably asking too much). Obviously not an ideal non-conference schedule, but given what we've lost this year (Memphis, SDSU, possibly Zags/MSU) it could be a lot worse! If the Elevate Hoops MTE can snag a couple more top 75 teams, increasing our chances of landing reasonable opponents (Hoosierpal - do you know what teams are still looking for tournaments?) then our non-conference schedule is somewhat salvageable. MSU -_> LSU Memphis --> Northern Iowa (work with me, folks) SDSU --> Western KY (could be worse) Minnesota --> Minnesota Watch us end up with Nebraska, Cleveland State, and Illinois State....

I too have added 20 lbs this offseason. Mostly in my midsection though...

JP getting into the mix

Goodwin is really going to have to boost those shooting percentages this year.

So SLU makes team #11? If their intention is to get to 16 teams like that article I linked earlier claims, there are still some spots to fill. Any guesses on who fills those remaining spots, Hoosier? I hope at least one or two top 50-quality teams if possible.

Third Tweet from Stu: @studurando Ford is trying to get SLU to nine nonconference games. It’s looking like potentially 4 at home, including Boston College and Indiana State. Says a “finalized” schedule might not be possible. “Things are going to change.”

For the Lincoln MTE specifically, I'm guessing this third party (Elevate Hoops) is in charge of getting other programs on board. Not sure who made initial contact about using LIncoln as an MTE location, UNL or Elevate Hoops. While Nebraska will be playing host in terms of the facilities, utilizing Pinnacle Bank Arena (city of Lincoln owned) and the Devaney Center (UNL owned facility), the tournament itself will be hosted by third party Elevate Hoops for legal and liability reasons. Elevate Hoops is reportedly also be responsible for testing protocols and processes. The cost of the tournament is purportedly much lower than other early season events. This might appeal to those able to exit their current scheduled event if they can do so without incurring exit penalties. As the full field is finalized, we will be sure to give you an update.

Eeeek our non-conference schedule is imploding. I know some of you GD alcoholics were hoping for this series to be pushed back so you could embarrass yourselves on Beale Street (I'll be right there with you) but I feel really bad for our seniors They deserve better. What was once a very juicy and meaty schedule has been reduced to scraps. Really hope they aren't penalized come tourney seeding time because all of these P6 schools were too scared to play us in November in December. Guess that means we'll just have to win the whole damn thing as an 8 seed.

Probably thinks our non-conference schedule will end up being BC, Indiana State, Memphis, and 5 games versus Maryville.

LOL you guys go on believing all of these lies. Just look at his picture....sweetest, most wholesome family in Kansas. Sidenote: This is a pre-perm pic of Mrs. M. She looks much more fab with the perm.

Don't know Rocco but I like what he has to say:

Thanks, Hoosier, I always enjoy your insight. I just don't see SDSU traveling to Florida from SoCal at this point but who knows. If we were to lose out on games against Minnesota and SDSU I would hope we could make those up in Orlando via one or two games against middle-of-pack P6 teams, whether in some sort of crossover event or in stand alone games. We don't need to play Duke, Kansas, or Kentucky to make up for a lost game versus Minnesota or SDSU. I still think the Memphis game happens this year. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm confident we enter A10 play with a non-conference schedule no worse than what was on paper last month.

Agree on state's high CV rate working against us. Still not sure where this lack of hotel space perception is coming from though. How big is this hypothetical MTE at Chaifetz where a lack of hotel space would be a concern?!? There are 10 hotels within a 1 mile radius of Chaifetz. Expand that radius to 2.5 miles and you include almost every hotel in CWE/Cortex/DT STL. In the past 2 years alone this area has added, or will soon add, the following new builds: Element (Midtown), Aloft (Cortex), AC Hotel (CWE), LIve! by Loews (DT). Don't forget about Hotel St. Louis and the Last Hotel, both historic redevleopments.

SDSU probably isn't happening. I'm still hopeful the MN/MEM games will happen. If Orlando Tournament can replace X and Sienna with quality teams, and if there are some crossover games with other tournament teams while we are down there then I think SLU enters A10 play with a strong non-conference schedule under its belt. We're talking about a top 40 team in SLU....I would hope P6 teams view a neutral site game versus SLU as a solid addition to their non-conference schedule.

additional hotels within 1 mile of Chaifetz: -Residence Inn on Jefferson -Pear Tree Inn on Market -Fairfield Inn on Market -Courtyard on Market - Drury Inn Union Station -St. Louis Hotel at Union Station

This. Assuming these events take place and there is some crossover with other events down in Orlando, I think there is a good chance we come out of this with a stronger non-conference schedule then what we had on paper just last month.

Yeah, I'd imagine there is some sort of force majeure clause in their contract they are using to get out of it.

Good point re: Tate. I don't necessarily mean a full-time assistant. Can you just contract out one or two recruiters? I don't know how this all works but guessing that is definitely not allowed.

First line under his/her Twitter handle says "Former President of @Georgetown". I stopped reading after that. Since we're on the topic of former Cardinal Ritter standouts, what are Jahidi White and Loren Woods up to? Are either involved in basketball? I saw White at Three Kings in the Loop a year or two back and good god almighty he is a big dude. Why not give one of these dudes or someone similar (former college star who has returned home to STL) a shot at recruiting STL kids for SLU? Wonder how effective the "You don't have to go to Georgetown/Wake Forest/Arizona like I did to get drafted. Stay in STL, become a hometown hero, then get drafted" narrative would be. Can you have a part time assistant on the payroll?

Agreed. Kern is a must get in my opinion. He's a perfect fit for SLU and it's vital they continue building on their relationship with Vashon. I guess it's unfair to expect a replacement for Goodwin. He's pretty much irreplaceable. I'm a greedy bastard though....I don't want to just be competitive in the A10, I want to dominate March Madness. It's also fair to expect progress from Yuri, Hargrove, Bell, and Jimmmerson but I'm not convinced Thatch will ever be back to 100% and I'm not convinced our 2020 class will pan out. I need to trust the process and let Ford do his thing. That's why he gets paid the big bucks and I'm on here whining like a little bitchh.

Favorite NBA player growing up. Wore this t shirt every day to WashU basketball camp: No one seems to be worried about our 2021 recruiting class and while I'm obviously hoping it turns out to be a strong one for us, @NH's earlier comments ("...we're now in October and we don't seem like we have any players close to committing") have been on my mind the past few weeks. Love the Okoro signing, love our current roster, and the players we have coming in this season, but still a little worried about replenishing the cupboards. We are losing a lot of manpower after this season. I'm sure we will pick up a "late bloomer" in the spring and a grad transfer in the summer but does that really move the needle?