[Prospective Head Coaches]

Howland could be a good get - he's a big name, has a history of success, and is a very good recruiter (even if his coaching ability may be a little suspect). Amaker would be a bad decision - not a great track record there, and I have doubts about the Coach K coaching tree.

[HC Selection Timeline]

Why do so many on this Board put their head in the sand with respect to the level of support, financial and otherwise, for our basketball program?

I state the following as a reality check - not to be negative. For those who are still intoxicated with all the Blue Kool-aid you have been downing all year, and for those who believe it is too soon to discuss these topics, and for those who only want to read positive and overly optimistic thoughts, then I am warning you: STOP READING!!

1. JC did a great job this year under extreme circumstances and probably was the best person for the job. Congratulations Jim. I was wrong about you earlier in the year.

2. This was the best Billiken season I have ever witnessed and I go back to the hiring of Grawer.

3. I am thankful for Fr. Biondi in finally getting us the new arena and for Dr. C and others in hiring RM

4. I am thankful for RM for getting us to heights we are at -- higher than I thought before RM.

5. I am thankful for BC, KM, CE and all the others who chose to come here to SLU, who gave SLU all they had and for this year's Bills who chose to stay and give JC all they had.

With all that said, we won only one (1) game in the NCAA Tourney and this was "our year." We are without our HOF coach, KM and CE and we only have our super Juniors for one (1) more year. We beat Butler three (3) times and certainly should be proud of that accomplishment but this was Butler's "down" year, they are reloading, they have a really special coach, they are going to the new BE next year and even in their down year, they went as far as we did -- and lost to a tough Marquette team by only 2 points on a game which could have gone either way. Butler played great yesterday -- better than their talent would suggest. They were one shot away from another Sweet Sixteen in their down year -- not a 20 point blowout loser -- and they still have two (2) Championship Final appearances on their resume.

As to Xavier, they lost all their major contributors last year to graduation and transfers, this was to be a total rebuilding year and yet they still were a factor in the A10, they beat us again this year despite our Junior/Senior laden team and they came close to make the NCAA Tourney. They are now reloading, they also are going to the new Big East and they have a string of NCAA Tourney appearances, including Sweet Sixteen and Elite 8 appearances on their resume.

Not only are we not on the level of Butler or Xavier but as per the financial figures on the prior thread, we have a budget of $3.1 million (and this is with Dr. C and Novelly) while Marquette, Georgetown and Villanova have well-known coaches, sustained success and budgets hovering $10 million while Villanova has a budget of $7 million. The Marquette we knew at the end of Conference USA is long gone. In the midst of this, we are hoping a guy like Jim Crews will keep the sustained growth, accomplishments and upward trend (which RM put in place) all because Crews somehow knows RM's system and can keep this going? Really?? Other than hope and prior accomplishments by RM, what gives everyone the optimism that Crews can and will coach different than his track record suggests? Other than the home runs we hit by the big splash hirings of veteran coaches of Spoon and RM, there is nothing to suggest that SLU will maintain the success its has enjoyed these past two (2) years by returning to its fiscally conservative ways, its small-minded approach to hiring coaches and the belief that recruits and success will come without a truly special coach. We are at a crossroad and need to hit another home run!!

This.

[It's time to bring back chartered flights and hire the best possible recruiter/head coach/etc.]

BillikenLaw is spot-on. Jim Crews has done a fantastic job this season, and deserves all the praise in the world for overcoming the adversity that surrounded this program. But that doesn't mean he deserves a contract. Crews has a lengthy history of mostly mediocre team performance: He's an "Xs and Os guy," not a recruiter. And unfortunately, that's not good enough. Not anymore.

Granted, it's possible that his performance may improve with the added weight of SLU/Chaifetz Arena behind him. But by how much? We're looking for a coach who can continue to build on this momentum. And with Crews, I can't shake that feeling that we'd be simply retreading an old tire. I also worry that he may still have one foot out the door.

(To borrow a friend's analogy, Crews seems very similar to Bruce Weber - at Illinois and now a K-State - here. That is, he's taking over another coach's team, and having a lot of success. But once those recruits are gone, and it falls on Weber/Crews to supply his own players, things falls apart and the program reverts to mediocrity.)

We need someone who can both coach and recruit. We need a name that establishes SLU's commitment to basketball. Of course, we're not going to attract the Brad Stevens or Bill Selfs of the world. But, hey, what about Ben Howland? It's also fair to acknowledge that, at this point, SLU is a stepping stone program. If a coach has a lot of success here, he's probably not going to stay forever. But, then, that's how you build a program these days - in incremental steps. Get a coach to build you program; he leaves; you get another coach to build on his momentum. Until one day you're the program that other schools are looking up to.

And finding the right coach is only the first step. There needs be full commitment to the program by the SLU administration; let's put some of that endowment to work. Every flight needs to be chartered. Our online presence - a massive recruiting tool these days - needs to be improved. We need to generate more support in the St. Louis community. And we need to continue (and bolster) the programs that get students in the seats, and excited about their team (e.g. ticket giveaways, free concessions, etc.)

This is a vital time for the program. We're achieving unprecedented success, and we're looking to join a new, top-tier conference in the Big East. Let's do this right. Instead of reverting back to our old ways, let's continue to build, and set the program up for success for years to come.