Billikenboy

MY and AY are aggressive players. Coaches need them but they must be developed properly so that aggression pays off because their skills have been properly harnessed. Most importantly the reps they need to make those shots effective must also be there. Alot of time both kids look like they are just making it up as they go along. Not good for the team. Winning is not luck and neither is making those kinds of buckets.

I could not have said it any better. Thank you Sir. If I am a player at SLU I would not depend on this staff to develop me. They get a low grade for this season for obvious reasons. I see why the ACC coaches in their interview earlier this year stated that the era of player development has changed to the point that players are individualistic (headphones and all). Players come in with their own trainers for basketball skills and strength development. It is up to the coaches now to take those collective talents and make a team out of it while those players are being trained by those they are confortable with. We are doing everything in house at SLU which means our kids are behind because the staff is not able to provide that growth. Maybe it is time to use some of that budget to actually bring in trainers that develop each player in conjunction with what SLU needs. The kids would be confident and their talents would show on the court. Crawford has a high vertical leap but you would never know it watching him. Love to see that kid with explosion to bring his game to head. Time has come for this staff to check themselvs. In house is killing every last one of them! Here is a clue get the best trainers St Louis and surrounding areas have to offer and employ their services to do what you are not able to do. Everyone of these kids needs one. Going to your practice is not enough. These boys need to enter next season hungry and ready to take the A10 by storm. It will not happen if things continue business as usual. I wonder what kind of player JM could have become if he was not solely dependent on this staff to make him the best player he could possibly be. Nuff said!

The lesson here is never give the keys to the palace to bunch of Freshman at the start of the season like JC did and expect to get it back when things are not going well. That is the problem I see when I look at guys like BJ and MY. Their disdain shows on on the court where it can plainly be seen and when they are off the floor. In JC's defense the player have to take some responsiblity in their actions off and on the floor specifically when in games with their teammates. If they stay they will have to change but if they go it will still be better for the team together after the same goals. No one person is so great to sacrifice this team for and if guys like MY have quit already on the team and the season enroute to another coaching staff, I wish that staff the best of luck in getting a player that may only be out for himself. The whole situation is an embarrassment for SLU and specifically on this staff.

For those of us on this board that have some access I will state that RA has a very potent midrange and longrange game but was told from day one when this season started to play on the inside in order for SLU to have a real inside presence. He is the only player we have that could do it successfully. Unlike some of the players on here he has always done what was asked of him without questioning the sense in it on the floor. Granted to me that is some old school bull but the team has needed that and he has certainly arrived in that department as long as the there is a willingness on our perimeter guys to get the ball in the post to him. Moving without the ball is an area he needs to work on in the off season to improve on his scoring as well solidifying his ball handling to connect the dots to become a more versatile scorer. If I am JC and Crew starting this tournament and going forward I would remove the clamps and let the kid just play basketball and we will see his shooting touch come to life. For right now he serves as a limited big on purpose thanks to this staff. Since we are on this subject I will also state that the Strength and Conditioning Coach for SLU has done a phenomenal job of developing strong players but he is certainly dropping the ball on developing our players to have speed and explosiveness. We are sorely lacking in that dept and it shows as I watch guys like MY, AY, MC, RA, DR and others. I will hold my tongue for now. Carry on.

Should we even show up?

Muller would be a good fit at SLU. Young, energetic, and a real developer of young talent. Time will tell. Maybe JC and staff start to think outside of the box in a10 playoffs.

Pattern of guys not listening to JC continues. Sign of who might be on the way out. This season has been a blast!

Our man Reggie finally gets that double -double! Hopefully a sign of things to come. He certainly worked for it but missed some easy ones along the way. MC with a good game as well.

This game is so winnable but as long as we keep trying to get cheap offensive fouls instead of playing solid defense and actually blocking some shots, we will be in foul trouble in no time. Refs are not giving us any breaks. Gotta take game from them.

Do not add Georgia!

True that. Yeh...we really twisted that concept this season didn't we.

We are not giving PT to bums. All these kids deserve the PT they get and have the talent to play at this level. SLU is not doing them a favor. If we did not give them that PT another program would.

RA is old school and so are his people so I do not expect the kid will move on. Its got nothing to do with age just that he has learned alot and will stay the course to continue growing in the game. If anything he will play for his teammates even if this staff keep mishandling him and his development. I am confident the RA that steps on the floor next season will be a force to be reckoned with. After fighting through a tough rehab of his right arm and getting where he is experiencing some setbacks along the way I just do not see such a move being made. If RA stayed after his recruiter Whitesell left then that says alot about the type of young man he is. Thats my 2 cents!

I will stay quiet on this one. Best to see season close before putting in my two cents.

I do not agree with your statement about RA or MC but you are spot on about JC having a problem. Hopefully at season end we will maintain a solid core of kids that will stay and continue to grow. This staff opened a door for some kids this season and those kids are now emboldened to do things their way. Reining that in is now a problem. Here is a stat from last night that should alarm everyone watching. How many assists did our guards dime out vs GM? 2 lovely ones. Hmmmmmm.

Some will show up to play unfortunately not all of them will. I mentioned last week about the potential for multiple guys to be lost in the off season shuffle. Well it is starting to play out on the court. Enjoy?

Whoaaaaaaaa!?!

Good...we stand a chance to pull out another win. Lets go Bills!

All of them!

He definitely has a jumpshot but in watching him I think the staff has emphasized his scoring come from the inside in order to establish post presence. We already have too many shooters in this roster so I can understand why the emphasis is to keep him in the blocks but I would tell him shoot the rock if you are open. Offense is offense however you can get it.

Teams have to play together for extensive periods in order to develop continuity. Seems like there is an emphasis to do so now and we need to keep doing that. The individual improvements of these kids will continue with more team play as well.

Pistol and others who saw RA play today are right that his use at the 5 is not going to help his development since he is a 4 but for now using him at that 5 at times and MY at the 4 will be effective based on certains teams we play. But I say playing the 4 and 5 will allow him to gain valuable in game mins to solidify his place on the evolving team. RAs stat line does not reflect all he did today but I for one enjoyed his defensive performance. The main area he affected was the rebounding. Not what he rebounded but what his presence allowed SLU to outrebound Lasalle in the 2nd half. That kid always has his body on bigs which allows others a chance to collect the loose boards. We do not box out well but his big body allows our guys time to get easy boards. That is where his main contribution was this afternoon. Stats do not always tell the story. Either way thanks for the win boys. Lets get another one.

Great game by the guys. Lotsa of mins to go around and the boys worked it out even with the comfortable lead Lasalle had in 1st half. Good job by the staff! Way to lead with a battleplan. I know now they are reading this board!

Either that or he is Cali bound!?

Funny how this article reflect everthing I have stated on this board. We spend so much time looking at individual players and talking about what they are doing, are not doing, and could do when the real elephant in the room is this staff. That is a staff that is not together in terms of cohesiveness. Development has been sparse based on the factors that are totally under their control. Why would you seemingly pull players out of games for mistakes. Games are where they learn and make those adjustments but players get yanked and you may not see them for the rest of the game or till the next one or even stranger.... many games later. You graduate your whole starting lineup, you have a few kids that were there the year before that barely saw any time, your most experienced players are an undersized 2 guard and a big man who really did not see that much time either. Scatter in 3 talented sophomores who did not play much last year on a senior laden team, a transfer who did not see much time at his previous school either, and some really talented freshmen. When you look at those players today who has really surprised in terms where they were at the beginning of the season and where they are now. The kids have grown but are they a better team today than they were at the onset of the season. I do not see it. Every player should be much further today but even that is hard to judge. I fault this Staff for lack of player development and a lack of systematic game plan that has not fostered continual ggrowth throughout the season. At this stage in the season we should be a more solid team defensively and offensively. Defensively the team is better but there are certain defensive principles this team does not need just based on purely being more athletic than the last group. Offensively we are dying and the reasons are too numerous to go into. All I see are constant game by game gimmicks to compete but no set system. When the gimmick does not work (usually in 1 to 2 plays) we scrap it and move to the next one. In doing so, players who need the time and experience are being pulled out to go to the next gimmick. Here is a clue...you have talented players play the best one using the best defense you are good at and play real offensive sets that utilize the players individual strengths. Through that your new system will emerge but most impotantly play your system for extended periods to build continuity. Do not pull kids for mistakes for lack of effort..yes. Most good teams have a set of defensive and offensive sets they push down the throat of opponents and force them to defend it. What are ours? Earlier in the season I chose to look specifically at this problem being the players fault that they were not developing but I am convinced now that this staff has let the players down and has not shown the leadership this team needs. So if the staff cannot lead how can they expect the kids to do it. I also look at individual player behavior on the floor towards teammates and coaches...there is some really bad stuff going on there which has contributed to the lack of offensive potency. At the start of this season we knew this team could score. That was never an issue but somehow we ended up here. Most on this board seem to think that the only concern is who this staff will let go at the end of the season but I think it is the other way around. Staff should be more concerned with who it will be able to keep. If the kids were losing each game and they were close ones because we played well defensively and offensively no one would be concerned because we could honestly say team will be much better next year. That is not the case and concern now has to be who will be here? With only so many games left what will change?