Crewsorlose

Welp, that went downhill quickly. It's still Easter. Happy Easter. Let's just fight over basketball!

Nobody is doubting this. But if it's the case, the deeper pocketed teams will simply pick up the transfers. So it's either get deeper pockets, be superior at identifying talent, or convince guys to stay. Those are the three paths to success. If you want SLU to finish between 4th and 8th in the A-10 every season, this is the path: constantly reshuffle the lineup, bury guys on the bench who might be able to play and want to stay, and fail to bring in any top 100 talent.

Do you want to be a program that consistently reshuffles 80-90% of the lineup every year, even though their resources indicate they'll be somewhere between 60th and 120th in an average season, or do you want to be a program that builds and develops players? There's absolutely zero point in Schertz bringing in freshman if they're just going to leave every spring. Zero point. He will never get top 100 players. We can point to McCottry but that guy was glued to the bench until Dotzler got injured and Hughes quit. And Schertz still played Kobe Johnson 3x as much. SLU can never be good if they don't develop their own players. Never. I think he runs a great system and has a great staff but if he can't figure out how to keep guys from leaving, he will not succeed. It's an overwhelmingly obvious point.

There's no 10mpg for Schertz. You are either one of the 6-7 rotation guys or you play zero minutes. Multiple games last year he made zero second-half subs.

I thought the whole point was that you earn your PT in practice. "Hey Max, we're hoping to recruit someone who's better than you." Isn't that encouraging, as opposed to "We're recruiting someone who you're definitely better than, so just take it easy this summer." Schertz gushed about Pikkar (and Dotzler). Either he's as full of sh-t as Ford was, or he's not creating good relationships with certain players.

Schertz isn't going to play the frosh 10 minutes/game. He wants a super tight rotation even for a team with no hope of the NCAA tourney. Next year he'll prefer to play Anya 34 mpg than let any of the underclassmen develop. I see no path forward if he doesn't change his thinking on playing time.

Yes, meant to say "unathletic." Too small and too slow.

If we keep everyone else, it's a massive win. I would have liked to hold on to Dotzler but maybe the medical outlook was bleaker than anyone realizes. Brockhoff had a nice collection of skills but was just too small and athletic to rebound and protect the rim in the A-10.

How would McCottry, glued to the bench in November, be "locked in" to the 2 guard spot over a player who was in the rotation before injured? Why would Dotzler be afraid of the competition to play the 1 or 2 guard when that competition is McCottry and a bunch of freshman. Maybe Dotzler, who was labeled as this totally awesome guy who was already married and a devout Christian decides to bail for reasons we'll never know. But the most probably reason is that he didn't like the coach and/or the school. If Schertz is some master of the portal who's going to recruit awesome players, that's great, but if he is what he says he is, someone interested in developing guys and trying to develop cohesion, it can't but reflect badly on him because Dotzler is one of those guys.

I think people on the board are minimizing the Dotzler news. He was definitely a top 7 rotation guy before all of the injuries to the team. He was slated to be a starter when McCotry was nailed to the bench and Warlick was told to redshirt. He was also a strong HS player who went to a perennial tourney team in Creighton who was top 25 his frosh year. He came to SLU to play and develop his game. Unless the injury is horrific, in which case it's unethical to run him out, I'd bet almost 100% that it was his choice to leave. And it reflects negatively on Schertz that Dotzler is leaving. Dotzler is precisely the kind of talent that should come here and develop. Casey looked incredibly unathletic in every appearance and it appears unlikely he makes an impact anywhere below low-major. No surprise. Assuming Brockhoff is next. I personally like Schertz but I think his job is on the line over the next month. If he can't bring in talent now, he never will. And if he can't convince guys to stay now, he never will.

The team won. Exerted more energy than they needed to after a hot start but they trailed about two total minutes. Loyola is comparatively ranked on Kenpom and looking to avenge the thumping they took on 3/1. It's a 50/50 game but we have the best players. Then it's a balls out game, most likely vs. VCU. I really hope the Schertz considers playing Warlick more in that game. His physicality was key in the victory over VCU.

The key is to come out ready to play. Most teams aren't used to playing this early. Davidson/Richmond was a rock fight. If the score is 7-8 at the 12 minute timeout, it's a bad sign. Hit them hard, take care of the ball, and get up early. Easier said than done. Whatever advantage we have over a team that played yesterday, Loyola will have tomorrow.

The key is to come out ready to play. Most teams aren't used to playing this early. Davidson/Richmond was a rock fight. If the score is 7-8 at the 12 minute timeout, it's a bad sign. Hit them hard, take care of the ball, and get up early. Easier said than done. Whatever advantage we have over a team that played yesterday, Loyola will have tomorrow.

This is kind of a silly point. Goodwin has been playing great for them. Full stop. He's played a ton of minutes because he's helping them win. Reddick has said he's a part of their rotation going forward. Goodwin is at the margins of the NBA for one reason: shooting. At most other things, he's above average, even for the NBA (rebounding, team defense, intangibles)

Honestly, who cares? This team is 2-10 in Quad 1 and 2 games. They have no depth because Schertz has ridden his starters into the ground. I hope they come out hot in DC next week and have an easy first game so they can keep up with a better team in the 2nd game. They're not winning three in a row, and certainly not winning four in a row. They lost the Dayton game because they're not very good and Schertz refuses to roll the dice and let Pikkar or Warlick try to swing the momentum when the starters are getting cooked. I love how hard they play; I love seeing McCottry show flashes that he can be all-conference. I love that we get to watch another year of Robbie. Looking back at 2019, how awesome was it? Sure, a great weekend but the team got the doors blown off it in the first round by an okay V-Tech. We're so far behind elite teams (2-10 says it all). What we should really aspire for is 2012-2014 when the team was tough as hell and in every game against really good teams.

We did. Just didn't buck up.

None of this is mysterious. He's already the centerpiece of the team. He'll handle the ball up top just like he's done for the past three years. He won't have to adjust a single thing. The only reason to leave would be to play with much better players and be on a top 25 team but then he wouldn't get to showcase his skills.

Now it's my turn to be the optimist. The core next year is Avila, Anya, McCottry, and Dotzler. That's somewhere to start. Let's hope Warlick and Pikkar stay. And if Thames can get healthy, they have a nice group of seven players. They clearly need ball-handing, rim protection, and another wing as Thames insurance. Jax Kerr is a top 150 player according to 247 hoops. Hutson looks like a keeper. I think 2-3 good transfers and this is a top 4 A-10 next year and a tourney contender, like they were this year before injuries.

I think a lot of it is the appeal to the transfer portal and the sense that young guards who aren't playing right out of the gate will look to reclassify. Tennessee brought him down for a visit this winter. I don't know if they offered. Given what Yuri did with a light offer list, I'd trust the pedigree and the eye test. He can score at three levels.

A core of healthy Thames, Dotzler, Anya, and Avila is a good place to start. Let's hope they keep the three current frosh (McCottry seems like he could be all-league as a junior). I imagine they move on from Casey and Brockhoff. They've signed the three frosh for next year. I suspect they try to get a Kobe Johnson type and an Anya type who can protect the rim a little from the transfer market. Also a score-first lead guard. I'd love it if they also picked up Zyree Collins. Absolute baller. I'll die on that hill.

Nobody is saying the team should tank. Schertz is starting the best 5 players. It's just about giving the frosh more opportunities. We're never going to compete if the core of the team is one-transfers as hired guns for the bag of money.

Wait, if they beat the starters why didn't they start? These are justifications but they aren't actually reasons. It's the one area where he reminds me of Ford and isn't anything like a thinking coach. He's just someone who's going to ride vets to death like Thibs.

I will follow SLU basketball until the last second of the season but it's time to be realistic and think ahead. I love Schertz but he's screwed the season by playing the vets 38mpg. They were never winning anything after the injuries. Jimerson and Swope are gone at the end of the season. Everyone is raving about the McCottry game but in the previous three games his minutes were 3, 2, and 5. He's played more than 8 minutes four times in 2025. He's supposed to be a future foundation piece? Why not play him more in a season that's about building something for next year? Bills are a classic mediocre+ team. 1-9 vs. Quad 1 and 2. They're fun but they're just not very good. Will Warlick, McCottry, and Pikkar want to stay because they've barely played and now they know if they aren't top 6 they're chained to the bench. And they'd all be much better prepared to play right now if they weren't always chained to the bench. Why not get these guys more reps with Robbie? The team has wilted at the end of games multiple times because they've been gassed. Anya is a nice player in the A-10 for 20-25 mpg. But he's a limited player. Why not let Pikkar play more? Is a team where Anya plays 34mpg really a team that is going to dance? But he's here next year so why send that message to the younger guys? There was a second half where Schertz didn't sub once. They bench played 12 minutes against Loyola and lost a late lead. That strategy makes sense on Sunday of the first weekend of the NCAA tourney but not in a season that's been over since December. By over, I don't mean all is lost, but that it's more about next year than this year.

I guess everyone went to the game because nobody's on the board. As frustrating as this season has been, the team played really well together. I wish McCotry had gotten more minutes all season.

The problem is that it took money away from a person like Yuri Collins. Bronny did nothing to distinguish himself at USC and had a health scare that would cause almost every team to back off. He can't shoot or ball-handle although he's a nice athlete with a feel for the game. It was entirely idiotic that he left for the pros after doing nothing at the college level. And idiotic of the Lakers to waste a pick on him. Sure, most 2nd rounders don't make it, but Jalen Wells was in the future stars, AJ Mitchell has been a rotation player for OKC, and about ten other 2nd rounders have made an impact. The Lakers are in no way good enough to punt on a 2nd round pick to appease Lebron. Quinten Post was drafted #52 and is helping the Warriors when games important for their seeding. It's gross what Lebron and the Lakers did. A slap in the face to every kid out their busting their ass to make the league and give their families wealth that they're unlikely to find elsewhere.