HoosierPal

Most people have TrollPants on Ignore. But your copy is funny, TrollPants doesn't know the difference between Springfield IL and Springfield MO?

Wow. Ground breaking news. Tate would like Watson to come to SLU. Who would have thought? Amazing inside information. I'll go out on a limb here. Ford would like him also. And I'm not an insider.

The McGinty's live in Kirkwood, about 3/4 mile from the KHS soccer field. Besides soccer, Sean was a pretty good 3200 meter runner for the track team.

You will probably be banned for such blasphemy. HOWEVER, I also have some unanswered questions about Graves. But I truly, truly hope he sets the standard by which we measure all future short Billikens. I hope we place him above Jett, McCall and Mitchell and fondly talk about him and Waldman as equals. (I yes I know Waldman wasn't short. I moved the goal posts - deal with it.) That being said, Pistol stated he left Boston College as he was relegated to back up for an All Freshman ACC Point Guard. I am not doubting that. So he leaves BC to be a back up to what we hope is an All A-10 Freshman Point Guard. Please explain. BC numbers sum up to 11 games, 207 minutes, 38% FG, 36% threes (19 of 50), 60% FT (3 of 5), 0 steals (defense?), 18 assists and 18 TO. Yes, the ratio is 1.00. If we had a returning player with these stats, uncle jack and TGlory & TDays would be calling for him to transfer. Many MBM's state that Ford has 'guaranteed' Goodwin the starting PG slot, along with all the minutes he can handle. So how did that conversation go between Ford and Graves? "Ty, I want you to come to SLU. I've already guaranteed Goodwin the starting PG, but you can back him up. You no chance of ever starting here at SLU". If he will be primarily an off guard, the waiting list is long next season even assuming Ford plays 3 wings/guards. Wing players can and will include just about everyone except French, Foreman and Anthony. Yes, Johnson and Welmer can/do play on the wing. I'm wondering too where he fits in. And like you, I hope I'm wrong.

I'm positive I saw 5 MST . (Or was it 4 PST?)

Same can be said for Graves. His PPG numbers define inconsistency. 18, 6, 2, 6, 3, 0 ,13, 3, 6, 2, 0. The outliers appear to be the 18 and 13 points. Hard to predict what he will be on a roster deeper than Boston College had last year.

There is an interesting book, "How to Lie with Statistics" by Darrell Huff. I picked it up in Grad School. You are correct, if you don't like someone's use of a stat, you can easily find something, or display the data differently, to back up your point.

Sorry, TGlory and TDays called it first. You get no credit. Definitely a No Confidence issue.

Coach listed Roby as third on his list in the '8 seconds left' question on radio. Now, the assumption is that Coach, in fact, listed the players in order, but perhaps he was just talking without considering this a true order. Probably reading too much into this single statement, as we all do with everything Coach says or doesn't say. I also assume that if Bishop wasn't in his current thoughts on rotation, he wouldn't have included him in the remark. The Fast Lane asked Coach "if there are 8 seconds left on the clock and you have the ball, who do you call the play for?" He answered, in this order, Goodwin, AD, Roby, Bess and Bishop.

We went to the Katie's in Rock HIll. Four of us each got an individual pizza. I don't think any of the four were impressed. Way too much sodium on all of the pizza's. We left probably 1/3 of the total order on the table - no one interested in boxing it up and having it later. And the bill was too high; just under $100 with four pizzas, drinks and tip. Place was noisy, but many of you will enjoy that. It was hard having a conversation without yelling. What was impressive was the salad and pasta dishes being served to others seated around us. If there is a next time, I'll try one of those. In my opinion, there are better pizza opportunities in STL. I will say it was a popular place. Had to wait for outdoor seating where a singer was performing, so we took a table indoors. So obviously there are many who don't share my opinion.

Thanks SLUBalls for the recap. I wasn't at any of the three exhibition games, but looking at the box scores, yes, Coach was doing a lot of experimenting. Looking forward to watching Kidd in some upcoming matches. Also noted that Kentucky was a NCAA tourney team last year. Noticed that TrollPants crawled out from the bog to comment. I'm not interested enough in the comment to take him/she/it off of Ignore. But I guarantee you it is negative; still upset about being cut as a Soccer Manager.

True for sure. I've had GloriaDays on Ignore for most of the summer. Definitely came from his alternate personality. Yeah, I know, why don't I have both his names on Ignore. My bad.

June 6, 2017 “Jordan could definitely play the point,” Ford said recently. “He has the mentality and is a very unselfish, vocal guy. He reminds me a lot of Marcus Smart. I made him a point guard because I liked his mentality and approach to the game, and Jordan has a lot of the same qualities, but he’s played more point guard than Marcus at this point.” Goodwin said those specifics have not been discussed but that he would be comfortable in that role.

In an earlier interview Coach Ford stated that Goodwin, Bishop and Roby as his "ball handlers by committee".

I doubt if too many A10 Coaches would have Roby on as an underrated player. He averaged 12.9ppg in A10 games, and shot 41% from behind the line in those games. I do agree that Welmer's injury has very likely hindered his development. I'm not sure he would be underrated either. I'm not sure who that would be. Maybe Johnson?

World Cup qualifiers will be played in at least one MLS stadium. We don't have one.

There are a number of MLS soccer stadiums on the list.

34 cities in the US have been contacted as potential venues for the 2026 World Cup. Guess what city isn't on the list?

This is the best analysis of the squad that I have seen. Good job RUBills. There are up's and down's for each player. Some players will exceed expectations, some will meet expectations, and some will fall short. As you say, let's see how it plays out. It will be interesting to see how the team chemistry develops.

Congratulations to Coach Martin for buying himself the 4th ranked recruiting class. We now know that for at least $1.125 million, you can be #4. (We don't know if any of the other players received spending money.) I suggest that for $1.125 M and a #4 class, the expectation for Martin is at a minimum, Elite Eight, or maybe even Final Four. Anything less, well I would consider it a colossal waste of taxpayer money, and/or an abject failure of the program. Pressure is on.

According to the University Academic Calendar on the SLU Website, first semester finals are Dec 13-19. Final grades are due 5 PM on Dec 21. Not sure how the official end of the semester is defined, but the Dec 22 game v SEMO for sure is after the finish line.

Roby, Roby, Roby. I still don't understand why one poster in particular said he wouldn't get off the bench this season due to Bess being on the Squad. I guess Coach Ford has a different set of criteria than this self proclaimed expert talent evaluator. I will say you have backed off your initial ludicrous statement of bench time for Roby. Now you admit Roby will be a good role player. Yeah as in offense, defense and leadership roles.

Yes. Coach mentioned Adonys on a Coach's show and referred to him as AD. When Rammer asked, he said that was his nickname and what the players and coaches all called him.

Wow, the dancing is...well....Coach, don't quit your day job. Thanks for sharing. Roby was front and center in Coach's leadership comments. He then complimented Bess for being in the gym 6 AM every day. It's all there on the tape, 3 PM segment, close to the end. Perhaps others don't want to hear what Coach has to say but would rather make up stuff? https://www.101sports.com/show_notes/fast-lane-august-10-2017-rally-cat-real/

Nice interview with Coach. He began by fielding questions about his 'dancing'. I guess I missed that, but apparently he was on social media due to some dancing at practice. He said scheduling was particularly tough as with 8 or 9 new players, he wanted a tough schedule but with an "unproven team" [he used that phrase twice] it was tough matching a schedule with a the potential talent of the team. He mentioned that Campbell has the second leading returning scorer in teh NCAA. I looked him up, Clemons averaged 25 ppg last season. 'We are still trying to figure out a lot of things." 'We are still defining roles." [My interpretation is that he wanted a tough schedule, but not too tough. He wanted to challenge the team but not bury them OOC.] He wants future schedules to be more challenging. The Fast Lane asked Coach "if there are 8 seconds left on the clock and you have the ball, who do you call the play for?" He answered, in this order, Goodwin, AD, Roby, Bess and Bishop. When asked who is the Leader on the Team, who does everyone look to, and knows, is the leader, he responded Roby first and Bess second. He said Goodwin likely will grow into that role, he has the personality to be a leader, but 'He has to earn it." Nothing is given out on this team. Finally when talking about recruiting locally, he said yes he emphasizes it, but the fit has to be right. So the MBM's who want every local to be recruited, you might heed Coach's statement on fit. [Players not mentioned in the interview were Anthony, French, Foreman, Graves, Hines, Johnson, and Welmer. I'm sure there are some MBM's that will take that and run with it to set up rotations. I recommend not doing that.]