johnbj14

Definitely. To rip off several sports movies, “our team in on the floor.” I hope like nothing else this team is better than expected. I’m ultimately expecting similar to what you described. My bigger fear is that it comes to pass and there’s no real pressure to change the status quo.

I don’t think it’s being on the extreme end of the spectrum to ask for more than one tournament appearance in 7 years. Travis Ford has 2.5 million reasons to figure out how to make the dance. Obviously everyone here is rooting for the program to succeed first and foremost, but this attitude that everyone has to sit back and just enjoy whatever the season is doesn’t make an ounce of sense.

It does give me a bit of relief to know that stuff is happening, particularly the recent event that @shempie is mentioning. That being said, they absolutely should be publicizing this stuff. As others have said, SLU has made a habit of relying on a small group for large donations. That’s great, but that isn’t how you take a step forward. Eventually you need new dollars, and today’s small donors might one day be big ones. Using social media to showcase the wins the BVF are having might incentivize more fans to toss a few bucks here and there.

I’d be willing to guess Saint Mary’s or VCU gets called ahead of us if that’s the case.

Those 3 are much bigger brands than our Billikens and have football. SLU is a basketball-only school that has struggled to win consistently in a conference that is much worse than the Big 12. SMU is an interesting case of a booster base willing to shell out absurd money for a seat at the table, but was combined with a forward thinking Athletic Department. Recent years don’t suggest we have that same ambition or willingness to spend.

Gonzaga is in the conversation because they win a ton, are a national brand, and will draw TV dollars. We have zero of those things at the present moment, and have no argument. SLU to the Big 12 is one of the most absurd things ever put forth on this board.

Conference talk is great, and yeah we should want the other schools to improve and bring up their standards. But at the end of the day, 99% of the problems with SLU basketball are self-inflicted. The program has to win more, period. Doesn’t matter if it is the A-10, the Valley, Big East, or anything in between. Our current annual 22 wins gets you a handshake and a nice seat on the couch for the tournament.

I’m not sure I agree with a single point made here. If you’re so adamant on this moving down strategy working, show some examples of when it’s worked. Dropping down to the MVC with this brain trust of May and Ford won’t lead anywhere. Maybe we have an additional bid in Ford’s tenure, but we’re not anywhere closer to being a consistent tournament team. The markets matter for recruiting. We’re recruiting guys from Philly, NY, Richmond, etc. far more often than Evansville. St. Louis is not THE major market in the A-10. We’re largely an afterthought to Mizzou. Dayton and VCU both outdraw us and are the big game in town.

Can’t disagree more. If we drop down, we will never come back up. It sucks being in an east coast league, but the games are in mostly major metro areas and the A-10 has multiple national TV agreements. Drop to the MVC and you literally play in 1 major metro market, and never on national TV. Might as well fold the program if you do that.

I fully agree, and think we’ve seen the ceiling of what Ford can do here. At the end of the day, he’s a coach that gives programs a high floor, but who will usually not maximize the talent on his rosters. It’s largely why he has only led 2 teams to the NCAA Tournament in the 15 years he’s been at the mid-major level. He was the same coach at OK State, but had a better conference to fall back on.

SLU finds themselves in a classic chicken or the egg situation. Wins will bring more NIL dollars, but NIL dollars will bring more wins. If SLU made the Sweet 16 last year in your example, there would be more money. You’re right, SLU won’t fully close the gaps compared to state schools. But consistently winning at a level higher than what SLU is now will hopefully lead to more donors on the NIL side.

Bingo. More importantly, it isn’t sustainable, because more people will adopt the mentality that this is just how things are. Either the program needs to shock everyone and have a huge year, or the house has to be cleaned.

You are correct. On a radio interview before Brooklyn, he said TH was asked to come off the bench late in the season because he was going to start this season, and become an all-conference player in the process.

Terrence Hargrove was listed at 6’6 in high school and 6’4 in college, which seems more accurate. Height and weight are typically overstated in the recruiting process.

There isn’t really a regular season finish this year that gives me faith the direction is correct, but you’re right that being picked 9th is fair. If the team finishes 9th, there better be changes at the top of the program in the spring.

This is a schedule a first year coach would put together when their team is a complete unknown. Pretty big step down from the last few seasons…

I bet they are picking Duquesne.

Kuany Kuany

This is the most important thing, period. SLU would be in consideration if the BE is told to expand by their TV partners if men’s basketball won consistently at a much higher level. Unfortunately the performance the last decade hasn’t indicated we’d be anything more than DePaul in the BE. The A-10 is, for better or worse, the best fit for now.

I’ll be going to the game at Loyola regardless, because SLU only plays close to home so often, but it is a huge letdown that the game is on a weeknight. Regardless of how either program projects to be, those games should be on a weekend. Let’s face it, we don’t have many actual rivals in this conference, largely due to geography. Getting these games on the weekend could help us actually grow one with Loyola.

The roster page is poorly worded, but it does not say he has 2 years remaining. He has one year of eligibility remaining and is listed as a senior. SLU lists players based on how many years they have left. With the waiver, guys get 5 healthy years, including JUCO time. This is Dalger’s 5th year of college ball, making it his final year.

As much as it is nice having someone in the media to advocate for the program, Frank basically parrots whatever he’s told. Curcic could be a difference maker, but as a late arrival to campus, might not play a ton early on.

Yuri’s position as one of our two best defenders is probably debatable enough to the point where I shouldn’t have said that. Francis Okoro was a good defender though. He wasn’t the same level as French, but there will be a significant drop off from last year to this one on the inside, if what people have seen on Bruce is accurate. His length made up for a lot of missed rotations from other players on the court.

It’s kind of a mixed bag, but I think I land on the thought our defense will be slightly worse. We lost our two best defenders, Yuri and Francis. We also lost some guys who weren’t exactly fantastic on that end, so maybe a little addition by subtraction. Of the people who are stepping up in playing time/are new this year, I’m only really confident that Larry will be good on defense.

Don’t think this was Harriman who was lead on Meadows. SLU was in contact with him before Chris came on staff. Travis coached Mike Meadows Sr. in high school, so guessing that had a lot to do with it.