SouthSide_Billiken

Based on their actions (as outlined in this thread), current Athletic Department leadership doesn't seem to realize the importance of having a legitimate band. Furthermore, given the current trajectory of things, I am not sure we are capable of being big time without major changes. I am not sure they truly know how to be big time. Big time programs don't constantly screw up the details and overlook the little things.

Under current leadership, the Athletic Department has craved the creation of "new traditions." By scripting certain songs at certain moments, they believe they are creating "traditions." As noted above, "Final Countdown" occurs at the same timeout every game, even when the game isn't particularly close. In their eyes, this incredible tradition rivals the likes of Jump Around at Camp Randall Stadium. You also might have noticed them forcing the band to play "Living on a Prayer" every single game. The idea was to create a stadium sing-along, except they forgot to put up lyrics or prompts for people to sing. I guess they thought this would create the same vibe as Country Roads at Blues games. This hyper-scripting is consistent, however, with the culture of micromanagement that permeates the entire department (watch them all take orders via text from on high throughout the game). The band often has to "ask for permission" to play "Saints" after a big moment. Usually, that request is denied in favor of their scripted teeth rattling house music. In the past, this wasn't the case. The band had some ability to select songs to fit that night's instrumentation and to match certain moments in the game. That is what great bands are allowed to do. Unfortunately, members of the Athletic Department (who have zero musical experience or knowledge) put up obstacles. This type of micromanagement is not what happens at functional competent organizations.

To compare what was designed to be a basketball only pep band at a school like SLU to arguably the most acclaimed marching band in the country (Ohio State) is a bit ridiculous. There are virtually no similarities between an elite marching band and a basketball pep band. However, since you mention it, there are substantial scholarships available for students in the Ohio State marching band. They appear to have an established Band Endowment (https://www.tbdbitl.com/SOCform.pdf). Furthermore, based on an article from 2019, through private funding every member of the Ohio State marching band receives at least $3,000 (https://halftimemag.com/july-august-2019/ohio-state-raises-8-6-million-for-band-scholarships.html). Regardless, the point of bringing up the elimination of the modest stipend formerly provided to students in the pep band was to highlight another example of the Athletic Department "taking away" a perk of being in the band. And while I understand that one would think the Athletic Department wanting us at other sports indicates a desire for live music, this is not really accurate. They want the band there for window dressing on their terms. They don't really care about the quality of the product. In fact, a member of the Athletic Department once suggested that members of the band just show up and hit some drums at soccer games. Good leadership removes obstacles and puts people in a position to succeed. When it comes to the band, the Athletic Department does the exact opposite. It creates obstacles and puts the band in a position to fail.

"Higher Purpose. Greater Good." These four words are proudly displayed on nearly every correspondence SLU has with the general public. These four words will forever be seared into the minds of anyone associated with SLU for at least the past decade. Last night, the most prominent department at SLU, led by (or many would argue micro-managed by) arguably the single most incompetent leader at SLU chose to distance itself from these four words. As a student, adjunct faculty member in the Doisy College of Arts and Sciences, and Director of the World's Greatest Pep Band, Austin has devoted most of his life to SLU. Despite Austin pleading with members of the Athletic Department to not acknowledge his departure, they did it anyway - not because they wanted to thank Austin for his contributions to the University, but because they wanted to once again mask the culture of incompetence that has been the trademark of the Athletic Department under Chris May's watchful eye (competent organizations with good leadership don't have the level of turnover the Athletic Department has had in recent years). By portraying Austin's departure as a joyous "retirement", they attempted to save face. They hoped to avoid this exact discussion. They hoped to avoid questions as to the circumstances surrounding his sudden departure. All Chris May and his lemmings had to do last night was nothing - just as they had done for the past several years when presented with legitimate issues, including those involving the mental health of students. The Athletic Department under Chris May will never act in pursuit of a higher purpose or greater good. They have proven time and time again that they will always act in pursuit of self-interest, even at the expense of members of the University community and the University itself. Anyone considering continuing a bastardization of an institution that for many years provided more enjoyment to fans than the product on the floor needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. Fulfilling Chris May's stated dream of a small ensemble (of 20 or so people) is a tacit approval of his past actions towards the band and others who have poured their hearts and souls into everything SLU stands for. In this situation, taking a stand is how you promote a "higher purpose and greater good." Unfortunately, the World's Greatest Pep Band is dead. Long live the World's Greatest!

Isabell was part of the biggest comeback in NCAA history at Drexel. Just sayin. Win each 4 minute segment.

To be clear, in order to earn the right to express opinions on an online message board in which you partake one must be a big donor, father of a current player, or AAU coach? GIve me a break and get off your high horse. We can continue to argue in a circular manner because you will continue to criticize those who see things differently than you. Your opinion has no more credence than anybody else on this board. Get over yourself. The offense has not improved this season. Based on KenPom's metrics we are worse offensively this year than last year when we had a former walk-on playing significant minutes. I also don't think it is unreasonable to draw a comparison between Wiley and Jimmerson. They are similar in size. They are both shooters first and foremost. Neither are particularly quick. It is bizarre that this comparison has offended you. I also don't think it is unreasonable to have concern about the size of Yuri. He is listed at 5' 11" 175 pounds on VerbalCommits. It certainly isn't unreasonable to wonder if it will take some time before he is ready to play a major role on Day 1, especially given the physical style of defense he will be expected to play. And we can speculate all we want as to whether the offense would be efficient with the guys that left. But that is merely speculation. Would we see a legitimate offensive scheme with those guys on the roster? Who knows. I guess we'll see next year.

Clock. You have no clue who I am. You have no clue how much time I devote to SLU basketball. One's time on this board does not reflect how long one has followed the team. In fact you could argue long time posters calling relatively new posters foolish for stating a legitimate fear/opinion is why many great fans simply lurk on here without posting. I previously acknowledged that my hope is that this is just the long-term effects of the Title IX debacle. To say that it is not fair to question what is going on right now is the real foolish part of this thread. We all were pretty pumped about Tremaine, Wiley, and Gordon. Isabell has turned it over excessively. Wiley has been hurt. Before his departure Gordon merely showed flashes. Furthermore, you cannot deny that some blame falls on the coaches. The turnovers, the lack of an offense, the bad plays out of timeouts. The talent has drastically improved but the offensive results have not. You cannot go deep in March if you cannot score. Hopefully next years talent is put in a position to succeed and they thrive immediately. We'll just have to wait and see on that one. I really appreciate your help, though.

Hope the coaching puts them in a position to succeed. That's what I am most skeptical about. As our talent has improved our ability to score has not.

I agree that on paper the incoming talent is great. I imagine Jimmerson will be similar to Wiley but hopefully healthy and thus more consistent. I imagine Perkins will be unique compared to this year's roster. Hargrove is another athlete with a slashers first mentality. Yuri is unique in that he's a true point guard. But I am concerned about his size. I am also concerned with JGood not having the ball in his hands because that seemed to hurt him earlier this year when Isabell was running the point. Im really hoping for a stretch four/high post kind of big. I was also optimistic about the incoming class this year and didn't foresee any issues. I hope you are right and they impress next year. We cannot keep having high expectations with results that fall short of those expectations if we want to build the type of long-term success we desire.

With regards to recruiting, I am starting to fear that he doesn't recruit with any sort of plan. Sure we have athletes and size. But the parts seemingly really don't fit together and they definitely don't fit a slow grind it out inefficient style of offense. French and Gordon and by all reports Santos all were very similar in style and court preferences. Jgood and isabell both need the ball. In comparison, Conklin complemented Loe in style. Mccall and Jett complemented each other stylistaclly. Chemistry matters. I fear that chemistry on the court is being overlooked on the recruiting trail.

Until today, I was one of the few who thought that we would still win the conference regular season. I thought that might be enough to give us an at-large bid with a solid performance in the conference tournament. I was also one of the many who thought that we would build on this year's success next year. My opinion has changed because I no longer believe that Travis Ford can maximize the talent on the roster. He is a wonderful representative of the University. He says all the right things as the face of the athletic department. He gets his teams to play with a great deal of intensity on the defensive end of the ball. Despite all of these things, I do not believe that he knows how to create an offense that maximizes the team's talent. Even if he could create a brilliant offensive scheme, I just do not know if he can effectively communicate that scheme to his players. When players miss open looks, that is on the players. I don't believe that our offense puts them in a great position to consistently make shots. They are constantly rushing at the end of the shot clock. There is no movement away from the ball. They dribble too much. The offense is stagnant and inefficient. Our set plays out of timeouts are atrocious. All summer we heard about our high flying athleticism. We heard about an up-tempo attack. We heard about a different, more fun style of basketball. This has not materialized. What makes anybody think that next year will be any different? Here are some numbers to put things in perspective. Our KenPom Adjusted Offensive Efficiency thus far is 98.5 (i.e., the number of points we would score given 100 possessions). That places us at 271st in the nation out of 353 teams. Here are some teams that are currently better than us on offense: Fordham (9-11); South Alabama (9-11); James Madison (9-12); and UMKC (7-13). I haven't studied those teams, but I can't imagine that they could come close to matching our athleticism and talent level. Last season, our Adjusted Offensive Efficiency was 102.1 (good for 225th in the nation). Jim Crews' final year our Adjusted Offensive Efficiency was 96.9. This years offense is closer to the 2015-2016 season than it is to even last year's team. Regardless of your comparison, this team has way more athleticism and talent. But alas, Ford cannot capitalize on that. Given this reality, I am finding it hard to remain optimistic about this season and the future unless we are somehow able to reinvent ourselves on offense. We certainly have the ability to get hot and win the conference tournament on defense and timely buckets, but the long-term sustainability of our style of play just isn't there. The only hope I have is that we are still suffering the long-term effects of the ineptitude of Pestello and the Title IX office's handling of last year. Perhaps if we had the roster Ford envisioned we'd see a different product. Even then, I am skeptical. I am sick and tired of waiting for next year. Hopefully, the staff can figure this out and give these guys a chance to succeed the rest of the way.

DJ is incredibly awful today. It truly is incredible for somebody to look so awful.

I really enjoy the official's comments on Ford's T. "A combination of everything." They had it out for the boys early tonight.

Thus far, we've had a problem after emotional wins. After our big win at Seton Hall we laid an egg against Pitt. After the dominant win over Butler we failed to show up at Carbondale. I'd categorize our win against St. Joe's as a fairly emotional win especially after the scuffle at the end. Then we came out tonight and played our worst game of the year. For whatever reason we seem to lose our edge after big wins. Part of it is tired legs, but I feel like a larger part of it is a lack of focus which explains the ridiculous number of turnovers. As a veteran team with postseason aspirations, we have to find a way to overcome this. The coaching staff needs to find a way to help the players keep their edge. On to Saturday. It is absolutely a must win.

French was not even close to that play.