I have written to Pres. Bush

[DoctorB]

I have written Pres. Bush about the situation in Iraq. I just do not want to see even more escalation.

I am pretty sure he is now going to reconsider, and start bring home the troops.

I am now thinking about writing to the leaders of iran, Venzuela, and North Korea.

what do you guys think?

[moytoy12]

LOL. Is President Bush able to read the letter?

[Basketbill]

nm

[Billsboys]

>nm

Dr. B,

Watch out, the right wing nut jobs on this board will have you banned for this post!

[Billiken Rich]

And that makes it even funnier......

[DoctorB]

I am sure they already know me as a tenured radical, or some such stereotype.

anyway, I am also sure that Cheryle Levick has better things to do than worry about rant e-mails from mildly disturbed fans.

my post is meant to be a reminder, btw, that there are other much more serious things in life besides Billiken basketball.

colts and Bears footbal, for example. then there's always, iraq, or Darfur, etc.

[SLUDrew]

Since you are referring to me in this post, I am a tree-hugging, lilly livered liberal just like yourself so I find your post humorous.

However, those of us who think this program is headed in the wrong direction are not disturbed. If that is the case then nearly every person in the media as well as about 90% of people who have commented on this team on the radio are disturbed as well. I think what is disturbing is those who think everything is just great with the program.

[Billsboys]

>And that makes it even funnier......

No whipping boy I got it. What mkes it funny is you still are stuck selling insurence!

[NashvilleBilliken]

I think you mistake people who don't think the coach needs to be fired for people who think everything is perfect. To my knowledge there is one poster on here who MAY think everything is perfect.

Just two weeks ago, this team had met and exceeded just about everybody expectations. 3 losses out of conference and no bad losses. Things on the up and up. Now things are going down fast. But this notion of firing the coach is nothing new and in two weeks has turned your flame into a raging bonfire. This has been a lot of posters agenda for a long time (one person admitting it being a 5 year agenda). Combined with a poor recruiting class, people's minds are made up. And people refuse to admit when things change. For instance...

1) Complaint - Brad play's too slow and is incapable of anything else. Resolution - Brad teaches a brand new style over the summer and increases our ppg significantly

2) Complaint - No defesive changes. Resolution - For five years the pack defense has worked like a charm. Our defense has consistently been one of the top in the country. Why change? Well, looks like our players can't handle it...in the last two games we've seen both a triangle and two, and a 2-3 zone. Where's the problem...NO PASSION.

3) Complaint - Not offering everybody he should. Resolution - he has at least 10 or so reported offers out for next season. And has offered just about everybody in the class of 08.

Brad isn't the perfect coach. But he's a perfect fit for this university and is improving constantly. Based on the long history of SLU athletics, nothing leads me to believe a coaching change at this point is the answer. I completely disagree about the direction of the PROGRAM. The PROGRAM is still on the up...even though this SEASON is currently heading down.

Finally, unlike a lot of people, I will admit when I am wrong. I said recruiting wasn't a problem this summer. Well, one recruit failed out and the other decided to park it at McDonald's. And we haven't signed anybody in the fall. So, yeah...that's pretty bad (I am NOT counting DM or AK in that because we haven't seen them enough and I don't expect an emergence to late sophmore year, a la Luke). And if we miss the A-10 tourney this year, my opinion will change again. But I wait for things to pan out before making significant statements.

[Basketbill]

wisdom......

[moytoy12]

The head coaching situation is a multifaceted issue and too many on this board, myself certainly included, think that we know the problems, the answers and everything in between. Regardless of our position on Brad, none of us konw as much as we think we do. For each of your three complaints, i could give counter-examples and add a few more. You could probably come back, and so on ad nauseum.

I hope that CL views the situation holistically, prepares a couple of contingency plans, develops an exploratory committee and does her due diligence. That's all i would ask at this point. Notwithstanding my opinion of Brad as a coach, if UB is the best option for the SLU program given all of the considerations, i will live with that. But i just hope that CL does her part. I have no reason to think she won't and by all accounts, she might be the most competent person throughout the athletic department, above her and below her.

[Battlecat455]

That is a sensible position. I would hope that evaluations of that type are done yearly. I have no problem with CL's decisions in this matter.

[SLUDrew]

She made a great hire in Shimmy, so in my book she is batting 1.000.

I have never advocated firing Brad mid-season. I think that would be a huge mistake. I do think, barring a miraculous turnaround by this team, that thi situation needs to be looked at after this season.

[NashvilleBilliken]

Charter members of the ABC and STC find common ground. If only our government could do the same.

[moytoy12]

nm

[Clock_Tower]

Those of us calling for a little patience do NOT think "everything is just great with the program." I am more upset with what Doug Woolard did and didnt' do to the program over the years. Also, am not happy with Biondi. Have heard great things from Cheryl Levick but have not seen much yet - too early in many regards.

For all who want to fire Brad right away, tell me how Biondi escapes blame and has demonstrated his alleged goal of making SLU a "Top 50" program. Hasn't that turned out to be a hallow statement in 1987? if your answer is the new arena, how can you explain the lack of funding/donations and the decision to cut back in size. Our arena now will be too small to hold an NCAA event (believe 13,500 is needed). Sure beats the alternative of not building coaching offices and/or practice area. Debbie Yow is Top 50. Possibly Cheryl is Top 50. Woolard was and is not.

Instead, many of us have seen a pattern over the years which has plagued some pretty good coaches. I don't hold myself out as an "old-timer", know that many on this Board have more experience and knowledge than me, but since my hair is graying, I can say that I laugh when hear the talk about the qualities need for a new coach. We've tried it all before:

Rich Grawer was probably "The High School Coach" in his era. Not only was DeSmet winning state champions and sending very good players to colleges where they did quite well, but also he may have been the only guy back then to bridge the gap between the City and the County, the Whites and the Blacks. He had great relationships with all the coaches, White and Black, throughout the area. There was no more "insider" with connections than him. He had recruiting problems which proved to be his undoing.

Spoon and his staff did the best for SLU in recent years. He kept and got some pretty good talent, high majors, much like Brad has done with TL and KL, but unlike Brad, he used his JUCO background to plug some real holes via JUCOs and to give the "high majors" the assistance they needed. Aside from Larry, though, he could not land guys like Jahadi White, Chris Carawell and others. Still, with his name, reputation and past success, most would agree that his least strongest aspect was recruiting.

Romar was a very good game coach but could not get the job done recruiting. He left the program with less quality and talent than he found it. Without getting into another discussion on this, I am not sure he was that close to getting a pipeline for high major recruits. In fact, he seemed to miss on the non-local guys, both high majors and role players, and started getting away from the locals (Sloan) while picking out of state guys, some decent and some not. If he stayed any longer, he may never have had the chance to go to the PAC 10, at least not without another stop somewhere else. With Romar, we tried a non-local guy, first Black coach, with NBA experience and ties to national power UCLA. Similar results.

Now, Brad is having similar problems recruiting. Midwest White guy from Big 10 school and key part of their recent Final Four. Similar results. There is no easy quick fix by simply changing coaches.

Keep in mind, no one is saying the status quo can and must stay the same indefinitely. Had Conf. USA not broken apart and had the new arena been started in 2003 when promised (if money had been raised - Woolard & Biondi), would Brad have a team of McDonald All-Americans? Of course not... but maybe things would not be quite as bad. Waiting until after the season, and most likely until after next season, will not permanently hurt SLU's program and/or be an example that we don't care.

[Billiken Rich]

I enjoy being a prefessional insurance agent! I beats being a professional a$$ by a wide margin.

[Bay Area Billiken]

This shows that it is hard to be a Billikens fan. We are the underdogs. We have been the underdogs as far back as I can remember. But when we win, it is great.

Your summary overall is pretty accurate. A couple of points: the first African-American Coach at SLU was Ron Coleman, who was only there for one 7-20 season in '77-'78. However, he had a star freshman on that team named Ricky Frazier, who was the Metro Conference Freshman of the Year. As fate would have it, Frazier was gone to Mizzou after that one year at SLU.

Rich Grawer was SLU's coach for 10 years. He resurrected this program from near extinction in the Ekker Era. From the standpoint of getting the best recruits, Grawer probably was SLU's best recruiting coach since I have followed the team. It was a major recruiting feat at the time when Grawer was able to sign both Monroe Douglass and Roland Gray. The next year Grawer signed Anthony Bonner. Bonner is SLU's all-time leading scorer, and Gray and Douglass are high on the all-time scoring list too. Grawer also had Craig Upchurch signed, but Upchurch was denied admission to SLU. That alone probably cost SLU a couple of NCAA bids. Grawer had Melvin Robinson, a 7 footer, who started as a freshman alongside Bonner, a Senior on the second SLU NIT runner-up team. Robinson fouled out at Santa Clara in Grawer's last year, Robinson's Junior year, walked off the court, and was gone from SLU. I was at that game and will never forget The Big Chill fouling out and just walking off the court.

The other thing about Grawer and Spoon, they were able to get some role players too. Grawer had some pretty good JUCO's too- Carvin Norman, Quitman Dillard. He also had some good transfers- Jim Roder, Ted Mimlitz. Redditt Hudson, a local from U City, developed over his 4 years under Grawer into a decent college inside player.

Spoon was a good bench coach, perhaps the best SLU has had in the modern era. Spoon had recruiting issues at SLU too. Still he was able to get a good JUCO 6'3" power forward in Donnie Dobbs, an excellent transfer point guard in H Waldman, and a serviceable 6'6" role player in David "The Little Admiral" Robinson. He had some depth at guard too with JUCO Carl Turner.

Lorenzo Romar is a very good coach. I was disappointed when he left SLU. However, he was a West Coast guy, and he struggled to recruit at SLU, something he has not had problems with at UCLA, Pepperdine, or his current spot at Washington.

SLU is a good place. The campus has become an urban oasis. Players ought to want to come to SLU, especially with the new Arena on the way. TV exposure is an issue that must be addressed.

[willie]

Bay Area that was a good summary. One point that stands out is that most of the good players that we've had over the last 25 years have been local There are not many Loves Jeffers and Perry's that have had a meaningfull impact on our program. We have not and will not be sucessfull bringing in the Darren Clarks of this world. Ian was a fluke.If I could give Brad one piece of advise it would be to stay at home. With the exception of JC players, don't waste your time on out of the area freshmen. There will always be good area players who will stay at home for one reason or the other.

[davidlee]

You are right that the success stories in SLU's recruiting over the last 25 years or so has been local HS players and a few JC players.

The problem is that St. Louis does no provide a lot of good D1 players, year in and year out.

Take the last two years. The 06 class had Dustin M. and a few others, but nothing to get excited about. The 07 class has Powell and a few other low to mid-major players.

It has been this way for years.

[Clock_Tower]

Good points. Even with JUCOs and transfers, alot of guys actually would like the chance to come back home to play. Guys like Jamal Johnson (if I am correct). Believe there was a kid from Hazelwood as well. Evan Pederson is an example of a transfer coming home.

[Bay Area Billiken]

I completely agree re the local recruiting. History has proven that SLU wins in hoops when the local players are kept home. I think that gives SLU its best chance to win. Rich Grawer wrote the blueprint.

It is also true that the stars are not out there every year in St. Louis. But there would seem to be enough of them, that SLU can fill in the other spots with role players, including JUCOs and transfers. Grawer did that too, as did Spoon. Plus, some of these role players can develop into real good players, like Maurice Jeffers, a JUCO, or like Redditt Hudson, a local 4 year player.

I don't advocate a complete abandonment of a broader recruiting base, at least within the Midwest. But I think SLU's best chance of getting the real good players, i.e. the stars, at this time, is locally. History has proven that too. In time, with the new Arena, SLU will look more attractive to Chicago area recruits. And SLU has had its share of them too- Marquis Perry, Quitman Dillard to name two that come immediately to mind. There are exceptions, like Justin Love, an excellent JUCO from San Francisco.

[slufanskip]

I agree and that is what most of us who don't rant have been saying all along. Let the season play out, see where we stand and make whatever decissions are required.

Official Billikens.com sponsor of H Waldman

Official Sponser of the Stemmler and Ahearn could and would have helped club.

[slufanskip]

I think you are right to a point Willie. That is what we have always done, and we have never been a really good program. We need to continue to work on getting at least our share of the local guys and then expand to pick up the remaining players needed in throughout the midwest. We aren't going to get all the local players and we need more than just the locals if we really want to be top 50 consistently. Recruiting must be funded to give UB or whomever the coach is the budget to build relationships throughout the midwest. My opinion of Brad is ... he's not the guy to come in at the last moment. He needs to identify the guys he wants early and then have the budget to build long term relationships. It seems the guys we miss on are almost all out of town guys, maybe he just doesn't do as good of a job building those relationships with those guys as he does with the local guys. Is it time? Is it money?

Official Billikens.com sponsor of H Waldman

Official Sponser of the Stemmler and Ahearn could and would have helped club.

[Bay Area Billiken]

I would also like to see Loyola-Chicago in the A-10. This gives SLU exposure in Chicago. SLU had that exposure when SLU was in the GMC and C-USA with DePaul. But DePaul is now gone to the Big East.

I don't know whether Loyola would even consider this since it is a charter member of what is now the Horizon League. I don't advocate a return by SLU to the Horizon as it is currently composed. That league was a good one for SLU at the time to get the SLU basketball program back on its feet. But times have changed, as have a number of the members of the Horizon.

In my opinion, having exposure in Chicago would be much more beneficial for SLU than being in a place like the Missouri Valley, like some, including some in the media, advocate.