Post Arena questions

[Quest]

Now I know people are talking about the problem recruiting when our facilities are sub-par and that the anti-Brad camp doesn't take this into consideration when we're brandishing our axes at the front door of West Pine, but I'd like a serious answer here.

In year two of the arena, the new facilities, the improved weight center/locker room/players lounge/whatever, if Brad cannot sign premier players, fill gaps in the program, win games and get to the NCAA Tournament consistently, are we all in agreement that the Soderberg era has run its course? Would we be in agreement that it would be time for a change of direction?

Second question -- what makes you think that he can turn the program around with the arena/facilities/locker room/weight center/players lounge? Is that all recruits these days are looking for in a program? Doesn't playing and winning ballgames mean anything to kids these days? What gives? Do you think that this is the ONLY thing standing between SLU and a top-25 program?

[billikenfan05]

In response to 2nd question

I would bet the farm that there is not one Billiken Logo anywhere in the Scottrade locker rooms and I think that has an impact on recruits. I mean look at west pine too it has paint chipping everywhere, i love the place but it sucks. Having brand new locker rooms with a big billiken logo on the floor, the schools name everywhere inside the place has to make an impression. A smaller arena will make our decent attendance that looks pathetic at scottrade look great.

Also off topic but a suggestion for arena floor they should put a huge billiken head at center court!

"I was on fire, I was hotter than a pistol" Jason McElwaine

If theres no SLU basketball in heaven I'm not going!!!!!!

Official Billikens.com Sponsor of Chris Sloan and Billiken Volleyball

and Official Billiken.com Online Video Guy

[billiken_roy]

the arena is a good start. now put a real athletic dept staff together with the quanity and quality of employees to actually proactively handle sports information, marketing, public relations, fund raising, student involvement, game day promotion and compliance. right now our staff while obviously enthusiastic is stretched beyond belief, and generally short on experience.

second, provide upscale student athlete housing. housing that when an athlete shows up on campus wows them when considering future digs.

third, insure that our coaches are paid accordingly and provided the same fringe benefits and tools to compete recruiting the country. i.e. take away the cell phone and ice cream cone scenarios.

last, while i am completely opposed to dumbing down the slu menu of majors, at least survey the typical junior college student athlete and provide the needed majors that jucos can typically attend saint louis university the same as most other universities.

these items and the new facilities, and then i dont see how there would be any questions. plus, if after providing that type of infrastructure and a couple of years later the recruits arent coming, now you actually have the infrastructure in place to bring in a capable replacement.

[GOSLU68]

In 1968 I went to the University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana they bragged about having the most PHD's in physical education of any school in the country-how many great minds are in our athletic department-in a school that prizes academics have we purposely dumbed down our own athletic department?

[Clock_Tower]

Quest. Agree with Roy's comments. More to a winning program - and certainly a top-25 program and even a top 50 program than facilites.

At the same time, believe you are missing the full impact of the arena. Yes, the weight room, locker rooms, coaches offices and lounges will be better but so too will be home court advantage. SLU has not really had a home court advantage that I can remember. Once the arena is completed, SLU will become quite comfortable in their new arena as the players will practice everday (not just a day or 2 here or there) on the same floor and basketball standards/rims as all the games. Also, for the first time, SLU will be able to schedule 3 and 4 pm Saturday afternoon games (easier to make for a college kid out the night before - and easier to start and keep drinking from 3 or 4 pm onward than from Noon or 1 pm onward) and more Saturday night games. Being at more convenient times and - ON CAMPUS - the student crowds will be better. Add to that the fact that there will 1/2 as many seats which makes the games more exciting and the crowd more of an impact. Also, SLU will finally be able to schedule without one or both of their hands tied behind their backs. We won't have to schedule Division II Quincy like we did this year (lead to the NCAA counting only 19 wins v. 20 actual wins). We won't have to schedule home and away with Houston like we did this year. We won't have to play 2 games at the St. Charles family arena like we did last year - one of those was a crucial home conference game (we won anyway) against U Mass. When you're in a mid-major conference, the margin for error becomes less and these are all legitimate factors that could make the difference between post-season and end-of-season.

Just my thoughts.