Upgrading Recruiting

[bauman]

I think this has kinda turned into a "my Dad can beat up your Dad" type of thread. Any time a tiger fan comes on this Board, with one exception, the same thing happens.

How about we try this----------------------------------------

I've been empowered by RM to sign a deal if State U. will agree to a fair series. No reasonable person could conclude that the following isn't fair.

We'll come to Columbia this year to play youse guys and you come to STL the next year to play us guys. We could even agree right now to make it a 4 year series with years 3 & 4 being like 1 & 2, respectively. Let's even come up with a trophy which incorporates 1 item from each city that the city is best known for---I can see it now---a coed with a big M on her chest, chugging down a Bud Light. I'll help raise the funds to pay the little old trophy maker for his/her efforts.

Until youse Boone County guys man up and agree to play the litl' old Bills home and home, don't tell us how good you or your conference are, and/or how bad SLU and the A-10 is. As they say on Mike & Mike, JUST SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tiger72]

Brian:

1. Do you think you can beat out BCS teams for kids that would have been impact players?

2. Do you think the Atlantic-10 is better than the MVC?

Those are the two questions I disagreed with. I think RM is a great coach but I dont think it will yield high major kids.

I think RM will be successful with MVC type players and I think the MVC is better than the Atlantic-10

[bauman]

Please see post # 25 for a solution to this whole Tiger/Billiken issue.

[tiger72]

I wanr even talking about the tigers I was talking about recruiting. I said RM is going to get MVC players and not many big times kids and be successful and I am a tiger fan. I think Anderson will do a good job also at Missouri.

[bauman]

# 1---yes, he's just done it with BT and probably KM,

# 2---yes

# 3---see post #25 and get your coach a set of you know whats to sign the deal.

[tiger72]

Mitchell had offers from UWGB and Loyola. Thompson had one from Indiana and ISU. I will give you that one. Anderson isnt my coach so I would love to see the two teams play. It would be much better than watching SLU play Fordham in front of 6 fans.

[tiger72]

We will disagree on the MVC vs A-10. Look at the tournament success over the last two years and please tell me how you see that A-10 is better. MVC has more teams in the tourney, more in the Sweet 16, more non conference wins. and a higher RPI.

[bauman]

I give to your superior facts/argument---If all that matters in the "best conference" argument is the last two years based almost solely on a now discredited RPI system. Don't look back past two years, don't project forward, don't look at current recruiting, don't look at head-to-head matchups, don't get your head out of your @$$.

Go back to the Tigerboard and present my offer: Agree to a home and home series or JUST SHUT UP.

[tiger72]

I just moved to Saint Louis and I love basketball. I have said nothing bad about the billikens except that the conference sucks which RM agrees. I also said I dont think you will get big time recruits in tht conference which isnt a bad thing. If you want to get hateful beat out the other 7 teams for Suggs. Go pry Bradenburg from the BCS schools that are looking at him. Instead of beating out Illinois State for Roth go beat Illnois for Dunigan, Shumpart of Liggins. Let me help you put you have no chance at that happening. All I was trying to do was talk baasketball.

[kshoe]

So Thompson's offers from Alabama, Indiana and Iowa St. don't count?

Did you just say we have no chance at getting Suggs?

Can you provide a link to where Majerus said the A-10 sucks?

[tiger72]

1. I said I will give you Iowa State and Indiana and I dont think Alabama or Purdue ever offered the Thompson. I said I would give you that guy. IMO I think he will be a good player at SLU but in the Big 12 or Big ten he wouldnt have been a double digit scorer.

2. I really have no idea about Suggs or his situation but if you looks at his offers Illinois, Florida, to name a few are better options than SLU. No offense to SLU but they have great coaches just like SLU, better players, and better conferences. I would think it would be a coup to get Suggs.

3. I thought I read that Majures was talking up the MVC when he was looking to take the job. I may be wrong on this one and if I am I apologize.

[kshoe]

I really have a problem with your #2. By your definition a player should always sign with the better program or the better conference. That isn's always the case but if it was the case Duke would always sign the top 4 players every year.

If you don't believe its possible for an A-10 team to land big-time talent maybe you should brush up on Xavier. Not only their recent recruiting but all the power forwards they've put in the league over the years. Here's an article to get you started. This player just little ole Xavier in the suck ##### A-10 over Maryland, Memphis, West Virgina and Pitt.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...T0102/706190347

[tiger72]

I think kids want to play on ESPN, against the best players in the country, and have a chance to win big. I think if you were in the old conference USA then it is easier to get kids like Suggs. Xavier gets some nice players but most of the time big time kids go to big time programs. I think RM will get players that would be great MVC players and win big at SLU

[tiger72]

Wow thanks for the article I never knew Xavier got that good of a player. Isnt Sean from Pitt and his dad ran the Jots the top AAU club out of Pennsylvania. Had players like Fortson, Archie Miller, and Lavar arrington just to give you a learning experience. Sean probably had a in and garnered a good player. I hope Suggs goes to SLU or Missouri or Illinois.

[courtside]

SLU will recruit good players, but many will be late bloomers, diamonds in the rough, overlooked players because of teammates etc...and so on....SLU will however contend for any local player moving forward under Majerus, regardless of ability, meaning,.... including elite level players, as long as they are local.(getting some and missing on some) SLU isn't going to land superstar high profile kids from somewhere else unless there is a specific connection. And, itis imperative for SLU to get in on every local kid early to get a head start on bigger schools. And, not every kid is going to be a multi-faceted offensive star player.

SLU will recruit for needs and balance, unless it is a star player they can get in ay area of less need.

SLU won't be getting juco's very often moving forward, which is a good thing. SLU also won't be redshirting very often either.

SLU will look everywhere for players. They don't all have to be local, and won't be.

Majerus has been at SLU for 2-3 months. ...late in the Spring....too late for next year's schedule and recruiting.

Majerus has been at SLU 2-3 months. But SLU is still SLU. ...which means not very good and not much of a tradition for the most part in recent or distant memory. Fingers won't be snapped to change that in speed dial time.

Majerus makes a bigger salary than what SLU fans are used to, and negotiated more $$ for the hoops program, so expectations will rise...there is already a small faction of resentment out there....haters as the kids say....because of Majerus' salary, and what he is getting in improvements for hoops program. Welcome to college hoops. These people expected a National Title in 1 month's time in May and June.

It's still SLU, it's still a conference with issues.

And "when" kids commit, ....who cares? If it is November/December of 07 and not a lot has been accomplished for 08 class then time to discuss.

[tiger72]

I agree I think they shold be happy beating out the SIU, and ISU, and MSU for players and they will be fine.

[courtside]

SLU will also contend for local stars...some will pass, and some will consider SLU. SLU can and will shoot higher than what you are saying. What I am saying is the roster will not be filled with Lisch and Liddell's left and right....but you definitely will see them mixed in with role players.

I believe your expectations are too low long term. I believe many others here have too high of expectations based on newfound $$$ for immediate high end rewards. Reality is in the middle.

Majerus is good enough to win bigger games with kids who otherwise would have chosen MVC, and often times this is what SLU will get in next few years(because of SLU's history and the conference and tv etc...) He doesn't need superstars to win, but he does need good players.

I disagree completely with your A10 and MVC comparisons.

SLU isn't affiliated with the MVC and its goals are not to beat MVC teams. SLU has a lot of work to do as a program etc...but its longer term goals are to compete with programs at a higher level than MVC. Won't happen overnight, but it is certainly an expectation long term.

[VTIME]

>I've been reading some of the posts recommending that the

>Billikens should wrap up their recruiting year with Roth,

>Harrison, John or Perry. I would like to sign Perry and of

>course Suggs but shouldn't RM be able to attract better

>talent than the others that are often mentioned?

>

>If we have the national coach that I think we have I think

>we should aim higher. There is still lots of time left.

>Let's see how things work out. Let's not settle for second

>tier recruits yet. I say try to get Perry and Suggs to

>commit but if they don't let's wait a bit. There is no

>reason to settle for plan B recruits until much later this

>summer. Some of you on this board are in too much of a

>hurry to wrap up this recruiting class. We can do better.

>Have some patience.

i think some people are getting carried away. If Missouri State hired Rick Majerus would you expect them to land Scott Suggs and all these high rated players. If you read their board, would you think that they might be being arrogant or delusional. In addition to that, I think people are underrating John, Roth, and Harrellson. It still boggles the mind why Harrellson isnt in Billiken Blue.

[kshoe]

Sorry for being hard on you last night but I just don't believe that your conference affiliation has to limit the type of player you can recruit. Is it a handicap, sure, but the consistent success of programs like Gonzaga, Memphis, Xavier, St. Joes, Utah when Majerus was there shows me that with the right coach and the right facilities schools in non BCS conferences CAN recruit elite players and win at a very high level.

[billiken_roy]

tiger said,

"To say the Atlantic 10 is better than MVC is crazy. Look at the recent success. You beat MSU and got beat by SBU, and Duquesne."

and siu lost to evansville. conference games are war. anything can happen and even the best have let downs.

that said, if you saw the games, there was no doubt that slu had the better talent. you really need to stay on your tigerboard.

[billiken_roy]

if you saw the mvc teams and the a-10 teams actually play last year you would know the top teams of the a-10 were indeed better players and teams than the mvc. with the exception of siu and creighton, i'd take all the top a-10 teams.

as far as recruiting, majerus has already beaten bcs teams to players getting commits from thompson and reed.

are you even awake?

[billiken_roy]

we didnt play fordham at home last year, but the year before there were 6+8,516 fans at the fordman and slu game at the scott trade center. our game vs the mvc champion siu skinny dogs only drew 351 more fans. since siu probably brought 500 fans, the truth is more st louisians watched fordham than siu.

[slufanskip]

according to Rivals Thompson had offers from

Bradley, SIU, MSU, Alabama, Cinci, Indiana, Iowa St, Northwestern, and Notre Dame besides us and is the 16th rated center in the country.

My understanding was that Mizzou was recruiting Reed. Oh, never mind we were trying to name teams that were at or above the Mid major level .... my bad. Please don't say Mizzou (which is your team, who are you trying to kid) pulled their offer. As the real fact would be you are a troll who has no f...ing clue.

Instead of wasting your time here ... Barton County CC has a web site. I heard even Mizzou students can pass the classes on line. 2 solid summer sessions and you can graduate.

Official Billikens.com sponsor of H Waldman

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

[slu72]

Surprised a lot of you guys took the bait on this. Obviously, Tiger72 is a pot stirrer. Granted, BCS'ers get the bulk of top 100 talent, but I don't see Mizzery landing many of those kids. Suggs recruitment will be telling. If he selects SLU, RM will have landed a biggie, and Mizzery fans will be shaking in their boots.

[Clock_Tower]

High expectation?!?! Could it be, in part, Mark Wright and the AD making long-time Billiken fans bend over and pay excessive "arena fees" every year and with no end in sight. Fiat and Cadillac?

I cannot fathom who would be willing to pay $3,950 per seat, per year to watch a Billiken game. The only silver lining is the hope and expectation for RM. If expectations are tempered, who would pay the increased fees. $850 per ticker/per year for the normal - good ticket. If SLU will simply have a wining season with MVC kids, why should we not pay MVC prices? How about A-10 prices? Other than XU (and our fees are much higher), should we not be paying Duquesne fees? Didn't they just open the doors and hope 2,000 people walked in?

Yes, this is the same SLU. I give Fr. Biondi credit for spening the money but, the events in firing Brad late and then hiring RM, sure did not indicate to me that SLU had a well-thought out plan to hire a coach and/or lead the team into the new arena. How would the pricing/ticket plan fly with Brad at the helm? Or with some other coach other than RM?