Billikan Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 This result tonight is EXACTLY what I predicted after seeing the downward spiral over the previous two games. 39 points is a joke. I am sorry, but I will not accept that we have bad players. We have the same team as last year with the omission of Ian which is significant but we have a highly rated juco 4 man and 4 other starters with a year's more experience. We supposedly have a much superior coaching staff so you should expect better play and most on this board did when they predicted the record for this year. Yet, we played much better a month ago than we are playing now. I feel like the kid that saw the big present under the tree and could not wait to open it and when I got to Christmas it was filled with sawdust (or worse)! I see this season going down the drain. Convince me why I should be optimistic for this year after collectively the worst three games I can ever remember as a Billiken fan for our team. The schedule does not get any easier and we have played horrible in the first half of EVERY game this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billi-can Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 This result tonight is EXACTLY what I predicted after seeing the downward spiral over the previous two games. 39 points is a joke. I am sorry, but I will not accept that we have bad players. We have the same team as last year with the omission of Ian which is significant but we have a highly rated juco 4 man and 4 other starters with a year's more experience. We supposedly have a much superior coaching staff so you should expect better play and most on this board did when they predicted the record for this year. Yet, we played much better a month ago than we are playing now. I feel like the kid that saw the big present under the tree and could not wait to open it and when I got to Christmas it was filled with sawdust (or worse)! I see this season going down the drain. Convince me why I should be optimistic for this year after collectively the worst three games I can ever remember as a Billiken fan for our team. The schedule does not get any easier and we have played horrible in the first half of EVERY game this year. RM has broken those kids confidence by talking about they lack talent. Even if he fells that way he shouldnt say that in the media Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Convince me why I should be optimistic for this year after collectively the worst three games I can ever remember as a Billiken fan for our team. You want someone to lie to you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 We're only one game behind where I thought we'd be at this point. However, I sure didn't think things would look this ugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Convince me why I should be optimistic for this year after collectively the worst three games I can ever remember as a Billiken fan for our team. Anyone who is optimistic about the 2007-2008 season at this point is an idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewey33 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Anyone who is optimistic about the 2007-2008 season at this point is an idiot. I just hope that Kevin and Tommie don't end up as a trivia question.... "Who were the STL metro guys who had great freshman and sophomore years and then faded away?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Band Man Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 This result tonight is EXACTLY what I predicted after seeing the downward spiral over the previous two games. 39 points is a joke. I am sorry, but I will not accept that we have bad players. We have the same team as last year with the omission of Ian which is significant but we have a highly rated juco 4 man and 4 other starters with a year's more experience. We supposedly have a much superior coaching staff so you should expect better play and most on this board did when they predicted the record for this year. Yet, we played much better a month ago than we are playing now. I feel like the kid that saw the big present under the tree and could not wait to open it and when I got to Christmas it was filled with sawdust (or worse)! I see this season going down the drain. Convince me why I should be optimistic for this year after collectively the worst three games I can ever remember as a Billiken fan for our team. The schedule does not get any easier and we have played horrible in the first half of EVERY game this year. Well, like most Billiken fans, I am extremely discouraged by our last three games. However, I am cautiously optimistic that things will get better soon. First and foremost, it seems like the offensive system is working how it's supposed to. We are getting open looks, we just can't make a thing. Tonight we had 49 shots. If we had shot on par with our pace early in the year, we would have been talking about a different story tonight. I truly do believe (when I think about it rationally) that our poor shooting is the result of fatigue. The number of games this team has played in such a short time is unbelievable (not to mention RM's intense practice schedule). The first thing to go when a team is suffering from fatigue is their legs and consequently their shot. Look for the shooting woes to change once we come back home for the next 4. We have 3 days off this week followed by a whole week off before Carbondale. Second, the defense seems to be improving. Our turnover margin in the past two games has amazingly been in our favor (something that it hasn't been all year). When our shooting improves and we can convert these TO's to points we will be in business. Finally, like most, I expected this team to be one game better at this point. If we take care of business winning 3 of our next 4, a 9-5 non-conference schedule is nothing to be ashamed about if we can take care of business in the conference. I figured that with the implementation of a new system that we would take our lumps early. Once this team has some time off over X-Mas, I think they will grow even more comfortable with RM's system and we will get our legs back so our shooting will improve. This team will look like a totally different team here within the next month and half... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I see this season going down the drain. Convince me why I should be optimistic for this year after collectively the worst three games I can ever remember as a Billiken fan for our team. The schedule does not get any easier and we have played horrible in the first half of EVERY game this year. Duquense & St. Bonaventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewey33 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Duquense & St. Bonaventure. Last year's Duquesne team could have played the Long Beach State team we played saturday 50 times and beat them all 50....they are even better this year...they are legit They lost to st bona by 5 points......playing in some high school sized gym in the backwoods of NY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Well, like most Billiken fans, I am extremely discouraged by our last three games. However, I am cautiously optimistic that things will get better soon. First and foremost, it seems like the offensive system is working how it's supposed to. We are getting open looks, we just can't make a thing. Tonight we had 49 shots. If we had shot on par with our pace early in the year, we would have been talking about a different story tonight. I truly do believe (when I think about it rationally) that our poor shooting is the result of fatigue. The number of games this team has played in such a short time is unbelievable (not to mention RM's intense practice schedule). The first thing to go when a team is suffering from fatigue is their legs and consequently their shot. Look for the shooting woes to change once we come back home for the next 4. We have 3 days off this week followed by a whole week off before Carbondale. Second, the defense seems to be improving. Our turnover margin in the past two games has amazingly been in our favor (something that it hasn't been all year). When our shooting improves and we can convert these TO's to points we will be in business. Finally, like most, I expected this team to be one game better at this point. If we take care of business winning 3 of our next 4, a 9-5 non-conference schedule is nothing to be ashamed about if we can take care of business in the conference. I figured that with the implementation of a new system that we would take our lumps early. Once this team has some time off over X-Mas, I think they will grow even more comfortable with RM's system and we will get our legs back so our shooting will improve. This team will look like a totally different team here within the next month and half... the fatigue (both physical and mental) is likely from the 3 and 4 hour practices not the games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 This result tonight is EXACTLY what I predicted after seeing the downward spiral over the previous two games. 39 points is a joke. I am sorry, but I will not accept that we have bad players. We have the same team as last year with the omission of Ian which is significant but we have a highly rated juco 4 man and 4 other starters with a year's more experience. We supposedly have a much superior coaching staff so you should expect better play and most on this board did when they predicted the record for this year. Yet, we played much better a month ago than we are playing now. I feel like the kid that saw the big present under the tree and could not wait to open it and when I got to Christmas it was filled with sawdust (or worse)! I see this season going down the drain. Convince me why I should be optimistic for this year after collectively the worst three games I can ever remember as a Billiken fan for our team. The schedule does not get any easier and we have played horrible in the first half of EVERY game this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Last year's Duquesne team could have played the Long Beach State team we played saturday 50 times and beat them all 50....they are even better this year...they are legit They lost to st bona by 5 points......playing in some high school sized gym in the backwoods of NY I have never been angrier than after that Duequense game. Never. For SLU fans it is always next year, or the year after. Last year was the year. And that game did us in. Right now I feel for Kevin and Tommie. That quote in Boston's paper stuck with me a bit. I wonder if Majerus learned some things at his and Kevin's dinner that we know about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewey33 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I have never been angrier than after that Duequense game. Never. For SLU fans it is always next year, or the year after. Last year was the year. And that game did us in. Right now I feel for Kevin and Tommie. That quote in Boston's paper stuck with me a bit. I wonder if Majerus learned some things at his and Kevin's dinner that we know about. http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens...er_saint_louis/ the camping reference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens...er_saint_louis/ the camping reference? He further admits that his two best returning players, guards Tommie Liddell III and Kevin Lisch, might also like their old coach back. "It's been hard for them; I know it," he says. "I run a different-type motion offense than they were used to. They were playing with a Memphis drive-and-kick. I emphasize cuts and screens. It's difficult for them. Coaching changes are not fun to go through." http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens...majerus/?page=2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satrap Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens...er_saint_louis/ the camping reference? I have never been close to being on the RM bandwagon, though his pedigree is really good. I was just turned off by the way Soderberg was fired etc., etc. But the constant "I need better players" gig is one of the oddest approaches I've seen. Do you guys remember another modern coach doing as much insulting of current players as RM does? Also, it's weird to consider a guy like KL a guy you couldn't win with. I haven't followed the team closely at all this year, yet, but he always seemed to me like an A list teammate, player, and student of the game. Very very odd. Also, the idea of RM trying to get me to believe he has been within 100 miles of a campground is just a suspension of disbelief that I can't conjure up. Is there a restaurant in Milwaukee called Camping????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmbilliken Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens...majerus/?page=2This goes to RM's these are nice guys but they suck as players theme. That's getting old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Don Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 This goes to RM's these are nice guys but they suck as players theme. That's getting old. my wife just commented after i read the camping quote... how many times did we hear brad say in the postgame "i don't know what the answer is, i don't know what to do with these guys" not nearly as harsh, but similar rhetoric... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 We won't be anything more than a .500 team this year. We may not like it but Majerus isn't going to change his ways. I fully expect to be a top team in 2 years. If we aren't Majerus won't be here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 How does this team's body of work to date help validate Rick Majerus's claim to status as a hall of fame coach? I'm still waiting to see the "genius." Does a genius have to reinvent the wheel? Just how much practice does a team need to attack a 2-3 zone defense? Put a player in the middle of the zone and try to get the ball in there -- the zone will collapse to protect the middle, and there should be as many as three options to score. As bad as this team looks under Majerus, perhaps the NCAA should be investigating Soderberg's program -- looking for performance-enhancing drugs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 How does this team's body of work to date help validate Rick Majerus's claim to status as a hall of fame coach? I'm still waiting to see the "genius." Does a genius have to reinvent the wheel? Just how much practice does a team need to attack a 2-3 zone defense? Put a player in the middle of the zone and try to get the ball in there -- the zone will collapse to protect the middle, and there should be as many as three options to score. As bad as this team looks under Majerus, perhaps the NCAA should be investigating Soderberg's program -- looking for performance-enhancing drugs! Admittedly, I haven't seen a game or even a clip of this team, so please correct me if I'm wrong. From the broadcasts, post games, and the stat sheet, the biggest problem, next to not getting the ball in the hoop, is our inside game. In the paint we 're getting outrebounded, outscored, outhustled, and outblocked. This should not be surprising since we don't have any proven D1 talent at the 4 or the 5 positions. This fiasco we're seeing is the combination of many problems/issues, but most of it can be attributed to lack of any inside presence. That said, I'm not understanding KL's shooting woes. 1-10, that ain't Kevin Lisch we're seeing out there. What's really disconcerting though is the comment RM made that TL and KL might prefer UB as coach. These guys are the leaders, the guys everyone looks up to. If they're grumbling, we've got a cancer that needs to be checked real quick or this season is in the toilet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorB Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Do you guys remember another modern coach doing as much insulting of current players as RM does? Bob Knight. The Big Tuna. try reading SEASON ON THE BRINK or PLAYING FOR KNIGHT. pretty brutal stuff in there. my personal favorite anecdote is the soiled toilet paper story -- "THIS IS HOW YOU GUYS PLAYED TONIGHT!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bauman Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Do you guys remember another modern coach doing as much insulting of current players as RM does? Bob Knight. The Big Tuna. try reading SEASON ON THE BRINK or PLAYING FOR KNIGHT. pretty brutal stuff in there. my personal favorite anecdote is the soiled toilet paper story -- "THIS IS HOW YOU GUYS PLAYED TONIGHT!!" I can only hope that RM is more successful than Knight and Parcels have been recently-they both are living (or lived) on past results. I might also add that both BK & BP both lost jobs mainly because of their arrogance and difficulty in dealing with players. See a pattern? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaleJarr Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 What's really disconcerting though is the comment RM made that TL and KL might prefer UB as coach. These guys are the leaders. I think they were leaders up to the 1st week of practice. Coach has eroded whatever team leadership these two had hoped to have by cutting them up in practice as well as the media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillikenReport Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 What's really disconcerting though is the comment RM made that TL and KL might prefer UB as coach. These guys are the leaders. I think they were leaders up to the 1st week of practice. Coach has eroded whatever team leadership these two had hoped to have by cutting them up in practice as well as the media. I don't think that RM comment is a big deal. BS recruited Tommie and Kevin and those two wanted to play for him. Tommie and Kevin didn't choose to play for Majerus. The only players on this team who chose to play for Majerus are Barry and Eckerle, and Barry has said he was probably coming to SLU anyway but the coaching change was for the better. Majerus said after the LBS game he wants Lisch and Liddell to be leaders: "... But I want to try to set the table for a way of doing things. Where Lisch and Liddell evolve into leadership positions for next year. ..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted December 5, 2007 Author Share Posted December 5, 2007 Duquense & St. Bonaventure. I too was very disappointed in those losses but we were highly competitive in both games and we lead by double digits at half in one of them. Then they shot the eyes out of the basket. They were tough close, and very disappointing losses. But they had followed some very nice wins on the road so we knew the team was competitive and we won some very nice games after that including against Xavier, UMass, etc. This is entirely different. We have played horrible in the first half of every game and recently horrible in the second halves as well. I cannot think of three worse consecutive performances in the last 20 plus years that I have been watching Billiken basketball. What galls me more than anything is the comments like the one in the Boston paper where the coach says that this is the last of their "easy" games. We may have lost some games over the last five years but no one considered us and easy win. The worst thing about this is that we seem to be getting worse every game. Remember the scrimmage against Memphis when we were rested in the morning game and we took it to them and competed well. We got tired in the afternoon and they took it to us. Remember the Pitt game where we fought hard and competed and cut it to 5 or 7 with a few minutes to go and then lost. Since then the team has gotten worse and worse. I said it to all my friends last Sat that this team will beat no one of any consequence if we played like we did against Long Beach State. I would once like to hear from this coach that the coaches have not done their job and no team should get worse and worse as the season goes along. I know this coach wants a certain type of player and maybe this team does not fit his eye but he still was hired to coach this season for big money and he has big money assistants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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