i thought our pep band was fantastic

[billiken_roy]

and luke meyer did a fabulous job stopping their best player all night long.

majerus needs to take a clue from the last 4 minutes. apparently the "system" isnt going to work until he gets andre miller, keith van horne, andrew bogut and michael doliac here. until then maybe he needs to quit trying to hammer a square peg in a round hole and let the kids play a little more aggressively as we saw the last 4 minutes. that was the best 4 minutes of billiken basketball we have seen this year.

[moytoy12]

and luke meyer did a fabulous job stopping their best player all night long.

majerus needs to take a clue from the last 4 minutes. apparently the "system" isnt going to work until he gets andre miller, keith van horne, andrew bogut and michael doliac here. until then maybe he needs to quit trying to hammer a square peg in a round hole and let the kids play a little more aggressively as we saw the last 4 minutes. that was the best 4 minutes of billiken basketball we have seen this year.

It sure seemed much more effective than anything else this year. If it's effective in the last 4 minutes, I guess you can't use the "our kids are too tired to do it."

[Band Man]

and luke meyer did a fabulous job stopping their best player all night long.

majerus needs to take a clue from the last 4 minutes. apparently the "system" isnt going to work until he gets andre miller, keith van horne, andrew bogut and michael doliac here. until then maybe he needs to quit trying to hammer a square peg in a round hole and let the kids play a little more aggressively as we saw the last 4 minutes. that was the best 4 minutes of billiken basketball we have seen this year.

I agree with everything you said...especially the part about the band being fantastic . But seriously, the last 4 minutes of the game was a demonstration of how offensively capable this team truly is. For the first team all season a player seemed to say "Screw it" to RM's system. If TL would have been given the chance to take over like that all season things would be much different now. Maybe (but very doubtful), RM will realize his system is not going to come close to being effective with this team. Also, quite frankly...I don't think that it will be that effective next year. When you have a talent like TL who can get to the basket at will, and a shooter like KL, why not use them as such. If RM doesn't learn from the last 4 minutes of tonight's game it's an embarrassment. The offensive problems can be boiled down to one thing - Rick Majerus.

[TheA_Bomb]

We went round and round with this same debate while Romar was the coach. We didn't have the players to fit his system and he still ran his system (from what I recall but I could be wrong). We debated this, Romar brought in some decent guys but never the main targets. Did Anderson at SPUMAC run a different system when he first took over there? No.

I hate for SLU to lose it is sad how much it frustrates me. I hope Majerus continuing to run his system even with these players will pay dividends. I hope they come sooner than later but it doesn't seem so.

These coaches have their system they stick to it. If we had this problem and there was no help coming in then I would be evenmore frustrated.

Pros:

Administrative dedication to the program

money, chartered flights, new arena coming

name recognized coach

extensive connections, proven recruiter, NCAA finals appearance

qualtity incoming recruiting class

Cons:

coach here for the short term 6 yrs.

ineffective offense

embarrassing losses

disgruntled fan base

loss of initial buzz of big hire

[Bay Area Billiken]

This loss is unacceptable.

SLU should not be losing at home to Sam Houston State, period. Skip the spin.

I do not agree with writing off the season to implement a "system." From reading these posts, it sounds like the players are being forced into playing a system that they cannot play. Why? When they are allowed to play ball, they can still do it.

I'm tired of all the excuses. The results speak for themselves.

[billiken_roy]

actually lorenzo never got to run his system. his system was two wings with a high and low post and run the floor. he commented at billiken clubs all the time you have to adapt your style of play to the players you got and his goal was to recruit better athletes that would allow him to push the tempo. he never installed that offense.

[slufanskip]

It wasn't Majerus system that made them lose this game.

It was too many missed easy shots in the first half including about 4-5 layups.

It was players taking jump shots they kept missing instead of going agressive to the basket when the lane was wide open for them.

It was the inexcusable fact they quit going to Bryce after he scored a few straight early in the second half along with getting fouled every time he touched it.

It was DB and BE continuously letting their man blow by them on offense and establish position on defense.

I doubt RM's system teaches them not to go to the rim with a clear path, but instead shoot 15ft jumpers.

I doubt RM's system teaches them to miss layups many HS jr's could finish

I doubt RM's system teaches them to establish the big man early and often then abandon it.

I doubt RM's system teaches them to stand flatfooted on D while the ball handler blows by them

I doubt RM's system teaches them to be nice and concede the inside position when a shot goes up.

Sorry this one is on the players. It was as lackluster and lazy an effort as I have watched ANY Billiken team give.

When they got agressive the game turned around. They lost this game due to lack of intensity and and desire from all but a couple of players.

There wasn't a player on the floor who could stop TL from getting to the rim or Bryce inside. Yet for the 1st 32 minutes Tommie didn't drive and except for a few minutes (successfully I might add) of each half we didn't get the ball inside to Bryce even when he gave a great target.

[dewey33]

AT THE END OF THE GAME, THEY QUIT BEING A BUNCH OF ROBOTS WHO WERE SCARED TO MAKE A MISTAKE AND JUST PLAYED....THE WAY THEY HAVE PLAYED THEIR WHOLE LIFE!

KEVIN IS A MARKED MAN THIS YEAR, HE HAS GOT A GUY IN HIS BACK POCKET ALL GAME AND HE FACES FREQUENT DOUBLE TEAMS BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN SO PREDICTABLE! EVERYONE WHO WATCHES US, KNOWS THAT HOW GOES KEVIN GOES THE BILLIKENS.

WHEN TOMMIE BLOWS UP THE MIDDLE OF THE DEFENSE IT TAKES AWAY THE HELP ON KEVIN AND GIVES HIM ROOM TO WORK....

I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO MIX THINGS UP....PRESS SOMETIMES, RUN SOME SET PLAYS, AND RUN MOTION TOO!

BECOME LESS PREDICTABLE....A TEAM THAT RUNS A SOPHISTICATED SYTEM POORLY IS EASY TO DEFEND.

It wasn't Majerus system that made them lose this game.

It was too many missed easy shots in the first half including about 4-5 layups.

It was players taking jump shots they kept missing instead of going agressive to the basket when the lane was wide open for them.

It was the inexcusable fact they quit going to Bryce after he scored a few straight early in the second half along with getting fouled every time he touched it.

It was DB and BE continuously letting their man blow by them on offense and establish position on defense.

I doubt RM's system teaches them not to go to the rim with a clear path, but instead shoot 15ft jumpers.

I doubt RM's system teaches them to miss layups many HS jr's could finish

I doubt RM's system teaches them to establish the big man early and often then abandon it.

I doubt RM's system teaches them to stand flatfooted on D while the ball handler blows by them

I doubt RM's system teaches them to be nice and concede the inside position when a shot goes up.

Sorry this one is on the players. It was as lackluster and lazy an effort as I have watched ANY Billiken team give.

When they got agressive the game turned around. They lost this game due to lack of intensity and and desire from all but a couple of players.

There wasn't a player on the floor who could stop TL from getting to the rim or Bryce inside. Yet for the 1st 32 minutes Tommie didn't drive and except for a few minutes (successfully I might add) of each half we didn't get the ball inside to Bryce even when he gave a great target.

[billiken_roy]

It wasn't Majerus system that made them lose this game.

It was too many missed easy shots in the first half including about 4-5 layups.

It was players taking jump shots they kept missing instead of going agressive to the basket when the lane was wide open for them.

It was the inexcusable fact they quit going to Bryce after he scored a few straight early in the second half along with getting fouled every time he touched it.

It was DB and BE continuously letting their man blow by them on offense and establish position on defense.

I doubt RM's system teaches them not to go to the rim with a clear path, but instead shoot 15ft jumpers.

I doubt RM's system teaches them to miss layups many HS jr's could finish

I doubt RM's system teaches them to establish the big man early and often then abandon it.

I doubt RM's system teaches them to stand flatfooted on D while the ball handler blows by them

I doubt RM's system teaches them to be nice and concede the inside position when a shot goes up.

Sorry this one is on the players. It was as lackluster and lazy an effort as I have watched ANY Billiken team give.

When they got agressive the game turned around. They lost this game due to lack of intensity and and desire from all but a couple of players.

There wasn't a player on the floor who could stop TL from getting to the rim or Bryce inside. Yet for the 1st 32 minutes Tommie didn't drive and except for a few minutes (successfully I might add) of each half we didn't get the ball inside to Bryce even when he gave a great target.

skip, i know you know more than the above indicates.

apparently it is majerus system that has the players not take the open lanes to the basket and make that extra pass instead of driving to the basket or shooting the better shot from the better shooter. instead we run it down to 4 seconds and all at once the ball is in the wrong shooter's hands or the better shooter is now guarded a little differently and/or is rushed to complete that shot that was easier 10 seconds ago.

they were so focused on going to bryce that at least 5 times in the first half they forced in passes that he couldnt catch or when he did #55 made him look like a monkey on 5 footers. bryce's statistics imo are very deceiving last night. he might be as bad of a come to the ball and meet the pass center i have seen. and i think his not getting stronger efforts is part of the problem. yes they didnt go to him as much in the second half but that was likely because he was struggling to get open and catch the damn ball a lot in the first half.

eberhardt played 7 minutes. i doubt his defensive efforts lost the game. i do remember #55 beating bryce down the floor 3 straight times to scored though.

danny brown played 6 minutes. of which 4 were the 4 minutes at the end during the best stretch of the game. again, i doubt that in the other two minutes danny brown did that much defensive damage.

i actually do think that apparently majerus system teaches them not to go to the basket when there is a clear lane. there is no other explanation for what we have seen from liddell thus far. except for the last 4 minute of the game, liddell doesnt even look to drive. instead he looks to pass it husak or around the perimeter to run clock is what it seems to me.

and i agree that the system doesnt look to establish and then abandon the inside, but when husak misses more than he makes (both in missed shots and missed catches) and we get down by 15 doing that, damn well better try something different. yes bryce scored 13 points, the truth is bryce should have scored about 30 points last night imo but he cant catch a pass more than 50% of the time and he missed probaby 3 three footers or less.

apparently majerus system teaches them to get back on defense instead of rebounding. and on offense the three guards rarely crash the boards.

skip, even if your observations are right, it is the head coach's job to instill the knowledge and desire to do those things we saw the past two and three years right that lisch, liddell, polk, meyer and brown did and now apparently dont do. to not believe something is wrong and this is all on the players seems a little crazy imo. yes the players arent making plays, but the style we are seeing for the first 36 minutes is surely not what you are advocating is best to succeed for the team we have.

[Majerus Magic]

eberhardt played 7 minutes. i doubt his defensive efforts lost the game. i do remember #55 beating bryce down the floor 3 straight times to scored though.

danny brown played 6 minutes. of which 4 were the 4 minutes at the end during the best stretch of the game. again, i doubt that in the other two minutes danny brown did that much defensive damage

Roy, were you at the game? Danny was awful. He was consistently getting beat off the dribble and that is why he only played 6 minutes. He is slow and ineffective on the defensive end.

You say that Eberhardt got beat down the floor 3 straight times but you say it didn't contribute to the loss. I don't really follow that logic. Anytime you get beat down the floor multiple times you deserve to be pulled.

[slufanskip]

skip, i know you know more than the above indicates.

apparently it is majerus system that has the players not take the open lanes to the basket and make that extra pass instead of driving to the basket or shooting the better shot from the better shooter. instead we run it down to 4 seconds and all at once the ball is in the wrong shooter's hands or the better shooter is now guarded a little differently and/or is rushed to complete that shot that was easier 10 seconds ago.

they were so focused on going to bryce that at least 5 times in the first half they forced in passes that he couldnt catch or when he did #55 made him look like a monkey on 5 footers. bryce's statistics imo are very deceiving last night. he might be as bad of a come to the ball and meet the pass center i have seen. and i think his not getting stronger efforts is part of the problem. yes they didnt go to him as much in the second half but that was likely because he was struggling to get open and catch the damn ball a lot in the first half.

eberhardt played 7 minutes. i doubt his defensive efforts lost the game. i do remember #55 beating bryce down the floor 3 straight times to scored though.

danny brown played 6 minutes. of which 4 were the 4 minutes at the end during the best stretch of the game. again, i doubt that in the other two minutes danny brown did that much defensive damage.

i actually do think that apparently majerus system teaches them not to go to the basket when there is a clear lane. there is no other explanation for what we have seen from liddell thus far. except for the last 4 minute of the game, liddell doesnt even look to drive. instead he looks to pass it husak or around the perimeter to run clock is what it seems to me.

and i agree that the system doesnt look to establish and then abandon the inside, but when husak misses more than he makes (both in missed shots and missed catches) and we get down by 15 doing that, damn well better try something different. yes bryce scored 13 points, the truth is bryce should have scored about 30 points last night imo but he cant catch a pass more than 50% of the time and he missed probaby 3 three footers or less.

apparently majerus system teaches them to get back on defense instead of rebounding. and on offense the three guards rarely crash the boards.

skip, even if your observations are right, it is the head coach's job to instill the knowledge and desire to do those things we saw the past two and three years right that lisch, liddell, polk, meyer and brown did and now apparently dont do. to not believe something is wrong and this is all on the players seems a little crazy imo. yes the players arent making plays, but the style we are seeing for the first 36 minutes is surely not what you are advocating is best to succeed for the team we have.

Roy, you saw your own game. You are right, I do know more, more enough to know that I am 100% on target.

Just the fact that you stated that you believe RM's offense does teach them not to take an open lane to the basket tells me we have no business discussing the game. Thanks for the laugh.

[Kbrew]

I don't profess to know a lot about basketball, but one thing I did notice about TL last night, was a time in the second half that he had a wide open three from the wing and hesitated - a long time -before taking the shot. The lane was available for what he does so well - drive the hoop. His indecision cost him and he fired up an ugly shot, barely drawing iron. Majerus, on a subsequent timeout, appeared to chew him out regarding the play. From that point on, we saw the Tommie of old. Driving the lane, scoring at will, creating for everyone else...basically, taking over the game! My hope is that the "light" was turned on for TL on how he's supposed to fit in with this offense and, hopefully soon, it will for Kevin, too.

[bonwich]

Kudos to Skip for his attempts to rouse the old-butts around him during that last-4-minute run. I think Skip might have bypassed a great career as a standup comedian or motivational speaker.

And I think we have an opportunity in the SIU game, which is simple visibility. I bet we get 8-10,000, almost half of which haven't been to a Billiken game this year. (Granted, they'll probably be rooting for the other team, but it'd be nice to look like an interesting alternative for the casual sports fan.)

[dewey33]

In case you forgot what fun the billikens can be....

Kudos to Skip for his attempts to rouse the old-butts around him during that last-4-minute run. I think Skip might have bypassed a great career as a standup comedian or motivational speaker.

And I think we have an opportunity in the SIU game, which is simple visibility. I bet we get 8-10,000, almost half of which haven't been to a Billiken game this year. (Granted, they'll probably be rooting for the other team, but it'd be nice to look like an interesting alternative for the casual sports fan.)

[drkelsey55]

Seeing that video reminded me that Kevin is not wearing the extra sleve on his arm this year. Maybe its mental but He allways seem to shoot well when wearing the white or blue sleve... anyone else notice that.