we won because

[dewey33]

Rick is a Terrible coach. He's lost everything. He's washed up. He can't coach in today's game..........

We get it. Seriously, we get it.

At least one national media member is talking about us.....Its worse when they are ignoring you

RM can handle that kind of criticism

[Majerus Magic]

You're right about everything you posted above. I guess I was looking for a little confirmation.

You and Brian seemed to take the approach that Majerus is infallible and the player are not

maxing out. I was attempting to show you that other people were seeing some of the same things

I were. If I have gone too far I will tone it down.

I don't think he in infallible. However, I do think the guy has earned my respect and I'm not going to question him 11 games into a season. I don't know if you understand but he has a record of 429-152. Thats a large discrepancy between wins and losses. I think its a joke you are ragging on the guy because you are pissed off about Tommie.

[kshoe]

are you kidding, I'm on the far opposite side of the fence than Roy on this one. Kshoe you made 2 close up TV appearances. One was a real close up, your mug fillng my 61" tv was scary as hell. Willie was in the backgound on one.

hopefully you weren't watching in HD.

[Billikan]

What is the basis for your belief that Majerus has not given them freedom to create offense? Perhaps the players were struggling, not the instruction. Was Kevin given unlimited rein during the first three games when he seemed to be able to shoot and score at will and then shut down for the next seven? Didn't Kevin struggle through short stretches of the last two seasons--did Soderberg change his coaching during those stretches?

BTW, everyone was scared to death that Majerus wasn't going to given Tommie adequate playing time because of defensive issues. By my quick calculation, Tommie has averaged 38.7 minutes per game over the last three games.

I like this team, and I like these players. However, the reason we went down to the wire with a down Carbondale team is because we simply aren't very talented. We have two quality offensive players, two or three role players, and a really bad bench. We need at least four or five real offensive threats--not two--to be consistently good at a high D1 level. Spoon's two good teams in the early 90's had five guys who were legitimate scoring threats (Claggett, Highmark, Waldman, Dobbs, and Carl Turner) and several nice role players up front. We need to get back to that depth of offensive talent, hopefully with even bigger and more athletic players.

DO YOU THINK THAT BIANCARDI WAS LYING WHEN HE SAID THAT THEY CHANGED THE OFFENSE TO A DRIVE AND KICK OFFENSE FOR THIS GAME/ DO YOU THINK IT IS UTTER COINCIDENCE THAT TOMMIE AND kEVIN HAD THEIR BEST OFFENSIVE GAMES OF THE YEAR?

[brianstl]

You're right about everything you posted above. I guess I was looking for a little confirmation.

You and Brian seemed to take the approach that Majerus is infallible and the player are not

maxing out. I was attempting to show you that other people were seeing some of the same things

I were. If I have gone too far I will tone it down.

I never said the players were not maxing out or giving 100% effort. I think they have been. I don't think Rickma is infallible, but I do know his system is not easy to learn. It is hard for even the most talented players and it is even harder when nobody on the roster has any previous exposure to it.

JaleJarr don't tone it down. This place would be as boring as hell if we all agreed.

[moytoy12]

I don't think he in infallible. However, I do think the guy has earned my respect and I'm not going to question him 11 games into a season. I don't know if you understand but he has a record of 429-152. Thats a large discrepancy between wins and losses. I think its a joke you are ragging on the guy because you are pissed off about Tommie.

No one is "ragging" on Majerus or "bashing" him. Some (myself included) have had certain questions about Majerus' tactics. My questions were born out of impatience, but others have questioned certain tactics. I feel whether it's one game in or the 100th game in, we always have the right to question.

I love how things get so polarized so quickly.

[Majerus Magic]

No one is "ragging" on Majerus or "bashing" him. Some (myself included) have had certain questions about Majerus' tactics. My questions were born out of impatience, but others have questioned certain tactics. I feel whether it's one game in or the 100th game in, we always have the right to question.

I love how things get so polarized so quickly.

Moy,

JaleJarr takes any shot he can at Majerus. I happen to disagree with him. I don't think its anything personal.

[moytoy12]

Moy,

JaleJarr takes any shot he can at Majerus. I happen to disagree with him. I don't think its anything personal.

I guess we just disagree on what it is to take a "shot". For example, I think of "taking shots" as saying Majerus is fat. I don't think it's taking a shot to question the coach's method, even if there is a bias by the one doing the questioning.

I don't think it's personal either.

[JaleJarr]

I don't think he in infallible. However, I do think the guy has earned my respect and I'm not going to question him 11 games into a season. I don't know if you understand but he has a record of 429-152. Thats a large discrepancy between wins and losses. I think its a joke you are ragging on the guy because you are pissed off about Tommie.

First off I'm upset about Kevin too . I'm not upset about anything. I have the greatest respect for Coach Majerus coaching prowess. I think he is the greatest thing that could have happened for SLU. You only see one thing. Judging by your moniker I guess it's unrealistic on my part to expect you to have an open mind.

A guy in the national media has taken notice of Majerus' comments about his players. What makes you think the other coaches and recruiters haven't taken notice? There may come a day in the near future when some recruits may be swayed away by these comments. You don't think other coaches negatively recruit. Tommie and Kevin having success can only help SLU as far as recruiting. But there is always a flip-slide.

[Majerus Magic]

First off I'm upset about Kevin too . I'm not upset about anything. I have the greatest respect for Coach Majerus coaching prowess. I think he is the greatest thing that could have happened for SLU. You only see one thing. Judging by your moniker I guess it's unrealistic on my part to expect you to have an open mind.

A guy in the national media has taken notice of Majerus' comments about his players. What makes you think the other coaches and recruiters haven't taken notice? There may come a day in the near future when some recruits may be swayed away by these comments. You don't think other coaches negatively recruit. Tommie and Kevin having success can only help SLU as far as recruiting. But there is always a flip-slide.

If you truly think he is the greatest thing to happen to SLU, then I take back what I said about your attitude. In regards to recruits, I'm not worried. We already have 5 guys coming in who I think will only help the program.

[slufanskip]

You're right about everything you posted above. I guess I was looking for a little confirmation.

You and Brian seemed to take the approach that Majerus is infallible and the player are not

maxing out. I was attempting to show you that other people were seeing some of the same things

I were. If I have gone too far I will tone it down.

your obvious personal bias is getting in the way of your objectivity.

[JaleJarr]

If you truly think he is the greatest thing to happen to SLU, then I take back what I said about your attitude. In regards to recruits, I'm not worried. We already have 5 guys coming in who I think will only help the program.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I was just a poor kid from East St Louis who grew up watching SLU on Channel 11.

SLU was my first introduction to college basketball. I guess I'm one of the few who was happy to see SLU on Channel 11 this past season. It brought back good and bad memories. Were going to need more after the 5 guys.

[JaleJarr]

your obvious personal bias is getting in the way of your objectivity.

I think you misread my post or I wasn't clear enough. I was agreeing with his sarcastic take on my post.

Pretty much agreed that I was possibly piling on Coach Majerus.

[brianstl]

I think you misread my post or I wasn't clear enough. I was agreeing with his sarcastic take on my post.

Pretty much agreed that I was possibly piling on Coach Majerus.

I expect your personal bias to affect your opinion. I think it is foolish to not. Your first loyalty should be to TL and not the program. I would be the same if I was in your position.

[slufanskip]

I think you misread my post or I wasn't clear enough. I was agreeing with his sarcastic take on my post.

Pretty much agreed that I was possibly piling on Coach Majerus.

I'm sure you know you aren't the only one that wants to see Tommie do well. I absolutely believe that Tommie taking in all RM has to teach him will make him a better NBA prospect. He has about 60 games with RM with about 80% of them left. He still has a lot to learn and a lot of tme including and entire offseason. You can already see the difference in his defense, I feel confident in saying Tommie doesn't take that charge last year, instead he's contesing the shot.

[NashvilleBilliken]

Great win last night! It was one hell of an entertaining game. For as low as the score was, I sure enjoyed watching it. A few observations...

1) There is no question that we played a different offense last night. How anybody can say TL and KL are just "getting it", wasn't paying attention. I don't think either of the guys scored a bucket off a pick. I also don't think we really scored any points off of set plays. It was ALL kl and tl doing it themselves. I think the question is a) Did Majerus implement this offense because it would work best agains SIU or b.) did Majerus finally realize that his experiment of implementing his offense at all costs isn't working. I think it's B. IMO, Rick still wants to win and he knows that it ain't happening with his offense and the current roster. For those who say Rick doesnt' have it....well, I completely disagree. Not a lot of coaches would/could totally change the offense and pick up a win against SIU.

2) Tommie and Kevin were spectacular. BH played a nice defensive game and had some huge shots. All that being said, i think the game last night highlighted our lack of talent and size. We just don't have it, guys. SIU wasn't that big...so we were able to put the hammer down defensively and get the W. We will still struggle against teams like Pitt and BC...or even X or UD. You NEED size in this day an age.

3) I thought the ESPNU announcers were great. They might have been the most informed bunch we've ever had. I'll take those guys any day. Did anybody catch when they said, "When I watch a Coach K practice, I learn something. When I watch a Tom Izzo I learn something. When I watch a Rick Majerus practice, I learn A LOT." I think that says a lot...

[JaleJarr]

You can already see the difference in his defense, I feel confident in saying Tommie doesn't take that charge last year, instead he's contesing the shot.

About that charge, I'm not 100% certain his feet were set, but I'll take it anyway.

[cheeseman]

You guys should have blown us out in the first half. If another Saluki had stepped up besides Shaw, we would have been down double digits in the first half. Even so, you guys were up 9 with 5 to play I believe. But this team has shown the ability to close furiously so it was not completely unexpected that we made the charge we did at the end.

One of the keys to this game was Falkner sat for 6-7 minutes with 2 fouls in the first half. Him being out is what allowed us to fight back and take a lead into the locker room at the half. Falkner stays in all first half then it is a different story.

[cheeseman]

Cheesman,

Couple of thoughts on your comments. Indeed KL and TL had a good game. Kevin is BACK. His confidence shooting the ball is what was needed. Both were agressive to the basket. TL s fade away jumpers were not necessarily good shot selections, just demonstrations of great talent. Those are really tough to pull off and he did it not once but several times. Good for him.

KL was back to scoring off the dribble and TL was taking players off the dribble (it is both of their strengths). Did you notice that neither KL or TL were shooting coming off screens (the RM trademark).

Your observation on BH is half right. Have you just noticed he is not a Kevin Garnett? That doesn't mean he is not effective. The man is a presence in the lane, make no mistake about that. Falker wished he'd never seen BH as he wore him like a suit defensively when he was in, a really high energy defensive effort on BHs part. That big wing span of BH was always working denying the ball. He missed several shots with that big hand in his face. Bryce kept him in check when he was in the game.. Falker ate BEs lunch when he was given the job. Bryce handled him quite well. BH did get out manouvered a couple of times but he is 7 feet tall and not expected to have the quickness of a PF like Falker. Plus the fist half was very good for BH offensively, I believe he scored most of his points in the first half. In the second half, he contributed defensively more than offensively.

BH needs to work on his left handed touch under the basket. That is one of his best moves, he just needs to finish. Also, when Falker was climbing on his back, he was also half fronting BH, the guards need to recognize that a nice fading pass to the basket will let Bryce score easily and make the Falkers of the world look bad.

PE surely make some freshman mistakes, a thrown away ball in the second have that was a critical posession. Fortunately, SLU was making defensive stops when it counted and we recovered. I felt for the kid when he hit the floor and the SIUC player actually rolled his hips over PEs head and neck. Man, that could have been serious.

Overall, this was a good game against a tough team. Our shooting percentages went up to where they need to be and our defensive effort was good. Now we need to move forward and keep up this overall effort. The Ws will come.

Falker did handle Be but that was to be expected - a big mismatch. I did not say that BH was not serviceable just that he could not handle Falker. Unless he was helped Falker had his way with him.

[cheeseman]

DO YOU THINK THAT BIANCARDI WAS LYING WHEN HE SAID THAT THEY CHANGED THE OFFENSE TO A DRIVE AND KICK OFFENSE FOR THIS GAME/ DO YOU THINK IT IS UTTER COINCIDENCE THAT TOMMIE AND kEVIN HAD THEIR BEST OFFENSIVE GAMES OF THE YEAR?

You fail to understand how coaching in basketball works. The coach always adjusts an approach to the game based on the opponent but that adjustment is normally a tweak of their overall philosophy. So what if RM said kick the ball out more if TL and KL are free of their man I would not classify that a major overhaul and overthrow of his philosophy. What Paul B said hardly was an earth shattering statement as you seem to think it was. I heard him with Rammer and Rammer and Earl did not make any big deal of what he said or even make any specific comments about it afterwards - I also listened to the show from Iggy's - slow ride home with the weather - and when Rammer came he never even mentioned this supposed major change in RM's philosophy that you so astutely determined.

[Billikan]

You fail to understand how coaching in basketball works. The coach always adjusts an approach to the game based on the opponent but that adjustment is normally a tweak of their overall philosophy. So what if RM said kick the ball out more if TL and KL are free of their man I would not classify that a major overhaul and overthrow of his philosophy. What Paul B said hardly was an earth shattering statement as you seem to think it was. I heard him with Rammer and Rammer and Earl did not make any big deal of what he said or even make any specific comments about it afterwards - I also listened to the show from Iggy's - slow ride home with the weather - and when Rammer came he never even mentioned this supposed major change in RM's philosophy that you so astutely determined.

I have coached a lot of games and played in hundreds and I fully understand the nuances of coaching. Earlier in the season Rm specifically said that he knew that we would be better on offense if we went to a drive and kick philosophy but he said he was not going to change his system. Then last night, Biancardi used that exact description to say they CHANGED their offensive philosophy. I could tell from the beginning fo the game that we had changed our sets and we played with more isolation that allowed Tommie and Kevin more freedom. Please tell me how many screen and pop shots you saw go in last night or were even attempted. Look--I love the fact that we have Majerus but I am very frustrated with him and now this board constantly ripping the players. Using his "system" we played the worst 4 games in a row that I can remember. When he changed, Tommie and Kevin were more comfortable. I am amazed that you cannot see what happened because it was so obvious in watching the game.

[billi-can]

It is ridiculous to say we did nothing different and Biancardi admitted after the game that we switched to a drive and kick offense-- an offense that obviously benefits Tommie and Kevin. The fact that RM changed is amazing and a good omen. His public statements were just the opposite.

The thing that bugged me the most is that rather than admit that RM might be running the wrong offense for this team many decided that it must be that we have no talent and no players--a ridiculous proposition that was proved false tonight.

Your exactly right he changed the offense. They were aggressive from the start, if he goes back to that passive offense, he sucks..

[Basketbill]

About that charge, I'm not 100% certain his feet were set, but I'll take it anyway.

Jalejarr,

Definitely set I saw it myself from 100 feet away.......

[billiken_roy]

You fail to understand how coaching in basketball works. The coach always adjusts an approach to the game based on the opponent but that adjustment is normally a tweak of their overall philosophy. So what if RM said kick the ball out more if TL and KL are free of their man I would not classify that a major overhaul and overthrow of his philosophy. What Paul B said hardly was an earth shattering statement as you seem to think it was. I heard him with Rammer and Rammer and Earl did not make any big deal of what he said or even make any specific comments about it afterwards - I also listened to the show from Iggy's - slow ride home with the weather - and when Rammer came he never even mentioned this supposed major change in RM's philosophy that you so astutely determined.

ALWAYS? coach majerus didnt adjust until 44 playing minutes ago.

i dont think a lot of people asked that majerus change his whole basketball philosophy, just utillize his two best players in the manner they are best suited. indeed it did not involve a major change in style. just a little free reign.

[NH]

I think it is fairly obvious why some people are a little upset with this coach.

1) we payed big money so we want big results

2)the way he talks about his players, great coaches only say those things behind closed doors.

3)his reference to our lack of talent then we have to all-conference guards

4)His ego. He needs to take the blame for some of the teams problems

I still am glad we got him and have not given up hope on the season. We will be a better team come March and thats what really counts.

GO BILLS!!!