Fox Sports says Majerus a genius no more

[philliken]

Saw this article posted on Fox Sports College Basketball home page. Pretty rough.

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/goodm..._GENIUS_NO_MORE

[mshonerkamp]

Glad to see I ain't the only one that think you should run a up tempo game when you are under-sized. Its common sense and majerus is just being a hard headed dummy. He's ruining his own reputation and killing the players while he's at it. He grips about the under sized team we have but continues to slow the tempo down and try to run plays. If we are smaller we gotta run the ball and try to wear out the other team. Oh well its said i used to love this team even when we were losing with ole boy soderberg, but know the way its going with a coach that pretty much says he don't like our kids its just not the same. I sure wished we had soderberg back, but oh well I can't wait to get my bashings i know i will get for liking soderberg. Let the onslaught begin haha

[davidnark]

I noticed that he failed to mention that Majerus is over .500 with a team that effectively has no players over 6'5" tall.

[BIG BILL FAN]

Glad to see I ain't the only one that think you should run a up tempo game when you are under-sized. Its common sense and majerus is just being a hard headed dummy. He's ruining his own reputation and killing the players while he's at it. He grips about the under sized team we have but continues to slow the tempo down and try to run plays. If we are smaller we gotta run the ball and try to wear out the other team. Oh well its said i used to love this team even when we were losing with ole boy soderberg, but know the way its going with a coach that pretty much says he don't like our kids its just not the same. I sure wished we had soderberg back, but oh well I can't wait to get my bashings i know i will get for liking soderberg. Let the onslaught begin haha

To have an effective running game, you need to have a deep bench, do you really believe that this team has that kind of depth? If we went to an up tempo game with this team we would be destroyed. We need a reality check here. I can just imagine Bryce lumbering up the court in a fast paced game.

[mshonerkamp]

I noticed that he failed to mention that Majerus is over .500 with a team that effectively has no players over 6'5" tall.

And didn't Soderberg get 20 wins with the same players except IV. Oh no credit to soderberg i forgot. Maybe if majerus would push the ball and go up tempo offense we may actually have one at least two more games. And IMO the wins we have are not all that impressive, except for IUPUI, and Kent State. Lets look at the teams the billikens beat and see there RPI ranking.

UNC A&T 117

Houston Baptist, first year back as D1 team

Detriot 252

Furman 330

Pacific 167

Long Beach State 314

SIUC 59

Loyola Chicago 5-11 record, cldn't find RPI Rank

IUPUI 97

Ok you don't have to be smart to see that them wins are all against pretty bad teams ok maybe two wins against good teams, wow detriot, furman, and LBS could prolly be beat by a good D2 or juco team but yeh majerus is over .500 what great wins bet them will hold up come tourney time if we were on the bubble. I can just see Dick Vitale saying man what key wins versus furman detriot and LBS. Yep gotta love it!

[mshonerkamp]

But I remember all you Majerus lovers saying we are playing with a team of no one over 6'5. Last Time i seen Bryce Husak he seemed more then 4 inches taller then me, yep 7'. So what everybody has said about us playing with a team of no one over 6'5 is wrong i guess. Oh about depth, we'll shouldn't a so called legendary coach be able to use all his players to his full ability. Look sports writers even think majerus is nuts so its not only me. Also I may have had respect for the guy until he is like i feel like a step father i didn't pick these kids and they didn't pick me. How you think that makes lisch and liddell and all the other crew fell. Prolly like a big peice of crap is what they fell like. Like i said in a previous post, I'm sure bob knight the first year he went to Texas Tech was like these players suck butt, nope didn't say that he played with what he had and coached. He didn't make bs excuse like big boy majerus makes.

[BIG BILL FAN]

And didn't Soderberg get 20 wins with the same players except IV. Oh no credit to soderberg i forgot. Maybe if majerus would push the ball and go up tempo offense we may actually have one at least two more games. And IMO the wins we have are not all that impressive, except for IUPUI, and Kent State. Lets look at the teams the billikens beat and see there RPI ranking.

UNC A&T 117

Houston Baptist, first year back as D1 team

Detriot 252

Furman 330

Pacific 167

Long Beach State 314

SIUC 59

Loyola Chicago 5-11 record, cldn't find RPI Rank

IUPUI 97

Ok you don't have to be smart to see that them wins are all against pretty bad teams ok maybe two wins against good teams, wow detriot, furman, and LBS could prolly be beat by a good D2 or juco team but yeh majerus is over .500 what great wins bet them will hold up come tourney time if we were on the bubble. I can just see Dick Vitale saying man what key wins versus furman detriot and LBS. Yep gotta love it!

I love how you say "we have the same players except for IV". Don't you understand that is a MAJOR LOSS!!!!. As for your comments about playing an up tempo game, are you under the impression that Brad played an uptempo game? We rarely scored 60 in the Soderberg era. The comments on this board are amazing. The last I heard (surprisingly enough ) is the coaching genus and recruiting wiz is still available. Maybe if we get down on our hands and knees we could fire RM and beg BS to come back. I think this would really please some here.

[3Jack]

I love how you say "we have the same players except for IV". Don't you understand that is a MAJOR LOSS!!!!. As for your comments about playing an up tempo game, are you under the impression that Brad played an uptempo game? We rarely scored 60 in the Soderberg era. The comments on this board are amazing. The last I heard (surprisingly enough ) is the coaching genus and recruiting wiz is still available. Maybe if we get down on our hands and knees we could fire RM and beg BS to come back. I think this would really please some here.

SLU scored 60 in 23 out of 33 games last year Big Bill Fan. Do you define rare as roughly 3 out of 4 games?

[BIG BILL FAN]

But I remember all you Majerus lovers saying we are playing with a team of no one over 6'5. Last Time i seen Bryce Husak he seemed more then 4 inches taller then me, yep 7'. So what everybody has said about us playing with a team of no one over 6'5 is wrong i guess. Oh about depth, we'll shouldn't a so called legendary coach be able to use all his players to his full ability. Look sports writers even think majerus is nuts so its not only me. Also I may have had respect for the guy until he is like i feel like a step father i didn't pick these kids and they didn't pick me. How you think that makes lisch and liddell and all the other crew fell. Prolly like a big peice of crap is what they fell like. Like i said in a previous post, I'm sure bob knight the first year he went to Texas Tech was like these players suck butt, nope didn't say that he played with what he had and coached. He didn't make bs excuse like big boy majerus makes.

Do you really think Bryce Husak is a talent? He had been atSLU for 5 years. If BS couldn't do anything with him in 4 years, why is RM expected to turn him into a major contributor?

[BIG BILL FAN]

SLU scored 60 in 23 out of 33 games last year Big Bill Fan. Do you define rare as roughly 3 out of 4 games?

My apologies for not recognizing that BS ran such an uptempo game. Is that really true? reached 60 in 23 games? Wow, i bet there were a few times they reached 70 under that old run and gun coach.

[3Jack]

My apologies for not recognizing that BS ran such an uptempo game. Is that really true? reached 60 in 23 games? Wow, i bet there were a few times they reached 70 under that old run and gun coach.

It isn't hard Big Bill. The internet is your friend. Since you asked they scored over 70 13 times last year.

[mshonerkamp]

I don't think I ever said that husak was a superstar. I was just stating that we do have a player over 6'5. Also If you read my post I never said BS ran a up tempo game. I said if majerus is going to complain about not having any height then maybe he should try running an up tempo game so that we don't have to get settle down and let them match up against us as easily. Everybody even said that last year Ian didn't have near as good of a year as he did his junior year. Yeh he was still a big help out, but dang one player shouldn't make that big of a different. Good caochs IMO can play with what they had. Another reason i make these comments is because everybody thinks majerus is doing so good by having a winning record. Like i said earlier, take away SUIC and IUPUI and there is no team we beat that was in the top 100 RPI Ranking. So by far 7 of the wins are not impressive at all, they should be guaranted wins. Thought majerus would be a good fit even though i did like soderberg, but after seeing his attitude and the way he makes excuses, I don't care one bit for the man.

[billikenfan05]

But I remember all you Majerus lovers saying we are playing with a team of no one over 6'5. Last Time i seen Bryce Husak he seemed more then 4 inches taller then me, yep 7'. So what everybody has said about us playing with a team of no one over 6'5 is wrong i guess. Oh about depth, we'll shouldn't a so called legendary coach be able to use all his players to his full ability. Look sports writers even think majerus is nuts so its not only me. Also I may have had respect for the guy until he is like i feel like a step father i didn't pick these kids and they didn't pick me. How you think that makes lisch and liddell and all the other crew fell. Prolly like a big peice of crap is what they fell like. Like i said in a previous post, I'm sure bob knight the first year he went to Texas Tech was like these players suck butt, nope didn't say that he played with what he had and coached. He didn't make bs excuse like big boy majerus makes.

I agree with majerus' statement that they didnt pick him and he didnt pick them I think he meant that the team is doing their best in a bad situation

[AlumniFan]

I noticed that he failed to mention that Majerus is over .500 with a team that effectively has no players over 6'5" tall.

David - as much as I respect your opinion, and you know I do, we have 4 players over 6'5": Relphorde - 6'7", Eberhardt - 6'7", Knollmeyer - 6'9", and Husak - 7'0". Now, I know that Bryce has been less than spectacular most of the time, but he has played quite a bit as has Barry. Knollmeyer saw at least some action tonight as did Marcus. So, "effectively" may be debated, but factually, Rick DOES have several players, two of whom have started at times, at 6'5" or taller (and, I think even Knollmeyer may have started a preseason game). Additionally, as much as Rick likes to say how short his taller players are, none of us have taken a tape measure to them, and, on a relative basis, to the extent that SLU is exaggerating player heights, so is everyone else.

I hope Rick does well, but for me, the jury is definitely still out. Coaching is about a lot more than x's an o's and recruiting. It is also about getting other human beings to do difficult things successfully under difficult circumstances. So far as a coach at Saint Louis University, Rick has proven himself less adept at this latter function than his predecessor.

BTW, I sat with friends over in section 104 tonight for the second half. Much more fun than section 114.

[slu72]

But I remember all you Majerus lovers saying we are playing with a team of no one over 6'5. Last Time i seen Bryce Husak he seemed more then 4 inches taller then me, yep 7'. So what everybody has said about us playing with a team of no one over 6'5 is wrong i guess. Oh about depth, we'll shouldn't a so called legendary coach be able to use all his players to his full ability. Look sports writers even think majerus is nuts so its not only me. Also I may have had respect for the guy until he is like i feel like a step father i didn't pick these kids and they didn't pick me. How you think that makes lisch and liddell and all the other crew fell. Prolly like a big peice of crap is what they fell like. Like i said in a previous post, I'm sure bob knight the first year he went to Texas Tech was like these players suck butt, nope didn't say that he played with what he had and coached. He didn't make bs excuse like big boy majerus makes.

You ought to become UB's agent. Obviously, the current one this coaching genius has isn't getting it done, since UB's still unemployed. Why don't you just compare RM's coaching resume to UB's and tell us who'd you'd like on the bench. I thought RM's metaphor about the step children was right on. I also don't think he's whining about this team's talent level. He's being honest.

[thebillikensfriend]

IV was not a major loss....he didnt play well his last year at all... 2nd..RM is making some lame excuses, and his attitude about these are not his guys deal is killing this team and its obvious...RM has killed tommies game this year...TL went from a 1st team all conference player to not even on the 3rd team all conference right now....tommie's game has not got worse sorry...RM is to blame...just a year ago everyone was saying how tommie was the next larry now hes nobody...RM is killing this kid and i feel sorry for tommie because he has hurt his chances of a draft... not good....at least soderberg let his star players play...but oh yeah these are not ricks kids so hes going to cry about it...

[BIG BILL FAN]

IV was not a major loss....he didnt play well his last year at all... 2nd..RM is making some lame excuses, and his attitude about these are not his guys deal is killing this team and its obvious...RM has killed tommies game this year...TL went from a 1st team all conference player to not even on the 3rd team all conference right now....tommie's game has not got worse sorry...RM is to blame...just a year ago everyone was saying how tommie was the next larry now hes nobody...RM is killing this kid and i feel sorry for tommie because he has hurt his chances of a draft... not good....at least soderberg let his star players play...but oh yeah these are not ricks kids so hes going to cry about it...

This is my last attempt to explain Ian's importance to our RM bashers. Our offense went almost exclusively through Ian last year. It was a rare exception when Ian didn't touch the ball on a possession. When the ball went into him he was almost always double and sometimes even tripled team. Ian , to his credit was an excellent passer and would frequently find an open Tommie or Kevin to pass to. This part of our game no longer exists. Teams rarely double our bigs and when they do , they have great success in stripping Bryce of the ball. Why is this such a difficult concept to grasp. Brad frequently mentioned last year that Ian's importance to the team was much more than his pts and rebound totals. The criticism of RM is unbelievable. Here is a coach who is a proven winner, who has inherited a vey mediocre squad, whose coaching ability is being questioned after a 9-7 start. Amazing, what else can you say....We don't deserve to have him here...

[JaleJarr]

This is my last attempt to explain Ian's importance to our RM bashers. Our offense went almost exclusively through Ian last year. It was a rare exception when Ian didn't touch the ball on a possession. When the ball went into him he was almost always double and sometimes even tripled team. Ian , to his credit was an excellent passer and would frequently find an open Tommie or Kevin to pass to. This part of our game no longer exists. Teams rarely double our bigs and when they do , they have great success in stripping Bryce of the ball. Why is this such a difficult concept to grasp. Brad frequently mentioned last year that Ian's importance to the team was much more than his pts and rebound totals. The criticism of RM is unbelievable. Here is a coach who is a proven winner, who has inherited a vey mediocre squad, whose coaching ability is being questioned after a 9-7 start. Amazing, what else can you say....We don't deserve to have him here...

When Ian played over 30 minutes in any regular season game , the Bills finished 7-8. When he played less than 30 minutes per game, the Bills finished 11-4.

[thebillikensfriend]

RM inherited a vey mediocre squad with TL and KL on it??? 2 all conference players...some teams in the a10 barely have 1 all conference player...i understand that we have limitations and all that but isnt a great winner like RM supposed to make something happen...these guys arent all that bad now...lets not give RM a pass just because hes rick...i expected more out of RM to be honest...i feel if we had brad with this team we would have had a better record at this point in the year...i know they didnt choose him and he didnt choose them blah blah blah...i dont buy that crap, they are basketball players and should be able to hold their own in the a10 i mean this isnt the old CUSA...

[BIG BILL FAN]

When Ian played over 30 minutes in any regular season game , the Bills finished 7-8. When he played less than 30 minutes per game, the Bills finished 11-4.

So Jale Jarr, are you trying to tell me that Bryce is close to the same player as Ian??? Your stats are silly...Obviously Ian averaged more minutes against the better teams than he did against the weak ones. He wasn't needed near as much against them.

[davidnark]

David - as much as I respect your opinion, and you know I do, we have 4 players over 6'5": Relphorde - 6'7", Eberhardt - 6'7", Knollmeyer - 6'9", and Husak - 7'0". Now, I know that Bryce has been less than spectacular most of the time, but he has played quite a bit as has Barry. Knollmeyer saw at least some action tonight as did Marcus. So, "effectively" may be debated, but factually, Rick DOES have several players, two of whom have started at times, at 6'5" or taller (and, I think even Knollmeyer may have started a preseason game). Additionally, as much as Rick likes to say how short his taller players are, none of us have taken a tape measure to them, and, on a relative basis, to the extent that SLU is exaggerating player heights, so is everyone else.

I hope Rick does well, but for me, the jury is definitely still out. Coaching is about a lot more than x's an o's and recruiting. It is also about getting other human beings to do difficult things successfully under difficult circumstances. So far as a coach at Saint Louis University, Rick has proven himself less adept at this latter function than his predecessor.

BTW, I sat with friends over in section 104 tonight for the second half. Much more fun than section 114.

I was wondering where you were last night. My explanation for "effectively" -- Eberhadt is at most 6'5" (he actaully appears smaller than Meyer), Relphorde doesn't play in the front court, and the other two haven't shown that they have any effective offensive post game. That is the basis for my statement.

[JaleJarr]

Here is a coach who is a proven winner, who has inherited a vey mediocre squad, whose coaching ability is being questioned after a 9-7 start. Amazing, what else can you say....We don't deserve to have him here...

You want to paint a picture of a bleak situation. The evidence suggest otherwise. This team just took a top 25 team to

overtime. Played another Top 25 team Pittsburgh to an 11 point loss at Pittsburgh. It's not the losses that bothers me. It's the fashion in which we lose. Since that Pittsburgh loss and prior to last night loss to Dayton, the team and the coaching hadn't given a good accounting of themselves. Please observe the following:

Missouri State 60-56 loss

5 minutes remaining SLU has scored only 39 points. At the 11 minute mark of the 2nd half, the Bills were at 26 for the game.

Kent State 81-40 loss

40 points in 40 minutes of basketball. Can it get any worse?

Boston College 61-39 loss

39 points in 40 minutes of basketball. That answers the above question. Surely this will be the low point of the year.

Sam Houston State 61-53

Don't let the score deceive. At the 3:23 mark the Bills only scored 40 points.

George Washington 49-20

A game for the ages.

I agree were lucky to have Majerus, but he and the staff can't be absolved of this mess. Judging the performance of what the

returning 4 starters did playing significant minutes without Ian in at least 15 games. 9-7 can be considered underachieving.

[mshonerkamp]

I don't think i'm getting my point across clearly here. What I am trying to say is I don't think majerus should be praised for having a above .500 record so far. The teams he have beat are pitiful. Also if you agree with the statement he made about the step children thats sad. You got to make due with what you have, don't make stupid excuses. Shoot maybe we should have just stayed in the CUSA, maybe we could have been in the top half of the conference. Only outstanding team in that conference is Memphis, then everybody else is average. Maybe then majerus could win some games and not have to worry about making these lame excuses. For the game last night, yeh it was nice to play well with dayton, but we all know in the past also slu has always been a pretty good home team. Last year 7-1 at home. Wait till we play at there house, it will be a different story. I truely feel bad for the players currently on the team, yeh maybe majerus didn't recruit them, but that don't make it ok to give up on them. From the games so far this year i think majerus goes by the tactic "My way or the highway" He don't give a darn about his players, and he only cares about himself. Yeh he had a good run in Utah back in the 90's, and had some real good talent he recruited. That was then, and the way he is making all these remarks I don't know if I would want to go play ball for him. Another thing I never said Brad was the greatest thing ever to happen to slu, i'm just saying so far into this season i would sure rather have him on the bench then Majerus.

[JaleJarr]

So Jale Jarr, are you trying to tell me that Bryce is close to the same player as Ian??? Your stats are silly...Obviously Ian averaged more minutes against the better teams than he did against the weak ones. He wasn't needed near as much against them.

These are not my stats. They are a matter of record. You mentioned that Ian played less minutes against weaker teams because they needed him less is a bit silly. Blowouts victories for this team were far and few. The only reasons his minutes were short were due to his ineffectiveness or foul trouble.

Cleary if he was able to play 30 minutes, Coach Soderberg would have played him for 30 minutes.

Kevin and Tommie minutes make that self-evident. Again, Xavier and St Joes, no weak sisters mind you, Ian contributed a total of 38 minutes 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks. These are 2 games totals.

A whole half of basketball missing, yet the Billikens won those games by an average score of 74-63.

In the 15 games were Ian played less than 30 minutes the Bills were 11-4. What those 15 games show is that the Bills could sustain a sub-par to poor effort by Ian, however a poor showing by Kevin or Tommie almost always meant doom.

[BIG BILL FAN]

These are not my stats. They are a matter of record. You mentioned that Ian played less minutes against weaker teams because they needed him less is a bit silly. Blowouts victories for this team were far and few. The only reasons his minutes were short were due to his ineffectiveness or foul trouble.

Cleary if he was able to play 30 minutes, Coach Soderberg would have played him for 30 minutes.

Kevin and Tommie minutes make that self-evident. Again, Xavier and St Joes, no weak sisters mind you, Ian contributed a total of 38 minutes 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks. These are 2 games totals.

A whole half of basketball missing, yet the Billikens won those games by an average score of 74-63.

In the 15 games were Ian played less than 30 minutes the Bills were 11-4. What those 15 games show is that the Bills could sustain a sub-par to poor effort by Ian, however a poor showing by Kevin or Tommie almost always meant doom.

Ok, so what you are really saying is that Brych equals Ian. Now, I understand. I guess I need to watch more games, I've always been under the impression that Ian was a much better player than Bryce. Thanks for showing me the errors of my ways. Now that I understand, I think the first thing we need to do is fire RM and beg Brad to come back ( with a big increase of course). The sooner we do this then the sooner we can get him out on the recruiting trail. Just think the next Bryce or AK is just around the corner. Thanks again for the brilliant insight.