Do the doubters now understand Majerus's coaching?

[davidnark]

I don't know how many fans focus on things like defensive position, rebounding position, shot selection, movement without the ball, picks and passing, spacing against pressure defense, etc. If you focus on those things and look at the effectiveness of this team in those regards over the last month of so, you will begin to appreciate the genius of Majerus. I don't care if we were playing a team that hadn't won on the road this year, GW has proven that they had more size and athleticism than us. Nonetheless, we dominated them from start to finish by executing the fundamentals so well. Sure, hitting shots makes all the difference in the world, but we were in better position time after time tonight. This has been the cast for most of this calendar year.

[kevinfootes]

I don't know how many fans focus on things like defensive position, rebounding position, shot selection, movement without the ball, picks and passing, spacing against pressure defense, etc. If you focus on those things and look at the effectiveness of this team in those regards over the last month of so, you will begin to appreciate the genius of Majerus. I don't care if we were playing a team that hadn't won on the road this year, GW has proven that they had more size and athleticism than us. Nonetheless, we dominated them from start to finish by executing the fundamentals so well. Sure, hitting shots makes all the difference in the world, but we were in better position time after time tonight. This has been the cast for most of this calendar year.

I'd agree that the team has played much better since RM switched from his "if I had to win this year I'd do things differently" approach in November. Four games ago RM announced that he was simplifying the offense, that he had made things too complicated up to that point. The team has responded with their best stretch of consecutive games this year. RM has shown that he can make the adjustments to make things better. I'm hoping SLU can knock off someone else on the road and get a decent seed in AC. This is not a team I'd want to play in AC right now.

[Billikan]

I'd agree that the team has played much better since RM switched from his "if I had to win this year I'd do things differently" approach in November. Four games ago RM announced that he was simplifying the offense, that he had made things too complicated up to that point. The team has responded with their best stretch of consecutive games this year. RM has shown that he can make the adjustments to make things better. I'm hoping SLU can knock off someone else on the road and get a decent seed in AC. This is not a team I'd want to play in AC right now.

This the team that I expected to see when the season started. Those no talent folks really have to go back into their holes because we have played very tough for the last month except for the game at Dayton and we have been playing very good teams until tonight but tonight was impressive because we beat a team 63 to 38 that had beat us 49 to 20. I do believe that Majerus is a very good coach but if you are going to give him credit for tonight then you have to be willing to accept that he did not adjust soon enough to the types of players he had on this team and he crammed their brains so full of things that they looked like they were frozen on the court. They are now playing much more naturally and with spontaneous shots on the offensive end. Early in the year we were passing up those open shots and passing the ball around the perimeter. Now we take the open shots. Of course, any team can look good when they hit shots like we did tonight. Overall, I give the coaching staff and the players credit for what really amounts to a big turnaround if you think back to our handful of horrible losses. I would sure love to play Kent State again on our court.

For the Bryce bashers, tonight's game is a perfect example why we need Bryce in the game. Obviously he shot the ball well but he did a lot more than that. The plus minus for Byrce must have been amazing. He was a huge presence on the defensive end and he was agressively asking for the ball on offense. Maybe it was his early season injury but he is maybe our most important player on the team as we go into the home stretch. If he can play this well it will open all kinds of things up for the rest of the team on both ends. He was fantastic tonight.

For the Polk bashers, the Dwayne we saw tonight was the player we expected out of high school. He was quick on defense, handled the ball well on offense and hit 4 threes in a row. He looked like a senior tonight as did our other three seniors, including Luke, Danny and Bryce.

For those of you who say we are losing nothing going in to next year, this game tonight tells us otherwise, particularly on the defensive end. I am very excited about our recruits but on defense, Luke, Dwayne, Danny and Bryce were great tonight and I would think that it will not be easy to replace all of that defensive toughness and intensity.

From my point of view I think it is a real shame that it took so long for this team to develop its personality, a hard nosed defensive team with some good smart offensive players. But here we are and it was great to watch tonight. Our remaining schedule is tough but if we play like we did tonight we will be competitive in every game. Go Bills

[Parks 68]

This the team that I expected to see when the season started. Those no talent folks really have to go back into their holes because we have played very tough for the last month except for the game at Dayton and we have been playing very good teams until tonight but tonight was impressive because we beat a team 63 to 38 that had beat us 49 to 20. I do believe that Majerus is a very good coach but if you are going to give him credit for tonight then you have to be willing to accept that he did not adjust soon enough to the types of players he had on this team and he crammed their brains so full of things that they looked like they were frozen on the court. They are now playing much more naturally and with spontaneous shots on the offensive end. Early in the year we were passing up those open shots and passing the ball around the perimeter. Now we take the open shots. Of course, any team can look good when they hit shots like we did tonight. Overall, I give the coaching staff and the players credit for what really amounts to a big turnaround if you think back to our handful of horrible losses. I would sure love to play Kent State again on our court.

For the Bryce bashers, tonight's game is a perfect example why we need Bryce in the game. Obviously he shot the ball well but he did a lot more than that. The plus minus for Byrce must have been amazing. He was a huge presence on the defensive end and he was agressively asking for the ball on offense. Maybe it was his early season injury but he is maybe our most important player on the team as we go into the home stretch. If he can play this well it will open all kinds of things up for the rest of the team on both ends. He was fantastic tonight.

For the Polk bashers, the Dwayne we saw tonight was the player we expected out of high school. He was quick on defense, handled the ball well on offense and hit 4 threes in a row. He looked like a senior tonight as did our other three seniors, including Luke, Danny and Bryce.

For those of you who say we are losing nothing going in to next year, this game tonight tells us otherwise, particularly on the defensive end. I am very excited about our recruits but on defense, Luke, Dwayne, Danny and Bryce were great tonight and I would think that it will not be easy to replace all of that defensive toughness and intensity.

From my point of view I think it is a real shame that it took so long for this team to develop its personality, a hard nosed defensive team with some good smart offensive players. But here we are and it was great to watch tonight. Our remaining schedule is tough but if we play like we did tonight we will be competitive in every game. Go Bills

Agree the team is playing very well and I do believe that RM has adjusted his offense to suit the skills of the players. The defense is one of the strengths of this team. They can defend anyone at this point, the key is to get their shots to drop like they did this evening.

Bryce was awesome this evening. When he can add the kind of offensive points to his game and be that defensive presence, you can see the difference in the whole team. He makes everyone better during the game and gives the opposing team fits. Good for you Bryce. Great game!

Tommie was working the ball pretty good this evening, his offense didn't compare to his ball distribution. The one opportunity where he took his man one-on-one to the hole, he missed the lay up. That is his shot and you don't expect him to miss it. Once he starts hitting on all 8 cylinders, watch out. Hopefully, with this sort of momentum, everyone will play a good game on the road this weekend.

The team is starting to really gel and peak at the right time. Down the stretch is where you want to play your best ball.

Congrats on the win and Go Bills!

[Clock_Tower]

Billikan. Suggestion: when you're in over your head, keep quiet so people don't know how little you know. Instead, go back to your posts of rah, rah Billikens. Please, no one say anything negative about the Bills but go ahead and attack our HOF coach because he is an outsider who wants change. God forbid SLU basketball make changes and risk all of its recent successes.

I have posted numerous times that our Bills lack enough talent. I am not hiding in any hole nor am I routing against my Bills to vindicate my statements. Once again, I will say it: our team sorely lacks talent. I say this after today's blowout (which I attended in person) as well as after prior games when we were blown out. Teams with limited talent can play well, win games and beat teams with 6 wins. Wins do not equal talent.

Bryce played quite well tonight. I cheered for him tonight as I have all year. Don't confuse a good game (and it was) with real talent. If you watched the XU game, Bryce lacks the speed and strength to have a game like tonight against high caliber talent such as XU. Go back to last year and the year before and you will find that Justin Johnson had very good games, and looked quite impressive when he played against low level D1 talent. When talent levels increase, we have seen our Seniors' level of play decrease. These are simply the facts. By the way, I am not a Bryce basher. Instead, I think (and have posted) that RM has gotten more talent out of Bryce than I thought possible. Where is the praise for RM for what he has done with Bryce? None on this Board.

Instead, this Board is obsessed with RM's "failures." Just because you and other post something time after time does not make it correct. Yes, RM has a complex offense. No, the complexity is not the sole reason we look bad one day and good the next. Lack of talent and lack of an inside game, together with normal learning curve of a new coach and new system are to blame. Funny how quick you are to quote RM as saying he made the offense too complex and needs to simplify but that you ignore his other statements all year that our guys are nice kids but lack other aspects, that it will take time to learn the offense, etc.

As to Polk, yes he had a good game. I cheered him also. While I hope his play continues at this level, I doubt it. I also doubt that he will make anyone forget about Marquee Perry.

For all those questioning RM, TL is playing the best he has ever played on defense. No rumors or signs of discontent exist on this team which is slightly above .500. The effort and learning curve of this team is impressive. Instead of giving RM credit, it is nice to see that RM is living up to your lofty preseason expectations. All RM had to do was simplify things and these talented kids would have won 20 games again. Unbelievable.

This the team that I expected to see when the season started. Those no talent folks really have to go back into their holes because we have played very tough for the last month except for the game at Dayton and we have been playing very good teams until tonight but tonight was impressive because we beat a team 63 to 38 that had beat us 49 to 20. I do believe that Majerus is a very good coach but if you are going to give him credit for tonight then you have to be willing to accept that he did not adjust soon enough to the types of players he had on this team and he crammed their brains so full of things that they looked like they were frozen on the court. They are now playing much more naturally and with spontaneous shots on the offensive end. Early in the year we were passing up those open shots and passing the ball around the perimeter. Now we take the open shots. Of course, any team can look good when they hit shots like we did tonight. Overall, I give the coaching staff and the players credit for what really amounts to a big turnaround if you think back to our handful of horrible losses. I would sure love to play Kent State again on our court.

For the Bryce bashers, tonight's game is a perfect example why we need Bryce in the game. Obviously he shot the ball well but he did a lot more than that. The plus minus for Byrce must have been amazing. He was a huge presence on the defensive end and he was agressively asking for the ball on offense. Maybe it was his early season injury but he is maybe our most important player on the team as we go into the home stretch. If he can play this well it will open all kinds of things up for the rest of the team on both ends. He was fantastic tonight.

For the Polk bashers, the Dwayne we saw tonight was the player we expected out of high school. He was quick on defense, handled the ball well on offense and hit 4 threes in a row. He looked like a senior tonight as did our other three seniors, including Luke, Danny and Bryce.

For those of you who say we are losing nothing going in to next year, this game tonight tells us otherwise, particularly on the defensive end. I am very excited about our recruits but on defense, Luke, Dwayne, Danny and Bryce were great tonight and I would think that it will not be easy to replace all of that defensive toughness and intensity.

From my point of view I think it is a real shame that it took so long for this team to develop its personality, a hard nosed defensive team with some good smart offensive players. But here we are and it was great to watch tonight. Our remaining schedule is tough but if we play like we did tonight we will be competitive in every game. Go Bills

[Sheltiedave]

I'm ecstatic we opened a can of whoopass on GW. I am also scratching my head over the difference in the two games. I usually go with 5-8 points on the swing between a home and away game, but the margin on our home and away is 54 points.

If Rickma can bottle Bryce and Dwayne up, and just open them for the coming games, wow! 27 points, whuddya thunk it?

[davidnark]

Those no talent folks really have to go back into their holes because we have played very tough for the last month except for the game at Dayton

We still have major talent issues, particularly in the front court and on the bench. If we had better talent, we would not have ultimately lost to Xavier, Temple, and Dayton at home. I am happy with the progress coach is making with this group of kids, but I still look forward to the days when the talent level is much better and we are talking about cracking the top 20, not the top 100.

[brianstl]

We still have major talent issues, particularly in the front court and on the bench. If we had better talent, we would not have ultimately lost to Xavier, Temple, and Dayton at home. I am happy with the progress coach is making with this group of kids, but I still look forward to the days when the talent level is much better and we are talking about cracking the top 20, not the top 100.

I guess many people don't realize one of the plusses to Rickma's offense is that when run properly it will allow teams with less talent to compete and beat teams with superior talent. We are starting to run it properly. Yes, Rickma has simplified the offense some. He has not changed the offense.

I don't know why people have a hard time understanding that we are not at the same talent level as top flight teams or even most good teams. We have never really had that kind of talent in years. Just look at the people that we were putting on our last 25 year roster. It had some good players and a few great players. It wasn't exactly overloaded with talent.

[BIG BILL FAN]

Billikan. Suggestion: when you're in over your head, keep quiet so people don't know how little you know. Instead, go back to your posts of rah, rah Billikens. Please, no one say anything negative about the Bills but go ahead and attack our HOF coach because he is an outsider who wants change. God forbid SLU basketball make changes and risk all of its recent successes.

I have posted numerous times that our Bills lack enough talent. I am not hiding in any hole nor am I routing against my Bills to vindicate my statements. Once again, I will say it: our team sorely lacks talent. I say this after today's blowout (which I attended in person) as well as after prior games when we were blown out. Teams with limited talent can play well, win games and beat teams with 6 wins. Wins do not equal talent.

Bryce played quite well tonight. I cheered for him tonight as I have all year. Don't confuse a good game (and it was) with real talent. If you watched the XU game, Bryce lacks the speed and strength to have a game like tonight against high caliber talent such as XU. Go back to last year and the year before and you will find that Justin Johnson had very good games, and looked quite impressive when he played against low level D1 talent. When talent levels increase, we have seen our Seniors' level of play decrease. These are simply the facts. By the way, I am not a Bryce basher. Instead, I think (and have posted) that RM has gotten more talent out of Bryce than I thought possible. Where is the praise for RM for what he has done with Bryce? None on this Board.

Instead, this Board is obsessed with RM's "failures." Just because you and other post something time after time does not make it correct. Yes, RM has a complex offense. No, the complexity is not the sole reason we look bad one day and good the next. Lack of talent and lack of an inside game, together with normal learning curve of a new coach and new system are to blame. Funny how quick you are to quote RM as saying he made the offense too complex and needs to simplify but that you ignore his other statements all year that our guys are nice kids but lack other aspects, that it will take time to learn the offense, etc.

As to Polk, yes he had a good game. I cheered him also. While I hope his play continues at this level, I doubt it. I also doubt that he will make anyone forget about Marquee Perry.

For all those questioning RM, TL is playing the best he has ever played on defense. No rumors or signs of discontent exist on this team which is slightly above .500. The effort and learning curve of this team is impressive. Instead of giving RM credit, it is nice to see that RM is living up to your lofty preseason expectations. All RM had to do was simplify things and these talented kids would have won 20 games again. Unbelievable.

Clock Tower, I couldn't agree with you more. It is amazing how some on this board have gone out of their way to bash a PROVEN head coach. The improved play of this team is largely due to the efforts of the coaching staff and the players willingness to improve. To those who think that this team is not lacking talent, then they obviously have not watched many basketball games. Yes Bryce and DP had nice games last night, but at no time during the past 4 years have they shown the ability to be consistent performers. Our inside game offensively last night was non existent. If our outside game had not been working this game would have been totally different. The one consistency that this team now has is a great defensive team concept. There are very few breakdowns on the defensive end. Again, most of the credit goes to our coaching staff and our players willingness to learn a new system.

[Billikan]

Billikan. Suggestion: when you're in over your head, keep quiet so people don't know how little you know. Instead, go back to your posts of rah, rah Billikens. Please, no one say anything negative about the Bills but go ahead and attack our HOF coach because he is an outsider who wants change. God forbid SLU basketball make changes and risk all of its recent successes.

I have posted numerous times that our Bills lack enough talent. I am not hiding in any hole nor am I routing against my Bills to vindicate my statements. Once again, I will say it: our team sorely lacks talent. I say this after today's blowout (which I attended in person) as well as after prior games when we were blown out. Teams with limited talent can play well, win games and beat teams with 6 wins. Wins do not equal talent.

Bryce played quite well tonight. I cheered for him tonight as I have all year. Don't confuse a good game (and it was) with real talent. If you watched the XU game, Bryce lacks the speed and strength to have a game like tonight against high caliber talent such as XU. Go back to last year and the year before and you will find that Justin Johnson had very good games, and looked quite impressive when he played against low level D1 talent. When talent levels increase, we have seen our Seniors' level of play decrease. These are simply the facts. By the way, I am not a Bryce basher. Instead, I think (and have posted) that RM has gotten more talent out of Bryce than I thought possible. Where is the praise for RM for what he has done with Bryce? None on this Board.

Instead, this Board is obsessed with RM's "failures." Just because you and other post something time after time does not make it correct. Yes, RM has a complex offense. No, the complexity is not the sole reason we look bad one day and good the next. Lack of talent and lack of an inside game, together with normal learning curve of a new coach and new system are to blame. Funny how quick you are to quote RM as saying he made the offense too complex and needs to simplify but that you ignore his other statements all year that our guys are nice kids but lack other aspects, that it will take time to learn the offense, etc.

As to Polk, yes he had a good game. I cheered him also. While I hope his play continues at this level, I doubt it. I also doubt that he will make anyone forget about Marquee Perry.

For all those questioning RM, TL is playing the best he has ever played on defense. No rumors or signs of discontent exist on this team which is slightly above .500. The effort and learning curve of this team is impressive. Instead of giving RM credit, it is nice to see that RM is living up to your lofty preseason expectations. All RM had to do was simplify things and these talented kids would have won 20 games again. Unbelievable.

Mr Clock, I would bet that I have coached and played in more games than you have seen live in person. I coached D1 athletes and I will tell you and others that "talent" is not just an ability run fast, jump high and to jam a basketball. Did you see the warmups last night where the GW team was doing dunking drills and flying all over the place. If that is the "talent" you are referring to then I agree that our team does not have many of those types of players. However, in my experience, "talent" goes way beyond being able to run and leap. Talent also includes the ability to execute the fundamentals of the game, it includes the ablilty to play smart heady basketball, it includes the ability to hunker down and play suffocating defense even when the guy you are guarding is taller and stronger, it includes the ability to compete hard on every play even if the refs are blowing calls all around you. If your definition of "talent" is stats like the sprints, jumping and weighlifting at an NFL combine then our team would not measure up to many others. If you consider the other things that I outlined above then we match up very well in many instances. I am not saying we are a great team but I am sick and tired of those, including you, who constantly criticize the players and say they have no talent. They deserve better!

[BIG BILL FAN]

Mr Clock, I would bet that I have coached and played in more games than you have seen live in person. I coached D1 athletes and I will tell you and others that "talent" is not just an ability run fast, jump high and to jam a basketball. Did you see the warmups last night where the GW team was doing dunking drills and flying all over the place. If that is the "talent" you are referring to then I agree that our team does not have many of those types of players. However, in my experience, "talent" goes way beyond being able to run and leap. Talent also includes the ability to execute the fundamentals of the game, it includes the ablilty to play smart heady basketball, it includes the ability to hunker down and play suffocating defense even when the guy you are guarding is taller and stronger, it includes the ability to compete hard on every play even if the refs are blowing calls all around you. If your definition of "talent" is stats like the sprints, jumping and weighlifting at an NFL combine then our team would not measure up to many others. If you consider the other things that I outlined above then we match up very well in many instances. I am not saying we are a great team but I am sick and tired of those, including you, who constantly criticize the players and say they have no talent. They deserve better!

I now realize who Billikan's true identity is, he must me Brad Soderberg. No one is disputing that athletic ability alone makes a player talented. That said, being able to shoot well and execute the fundamentals, by itself doesn't make you a talented player either. It takes both! DP has great quickness, but through out his career, he has been a poor shooter. Bryce Husak, is 7' tall and has a decent shot, but lacks strength, stamina, and quickness. These are not talented D1 players. If you in fact were a D1 coach, you didn't learn much. I can understand why you are a former D1 coach. I do agree that playing smart basketball is an asset, yet you don't seem to want to give RM much credit for the improved team play. Also, let's stop the pity party about our current players. They are receiving very valuable and expensive educations for their basketball contributions. Part of being a D1 player is having your abilities analyzed and disected, both good and bad in public forums.

[ACE]

Mr Clock, I would bet that I have coached and played in more games than you have seen live in person. I coached D1 athletes and I will tell you and others that "talent" is not just an ability run fast, jump high and to jam a basketball. Did you see the warmups last night where the GW team was doing dunking drills and flying all over the place. If that is the "talent" you are referring to then I agree that our team does not have many of those types of players. However, in my experience, "talent" goes way beyond being able to run and leap. Talent also includes the ability to execute the fundamentals of the game, it includes the ablilty to play smart heady basketball, it includes the ability to hunker down and play suffocating defense even when the guy you are guarding is taller and stronger, it includes the ability to compete hard on every play even if the refs are blowing calls all around you. If your definition of "talent" is stats like the sprints, jumping and weighlifting at an NFL combine then our team would not measure up to many others. If you consider the other things that I outlined above then we match up very well in many instances. I am not saying we are a great team but I am sick and tired of those, including you, who constantly criticize the players and say they have no talent. They deserve better!

This is a ridiculous argument. Nobody has ever said this team has "no talent", because clearly there are some good players and two outstanding players in TL and KL. But we also have a team with a weakness at point guard and the frontline. Who can argue with that? As you saw last night, when we get production from the center position and the point guard can knock down some shots, we look really good. Unfortunately, those two things have not happened on a consistent basis this year. Criticism of the players is not personal. I think everybody likes these kids. We should all be proud at the way these seniors in particular are progressing as the season winds down. I think it is great that kids like DP, BH and DB have shown a lot of resilliance. I'm sure they've all worked very hard.

I guess I am a little sick and tired too. I am a sick and tired of self-styled coaches on this board constantly criticizing the xs and os of a brilliant coach. You are certainly entitled to express those opinions, but I have a hard time believing that some people on this board know more about coaching than Majerus. We should be thrilled that we have such a great coach. The coach deserves a great deal of credit in getting these kids to fight through some tough times early in the year and get a lot better. The best is yet to come.

[billiken_roy]

I don't know how many fans focus on things like defensive position, rebounding position, shot selection, movement without the ball, picks and passing, spacing against pressure defense, etc. If you focus on those things and look at the effectiveness of this team in those regards over the last month of so, you will begin to appreciate the genius of Majerus. I don't care if we were playing a team that hadn't won on the road this year, GW has proven that they had more size and athleticism than us. Nonetheless, we dominated them from start to finish by executing the fundamentals so well. Sure, hitting shots makes all the difference in the world, but we were in better position time after time tonight. This has been the cast for most of this calendar year.

while there is no doubt the team is playing much much better. and i agree majerus has made some fantastic coaching manuvers on a game to game basis as of late, i think it is only fair to point out that while gw appeared to be athletic and big, they are a horrible basketball team. i mean bad. they looked like a group of guys that just met up one night to play pick up basketball. just some of the lowest basketball iq i have seen in a long time. horrible shooting. i mean they missed 4 footers last night by a foot and half. stupid decisions with the ball. horrible weak side defense. hell we only shot 39% from the field overall and won by 25 points?

heck i now know why taj has been even more poison about the billikens than me since his first up close and personal view this year was the GW game in Washington. can you imagine how badly we must have played to have lost by 29 points to that team? and there is no credit to GW in the previous game. they only scored 49 then. so anyone that had to sit through that game obviously should be awarded medals or permanent disability or something.

david you are exactly correct though that majerus has shown his genius as of late. it just makes me all the more upset that he didnt coach game to game until the siu game. looking back i am now more convinced than ever we should have won the sam houston and missouri state games at least. and who knows after seeing the turnaround from washington to last night what really would have happened in the kent state and boston college games. the good news is that we are seeing that slu actually does have a decent team when used correctly.

[SluSignGuy]

i think it is only fair to point out that while gw appeared to be athletic and big, they are a horrible basketball team. i mean bad. they looked like a group of guys that just met up one night to play pick up basketball. just some of the lowest basketball iq i have seen in a long time. horrible shooting. i mean they missed 4 footers last night by a foot and half. stupid decisions with the ball. horrible weak side defense. hell we only shot 39% from the field overall and won by 25 points?

Imagine having season tickets to that team.

I cringe to think where GW would be without Diggs.

[ACE]

keep in mind Roy, the addition of a healthy Danny Brown has made a big difference. We didn't have him earlier. It's not surprising that there are some growing pains with a new coach. Look at what Billy Gillespie is going through at Kentucky. They just had an 11 point half at Vandy and lost by 40! The bottom line is that we are getting better as the season has progressed.

[billiken_roy]

keep in mind Roy, the addition of a healthy Danny Brown has made a big difference. We didn't have him earlier. It's not surprising that there are some growing pains with a new coach. Look at what Billy Gillespie is going through at Kentucky. They just had an 11 point half at Vandy and lost by 40! The bottom line is that we are getting better as the season has progressed.

exactly. i am just glad rickma apparently has a heart. he made the statements after siu that he couldnt do that to our seniors and since then there have been some amazing adjustments and look to this team. there is no doubt he is a master coach to go to war with.

[Taj79]

Sorry Kan-do, I'm on the Clock with this one. I used to play with a guy who let's say averaged 15 ppg. Against the Little Sisters of the Blind, he threw down 40. Against the Jolly Green Giants, he scored three. Against the Flying James Family, it was two. Against the Lakers he got shut out but then went off for 30 against Amputee U. Its still an average of 15 ppg.

If you really did play and coach all those games you claim you did, good for you. I find it amazing that you're keeping your denial of a lack of overall talent so alive. Let's change sports. Does Orlando Pace have the same amount of "talent" as LaDanian Thomlinson or Walter Payton? I don't think anyone has ever said there is NO talent on this team, rather what has been said is that the talent level is NOT SUPERIOR. And talent ans skill win at this level and beyond --- the ball still has to go through the hoop and that takes more talent than deciding you're a junkyard dog and stickign to a man on the defensive end. If you don't believe that, the game has passed you by coach.

The other night on ESPN, when Kentucky lost to Vandy by the greatest margin ever, those announcers were all over Gillespie for taking the "my way or highway" approach. But each one of them, whether they were pro-Billy or anti-Billy all said the same thing, that the players aren't his, they didn't pick him and he didn't pick them. I understand Turgeon is having problems replacing Gillespie at A&M. And we have our little Ricky. The bottom line is that there are a large number of items that go into making a successful team and talent is only one of them. Coaching regime. Repetition. Style. Longevity and consistency. Coachs' personality. Team personality. Individuals versus teams. And the ever measurable luck.

This edition of the Bills is an average to below average team when I add up all the figures. It is nice to see them at .500 in the conference and posting an overall winning record. But I don't have any real expectations on this team. I think objective 1 is now accomplished, they are going to Atlantic City. GeeDub adn the Bonnies are likely out. Given where we were in December, I am happy. I also count the conversion of Lisch and Liddell to the Ricky way as good things and I think the addition of Eberhardt is a good thing going into next year. The best thing outside of that is that Rick survived and is making progress and the incoming class allows hope to spring eternal.

Polk throwing down 12 by making 4 three-pointers is an aberration. Husak being the leading scorer is an aberration. Us winning and Tommie scoring only seven is an aberration. But a lot of that had to do with who was in the road unis as well. Everyone was focused on us scoring 20 at GeeDub in January and I understand the focus. But they WENT OFF for a whopping 49. While I don't subscribe to a 54 point turnaround as Timmerman noted, I said I expected a blowout and I got it.

I also agree with Brian in the realization the Rick's offense and scheme can help and cause talent-lacking teams to stay in ball games and even win many. The issue to me was converting our supply into understanding that --- breaking down old habits and expectations that had become routine. I think Luke and even Dwayne bought into that early. But until team leaders like Tommie and Kevin did and became comfortable in playing out those roles, it was not that evident. I admit that early on, I thought Tommie might even transfer. Its good to see no controversy going on right now.

We still have won two road games and lost three home games which makes me put this team below average in the way I do my ranking. But it on an upward scale right now and I too like where we are heading into AC. But there is still a whole month to go to get there. Hey --- didn't you used to be Dayton? The old high Flyers lost at home to the Dukes last night. Things change. And the hardest thing to change is the mindset. Ours is up, Dayton's has to be down. Once the team's mindset changed and they embraced Rick (and don't be mislead, he embraced them as well) this season has taken a decidely upswing.

I'd be stunned if this team saw anything postseason wise. Anything after AC is double gravy for me.

[billiken_roy]

I also count the conversion of Lisch and Liddell to the Ricky way as good things and I think the addition of Eberhardt is a good thing going into next year.

listening to the post game show on the ride home last nite earl made almost the exact observation. there is no denying that both have changed their approach to their style of play while still trying to maintain their strengths. kevin's conversion to a point guard continues to look better and better as his effective passing is resulting in more and more assits and that is with even less turnovers.

tommie at first glance doesnt have a great season total in assists to turnovers, but i think there has been a marked improvements in those casual unforced errors that we seemed to see before. plus most importantly, tommie continues to get better and better at on the ball defense which was obviously a difficult adjustment from his previous free lancing roaming defense he tended to play before.

as to eberhardt, i think the guy hasnt even come close to maxing out. he is playing out of position and when next year comes and he gets to remove himself from guarding centers and playing exclusively with his back to the basket, i really think he might turn into a very very good player. eberhardt is the player that might be the biggest turnaround next season due to our incoming freshmen.

[ACE]

Roy, I agree with you about Eberhart. I think he will be the starting 4 next year.

[3Jack]

After the GW loss people on this board actually said that GW had a lot more talent than the Bills. In fact after about every loss this season that is what we have heard. This team is just now starting to live up to it's talent level. A lot of us have been saying all year that this is the way they should be playing. Congrads to Majerus for finally getting this team to live up to it's ability. Hopefully it will continue. And hopefully the "lack of talent" crap will be put to bed unless they are playing Xavier . Against A-10 competition this team is no worse than middle of the pack in talent level.

[brianstl]

After the GW loss people on this board actually said that GW had a lot more talent than the Bills. In fact after about every loss this season that is what we have heard. This team is just now starting to live up to it's talent level. A lot of us have been saying all year that this is the way they should be playing. Congrads to Majerus for finally getting this team to live up to it's ability. Hopefully it will continue. And hopefully the "lack of talent" crap will be put to bed unless they are playing Xavier . Against A-10 competition this team is no worse than middle of the pack in talent level.

Besides simplifying some things in the offense, what is Rickma doing different? Has he figured out a way to help his players hit shots? Did he help guide in Polk's four 3's?

[Bay Area Billiken]

Sorry Kan-do, I'm on the Clock with this one. I used to play with a guy who let's say averaged 15 ppg. Against the Little Sisters of the Blind, he threw down 40. Against the Jolly Green Giants, he scored three. Against the Flying James Family, it was two. Against the Lakers he got shut out but then went off for 30 against Amputee U. Its still an average of 15 ppg.

If you really did play and coach all those games you claim you did, good for you. I find it amazing that you're keeping your denial of a lack of overall talent so alive. Let's change sports. Does Orlando Pace have the same amount of "talent" as LaDanian Thomlinson or Walter Payton? I don't think anyone has ever said there is NO talent on this team, rather what has been said is that the talent level is NOT SUPERIOR. And talent ans skill win at this level and beyond --- the ball still has to go through the hoop and that takes more talent than deciding you're a junkyard dog and stickign to a man on the defensive end. If you don't believe that, the game has passed you by coach.

The other night on ESPN, when Kentucky lost to Vandy by the greatest margin ever, those announcers were all over Gillespie for taking the "my way or highway" approach. But each one of them, whether they were pro-Billy or anti-Billy all said the same thing, that the players aren't his, they didn't pick him and he didn't pick them. I understand Turgeon is having problems replacing Gillespie at A&M. And we have our little Ricky. The bottom line is that there are a large number of items that go into making a successful team and talent is only one of them. Coaching regime. Repetition. Style. Longevity and consistency. Coachs' personality. Team personality. Individuals versus teams. And the ever measurable luck.

This edition of the Bills is an average to below average team when I add up all the figures. It is nice to see them at .500 in the conference and posting an overall winning record. But I don't have any real expectations on this team. I think objective 1 is now accomplished, they are going to Atlantic City. GeeDub adn the Bonnies are likely out. Given where we were in December, I am happy. I also count the conversion of Lisch and Liddell to the Ricky way as good things and I think the addition of Eberhardt is a good thing going into next year. The best thing outside of that is that Rick survived and is making progress and the incoming class allows hope to spring eternal.

Polk throwing down 12 by making 4 three-pointers is an aberration. Husak being the leading scorer is an aberration. Us winning and Tommie scoring only seven is an aberration. But a lot of that had to do with who was in the road unis as well. Everyone was focused on us scoring 20 at GeeDub in January and I understand the focus. But they WENT OFF for a whopping 49. While I don't subscribe to a 54 point turnaround as Timmerman noted, I said I expected a blowout and I got it.

I also agree with Brian in the realization the Rick's offense and scheme can help and cause talent-lacking teams to stay in ball games and even win many. The issue to me was converting our supply into understanding that --- breaking down old habits and expectations that had become routine. I think Luke and even Dwayne bought into that early. But until team leaders like Tommie and Kevin did and became comfortable in playing out those roles, it was not that evident. I admit that early on, I thought Tommie might even transfer. Its good to see no controversy going on right now.

We still have won two road games and lost three home games which makes me put this team below average in the way I do my ranking. But it on an upward scale right now and I too like where we are heading into AC. But there is still a whole month to go to get there. Hey --- didn't you used to be Dayton? The old high Flyers lost at home to the Dukes last night. Things change. And the hardest thing to change is the mindset. Ours is up, Dayton's has to be down. Once the team's mindset changed and they embraced Rick (and don't be mislead, he embraced them as well) this season has taken a decidely upswing.

I'd be stunned if this team saw anything postseason wise. Anything after AC is double gravy for me.

SLU needs to keep winning, and a win at UMass this weekend and/or at St. Joe's would greatly help the cause, but SLU has at least put itself in the running for a post-season tournament bid, possibly the new 16 team CBI. Even the NIT has become a tough nut to crack given the reduction in the field from 40 to 32 teams, and the rewarding of automatic NIT bids to lower conference regular season champions that don't win their post-season tournaments. That NIT rule remains a sore spot with this poster, as it clearly worked last season to the detriment of a SLU team that won 20 games. That rule was placed when the NCAA took over the NIT. I highly doubt the old NIT would have such a rule, as it promotes truly undeserving teams with little national following, many of whom really have no business being in Division 1.

This poster was monitoring last night's game on the Blackberry en route home from work. Seeing last night's score updates was very inspiring. Congratulations to the Billikens for such a fine performance. I arrived home and was able to announce to 3 SLU alumni and a visiting Jesuit from Holy Cross the SLU-GW score.

Where is ESPN?

Where is Sports Illustrated?

Keep up the good work, Billikens. You have a lot of friends out there across the fruited plains and the mountains that you don't even know are following you.

[BIG BILL FAN]

while there is no doubt the team is playing much much better. and i agree majerus has made some fantastic coaching manuvers on a game to game basis as of late, i think it is only fair to point out that while gw appeared to be athletic and big, they are a horrible basketball team. i mean bad. they looked like a group of guys that just met up one night to play pick up basketball. just some of the lowest basketball iq i have seen in a long time. horrible shooting. i mean they missed 4 footers last night by a foot and half. stupid decisions with the ball. horrible weak side defense. hell we only shot 39% from the field overall and won by 25 points?

heck i now know why taj has been even more poison about the billikens than me since his first up close and personal view this year was the GW game in Washington. can you imagine how badly we must have played to have lost by 29 points to that team? and there is no credit to GW in the previous game. they only scored 49 then. so anyone that had to sit through that game obviously should be awarded medals or permanent disability or something.

david you are exactly correct though that majerus has shown his genius as of late. it just makes me all the more upset that he didnt coach game to game until the siu game. looking back i am now more convinced than ever we should have won the sam houston and missouri state games at least. and who knows after seeing the turnaround from washington to last night what really would have happened in the kent state and boston college games. the good news is that we are seeing that slu actually does have a decent team when used correctly.

Roy, you make it sound that implementing a new system is an over night process. This team wasn't ready to win early in the season, because they were still learning to play RM's system.

[cheeseman]

Where to start - oh well all you can do is just start I guess: 1. No one on this board ever said that we had NO TALENT - what was said was that we were not a talented team - big difference. Everyone knew KL and TL have talent and the LM was a tough heady player who delivered - as I have said before LM won me over last year and he has even been better this year. What we don't have is a front line - period. We had pg in DP that was quick and handled the ball well but could not shoot consistently and when he drove the lane was stuffed or forced to turn back because of his lack of size. We have had trouble rebounding for years and trouble scoring for sometime now. This lack of size and inconsistent play provided us with a team that had serious holes and would experience trouble from time to time - anybody who denies this is either blind or just silly. 2. The return and emergence of DB has been very important - he has added scoring punch, rebounding help for LM, and increased the defensive intensity of the team. If anybody does not see the play of DB as not being critical to the success of this team then once again you are either blind or just silly. 3. Today on Frank and Rammer's show they were having a round table discussion about the Bills and one of the guest said something to the effect that he was not sure what has happened lately but Rick must be doing something different. Rammer responded by saying that he was not sure anything has really changed because what he has been seeing is a gradual progression to the style of play that RM told him his team would be by the end of the season. Rammer said that RM told him that I can not tell you how many wins we will have but no team will be more unselfish on the offensive side and no team will guard any harder then this team - the game last night was a perfect example of this. Rammer said this is what he is finally seeing - a team that is performing offensively unselfishly and defending harder every night and every play - if you can not see that is what is different then you are either blind or just silly. 4. Earl was on today also and he pointed out that what he is seeing is that the players now are more comfortable to play their game with in the structure of RM's offense - that was not happening earlier. If you can not see that then you are blind or just silly.

My point is this - did RM make some tweak to what he was trying to accomplish around the SIU game - sure - did he scrap the overall plan he has - no. So, what we have here is a coach who needed a little time to figure out that he had to take another path to his destination but did not change where he wants to end up - that is good coaching and if anybody thought that he would know exactly what tweaks to make on day one then that is not being realistic. So, lets stop being blind or just silly and realize that growth is a process that has its ups and downs - we are now in the ups and we can see the light at the end.

[billiken_roy]

Roy, you make it sound that implementing a new system is an over night process. This team wasn't ready to win early in the season, because they were still learning to play RM's system.

big bill fan, last night was not an example of "RM's system". none of the utah pick and roll stuff or cuttin goff screen's etc.

last night was an example of devising a game plan to win the game knowing the shortfalls and strengths of our opponents and using our assets the best way possible to counter and attack. it was text book rickma coaching that i expected from day one. not the crap he was doing in early december that resembled practice scrimmages.

you say the team wasnt ready to win early in the season, yet we know for a fact that in the third game in the season vs one of the best teams in the big east that will get a 5 seed or less, pitt, we played them to the wire in a very good game. how could we do that and then suck for the next month? because rickma apparently wanted to win that pitt game. it was a definition opportunity and he utilized his talent the best way possible to put us in a position to win. after that he went back to banging his square peg in a round hole until the siu game. which at the time still appeared to be another definition game he wanted to win. viola! another master piece.

hey, i am not saying rickma is an idiot. quite the opposite. he is one of the best in history. and he has the staff to back it up. but anyone that thinks he has coached the same way the entire year is way way off base.

i am just glad he has given the fan base finally a view of what this team can actually do instead of just planning for next year.