Will we be consistent?

[AlumniFan]

And call for the firing of Majerus after today's 20 point home loss debacle as so many did when we only lost by five to the Bonnies last year on the road? Just curious...

[Bay Area Billiken]

And call for the firing of Majerus after today's 20 point home loss debacle as so many did when we only lost by five to the Bonnies last year on the road? Just curious...

In a word, no.

[TheA_Bomb]

If in 5 years we are still losing to SBU and have not made it to the tournament then calling for a firing will be consistent.

[TEE]

why should rickma lose his job in his first season - weak bench - marginal talent. I posted earlier this year - look at Tom Crean's first years at Marquette. Have a little patience, if after 5 years we haven't been to an NCAA tournament and rickma can't recruit and chaifetz is half empty you can call for his firing. rickma has earned his honeymoon period.

rome wasn't built in a day and SLU basketball is finally leaving the dark ages....................

[NH]

why should rickma lose his job in his first season - weak bench - marginal talent. I posted earlier this year - look at Tom Crean's first years at Marquette. Have a little patience, if after 5 years we haven't been to an NCAA tournament and rickma can't recruit and chaifetz is half empty you can call for his firing. rickma has earned his honeymoon period.

rome wasn't built in a day and SLU basketball is finally leaving the dark ages....................

they werent actually suggesting majerus get fired

[kshoe]

And call for the firing of Majerus after today's 20 point home loss debacle as so many did when we only lost by five to the Bonnies last year on the road? Just curious...

I expected a more intelligent post from you AlumniFan. This post is just nonsense and I'll attribute it to you being upset today.

[AlumniFan]

I expected a more intelligent post from you AlumniFan. This post is just nonsense and I'll attribute it to you being upset today.

Not upset. Just curious. In comparison, this loss, on senior day, the last home game of the season, the last game in Scottrade, to the worst team in the A10, was much worse than last year's loss.

I like Majerus and have NO problem with his first season being shaky, but last year the team won 20 games and calls for Brad's dismissal were rampant. Again, just curious....

[TEE]

Not upset. Just curious. In comparison, this loss, on senior day, the last home game of the season, the last game in Scottrade, to the worst team in the A10, was much worse than last year's loss.

I like Majerus and have NO problem with his first season being shaky, but last year the team won 20 games and calls for Brad's dismissal were rampant. Again, just curious....

5 years no NCAA vs. first year some bad losses, albeit some very bad losses & a steap learning curve to boot.

actually that was 19 wins, plus 1 d2 team

[kshoe]

Not upset. Just curious. In comparison, this loss, on senior day, the last home game of the season, the last game in Scottrade, to the worst team in the A10, was much worse than last year's loss.

I like Majerus and have NO problem with his first season being shaky, but last year the team won 20 games and calls for Brad's dismissal were rampant. Again, just curious....

The difference clearly is 5 years with no NCAA appearances. If Majerus is in year 5 with no births then let the howling begin.

[kmbilliken]

And call for the firing of Majerus after today's 20 point home loss debacle as so many did when we only lost by five to the Bonnies last year on the road? Just curious...

RM doesn't have his first recruiting class here yet. He's got to be given a chance to win with his players. Brad didn't get canned because he couldn't coach. He got canned because he couldn't recruit and RM will have to live with the effects of that for a couple of years.

[davidnark]

Not upset. Just curious. In comparison, this loss, on senior day, the last home game of the season, the last game in Scottrade, to the worst team in the A10, was much worse than last year's loss.

I like Majerus and have NO problem with his first season being shaky, but last year the team won 20 games and calls for Brad's dismissal were rampant. Again, just curious....

Alumni, why the playing dumb routine? I know you are a smart guy. How can you compare a bad game five years into a coach's tenure (six if you count the year he was the top assistant and recruiter) with a bad game during the first year of a coach (who didn't even have a week to recruit and sign his own players)?

[Clock_Tower]

Alumni. Just curious why you are so stupid? After years of no success (NCAA tourney) and poor recruiting - only Dustin McGuire in the Fall 2 years ago and no one at all last year - SLU fans (not you) had little to look forward to. Hence, a bad loss with little optimism usually leads to calls for a HC change.

Just curious, guess you and your basketball genious would fire Coach K after a bad loss to Duke's rival, N. Carolina, to be consistent with other programs who also fire coaches for losing to their rivals. A bit of advice: For every complex question, there is a simple answer - which is usually wrong.

[AlumniFan]

Alumni. Just curious why you are so stupid? After years of no success (NCAA tourney) and poor recruiting - only Dustin McGuire in the Fall 2 years ago and no one at all last year - SLU fans (not you) had little to look forward to. Hence, a bad loss with little optimism usually leads to calls for a HC change.

Just curious, guess you and your basketball genious would fire Coach K after a bad loss to Duke's rival, N. Carolina, to be consistent with other programs who also fire coaches for losing to their rivals. A bit of advice: For every complex question, there is a simple answer - which is usually wrong.

Listen, moron, you clearly have represented the hypersensitive Brad-bashers very, very well. I made a comment which compared two somewhat similar losses and asked about the response to them tongue-in-cheek. Predictably, the hypersensitive Brad-bashers have come unglued, taking my comment as an affront to their vitriol for Brad. Now, I know the mentally challenged like you would need years of intensive therapy to recognize a comment like this for what it is as opposed to a serious statement, but if YOU want to fire up the insults by calling me "stupid", then expect this to descend irretrievably into the morass of name-calling and attacks that have driven so many from this board.

I meant to hit a nerve with a statement that I made with obviously FAR too much confidence in the collective intellect and sense of humor of those participating on this board, but I think it has unintentionally shown to speak volumes about the sensitivity of those, many of whom, wanted to dump Brad WELL BEFORE last year's Bonnie bashing. Clearly, this board is comfortable with the status quo (take that in the context intended before you begin searching for your inhaler), but woe to those who question it, whether in jest or earnest.

All that having been said, I still think (as do quite a material number of other SLU backers not represesnted on this board) that the Bonnie beatdown observed yesterday was far worse than what happened last year and that the George Washington (is there really any adjective that can truly describe that NATIONAL, record-setting embarrassment???) game put Majerus' first season near the top of seasons with truly BAD, BAD losses. By the way, take a stroll over to the A10 board and see some of the comments about yesterday's throttling (e.g."Do the St. Louis U. fans talk the most smack with the fewest results?" or "I think as punishment the Billikens should get chewed out by a bare-naked Rick Majerus banging the chalkboard. I've heard of letdown games, but that's off the charts.")

What you do not know is the level of tangible expressed support I have for both Majerus and the program overall, so it is easy for you to fire off your misguided missives, but it does NOT change the recorded facts of March 1, 2008 nor you lack of a sense of humor.

P.S. Hey, "genious" - last time I checked, no one was suggesting that the Bonnies were our rivals.

P.P.S. For every seemingly non-complex joke there is a nitwit like Clock Tower that needs to be talked down from high places due to their hypersensitive, but simplistic over-reaction.

HAVE A NICE DAY EVERYONE!!!!

[Clock_Tower]

Listen, moron, you clearly have represented the hypersensitive Brad-bashers very, very well. I made a comment which compared two somewhat similar losses and asked about the response to them tongue-in-cheek. Predictably, the hypersensitive Brad-bashers have come unglued, taking my comment as an affront to their vitriol for Brad. Now, I know the mentally challenged like you would need years of intensive therapy to recognize a comment like this for what it is as opposed to a serious statement, but if YOU want to fire up the insults by calling me "stupid", then expect this to descend irretrievably into the morass of name-calling and attacks that have driven so many from this board.

I meant to hit a nerve with a statement that I made with obviously FAR too much confidence in the collective intellect and sense of humor of those participating on this board, but I think it has unintentionally shown to speak volumes about the sensitivity of those, many of whom, wanted to dump Brad WELL BEFORE last year's Bonnie bashing. Clearly, this board is comfortable with the status quo (take that in the context intended before you begin searching for your inhaler), but woe to those who question it, whether in jest or earnest.

All that having been said, I still think (as do quite a material number of other SLU backers not represesnted on this board) that the Bonnie beatdown observed yesterday was far worse than what happened last year and that the George Washington (is there really any adjective that can truly describe that NATIONAL, record-setting embarrassment???) game put Majerus' first season near the top of seasons with truly BAD, BAD losses. By the way, take a stroll over to the A10 board and see some of the comments about yesterday's throttling (e.g."Do the St. Louis U. fans talk the most smack with the fewest results?" or "I think as punishment the Billikens should get chewed out by a bare-naked Rick Majerus banging the chalkboard. I've heard of letdown games, but that's off the charts.")

What you do not know is the level of tangible expressed support I have for both Majerus and the program overall, so it is easy for you to fire off your misguided missives, but it does NOT change the recorded facts of March 1, 2008 nor you lack of a sense of humor.

P.S. Hey, "genious" - last time I checked, no one was suggesting that the Bonnies were our rivals.

P.P.S. For every seemingly non-complex joke there is a nitwit like Clock Tower that needs to be talked down from high places due to their hypersensitive, but simplistic over-reaction.

HAVE A NICE DAY EVERYONE!!!!

Is your post another example of your sense of humor? Nark also questioned your post. My point: your humor is not so obvious or funny. Sorry, but not everyone is funny.

Also, I would respond by pointing out your spelling mistakes as well, explain why the two losses are not similar... but my head is still spinning from your rambling post. I would reread your post if it interested me - but it doesn't.

[kshoe]

Listen, moron, you clearly have represented the hypersensitive Brad-bashers very, very well. I made a comment which compared two somewhat similar losses and asked about the response to them tongue-in-cheek. Predictably, the hypersensitive Brad-bashers have come unglued, taking my comment as an affront to their vitriol for Brad. Now, I know the mentally challenged like you would need years of intensive therapy to recognize a comment like this for what it is as opposed to a serious statement, but if YOU want to fire up the insults by calling me "stupid", then expect this to descend irretrievably into the morass of name-calling and attacks that have driven so many from this board.

I meant to hit a nerve with a statement that I made with obviously FAR too much confidence in the collective intellect and sense of humor of those participating on this board, but I think it has unintentionally shown to speak volumes about the sensitivity of those, many of whom, wanted to dump Brad WELL BEFORE last year's Bonnie bashing. Clearly, this board is comfortable with the status quo (take that in the context intended before you begin searching for your inhaler), but woe to those who question it, whether in jest or earnest.

All that having been said, I still think (as do quite a material number of other SLU backers not represesnted on this board) that the Bonnie beatdown observed yesterday was far worse than what happened last year and that the George Washington (is there really any adjective that can truly describe that NATIONAL, record-setting embarrassment???) game put Majerus' first season near the top of seasons with truly BAD, BAD losses. By the way, take a stroll over to the A10 board and see some of the comments about yesterday's throttling (e.g."Do the St. Louis U. fans talk the most smack with the fewest results?" or "I think as punishment the Billikens should get chewed out by a bare-naked Rick Majerus banging the chalkboard. I've heard of letdown games, but that's off the charts.")

What you do not know is the level of tangible expressed support I have for both Majerus and the program overall, so it is easy for you to fire off your misguided missives, but it does NOT change the recorded facts of March 1, 2008 nor you lack of a sense of humor.

P.S. Hey, "genious" - last time I checked, no one was suggesting that the Bonnies were our rivals.

P.P.S. For every seemingly non-complex joke there is a nitwit like Clock Tower that needs to be talked down from high places due to their hypersensitive, but simplistic over-reaction.

HAVE A NICE DAY EVERYONE!!!!

Alumni, I'm not sure how anyone could have taken your first post as a joke or tongue in cheek.

[Taj79]

C'mon, Clock, lighten up ----- can't you detect "tongue-in-cheek," "collective intellect", and "sense of humor" on a two-dimensional image of black letters on a white background? Jeez ------ whasamattaferyou?

In all seriousness, Mr. AlumniFan, I too did not se the so-called humor in your post. I debated long an dhard, but chose not to respond because I couldn't tell what you were proposing. Frankly, there isn't an inkling of any sense of humor in the post and given the depressing date on which it was posted, who can be blamded for taking it at face value. There were no instructions to do otherwise.

[ACE]

If someone has to go through that much effort to explain something that is supposedly a "joke", then it is a complete dud. Then he blames his audience when his "joke" fails. That dreadful game further illustrates why BS had to go. That was his roster with no point guard, no center, and no depth... which = no margin for error. When our two best players are on their game, we can be tough, as was the case at St. Joe's. When those same two players look fatigued and are off, it can get very ugly, because the remaining collection of role players aren't talented enough to pick up the slack and carry the team.

[StLouBlue]

I think the bringing in of Majerus along with all of the forced changes he demanded before accepting this job is what will push this program ahead. I am far from an expert at this, but I have observed/heard the importance of assistant coaches in recruiting. I think Majerus pushing our pay scale higher for our assistants and attracting top notch assistants has to play a large role in our recruiting both over last summer and onward.

I think it also showed when Soderberg brought in Jamal Walker as an assistant, we suddenly started recruiting a higher level athlete than previously on both high school and JUCO players. I am not sure if Walker is the one who opened these doors or not but it certainly looked night and day different. I also think that everyone knew Soderberg was on the hot seat which probably made recruiting that much more difficult the last couple of seasons. I think Soderberg could have turned recruiting around if he was given changes that Majerus demanded, but those changes were not happening without Majerus. I still think Soderberg is a quality coach and I think he will probably get an opportunity somewhere down the line to show it. It took firing Soderberg to make Biondi and our donors to step it up for our program, then that is okay with me. That is life in a bigtime program, which is the level we aspire to.

[kshoe]

If someone has to go through that much effort to explain something that is supposedly a "joke", then it is a complete dud. Then he blames his audience when his "joke" fails. That dreadful game further illustrates why BS had to go. That was his roster with no point guard, no center, and no depth... which = no margin for error. When our two best players are on their game, we can be tough, as was the case at St. Joe's. When those same two playes look fatigued and are off, it can get very ugly, because the remaining collection of role players aren't talented enough to pick up the slack and carry the team.

The quotes from Timmerman's article from the St. Bonny coach said as much.

"When Liddell and Lisch play well, they're hard to beat,'' St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt said. "But when one of them struggles, they're a team that's beatable. We did a great job on Liddell, keeping him in front of us. … They're not a great shooting team. If you can keep them in front of you and keep them out of the paint, you can have some success."

When the coach of a 1 win in conference team feels you are beatable if you stop the top 2, that says something.

[NashvilleBilliken]

As much as I defend Soderberg (well, i really don't defend him...just try to keep unnecessary 'comments' to a minimum), this game can't be compared to last years loss. I feel like they both sting just as much. Last year we were entering the conference poised for an at large bid and the loss pretty much destroyed that. This year were were optimistic about a possible bye and an NIT invite...maybe even an outstide NCAA invite. Now all that is pretty much gone...with an outside NIT shot. The difference is that last years results were after 5 years of practice. His program was in place and we shouldn't have lost that game. However, there is no way in hell we should have lost Saturday's game either. But, Rick and co gets a pass because it's year 1.

It seems some want to fault the coach. Others want to fault the players. Well, I'm pretty sure it's a TEAM game and everybody is responsible. i'm sure there's something the coach could have done (personally, I'm extremely disappointed that Rick did not force the ball inside more). But the kids seem flat, and who the hell comes out flat for senior night?? Then, as has been noted, the league didn't help matters with all this traveling. There's plenty of blame to be passed around, but really, at this point, it doesn't do any good.

[NashvilleBilliken]

When those same two players look fatigued and are off, it can get very ugly, because the remaining collection of role players aren't talented enough to pick up the slack and carry the team.

We have role players that are capable of picking up the slack and carrying the team. It has happened this year. Unfortunately, they did not do it Saturday. They are role players because the are inconsistent and not as good as the stars. Hence the term role players.

[Taj79]

I don't know, kshoe, by this time of the year, you get what you get. Heck, I'd even fathom that most times, by the time conference play opens, you have only a slight margin for getting better but sometimes you can get lucky so that you never really know. In March -- well, it is what it is. We have all said this was a two man team. Most of the commentators have also opined that the Bills have been searching for that consistent #3 option all year. Many also feel that this team got increasingly better and more viable when Danny Brown found his game. But I'd also offer that even though Brown and Luke Meyer are servicable and contributing players, you usually only get the one and not both and in some cases neither. That's also a part of their inconsistent consistency.

I am also certain coaches in this league say "let 00 shoot" or "knock the snot out of #21" as well as "pound the ball inside" if they have a nice big man (Dunston).

[brianstl]

We have role players that are capable of picking up the slack and carrying the team. It has happened this year. Unfortunately, they did not do it Saturday. They are role players because the are inconsistent and not as good as the stars. Hence the term role players.

I think the main problem was that SBU staff has been reading this board and got the inside scoop on how to beat us.

Seriously, the big problem is that we just are not deep enough to expect to be able to beat anyone after a game like St Joe less than 48 hours later and having to travel back home. We had to get to many hard minutes out of our main rotation and to expect anything much to be left in the tank for TL (38 min. at St Joe), KL (37 min.), LM (34 min.), a no off-season Danny Brown (28 min.), and never been in great shape BH (23 mins.) is just not realistic.

The exhuastion showed up on the defensive end especially.

[ACE]

We have role players that are capable of picking up the slack and carrying the team. It has happened this year. Unfortunately, they did not do it Saturday. They are role players because the are inconsistent and not as good as the stars. Hence the term role players.

I don't recall any games where our role players "carried" the team to victory when TL and KL BOTH had bad games. Guys like Danny, Luke and Barry have certainly stepped up at various points and played key roles in wins, but not without also getting big contributions from TL or KL or both.

[NashvilleBilliken]

I don't recall any games where our role players "carried" the team to victory when TL and KL BOTH had bad games. Guys like Danny, Luke and Barry have certainly stepped up at various points and played key roles in wins, but not without also getting big contributions from TL or KL or both.

I may be mistaken, but I could have sworn just a few games ago BH, Danny, and LUke were all in double digits and were the key reason we won the game. Although we won very few games, I don't recall TL or KL being very good early in the season but we still won some games.

Not saying we aren't a 2 man team (we are) or that our role players are NBA candidates. Just that when our role players have a good game (see Danny Brown or Bryce Husak), they are capable of winning games for us. I would venture to say that role player Danny Brown is responsible for our little winning spurt here at the end of the season.

Either way, nobody stepped up on Saturday and we aren't winning any games unless they do.