Freshman cut off to media

[philliken]

This morning on 1380 (590 was on commercial), they had a soundbite from last nights press conference. RM was asked why WR was not available to the media. Rick said, (not verbatim) I've never in my career allowed a freshman to talk to press. They are too young, with too much going on, etc. So our 7 freshman will not be available. Is this a good idea?

I definitely see where Rickma is coming from, and I think it can't hurt. It'd be nice to hear some reactions from the players (emphasized on postgame), but this makes me feel that Rick really has a PLAN for their 4 years here, and he needs to groom them properly.

[STL Hoops Insider]

This morning on 1380 (590 was on commercial), they had a soundbite from last nights press conference. RM was asked why WR was not available to the media. Rick said, (not verbatim) I've never in my career allowed a freshman to talk to press. They are too young, with too much going on, etc. So our 7 freshman will not be available. Is this a good idea?

I definitely see where Rickma is coming from, and I think it can't hurt. It'd be nice to hear some reactions from the players (emphasized on postgame), but this makes me feel that Rick really has a PLAN for their 4 years here, and he needs to groom them properly.

Makes sense. I hope they stay together all 4 years. This appears to be a very solid group. Will the Bills with no juniors on the roster be able to sign anybody in 2010?

[Pistol]

Makes sense. I hope they stay together all 4 years. This appears to be a very solid group. Will the Bills with no juniors on the roster be able to sign anybody in 2010?

I'm guessing there will be some attrition. A 7-man class followed by a 5- or 6-man class- something's gotta give. The encouraging thing is that all of our freshmen this year are competing for minutes, so maybe the equilibrium can hold for a while.

[STL Hoops Insider]

I'm guessing there will be some attrition. A 7-man class followed by a 5- or 6-man class- something's gotta give. The encouraging thing is that all of our freshmen this year are competing for minutes, so maybe the equilibrium can hold for a while.

Maybe they will be done with these 3 for 2009 and save the last 2 for 2010.

[Archy McNally]

Again, I would like to see 2 redshirt from this class and another 1 or 2 from the following class and you would have 5 and 5 as sophs and freshmen next year.

[GOSLU68]

Again, I would like to see 2 redshirt from this class and another 1 or 2 from the following class and you would have 5 and 5 as sophs and freshmen next year.

from last nights game I would say the freshmen played well together without BE and KL and we do not need to worry about being overloaded at the Bigs or Smalls-people needed to be relieved due to exhaustion and the tempo was much improved. If KC can hit his

shot like Clagget we will really have something as he has unbelievable jitterbug movement just like Claggs did plus a size advantage.

We as fans need to have faith that we no longer need to play our best 5 for 40 minutes a game and are doomed if KL or TL go down.

The only floater on the floor last night was in fact senior TL who seemed to really react to KL leaving injured instead of stepping up he

looked like he got a signal from the bench to stay away from injuries.

[Guest BillikenReport]

Again, I would like to see 2 redshirt from this class and another 1 or 2 from the following class and you would have 5 and 5 as sophs and freshmen next year.

That's probably not possible to redshirt any of the seven freshmen from this class. With a deeper roster, you could redshirt two guys, but not this group.

[cheeseman]

RM said nobody will be red shirted this year except for Daniel Lisch. Nate has already reported that 2 schollie offers have been given out for 2010. The freshmen last year were not allowed to talk to the media. This is not an uncommon practice. The problem I see with what some people are seeing is that they got use to this small time activity at SLU and are having trouble understanding that things have changed - they just need to get over it and do their job by talking to the seniors.

[billiken_roy]

Again, I would like to see 2 redshirt from this class and another 1 or 2 from the following class and you would have 5 and 5 as sophs and freshmen next year.

well arch if it is going to happen (redshirts) they have to decide in the next 8 days. the second they check in the game next friday redshirting is over.

i would let em play. reed and john were the two i thought by the accounts written might need to take the extra year to be effective contributors, and by my view last night they would still be the two that could benefit from a redshirt, however i also envisioned them being far from college ready and that isnt the case. while reed needs strength and weight he is vastly superior athletically to anyone we have had here over 6'9" since at least matt baniak. and that speed and jumping skills can go a long way to making up for his shortcomings. i would like to see him become more fundamentally sound defensively, but if anyone can teach defense on the run and quickly it is rickma. i am sure young mr reed will find the defensive religion if he wants to play.

femi appears to have the tools to be a very nice small forward/off guard. as i said in a previous post he has the best body on the team. however he isnt as fundamentally sound as the rest of the guards imo and he has the worst shot of the guards as well. but with his strength and athleticism i could see him turning into a very good defender and he already is a pretty good slasher from the wings and rebounds pretty well for a guard it appears. he reminds me of danny brown without the nice shot that brown had.

[philliken]

The freshmen last year were not allowed to talk to the media. This is not an uncommon practice. The problem I see with what some people are seeing is that they got use to this small time activity at SLU and are having trouble understanding that things have changed - they just need to get over it and do their job by talking to the seniors.

I don't know if anyone really has a problem with it. I personally like the idea. Freshman don't need the distractions. Also, they are still learning the game. Lets say WR started off the season hot, and averaged 15pts a game, he doesn't need the media making him feel like hot sh*t. They need to stay focused.

I do agree with you though, that people shoudln't have an issue with it.

[bauman]

RM said nobody will be red shirted this year except for Daniel Lisch. Nate has already reported that 2 schollie offers have been given out for 2010. The freshmen last year were not allowed to talk to the media. This is not an uncommon practice. The problem I see with what some people are seeing is that they got use to this small time activity at SLU and are having trouble understanding that things have changed - they just need to get over it and do their job by talking to the seniors.

Speaking of D. Lisch, why wouldn't have played last night, when we played two walk-ons? Did I just miss seeing him at mop-up time?

[jimbofive]

Speaking of D. Lisch, why wouldn't have played last night, when we played two walk-ons? Did I just miss seeing him at mop-up time?

I didn't see him on GameTracker®. Could have missed him, though. Here's a shot of him after the game. Looks like he saw a little action.

[DeSmetBilliken]

I think the idea of cutting the freshman off to the media is a sound one, but I do see one potential problem with it. Assuming SLU post-game press conferences are set up the same way under Majerus as Brad, normally 2-3 Billiken players that had especially better games would speak with the media for a few minutes before the head coach would come in and speak. With as few upperclassmen as we have, it could leave a very small sample of players speaking at these press conferences, sometimes players who made little impact on the end result. It could also prevent players that make significant impacts on games from speaking about it to the press. With an exhibition game against an NAIA opponent, who really cares, but if Ruben Cotto drills 6 treys in an A-10 game, is he not going to be able to speak about after the game?

I've heard of this policy in some bigger programs (maybe football), but don't coaches sometimes lift that restriction after a certain point in the season?

[Guest BillikenReport]

I've heard of this policy in some bigger programs (maybe football), but don't coaches sometimes lift that restriction after a certain point in the season?

First off, like some have said, this is no different than last year. The only difference is this team now has twice as many freshmen as upperclassmen.

If Ruben Cotto make 11 3-pointers in the game, he won't be allowed to talk to the media.

This means you will see a lot of quotes from Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell this season — with the occasional quip from Barry Eberhardt and Paul Eckerle.

The person this has the most impact on is Tom Timmermann, who is the only media member that travels with the team and covers every game.

[billikenfan05]

Daniel Lisch did not play last night.

[DeSmetBilliken]

First off, like some have said, this is no different than last year. The only difference is this team now has twice as many freshmen as upperclassmen.

If Ruben Cotto make 11 3-pointers in the game, he won't be allowed to talk to the media.

This means you will see a lot of quotes from Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell this season — with the occasional quip from Barry Eberhardt and Paul Eckerle.

The person this has the most impact on is Tom Timmermann, who is the only media member that travels with the team and covers every game.

OK, good to know. We may not have known about it last year, but then none of the freshman, with the exception of maybe Eckerle in a game or two, did anything to warrant the media particularly wanting to talk with them.

The only reason I asked about whether or not there was a point in the season when the ban would be lifted was because I had seen somewhere that at a certain point in a season there were some other programs (maybe college football or even in the pros) which marked the first day when freshman/rookies could speak with the media. I was just curious if somehting like that was in place at SLU.

Cutting the freshman off from the media still isn't a bad idea. I just hope Timmerman has a really good working relationship with Kevin and Tommie.

[Guest BillikenReport]

The only reason I asked about whether or not there was a point in the season when the ban would be lifted was because I had seen somewhere that at a certain point in a season there were some other programs (maybe college football or even in the pros) which marked the first day when freshman/rookies could speak with the media. I was just curious if somehting like that was in place at SLU.

Cutting the freshman off from the media still isn't a bad idea. I just hope Timmerman has a really good working relationship with Kevin and Tommie.

I'm sure Tom will by the end of the season, if he doesn't already.

I guess it is possible that at some point Majerus could let the freshmen talk to the media — I don't know if that's ever happened with him previously — but for as much as he raved about Eckerle in post-game interviews last year, Majerus didn't let Dr. Eckerle talk to the media.

[Pistol]

OK, good to know. We may not have known about it last year, but then none of the freshman, with the exception of maybe Eckerle in a game or two, did anything to warrant the media particularly wanting to talk with them.

The only reason I asked about whether or not there was a point in the season when the ban would be lifted was because I had seen somewhere that at a certain point in a season there were some other programs (maybe college football or even in the pros) which marked the first day when freshman/rookies could speak with the media. I was just curious if somehting like that was in place at SLU.

Cutting the freshman off from the media still isn't a bad idea. I just hope Timmerman has a really good working relationship with Kevin and Tommie.

He had the same rule last year.

[Taj79]

I think RM's policy is a good one. Freshmen have enough to deal with let alone learning how to speak to the media. Although its probably not as drastic as having to send a military general to media charm school, gushing along about this that and the other thing, without thinking, can lead to issues that even some professionals fail to catch first time through. Do you homework, go to class, go to praoctice, learn your craft. You'll have three more years or so to become a media darling. I would think that Tommie and Kevin are the captains, maybe even Eberhardt as a senior. This is enough.

I can see Rick tromping to the podium in March after a Madness game with Lisch, Liddell and Eberhardt ONLY in tow. Policy is policy. Its not like they won't get their turn later.

[Archy McNally]

Roy and Nate,

I agree with Roy about WR and FJ and their ability. However, I just think that 11th guy is going to struggle to find minutes (probably FJ). I mean if you have the 3 starters on the perimeter and 2 other freshmen and Eck behind them, you have the ability to redshirt that last guy who really isn't going to get playing time. We have wasted a yr of elgibility on guys like Danny, Luke, and Ian in the past. I would like to see that last player redshirt.

Why not take a page out of the SIU book and redshirt a player and develop some experience later on. Brooks, Falker, Young, Boyle, Clemons were all redshirts. They have a couple of redshirts from last year now joining the team.

I guess the downfall with this is you don't know which player really is going to be the 11th man until later in the year.

[Guest BillikenReport]

Roy and Nate,

I agree with Roy about WR and FJ and their ability. However, I just think that 11th guy is going to struggle to find minutes (probably FJ). I mean if you have the 3 starters on the perimeter and 2 other freshmen and Eck behind them, you have the ability to redshirt that last guy who really isn't going to get playing time. We have wasted a yr of elgibility on guys like Danny, Luke, and Ian in the past. I would like to see that last player redshirt.

Why not take a page out of the SIU book and redshirt a player and develop some experience later on. Brooks, Falker, Young, Boyle, Clemons were all redshirts. They have a couple of redshirts from last year now joining the team.

I guess the downfall with this is you don't know which player really is going to be the 11th man until later in the year.

I agree with you on this.

You also identified the problem with your last sentence. At some point the team is going to have to settle on a regular rotation of guys and somebody will probably suffer by not getting a lot of minutes. I think you have to play Willie because you have no depth in the post. So you look at the guards and you've got Cotto, Cassity and John competing for minutes and each brings different skills to the table.

John could be the odd man out because he doesn't shoot it as well as the others, but he's the most physically ready of the guards to handle D-1 hoops and could be the best defender of the three.

I do think in the future you'll see SLU teams that are able to redshirt kids to develop them for later on, but just not this year.

[Box and Won]

I didn't see him on GameTracker®. Could have missed him, though. Here's a shot of him after the game. Looks like he saw a little action.

Looks pretty happy with himself.

[bauman]

Roy and Nate,

I agree with Roy about WR and FJ and their ability. However, I just think that 11th guy is going to struggle to find minutes (probably FJ). I mean if you have the 3 starters on the perimeter and 2 other freshmen and Eck behind them, you have the ability to redshirt that last guy who really isn't going to get playing time. We have wasted a yr of elgibility on guys like Danny, Luke, and Ian in the past. I would like to see that last player redshirt.

Why not take a page out of the SIU book and redshirt a player and develop some experience later on. Brooks, Falker, Young, Boyle, Clemons were all redshirts. They have a couple of redshirts from last year now joining the team.

I guess the downfall with this is you don't know which player really is going to be the 11th man until later in the year.

I know it's very, very early in the season and we haven't had the chance to see many of the new guys play much, if at all, but after seeing them last night, I think you can make a somewhat informed decision re redshirting.

A few givens:

KL, TL, BE & PE will play, although Paul better rediscover his outside shot if he wants to see much PT.

WR, BC & BT will all play---we need their size to have 4 bigs available for the 4 & 5 spots.

KM, RC & KC will all play because they look too good not to.

That's 10, which is even more than most Coaches like to use on a regular basis.

Therefore, it seems like it would make sense for FJ to redshirt rather than waste a year for mainly mop-up minutes. He really needs to work on his 15-22 ft. shot to be a real contributor. This extra year for Femi, in effect, gets him out of this large class of recruits, and since I believe he is an excellent student, it would allow him to get an advanced degree while on a 5-year scholarship.

Obviously, an injury to any of the other players would change the situation.

[willie]

Speaking of D. Lisch, why wouldn't have played last night, when we played two walk-ons? Did I just miss seeing him at mop-up time?

I've been fighting with kshoe on this but I'm not sure a red shirt can play in this game. I thought they changed the rule a couple of years ago. Can anybody tell me that Dustin played in the ex. game last year?

[bonwich]

I've been fighting with kshoe on this but I'm not sure a red shirt can play in this game. I thought they changed the rule a couple of years ago. Can anybody tell me that Dustin played in the ex. game last year?

The NCAA would appear to back whichever of you said that he can't play in the exhibition game (nor, for that matter, in the Memphis scrimmage):

The term "redshirt" is used to describe a student-athlete who does not participate in competition in a sport for an entire academic year. If you do not compete in a sport the entire academic year, you have not used a season of competition. For example, if you are a qualifier, and you attend a four-year college your freshman year, and you practice but do not compete against outside competition, you would still have the next four years to play four seasons of competition. (bold added)

Source: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=420