This year and next!

[Billikan]

As we come to the last week of the regular season it is interesting to see what we have learned about this team for this year and for next year:

For this year--

1. This team and its coach are incredibly tough and resiliant. When we seem to be down and out we do not quit and we fight hard.

2. An relativelty unheralded player in high school, Josh Fisher, has come up strong in his senior year as a shut down defender and a solid offensive player and great free throw shooter. He will be tough to replace--maybe as tough as Love and Perry.

3. tom Fericks has been a wonderful surprise, much better than expected by most of us and if he had been and were completely healthy I would this year could have been much better.

4. Reggie Bryant is a huge part of or offensive game and he is better than most expected on the offensive end. His defense, particularly on the perimeter, leaves a lot to be desired but he seems to be working hard to defend in a one on one situation. He is still in trouble on the defensive boards when guarding a tall and athletic 2 guard but that is no surprise.

5. chris sloan has remained a constant for this team in terms of hustle and maintaining a never say die attitude. He is a wonderful senior who will be missed, particularly on the defensive end.

6. IO has shown flashes of spectacular play and his defense has improved dramatically. He has also rebounded better as the year has progressed. He has turned out to be a very important part of the team.

7. Drejaj has contributed his fire and toughness on defense and has helped our offense with his penetration and occasional timely shooting from deep. It is a shame that he has been injured at times.

8. the bench--who knows what we will get on a given game? Varner has played a huge part in some recent victories yet he killed us at SMS. overall, we have needed his toughness and team oriented approach. Ian has shown some real flashes of potential on both ends but he is not yet ready for prime time. JJ has recently shown more emotion but the jury is out on his ability to understand what is takes to play at this level. Clarke is an unknown who does not yet get what it is that he is supposed to do. He played very ineffectively against SMS and we have not seen much of him since. Hunt--a wonderful guy and a great teammate-- in his senior year has stayed ready and contributed when called upon. the tulane effort was terrific.

With two regular season games left, I am proud of our team and I think this has been a successful year, particularly in light of the injuries to key players--remember IO was hurt earlier.

Next year--

1. With reggie, IO, Drejaj and Frericks returning--4 players who started often, we have a wonderful base to start from on offense. add to that mix a true point guard with 3 point shooting ability --Polk, an athletic wing--Liddell, and a clever scorer from mid range Meyer--with the potential for one more recruit and with the development of our freshman and I see real potential on the offensive end.

2. The real question will be our defense. this year's team is one of the best in my memory in Billiken basketball. The loss of Josh and Chris will be huge. they really make the defense work. the staff will have its hands full next year to develop a coherent defensive strategy. By the way, did anyone notice that in the last few minutes last night that the coach put the team in a 3-2 match up zone! I cannot recall us ever playing it before!

[bauman]

I enjoyed your post from a few days ago which did not receive any replies. I agree with most of your opinions and comments, but after watching the Cincy game, the second half of the Tulane game and the Louisville game it is all the more obvious to me that we need real help up front next year. My only argument with your post is with pts. 6 and 8. IO is not a rebounder and I still fail to see any potential in IV. (Apparently Coach BS is somewhat in agreement with me re IV based on his lack of playing time in the last 2 games, even with TF unable to go) IV got 8 minutes in the 'Ville game, 3 in the first half when IO needed a breather and the last 5 minutes of the game when Brad was throwing in the towel. It is noteworthy (and of concern) that IO & IV played a total of 32 minutes in last night's game and managed a TOTAL of 1, yes one, rebound! I believe we are in dire need of an athletic PF who can jump and is quick, much like the entire Louisville team. This recruit doesn't need to be powerful, just athletic like the thin PFs from So Ms., UAB, Cincy., UNCC and Louisville all of whom have made our 3s and 4s look like they are standing in cement.

In addition, we need to start recruiting over IV and BH for the 5 position after TF leaves, otherwise we will be looking like the Spoonball teams with great perimeter players but no big man to control the middle. If we are really going to be a team of consistent NCAA quality, which I think BS is capable of making us, then he needs to start getting the big men necessary to complement players like DP, LM and TL. Tall and slow just doesn't get it done anymore.

[Tonka]

I think Brad learned his lesson with IV in the Cincy game. He isn't athletic enough against teams like Louisville and Cincy.

[davidnark]

Why would we recruit over a 7'1" redshirt freshmen who has never played and a foreign player who has only played a handful of games? It isn't like there are tens of blue chip centers knocking on SLU's door. The staff should and will focus on developing Bryace and Ian into good players for the long term.

I would argue that we need to recruit over Drejaj. His poor outside shooting and nonesensical no-look passes have killed us this year. Plus, his upside is small; he will never develop into a great athlete, and his body doesn't have much more room for adding muscle.

[worthington]

At one point in the game, I wondered why IV wasn't played? We sure weren't establishing the post w/ IO. As bad as we were playing, it would have been nice to see IV try and mix it up down there to get a better feel for how fast Div. 1 ball can be and to hone his skills a bit. It couldn't have hurt.

[Billikan]

Man, after last night it is hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. I still see some real potential in IV but I agree that in his current condition and strength he would not be a good matchup with the Louisville big men. If he can become what I would envision, our Vlade Divac, by his junior year or so I think that is all we can hope for. But that would be plenty!

I have only seen Bryce a cople of times in practice so it is impossible for me to really judge whether he will be a contributor. But, with regard to recruiting, I am sure this staff will take any highly athletic big man that wants to play for our Bills. There would be plenty of room for another big man if he is really a good player.

As to Drejaj, this summer will really tell the tale. When he is good he is very good but when he is bad he is terrible. He needs to shoot 500 shots a day and really get his stroke polished. He needs to get into the best shape possible and then come in with confidence. He still will be an important part of this team. Last night he was limping and the opponents made him look bad but they were on a high and Pitino brought them in in droves while we had 6 players. Brad was playing with a short deck but to his credit he did not make any excuses!!!

On JJ and Clarke, I have no idea whether they will ever "get it". Clarke seems injured. JJ, despite two years of practice does not know the offense or the defense. Last night Fisher was screaming at thim because he was not running the offense correctly and his help defense--the key to Brad's system--is a joke. If these two guys can grow over the wummer in the understanding of the system and get stronger then maybe they can contribute. If not, we will need to go another direction.

[SluSignGuy]

I have a hunch that Josh wants more than anything in the world to go to the Dance. At Tulane he called a Team meeting, and now he is yelling at the younger guys.

Reminds me a lot of Perry last year. He basically strapped this team to his back and tried to carry them to the NCAA's single handedly. Then in the NIT, he played one of his less spectacular games.

I think Josh and Sloan want to dance more than anything in the world. Josh saw the 2000 Miracle, but didn't get to play. Sloan never has tasted the Dance. I think they want it more than anything alive right now.

Steve

[Schasz]

I really have enjoyed the workman like careers of both Fish and Sloan but unless SLU wins the CUSA Tourney in Cincy, the only Dancin I see in their futures is at the local clubs in St. Louis...winning the CUSA Tourney will be an extremely tall order for our guys.

[Schasz]

By the way, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed the young Master Polk picks up Brad's system in warp time as I shudder at the idea of AD as our PG. If people thought Fish was not really a PG then what will they think and say if AD gets the lion share of those minutes.

As far as JJ is concerned, I think this summer is crucial for him that is if he wants to be a productive member instead of someone picking the splinters from the bench from his rear end. I have to believe that Brad has bringing in someone at the 4 who is capable of playing productive minutes next year. If we don't get someone with more athleticism at the position then we will be in big trouble again with the Louisville's, Cincy's, UAB's, and Charlotte's, of CUSA.

[tseugnekillib]

Billikan,

I think you are being a little unkind to Clarke and JJ. First, Clarke is injured and he hasn't had a meaningful practice in three to four weeks. JJ knows the basic offense, but he may have been ineffective on one of the special plays that was put in for Louisville. With the individual practice allowed in April-May, and after the summer games, we will all have a better idea of what we have in JJ and DC.

[bauman]

David, the answer to your question is------IV and BH won't be good enough to compete in the A10 or to help us get to and/ or win in the NCAAs. As I've said before, you can't fix slow, timid and non-athletic.

With JJ not stepping up this year and what I've seen of BH in practice and IV in games and practice, we need help up front next year big time.

We also need some shooters/scorers but it looks like BS has solved that problem w/ LM DP and TL (if he gets in).

Look up this post in a few years and I bet BH and IV will not have stayed 4 years or contributed much while here.

[davidnark]

>David, the answer to your question is------IV and BH won't

>be good enough to compete in the A10 or to help us get to

>and/ or win in the NCAAs. As I've said before, you can't

>fix slow, timid and non-athletic.

Husak has not played a single college game, so neither you nor anyone else on this board has any idea whether he will be fast enough or athletic enough to compete. Both Ian and Bryce will have next season, plus two offseasons, to work on their strength, conditioning, and basketball skills before they are expected to start. They both have the size and cooridination to compete at a high level. It is crazy to assume that we will need to recruit over them to find a center to start two years from now.

I would be surprised to see Tommie at SLU next year, and we have a glaring hole at the power and small foward positions. If we are going to compete for titles in CUSA or the A10, we must recruit lean, strong, and very athletic forwards. Charlotte, UAB, and Southern Miss. can find these players, why can't we? Recruiting the center position should be the least of our worries.

[billiken_roy]

i agree completely with david. while i havent been excited about ian and bryce because they are long term projects, we do have the luxury of having frericks back next year, thus we are safe center wise for at least another year to watch what ian and bryce progress to. in the meantime, we have big big holes for our forward positions that has to be our top priority.

[3star_recruit]

"If we are going to compete for titles in CUSA or the A10, we must recruit lean, strong, and very athletic forwards"

In CUSA, definitely but in the A10, not really. St. Joe's, Dayton and Xavier do just fine with three guard sets in that league. Landing a 6'6 jumping jack would to play small forward would give us a decided advantage, though.

[kshoe]

life will be easier in the A-10 and we'll be able to compete better etc. which may be true as far as wins and losses go but the fact is where we probably need 18 wins a year out of CUSA to be on the NCAA tourney bubble we'll probably need 21-22 out of the A-10. I could care less if we finish 5th in CUSA or 2nd in the A-10, the only thing that matters to me is getting to the dance. Although it'll be easier to beat the top of the A-10 vs. the top of CUSA we will have much less margin for error in the A-10 and road losses will be disasterous as there will be fewer chances to get "good" wins against top competition. In my mind, the road to the NCAA will be harder for the Bills in the A-10, not easier.

[3star_recruit]

It can't be any harder that it's already been. We haven't made the dance in four years and next year will probably be five.

[billiken_roy]

i pretty much agree kshoe. especially if the a-10 leaves things as they are. there were rumblings that they would move to get fordham and lasalle i think out, which would really help elevate the rpi effect of the conference by essentially trading fordham and lasalle for slu and charlotte. still there is no denying that the top of the current cusa is much stronger than the top of the a-10. sure st joes, xaiver and dayton are formidable, but they arent cincy and louisville and memphis either.

[kshoe]

Last year we were 8-12 at one point but because we played in CUSA we were given a second chance through a strong RPI and came up a game or two short. We were 7-6 non-conference. If we are 7-6 non-conference going into the A-10 we might as well pack it in because we will have to have to go 12-2 in conference to make up for the RPI hit we will get from not playing the Cincis and Louisvilles of the world. Until the Billikens learn to not lose to inferior teams on the road (SMS, maybe West Virginia) the A-10 will be a tough league for us because we won't go 14-4 in conference and anything less won't be good enough for the dance. Just my opinion but its not about to get any easier.

[billiken_roy]

still better than the next cusa or the mvc!

[slubbfan]

Truly an excellent point. We can talk all day about how we should have scheduled stronger non-conference games, or how we should not have allowed teams to come back from behind to beat us, but we should really be dwelling on losses to SMS and West Virginia.

I will give a lot of credit to BS in this area because it seems that we are better at winning games we are "supposed" to win than we were in the Romar days, but we still have to improve.

With an extra two wins we would be at 17-9, with Houston tonight.

Statistically speaking I don't know what our RPI would now be, but I think 19 wins puts us in. I just wish we were two closer.

Anybody out there looking to trade two wins for a soul? Just kidding, this ain't Missouri.

slubbfan

[kshoe]

there. the A-10 is the best option available but its not as good as CUSA is this year. It certainly rivals the CUSA of the past but for the first time since its inception CUSA was living up to the billing and is one of the top 6 conferences in the nation. With Depaul's win last night there is little chance 6 teams don't get in.

[billiken_roy]

if memphis loses tomorrow they have to let depaul in. the media would have a field day with the top seed in the conference being passed over.