BLIKNS Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I was thought Ryan Hollins was the foot in the door to Cali,and thought Romar was closing to turning the corner,but he left before we could find out what would happen. Of the UCLA coaches on, the 95 NC team,Harrick,Lavin,Romar,and the coach at Alabama(can`t think of his name right now,but played for Woolard in high school),who do you think has had the most success? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p diddy Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I agree with Footes on all accounts of Romar. He did well at Pepperdine and Washington but was not a good fit at SLU. What irks me is that Spoon was thought to be this bad recruiter, yet he left Romar with Love, Perry, Jeffers, Baniak, Tatum, Heinrich, and Ferguson. 3 guys who were his best scorers over 3 years and 3 big front-court guys. Spoon gets slammed for Drew Diener, yet here is a guy who started his sr year for Soderberg because Romar didn't leave anybody behind that could beat him out. Lets remember, Romar recruited Varner. Romar made his share of recruiting mistakes here, but I know for a fact that Jamal Tatum was coming to SLU until he left for U-Dub. He was very upset when he found out he was leaving. Taj Gray was also going to come to SLU and sit out a year. Romar had also fostered a great relationship with the Grimes family, so it was a solid bet that Grimes was coming aboard as well. bad boyz for life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicCityBilliken Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Romar made his share of recruiting mistakes here, but I know for a fact that Jamal Tatum was coming to SLU until he left for U-Dub. He was very upset when he found out he was leaving. Taj Gray was also going to come to SLU and sit out a year. Romar had also fostered a great relationship with the Grimes family, so it was a solid bet that Grimes was coming aboard as well. bad boyz for life Suggs followed him to Washington. I am sure he did not go to Seattle for its great weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSLU68 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Nothing's a guarantee. I'm just surprised that so many on here have such dismissive attitudes about Romar, especially a lot of the same people who defended Brad for so long. I obviously can't state that it is a fact that Romar would have brought a lot of success to SLU because he left and we'll never know. But I strongly believe that he was the right guy and would have gotten it done. We had 5 stagnant years after him, and Brad's most loyal supporters can't argue that. Romar gave us a young, Big Time personality and the media and the school really pushed what he meant to SLU. The school PR and local media never did a damn thing for BS. The fan base looked on it like Biondi went cheap on us and possibly BS was brought in because Romar was not on the same page as the administration when it came to recruiting kids like Darius Miles and Kern who were never going to make into SLU. We were a step up into the limelight and the local financial support for Spoon was second only to what RM gets today with any difference being Spoon could do commercials and provide some comedic bits for the media. Spoon was on a downward fade. Romar was just as classy as Spoon in his own way and Brad was a helluva nice guy. Now is the time for all good men to take notice of what RM is doing with his staff to give us a real basketball program that won't fade after one or two years. RM understands you have to recruit kids who can make it in school. Will we ever find out if Cotto;s real problem was his deficiency in English? We won't have that problem with Salecich and Ellis of Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Romar made his share of recruiting mistakes here, but I know for a fact that Jamal Tatum was coming to SLU until he left for U-Dub. He was very upset when he found out he was leaving. Taj Gray was also going to come to SLU and sit out a year. Romar had also fostered a great relationship with the Grimes family, so it was a solid bet that Grimes was coming aboard as well. bad boyz for life So your saying if Romar stayed Grimes was coming? First time I ever felt lucky that he left Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 Suggs followed him to Washington. I am sure he did not go to Seattle for its great weather. several years later. Not really a factor at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 So your saying if Romar stayed Grimes was coming? First time I ever felt lucky that he left Grimes was a talent, but his thug persona would have brought us back to the end of the Grawer era. He would have been a lot closer to his relatives if he were in St. Louis. Who knows how many brawls he would have been called into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 I agree with Footes on all accounts of Romar. He did well at Pepperdine and Washington but was not a good fit at SLU. What irks me is that Spoon was thought to be this bad recruiter, yet he left Romar with Love, Perry, Jeffers, Baniak, Tatum, Heinrich, and Ferguson. 3 guys who were his best scorers over 3 years and 3 big front-court guys. Spoon gets slammed for Drew Diener, yet here is a guy who started his sr year for Soderberg because Romar didn't leave anybody behind that could beat him out. Lets remember, Romar recruited Varner. It's possible that I've called Spoon a "bad" recruiter on this board in the past. If I've ever done that, I take it back. I'll say Spoon was a lazy recuiter, and I didn't agree with his philosphy of not wanting a big man. I remember Spoon making comments like "I'd rather have a 6'6" guy who can play than a 7 foot stiff in the middle". The obvious problem with his position is that it's up to the coach to find big men who CAN play. He finally did that when he brought in Heinrich, and Heinrich was a real presence. You could maybe get away with a 5-guard lineup in the 1980s Valley, but it wasn't going to work in CUSA. I loved guys like Donnie Dobbs, Jeff Harris, and David Robinson, but the team would have been that much better with decent big man in the paint. Spoon also spent quite a bit of time in west end and downtown taverns when he could have been on the road, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBills Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 This is a good discussion, but it is really difficult to conclude the Romar era as a success or failure because it was very short and we are dealing with a lot of "what ifs." Was getting Hollins the beginning of a West Coast pipeline or just a one-time deal? I have also heard that about Taj Gray and he would have been a real difference maker at SLU, but who knows. I really think in the end, Romar's grade at SLU is incomplete. I will say this for Lorenzo, he has breathed new life into that program that Bob Bender had run into the ground. I have a friend who lives in Seattle area, a fellow SLU alum, he told me how he watched the Bills play up there when Lorenzo was the SLU coach. He said he had no problem getting a great seat and just walked right in behind the Bills bench. Just a couple years later, when Lorenzo became their coach, that became one of the toughest tickets in town. He deserves credit for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 This is a good discussion, but it is really difficult to conclude the Romar era as a success or failure because it was very short and we are dealing with a lot of "what ifs." Was getting Hollins the beginning of a West Coast pipeline or just a one-time deal? I have also heard that about Taj Gray and he would have been a real difference maker at SLU, but who knows. I really think in the end, Romar's grade at SLU is incomplete. I will say this for Lorenzo, he has breathed new life into that program that Bob Bender had run into the ground. I have a friend who lives in Seattle area, a fellow SLU alum, he told me how he watched the Bills play up there when Lorenzo was the SLU coach. He said he had no problem getting a great seat and just walked right in behind the Bills bench. Just a couple years later, when Lorenzo became their coach, that became one of the toughest tickets in town. He deserves credit for that. I think your post is good. You can only judge the Romar era on what it was, not what it might have been. I agree this thread has been good so far. Troll free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Romar was a great coach. Better on the court coach than Spoon or Soderberg. Romar's talent level wasn't that high and we always overachieved in a tough league. That said his recruiting was hit and miss. He did waste time trying to get West coast kids here. He made a real connection with the area players, coaches and families but never brought in the big local talent. Soderberg was an about face in personality compared to Romar and his hiring turned off a lot of the local talent. Romar could have brought in a ton of players had he stayed. Had he gotten the area players in here earlier instead of waiting till he was about to leave he may not have taken the job at Washington. Hollins took a long time to mature but he was a helluva player by his senior year. Romar has had success at Washington but I don't see any championship banners there. His team the last couple of years hasn't been great and this years team while 12-4 has played a schedule as weak as ours. They are middle of the pack in the Pac 10. Just wondering had Grimes played here what is the closest Steak N' Shake to SLU's campus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I agree with Footes on all accounts of Romar. He did well at Pepperdine and Washington but was not a good fit at SLU. What irks me is that Spoon was thought to be this bad recruiter, yet he left Romar with Love, Perry, Jeffers, Baniak, Tatum, Heinrich, and Ferguson. 3 guys who were his best scorers over 3 years and 3 big front-court guys. Spoon gets slammed for Drew Diener, yet here is a guy who started his sr year for Soderberg because Romar didn't leave anybody behind that could beat him out. Lets remember, Romar recruited Varner. Are you sure that Tatum was still here when Romar came. I thought his last year was Spoon's last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Romar made his share of recruiting mistakes here, but I know for a fact that Jamal Tatum was coming to SLU until he left for U-Dub. He was very upset when he found out he was leaving. Taj Gray was also going to come to SLU and sit out a year. Romar had also fostered a great relationship with the Grimes family, so it was a solid bet that Grimes was coming aboard as well. bad boyz for life Grimes amounted to nothing at MU so he would probably not have helped here all that much. I know he was very sought after but I had always questioned his commitment every time I saw him in h.s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Romar was a great coach. Better on the court coach than Spoon or Soderberg. Romar's talent level wasn't that high and we always overachieved in a tough league. That said his recruiting was hit and miss. He did waste time trying to get West coast kids here. He made a real connection with the area players, coaches and families but never brought in the big local talent. Soderberg was an about face in personality compared to Romar and his hiring turned off a lot of the local talent. Romar could have brought in a ton of players had he stayed. Had he gotten the area players in here earlier instead of waiting till he was about to leave he may not have taken the job at Washington. Hollins took a long time to mature but he was a helluva player by his senior year. Romar has had success at Washington but I don't see any championship banners there. His team the last couple of years hasn't been great and this years team while 12-4 has played a schedule as weak as ours. They are middle of the pack in the Pac 10. Just wondering had Grimes played here what is the closest Steak N' Shake to SLU's campus? No way that Romar was a better floor coach then Spoon. Spoon was outstanding in that regard - granted he had his other issues but not game coaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Romar was a great coach. Better on the court coach than Spoon or Soderberg. Romar's talent level wasn't that high and we always overachieved in a tough league. That said his recruiting was hit and miss. He did waste time trying to get West coast kids here. He made a real connection with the area players, coaches and families but never brought in the big local talent. Soderberg was an about face in personality compared to Romar and his hiring turned off a lot of the local talent. Romar could have brought in a ton of players had he stayed. Had he gotten the area players in here earlier instead of waiting till he was about to leave he may not have taken the job at Washington. Hollins took a long time to mature but he was a helluva player by his senior year. Romar has had success at Washington but I don't see any championship banners there. His team the last couple of years hasn't been great and this years team while 12-4 has played a schedule as weak as ours. They are middle of the pack in the Pac 10. Just wondering had Grimes played here what is the closest Steak N' Shake to SLU's campus? Come on Helluva ball player ... he average 7ppg, 4.7rpg, and .9 bpg in 33 minutes his sr year. For his career 5.7, 4.0, .9 People keep confusing Romar's incredibly engaging personality with results on the basketball court. His records starting from the 1st year he was here. 19-14, 17-14, 15-16 .... with a lot of players leaving in what would have been his next year. Everything that "was going to happen had he stayed" is irelevent to any conversation regarding his coaching career at SLU. He didn't stay, it didn't happen. The Taj Grey was coming rumors make me laugh, he hadn't committed, so it isn't a given, just Billiken speculation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Come on Helluva ball player ... he average 7ppg, 4.7rpg, and .9 bpg in 33 minutes his sr year. For his career 5.7, 4.0, .9 People keep confusing Romar's incredibly engaging personality with results on the basketball court. His records starting from the 1st year he was here. 19-14, 17-14, 15-16 .... with a lot of players leaving in what would have been his next year. Everything that "was going to happen had he stayed" is irelevent to any conversation regarding his coaching career at SLU. He didn't stay, it didn't happen. The Taj Grey was coming rumors make me laugh, he hadn't committed, so it isn't a given, just Billiken speculation. I agree, Skip. Romar didn't exactly set the world on fire except for the miracle in Memphis. In fact the following year I thought we'd be a lock for the NCAA . He had Baniak, Heinrich, MO, Marquee, a promising young player in Jason Edwin, Tatum, etc. He never made a big splash w/ locals and let SIU pick our pockets to go dancing every year. What he left UB with was disgraceful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 tatum was here for romar's ncaa tourney season (miracle in memphis), in fact tatum could have stayed another season as he had progressed in the classroom enough to have the ncaa give back that freshman season he had to sit for academics. he and lorenzo agreed to part ways and he finished one season at mckendree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 tatum was here for romar's ncaa tourney season (miracle in memphis), in fact tatum could have stayed another season as he had progressed in the classroom enough to have the ncaa give back that freshman season he had to sit for academics. he and lorenzo agreed to part ways and he finished one season at mckendree. It would have been nice to have one more season of Tatum. He was a physical presence on the floor. It's a shame he couldn't keep up academically and the coaches weren't able to motivate him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archy McNally Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Romar was a great coach. Better on the court coach than Spoon or Soderberg. Romar's talent level wasn't that high and we always overachieved in a tough league. I strongly disagree. His talent level the first 2 years were some of the most talented Bills teams. Yet we would blow games to inferior opponents like La Tech, San Fran, etc. Bad turnovers killed us while he was here. He didn't stray too much from his base offense, a power offense that pretty much everybody runs. Spoon's sets and patterns were much more sophisticated. Even Brads runner-blocker that he ran the first 2 yrs was more sophisticated. Baniak who had 2 really good years to start regressed under Romar. Romar's strength is that he can take talented guards and wings and make them better. He plays a more open style and doesn't get too sophisticated and lets his outside guys win the game. His teams generally play hard. If his guards are not as good (athletic and polished), his teams tend to struggle more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archy McNally Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Suggs followed him to Washington. I am sure he did not go to Seattle for its great weather. I am from St. Louis. Both sides of my family go back 4 generations. I love it here and will never move. That being said, Seattle/Washington is a thousand times the destination that St. Louis is and Washington has one of the best campuses in the nation if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 It would have been nice to have one more season of Tatum. He was a physical presence on the floor. It's a shame he couldn't keep up academically and the coaches weren't able to motivate him. it had nothing to do with his academics that he didnt stay around. in fact he did splendid at slu in the classroom. his not staying around was all about tatum vs romar personalitywise. i doubt lorenzo was invited to justin's wedding. btw, tatum has a 6th or 7th grade son that is a pure stud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfootes Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 it had nothing to do with his academics that he didnt stay around. in fact he did splendid at slu in the classroom. his not staying around was all about tatum vs romar personalitywise. i doubt lorenzo was invited to justin's wedding. btw, tatum has a 6th or 7th grade son that is a pure stud. thanks for clarifying. I remember that now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 it had nothing to do with his academics that he didnt stay around. in fact he did splendid at slu in the classroom. his not staying around was all about tatum vs romar personalitywise. i doubt lorenzo was invited to justin's wedding. btw, tatum has a 6th or 7th grade son that is a pure stud. Roy are you saying Romar ran off a player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Roy are you saying Romar ran off a player? it was mutual. my sources say tatum hated him with a passion and wouldnt come back no matter what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicCityBilliken Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Next year will be the tenth anniversary of the 'Miracle in Memphis' and our last NCAA Tourney appearance. I think, it would be nice to schedule a home game with Washington and honor Coach Romer and those players that played in that game. Also show highlights on those huge corner screens. I think the fans who remember that exciting time, as I do, would really enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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