Successful season, new recruits bring hope for next year

[dneuner]

My latest column for the UNews...

The big gamble has paid off for Saint Louis University. Rick Majerus has resurrected basketball in Midtown. Boy, that was fast.

In the last few months, the head coach of the Billikens showed why he is revered throughout the United States as one of the best teachers of the game. Majerus – who completed year three of five in the Reconstruction Era – has put SLU in position to make its first NCAA appearance in over a decade, in a year when the Bills were anticipated to be fodder for Dayton and Xavier in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

“We had a great year. We didn’t have a good year, we had a great year,” Majerus said in a year-end press conference. “I’m not just saying that, because I’ve had good years. For a team of freshmen and sophomores, and one of your guys doesn’t join you until January, for that team to finish a conclusive fourth in the A-10 and play so well, I thought it was a terrific year for the guys.”

That sounds about right. Without the athleticism of a John Wall or the size of a Brian Zoubek, Majerus coached the “Billikids” to a 23-13 record in a league that, at several times during the season, had a RPI that bested almost every BCS conference in America. The Billikens also never played a single game with the entire roster eligible. If SLU can perform this well at a sub-par level, just imagine what a fully-loaded, fully-active Billikens squad can accomplish.

Now, let me be clear, this season had its faults.

I understand that the transition from high school to Division 1 basketball can be brutal, but there were few excuses for the, at times, abysmal shooting displayed by the Bills. Did you watch the NCAA tournament? The great teams hit their open shots. It’s fundamental to the game. I could spend hours recounting the missed open shots. Shot selection wasn’t necessarily a problem, but at times I wondered if Kyle Cassity thought passes counted for points. Cassity is a phenomenal shooter, and he knows that he has to take more shots. Let’s hope he does.

Also, as a request from me, can the team practice free-throw shooting? Nothing makes me more anxious than seeing our guys step to the line. Missed shots from the line were a big detriment to this team in several of our big losses. Last year, I gave them a pass. They will get no such luck in the 2010-11 season. Thanks, guys.

The team also has to be in much better physical shape. Fatigue plagued this team like the locusts did Ramses II. One great benefit of participating in the CBI this year was that the team was able to experience the physical pressures of playing deep into March. If Cody Ellis or Willie Reed want to play in the Final Four next year, they will need to show a true commitment to being physically ready to dominate from Halloween to Easter. Fitness is essential to SLU’s post-season success.

But enough about the negatives. This season panned out to be the tipping point for the Billikens. The learning curve came early to the great benefit of Majerus and his staff. Cassity told me recently that Majerus’ defensive system is difficult to learn. Naturally, the guys are going to take a while to learn it and develop underneath it. But, Cassity added, “once you do, it’s a good system to be in.”

I don’t pretend to know much about the way Majerus expects his athletes to play ball. At times, I bet the players aren’t even sure.

But I do know this; the Billikens are a dominant defensive force and will continue to be next year, and the year after, and the year after. It’s the most dependable aspect of their game. If the Billikens can avoid the annual second half drought, and cut down on the mental mistakes, that there won’t be many teams SLU can’t stand up against.

SLU will have its entire roster back in 2010-11, except for Jeff Reid who transferred due to lingering effects of his concussion, and none will be seniors. This means prolonged success and a chance for the team to fully develop together.

Kwamain Mitchell averaged 15.9 points, and could be the best point guard in Missouri. Though he struggled with consistency, Reed showed flashes of brilliance under the basket, 12.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots and led the A-10 in shooting percentage at 58.7. Ellis will have a full year to participate in the fun.

The bench is also much, much deeper. Brian Conklin settled nicely into his role off the bench, and the Billikens will look for added relief from Justin Jordan, Jon Smith and Cory Remekun. It became apparent to me that SLU was at a disadvantage because of lack of depth; they consistently were outscored from the bench. Look for that to change.

Not to be overlooked, next year only three players will be new to the system. Majerus signed Mike McCall and Dwayne Evans out of Chicago and got a verbal commitment from 7-footer Rob Loe last week. The reinforcements are arriving in May.

If you don’t believe that SLU is well on its way to national prominence, consider this: ESPN Senior Basketball Analyst Andy Katz already has the Billikens tagged as one of his three sleeper teams to break into the top-25 before the 2010-11 season even tips off.

http://www.unewsonline.com/?p=11921

[Quality Is Job 1]

My latest column for the UNews...

http://www.unewsonline.com/?p=11921

Good work. But I'm having trouble with the following:

Majerus coached the “Billikids” to a 23-13 record in a league that, at several times during the season, had a RPI that bested almost every BCS conference in America.

There are six BCS conferences. In order to be rated higher than almost every BCS conference, the A-10 would have had to be no lower than 3rd-ranked overall — ahead of all but two of the six BCS conferences (and I'm being generous). Did that happen "several times"? Or did you mean "every non-BCS conference"?

[dneuner]

Good work. But I'm having trouble with the following:

There are six BCS conferences. In order to be rated higher than almost every BCS conference, the A-10 would have had to be no lower than 3rd-ranked overall — ahead of all but two of the six BCS conferences (and I'm being generous). Did that happen "several times"? Or did you mean "every non-BCS conference"?

Well I took luxury with phrasing, referring "several times" to several weeks. Times, in this instance, refers to weekly updates of RPI charts. Which, yes, it was ranked above every BCS conference except the Big East, ACC, and Big 10. I believe it was even ranked above the Big 10 or ACC one week. And even when the A10 was outranked, it was not by much.That's what I have in my notes anyway... hopefully I'm close! Next year, maybe I'll write down the RPIs too.

[GoBills]

So the three new recruits are expected on campus in May?

[For-DaLove]

Yes, or atleast by the time summer courses begin.

[NextYearBill]

Glad to see the U news is still worthless

[bonwich]

Fatigue plagued this team like the locusts did Ramses II.

Why do I think our young padawan went to a Jesuit high school?

[Billsrmajic]

Glad to see the U news is still worthless

That's a bit harsh - I thought it was a good article, overall

[slu72]

Glad to see the U news is still worthless

OK, and you're the sports editor/writer for the New York Times?

[jbizzle09]

Glad to see the U news is still worthless

That is kind of a dickish thing to say.

[bsheldon]

Good work. But I'm having trouble with the following:

There are six BCS conferences. In order to be rated higher than almost every BCS conference, the A-10 would have had to be no lower than 3rd-ranked overall — ahead of all but two of the six BCS conferences (and I'm being generous). Did that happen "several times"? Or did you mean "every non-BCS conference"?

I kind of had the same reaction that you did to that phrase, but to his defense--he is almost mostly right and his explination is pretty much right on.

I charted and followed the RPI of conferences about twice weekly--usually Mondays--after the Saturday games and Friday--after the Tues-Thurs games, from the beginning of December through the first week of February (When conference play is in full swing and the rpi and sos are pretty much settled in to what they are going to be.)

The A-10 pretty much hovered around #5, but had a couple of spikes where it WAS #4--ahead of SEC, B10 and P10 from the BCS conferences. It was still behind ACC, B12, and BE. The SOS was very interesting though, the A10 had several #1 rankings along the way. When averaged out, before conference play started the A10 was about #3 from a SOS standpoint--which helped the rpi hover around #5. By the time conference play was in full swing we settled in to #6 ahead of only the P10 from the BCS's. The conference had some really good wins this year, and there are no signs of the conference getting any weaker--the contrary will more than likely be true. X has a monster recruiting class coming in, as well as Crawford more than likely returning, Dayton more than likely will have its stars back, Temple will be back in the top 25--Richmond still has one the best guards in the country to build around, Charlotte will be getting a new coach to try to finish strong, RI will more than likely be solid again, heck even botton dweller Fordham is in the process of trying to resurrect the program. Of course SLU will be ranked MUCH higher all of next season. One thing for sure--it will be fun.

[bsheldon]

BTW, D-nooner, very good article. Keep up the good work, hopefully next year will be a blast to cover the team in the U-News. Heck, there might actually be a buzz around campus about the team next year and you yourself may become a bit of a celebrity as you cover the team. Good luck.

[bleedtheblue]

Glad to see the U news is still worthless

wow. completely uncalled for.

keep up the good work nuener