View from Afar

[The Dude]

At this point we are the Brooklyn Dodgers: Wait until next year!

Dude. You must be really old. Please use present day analogies.

[Bobby Metzinger]

Dude. You must be really old. Please use present day analogies.

The City of Cleveland. How's that?

[doowop]

Are you retarded? Or just THAT stupid?

Problem 1: WR and KM were suspended

Problem 2: We have played the 11th hardest SOS in the nation with one of the youngest teams in college basketball.

Problem 3: We have no Bigs and are being out-rebounded at an astounding clip along with allowing our opponents to score on 51.4% of their attempts

Problem 4: We suck at Free Throws

Problem 5: Fan expectations...I wanted SO BADLY to be awesome this year. It is extremely frustrating that we aren't performing well...

To blame this on anyone one person (Majerus) or certain players (Remekun, Salecich) is ridiculous...From what I can tell, everybody is working their butts off, which in turn just perpetuates the frustration...

We have four BIGS, CR, BC, CE, and RL.

[DirtyRican]

The City of Cleveland. How's that?

Fun times in Cleveland again.

[eastsidejoe]

i do not disagree with the prevailing point by most about the effect of losing the two best players on the team unexpectedly. the same thing happened to soderberg when he lost frericks and bryant and the team ended up with a losing record. very few teams can take an unexpected shot like that and not miss a step.

what i do think has been exposed though is the actual talent level of this roster. i admit i thought the roster was much stronger than it obviously is and expected with another year of maturation there would be at most a slight hiccup and the team would still have a positive record. didnt see any reason the team wouldnt win 18-19 games still.

instead we have seen regression by a number of players. we have seen no one really step up to a leadership role and my opinion is that our talent level isnt much more than it has been on any roster since mr hughes left for the nba over a decade ago.

and with that said, those of you that have labeled next year's expected roster "loaded" are way off base. we will be an injury or an incident or an academic casualty or an unexpected transfer from another 500 or less season. what seems to be most disappointing the last 3-4 weeks is a sharp downturn in the play and results of our current talent. something's not right. and to just continue blindly forward without asking questions is just blind faith. good for you all. you are truly great fans.

Sounds like you agree with my post from yesterday. What do you mean "loaded". We were loaded this year in March, right? I don't necessarily question the talent level like you Roy, because they are quite young, but a lot of things happen from year to year, different situations.

[Box and Won]

Fun times in Cleveland again.

Who the f--- still uses a pay phone?

[Bobby Metzinger]

Who the f--- still uses a pay phone?

Our main export is crippling depression...

[The Dude]

Notre Dame is an example of a team that lost it's leading scorer and it's point guard and still got better the next year. The former role players are stepping up. Xavier lost it's leading scorer and playmaker and it's leading rebounder and has come back and is respectable. Teams that are built with a solid foundation don't crumble like this. Sorry folks.

3Jack - You don't build a solid foundation on three recruiting classes - not at school like SLU. Majerus has not even had a chance to coach a group of his seniors. Notre Dame, Xavier and others mentioned have had strong programs for several years. The best hope for this program is that Majerus comes back healthy very soon and KM and WR as well, so we can try to reestablish the momentum we were feeling last year. Would love to have this same conversation after (and if) Majerus has recruited 7 or 8 classes and has coached several senior classes. If Majerus leaves I feel this program is bound to take a huge step backwards. I just hope we can someday get to a point where we a have a successful coaching carousel like the one at Xavier.

[joe_davola]

Our main export is crippling depression...

Here's a statue of Moses Cleveland, he's the guy who invented Cleveland YEAH!

[bomble]

The City of Cleveland. How's that?

You all can get a laugh at Cleveland's expense, but Saint Louis is quickly becoming Cleveland in terms of economic malaise.

I don't defend Cleveland's silly policies that led to their current woes, but Saint Louis isn't much better.

[bomble]

Here's a statue of Moses Cleveland, he's the guy who invented Cleveland YEAH!

[TheA_Bomb]

The head coach is ultimately responsible for everything. Those who bashed Soderberg need to ask themselves if they are giving Majerus more leeway. I think they are and I think he deserves less leeway because he is getting paid a lot more and has much better facilities.

Yes losing the top two players from any team hurts. However, that loss shouldn't have made us one of the worst teams in the country. If you don't think we are one of the worst then you are deluding yourself. Furthermore, the incident occurred in May and the coaching staff knew that suspension/expulsion was a real possibility at that point.

I'm fed up with these results with constant excuses. If you are out there working hard doing your best then I am willing to provide my support. However, it is my opinion Majerus is taking the easy way out missing these games. That really angers me. Don't come back on here sighting his age and his health issues. Those health issues are self-inflicted he didn't accidentally become morbidly obese.

Can we bounce back next year? Absolutely. However, that doesn't mean that I have to accept a complete lack of execution and effort on everyone's part this year.

[bomble]

The head coach is ultimately responsible for everything. Those who bashed Soderberg need to ask themselves if they are giving Majerus more leeway. I think they are and I think he deserves less leeway because he is getting paid a lot more and has much better facilities.

Yes losing the top two players from any team hurts. However, that loss shouldn't have made us one of the worst teams in the country. If you don't think we are one of the worst then you are deluding yourself. Furthermore, the incident occurred in May and the coaching staff knew that suspension/expulsion was a real possibility at that point.

I'm fed up with these results with constant excuses. If you are out there working hard doing your best then I am willing to provide my support. However, it is my opinion Majerus is taking the easy way out missing these games. That really angers me. Don't come back on here sighting his age and his health issues. Those health issues are self-inflicted he didn't accidentally become morbidly obese.

Can we bounce back next year? Absolutely. However, that doesn't mean that I have to accept a complete lack of execution and effort on everyone's part this year.

Well said. I also think these comparisons are a bit of a stretch.

[Taj79]

So Billikan, in your mind, as long as there is effort there ---- even from a bunch of 3-foot tall Eddie Gaedells (sp?), we should accept it as is and yell "bravo, boys, bravo --- you can do it!"

Look for the last time, I stand by everything I said .... especially the part about blame on all sides going around. Pretty soon, someone will put tap water in a plastic bottle, put a seal on it, call it Dasani, and have us all believing its safer than tap water.

We could pay Randy Albrecht a very small amount to come back and do that. Aim high why don't we? How is it that we give Majerus a pass because he has no seniors but he would if he didn't run them off? Still don't think that would matter because they woudl still be mediocre seniors at best. And if Majerus can't "do" it, then who can? I sincerely doubt we (SLU) can get anyone better.

Great --- Mitchell's in and no word on Reed. Handwriting on wall???

P.S. I am not a doctor, but what piece of slicing equipment got Majerus that badly in the leg? The bottom of the running board? I'm sure Eckerle didn't have a scapel in his socks? And with immediate treatment, it still gets infected? Smells like a duck? Walks like a duck? How does that happen?

[BBall Fan]

Notre Dame is an example of a team that lost it's leading scorer and it's point guard and still got better the next year. The former role players are stepping up. Xavier lost it's leading scorer and playmaker and it's leading rebounder and has come back and is respectable. Teams that are built with a solid foundation don't crumble like this. Sorry folks.

what you have here 3 jack is a coach that has had a great deal of success at other institutions doing things his way. No way anyone can argue the success. He is in his 4th year and has improved every year since he got here. 23 wins last year with still a very very young team. SLU is not a BCS school that has a huge draw for players to want to come here and play. That being said, you have to start somewhere.

We played last year with a full, be it young, roster of RM players in his system. That equalled 23 wins. In a short period, any losses of KEY players makes for catastrophic results in wins and losses. We get players with big upsides that need development and time to do so. We do not have a player on the roster that could even come close to replacing WR or KM. Two players of their talent level and experience has a bigger effect on the rest of the roster than the actual loss of their personal production. It takes away the effectiveness of every other player on the roster because they have to play roles that they are not ready for yet. If coach continues to bring the kind of kids he is bringing, we will eventually have a compliment of 10 interchangeable players that is not affected by the loss of 1 or 2. But when changing a culture, key losses are devastating.

[TheA_Bomb]

Don't Feed the

[Bizziken]

We have four BIGS, CR, BC, CE, and RL.

Can you tell them to rebound and play interior defense then, because they sure aren't listening to me...lol

[MB73]

So Billikan, in your mind, as long as there is effort there ---- even from a bunch of 3-foot tall Eddie Gaedells (sp?), we should accept it as is and yell "bravo, boys, bravo --- you can do it!"

Look for the last time, I stand by everything I said .... especially the part about blame on all sides going around. Pretty soon, someone will put tap water in a plastic bottle, put a seal on it, call it Dasani, and have us all believing its safer than tap water.

We could pay Randy Albrecht a very small amount to come back and do that. Aim high why don't we? How is it that we give Majerus a pass because he has no seniors but he would if he didn't run them off? Still don't think that would matter because they woudl still be mediocre seniors at best. And if Majerus can't "do" it, then who can? I sincerely doubt we (SLU) can get anyone better.

Great --- Mitchell's in and no word on Reed. Handwriting on wall???

P.S. I am not a doctor, but what piece of slicing equipment got Majerus that badly in the leg? The bottom of the running board? I'm sure Eckerle didn't have a scapel in his socks? And with immediate treatment, it still gets infected? Smells like a duck? Walks like a duck? How does that happen?

You shouldn't poke fun, RM is 64 or 65. He had serious heart surgery, a multiple bypass. He takes Coumadin, a very sophisticated anticoagulant medication (blood thinner). If he did not take the drug, a clot could bring him instant death or a devastating stroke.

A person his age can easily cut upon an impact as occured in the BG game, and will bleed like hell.Do an experiment, take over the counter aspirin, per the packet instructions, usually the recommended dose is 275-300 mg every 6-8 hours, for a couple days. Then cut one of your fingers with a box cutter or something.

See how your blood gushes. Muliply that by 10 and that is similar being on Coumadin. Let us know.

Perhaps then people around here will stop making fun of a guy his age and his health condition and appreciate his courage to be out there in the first place.

On the other hand, I think that he is probably fed up with all the SLU crappola (KM & WR, charter flights, expense micromanagement, etc.) and this unfortunate occurance might be "the straw".

[kshoe]

i do not disagree with the prevailing point by most about the effect of losing the two best players on the team unexpectedly. the same thing happened to soderberg when he lost frericks and bryant and the team ended up with a losing record. very few teams can take an unexpected shot like that and not miss a step.

what i do think has been exposed though is the actual talent level of this roster. i admit i thought the roster was much stronger than it obviously is and expected with another year of maturation there would be at most a slight hiccup and the team would still have a positive record. didnt see any reason the team wouldnt win 18-19 games still.

instead we have seen regression by a number of players. we have seen no one really step up to a leadership role and my opinion is that our talent level isnt much more than it has been on any roster since mr hughes left for the nba over a decade ago.

and with that said, those of you that have labeled next year's expected roster "loaded" are way off base. we will be an injury or an incident or an academic casualty or an unexpected transfer from another 500 or less season. what seems to be most disappointing the last 3-4 weeks is a sharp downturn in the play and results of our current talent. something's not right. and to just continue blindly forward without asking questions is just blind faith. good for you all. you are truly great fans.

You'll have to forgive those of us that think next year's team with WR and KM will be damn good for not trusting the talent evaluation skills of someone that just a few months ago claimed their loss would hurt us by 1-2 games. The same poster as little as three weeks ago also claimed Cassity could play in the NBA.

Those that don't think we would be good with all of our guys should look at the statistics from last year.

KM: 16 PPG, 3 RPG and 3 APG

WR: 12.4 and 8

KC is averaging 10.1 PPG this season.

That is what we are missing. We were a good, near NCAA quality team during the 2nd half of last season and that success was driven largely by WR and KM. The only two other players we are missing from last year's team are JJ and JS and their statistical impact was limited. KC and BC have improved from last year. CS, CE and CR have regressed and that is disapointing but I wouldn't write any of those sophomores off just yet.

Just a week ago, Roy made the good point that often people don't realize how important something is to them until it is taken from them and said Willie seems to only now realize how important SLU is. Perhaps, some fans on this board should take that same advice and realize just how valuable WR and KM were to last year's success and will be to next year's success (if we are lucky to get WR reinstated).

[BBall Fan]

The head coach is ultimately responsible for everything. Those who bashed Soderberg need to ask themselves if they are giving Majerus more leeway. I think they are and I think he deserves less leeway because he is getting paid a lot more and has much better facilities.

Yes losing the top two players from any team hurts. However, that loss shouldn't have made us one of the worst teams in the country. If you don't think we are one of the worst then you are deluding yourself. Furthermore, the incident occurred in May and the coaching staff knew that suspension/expulsion was a real possibility at that point.

I'm fed up with these results with constant excuses. If you are out there working hard doing your best then I am willing to provide my support. However, it is my opinion Majerus is taking the easy way out missing these games. That really angers me. Don't come back on here sighting his age and his health issues. Those health issues are self-inflicted he didn't accidentally become morbidly obese.

Can we bounce back next year? Absolutely. However, that doesn't mean that I have to accept a complete lack of execution and effort on everyone's part this year.

Not giving coach a complete pass , but I dont think he has missed a free throw yet this year.

[TheA_Bomb]

You shouldn't poke fun, RM is 64 or 65. He had serious heart surgery, a multiple bypass. He takes Coumadin, a very sophisticated anticoagulant medication (blood thinner). If he did not take the drug, a clot could bring him instant death or a devastating stroke.

A person his age can easily cut upon an impact as occured in the BG game, and will bleed like Niagra Falls when on this drug, depending upon his dosage as required by his International Normalized Ratio (INR).

Do an experiment, take over the counter aspirin, per the packet instructions, usually the recommended dose is 275-300 mg every 6-8 hours, for a couple days. Then cut one of your fingers with a box cutter or something.

See how your blood gushes. Muliply that by 10 and that is similar being on Coumadin. Let us know.

Perhaps then people around here will stop making fun of a courageous man who loves the game of basketball.

On the other hand, I think that he is probably fed up with all the SLU crappola (KM & WR, charter flights, expense micromanagement, etc.) and this unfortunate occurance might be "the straw".

Courageous man? What exactly has he done in his entire life that is courageous? Coach basketball, commentate on ESPN? Perhaps you need to find out what the word courageous means.

My Grandpa used to run 3 miles nearly everyday. When he was a bit younger some pieces of shrapnel (from Vietnam and/or Korea) would sometimes work their way out of his leg while he ran and he would later realize his leg was bleeding. After his heart attack he can't do the run or the push-ups anymore so he rides a bike. That's courageous.

Eating yourself into morbid obesity while getting paid $1mil a year to coach basketball is not courageous. Plenty of people in this country are on coumadin and they get cut everyday. I'm not buying this excuse about the leg. Mark Dantonio (MSU FB HC) had a heart attack right after a game and they had to keep him away from his team.

[jbizzle09]

Courageous man? What exactly has he done in his entire life that is courageous? Coach basketball, commentate on ESPN? Perhaps you need to find out what the word courageous means.

My Grandpa used to run 3 miles nearly everyday. When he was a bit younger some pieces of shrapnel (from Vietnam and/or Korea) would sometimes work their way out of his leg while he ran and he would later realize his leg was bleeding. After his heart attack he can't do the run or the push-ups anymore so he rides a bike. That's courageous.

Eating yourself into morbid obesity while getting paid $1mil a year to coach basketball is not courageous. Plenty of people in this country are on coumadin and they get cut everyday. I'm not buying this excuse about the leg. Mark Dantonio (MSU FB HC) had a heart attack right after a game and they had to keep him away from his team.

+1

Calling Majerus a courageous man is a bit much. While I am not on board with laying everything at the foot of Majerus for why this season has been lousy, I also don't think anyone should be calling a 300+ lb man who has had multiple bypass surgeries courageous.

[TheA_Bomb]

You'll have to forgive those of us that think next year's team with WR and KM will be damn good for not trusting the talent evaluation skills of someone that just a few months ago claimed their loss would hurt us by 1-2 games. The same poster as little as three weeks ago also claimed Cassity could play in the NBA.

Those that don't think we would be good with all of our guys should look at the statistics from last year.

KM: 16 PPG, 3 RPG and 3 APG

WR: 12.4 and 8

KC is averaging 10.1 PPG this season.

That is what we are missing. We were a good, near NCAA quality team during the 2nd half of last season and that success was driven largely by WR and KM. The only two other players we are missing from last year's team are JJ and JS and their statistical impact was limited. KC and BC have improved from last year. CS, CE and CR have regressed and that is disapointing but I wouldn't write any of those sophomores off just yet.

Just a week ago, Roy made the good point that often people don't realize how important something is to them until it is taken from them and said Willie seems to only now realize how important SLU is. Perhaps, some fans on this board should take that same advice and realize just how valuable WR and KM were to last year's success and will be to next year's success (if we are lucky to get WR reinstated).

B-Roy may have his consistency issues but are you being consistent as well? Think back to your criticisms of Soderberg.

[MB73]

Courageous man? What exactly has he done in his entire life that is courageous? Coach basketball, commentate on ESPN? Perhaps you need to find out what the word courageous means.

My Grandpa used to run 3 miles nearly everyday. When he was a bit younger some pieces of shrapnel (from Vietnam and/or Korea) would sometimes work their way out of his leg while he ran and he would later realize his leg was bleeding. After his heart attack he can't do the run or the push-ups anymore so he rides a bike. That's courageous.

Eating yourself into morbid obesity while getting paid $1mil a year to coach basketball is not courageous. Plenty of people in this country are on coumadin and they get cut everyday. I'm not buying this excuse about the leg. Mark Dantonio (MSU FB HC) had a heart attack right after a game and they had to keep him away from his team.

Good for your grandpa, nice story, but it is irrelevant.

You clearly know nothing about pharmaceuticals, cardiology, healthcare, obesity, or anything of the sort.

Do 10 yrs of reading and get back to me.

[kshoe]

B-Roy may have his consistency issues but are you being consistent as well? Think back to your criticisms of Soderberg.

Notice my post above never once mentioned RM. Why? Because he isn't the reason this year's team is failing. He built a team that would be doing quite well with all the horses. There is not a single successful Billiken team in history that would have succeeded without its 2 best players. Its a simple fact that too many on here seem oblivious too.

My complaints about Brad almost always centered around the recruiting disasters that became what could be this year and last years senior classes and the current team at Lindenwood.

p.s. I'd be perfectly fine if RM quit tomorrow but all the existing players stayed and WR was reinstated. Its all about the horses and this would be a very attractive job for many coaches with this roster and the two year run we are poised for if KM and WR redshirt.