Majerus Rant

[moytoy12]

I think the frustration with Kyle lies in the fact that he is one of our two seniors, obviously has outstanding character and is a good representative of SLU, yet has shown no improvement in his game over the past few years. Compounding that problem is that it sometimes appears that he is giving less than 100% on the court. Lack of improvement and what appears to be a lack of effort are the reasons for my frustrations with Kyle. I just expected more from him his senior year, so I am disappointed.

And how does it affect the team to see the lack of effort? How does it affect the guys that are playing behind him? It shouldn't affect people, but I suspect it does to a certain extent.

[billiken_roy]

i have no idea where you all are coming up with this "lack of effort". i think that is totally unfounded and just unfair.

[moytoy12]

i have no idea where you all are coming up with this "lack of effort". i think that is totally unfounded and just unfair.

Well, for the most part, all I see is a guy passing the ball around the perimeter and getting beat a lot on D. He's making little to no effort to get involved in the offense. For example, a couple of games ago, KC dribble into the defense a couple of steps, pumped faked at the elbow and dished to KM for a 3 ball. This was the exception though. Why can't we see more of those things on offense? I don't expect him to dominate, but just do more than throw the ball around the perimeter.

And it seems that a lot of folks think effort is one of the main parts to being a good defender. Well, KC is getting beat a lot on defense. Is it lack of effort? lack of focus? lack of athleticism? I suspect it's a combination of all 3.

I don't see a guy that's just giving up or not trying at all, but rather a guy that doesn't seem to be giving max effort. Maybe that is a result of his calm/laissez faire demeanor and I'm totally misreading it.

I don't think he should be starting, but that doesn't mean all the blame yesterday falls on KC. RM, KM, DE, BC, MM, JJ, DE, CE, RL, and KC all deserve criticism.

[Tonka]

Roy, I don't think it's meant to be personal when people are making comments about KC. (At least, I hope not) As it has been mentioned, KC seems to be about as a good a kid as you can get. The frustration with KC is that he should be doing more and when he doesn't it hurts us. It hurts us, not in the sense of him making a bunch of errors, but more in the sense that he's a senior, has 4 years in the system and is capable of much more.

I'm also not sure how you can say that RM is not taking any blame? He did and he should. I said it before, I think our 1300 win coaching staff could be doing better this year.

[Bay Area Billiken]

SLU needs to just put this UMass debacle behind it, realize it must bring its A game to all conference games, and move forward. There is not a single game remaining on the SLU schedule that SLU cannot win, including the road games. In fact, my opinion is the good SLU team should win all of them, as in no more regular season losses. Whether that happens, of course, remains to be seen.

The home games this week are huge, both St. Bonaventure and Dayton. Both, quite frankly, are must win games for SLU. And let's not concede anything re that Philly trip- SLU is better than both St. Joe's and LaSalle and should be able to beat both of them, irrespective of the venue.

[Basketbill]

Tired of the academics issue and geography. I am not saying Majerus is wrong about the stress one the kids academically, rather that it is solely due to geography and travel. Technology today easily would allow all the students who were in Cinci for the Xavier game, to be "in class" . Technophiles can explain better than I how to skype etc...time for SLU to step up and make the techonology work for their traveling athletes!!

[3Bill]

majerus has given cassity every opportunity to fulfill his potential. he played him significant minutes for 3 years, repeatedly told him to go ahead and take bad shots. now we're nearing the end for cassity and he has not met expectations. he has no toughness whatsoever. and i truly believe majerus was talking about cassity when he said there are people on this team who don't actually want to play basketball. they just like being on the team. cassity should sit until it bothers him. if he had the attitude of conklin, he'd be great. instead, he gets benched and he enjoys sitting there. keep him on the bench. we're better without him.

and roy, you're right he didn't miss any layups. i think that's what helps cassity sleep at night. he likes to not make mistakes. but i would rather have a guy in there like jett who misses layups and ft's but also scores and plays with heart.

ripping on conklin? it is unlikely conklin put himself in the game and kept himself in the game. if he sucked, and majerus didnt take him out, that is rickma's fault. but as usual for the last 5 years, when things go wrong, majerus is quick to point out nothing is his fault and he is surrounded with defective players. none of this surprises me other than he hasnt played this card sooner. par for the course in this regime.

LAST, cheese, not sure i understand your statement,

"KC - have you ever seen a senior just go in the tank like him? I am not sure what his mental make up is but if he was my kid I would have put a boot up his ass long ago"

go look at the stats for his career at slu. his shooting percentages are as good if not better from all three perspectives(fg% 3 pt % ft %), his assists to turnover ratio is 4:1 which is better than anyone on this team and anyone on the billikens for a long long time. the only thing that is down is his rebounds and minutes played. i attribute that more to majerus wanting to play jett more because jett brings more athleticism to the floor. but "tank like him" insinuates that he has regressed. seems to me he is the same player he has always been. I dont see a "tank".

now if your argument is about the cassity wont shoot more, fine, then again i ask if that is so terrible, why was he playing in the first place? it again comes back to rickma. i am so glad you and the rest of the cassity haters are finally getting your wish of reduced playing time. of course the little bit cassity played yesterday, i cant see how he should be on the firing squad wall today. definitely cant fault him for missed layups, free throws no one guarding their two best players. etc. he wasnt involved. .

[Bobby Metzinger]

majerus has given cassity every opportunity to fulfill his potential. he played him significant minutes for 3 years, repeatedly told him to go ahead and take bad shots. now we're nearing the end for cassity and he has not met expectations. he has no toughness whatsoever. and i truly believe majerus was talking about cassity when he said there are people on this team who don't actually want to play basketball. they just like being on the team. cassity should sit until it bothers him. if he had the attitude of conklin, he'd be great. instead, he gets benched and he enjoys sitting there. keep him on the bench. we're better without him.

and roy, you're right he didn't miss any layups. i think that's what helps cassity sleep at night. he likes to not make mistakes. but i would rather have a guy in there like jett who misses layups and ft's but also scores and plays with heart.

Great post. POY (post of the year) candidate.

[eastsidejoe]

majerus has given cassity every opportunity to fulfill his potential. he played him significant minutes for 3 years, repeatedly told him to go ahead and take bad shots. now we're nearing the end for cassity and he has not met expectations. he has no toughness whatsoever. and i truly believe majerus was talking about cassity when he said there are people on this team who don't actually want to play basketball. they just like being on the team. cassity should sit until it bothers him. if he had the attitude of conklin, he'd be great. instead, he gets benched and he enjoys sitting there. keep him on the bench. we're better without him.

and roy, you're right he didn't miss any layups. i think that's what helps cassity sleep at night. he likes to not make mistakes. but i would rather have a guy in there like jett who misses layups and ft's but also scores and plays with heart.

you are right on, now leave him alone and start harping on the guys that truly are not living up to their potential. I doubt that 12 moinutes a game is going to cost the bills the game. Cut him down to zero minutes, are we still going to blame him. Look at the players playing. enough of the bashing of one player.

[David King]

instead, he gets benched and he enjoys sitting there. keep him on the bench. we're better without him.

.

KC could be SLU's version of former Spirit of St. Louis player, M.L. Carr, who was probably the greatest bench sitter of all time, when he didn't play for the Celtics.Some believe that It was M.L.'s towel waving that was the straw that broke the camel's back to help the Celtics beat the Laker's in the 1984 NBA finals.

[David King]

There is not a single game remaining on the SLU schedule that SLU cannot win, including the road games. In fact, my opinion is the good SLU team should win all of them, as in no more regular season losses.

Yeah, i felt the same way after the LMU, NM, Dayton, and Temple games. But, I still agree with you.

[Taj79]

My thoughts on Kyle Cassity: what a great kid. Proud he represents the tradtions of this university. Likely wouldn't mind him dating my daughter. Brings a needed sense of calm and collectness (if that's a word) to this team. Did nothing to subtract from SLU's obvious fiasco yesterday but did nothing to stem that tide either. Contributions are more intangible than tangible. Getting to the point he needs to sit next to Barnett more and wave a towel too.

Ah, there's the rub. And its as simple as looking at his former roomie, Brian Conklin. I think that's where the frustration lies. If Kyle could/would provide even 50% as much as Brian has this year, man we would have a pair of seniors to be proud of on the court and off. But he ain't it. I am now in the camp of cut bait ---- give the minutes to JJ, MM or even, hush,hush, JB. These are the guys moving us onward the next two years so maybe we should go with it. Its not kissing Kyle goodbye --- change happens all the time. Ask Peyton Manning. Its recogniozing that Kyle's contributions are not advancing the cause.

I think that is the item that frustrates most of us on here ---- back in November, Kyle was an option, a contributing player. Now, he's just occupying space.

As for Majerus and throwing folks under the bus --- he threw only one. I suspect now that Majerus might know this is the only guy he can do that to and not have the kid implode. He vented, but he kept most of it under wraps. He can't use thekids as an excuse ----they are all his. He sinks or swims with this bunch. And it still remains an issue to see what team shows up on road trips --- the one that wanted to play Xavier, the one that needed a win at Charlotte, or the one unprepared to meet the emotional fire of a Umass and others to come.

The trend arrow is down rightnow. It will resurrect itself this week with two wins at home. It will really be put to the test in Philly in two weeks. Then we'll know if we righted this ship or if its the same ol' same ol.

[moytoy12]

My thoughts on Kyle Cassity: what a great kid. Proud he represents the tradtions of this university. Likely wouldn't mind him dating my daughter. Brings a needed sense of calm and collectness (if that's a word) to this team. Did nothing to subtract from SLU's obvious fiasco yesterday but did nothing to stem that tide either. Contributions are more intangible than tangible. Getting to the point he needs to sit next to Barnett more and wave a towel too.

Ah, there's the rub. And its as simple as looking at his former roomie, Brian Conklin. I think that's where the frustration lies. If Kyle could/would provide even 50% as much as Brian has this year, man we would have a pair of seniors to be proud of on the court and off. But he ain't it. I am now in the camp of cut bait ---- give the minutes to JJ, MM or even, hush,hush, JB. These are the guys moving us onward the next two years so maybe we should go with it. Its not kissing Kyle goodbye --- change happens all the time. Ask Peyton Manning. Its recogniozing that Kyle's contributions are not advancing the cause.

I think that is the item that frustrates most of us on here ---- back in November, Kyle was an option, a contributing player. Now, he's just occupying space.

As for Majerus and throwing folks under the bus --- he threw only one. I suspect now that Majerus might know this is the only guy he can do that to and not have the kid implode. He vented, but he kept most of it under wraps. He can't use thekids as an excuse ----they are all his. He sinks or swims with this bunch. And it still remains an issue to see what team shows up on road trips --- the one that wanted to play Xavier, the one that needed a win at Charlotte, or the one unprepared to meet the emotional fire of a Umass and others to come.

The trend arrow is down rightnow. It will resurrect itself this week with two wins at home. It will really be put to the test in Philly in two weeks. Then we'll know if we righted this ship or if its the same ol' same ol.

Damn, well said, Taj.

[3Bill]

you are right on, now leave him alone and start harping on the guys that truly are not living up to their potential. I doubt that 12 moinutes a game is going to cost the bills the game. Cut him down to zero minutes, are we still going to blame him. Look at the players playing. enough of the bashing of one player.

i have never "bashed" cassity, and i'm not blaming him for the loss. however, if he would bring his a-game to the table every night, i think this team would only have 2 or 3 losses. did he turn the ball over or miss layups that cost us any games? no, but he also didn't step up like the 4th year team captain and play like a true leader. he doesn't want it so let someone else have that role. now, i will stop talking about cassity. i'm just disappointed.

[eastsidejoe]

So Taj, what is your opinion of our other underachievers?? I think we all have read what you posted about KC about 50 times. Nothing new there. Let's talk about someone who will be playing and making a difference.

[slufan13]

How bout everyone just steps up?

We really need guys like KM and DE to consistently have good games, especially KM. He has to start taking over in big situations.

KC is fine. He's not playing that much as it is.

JJ has been great out there at times and he was big yesterday until he missed those free throws.

BC has been good all season, but he can't start missing those bunnies, and he can't be going 3-7 from the line.

CE and RL have hit 3's lately, and they've both played tougher D. They still need to hit their open shots more consistently though.

MM should be more aggressive. He's a good free throw shooter and he's one of our quickest players.

[eastsidejoe]

How bout everyone just steps up?

We really need guys like KM and DE to consistently have good games, especially KM. He has to start taking over in big situations.

KC is fine. He's not playing that much as it is.

JJ has been great out there at times and he was big yesterday until he missed those free throws.

BC has been good all season, but he can't start missing those bunnies, and he can't be going 3-7 from the line.

CE and RL have hit 3's lately, and they've both played tougher D. They still need to hit their open shots more consistently though.

MM should be more aggressive. He's a good free throw shooter and he's one of our quickest players.

+1

[Billsrmajic]

So Taj, what is your opinion of our other underachievers?? I think we all have read what you posted about KC about 50 times. Nothing new there. Let's talk about someone who will be playing and making a difference.

This is ridiculous - we are 16-5. We are in the thick of a conference race. We are still on track for making the tournament. That is not underachieving. Yes, we underachieved at UMass. That's why we lost. And for those of you who keep talking about winning our last 9 conference games, don't hold your breath. I truly hope that we do stretch out nine in a row, but it's unlikely. College basketball teams lose games. If we finish 7-2 we'll be 23-7 (11-5 in conference) going to AC. That's what I expect to happen. However, I won't be shocked if we go 8-1 or 6-3, either.

We have a team of true student athletes who almost always play hard and play together as a team. They play unselfishly and are greater than the sum of their parts. They are truly a team for a fan base to be proud of. Quit bitching when they have a bad game and lose a game. Have some perspective.

[BBall Fan]

My thoughts on Kyle Cassity: what a great kid. Proud he represents the tradtions of this university. Likely wouldn't mind him dating my daughter. Brings a needed sense of calm and collectness (if that's a word) to this team. Did nothing to subtract from SLU's obvious fiasco yesterday but did nothing to stem that tide either. Contributions are more intangible than tangible. Getting to the point he needs to sit next to Barnett more and wave a towel too.

Ah, there's the rub. And its as simple as looking at his former roomie, Brian Conklin. I think that's where the frustration lies. If Kyle could/would provide even 50% as much as Brian has this year, man we would have a pair of seniors to be proud of on the court and off. But he ain't it. I am now in the camp of cut bait ---- give the minutes to JJ, MM or even, hush,hush, JB. These are the guys moving us onward the next two years so maybe we should go with it. Its not kissing Kyle goodbye --- change happens all the time. Ask Peyton Manning. Its recogniozing that Kyle's contributions are not advancing the cause.

I think that is the item that frustrates most of us on here ---- back in November, Kyle was an option, a contributing player. Now, he's just occupying space.

As for Majerus and throwing folks under the bus --- he threw only one. I suspect now that Majerus might know this is the only guy he can do that to and not have the kid implode. He vented, but he kept most of it under wraps. He can't use thekids as an excuse ----they are all his. He sinks or swims with this bunch. And it still remains an issue to see what team shows up on road trips --- the one that wanted to play Xavier, the one that needed a win at Charlotte, or the one unprepared to meet the emotional fire of a Umass and others to come.

The trend arrow is down rightnow. It will resurrect itself this week with two wins at home. It will really be put to the test in Philly in two weeks. Then we'll know if we righted this ship or if its the same ol' same ol.

+1 Very well said

[slufan13]

I don't want to question anyone's effort or desire, but from my point of view, I think what Majerus might mean about "not liking basketball" is that losing doesn't bother them enough. Look at some of the greats in any sport, and they'll tell you that they hate losing more than they love winning. It's great to have guys who say that "we're going to put that loss behind us right away", but maybe it's just me, but I want the team to be pissed off about a loss for a day or 2. I want it to really get them going and inspired in practice that week. I just wonder sometimes how much work some of the guys put in outside practice and the games. I honestly have no idea and I'm not trying to call out anyone here. I just want the guys to hate losing so much that they don't let themselves have performances like yesterday.

[slufan13]

I don't want to question anyone's effort or desire, but from my point of view, I think what Majerus might mean about "not liking basketball" is that losing doesn't bother them enough. Look at some of the greats in any sport, and they'll tell you that they hate losing more than they love winning. It's great to have guys who say that "we're going to put that loss behind us right away", but maybe it's just me, but I want the team to be pissed off about a loss for a day or 2. I want it to really get them going and inspired in practice that week. I just wonder sometimes how much work some of the guys put in outside practice and the games. I honestly have no idea and I'm not trying to call out anyone here. I just want the guys to hate losing so much that they don't let themselves have performances like yesterday.

and before anyone calls me out, I'm not saying that we have guys like this or not. I don't really know any players personally, but I just wonder how hard they take each loss.

[jimbofive]

majerus has given cassity every opportunity to fulfill his potential. he played him significant minutes for 3 years, repeatedly told him to go ahead and take bad shots. now we're nearing the end for cassity and he has not met expectations. he has no toughness whatsoever. and i truly believe majerus was talking about cassity when he said there are people on this team who don't actually want to play basketball. they just like being on the team. cassity should sit until it bothers him. if he had the attitude of conklin, he'd be great. instead, he gets benched and he enjoys sitting there. keep him on the bench. we're better without him.

and roy, you're right he didn't miss any layups. i think that's what helps cassity sleep at night. he likes to not make mistakes. but i would rather have a guy in there like jett who misses layups and ft's but also scores and plays with heart.

cassity could have played college baseball. maybe that's where his passion lies. my basketball coach in high school hated me because he thought i could be much better on the basketball court, but i definitely got way more excited about baseball season. i've almost no doubt that majerus is referring to cassity w/ his "doesn't want to play basketball" prodding. cassity can either suck it up and help us get to the tournament, or he can ride off into the sunset. i'd prefer the fuok out of the former, hobviously.

[jbizzle09]

So Taj, what is your opinion of our other underachievers?? I think we all have read what you posted about KC about 50 times. Nothing new there. Let's talk about someone who will be playing and making a difference.

I get that you are sick of the questioning of KC and his effort, but what are you hoping to accomplish by having us name other players that we think are 'underachieving'? It seems in an effort to stop the constant criticism of KC, you are just advocating for people on this board to be more negative towards the rest of our players instead. I would also state it is tough to have a lot of underachievers on a team that is currently 16-5 and has already won 4 more games than they did all of last year, with 9 more regular season games to go.

[The Dude]

Majerus is probably the right coach for SLU. SLU is unlikely to get top talent so it will take a coach of extraordinary ability to get the most out of second tier talent. How many games have there been where SLU had the most talented player on the floor? For those Majerus bashers I ask for your alternative. Is there some coach out there that can recruit better or coach better that is willing to come to SLU? Absolutely friggin not............I don't care if Majerus did a hot carl on Conklin or any other player for that matter. Just friggin win.

[Clock_Tower]

I think last year destroyed Kyle. He was forced to be "the man" for a time, and he isn't that type of player. His confidence to shoot is long gone.

Busted. This is the dumbest and most inaccurate post of 2012. No one "forced" KC to do anything. KC voluntarily accepted the SLU basketball scholarship and then had the spotlight shown up him last - his Junior year after extensively playing the 2 prior years - due to suspensions and injuries. If you were to follow the program closely and be objective, you would realize that KC had trouble handling the pressure here at SLU since his Freshman year. KC has always been protected b/c he could add certain intangibles: passing skills, floor vision, limited mistakes... For these reasons, KC has always been a favorite of RM. RM has protected him, groomed him and has given him every opportunity to succeed. In return, KC has not performed.

KC "isn't that type of player" is nothing more than an excuse you and others have invented and have repeated, ad nauseum, that I have no doubt you truly believe it. I'd ask that you provide me with the authority you claim that RM recruited KC to be this role player and that it is, and now remains, unfair to have any type of scoring expectations for this 4th year Senior but I know you cannot. Wake up. What type of player is KC? I have never heard of a "role" playing 2 guard who gets 25 minutes per game and yet is afraid to shoot and who disappears in big games. Certainly not such a player on a Tourney team.

It's simple. Good players step up when the opportunity presents. Speaking of unfair, it can be said that CS unfairly shouldered the scoring pressure his Freshman year instead of KC, the Sophomore. Remember, as a Freshman, KC did not have such pressure as we had KL and TL, along with KM, taking that pressure off KC. Also, last year as a Junior, we watched KC unload the ball like a hot potato to Freshmen MM and JJ with less than 5 seconds on the shot clock. Funny, I don't recall you or any of the KC apologists standing up for CS, JJ or MM. Get a clue or stop posting such dribble.

KC has been a huge disappointment this year. End of story. Still, the season is not over, we still need KC and others to contribute and we cannot and should not give up on anyone. And yes, we also have other players who also need to step up their games -- RL, DE, MM and JJ. Frankly they are playing like Sophomores -- good one day but not the next. Highes followed by lows. Flashes of brilliance but then stupid mistakes. Promising but then frustrating. Last year, our Frosh, without KM and WR, relied upon KC, CS, CR and CE. Then halfway through the season, our Frosh realized this was their team and they themselves needed to step up their games. This year, I have long thought that JJ and MM have not understood their roles with the return of KM and with the continued presence of KC in the lineup. KM's 4 points were certainly disappointing but a bad game does not mean we give up on him. As to JJ and MM, the future is now. Make room on the bench for KC.

As to others who should get some blame? Sure, our Junior class needs to perform better. KM and CE have carried this team at times this year but not yesterday. CR remains a bust. But for athletic ability we usually don't see here at SLU, we would have written off CR years ago. Maybe he can still help this year and next. We'll see.