Recap of the W at the Hawks Nest from a Firsthand Perspective

[BillyKen]

So, I live out in Philly and my roommate (also a SLU alum) and I went to the game last night (and will be there on Saturday as well).

First of all, the fans:

SLU FANS:

We were literally the only two Billiken fans that could be heard at the game. I counted 4 others who wore SLU apparel, and believe I saw several possible Bills fans who rocked neutral colors.

St. Joe's Fans:

During the game, slightly classless with throwing some water/ice at my buddy for simply cheering.

Postgame, they were super nice and were talking up a storm about how impressed they were with the Bills. One knowledgeable lady-hawk asked me, "yeah, but then how did you lose to UMASS?" Then, another guy approached me and said, "I work here and have seen many-a-hawk games, and I have never hated anyone like that Conklin fella." I thought that one was priceless and sums up Conks hard working effort (and perhaps flops) to a tee.

SLU D:

Absolutely suffocating. We refused to allow Aiken to be a factor and the team D and switches were fantastic. We looked real sharp and in the second half we stopped the baseline penetration that was killing us. Still need to work on limiting the second chance points, but we looked real sharp.

GAME BALL:

CODY ELLIS. Obviously, Cody gets this one hands down. We were sitting right behind the basket that Cody found his touch on in the second half. His threes seemed effortless and we drew up some nice plays for him (especially the one coming out of the timeout). I will say that 5/6 maybe even all 6 were surprisingly uncontested. They could not fight through them screens at all and Cody torched them. IMPRESSIVE!!

RICK MAJERUS:

Rick Majerus personally high-fived me after the game and thanked me for coming out to the game! What a classy man. The rest of the Bills also high-fived us as they hit the locker room.

My Question:

Does anyone who listened to/watched the game know why Jett's minutes were limited? Did Rammer mention this?

SLU TAKING PHILLY BY STORM:

So against the "Big 5 Teams" we are 2-1 and look to extend it to 3-1 on Saturday.

[MusicCityBilliken]

First of all, the fans:

SLU FANS:

We were literally the only two Billiken fans that could be heard at the game. I counted 4 others who wore SLU apparel, and believe I saw several possible Bills fans who rocked neutral colors.

I beg your pardon, I was sitting next to TAJ with some other Bills fans and I did not hear you. We were very loud.

[David King]

RICK MAJERUS:

Rick Majerus personally high-fived me after the game and thanked me for coming out to the game! What a classy man.

.

I agree. While he may have his idiosyncracies, he's a decent guy, and a great coach. In fact, no doubt, his coaching is the reason the Bills are where they are today. I doubt if there are many coaches out there who could do what he's done with this team.

In fact, for the remainder of Majerus' tenure, I predict that the discusion will be much less about "if" we make the NCAA tournament, and much more about what our seeding will be.

I don't understand why some on this board continue to disrespect him. When it's all said and done, I believe that he's going to give Charlie Spoonhaur a run for his money as the greatest Billikens' coach in the modern era.

[slu72]

The only real flaw I saw last night, on the web, was on our drives to the hoops. DE either needs to get quicker or stronger on his inside shots. This may just be my perception, but he's getting stuffed way too much on the shorties. What might help is if he had a better outside shot and his defender couldn't lay back on him, but that's not the real solution. It's strength and quickness on the inside. Also, JJ, MM, and KM all had trouble went they roamed in for layups. One promising sight was KC getting to the hoop for a nice lay in what could be described as follows: "he drives to the hoop with greatest of ease, makes the shot, give us two more and a thank you please." Seriously, when KC makes these drives he makes them look easy, he JUST WON'T DO IT ENOUGH!

And, Big Al, what are you doing way up in Philly? They don't like Southerners. Of course, you were probably speaking in your best Brooklyneese last night. Then again those Iggle loving crazies, Taj Mahal 79 included, don't care too much for New Yorkers these days. :ph34r: I am in love with the Ninja avatar.

[jbizzle09]

So, I live out in Philly and my roommate (also a SLU alum) and I went to the game last night (and will be there on Saturday as well).

First of all, the fans:

SLU FANS:

We were literally the only two Billiken fans that could be heard at the game. I counted 4 others who wore SLU apparel, and believe I saw several possible Bills fans who rocked neutral colors.

St. Joe's Fans:

During the game, slightly classless with throwing some water/ice at my buddy for simply cheering.

Postgame, they were super nice and were talking up a storm about how impressed they were with the Bills. One knowledgeable lady-hawk asked me, "yeah, but then how did you lose to UMASS?" Then, another guy approached me and said, "I work here and have seen many-a-hawk games, and I have never hated anyone like that Conklin fella." I thought that one was priceless and sums up Conks hard working effort (and perhaps flops) to a tee.

SLU D:

Absolutely suffocating. We refused to allow Aiken to be a factor and the team D and switches were fantastic. We looked real sharp and in the second half we stopped the baseline penetration that was killing us. Still need to work on limiting the second chance points, but we looked real sharp.

GAME BALL:

CODY ELLIS. Obviously, Cody gets this one hands down. We were sitting right behind the basket that Cody found his touch on in the second half. His threes seemed effortless and we drew up some nice plays for him (especially the one coming out of the timeout). I will say that 5/6 maybe even all 6 were surprisingly uncontested. They could not fight through them screens at all and Cody torched them. IMPRESSIVE!!

RICK MAJERUS:

Rick Majerus personally high-fived me after the game and thanked me for coming out to the game! What a classy man. The rest of the Bills also high-fived us as they hit the locker room.

My Question:

Does anyone who listened to/watched the game know why Jett's minutes were limited? Did Rammer mention this?

SLU TAKING PHILLY BY STORM:

So against the "Big 5 Teams" we are 2-1 and look to extend it to 3-1 on Saturday.

He played 24 minutes. Those aren't really limited minutes. In contrast, Cassity played 13 minutes, Loe played 22, Evans played 17 (due to his fouls) and Cody played 20. This is pretty much on par with his minutes this conference season and is actually 8 more minutes than he played against Dayton. Perhaps it just seemed like he wasn't out there as much as he was, but I do know that he was tasked with deeing up on Aiken quite a bit in the 2nd half, especially after Evans had to sit with his 4th foul.

[jbizzle09]

The only real flaw I saw last night, on the web, was on our drives to the hoops. DE either needs to get quicker or stronger on his inside shots. This may just be my perception, but he's getting stuffed way too much on the shorties. What might help is if he had a better outside shot and his defender couldn't lay back on him, but that's not the real solution. It's strength and quickness on the inside. Also, JJ, MM, and KM all had trouble went they roamed in for layups. One promising sight was KC getting to the hoop for a nice lay in what could be described as follows: "he drives to the hoop with greatest of ease, makes the shot, give us two more and a thank you please." Seriously, when KC makes these drives he makes them look easy, he JUST WON'T DO IT ENOUGH!

And, Big Al, what are you doing way up in Philly? They don't like Southerners. Of course, you were probably speaking in your best Brooklyneese last night. Then again those Iggle loving crazies, Taj Mahal 79 included, don't care too much for New Yorkers these days. :ph34r: I am in love with the Ninja avatar.

To be fair, St. Joe's is 2nd in the entire nation in blocked shots. I think it was expected, at least last night, that we would have some issues inside, especially for guys like Evans and Conk. I will say, that even though our guards might have had a few tough drives that didn't result in made baskets, they also had just as many sweet layups where they utilized their quickness and blew by the defenders. In fact, JJ, KM, MM and KC all had really nice layup finishes in the game.

[Box and Won]

Good job rooting the Bills on to victory, fellas. Now get us another win on Saturday. Sounds like more Bills fans will be in attendance at the LaSalle game?

[slu72]

Hard to tell players' height on web casts. But you're probably right because I do recall their announcers saying numerous times last night, Martelli's staying with 3 bigs. Which is probably why so many shorties got jammed up. And probably why CE got so many open looks from 3 land. And there's nothing sweeter than seeing one of your guys hitting 3s staccato fashion. BANG... BANG.... BANG.... BANG.... BANG.... BANG! Go, Rammer, go!

[Taj79]

I thought we were too tarheel (now I know who you are) but in deference to BillyKen (was that you I met in the hall before the game) I heard us and not them which is likely a shared perception on the beholder. I apologized a few times to the poor young ladies sitting in front of me a for subjecting them to my (sometimes profane) loudness.

@BillyKen -- yep. I concur with your head count. There were six of us in our row. Two of which were wives/girlfriends. I cannot speak for the younger lady on the far end but my seat neighbor was a Bills fan, albeit one not so vocal. At halftime, I went over and spoke to both Earl and Rammer. Was the only piece of walking Billiken Blue anywhere. Most of the St. Joe's "fans" in my section were an odd lot --- at one point, the guys behind were NOT speaking English. Foreign students? The young ladies in front of me never cheered or got involved in much of anything. They did cheer or get excited for the dance team. Friends? Other? Most seemed to want to run to the aisle dividing the upper and lower section and take a picture with the game in the background. Not fans.

Real SJU fans --- walking out they were all rather nice. Not the Philly/Santa killers I know. The group that escorted me had nothing but praise for "that defensive effort" the Bills laid on SJ. Of course, they all blamed Martelli who's "been running the same offense for the last 16 years and it only works well if you have a Delonte West and a Jameer Nelson on the court at the same time." An usher compared Cody Ellis to "a dark-haired Larry Bird." Another asked me where he's seen the guy in the blue (black) outfit before (Majerus)? They got slapped and they were smart enough to know it. My group also asked about Umass. I told them they shot 65% in the first half and 75% from three in front of their first sellout in years. They understood that math. They are hopin gthey are an NIT team.

Hagan Arena --- note to SJ officials: why would you put the student section behind YOUR basket for the second half? In the first half, they were pretty good. All waving in unison on our free throws. Their cheer on a miss was "You let the whole team down." I actually liked that. But they are no factor in the second half at crunch time. Not that student sections are unless your Duke's Speedo Man. Just found that odd. Their pep band numbers about 20.

St. Joe's fans -- I think I got hit with an empty plastic soda bottle. Twice. The guys behind me (and it was sparse up in that end of the nosebleed seats) were the guys in the jerseys they honored for whatever at halftime. I am guessing it was them but with no harm, there was no foul. We'll call it an accident and move on.

Dee-fense --- smothering. Suffocating. It was obvious to the SJ fans that we knew how to set screens and theirs did not. I was impressed with Aiken's game, he is more than a shot blocker but, as the SJ folks lamentedx, he needs to be prodded into doing more and being more aggressive. I guess every team has a KC. Was not impressed with Jones and KM's defense on Galloway was huge. Ther Hawks were limited but still were tied at 39 in the second half. I'd take Aiken and Roberts in a heartbeat. Kanecevic is nothing; how he got Big Five Player of the Week I have no clue.

I did not get down to where the team exited the court as BillyKen did but I got down far enough to congratualate Chris Harriman and the staff as Cody was going to do the post game TV interview. I'd rate Hagan in the lower echelon of places I'd like to play. It's quaint and has its "charm" but its a bottom feeder like Gola, Rose Hill and Palumbo.

Class Act of the Night: as the teams lined up for the Nationasl Anthem, the announcer asked for a mmoment of silence in honor of Charlie Spponhour. I thought that was classy.

[Taj79]

Bunnies: all I can say is our bigs are vertically-challenged. Aiken is the second best shot blocker in the nation behind the Kentucky phenom. Roberts is 6'8" and is going to be very good ala Ahmad Nivens in my book. I thought we got hammered on a few missed layups and I don't know how not once but twice Evans gets an offensive foul going to the basket one-on-one with his man guarding him. Flopping on defense is one thing but this was mano-a-mano and Dwayne gets it. One was even a semi-breakaway. That was a game we needed the threes to rain. Those second half shots were daggers. Martelli kind of quit coaching at abou tthe two minute mark but with our FT escapades, I would have kept going.

I'd also like to nominate Carl Jones for the "Tutu Holloway Acadmey Award of the Week." Everytime he drove, he pushed into his defnder and acted all mugged while getting the prayer off. Goop dthing few were and-ones. That's why we kept fouling but it wasn't us initiating the contact. I am glad I am not a ref -- what was an offensive foul on one play was not on the other. I also thought CR gave credible minutes last night. KC looked aggressive. Jett is 6'1" and covering 6'9" Aiken. Amazing work effort last night.

[West Pine Jim]

Great win last night, great D, and we survived the bewildering refs. I felt sorry for the St. Joe Hawk. I thought a big number of the SJ fans abandoned the stands after Cody clouded up and rained his 3s on them, and the mascot looked forlorn still flapping his wings at a glacial pace. Guess the hawk will never die but he was looking wounded near the end of the game. Go Bills !

[slu72]

St. Joe's fans -- I think I got hit with an empty plastic soda bottle. Twice. The guys behind me (and it was sparse up in that end of the nosebleed seats) were the guys in the jerseys they honored for whatever at halftime. I am guessing it was them but with no harm, there was no foul. We'll call it an accident and move on.

Ah, it wouldn't be Philly unless something was thrown an opposing fan's way. Consider yourself lucky it wasn't a car battery, or the guy's girlfriend. On second thought, Taj Mahal, it was probably the girlfriend who threw it. Philly's fillies ain't all cut out of the Grace Kelly mode. In fact a lot of them could have been Joe Frazier's sparring partners.

[Taj79]

@72 --- easy there Tom-Coughlin-wannabee. Originally from 100 miles NW of the City of Brotherly Mug and immensely proud of the fact we boo Santa Claus, force police departments to open courts/jail cells in our home stadiums, have games recalled fondly as "The Body Bag Game," cheer when a Dallas wide receiver is slammed into the concrete turf at pits like the Vet, never win a Supoer Bowl, see Chocoalte Thunder ravage a plexi-glass backboard, fall in love with a toothless, blonde-haired hockey assasin, rename teams properly like Broad Street Bullies and destroy guys named Kotite, Rhodes and Pisarcik.

[sonoma bob]

Did any of you attendees make it to McGillicuddy's in Manyunk after the game? The ad on the web said the first one is on them if you have a game ticket. It could have been dangerous if you were in blue, but everyone in red was crying into their beers.

The stream was great last night. I enjoyed hearing Joe Lunardi say he was having lunch with RM today and he would buy if the Hawks won. Did the SJU pep band play our fight song several times or was our band there too? Maybe I was hearing things but it sure sounded like "Oh when the Bills go marching in" and the SJU fillies were dancing to the tune !!! That is what I call Brotherly love hospitality if it actually happened.

[Taj79]

It played and they sang "... oh, when the Hawks, go marching in, oh when the Hawks go marching in ...."

[sonoma bob]

I thought hawks could fly not march. It made me feel good to hear it anyway, even if they are confused.

[Bizziken]

I thought we were too tarheel (now I know who you are) but in deference to BillyKen (was that you I met in the hall before the game) I heard us and not them which is likely a shared perception on the beholder. I apologized a few times to the poor young ladies sitting in front of me a for subjecting them to my (sometimes profane) loudness.

Hagan Arena --- note to SJ officials: why would you put the student section behind YOUR basket for the second half? In the first half, they were pretty good. All waving in unison on our free throws. Their cheer on a miss was "You let the whole team down." I actually liked that. But they are no factor in the second half at crunch time. Not that student sections are unless your Duke's Speedo Man. Just found that odd. Their pep band numbers about 20.

St. Joe's fans -- I think I got hit with an empty plastic soda bottle. Twice. The guys behind me (and it was sparse up in that end of the nosebleed seats) were the guys in the jerseys they honored for whatever at halftime. I am guessing it was them but with no harm, there was no foul. We'll call it an accident and move on.

Class Act of the Night: as the teams lined up for the Nationasl Anthem, the announcer asked for a mmoment of silence in honor of Charlie Spponhour. I thought that was classy.

BillyKen and I were about 10 rows from the Court, so the players (and officials) could definitely hear our smack. SJU fans were not happy about our constant screaming, but who gives a flying ######. I did get hit with water or soda (at least I hope it was one of the two) but for the most part, SJU fans, despite their calls for us to sit down and shut up, were pretty cool...The players (especially Loe and Barnett) seemed pretty appreciative after the game, considering they heard us the whole night...

Best Defense we've played all year. You can tell we were frustrating the hell out of them...

I understand why they put the students where they did (not saying I agree with it)...at the beginning of the game when we were warming up, they were talking a TON of crap to our players...I could see how it could definitely be pretty intimidating. The SJU students were pretty damn good too. I was impressed. A lot of energy, cheers, etc. But their band (all 6 of them) sucked really bad...

Martelli- WTF is up with the SJU students weird, obsessive fascination with Phil Martelli?! I know he's been there forever, but come on! They had specific cheers for him, multiple T-shirts, I even saw a few students with a Martelli wig on (a bald head with a smattering of hair around the sides)...pretty creepy stuff...

[Taj79]

I liked Martelli's twin in "Young Frankenstein" much better .....

I still don't get the seating arrnagement, especially when you consider they just renovated that barn a couple of years ago and added the "Dr. Jack Ramsey" section. In contrast, when Maryland built the Comcast Center to replace historic old Cole Field House, the student section was purposely built at such a large angle upward so that opposing players had to shoot at a more opposing background in the second half.

Not that I really care.

[Bizziken]

I liked Martelli's twin in "Young Frankenstein" much better .....

HAHA...

[bonwich]

On second thought, Taj Mahal, it was probably the girlfriend who threw it.

Naw, he said it was a plastic soda bottle. In other words, the guy threw his girlfriend.

[Pistol]

Martelli- WTF is up with the SJU students weird, obsessive fascination with Phil Martelli?! I know he's been there forever, but come on! They had specific cheers for him, multiple T-shirts, I even saw a few students with a Martelli wig on (a bald head with a smattering of hair around the sides)...pretty creepy stuff...

Seems like long-tenured coaches at colleges develop a sort of cult of personality after a while. Duke is even creepier- "Krzyzewskiville" is where the students camp out for games, "Coach K Court" is what they play on, there are all kinds of crazy chants and gestures for him (like when he enters and leaves the court), not to mention the various exhibits in the Pavilion's halls. It was uncomfortable to see all that in person.

[slubilliken09]

As creepy as these obsessions are, I think a RM black shirt game for the students would be priceless, complete with the power stance during opponents' free throws.

[MusicCityBilliken]

The only real flaw I saw last night, on the web, was on our drives to the hoops. DE either needs to get quicker or stronger on his inside shots. This may just be my perception, but he's getting stuffed way too much on the shorties. What might help is if he had a better outside shot and his defender couldn't lay back on him, but that's not the real solution. It's strength and quickness on the inside. Also, JJ, MM, and KM all had trouble went they roamed in for layups. One promising sight was KC getting to the hoop for a nice lay in what could be described as follows: "he drives to the hoop with greatest of ease, makes the shot, give us two more and a thank you please." Seriously, when KC makes these drives he makes them look easy, he JUST WON'T DO IT ENOUGH!

And, Big Al, what are you doing way up in Philly? They don't like Southerners. Of course, you were probably speaking in your best Brooklyneese last night. Then again those Iggle loving crazies, Taj Mahal 79 included, don't care too much for New Yorkers these days. :ph34r: I am in love with the Ninja avatar.

Larry, decided to make up to Philly when some of my vacation points became available for a condo in Atlantic City. It is only about an hour drive from Philly. Was going to use them for the A10 Tourney but something came up for those dates. Also, have a family engagement for this coming Sunday in Northern New Jersey.

What a great game. Took Wynnfield's advice and had dinner at Larry's, which is just across the street from the Hagan Arena. Outstanding Philly Cheese Steaks. Forgot how good those are. The arena is really nice with a great game atomosphere. Really not a bad seat because the place is so small. One problem was hard to see the score board where we sat, so it was hard following the score. The crowd around was mostily foreign and did not show much interest in the game as TAJ mentioned. I spoke with one of the girls after the game and had her take a picture of me and the wife. She said they are attending (I don't know SLU still has this program for foreign students) like SLU's Orientation USA program. TAJ, you should told me someone was throwing ice cubes at you, I had no problem getting into his face and making his life miserable . The SJU students although got into the game. They had alot chants that gave the place a nice atomosphere. Most of the fans I met were pretty good and level headed about the loss.

I have to say, our defense is really tough. We totally frustrated the SJU players, especially the guards. Saw Loe hanging out on the court waiting for the team to make it to the bus and yelled great game. He acknowledged it and appreciated the gesture.

Okay SLU, lets bring that same intensity to Lasalle Saturday.

[Adman]

Philly guys, great to hear the game reports from you. Wish I had been there.

For the LaSalle game Saturday, it looks like the Philly/SLU Alumni Club has a pre-game reception for SLU fans/alums which includes food, drinks and game ticket. So for those planning to attend the game and don't yet have tickets, here's a link to the LaSalle game event:

https://secure.imodules.com/s/1264/index.aspx?sid=1264&gid=1&pgid=1754&cid=2995

These alumni club/Billiken game events are pretty cool. I travel quite a bit in my job and keep an eye on these events in case I happen to be in a city where the Bills are playing. Last one I did was in LA at the infamous LMU game. While a tough game, it was great to meet other Bills fans, sit/cheer/sneer together during game and of course, drink a barley pop or three. Had a nice chat with BayArea Billiken that night, too.

For anyone going to LaSalle game, bring home a winner!

[BillyKen]

Ohhh how could we forget about the best part of the ballgame!?!?!?!?!?!? Had the pleasure of listening to two 10-12 year old female versions of Lunardi (his 2 daughters) sing at halftime. Did SLU pay cash for Lunardi to be our consultant or did we just send the Lunardi fam a lifetime supply of Ted Drewes?? I think the lifetime supply is depleted.