10 day break- Grade the Billikens

[slu72]

Why not? There won't be any games to discuss:

JJ- (A+) The kid just continues to impress w/ his hustle. And playing extended mpg at his speed w/ a nagging injury exemplifies his toughness.

MM- (A-) Would like to see him be a little more aggressive re scoring, but like JJ he's been asked to play a lot of minutes which am sure is tough on his legs. But he's filled in nicely at the point. I'll bet he's praying the most for KM's return.

DE- (B+) Does anyone else agree he's at time looked like Conk when he plays the post? Still like him on the wing, but he played a lot of post against Valpariso and looked very comfortable. There are times though that he seems to disappear.

CE- ( Would like to see more consistency w/ his shot, but he's showing us a new toughness underneath both on O and D and the man is a human charge card.

CR- (B-) He's shown flashes both on D and O. Again that effort has to be there all the time. Still a little sloppy w/ his passes.

JB- © Has been adequate and provided some minutes when we've needed them. Expected his 3 shot to be more of a weapon. But it's more of the hit or miss variety and the misses are real clankers. So so on D. Quick athletic types in the A-10 will steal his lunch.

JM- © A work in progress but the trend line appears up. Fully expect more minutes in the future especially if RL remains in his current funk.

RL- (D) So far he's shown little, and seems to have regressed from last year's very average season. For a 7' he's not bringing much to the party at this point. As someone said he needs a come to Jesus session w/ someone.

GG and KC- (INCOMPLETES) Pretty skimpy body of work so far, so how can you judge?

Crews- (C-) At times it's been frustrating to watch him seem to NOT coach this team. No fire on the sidelines, ala RM who was coaching and shouting instructions the whole game. Reports that KM was designing the plays in one game were very disconcerting. Gave one the feeling Crews was given the keys to the Ferrari but was afraid to drive it. The last two games he seems to be more into his job, maybe now that RM's departure is final he thinks he might have a shot at being named HC after this year. For a Bob Knight student, you'd expect to see a little more fire and brimstone from this guy. The Santa Clara game was scary because we looked so unprepared it was pitiful. That never would be the case w/ RM.

Overall- ( At this point I expected us to be 6-2, losing to KU and at UW. Santa Clara was a real wakeup call, but because of the injury factor overall this team's right about where it should be. We're gonna have a tough time with UNM, but should go into conference play with no more than 4 Ls. Hopefully, when KM is cleared to play, he's worked back slowly and by late Jan he's at full speed. But the guys that really need to step it up are RL and CR. They're veteran players and should know by now how hard you have to compete in every game.

[slu72]

Don't know how those smiley faces got in there, but CE gets a B, and overall we get a B.

[SLU7881]

hmm--a B? 5-3 record, lost to a team favored to win (Santa Clara), havent beaten anyone when we weren't favored to win, and not exactly crushing lesser opponents, except a very solid win against Valpo. But if we take into account the best player being out, yeah I can agree with the B

[JeffinMH]

Ramsey said in postgame the Billikens have and RPI of 30... SOS = 8. Encouraging numbers!

[someoneelse]

Ramsey said in postgame the Billikens have and RPI of 30... SOS = 8. Encouraging numbers!

Playing Kansas helps the RPI and SOS a lot. It doesn't matter a whole lot if you lose by a comfortable margin. That game will get diluted as the year goes on. The A-10 schedule will buoy the number, though.

[HusakAttack]

Dwayne has been in foul trouble a lot...he's gotta stay clean on fouls by conference play

[The Wiz]

I have the Bills at B+...we are a good team that is missing depth right now...we tire or get into foul trouble and can lose a lead or fall behind. We have lost to A+, B, C+ teams (KU, UW, SC) No shame there. We will get better when we get our players healthy and have more depth...we look tired at the end of games. We need to try and shut down the opp 3 shots (under 35% and preferably under 30%) We have 4 more games to build confidence, get healthy, and add some victories. I plan on us being 9-3 coming into the NMex game. To me that will be at least a B+.

[brianstl]

So the guy that leads the team in scoring, rebounding, fg%, free throws attempted, is second in free throw percentage, has 3 times as many off rebounds as anyone else on the team, has to play out of position, and is second on the team in minutes played gets only the third highest grade on the team?

Evans has been the best player on the team and it isn't close.

[Taj79]

These aren't grades but what I've seen so far:

JJ: as I've said defensively and rebounding-wise he is a warrior. I admit to being frustrated with him once again first half last night but he redeemed it in the second half. It became very evident as the second half progressed that his shot is dependent on the rhythm of a catch-n-shoot mentality. Otherwise, his defender sloughs so far off that on-ball picks for him are compromised. I think the team will benefit a lot from him going to sixth or seventh man when Mitchell returns. He still need to refind his foul shooting touch because he will be in there late and he will be target #1 on fouls. I believe that's why he was inbounding to Cody and Mike late last night and not on the floor receiving the pass. Him not starting will add a dynamic that I see as a positive for this team.

MM: he is better suited as a two guard in my book. He can and does create with the ball but it is usually more for himself, which is okay on one hand but not so good on the point guard hand. I think he will be better able to spot up and drop open jumpers accepting the pass from Mitchell and Jett. He is explosive and I have yet to see anyone really stop his first step but he is more the jump shooter type than the drive type in my book. Plus, 6-foot guys should usually stay out of the trees under the basket.

DE: has to let the game come to him. He is making mistakes by commission rather than omission as the old saying goes. I think he's trying too, too hard and thereby getting into dumb foul situations. When we lose him, not only do we lose about our only interior scoring threat, but we lose tremendously on the boards at both ends as well. He needed to flash to the middle of the key and receive the ball last night. That North Texas defense zone would have caved quickly.

CE: has been a nice surprise. I am curious however as to when the flopping will be ignored. Does that happen in the conference play? I am certain this is coming based on some of the things I've been hearing on national broadcasts --- league instructions and all that. I have been impressed with his leadership and his willingness to get into the paint and mix it up on the defensive end. He takes the tough shots and wants the ball in his hands at the end which is great given his foul shooting effectiveness. Will never dominate on the defensive boards but if he blocks out as Conk did, Evans will clean up.

CR: better than any other version of CR. Offers the defensive shot swatter we haven't had since the late Willie Reed. Needs to be more of anoption on the offensive end. Just not there yet and is still an offensive project in the works.

JB: Has had some moments but is unpredictable as to being an asset or a liability. Made a nice run with a three and a drive/goaltending last night. Seems hard nosed and tough when fighting on the defensive end but is always fighting which is both good and bad. Good that he doesn't quit but bad in that he seems to be fighting to catch up to his man. Likely candidate for Cassity-like minutes but seems at least a little better in that he's an offensive option whereas Kyle was not.

JM: yep, a work in progress but with some hope. From what little I've seen of him, he seems to be better able to provide something more than RL in terms of a low post presence whereas RL is an outside shooter no doubt. RL is no center; JM might be.

RL: see above. He is purely dictated by matchups. You get a running mobile team, not him. You get a beast of a team on the interior, not him. He is what he is, a mobile, outside shooting soft Euro big. Next year, he becomes CE. Guys expecting him to go inside even a little, looks like it won't happen just yet.

GG: so far, the second coming of JJ ---- as in Justin Johnson. Having had three shoulder seperations myself, I doubt we see much of him for the rest of this year. If we do, he will likely get hurt again and then have to succumb to surgery ala CE his second year. Tension and torque in athletics is amazing. And fighting for rebounds the major cause of it in basketball. There will not been enough to grade GG the rest of this year so he will be next year as he is this year, a complete unknown.

KC: on one hand, we made it. Ten days off allows JJ to heal, KM to get better, GG to heal and especially here, KC to get over the leg problems. JJ and MM are dragging. I think that led to MM's careless misstep at the end of the half last night. We need bodies and help and the calvary can't come too soon.

Crews: because of his location close to Rammer and Earl, I heard a lot of him yelling out instructions at least last night. So far, he's an interim and acting like one. Nothing more, nothing less. I really don't get the warm and fuzzy that he wants anything more either. If he did, I think he'd act somewhat differently. And I don't really want him with the program moving to the next level, whatever it may be.

Overall, I thought we would lose the same two larry72 did. So we are one down. Cannot afford to lose any more in this OOC schedule. I still don't see an inside presence developing yet and our outside shooting is flirtatious at best, inconsistent for sure. Our defense does not seem as intense as last year and our offense appears to be searching itself out just yet. Mitchell and Carter's returns will help but are not the answer as far as the interior is concerned. Lots of teams in this year's A10 are good ---- VCU, Butler, Umass, St. Joe's, Temple --- so it wil be another lunch-pail year for our squad. Going to be fun yes but not anything easy given what I've seen so far. But there is still time and it is still illegal to use "easy" and"Billiken basketball" in the same sentence.

I'd offer we are C+ right now with up the only way to go.

[brianstl]

These aren't grades but what I've seen so far:

JJ: as I've said defensively and rebounding-wise he is a warrior. I admit to being frustrated with him once again first half last night but he redeemed it in the second half. It became very evident as the second half progressed that his shot is dependent on the rhythm of a catch-n-shoot mentality. Otherwise, his defender sloughs so far off that on-ball picks for him are compromised. I think the team will benefit a lot from him going to sixth or seventh man when Mitchell returns. He still need to refind his foul shooting touch because he will be in there late and he will be target #1 on fouls. I believe that's why he was inbounding to Cody and Mike late last night and not on the floor receiving the pass. Him not starting will add a dynamic that I see as a positive for this team.

MM: he is better suited as a two guard in my book. He can and does create with the ball but it is usually more for himself, which is okay on one hand but not so good on the point guard hand. I think he will be better able to spot up and drop open jumpers accepting the pass from Mitchell and Jett. He is explosive and I have yet to see anyone really stop his first step but he is more the jump shooter type than the drive type in my book. Plus, 6-foot guys should usually stay out of the trees under the basket.

DE: has to let the game come to him. He is making mistakes by commission rather than omission as the old saying goes. I think he's trying too, too hard and thereby getting into dumb foul situations. When we lose him, not only do we lose about our only interior scoring threat, but we lose tremendously on the boards at both ends as well. He needed to flash to the middle of the key and receive the ball last night. That North Texas defense zone would have caved quickly.

CE: has been a nice surprise. I am curious however as to when the flopping will be ignored. Does that happen in the conference play? I am certain this is coming based on some of the things I've been hearing on national broadcasts --- league instructions and all that. I have been impressed with his leadership and his willingness to get into the paint and mix it up on the defensive end. He takes the tough shots and wants the ball in his hands at the end which is great given his foul shooting effectiveness. Will never dominate on the defensive boards but if he blocks out as Conk did, Evans will clean up.

CR: better than any other version of CR. Offers the defensive shot swatter we haven't had since the late Willie Reed. Needs to be more of anoption on the offensive end. Just not there yet and is still an offensive project in the works.

JB: Has had some moments but is unpredictable as to being an asset or a liability. Made a nice run with a three and a drive/goaltending last night. Seems hard nosed and tough when fighting on the defensive end but is always fighting which is both good and bad. Good that he doesn't quit but bad in that he seems to be fighting to catch up to his man. Likely candidate for Cassity-like minutes but seems at least a little better in that he's an offensive option whereas Kyle was not.

JM: yep, a work in progress but with some hope. From what little I've seen of him, he seems to be better able to provide something more than RL in terms of a low post presence whereas RL is an outside shooter no doubt. RL is no center; JM might be.

RL: see above. He is purely dictated by matchups. You get a running mobile team, not him. You get a beast of a team on the interior, not him. He is what he is, a mobile, outside shooting soft Euro big. Next year, he becomes CE. Guys expecting him to go inside even a little, looks like it won't happen just yet.

GG: so far, the second coming of JJ ---- as in Justin Johnson. Having had three shoulder seperations myself, I doubt we see much of him for the rest of this year. If we do, he will likely get hurt again and then have to succumb to surgery ala CE his second year. Tension and torque in athletics is amazing. And fighting for rebounds the major cause of it in basketball. There will not been enough to grade GG the rest of this year so he will be next year as he is this year, a complete unknown.

KC: on one hand, we made it. Ten days off allows JJ to heal, KM to get better, GG to heal and especially here, KC to get over the leg problems. JJ and MM are dragging. I think that led to MM's careless misstep at the end of the half last night. We need bodies and help and the calvary can't come too soon.

Crews: because of his location close to Rammer and Earl, I heard a lot of him yelling out instructions at least last night. So far, he's an interim and acting like one. Nothing more, nothing less. I really don't get the warm and fuzzy that he wants anything more either. If he did, I think he'd act somewhat differently. And I don't really want him with the program moving to the next level, whatever it may be.

Overall, I thought we would lose the same two larry72 did. So we are one down. Cannot afford to lose any more in this OOC schedule. I still don't see an inside presence developing yet and our outside shooting is flirtatious at best, inconsistent for sure. Our defense does not seem as intense as last year and our offense appears to be searching itself out just yet. Mitchell and Carter's returns will help but are not the answer as far as the interior is concerned. Lots of teams in this year's A10 are good ---- VCU, Butler, Umass, St. Joe's, Temple --- so it wil be another lunch-pail year for our squad. Going to be fun yes but not anything easy given what I've seen so far. But there is still time and it is still illegal to use "easy" and"Billiken basketball" in the same sentence.

I'd offer we are C+ right now with up the only way to go.

This team will be a lot better when they get KM back. It is clear that our PG play has been less than optimal and that leads to problems everywhere else on the offense. I think it is the main reason why we see DE not letting the game come to him.

[ACE]

Gotta give Jett and McCall credit, giving their all with no depth behind them at the moment. Hopefully Carter gets in the next game and can start giving us 10 decent minutes per game. That would be a huge boost. Jett has been outstanding. As he kept knocking down jumper after jumper, I couldn't help but think of Taj and laugh. In the postgame, Crews said he is very confident in Jett making those shots. He said he's got good rotation on his shot. As others have stated, McCall will be helped being freed up to score a little more when Carter and Mitchell come back. Mike is doing a good job, but I would like to see him get better at finishing around the basket. I know he is not very big, but neither is Kwamain and he has always been able to excel in that part of his game.

I like what I see out of Manning. He's got a nice touch on those little hook shots and he'll block some shots. I would like to seem him get 10 minutes a game, especially while Loe is struggling. Time for Loe to get his act together in some of these upcoming cupcake games. He has been the biggest disappointment this season. I wish he could learn a bit from Cody, who has really stepped up his overall game. He plays with toughness and has really been an emotional leader out there. Not everybody needs to be a 'rah rah' guy, but playing with a little emotion can certainly help. While Jett, DE and McCall are all good, none of them are really vocal. That just doesn't really seem to be their personalities. I am impressed that Cody is trying to bring that element. Without Conklin and Mitchell, I think some of that has been lacking. That's one thing I liked about Grandy in the limited time he has gotten to play.

[RiseAndGrind]

Gotta give Jett and McCall credit, giving their all with no depth behind them at the moment. Hopefully Carter gets in the next game and can start giving us 10 decent minutes per game. That would be a huge boost. Jett has been outstanding. As he kept knocking down jumper after jumper, I couldn't help but think of Taj and laugh. In the postgame, Crews said he is very confident in Jett making those shots. He said he's got good rotation on his shot. As others have stated, McCall will be helped being freed up to score a little more when Carter and Mitchell come back. Mike is doing a good job, but I would like to see him get better at finishing around the basket. I know he is not very big, but neither is Kwamain and he has always been able to excel in that part of his game.

I like what I see out of Manning. He's got a nice touch on those little hook shots and he'll block some shots. I would like to seem him get 10 minutes a game, especially while Loe is struggling. Time for Loe to get his act together in some of these upcoming cupcake games. He has been the biggest disappointment this season. I wish he could learn a bit from Cody, who has really stepped up his overall game. He plays with toughness and has really been an emotional leader out there. Not everybody needs to be a 'rah rah' guy, but playing with a little emotion can certainly help. While Jett, DE and McCall are all good, none of them are really vocal. That just doesn't really seem to be their personalities. I am impressed that Cody is trying to bring that element. Without Conklin and Mitchell, I think some of that has been lacking. That's one thing I liked about Grandy in the limited time he has gotten to play.

I've become more positive on my outlook for the season. Yes, every game still seems like a struggle, but if we can hold on for 5 more games, get Kwam and KC back, I think this team will be damn good. Also just want to point out I never expected Cody Ellis to become such an overall well rounded basketball player. I always thought he was just going to be a shooting specialist. Mad props to that guy.

[wgstl]

Im gonna say a b-, looking up though.

[jbizzle09]

Not going to give an overall grade or try to focus on each individual player. Instead, just going to point out some positives from the first 8 games of the season:

-McCall and Jett are averaging a combined 8.2 assists per game. Both are averaging 4.1 per game. We haven't had a player average over 4 assists per game since Josh Fisher in 2003-04 and now we have two. Both are currently tied for 8th in the A-10.

-Cory Remekun is averaging 2.2 blocks per game. That is 4th best in the A-10.

-Ellis (13.0) and Evans (13.4) are both averaging at least 13 points per game. The last time the Bills had two teammates over that threshhold was 2006-07, with Lisch and Liddell.

-Mike McCall leads the A-10 in three point percentage (.520).

-Cody Ellis is 3rd in the A-10 in free throw percentage (.889) and Evans is 10th (.818). Combined, they have 80 free throw attempts in 8 games, and both are getting to the line at least 4 times a game.

-Dwayne Evans is 3rd in the A-10 in FG% (.625). This is extremely impressive for any player, but even moreso for a 6'5" SF.

-Saint Louis is currently 4th in 3-point % (.371) and 3rd in FT% (.748).

Personally, I am back to feeling positive about this team. I still have a lot of doubts about Crews as a head coach, but I was encouraged to see him do some sideline coaching with the players last night, as well as seem focused and engaged throught the game. This team has a lot of seasoned talent, and will only get better once Kwamain makes it back on the court.

[Tonka]

Not going to give an overall grade or try to focus on each individual player. Instead, just going to point out some positives from the first 8 games of the season:

-McCall and Jett are averaging a combined 8.2 assists per game. Both are averaging 4.1 per game. We haven't had a player average over 4 assists per game since Josh Fisher in 2003-04 and now we have two. Both are currently tied for 8th in the A-10.

-Cory Remekun is averaging 2.2 blocks per game. That is 4th best in the A-10.

-Ellis (13.0) and Evans (13.4) are both averaging at least 13 points per game. The last time the Bills had two teammates over that threshhold was 2006-07, with Lisch and Liddell.

-Mike McCall leads the A-10 in three point percentage (.520).

-Cody Ellis is 3rd in the A-10 in free throw percentage (.889) and Evans is 10th (.818). Combined, they have 80 free throw attempts in 8 games, and both are getting to the line at least 4 times a game.

-Dwayne Evans is 3rd in the A-10 in FG% (.625). This is extremely impressive for any player, but even moreso for a 6'5" SF.

-Saint Louis is currently 4th in 3-point % (.371) and 3rd in FT% (.748).

Personally, I am back to feeling positive about this team. I still have a lot of doubts about Crews as a head coach, but I was encouraged to see him do some sideline coaching with the players last night, as well as seem focused and engaged throught the game. This team has a lot of seasoned talent, and will only get better once Kwamain makes it back on the court.

Great post, bizzle.

I also noticed some sideline coaching from Crews last night. He talked to players individually about things and two different times that I saw he walked down the bench and actually coached. I hadn't seen that from him previously.

[jimbofive]

Not going to give an overall grade or try to focus on each individual player. Instead, just going to point out some positives from the first 8 games of the season:

-McCall and Jett are averaging a combined 8.2 assists per game. Both are averaging 4.1 per game. We haven't had a player average over 4 assists per game since Josh Fisher in 2003-04 and now we have two. Both are currently tied for 8th in the A-10.

-Cory Remekun is averaging 2.2 blocks per game. That is 4th best in the A-10.

-Ellis (13.0) and Evans (13.4) are both averaging at least 13 points per game. The last time the Bills had two teammates over that threshhold was 2006-07, with Lisch and Liddell.

-Mike McCall leads the A-10 in three point percentage (.520).

-Cody Ellis is 3rd in the A-10 in free throw percentage (.889) and Evans is 10th (.818). Combined, they have 80 free throw attempts in 8 games, and both are getting to the line at least 4 times a game.

-Dwayne Evans is 3rd in the A-10 in FG% (.625). This is extremely impressive for any player, but even moreso for a 6'5" SF.

-Saint Louis is currently 4th in 3-point % (.371) and 3rd in FT% (.748).

Personally, I am back to feeling positive about this team. I still have a lot of doubts about Crews as a head coach, but I was encouraged to see him do some sideline coaching with the players last night, as well as seem focused and engaged throught the game. This team has a lot of seasoned talent, and will only get better once Kwamain makes it back on the court.

i feel this is highly indicative of the level of talent on the team. they actually show a decent amount of discipline for missing their senior leader and playing for a vegetable of a coach. imagine what these dudes would be running like at full health under maji. ho well...

[bonwich]

ho well...

Thank you for that perfect day-before-Friday set-up, jimbo.

[Duff Man]

Ramsey said in postgame the Billikens have and RPI of 30... SOS = 8. Encouraging numbers!

Check that math.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/rankings/rpi/index1

RPI of 51 SOS = 18

Honestly, it's way too early to look at RPI. Just win every remaining non-conference game - including New Mexico - everything will be fine.

[West Pine Jim]

Bizzle has become the Peter Gammons 0f billikens.com. I like it.

[slufan13]

Student Section: D-. Only saved by the opening game of the year where we had free pizza for everyone.

As a student I want to apologize to all the players and the rest of the fans for our poor attendance efforts and our poor effort during the games throughout the season thus far.

I'm open to all suggestions/criticism/whatever from anyone to help us get more students at the game and to find ways to get the students more involved while at the game.

Also, I know this has always been a problem, but it really takes a lot to get the rest of the crowd on their feet.

Also, 4817 was the total attendance yesterday. Bad. In fact, it was the 2nd worst attended game dating back to the beginning of the 2010-2011 season. The worst was the UMass game in 2011 when St. Louis got hit with that huge snow storm.

[moytoy12]

Also, 4817 was the total attendance yesterday. Bad. In fact, it was the 2nd worst attended game dating back to the beginning of the 2010-2011 season. The worst was the UMass game in 2011 when St. Louis got hit with that huge snow storm.

Just think how bad it will be during xmas break when we are playing SE UT-San Juan campus.

[Taj79]

Just watched the tape on Fox Sports Midwest this morning. As long as JJ can catch-n-shoot, his jumper will be better. Once he begins to move, the shot moves south as well. Watch the tape ACE ---- other than the late layup, JJ caught and shot. Again, he had to --- defense was seven feet off him. No better way to make them pay. W/o him, we lose last night.

I appreciate the update on stats from bizz. Decent work for sure. And it proves nothing. How many guys did we have in these categories last year? And how did we do? Ask Chris Gaston how stats feel. Evaluating this team on those stats says "all is well." Who thinks it really is? Long way to go ..... lots of room for improvement.

[slubilliken09]

Student Section: D-. Only saved by the opening game of the year where we had free pizza for everyone.

As a student I want to apologize to all the players and the rest of the fans for our poor attendance efforts and our poor effort during the games throughout the season thus far.

I'm open to all suggestions/criticism/whatever from anyone to help us get more students at the game and to find ways to get the students more involved while at the game.

Also, I know this has always been a problem, but it really takes a lot to get the rest of the crowd on their feet.

Also, 4817 was the total attendance yesterday. Bad. In fact, it was the 2nd worst attended game dating back to the beginning of the 2010-2011 season. The worst was the UMass game in 2011 when St. Louis got hit with that huge snow storm.

This is definitely frustrating. I doubt students like you are the problem! All too often, many of the students who go to the game are there for appearances. They stand, but do not join in the cheers.

SLUisville and I were discussing this last night, and we thought of a decent idea. Can someone in athletics print out a bunch of rosters and recent dirt on the opposition to put in the student section? This couldn't be too expensive... That, and possibly sample cheers that the SLUnatics do? Possibly even set a time an hour before tip for students to show up and learn cheers?

The numbers are there. The involvement is not.

[slufan13]

This is definitely frustrating. I doubt students like you are the problem! All too often, many of the students who go to the game are there for appearances. They stand, but do not join in the cheers.

SLUisville and I were discussing this last night, and we thought of a decent idea. Can someone in athletics print out a bunch of rosters and recent dirt on the opposition to put in the student section? This couldn't be too expensive... That, and possibly sample cheers that the SLUnatics do? Possibly even set a time an hour before tip for students to show up and learn cheers?

The numbers are there. The involvement is not.

I like the suggestion and will work on it.

Ii haven't seen the numbers exactly but I know that student attendance is way down from last year. It always goes up during conference play so hopefully it happens again.

[billikenfan05]

I have a small suggestion and a couple of big suggestions

Small:

1. Stop allowing the student gameday staff to sit in the first row of the section. I feel as though it discourages students from sitting there. Maybe sit them in the first 5 rows of the wedge so we don't have people random a$$ people sitting there.

2. Scatter the e-board throughout the section during the game. Engage the apathetic students by cheering your head off.

Large:

1.Close off the wedge entirely except for the big games. Put a tarp or something over it so that the students are forced to sit in the main area. Actually, close off the area behind the band as well except for big games.

2.Close off rows until they are filled prior to each game. I see the student gameday staff just sitting there with there thumbs up their a$$es. This will give them something to do.

3. a few large STUDENTS ONLY SIGNS. they don't have to actually mean anything just scare away the people that randomly wander into the section.