Anyone hear the whole KMOX interview w/ Brad?

[bonwich]

After my disappointment at the relative lack of Lisch coverage yesterday morning, I must say that KMOX and the athletic department were hitting on almost all cylinders last night, broadcasting live from the Billiken golf tournament. (How'd ya hit 'em, AlumniFan?)

I only caught the very tail end of talking to Brad, but he covered the 5/8 change and again said wonderful things about Tommie. Mike Grimm (the only cylinder that wasn't fully firing -- he didn't seem to know a whole lot about the Bills or college b.b. in general) also noted that they'd been talking about the arena and Lisch as well.

I got a huge kick out of Brad reiterating his Final Four goal by talking about his Final Four ring and with the analogy that "in 1980, if someone said the University of Wisconsin had a goal of the Final Four, they would have been laughed at." (I was at UW in 1980.)

Anyway, summaries appreciated, along with any board members who'd be willing to post their golf scores.

[SIUSalukis]

I'm sure Brad was not talking about Lisch. Coaches can't comment about recruits until they have signed a LOI.

[willie]

Mike Shanahan spoke briefly about the arena at the golf tournament. I think he was like the rest of us and had a cocktail to many but I think he said lead gifts were progressing. He expressed confidence that eveything was going forward and we would all be contacted in the near future. Brad spoke forcefully about the need to get the arena done and everyones expectations should go up when it is done. I found it encouraging that Brad mentioned Tommy as a future Billiken. Brad said he had a very good weekend. You could tell he was very happy.

[bonwich]

As I said, I didn't hear the whole interview. But I can say with virtual certainty that the word "Lisch" was spoken, probably by Grimm. Brad spent most of the part of the interview that I didhear talking about "the letter of the law" in regard to working with players now (legal until exams are over, but he said he and the staff aren't, so the kids can "just enjoy the game for what it is"). I'd wager that he probably said something like, "As you know, Mike, I can't comment on recruits until they formally sign a letter of intent."

Two notes I do remember: Ian is definitely going back to Greece when exams are over, but "everyone else is going to summer school"; and "they're all working with the conditioning coach on a voluntary basis."

[sluer]

KMOX actually had Woolard on before the 7:00 hour and then during the 7-8 hour had on Brad, Scott Highmark, Ramsey and had Jill on after 8:00. Overall, a very positive, upbeat show, talking all about the Billikens and the program.

As far as specifics, of course Brad couldn't talk about Lisch, although Highmark did and gave him the expected praise. Brad said that all returners would be in summer school except for Ian who was going back to Greece for the summer as has been mentioned before. Individual instruction ended last Friday, as exams started this week. Brad wouldn't say anything specific about the remaining scholarships. (Grimm was unaware that the 5/8 rule had been abolished.) He talked about Newborne: can defend the perimeter, hit the 3 and rebound. He also talked about Liddell and that he expects to have him sign again and what a hard worker and great kid he is.

As was mentioned, Brad talked again about expectations and why can't the Billikens be the team that wins.

[sluer]

So how was the golf game?

[willie]

Weasal carried us.

[sluer]

Somehow, I find that hard to believe!

[billiken_roy]

two things that stand out in your post.

one, grim didnt know the 5/8 rule had been abolished? what the hell kind of a sports reporter/host is this guy? he should be fired immediately as that speaks volumes imo. my gosh, how could he not know that?

second, the comments about newborne. the more i hear about him the more he sounds like sloan. i can live with a new sloan.

[davidnark]

I haven't seen many college forwards with a better basketball IQ than Chris Sloan. On the other hand, I expect Newborne to be a stronger finisher around the basket than Chris. I also wouldn't be surprised if Newborne ends up being a little better rebounder than Chris.

[tseugnekillib]

Sloan averaged 32.3 minutes per game this past season and produced 9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per games. Because of a deeper bench next season (more/varied options) I would be very much surprised if Newborne got all of Sloan's minutes. However, if Newborne does play 32 minutes per game, then I agree with Nark in that Newborne's will be slightly more productive than Sloan.

[thetorch]

I never thought Chris was a real smart player on the court especially on offense. While he did change positions drastically he still never grasped the PF position the 2 or more years he played there. He had physical limitations but he made a ton of mistakes. He was a fearless player and had tons of heart but IMO he could used his head more sometimes rather than just bull into every situation. His back to the basket production was nill, not using his head when he ahd the ball I think had a lot to do with it. He was much better on the perimeter just taking off than if he ever had a couple seconds to think about what his next movce would be. In those situations he usually made the wrong decision.

[billiken_roy]

his back to the basket skills had more to do with the fact he was at best a small forward and likely a shooting guard playing power forward. i doubt seriously that chris sloan ever asked or even envisioned he would play power forward. it was thrust on him simply because there was no one better. and he played his guts out. i hope we have another chris sloan on the team. i hope we always have a chris sloan on the team.

[AlumniFan]

I didn't hear his comments on the radio, but he did make a very forceful pitch using his final four ring in context during dinner. He is not susceptible to hyperbole. He measures his comments well, but in so doing, realistically raises expectations substantially without sounding insincere. That is important when you are trying to convince business people to write seven figure checks - these people don't want a bunch of B.S., they want results and, more specifically, someone they believe they can invest in to deliver the results.

As for how I hit the ball...let's just say that my team didn't spend a lot of time thinking about where we would put our trophys. I hate to say it, but there was more than one par three where, out of five shots, we were not on the green! Nonetheless, I had a blast and cannot wait until next year.