Best Bernie Column ever

[slu72]

Check out BM's column. I swear it brought a tear to this old Billiken's eyes. RM, Angie, JC, and the players. He really captured how special this season has been and how special everyone involved is. The only person he left out was Dr. C.

[Pistol]

THANKS FOR THE LINK, SLU72.

[Pistol]

By the way, when you click on the headline that says, "Mizzou and SLU both post wins over top 25 teams," it just takes you to the Mizzou game write-up.

[DoctorB]

Here's a few things Bernie gets right: "The Billikens were intelligent, unselfish, focused, creative, tough and fundamentally exact. They mastered the art of basketball. They moved the classroom to the hardwood. They were mentally prepared for anything that VCU threw at them."

(is that somehow by accident? or just leftover osmosis or something? is it possible the present coaching staff deserves some recognition???)

"Is there anyone doing a better coaching job in college basketball than Crews right now? He is there to faithfully reinforce the Majerus principles on a daily basis. Crews, handpicked by Majerus, was Rick’s final gift to his players."

For those calling for a new coach: open your eyes, smell the coffee, and please cease and desist with all the fear and trembling about recruiting.... really? REALLY?? you want someone else? still???

Cuz I was there last night, and that event was the most impressive recruitment tool I've ever seen in 15 years at SLU!

[brianstl]

Here's a few things Bernie gets right: "The Billikens were intelligent, unselfish, focused, creative, tough and fundamentally exact. They mastered the art of basketball. They moved the classroom to the hardwood. They were mentally prepared for anything that VCU threw at them."

(is that somehow by accident? or just leftover osmosis or something? is it possible the present coaching staff deserves some recognition???)

"Is there anyone doing a better coaching job in college basketball than Crews right now? He is there to faithfully reinforce the Majerus principles on a daily basis. Crews, handpicked by Majerus, was Rick’s final gift to his players."

For those calling for a new coach: open your eyes, smell the coffee, and please cease and desist with all the fear and trembling about recruiting.... really? REALLY?? you want someone else? still???

Cuz I was there last night, and that event was the most impressive recruitment tool I've ever seen in 15 years at SLU!

With how well the team was prepared for this game and Butler you have to give a ton of credit to Whitsell for the scouting reports he has come up with for both games. We knew exactly what both teams would do and then we knew what they would try to counter with when that didn't work. Great job by the whole staff.

[jimmy two times]

Here's a few things Bernie gets right: "The Billikens were intelligent, unselfish, focused, creative, tough and fundamentally exact. They mastered the art of basketball. They moved the classroom to the hardwood. They were mentally prepared for anything that VCU threw at them."

(is that somehow by accident? or just leftover osmosis or something? is it possible the present coaching staff deserves some recognition???)

"Is there anyone doing a better coaching job in college basketball than Crews right now? He is there to faithfully reinforce the Majerus principles on a daily basis. Crews, handpicked by Majerus, was Rick’s final gift to his players."

For those calling for a new coach: open your eyes, smell the coffee, and please cease and desist with all the fear and trembling about recruiting.... really? REALLY?? you want someone else? still???

Cuz I was there last night, and that event was the most impressive recruitment tool I've ever seen in 15 years at SLU!

Good point. Along with most others, I was crying for Crews' head a few weeks ago. I've shut up on that topic...he deserves a lot of credit for his coaching. I guess his ability to recruit remains to be seen, but he's done a great job with this team.

[Bobby Metzinger]

Good point. Along with most others, I was crying for Crews' head a few weeks ago. I've shut up on that topic...he deserves a lot of credit for his coaching. I guess his ability to recruit remains to be seen, but he's done a great job with this team.

When it's all said and done this year, for the sake of continuity, we have to retain Jim Crews. I've been outspoken for someone younger, someone "hip," who maybe bucks the trend of conventional/SLU-style basketball. No more. Jim Crews should be considered National Coach of the Year. It will probably go to Jim Laranaga at Miami, but you have to put Crews' name in the hat. You absolutely have to.

You can say "players, not coaches win games" all you want, but the writing was on the wall this season. We all saw it when Majerus stepped down and ultimately when he passed. The guy who helped us tear that wall down was Jim Crews.

He deserves every opportunity to remain at SLU and become the head basketball coach.

[DoctorB]

ps: I spoke at length last evening with the graduate assistant for VCU, who had some very intriguing answers to some of my questions, which I requested from the point of view of the coaching staff at VCU:

1. they were terrified by this trip and they felt SLU was easily the class of the A10, coming in (what must they think now??)

2. Chaifetz is far and away the most impressive home court in the league, with the best fans!

3. they were amazed at our dismantling of the Butler Bulldogs (as was I, btw.)

4. Reddick of VCU is a serious stud, and presented the most match-up problems for SLU (check).

5. At half time, he thought a comeback was almost entirely impossible (it was; they never got closer than 11 or 12, I believe)

6. JJ is a match-up nightmare.

[Bobby Metzinger]

ps: I spoke at length last evening with the graduate assistant for VCU, who had some very intriguing answers to some of my questions, which I requested from the point of view of the coaching staff at VCU:

1. they were terrified by this trip and they felt SLU was easily the class of the A10, coming in (what must they think now??)

2. Chaifetz is far and away the most impressive home court in the league, with the best fans!

3. they were amazed at our dismantling of the Butler Bulldogs (as was I, btw.)

4. Reddick of VCU is a serious stud, and presented the most match-up problems for SLU (check).

5. At half time, he thought a comeback was almost entirely impossible (it was; they never got closer than 11 or 12, I believe)

6. JJ is a match-up nightmare.

+100 great post. Love the leak from the VCU GA.

Reddick is going to get his...but when you look at the stat sheet, he was the lone offensive standout for the Rams...the Bills spread the wealth like Marx.

[ACE]

They had two players get double-doubles, yet we still won easily. Wow! I bet that doesn't happen very often.

[jimbofive]

When it's all said and done this year, for the sake of continuity, we have to retain Jim Crews. I've been outspoken for someone younger, someone "hip," who maybe bucks the trend of conventional/SLU-style basketball. No more. Jim Crews should be considered National Coach of the Year. It will probably go to Jim Laranaga at Miami, but you have to put Crews' name in the hat. You absolutely have to.

You can say "players, not coaches win games" all you want, but the writing was on the wall this season. We all saw it when Majerus stepped down and ultimately when he passed. The guy who helped us tear that wall down was Jim Crews.

He deserves every opportunity to remain at SLU and become the head basketball coach.

i agree. crews is doing the work now. but we need a gotdamn HEADHUNTER of an assistant coach. i mean some dude getting paid almost as much as crews, that eats babies, and is breathing down crews' neck to take over.

[ACE]

I love this part...

"The scene at Chaifetz on Tuesday was all that you hoped it would be, and I am talking about the dreamers who dared to think big, believing that SLU basketball could ascend to a higher level, guided there by a coach who showed up, shook the place up and went on a mission to raise the standards — and, he hoped, a chronically undernourished hoops program."

Also, neat that RM's girlfriend was there.

[David King]

This is the best Billikens basketball team in the last 40+ years. It is highly likely that we will continue to dominate the A-10, if not run the table. Almost certainly, the Bills will have 24+ wins after the A-10 tournament, and a solid seed in the Big Dance. A win, or 2+ there should also, logically, be expected.

So, Crews ain't going nowhere. If he wants the job, it's his. He's done a great job, and desrves it.

Next year should be pretty solid too. It's after that that i'm worried, But, by then, we'll be in the new Big East, and everything will be different.

[NashvilleBilliken]

i agree. crews is doing the work now. but we need a gotdamn HEADHUNTER of an assistant coach. i mean some dude getting paid almost as much as crews, that eats babies, and is breathing down crews' neck to take over.

I agree. At this point, Crews is showing he can coach. Some suggest he is just "getting out of the way" of a good, well-educated team....but that his BS. Everybody needs a coach and Crews is kicking a$$. There is a LOT of time left, so I'm not quite ready to hand him the reigns. But, if we make it into the teens in the rankings and head to the NCAA with a solid seed, we give it to him prior to the tourney and start recruiting the fuock out of some quality h.s. players. Not sure of Whitesell's, Bronson or D-Nice's recruiting skills...but maybe that recruiter and future head coach is already on the bench.

[Bobby Metzinger]

I agree. At this point, Crews is showing he can coach. Some suggest he is just "getting out of the way" of a good, well-educated team....but that his BS. Everybody needs a coach and Crews is kicking a$$. There is a LOT of time left, so I'm not quite ready to hand him the reigns. But, if we make it into the teens in the rankings and head to the NCAA with a solid seed, we give it to him prior to the tourney and start recruiting the fuock out of some quality h.s. players. Not sure of Whitesell's, Bronson or D-Nice's recruiting skills...but maybe that recruiter and future head coach is already on the bench.

I think Danny Brown could be a rising star on the bench... he's obviously in sponge-mode, absorbing everything he can from Crews & Co... he can relate to recruits as a former player and someone who knows what it's like to don the Billiken blue.

[ACE]

RM absolutely gushed about Tanner Bronson like he had a bright future as a head coach. He's not ready for that now of course, but whether Crews stays or not, I would look to keep Bronson on staff.

[Billiken Rich]

I don't want Crews to be our next coach.....but......at this point the interim tag sounds preposterous when I hear it. Probably time to at least remove that......

[SShoe]

i agree. crews is doing the work now. but we need a gotdamn HEADHUNTER of an assistant coach. i mean some dude getting paid almost as much as crews, that eats babies, and is breathing down crews' neck to take over.

+1

[slu72]

Look at the VCU ACs all young. I think we'd be in good hands w/JC, but we do need great used car salesman for an AC.

[billikenfan05]

I think Danny Brown could be a rising star on the bench... he's obviously in sponge-mode, absorbing everything he can from Crews & Co... he can relate to recruits as a former player and someone who knows what it's like to don the Billiken blue.

I don't think so. He may be learning alot but Tanner Bronson is the guy to watch in the future.

[bonwich]

I think our single biggest issue moving forward is the coaching *staff*, not just the coach. And as I mentioned last week, it would seem like we have lots of $$$ to play with. I can't imagine they're giving Crews anything close to what they gave RM, and we know from the Nebraska defection that we aren't paying our assistants anything close to market (for a top-50 team).

So, much like our team this year, next year and beyond we need a solid coaching-by-committee staff, with an ace scout and two ace recruiters at minimum. Give Crews even half what RickMa was making and you still have enough left over to nail down the assistants*.

Will kids be as drawn to play for a Jim Crews as much as they were for a Rick Majerus? Certainly not as much, but Crews with (God willing) two runs into the Dance under our belts is likely at least equal to Majerus when he arrived to a rickety program with almost zero tradition.

*Unless, dare we dream, that we make an Elite Eight or better run, in which case the poaching among our staff for potential head coaches is going to get much steeper.

[bomble]

"They played nastier defense than the Rev. Lawrence Biondi."

Great line, but impossible.

[Pitboss]

No doubt, every UNM Lobo fan has a place in their heart for our greatest opposing coaches. Rick Majerus, "Bear" Haskins and Tark.

Pitboss

[cheeseman]

Itput is easy to get giddy over this season. However, it is not over yet so lets wait until the fat lady sings before we put a crown on anybody's head. I agree that Crews has done a great job once he got his coaching legs back. I accept that it took a while for him to get back on the horse - understandable. Now, this need to down play the recruiting angle is just being naive. Recruiting is the life blood of a program. If RM had not recruited well where would we be? - nowhere. Lets be objective here - we have 3 schollies to give for this spring - one already to Crawford who may be a good pick up or not but lets keep an open mind. We have a guard who transferred in ready to play next year and a red shirt forward for next year. We lose one starting guard, a great bench player who could easily be starting, and a bench player (CR). Next year the guard situation should be fine but who is there to mentor a young guard(s) the following year - we need to get a couple of guards this spring that can really play. The loss of the guard who went to Valpo hurts but we can over come it if we sign a good class this spring. JJ was a spring signee as was Loe so it is possible. The other schollie needs to go to a big man. Can Crews and this group pull this off - by the way if he gets the job he is not letting anybody go so Tanner and Jim W are the leg men - what do you think? The next year we lose a bunch - 5 - DE, MM, JJ, RL, JB - not easy to replace. In basically one year we lose the entire starting team and most of the key bench players - can this group of coaches reload? - who knows. My point simply is do not be blinded by the shiny object in front of you look beyond. As I have said before, if JC gets the job then fine but if he can not recruit then we have thrown away a great opportunity which may take us years to recover from - I have lived through it before as a Bills fan and I really do not want to do it again.

[billiken_roy]

Itput is easy to get giddy over this season. However, it is not over yet so lets wait until the fat lady sings before we put a crown on anybody's head. I agree that Crews has done a great job once he got his coaching legs back. I accept that it took a while for him to get back on the horse - understandable. Now, this need to down play the recruiting angle is just being naive. Recruiting is the life blood of a program. If RM had not recruited well where would we be? - nowhere. Lets be objective here - we have 3 schollies to give for this spring - one already to Crawford who may be a good pick up or not but lets keep an open mind. We have a guard who transferred in ready to play next year and a red shirt forward for next year. We lose one starting guard, a great bench player who could easily be starting, and a bench player (CR). Next year the guard situation should be fine but who is there to mentor a young guard(s) the following year - we need to get a couple of guards this spring that can really play. The loss of the guard who went to Valpo hurts but we can over come it if we sign a good class this spring. JJ was a spring signee as was Loe so it is possible. The other schollie needs to go to a big man. Can Crews and this group pull this off - by the way if he gets the job he is not letting anybody go so Tanner and Jim W are the leg men - what do you think? The next year we lose a bunch - 5 - DE, MM, JJ, RL, JB - not easy to replace. In basically one year we lose the entire starting team and most of the key bench players - can this group of coaches reload? - who knows. My point simply is do not be blinded by the shiny object in front of you look beyond. As I have said before, if JC gets the job then fine but if he can not recruit then we have thrown away a great opportunity which may take us years to recover from - I have lived through it before as a Bills fan and I really do not want to do it again.

mcbroom better be a guard worthy. and maybe drew has some guard skills that can be developed into evans replacement for the next year. but all in all i agree with your post. 3 spots to fill we need some quality.