Billiken Coaches

[StLouBlue]

How would you rank our last 4 Billiken head coaches? I think we need to do this on overall success of the program, this includes everything like wins, NCAA/NIT appearances, attendance, recruiting, etc. Here is how I have them ranked.

1. Charlie Spoonhour--our best years were with Charlie, his teams went farther and provided more excitement for our program. Also we started playing at first the Arena & then the Savvis to packed houses. Also gets credit for our 1 special year with Larry Hughes.

2. Rich Grawer--rebuilt the basketball program. Was able to recruit local talent which provided 3 20+ win seasons. While he was not able to get us over the hump & into the NCAAs, the work Grawer did provided us the base to move into both larger arenas & better conferences. Also had a couple very good NIT appearances.

3. Brad Soderberg--still very early in his coaching here at SLU but has had some success with two winning seasons & two NIT appearances. His '04 & 05 recruiting classes have solidified our St Louis recruiting base & have probably generated more recruiting excitement for SLU since Hughes came on board. I expect Brad to move up this list to the top if these recruits pan out.

4. Lorenzo Romar--came in with great promise. Tried to recruit nationally for SLU & came close on some very talented players. Had a great CUSA tournament run bringing home the trophy & our NCAA bid. Overall his short time here did not meet expectations & failed to hold on to the momentum of Spoonhour's time. Because he was here for such a short time do not know if he could have turned things around.

Interested to see how others would rank our last four coaches.

[SLURadioBoy]

I would agree with those rankings. Although I definitely expect Brad to jump over all of them and be #1 in a few years. Hopefully by his name in the future you'll be able to put numerous NCAA Tourney appearances, a conference title or two, and instrumental in getting an on-campus arena.

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[billiken_roy]

i dont think romar and soderberg were at the helm long enough to merit rating.

[BLIKNS]

Okay now try to name the 4 before them,in order?Oh what could have been if only Upchurch wore Billiken Blue,sigh.

[Schasz]

OK so I did kind of cheat because I could not remember Randy Albrecht's name (Old Timers setting in tonight). However, it was Ron Ekker, Ron Coleman (who only had the job one year) Albrecht ( 3 yrs.) and Bob Polk (5 Yrs).

If you aree going for longevity and record combined...then it has to be:

1.) Eddie Hickey 11 Yrs. .703 winning Pct. ('47-'48 thru '57-'58')

2.) Mike Nyikos 8 Yrs. .641 winning Pct. ('28-'29 thru '35-'36)

3.) John Bennington 7 Yrs. .621 winning Pct.('58-'59 thru '64-'65)

4.) Spoon 7 Yrs. .575 winning Pct. ('92-'93 thru '98-'99)

I became a Billiken fan during the Bennington years and can remember him fairly well. I would say my favorite HC's have been Spoon, Polk (who is very under rated), Bennington and Grawer. Coach Soderberg has a good chance to surpass all of them.

[BLIKNS]

I thought I read that Bennington went on to coach at Michigan State,is that correct?How did he do there,if correct?

[Lobo]

Yes, Bennington did go to MSU after leaving SLU. I don't know his record there, and I believe he died while still a coach at MSU, but I don't recall the details.