slu72 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 He said almost 20 years ago we'd be a top 50 program, and for the last 3 years we have been. Took us awhile, and wasn't done w/o him suffering some self inflicted wounds along the way, but here we are today the 10th ranked team in the nation. Better late than never, so thank you Fr.B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 He said almost 20 years ago we'd be a top 50 program, and for the last 3 years we have been. Took us awhile, and wasn't done w/o him suffering some self inflicted wounds along the way, but here we are today the 10th ranked team in the nation. Better late than never, so thank you Fr.B. As much as he takes, he was the one who overruled Levick. So we should all be thankful for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 As much ###### as he takes, he was the one who overruled Levick. So we should all be thankful for that Did Biondi simply not tell Levick that the boosters were planning on bringing in RM?... If so, that is a crappy way of going about it. Did Levick leave because she got pi$$ed about being left out of the loop or did she leave out of loyalty to Sodie? If she left because of the latter, that would have been a stupid reason to leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Yeah, and some Irishman standing on the western shore pointed out across the expanse and said ":there's land out here somewhere." It took an Italian working for the Spaniards to actually get there but let's credit Shamus. Biondi is/was the commessurate politician --- saying open-ended things and not knowing what it took to get there. His priorities were never athletics so I see no need to praise the man whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I was under the impression she left because she was not involved in the most major decision affecting her department. Whether she had any affiliations or loyalty to Sodie never came up ----- as far as I recall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRN Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 And he waited how long after Crews won national coach of the year to name him permanent Head Coach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I was under the impression she left because she was not involved in the most major decision affecting her department. Whether she had any affiliations or loyalty to Sodie never came up ----- as far as I recall. She should have at least been kept in the loop. I don't blame her for being PO'd at Biondi. I can't imagine if Biondi approached her and said, we have some boosters who have stepped up and want to bring in Majerus... I don't think any AD would object to that. They would be thrilled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old guy Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Biondi is/was the commessurate politician --- saying open-ended things and not knowing what it took to get there. His priorities were never athletics so I see no need to praise the man whatsoever. The highlighted area is a very common technique. People in a position where other people watch them closely, make a lot of bland rosy statements regarding the future. That way they never upset their supporters, and, if by some unfathomable reason the statement becomes true, they can claim credit for having said so. Generally all the other stuff said that never comes true is forgotten. Anyway, that is the general idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock_Tower Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 As much ###### as he takes, he was the one who overruled Levick. So we should all be thankful for that No. You got it all wrong. Levick was given a shoestring budget by the good Father and then kept her completely out of the loop as it relates to the Chaifetz, Novelly and RM. And with the limited budget from everything from the head coach, to the assistant coaches to travel arrangements to recruiting budgets, after the drop down to the A10, still playing off-campus and prior to receiving the benefit of the real Division 1 facilities (no comparison between Chaifetz and West Pine Gym), we could have done worse than Brad Soderberg. But there is no way that Levick would have preferred Soderberg over Majerus. Had Fr. Biondi simply approached Levick, told her about the new financial situation, told her about that we were prepared to spend $1 million to a guy like RM plus all the other requirement such as coach would want (assistant coach monies, travel/recruiting budgets, chartered flights, strength coach, tutors, etc.), Levick would have gladly clicked her high heels and gotten rid of Soderberg. Keep in mind that we had paid Spoon $600K, Romar $500K and that Brad was then earning $325K (believe he may have received a raise up to $375K). This was all Fr. Biondi's doing. No. Fr. Biondi did this same thing to our Law School Dean -- another female department head-- while personally working with benefactors to receive a new building and move the law school off-campus without even bringing her (the Dean of the Law School) into the loop. Just like Levick, she was totally embarrassed by the actions of Fr. Biondi. The difference, of course, is that Levick chose to leave quietly (most likely for her own sake) recognizing that fewer opportunities exist for female athletic directors in Division 1 college sports. Sorry, SLU72 but I am not ready to praise Fr. Beyondme at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 I did say, Taj Mahal 79, despite some self inflicted wounds. He was far from a booster of athletics, but he did ram thru the arena at some risk, ie he had no major sponsor lined up, and from that alone all good things grew. We would never have got RM if all he had to offer was WP gym and a huge downtown arena. His list of bone headed moves is long, but the arena balances the scales. His biggest failure of course was we're not in the Beast when we should have been a shoo in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Major Plus for Biondi Biondi got the Chaifetz built and supported the Majerus hire. For that he gets enormous credit. Major Minus for Bondi He allowed Creighton and Butler, despite huge disadvantages relative to SLU, build programs and credibility to leap-frog SLU into the Big East. An invite within the next year or so will be great, but unfortunately it means we will have walked away from even more NCAA credits. Related Minus for Biondi I understand the awful micro-managing and budget constraints were real issues and a road block for the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB73 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Major Plus for Biondi Biondi got the Chaifetz built and supported the Majerus hire. For that he gets enormous credit. Disagree. It took Biondi way too long to get Chaifetz built; with all the large companies and powerful alums in town, the economy booming at the time, it should have been built at least 10 or even 15 years earlier. If he was well received by the community and got out there and hit the streets on behalf of the athletic department, the arena would have been up so much quicker. Majerus was a gift, a fluke of good luck and fortune on our part. RM sought a Jesuit institution, not in a power conference, and close as possible to his mother in Milwaukee. So, we win the lottery. Biondi wouldn't pay RM the going rate so some alums pitched in and paid a majority of his salary. Biondi blessed the hire. Impressive? Then Biondi fought with RM over petty issues, even reneged on some promises. Am I right or wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Major Plus for Biondi Biondi got the Chaifetz built and supported the Majerus hire. For that he gets enormous credit. Major Minus for Bondi He allowed Creighton and Butler, despite huge disadvantages relative to SLU, build programs and credibility to leap-frog SLU into the Big East. An invite within the next year or so will be great, but unfortunately it means we will have walked away from even more NCAA credits. Related Minus for Biondi I understand the awful micro-managing and budget constraints were real issues and a road block for the program. Looking back it seems that the school had no real succession plan following Spoon. There were glimmers of us becoming a big time program during Spoonball, but whether it was Biondi or the AD or little bit of a lot of factors, the school missed an opportunity to have a plan to sustain success. Slowly commitment to the program seemed to slip. Somebody pointed out how the coaches salaries began to go down. Success became infrequent and as a result interest in the program began to slide. We can't let history repeat itself. RM built the program and laid the foundation. It is critical that the new Prez remains committed to do it what it takes to build a consistent winner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Clock- Levick came out and fully endorsed Brad. She didn't want to fire Brad. When the boss talks you listen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 No doubt Fr B had his arm twisted by some backers to hire RM. Coach decisions and failed interaction with them over budgets, practices, etc was a major weakness on his part. In an ideal world he would have gone the xtra mile to keep Spoon. The program was rolling, as some one said the economy was booming, fan base expanding beyond SLU boundaries, he probably could have found financial support to build the new arena in the mid to late 90s had Sppon been kept happy and stayed, and it would probably have been the 13k size he wanted. He just never got it that the HC is the driver for the program's success. Not him, not the AD, not God himself. Given the way Brad was let go, it was clear he still didn't get it until the monied guys convinced him otherwise. While, it was never mentioned as one of the reasons he was gently nudged out, you have to wonder if his souring relationship w/RM wasn't causing some folks to have real concerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I sat in a Cincinnati bar with the good Reverend in March 1997, the Legend's "one-and-done" year, and all he wanted to talk about was "top fifty this and top fifty that." And it didn't happen under his watch until 2012 and that was despite his falling in the way at every instance possible (or so it seems) after Majerus came on board. I can understand setbacks, but I truly believe the man wanted to nickel-and-dime his way to the Madness riches and it don't work that way. Pardon me if I am disinclined to acquiese to your requests for sentiments on ol' Larry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Pelican Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Always thought of him as the Bill Bidwill of college basketball. Always talked about winning but didn't want to (or know how to) spend the money where it mattered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgeldmacher Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 The hypocrisy laid out on this site is sometimes mind boggling. Above, I have heard that Father B doesn't deserve credit for predicting the program's success and should have gotten Chaifetz built sooner. Yet, in other threads, folks, rightfully so, are praising RM for predicting the program's success a few years ago and for building the program. I think we all agree that we would have liked RM to build the program up more quickly, but nobody's complaining since we are where we are. The program built itself up to No. 10 in the country mostly with Father B as president. Is he solely responsible for that? Absolutely not. But there are 350 other colleges whose presidents have programs that are looking up at Father B's former program. Also, Chaifetz got built during Father B's tenure. When I watch the Billikens play in airplane hangars in Philly, I don't even think to criticize the university president of those institutions for not getting the corporate community to build a new arena during prosperous times. I'm just glad we have Chaifetz and thankful to everyone who made that happen, including Father B. Bottom Line: RM and Dr. C and the players and Chris May deserve most of the credit for where we are. However, don't be ridiculous and argue that Father B doesn't deserve whatever credit, even if it's very little, that a university president is due when a program succeeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmith19 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 If I announce I'm going to win the lottery and then actually do it a decade or two later, that doesn't mean I won because I was really great at picking numbers or financial planning or anything else. I don't know exactly how much credit Biondi deserves for what's going on now with the basketball team, but I don't see a blandly optimistic "top-50 program" goal announced during the Spoonball era as contributing at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old guy Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Interesting points cgeldmacher, very true observations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmith19 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Yet, in other threads, folks, rightfully so, are praising RM for predicting the program's success a few years ago and for building the program. Are people really saying he should be praised FOR THAT? What I see is more an acknowledgment of the poetic symmetry of finally making Top 10 on his birthday. He's getting credit for all the tangible things he did to turn the optimistic talk into a reality, not for saying "we'll be top 10" or for the random spookiness of happening to be born on the day the poll was announced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgeldmacher Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Are people really saying he should be praised FOR THAT? What I see is more an acknowledgment of the poetic symmetry of finally making Top 10 on his birthday. He's getting credit for all the tangible things he did to turn the optimistic talk into a reality, not for saying "we'll be top 10" or for the random spookiness of happening to be born on the day the poll was announced. I totally agree with what you said. IMO the praise for RM's statement should come because of what he did, before and after the statement, to make it come true. There's nothing special in simply making a prediction. The same goes for Father B. He wanted us to be a top 50 program. He said so on the record. Then he did things that helped make the statement come true. My recollection of the story of how Chaifetz got built is that Dr. C told the university that he wanted to repay the university for what it did for him, but left things open ended on how. Father B could have told him to build a new building for the school of allied health or pay to rehab the library or some of the dorms. Instead, he asked him use the money to build a basketball arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmith19 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Sure, I agree Biondi deserves credit for suggesting the basketball arena to Chaifetz. But it's also significant to me that for two of the major accomplishments Biondi's supporters credit him for (finally making the on-campus arena a reality and finally making the new law school a reality), angel donors suddenly dropped out of the sky after years and years of development hell. I don't pretend to be an expert on other tangible contributions Biondi may have made to the basketball program, but a lot of the examples I hear offered seem pretty thin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 The highlighted area is a very common technique. People in a position where other people watch them closely, make a lot of bland rosy statements regarding the future. That way they never upset their supporters, and, if by some unfathomable reason the statement becomes true, they can claim credit for having said so. Generally all the other stuff said that never comes true is forgotten. Anyway, that is the general idea. Agreed, kind of like saying, "if you like your.... Uh, forget it, that stuff's taboo on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.