Here's to the Future

[Bay Area Billiken]

Gonzaga has been doing well with transfers. Xavier has had a few pretty good ones, including the Crawford kid who went on to the NBA.

SLU needs immediate help, not a D-1 transfer that would have to sit out a year. That means either a JUCO or a 5th year graduate student with 1 year of eligibility, the new back end One and Done, who have become the quick fix at Iowa State with Marquette trying to go that route this season.

SLU's issue with JUCO's is well chronicled on this Board.

[dabills]

Why do so many people think AM will transfer? I know he's a shithead, but it doesn't make sense for a player who has already transferred once to transfer again, especially with only 1 year left of eligibility.

[Clock_Tower]

Ace, Crews cannot be blamed for the lack of talent added after the graduation of Conklin and KC or even the year after that. We had already signed Carter and Drew in Majerus' last recruiting class and Majerus did not take a leave of absence until that August. Crews was an interim coach during the following recruiting year, so he didn't do much recruiting (sans Crawford) until the spring when we got Reggie, Ash, and Tanner, which looked good at the time.

Honestly, I primarily blame the erosion of talent on the strange circumstances surrounding Majerus' death and the misses from his last 2 classes, which included Manning, Glaze, McBroom, Drew, and Carter. Majerus, for all his genius, completely whiffed on Manning and Drew, while Glaze's injury hurt this year's team. Carter would have also been helpful this year, but I don't think you can fully blame Crews for his transfer. Where I think Crews can be blamed is not bringing in more guys (JUCOs and other transfers) that could have helped more this year, but he seems to be thinking long-term. Time will tell if that thinking works out.

SS

Fair points as to Crews who certainly cannot be blamed for Drew or Carter leaving. At the same time, Crews has brought in Ash, Reggie, Crawford and Tanner as well as the 6 Frosh -- 10 of the 13 guys and we came in last place in the A10, lost our last 5 games and won only 11 games. Also, Crews chose not to push any of the guys out the door these past 3 years either. Therefore, it is also fair to say that none of the 10 players were able to lead our team - at least not yet.

Ash has been OK but not great. If fact, he was quite bad in many A10 games but ended with a decent scoring average. Reggie finally showed promise at the end of the year, missed the off-season due to surgery but sure didn't produce much last year or most of this year. Crawford had some nice games - including last game - but his defense is horrible and he is no lock for next year. McBroom? Sorry, but we simply need to go in a different direction -- especially if he is not OK playing a limited role as an outside shooter/spark plug/extra ball handler.

As to Tanner, good luck elsewhere. As to Jolly, I would keep him and work with him. He plays an interior game which too many do not. As to Reynolds, I would have played him at PG for most of the year. Keep playing all summer long, hit the weights, get in even better shape for next year. Roby is our only lock for being a starter next year. Marcus is going to be really good as well -- get stronger and watch the film again -- your passes don't work in the A10. As to Gillmann, hit the weights, gain both strength and size and come back ready to go next year. As to MY, decide whether you want to be here or not. Like it or not, Crews will be our coach so if that is a problem, good luck to you.

Finally. Jim Crews. Yes, this year was supposed to be a down year -- but not this down. Yes, your Seniors barely played b/c of injury but major changes in your approach and style must be made.Your kids quit on you and that's a big problem. Better communication with your kids is needed. Your players need more praise/support and less of the back of your hand. Yanking of players must stop - these are your kids -- so teach them. Not only do they look bad but also you look worse in that kids play like their coach. Stop the gimmicks and line the boys back up on the FT line. Teach both inbound and set plays. Run an efficient offense. Shots must be contested both in practice and in games.-- your approach is not working.

Finally, as much as yesterday hurt, it may be best for our program long term. A win yesterday may have given us false hopes that we are improving and not that far away.

[slu72 fan]

Remember for AM to transfer, he needs to graduate. Is he on schedule?

[BigMouthBilliken]

SS

Fair points as to Crews who certainly cannot be blamed for Drew or Carter leaving. At the same time, Crews has brought in Ash, Reggie, Crawford and Tanner as well as the 6 Frosh -- 10 of the 13 guys and we came in last place in the A10, lost our last 5 games and won only 11 games. Also, Crews chose not to push any of the guys out the door these past 3 years either. Therefore, it is also fair to say that none of the 10 players were able to lead our team - at least not yet.

Ash has been OK but not great. If fact, he was quite bad in many A10 games but ended with a decent scoring average. Reggie finally showed promise at the end of the year, missed the off-season due to surgery but sure didn't produce much last year or most of this year. Crawford had some nice games - including last game - but his defense is horrible and he is no lock for next year. McBroom? Sorry, but we simply need to go in a different direction -- especially if he is not OK playing a limited role as an outside shooter/spark plug/extra ball handler.

As to Tanner, good luck elsewhere. As to Jolly, I would keep him and work with him. He plays an interior game which too many do not. As to Reynolds, I would have played him at PG for most of the year. Keep playing all summer long, hit the weights, get in even better shape for next year. Roby is our only lock for being a starter next year. Marcus is going to be really good as well -- get stronger and watch the film again -- your passes don't work in the A10. As to Gillmann, hit the weights, gain both strength and size and come back ready to go next year. As to MY, decide whether you want to be here or not. Like it or not, Crews will be our coach so if that is a problem, good luck to you.

Finally. Jim Crews. Yes, this year was supposed to be a down year -- but not this down. Yes, your Seniors barely played b/c of injury but major changes in your approach and style must be made.Your kids quit on you and that's a big problem. Better communication with your kids is needed. Your players need more praise/support and less of the back of your hand. Yanking of players must stop - these are your kids -- so teach them. Not only do they look bad but also you look worse in that kids play like their coach. Stop the gimmicks and line the boys back up on the FT line. Teach both inbound and set plays. Run an efficient offense. Shots must be contested both in practice and in games.-- your approach is not working.

Finally, as much as yesterday hurt, it may be best for our program long term. A win yesterday may have given us false hopes that we are improving and not that far away.

+1

[Old guy]

Ah basketball, the thing that makes all of this speculation so very interesting is the huge number of variables involved. It is not only a matter of talent and coaching, personality is a major variable, so is the ability to integrate with the team, so is the level of injury sustained in play, and the inability (or lack of desire of the coaches) to identify and sideline those with potential injury to prevent a minor issue becoming a major chronic issue. The academic potential of the players is also important.

Let's talk about injury retrospectively if we may. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that last year we had one of the most capable teams we have ever fielded. Yet, this team did poorly towards the end of the 2013-2014 season. Two of our best players last year were Jett and Evans, there is no doubt about this in anyone's mind. There has been much expectation in this board about when we were going to see these two players going professional in Europe or elsewhere, like Conklin and Kwamain did. This has not happened. What has happened this year is that Evans had lower extremity surgery and Jett had upper extremity surgery. Is there anyone that wishes to claim these two players ended last year's season playing free of injury?

Grandy is another case where a possibly minor injury became a major chronic injury requiring surgery. Most likely he played with an increasingly malfunctioning shoulder for a long time (years?) steadily worsening his injury and making it a chronic issue. I do not know for sure what happened between Grandy and the team after his surgery early this year and do not care to speculate about it. However he might have made a difference this year's results if his rehab had been complete and if he had been able to play towards the end of this season. Why did he have to wait until January to get his surgery? It is true that scheduling the surgical procedure may have been an issue, but if he had had been able to get the surgery in October or early November he might have had enough rehab to lend a hand to the team towards the end of the season. And let's take a look at Manning if you please. Is there anyone else in this board that sees a clear difference between those pictures of Manning playing for Chantilly HS and jumping aggressively under the hoop, and what we saw coming from him this season? Did subltleneuro injury play a part in what we saw coming from him this last season or was he just burned out as a player? Again speculation.

Academic performance. We all agree Willie Reed was good and had potential as a player. Was he good enough academically to make the grade, probably not to ensure graduation with a reasonable grade average. Would his poor academic performance have had some kind of an impact upon the team evaluation as per NCAA? I do not understand how this is done but likely yes it might have. Now let's jump to MR of the current freshman class, he is very good academically and is or should be in everyone's list as a player who may graduate with honors after 4 years. Is this level of academic performance important for the team as a whole? Is this something to take into consideration from a program's point of view?

Personalities and dysfunctional patterns. This is for sure a matter of speculation but it appears that there may be some degree of issues like these between our current players, some of our current players and current coaching staff, and maybe even between the members of the current coaching staff. Is this significant enough to blow our performance out of the water? I strongly believe this may be an issue. One of my experiences in the Army was the concept of the "happy" and "not happy" units. "Happy units" stick together, support one another and get the work done, "unhappy units" are a mess to be in. I just did not see a "happy team" playing together towards the end of this Bills season.

The answer to all of these issues mentioned are important variables affecting the performance of our team. Any one of them or the combination of all of these variables may have contributed to our decline late in the 2013-2014 season as well as to the very poor showing this season. Fixing the problem is not just a matter of transferring kids and coaches out. If there is something I hope is done, in depth, after the end of this season is a thorough evaluation of our team, the personalities involved, the academic potential, and the checks of function and injury levels employed during the season. I think we need a better way to prevent minor injuries from becoming major chronic issues affecting our player's performance. If we want a better team and a better program we must improve in all of these areas.

All I can say is that it will be interesting to see how all of these variables are reshuffled and adjusted before next season. The issue is emphatically NOT one that can be solved or significantly improved by just transferring players out and recruiting new players. Our program needs significant work in the areas mentioned to improve to national levels. Crews needs some leeway to implement the kind of changes needed in the program.

I do want to emphasize that I strongly believe some transfers are necessary for the improvement of the team.

[slufan13]

Some people have messaged me questioning why I won't put any names on the board regarding transfers. Pretty simple IMO. The things I heard were during the heat of the season. I'm assuming players might say things they don't really mean. Now the names I've heard aren't even remotely surprising so it makes sense that they could leave, but I don't want to fully put my reputation on there and use specific names because 1. it's unfair to the players and 2. i know how this board would react if even one of them stuck around.

[slufan13]

Jolly made 5 field goals and had 12 rebounds total in the last 20 games. He averaged 9.1 minutes per game on a team with bad big men. I just don't see anything in him. Hopefully he sticks around and proves me wrong though. He's got that personality that can really piss opposing teams and fans off.

[HoosierPal]

Gonzaga has been doing well with transfers. Xavier has had a few pretty good ones, including the Crawford kid who went on to the NBA.

What I am saying is transfers and JUCOs are a slippery slope. As I mentioned, it worked somewhat okay for Haith but ended up trashing the program. Who was the last highly successful transfer to come to SLU? Yacoubou, McBroom or Barnett? No, no and no....well maybe Ash will give us a stellar senior year. It was over 10 years ago when Reggie Bryant was here. He was a great addition.

JUCO's...Eberhadt? Newborne? It has been a long time since Justin Love graced our uniforms. Everyone knows the challenge of getting a JUCO into SLU.

5th year transfers are a new phenomena, but these are guys who aren't typically good enough to play pro ball, even overseas. How many of them are truly interested in getting a Master's Degree? Maybe they can be a complimentary piece but certainly not a foundation for change.

Yes there are a lot more transfers available today then there have been in the past due to the changing attitude of players. But to count on transfers or JUCO's to resurrect our program, and to not let it end up like Misery, well it's not that easy of a task.

[Taj79]

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

KSHOE PREDICTS BRETT JOLLY AS A10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR IN 2018!

............................................................................................................................ can't wait.

[slu72]

That should make him an NBA pick like Manning, right?

[ACE]

What I am saying is transfers and JUCOs are a slippery slope. As I mentioned, it worked somewhat okay for Haith but ended up trashing the program. Who was the last highly successful transfer to come to SLU? Yacoubou, McBroom or Barnett? No, no and no....well maybe Ash will give us a stellar senior year. It was over 10 years ago when Reggie Bryant was here. He was a great addition.

JUCO's...Eberhadt? Newborne? It has been a long time since Justin Love graced our uniforms. Everyone knows the challenge of getting a JUCO into SLU.

5th year transfers are a new phenomena, but these are guys who aren't typically good enough to play pro ball, even overseas. How many of them are truly interested in getting a Master's Degree? Maybe they can be a complimentary piece but certainly not a foundation for change.

Yes there are a lot more transfers available today then there have been in the past due to the changing attitude of players. But to count on transfers or JUCO's to resurrect our program, and to not let it end up like Misery, well it's not that easy of a task.

I never suggested building a team on transfers like SPUMAC, but we have to look for talent where we can find it. Just because we haven't landed jucos recently doesn't mean we haven't pursued some good ones - recent years Will Clyburn and Kevin Punter. If the staff IS going to be looking at JUCOs, we might as well go out and get a good one. As for other transfers, while not a star, Ash would be fine with a better supporting cast. Imagine just how bad we would have been this year without him. Forget SPUMAC for a minute, good programs like Xavier and Gonzaga have a recruiting mix that includes transfers.

Don't close recruiting doors. It would also be nice if we still had some foreign connections like under RM. I'm a believer in learning from history, but some of what you cite is not relevant. It would be like if RM decided NOT to recruit CE and RL from Down Under just because SLU had a really bad recruit from Australia under Romar many years earlier.

[Clock_Tower]

5th year transfers and JUCO's? Of course, if a truly great player is available, then yes we offer; however, IMO, this is highly unlikely and actually not necessary this year. Unlike this year, Glaze and Manning were unproven projects and limited players. A 3 year back up to Rob Loe who occasionally some flashes between the fouls or an undersized, high energy rebounder with limited athletic ability beyond 5 feet. Injury unfortunately cut their seasons short but expectations were not that high to begin with. Next year, though, Ash will be a Senior and has already shown he can be a starter, defender and contributor. McBroom, another Senior, has shown he can score if properly used, in limited roles and can handle the ball. Our Junior class is also looking better in that Reggie is sure looking better of late (after being coached up and free of injury) and Crawford looks like he has is set for a good Junior year as well. Our Frosh become Sophs and incremental improvement is expected (so is major playing time for Gillmann, Roby and Bartley) and we bring in only 2 new Frosh. All of this, of course, assumes no transfers. In short, we were young, thin and inexperienced this year - not next year. Next year, we simply need to get better -- and a good player of any age should, unlike this year, have a framework of non-Freshman players around them allowing them to succeed. Bringing in a transfer/JUCO and possibly their baggage is not the answer.

[kshoe]

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

KSHOE PREDICTS BRETT JOLLY AS A10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR IN 2018!

............................................................................................................................ can't wait.

Nope. Predicted Big East POY. Try to keep up Taj.

[brianstl]

What I am saying is transfers and JUCOs are a slippery slope. As I mentioned, it worked somewhat okay for Haith but ended up trashing the program. Who was the last highly successful transfer to come to SLU? Yacoubou, McBroom or Barnett? No, no and no....well maybe Ash will give us a stellar senior year. It was over 10 years ago when Reggie Bryant was here. He was a great addition.

JUCO's...Eberhadt? Newborne? It has been a long time since Justin Love graced our uniforms. Everyone knows the challenge of getting a JUCO into SLU.

5th year transfers are a new phenomena, but these are guys who aren't typically good enough to play pro ball, even overseas. How many of them are truly interested in getting a Master's Degree? Maybe they can be a complimentary piece but certainly not a foundation for change.

Yes there are a lot more transfers available today then there have been in the past due to the changing attitude of players. But to count on transfers or JUCO's to resurrect our program, and to not let it end up like Misery, well it's not that easy of a task.

A fifth year point guard like Shamburger at Mizzou would have added more than a few victories this season.

[Iggy]

Nope. Predicted Big East POY. Try to keep up Taj.

The Golden Wash Basin Award

[Taj79]

ooooh, I tried to trick you but there is getting nothing over on the kshoe. A very nice double prediction. Bold! Let me know when you open the betting window on those two.

[kshoe]

ooooh, I tried to trick you but there is getting nothing over on the kshoe. A very nice double prediction. Bold! Let me know when you open the betting window on those two.

The blue font I posted it in might be a clue as to what kind of odds you'd have to pay...

[Bizziken]

A fifth year point guard like Shamburger at Mizzou would have added more than a few victories this season.

I'd be in favor of adding a serviceable 5th year Senior PG next year. It would take some of the pressure off of the current freshman guards and give one of them one more year of development. It sure would've been nice to have an upperclassman PG this season for Bartley/Reynolds (or whoever the hell is supposed to be our future PG) to learn from and play behind.

[joe_davola]

The blue font I posted it in might be a clue as to what kind of odds you'd have to pay...

Nobody beats The Wiz KSHOE

[kshoe]

I'd be in favor of adding a serviceable 5th year Senior PG next year. It would take some of the pressure off of the current freshman guards and give one of them one more year of development. It sure would've been nice to have an upperclassman PG this season for Bartley/Reynolds (or whoever the hell is supposed to be our future PG) to learn from and play behind.

Problem is there are probably 100 or so other programs looking for the same players, of which maybe 10 exist. It can be done but its not like we just raise our hand and a Shamburger quality player decides to come.

[Cowboy]

-we need help from any and all sources for next season and beyond.....perhaps we need help from above

[HoosierPal]

A fifth year point guard like Shamburger at Mizzou would have added more than a few victories this season.

Sure we all acknowledge a true point guard would have made this team better.

I know you used Shamburger only as an example. But Sham? Not sure he would have added much to the victory total. He guided the Tigers to a 9-23 season. You add his 9 points and 4 assists, he played 34 min per game, and then take away Bartley/Reynolds 9 ppg and 3 apg combined totals, do we win enough to get out of the A-10 cellar? Who knows. (Give me H Waldman.)

Here is my question. Which would have been better, now that we are done with the year, Bringing in a Shamburger, or letting the freshmen get experience. Chances are both situations end up with an early spring break.

[Bizziken]

Problem is there are probably 100 or so other programs looking for the same players, of which maybe 10 exist. It can be done but its not like we just raise our hand and a Shamburger quality player decides to come.

I certainly don't think it would be a shoo-in, but I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility, either. If this staff decided that it needed an immediately eligible PG, I think they could find a serviceable one, especially with more and more players starting to take advantage of the 5th year transfer rule. Now that might not even be a priority at all for Crews and Co., and we don't yet know our transfer situation, but I am of the opinion that we could use even minimal PG help next year. And I don't think anywhere close to 100 programs are looking for immediately eligible 5th year PGs.

[Taj79]

Someone somewhere pointed out that even with a true point guard, we didn't have a lot of options to record assists on. I am sure some of that has to do with a point guard drawing two defenders and creating the mismatch/assist but it is a usual catch-22.

I've got to believe that the staff, as we did, thought they'd get more in a point situation with McBroom and that didn't happen. The problem I see with our three freshmen guards is that none of them displayed the drive-and-dish mentality needed for a point. Bartley appears to be more comfortable as a spot-up shooter and pulls his dribbl eup at odd times, Roby seems to display a slasher/driver perference and I still don't know what Reynolds is based on his body of work -- maybe a drive and get hammered looking for the foul guy.