The Closing Bell

[Taj79]

While its still fresh, here's my closing bell assessment on the season:

Bottom line:  a rousing ---  if temporary and immaterial --- success.  I can't fault this team for winning one game more this year that the past two years of [dead]'s reign with the obvious loss of talent that came with sacking the [dead] king.  Eventually, Johnson was better than Yarbrough but the Bishop injury and the relative failure of Moore to provide much of anything could not compensate for the loss of would-be juniors Yarbrough, Bartley and Reynolds.  Jolly's departure meant little to nothing -- but had the same effect as Gillmann and Neufeld's "departures" -- no bench strength to adequately spell the six yeomen.  While neither Bartley nor Reynolds were "point" guards, their ability to handle the ball was at least sorely missed as evidenced with EMPHASIS in last night's second-half meltdown against the 1-3-1.  [dead] won less games than Ford with a stronger lineup.  The team showed valuable life and commitment to Ford and he to them.  They ran inbounds plays, switched defenses,  ran the offense consistently, and produced results none of us thought were possible.  Given the limited resources, you really can't complain much about the results.

Seniors:  thank you for the sweat, hard work and agony to both Mike and Reggie.  They were obviously not stars but could have been adequate team playing parts had [dead] known what hell [dead] was doing.  Shame Mike got stymied 50 points shy of the 1,000 point club.  In four years, Reggie never slowed the game down to a speed where he let it come to him.  He never improved upon his hands of stone and short of bunnies and putbacks, never developed an offensive game.  But that too is blamed on [dead] who had him for 75% of his career.  Everything in his whole career was rushed and last night's final play with call reversal should stand as a pretty straight forward definition of the whole career.  Reggie never got the developmental attention a project like him needed.  Again, nice going [dead], you're my hero..  However, I'm happy to always recognize them as Billiken Club members for life. 

Returning Roster:  If you recall, my goal this year was survive and evaluate the roster, specifically the new guys, so let's start there.  Welmer did well, maybe a B season.  Good news as he's only a freshman, but bad news in that he's 22.  As he said, he's older than Roby and maybe in that some (me) expected a little more.  Maybe even body sculpting or body development.  It would behoove him to find his Conklin summer NOW!   But a valuable member of the team going forward.  Johnson ends with an A- or B+.  Slow out of the gate which could be expected but an obvious key cog going forward.  One thing I really like is he is not being placed in an alien role as a power forward ala Jeff Harris, Luke Meyer, Dwayne Evans or Mo Jeffers.  He is a slashing 6'7" prototypical three player who can drive and who can also spot for the three.  Leave the interior to Foreman and French next year then add Gordon.  That is so refreshing.  Zeke Moore gets another year as noted elsewhere.  He can seemingly shoot but one or two buckets a game won't get him much time I fear.  Maybe a C- grade overall.  He is athletic.  He is a basketball player.  He needs help to develop on defense but he is no alternate ballhandler.  And finally Davell Roby will be needed going forward.  Starter.  Finisher.  Does not matter.  He is not a primary scorer -- he did well enough down the stretch here but the last two nights he was 5-for-19 and 0-for-5 from three.  But last night he had ten rebounds.  So its a niche --- and finding whatever niche he needs to fill night after night.  Overall a C- grade.  Four keepers added to the six newcomers.  I'm keeping Bishop in here despite the year-long (and still relatively unknown) injury.  He is not a point guard.  Same argument as Jordair had little to no midrange shot.  He is a smallish shooting guard.  If I were him, I'd come back and want to play with the remade roster.  But who knows.  Until Graves clears transfer time, we will need both Roby and Bishop as the season starts.

Departing Roster:  Poor Austin Gillmann.  The kid just looks completely lost.  He has lost any semblance of a basketball player.  I hold no ill will towards the kid and he was another victim of [dead]'s inability to do anything but I hope from a personal standpoint he is at least happy off the court.  If he stays due to his own choosing, we will just have to eat that bench spot for one more year.  Neufeld is an enigma to me.  As the NBA says you can't teach height but his D1 skills have yet to show themselves.  He might be better off following in Jolley's footsteps and going down a few levels of competition.  Two more years is too long to wait on any meager return here.  Aaron Hines:  thank you, thank you, thank you.  Now off with his head!  It's a serious Catch-22 with Aaron.  Through no fault of his own, he has become essentially the poster boy for [dead]'s reign.  On the worst side, he's not a D1 player.  On the plus side, he ran the best point on the team and logged the third most mpg among players playing the whole season.  But I think the real stigma on Aaron is for all that playing time, he became the embodiment of [dead]'s failed ability on just about every front.  Here's a supposed learned college coach, making hundreds of thousands per year at an extremely expensive school and the best he can do is get a guy from the stands to come out and play.  Add this to the lack of total team chemistry, the complete dislike of a few players, no semblance of a structured offense, no agreed-upon starting lineup, no inbounds plays and the like, plus a dinosaur attitude of total disdain and unlike-ability, and poor Aaron is the poster child for that.  It's was not Aaron Hines' fault.  It was not Austin Gillmann's fault.  It was not Matt Neufeld's fault.  I'll even say it was not Chris May's fault --- and I'll leave it at that.  The best thing is this --- when you are all old and decrepit (in other words my age) you can sit around the beach bonfire in the offseason and tell your grandkids what it was like to live through the dark ages of Billiken basketball -- the [dead]'s Term of Abject Failure and Collapse.  You see us do it now only we call it the Ekker Years.  These last three have surpassed that -- something Inever thoguth was possible.  Ekker had David Burns and Kelvin Henderson.  Think about it.

Coach and staff:  very happy.  Guy has got charisma.  Character.  Respect.  Staff is good on recruiting -- let's develop what we get now.  Coach was pass/fail this year with no real meaning but I'm giving him an A for the effort.  I hear the shambles up the road in CoMo have their eyes set on a certain coach a few states further east of us.  Doubt it happens but whatever the case may be, get used to the Ford-to-Timbuktu rumors.  As a matter of fact, embrace them.  That can only mean great things for the program as we move forward.  The issue again remains sustainability. I think it safe to say that eventually, with prolonged success, Ford WILL leave Saint Louis University.   Who is the visionary looking two- three steps ahead for the program in the future.  Is that Chris May?  Errrrr....  Hey, Ford to Umass -- he also "transferred" out of there once just like Mizzou.

A10/MoValley/BEast :  we aren't going anywhere until we become an attractive prom date.  If the rivals in the current A10 depart, we may have to buck up and just win baby until just winning pays program dividends in realignment suitors.  Right now, we can't beat anyone above seven in our conference of 14.  No one wants us right now but the future is bright.  Did they fire Groce yet?

Best part;  hope.  Renewed hope.  The bag with the cut-out eyeholes can come of my head for this summer.    {dead] is not my coach.  Hines is not my point guard.  Crawford is not our star player.  And I'm going to Disney (MSG!).  In the words of the great Dahlai Lama Roger Daltry ,...... the kids are alright.  We have survived!  Ah'lll be baaaack!

 

 

[Deutschkind]

 

[billikenbill]

2 hours ago, Taj79 said:

While its still fresh, here's my closing bell assessment on the season:

Bottom line:  a rousing ---  if temporary and immaterial --- success...  We have survived!  Ah'lll be baaaack!

 

 

Excellent post.

[Cowboy]

-while in many places this would be a given, but as Taj indicated the team played hard, sure they had a couple games that made us wonder, but effort was something we could see from this group, good for them and the coaches to have that and hopefully that is instilled in all our future players and not lost by the returners

-they also got better, another very good sign

-I anticipate watching teams struggle against our sure to be implemented 1-3-1 zone next season

[Bay Area Billiken]

Excellent post and assessment, Taj.

You have successfully posted The State of the Billiken Union.