Coach on the Big 550, Practice starts Sept 29

[slu72]

I thought Ford did a credible job last season on X's and O's. Going to that 1-3-1 zone was a good move especially putting a big man at the point. If Gordon takes that role and converts some steals into dunks he'll bring down the house. 

On offense I thought we had decent spacing but still lacked the precision of Rick's offensive sets. 

[Old guy]

I agree, last season we were headed straight for the bottom end of A10 to say the least. Ford managed to coach the team to a marginal winning season and a reasonable A-10 rank by the end of the season. There is no doubt in my mind that he can coach. 

[almaman]

Where is the pressure coming from? May et al sure not breathing down his neck. Fans are all aboard just need more of them. Press loves him. Casual local fans know he's got the team trending up. He needs no pressure than whatever comes from within that makes him succeed. If he has these players through their graduations and doesn't get to the dance, then RealTalk's  post will ring true.

[Old guy]

For all we know Real Talk is a freshman at SLU that has only 5 posts. I am happy to give him the benefit of doubt and assume he has not yet connected with what happened before his time here. If he continues this line of thinking maybe we should start considering him a possible troll.

[HenryB]

6 hours ago, RealTalk said:

Listening to the interview, I found myself hoping that Coach's enthusiasm is matched by his ability to actually coach. With our overall talent and heightened expectations, Ford will be under intense scrutiny. This is the question of his career on display this season; recruiter or strategist. Hopefully he and the staff are up to the challenge. 

“Actually coach”? Where have you been the past 2 years? Who could have done a better coaching job with what he had on the floor? Can we put this crap to bed that Ford is just a recruiter?

[VeniceMenace]

1 hour ago, HenryB said:

“Actually coach”? Where have you been the past 2 years? Who could have done a better coaching job with what he had on the floor? Can we put this crap to bed that Ford is just a recruiter?

Huge improvement past two years and an even more huge improvement coming up!

[BIG BILL FAN]

15 hours ago, RealTalk said:

Listening to the interview, I found myself hoping that Coach's enthusiasm is matched by his ability to actually coach. With our overall talent and heightened expectations, Ford will be under intense scrutiny. This is the question of his career on display this season; recruiter or strategist. Hopefully he and the staff are up to the challenge. 

Ford did an amazing job coaching last year, don't understand how anyone could say otherwise.

[Billiken Rich]

I don't know. The knock on Travis is that his top shelf recruiting didn't lead to deeper tournament runs at OSU.  What will Billiken fans think if this team doesn't make the dance?  It's a possibility.  Lots of new faces,. Lots of egos to bruise. Lots of ways we could underachieve......

We had zero expectations since Ford got here do to stuff outside of his control. Now we are expecting the moon.  I hope we get it.

[slu72]

23 minutes ago, Billiken Rich said:

I don't know. The knock on Travis is that his top shelf recruiting didn't lead to deeper tournament runs at OSU.  What will Billiken fans think if this team doesn't make the dance?  It's a possibility.  Lots of new faces,. Lots of egos to bruise. Lots of ways we could underachieve......

We had zero expectations since Ford got here do to stuff outside of his control. Now we are expecting the moon.  I hope we get it.

I think this is everyone's concern w/ this team. Last year it was an "us against the world" attitude that helped this team really come together. Don't forget, we had a lot of new moving parts last year as well. Not as many as we expected, but it was pretty much a totally new team from the previous year. We still have 3 to 4 starters from last year, so maybe our concerns about how quickly they come together is overblown. This is where I think Ford will look to guys like Bess and Goodwin to get every one on the same page. Much like he used Robey. For example, Isabell doesn't need to be the whole team as it seems he was at Drexel. Hopefully, he's at SLU to win first and impress the NBA scouts second, ie checks his ego at the door. We also won't be relying on the highly touted Gordon to do it all by himself. From most reports, he's not a me first type guy and plays well with others. Probably comes from his time w/ Ramey. Hopefully, that carries over to the Bills.

Still, Travis has his work cut out for him. On paper, this team appears to be one of the deepest most talented groups we've seen in some time. How quickly they all bring it together will determine our shot at making some noise in post season play. Our OOC schedule is a toughie and should give us a benchmark to measure our progress towards this end.

[Pistol]

I was skeptical about the Ford hire immediately because to me, his reputation was that of a guy who brought in talent and underperformed because he got outcoached by better coaches.

It's not just his recruiting that has won me over - because, again, he's done that before - but in his first two seasons with very limited rosters he has shown the ability to adapt and squeeze wins out of less than he's used to. We had a coach before him who was too rigid, too set in his ways, and his inability to keep up with the game's evolution caused him to lose badly once Majerus' core graduated. I've been really, really impressed with what Ford has done on the floor so far. He seems to have buy-in from most players; they could've thrown in the towel at any point in the past two years but they haven't. They played hard. He genuinely outcoached a lot of other guys.

This year will be the biggest test by far in his SLU career because he finally has the talent and depth to make a run. So we'll see what he does without the same limitations as before. But I'm optimistic that he's grown as a coach quite a bit since losing his OSU job.

[CBFan]

1 hour ago, Billiken Rich said:

I don't know. The knock on Travis is that his top shelf recruiting didn't lead to deeper tournament runs at OSU.  What will Billiken fans think if this team doesn't make the dance?  It's a possibility.  Lots of new faces,. Lots of egos to bruise. Lots of ways we could underachieve......

We had zero expectations since Ford got here do to stuff outside of his control. Now we are expecting the moon.  I hope we get it.

I am opening myself to be crushed but if the team stays intact, no injuries, S3, transfers, etc..., I believe the team will run away with the A10 they will get a high seed in the big dance and make it to the sweet 16.

I base my enthusiasm on that the team does not have to have the freshman come in and perform immediately to win, JGood, depth and senior leadership.

A senior can relieve JGood and Isabell and so can a talented hard nosed freshman like Thatch.  No foul trouble in the front court when you have Santos and Foreman.

I remember in the MCC days when we played Xavier Bob Ramsey would say the Xavier bench fields a starting team at a lot of schools would love to have.  If we played a team that started Foreman, Santos, Wiley, Thatch and Jacobs would that team compete with our starters.

Happy Friday

[bauman]

CB, I share your optimism.  Assuming Wiley, Thatch or Jacobs could run the point, I think the "team" you listed, with Thor and Hankton coming in off the bench, could beat half the teams in the A - 10.

I see 1 game on our schedule, FSU as a LIKELY loss.  A few more fall into the toss-up category, @ Houston, @ SH, @ SJU and Butler.  I might be forgetting a game, but I think it's possible that we are the favorite (and winner) in the rest of our pre-NCAA tournament schedule.

I hope everyone has their season tickets because I think this is going to be one fun season at the 'Fetz!

[Old guy]

2 hours ago, Billiken Rich said:

What will Billiken fans think if this team doesn't make the dance?  It's a possibility.  Lots of new faces,. Lots of egos to bruise. Lots of ways we could underachieve......

We had zero expectations since Ford got here do to stuff outside of his control. Now we are expecting the moon.  I hope we get it.

It is absolutely true that those members who believe, or we could say fervently hope, that SLU will achieve a deep run in the NCAA tournament and a top 20 or so ranking this season may be setting themselves to be severely disappointed with the results of this coming season. It is best to wait and see, and to keep our hopes as hopes not as expectations. That said, I do hope we win A10 and get to the NCAA tournament this year. I do hope this team is every bit as good as I think they will be. I hope Ford is as good a coach as i think he is. Amen to all that

[cgeldmacher]

22 hours ago, brianstl said:

You can have success without being a good outside shooting team.  The 13-14 team was a poorer shooting team from the 3 than last season's team.  I been just as guilty as everyone else when it come to worrying about our 3pt shooting the most.  That it is important, but I think just as important (maybe more) is improving our two point shooting.  We ranked 299th last season in 2pt%.  Losing Hines and his 33.6% 2pt% will help some, but Bess and Goodwin both need to raise their 2pt%.

When I said "shooting" or "outside shooting," I wasn't referring to just shooting from three.  I was referring to all shooting other than dunks or layups by our bigs.  If shooting doesn't improve, we may not hit the expectations this board has set up for the team.  If it does improve, from three and from two, then I think we're competing for the league title and hoping for a second weekend in the tournament.

[Cowboy]

1 minute ago, cgeldmacher said:

When I said "shooting" or "outside shooting," I wasn't referring to just shooting from three.  I was referring to all shooting other than dunks or layups by our bigs.  If shooting doesn't improve, we may not hit the expectations this board has set up for the team.  If it does improve, from three and from two, then I think we're competing for the league title and hoping for a second weekend in the tournament.

-come on, did you watch the videos posted over the last 6-8 weeks? our guys rarely missed a shot, we might set records on efficiency, the problem might be the scoreboard overheating

[slu72]

Even under Rick we had some scoring droughts. But it seemed to me they were always broken by Mitchell, Evans, or Conk. Someone would step up and basically say enough is enough this is over.  Who's going to be in that group this year?  We know Isabell can score. Bess can take it inside. Goodwin can be sneaky especially on D and O rebounds. What it seems everyone is worried about, and I share the concern, who's the sniper? The guy that will suddenly get hot from beyond the arc and be the straw that stirs the drink. Assume we get down by 10 v FSU and there's like 13 min left. Who starts trimming this lead w/ 3 pointers? The mystery man right now. Hopefully, we got him but just haven't put a name to him yet.  

[willie]

11 minutes ago, slu72 said:

Even under Rick we had some scoring droughts. But it seemed to me they were always broken by Mitchell, Evans, or Conk. Someone would step up and basically say enough is enough this is over.  Who's going to be in that group this year?  We know Isabell can score. Bess can take it inside. Goodwin can be sneaky especially on D and O rebounds. What it seems everyone is worried about, and I share the concern, who's the sniper? The guy that will suddenly get hot from beyond the arc and be the straw that stirs the drink. Assume we get down by 10 v FSU and there's like 13 min left. Who starts trimming this lead w/ 3 pointers? The mystery man right now. Hopefully, we got him but just haven't put a name to him yet.  

I am more worried about whether we can make free throws when we’re up but 10 against Florida State and they start fouling .

[Littlebill]

3 hours ago, slu72 said:

Even under Rick we had some scoring droughts. But it seemed to me they were always broken by Mitchell, Evans, or Conk. Someone would step up and basically say enough is enough this is over.  Who's going to be in that group this year?  We know Isabell can score. Bess can take it inside. Goodwin can be sneaky especially on D and O rebounds. What it seems everyone is worried about, and I share the concern, who's the sniper? The guy that will suddenly get hot from beyond the arc and be the straw that stirs the drink. Assume we get down by 10 v FSU and there's like 13 min left. Who starts trimming this lead w/ 3 pointers? The mystery man right now. Hopefully, we got him but just haven't put a name to him yet.  

I think that Ford thinks Wiley is the sniper.

[ChangeOfPace]

On 8/24/2018 at 8:12 AM, Pistol said:

I was skeptical about the Ford hire immediately because to me, his reputation was that of a guy who brought in talent and underperformed because he got outcoached by better coaches.

It's not just his recruiting that has won me over - because, again, he's done that before - but in his first two seasons with very limited rosters he has shown the ability to adapt and squeeze wins out of less than he's used to. We had a coach before him who was too rigid, too set in his ways, and his inability to keep up with the game's evolution caused him to lose badly once Majerus' core graduated. I've been really, really impressed with what Ford has done on the floor so far. He seems to have buy-in from most players; they could've thrown in the towel at any point in the past two years but they haven't. They played hard. He genuinely outcoached a lot of other guys.

This year will be the biggest test by far in his SLU career because he finally has the talent and depth to make a run. So we'll see what he does without the same limitations as before. But I'm optimistic that he's grown as a coach quite a bit since losing his OSU job.

I agree with this, but I will also add that it helps when you aren’t coaching against HOF coaches every other game in conference play. The reaction to Ford’s inability to take teams deep was overkill, mainly because the tournament is a roll of the dice. Oklahoma State basketball is very similar to Nebraska football: fans are disillusioned by past success achieved by a legendary coach.

[moytoy12]

We were a .500 team last year with 6.5 players.  Outside of the occasional hot streak from JJ, we couldn’t shoot worth a damn.  Now we have an incredible front line on paper and some depth in the backcourt (e.g. something more than Hines).  If we shoot just a little better/more consistently from outside and the FT line, then we’ll have a great season. It’s hard to imagine that we’ll be as atrocious shooting the ball as we were last year.  We don’t need Steph Curry in the backcourt to make a run, just be a little bit better. 

This doesn’t even address our depth which will give our guys much needed rest throughout the year and likely give them the legs they need to be effective later in games and later in the season.  

[ChangeOfPace]

27 minutes ago, moytoy12 said:

We were a .500 team last year with 6.5 players.  Outside of the occasional hot streak from JJ, we couldn’t shoot worth a damn.  Now we have an incredible front line on paper and some depth in the backcourt (e.g. something more than Hines).  If we shoot just a little better/more consistently from outside and the FT line, then we’ll have a great season. It’s hard to imagine that we’ll be as atrocious shooting the ball as we were last year.  We don’t need Steph Curry in the backcourt to make a run, just be a little bit better. 

This doesn’t even address our depth which will give our guys much needed rest throughout the year and likely give them the legs they need to be effective later in games and later in the season.  

Plus the top teams from last season should be down a bit. We are in great shape. Anyone who says otherwise is an eternal pessimist.

[Major Majerus]

We fans who have been following our recruits know what we have.  None of our top pre-league opponents will be ready for us because they'be been reading their own press clippings.  It's going to be Holy $hit when they play us. WTF?  Who are these guys? Enjoy.

[Quality Is Job 1]

23 minutes ago, Major Majerus said:

We fans who have been following our recruits know what we have.  None of our top pre-league opponents will be ready for us because they'be been reading their own press clippings.  It's going to be Holy $hit when they play us. WTF?  Who are these guys? Enjoy.

Like the way they bullied Virginia Tech?

[Old guy]

32 minutes ago, Major Majerus said:

We fans who have been following our recruits know what we have.  None of our top pre-league opponents will be ready for us because they'be been reading their own press clippings.  It's going to be Holy $hit when they play us. WTF?  Who are these guys? Enjoy.

I think this may be correct, at least until we start winning games consistently. Then they will start getting concerned and study the tapes more carefully trying to figure out how to stop us. 

[slu72]

It will be telling to see where we're picked on A10 media days. I think we'll be picked 1st. That will remove a lot of the mystery about SLU and put the bullseye on our back. What will either make us or break us for the dance will be our OOC performance. If we lose only to FSU, and not saying that's a certainty, we should look pretty good in the eyes of the committee even if we finish 3rd in the A10. Somehow, though, we've got to get between 23-25 regular season Ws.