1968-1986

[Brighton]

That's when SLU's basketball fate was sealed when they didn't take basketball, a revenue maker, seriously. We would be in a better place, think Big East, today if they did. Instead, we have seen Creighton, Xavier, Butler, Marquette, etc pass us by and Loyola-Chicago go to the Final Four since then. Think about it, we didn't have a state of the art arena with great facilities until 2008. Two-thousand and Eight. 21st Century, and this program has been around since 1914. 

If that isn't a sign of a small time operation, then I don't know what is. There's no way on God's green earth that St. Bonaventure should clean our clocks...or anyone's clock...yet here they are playing for the A10 championship.

[mrjoelabs]

A lot of truth here

[Billiken Rich]

Thanks as always for your positive and supportive take on Billiken basketball.....

[billikenfan05]

16 minutes ago, Billiken Rich said:

Thanks as always for your positive and supportive take on Billiken basketball.....

I'm SHOCKED at both of these two sharing negative opinions about the Billikens.....

[majerus mojo]

[Reinert310]

34 minutes ago, Brighton said:

That's when SLU's basketball fate was sealed when they didn't take basketball, a revenue maker, seriously. We would be in a better place, think Big East, today if they did. Instead, we have seen Creighton, Xavier, Butler, Marquette, etc pass us by and Loyola-Chicago go to the Final Four since then. Think about it, we didn't have a state of the art arena with great facilities until 2008. Two-thousand and Eight. 21st Century, and this program has been around since 1914. 

If that isn't a sign of a small time operation, then I don't know what is. There's no way on God's green earth that St. Bonaventure should clean our clocks...or anyone's clock...yet here they are playing for the A10 championship.

Cheaper than therapy, I guess. 

[Lando Griffin]

47 minutes ago, Brighton said:

That's when SLU's basketball fate was sealed when they didn't take basketball, a revenue maker, seriously. We would be in a better place, think Big East, today if they did. Instead, we have seen Creighton, Xavier, Butler, Marquette, etc pass us by and Loyola-Chicago go to the Final Four since then. Think about it, we didn't have a state of the art arena with great facilities until 2008. Two-thousand and Eight. 21st Century, and this program has been around since 1914. 

If that isn't a sign of a small time operation, then I don't know what is. There's no way on God's green earth that St. Bonaventure should clean our clocks...or anyone's clock...yet here they are playing for the A10 championship.

Lol.  This is the biggest overreaction ever.

[slufanskip]

2 hours ago, Lando Griffin said:

Lol.  This is the biggest overreaction ever.

It’s a troll doing what trolls do. At some point Steve has to say it’s enough. 

[Reinert310]

3 minutes ago, slufanskip said:

It’s a troll doing what trolls do. At some point Steve has to say it’s enough. 

It doesn’t even really bother me as much because it’s so blatantly transparent. Like @Brighton doesn’t even try to disguise it. He’s going make every single post sound like we’re being relegated to NAIA and he doesn’t care if we don’t like it. You almost have to respect that kind of audacity.

[JettFlight5]

15 minutes ago, slufanskip said:

It’s a troll doing what trolls do. At some point Steve has to say it’s enough. 

Y'all got that other thing lined up yet? 

[mrjoelabs]

Explain what actually is trolling here. If SLU did anything during those years, we could be a Nova, Creighton, Zags, Providence or Marquette type school now. 

[Taj79]

Brighton may or may not be a troll, who am I to say.  However, the facts he presents are indeed true.  There were many missteps along the time frame noted.  Promoting Buddy Brehmer's young assistant Randy Albrecht to coach.  Leaving the MVC and going independent.  Joining mega-basketball schools in the Metro.  Hiring Ron Coleman.  Hiring Ron Ekker.  Investigating downsizing the program to DII.  Antiquated facilities.  Nomadic conference affiliations with no real success.  Just when the NCAA was going from 25 teams in the tournament up to the 64 level and beyond.

Also in this time, the SLU administration brought in Fr. Fitzgerald to right a financial ship way off course.  Survival as an institution was key.  The focus was never on sports, although the school missed the boat on understanding just what NCAA monies could mean.  But you have to spend money to make money and our leaders were either not in a position to do so, or didn't have anyone championing such a route.  

History is what history is.  While it is the truth, nothing can be done about that now.  That's the hand we were dealt.

[Reinert310]

17 hours ago, mrjoelabs said:

Explain what actually is trolling here. If SLU did anything during those years, we could be a Nova, Creighton, Zags, Providence or Marquette type school now. 

The trolling comes in because @Brighton never says anything positive about Billikens basketball, ever. Even if he says something factually accurate, the nonstop, relentless  negativity makes him a troll. It gets old pretty damn quick.

[mrjoelabs]

Point taken, but don't lump me in with that.... talking to billikenfan05

[almaman]

Negative, grouchy, Debbie Downer, he is but imo not a troll. It may have the same vibe but just being - all the time is not the same as coming to a board with the intent of just disturbing. The hard being a Billiken fan thing is based on concrete facts of endless mediocrity and shootingfootitis is hard to ignore. Both trolls and constant bitchers are indeed a pain. my mom's fave was "if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all". Hard to use that as a guide around here or we'd have way less posts but some of the - stuff is so pointless as most of it is a given. Like has & FT%.

[Reinert310]

4 minutes ago, almaman said:

Negative, grouchy, Debbie Downer, he is but imo not a troll. It may have the same vibe but just being - all the time is not the same as coming to a board with the intent of just disturbing. The hard being a Billiken fan thing is based on concrete facts of endless mediocrity and shootingfootitis is hard to ignore. Both trolls and constant bitchers are indeed a pain. my mom's fave was "if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all". Hard to use that as a guide around here or we'd have way less posts but some of the - stuff is so pointless as most of it is a given. Like has & FT%.

I totally get it. But there are some really cool, fun things about being a Billikens fan too. Perkins is coming back, we get 2 more years of Okoro starting next year. When there’s a conversation speculating about a local former 4* maybe coming home, however unrealistic, and the first thing he says is bitching that it doesn’t matter because Ford’s not a good enough to take advantage of it anyway, that’s a troll in my book. Without adding a lot of details, I used to be the type of person that only ever saw the worst in everything. And I was absolutely miserable 24/7. I’m ok with genuine criticism. I criticize the team on this board PLENTY. But when every single post is just worst case scenario, that’s a problem. Maybe it’s not technically trolling, but it’s certainly not making the team, or this board, any better.

[Clock_Tower]

On 3/14/2021 at 1:42 PM, Brighton said:

That's when SLU's basketball fate was sealed when they didn't take basketball, a revenue maker, seriously. We would be in a better place, think Big East, today if they did. Instead, we have seen Creighton, Xavier, Butler, Marquette, etc pass us by and Loyola-Chicago go to the Final Four since then. Think about it, we didn't have a state of the art arena with great facilities until 2008. Two-thousand and Eight. 21st Century, and this program has been around since 1914. 

If that isn't a sign of a small time operation, then I don't know what is. There's no way on God's green earth that St. Bonaventure should clean our clocks...or anyone's clock...yet here they are playing for the A10 championship.

Troll or not - he is wrong.

First, what changed with SLU basketball in 1986?  Saint Rich was already at work. Roland Grey and Monroe Douglass were already here in ‘85. Huge amount of fanfare. Bonner graduated high school in ‘86 but no one knew what he would become. Little fanfare comparatively, and yes the ‘88 and ‘90 NIT years but Craig Upchurch came after 1986 as did Grawer’s last year in ’91 - another low point. 

Spoonhour came in 1992 and Biondi promised Top 50 but did not deliver. At the same time, we played in brand new NBA quality facilities - state of the art and common in the Big East like he references. I prefer Chafeitz, but the days at Kiel/Savvis/Scottrade were not bad, were actually a selling point along with Great Midwest and Conf USA and were not the reason we did not do better. Not winning enough but the lack of a state of the art practice facility also hurt long after 1986. And as great as Chaifetz Arena was in 2008 and helped us attract RM, let’s face it, RM would have won playing games in West Pine Gym. After 2008, we won bc of RM ... not bc of Chaifetz Arena. 
And if unsure,  just look at the Jim Crews years, after 2008, which did more to hurt the program than the good brought by Chaifetz Arena.