Travis Ford is a good coach

[almaman]

3 minutes ago, Littlebill said:

Literally in his post said “at the same level or higher”

the only one you’d have half an argument was at this level was Yarbrough at ISU. And they dealt with a lot with him

 

2 hours ago, Compton said:

Best examples might be:

Under Crews: Glaze at GCU (14.0ppg, 8.8reb), McBroom at EWU (21.0ppg, 3.7ast), Yarbrough at Ill. St. (16.7ppg, 6.8reb), Reynolds at Pacific (13.3ppg).

Recruited by Crews but played an injury plagued year under Ford: Bishop at Norfolk St. (15.6ppg)

Under Ford: Johnson at Louisiana (15.5ppg, 6.6reb)

McBroom didn't avg 21 points here so he's higher.

[NH]

7 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

awful lot of players not being accountable.   it doesnt bother you that he had a roster of 13 players and he so many deemed not good enough to play meaningful minutes?

I’m not saying you’re wrong; but you could have the same complaint about 99% of teams across college basketball. Gonzaga only plays 8 goes deep, Villanova basically plays 6, Duke plays 8, etc.

I think the examples of teams playing more than 8-9 guys are few and far between.

[slufanskip]

8 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

awful lot of players not being accountable.   it doesnt bother you that he had a roster of 13 players and he so many deemed not good enough to play meaningful minutes?

So does every coach suck at coaching up the last 4 or 5 players in the roster? Getting better is 90% on the player. Coaches teach the player has to put in the work. 
 

Gonzaga had 7 players avg over 20 mpg, 1 at 14 and everyone else well under 10. Wtf is wrong with the coach?

[Littlebill]

9 minutes ago, almaman said:

 

McBroom didn't avg 21 points here so he's higher.

Level of competition…

[Old guy]

12 minutes ago, slufanskip said:

So does every coach suck at coaching up the last 4 or 5 players in the roster? Getting better is 90% on the player. Coaches teach the player has to put in the work. 
 

Gonzaga had 7 players avg over 20 mpg, 1 at 14 and everyone else well under 10. Wtf is wrong with the coach?

I think it is easier for the coach and staff to concentrate upon a group of 8 to 10 players and use the others as practice players, and for occasional relief of the playing group. The ones not playing should leave looking for better opportunities elsewhere. I wish Strickland and Traore had played more this year, we might have done better.

[slufanskip]

2 minutes ago, Old guy said:

I think it is easier for the coach and staff to concentrate upon a group of 8 to 10 players and use the others as practice players, and for occasional relief of the playing group. The ones not playing should leave looking for better opportunities elsewhere. I wish Strickland and Traore had played more this year, we might have done better.

Except that neither was good enough. How many practices did you go to that enabled you to observe their skill level or ability to contribute competitive minutes. Or maybe the 80 minutes you saw them play over 3 months allows you to grasp their abilities better than the coach who saw them 80+ min almost daily. 
 

im constantly amazed we do t have more D1 coaches on this board. 

[Aquinas]

If you have watched St. Peters play, you see a very small team with tenacious defense. While we have had probably the most athletic Billiken team in history, we often didn't maintain high energy defense, and I know Ford preaches it. Players sitting on the end of the bench have to play aggressive defense when they get their chances. The coaches see these guys every day. They also see their work ethic. Coaches also love players that work hard. 

Recruiting high-school players is always a gamble. Will the talented player mature? He says the right things, but will he do the right things? Will a player that loves street ball embrace defense and playing within a system? Will he fold in adversity or double down on his effort?

Under Ford, the players on the floor are generally the ones working the hardest.

[3star_recruit]

I'd like to see more mid-major programs build a roster of players who where great defenders in high school, support them with a couple of shooters and see what happens.  I've seen various coaches recruit athletes with poor defensive fundamentals and try to mold them into plus defenders.  It fails more often than not.

[thatskablamo]

Happy 6th Anniversary to the hiring of Travis Ford by SLU.

[Billiken Rich]

Dude can recruit and re-recruit

[almaman]

maybe Marcus Smart getting defender of the year had some mojo going our way. Now pressure on them all. anything short of getting to the dance will be a failure.

[SLUMedBilliken15]

I just wanted to bump this thread with the exciting recruiting news...

 

[Billiken Rich]

Beat me to it!