GDT: La Salle; Why didn’t Han Solo enjoy his steak dinner?

[Taj79]

@Gremio14--- is Larry considered an alumni?  Did he ever earn a degree?  And is that even part of the reunion weekend?

[Gremio14]

3 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

@Gremio14--- is Larry considered an alumni?  Did he ever earn a degree?  And is that even part of the reunion weekend?

All valid points.  And I don’t know the answer to any of them.  I am certain Larry would have been allowed to walk if he had requested to do so.  And the crowd would have reacted accordingly…that’s really what this is all about IMHO.

[Taj79]

Oh yes, very true.  I recall Coach K not letting players' names going on Cameron banners until they actually graduated.  Took Christian Laettner quite a while as I also recall.

[willie]

46 minutes ago, Gremio14 said:

Kind of disappointing Legend did not walk with the rest of the fellows.  I believe he’s been to every game this year.  He was there yesterday. The applause would have been raucous.

Everyone who walked had a degree. Larry does not. 

[slu72]

2 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

The overriding issue remains the conference affiliation, which provides slim margin for non-conference error, with no better, feasible and available alternative available, and the continued skewing to the Power 5 of the metric used in determining NCAA At Large bids. More specifically, similar schools like Marquette, Creighton, Xavier do not face this no margin for error scenario in the Big East. They do not have to be near perfect. Creighton (11-8, 5-3) lost 6 consecutive games, lost 8 of 11, yet has a NET of 19. That is patently absurd. 
 

 

This is our problem. Especially when the A10 is way down from its previous levels. The powers that be should gather and create a new conf. Look around and form a challenger to the Beast. I can think of at least 12 schools that could do this: 

VCU

UD

 

SLU

BELMONT

RICHMOND

COL OF CHARLESTON (#18 in country today) 

URI

UMASS

WICHITA

DAVIDSON

LOYOLA 

IONA

Not a super conf but all of the above are all in on hoops. 

[thetorch]

1 hour ago, willie said:

Everyone who walked had a degree. Larry does not. 

From SLU????

Unlikely. Jorge Wallace walks, he has no degree from SLU.

[wgstl]

23 minutes ago, slu72 said:

This is our problem. Especially when the A10 is way down from its previous levels. The powers that be should gather and create a new conf. Look around and form a challenger to the Beast. I can think of at least 12 schools that could do this: 

VCU

UD

 

SLU

BELMONT

RICHMOND

COL OF CHARLESTON (#18 in country today) 

URI

UMASS

WICHITA

DAVIDSON

LOYOLA 

IONA

Not a super conf but all of the above are all in on hoops. 

No way Jose on CofC. Once Kelsey leaves to a power 5 job, they’ll go back to nothing. Beautiful campus, though. 

 

also big No on Iona, see above. 
 

 

[willie]

Might have missed one or two but when Guy introduced the players he gave their school. Wasn’t paying total attention but seemed like they all had one. 

[The Wiz]

2 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

The overriding issue remains the conference affiliation, which provides slim margin for non-conference error, with no better, feasible and available alternative available, and the continued skewing to the Power 5 of the metric used in determining NCAA At Large bids. More specifically, similar schools like Marquette, Creighton, Xavier do not face this no margin for error scenario in the Big East. They do not have to be near perfect. Creighton (11-8, 5-3) lost 6 consecutive games, lost 8 of 11, yet has a NET of 19. That is patently absurd. 
 

 

I agree with you that conference affiliation is a big issue.  Also, I think you are correct in that we have little margin for error in the A-10. But that margin of error is not just about getting an NCAA bid...it is about getting out of the A-10.  You will need almost a perfect record to make a conference  move. The biggest difference between the A-10 and the Big East is the SOS....The average A-10 SOS ranking is  171...the average BE ranking is 27.  The Bills have the best SOS in the A10 at 98...the worst SOS in the BE is 67.

 You mention in your post Xav, Marq and Creighton.  Here are their SOS's  and overall team grades....

....................SOS........Overall team grade

Xav................16......................A

Marq..............14.....................A

Crtn................5.....................A+

These teams are good even though they have 4 -8 losses....all their numbers are good. Any of them would be 1st place in the A10. But the point here is not how good they are ....but can we compete in the BE now. The answer has 2 parts...no not now ...and yes, we are close.

The issue for SLU is... are we up to the challenge to do what it takes to not only make the Dance but to have a schedule that is good enough to be in the BE.  The answer for this year is yes...our schedule was good enough.  If we can have that sort of schedule every year and do a decent amount of winning then we will be worthy of moving. And for those that say, the BE is not going to take us...doesn't matter....11 teams in the BE is a weird number ...it will not stay like that....recruit and play like your in the BE now and good things will happen.

[SLU_Lax]

11 is a good number to play everyone twice. 20 total conference games. Not arguing for or against it, but it does have its benefit. Going to 12 means you’d need 22 conference games to play everyone twice and that is generally seen as too many. 20 is already high (although with Power Conferences playing more and more buy games 20 might make it easier to lesson the scramble every year to find good games). 

[SluSignGuy]

4 hours ago, Gremio14 said:

Kind of disappointing Legend did not walk with the rest of the fellows.  I believe he’s been to every game this year.  He was there yesterday. The applause would have been raucous.

There could be a graduation rule

[TheA_Bomb]

6 hours ago, BIG BILL FAN said:

You’re making a fool of yourself. You want it both ways. Yes RM was a good coach but to say someone who actually has a better record is TERRIBLE, is ludicrous… it’s sad that you haters won’t even allow the season to be played out before passing judgment. Here however are some facts. Travis Ford has won 60% of the games as the Billikens head coach. He has recruited better and more consistently than any coach they’ve had in the past 50 years. He has a strong relationship with the current AD and our most generous booster. He has represented the university in an admirable way and is well respected in the community. Travis has actually built a program and is in a great position to take it to even a higher level with the proper support. 

I don't agree he's had the support and the time and we have 1 NCAA berth to show for it.  Rick Majerus had a proven track record getting Utah...UTAH to the final four!  He also coached SLU in a much better A10.  The A10 is waaaay down the last few years and so it inflates the T Ford record.

Travis Ford needs to go he has a track record over many years of never winning in the NCAA tournament even with top talent.

The recent run is fools gold.  Remember SIUE!

[brianstl]

35 minutes ago, TheA_Bomb said:

I don't agree he's had the support and the time and we have 1 NCAA berth to show for it.  Rick Majerus had a proven track record getting Utah...UTAH to the final four!  He also coached SLU in a much better A10.  The A10 is waaaay down the last few years and so it inflates the T Ford record.

Travis Ford needs to go he has a track record over many years of never winning in the NCAA tournament even with top talent.

The recent run is fools gold.  Remember SIUE!

I am willing to let the season play out before saying Ford has to go, but I don’t get posters who act like his seat shouldn’t be at least warm.  At some point you need to produce more than one great conference tournament run in seven seasons.

[BIG BILL FAN]

49 minutes ago, TheA_Bomb said:

I don't agree he's had the support and the time and we have 1 NCAA berth to show for it.  Rick Majerus had a proven track record getting Utah...UTAH to the final four!  He also coached SLU in a much better A10.  The A10 is waaaay down the last few years and so it inflates the T Ford record.

Travis Ford needs to go he has a track record over many years of never winning in the NCAA tournament even with top talent.

The recent run is fools gold.  Remember SIUE!

You certainly have a selective memory when it comes to support.. do we really need to rehash the past situations and how they were handled by the administration??? 

[HenryB]

4 hours ago, brianstl said:

I am willing to let the season play out before saying Ford has to go, but I don’t get posters who act like his seat shouldn’t be at least warm.  At some point you need to produce more than one great conference tournament run in seven seasons.

We do not need to rehash the "situations" and other setbacks that have left us disappointed/frustrated at times. There are bumps in the road particularly as related to getting to the tournament that virtually all mid majors deal with. The overall trend of the team, though, is very good. And why do you put all your emphasis on the conference tourney? Does the conference regular season mean nothing? For all the admiration I had for RM, he only had a winning record in conference in 2 of 5 seasons. This will be the 5th consecutive winning year in conference under Ford. He's elevated the schedule, players seem to enjoy playing for him, and the team plays entertaining basketball. Under Ford the level of recruiting is consistently good. He represents the university and the city well. He also hasn't viewed SLU as a stepping stone. And you don't understand why some people don't want to consider his seat warm? If you choose to be miserable every year that is on you but don't criticize those who aren't. 

[NoCoBillsFan]

Ford is the highest paid coach in the A10 and has never finished higher than fourth in conference. There comes a point where you have to stop making excuses for him. I have been a big Ford defender up until now but this is supposed to be his “prove it” year. No big injuries, it’s a team full of guys (many have been here four years) that he recruited, and no worldwide pandemics to derail the season. We have the best pass-first point guard in the country and we’re not even close to an at-large.

I’m not gonna let this 6-1 run fool me. We haven’t played anyone! GW was a solid win, but outside of that we barely beat George Mason and all of our other wins were to teams that will be fighting to stay out of the pillow fight. 
 

I’ll start changing my tune if we win at Belk or start beating teams like VCU and Dayton but until then, I’m a skeptic. I am willing to give Ford a chance to redeem himself but I’m not gonna get excited because we beat some a10 bottom feeders. 

[NoCoBillsFan]

And are we really comparing Majerus and Ford? Majerus built a team that was ranked and made it to the tourney three years in a row. Ford has only made the tournament once and that’s only because Tramaine Isabell turned into prime Allen Iverson for four games. 

[dlarry]

My concern about Ford is that everybody always points to how great his recruiting is. 
well if that’s the case his coaching isn’t very good because these great recruits have brought one NCAA tournament in 7 years and that was from a lucky run in the A10 tourney.

If he is bringing in such great players he either isn’t developing them properly or coaching them properly.

I’m not saying I want him gone, I will wait until the season ends to have an opinion on that but if these recruits are so awesome why aren’t they living up to expectations? 
 

If these recruits are so great can he land better ones to get us over the hump? 

[billiken_roy]

34 minutes ago, dlarry said:

My concern about Ford is that everybody always points to how great his recruiting is. 
well if that’s the case his coaching isn’t very good because these great recruits have brought one NCAA tournament in 7 years and that was from a lucky run in the A10 tourney.

If he is bringing in such great players he either isn’t developing them properly or coaching them properly.

I’m not saying I want him gone, I will wait until the season ends to have an opinion on that but if these recruits are so awesome why aren’t they living up to expectations? 
 

If these recruits are so great can he land better ones to get us over the hump? 

i've been saying that about Ford since day one.   and in the big picture, if i have to pick one needed trait of a coach, it is recruiting.   if you dont have the talent you are always going to be limited to how far you can realistically go.  however, talent that overachieves can take a team a lot further.   

as to bringing in even better players, i think that limit is based on results first.   a player isnt going to attend a bottom feeder school if he or she is a top 50 player.   so to move the talent needle even higher, we have to win.  second, we dont know yet how much this horrible NiL thing is going to affect getting players, but it only makes sense that the program with the biggest open pocketbook is going to win most of the time. 

i do not have confidence our BoT is going to allow the buying of players big time.  thus, i probably am going to grit my teeth and hope and pray that ford's talent is enough.   i too am getting restless that we see the same fails year after year.   However, i truly think this stretch we have seen in the last few weeks seems to show some changes with this roster in the way they are playing and the way they are being used.   i say let's play out the season at least and see what happens.  i just dont want to start over again.  total rebuilds, which a new coach is always going to bring, are painful and too long for us long time fans.   i dont know if i have the strength to endure another.  

for those of you thinking we are going to bring in another HoF coach like rickma, do you really think saint louis university will do that?   I dont.  

[brianstl]

5 hours ago, HenryB said:

We do not need to rehash the "situations" and other setbacks that have left us disappointed/frustrated at times. There are bumps in the road particularly as related to getting to the tournament that virtually all mid majors deal with. The overall trend of the team, though, is very good. And why do you put all your emphasis on the conference tourney? Does the conference regular season mean nothing? For all the admiration I had for RM, he only had a winning record in conference in 2 of 5 seasons. This will be the 5th consecutive winning year in conference under Ford. He's elevated the schedule, players seem to enjoy playing for him, and the team plays entertaining basketball. Under Ford the level of recruiting is consistently good. He represents the university and the city well. He also hasn't viewed SLU as a stepping stone. And you don't understand why some people don't want to consider his seat warm? If you choose to be miserable every year that is on you but don't criticize those who aren't. 

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is how often you make the NCAA tournament.  That is why I mentioned the one great conference tournament run.  It brought us an NCAA tournament bid and goes into the plus column for Ford.  
 

This team is looking like a NCAA tournament team again.  Make the the tournament and Ford’s seat goes from hot to cold for at least a few more seasons.

[dennis_w]

2 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

i've been saying that about Ford since day one.   and in the big picture, if i have to pick one needed trait of a coach, it is recruiting.   if you dont have the talent you are always going to be limited to how far you can realistically go.  however, talent that overachieves can take a team a lot further.   

as to bringing in even better players, i think that limit is based on results first.   a player isnt going to attend a bottom feeder school if he or she is a top 50 player.   so to move the talent needle even higher, we have to win.  second, we dont know yet how much this horrible NiL thing is going to affect getting players, but it only makes sense that the program with the biggest open pocketbook is going to win most of the time. 

i do not have confidence our BoT is going to allow the buying of players big time.  thus, i probably am going to grit my teeth and hope and pray that ford's talent is enough.   i too am getting restless that we see the same fails year after year.   However, i truly think this stretch we have seen in the last few weeks seems to show some changes with this roster in the way they are playing and the way they are being used.   i say let's play out the season at least and see what happens.  i just dont want to start over again.  total rebuilds, which a new coach is always going to bring, are painful and too long for us long time fans.   i dont know if i have the strength to endure another.  

for those of you thinking we are going to bring in another HoF coach like rickma, do you really think saint louis university will do that?   I dont.  

nil money is supposed to come from "outside" of the school, no sure if the BoT can stop it even if they want to. I am with you a total rebuild with a new coach can go either way good or bad, better we talk about the season after its done

[brianstl]

15 hours ago, Billiken Bob said:

That’s simple.  NIL money.

@Billiken Bobthank you for posting this.  If you aren’t the most informed poster here, you are tied for first.  Do you have any idea when the collective might roll out?

[BIG BILL FAN]

1 hour ago, dlarry said:

My concern about Ford is that everybody always points to how great his recruiting is. 
well if that’s the case his coaching isn’t very good because these great recruits have brought one NCAA tournament in 7 years and that was from a lucky run in the A10 tourney.

If he is bringing in such great players he either isn’t developing them properly or coaching them properly.

I’m not saying I want him gone, I will wait until the season ends to have an opinion on that but if these recruits are so awesome why aren’t they living up to expectations? 
 

If these recruits are so great can he land better ones to get us over the hump? 

What do you think Ford’s record would be if:

Adonys Henriquez who was projected to be our leading scorer and outside threat, would have been allowed to play for two years? 
 

Luis Santos a potential all conference center been allowed to play for two years?

Jermaine Bishop, who averaged 15.6 points per game for Norfolk State wasn’t run off by the university?

Jordan Goodwin wasn’t suspended for the last two months of a season??

oh, and let’s don’t forget the fiasco during the Covid season where even healthy individuals were not allowed to practice during the shutdown.

 

All of these issues weren’t Ford induced, they were SLU administrative issues. I know the truth is difficult for many to accept.. we are still suffering from those transgressions, as they stalled our momentum. Even with that we have a coach who is keeping us highly competitive with a bright future.

[WVBilliken]

1 hour ago, dlarry said:

My concern about Ford is that everybody always points to how great his recruiting is. 
well if that’s the case his coaching isn’t very good because these great recruits have brought one NCAA tournament in 7 years and that was from a lucky run in the A10 tourney.

If he is bringing in such great players he either isn’t developing them properly or coaching them properly.

I’m not saying I want him gone, I will wait until the season ends to have an opinion on that but if these recruits are so awesome why aren’t they living up to expectations? 
 

If these recruits are so great can he land better ones to get us over the hump? 

Okay, yes Ford is coaching his 7th year.  This year is not complete, there was a covid year with no NCAA tournament ...... so he is 1 appearance for 5 seasons.  I toss year 1 as he came in late and had no opportunity to retool the roster.  So he has made it 1 in 4 years.  I'LL TAKE THAT FOR A 15 TEAM 1 OR 2 BID LEAGUE.  AND THEN CONSIDER THE PLAYERS LOST DUE TO THE PLAYER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CLAIMS.  THAT BRINGS YOU TO 1 APPEARANCE IN 3 ACTUAL OPPORTUNITIES.  And I didn't even claim the 2020-21 season when SLU had a great squad but ended up 14-7, had a month they didn't play due to covid, and missed the NCAA's.

[Crewsorlose]

13 hours ago, wgstl said:

No way Jose on CofC. Once Kelsey leaves to a power 5 job, they’ll go back to nothing. Beautiful campus, though. 

 

also big No on Iona, see above. 
 

 

I never get the "mid major whining" about bids on here. How do you think SLU would do in the Big East? How many road games would they win? How about the Big 10? Does anyone remember the Maryland game? SLU had a large "margin for error" this season. That margin evaporated when they lost to SIU, Boise St. at home, blew the Auburn game because they missed 40 FT in a row, got blown out by Iona, and let a UMass team ranked 223rd ranked in offense drop 90 on them (UMass has only cracked 80 2x this year, against C Conn. and Albany). The margin also evaporated when the conference stank and Dayton turned out to be a massive disappointment. 

Here's SLU's margin: go 9-1 down the stretch and start blowing crappy teams out instead of letting them hang around for 30 minutes. SLU is ranked right around where they should be. Their defense is  mediocre, their offense flashes elite but lacks rim finishers and consistent post scoring, and their coach has for most of the season buried Sincere Parker, who's the one guy who can get his offense going off the bounce and can't be worse on defense than our other scoring wings.