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

[WVBilliken]

5 minutes ago, Crewsorlose said:

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. 

If SLU was in any of those leagues their recruiting would be very different...... high 3 star and 4 star players with the occasional 5 star, a whole different roster.  

[dennis_w]

1 minute ago, WVBilliken said:

If SLU was in any of those leagues their recruiting would be very different...... high 3 star and 4 star players with the occasional 5 star, a whole different roster.  

good post

 

[Schasz]

IMHO a very attainable goal for the Billiken hoops program considering the facilities are light years better than when I graduated from SLU in 1971 (West Pine Gym) is to get an NCAA bid every 3 out of 5 years. Certainly, playing in the A10 that isn't asking too much.  I don't see Travis Ford ever reaching that goal, he's had one bid to date. If some do then that's fine we'll never agree that he is a good HC. Does not mean I don't root for them. As an Alum, former season ticket holder, former Billiken Club Member...I will always root for them even if I don't happen to like who coaches them.

[Compton]

22 minutes ago, Crewsorlose said:

How do you think SLU would do in the Big East?

With this team (not higher level recruits) we'd beat Georgetown home and away. DePaul, Butler, Villanova, Seton Hall, and St. John's are all winnable (particularly at home). And we've already beaten Providence at a neutral site, which was really more of a home game for them.

So, we'd be right there in the mix in the BE.

[Bills By 40]

34 minutes ago, Crewsorlose said:

How do you think SLU would do in the Big East?

Yuri hung 19 assists on BC last year and this year we beat Providence, who's 7-2 in Big East play sitting 1 game out of first place. Given we're doing that with A10 recruits I'd say we'd fare pretty well. 

[Slu let the dogs out?]

1 hour ago, brianstl said:

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.

The average NET ranking of our 5 opponents during our current win streak is 201. Encouraging signs on both sides of the ball during our current win streak, and Ford has seemed to embrace in-game adjustments more than in the past, but I will reserve judgement on whether or not this team is looking like a tourney team until we face a true test. This Friday is a good start. While Davidson may be down this year we all know our troubles at Belk. Would be a huge win psychologically for this squad. A W at Davidson this Friday and this team has a lot more confidence going into Dayton Arena and Siegel Center. Of course like every Ford team of the past, our only opportunity to make the tournament is by winning the A10 tournament. 

Still trying to determine if people are honestly arguing that Ford is ≥ RM as a coach....

[dlarry]

1 hour ago, BIG BILL FAN said:

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.

I have no idea what their record would have been. That crap Stunk and I agree it wasn’t Ford’s fault.

What I do know is that this was suppose to be the most talented team of Ford’s tenure. They are a veteran group with loads of experience. 
Even with all the talent and experience they are losing games they should’nt be losing. They are still blowing big leads. Even in their wins they let teams crawl back in. 
The defense is still below average on a good day and terrible on bad day's and the team still seems to be lacking an identity.

Ford’s teams always seem to make a late push which is good news for the rest of the year but why does it take them so long to get going? 
 

I haven’t given up on Ford or the rest of this season but I have a lot more questions about leadership going forward than I did in October.

[willie]

37 minutes ago, Schasz said:

IMHO a very attainable goal for the Billiken hoops program considering the facilities are light years better than when I graduated from SLU in 1971 (West Pine Gym) is to get an NCAA bid every 3 out of 5 years. Certainly, playing in the A10 that isn't asking too much.  I don't see Travis Ford ever reaching that goal, he's had one bid to date. If some do then that's fine we'll never agree that he is a good HC. Does not mean I don't root for them. As an Alum, former season ticket holder, former Billiken Club Member...I will always root for them even if I don't happen to like who coaches them.

Why are you a former Billiken Club Member? If you care enough to be on this board you can still support the program thru the Billiken Club. 

[Cowboy II]

-I've been away a few days so I'll catch up 

-will Parker get minutes to score 30?

-the second half bench shortens again and the yanks for mistakes by some players is returning

-Larry sitting there when other players are honored is beyond belief, if it is because he didn't earn his degree then change the event, yes change for one guy- this guy, I don't say we have to kiss his ass but I think we should honor/recognize when possible

-I'm glad there was not introduction of the Cardinal manager, when celebs are at the games just let them enjoy it and not have to worry about an autograph line starting

-the older ref could not keep up, why he is still getting games is a mystery to me

-I don't admire the behavior CFord consistently exhibits on the sideline, I don't think that is a good representation of SLU

-Look at Loyola moving from the MVC to the A10 and imagine us in the BEast, depending on the schedule I could see that we would be 1-6 in the BEast

-CFord has not treated the job as a stepping stone, what P5/6 would hire him? where are the results that a P5/6 would see to make him their hire?

-again we have nonsense posted about the Board of Trustees having a say with NIL money

-I am glad we are 6-1 but all of us knew, or should have known, the back end of the conference schedule is where the money is and it starts on Friday

[Cowboy II]

6 minutes ago, willie said:

Why are you a former Billiken Club Member? If you care enough to be on this board you can still support the program thru the Billiken Club. 

-because all of those funds go to Knoxville?

[wgstl]

6 minutes ago, Cowboy II said:

-I don't admire the behavior CFord consistently exhibits on the sideline, I don't think that is a good representation of SLU

This happens with way more coaches than most of us will ever know.  You just don't see it.  

[shempie]

3 hours ago, NoCoBillsFan said:

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. 

Fred Thatch

[shempie]

3 hours ago, NoCoBillsFan said:

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. 

Fred Thatch

[willie]

15 minutes ago, Cowboy II said:

-I've been away a few days so I'll catch up 

-will Parker get minutes to score 30?

-the second half bench shortens again and the yanks for mistakes by some players is returning

-Larry sitting there when other players are honored is beyond belief, if it is because he didn't earn his degree then change the event, yes change for one guy- this guy, I don't say we have to kiss his ass but I think we should honor/recognize when possible

-I'm glad there was not introduction of the Cardinal manager, when celebs are at the games just let them enjoy it and not have to worry about an autograph line starting

-the older ref could not keep up, why he is still getting games is a mystery to me

-I don't admire the behavior CFord consistently exhibits on the sideline, I don't think that is a good representation of SLU

-Look at Loyola moving from the MVC to the A10 and imagine us in the BEast, depending on the schedule I could see that we would be 1-6 in the BEast

-CFord has not treated the job as a stepping stone, what P5/6 would hire him? where are the results that a P5/6 would see to make him their hire?

-again we have nonsense posted about the Board of Trustees having a say with NIL money

-I am glad we are 6-1 but all of us knew, or should have known, the back end of the conference schedule is where the money is and it starts on Friday

I think Travis has calmed down since the 2 techs.  . Maybe Larry didn't want to sign up for the event? 

[Crewsorlose]

1 hour ago, Bills By 40 said:

Yuri hung 19 assists on BC last year and this year we beat Providence, who's 7-2 in Big East play sitting 1 game out of first place. Given we're doing that with A10 recruits I'd say we'd fare pretty well. 

BC left the Big East in 2005. And how are Georgetown and St. John's doing with those "Big East" recruits. The Big East probably gets 3 bids this year. And if we were the 4th team we'd be moaning about how easy it would have been to win the MVC. 

[Compton]

29 minutes ago, Cowboy II said:

-Look at Loyola moving from the MVC to the A10 and imagine us in the BEast, depending on the schedule I could see that we would be 1-6 in the BEast

We're ranked higher than Butler, DePaul, Georgetown, (all KenPom and NET) and Villanova (just NET), and have already beat Providence. 1-6 wouldn't be likely.

[billikenfan05]

32 minutes ago, Cowboy II said:

-I've been away a few days so I'll catch up 

-will Parker get minutes to score 30? We don't need anyone to get minutes for a 30 point game unless they are on an Isabell heater

-the second half bench shortens again and the yanks for mistakes by some players is returning. Well when you're struggling to get separation from La Salle

-Larry sitting there when other players are honored is beyond belief, if it is because he didn't earn his degree then change the event, yes change for one guy- this guy, I don't say we have to kiss his ass but I think we should honor/recognize when possible. I realize that message boards are for speculation, but it's entirely possible the guy doesn't feel like he's earned the "alumni" moniker.

-I'm glad there was not introduction of the Cardinal manager, when celebs are at the games just let them enjoy it and not have to worry about an autograph line starting

-the older ref could not keep up, why he is still getting games is a mystery to me

-I don't admire the behavior CFord consistently exhibits on the sideline, I don't think that is a good representation of SLU. He's been much more reserved since Mason(as Chilly Willie mentioned above). I don't mind his passion, I just would prefer more positivity.

-Look at Loyola moving from the MVC to the A10 and imagine us in the BEast, depending on the schedule I could see that we would be 1-6 in the BEast. Proximity bias, we get to see all the warts on this team's play.

-CFord has not treated the job as a stepping stone, what P5/6 would hire him? where are the results that a P5/6 would see to make him their hire? Travis Ford will never have it better than he has it here.

-again we have nonsense posted about the Board of Trustees having a say with NIL money. They should have no say in NIL money, the basic principle of NIL is that the money does not come from the school or AD.

-I am glad we are 6-1 but all of us knew, or should have known, the back end of the conference schedule is where the money is and it starts on Friday. Tune ups are important, we are fortunate to be able to ease into the A10. We've had quite a few individual players dealing with off the court personal matters(TJ & Franco) and Perkins ACL/ankle. I'm optimistic to see us take on the tougher end of the spectrum.

 

[Bills By 40]

https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+of+alumni&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS949US949&oq=definition+of+alumni&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l2j0i22i30l3j0i15i22i30j0i22i30l2j0i15i22i30.4393j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[NoCoBillsFan]

32 minutes ago, shempie said:

Fred Thatch

We lost to SIUE at home with Fred Thatch

[WVBilliken]

19 minutes ago, Crewsorlose said:

BC left the Big East in 2005. And how are Georgetown and St. John's doing with those "Big East" recruits. The Big East probably gets 3 bids this year. And if we were the 4th team we'd be moaning about how easy it would have been to win the MVC. 

The Big East got 6 last year.

[Slu let the dogs out?]

Just now, WVBilliken said:

The Big East got 6 last year.

They'll get at least 4 this year, probably 5: X, Marquette, Providence, UCONN, and Creighton. 

[Bay Area Billiken]

28 minutes ago, Crewsorlose said:

BC left the Big East in 2005. And how are Georgetown and St. John's doing with those "Big East" recruits. The Big East probably gets 3 bids this year. And if we were the 4th team we'd be moaning about how easy it would have been to win the MVC. 

The Big East is getting at least 5:  Xavier, Marquette, UConn, Providence and Creighton. 

[Bay Area Billiken]

Given Travis Year 1, pass for lack of ripeness, taking over for a program that went 22-42 the previous 2 seasons; Year 2 derailed by Situation 2; Year 4 NCAA Tourney canceled due to Covid, hence impossibility of performance) and Year 5 (SLU team shut down by Covid, including a near month hiatus and 5 games postponed, only 21 games played overall); and Year 7 still in progress, you Travis dissenters need to change the denominator (7 seasons) you are using to judge this coach.

We have a good team, potentially a great team. Let’s give hope a chance. 

[Billiken Rich]

1 hour ago, Schasz said:

IMHO a very attainable goal for the Billiken hoops program considering the facilities are light years better than when I graduated from SLU in 1971 (West Pine Gym) is to get an NCAA bid every 3 out of 5 years. Certainly, playing in the A10 that isn't asking too much.  I don't see Travis Ford ever reaching that goal, he's had one bid to date. If some do then that's fine we'll never agree that he is a good HC. Does not mean I don't root for them. As an Alum, former season ticket holder, former Billiken Club Member...I will always root for them even if I don't happen to like who coaches them.

Very attainable to go 3 out of 5 years to the NCAA Tournament?  Really?  Very attainable?  Not historic at all?  I think everyone here would be pretty happy with that.  I think it should be the goal to get there every year.  If you are going to whine when don't get there, perhaps you should spend the time you'd normally spend here with your Volunteer buddies.  They seem to make the big dance most years. 

 

 

 

 

[Billikenbooster]

58 minutes ago, shempie said:

Fred Thatch

This