2023 Offseason - Coaching Discussion Thread

[HoosierPal]

59 minutes ago, Schasz said:

Roy...you are missing the point. Kids like Kalkbrenner really shouldn't have any reason in looking away from staying at home and playing for SLU. SLU has given them the reasons...

You keep missing the boat.  But at least you are consistent, consistently wrong.  Have you ever talked to anyone 17 to 18 years old about college choices?  Obviously not.

I'm sure you don't care, but you are close to joining a select club of Hoosier Pal Ignored posters.

[Schasz]

54 minutes ago, slufan13 said:

I dont think Ford is the right guy based on his last 25 years of work but any coach will miss out on some local kids and put me in the camp of its time to stop being so reliant on local kids anyway. Just go get guys who can play specifically guys who can actually defend.

Glad to see there is another Billiken fan who also did their homework on Ford's history as a HC as I did. While it appears he will get another year because the AD who hired him was not on board in firing him after another disappointing year...as a lifelong Bills fan I'll hope for the best but will continue to comment when the Ford Coached team does not meet up to my expectationsl. I don't fret one bit about people who don't agree with me. Trust me many are already on my Ignore list. There are enough fans on here who appear like me that want a lot more from SLU hoops than we have been given in the last 7 years. I'll also NEVER apologize for rooting for other teams like my wife's Alma Mater TN Vols or Gonzaga. Their past history in hoops makes them easier to be a fan.

[DOC]

18 minutes ago, Schasz said:

Glad to see there is another Billiken fan who also did their homework on Ford's history as a HC as I did. While it appears he will get another year because the AD who hired him was not on board in firing him after another disappointing year...as a lifelong Bills fan I'll hope for the best but will continue to comment when the Ford Coached team does not meet up to my expectationsl. I don't fret one bit about people who don't agree with me. Trust me many are already on my Ignore list. There are enough fans on here who appear like me that want a lot more from SLU hoops than we have been given in the last 7 years. I'll also NEVER apologize for rooting for other teams like my wife's Alma Mater TN Vols or Gonzaga. Their past history in hoops makes them easier to be a fan.

You owe this board an apology for your inability to stop repeating yourself over and over and over. Your opinion is yours, but to spew it incessantly is rude and disrespectful to the board. 

[dlarry]

So what do we do if a local kid wants to get out of St. Louis for college?

 

 I say we set him up in an apartment in Chicago, have him take online classes, have a jet fly him to and from practices and games. 
 

If we would have offered that package to Kalkbrenner he would be a Billiken.

Some kids want to leave the nest for college and there is nothing that can be done about it.

[brianstl]

If you want something to complain about with Ford on the recruiting front it isn’t Kalkbrenner.

The biggest issue I have with Ford’s recruiting is roster construction and specifically his apparent belief that you don’t need a stretch big on the roster.  It isn’t just a SLU thing, it is a whole Ford career thing. Try to find the stretch big on any of Ford’s rosters.  Waldo is easier to find.  
 

I did it a few years back and if I remember correctly there is one in his whole back at UMass.  I can’t remember if he was a Ford recruit or was already there.

We made a big run at and almost landed the Carr kid in the portal last year, so hopefully it is something Ford has recognized that he needs to change.

 

[dennis_w]

how was it that the billikens ever won even a single game, ford cant construct a roster, doesnt listen to his asst coaches, never uses a proper screen, uses the weave , allows local players to go to other schools, i could go on and on with his flaws. likely will never win a game going forward. what a pathetic coach. i could have used blue font but you get it. last five years won nearly 70% of the games. ignore feature will be used liberally going forward

[Schasz]

9 minutes ago, dennis_w said:

how was it that the billikens ever won even a single game, ford cant construct a roster, doesnt listen to his asst coaches, never uses a proper screen, uses the weave , allows local players to go to other schools, i could go on and on with his flaws. likely will never win a game going forward. what a pathetic coach. i could have used blue font but you get it. last five years won nearly 70% of the games. ignore feature will be used liberally going forward

How many NCAA Tourney did SLU play in the last 5 years???

[dennis_w]

Just now, Schasz said:

How many NCAA Tourney did SLU play in the last 5 years???

obviously you have a fixation on one aspect of the coach and ignore everything else that could be positive. it shows that your knowledge of basketball is limited

[slu72]

Rick proved we don’t need local or 4-5 star rated players to win here. He did it with mostly 3 star non locals. We tend to forget that his guys went to 3 straight dances. And the last two were basically done without a coach. Point being it doesn’t matter where they come from or how many stars they have, it matters how they’re coached and developed. 5 mids in the Sweet 16 prove that good coaches can with less than stellar or local talent. 

[willie]

I am not here to defend Schasz but I think he has a legitimate point. We are not getting the top local recruits. With the exception of Jordan who have we gotten? I don’t know if it’s for lack of trying or what. Maybe with the NIL they can change that pattern. All I know is its irritating to see local kids shine on the national stage. You are certainly not going to get them all but how about one. 

[brianstl]

1 minute ago, dennis_w said:

how was it that the billikens ever won even a single game, ford cant construct a roster, doesnt listen to his asst coaches, never uses a proper screen, uses the weave , allows local players to go to other schools, i could go on and on with his flaws. likely will never win a game going forward. what a pathetic coach. i could have used blue font but you get it. last five years won nearly 70% of the games. ignore feature will be used liberally going forward

My post wasn’t meant as a Travis must go post.  The blaming him for Kalkbrenner not coming to SLU is ridiculous.  My post is a legit critique about a problem that has existed in the past and I pointed out that last off season Ford tried to address it.  Hell, I believe Ford had Carr locked up until Wake came in with a NIL deal at the last minute to steal him.  Ford did his job with Carr.

So for people like me who have issues with Ford and question if Ford is really willing to change, I think this is something that can be pointed to as a deficiency that Ford is really working to fix.  There is a lot to like about Travis Ford and if he is willing to make some changes around the edges, he can make the tournament much more regularly at SLU.  I question his willingness to make those changes, but maybe I haven’t given him the enough credit for one area it is clear that he is trying to fix.

[Schasz]

11 minutes ago, slu72 said:

Rick proved we don’t need local or 4-5 star rated players to win here. He did it with mostly 3 star non locals. We tend to forget that his guys went to 3 straight dances. And the last two were basically done without a coach. Point being it doesn’t matter where they come from or how many stars they have, it matters how they’re coached and developed. 5 mids in the Sweet 16 prove that good coaches can with less than stellar or local talent. 

I'd agree slu72 on Majerus...he had the gift and basketball knowledge to Coach up his players. Seems to me Jordair Jett was a football star in HS (not saying he did not play HS Hoops) but he had offers to play college football. Instead Rick got him to play at SLU and he was a heckuva player and only one of many who made us proud to be SLU Hoops fans.

[Schasz]

19 minutes ago, dennis_w said:

obviously you have a fixation on one aspect of the coach and ignore everything else that could be positive. it shows that your knowledge of basketball is limited

No, I've been a basketball and SLU fan pretty certain a whole lot longer than you have been alive. Be happy to test my knowledge of SLU Hoops History with you any day as I go all the way back to John Bennington days. Don't think you want to embarrass yourself dennis_w.

[Brighton]

1 hour ago, slu72 said:

Rick proved we don’t need local or 4-5 star rated players to win here. He did it with mostly 3 star non locals. We tend to forget that his guys went to 3 straight dances. And the last two were basically done without a coach. Point being it doesn’t matter where they come from or how many stars they have, it matters how they’re coached and developed. 5 mids in the Sweet 16 prove that good coaches can with less than stellar or local talent. 

Absolutely it matters, which is why Ford needs to go.

[DOC]

3 hours ago, willie said:

I am not here to defend Schasz but I think he has a legitimate point. We are not getting the top local recruits. With the exception of Jordan who have we gotten? I don’t know if it’s for lack of trying or what. Maybe with the NIL they can change that pattern. All I know is its irritating to see local kids shine on the national stage. You are certainly not going to get them all but how about one. 

Gordon and Nesbitt 

[willie]

16 minutes ago, DOC said:

Gordon and Nesbitt 

You are right on Gordon but was Nesbitt considered one of the top recruits? Good yes but top? 

[brianstl]

31 minutes ago, willie said:

You are right on Gordon but was Nesbitt considered one of the top recruits? Good yes but top? 

Nesbitt and Goodwin were both 4 star recruits.  Goodwin was ranked 54th by 24/7.  Nesbitt was ranked 76th.  Goodwin was slightly higher ranked, but very similar level recruits.

[DOC]

23 minutes ago, willie said:

You are right on Gordon but was Nesbitt considered one of the top recruits? Good yes but top? 

Nesbitt was a four-star, top 100 player. Some had him top 50. 

[slufan13]

We should be happy with 20 win, no NIT seasons. Non major teams just don't win anything. The final four is always major teams. It's unrealistic to say SLU fans can dream to be there

[billikenfan05]

https://t.co/30sJ2vnXdN
 

Horrendous quote in here from Pestello, perhaps an email campaign is necessary. 
 

May and Pestello are more than free to stand behind Ford, but I just can’t stand the flat out bullsh!t of saying it wasn’t a bad season. 

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

12 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

https://t.co/30sJ2vnXdN
 

Horrendous quote in here from Pestello, perhaps an email campaign is necessary. 
 

May and Pestello are more than free to stand behind Ford, but I just can’t stand the flat out bullsh!t of saying it wasn’t a bad season. 

Yeah uh, considering the pre season hype, you'd be an absolute fool to say it wasn't a bad season. Honestly if we don't make the tournament next year, Ford should be gone. May and Pestello are signing off on long-term mediocrity.

[cheeseman]

9 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

https://t.co/30sJ2vnXdN
 

Horrendous quote in here from Pestello, perhaps an email campaign is necessary. 
 

May and Pestello are more than free to stand behind Ford, but I just can’t stand the flat out bullsh!t of saying it wasn’t a bad season. 

Read the article and honestly the two of them have really stuck their neck out for Ford.  I sure hope he understands that and repays them.  My concern is that they really did not outline what the metrics are for evaluating how next season will be viewed.  This idea they talked about winning 20 games is not the same as it was but they look at the trajectory of it - not sure what trajectory they are looking at but that was a nonsense statement.  They also talked about how well Ford has recruited high level talent - the problem is if this is true then something is missing if you can not make the Dance,  Either you have the talent and you coach it correctly or you don't have either or only one part.  I think all fans want to know is what is the program's expectations and that an honest evaluation will be completed.  If the two think this article did any of this they are sorely wrong all it did was make them out to be a bit over their heads at least in my opinion.

[Lord Elrond]

28 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

https://t.co/30sJ2vnXdN
 

Horrendous quote in here from Pestello, perhaps an email campaign is necessary. 
 

May and Pestello are more than free to stand behind Ford, but I just can’t stand the flat out bullsh!t of saying it wasn’t a bad season. 

Again, May apparently has been given the worst possible PR advice on how to handle this.  It’s one thing to keep Ford on as coach, but to not acknowledge reality is crazy.  What are we looking for next year? If May and Dr Pestello think this will make things go quiet and rally support for the current coach, they are sadly mistaken. 

[TheA_Bomb]

38 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

https://t.co/30sJ2vnXdN
 

Horrendous quote in here from Pestello, perhaps an email campaign is necessary. 
 

May and Pestello are more than free to stand behind Ford, but I just can’t stand the flat out bullsh!t of saying it wasn’t a bad season. 

Come on what is he supposed to say? He said it's not a "bad" season.  OK, that's not really a ringing endorsement. 

Happy to see this media coverage on the issue.  Seat is hot and SLU is on notice.  Something needs to change. 

[cheeseman]

11 minutes ago, TheA_Bomb said:

Come on what is he supposed to say? He said it's not a "bad" season.  OK, that's not really a ringing endorsement. 

Happy to see this media coverage on the issue.  Seat is hot and SLU is on notice.  Something needs to change. 

Saying we had a successful season is not what they were forced to say.  They could have said, we recognize that winning 20 games is not good enough to make the Dance anymore and we are focused on doing so.  No need to say we like the direction the team was on.  Also, to say Ford has brought in high level talent and we expect that to continue he could have said that bringing in high level talent is one metric but results will still matter.  This was a rehash of that interview May did with Frank that was a poor performance and this one is no better.  We will just let it all play out next year but real progress must be made in my opinion not some mealy mouth comments that are like trying to nail jello on the wall.