Welcome Djordje Curcic

[gabriel]

22 minutes ago, kmbilliken said:

Doesn’t seem like much to get excited about from watching the video. Sure he makes his 3s, but who doesn’t on their promotional videos.

Ok

[SLUMedBilliken15]

3 hours ago, Brighton said:

Ford could have a reincarnated Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem, Magic, Jordan, Russell, etc on his team and would find a way to underachieve, so excuse us for witholding excitement until he doesn't.

I really wish bad post still existed...

[Dr. Holly Hills]

10 hours ago, slufan13 said:

This team is going to have no problem scoring from the guard position. I'll assume one or two of the bigs are going to be successful as well. If this team can play defense, they could be pretty good. If they can't, at least we're going to see exciting losses. 

I’m kinda over that level of excitement after a heavy dose of it last year.

[slu72]

13 hours ago, Dr. Holly Hills said:

I’m kinda over that level of excitement after a heavy dose of it last year.

Agreed. This is definitely a show me season. If last season didn’t prove to you that only results matter and over the top expectations mean zilch, you’re setting yourself up for a large dollop of disappointment. 
No one doubts Ford’s ability to recruit, although NIL may be cutting into that strength, but his coaching skills are definitely suspect at this point. Here’s hoping Harriman can convince him to follow some of Rick’s methods. 

[gobillsgo]

1 hour ago, slu72 said:

Agreed. This is definitely a show me season. If last season didn’t prove to you that only results matter and over the top expectations mean zilch, you’re setting yourself up for a large dollop of disappointment. 
No one doubts Ford’s ability to recruit, although NIL may be cutting into that strength, but his coaching skills are definitely suspect at this point. Here’s hoping Harriman can convince him to follow some of Rick’s methods. 

He’s already got him dipping heavily into the international recruiting market.  Makes sense give what we’ve heard about the BVF being primarily for graduates and then current players… we will be totally non competitive in NIL for recruits if that is genuinely the case.   NIL opportunities, while possible, are much more limited for internationals.  Straight up recruiting (playing time, system, campus, etc) is much more important.  Say what you will about Travis, if everything else is equal (ie no NIL) he is a great recruiter.  I imagine you’ll see more and more internationals in D1 hoops the next few years. 

[kshoe]

On 7/5/2023 at 5:13 PM, juniorbill76 said:

We are very proud to share an extremely important news with you. The young representative of Serbia and our valuable basketball player Đorđe V. Ćurčić will join American college basketball! Djordje recently reached an agreement with the prestigious Saint Louis University, where he will wear the jersey of this renowned team for the next four years. This decision is the result of a long-considered plan and Đorđe, together with his family, decided to combine his education with the continuation of his career in basketball. We believe this is the best solution for him and will provide him with incredible opportunities to grow and prosper. Our Mozartian family sincerely wishes him all the luck and success on this new path. This collaboration with St. Louis University is an exceptional opportunity for him to make great strides in his basketball career. The fighter will always be there for him and the doors of the club will be wide open for him. It is interesting to note that the St. Louis Billikens compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which they have won seven times so far. This team has also reached the finals of the NCAA Championship ten times, and the last time they were in that competition was in 2019. The team has as many as 17 NBA basketball players who have passed through their ranks. Dear Đorđe, we congratulate you on this great opportunity and we believe that you will give your best on the field. Take with you everything you learned and the experience you gained in Borac. Be brave, persevere and never forget the part of us that will always be with you. May luck and success follow your steps through American college basketball. We are all rooting for you, George!

Granted the translate feature isn't perfect, but man things would be a lot more fund in Billiken land if the bolded part was true.

[JMM28]

3 hours ago, gobillsgo said:

He’s already got him dipping heavily into the international recruiting market.  Makes sense give what we’ve heard about the BVF being primarily for graduates and then current players… we will be totally non competitive in NIL for recruits if that is genuinely the case.   NIL opportunities, while possible, are much more limited for internationals.  Straight up recruiting (playing time, system, campus, etc) is much more important.  Say what you will about Travis, if everything else is equal (ie no NIL) he is a great recruiter.  I imagine you’ll see more and more internationals in D1 hoops the next few years. 

NIL is just as strong for international guys, if not stronger. These guys usually have agents built in that help them make the connection in the NCAA. This notion of “oh we should just recruit international guys because our nil program sucks and they don’t get nil money ” is another one of those “it was said on Billikens.com once and stuck for some reason” not based in reality kind of things. 
 

Serbia plays a high level of basketball. It’s hard to get correct info for younger dudes but there’s plenty of guys out of Serbia peppered throughout college basketball. Florida Atlantic had a Serbian big guy who sucked his first couple years and turned into a big contributor. 

[willie]

5 minutes ago, JMM28 said:

NIL is just as strong for international guys, if not stronger. These guys usually have agents built in that help them make the connection in the NCAA. This notion of “oh we should just recruit international guys because our nil program sucks and they don’t get nil money ” is another one of those “it was said on Billikens.com once and stuck for some reason” not based in reality kind of things. 
 

Serbia plays a high level of basketball. It’s hard to get correct info for younger dudes but there’s plenty of guys out of Serbia peppered throughout college basketball. Florida Atlantic had a Serbian big guy who sucked his first couple years and turned into a big contributor. 

Please back up your NIL international statement. If an international player can't earn promotional money in the US how many schools have the resources to do it in a foreign country. Educate me. 

[JMM28]

Just now, willie said:

Please back up your NIL international statement. If an international player can't earn promotional money in the US how many schools have the resources to do it in a foreign country. Educate me. 

It doesn’t matter where they are paid from. It matters where they “earn” the money. A guy can do any number of things while on non-US soil to earn an NIL payment. Video conferencing is an easy one. This is basic stuff. A school doesn’t need a booster in the home country to be able to pay them. They just need to not be on US soil while earning that money. 

[willie]

3 minutes ago, JMM28 said:

It doesn’t matter where they are paid from. It matters where they “earn” the money. A guy can do any number of things while on non-US soil to earn an NIL payment. Video conferencing is an easy one. This is basic stuff. A school doesn’t need a booster in the home country to be able to pay them. They just need to not be on US soil while earning that money. 

I don't buy that it is as easy as you are making it out. You need the "earn" to be somewhat legitimate . Players will be in this country shortly. Setting up a buyer in a short period would be difficult. 

[JMM28]

1 minute ago, willie said:

I don't buy that it is as easy as you are making it out. You need the "earn" to be somewhat legitimate . Players will be in this country shortly. Setting up a buyer in a short period would be difficult. 

Well I’m going to just say I’m kinda good at this NIL stuff. Probably more knowledgeable than anyone running the BVF, frankly  

Who is the judge on what $100,000 gets you of Young Curcic’s time? (Not saying that’s what he got.) It’s not as if there’s a salary structure to any of it. What is an hour meeting or appearance from Yuri Collins worth? It’s worth whatever someone or some ‘group’ is willing to pay. 

[brianstl]

NIL is just as important for international players.  Just ask Gonzaga who lost Australian top prospect Alex Toohey to the NBL because Gonzaga did not put together a NIL good enough to keep him.  With stuff like the NBL’s Next Star program (and the copycat programs to follow),  the price on international talent isn’t going to be cheaper than US kids.  This coming season there will probably 8 2024 draft picks playing in the NBL instead of college basketball.

The big thing with the international kids is you are much more likely to get a really top flight international kid to take a chance on a non top name program if your program has the right relationships overseas.  You are still going to have to find a way to pay the kid something considered around market rate.

 

[slufan13]

NIL is a big deal for international kids and there are definitely ways to pay the player but I don't really think SLU is advanced in finding and acting upon those ways to sidestep those rules 

[willie]

I know I’m beating a dead point but you just gave me 2 examples of why it is difficult for the NIL to be successful with international players. Zags can’t win ,players going to the NBL. I still think part of our strategy is NIL related. 

[TheChosenOne]

7 minutes ago, slufan13 said:

NIL is a big deal for international kids and there are definitely ways to pay the player but I don't really think SLU is advanced in finding and acting upon those ways to sidestep those rules 

My primary question is if one of the workarounds for paying International players is if the income is completely passive as in they don’t promote anything or the like, isn’t that how most of the NIL deals are?

[willie]

8 minutes ago, slufan13 said:

NIL is a big deal for international kids and there are definitely ways to pay the player but I don't really think SLU is advanced in finding and acting upon those ways to sidestep those rules 

I am sure there are examples but I would like to see them. XYZ turned down X money instead of playing in the Y league. 

[willie]

2 minutes ago, TheChosenOne said:

My primary question is if one of the workarounds for paying International players is if the income is completely passive as in they don’t promote anything or the like, isn’t that how most of the NIL deals are?

Not on paper. California is trying to change it making players employees 

[Old guy]

The most important point that determines whether a NIL strategy will be successful or not is the availability of money. No money or not enough money, means no NILs strategy. If enough money is available then some kind of a NIL strategy is possible.

[TheA_Bomb]

Generally the concern with this many new players is chemistry on and off the court.  But this is the case just about everywhere now dahs so it's muted. Also SLU hasn't particularly excelled at team D under T Ford so it's not like we're for sure taking a step back on that with these recruits. 

Appears to be a good pick up this late in the game. Plus getting fringe D1 big men to walk on is a boon too.

[GOSLU68]

Serbian church just south of Lafayette Square Park has a Serbian Food Festival in August

[thetorch]

9 hours ago, GOSLU68 said:

Serbian church just south of Lafayette Square Park has a Serbian Food Festival in August

I sell several Balkan food brands to various stores all over south city and south county.  He will have no shortage of native fare to enjoy in St. Louis.

[VeniceMenace]

8 hours ago, GOSLU68 said:

Serbian church just south of Lafayette Square Park has a Serbian Food Festival in August

Serbian  Church Food Festival is a huge recruiting advantage in getting this guy.

[73Billiken]

1 hour ago, thetorch said:

I sell several Baltic food brands to various stores all over south city and south county.  He will have no shortage of native fare to enjoy in St. Louis.

Balkan.................not Baltic. 

Serbia is in the Balkan region of Europe.......the Baltic countries are Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

 

 

[thetorch]

25 minutes ago, 73Billiken said:

Balkan.................not Baltic. 

Serbia is in the Balkan region of Europe.......the Baltic countries are Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

 

 

Edited grievous error

[73Billiken]

20 hours ago, thetorch said:

Edited grievous error

If I was selling my products to my "Baltic" customers, I would certainly try to get it right.................

I am sure that they are impressed.