2023-2024 Season

[brianstl]

3 hours ago, wgstl said:

Here's the thing, Parker and Brad don't make up 150 spots.  Ford just cant recruit in this new world. 

It isn’t just that he can’t recruit in the new world. Our high school recruiting has been down for four years.

[CenHudDude]

4 hours ago, Pistol said:

258 is an insane number for this program. That's even worse than I expected. I knew it would be 200+, but that puts us on the edge of the bottom 100 teams in D-I right now.

SIUE is 253.

The next worst team in the A10 is Rhode Island at 192.

SLU would be second from the bottom in the Valley - Valpo is 291.

Here's SLU's non-conference schedule:

Southern Indiana - 333
Illinois State - 161
Wyoming - 187
Vermont - 115
Wichita State - 88
Dartmouth - 319
Utah State - 34
SIUC - 80
Drake - 56
Hofstra - 67
Louisiana Tech - 44
NC State - 53

This means SLU is a bad loss for Illinois State and Wyoming and would be a very bad loss for anyone else coming up. It also means we will be the underdog in every A10 matchup.

The A-10 is actually doing OK at this point with an average of 124.  Take us out and the average is 114.  We are a dead weight on the conference at this point.

[billiken_roy]

i have been focusing on our rebounding the last few games.   i particularly noticed saturday on TV that NOBODY has a fundamental sense of rebounding.   they let players walk right in for second chances, my grandson's 5th grade team has a better sense of blocking out and holding the block until they know where the ball is going there is no effort for our players to get an offensive rebound.   it is pitiful.  it is the worst example of rebounding i have ever seen at any level.   it is the biggest downfall of the team imo.   just barely beating no pressure defense and no agressive get down the floor offense. 

besides that i cant see why we arent winnng.  

[longtimelistenerfirsttimec]

we cant rebound because we are two small and if you think your 5th  team grade is being coached better than these guys it not all coaching you have to have players and we do not

[billiken_roy]

9 minutes ago, longtimelistenerfirsttimec said:

we cant rebound because we are two small and if you think your 5th  team grade is being coached better than these guys it not all coaching you have to have players and we do not

You aren't watching the game.   If you don't block out more times than not regardless how talk you are you won't get the rebound.   There's a reason goodwin got more rebounds than opponents 6 inches taller than him.   He did the needed fundamentals and outworkex his opponent.  It had very little to do with height.   This team is fundamentally unsound.

[cheeseman]

1 hour ago, billiken_roy said:

You aren't watching the game.   If you don't block out more times than not regardless how talk you are you won't get the rebound.   There's a reason goodwin got more rebounds than opponents 6 inches taller than him.   He did the needed fundamentals and outworkex his opponent.  It had very little to do with height.   This team is fundamentally unsound.

Your point is well made.  Rebounding has always been a matter of desire.  By that I mean you have to want the ball more than the other guy, but you are correct it will help the rebounder immensely to have sound technique.  Where does a player get the technique, he needs to succeed - the coaches have to teach it but the desire to get a rebound has to be something within the player.

[slu72]

Whatever happened to Ford’s rallying cry, Team Blue! 

Travis for most of his career  has had the luxury of recruiting talent that covers up his coaching deficiencies. It’s why he gets his teams only so far and then they flop. With the advent of NIL, and him not having access to a pool of $$’s, his world has been crushed. Virtually no chance of him taking so so talent and inexperienced players to 10 Ws this year. 

[TheA_Bomb]

I find myself looking at lower level coaches records on the internet and wishing.  Remember when you got that JC Penny Christmas Catalog as a kid and you'd dog ear or circle the things you wanted?  I'm like that but with coaches.   Maybe if I'm really good Santa will bring me a new coach. 

[Soderball]

14 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

You aren't watching the game.   If you don't block out more times than not regardless how talk you are you won't get the rebound.   There's a reason goodwin got more rebounds than opponents 6 inches taller than him.   He did the needed fundamentals and outworkex his opponent.  It had very little to do with height.   This team is fundamentally unsound.

Goodwin is an NBA player. Who on this roster is going to the NBA, Roy?

[billiken_roy]

1 hour ago, Soderball said:

Goodwin is an NBA player. Who on this roster is going to the NBA, Roy?

so we excuse their poor techniques because no one is a potential nba player?   i dont understand your point.   if you just want to tell us all for the millionth time the billikens suck and it is all ford's fault, thanks for that update. 

[Soderball]

46 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

so we excuse their poor techniques because no one is a potential nba player?   i dont understand your point.   if you just want to tell us all for the millionth time the billikens suck and it is all ford's fault, thanks for that update. 

Glad I could help

 

And my point is that with his recruiting now, Ford has put us in a position where he can't win. Majerus couldn't teach this roster to win.

Ford is recruiting like Sodie and Crews did.

I do get your point, sodie could teach guys to defend like he's doing at UVA now. Ford cannot do that.

[cheeseman]

49 minutes ago, Soderball said:

Glad I could help

 

And my point is that with his recruiting now, Ford has put us in a position where he can't win. Majerus couldn't teach this roster to win.

Ford is recruiting like Sodie and Crews did.

I do get your point, sodie could teach guys to defend like he's doing at UVA now. Ford cannot do that.

Actually I think if RM wanted to teach these guys he could.  Teachers teach and Ford is not one

[billiken_roy]

1 hour ago, Soderball said:

Glad I could help

 

And my point is that with his recruiting now, Ford has put us in a position where he can't win. Majerus couldn't teach this roster to win.

Ford is recruiting like Sodie and Crews did.

I do get your point, sodie could teach guys to defend like he's doing at UVA now. Ford cannot do that.

As much as I detested rickma the person my respect for his savant like basketball was off the charts.   If the player has the right attitude rickma would teach them.   

[CenHudDude]

6 hours ago, slu72 said:

Whatever happened to Ford’s rallying cry, Team Blue! 

Travis for most of his career  has had the luxury of recruiting talent that covers up his coaching deficiencies. It’s why he gets his teams only so far and then they flop. With the advent of NIL, and him not having access to a pool of $$’s, his world has been crushed. Virtually no chance of him taking so so talent and inexperienced players to 10 Ws this year. 

No chance for 10 Ws?  We will have to keep our eye on that.

[thunderdan]

If Ezewiro is NOT cleared this year, is he still eligible to play NEXT year?  Would he even want to go to school for another year, just to play ball?

[Lord Elrond]

6 minutes ago, thunderdan said:

If Ezewiro is NOT cleared this year, is he still eligible to play NEXT year?  Would he even want to go to school for another year, just to play ball?

I think he still has 2 years of eligibility, so if he stays academically eligible he could play next year and the year after, if he wants to. I think with the 2 transfers already, transferring again isn’t going to help him. Unless he gets a degree, then as a grad transfer he would be immediately eligible. 

[TheA_Bomb]

27 minutes ago, thunderdan said:

If Ezewiro is NOT cleared this year, is he still eligible to play NEXT year?  Would he even want to go to school for another year, just to play ball?

If you want free school he gets another year of tuition. So that's a big benefit. Plus room and Champions Center board.

[757billiken]

Good article on Stef Van Bussel by Stu. Stef seems to know his role. Love that he knows he should be a brute and be physical.

I can't remember who keeps bashing our freshman, but I like SVB, Zhang, and Curcic. I can even live with Medley as a back up. I think a good comp would be McCall Jr. He's closer to MM Jr than Dwayne Polk, in my opinion.

[billikenbill]

Van Bussel article: 

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/slus-stef-van-bussel-progressing-after-having-unexpected-surgery/article_207f5098-95ec-11ee-b172-c77f8d2b7b78.html#tncms-source=login

[TheA_Bomb]

1 hour ago, 757billiken said:

Good article on Stef Van Bussel by Stu. Stef seems to know his role. Love that he knows he should be a brute and be physical.

I can't remember who keeps bashing our freshman, but I like SVB, Zhang, and Curcic. I can even live with Medley as a back up. I think a good comp would be McCall Jr. He's closer to MM Jr than Dwayne Polk, in my opinion.

Yeah I like those guys. Thanks for sharing the article last game he flashed some skill.

SVB was injured in 22 requiring a rod to be inserted in his leg before coming to SLU. Ez is a 2x transfer requiring a waiver. Zhang and Magassa are both internationals requiring longer NCAA due processing. That's your front court.

[Aquinas]

The good, the bad and the ugly 23-24 season so far. Better than I expected: Freshman: Zang, Medley and Thames are better than expected, appear to be div 1 players with high ceilings. It's also good to see 3 solid freshman that play 3 different positions. SVB and Curcic are close to what I expected. They are projects that might develop or might leave. Transfers Meadows looks solid. Dalger sometimes looks great and sometimes playes hero ball. He should not be shooting 3s unless it is late in the clock with no other option. There is a reason he is open at the 3 point line. His rebounig is disappointing. Parker was everything  we could ask far before the injury. Jimerson is doing a better job of getting to the free throw line and Houghes is doing about what I expected. What is killing us are the injuries and the transfers that still have undetermined status. All that said, we still have a chance to put together a team that can dance. IF the injured players return to their previous form AND at least one of the bigs who are not yet cleared are cleared and play better than TJ at the 5. 

TJ has played better than I expected. He has a lot of heart. Though if we have any hope of winning the A10, tournament, we have to have legit centers. 

The silver lining in the dark injury cloud is that Zang and the other freshmen are getting good playing time.

The bottom line, I think good things might still happen for the Billikens this season.

[billikenbill]

1 hour ago, Aquinas said:

The good, the bad and the ugly 23-24 season so far. Better than I expected: Freshman: Zang, Medley and Thames are better than expected, appear to be div 1 players with high ceilings. It's also good to see 3 solid freshman that play 3 different positions. SVB and Curcic are close to what I expected. They are projects that might develop or might leave. Transfers Meadows looks solid. Dalger sometimes looks great and sometimes playes hero ball. He should not be shooting 3s unless it is late in the clock with no other option. There is a reason he is open at the 3 point line. His rebounig is disappointing. Parker was everything  we could ask far before the injury. Jimerson is doing a better job of getting to the free throw line and Houghes is doing about what I expected. What is killing us are the injuries and the transfers that still have undetermined status. All that said, we still have a chance to put together a team that can dance. IF the injured players return to their previous form AND at least one of the bigs who are not yet cleared are cleared and play better than TJ at the 5. 

TJ has played better than I expected. He has a lot of heart. Though if we have any hope of winning the A10, tournament, we have to have legit centers. 

The silver lining in the dark injury cloud is that Zang and the other freshmen are getting good playing time.

The bottom line, I think good things might still happen for the Billikens this season.

Been thinking the same thing. There’s something about this team I like. Really hoping Parker can be ready by mid-January because I think we’re one slasher away from being a dangerous offensive team.

Gotta give massive props to Dalger for his play yesterday. Defending, rebounding, making good decisions with the ball instead of the awkward stuff he was doing earlier. Nice to see his layups going in. 

Hope springs eternal.

[3star_recruit]

Dalger shot 35% from 3 last year at Tulsa.   I think he just got off to a bad start shooting the ball.  If he can return to form, he'll become harder to guard and we may see games like this last one with more frequency.

[HoosierPal]

12 minutes ago, billikenbill said:

Gotta give massive props to Dalger for his play yesterday. Defending, rebounding, making good decisions with the ball instead of the awkward stuff he was doing earlier. Nice to see his layups going in.

 

6 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

Dalger shot 35% from 3 last year at Tulsa.   I think he just got off to a bad start shooting the ball.  If he can return to form, he'll become harder to guard and we may see games like this last one with more frequency.

Dalger's defense has been impressive.  When he committed to SLU, several posters said he was the second worst defender on a very bad defensive team.  He has certainly out paced any expectations.  I really like him at the top of the 1-3-1.  Against Drake, he had three straight deflections/steals on top.  When we went to man, he was on DeVries, and held him to half his average. 

Yesterday his primary assignment was the nation's 4th leading scorer, Tyler Thomas.  Thomas got his points, but he took about half of the Pride's total shots to get there.  He had a few, but not many, open looks. 

Dog Dalger!

[slu72]

On 12/5/2023 at 1:34 PM, Soderball said:

Glad I could help

 

And my point is that with his recruiting now, Ford has put us in a position where he can't win. Majerus couldn't teach this roster to win.

Ford is recruiting like Sodie and Crews did.

I do get your point, sodie could teach guys to defend like he's doing at UVA now. Ford cannot do that.

Blasphemy. Rick could teach hoops. Recall Mitchell, Ellis, et al. They couldn’t defend a blind mouse. Yet they became really good defenders under Rick. Then add in his X’s and O’s and you have a coach.