2024-2025 Season

[Billikenbooster]

It’s never as bad as it seems after a loss, and never as good as it seems after a win.

[billiken_roy]

1 hour ago, ARon said:

while transfers can make anything possible, it’s hard to imagine this team without Swope and Jimerson next season suddenly being a better shooting teammate.

Can't say this. You never know when someone will have a Conklin or Thames summer.   And I can't disagree enough about transfers.   Open the vault and we can import most as anyone with the current free agency system 

[laker119]

21 hours ago, ARon said:

Pretty disappointing given the hype around this squad. And while transfers can make anything possible, it’s hard to imagine this team without Swope and Jimerson next season suddenly being a better shooting teammate.

Gibson Jimerson, for as great of a Billiken he’s been, has peed down his leg in every big game we’ve had that I can remember.  I don’t really care about his shooting against  State Tech School - this or Northeastern State School - that.  It’s just fluff - the only thing that matters is doing it when it counts, and he hasn’t done that.  I hope later this year he proves me wrong

[kappy96]

3 minutes ago, laker119 said:

Gibson Jimerson, for as great of a Billiken he’s been, has peed down his leg in every big game we’ve had that I can remember.  I don’t really care about his shooting against  State Tech School - this or Northeastern State School - that.  It’s just fluff - the only thing that matters is doing it when it counts, and he hasn’t done that.  I hope later this year he proves me wrong

Strong take here but there is substance to it.  GJ hasn’t hit the big shots in the big games.

[Wendelprof]

10 minutes ago, kappy96 said:

Strong take here but there is substance to it.  GJ hasn’t hit the big shots in the big games.

Man, I agree there is a place for tough love, but some of you can be pretty harsh.  In the Loyola game, didn't he hit the big shot with about a minute to go that ended up being the shot that put the game away?  And given our roster over the years, who else would you have had on the court at the end of the game to take such a shot if someone had to take it?  Come on guys, give the players a break.  It isn't fair comparing them to players on other teams.  The only other options are other players on the Billikens.  Using that standard, while I've been disappointed at times that his shot hasn't fallen, I'm still glad he's been a Billiken.

[Billiken Rich]

It's easy to remember the missed dagger that could've iced the game or the missed last second shot to tie but then you look down at the box score and Jimerson has 20 points for the game on a tough shooting night from the 3 pt line......

 

[Bay Area Billiken]

Dan Hurley goes to Maui and reverts into his old lovable self …

[CenHudDude]

3 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

Dan Hurley goes to Maui and reverts into his old lovable self …

Did you think Hawaii would mellow him?

[Bay Area Billiken]

While injuries are part of the game, SLU has sure been hit with a rash of injuries so far this season:  Avila, Casey, Johnson, Dotzler, Thames (health cramping issue), and per Tom Timmermann- McCottry (possible knee brace in 2nd Half Monday night).  Dotzler and McCottry had worked their way into the rotation, in Dotzler's case only to have a season ending injury. 

The team needs some better luck from the injury standpoint. 

[cgeldmacher]

Someone help talk me off the ledge with regard to what is happening this season and what the future holds.  I know we have injuries, but teams need to overcome them and recruit depth to avoid having the problems we are having.  I keep hearing that we live and die by the three, but "yes" that happens, and Schertz has a system reliant on threes, and we are not getting good attempts and not hitting them.  Right now, we are losing to teams that we should beat and being told "but that's a really good team."  We used to be competitive with the Butlers, Marquettes, Memphises of the world, and now we are making excuses for losses or close games with the likes of San Francisco and 0-9 Jackson State (they lost they're most recent game to Arkansas State).

Jimerson and Swope are gone after this season.  The way the season is going, I cannot see Avila sticking around for his last year.  Given this, where is our team going to be at the beginning of next season?  With Jimerson, Swope and Avila gone, are we just starting over and counting on Schertz's system to win out with a new bunch.  All I can see is bleakness.

Does anyone have a reasonable argument that there is a silver lining?

[longtimelistenerfirsttimec]

13 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said:

Someone help talk me off the ledge with regard to what is happening this season and what the future holds.  I know we have injuries, but teams need to overcome them and recruit depth to avoid having the problems we are having.  I keep hearing that we live and die by the three, but "yes" that happens, and Schertz has a system reliant on threes, and we are not getting good attempts and not hitting them.  Right now, we are losing to teams that we should beat and being told "but that's a really good team."  We used to be competitive with the Butlers, Marquettes, Memphises of the world, and now we are making excuses for losses or close games with the likes of San Francisco and 0-9 Jackson State (they lost they're most recent game to Arkansas State).

Jimerson and Swope are gone after this season.  The way the season is going, I cannot see Avila sticking around for his last year.  Given this, where is our team going to be at the beginning of next season?  With Jimerson, Swope and Avila gone, are we just starting over and counting on Schertz's system to win out with a new bunch.  All I can see is bleakness.

Does anyone have a reasonable argument that there is a silver lining?

avila came because of this coach he is going to stay here because of the coach college sports can change rosters year to year unless you have given up on this coach and his ability to judge talent why give up

[cgeldmacher]

9 minutes ago, longtimelistenerfirsttimec said:

avila came because of this coach he is going to stay here because of the coach college sports can change rosters year to year unless you have given up on this coach and his ability to judge talent why give up

I think that is what I have to hang my hopes on.  The idea that Schertz is a very good coach who is having abnormal results for him despite bringing two of his best players with him, adding Jimerson, and adding a hand picked roster from a larger NIL pot is the only way to shine a positive light on what is happening.  Perhaps he learns better how to construct a roster that fits his system and can play defense next year.  However, next year's team will be mostly new, at least with regard to the key players.

However, If the season continues like this, I do not think that Avila stays regardless his relationship the coach.  He came with Schertz, because he had success last season and was counting on having better success (meaning play in the NCAA tournament) at a school that was a higher level.  If that doesn't happen, and it seems like a longshot now, he will leave and go somewhere that he thinks will get him to the tournament in his final season of eligibilty.  There's no way he sticks around without Swope and Jimerson and tries again with a mostly new team.

[laker119]

12 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said:

I think that is what I have to hang my hopes on.  The idea that Schertz is a very good coach who is having abnormal results for him despite bringing two of his best players with him, adding Jimerson, and adding a hand picked roster from a larger NIL pot is the only way to shine a positive light on what is happening.  Perhaps he learns better how to construct a roster that fits his system and can play defense next year.  However, next year's team will be mostly new, at least with regard to the key players.

However, If the season continues like this, I do not think that Avila stays regardless his relationship the coach.  He came with Schertz, because he had success last season and was counting on having better success (meaning play in the NCAA tournament) at a school that was a higher level.  If that doesn't happen, and it seems like a longshot now, he will leave and go somewhere that he thinks will get him to the tournament in his final season of eligibilty.  There's no way he sticks around without Swope and Jimerson and tries again with a mostly new team.

with what we’ve seen from Avila this season, is it actually a terribly bad scenario if he were to leave?  Game after game it’s becoming pretty clear that Indiana St’s excellence was MUCH more about the collective (Kent, Larry, Conwell, Swope AND Avila) as opposed to just Avila.  Without vast talent around him, he isn’t the same player and can’t have the same impact.  He’s not a player that can be a force multiplier… 

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

5 minutes ago, laker119 said:

with what we’ve seen from Avila this season, is it actually a terribly bad scenario if he were to leave?  Game after game it’s becoming pretty clear that Indiana St’s excellence was MUCH more about the collective (Kent, Larry, Conwell, Swope AND Avila) as opposed to just Avila.  Without vast talent around him, he isn’t the same player and can’t have the same impact.  He’s not a player that can be a force multiplier… 

Really by himself, all he brings is marketability. He's a good player, but not a game-changer.

[almaman]

7 minutes ago, laker119 said:

with what we’ve seen from Avila this season, is it actually a terribly bad scenario if he were to leave?  Game after game it’s becoming pretty clear that Indiana St’s excellence was MUCH more about the collective (Kent, Larry, Conwell, Swope AND Avila) as opposed to just Avila.  Without vast talent around him, he isn’t the same player and can’t have the same impact.  He’s not a player that can be a force multiplier… 

sure don't see him in NBA.

[stmdragons]

Avila is clearly not 100% at the moment, to me at least. I think it’s way too early to be that critical of him but I certainly understand the frustration with how the team in general has played so far. Still a lot of season left. 

[longtimelistenerfirsttimec]

this is a player who has missed practice time with new players coming off a bad injury that you want to throw under the bus before jan.1st of what is a long season

[wgstl]

Just to give you an idea how good Avila CAN be.

 

last year Holmes had the 6th highest rating in the nation at 5.9,  Robbie’s rating was 5.2(15int).  The next highest rating in the a10 was 4.2.

[ACE]

Like I've said previously, these games are basically just exhibition games. If Indiana State having a NET of 28 last year wasn't good enough to get in the Dance, the idea of us getting an at large this year was a pipedream.

I suggest resting Robbie the rest of the month so he can fully heal, even if it means ugly basketball and taking more lumps. try to get healthy for the start of conference play and seeding in the conference tournament.

If our defense and toughness remains soft throughout the season, then even good health won't save this team.

[wgstl]

12 minutes ago, ACE said:

Like I've said previously, these games are basically just exhibition games. If Indiana State having a NET of 28 last year wasn't good enough to get in the Dance, the idea of us getting an at large this year was a pipedream.

I suggest resting Robbie the rest of the month so he can fully heal, even if it means ugly basketball and taking more lumps. try to get healthy for the start of conference play and seeding in the conference tournament.

If our defense and toughness remains soft throughout the season, then even good health won't save this team.

I don’t think Robbie is hurting or the injury is the problem. I think the lack or chemistry from being out + knocking off a ton of rust is more of the problem. We will never know, but if his ankle is still an issue I’d say at the very least don’t play him Sunday. 

[VeniceMenace]

1 hour ago, almaman said:

sure don't see him in NBA.

Thames is the one with NBA potential...the most complete player on the roster. Others may score more, but he does more. 

[almaman]

2 hours ago, VeniceMenace said:

Thames is the one with NBA potential...the most complete player on the roster. Others may score more, but he does more. 

that would be cool 2 c.

[slubillikens43]

Assuming the following happens we'll be 9-4 in OOC:

• Taking care of Chicago State, Wofford, and William Woods at Home
• Sneaking a win out at Illinois State
• Losing at Grand Canyon

At the beginning of the year we had a lot of 10-3, 9-4 OOC record predictions. We really wanted to win 2 out of SC, WSU, SF, GCU. That was assuming we had 8-9 healthy guys in the rotation and we were playing closer to how ISU was playing at the end of last year. I get why we're losing so I'm not placing any blame on Schertz or the team yet. I know it sucks to get blown out like we have been, but it would suck just as much to lose them all by 5. They're still losses in the eyes of the committee. Lots of season left to get a couple guys back healthy and start to click before the A10 tourney.

[billikenfan05]

29 minutes ago, slubillikens43 said:

Assuming the following happens we'll be 9-4 in OOC:

• Taking care of Chicago State, Wofford, and William Woods at Home
• Sneaking a win out at Illinois State
• Losing at Grand Canyon

At the beginning of the year we had a lot of 10-3, 9-4 OOC record predictions. We really wanted to win 2 out of SC, WSU, SF, GCU. That was assuming we had 8-9 healthy guys in the rotation and we were playing closer to how ISU was playing at the end of last year. I get why we're losing so I'm not placing any blame on Schertz or the team yet. I know it sucks to get blown out like we have been, but it would suck just as much to lose them all by 5. They're still losses in the eyes of the committee. Lots of season left to get a couple guys back healthy and start to click before the A10 tourney.

This is reasonable. I like this. 

[almaman]

when can losing to Grand Canyon be reasonable. it is barely reasonable we r playing them