WBB Offseason

[almaman]

if we only count the first time we beat them we're undefeated 

[White Pelican]

I do have to say I saw both wins. The first one, we were way down and had a miraculous 4th quarter as I recall.

Just looked it up. Outscored 'em 34-8 in the 4th. The large Mizzou contingent (including Sophie Cunningham's mother who wasn't shy about yelling) got real quiet near the end.

Had over 6200 in attendance.

[willie]

25 minutes ago, White Pelican said:

I do have to say I saw both wins. The first one, we were way down and had a miraculous 4th quarter as I recall.

Just looked it up. Outscored 'em 34-8 in the 4th. The large Mizzou contingent (including Sophie Cunningham's mother who wasn't shy about yelling) got real quiet near the end.

Had over 6200 in attendance.

I was also there. Have to admit we got some good homecoming from the referees. My justification was this was only fair for the homecoming Missouri got in Columbia during the 3 game series for the men. 

[White Pelican]

2 minutes ago, willie said:

I was also there. Have to admit we got some good homecoming from the referees. My justification was this was only fair for the homecoming Missouri got in Columbia during the 3 game series for the men. 

I was sitting about 5 rows behind the scorer's table on the center aisle so the Mizzou group was to my left. Their fans were yelling at the refs right from the get-go on almost  every damn call. So later, when we definitely got some favorable reffing, I thought that's just karma calling.

There was a very vocal woman who kept standing up yelling at the refs. I kept thinking, why does she look familiar. It took me a while, but I finally realized it was Sophie Cunningham's mother. She looked just like Sophie if you added 20 or so years.

I enjoyed watching Sophie play, she is very talented. But it was sweet beating her team. And it was the first time ever going back to 1976.

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

2 hours ago, White Pelican said:

If by well, you mean 2-25 versus Mizzou over about 50 years, then I don't know what to tell you.

If we only count since the first time we won in 2016, then we're 2-6.

In the past 10 years is really what I meant, beyond that I really had no idea how much we'd played them. I'm aware of the historical women's records, but not the frequency of opponents, lol.

[White Pelican]

31 minutes ago, BrettJollyComedyHour said:

In the past 10 years is really what I meant, beyond that I really had no idea how much we'd played them. I'm aware of the historical women's records, but not the frequency of opponents, lol.

Well...okay, but in the last 10 games, as we didn't play them in '15 or '20 (thanks covid), we're 2-8. So quit digging that hole.

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

3 hours ago, White Pelican said:

Well...okay, but in the last 10 games, as we didn't play them in '15 or '20 (thanks covid), we're 2-8. So quit digging that hole.

You underestimate my willingness to be argumentative, lol.

[Lord Elrond]

On 3/20/2025 at 9:46 PM, Lord Elrond said:

Just got back from watching Lindenwood WBB take down Tulsa 76-60 in the first round of the WNIT.  It wasn’t as close of a game as the score indicated. The Lions have quite a collection of sophomores who can shoot the ball, and they spread around the shots to all of them. 5 Lindenwood players hit double digit points, with a 6th at 9 pts. Honestly if you gave me both Lindenwood and SLU rosters of players scheduled to come back next year and had me list in order which players I would trust to hit a last second game winning shot, I think the first 4 would be Lindenwood players at least. So it is possible to recruit players who can shoot, which are the type of players the Billikens need badly. I’m not sure how far Lindenwood will go in the WNIT, they look like a collection of guards with very few taller players, which will make things tough for them in the WNIT.  We desperately need some shooters.

Lindenwood is making a run this year in the WNIT.  They beat Tarleton State 67-59 to advance to the WNIT “Super 16”.  Amy Eagan took over a team that was 2-24 the year before she got there, got rid of all but 1-2 players and brought in 10 freshmen, all recruited about this time 2 years ago (I.e. - passed over by everyone) went 7-21 last year, now 23-10. She was my first choice when the SLU job opened up after Lisa Stone’s departure.

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

3 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said:

Lindenwood is making a run this year in the WNIT.  They beat Tarleton State 67-59 to advance to the WNIT “Super 16”.  She took over a team that was 2-24 the year before she got there, got rid of all but 1-2 players and brought in 10 freshmen, all recruited about this time 2 years ago, went 7-21 last year, now 23-10. She was my first choice when the SLU job opened up.

Who is "she?" Lol, you didn't reference anyone in either post.

Edited March 24 by BrettJollyComedyHour

[Lord Elrond]

46 minutes ago, BrettJollyComedyHour said:

Who is "she?" Lol, you didn't reference anyone in either post.

Sorry, I edited it, Amy Eagan, currently head coach at Lindenwood

[Pistol]

We go pretty in-depth on our concerns around the WBB program in the latest @Midtown Madness episode. Hope you give it a listen.

In short:

• 3 transfers announced before the portal opens = not great, especially when this roster is wide open with opportunities.
• Team seemed to be lacking an identity/style all season.
• SLU continues to be outclassed in talent by schools that should be peers or lower-level programs. Size, athleticism, shooting, skill - all of it.
• Year 4 and 5 is where Lisa Stone's team took off. Yes, they came back down to earth in the back half of her tenure and yes, Tillett's starting point was higher by going to the first Tournament ever. But we're entering year 4 and it looks like a total rebuild, not the next step.

We get into a lot more than that, too.

[Lord Elrond]

7 minutes ago, Pistol said:

We go pretty in-depth on our concerns around the WBB program in the latest @Midtown Madness episode. Hope you give it a listen.

In short:

• 3 transfers announced before the portal opens = not great, especially when this roster is wide open with opportunities.
• Team seemed to be lacking an identity/style all season.
• SLU continues to be outclassed in talent by schools that should be peers or lower-level programs. Size, athleticism, shooting, skill - all of it.
• Year 4 and 5 is where Lisa Stone's team took off. Yes, they came back down to earth in the back half of her tenure and yes, Tillett's starting point was higher by going to the first Tournament ever. But we're entering year 4 and it looks like a total rebuild, not the next step.

We get into a lot more than that, too.

I listened to it, great stuff.

The team this year had no identity, and was very inconsistent. I didn’t understand some of the playing time decisions all year long, and I don’t understand them looking back on it either.  I don’t understand Anumele leaving, there is nothing but opportunity for her here. I agree she has talent, but she took the most FG attempts on the team, while having the worst FG percentage on the team. That cannot stand, she must learn better shot selection, and it sure looked like from her play she never learned that lesson all season. My guess is she left because that was a message she didn’t want to hear from Tillett. But I don’t see how she doesn’t hear that from any other coach.

Next year is a total rebuilding year. Coach Tillett said they need 4 impact players from the portal. That sure sounds like a total rebuilding year. And getting 4 still leaves them 2 short of a full roster. 

[Pistol]

37 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said:

I listened to it, great stuff.

The team this year had no identity, and was very inconsistent. I didn’t understand some of the playing time decisions all year long, and I don’t understand them looking back on it either.  I don’t understand Anumele leaving, there is nothing but opportunity for her here. I agree she has talent, but she took the most FG attempts on the team, while having the worst FG percentage on the team. That cannot stand, she must learn better shot selection, and it sure looked like from her play she never learned that lesson all season. My guess is she left because that was a message she didn’t want to hear from Tillett. But I don’t see how she doesn’t hear that from any other coach.

Next year is a total rebuilding year. Coach Tillett said they need 4 impact players from the portal. That sure sounds like a total rebuilding year. And getting 4 still leaves them 2 short of a full roster. 

That's what didn't add up for me, either. 

Glanton, Calhoun, Johns, Haidara, and Kennedy are out of eligibility.

Anumele, Gray, and Shavers are in the portal.

Simon and Tillett could opt to use one final year of eligibility.

That leaves Nazario, Bergstrom, Triantafylli, and Wallace as underclassmen - 6 scholarship players returning if Simon and Tillett decide to stay, plus 3 signed freshmen.

So that's 6 remaining scholarships, possibly more.

[Lord Elrond]

45 minutes ago, Pistol said:

That's what didn't add up for me, either. 

Glanton, Calhoun, Johns, Haidara, and Kennedy are out of eligibility.

Anumele, Gray, and Shavers are in the portal.

Simon and Tillett could opt to use one final year of eligibility.

That leaves Nazario, Bergstrom, Triantafylli, and Wallace as underclassmen - 6 scholarship players returning if Simon and Tillett decide to stay, plus 3 signed freshmen.

So that's 6 remaining scholarships, possibly more.

That’s my math as well, the team is 6 short of the limit of 15, assuming Simon and Wallace return.  I guess “only” 4 of those 6 have to be impact players.  Here’s a legitimate question though, can you count on getting 4 real impact players from the portal in a single year?  I’m not sure that’s possible.  
Regardless, roster construction is all on the coach.

[Pistol]

18 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said:

That’s my math as well, the team is 6 short of the limit of 15, assuming Simon and Wallace return.  I guess “only” 4 of those 6 have to be impact players.  Here’s a legitimate question though, can you count on getting 4 real impact players from the portal in a single year?  I’m not sure that’s possible.  
Regardless, roster construction is all on the coach.

It's possible if you have the budget. Not sure what that budget has to be for a top-tier A10 WBB program, but it's definitely more affordable than what we need on the men's side.

[Pistol]

Nazario is in the portal. That leaves 7+ available spots.

Current roster: Tierra Simon, Bel Tillett, Mia Bergstrom, Marilena Triantafylli, Hannah Wallace, Zhykera Brown, Alyssa Koerkenmeier, Jasaiyah Wallace. 2 seniors, 1 junior, 2 sophomores, 3 freshmen.

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

3 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Nazario is in the portal. That leaves 7+ available spots.

Current roster: Tierra Simon, Bel Tillett, Mia Bergstrom, Marilena Triantafylli, Hannah Wallace, Zhykera Brown, Alyssa Koerkenmeier, Jasaiyah Wallace. 2 seniors, 1 junior, 2 sophomores, 3 freshmen.

That's...not ideal.

[Pistol]

With just 5 returners, that means that Tillett has fewer players coming back than she had when she came to SLU. She inherited 6 existing players from Stone, including Flowers, Martinez, and Kennedy. Pretty sure the 3 incoming freshmen originally committed to Stone, too, although none of them ended up staying at SLU after that year.

So yeah, this is a complete reset and we might not even be done seeing portal exits.

[Lord Elrond]

This is now a total rebuilding year, no other way to say it. Only 2 players have had more than 1 year of practicing and playing with her, only 1 of those (Tierra Simon) was a major contributor.  Up to Coach Tillett to fill out the roster, but they need a lot of players.

[Pistol]

6 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said:

This is now a total rebuilding year, no other way to say it. Only 2 players have had more than 1 year of practicing and playing with her, only 1 of those (Tierra Simon) was a major contributor.  Up to Coach Tillett to fill out the roster, but they need a lot of players.

70.6 returning MPG (35.0%) and 17.0 returning PPG (25.7%). Tierra Simon is almost half of those figures.

If this team needs Bel Tillett to come back, then this staff is in trouble.

I'll reserve judgment until they put a roster together. There's always the possibility they get the support they need NIL-wise and that they build a cohesive roster.

[cgeldmacher]

Is this a SLU thing, or do other A-10 schools experience this level of departure each year?  If it is similar to what other A-10 schools are seeing then it may just be the new reality that we live it.  If it is unusual for the A-10, then we probably have a problem.

[Lord Elrond]

41 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said:

Is this a SLU thing, or do other A-10 schools experience this level of departure each year?  If it is similar to what other A-10 schools are seeing then it may just be the new reality that we live it.  If it is unusual for the A-10, then we probably have a problem.

I’d have to look at the numbers, but the total number of players who reached the end of their eligibility plus the number of players leaving via the portal equals a total number of players leaving I haven’t seen short of a coaching change.

[Lord Elrond]

44 minutes ago, Pistol said:

70.6 returning MPG (35.0%) and 17.0 returning PPG (25.7%). Tierra Simon is almost half of those figures.

If this team needs Bel Tillett to come back, then this staff is in trouble.

I'll reserve judgment until they put a roster together. There's always the possibility they get the support they need NIL-wise and that they build a cohesive roster.

Right now they need Bel Tillett to come back, who else is your point guard out of this group?  Who else is your back up point guard?

No other option at this point but to see what we get in the portal (or additional freshmen/JUCO players). I do think that Coach Tilletts tenure here depends on on getting good players who fit in to our style of play this year.

Now another question: I’ve been a WBB season ticket holder for years (since before Coach Tillett). I’ve been to every home game the last few years I could, I’ve watched every away game I could, I made a couple trips to other schools to watch the WBB team play last year.  Can someone tell me exactly WHAT our style of play was last year?  I honestly have no idea.  The closest guess I can make is that we were like chameleons, reflecting back whatever the other team was doing to us. If anyone has a serious answer to that question I’d love to hear it, it was a very serious question.

[Pistol]

2 hours ago, cgeldmacher said:

Is this a SLU thing, or do other A-10 schools experience this level of departure each year?  If it is similar to what other A-10 schools are seeing then it may just be the new reality that we live it.  If it is unusual for the A-10, then we probably have a problem.

 

2 hours ago, Lord Elrond said:

I’d have to look at the numbers, but the total number of players who reached the end of their eligibility plus the number of players leaving via the portal equals a total number of players leaving I haven’t seen short of a coaching change.

In WBB, the NIL is way smaller (to nonexistent) albeit increasing quickly, so the incentives are not as great to jump if you aren't able to go get some power conference money. I'd agree with @Lord Elrond - this is a high amount of departures without a coaching change.

[Pistol]

1 hour ago, Lord Elrond said:

Right now they need Bel Tillett to come back, who else is your point guard out of this group?  Who else is your back up point guard?

No other option at this point but to see what we get in the portal (or additional freshmen/JUCO players). I do think that Coach Tilletts tenure here depends on on getting good players who fit in to our style of play this year.

Now another question: I’ve been a WBB season ticket holder for years (since before Coach Tillett). I’ve been to every home game the last few years I could, I’ve watched every away game I could, I made a couple trips to other schools to watch the WBB team play last year.  Can someone tell me exactly WHAT our style of play was last year?  I honestly have no idea.  The closest guess I can make is that we were like chameleons, reflecting back whatever the other team was doing to us. If anyone has a serious answer to that question I’d love to hear it, it was a very serious question.

It would probably be Tillett because the only other option is Zhykera Brown, an incoming freshman. I'd take my chances on Brown over Tillett, though. Tillett is a preferred walk-on at best at any other program.

This team's style of play is just sloppiness. It's to force the opponent out of their comfort zone, create turnovers, and hope for the best. The offensive scheme is impossible to figure out. The defense is suspect if they aren't forcing turnovers. It's complete slop, and I'm honestly tired of watching it against programs that have no business being so much better than SLU. You're correct. They have no identity to the way they play.