Departing Billiken Players via the Portal - 2025

[RiseOfTheBillikens]

I thought a certain poster had said they didn't think anybody was going to leave lol

[Dr Bird]

2 minutes ago, SluSignGuy said:

No inside info but remember portal players can return.  They can investigate their options. 

Gibby entered the portal last season I think. 

True.  That said, once the player moves to the portal I doubt CJS would offer anything (scholarship or NIL) to a player that still has major injury concerns and has not been a past contributor.  

[TRN]

6 minutes ago, Dr Bird said:

True.  That said, once the player moves to the portal I doubt CJS would offer anything (scholarship or NIL) to a player that still has major injury concerns and has not been a past contributor.  

Yeah, there’s a difference taking back a 5 year player in the school’s top 10 scoring, versus a guard with limited minutes coming off a serious knee injury.

[slu72]

I hope Pikar stays. He showed a few flashes. Also, his 3 pt jumper looks good with a quick release. I’m guessing injuries played a role in Casey and Dotzler leaving. Although, I find it hard to buy that Schertz dumped them as damaged goods. Who really knows what CJS is looking for in the portal. But since he likes 3s and layups, I’d expect at least two snipers are on his wish list. Of course, what HC isn’t open to signing a sniper or two? 

[HoosierPal]

50 minutes ago, slu72 said:

I hope Pikar stays. He showed a few flashes. Also, his 3 pt jumper looks good with a quick release. I’m guessing injuries played a role in Casey and Dotzler leaving. Although, I find it hard to buy that Schertz dumped them as damaged goods. Who really knows what CJS is looking for in the portal. But since he likes 3s and layups, I’d expect at least two snipers are on his wish list. Of course, what HC isn’t open to signing a sniper or two? 

I go with the flow on players staying/departing - no longer need to get any emotional ties.  Great if Pikaar stays, but okay if he leaves.  On Pikaar's 3 pt jumper, how could you conclude anything?  He took 4. Which of the 4 he took did you like the best?  I'll take the one he made.

[NextYearBill]

Losing 2 players who didn’t play. Moving on 

[Old guy]

A player that we should not retain is Thames. If we know anything about his condition it is that he cannot play for more than a few minutes before he goes down. You cannot keep a player like that is very limited in their amount of play. I like Thames and wish it was otherwise but he just cannot play competitive basketball.

[HoosierPal]

Is it safe to assume that Brett Putz, basketball Recruiting Coordinator,  is pretty busy this week? 

[TRN]

5 minutes ago, Old guy said:

A player that we should not retain is Thames. If we know anything about his condition it is that he cannot play for more than a few minutes before he goes down. You cannot keep a player like that is very limited in their amount of play. I like Thames and wish it was otherwise but he just cannot play competitive basketball.

If you keep any player with an injury past it IS Thames.  He’s got the athletic ability to cause mismatches and affect the game.  We were a much different team, in a bad way, without him.

If we have a 15 man roster and he can give us 12-15 minutes a game, that’s a plus.

[okay]

Thames is gonna be the fan favorite and would be good to keep on the roster if only to play 5 minutes a game. It’s good to have a long term stlouis native on the team 

[billikenfan05]

14 minutes ago, Old guy said:

A player that we should not retain is Thames. If we know anything about his condition it is that he cannot play for more than a few minutes before he goes down. You cannot keep a player like that is very limited in their amount of play. I like Thames and wish it was otherwise but he just cannot play competitive basketball.

You are the absolute worst poster here. Is there message board transfer portal you can enter? 

[TheA_Bomb]

22 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

You are the absolute worst poster here. Is there message board transfer portal you can enter? 

That's not true there's worse.

I'm pretty sure he wears his baseball hats correctly. So that's something. 

[Dr. Holly Hills]

Have we even seen a diagnosis on Thames condition?

[billiken_roy]

5 hours ago, okay said:

With the freshmen we have incoming, I don’t see Brockhoff staying either. Wouldn’t be surprised if Pikaar also left 

Both will likely have to significantly transfer down as with our very shallow bench neither got significant playing time imo showing they didn't prove there worth.   If we truly have a substantially larger bag o money this year to buy a roster id move on from both. 

[Crewsorlose]

I think people on the board are minimizing the Dotzler news. He was definitely a top 7 rotation guy before all of the injuries to the team. He was slated to be a starter when McCotry was nailed to the bench and Warlick was told to redshirt. He was also a strong HS player who went to a perennial tourney team in Creighton who was top 25 his frosh year. He came to SLU to play and develop his game.

Unless the injury is horrific, in which case it's unethical to run him out, I'd bet almost 100% that it was his choice to leave. And it reflects negatively on Schertz that Dotzler is leaving. Dotzler is precisely the kind of talent that should come here and develop. 

Casey looked incredibly unathletic in every appearance and it appears unlikely he makes an impact anywhere below low-major. No surprise. Assuming Brockhoff is next.

I personally like Schertz but I think his job is on the line over the next month. If he can't bring in talent now, he never will. And if he can't convince guys to stay now, he never will. 

[Dr Bird]

2 minutes ago, Crewsorlose said:

I think people on the board are minimizing the Dotzler news. He was definitely a top 7 rotation guy before all of the injuries to the team. He was slated to be a starter when McCotry was nailed to the bench and Warlick was told to redshirt. He was also a strong HS player who went to a perennial tourney team in Creighton who was top 25 his frosh year. He came to SLU to play and develop his game.

Unless the injury is horrific, in which case it's unethical to run him out, I'd bet almost 100% that it was his choice to leave. And it reflects negatively on Schertz that Dotzler is leaving. Dotzler is precisely the kind of talent that should come here and develop. 

Casey looked incredibly unathletic in every appearance and it appears unlikely he makes an impact anywhere below low-major. No surprise. Assuming Brockhoff is next.

I personally like Schertz but I think his job is on the line over the next month. If he can't bring in talent now, he never will. And if he can't convince guys to stay now, he never will. 

It may be less of a reflection on CJS, and more of a matter that  CJS said "no guaranteed minutes and no guaranteed NIL" and that was enough for Dotzler to leave. 

[billikenfan05]

7 minutes ago, Dr Bird said:

It may be less of a reflection on CJS, and more of a matter that  CJS said "no guaranteed minutes and no guaranteed NIL" and that was enough for Dotzler to leave. 

I mean that is still a reflection on Schertz as much as it is the entire athletics operation, no? 

[NextYearBill]

1000 players left. Is that a reflection on CJS too?

[Old guy]

OK people, you have to ask yourselves what a good basketball team is. In my opinion, a good basketball team is an instrument carefully fashioned to win games. This goal needs players that can play their hearts out whenever they are needed, and integrate their play with the team in a way that they do win. However nice a player is, if the player is restricted in any way by physical conditions he just cannot fulfill his primary goal. A good basketball team is not a "feel good" team, it is a machine that wins games.

Majerus' management of the Bills is a case in point, he got rid of people that did not or could not play the way he wanted them to play. He was strict in that way. The games Crews won he won with Majerus' team. The team he built afterwards was not up to Majerus' standards. Let's not talk about the next coach. He did win a lot of games, but quite often managed to lose the games he had to win, despite early leads. Ford was a colossal waste if money as a coach. He could sell himself quite effectively but that was his main strength. Schertz has to be as hard and single minded as Majerus was if he wants to lead the Bills out of its eternal 4th place at the end of the season. Feel free to disagree with me, but Thames cannot play more than a few minutes each time he plays, he is a good  player that cannot play more than a few minutes per game.

This is not something I am making up, we have all seen him crumpling down to the floor during a breakup run. He wants to do it and knows how to do it but his body just does not let him do it. This is not disliking the man, it is simply stating that because of unspecified medical reasons he just cannot play enough minutes per game. I would see nothing wrong in changing his status from player into some kind of assistant level that allows him to keep his scholarship (no NILs) and contribute to the  team. But I do not see him staying as an active player.

[laker119]

3 minutes ago, Old guy said:

OK people, you have to ask yourselves what a good basketball team is. In my opinion, a good basketball team is an instrument carefully fashioned to win games. This goal needs players that can play their hearts out whenever they are needed, and integrate their play with the team in a way that they do win. However nice a player is, if the player is restricted in any way by physical conditions he just cannot fulfill his primary goal. A good basketball team is not a "feel good" team, it is a machine that wins games.

Majerus' management of the Bills is a case in point, he got rid of people that did not or could not play the way he wanted them to play. He was strict in that way. The games Crews won he won with Majerus' team. The team he built afterwards was not up to Majerus' standards. Let's not talk about the next coach. He did win a lot of games, but quite often managed to lose the games he had to win, despite early leads. Ford was a colossal waste if money as a coach. He could sell himself quite effectively but that was his main strength. Schertz has to be as hard and single minded as Majerus was if he wants to lead the Bills out of its eternal 4th place at the end of the season. Feel free to disagree with me, but Thames cannot play more than a few minutes each time he plays, he is a good  player that cannot play more than a few minutes per game.

This is not something I am making up, we have all seen him crumpling down to the floor during a breakup run. He wants to do it and knows how to do it but his body just does not let him do it. This is not disliking the man, it is simply stating that because of unspecified medical reasons he just cannot play enough minutes per game. I would see nothing wrong in changing his status from player into some kind of assistant level that allows him to keep his scholarship (no NILs) and contribute to the  team. But I do not see him staying as an active player.

TLDR

[WVBilliken]

1 hour ago, Crewsorlose said:

I think people on the board are minimizing the Dotzler news. He was definitely a top 7 rotation guy before all of the injuries to the team. He was slated to be a starter when McCotry was nailed to the bench and Warlick was told to redshirt. He was also a strong HS player who went to a perennial tourney team in Creighton who was top 25 his frosh year. He came to SLU to play and develop his game.

Unless the injury is horrific, in which case it's unethical to run him out, I'd bet almost 100% that it was his choice to leave. And it reflects negatively on Schertz that Dotzler is leaving. Dotzler is precisely the kind of talent that should come here and develop. 

Casey looked incredibly unathletic in every appearance and it appears unlikely he makes an impact anywhere below low-major. No surprise. Assuming Brockhoff is next.

I personally like Schertz but I think his job is on the line over the next month. If he can't bring in talent now, he never will. And if he can't convince guys to stay now, he never will. 

Maybe Dotzer saw that McCottry is locked in at the 2 guard and CHOOSE to leave.  Maybe he wants to move to a program closer to home.  Maybe he doesn't like the area or coach or school.  Maybe, maybe, maybe ..... opinions.

Your comment rubs me as just another unfounded opinion ..... "And it reflects negatively on Schertz that Dotzler is leaving. Dotzler is precisely the kind of talent that should come here and develop".  I am reluctant to be critical of Schertz when a player leaves the program when we as posters know very little about inner workings of these decisions.  But of course we are all, by this discussion board, able to post our mostly unfounded opinions with no factual basis behind them. 

[Old guy]

19 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

Maybe Dotzer saw that McCottry is locked in at the 2 guard and CHOOSE to leave.  Maybe he wants to move to a program closer to home.  Maybe he doesn't like the area or coach or school.  Maybe, maybe, maybe ..... opinions.

Your comment rubs me as just another unfounded opinion ..... "And it reflects negatively on Schertz that Dotzler is leaving. Dotzler is precisely the kind of talent that should come here and develop".  I am reluctant to be critical of Schertz when a player leaves the program when we as posters know very little about inner workings of these decisions.  But of course we are all, by this discussion board, able to post our mostly unfounded opinions with no factual basis behind them. 

I like your post, but tell me please, do you knot what Thames' medical diagnosis is? Do you know what the treatment for his condition is? Do you know if there is an effective treatment for his condition? You do not know because, no one in this board knows. I am not against Thames, I like him and I like the way he plays. But I also know that a basketball team is not, or should not be, a charitable organization. I do not want to hurt Thames but without a diagnosis or an effective treatment available I think he has no business being an active team player. Does this give a factual basis for my opinion as far as you are concerned? 

And by the way, there are "orphan diseases" well described and identified in the medical literature. These are diseases that affect very limited numbers of people, so few in number that there are no medications developed or in development for the disease they have, therefore the label "orphan diseases."

Does Thames have one of these "orphan diseases"? I do not know. I suppose that makes this and my prior posts in this topic an opinion.

[slu72]

Based on what’s been posted so far, I can’t wait to see the reactions on the portal players we land. Going to be an interesting spring and summer. 

[wgstl]

40 minutes ago, Old guy said:

I like your post, but tell me please, do you knot what Thames' medical diagnosis is? Do you know what the treatment for his condition is? Do you know if there is an effective treatment for his condition? You do not know because, no one in this board knows. I am not against Thames, I like him and I like the way he plays. But I also know that a basketball team is not, or should not be, a charitable organization. I do not want to hurt Thames but without a diagnosis or an effective treatment available I think he has no business being an active team player. Does this give a factual basis for my opinion as far as you are concerned? 

And by the way, there are "orphan diseases" well described and identified in the medical literature. These are diseases that affect very limited numbers of people, so few in number that there are no medications developed or in development for the disease they have, therefore the label "orphan diseases."

Does Thames have one of these "orphan diseases"? I do not know. I suppose that makes this and my prior posts in this topic an opinion.

I'd waste the 15th scholarship on Thames even if they said he would never be able to play Esports again, just off the 1% chance medical experts were wrong(which happens a decent amount).  

 

Also:

 

[WVBilliken]

37 minutes ago, wgstl said:

I'd waste the 15th scholarship on Thames even if they said he would never be able to play Esports again, just off the 1% chance medical experts were wrong(which happens a decent amount).  

 

Also:

 

Agree 100%.  Thames has talent, the right attitude and if healthy ..... will start or be first off the bench.  Praying the miracles of modern medicine resolve his medical condition.