Kevin Slaten Rips Soderberg Again

[aj_arete]

He still can't get over the nonrecruitment of his son and the decision to not go after Blake Ahearn. He was incredulous about Soderberg receiving a handsome, 5-year contract for no reason. Stated that Soderberg has to make it to the NCAA before receiving such a great committment. Claiborne came to 'SLU's defense', if you call it that, by saying that he likes Soderberg. And given SLU's nontradition, he mentioned that they haven't won a conference championship since 1970, it's OK to set the bar lower in terms of what is considered progress.

Kevin ripped SLU's boring offense, stated that Lisch and Polk better be careful about his promises to be more uptempo because he has a pattern of lying. Any thoughts?

[NashvilleBilliken]

Here's a thought...Kevin Slaten is a dumba$$.

[Billiken Law]

A) Slaten's job is to be an a-hole

He has a point about not recruiting Ahern as it seems we need shooters in this offense.

[Schasz]

Even with the slow start, I am still happy with Coach Soderberg. I still believe that he has us on the right track. I am in the crowd that is thinking we need to be a little patient. If we start hitting some more FG's in the upcoming games then we can win some games especially considering we are still playing the tough D.

AJ, you nailed Slatten's agenda as he will never give Coach Soderberg a break. Heck, SLU was not the only D-1 program that took a pass on his kid.

[3star_recruit]

Averaging 55 ppg and playing halfcourt basketball when Brad promised we would play more uptempo basketball is just giving "The King" more ammo for his "Brad Soderberg is a liar" mantra. Playing uptempo doesn't just mean taking jump shots earlier in the shot clock, it also means trapping from time to time to create turnovers so you can get out in transition. With Polk, Bryant, Brown, Newborne and Izik, we're athletic enough to trap on a part-time basis.

[lamontcranston]

I know how most people feel about Kevin Slaten in that they feel that he should not be taken seriously, but these are still very serious allegations especially when they are being thrown around the air waves during the prime time rush hour.

In a short time frame I heard Slaten claim that not only did Sodaberg lie to his son,but also to to "two other kids from St.Louis" "a kid from Jeff City" and he also insinuated that he was lieing to Polk and Lisch concerning what type of offense we were running and what type we would run when they would play here.

[lamontcranston]

I could'nt agree with you more,I feel with our personnel especially our guards and wing players we should be trapping as much as possible in an attempt to force some turnovers.

I feel we should become more aggressive on both offense and defense,in the games it seems that this loosens us up and we tend to plsy better as a result.

[Supersonic]

I am an avid 590 listener on my way home from work. I have heard Slaten bash SLU every chance he gets. It has been driving me crazy. I am glad someone else out there feels the same way. Does any like Slaten?

I would rather listen to Charlie Tuna...(NOT!)....but it look like he might be in some trouble since they found cocaine in his car....

[aj_arete]

But you don't have to trap and press to run more uptempo. I think your previous point, which Brad has already addressed, that the motion offense is just not running efficiently because they haven't drilled on it enough is more on the mark.

If the big men can improve their outlet passing and when SLU's guards can get steals from their half-court defense, there will be opportunities for transition baskets. I just don't see Brad altering his defenses so drastically and attacking beyond the half-court. In fact, I think this is a bad strategy when you face teams with good backcourts unless you've got UAB-like athleticism.

[aj_arete]

until I learned his ONLY skill is shooting. He's at the level he needs to be at. He had decent handles and thought he could be a point guard, but he doesn't have point skills as many have pointed out on this board. I do not want undersized-Diener players at SLU.

[billiken_roy]

forget about slaten words. my gosh, he is an entertainer. you all are reacting exactly like he wants. let it go. if troy would have signed with charlotte or cincy or kansas state, then there would be a question of "yeah why?" the fact is troy isnt even in division I. there are over 320 division I schools. was everyone wrong? we saw troy earlier in the month for ourselves and while he is a credible player, at the cusa level he isnt good enough to have made an impact. let slaten go.

3 star said, "it also means trapping from time to time to create turnovers"

while i dont consider myself an expert on the pack man-to-man defense that coach soderberg is the author on the "how to" book, from my view, stunts and traps off the pack defense would shake the foundation of this defense. i.e. help defense and controlling the paint. in a belly buttonlike man-to-man (what spoon played) it is a different scenario because you deny the ball when your man does not have the ball as well as pressure the ball. you are constantly leaving the middle vulnerable but the pressure makes it hard for the person with the ball to find the middle. that defense is all about stunts and traps. where as brad's man to man is more about getting out quickly to defend the ball and helping your teamates on drives to the basket.

if you are talking full court presses, brad has stated on many occasions he wont full court press as he is far more concerned about getting back on defense and defending the break.

the point is, there is little chance that brad will change his defensive philosophy. and imo, the fact the billikens defensive performance since brad took over has been sterling, i find it hard to go against that.

now if we want to argue about offense, i am all for keeping an open mind on that. but anything to do with soderberg defense and the mechanics of how it is played, imo is moot.

i say we give the offense time to adjust to frericks and bryant. if in a couple three weeks we are still seeing the same thing, then we should talk. to be honest, is the problem we had no one ready to truly step in and do the job at the level of frericks and bryant of last year the problem? while i loved both fisher and sloan, i have come to believe that polk is an upgrade on the point solely on speed alone, and be it newborne or izik, both are adequate replacements for sloan. but i know i truly took frericks and bryant forgranted. in fact, i assumed both would continue to only get better. of which i still think will ultimately play out. i did not forsee (no one ever thinks about stuff like this) reggie injuries and frericks conditioning or whatever is affecting his play coming into play. and if they come around (which i think they will)we can still win the remaining games we all believed this team would win. the question is, will the two games lost that we shouldnt have, plus the negative effect of playing winthrop instead of arkansas be able to be overcome to still get an at-large bid? i think that will be hard to overcome come march without corresponding big unexpected wins somewhere along the line and few if any more stumbles.

[billiken_roy]

well let it snow. aj and i totally agree on something. ;-)

[lamontcranston]

I agree, but I also believe that you should have a defensive game plan for each team that you are playing. Believe me I am not advocating playing an Arkansas type 40 minutes of hell defense every game,I just feel we should loosen up and use the trap more within the half court setting.Become somewhat more aggressive,depending of course on what type of opponent we are playing.

[billiken_roy]

i am a huge slaten fan regardless of what he mispeaks about saint louis university and brad soderberg. his job, his angle is to stir it up. he plays the audience to the hilt. pure entertainment.

anyone that believes his point of view on a lot of his stuff is naive. his skill is to create a buzz and stir the pot.

i also think he is one of the best interviewers there is in st louis. asks tough questions more than most and seems to be able to get better responses than most.

[Supersonic]

Slaten does do a good job at stirring it up....I will give him credit there.

[bonwich]

Have you seen JC's new book, Roy? I found at least one major surprise.

[billiken_roy]

i am very good friends with one of the assistant coaches at althoff high school. he is actually one of the most reknown teachers of matchup zone. we had a discussion the other day that touches on the point of changing your main defense as he would love nothing better than to get althoff to switch to primarily the matchup zone he teaches. however, he pointed out that switching your defenses can also blow up on you. of course to do it occasionally down the floor will bring an element of surprise and typically bring a level of success, especially against teams with average or less guards, however that isnt the same as changing your defense for a whole game.

defense is more a matter of habits and effort than anything. sure athleticism helps and can mask mistakes or magnify skills, however, we have seen for ourselves when the likes of carlos mccauley or josh fisher are standout defenders that come out and shut down the likes of penny hardaway or dwayne wade how athleticism isnt the end all.

my point is, to ask a player to switch defenses game to game is basketball suicide imo. you can point out specific traits or action that would give a player(s) heads up and make defenses work better, but you cant ask them to change defenses game to game imo. possession to possession on occasion is great. but overall, you have to have a "bread and butter" defense.

[billiken_roy]

i meant to buy it this weekend and didnt. i will get it this week.

and bonwich is correct, jc is an even better interviewer.

[3star_recruit]

We've only faced one good backcourt in four games. Hawaii's backcourt ain't too hot, either. I'm only talking about trapping part-time to get some easy baskets, not overhauling the entire defense.

[gister]

I always used to listen to KFNS in the afternoon, although I'm not a big fan of Claiborne. But since Slaten is back on the air, I do not listen any more. I don't need to hear most callers put down or yelled at. In fact he sounds like is always yelling into the mic. In years past, I could tolerate that, but not any more. I just won't waste my time.

I do still listen occaisionally to Frank's show in the morning.

[3star_recruit]

"while i dont consider myself an expert on the pack man-to-man defense that coach soderberg is the author on the "how to" book, from my view, stunts and traps off the pack defense would shake the foundation of this defense"

I'm sorry Roy, I don't buy the notion that situational trapping 5-6 minutes out of a 40 minute game will "shake the foundation of this defense." But it may give us another 2-3 layups and a couple more free throw attempts. If you eat a bagel and cream creese instead of bacon and eggs one day out of seven, does that shake the foundation of your diet? ;-)

[Billiken Rich]

If Slaten was on a real radio station I'd be pissed at his stupidity. As it is I can't get his station at my home and the signal is spotty throughout the area. He'll have his few little followers and they deserve him. I won't be listening. Carpe Diem Kevin. Beat up another hockey fan....

[slufanskip]

I emailed Kevin in a very nice manner. I told him I was a huge Billiken and UB fan and was concerned with his calling UB a liar on the air. I asked specifically what he lied about. He sent me back a nice note saying UB lied to his son and 2 other Stl kids, but nothing specific. He basically avoided the question.

I like his show a little more than I used to ... It seems to me he has calmed down a bit. I find myself laughing at his it's just wrong bit ... and usually agreeing with him. However ... I strongly disagree with his calling UB or anyone else a liar on the air ... especially since I have never heard him back it up with specifics.

Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman

[Billikan]

Wow! I have dealt with Slaten for years and have found him, in my opinion, to be an obnoxious jerk who fabricates things at a moments notice in order to try to be a "shock jock". He actually accused me of saying something I never said and then later denied saying it when I confronted him. I do not know anyone who has known him for a long time that likes him. I also believe, in my opinion, that he has racist tendencies and he plays to the redneck crowd. His recent diatribes about Bryan Burwell were so vicious that I could not see how he could say the things he was saying. I lost a lot of respect for Claiborne when he sat idly by and let Slaten drone on ripping Brian.

That station has gone in the dumpster as far as the afternoon show. I pretty much only listen to Frank and Brian in the morning. At least they have some class and intelligence.

If we let an jerk like Slaten try to run Soderberg out of town with insults and fabrications then we all should be ashamed. I am fed up with his crap and lies.

[jjray]

Ahern would have been great to have coming off the bench for 12 minutes a game (which is about what Clarke gets when he is not injured). At 12 minutes per, the guy's average defense does not hurt you too much as you are giving him limited exposure (much the same way we got away with limited minutes to Philip Hunt last year). IMHO, Ahern is a much better perimeter shooter than Drew Diener ever was.