Frericks Sidelined for Season

[Box and Won]

Frericks Sidelined for Season

Concussions end senior center's career.

Jan. 14, 2005

St. Louis - Saint Louis head men's basketball coach Brad Soderberg today announced that senior center Tom Frericks (Bowling Green, Ky. / Greenwood) will miss the remainder of the 2004-05 season for medical reasons. Frericks sustained three separate concussions during this season, and the Saint Louis University medical staff has determined that an extended period of rest is necessary to manage the condition.

"It's a tough break for Tom and a difficult way to end his college career," Soderberg said. "I know Tom expected to contribute significantly to the success of our team this year, and it's been frustrating for him and everyone connected with our program."

Frericks appeared in 11 games this season and started eight. He was averaging 3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game when he was sidelined after the Southeast Missouri State game. In 2003-04, Frericks finished as C-USA's leading percentage shooter at .574 and was the Bills' leading rebounder at 6.0 rebounds per game in just 20 minutes per game.

Frericks transferred into the Billikens' program after a single season at Chipola (Marianna, Fla.) Junior College. He played his freshman season at UAB in 2000-01, but sat out the 2001-02 season with an injury. His SLU career consisted of 35 games in which he averaged 6.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

The Billikens make their first Conference USA road trip when Saint Louis plays at Charlotte tomorrow night. Tip-off at Halton Arena is 6 p.m. (CT).

[billiken_roy]

the kid was just loaded with heart. i will forever remember his games he played last year with basically one shoulder. i cant imagine playing against the likes of cincy in that type of pain.

and then to find out he was playing this entire season with the concussion problem is just unbelievable. while we may look back in future years at his statistics and be less than impressed, the fact is the kid was a lion and is and will be missed tremendously. i feel certain he will be a success in life assuming he carries that bulldog attitude to the real world.

good luck tom! thanks.

[SLURadioBoy]

I guess there's no way he can get a medical redshirt is there? I would love to see him back next year completely healthy, but I'm guessing the NCAA wouldn't allow it, would they?

"Praises we sing, to you our alma mater,

Praise to the white and blue.

Our hymn shall ring, in tribute strong to you,

We hail Saint Louis U."

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[slufanskip]

under certain exceptions ... Jason White got an extra injury year ... but who knows if Tom would want to go through the hassle of applying.

I agree ... I am and have been a big fan of Tom's ... even arguing with aj about him and thinking earlier this year ... that Tom's problem was not enough touches ... before I heard about the concussions ... I thought Tom could still be a major contributor with more opportunities.

Good luck Tom ... thanks for the pleasure of watching you play.

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[tdog]

I am very sorry to see this news, both for Tom and also for the team. Tom's leadership will be sorely missed in the difficult days ahead. This is a tough break for him, but I am sure that his future is still very bright. Good luck TF!

[Taj79]

Tom Frericks .. the person, the player aside .... and just concentrating on the situation .... a player expected to be a major contributor even along the lines of "educating" the Ian Vouyoukas' and Bryce Husak's of this team een inpractice ... just adds another chapter to the litany of subsections under the header "Why Its Hard to be a Billiken Fan." Good guys have things like this happen to them; guys like Robert Whaley skate on through.

I am guessing based on Brad's comments in the opening of this thread, that the Frericks' camp has no desire to push for that sixth year. Brad says it how? .... "What a way to end your college career." ... To me sounds like there are no plans to put himself through it. As noted with White, you can get a sixth year ... kind of like applying for a medical hardship .... each case is looked at on an individual basis. I think Tom would have a pretty good shot. Sounds to me based on Soderberg's statement that some side of the equation doesn't fit right now.

Best wishes to Tom but this is typical Billiken history as its written.

[guest]

let's face it tom is lazy. even if they told him he could get another year, he probably wouldn't go after it. this is a guy that could have been a dominant force for us this year and he walks into his senior season overweight and out of shape.

[slufanskip]

I saw Tom at the beginning ... he wasn't overweight any more than anyone else. He wasn't in game shape in Oct ... but no player is.

I bet you can find Tom at West Pine ... either have the balls to call him lazy to his face ... or don't do it at all.

It is so easy to throw stones behind the cover of an internet chat board.

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[Schasz]

I also like to throw in my thanks to Tom for giving it his all whenever he played for our Billikens. I hope that Tom is successful in whatever career he chooses in life.

[guest]

Just quoting what brad said at the billiken tipoff club meeting at humphrey's right when the season started.

I guess you missed that meeting,... or maybe I should have used quotes.... Brad ripped his injuries and laziness pretty bad....don't take it out on me

please reply

[slufanskip]

I don't remember Brad saying he was lazy ... he may have said he was out of shape ... but that is not that rare ... I saw him he was not way out of shape ... I am sure that without the concussions, Tom would have been fine. Yes and since you are going to quote him then why don't you actually quote him, because I doubt the word lazy was used.

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[Sheltiedave]

BCharlie, I'm surprised, but you managed to make me laugh with that comment. The level of conditioning required for a transition running offense, compared to a half court, walk the ball up offense, is like comparing the piston driven fighters of WWII to the jet fighters of the '50s.

If Tom were still posting a 60% FG percentage in a running offense, he would be NBA bound after he graduates. Calling him lazy from the sidelines, while evidencing no understanding of the context, makes me wonder if you can run a 5 min 30 sec conditioning mile today, or if you are just "lazy."

[billiken_roy]

lazy and lack of effort are not words that would ever be used to effectively describe tom frericks imo.

[guest]

Lazy is indeed the word used to describe Frericks...Charlie is dead on about that. Hey Skip, college b-ball players are supposed to come into camp in game shape, and at playing weight. Frericks came in way over weight. Over weight players are clumsy...clumsiness turns into injuries, and those injuries turned into his season ending early. It is a shame, b/c it would have been nice to get another season of the way Tom played down the stretch last year. And, West Pine would be the last place I would look for Tom right now...he obviously didn't work out before the injury, so why would he now?

[slufanskip]

Lazy is the word used by whom?

I have a clear understanding of what shape ball players are suppossed to come into camp ... and none ... NONE of them come into camp in game shape ... get real.

He can't work out now ... he has a concussion.

My only suggestion to you is this ... If you want to call Tom Lazy, get a big tight grip on your balls ... and go up to Tom and tell him to his face that he is lazy. Otherwise you should show a bit of class and keep the name calling to yourself.

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[Quality Is Job 1]

I'm not going to say that Tom is lazy, because I have no basis for that; however, I can't dispute the posters' claims that Brad said (or implied) that Tom is lazy, because I wasn't there. On the other hand, one of the Tip-Off Club meetings I attended featured Angres Thorpe's telling us that he had to attend especially to Tom because he came in much further from playing shape than expected.

But what I'm really curious about is why you insist this poster must tell Tom to his face in order to be correct. Is Tom going to haul off and slug the guy for saying it? Does Tom's response have any validation of the poster's claim? If Tom postures to intimidate the guy, does that mean Tom isn't lazy; if the poster feels too scared by Tom's imposing stature to approach him to make a constructive criticism (but one with the potential to be perceived negatively), does that prove Tom isn't lazy?

Lastly, just because Tom plays hard -- and when hurt -- doesn't necessarily mean he isn't lazy in the off-season. Many people try very hard during a test (examination), but when they should have been spending the bulk of the semester studying and reading, they were playing Nintendo.

[slufanskip]

I think it is obvious ... if you are going to call someone lazy be man enough to do it to their face ... the internet does not give you the right to disrespect someone annonymously.

Lazy isn't constructive criticism ... and directed at you, you probably wouldn't think it was either.

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[Quality Is Job 1]

>I think it is obvious ... if you are going to call someone

>lazy be man enough to do it to their face ... the internet

>does not give you the right to disrespect someone

>annonymously.

I don't think saying someone is lazy is disrespecting them. Furthermore, why doesn't the Internet give someone the right to "disrespect" someone anonymously? I think you're mistaken.

> Lazy isn't constructive criticism ... and directed at you,

>you probably wouldn't think it was either.

If someone is underachieving or is unprepared for some challenge or assessment they knew they were going to face, then to tell them they're lazy IS constructive criticism. Maybe, just maybe, it might provoke them to do what is necessary. Again, I'm not saying Tom Frericks is lazy.

[AlumniFan]

I think Skip has a good point. Of the few internet boards I participate on (the others are academic in nature), this one seems to be prone to name-calling and people who like to lash out.

If someone wants to report what a coach said, put it in that context and let it be, but to start off calling a player lazy (the comment was, "let's face it tom is lazy"), IN MY OPINION, is inappropriate. I have been to many, if not most of the meetings. I do not remember any coach using the word "lazy". It may very well have happened, but I do not remember it.

Chances are that I will get jumped on for sharing my opinion - happens all the time on Billkens.com, but I still love the board!!!

By the way, good luck Tom. Thanks for your efforts the past two years.

[AlumniFan]

nm

[dewey33]

NCAA only allows 5 years to play 4...Tom spent 2 years at UAB and only played 1. Plus a year of juco and 2 at SLU.

I'm not sure but, I think 6th years are only given when it takes 2 years to recover from the same problem....Evan Eschmeyer from Northwestern is the example I can think of...

I would guess that Coach Soderberg probably knew Tom's chances before he made that statement.

[slufanskip]

I think it is sad that you condone using the internet to anonymously disrespect someone. Why should it be ok ... and why would someone want to ... seems very cowardly to me.

I for one have always tried to adhere to the adage that if I wouldn't say it to their face ... don't say it at all.

I'm not claiming everyone should be perfect as I know I have stepped over the line a few times ... but I have always apologized ... and have never hid who I am ... or where to find me if I do step over the line and need to be confronted.

We will have to disagree with calling someone lazy as constructive criticism ... I would consider it name calling.

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[guest]

I think it is sad that you have made over 2400 posts. Skip, you need to calm down just a little bit. Aren't these talk forums made for fans to express their opinion? It is pretty obvious to me that Frericks was lazy in the off-season, which led to him being overweight to start the season, so I came to this forum and expressed my personal opinion, and agreed with another poster. Haven't you ever read a sports column in the post or any other paper? They criticize players all of the time, and that is simply what I am doing. Are you related to Frericks or something? I didn't think someone would get this upset over this.

[slufanskip]

There is a way to post your opinion ... seriously if you have a problem understanding the difference ... you go right ahead and name call anonymously on the internet.

Sports columnists are known and are held accountable for what they write ... you are not ... it is so very easy to call names when no one knows you.

Tom also had a shoulder injury in March ... does anyone know what he did to fix it or how it hampered his ability to work out? I doubt it.

It's not just Tom I am defending it is the whole principal of using the internet to call names ... again anonymously ... which is the key word ... I doubt you would have anything negative to say to Tom to his face.

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[Billiken Rich]

This Whole Damn Message Board Is Out Of Order!

(With apologies to Dustin Hoffman)

>I think it is sad that you have made over 2400 posts. Skip,

>you need to calm down just a little bit. Aren't these talk

>forums made for fans to express their opinion?

Yes they are BUT this is a kinder gentler message board than most. Also Tom's dad keeps up with the board here too. I'm not saying I agree with Skip but that is perhaps another reason why.

Tom may well have been lazy or injured in the off season. I don't know. I do know that last year he was a warrior for us and played tough when injured and in great pain. His effort and sweat and blood earned my respect and as such I'll not speculate about how he got injured to the point he can no longer play. If I were to speculate I'd assume that his head met Anthony's or Ian's elbows or the floor while practising or playing basketball......