pooch1918 Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Thoughts? Opinions? Comparisons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 ...but there's still a long way to go this season. If this year's squad can get to around 10 wins, then comparisons to the 1991-92 team would be unfair. However, at this point, it does appear that this year's team is nearly as snakebit as the '92 team. The '92 team, though, suffered more from defection and injury than this team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooch1918 Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 ...McGlother Irvin is smiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheltiedave Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 McGlother is on the forum regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooch1918 Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 ...just re-read some Post Dispatch articles from Dec.--Feb. '91-'92...forgot how much of a train wreck that season was on SOOO many fronts...The Big Chill's decision to transfer to Mizzou--who laughed at his transcripts...Carlos Skinner, McGlother literally quitting during games...that truly was a complete "bottom out/program in shambles" season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 This team is having different types of issues than that team did. IMHO the injuries of Reggie and Tom certainly have been contributing factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooch1918 Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 TIME FOR SLU TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM I made the obligatory phone call to the Rev. Lawrence Biondi over at St. LouisUniversity the other day, in an attempt to discover if he plans to make a decision on the men's basketball coach sometime before, say, 1999. Anyway, I was informed that Biondi was unavailable to dispense wisdom on this day. No surprise. I mean, this man hides better than Salman Rushdie. I was told that Biondi was traveling outside of the country. Indeed. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker doesn't have as many frequent-flyer miles as Biondi. We'll assume that coach Rich Grawer will learn his fate when Biondi's passport expires. In the interim, I'd like to pass along more encouragement: It's time for everyone over at SLU to throw away the crutches. No more lame excuses. The Billikens can win again on the national scene. And soon. You may recall the March 21 column, in which we compared SLU to Seton Hall, which had no facilities, no future in the Big East Conference and no fun at all until coach P.J. Carlesimo t ransformed the Pirates into a power. Carlesimo proved that if you can win at an academically solid commuter school near Newark, N.J., you can win anywhere. Including SLU. And we failed to point out how the emergence of top basketball enhanced Seton Hall. Basketball, according to Charles Dees, the vice chancellor for Seton Hall's university affairs, ''has given us national name recognition. We've been able to fill four new residence halls. We've attracted students from across the country. Before, we were largely a local institution.'' Sound familiar? Additional research has only reinforced the opinion that SLU can do the same. First, we have to destroy at least one myth: that SLU, because of unreasonably tough academic standards, can't get hoops recruits into school. Wrong. W hen Melvin Robinson left the Billikens and expressed interest in going to the University of Missouri, the admissions people at Mizzou chuckled at his SLU transcripts. According to a Missouri source, Robinson lacked the academic credentials to transfer to Mizzou. But not only did Big Chill get into SLU, he remained eligible for two-plus years. SLU is a fine institution, but we're not talking Harvard here. SLU does have a special-admissions program. Moreover, athletic director Debbie Yow intervened - after an initial rejection - to get junior-college transfer McGlother Irvin into SLU last summer. The Craig Upchurch fiasco isn't likely to happen again. Moving along, there are other examples in the NCAA Tournament to inspire SLU, which needs to stop wallowing in a state of self-pity. Texas El-Paso: We always hear the SLU administration doesn't support Grawer. Right. Before the NCAA placed UTEP on probation at the outset of the season, UTEP President Dr. Diana Natalicio fired two assistant coaches without telling head coach Don Haskins. ''This came as a total surprise to me,'' Haskins said in a statement at the time. ''I find myself shocked.'' So devastated, he knocked off Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. Tulane: Participated in its first-ever NCAA Tournament, upsetting St. John's last weekend before losing to Oklahoma State. T ulane dropped basketball in 1985 after a betting scandal. The program was restored three years later. In another three years, coach Perry Clark had Tulane in the NCAA tourney. Massachusetts: UMass didn't have a single winning season in the 1980s, twice losing 24 games. But in this, coach John Calipari's fourth season, UMass won 30 games and reached the NCAA Sweet 16. One more thing: Grawer's apologists always complain about inadequate facilities. UMass plays in a home arena that seats 4,058. Memphis State: SLU's Great Midwest Conference rival made the first trip to the NCAA round of 16 since 1985 - fully recovering from the 1986 firing of coach Dana Kirk, who went to federal prison for tax violations and obstruction of justice. Cincinnati: The Bearcats, another Great Midwest rep, have won 28 games and reached the Elite Eight. UC had seven losing seasons in 11 years before coach Bob Huggins arrived in 1989. Huggins inherited a program hurt by NCAA sanctions. Attendance had declined to an all-time low of 3,527 per game in 1988-89. Look now: A return to the NCAA Tournament after a 15-year absence, average 10,111 home attendance. And this, despite having to compete - in the same city - with Xavier. ''Everybody talks about a five-year plan or a three-year plan,'' Huggins said. ''I don't buy it. The minute you talk about rebuilding, you cheat the seniors in your program. I don't understand that philosophy. I don't let our guys cop out, I'm not going to cop out on them.'' I believe Huggins is saying we shouldn't cling to outdated excuses. Time for SLU to throw away the crutches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 melvin robinson did not transfer to mi$$ouri. julian winfield did though after they gave his dad a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooch1918 Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 I know...as I recall, it was an interesting year for Big Mel...started the 91-92 season with a huge game in a loss to USC (20pts 17 rbs)...than had a spat with Grawer in practice...announced plans to transfer to Mizzou...then Arizona State...then declared himself eligible for the NBA draft...a friend of mine saw him at the rec center later that spring and said asked, "Hey, Melvin, I heard you're gonna play ball in Europe?"...Melvin: "Nah, man. I'm gonna play in Spain." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jg99 Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 This season is nothing like 91-92. Bills have a much better coach now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesycow Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 "This season is nothing like 91-92. Bills have a much better coach now." of course they do: look at the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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