Billikan Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I am a long time fan of the program and am always there for the team in times good and bad! PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS INTERNET BOARD IS FULL OF IDIOTS AND JERKS WHO ARE NOT BILLIKEN FANS AND THEY CONTINUE TO POST NEGATIVE GARBAGE JUST TO TRY TO HURT THE PROGRAM! I know this is the "internet" era but I strongly suggest that you do not read this board because you will never get a fair impression of how the real fans view this team and this coach. About half the posters are real fans but unless you are on the board for a year you will not be able to tell the difference between the flamers and the fans. AS OPPOSED TO SOME BOARDS LIKE THIS, THIS BOARD ALLOWS ANYONE TO SIGN UP AND POST! The result is many people who know very little about the team pretending to be experts. One day, they are quiet because the team is doing well, but God forbid, if the team has a down game or two they come out of their rat holes and post like crazy. I personally know hundreds of Billiken fans of all ages and although we had a tough end of the season every one of them is excited about the future and they have great respect for Brad and the coaching staff. Please do not let these negative posts make you believe that these people are part of the St. Louis University family which is very close and made up of fine people who truly care about the team and the players and their families. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Since when did posting negative comments about SLU bball mean that you are not a part of the SLU family? I understand that idiotic comments are unnecessary (of course, who is the arbiter of idiocy?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 If you base any opinion at all of your prospective school(s) on the anonymous rantings (or praises) of posters on Internet discussion boards, you are very likely not the type of player we'd like to see in Billiken blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Given his age and tolerance for dissent it may be a death warrent but what the hey Anyone second? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 You also aren't likely to go to any school that isn't in the final four this year..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 But but...that's not fair, you didn't even allow me to establish a campaign, hire K. Rove, etc. Darn you BRich...i will get you!!! ok...i'll 2nd it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiphan Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 In the words of Comic Book Store Guy: "Worst Post Ever" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Don't accept mediocrity. Don't disrespect authority, but don't be afraid to question it. View anything less than the NCAA tournament as failure. Be upset if your team chokes down the stretch. Be even more upset if your team can't score 40 points in the big game. Be even more upset if your coach is still mostly worried about defense after your team failed to score 40 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 >Don't accept mediocrity. Don't disrespect authority, but >don't be afraid to question it. View anything less than the >NCAA tournament as failure. Be upset if your team chokes >down the stretch. Be even more upset if your team can't >score 40 points in the big game. Be even more upset if your >coach is still mostly worried about defense after your team >failed to score 40 points. I respect your straight shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted March 11, 2006 Author Share Posted March 11, 2006 You are the absolute truth about sports today. Sports today is all about winning and winning the way the particular fan, informed or not informed, wants to win. Anything less is failure and the coach is to be villified. But there is more. Even if a coach wins and has great young players who are developing now--he is bum if they do not play great all the time and he is to be ripped up and down. It does matter to this fan whether the coach is a good man, whether he is a man of integrity, whether he has a family, or is a fine example for the school and the community--unless he wins and wins the way this fan perceives he must win then he is to be insulted. Finally, the new fan, who may have never accomplished a thing in his life that was even the least bit scrutinized like he wants to do to this coach, in public, in constant internet posts just derides his accomplishments. And of course, this fine man who follows the rules and runs a clean program, in the mind of this fan is to be fired!! All of you-- the modern fan-- who talk so easily about firing the coach, of "giving him only one more year" ought to hope that you never have to live up to the kind of standards that you set because I would bet you would all be fired immediately. This coach is accomplished and has achieved the high level of D1 coach. He is one of the best in his profession in the entire country. Think of all of the high school coaches, the junior college coaches, the D2, D3, NAIA and mnay others who have never come close to achieving what this man has achieved. He is well respected around the country. How many of you are well known and respected around the country? I would bet the answer is very few, if any. Yet you sit in front of your computers and call him out when his team was 16-13. Sports today, with fans like this, have evolved to the lowest point that I can ever remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsboys Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 >You are the absolute truth about sports today. > >Sports today is all about winning and winning the way the >particular fan, informed or not informed, wants to win. >Anything less is failure and the coach is to be villified. > >But there is more. Even if a coach wins and has great young >players who are developing now--he is bum if they do not >play great all the time and he is to be ripped up and down. > >It does matter to this fan whether the coach is a good man, >whether he is a man of integrity, whether he has a family, >or is a fine example for the school and the >community--unless he wins and wins the way this fan >perceives he must win then he is to be insulted. > >Finally, the new fan, who may have never accomplished a >thing in his life that was even the least bit scrutinized >like he wants to do to this coach, in public, in constant >internet posts just derides his accomplishments. > >And of course, this fine man who follows the rules and runs >a clean program, in the mind of this fan is to be fired!! > >All of you-- the modern fan-- who talk so easily about >firing the coach, of "giving him only one more year" ought >to hope that you never have to live up to the kind of >standards that you set because I would bet you would all be >fired immediately. This coach is accomplished and has >achieved the high level of D1 coach. He is one of the best >in his profession in the entire country. Think of all of the >high school coaches, the junior college coaches, the D2, D3, >NAIA and mnay others who have never come close to achieving >what this man has achieved. He is well respected around the >country. How many of you are well known and respected around >the country? I would bet the answer is very few, if any. Yet >you sit in front of your computers and call him out when his >team was 16-13. > >Sports today, with fans like this, have evolved to the >lowest point that I can ever remember. Please get a life. You are no better than anyone. You give us these long, drawn out posts that don't make sense. Since when did you become an expert. What are your qualifications. My guess you are like most who post here. Never played or coached college athletics in your life. You are embarasing yourself. Please stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Who on this board is advocating replacing Brad with a coach who takes shortcuts? Why does Brad's high moral standards make his offensive coaching deficiencies acceptable? Your only posts and questions regarding coaching issues is offer absolutely irrelevant and self-righteous opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj_arete Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 However, I believe that's why many of them earn LUCRATIVE careers. Yes, the lifespan is tenuous and highly disruptive for families, but I don't think many of them complain. If they do, I think it will fall under deaf ears for most Americans. Quite frankly, I agree with you and think Brad Soderberg has the team on the right track. At the beginning of the season, I think most people had the Billikens doing worse. That is except me, who almost perfectly predicted this team's record. The only difference is that I had them going 1-1 in the postseason tournament. However, I think DavidNark and others are WELL within their rights to criticize Brad's coaching methods. There are whispers within the coaching industry that Brad only knows how to coach one way and will not be able to adapt to a more athletic, quicker team. I will give him a couple of more years to prove the doubters wrong, but other than that, we just have to sit back and wait. Brad hasn't SHOWN that he can adjust his coaching style to suit a more athletic team, but it just could be that they need another year or two of experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I picked them to be 17-15 (I believe although I can't find the picks anywhere) however I think the final record of 16-13 is a disapointment given my pick. My picks assumed the conference would be better than it was and that at 16-14 we'd have an RPI good enough to get in the NIT (and thus go 1-1 there). Since it appears we don't have an RPI good enough for the NIT, I have to say we under-achieved my picks...albeit not by much. If I remember correctly, my picks were roughly in the middle of the thread so I don't see how you can say most people thought they'd be worse than this. Many, many people thought we had an NIT team here and that was their goal for this team. It does not appear we are going to meet that goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj_arete Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Optimism on SLU basketball this year was the worse I've seen since I've been on the board. Now if you want to nitpick one of my threads, as you normally do, that's fine. However, I think SLU has exceeded expectations this year. I'm much more optimistic about this program than I was when we were recruiting the likes Drejaj, Johnson and Clarke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 with statements like this "At the beginning of the season, I think most people had the Billikens doing worse. That is except me, who almost perfectly predicted this team's record." I don't think its nitpicking to say that you weren't in a significant minority that thought this team should be a few games above .500 or better. Optimism for next year is high and thats great. However, no coach is evaluated on how he's doing in the optimism arena, coaches are evaluated for the results on the floor. Its funny because I've seen many posters here and on STLtoday say that this year should be considered a success because we only won 9 games last year. Who would have thought that the secret to being a highly regarded coach was to lower the bar so much that people are happy with seasons that you don't finish in the top 100 of college basketball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted March 11, 2006 Author Share Posted March 11, 2006 I am talking about the modern era of fans that are never happy or satisfied, unless the team is in the top tier and wins all the time. It is absolutely ridiculous to call for brad to be fired yet you do it with disdain and with the ease of putting the dog out. I am sure you would love Huggins if he came in here and won games regardless of how much he cheated. To you, all that is important is winning and winning in the style that you want. Nothing else matters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted March 12, 2006 Author Share Posted March 12, 2006 I did play ball but that is irrevant to this discussion. I have coached a number of different teams at different levels--never in college--but that is irrelevant to this discussion. I am sure you never played or coached anywhere but that is irrelevant to this discussion. What is relevant is the attitude of win or else and nothing is ever good enough. 16-13= Brad is a bum and a terrible coach. I thought this was a great year with a lot of promise for the future and yet you and others are totally negative. I find that people who have never had to fight to accomplish anything really significant-- not knowing how hard it is at a high level--find it easy to criticize--particularly from the confines of a computer screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 When did I state that Brad should be fired? Brad was the one who stated that his goal at SLU was to get to a Final Four. Well, four seasons later we have a sub .500 record and zero NCAA tournament appearances. By Brad's own standard, he should be held accountable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj_arete Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 filled with Blue Kool-Aid optimism, especially during the early Soderberg years. If I could count how many times they said Soderberg would be our savior and how mediocre Romar was, I'd retire now. I really thought the program was in much worse shape three or four years ago when many were dreaming appearances in the NCAA and 20-win seasons. That was unrealistic, but I think you can build a program around three impact players and SLU has that. I really think this was a minor bump in the road, but I see this program on the upswing soon. If not, then Brad must be given his walking papers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 i must have quit listening to the part of brad's goals that the billiken final four would be by 2006. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj_arete Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 With exorbitant salaries come exorbitant expectations... I don't have a problem with it. I'm expecting two NCAA appearances in the next four years and if it doesn't happen then I think Soderberg needs to be held accountable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 >i must have quit listening to the part of brad's goals that >the billiken final four would be by 2006. I think it is fair to hold a coach with that kind of lofty goal accountable for making the NCAA tournament and being above .500 after four years. Brad has no one else to blame for the disaster Thursday in Cincinatti. Brad is ultimately responsible for recruitment, player development, preparation, motivation, and game day coaching. On Thursday, there were glaring problems with all five elements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 in the early years of Soderberg when people were "unrealistically' picking 20 wins seasons or potential NCAA births we finished with an RPI of 57 (maybe 2 games from the dance)in 2003 and 64 (18 wins) in 2004. I guess I just don't see why people this year are content with an RPI of 102 and probably no NIT bid. Clearly last year's awfullness has blinded people to what a decent (e.g. NIT) season really is. Some standards for performance need to be set. My standard for this year was anything less than an NIT birth and I'd be disapointed. My standard for next year is anything less than an NCAA tourney and I'll be disapointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 If it's not relevant, why state it? obviously, you found some relevance to pointing out something was "irrelevant". Your posts are ridiculous. You cry about negative comments re: slu bball. Grow up. Or have mommy put the diaper back on for you. A very small amount of the posters have called for Brad to be fired, but a significant portion have questioned his tactics/ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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