Hardball Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 you could possibly have this. I have talked about Billy before but this article illustrates how important the perceptions of your program are to recruiting. A program can be turned around with the right combination of energy and excitment from the Head Coach and the support from his Athlectic Departement. It is all about selling your program. It is this manufactured Midnight Madness event that can sell kids on a program. Billy didn't wait for the fan attention to come to the team he went out and grabbed it. I love Billie's entrepreneurial spirit. Texas A&M hoops finds place on football's back By Mark Schabach ESPN.com COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- At a school steeped in so much tradition, Texas A&M head coach Billy Gillispie knew there was a place for his fledgling basketball program. It didn't take Gillispie long to find that place: right on the back of the school's storied football program. Late Friday night, after more than 28,000 Texas A&M students and fans packed the student side of Kyle Field for the traditional Midnight Yell Practice, the Aggies basketball team was front and center. Once the crowd sang the "Aggie War Hymn," in which entire rows "humped it" and swayed in opposite directions, and after the lights were turned out at 12:25 a.m. so Aggies could kiss their dates or "flick their Bics" to find an unoccupied set of lips, Gillispie's team began its season of rare expectations. Texas A&M AthleticsThe Aggies put on a dunking show for the big crowd at Kyle Field."You could spend your time better, as far as getting better as a team, but to see your players experience this for the first time makes it special," Gillispie said. "It's something else." Before his first season at Texas A&M in the fall of 2004, there wasn't much interest in basketball on a campus where football has always mattered most. The basketball team had endured 10 straight losing seasons and had just concluded an 0-16 Big 12 campaign. Predictably, the school hadn't spent much time organizing a Midnight Madness event. So, Gillispie came up with a unique way of finding his team exposure. One Friday night, just after the stroke of midnight, the Aggies practiced in a parking lot behind the Dixie Chicken, the students' favorite local watering hole that claims it serves more beer per square foot than any other bar in the U.S. There were no stands, just two goals in the parking lot. Still, students and fans enjoying themselves in the North Gate Entertainment District started to congregate, and eventually crowds 10-to-15 deep surrounded the court. When Gillispie then went on to lead his team to one of college basketball's best turnarounds, from 7-21 record to 21-10 overall, including two victories in the postseason NIT, fans started filling Reed Arena for games, too. "When I first came here, I said if people won't come to Midnight Madness, let's take Midnight Madness to them," Gillispie said early Saturday morning. "People have been excited about it." Before last season, Midnight Madness fell on the Friday night before a home football game. So Gillispie asked athletics director Bill Byrne about including the basketball team's first practice in Midnight Yell Practice. Byrne and football coach Dennis Franchione didn't object, so Gillispie went to the five yell leaders who stage the event at Kyle Field on Friday nights before home football games and at out of town locations before road games. "I was really worried about it because it's the yell leaders' show," Gillispie said. "I didn't want to step on anybody's toes or impose." Last year's event, though, was a hit, and Friday night's was even bigger. Last season, the Aggies finished 22-9 and won eight consecutive games late to finish 10-6 in Big 12 play. Texas A&M received its first invitation to the NCAA tournament since 1987 -- the first at-large bid in school history -- and upset Syracuse in the first round in Jacksonville, Fla. The Aggies lost to Final Four-bound LSU in the second round on a last-second 3, but staked their claim as one of college basketball's up-and-coming programs. "People have said for a long time that it's a sleeping giant," Gillispie said. "We've just been sleeping too much." Friday night, when most people were already sleeping, dozens of Texas A&M students were assembled outside Kyle Field, waiting for the gates to open to claim their place in the stands. The event wasn't scheduled to begin for nearly two hours. "It's amazing," said Texas A&M junior center Joseph Jones. "It's one of the most amazing things you'll ever see." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Will there ever come a day when you spare us this nonsense. That's great Tex A&M looks like they are turning around quickly. Easy to spot in hindsight. They are also not a good comparison to SLU. Yes, we all know you can find a few examples that are a fair comparison. So What ... what you fail to recognize is there are far, far, more examples that don't do it than there are that succeed. You have admitted that you think we are improving and have a good shot at the tourney. Why can't you just let UB finish what he has started. We have all aknowlidged that a quick turnaround has and can be done ... but far more often it takes a little time. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 This would be an excellent post for the A&M board. I would suggest you post this over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenmetz Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Skip, dead on, buddy. They are not a good comparison to SLU because A&M is on the rise. They have a great student body and tradition. We have nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardball Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 Skip you miss the point. First the article is an illustration of how other schools have turned it around in less than five years BUT also how they generate excitment for their program. I have gone on recored as saying this year should be good but I am more interested in building a program with excitement and big expectations. I read earlier today that Paulas from Duke broke a bone in his ankle and is out indefintely. My guess would be Duke won't miss a beat. Where would we be if KL,Tl or Ian would get hurt? You see I am not interested in just one out of six years as having a good team I want it every year. Right now how would we be without IAN? Because that is how our team is going to look next year. I am not looking forward to a team without IAN or you? What is the PLAN? Just wory about it next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Which is worse the year without Ian or a year without me. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Why do you keep posting the same drivel over and over again on this board. Everyone knows you hate the Bills, hate the school and hate the coach. Nothing is ever any good and any good news is a fluke that will be immediately followed by a prediction of gloom. Go root for K State because they are "on the rise'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardball Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 Take your cheerleading outfit off next time you post. I think the skirt is too tight! Why don't you and the name callers come up with something new as opposed to WE are the only ones that care about SLU. You and the rest of the STC's are ridiculous in your name calling. There is nothing I have said that has been innacurate or can't be discussed. All the Kool-Aid club can come up with is name calling. Do me a favor, don't respond to my posts in the future unless you have something intelligent to say. If you are truely interested in Basketball you may care to answer my question. What is the PLAN for next year when IAN is gone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 why would you have a problem with two of bryce, obi, adam, and horace plus we have two scholarships to give of which coach soderberg has said he intends one to be an immediate starter quality. i would hope that we could cover the two inside spots with 5 players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 >What is the PLAN for next year when IAN is gone? ...After all, my job is on the line. Athletic Director Cheryl Levick is looking over my shoulder, evaluating me at every media timeout, let alone after every game. She wants to know, even while we're in the midst of an A-10 Championship run, what I'm going to draw up for the 2007-08 season. There's no way I can take things one game at a time around here. I have to have fans and boosters remind me on a daily basis that in March (or April) of 2007 Ian Vouyoukas, Justin Johnson, and Wendell Bennett will have completed their eligibility and graduated (not that that's important at all). It's not like my assistants and I are out evaluating and recruiting players for the class of 2007 (and 2008) with an eye for improving my TEAM. No, before we even have a chance to see what Bryce Husak, Obi Ikeakor, Adam Knollmeyer, and Horace Dixon bring to the table and how we can develop them (if it were possible, considering I stink at that!), I need to stay up sleepless in St. Charles wondering how I'm going to replace the best true center in the last 50 years (at least) of Billiken basketball. Man am I lucky to have landed him! Even luckier that the Greek junior national team taught him everything he knows. Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch will be seasoned and experienced juniors in '07-08, and Dwayne Polk, Luke Meyer, and Danny Brown will be grizzled seniors playing in a game mostly dominated by guards at this level, but I suppose that won't be enough for me to have a competitive squad, so I've got to solve this problem of what to do when Ian leaves. Mr. Hardball, please share with me again how I ought to find three or four recruits and make ultimatums how they should be the first, tripping over their tightly-laced Nikes, to commit to SLU, which hasn't gotten at at-large NCAA Tournament bid in nine years, hasn't won or shared a regular-season conference title since before they were born, and has never reached the Sweet Sixteen since before the "Big Dance" expanded to 64 teams? Building this program into a consistent winner must be so easy; why is it that I haven't figured it out yet? My assistants and I have a chart mapping out what positions and skills I need to recruit for and when, but my steadily-improving program is doomed after Ian graduates. You've got to give me the answer in short order, Mr. Hardball! I eagerly await your answer! Sincerely, Coach Soderberg (on the hotseat) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StLouBlue Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 I am not sure what this has to do with SLU basketball at all. It is interesting that at a school of 28,000 there was almost no interest in Midnight basketball before. It was a good idea to have it where the people are, at a pep rally for football. As far as this 2 year turn around at A&M, I think you have to see that Watkins did leave them with some pretty good talent. Also the non-conference schedules that A&M faced the last two years pretty much guaranteed winning seasons for Gillispie, non-conf SOS '04-05 320 and '05-06 240. I don't know about A&M recruiting classes, but with all of the preseason hype they are getting I would guess Gillispie has probably done alright in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardball Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 Thicks, Your dealing with fools gold to think a season without Ian is not going to have a dramatic effect. I really don't know what the answer is, that is why I am asking the question. And by you response you don't seem to have the answer either. This is a little unsettling to say the least. Now you can call me a SLU hater or you can logically discuss what our Plan is to replacing our leading scorer after this year. I know that the returnng big men will not be as good as Ian will be this year. KL and TL will improve but not at the same rate every year. And the fact that SLU has no verbal as of the middle of October is not a good sign of a adequate replacement for Ian. Now if you say SLU will get a big time center from JC that is a whole other discussion. The idea with recruiting is getting people better than the ones you have. Are you confident that SLU will accomplish this feat for 2007 class? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 It is an outrage for you who insult our coach at every opportunity to now say that others are "name callers". Your constant and never ending criticism is like that of a lot of people these days on many subjects. The idea is to repeat negatives over and over and over because if you say it often enough then it must have some truth. Every team, every year has to deal with the issues of players graduating or leaving for some reason or other. That is the beauty of college basketball. In the NBA you see the same players year after year regardless of whether they are any good because they sign guaranteed multi year contracts. The simple answer about when Ian is gone is as follows: We know we have Bryce, who is developing, and the three young players in AK, HD and Obi. I would be surprised if Bryce is not an even better player by the start of next season and even now he is very good on the defensive end. Clearly, the jury is still out on Bryce but I have hopes that he can be an effective player in his senior year. AK is extremely strong and will get srtonger. he has some hops and in another year he will also be a much better player. I would expect to see him on the floor this year and he will get valuable experieince playing every day against Ian. HD is clearly an athlete who could help us in the future. It will be difficult to see how good he will be until he hits the weights and works in our system. he does seem to have the physical tools and an agressive attitude. Obi is a complete unknown becaue of his injury. He may be excellent but his desire to roam the perimeter makes me nervous. I do not believe we can count him in yet. Among these players there are question marks and some potential. Without a doubt, none of them next year will approach the potential of Ian as a senior and POY leading candidate in the conference. However, next year we will have many key players who will be even better with another year of experience. Luke, DP and DB will be seniors. Our stars in Tommie and Kevin will be juniors and they should be better and stonger players with something to prove. Based upon what I have seen DM may be a contributor as well. The bottom line is that if we do not sign any new players we will be a team that from an offensive standpoint will be very different than this year. We will have bangers and shot blockers who can set screens and defend but our offense will be much more perimiter based. As so often happens in college bb, the team next year will have a different personality. A perfect example of how this happens is Illinois who lost 5 great players in just two years. I am sure they will adjust to the new rotation and we will have to do the same when Ian leaves. Now all of this discussion assumes that we will not have any additional inside players. I would bet that the staff is out recruiting quality inside and outside players who they think will fit in with our team next year and into the future. The only way to know how the team will look next year is to go to an early practice and then go to some early games and see how we do without Ian. The bottom line is that we have some very nice players who are sophomores and juniors. We have several freshmen who show some promise but the jury is out. We do not yet know who the team will add for next year and beyond. There is absolutely no justification for your unrelenting negativity. You claim to be a fan but you insult the coach and the team. Why not just be positive and supportive this season. If we have a bad year then you can bring out the negatives. Until then be a true fan and support the team and the coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlecat455 Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 My goodness! A well reasoned and cogent post. That is something rarely seen in any discussion involving Hardball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Read my post below.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Band Legend Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 You mean it's going to hurt the team to lose the best center we've had in 50 years? No freaking duh, idiot! Maybe you should drink kool-aid instead of tipping the liquor bottle at all hours of the day. And by the way, why don't we just hire Billy Gillespie away from A&M? I'm sure he'd come; or maybe Brad should just call him for some entrepreneurial inspiration. What is your point, anyway? Any coach we would hire in the future would be from the assistant ranks or lower mid major head coach, and every single one of those guys is an unknown quantity. At a time when we might have our best team in a decade could you please have enough patience to let our coach do his job without non-stop bitching and moaning. This is just for my benefit, because UB could give a rat's ascot about loser know-it-all message board critics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLUMS81 Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 "We have nothing". You have made the brilliant observation that SLU doesn't have thousands of screaming, intoxicated students at midnite madness. You have also discovered that SLU is not a perennial sweet sixteen team. Guess what? The posters on this board already are aware of these facts. Let's see if you have the answers to these questions: Is it Brad's fault? If so, then who would you recommend to lead us to the promised land? If not, then what should Brad do differently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheltiedave Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 The point Hardball is trying to make is this... If you losers had offered my son Blake a scholorship, you would now have the NCAA leader in FT percentage, and your leading scorer, to lead you to the promised land. I am personally so unhappy that Blake was dissed by your program that I will slag SLU with every waking breath I draw, thereby showing all both my hindquarters and how prescient Brad was to pass by my beloved offspring. Imagine how bad I would be when Brad benched junior for not devoting every ounce of energy he had at the defensive end. Imagine how I would foam at the mouth when junior went 0 for 20 in a tournament game. Imagine how pissed I would be when junior was riding the pine because a lowly freshman named Lisch replaced junior from his rightful starting position. Imagine... Actually, I saw Sr. in action at a couple DeSmet games, and I'm very glad Blake is elsewhere, even if we has been needed at times. We are better off without Hardball "cheering" SLU on to bigger and better times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardball Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 Sheltiedave you and the Kool-aid drinkers are so predictable it's hilarious. It was just a matter of time before the old Ahearn connection surfaces. I don't really care who the Kool-Aid drinkers think I am. If you think I am in some way connected to Ahern thats fine. No sweat off my back. I have already gone on record has saying Lisch is better than Ahearn right now but that doesn't diminish the fact that Ahearn could have helped us the last three years. I would also have taken Tatum over Polk. I would have offered Shaw over Grimes. I wouldn't have needed seven evaluation periods to know Stemler could help us. Does that mean I am related to Tatum, Shaw and Stemler. If you guys can't defend this staff on their own merits and the answer to the recruiting debate is the same fallback Ahearn connection you guys are a sorry bunch. But like I said call me anything you want but you can't call me wrong. Bottoms up!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheltiedave Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I won't call you wrong. I certainly won't call you right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 hardball you can hardly blame those of us that are grasping for straws to try to explain your totally unwarranted views. unless you are a rival fan, a dissed parent, someone with a personal score to settle with coach soderberg or cheryl levick or father biondi, i cant for the life of me figure the degree of your stances on the billikens. you come across not as a fan, but as one of the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardball Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 Why always the blame game when someone feels like SLU can do better. It's like calling people unpatriotic because they don't like the War. That is just nonsense. Roy I have never question your support for the Billikens regardless of your stay the course attitude. So why do you question my support for the Billikeens just because I think SLU can do better. If BS starts doing better I promise you I will say so. I haven't bought into the whole 5+ years to build a program at a place that has as much to offer as SLU. Do I start calling people names and supplying inuedo's when the BS supporters say how difficult it is at SLU. I don't think so. I try to give examples of other programs that are getting it done with limited resources,excitment and spirit. It kills me that SIU is percieved to be a better program than we are right now. Why doesn't that bother more people on here? What has it come to? Acceptance that we can't be any better because of whatever reason of the day we choose? I can't really explain the acceptance of the status quo when people like SIU and Bradley are getting it done and we are not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 hardball, no one is arguing that slu is maxed out or that we should be happy at this level forever. i too want sweet 16's and conference championships. we all do. but your attacks on coach soderberg have to be for personal reasons. they are inaccurate or only tell one side of the story. too often you argue one side on one situation (waited too long to offer stemler) and then flip around and argue the opposite on another (shouldnt have offered maguire as quickly as we did). and then when it is pointed out that slu offered far sooner than anyone else on stemler and lost out to a johnny come lately smoke walking sampson, you have no answer for that. or when slu loses out to georgia, kstate and iowa on their top three targets this year, you claim we should expect to win those battles. hell those are tough battles to win. and proof that coach soderberg is trying to land even better players then years past. imo, there is no doubt that your wants is more than for the good of the program. it is all about coach soderberg being gone period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 You should go into coaching...seriously. I mean, Brad is making like $700,000 a year now? Something like that. Every thing he does, you can do better. You obviously have a better eye for talent. You can obviously coach a better offense. Defense really doesn't matter. For EVERYTHING Brad does, you have a better option. You should really look into becoming a coach. Because I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but all the bitching you do on this board is not going to have an affect on Billiken basketball. It may have an affect on the fans. I mean, this board is in turmoil right now. But you're not going to affect the team. I suggest you put in for a high school coaching job. And judging by all of your knowledge, you should be Coach K's replacement in about 10 years. And please don't respond with a Kool-Aid drinker comment. That's getting really old. What the hell is with this Kool-Aid ###### anyway? I love Kool-Aid...especially with some extra sugar in it. I don't see how that pertains to Billiken Basketball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Your first mistake is assuming that Metz willever say anything of substance. Metz has no substance. (unless were talking illicit substances) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.