MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[fcnews]

Leftfield! I played second base Hopefan.

[hopefan]

and here I thought you were a speed/power man in your youth.......

[fcnews]

We've seen a stray Wisconsin player here and there. A couple good local
kids here and there. Now MU pops up with four state group like this. Do you really think it is just a lucky year? Do you really think that none of these players were told " hey we might be able to help you out financially in the future with a scholarship"? Do we all still beleive in the tooth fairy?

[BLA]

FC, I don't understand the complaints here. All off-season I have read that Fontbonne has the best starting 5 in the league coming back. Are you basically saying that you fear that Maryville will field a better team just like that?  Just because they are now regarded as a DII next year? Have a little confidence in your squad?

It puts a smile on my face hearing complaints coming from the Griffins side about recruiting strategies done by other schools...just saying.

In my opinion, this is great for the league.  If Maryville has brought in DII caliber players that will make for some high level basketball only raising the intensity of the games. I know for a fact that coaches in the SLIAC strive for recruits that could play at a higher levels.  From what it looks like in reading about some of the recruiting classes around the league they landed some who I'm sure they will be eager and willing to play against a future DII program.  The Crawford kid that Westminster landed and a few of the kids Webster got could easily play for a DII.  Fontbonne has kids that have played together and won together. I don't see Maryville just showing up with new players and walking away with a victory.  Not without a hard fought game. In my opinion Maryville is fighting with Eureka and Greenville for the fourth spot in the tourney. Top three stay the same. Fontbonne, Webster, and Westminster will be there.

And for those of you that wish that Maryville wouldn't be allowed to represent the SLIAC in the National Tourney, it's simple.....keep them out of the top 4.  

And if it isn't evident in my post....I'm a Gorlock fan. Great bunch of kids over there. I hear you guys are working hard. Can't wait to watch.

[fcnews]

BLA- Welcome to the board. You are correct let's play the games.


I can't believe not one comment on the coaching situation at Mac.

[Razor Back]

MacMurray is interviewing candidates for the women's coaching position.

http://www.mac.edu/services/job_openings/080919_womens_basketball_golf.asp

No shortage of people who want to coach college basketball - but finding the right candidate who will put in the time to develop a program over a period of years is the hard part.

Razor

BLA may be right about Westminster. They graduated four starters but have a nice recruiting class coming in. Webster may be in the same boat. Graduation of key players but a highly regarded group of recruits. Maryville will be in the hunt from start to finish. Greenville and Eureka will be solid and win more than one game they shouldn't. The wild card will be MacMurray. They could be tough. Lots of new (and old) faces, size, and potential. BLA has Mac finishing 7th or worse, and for a team that won three games last season and graduated their two best players, that's probably a fair assessment. But they will win more than three games this year. Fontbonne is king until someone proves they're better. Blackburn and Principia may find wins hard to come by, but you never know. Will be interesting to see it all play out.

Back

[BLA]

Thanks for the greeting FC.

Side note about out of state recruting. Webster class includes reps from California, Minnesota, Michigan, Hawaii, Chicago and Bellville, Illinois.  Is there a rule in the SLIAC that you can't recruit out of state?

Pretty sure Bunch and Siener don't promise these kids scholarships because they are making a change and going DII  after this year.  They get them because they follow up on any potential STUDENT - athlete and work to get kids into their program.  

Can't personally say that Coach Rogers hasn't been promising scholarships, that may be the case. But it's not unheard of to get out of state kids without offering scholarships.

[hopefan]

I think I like this new contributor already, so I'll offer up a +1

[BLA]

My bad Razor if I stepped on your toes. I'm just going on what I saw last year. Maybe I shouldn't have. What I do know is if Mac wasn't upended by the departure of a good Coach and their best players before last season they would be in the hunt.  If they can return to the level that they were playing at a couple years ago when they were Co-Champs then of course they deserve every teams respect.

The fact is, none of us can tell what's going to happen. Who knows if the influx of new talent will blend with the old at Webster. Who knows if the Maryville kids will like the new surroundings and the coaching staff. Who knows if Fontbonne's four all conference players including POY and former Tourney MVP in Fogarty and McCoy have one more run. Who knows that Prin or Blackburn whom is rarely spoken for on this board aren't waiting in the weeds with a new crop of talent that rivals anyone in the conference. It wasn't too long ago that both those teams made the top 4.   We are fortunate if all these programs stay the course and keep building towards the same goal. A victory in the National Tourney.

None of us can predict so Im sorry if mine ruffled some feathers. What I do know it's going to be an intense battle to watch.

[Razor Back]

BLA - No feathers ruffled at all. I think your analysis is spot-on. Bringing in a lot of talent is one thing. Getting everyone to buy into the system, share the ball, share the minutes, and share the spotlight is something quite different. And it takes a special kind of coach to make it all work. Many of the players who are coming in for all of the SLIAC teams probably started and played a lot of minutes on their last team. In most cases, that will change in their new enviroments. How well these kids adjust to being away from home, making their grades, staying injury free, playing for a new coach, and not playing a majority of the minutes will determine the fate of more than one team.

Razor

Blackburn and Principia can be dangerous, but not over the long haul. I think the balance of the SLIAC has the potential to play in the post season, with Fontbonne leading the way.

Back

[fcnews]

Webster has always had the out of state recruits. Corpus Christi, Tx. connection, Hawaii, Wisconsin, ect. Nothing new. Maryville is a different story. It's back to what I said, is the playing field level?

[hopefan]

Yes FC, but Maryville wouldn't have a chance going against Fontbonne in Zalma

[Mr. Ypsi]

Not sure why I'm dumb enough to jump in here (I have no dog in this fight ), but I'd say Maryville has an unfair recruiting advantage WITHOUT any suggestion that the coach has promised (or even hinted at) any future scholarships.  The students are well aware that they're going d2 (I'd imagine that that WAS a part of the recruiting pitch), and they are no doubt THINKING "aha, pay for freshman year, but the rest is free".

So ... no knock on the ethics of Maryville's coach (IF he did give a wink, wink, nudge, nudge on scholies then shame on him, but there appears to be no evidence he did), but from the 'human nature' of teen-aged recruits I think Maryville does have an unfair advantage and should have been left out of AQ consideration.  I guess it will be up to the other teams to enforce that!

[Ralph Turner]

Not sure why I'm dumb enough to jump in here (I have no dog in this fight ), but I'd say Maryville has an unfair recruiting advantage WITHOUT any suggestion that the coach has promised (or even hinted at) any future scholarships.  The students are well aware that they're going d2 (I'd imagine that that WAS a part of the recruiting pitch), and they are no doubt THINKING "aha, pay for freshman year, but the rest is free".

So ... no knock on the ethics of Maryville's coach (IF he did give a wink, wink, nudge, nudge on scholies then shame on him, but there appears to be no evidence he did), but from the 'human nature' of teen-aged recruits I think Maryville does have an unfair advantage and should have been left out of AQ consideration.  I guess it will be up to the other teams to enforce that!

And then three years as a D-II provisional without any chance at the playoffs?

Do schools moving III to I or III to II gain access to the playoffs in their first year of provisional status?

Are they really getting good D-II talent that wants the extra year of loans?

As Mr Ypsi said, I don't have a dog in this hunt either, but it is interesting.

[BLA]

Can anyone tell me how many of the new faces at Maryville are Freshman?

Because if the majority are freshman I don't see what the big deal is and letting them play in the conference tourney and having a shot at the bid.  Are these players already at a level of skill and experience compared to the what we've seen from Fontbonne's, Webster's vets in recent years?  Promises of Scholarships or not they are still froshies.  Are these freshman the next coming of the Fab 5? FC, if I'm not mistaken your talented senior group had growing pains as well.

If they are JUCO transfers are they any better than the talented group of JUCO alums on Webster's roster or Crawford on Westminster. Not to bash the the recruiting of Maryville but I doubt they could have landed top tier DII talent so quickly.