SLU Billikens Archives - Scoops with Danny Mac: Recent Episodes
Dan McLaughlin
St. Louis, Missouri and Illinois Sports News - St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, Missouri Tigers, SLU Billikens, Prep Sports, PGA Golf and more coverage from around the region.
On this episode of Hoops on Scoops, hosts Will Saulsbery and H.T. Sims kick things off by breaking down everything happening this season in the Big 3.
Then, Will goes one-on-one with Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic for an in-depth conversation about the Phoenix Suns’ offseason, what the team’s latest moves mean going forward, and a deep dive into the new contract for St. Louis native and former Billiken Jordan Goodwin.
To close out the show, Will and H.T. debate whether the Trail Blazers could ever relocate to St. Louis, and Sims delivers a deep review of
NBA2K with his full thoughts on gameplay, presentation, and whether the latest edition is worth your time.
If you’re into basketball talk that covers everything from the Big 3 to the NBA offseason, St. Louis hoops ties, and gaming culture, this
episode has you covered.
Follow Duane Rankin
Twitter/X: @DuaneRankin
Instagram: @rankbarnes
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This week H.T. Sims and Will Saulsbery visited the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy for a sit down with St. Louis basketball Royalty, Mr. Larry Hughes. The three go in-depth on the LHBA and how parents and kids can get involved and learn the game the right way.
Hughes then shares stories about his state Championship season at CBC with Justin Tatum and how their senior season was a take no prisoners campaign. He discussed his lone #SLU season and what it meant to represent St. Louis in the #NCAA tournament during #MarchMadness.
Stories from his NBA career include the time Allen Iverson took care of Hughes’ mom and little brother like they were his own, getting team card game advice from Rick Mahorn, playing with dream teamers Chris Mullin and Christian Laettner, his first free agency ending with being recruited by Michael Jordan to play alongside MJ. Hughes confirms the stories of Gilbert Arenas charging room service to his account, playoff success on a team with Lebron James, and closes by creating his unbeatable squad built from his former teammates.
Where to Follow:
Larry Hughes Basketball Academy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larryhughesbasketballacademy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarryHughesBasketballAcademy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuXHIHtUR2PNs0DI_2l58Kw
Twitter: https://x.com/LHbballacademy
Follow Mr. Hughes on Twitter @thereallhughes
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This week on Hoops on Scoops hosts Will Saulsbery and H.T. Sims break down the latest twists in NBA free agency, react to the newest Kawhi Leonard trade developments, and discuss the big question hanging over the league: Where will LeBron go?
Plus, Will sits down one-on-one with Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star to talk all things Pacers offseason, Tyrese Haliburton’s return, and what it’s really like behind closed doors at the NBA Draft Lottery.
From blockbuster rumors to insider perspective, this episode has everything NBA fans need to start the season.
Follow Dustin on Twitter @DustinDopirak and his Podcast can be found at https://open.spotify.com/show/2qQjki6GGf0ePZSjbFrA9s?si=c0687a6016d34053
Plus follow @indystar
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On this episode of Hoops On Scoops, host Will Saulsbery and H.T. Sims dive into everything shaking up the NBA. The guys break down the NBA Finals, then welcome Milwaukee correspondent Ryan Piraino to discuss the latest surrounding the Giannis trade situation and what it could mean for the Bucks and the rest of the league. They also react to the Kawhi and LaMelo trades, unpack the wildest moves from NBA free agency, and wrap things up with a special shoutout to Jordan Goodwin on his new contract with the Phoenix Suns.
If you’re looking for NBA analysis, offseason reactions, and all the biggest storylines from around the league, this episode has you covered.
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On this episode of Hoops on Scoops, Will Saulsbery goes one on one with Drew King of Power Mizzou to break down the 2026-27 Mizzou basketball roster and schedule, including key storylines, roster outlook, and what fans should watch as the Tigers prepare for the season ahead.
Plus, H.T. Sims joins Bubb McFlyy and Saint Louis Redd for a lively conversation on the NBA Playoffs, diving into the biggest moments, standout performances, and the storylines shaping the postseason.
From Mizzou basketball analysis to NBA playoff talk, this episode brings a strong mix of college hoops insight and pro basketball discussion you do not want to miss.
Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes of Hoops on Scoops.
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This week Hoops on Scoops goes in-depth with Stu Durando of stuonslu.substack.com/https://stuonslu.substack.com/ to talks about the new roster, what #SLU lost and gained in the transfer portal and why the big boys are scared of coming to St. Louis to HOOP!
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Mr. H.T. Sims and @WillSaulsbery are back to chat 1st round of the NBA Playoffs. The Hawks are annihilated and the Celts could blow a 3-1 lead?? Hoops on Scoops is here with all the info you need to get current!
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Will Saulsbery and H.T. Sims breakdown the play-in and first round of the NBA Playoffs on this episode of Hoops on Scoops. The injury to Victor Wembanyama changes everything. No Wemby = No Spurs.
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This week @willsaulsbery and H.T. Sims are joined by Big East correspondent Ryan Piraino to wrap up the NCAA tournament and discuss the future of NIL in college basketball. Is it the new trade deadline and free agency wrapped into one? Sims and Sauls close with the furious finish to the NBA regular season and what this means for potential Playoff matchups.
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Hoops on Scoops 20th episode is here! @willsaulsbery and H.T. Sims put a bow on the #Mizzou Season, talk St. Louis University #Billikens NIL, and #ILLINI hopes in the final four, and then go deep on the end of the NBA season. They give out their NBA MVP awards, their biggest surprises from the season and wrap with who they think will hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy this June! Spurs, Celtics, Pistons, or an OKC repeat?
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This week on Hoops on Scoops Will Saulsbery goes one on one with Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. They go deep on the Pacers season, Coach Rick Carlisle, hopes and plans for 2026-27, and they also do a deep dive on #Mizzou standout Kobe Brown and his future with the Pacers and in the NBA.
Follow Dustin here on X: @DustinDopirak
Find all of his work here: https://www.indystar.com/staff/8162100002/dustin-dopirak/
Thanks to our sponsors Jay Delsing Golf and Ashtonbery Consulting
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THE Stu Durando is back this week to discuss the NCAA Tournament (6:38) with Will Saulsbery, the Billikens end of season, and Schertz’s contract. Hoops on Scoops official Big East Correspondent Ryan Piraino then joins (18:33) to discuss the entire bracket, his picks, a little Wisconsin Badger shade, and what it’s like playing hurt. H.T. Sims and Will Saulsbery close the show (32:27)with an NBA update and their amazement at the comeback of Boston Celtic Jayson Tatum!
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On Hoops on Scoops 17 Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic joins to talk #Billikens GREAT Jordan Goodwin and the Phoenix Suns! Will Saulsbery and H.T. Sims then go deep on Bam’s 83 and why the haters need to shut their mouths!
Follow Duane here: https://x.com/DuaneRankin
And read all his work here: https://www.azcentral.com/staff/4395764002/duane-rankin/
Thank you to our sponsors!
www.jaydelsinggolf.com
www.Ashtonbery.com
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This week Will Saulsbery and H.T. Sims get a visit from the voice of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini Mr. Brian Barnhart (5:30). He breaks down everything you need to know about the #Illini going into championship week and prospects for the NCAA tournament! Sims and Saulsbery then go deep on the #NBA and do a quick update on Jordan Clarkson, Kobe Brown, and Jordan Goodwin!
Thanks to our sponsors Jay Delsing Golf and Ashtonbery Consulting.
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In the 15th edition of #HoopsonScoops Zach Joachim of the Richmond Times Dispatch returns! He talks VCU vs SLU (5:48), the matchup, the brawl, and the aftermath. They then discuss the rest of the Atlantic Ten season and conference tournament. @WillSaulsbery and H.T. Sims then discuss (29:11) how to solve tanking, the insanely poor drafts of the last 15 years, and shout out Taj Gibson on cashing some more checks!
Follow Zach at @ZachJoachim on Twitter and read all his work at here.
Thanks to our sponsors Jay Delsing Golf and Ashtonbery Consulting.
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“The Kilcoyne Conversation” with @JoshSchertzSLU his plans for @SaintLouisMBB, fielding other offers, leaving Indiana State, and his admiration for Rick Majerus.
Click here to listen to more “Kilcoyne Conversations”
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Josh Schertz is the new men’s basketball coach at Saint Louis University. I like it. Billikens fans like it. And here are are five reasons to explain why you should be fired up, too …
1. The SLU program has faded and needs a strong leader. After Rich Grawer revived the program, rescuing the Billikens from nothingness, only two Billikens coaches took it from there to turn SLU basketball into something special: Charlie Spoonhour and Rick Majerus. And Schertz has many of the same attributes of the two great leaders. He’s incredibly smart about basketball. He is an excellent teacher, and a bit of a basketball savant. He has a charisma that comes smoothly and naturally without being forced or performative. He’s a motivator. He knows what he wants from his team, and has a true and successful system instead of a helter-skelter jumble. He builds relationships that strengthen his team on the court. He likes to network (read: raise money) and is good at it. He cares about the players in a way that fosters respect and loyalty. He has a sense of humor. A very cool sense of humor. He has the gift of the gab. He makes basketball fun with a style that appeals to potential recruits and his own players.
2. Schertz earned this job the right way. He endured adversity during a childhood that included a contentious dispute with his father, dropping out of high school and living on his own for a time as a teenager. He pushed through it to make something of himself, step by step. He is a self-made coach. He wasn’t a fortunate-son coach who latched onto a prominent power-five godfather who had contacts and connections to put Schertz on a fast-track with shortcuts. Schertz had success at a couple of places that weren’t exactly prestigious, glamorous or even recognizable in a mainstream way. They weren’t the kind of programs that attract the young hotshots as they bounce from place to place on the Monopoly board, desperate to land on the most lucrative address that has all of the advantages.
Schertz did it the hard way: transforming two programs, far away from the big time. Two largely forgotten programs that had little funding and little upside. And he turned those programs into something special, exceeding all of the start-up expectations by a significant measure.
And because he did it the hard way, and knows what it’s like to get knocked down, Schertz has inherent empathy that’s part of his coaching DNA. He sees the best in his players. He does not put hardcore limits on them. He doesn’t treat them like greyhound racing dogs. He motivates them to believe they are better than they realize.
When I covered Jimmy Johnson when he took over as Dallas Cowboys head coach in the spring of 1988, he referred to this as the “Pygmalion Effect” which he studied and put into practice.
I wrote about it at the time. “If you expect a low performance from those you work with, those expectations often lead to a low performance,” Johnson told me way back when. “But as a leader, if you expect players to enhance their performance and you strongly convey a positive belief in them, you’ll see them aspire to a higher level that makes it more possible to deliver that higher performance. Performance can be effected by expectations. And performance can become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
3. The two Schertz reconstructions came at Lincoln Memorial University (Division II) and Indiana State. The first institution, situated in Tennessee in the Appalachian Mountain Range, was named in honor of a great U.S. president and had a charming nickname: the Railsplitters. The second school was briefly famous as the college-basketball home of the legendary Larry Bird. Other than that – and with all due respect – there wasn’t much going on when Schertz showed up to take over. Both jobs looked like coach-killer assignments, but Schertz beat the odds. And it wasn’t because he was lucky. He was just damn good.
Lincoln: the Railsplitters were 31-77 over the four seasons preceding Schertz’s arrival. After one rebuilding season, Schertz had Lincoln at .500 in his second year and jumped to 20-9 in season three. In 13 seasons at Lincoln, Schertz produced a 337-69 record (.830) and a trophy case filled with conference titles.
Indiana State: after Bird moved soared to the NBA and a career of immense stardom, the Sycamores made it to only three NCAA Tournaments from 1980 through 2024. Before Schertz was brought in, Indiana coach Greg Lansing generally did a good job, going 181-164 during an 11-season term that ended after the 2020-21 season.
With the chaos and danger of a pandemic – and players transferring out – Schertz had an awful situation to deal with in his first season (11-20) at Terre Haute. But he followed up with records of 23–13 and 32-7 in his next two seasons. The 32-win haul this season was the best by the Sycamores since Bird’s team won 33 games in 1978-79. Indiana State had the obvious credentials for an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament but was shunned by the predictable Power 6 conference enablers on the selection committee. Schertz took his ISU team to the NIT and advanced all the way to the championship game before losing to Seton Hall.
If we don’t count his first rebuilding season at Lincoln and also his first season at Indiana State, Schertz had a preposterous .834 winning percentage at his two fixer-upper gigs. Ridiculous. Yeah, he does a lot more with a lot less.
Give me a coach who knows how to build something below the ground – putting in his own foundation from scratch – rather than just taking over something that already was in grand shape. No question, SLU requires a rebuild. Director of athletics Chris May and Dr. Richard Chaifetz recruited the right guy to do it. It’s an exciting hire that fits the mission at hand.
4. What can Schertz do with SLU’s ample (and hopefully growing) resources? He’ll have so much more to work with in his new job: a gorgeous arena, awesome facilities, solid funding, a charged-up donor base, and fans that he’ll soon energize. He’ll have access to coveted recruits on both sides of the Mississippi River. Schertz will work hard on the recruiting circuit. But like Majerus and Spoon before him, Schertz can identify talent that other head coaches can’t see. That’s such an advantage.
5. The Schertz offense should be soundtracked by the St. Louis symphony. It’s that beautiful. Schertz’s offense was inspired by several influences, especially Brad Stevens, the esteemed Butler coach who was hired to coach the NBA Boston Celtics and now runs that team’s basketball operation.
The 5-out motion offense is seamless and captivating. Schertz has players on the move, going fast in a free-flowing attack featuring high-percentage shooters and opportunistic scoring in transition. There is symmetry and fundamental excellence in the passing, cutting, and screening. The creative but disciplined patterns that his teams run disrupt a defense – think of Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt running precise pass route – and creating confusion all sorts of scoring opportunities. Defensive backs would stare and think Who am I supposed to cover?
This 5-out motion offense is a team-oriented offense. If you don’t have a dominant, alpha-dog scorer, then empower all of the players to contribute and play a substantial role in this philharmonic basketball style. Because of the trust that’s necessary in a balanced offense, the players work in harmony and aren’t obsessed with individual stats. Schertz’s players put the team first. Those familiar with the Indiana State culture describe a roster of players that are a close family and play with a commitment to one another. This holistic approach fosters unity and the desired teamwork. That might sound syrupy, but it’s true and it works.
This season Indiana State had five players average double-digit scoring, ranging from 11 points to 17.4 points per game. Opponents must worry about shooters all over the floor, and the scrambling on defense creates coverage gaps that can be exploited for uncontested threes or easy-ride layups.
This season Indiana State was ranked 13th nationally in the adjusted offensive efficiency rating at KenPom and had the No. 1 effective field-goal percentage in the land. The Sycamores had the nation’s 11th best shooting percentage from three-point distance (38.1) and the top shooting percentage (62.4) on two-point attempts.
I’ll pass along a comment that appeared on SLU’s official release to announce the Schertz hiring. The tribute is from ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas, a starting power forward (and later assistant coach) for Mike Kryzeyzewski’s elite program at Duke.
“Basketball coaches don’t have levels. Josh Schertz hasn’t been a great Division II coach or Division I coach. He has been, and is, a great basketball coach, period,” Bilas said. “Once you study Schertz’s teams, it’s clear that he sees and teaches the game on a different level of innovation and ingenuity. His teams perform at a masterclass level with disciplined freedom. They are like classically trained jazz musicians, and the result is beautiful to watch. Schertz is a prime example of how a great coach can demand excellence with empathy, caring, and a ‘we first’ attitude. The masses will soon learn what Saint Louis already knows: Josh Schertz is the genuine article. Saint Louis just hired one of the brightest minds in the game.”
Saint Louis hasn’t been a true factor on the national scene since the Majerus-inspired three-season run from 2011-2012 through 2013-2014. During that time, SLU had an overall winning percentage of .786 and went 38-10 (.791) in Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Billikens qualified for three consecutive NCAA Tournaments and won three first-round games.
Majerus, who had a failing heart, couldn’t coach beyond the 2011-2012 season. He died during the next season on Dec. 1, 2012. His top assistant, Jim Crews, did a really good job of leading the Majerus-recruited roster and sustaining the Majerus system of play over the next two seasons. But when the Majerus impact wore off, decline set in, and the house built by Majerus could not stand.
Josh Schertz is here to make Billikens basketball whole again and strong again and fun again. He’ll be the next transformative coach, following the lead established by Grawer, Spoonhour and Majerus.
Those three coaches faced different challenges during their time but were the right leaders for their time. Schertz will be that too. Heck, if you look at some of the photos, he even looks a little like Spoon and Rick. Let us declare: it is time to bring back the turtleneck … and time to bring back the winning.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
A 2023 inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Bernie hosts an opinionated and analytical sports-talk show on 590 The Fan, KFNS. It airs 3-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4-6 p.m. on Friday. Stream it live or grab the show podcast on 590thefan.com or through the 590 The Fan St. Louis app.
Please follow Bernie on Twitter @miklasz and on Threads @miklaszb
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It’s Friday afternoon … which means it is time for
BERNIE BITS
Hitting some fungoes …
— Sure, the Blues should deal Pavel Buchnevich at the NHL trade deadline if (a) they receive an attractive offer, and (b) they aren’t fully confident about signing Buchnevich to a contract extension that goes beyond next season. Or I guess (c) the Blues can be delusional if they’d like. Buchnevich turns 29 in April. If the Blues sign him to an exorbitant long-term contract, GM Doug Armstrong will add yet another big contract the Blues will regret as Buchnevich ages.
— Since the calendar turned to 2024, Missouri and St. Louis U have a combined 3-27 record in men’s college basketball. Good grief. And all three wins were notched by SLU. (Bragging rights?) Missouri is 0-15 in the new year.
— Guilty pleasure: the second season of Tokyo Vice on MAX.
— Current albums of choice: “Daniel,” the new release from Real Estate … “Polaroid Lovers” the new release by Sarah Jarosz … I’m going through a Marvin Gaye phase … my Brian Wilson playlist is getting a workout.
— This is scenario is highly unlikely, but … if Tommy Edman (wrist) isn’t a full go early in the regular season, I want Victor Scott in center field.
— Latest food-craving happiness: banana and peanut butter protein shakes. Just one a day. Hey, it’s healthier than a bag of chips.
— Reason I stayed up so late the last couple of nights: watching the “best of” the late comedian/actor Richard Lewis on David Letterman. A lot of great stuff can be found on Lewis on YouTube. This neurotic loved Lewis the neurotic on the late-night shows.
— Did any of you watch the Big 10 men’s basketball game between Minnesota and Illinois this week? The Illini won 105-97. The teams combined to make 60.6 percent of their shots from the field including 54.5% from three-point distance. There were only nine turnovers (total) in 40 minutes of play. No defense. It was an ABA game! Coach Brad Underwood’s team is talented and wonderfully entertaining, but I’m fretting over the Illini’s defense. Illinois has allowed at least 80 points in six of its last seven games. And according to the metrics at Bart Torvik, Illinois ranks last in the conference and No. 265 nationally defensive efficiency since Feb. 4. The good news? The Illini are ranked No. 1 in the conference and No. 1 in the nation in offensive efficiency over the same stretch of games. Bring back those red-white-blue ABA basketballs for the Illini!
— I’m feeling it more and more … pitching prospect Gordon Graceffo will be a surprise for the Cardinals in 2024. He’s healthy and throwing at full throttle.
— If there’s no room for him on the opening 26-man roster, Alec Burleson will not go down quietly.
— Happy birthday (Saturday March 2) to Adolis Garcia, Johan Oviedo, Bud Norris, Wilking Rodriguez, Ron Gant, and Junior Fernandez. And also to the late Mort Cooper, the outstanding pitcher who was posthumously inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2019.
DEEP CUTS
SIX INNINGS. A BIG KEY TO SUCCESS: Last season the Cardinals had a starting pitcher go six innings or more in 60 games. The team had a .583 winning percentage in those starts. When a starter lasted fewer than six innings in a start, the team’s winning percentage was .353. The 2024 rotation has four pitchers that combined for 76 starts of 6+ innings last season: Miles Mikolas (21), Sonny Gray (19), Kyle Gibson (19) and Lance Lynn (17). When the foursome provided at least six innings in an assignment, their teams went 47-29 for a .618 winning percentage. The 2023 Cardinals did well when Mikolas and other STL starters pushed through six innings or deeper. But the Redbirds didn’t have enough of those starts.
That should change – significantly – in 2024. If Mikolas, Gray, Gibson and Lynn can match their2023 totals of 6+ starts, the 2024 Cardinals would already have 16 more 6+ inning starts than they did a year ago. And that doesn’t include Steven Matz, Zack Thompson, Matthew Liberatore or others who start games for St. Louis this coming season.
Last season the 12 major-league teams that qualified for the playoffs averaged 72 starts of 6+ innings and had a .692 winning percentage in those games. As we mentioned the Cardinals now have four starters in place who combined for 76 starts of 6+ innings last season. That’s meaningful.
BLUE NOTE$: Blues captain Brayden Schenn didn’t score a goal during the first 11 games of the season. He later went 16 consecutive games without scoring, a cold streak that lasted a month and ended Jan. 6. Schenn is now stuck in another rut, with no goals in 11 straight games. For Schenn, that’s three different scoreless streaks of 11 games or more this season. He’s averaged 0.59 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 over the last two seasons. Schenn, 32, is making $8 million this season. And starting next season, he’ll be paid $30.8 million over the next four seasons, through the 2027-2028 campaign. Schenn will be 36 in the final season of his contract …
Through Thursday night, 3,063 goals had been scored in the NHL since Dec. 19. Blues forward Kevin Hayes has one of them. He’s banked one goal in his last 29 games. He has only two goals in 30 road games and his last road goal came way back on Nov. 26. The Blues are paying Hayes $6.5 million this season and will owe him $8 million (total) over the next two seasons. Nice.
THE VALUE OF LEADERSHIP: The Cardinals wanted to put better leadership in the clubhouse after last season’s smashup. They did something about it by adding respected leaders Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, Matt Carpenter and Brandon Crawford to the roster. How important is leadership at the player level?
“Some of it is organic, but ultimately player-driven teams are the best teams in my opinion,” first-year Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Counsell should know. As Milwaukee’s manager his underfunded Brewers won more regular-season games than the division-rival Cardinals and Cubs from 2017 through 2023.
Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson had a lot of good things to say on the subject based on his experiences in Atlanta and Chicago.
“All good teams have a very close bond and are able to develop relationships,” Swanson told The Athletic “It’s an ever-evolving thing. You could have the exact same team but there’s still so much growth and development. Guys are at different points in their lives. Guys may be in a contract year, first-year arbitration, first full year in the big leagues or myself, eighth season. It’s almost like in marriage. You’re not trying to recapture something, you’re evolving together. That’s how I see a team. Everyone is in a different spot and we’re all here to get better and become the best we can be as a group.”
BEST MISSOURI QUARTERBACKS? In his ranking of the Top 80 college football quarterbacks, ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s list included two Mizzou QBs: Brad Smith at No. 72, and Chase Daniel at No. 39. “One of the most accurate spread quarterbacks of his era, Daniel drove Mizzou to a brief No. 1-ranking for just the second time ever, finished fourth in the 2007 Heisman voting and delivered a top-five finish and two division titles for a program starving for such success,” … Connelly’s top five: Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield (1), Auburn’s Cam Newton (2), Texas’ Vince Young (3), Florida’s Tim Tebow (4) and LSU’s Joe Burrow (5) … former St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford – the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft – was 15th in the Connelly rankings.
DOOM AND GLOOM! MLB.com doesn’t think much of the Cardinals’ planned 2024 rotation. On a scale of 1-to-10 writer Brian Murphy gave the Cardinals a high concern level of 9. The usual surface-level logic applied.
“The Cardinals’ starters turned in a 5.08 ERA last season, the franchise’s highest since 1913 when earned runs became an official stat in both leagues,” Murphy wrote. “The club responded by overhauling the look of its rotation, signing Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. But it’s fair to wonder if this group will be good enough for the Cards to win their division as FanGraphs projects. Lynn, Gibson and Miles Mikolas — all of whom are at least 35 years old — had an expected ERA of 4.80 or worse last year.” … Murphy also worries over Gray’s capability of repeating his strong 2023 season at age 34.”
In Murphy’s defense, FanGraphs projects 11.7 WAR for St. Louis starting pitching in 2024 which ranks 21st among the 30 teams. On the other hand, the ZiPS forecast has all four of the five declared STL starters pitching to a lower ERA in 2024. The only exception is Matz, but the slight projected increase isn’t anything worth talking about. The projected average ERA of the five starters is 4.17. That would have ranked 12th in the majors in 2023. The top priority is innings, and four of the five should provide that. With Matz it’s a question of health but the Cardinals (and Matz) are taking a smarter approach this spring.
I suppose I’m one of the few optimists out here who believes the Cardinals rotation will exceed expectations in 2024. They’ll be solid. But yeah, I agree, that blows up if injuries tear this rotation apart. That’s always a concern. And it also applies to all 30 teams.
Last season pitchers age 34 through 38 made a combined 465 starts and lasted at least five innings in 75 percent of their outings. And the old guys covered at least six innings in 45.3% of their starts.
WATCH THE CARDINALS: This, from David Schoenfield of ESPN: “Keep an eye on: St. Louis Cardinals. Coming off their first losing season since 2007, the Cardinals aren’t exactly a deep sleeper, but improving from 71 wins to the playoffs is no easy task, no matter your franchise history. Jordan Walker is an obvious breakout candidate after a solid rookie season, if he can learn to tap into his raw power and clean up his atrocious defense in right field. Rookie shortstop Masyn Winn is a work in progress at the plate, but he’ll improve the team’s defense. And don’t be surprised if Lars Nootbaar finally puts it all together and improves from 3.3 WAR to the 5.0 range.”
OBLIGATORY UPDATE ON TYLER O’NEILL: The former Cardinals outfielder is settling in during his first camp with the Boston Red Sox. “He moves in the outfield,” manager Alex Cora told reporters. “He brings an edge to the lineup,” … Red Sox media are asking O’Neill a lot of questions about his passion for weight lifting and his extensive list of injuries. “You live and you learn,” O’Neill said. “I can’t get away from the weight room. It’s who I am. It’s my identity. I need to be in there. It gets me right. It gets me going. But as you get a little older, things have to be modified. You can’t just go in there and lift heavy anymore like I used to,” … through Thursday, O’Neill had two hits in nine at-bats with a walk, two strikeouts and three runs scored.
TOOTING FOR NOOT: Ryan Boyer of Baseball Prospectus put Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar on his short list of top rebound candidates for 2024. “Nootbaar was a popular breakout pick heading into last season, which may be why his year felt like a bit of a letdown,” Boyer wrote. “The batted-ball data clearly took a step back … he also struggled to stay healthy, making three separate trips to the injured list with thumb, back and groin issues.
“Still, I can’t help but feel there could be more in the tank from Nootbaar,” Boyer continued. “He has an elite command of the strike zone, boasting a walk rate in the 95th percentile, a whiff rate in the 88th percentile and a chase rate in the 98th percentile. He also showed in 2022 that he is capable of well above average quality of contact. That all regressed in 2023, and so did his flyball rate and pull rate … Nootbaar is probably never going to be a prolific power hitter, but he was on roughly a 20-homer pace for a full season in 2023 and that’s with a downturn in batted-ball data. If he can stay healthy in 2024 and his quality of contact returns at least close to 2022 levels, 25-plus dingers seems well within reach. Nootbaar would also be a candidate for 100-plus runs scored if he hits in the top-third of the Cardinals’ batting order.”
J. TATUM CHECK-IN: Our Town’s Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are having one of the most dominant regular seasons in franchise history. They’re the No. 1 team in the NBA, standing at 46-12 for a .793 winning percentage. Only two Celtics teams had a higher winning percentage through the first 58 games of a season, and both went on to win the NBA Championship in 1964-65 (.828) and 1985-86 (.810.) The 2007-2008 Boston team that won the NBA title was also 46-12 through 58 games. Winning the championship is the standard, so the pressure is on Tatum and teammates. The Celtics have won nine in a row and are 17-3 since Jan. 13. They’re 15-1 against Atlantic division rivals, 33-6 vs. Eastern Conference challengers and have lost only three of 30 home games so far. If it holds up, the average margin of victory (10.43 points) for the current Celtics would be the best in franchise history. Tatum is leading the way by averaging 27 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
BOLD TALK FROM REDS CAMP: “This is the year we’re going to be a playoff team” Cincinnati second baseman Jonathan India told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “We all know it. We just missed the playoffs by two games last year. We’re not going to miss it again. We’ve got more energy. We’ve more confidence. And a lot of us have a chip on our shoulder. We’re going to win the division this year.”
OUTSIDE VIEW OF ST. LOUIS CITY SC: MLSSoccer.com has St. Louis City SC at No. 13 in this week’s power rankings. City was No. 11 going into the season. “All told, St. Louis seem like a prime candidate to be a team that actually plays better than the previous season but catches fewer breaks,” J. Sam Jones wrote. “They could be improved and end up not matching their 2023 point total (56 points).”
MISSING BRANDON CRAWFORD: Giants fans really loved this guy, who played more games at shortstop than any player in franchise history. He also won four Gold Gloves, made three All-Star teams and was a major reason for San Francisco’s World Series titles in 2012 and 2014. Crawford is a Cardinal, but his popularity will be eternal among Giants fans.
Wrote Brady Klopfer of the McCovey’s Cove blog: “Farewell, sweet prince. We knew there was a chance that it would happen. And now it has, indeed, happened. The greatest shortstop in San Francisco Giants history — a man who had a nearly perfectly-written script — will play baseball for a team not affiliated with the Giants for the first time since suiting up for UCLA in 2008. Yes, Brandon Crawford is moving on, as he’s signing a deal with the Cardinals …
“It’s going to be very hard and very weird to see, but I want to make it clear that we should all be happy. If you need to cry, cry. If you need to barf, barf. If you need a beer, grab a beer. But while it slightly damages our happily ever after, it’s the continuation of Crawford’s. He wanted to keep playing. It wasn’t going to happen on the Giants. Now he gets to do so. We should all be very happy for him, even if deep down you wish that what he wanted was to retire and go enjoy rural Arizona with his great playlists and adorable kids.”
MOVING UP IN THE CHARTS: “In his new first-round mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has Mizzou defensive lineman Darius Robinson going to the Arizona Cardinals with the 27th overall pick. “I moved Robinson into my Big Board after the Senior Bowl in early February,” Kiper wrote. “He was one of the best prospects during practices, showing lightning-quick get-off at the snap and power in one-on-one pass-rush drills, all at 286 pounds. And when I went back to study his 2023 tape, you can see his performance was no fluke.”
Thanks for reading …
Have a fantastic weekend …
–Bernie
A 2023 inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Bernie hosts an opinionated and analytical sports-talk show on 590 The Fan, KFNS. It airs 3-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4-6 p.m. on Friday. Stream it live or grab the show podcast on 590thefan.com or through the 590 The Fan St. Louis app.
Please follow Bernie on Twitter @miklasz and on Threads @miklaszb
For weekly Cards talk, listen to the “Seeing Red” podcast with Will Leitch and Miklasz via 590thefan.com or through your preferred podcast platform. Follow @seeingredpod on Twitter for a direct link. A new Seeing Red for you on Monday, March 4.
All stats used in my baseball columns are sourced from FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, StatHead, Baseball Savant, Baseball Prospectus, and Sports Info Solutions unless noted otherwise.
The post BERNIE BITS: Blues-Buchnevich, Key To Cardinals’ Season, Sad College Hoops, Music, Best Mizzou QBs, J. Tatum + MUCH MORE. appeared first on Scoops Sports Network.
The Cardinals are rising to the occasion lately and we talk it over with Ben Frederickson. Can we say that Willson Contreras is the catcher now? We take a look at the power coming from the team and if that offense is sustainable. Matthew Liberatore made a big start this week. Should they stay with a 6 man rotation? Are Blues fans weepy watching Tkachuk’s success? We get into Caleb Love, NIL money and Mizzou hoops. How about SLU hoops news? A quiet off-season so far. Some discussion on the future of the Battlehawks as well. Listen here:
The post Ben Fred Friday – May 19, 2023 appeared first on Scoops.
“The Kilcoyne Conversation” with Tramaine Isabell, former Billiken. How SLU ran the table at the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament in 2019. Playing for Mizzou/SLU and his belief in Coach Ford.
The post Tramaine Isabell – The Kilcoyne Conversation appeared first on Scoops.
ALL ABOARD!
BERNIE BITS!
MIZZOU TAKES A HIT ON THE ROAD. The Tigers played at Arkansas on Wednesday night in their first SEC road game of the season. Missouri couldn’t sustain a strong early performance and went down 74-68. After sprinting to a 25-8 lead, MU was outscored 66-43 over the final 31 minutes and 29 seconds.
KOBE BROWN AND D’MOI HODGE: Brown and Hodge combined for 51 points in Mizzou’s win over Illinois, and followed that with 45 combined points in the victory against Kentucky. But in the loss at Arkansas Brown and D’Moi Hodge combined for only five made field goals and 17 points in 48 minutes. Mizzou has good depth and other capable scorers, but opponents won’t be so permissive in letting Brown and Hodge beat them. Brown became a non-factor because of early foul trouble, and Hodge couldn’t shake off the tight defense played by Arkansas guard Davonte Davis … After leading 34-27 at the break, Missouri’s defense dissolved. In the second half Arkansas made 61.5 percent of its second-half shots from the floor, and scored on 22 of 33 possessions (66.7%) … Arkansas had a 15-9 edge in offensive rebounding and used that for a 17-8 advantage in second-chance points … A Mizzou offense that usually thrives in transition was outscored 18-11 on fastbreaks … for all of the complaining about officiating, Missouri took only two fewer free-throw attempts than Arkansas for the game … bottom line: it’s tough to win on the road in the SEC, and it ain’t going to happen when your two best players (Brown and Hodge) have little impact and your defense collapses in the second half.
NO SHAME IN THIS LOSS. Arkansas, a Final Four team in 2022, is currently the nation’s No. 9 team overall according to KenPom, and the Razorbacks rank 5th nationally in defense and 17th nationally in offensive rebounding. Mizzou will learn from the experience in Fayetteville. But this undersized MU team will likely be at a disadvantage on the boards all season, and SEC coaches will use video of the Arkansas swarm to attack Mizzou’s No. 1 vulnerability by bringing even more force to the offensive glass. Mizzou will have to do a better job of blocking out and fighting for rebounds. The Tigers are ranked No. 357 in the nation by KenPom in their defensive-rebound percentage, and that’s concerning.
Moving On …
CURIOUS WORDS FROM JIM BOWDEN: The former MLB general manager (Reds, Nationals) and current baseball analyst for The Athletic had this to say about the Cardinals earlier this week in a piece that assessed what each MLB team is up to:
“Cardinals — assessing the trade and free-agent markets … the Cardinals filled their biggest offseason need when they signed catcher Willson Contreras. Now they are open-minded in looking for ways to improve their team. They are actively pursuing trades and keeping tabs on the free-agent market. It is believed the Cardinals are working to acquire a certain player but want to make sure more specifics don’t become public because it would hurt their chances of completing a trade. They’re not done making moves.”
Intriguing.
Or maybe weird.
Moving On …
BLUES AT NEW JERSEY. WHAT’S NEXT? After an unexpected 6-5 shootout victory at Toronto on Tuesday, the Blues (18-7-3) will try to follow that up with a successful Thursday night in Jersey. The Devils (24-11-3) have the fifth-best points percentage in the NHL (.671) and rank second in the league with a 59.6 percent goal share at 5-on-5. The Blues are 25th in the NHL with a 5-on-5 goal share of 46.4%. And that was a problem at Toronto, with the Blues getting outscored 4-2 by the Maple Leafs at 5-on-5.
Look, I was happy that the Blues got two points in Toronto, and they did it by scoring goals in all sorts of ways including two on the power play and one shorthanded. And to win in their first game without the injured Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko was a plus. But here’s the thing: the Toronto triumph was nice, but why don’t we see this more often? If you can win in Toronto against one of the best teams on the circuit, then you should have been winning more games all along. The Blues have an opportunity to increase their shaky credibility by winning at New Jersey. And keep this in mind: the Devils are a mediocre 10-9-2 at home this season for a home-ice points percentage of .524 that ranks 22nd in the NHL.
TWEET FROM JEREMY RUTHERFORD: “Blues veterans much better after chat with GM Doug Armstrong.” This isn’t directed at JR, the top-notch Blues beatwriter for The Athletic. I just wanted to say that it’s really swell how the veterans feel after the big boss told them they need to raise their performance level and bring dedication and intensity to every game. Via Brayden Schenn, the players agreed with Armstrong’s assessment. That’s really gracious of them.
ARMSTRONG AND COACH CRAIG BERUBE: I appreciated Army’s criticism of his team’s performance when he offered blunt comments on Monday. But Armstrong put this team together, and spent a lot of payroll dollars on underperforming players, and assumed that they’d at least work hard to clean up their mistakes and display more commitment to the 5-on-5 game. So even if his criticism is on point, Armstrong is ultimately responsible for the team that we see on the ice. And he’s made mistakes with his payroll investments. As for Berube, here’s a simple but important question: he repeatedly cites the things the Blues must do to improve, but the players aren’t close to being consistent about putting Berube’s words into action, which means they aren’t paying much attention to those words … So what does this say about the coach and his players?
Moving On …
ASSORTMENT OF STUFF: Bad loss for Saint Louis U, which surrendered too many times on defense in a 90-81 loss at UMass. The Billikens are 9-6 overall, and that’s ridiculous considering that they’re the 12th most experienced team in the nation (per Ken Pom) … SLU ranked 81st in defensive efficiency last season and that’s dropped to the No. 159 ranking this season … the Billikens are also ranked No. 356 in the nation defensively in the percentage of forcing turnovers …
Excellent hire by Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz, who is bringing in Fresno State offensive coordinator Kirby Moore to take over the same job for the Tigers. Moore is a rising-star coach who played an important role in Fresno State’s 10-win season. Fresno State became the first team in FBS history to win 10 games after going 1-4 to start the season. The Bulldogs averaged 34.4 points per game during their nine-game winning streak. After missing two games Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener completed 72.2% of his passes for 2,042 yards, 16 touchdowns and only two interceptions in his final seven games …
Swing and a miss: By last count, and as of this writing, Kevin McCarthy was 0-for-7 in the voting on his bid for Speaker of the House. And you thought Paul DeJong has a strikeout problem.
I love watching George & Tammy on Showtime … and do not expect me to apologize for this. I’ve been a big fan of the late George Jones, aka The Possum, for decades. And what can we say about Tammy Wynette, the Heroine of Heartache? She stood my her man too many times, but true love does that to people. Just remember the lyrics to one of their biggest duet hits … lyrics that offer a lesson on true love: “By itself, it’s just a cold metallic thing / Only love can make a golden wedding ring.” Then there’s one of many George Jones classics: “If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will.)”
I’m surprised that no MLB team has taken a flier on the frequently injured ex-Cardinal pitcher Alex Reyes …
Maryland-style Cream of Crab Soup: I made a pot on New Year’s Day, and it was fabulous, and you should be envious … all kidding aside, here’s a simple recipe. I add some of my own flourishes, but this recipe is great on its own.
Writing at STLtoday, the great Derrick Goold offered these five names of available free agents that could potentially help the 2023 Cardinals: lefty relievers Andrew Chafin and Matt Moore, righty relievers David Phelps and Michael Fulmer, and switch-hitting utility tool Jurickson Profar …
I never got the chance to watch “Ray Donovan” as it was airing on real time at Showtime, but I’ve now completed the first two of seven seasons. I have a question: does Ray ever sleep?
This mess with USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family is an embarrassment for all involved and I don’t see how Berhalter can retain his job. His contract is up, and the men’s national soccer program doesn’t need the distractions and clouds that will linger if he’s brought back …
If you combine the fourth quarter of last year’s national college football championship with the fourth quarter of Saturday’s national semifinal win, here’s what Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett did (combined) in those fourth quarters: a completion rate of 88 percent, 273 yards passing, four touchdown throws, and no interceptions. Georgia came back to win both games, erasing late deficits against Alabama and Ohio State …
Here’s another reason why the peoples love TCU football. We present the number of four-and-five star recruits on the rosters of the four teams that made it to the college-football semifinals: Georgia 68, Ohio State 66, Michigan 66, TCU 18. Georgia is a 12.5-point favorite to defeat TCU in the national title game …
Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino … gee, what can go wrong? Two massive egos and stubborn coots working in the same suite of offices at Texas A&M? How long before Petrino attempts a palace coup?
Sigh. Earlier this week Our Town’s Bradley Beal injured his left hamstring for the second time in two weeks and has missed 15 of Washington’s first 39 games of this NBA season. “It’s just tough with hamstrings, man, because you just don’t know (when it’s fully healed),” Beal said. “I think that’s the frustrating part. You can feel fine and you go out and you try to run, try to do something explosive, and it’s just like, ‘Oh, no! I’m not ready.’ “
Moving On …
DYLAN CARLSON: Despite a cold start to 2021 and the wrist and thumb injuries that deflated his offense over the final two months of 2022, Carlson still ranked 18th among MLB outfielders with 5.0 WAR over the last two seasons. (Minimum 1,100 plate appearances.) And from July 19 of 2021 through the end of July of 2022, here’s what Carson generated in 566 plate appearances: .266 average, .335 onbase percentage, .455 slug, .790 OPS, 36 doubles, four triples and 17 home runs. During this stretch he was 19 percent above league average offensively per wRC+. Carlson is 24 years old.
NL CENTRAL WATCH: CUBS SIGN ERIC HOSMER. Pretty good move by the Cardinals’ historical rival. They added a solid starting first baseman at a salary of $720,000 for 2023. The cost was cheap because the Padres will be paying Hosmer $39 million guaranteed over the next three seasons. Last summer the Padres traded Hosmer to the Red Sox and then the Red Sox designated him for assignment earlier this offseason. Hosmer has performed six percent above league average offensively over the past two seasons, with a decent OBP (.336) and some power (.389 slug.) The Cubs were in need of a starting first baseman, and Hosmer makes sense as a short-term fix. The Cubs have quietly improved their infield from last season by signing shortstop Dansby Swanson to a seven-year $177 million contract, moving Nico Hoerner from shortstop to second base, and bringing in Hosmer for minimal dollars. The Cubs also boosted their center field defense – and maybe offense – by signing Cody Bellinger to a one-year deal. Cubs center fielders combined for only 1.5 WAR last season and were 10 percent below league average offensively. In addition, Cubs center fielders were a hideous minus 19 in defensive runs saved in 2022.
NL CENTRAL WATCH: BREWERS SIGN DREW MILEY. The veteran lefty starter gets a one-year deal for $4.5 million. Miley can gain an extra $1.5 million through incentives. As a Cub last season Miley missed 138 days with shoulder and elbow injuries but had a nice ERA (3.18) in his nine appearances (eight starts.) He pitched well for the Reds in 2021, filing a 3.37 ERA in 163 innings. This is a reunion of sorts; Miley went 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 16 starts with the 2018 Brewers. If Miley (age 36) can stay healthy, he’ll help the Crew. But if he has another physical breakdown, the sunken cost won’t be too painful for the Brewers front office … Milwaukee added more pitching insurance by signing former Braves-Pirates righthander Bryse Wilson, who has a 5.54 ERA in 56 MLB games. But he’s only 25 and still has some potential.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Bernie invites you to listen to his opinionated and analytical sports-talk show on 590 The Fan, KFNS-AM. It airs Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m. and Friday from 4-6 p.m. You can listen by streaming online or by downloading the show podcast at 590thefan.com or the 590 app.
Follow Bernie on Twitter @miklasz
All stats used here were sourced from FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, Stathead, Bill James Online, Fielding Bible, Baseball Savant, Brooks Baseball Net and Spotrac.
The post Bernie Bits: Mizzou Hoops, George and Tammy, Cardinals Intrigue, Armstrong-Berube + Crab Soup Recipe! appeared first on Scoops.
Ben Frederickson and Martin Kilcoyne break down all things Cardinals. How much money did Nolan Arenado leave on the table this offseason, and how should the Cardinals pour that money saved back into the team? Why is rotation help still a need? Ben and Martin hit on area college hoops as well, and debate the legitimacy of a controversial Blues tradition, Country Roads.
The post Ben Fred Friday with Martin Kilcoyne – December 16, 2022 appeared first on Scoops.
REMEMBERING RICK MAJERUS
Saint Louis U. is doing a wonderful thing by honoring the late Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Majerus at halftime of Saturday’s 3 p.m. game against Southern Illinois at Chaifetz Arena. Majerus died 10 years ago at age 64.
I’m about to get personal here, and I hope that it doesn’t make you uncomfortable.
When I got the call on that Saturday night — Dec. 1, 2012 — dropped my phone and broke down, weeping for at least 10 minutes. My cherished memories of Coach are embedded in my heart. It’s corny, I know. And I don’t normally share these deeply personal thoughts and emotions. But Rick was different. We connected. We had much in common, including a lifelong struggle to control our weight and the psychological wounds that were part of that. We were very public people who often preferred solitude. We both had antisocial tendencies, and I don’t know why. But we were comfortable in each other’s company and that can be surprisingly hard to find. We shared many meals, many stories, and many laughs. We discussed politics, books, films, history, food, religion, and our failings.
All of it and more. I miss him. I miss him because I could talk to him – openly and honestly – about personal issues and challenges, health concerns, the demands of life, what it was like to be different and not fit into anyone’s traditional box. And there was the challenge of dealing with the depression that touched both of us. He understood me. I understood him. The moral support was incredible.
I could share anything with him … things I would not, or could not, share with anyone else. As I have learned in subsequent years … there are very few people I can turn to when I need to find a way out of the sadness. Depression is hell, and Rick could always pull me out of it, if even for a little while … because he knew. Because he lived through these strains. Because he had a human touch that could lessen anyone’s burden. I was there for him, too. Though not enough. I wish there were more dinners, more conversations, more driving tours of St. Louis … more of those shared times when we could slow everything down … including ourselves.
During our relatively brief friendship I saw Rick cry, saw him giggle, saw him question himself and relive his regrets. I know he was volatile, and that could be uncomfortable for those around him. I watched him get angry at times. I also know that Rick Majerus had flaws, but that made him more real, more relatable. Give me a friend who puts it all out there instead of playing it safe and being a phony. For better (most of the time) or worse, Rick was an original who did not try to be someone else to fit a more politically correct profile. He was delightfully eccentric, which is something about him I’ll always treasure.
Majerus could be really hard on his players, but I was fortunate to know him in a way that had nothing to do with basketball. I definitely know this: he loved his players, too. A lot. Maybe that was why he stayed on them, pushing them to the limit to make them better. And if any of the players needed his help, he was incredibly compassionate and ready to provide counsel and comfort.
When Rick coached the last game of his career and life – a close NCAA Tournament loss to Michigan State back in the spring of 2012 – he got emotional during what turned out to be his final news conference. I think he knew that he was heading to an ominous place with his heart health. I spent some time with him in a hallway outside the locker room, both of us sitting on chairs across from each other. He was so down — morose, even – and I didn’t understand why. He talked about an upcoming recruiting trip, but it wasn’t convincing. He sort of drifted away in his thoughts, and in a few minutes he said goodbye and walked down the hall. I never saw him again. Never had the chance to speak with him again. He knew where he was headed, and there would be no turning back. Can you even comprehend the magnitude of his sadness at that time? I later came to realize that his mood on that final basketball day made sense.
I can tell you without hesitancy or phoniness that Rick Majerus loved coaching at St. Louis U. It was the perfect time in his life to take on a rebuild at a Jesuit University that fit his strong Catholic faith. It was a gift to know him, and I won’t stop missing him. But SLU’s decision to honor Rick Majerus is a tremendous gesture of kindness and gratitude, and just the right touch, so a sincere thanks goes out to director of athletics Chris May, coach Travis Ford and everyone else at SLU who played a role in the decision to give us a chance to remember Rick.
The ceremony will stir emotions, and that’s good for the soul. To remember the big man is to love him all over again … and to laugh and cry with him again … and to feel more alive. That’s Rick. He always could do that, whether it was over a bowl of pasta or in a quiet hallway only a few feet away from the basketball court. Saturday he will be there only in memory, and in ceremony. But he will be there, and we will be blessed to feel the connection.
Thank you for reading this.
–Bernie
The post Bernie: Remembering My Late Friend, Saint Louis U. Basketball Coach Rick Majerus. appeared first on Scoops.
A pre-winter meetings visit with Ben Frederickson this morning. What are his predictions for the Cardinals next week? Will they make any moves soon and, if so, what might they be? The pitch clock will shave loads of time off of games next year. How will pitcher adapt and who could it impact the most? We talk about how the shift ban will affect baseball and put a premium on good left handed hitters. We also get into how the infield defense will factor into lineup construction- will Paul Dejong’s defense outweigh his subpar offense? We hear Ben’s thoughts on Mizzou football’s transfer portal mayhem and Tiger basketball’s good start. A look at the Billikens going forward as well. Listen here:
The post Ben Fred Friday – December 2, 2022 appeared first on Scoops.
BERNIE BITS
1. Let’s begin with the Blues, who pulled themselves out of the sewage-disposal tank to begin a cleanup process that produced consecutive wins over San Jose and Las Vegas over a 48-hour period.
After losing eight straight in extreme, non-competitive fashion the Blues take their optimistic hearts and a two-game win streak into Ball Arena Monday for night’s game against the defending Stanley Cup-champion Colorado Avalanche.
The turnaround is too brief to matter in a serious way, but this team needed doses of success to boost confidence and morale. The boys also needed to prove that they could handle their misadventures by striking back after in-game mishaps instead of curling up in a spineless acceptance of their doom.
Thursday at home, the Blues won 5-3 after blowing multiple one-goal leads. The determination was a good sign. Saturday the Blues began a three-game roadie by rallying for a 3-2 attainment at Las Vegas after fumbling a 1-0 lead. That’s even more encouraging.
So now let’s see how the fellas take it from here.
There’s no mystery to this early-stage recuperation. It’s all about their overall sturdiness at 5-on-5 play.
– During their eight-game losing streak, the Blues were outscored 24-7 at 5-on-5, which computes to a goal share of 22.58 percent.
– In the back-to-back wins, the Blues outscored the Sharks and Golden Knights 6-4 at 5-on-5 for a goal share of 60%.
And this wasn’t a case of lucky bounces. Sorry for the fancy-pants stats, but they are revealing. In losing eight straight, the Blues had an expected 5-on-5 goal share of 17.43%.
That’s pathetic. But in the wins over San Jose and Vegas, the Blues had an expected 5–on–5 goal share of 49.5%. That’s a huge difference that explains the improved play.
Sure we can give a complimentary tap of the stick to a few players that have stood out during the last two games, and defenseman Calle Rosen tops the list.
In the two victories the Blues have outscored opponents 5-0 and outshot them 16-8 with Rosen on the ice at 5-on-5. His expected goals share in the two games was a superb 74.93 percent. Rosen teams well with Niko Mikkola … but let’s keep the emphasis on Rosen. In 23 games for the Blues since the start of last season, his expected goal share (54%) at 5-on-5 is the best among current Blues defensemen. He should be more than just an injury-emergency fill-in.
This is a collective effort, of course. Other Blues have stepped up. Including Jordan Kyrou, Ryan O’Reilly, Brandon Saad, Brayden Schenn. I didn’t put Robert Thomas in the group for a simple reason: he brings his best to the ice on a regular basis. The same goes for Vladimir Tarasenko.
2. About Missouri football: I’m not in the mood to write another batch of words about the “state of the program,” and I have no interest in dispensing many syllables about how Mizzou trailed No. 5 Tennessee by four points in the third quarter Saturday down in Knoxville. The Vols outscored the Tigers 38-0 from that stage and kept on tabulating yards and points. Mizzou’s normally stubborn defense was turned into grits, with Tennessee scoring nine touchdowns and 66 points while averaging an astounding 9.7 yards per play. A 42-point loss is humiliating. I’m a little cranky here; I thought the Tigers could limit Tennessee’s exciting offense to 38 points or so and cover the 20.5-point spread. Um, no. Gimme the dunce cap.
Quarterback Brady Cook played well by Brady Cook’s standards, but Cook wasn’t going to win a QB duel against Hendon Hooker. The Tigers committed 14 penalties. Coach Eli Drinkwitz is 0-2 since receiving his contract extension. The loss dumped Mizzou to 4-6 overall, 3-6 vs. FBS programs, 1-5 vs. winning FBS teams and 2-5 in the SEC. It’s just so monotonous. I can’t even get properly ticked off anymore.
3. I guess some Mizzou fans are sore at Tennessee coach Josh Heupel for declining to leash his offense. (How many fans were upset, I have no idea.) The Vols kept throwing and scoring, right down to the final seconds. OK, so Heupel wasn’t a gentleman. My general thoughts on this non-controversy: if Missouri can one day build a good football program, no one will have to worry about Heupel being a bully. And if Missouri can’t build a good program – the Tigers are 24-41 in the SEC since the start of 2015 – then maybe relocate to a lesser conference. In two games vs. Mizzou and Coach Eli Drinkwitz, Heupel’s Tennessee squad has averaged 64 points, 8.5 touchdowns and 703.5 yards per blow-out.
4. Next up for Missouri: home game against New Mexico State, and I would put this one in the automatic win category except, well, Mizzou. But the Aggies average only 19.9 points per game, and the Missouri defense presumably will be raging after the whomping at Tennessee. Does Sam Horn exist? If the four-star quarterback recruit can’t be trusted to play in this one, then this is even worse than I thought.
5. Illinois. C’mon. Why did you have to go and mess this up? After a 7-1 start overall, including a 4-1 slate in the Big Ten, the Fighting Illini have been smacked down by Michigan State and Purdue in successive weeks. Illinois had the Big Ten West under control, only to be taken down as the betting-line favorite in back-to-back home losses. And that’s after leading Michigan State and Purdue 7-0 early in the games. In the two defeats coach Bret Bielema’s tough team lacked the expected muscle, which is trouble when the philosophy is based on dominating the line of scrimmage. In coming up short against the Spartans and Boilermakers, Illinois had only one more rushing yard (combined) than their opponents. 255 to 254. And in giving up five touchdown passes over the last two weeks the Illini defense managed only one sack and three hurries. And the penalties? Too many to overcome.
Losses by Wisconsin and Illinois have set up a four-way tie in the Big Ten West standings. Purdue, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota are all 4-3 in conference competition. Iowa plays at Minnesota on Saturday and that will break one tie. Illinois’s next game is at Michigan. Purdue has the most favorable remaining schedule with games against Northwestern and Indiana. If Iowa and Purdue finish in a tie, the Hawkeyes have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
6. In the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, only three Big Ten teams made the cut: Ohio State (2), Michigan (3) and Penn State (11.) The Pac 12 has six teams in the new rankings: USC (7), Utah (10), Oregon (12), Washington (15), UCLA (16) and Oregon State (25.)
READING TIME 3 MINUTES
I was dozing off a little bit before Tennessee turned on the rocket boosters, so someone help me out here: the way Rick Neuheisel (CBS) was carrying on about Brady Cook, I assumed Cook was closing in on winning the Heisman Trophy. As Gabe DeArmond wrote at Power Mizzou: “Find someone that talks about you the way Rick Neuheisel talks about Brady Cook. If he grew today as much as Neuheisel said he grew, Missouri’s quarterback is now 17 feet tall.”
My friend Ben Frederickson (and others) are advocating a free-agent by the Cardinals run for center fielder Brandon Nimmo, the left-handed hitter who had a very good 2022 for the NY Mets. Nimmo has a career 13.6 percent walk rate that’s been a large factor in his sweet .385 onbase percentage through seven MLB seasons. In 2022 Nimmo had seven triples, 30 doubles, and 16 homers and was 30 percent above league average offensively in OPS+. He also accrued 5.4 WAR at FanGraphs, which was fifth-best in the majors among all outfielders. There are mixed reports on his defense: Fielding Bible gives him a negative rating in center field – but he grades out as a plus defender according to Statcast and Outs Above Average. And if there’s a tiebreaker, let’s cite Ultimate Zone Rating and the improvement Nimmo has shown in UZR. The baserunning is not so good …
Nimmo, Part Two: I can see three reasons for skepticism or hard questions: (1) Durability; Nimmo has played 100 or more games in only two seasons. In fairness, he likely would have reached 100+ games in 2020 had the season been a normal 161-game schedule. But Nimmo has missed 256 game days of baseball to injuries during his MLB career including 73 lost days in 2021. His 151 games-played in 2022 was encouraging. (2) I’d be surprised if the Mets let Nimmo walk and ownership won’t hesitate to overpay Nimmo to stay if Steve Cohen wants to keep him. (3) If Nimmo doesn’t reach a deal with Cohen and the Mets, the Cardinals would face competition for his services. And the Cards would also have to give up draft-pick compensation for signing Nimmo. Bill DeWitt Jr. and John Mozeliak are historically reluctant (understatement) to do that.
The Cards super-utilitarian, Brendan Donovan, is up for the NL Rookie of the Year, with the winner announced Monday night on MLB Network. Donovan had a splendid rookie season but it would be a stunner if he prevails over Atlanta outfielder Michael Harris II and ATL pitcher Spencer Strider. That said, Donovan is a worthy choice. Among the National League rookie position players that had at least 300 plate appearances in 2022, Donovan ranked 1st in onbase percentage (.394) and walks; was 2nd in bWAR (4.1), runs scored, OPS (.773), and OPS+ (130); was third in batting average (.281) and doubles. Oh, yeah … Donovan won the first-ever utility-man Gold Glove for his six-position defense.
My pal Travis Sawchik, the excellent baseball analyst who writes for The Score, recently did a match-making exercise and decided that left-handed starter Carlos Rodon would be the ideal fit for the Cardinals. “The Cardinals stated they intend to spend money this offseason and their biggest need is at the top of their rotation,” Sawchik wrote. “This team is built to win now with corner infield superstars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado signed for multiple years, but they’re not getting any younger. It figures to be a wide market for Rodon, but St. Louis must address its rotation. The Cardinals’ starting pitchers had the seventh-lowest strikeout percentage in the majors. The lowest four: the Tigers, Rockies, Royals, and Nationals – not the kind of company you want to keep as a contending club. Prediction: Cardinals, five years/$135M.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT NFL WEEK 11
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Remember when the Buffalo Bills were viewed as The Next Great Team in the NFL? That still could become true, but as of late they’ve been going over Niagara Falls. They’ve lost two in a row after a 6-1 start, in part because of QB Josh Allen, who has thrown four red-zone interceptions in his team’s two consecutive losses. The Bills blew a substantial lead in losing a wild one (33-30) to the visiting Vikings in overtime. And no NFL team has a worse turnover percentage (18.9%) than Buffalo. Surprising, yes? It’s just one of the reasons why the Bills can’t win tight games. Since the start of the 2021 season Buffalo is 16-1 in games decided by nine or more points but only 2-9 in games decided by eight or less. Oh, and the Miami Dolphins now lead the AFC East with a 7-3 record.
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The Rams are burnt pie. The defending Super Bowl champs have lost five of their last six games to slide to 3-6 on the season. A once dazzling offense ranks 29th among 32 teams in points per game (16.4), is 29th in net passing yards per attempt, is 31st in average yards per play, has the fifth-worst turnover percentage, and is last in the NFL in rushing yards per game (68.1)
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Dallas Cowboys: still overrated. The Boys blew a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter Sunday in Green Bay and lost in OT. The Cowboys are 2-2 with starter Dak Prescott at quarterback. They went 4-1 when Cooper Rush took over at QB after Prescott suffered a hand injury. Hmmm.
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After losing at home to Indianapolis of all teams, the Las Vegas Raiders flattened to 2-7 on the season. First-year Raiders coach Josh McDaniels, who failed in Denver, is now 7-24 in his last 31 games as a head coach.
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Justin Fields, my goodness. Over the past two games, Fields has rushed for 325 yards and three TDs. He still has rough moments as a passer but definitely is getting better, having thrown seven touchdowns with one interception in his last three games. The Chicago Bears have their quarterback.
What the heck, here’s one more: The Minnesota Vikings (8-1) appear to be real.
Sunday’s incredible win at Buffalo was their fifth victory of the season in the last 2 minutes and 30 seconds of games. Overall they’ve won seven in a row, all by one-possession margins.
LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST …
CHECKING IN ON JAYSON TATUM: St. Louisan Tatum, now in his sixth NBA season with the Boston Celtics, is off to the best start of his career. And that’s saying something considering the success Tatum packed into his first five NBA seasons. With Tatum averaging 32.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game, the Celtics have raced out to a 10-3 start, running shoulder to shoulder with the Milwaukee Bucks (10-2) for the top record in the Eastern Conference. Tatum is shooting 50 percent from the floor for the sharpest accuracy of his career. That includes a 38.7% success rate from three-point range. Only Luka Doncic (Dallas) and Steph Curry (Golden State) are averaging more points per game than Tatum this season.
Tatum is doing something else that’s made him extra effective so far this season: getting to the foul line. His current rate of 11.8 free-throw attempts per 100 possessions is easily the highest of his career. Motivated by last season’s NBA Finals loss to Golden State, Tatum worked extensively during the offseason at being more aggressive about attacking the rim, and the new mindset is paying off. Showing more explosiveness on his drives, Tatum is shooting a career-best 81 percent on shots near the rim. And only three NBA players have attempted more free throws than Tatum (117) this season.
Though it’s early, Tatum is the subject of considerable MVP talk, and it’s legit. The Celtics have won six in a row as they head into Monday night’s home game against Oklahoma City.
“This is definitely the best I’ve felt to ever start the season,” Tatum told reporters recently. “It kind of feels like how I felt I was playing toward the end of last season when we went on that run going into the playoffs. It feels great to start a season like this, because I definitely know what it feels like to be on the other side of being .500, struggling shooting the ball, just really trying to figure it out. The way we’re playing, it’s fine. It feels good.”
JORDAN GOODWIN IS TURNING HEADS: The Belleville native and former Saint Louis U. star is making a fantastic impression on the Washington Wizards while receiving the most extensive opportunity of his early NBA career. After being recalled from Washington’s G-League team, the Capital City Go-Go, Goodwin has become an important bench piece for a Wizards team that’s won four in a row to improve to 8-6.
Goodwin has averaged 24.6 minutes during a five-game stretch that’s produced a 4-1 record for the surprising Wizards. In the five games Goodwin has averaged 9.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He’s shooting .545 from the floor and has hit 61.5 percent of his threes. Over the last week, Goodwin’s highlights included 17 points, four rebounds and five assists in a win at Charlotte; his hounding Memphis star guard Ja Morant with dogged defense to key a 23-point road comeback that just fell short; and contributing 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists in Sunday’s home victory over Memphis.
Goodwin is an inspirational story. He’s outplayed guard Johnny Davis, the 10th overall selection in this year’s NBA Draft. Davis, from Wisconsin, has been on the bench for six of the Wizards’ last seven games and has made only 28.6 percent of his field-goal attempts. At 24, Goodwin is showing he belongs in the NBA.
“Guys have rallied behind him,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. told The Athletic. “They understand where he’s coming from. He’s competing for a job. He’s done a terrific job of making the most of his minutes, and he’s helped us win. So I give the kid a lot of credit. He’s got heart. He’s tough. He tries to play the right way, and he’s got a little grit, so he’s not scared of the moment.”
Thanks for reading …
– Bernie
The post Bernie Bits: Blues, Mizzou, Illini, Brendan Donovan, Nimmo, Jayson Tatum, Jordan Goodwin, + NFL Tour. appeared first on Scoops.
Coach Ford fills us in on the first week for the Billikens in competition. An amazing game for Yuri Collins, the return of Javonte Perkins, a solid Fred Thatch and the preparation for the Evansville game tomorrow. Listen here:
The post Coach Travis Ford – November 11, 2022 appeared first on Scoops.
It’s a Ben Fred Friday here with Ben Frederickson of The Post Dispatch. This morning we dig into the MLB GM meetings in Vegas and the Cardinals in the catcher/shortstop markets. We also talk about the future of Tyler O’Neill and Jordan Walker. Ben talk abouts the big SLU sports weekend and Mizzou hoops recruiting. […]
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The mens basketball season kick off tonight at SLU. We catch up with Billikens head coach Travis Ford about this year’s team. He talks Yuri Collins, new additions, injuries and what he’s expecting this year from some. Listen here:
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Travis Ford says he still keeps voicemails and text messages from people around the game that sympathize with him for the loss of Javonte Perkins. Things like, “sorry about that you guys were set up for a great year” or “what a shame, you guys were going to be really good.” Reminders of what the […]
The post Billikens Season Comes to a Close, Begging the Questions of “What If?” and “What’s Next?” appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
It has taken two years, but it seems that Francis Okoro has introduced himself to the world as a force to be reckoned within the Atlantic 10. The Junior big man anchored the Billiken victory over St. Bonaventure yesterday in the A10 championship quarter-final, providing the first half scoring punch needed to keep pace, and […]
The post “He doesn’t get the credit he deserves”, Saint Louis University basketball success fueled by the sleeping giant in Francis Okoro appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
Being overworked and burnt out can have negative effects on anyone. Too much all at once can be overwhelming physically and may lead one to not be able to reflect appropriately and adjust for the future. The Saint Louis University Billikens hope a five-day layoff is just what the doctor ordered. Saint Louis has been […]
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After what can only be described as an “up-and-down” season for the Saint Louis University Billikens, Travis Ford’s group has reached the crescendo with the opportunity for success. They will need to win their A 10 tournament to find their way into the NCAA tournament. Having seemingly lost the opportunity to earn an at-large bid […]
The post Billikens Head Into A-10 Tournament with a Chance…and That’s All They Can Ask For. appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
Saint Louis took care of Business on the road in a building that historically has given them fits. But not this time. SLU came out with one of the more complete team efforts we’ve seen in recent history and dominated from start to finish. As the Billikens build towards an NCAA tournament appearance, getting wins […]
The post Chapley’s 10 Takes: Saint Louis takes care of business in Philly, down Explorers 75-57 appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
BERNIE BITS Five things I want to see from the Blues over their final 38 games of the regular season … 1) Improve on the road. This is important because the Blues will play 21 of their final 38 games away from Enterprise Center. At 9-8-3 they’re barely above average on the road this season […]
The post Bernie Bits: All-Time Cardinals, Blues, Tatum, Beal, STL Rams, Prospects + Joe Sheehan On The 2022 Redbirds appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
In front of a packed house, on Billiken Blizzard Day, Saint Louis University got their first win in five tries against their bitter rivals, the Dayton Flyers. In what was a complete team effort, the win stands out as an emotional high point in addition to it being a key victory for the Billikens chances […]
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Is Cuonzo Martin changing the conversation about his future as Missouri’s basketball coach? It has been said and written: Mizzou is playing better basketball, showing improvement in recent weeks after suffering humiliating losses to UMKC, Liberty, Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas. The Tigers looked good and played well in Saturday’s 70-66 road victory at Texas […]
The post Bernie On Hoops: Is Mizzou Improving? Maybe. There’s No ‘Maybe’ With St. Louis U. The Billikens Are Good. appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
With another tough road test ahead for the Billikens, Petey Buckets of GMU Giant Killer joins Carter on Billiken Babble to help prepare for the Billikens game against George Mason. Petey fills us in on how new Head Coach Kim English has faired, the drastic change in style the offense has brought, and what the […]
The post BILLIKEN BABBLE: George Mason Preview with Petey Buckets of GMU Giant Killer appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
It is tough going on the road and winning in the A10. It’s harder to win by 30. But that was the path the Billikens were on until Travis Ford called off the dogs and settled for a 77-53 win over Duquesne. The first away win over the Dukes in non-tournament play since the 2014 […]
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Saint Louis took care of business and beat the lowly George Washington Colonials in quick and assured fashion. While the scoreboard ended up reading 80-67, the win was more persuasive and significant that meets the eye. Here are my 10 takeaways from the Billikens win Wednesday night. One – Yuri Collins cements his legacy. Yuri […]
The post Chapley’s 10 Takes: SLU Trio Dominates the Colonials in wire-to-wire win. appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
The Billikens look to keep things rolling after a blowout win vs UMass. Now the lowly regarded George Washington Colonials come to Chaifetz Arena with a new pep in their step and GW lifer Daniel Frank joins us to preview the matchup.
The post BILLIKEN BABBLE: George Washington preview with Daniel Frank of A10 Talk appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
A look at the hugely popular Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy Awards presented to college soccer stars from around the country. Also, we visit with Coach Kevin Kalish from SLU mens soccer about their markable winning season, local talent, and so many of his players being drafted.
The post MAC’s Hermann Trophy Soccer Awards, Saint Louis University Billikens Soccer – Scoops with Danny Mac TV appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.
The Billikens took their first truly bad loss of the season, giving up 91 points to the UMass Minutemen. With a resume that now feels hard to overcome for an auto-bid into the Big Dance, it may be time to look at the rest of the season in the context of development and see success […]
The post Chapley’s 10 Takes: SLU fails to find the solution to UMASS but gets a second crack. appeared first on Scoops with Danny Mac.