Bona84

Best wishes go out to Coach Majerus. Get well, Coach!

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Bona84

AdamtheFlyer

If Crews is your contingency plan, you need a new contingency planner. He's been fired by Evansville and Army. He's not who you want leading a team with aspirations of winning the A10 and going to the second weekend in March. Their plan should have been to give Chris Harriman enough money and benefits to stick around as associate head coach, knowing Majerus is always in poor health and not getting younger.

I think this costs SLU a few games right off the top. Majerus sees things other people cannot. Their game plans and adjustments will suffer. He's not in the MCC or Patriot league anymore.

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vaNtR

Majerus is one the most talented coaches in the nation. SLU is really going to miss their master tactician this year. I hope we see him again, but I fear the worst with his deteriorating health. Tough loss for SLU and the A-10.

fjs64

I hope his health allows him to come back. He was colorful and the media, at least in NY, seemed to love him. I heard him interviewed multiple times by Mike Francesca of WFAN (Sports Talk), and Mike and the coach got along very well (the last interview that I heard was just before the NCAA tournament). He represented the A10 well. The addition of Stevens and Smart will also represent the A10 well in NY, both have been interviewed multiple times on WFAN. Nobody is quite like Rick, no one.

a10nick

That may be so, but I'd pay double for the SLU-Xavier game this year just to see the coaches' "hand-shake" ceremonies!!! In all likelihood, Mack left Evansville partly because of Crew's demand that he repeatedly slam the ball against the person of a UD player on out-of-bounds plays.

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I just want the team I support to be in a stronger conference. I'd prefer it to be a stronger A-10! To me that would mean every member would have at least 2 trips to the NCAA Tourney and 5 winning seasons during each 10-year cycle. It would also be great for every program to seriously challenge for a league title (either regular season or Tourney) at least once during that same period of time.

MudFlap

Unique personality - great Coach - hope he can get back.

thetorch

Rumors about this have been flying around sine June. SLU may have known much earlier than that.

Inexcusable for SLU to let Harriman go in retrospect.

Majerus' contract was also a big question mark. SLU always said he could coach here for as long as he wanted, but his deal ended after this upcoming season and there was no talk of extensions.

Season outlook without Majeus is not bleak but not special either. Really thought we had a chance at a 3 or 4 loss season and a 4 seed in the tourney. Best case now is a similar record to last season. Wouldn't surprise me if we were a .500 squad either.

The choice of Crews is inexplicable. He's been a part time bench coach for the past year and before that had been out of coaching since 09. Whitesell was the Associate HC, and was passed over for what reason I don't know. Crews has a mediocre track record as a coach. As said before the A10 is not the MCC in the 80s.

Recruiting will cease. I don't expect us to sign anyone this year and be way behind for the year after that. We have Crews, who doesn't recruit much if at all, Whitesell who is out on the road, another Asst who was just promoted & has never recruited, and a brand new grad Asst.

Majerus isn't coming back. His health is bleak. SLU will once again have to start over. This will be a lame duck coaching staff for the season, it is doubtful if any of them will be retained. Hopefully we can make another big splash hire like we did with Majerus, we have that ability. Many doubt our school prez will make a good hire though.

Its always tough being a Billikens fan.

SpiderDave19

That's a shame. It's obvious that someone over there is/was interested in a strong program, as they knew enough to go get a Majerus and pay him. Strange that they'd leave you in this position when the potential for exactly this situation was so obvious....almost inevitable.

spider23

I don't understand. Isn't Biondi the same guy who went out and got Majerus, and from what I recall was paying him $1 Million Plus? Why the change in direction now?

Bona Wolf for Pope

Also, I've got to think the job would be pretty attractive for a hot young coach (who sometimes come a bit cheaper)...still rolling the dice but it's a school and conference where you can make a name for yourself.

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DoubleJayAlum

Because Biondi and Majerus don't get along I'd guess. Biondi might want to make sure that the next hire is someone a little more under his direct control, which just may turn off some of the best "splash" candidates.

Free Quebec

My impression of Crews was always that he was a good coach and lousy recruiter. maybe that's wrong, but if not it means that SLU could be ok this year, but suffer down the road.

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A Wall St. banker, a tea party guy, and a union guy all sit down a table with 12 cookies.

The Wall St. banker takes 11 cookies, turns to the tea party guy and says, "That union guy wants a piece of your cookie."

thetorch

Biondi made the hire. Donors like Dr. Chaiffetz pays his salary. From not having enough charter flights, to refusing to buy practice equipment, to Majerus paying out of his own pocket for Assistants salaries and last year Canadian trip, Biondi has shown an unwillingness to support the program even under Majerus. This is Biondi's MO in almost everything. Make a huge splashy hire, that makes him look great in the eyes of most, behind the scenes undermine everything. When it ultimately fails seize even more control & blame everything on the person you hired.

tman

I hate to hear this about coach Majerus. I love to watch this guy do his thing.
Though I was disappointed when he gave that scum bag Crews a job.
And now I'm disapointed that SLU gave him the HC position, if in fact it is true.

There isn't a Coach in college basketball that I think less of. For many reasons.
For this fact alone I wish nothing but bad things for SLU basketball.
Karma's a bitch.

hykos1045