Somebody get Rick Majerus a shovel!

[boozehound]

... so that he can keep digging the hole he seems to be working on for himself.

The Latest on Rick Majerus (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/dancaesar/story/28BD15131EEE2901862576BA000F03ED?OpenDocument)

I actually do understand the sources of some of his frustration, but I don't really agree with his methodology. Charter flights are a very nice convenience and I'm sure are a big selling point for recruits. Is Rick going to leave SLU? It kind of seems like he has a "screw it" attitude right now that is often indicative of someone who is not planning on being there next year. That being said, Rick is a pretty unique guy, so it can be tough to tell what the reasons behind some of his actions are.

Either way it is a very tough situation for SLU's administration.

I would be curious to hear D-West and PO-Z's take on the matter. I would also be curious to hear what the general feelings around SLU are about the whole thing. Is Rick's act starting to get old with the fans or are they behind him?

[xunorm]

Being from St. Louis, I read the sports section pretty much every day online. I think Majerus has always been a guy that will only do things on his terms. He had that brush with the Archbishop a couple years ago, and came away alright from that. I think SLU has realized that he is just there to put together a good program. He's brought in fairly good talent, and has a knack for developing players. This might just be his way at getting back at SLU for lessening the budget. One of those " you're not gonna help me, then I'm not gonna help you" type of deals. I think it will smooth over, but SLU should have dug deeper into his background if they truly wanted to avoid these types of problems.

[Masterofreality]

"Only has one rebuild in him"?

Uh, me thinks that Rotund Ricky has about 2,000 rebuilds in him.

[bobbiemcgee]

If you're used to Private Plane travel and have to go back to Commercial, it is the absolute pits. I was fortunate enough to ride on PP and the standing joke was "when does the plane leave?" The answer, of course was "whenever we want it to." For a BB team, it can mean practice in the morning, lunch on the plane, and practice wherever you're playing in the afternoon. HUGE ADVANTAGE instead of wasting a whole day in airports. The normally frugal Warren Buffet has been quoted as saying private jet planes rides are "the best thing about being rich" and he can't imagine giving them up.

[DC Muskie]

You don't have to worry about charter flights in the MVC that's for sure.

[waggy]

Anyone know what SLU has been averaging attendance-wise at home this year? Seems to me it doesn't sellout like Cintas does, and if so, that would be a very important aspect in SLU finances given that the building is brand new.

[SixFig]

A shovel is Rick's preferred eating utensil.

[DC Muskie]

Anyone know what SLU has been averaging attendance-wise at home this year? Seems to me it doesn't sellout like Cintas does, and if so, that would be a very important aspect in SLU finances given that the building is brand new.

It looks to be around 7,000. But their highest attendance is when they play MVC schools actually. Around 8,000 and 9,000 for those games.

The capacity is 10,600 by the way.

Here is more of a breakdown:

7, 470 for 12 games
8,983 in two games against MVC
7,600 in two A-10 games

[waggy]

I wonder if the bump for MVC teams are opponent fans or greater interest from SLU fans? Probably a little of both. Bottom line is SLU fans need to buy tickets. That would go a long way in allowing their team to travel better.

[waggy]

BTW, Thanks DC.

[DC Muskie]

What's funny is Rick complaining about the travel. They have gone to GW and RIchmond, but I got the sense he was more pissed about going to NYC and UMass. He only has to travel to UMass this season.

Did they cancel the charter this season?

[waggy]

Did they cancel the charter this season?

That seems to be the internet buzz.

[bobbiemcgee]

A shovel is Rick's preferred eating utensil.

He has it in silver service with a back end loader.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I wonder if the bump for MVC teams are opponent fans or greater interest from SLU fans? Probably a little of both. Bottom line is SLU fans need to buy tickets. That would go a long way in allowing their team to travel better.

You are correct, it was a combination of more SLU fans and other teams fans. I went to the Southern Illinois game and there were a decent amount of their fans there.

Its funny. The new arena on campus has no doubt increased the student attendance to games but for some reason the overall fan attendance has dwindled. I believe over my 3 years at SLU before the new arena the attendance avg was right around 9,000 fans. One reason I think it may be is that on campus there is less close parking than there was when it was downtown. I would be curious to hear from others from St. Louis who go to SLU games. Of course for myself as soon as the new on campus arena was ready for bball season was the first year I moved away from the main campus area closer to the med campus and ended up still having to drive to all the games. Parking seems to be an issue for every game we go to. As students we know certain areas that others may not know about as well and dont completely struggle with parking, but it seems to be an issue.

[D-West & PO-Z]

... so that he can keep digging the hole he seems to be working on for himself.

The Latest on Rick Majerus (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/dancaesar/story/28BD15131EEE2901862576BA000F03ED?OpenDocument)

I actually do understand the sources of some of his frustration, but I don't really agree with his methodology. Charter flights are a very nice convenience and I'm sure are a big selling point for recruits. Is Rick going to leave SLU? It kind of seems like he has a "screw it" attitude right now that is often indicative of someone who is not planning on being there next year. That being said, Rick is a pretty unique guy, so it can be tough to tell what the reasons behind some of his actions are.

Either way it is a very tough situation for SLU's administration.

I would be curious to hear D-West and PO-Z's take on the matter. I would also be curious to hear what the general feelings around SLU are about the whole thing. Is Rick's act starting to get old with the fans or are they behind him?

Majerus definitely beats to a different drum, no doubt about it. I think overall he is and has been good for the program though. He brings more exposure to the school (yes, some bad) he has recruited some very talented players, and he has set the program up where it looks as if SLU will seriously compete in the A10 and for NCAA tourney spots the next several years. I like Majerus. I have met him personally and had more than one conversation with him. He bought me and my buddies a couple pitchers of beer and sat down with us at our table at a local restaurant right by campus. (No he didnt eat all of our food;)). He truly does care about academics. I'm sure he can be a headache for the administration at times but they can deal with it because I think they know he has the team heading on the right track. Thats my take/opinion for what its worth (I know, not much:D)

[boozehound]

Majerus definitely beats to a different drum, no doubt about it. I think overall he is and has been good for the program though. He brings more exposure to the school (yes, some bad) he has recruited some very talented players, and he has set the program up where it looks as if SLU will seriously compete in the A10 and for NCAA tourney spots the next several years. I like Majerus. I have met him personally and had more than one conversation with him. He bought me and my buddies a couple pitchers of beer and sat down with us at our table at a local restaurant right by campus. (No he didnt eat all of our food;)). He truly does care about academics. I'm sure he can be a headache for the administration at times but they can deal with it because I think they know he has the team heading on the right track. Thats my take/opinion for what its worth (I know, not much:D)

So you definitely think he is sticking around? There were some unfounded rumors that he might be considering going to DePaul. I don't really see how that would be a step up from SLU though. You go to a better conference with a team that has no chance to win it.

I don't blame the guy for being pissed about the charter flights, if that is in fact true, because that is almost a game-changer on many levels for the program. I know that I would be mega-pissed if I were a player and they changed that policy. If I were a recruit that would be a big 'minus' in the SLU column when comparing to other programs that took charter flights to away games.

Majerus is definitely a headache for the administation, we agree about that. I would hate to be the guy that has to clean up all of the PR messes that Rick makes!

[Cheesehead]

This is not related at all but anyone notice the picture of the writer of this article? Can you say serial killer? Seriously, a very disturbing pic of the guy. I can't believe they didn't do it again.

[Xman95]

This is not related at all but anyone notice the picture of the writer of this article? Can you say serial killer? Seriously, a very disturbing pic of the guy. I can't believe they didn't do it again.

Actually, he kind of looks like one of those pissed off detectives chasing the serial killer on a TV cop show.


Dan Caeser (the writer):
http://images.stltoday.com/stltoday/resources/caesar230oct3.jpg


TV cops/detectives:
http://portlandwinterhawks.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/sss6.jpg
http://l.yimg.com/l/tv/us/img/site/15/12/0000051512_20080826170253.jpg
http://s4.hubimg.com/u/1121051_f260.jpg

[D-West & PO-Z]

So you definitely think he is sticking around? There were some unfounded rumors that he might be considering going to DePaul. I don't really see how that would be a step up from SLU though. You go to a better conference with a team that has no chance to win it.

I don't blame the guy for being pissed about the charter flights, if that is in fact true, because that is almost a game-changer on many levels for the program. I know that I would be mega-pissed if I were a player and they changed that policy. If I were a recruit that would be a big 'minus' in the SLU column when comparing to other programs that took charter flights to away games.

Majerus is definitely a headache for the administation, we agree about that. I would hate to be the guy that has to clean up all of the PR messes that Rick makes!

Ya I think he is staying. It wouldnt make any sense for him to leave. He has a talented young team that will be a year older next year and ready to seriously compete at the top in the A10 and for a tourney bid. He would have to start all over again with a terrible DePaul team in an impossible conference.

[PMI]

Ya I think he is staying. It wouldnt make any sense for him to leave. He has a talented young team that will be a year older next year and ready to seriously compete at the top in the A10 and for a tourney bid. He would have to start all over again with a terrible DePaul team in an impossible conference.

Yea, plus I think at his age starting a whole new rebuilding project wouldn't really make any sense. I think he is someone who isn't afraid to voice his opinion on anything and thus makes more headlines than you'd need to worry about. I think he'll be at SLU for awhile and will continue building them into an A10 threat.