Brad Beal picks Florida

Chaminade College Prep basketball standout Brad Beal gave Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators a verbal commitment on Monday morning.
The junior shooting star picked the Gators over Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Duke and Ohio State at a morning press conference in the school's library.
Donovan made a final visit to Chamiande on Sunday to attend practice and make his final pitch. Beal now becomes the third St. Louis area player and second from Chaminade to commit to Florida in the decade.
Former Chamiande All-American David Lee played for the Gators from 2002-2005 while current Florida starting forward Alex Tyus played at Hazelwood Central.
Beal averaged 23.5 points a game as a sophomore to lead the Red Devils to the Class 5 state championship last season. He was also a star on the summer circuit with the St. Louis Eagles and an international standout as well after leading USA Basketball's 16-and-uder team to the gold medal and the World 16-and-unders in Argentina.
Beal's Chaminade team will open its season this afternoon against Hazelwood West in the opening round of the Pattonville Tournament.

Brad Beal photo courtesy of Wiley Price, St. Louis American

O'Fallon, Borgia, Alton are early winners

The high school basketball season got underway last week with some pretty good Thanksgiving Holiday tournament action.
The most impressive performers last week were the O'Fallon Panthers, who won the championship of the Methodist Medical Center Invitational Thanksgiving Tournament in Peoria. Coming off a 13-16 record in '09, the Panthers go the new season started in fine style by going 4-0 against a talented field of teams put together by director Shawn Powell.
O'Fallon defeated Little Rock Hall 81-80 to win the title in a double-overtime thriller. Junior swingman Roosevelt Jones scored a game-high 26 points for O'Fallon. The 6'4" Jones was named the Most Valuable Player for the tournament. Junior Shane Watson added 18 points for the Panthers with Chevaughn Lawrence chpping in with 14.
O'Fallon also defeated Springfield (Ill.), Sherman (Tex.) and Peoria Notre Dame on its way to the title.

St. Francis Borgia won the championship of its own Turkey Tournament with a 75-54 victory over Maplewood in a battle of state-championship teams. Senior forward Nathan Scheer of Borgia was the MVP of the tournament after averaging more than 25 points a game.
In the third-place game, Pacific defeated Washington 62-52 while U. City defeated Wellston 100-70 for third place. In the seventh place game, Carnahan defeated Union 59-56. It was the first victory as a varsity program for Carnahan, which played a junior varsity schedule last season as a first-year program.
Scheer headed the all-tournament team which also included Tyler Ressell (Borgia), Bryton Hobbs, Calvin Belts, Jr. and freshman Kevin Baker (Maplewood), Ben McLemore (Wellston), Travon Williams (University City), Jordan Stapp (Washington), Alex Rolwig (Union) and Chris Jackson (Pacific).
After winning its own tournament, Borgia will go through a ambitious two week stretch against the likes of Whitfield, Jefferson City Helias, Chaminade, CBC and St. Charles West all in succession.

The Alton Redbirds won their own Alton Tip-Off Classic with a 60-51 victory over Southwestern Conference rival Belleville East. LeVaughn McDouglar took home MVP honors for the Redbirds, who also defeated Vashon, Roosevelt and Carbondale in the tournament.
Senior guard Montinez Knight scored 14 points, but 11 of them came in the pivotal third quarter when Alton took total control of the game. Dorian Scruggs led Alton with 17 points. C.J. Goldthree led Belleville East with 13 points.
The all-tournament team was McDouglar, Tony Bradley and Mikkel Lumpkins of Alton, Thomas Poston, Sean Pettiford and Joe Gilmore of Belleville East, Conner Wheeler and Ty Neal of Carbondale, Saladin Smith and Antonio "Flip" Hopkins of Vashon.

Metro East Lutheran won its own Thanksgiving tournament with a 52-43 victory over East Alton Wood River in the championship game. Senior forward Bob Schnietz scored 24 points to lead ME Lutheran in the finals. The 6'3" senior had a huge tournament, averaging 27 points in the four games.

Triad defeated Breese Mater Dei 71-61 to win the Waterloo/Triad Round Robin. Senior forward Travis Felex scored a game-high 26 points to lead Triad. Mater Dei was led by sophomore shooting whiz Cory Arensten's 15 points.

Centralia won the Jacksonville Round Robin with a 4-1 record. Collinsville also had a 4-1 record in the tournament, but the Orphans got the tourney win by virtue of their victory over the Kahoks in the opening game.

There's plenty of good action on tap this week as the Pattonville, Vianney, Whitfield Tournaments get underway as does the Southside Classic.
The big game to watch today will be the battle of Class 3 state contenders Whitfield and Cardinal Ritter in the first game of the Whitfield Round Robin. It should be a good one.
Heading the field at Pattonville are defending Class 5 state-champion Chaminade along with Metro Catholic Conference rival CBC. McCluer, Jennings and Lafayette are also excellent programs in the field.
Hazelwood Central got the top seed a Vianney. Also watch out for the host Golden Griffins, Fort Zumwalt South, Clayton, Eureka and Riverview Gardens.

Brad Beal to make decision on Monday

Chaminade College Prep junior standout Bradley Beal will make his commitment on Monday morning at the school.
The 6'4" junior All-State guard will make his college choice known at 10 a.m. Monday, just hours before his Red Devils team is to take the court in the first round of the Pattonville Tournament.
Schools such as Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Florida, Duke and many others have been in hot pursuit of Beal, who emerged as one of the top shooting guards in the nation after an explosive sophomore year in which he led Chaminade to the Class 5 state championship. He is ranked No. 7 nationally in the Rivals.com Class of 2011.
During the summer, Beal was a star for the St. Louis Eagles Basketball Club. He was also the leading scorer for the USA Basketball 16-and-under team that won the gold medal at the inaugural 16-and-under World Championships in Argentina.

Bradley Beal photo courtesy of Wiley Price: St. Louis American

Irish top Bills for third place

Notre Dame's 64-52 victory over the Bills in the third-place game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge was nearly a carbon copy of the Bills 65-54 loss to Iowa State in the semifinals.
Just as on Friday, the Bills battled Notre Dame with a great defensive effort and trailed only by three points and halftime. Iowa State took control of the game with a 13-0 run and the Irish did the same with a 9-0 run. They shot 57 percent in the second half.
This time, the Bills battled back to cut the lead to 36-35 and had two opportunities to take the lead, but couldn't convert and Notre Dame never trailed from that point. Notre Dame's experience proved to be the difference. They are made up of juniors and seniors while we are freshmen and sophomores.
Once again, sophomore forwards Willie Reed (pictured) and Brian Conklin turned in fine performances, but the perimeter shots were not falling once again. After going one for 16 from the 3-point line against Iowa State, the Bills shot a chilly three for 17 against the Irish, making them four for 33 for the weekend.
On Friday, 6'4" Diante Garrett of Iowa State had his way with the smaller Bills guards. On Saturday, it was Poplar Bluff native Ben Hansbrough using every bit of his 6'3" 205 pounds and country strength to muscle his way to 15 points one six of nine shooting from the field. Ben even clocked freshman Jeff Reid with an elbow to the head on one of his bull-moose drives to the bucket. Jeff didn't return to the game. I hope he wasn't injured seriously on that play.
Heck, the score was almost the same.
It was another valuable lesson for a young team going up against a formidable opponent from a power conference. The Bills left it on the floor with a great effort. We just did not have enough experience of offensive firepower to get over the proverbial hump against a BCS opponent.
Willie and Brian came through with very productive efforts again. Notre Dame played a lot of zone defense to try to combat our young bigs. Brian finished with 10 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes. It was fun watching him battle ND's All-American Luke Harongody in the paint. It was like watching a big brother go against his little brother in the driveway. A young bull and a old bull if you will.
Willie enjoyed a huge effort, setting new career bests in seven different categories.
Willie finished the game with 20 points and 15 rebounds, both career highs. He also had career highs in offensive rebounds (nine), field goal attempts (19) steals (three), minutes played (32) and free-throws (6-8). Had he converted a few more of his opportunities that he rushed a little bit, it would have been a truly dominant night for Willie, but I can's nit-pick too much. 20 and 15 against a good Big East team is pretty darn good. Willie was selected to the All-Tournament team for his efforts.
It was quite a performance for Willie on the big stage while playing against a collegiate A-List post man for the second consecutive night. Last night, it was Craig Brackins of Iowa State. Tonight, it was Luke Harongody of Notre Dame, a consensus preseason All-American. Willie continues to play with great energy and activity. And as you see by his minutes, he's going for longer stratches without asking out of the game.
After a slow start, Kwamain Mitchell really picked up the offense in the second half, scoring 11 of his 14 points. I was really impressed with Kwamain's elevation on his jump shots. He got great height and release tonight, especially on his mid-range jumper. He still struggled from the 3-point line (1-6), but I was glad to see him more aggressively looking for his shot.
Our wing players really had a tough weekend as Kyle went scoreless in the two games and Christian had only two field goals. They had good looks tonight, but they just wouldn't fall. One thing they cannot do is lose confidence and get tentative. They just have to forget about this weekend and shot the next jumper with full confidence as it is going in. When you have the wide open look, shoot it.
This past weekend should make Bills fans appreciate what Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch did for the past four years. Not only did they score about 3,300 points between them, but they provided different ways to score with how they could break defenses down off the dribble consistently. Replacing one of them would be difficult, but two at the same time is really hard.
The young men who are in their place right now (Kyle Cassity, Femi John, Christian Salecich and Justin Jordan) have had some very positive moments in the first six games this season, and will have many more in Billiken uniforms, but they are still young and learning on the job. They have a comfort level at home in the Chaifetz, but it was their first time away from home (except Kyle), so it was a new experience, which will make them better. It might be painful at times, but it will prove to be beneficial down the road.
Playing against a higher level of compeitition this weekend was a good eye-opener for our young wing players. Not only did they have to contend with tough defensive pressure, but they also had to guard big, athletic guards off the dribble.
Overall, it was a tough weekend to lose two games, but it showed up where we need to improve. The road doesn't get any easier as we must head South to face Georgia in our first true road game of the season. One thing that must not change is the effort and intensity. that has been a constant. Hopefully, the shooting will soon follow.
I'll have a preview on the Dawgs on Monday or Tuesday.
On a side note, it was a good weekend for some mid-major programs around the country.
Future SLU foe Richmond of Atlantic 10 won the championship of the South Padre Island Tournament in Texas. The Spiders defeated Missouri in the championship game after knocking off Mississippi State in the semifinals.
The Portland Pilots of the West Coast Conference are in tomorrow night's championship of the 76 Classic in Anaheim after beating UCLA and Minnesota on consecutive nights. And how about the Bradley Braves of the Missouri Valley Conference, who knocked off in-state big brother Illinois tonight in the Las Vegas Invitational.
So, there's hope.
Go Bills!

Showdown of state champs at Borgia Turkey Tourney

It will be a battle of state champions tonight in the championship game of the St. Francis Borgia/Pepsi Thanksgiving Tournament.
The Class 4 state-champion Borgia Knights will face the two-time Class 3 state-champion Maplewood Blue Devils in tonight's championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Both teams advanced to the finals with easy victories. The host Knights defeated Carnahan and Washington while Maplewood bested University City and Pacific in lopsided victories.
It should be a fun early-season matchup, featuring two of the two programs going in the state of Missouri. The Knights feature the senior duo of 6'5" forward Nathan Scheer and 6'1" guard Tyler Ressel. Scheer is headed to Missouri State while Ressel signed with Missouri Southern. Ressel had 25 points in the Knights 72-37 victory over Washington in the semifinals while Scheer added 22.
Junior center Ben Reuther has added some inside presence to the Knights while sophomore Bryce Dolan has stepped in nicely in the Knights backcourt.
Maplewood is started to get used to life without do-it-all guard Bryant Allen, who is now at the University of Minnesota. So far, so good. The Blue Devils are led by returning starters Bryton Hobbs, a 5'10" senior and Calvin Belts, Jr., a 6'5" junior. Junior guard Tony King is a 6'0" guard who played a lot of minutes last season.
You also have a matchup of two of the top coaches in the state. Borgia's Dave Neier has more than 500 victories to his credit and five state titles at Borgia. Meanwhile, MRH's Corey Frazier has quickly established himself as a top young coach with his back-to-back state titles and great intensity on the bench.
Frazier also has a history with Borgia going back to his high school days as a player at Charleston High School in Southeast Missouri. Frazier was a top player on some Charleston teams in the mid-90's that had some classic battles with Borgia in the Class 3A state tournament.
So, if you don't have any plans on a Saturday night, get yourself down to Washington, Mo. and enjoy this early-season showdown.
A couple of other championship games will be held tonight on the Illinois side. Southwestern Conferene foes Belleville East and Alton will meet in the championship game of the Alton Tip-Off Classic tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Both teams are 3-0 and needed late rallies to remain undefeated and advance to Saturday's finals. Alton trailed Vashon by six points in the fourth quarter before rallying to take a 49-47 squeaker. Belleville East rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to defeat Carbondale 53-50. Belleville East is the defending tournament champion.
Metro East Lutheran and East Alton Wood River will meet tonight in the championship of the Metro East Lutheran Thanksgiving Holiday Tournament. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. Senior forward Bob Schnietz of Metro East Lutheran has been on a tear during the tournament, averaging 28.6 points in the first three games of the tournament.

(Stayed tuned for the unveiling of my new and improved basketball website, earlaustinjr.com, which celebrates the past, present and future of St. Louis basketball. It should be up and running sometime next week, so make sure to check it out).

Bills face Irish for third place

The Billikens and Notre Dame will try to get the sour taste of defeat out of their mouths today as they meet in the third-place game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge at UIC Pavilion. Tip-off is at 4:30 p.m.
Both teams suffered their first loss of the season on Friday. The Bills were defeated by Iowa State 65-54 while the Fighting Irish were bested by Northwestern 72-58 in a mild surprise.
The one common thread between these two teams was that both really struggled from 3-point range on Friday night. SLU made only one of its 16 3-point attempts against Iowa State's pressure man-to-man defense. Meanwhile Notre Dame shot 7 of 31 from long distance against Northwestern's 1-3-1 zone defense that put a blanket around ND's All-American center Luke Harongody and forced the Irish to chuck it up from the cheap seats early and often.
The Irish will pose another strong challenge for the young Billikens. For the second night in a row, SLU will see another A-List collegiate front court player. After dealing with Iowa State's future pro Craig Brackins, today's challenge comes from the 6'8" 250-pound Harangody, who came into the weekend averaging 27 points and 10 rebounds a game. He has been on everyone's preseason All-American list.
The big fella has a great touch around the hoop and a myriad of ways to score. Although he struggled inside NW's zone last night, he still managed to score 21 points and nine rebounds. It will be good to watch Haragody go up against Billiken bigs Willie Reed and Brian Conklin, who are both playing good basketball this season as the Bills' top two scorers.
The Irish also have an experiened point guard in senior Tory Jackson, who has been at the controls of the ND offense for much of his career. He is averaging nearly 10 points, six assists and four rebounds a game. He also plays stout defense. Watching him and SLU sophomore Kwamain Mitchell go at it should also be a treat.
Notre Dame's top perimeter threats are 6'8" sophomore Tim Abromaitis and 6'3" junior Ben Hansbrough. Abromaitis does not start, but he comes off the bench with the green light to shoot it. He is averaging 13 points a game.
Hansbrough is Tyler's younger brother and an ornery cuss on the basketball court. he loves to mix it up as well. He struggled from the field on Friday, shooting 1 for 10 and missing all seven of his 3-point attempts. Before last night, he came in averaging 12 a game. Ben is good player with a lot of strength and toughness to his game.
Notre Dame's other two starters are 6'8" sophomore Tyrone Nash, who is an excellent leaper and 6'3" senior Jonathan Peoples, who is a solid all-purpose player. The only other player to get significant minutes in the Irish rotation so far is guard Carlton Scott.
It will be interesting to see how our Billikids respond to their first loss of the season. They put up a good fight against Iowa State and played with great effort. Can they muster up that kind of energy for another big effort less than 24 hours later against another formidable opponents. It will be another opportunity to see how these young men grow, especially when faced with adversity.
I look for Kwamain to respond with a nice game tonight after sitting out much of last night's game in foul trouble and never finding his groove. Hopefully, a few more perimeter shots will drop now that the kids have had a game to shoot against the background of the Pavilion.
Friday night was also a night of growth for the Billikens' young bench. The kids were productive, especially in the first half as Corey Remekun, Justin Jordan, Femi John and Jeff Reid contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, most of which came in the first half when the Bills were most competitive. They must bring that same kind of energy to the game again.
Of course, Willie and Brian must continue their strong play in the post. Brian battled his way to 18 points against Iowa State's big front line while Willie posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Willie is really starting to put himself on the radar with his dynamic performances. Facing Craig Brackins and Luke Harongody on consecutive nights is the perfect opportunity for the bouncy 6'9" sophomore to earn his bonafides, not to mention an early look from those sshhhh... NBA scouts, many of whom were in the house to watch Brackins and Harongody. He just has to stay focused and continue to play to his strengths, which is his quickess and ability to elevate quickly on the boards. He is also starting to make moves facing the basketball as well. So far, so good.
Let's see if we can get the split in Chicago.
See you at the game. If not, you can listen to me and my Hall of Fame play-by-play partner Bob Ramsey on the call on 101-ESPN, beginning at 4:15 with the pre-game.
As always, Go Bills!


(Stay tuned for the coming of my new improved basketball website, earlaustinjr.com, which celebrates the past, present and future of St. Louis basketball).

Cyclones hand Bills first loss

The Billikids went down to defeat for the first time this season as Iowa State came away with a 65-54 victory over SLU in the semifinals of the Chicago Invitational Challenge the UIC Pavilion.
The guys battled hard for much of the game, but some poor shooting from the 3-point line and free throw line, coupled with Iowa State's overall size, athleticism and depth proved to be too much for the kids to handle on this night.
A 13-0 run by the Cyclones early in the second half proved to be the difference in the game. AFter trailing 30-27 at halftime, we actually took the lead 31-30 on consecutive baskets by Christian Salecich and Brian Conklin.
The advantage was short-lived as Iowa State responded by scoring the next 13 points to take total control of the game. They led by as many as 17 points in the second half. The Bills made several attempts to get back into the game, but could never get any closer than eight points.
It was a good lesson to be learned by a young team. We've seen these droughts before in previous games, but we were able to overcome and come away with a victory. Against a team the caliber of Iowa State, overcoming a lull is much harder to accomplish and we saw that tonight. During the run, they hurried us into some tough shots, then got some easy run-out baskets and 3-point baskets in transition. It was a tough stretch, but one in which we will learn from.
The main culprit tonight was 3-point shooting. We shot only one 16 from long distance. We came into the game shooting 44 percent as a team, but the perimeter game was non-existent tonight.
The Iowa State perimeter defenders did a great job of crowding our shooters, especially Kyle Cassity and Christian Salecich. Rarely did they have a open look at the basket. When they did, the shots were hurried a little bit because the Cyclones recovered well. Kwamain Mitchell encoutered early foul trouble and could never get in the flow of the game, shooting only two of 10 from the field and one for six from 3-point land.
We also struggled from the free throw line, making seven of 12. We missed the front end of two one-and-ones late in the first half, which could have resulted in a halftime lead.
Despite the loss, there were plenty of positive things to take from tonight's game. The Bills made the first half a competitive affair, which was more impressive when you consider that Kwamain played only one minute. After picking up his second foul early, he came to the bench and sat the rest of the half.
SLU managed to battled the Cyclones on even terms for the rest of the half. We played solid defense in holding ISU to 35 percent shooting in the first half and we outrebounded them as well.
The bright spots tonight were our bigs Willie Reed and Brian Conklin (pictured) were came up with big games against Iowa State's plethora of big men. Conklin tied a career high with 18 points. He scored on a variety of tough shots in the paint in making eight of 10 from the field.
Willie was impressive as well with 14 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Willie is also showing an explosive first step off the dribble. When faced against a bigger, slower defender, Willie showed the abilit to blow by his defender and stay under control for a good shot.
I was also encouraged by the performance of the youngsters off the bench in the first half. When Kwamain went to the bench early with his second foul, I held my breath.
But Corey Remekun, Justin Jordan, Femi John and Jeff Reid contributed 11 points in the first half. That was big with Kwamain on the bench and Christian and Kyle being neutralized by ISU's pressure defense. Remekun really gave us a lift with five points, two rebounds, two blocks one big dunk and some very energetic minutes. After seeing limited minutes, Rick rewarded his effort with a few more ticks tonight as Corey logged 15 minutes. Corey still gets his fouls, but he is not cheated on effort. In the first half, we were able to combat Iowa State's pressure with some pretty good backdoor cuts and passes for easy layups.
The Billikids also showed some fight in the second half when it looked like it could have easily been a big blowout. Iowa State built a 51-34 lead and appeared poised to run the Bills out of the UIC Pavilion. Instead, SLU fought back and threatened to make things a little interesting down the stretch. The real decisive run never came, but I like the fact that they kept playing hard. That will come in handy down the road when they do make an improbable rally to win a game that they are not supposed to win.
I am impressed with Iowa State's team. Coach McDermott has a nice team that is better equipped to handle the Big XII Conference than any of his previous three outfits. They have good size, a great player in Craig Brackins, better athleticism and good depth. It will be interesting to see what happens when they get into conference play. Their point guard, Diante Garrett, a 6'4" athlete, gave us the blues on both ends of the court.
Overall, it was a tough game, but a good learning experience for a young team playing away from the comfy confines of the Chaifetz Arena for the first tiime against a quality opponent.
We have a quick turnaround, then we have to get after it against another good team tomorrow night. I left the arena at halftime and Northwestern was leading Notre Dame. Either way, it will be another tough game.
I'll have a preview on the game either later tonight or in the morning.
It was cool to see a lot of folks in Billiken blue make the trip to Chi-Town.
I'll talk to you in a little bit. In the words of the late, great Jack Buck, "So long for just awhile."
Go Bills.

Brian Conklin photo courtesy of slubillikens.com

Note: Be on the look out for my new and improved basketball website (www.earlaustinjr.com) coming up next week. The new earlaustinjr.com will celebrate the past, present and future of St. Louis basketball. A big feature of the new website will be a section dedicated to SLU basketball. Stay tuned.

Local Preps Represent in Peoria

St. Louis area teams represented well during the first day of the State Farm Tournament of Champions in Peoria, Ill.
Whitfield, the Class 3 state runners-up from 2009, defeated Varma (Ill.) 91-57 in one of the Shootout games of the event. Sophomore guard Zach Ellis had 28 points, steals and two assists to lead the Warriors. He was selected the Player of the Game. Senior 6'6" forward Alex Rudd added 22 points. It was Rudd's first game back after missing his entire junior season with a knee injury. Guard Mike Gallagher added 17 points.
In another Shootout game Hazelwood Central blitzed Bartonville Limestone 89 55. Junior guard B.J. Young earned Player of the Game honors with 25 points and seven rebounds. Senior Trae Anderson added 17 points.
O'Fallon High is participating in a tournament in Peoria. They opened the tournament with a 56-51 victory over Springfield (Ill.) High. Standout junior swingman Roosevelt Jones led the Panthers with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Soldan High will also be playing in Peoria over the weekend.

*(Be on the look out for the new "earlaustinjr.com" the basketball website for the local basketball fans. Earl will celebrate the past, present and future of St. Louis basketball in his new website, beginning in early December).

Chi-Town Weekend

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I trust that everyone will enjoy a happy thanksgiving with the family and friends. I plan on doing the same.
After a great day of eating and family fellowship, it's off to Chicago with the Billikids for a very intriging weekend of baskeball.
The Bills will take on Big XII member Iowa State in the third game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge. Tip off is at 5 p.m. and the UIC Pavilion on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago. Notre Dame and Northwestern will follow in the nightcap.
On Saturday, we will either play Notre Dame or Northwestern at either 4:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. depending on Friday's results.
The Cyclones are 5-0 and will represent the biggest challenge for the Billikens in the young season. They are big, deep, talented and boast a bonafide NBA first-rounder in the lineup. The Cyclones are averaging 86 points a game while shooting 53 percent from the field as a team, which leads the nation.
Their All-American candidate is 6'10" junior Craig Brackins, who is averaging 17 points and seven rebounds a game. He can do it all. He can score in the post or step out and hit the jumper. When you can drop 42 points on the Kansas Jayhawks, you have some serious game.
Brackins has plenty of help up front. Marcus Gilstrap is a mature 6'6" senior forward who is averaging 14 points and a team-leading nine rebounds a game. There is also the 6'11" pair of sophomore Justin Hamilton and senior Jamie Vanderbeken. Both average about 14 minutes a game.
If that wasn't enough size, there is also robust 6'9" juco transfer LeRon Denby, who had 16 points in Iowa State's first game, but hasn't played since because of injury. Not sure if he's going to play or not on Friday. Either way, we will have our hands full.
Their top perimeter threat is 6'5" junior LUcca Staiger, a native of Germany. He is averaging 11 points while shooting a toasty 50 percent from 3-point range. The point guard is 6'4" junior Diante Garrett, who is averaging nearly eight assists a game. Sophomore guard Scott Christoper has also been playing well at 11 points a game.
Iowa State coach Greg McDermott may have his best team since taking over in Ames four years ago. McDermott enjoyed immense success at Northern Iowa, where he guided the Panthers to two NCAA Tournament berths.
Success has been a little bit harder to come by in the hyper-competitive Big XII. Despite the presence of great programs such as Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Mizzou and others, the folks in Ames are used to seeing their Cyclones in the mix, so this is a pivotal year for McDermott. The Big XII is loaded again this year, but Iowa State could be a surprise team. On a side note, one of McDermott's assistant coaches is Daniyel Robinson, who is the younger brother of former Billiken forward David Robinson, a starter and key player for the Billikens two NCAA Tournament teams in 1994 and 1995.
For the Billikens to be successful against the Cyclones, they must continue to play stout half-court defense. When you play against a team that averages in the high 80's, you must do a couple of things to keep them below their average.
You have to limit your turnovers, which could lead to easy fast break points. You have to limit their offensive rebounds, which lead to easy layups. That has been an issue with us so far this season. We must take high-percentage shots on offense with good floor balance. Poor shots with bad floor balance could lead to easy run-outs buckets for the other team. For the most part, we have been good at getting the ball to the right man in the right spot for a quality shot. It would be nice to avoid that seven or eight minute lull when we struggle to score. We have to keep that to a minimum.
You have to make teams score consistently against your good half-court defense and get the rebound should they miss. Try to disrupt their rhythm and make them take shots that they are not used to taking. A tall order yes, but necessary if you're going to knock off one of the big boys.
Offensively, we must make them guard us consistently and continue to move the ball and find the open man. I look for Brian Conklin to step up and have an effective game inside to support Willie Reed. I suspect he'll have Brackins to start with, so it will be a challenge. Brian must stay out of foul trouble, especially early on.
Overall, I'm looking forward to this weekend. The kids are playing well and with a lot of confidence. It is still early and many lessons are to be learned, but I'm glad to have these two games against a good Iowa State game and either Notre Dame of Northwestern.
Playing four games in seven days can be taxing on a team without a lot of depth, but at the same time, it's a chance to develop some good team chemistry and flow.
Look forward to seeing many of you Bills fans in Chicago over the weekend. If you can't make it, you can listen to the call on 101-ESPN with me and my Hall of Fame play-by-play partner Bob Ramsey. The pre-game show begins at about 4:45 p.m. Have fun.
And always, Go Bills.

Earl's New Basketball Website

Next week, my website, earlaustinjr.com, will become a full-fledged basketball website. The theme of the new earlaustinjr.com will be: Celebrating the past, present and future of St. Louis basketball.
The new website will cover all aspects of basketball in the area. We will cover high school boys and girls, the colleges, a special SLU basketball page, a look back and past greats of area basketball, youth team spotlights and many other great features.
Be on the lookout for the new, earlaustinjr.com.

Sizzling Sophomores

University of Missouri coach Mike Anderson's freshman class of 2009 was instrumental in bringing the Tigers their first Big XII Conference postseason title and NCAA Elite Eight berth last season.
Youngsters such as Kim English (pictured), Marcus Denmon and Laurence Bowers played a pivotal role in providing depth and firepower off the bench in the Tigers' 11-man rotation.
The graduation of veteran leaders DeMarre Carroll, Leo Lyons and Matt Lawrence has created more minutes for these talented sophomores and more opportunities to showcase their talents. With senior guard J.T.Tiller battling early injuries and talented junior forward Justin Safford struggling, the sophomores are getting it done in a big way early
After three games, the Tiger sophomores are already laying down tracks for big-time success in the future. After a 1 for 9 performance in Mizzou's opening win over Tennessee-Martin, English has been on fire in the last two games since entering the starting lineup.
English enjoyed back to back games of 25 and 26 points in victories of Texas-Pan American and Tennessee-Chattanooga. English is averaging 19 points a game while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range.
The 6'8" Bowers has been arguably the Tigers' most consistent player during the preseason and first three games. While forward Justin Safford is trying to get on track, the athletic Bowers has been putting it down to the tune of 13 points, six rebounds and a toasty 73 percent shooting from the field.
The 6'3 Denmon provided potent scoring off the bench as well last season. With more minutes, his numbers has increased, averaging 12 points and five rebounds.
The Tigers have run their three overmatched opponents out of the Mizzou Arena while averaging a whopping 94 points a game.

Kim English photo: Courtesy of life.com

Abe Pollin Dies at 85

As a lifelong fan of the Washington Wizards, it was sad to hear of the passing of long-time owner Abe Pollin at the age of 85.
Pollin had been the owner of the franchise since 1964, making him one of the longest tenured owners in professional sports. He was also a noted phliantropist as well as a sports owner.
What I will remember most about Mr. Pollin was the relationship he had with my uncle, Wes Unseld, who was the greatest player in the history of the franchise. Pollin brought Wes to Baltimore in 1969 and the Bullets had their most successful stretch, including the NBA world championship in 1978.
The photo above from the Washington Post was of an overjoyed Pollin and my uncle sharing a hug after the Bullets defeated the Seattle Supersonics 105-99 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to win the only championship in the franchise's history.
Abe and Wes were joined at the hip in the Bullets organization for more than 40 years, much like the late Red Auerbach and Bill Russell were with the Boston Celtics. After Wes' retired, Abe tabbed him in various roles in the organization, including team president, head coach and general manager.
When my grandmother died in 1987, one of the first people who I saw at her funeral was Mr. Pollin, who had a close relationship with the Unseld family.
Here's a salute to Abe Pollin. May he rest in peace.

Photo of Abe Pollin and Wes Unseld: Courtesy of the Washington Post

The Running of the Bills

The hot shooting of the Billikens continued on Tuesday night in their 75-39 victory over Mississippi Valley State in the second game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge at the Chaifetz Arena.
For the second consecutive game, the Billikens set a Chaifetz Arena record for most 3-pointers made in a game. The Bills made 10 of 20 from 3-point land against Kennesaw State last Sunday.
SLU followed up that shooting performance by making 12 3-pointers on Tuesday night, on 44 percent shooting from long distance.
Several players got in on the 3-point shooting parade. Justin Jordan hit four 3-pointers off the bench. Christian Salecich was three for seven, Kyle Cassity was two for four while Femi John was two for six. Kwamain Mitchell also added a trey in the second half.
As, the Billikens got off to a quick start making six of their first seven shots. However, their early offense came from inside the paint. Kyle Cassity scored on a driving left-handed layup to open the scoring, then Willie Reed (pictured)took over with three consecutive hoops from in close, including a beautiful jump hook on the baseline.
Mississippi Valley State battled back to make it somewhat competitive at halftime as the Bills led 31-24. The Delta Devils went to a zone and our shooting went cold and they got back in the game. Luckily, we re-discovered our 6'9" athlete in the middle and started to throw him the ball again and Willie responded with a few late hoops to provide a little breathing room at the half.
The Bills exploded in the second half with another offensive barrage as they outscored the Delta Devils 44-15. SLU shot 61 percent from the field in the second half and 66 percent from 3-point range on 8 of 12 shooting from behind the arc.
For the game, SLU shot 52 percent from the field, 44 percent from 3-point range and 70 percent from the free-throw line. The solid defense continued on the other end as the Bills limited Valley to 27 percent shooting from the field.
Reed led four Billiken players in double figures with 17 points. The maturity of his low-post game continues to be astounding. Willie arrived on campus as a dunker who can run and throw down alley oops. Now, he is gradually evolving into a legitmate low-post threat. On Tuesday night, he showed a variety of moves from the baseline jump hook, to the spin move. He even passed cross-court out of a double-team to a wide open Kwamain for the 3-pointer.
As a former low-post player myself, it's beautiful to watch Willie's evolution. He made eight of his nine field goal attempts and none of them were dunks. That's good.
Salecich added 14 points, Jordan scored a season-high 12 points off the bench while Cassity added 10 onts. Kwamain played the consummate point guard role again with nine points, six assists, five steals and no turnovers. Femi was solid off the bench again with six points and four rebounds.
The balanced scoring is nice to see because everyone is looking for the open man and delivering it to a teammate who has a chance to do something with the ball. We had 19 assists and only eight turnovers. The highlight of the game was a Kwamain push up court, with a no-look pass to Christian, who delivered his own no-look shovel pass to a streaking Brian for an easy layup.
After that play, I blurted out on the radio broadcast, "It's the running of the Bills!"
There were also plays when all five players touched the ball in a matter of only seconds before someone had a wide-open shot. Such ball movement on offense can be breathtaking. The Billikids have bought into this already and they are still puppies. Just wait until they are grown men who are playing with such savvy. Kyle had five assists and Christian dropped three dimes in addition to Kwamain's six.
Our only bugaboo on Tuesday night was fouls. We fouled early and often. Brian Conklin picked up his first foul on an illegal screen 12 seconds into the game and Willie picked up a foul less than a minute later. Brian picked up a second foul two minutes into the contest and had to sit the rest of the half. He had trouble getting into a rhythm because he sat so long.
Rebounding contines to be a challenge at times, especially when we have to go to a small lineup with four guards. MVSU was able to grab 12 offensive rebounds and convert many into easy baskets. Not having Brian in the game for such a long stretch really comprises us down low because he is so physical.
We committed a total of 11 fouls in the first half with Brian, Willie, Kwamain and Corey Remekun each getting two. Kwamain got his third right at the beginning of the second half and Corey fouled out in 11 minutes. Corey was doing good job of battling for low-post position on defense and going after the ball aggressively. He's getting better in his limited time.
Oh well, it's good to be 4-0 for the first time since Larry the Legend wowed us on a nightly basis. This team is still young and a work in progress and there is so much work that needs to be done to improve, but I think you can get a little excited at some of the seeds that are being planted here. Not only for the rest of the season, but for the future.
Starting with Iowa State on Friday, we're going to have our mettle tested in the next couple of weeks, and I think that's good. To tell you the truth, I think the boys are hankering for a little more competition, which we will surely see in Chicago this weekend.
I'll have a preview of the Iowa State game as well as a look at Notre Dame and Northwestern coming up.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone and Go Bills.
I'll see you in Chi-Town.

SLU moves to 4-0 with big win

The Billikens improved to 4-0 with an impressive 75-39 victory over Mississippi Valley State in the second game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
The Bills had four players in double figures with Willie Reed leading the way with 17 points. Christian Salecich added 14 points, Justin Jordan came off the bench to score 12 while Kyle Cassity added 10. Kwamain Mitchell had nine points, six assists, five steals and no turnovers.
SLU shot 52.8 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point land, hitting 12 of 27 from long distance.
The Bills are 4-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
I will have a more extensive report on the game tomorrow morning.
Go Bills.

Mater Dei tops Althoff in early girls showdown

Two of the top girls basketball teams in the metro east hooked up in the championship game of the Alton Tip-Off Classic over the weekend.
Breese Mater Dei edged Belleville Althoff 57-52 to take home the championship trophy in an early-season showdown. Mater Dei ended Althoff's season last year in the state playoffs. These two talented teams should lock up a few more times during the season.
Mater Dei's performance was even more impressive, considering that several of the players are just joining the basketball team after an extended volleyball season where the Knights were state runners-up in the IHSA Class A state tournament.
Sophomore Brooke Schulte led the Knights with a game-high 21 points. Junior Ashley Rakers added 15 points. Althoff was led by senior guard Jazmin Hill, who scored 19 points in the losing cause.
Hill, a Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville signee, was selected the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.
The All-Tournament First Team consisted of Schulte and teammate Kaley Boeckmann, Jordyne Crunk and Amarah Brooks-Williams of Althoff and Whitney Henderson of Cahokia.

Billikens host Mississippi Valley State

The Billikens will host Mississippi Valley State tonight in the second game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge at the Chaifetz Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Mississippi Valley State is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). It's most notable alum is Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. The Delta Devils are led by second-year head coach Sean Woods, who was one of Rick Pitino's "Unforgettables" at Kentucky during his collegiate career.
Woods is trying to rebuild the program with nine new players in the fold this season. The Delta Devils are currently 1-3 with their losses coming on the road to Gonzaga, Washington State and Iowa State, so they have seen some good competition. The newcomers have been thrown into the fire early.
The Delta Devils like to run, press and shoot the 3-pointer. They are forcing nearly 20 turnovers a game, so the Bills have to be on their P's and Q's a little bit more tonight against pressure defense.
MVSU is led by 6'2" junior Julius Cheeks, who averages 11 points a game. He is followed by 6'1" junior D'Angelo Jackson (9.8 points), 6'4" sophomore Tashan Newsome (8.5 points) and 6'3" junior Michael Mayo (8.3 points).
SLU (3-0) will be looking for its first 4-0 start of the season since the 1997-98 season when the great Larry Hughes roamed the perimeter for the Billikens.
One of big reasons for the Billikens' early sucess has been a balanced scoring attack. After three games, five players are averaging in double figures. That's right, five.
Kwamain Mitchell leads the way at 13.3 points per game, while leading the team in assists. Brian Conklin, Kyle Cassity, Willie Reed and Christian Salecich are all averaging 10 points a game.
The 6'9" Reed is also averaging a team-high 11 rebounds and three blocks a game to go along with his 10 points. He had 12 rebounds and five blocks in SLU's victory over Kennesaw State on Sunday.
The Billikens are shooting 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range, thanks mainly to Justin Jordan's five for eight shooting and Kwamain Mitchell's three for six. Cassity and Salecich are both six for 16 for 37.5 percent from long distance.
I'm looking for better execution against the press, should we see a lot of it tonight. That would lead to great scoring opportunities on the back end. As this young team continues to evolve, you look for more consistency over the course of the game.
So far this season, we've seen the guys come out of the gates with a rush, only to hit a lull in the later stages of the first half. The second half usually is a repeat of the first half. As the season progresses and the competition stiffens, we have to find a happy medium in terms of consistency and execution.
I'm enjoying how hard we play and how we like to compete. That has to remain a staple, especially after tonight because the next four game stretch includes Iowa State, either Notre Dame or Northwestern, Georgia and Southern Illinois. And the only game at home is the SIU game.
We'll see you tonight at the Chaifetz. If you can't make it, listen to me and SLU Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Ramsey on the call on 101-ESPN.
Go Bills.

STL girls shine as Drake tops Iowa State

St. Louisans Jordann Plummer (pictured) and Kayla Person played a big role in Drake University's 78-72 victory over No. 24 ranked Iowa State on Sunday in Des Moines.
Plummer, a senior point guard from Cardinal Ritter, had 12 points and a game-high six assists. Person, a freshman guard from Incarnate Word Academy, scored 10 points on four of five shooting from the field. She also added two rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of action.
Plummer, an All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team selection in 2009 is off to a great start as a senior. After three games, Plummer is averaging 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and nearly four assists per game.

Borgia Turkey Tourney Kicks off Prep season

The 57th Annual St. Francis Borgia/Pepsi Cola Thanksgiving Tournament begins this week, celebrating the Thanksgiving holidays with fellowship and good high school basketball.
What a combination.
This year's Borgia Turkey Tourney features two defending state champions in Class 4 state champion Borgia and two-time Class 3 state-champion Maplewood-Richmond Heights. They are the top two seeds with Boriga getting the No. 1 seed and Maplewood getting the No. 2 seed in the eight-team field.
Rounding out the field at No. 3 Pacific, No. 4 Washington, No. 5 Wellston, No. 6 Union, No. 7 University City and No. 8 Carnahan.
Borgia will be led once again by the duo of 6'5" senior Nathan Scheer and 6'1" senior Tyler Ressel. Scheer signed with Missouri State University while Ressel is headed to Missouri Southern. I also like 6'6" junior Ben Ruether for the Knights. He had a nice summer playing for my buddy Mike Martin's St. Louis Gameface team. He could be a factor.
For the first time in four years, MRH coach Corey Frazier won't have all-star guard Bryant Allen to coach around any more. He's not ballin' at Minnesota, playing football and basketball for the Gophers.
For leadership this year, Frazier will look to senior guard Bryton Hobbs, 6'5" junior Calvin Belts, Jr. and 6'0" junior guard Tony King.
The first-round matchup between Washington and Wellston should also be interesting. Wellston has one of the area's top underclassmen in 6'5" junior Ben McLemore while the Bluejays have a talented senior guard in Aaron Spurgeon as well as 6'5" senior post player Skyler Suggs. "Big Sky" is the younger brother of former Washington standout Scott Suggs, who is now at the Univesity of Washington.
I will be at Wednesday night's first-round games. Hope to see your there. I will also be signing my new book, "You Might Need a Jacket: Hilarious Stories of Wacky Sports Parents."

Here is the tournament schedule:
Wednesday, Nov. 25
Borgia vs. Carnahan, 6 p.m.; Washington vs. Wellston, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 26
Maplewood vs. U. City, 6 p.m.; Pacific vs. Union, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 27
Semifinal Games at 6 and 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 28
Seventh-Place game, 3 p.m.
Consolation Final, 4:30 p.m.
Third-Place game, 6 p.m.
Championship Game, 7:30 p.m.

Bills outshoot Kennesaw

In a game reminescent of the mid-1990's where 3-pointers were the order of the day, the Billikens ran and shot their way to an entertaining 76-66 victory over Kennesaw State in the first game of the Chicago Classic at Chaifetz Arena.
SLU (3-0) shot a robust 50 percent on 10 of 20 shooting from behind the arc. Sophomore Kyle Cassity (pictured) and freshman Christian Salecich channeled Scott Highmark and Erwin Claggett with a combined 7 of 12 from long distance.
Cassity hit four of his five treys en route to a career-high 18 points while Salecich hit three of seven to score 15 points. Freshman Justin Jordan also added two 3-pointers for his six points. The 3's were raining in from all over the Chaifetz, much to the delight of the 6,538 who were in attendance.
Showing no signs of letdown from last Wedensday's big victory over Nebraska, the
Billikens raced to a 16-4 lead, mostly on drives to the hoop and layups by Cassity, Salecich and Kwamain Mitchell.
The good times were brought to a sudden halt momentarily as Kennesaw changed defenses and went to a variety of trapping defense in the full and half court. The Owls willed their athleticism on the Bills for the final nine minutes of the half as they forced turnovers with their pressure and punished the Billikens with nine offensive rebounds. The result was a slim 31-28 halftime lead for SLU and a real dogfight on their hands.
Kennesaw has been Division I for four years and can finally play in the Conference tourament (Atlantic Sun). They are pretty good. They have good size, good athleticism and some quick guards and they love to run and shoot. I like their forwards, especially, Markeith Cummings, a 6'6" 220 pound beast of an athlete who is just a redshirt freshman. He will be a snootful in the A-Sun for the next four years. He and senior Jon-Michael Nickerson were a handful in the first half.
Whether we wanted to or not, we had a ball game on our hands and I was a little concerned at halftime.
However, the boys came out of the locker room focused. The second half started in the same manner as the first as the Billikens charged out with an 11-0 run, with two 3-pointers by Salecich and one trey by Cassity keying the run.
Kennesaw managed to reel the Billikens back in to pull within 65-60 with the ball with just over four minutes left. However, SLU got two big stops which led to fast break layups by Conklin and Cassity to give the Bills some breathing room down the stretch.
For the second game in a row, the Billikens exploded in the second half. After scoring 41 points in the second half against Nebraska, they scored 45 against the Owls on 65 percent shooting in the half and 61 percent shooting from the three (8 of13). That was impressive.
The 20 assists was also nice as the ball contined to move for open 3's and when we beat the press, the guys attacked the basket and got some easy scores.
That was when we beat the press. KSU's pressure really caused a lot of problems as the Billikens had 16 turnovers, many coming on wild passes when we got too much in a hurry to make a play. We also had a bad habit of dribbling right into traps on the sidelines, which is a big no-no. That will have to be cleaned up, especially when we see A-10 Conference foes such as Duquesne, Rhode Island and to some extent Dayton, who like to pick teams up in the full court.
Cassity followed up his big effort against Nebraska with another big game with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes. Salecich added six assists to go with his 16 points.
Willie Reed and Brian Conklin were absent for much of the first half with a combined two points and and five rebounds. By the end of the game, Reed had nine points, 12 rebounds and five blocks while Conklin finished with 11 points and four rebounds. It was nice to see the bigs get busy in the second half.
Kwamain played more of a facilitator role today with six assists. He took only five shots and scoed seven, but he created all kinds of opportunities for his teammates. Many of Christian's and Kyle's open looks came off Kwamain's penetration and kick-outs.
Femi John had another solid effort off the bench with seven points and two rebounds in 16 minutes. Corey Remekun added a deuce on a layup off the press offense while Jon Smith added a free throw.
Although frustrating at times to see us struggle with pressure, it was nice to see the boys shooting the basketball with so much confidence. As I referenced the SLU teams of the mid-90's at the beginning of the report, good shooting can cover up a lot of issues.
Let's home the ball keeps going through the hoop. They will be quite all right with me.
On Tuesday night, SLU resumes action by hosting Mississippi Valley State.
I'll have the preview on Tuesday.
Go Bills.

photo courtesy of www.slu.edu

SLU host Kennesaw State

The Billikens will open a busy week of basketball this afternoon when they host Kennesaw State in the first game of the Chicago Classic.
SLU will play an NBA-like schedule this week with four games in seven days, all which are part of the Chicago Classic. SLU will host Kennesaw State today and Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday night before heading to Chi-Town over the Thanksgiving weekend for games against Iowa State and either Notre Dame or Northwestern. The youngsters will get a lot of run this week.
The schedule is a challenge because it will test the team's depth with only 10 players. At the same time, playing a lot of games in a short amount of time will help develop some team chemistry and rhythm, while helping the coaching staff continue to define roles on the team.
As for today's foe, Kennesaw State (Ga.) is a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. A former NCAA Division II school, Kennesaw joined the Division I ranks four years ago. They are no eligible to compete in their postseason conference tournament with a shot at an NCAA Tournament berth.
Both teams are 2-0. The Owls defeated North Greenville and North Georgia. The Owls are led by 6'3" sophomore guard Kurtis Woods, who averaged 10 points a game as a freshman and earned Atlantic Sun All-Freshman honors.
Junior Kelvin McConnell and sophomore Spencer Dixon are also back in the Owls backcourt. Up front, the Owls are led by 6'6" senior John-Michael Nickerson and athletic 6'7" redshirt freshman Markeith Cummings.
Cummings had a double-double in KSU's last victory while Nickerson is averaging 16 points in the Owls' two victories. The Owls also have some size with a 6'10" and three 6'9" players on the roster.
The Billikens are coming off a big 68-55 victory over Nebraska of the Big XII Conference. The young Billikids showed a lot of growth in that win, especially in the second half when they scored 41 points and displayed some crisp ball movement, which led to easy shots.
Today will present another chance for further growth by this young basketball team. I'm looking forward to seeing how this young team reacts mentally after such a big win over a team from one of the major conferences.
Instead of playing a team with a well-known name from a well-known conference, the Bills are facing a team that very few people know about in St. Louis. It's a game where the Billikids will be favored to win, but cannot take for granted.
That's where the growth comes in. Can these youngsters put last Wednesday behind them and come out with great intensity and effort, which has become an early staple of the 2009-10 SLU Billikens. And add some good execution to go along with it. Sophomores Kwamain Mitchell, Brian Conklin, Willie Reed and Kyle Cassity must set the tone and come out as if the Billikens are playing Kansas.
We will find out a few more answers about our Billikids, beginning at 1 p.m. See you at the Chaifetz. If not, you can listen to me and Hall of Fame play by play man Bob Ramsey on 101-ESPN, beginning at 12:45 p.m. with the pre-game.
Come on out. If you get a chance, stop by the table and say hi to me and Rammer.
I promise. We won't bite. Unless, your a referee, then Rammer might take a nibble out of you.

Lady Bills host Butler, alumni

Saint Louis University's womens basketball team will host the Butler Bulldogs in a nonconference game on Saturday afternoon at the Chaifetz Arena. Tip off is at 2 p.m.
SLU will also host several former players as well during its annual Alumni Weekend. The festivities will kick off tonight with a reception at Humphreys, beginning at 7 p.m. There will also be a alumni game on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Coach Shimmy Gray Miller's (pictured) Billikens are currently 1-1. After a season-opening victory against Southern Illinois, the Billikens were defeated 75-59 by Missouri State on Wednesday night in Springfield.
Junior forward Lauren Woods scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Billikens. Senior center Amanda Kemyzys added 14 points and eight rebounds, despite playing only 19 minutes with foul trouble.

photo courtesy of http://www.slubillikens.com/

St. Louis girls at Arkansas State key big upset

St. Louis natives Shania Hurst (Kirkwood) and Meghan Lewis (McCluer South-Berkeley) were instrumental in Arkansas State's 80-79 upset road victory over Kansas State last night in Manhattan. The starting backcourt combined to score 24 points to help ASU to the big road victory.

Lewis, a sophomore guard, provided the heroics by hitting a 3-pointer with 9.6 seconds left in the overtime period. She finished with eight points on the evening. Hurst, a 5'10" sophomore guard, finished the game with 16 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Arkansas State's starting frontcourt also features two other players from the Show-Me State. Senior forward Lyndsay Schulp played her prep ball at Jefferson City Helias while 6'4" sophomore center Lynsay Henke was a former standout at Jefferson City Blair Oaks.

Show Me Hoops Summit in Indy

Last night's New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers game in Indianapolis featured four of the best players who have come out of the state of Missouri in recent years.

The Knicks featured St. Louisans Larry Hughes and David Lee while the Pacers have Poplar Bluff's Tyler Hansbrough and Kansas City-native Brandon Rush on their squad.

It's quite rare to see so many players from the Show-Me State on a NBA court at one time. But it goes to show that the state of Missouri can put out some pretty good ballers.

New York came away with the victory behind strong performances from Hughes and Lee. Hughes, the elder statesman of the Show-Me quartet, had a sparkling performance off the bench with 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Lee had one of normal nights with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Hansbrough came of the bench with a solid effort in scoring 14 points, grabbing five rebounds and handing out three assists. Rush was the only player who struggled on this night, scoring only three points on 1 of 9 shooting from the field.

It was nice to see some of the former greats from the state of Missouri get together for a little Wednesday night NBA hoops.

Brandon Rush photo: courtesy of Indy.com

Tyler Hansbrough photo: courtesy of Collegerag.com

SLU tops Huskers with big team effort

The Billikens had a great overall team effort on Wednesday night to defeat Big XII Conference foe Nebraska 69-55 at the Chaifetz Arena.

All 10 Billikens played in the game and had a hand in this big victory from Kwamain Mitchell's (pictured) game-high 20 points in 30 minutes to freshman Jon Smith's three big blocks in just six minutes.

Everyone played their part and the result was a nice victory in front of an energetic crowd, which included former Billiken standouts Erwin Claggett, Scott Highmark, Justin Love, Corey Frazier, Joe Wiley and Troy Robertson.

After a quick start in which the Billikens jumped out to a 26-20 lead, the Huskers started to will their strength and athleticism on us on the defensive end. SLU was held without a field goal for the last seven in a half minutes of the first half, but still held on to a 28-27 lead.

Before we went on the air in the second half, I asked my partner Bob Ramsey if we could score 50 points tonight. We were really bogged down and Nebraska was really putting the wood to us defensively. I admit, I was a little frustrated.

The second half was a different story. The spacing on offense was excellent and some of the ball movement made my mouth water at courtside. It led to some great 3-point opportunities in rhythm for Christian Salecich, who finished with 11 points. Basketball is a beautiful game to watch when that ball is moving and players are making the extra pass. That was what we witnessed for much of the second half. I loved it.

With the offense clicking, the Bills continued to play lockdown defense in holding Nebraska to 33 percent shooting in the second half. They held their biggest lead of the game at 58-41 before salting away the game at the free throw line.

During our pre-game broadcast ( and in my pre-game blog), I thought two things needed to happen for the Billikens to knock off the Huskers.

First, the night needed to belong to No. 3 (Mitchell). I thought we need to get 18 to 20 points from our leader and he delivered 20 big points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field. Nebraska fielded a team of big, physical guards, including junior college transfer Lance Jeter who must have been on loan from Bo Pellini's football team. However, Mitchell was simply too quick and elusive for the bigger Nebraska guards. It was like a elephant trying to chase a mouse. Not gonna happen. The little fella was ballin' tonight. He added three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

I also thought we needed to make some perimeter shots. We ended up hitting seven of 19 for a decent 37 percent. Salecich drained three treys while Mitchell hit two and Kyle Cassity and Justin Jordan hitting one each. Christian really brought a lot of passion and energy, especially when he would hit a dagger 3-pointer. After two shaky games, Christian finally settled down and showed us the type of player he really is.

Cassity had his finest all-around performance as a Billiken with eight points, seven rebounds and four assists. Cassity was our leading rebounder for much of the game before Willie Reed started channeling Kevin Garnett in the later stages of the game, taking rebounds off the top of the rim. Reed finished with seven points, nine rebounds, one block while closing off the middle to the Huskers.

Femi John was also solid off the bench with nine points and four rebounds in 18 minutes. I was pleased to see Femi hit five of six from the free throw line after some dreadful free throw shooting during the preseason games. His strong body came in handy against the physical Nebraska swingman.

Freshman bigs Jon Smith and Corey Remekun made positive contributions in limited minutes as coach Rick Majerus continues to spoon-feed them into Division I basketball. Smith had a game-high three blocks, including two in one possession while Remekun scored his first bucket on a nice drop step move off Cassity's feed.

Meanwhile, Brian Conklin collected another head for his mantle when he nailed Nebraska's Ryan Anderson with a tough screen in the backcourt that had Anderson rubbing his head for several minutes afterwards. Brian loves to set those aggressive screens. Defensive guards, you better have your head on a swivel and your big man had better talk. Chalk up another one for the Eugene Enforcer.

It was a very enjoyable performance and I still have a smile on my face as I write about it. I had fun tonight. The kids played hard and competed with a lot of passion, especially when Nebraska started to come with the hard challenge. That effort will have to be a constant if we are to enjoy more nights like this, especially when we have to go on the road.

That is what you are supposed to do on your home court. Protect it with everything you got. It happened a year ago when we beat Boston College at home after being thrashed the previous year at their place. Now, it happened again.

I was really impressed with the growth that this team has shown in the last couple of weeks.

Hope you all enjoyed it. i sure did. We'll do it again on Sunday when we host Kennesaw State.

I'll have a pre-game report that morning.

Go Bills.

Bills Face Huskers tonight

After a season-opening victory against Southeast Missouri State, Saint Louis University takes a step up the competition ladder tonight with a home game against Big XII Conference foe Nebraska.

It is the back end of a home-and-home series which saw the Cornhuskers defeat the Billikens 71-57 last season in Lincoln.

When I first laid eyes on the diminutive Nebraska team last year, I immediately had flashbacks to those old Charlie Spoonhour-coached teams that had little size, but plenty of intensity and heart. Without a player over 6'6" Nebraska had the smallest team in the nation last year, but their defensive intensity was simply too much for the Billikens to overcome.

NU coach Doc Saddler will be bringing some bigger bodies to the rematch tonight at the Chaifetz Arena. In his starting lineup tonight will be 6'11" redshirt freshman Jorge Brian Diaz and 6'10" true freshman Brandon Ubel. Bringing more size off the bench is 6'8" 240-pound juco transfer Quincy Hankins-Cole.

Even the guards are big with 6'4" Sek Henry, and 6'3" juco transfer Lance Jeter. Ryan Anderson, last year's power forward at a towering 6'4" gets to play a more comfortable role at small forward. Henry scored a game-high 19 points in last year's victory over SLU.

The Huskers may have had a size makeover, but one thing will not changed with a Doc Sadler-coached team. They will guard, guard and guard you some more.

For the past two season, the Huskers have been the Big XII leader in scoring defense. That is the identity of his teams, whether he trots out a bunch of smurfs or a team of trues. You had better be ready to execute against some solid defensive pressure. They gave up only 49 points in the opening-night victory over USC Upstate.

The presence of the Nebraska bigs will be a new challenge for SLU sophomore forwards Willie Reed and Brian Conklin. They had their way last Saturday against a smaller SEMO team, combining for 29 points and 19 rebounds. Tonight, they will be looking up at their foes for the first time this season.

It should be interesting tonight. I look for Willie to use his quickness inside against the NU bigs and run the court a little more and get a few cheap baskets. Brian is smaller, but he should have no trouble banging inside. He just has to be smart and stay out of foul trouble.

Sophomore point guard Kwamain Mitchell is a big key to SLU's success tonight. He has to set the pace with his quickness and leadership. A excellent defensive team matched against a team that struggles to score is not always a good mix, so Kwamain must really be on his game to make sure his teammates get good opportunities to score, plus make some shots of his own.

The Billikens have started fast in their games, but they must keep their mid-game lulls to a minimum to beat a team the caliber of Nebraska. Finding some perimenter offense from the wings will also be a priority. Willie and Brian are improved inside, so I'm confident that they can handle their business, but some perimeter shots will have to fall at sometime for this team to be competitive against the big boys.

So far, freshman Justin Jordan has been able to ring the bell from long distance in his minutes. I'm looking forward to either Christian Salecich, Kyle Cassity to hit a few. Femi John could come into play tonight to match up against Nebraska's big, physical guards, especially Jeter, who goes at about 220 pounds.

Hope to see you tonight. If not, you can catch me and Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Ramsey on the call on WXOS, ESPN-101. Pre-game begins at 6:45. Opening tip at about 7:07 p.m.

Go Bills.

Former Hawk shines in big upset

Former Hazelwood Central standout Morris Smith IV was instrumental in the University of Texas-San Antonio's huge 62-50 upset at Big Ten Conference school Iowa last weekend.
The 6'4" Smith scored a team high 16 points to spark the big upset. It marked the first time that Hawkeyes had lost a home opener in 47 years.
Smith also put himself in the school's record book by making all ten of his free throws, which tied the school record.
After a standout career with the Hawks, Smith spent his freshman year at Western Illinois, transferred to Southwest Missouri-West Plains J.C., where he earned NJCAA All-Region 16 honors.
As a junior at UTSA, Smith averaged nine points and three rebounds in helping the Roadrunners to a 19-13 record and a berth in the championship game of the Southland Conference postseason tournament.

photo courtesy of www.goutsa.com

A Happy Homecoming

The University of Louisville's 96-66 victory over Arkansas in the Hall of Fame Classic proved to be a satisfying way to open the season for coach Rick Pitino.

Tuesday's night victory at the Scottrade Center downtown meant much more to St. Louis native Jared Swopshire, a sophomore starting forward for the Cardinals.

It was a chance to come home and play in front of all of his family and friends. And the 6'8" Swopshire made the most of his homecoming with an excellent performance. Swopshire scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, much to the delight of his parents, siblings and other family friends who were all in attendance at the game.

"This was a statement game for me," Swopshire said. "It felt great to come home and play in front of all my family and friends. I really enjoyed coming back home."

Swopshire did most of his damage in the first half as the Cardinals built a 48-31 halftime lead. He scored all 10 of his points, including two 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds. His effectiveness was limited in the second half due to persistent cramps, which forced him out of the game on several occasions.

"He was terrific," Pitino said of his sophomore forward. "He was the best rebounder on the floor tonight."

Swopshire was making his first start in a Cardinal uniform on Tuesday night. As a freshman, he saw reserve minutes behind current NBA players Terrance Williams and Earl Clark. Now, he has a chance to be a mainstay on the Cardinals front line for the next three years.

Swopshire spent his first two years of high school in St. Charles County at Fort Zumwalt West High. He spent his junior and senior seasons at IMG Academy in Florida.

Once a skinny, gangly young player, Swopshire has built his body to a solid 220 pounds. I even saw him doing a little pushing and shoving out there against some of those beefy Arkansas players.

Excellent job, Jared. It's always good to see a nice young man come home and deliver a sparkling performance for all of his family to see in person.

photo courtesy of www.life.com

Local head coach returns to Show-Me State

The Missouri Tigers will open their regular season tonight against visiting Tennessee-Martin tonight at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

Naturally, most the fans in the house will be on hand to cheer on the Tigers as they embark on what is expected to be another stellar season.

However, there will be a small group of fans dressed in Tennesee-Martin swag from the St. Louis area. Those loyal UTM fans will be the family and friends of first-year head coach Jason James, a graduate of Parkway West High.

An assistant coach at UTM for the past seven years, James was elevated to the top spot in the program when former coach Brett Campbell suddenly at the end of the season.

At 31, James is now the second-youngest coach in NCAA Division I basketball and the youngest African-American coach in the country in Division I.

I am very proud of this young man and I am so glad to see Jason get this opportunity. I've known Jason since he was in grade school and he has always wanted to be a head coach.

He is a very nice young man with a passion for coaching and a great knowledge of the game. He has a tremendous work ethic, so it was not surprising to see him get the opportunity to run his own program at such a young age.

He got his first opportunity to be a Division I assistant coach when he was only 23 years old. At the time, he was an assistant at Forest Park Community College, working for my buddy Preston Thomas, when UTM called.

In the years since the move, James has been instrumental in UTM building its program to the point where they won the Ohio Valley Conference regular title and a berth in the National Invitational Tournament.

I know Jason's parents, Ivan and Grace, will be two proud people tonight when they see their son bring his team on to the Mizzou Arena floor tonight.

Big Doublheader tonight in the Lou

I'm really looking forward to checking out tonight's college basketball doubleheader at the Scottrade Center.

The Hall of Fame Showcase will feature Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the opening game at 6:30 p.m.

In the nightcap, Bill Self (pictured) and his preseason No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks will take on the Memphis Tigers at 9 p.m. If you cannot make it to the arena tonight, the Louisville-Arkansas game will be televised on ESPN-2 with the KU-Memphis game to be shown on ESPN.

The doubleheader is part of a long marathon of college basketball coverage on ESPN. If you like college hoops (as I do), it will be easy to overdose today.

I got an stern look from my wife this morning when she woke up and saw that I didn't have the morning news on the television, as we do every morning. Instead, I was watching the St. Peter's-Monmouth game and getting ready to watch Niagara and Drexel. The wife was not happy.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of the marathon and I hope to see you at Scottrade tonight.