Rave review for Chaifetz; Majerus on his ideal rotation
Rick Majerus was asked about what his ideal rotation would be once the St. Louis U. basketball program is stabilized. Essentially, he’s looking at eight men.
“The ideal rotation is (the same) five starters every single game,” he said. “I’ve started 15 different lineups this season, and though I think starting is for high school, I’d like to have five play the most minutes and then have three beyond that. I’d like to have five guys play the predominant minutes, they’re the best guys on the floor, and then integrate freshmen in, the way Xavier does. I like a tight eight-man rotation with a backup point guard, a back up wing and a back up big, with a ninth guy to bring on in foul situations or for specific matchups.”
Actually, though Majerus has switched up his starting lineups more than he would like, he has had six lineups, not 15 of them (it would be more but in a couple of games he made two switches). Mitchell and Conklin have started every game, Lisch all but the opener, Liddell all but Detroit. SLU’s lineups:
Mitchell-Cassity-Liddell-Conklin-Eberhardt (once)
Mithcell-Lisch-Liddell-Conklin-Thompson (five)
Mitchell-Lisch-Cassity-Conklin-Eberhardt (once)
Mitchell-Lisch-Liddell-Conklin-Reed (nine)
Mitchell-Lisch-Liddell-Conklin-Eberhardt (once)
So what might that mean for SLU down the road? Kwamain Mitchell is your starting point guard, Conklin, Reed and Thompson are your bigs. Until he becomes more of a factor offensively, Cassity is your backup wing. If Salecich starts at the 2, you need someone to back up Mitchell and a back up big, which could be Ellis or Remekun or Smith. (You’ve got to think somebody out of the incoming freshman class is going to redshirt, and Remekun, who needs to put on weight, could be a candidate, though I’m basing that mostly on looking at pictures of these guys.) And Femi John figures into the picture somewhere. I’m thinking that next year, with the need to work freshmen into the lineup, Majerus won’t be using an eight-man rotation.
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UMass coach Derek Kellogg raved about SLU’s new home and the atmosphere on the league conference call on Monday:
“What an unbelievable building and environment,” he said, unsolicited. “They have a great type of crowd and an excellent team, especially at home.”
Speaking of point guards, who will handle that role next year? If Mitchell gets hurt and has to miss a few games, SLU is in big trouble.
I meant to say who will handle the BACK-Up role for point guard next year?
Well Larry, up until December, it would have been Ruben Cotto. Now, it’s not so obvious. I don’t know if Salecich or recruit Jeff Reid can handle it, or if Cassity would be the guy.
By the way, I’ve been told Cotto is heading for Harkum JC in Bryn Mawr, Pa., which Mapquest tells me is 13 miles from the La Salle campus in Philadelphia. And Cotto’s high school coach from Florida is now an assistant at La Salle. So he could end up in the A-10 after all. But going the JC route, he’ll have to work to get eligible.
SLU gets another chance to prove themselves on the road, where they haven’t won yet, excluding the neutral site game vs Fresno St. Is there road struggles A) a characteristic of a team loaded with freshman B) a result of the new environment of Chaifetz, which seems to be making a real difference in the play of both the Bills and their opponents C) just the fact that the better teams that SLU has played have been on the road (especially Xavier and Nebraska) D) a combination of these factors. I am leaning towards A and B. Freshman on the road are hit or miss, and the atmosphere at home this year has been an improvement that is noticeable in their record. What say you, o great blogger, and can we be graced with a Temple preview here? The blog has been essential to following SLU this year.
For this season, Majerus needs to stick with his two seniors to have a great winning season. The Bills are off to a great start at 11-6. This is a talented conference with tough opponents. I like the rotation of Mitchell, Lisch, Lidell, and Conklin. For the other forward, I think Reed or Thompson need to step up and mature into that position. Eberhardt is just slow at times. I have issues with Cassity. I watched him in warm ups at the Shea (Chaifetz Arena, that is what SLU kids are calling it)during the GW game. Cassity has the talent, but needs to demonstrate it in game situations. He is not getting much time and I would really like to see him shine when he gets playing time.