New Chaifetz Arena Gives Rick Majerus, Saint Louis Billikens Hope in 2008-09
The splash that Saint Louis University made last year with the hiring of Rick Majerus and his wool sweaters as its men’s basketball coach has, to this point, only resulted in displaced water.
The Billikens never could get on a roll last season and finished their maiden voyage under Majerus with a pedestrian 16-15 record, good for a ninth-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference (Note: There are 14 teams in the league).
Granted, Majerus should be given a pass for last season. For the most part, the former Utah, Marquette and Ball State coach, and ESPN analyst, inherited the roster from outgoing coach Brad Soderberg; and that roster wasn’t exactly chock full with highly-touted recruits. Never was that more evident than when the Billkens shot blanks in a miserable 49-20 loss at George Washington on Jan. 10. The Billikens made the highlight shows that night — for all the wrong reasons.
The 2008-09 season brings hope for SLU fans. The biggest reason for hope is in the form of Chaifetz Arena, the school’s new $80.5 million, 10,600-seat on-campus facility just off Highway 40 and less than two miles west of their old home, the Scottrade Center.
Chaifetz Arena gives the Billikens — predicted to finish seventh this season by A-10 coaches and media members — a place of their own after they’ve shared digs with other tenants at the old St. Louis Arena and Scottrade Center. The intimate yet state-of-the-art facility should give the university a boost in recruiting and provide more of a college atmosphere to help make life tough on visiting A-10 foes.
While things are looking up for SLU off the court, two familiar faces return to give the Billikens viable scoring options as linchpins Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell III are back for their senior seasons.
Lisch, a 6-foot-2 guard, scored 14.6 points per game as a junior and was a third-team A-10 selection. In the league preseason voting, Lisch was tabbed a first-team pick. Liddell, a 6-4 senior guard, was second in scoring (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (4.3 rpg). And while he and Rick Majerus clashed at times last season, one would think player and coach should have a better idea on how to strengthen their relationship and put aside their differences. The coaches and media made Liddell a third-term selection in the league this week.
We’ll take a closer look at the Billikens prospects and this season as we close in on their opener Nov. 14 with Missouri-St. Louis at Chaifetz Arena.
[tags]rick majerus, college basketball, atlantic 10, saint louis billikens[/tags]
Tags: atlantic 10, College Basketball, rick majerus, saint louis billikens
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reminder, rick majerus isn’t a big gay guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqJ_8lUsYs0
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I’ve always liked Majerus. A lot of IU fans wanted him to be the coach after Knight left. It would have been an interesting fit. I miss him as an analyst because I thought he did a great job as far as balancing being both informative and entertaining.
Hopefully he and the Billikens have a good season.
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Kaner,
I thought about incorporating that into the story somehow, but thought better of it. That was a classic line.
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