Today at 2pm Central, Josh Schertz’s tenure as head coach gets fully underway at SLU after an offseason of anticipation and excitement surrounding this new era. Plenty of ink has been spilled about the new-look Billikens, from Schertz’s offensive philosophy to the excitement surrounding star center Robbie Avila, to the return of Gibson Jimerson, to the heavy presence of bald basketball geniuses on staff, to the team Schertz built almost from scratch and many more topics, yet this Billikens basketball team still remains an unknown. Today marks the start of fans finally getting answers about this team that fans have spent a long summer and fall eagerly awaiting.
Today is my first day of work, so I won’t be tweeting during the game most likely, so I figured I’d at least write up a little preview-ish type piece so the Billiken fandom wouldn’t be deprived of at least some of my thoughts and opinions on such an important day for SLU fans. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to write this season, but I’ll be tweeting and be at as many games as I can. It’s actually my first time living in St. Louis for a Billikens basketball season since high school so I’m very excited about that. I suspect I’ll be able to keep up a similar amount of writing, just like I did through law school, and like I did while working in public relations, and like I did while studying abroad in Ireland and staying up until like 5am watching SLU go 12-21 (I don’t think I could stay up until 5am nowadays, much less watching SLU lose to St. Bonaventure by 19 at 5am, the resilience of a college student’s body is a remarkable thing), but if I end up writing a bit more infrequently, now you know why. Anyway, onto the ballgame.
The Billikens’ first test is a tough one: a neutral site game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota against a very good Santa Clara team out of the WCC (part of me wonders if noted sushi enthusiast Schertz would have preferred a road game given that the Bay Area likely has better sushi than South Dakota, but SLU has a road game against San Francisco anyway). In addition to the usual issues of a new team having to gel together, SLU might be without its best perimeter defender, Kobe Johnson. The 6’4 guard is a game-time decision with a shoulder issue. Johnson is a long, physical presence on defense who would be a huge asset against Santa Clara’s electrifying guard duo of Adama Bal and Carlos Stewart Jr.
Santa Clara is one of the tallest teams in the country, so if Johnson can’t go, I’d expect Kellen Thames to take his place in the starting lineup. That’d give SLU a starting lineup of 5’10 Isaiah Swope, 6’5 Gibson Jimerson, 6’6 Thames, 6’8 Kalu Anya, and 6’10 Robbie Avila. I’m excited to see how SLU will play offensively around Avila. He played well in 20 minutes against Maryville, but it was clear that his teammates are still getting used to cutting and moving off-ball and adapting to the bespectacled big man’s preternatural passing sense. The more points SLU is scoring at the rim, particularly off cuts, the better.
This will also be the first game action for 6’3 guard Josiah Dotzler, a sophomore who transferred in from Creighton. Dotzler is a born winner and a very talented lead guard. Outside of Swope, he might be SLU’s best pick-and-roll handler and brings an offensive skillset that the other guards on the team don’t have. It will be interesting to see how much run he gets and how he looks in Schertz’s offense.
Against a mammoth Santa Clara frontcourt, Kalu Anya’s rebounding and athleticism will be very important too. Avila is strong and sturdy in the post, which should be a good matchup against the Broncos, but Anya will need to stay out on the perimeter guarding Johnny O’Neill while also cleaning up the glass. Anya has been a bright spot in the preseason and could be an X-factor this game.
SLU-Santa Clara should be one of the best games on the first day of college basketball, an exciting matchup between two very intriguing mid-major teams.
