 Billikens Take on St. Ambrose in Final Exhibition Game
Nov. 4, 2009
EXHIBITION PLAY: The Saint Louis men's basketball team hosts its final exhibition game Saturday, Nov. 7, against St. Ambrose (Iowa) in Chaifetz Arena. Game time is 2 p.m. FOR OPENERS: The Billikens begin the regular season Saturday, Nov. 14, when they welcome Southeast Missouri State to Chaifetz Arena for a 7 p.m. game. ABOUT ST. AMBROSE: The Fighting Bees hail from Davenport, Iowa, and are members of the Midwest Collegiate Conference in the NAIA. St. Ambrose went 12-19 last season, 6-10 in conference. Leading the returners are All-Conference selections Mike Kennedy and Alex Burkle. As a freshman last year, Kennedy led the Bees with 15.2 ppg, while Burkle added 13.3 ppg and a team-high 6.5 rpg. The Lions averaged 73.9 ppg while shooting 42.1 percent from the field, 29.7 percent from 3-point range and 64.1 percent from the line. Head coach Ray Shovlain is in his 26th year as head coach and has amassed 479 victories. BILLIKEN BITS: SLU opened exhibition play with a 79-51 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith last Friday. Willie Reed sank all nine of his shots from the field and finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Jon Smith also was perfect from the field, converting all four of his shots en route to 10 points and matching Reed with seven boards. The Billikens shot 55 percent from the field while holding the Lions to 38.9 percent. Femi John and Christian Salecich both handed out five assists to lead the team. THE WAITING GAME: SLU is still waiting for the NCAA to clear 6-foot-8 forward Cody Ellis (Perth, Australia / A.I.S.) for participation. Ellis was ranked the No. 1 power forward and the No. 3 player overall in the 2009 class in Australia. He helped the Emus to an undefeated pool play record at the FIBA World Championships and ended the U-19 tournament as the Aussies' second-leading scorer with 101 points. He ranked third on the team in rebounding with 51.
YOUTH WILL BE SERVED: By one measure, the 2009-10 Billikens will be the youngest team in America. Considering only scholarship players, the Billikens' roster is 91.7 percent underclassmen (11 of 12), the highest percentage in the nation. In addition, the 11 scholarship underclassmen are tied with Florida Atlantic and Liberty for the most in the country. HEAD COACH Rick Majerus: Coach Rick Majerus begins his third campaign as head coach of the Billikens with a 34-29 slate. He has a 22-year career mark of 456-176 and has never had a losing season. Majerus has taken 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament and four to the NIT. His .722 career winning percentage is tied for 13th among active coaches, and Majerus' 456 wins rank 23rd on the active list. PRESEASON PLAUDITS: Sophomore guard Kwamain Mitchell was named to the Atlantic 10 preseason men's basketball All-Conference third team as selected by a poll of the league's coaches. Last season, Mitchell was chosen to the league's All-Rookie team. He averaged 11 ppg and 3.2 rpg and was second on the team with 42 3-pointers and 38 steals. LAST YEAR: Behind the dynamic duo of senior guards Tommie Liddell III and Kevin Lisch, the Billikens went 18-14 overall, 8-8 in the Atlantic 10. Lisch was named third-team Academic All-America, third-team All-Conference and the A-10 Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year. Kwamain Mitchell was named to the All-Rookie team. ON THE AIR: For the second consecutive year, Billiken basketball can be heard on 101.1 FM ESPN. Billiken Hall of Famer Bob Ramsey is in his 24th season as the play-by-play "Voice of the Billikens." Earl Austin Jr., sports editor of the St. Louis American, is in his 19th year in the analyst's role. BILLIKEN LEGENDS: The Saint Louis University department of athletics announced that it will recognize and honor seven "Billiken Legends" basketball teams at halftime of select home games during the 2009-10 season. The six men's basketball teams to be honored are the 1947-48 (Dec. 5, 2009), 1956-57 (Dec. 12, 2009), 1970-71 (Dec. 19, 2009), 1988-90 (Jan. 9, 2010), 1993-95 (Feb. 13, 2010) and 1999-2000 (Feb. 27, 2010) squads. In addition, the 2002-03 women's basketball team will be recognized Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. NO PLACE LIKE HOME: In its first year, Chaifetz Arena proved to be a true homecourt advantage for the Billikens. SLU posted a 14-3 mark in the inaugural season of the 10,600-seat building. The .824 winning percentage was the second best by the Billikens in the past decade, surpassed only by the 13-2 slate (.867) in 2006-07. BILLIKEN ALL-ACCESS: All Billiken regular-season home games this season are video streamed live through Billiken All-Access at www.slubillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. Saturday's exhibition game against St. Ambrose will be streamed for free. GameTracker is again available free of charge in 2009-10. TICKETS: Season tickets and individual game tickets are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at www.slubillikens.com or www.metrotix.com, by phone at (314) 977-4SLU or toll free at (800) 293-5949, and at the Chaifetz Arena Ticket Office. |
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