Heading into the first game of the season, junior guard Kevin Lisch said that he had no idea what to expect from new Head Coach Rick Majerus on the sidelines.
“He made a lot of teaching points throughout the game,” Lisch said. “He wasn’t getting in your face, but he was coaching the entire time. He’s really excited about getting better and putting us in the best position to win.”
Majerus had a lot to prove coming into Saint Louis University’s first exhibition match against University of Missouri-St. Louis on Nov. 2. Although the Billikens won by a 17-point margin, Majerus said the team had stretches of mistakes throughout the game.
“We settled for a lot of jumpers after we got up 20 or 30 points, instead of getting the ball inside,” Majerus said. “But we were running the whole time, and we got a lot of fast-break baskets.”
The game featured five ties at the beginning before the Bills strung together a 17-6 run to give them a double-digit lead. Lisch helped SLU toward this lead with two consecutive 3-pointers with 4:30 left in the first half.
The Billikens extended their lead in the second half and it was not long before SLU had a 21-point cushion after going on a 13-2 run. Lisch led the team with 20 points, followed by Tommie Liddell III with 14 points.
Despite Liddell being the second leading scorer for SLU and going 4-4 at the free-throw line, Majerus said that the junior still has a lot to learn defensively.
“[Liddell’s] got to learn to play at a higher pace and with the urgency, passion and drive as players like Lisch and Polk,” Majerus said. “He needs to take pride in his defense, and hopefully that kicks in.”
Liddell said that his improvement will stem from learning SLU’s system better.
“He is the first coach to get on me about this before, so I have to do everything I can to learn the system and help my team get the W,” Liddell said. “Coach wasn’t worried about the score; he was more worried about how we played.”
Majerus said that he is most anxious to get back to practice and analyze the film of the game.
“The film never lies,” Majerus said. “We’re all just going through a period of adjustment, and I know [the players] are just trying to adjust, but it’s going to be an interesting year.”
