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Lofty expectations for new and improved SLU basketball squad

The Billikens were picked to finish first in the Atlantic-10's preseason men's basketball poll of all A-10 head coaches and select media members, a first for SLU since joining the league. Head coach Travis Ford "wants fans to be excited" about the team's lofty expectations but cautions that "we have done nothing to deserve it. It's all on paper."
Nov 17, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Saint Louis Billikens guard Jordan Goodwin (0) drives to the basket against Providence Friars guard Makai Ashton-Langford (1) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The construction signs can be seen at Chaifetz, conversations had or predictions read about practically everywhere one goes on campus, let alone around the country these days as we approach tip-off of the 2018-19 college hoops season. The St. Louis University basketball "program is in the building stages" says head coach and chief architect Travis Ford who, along with with his staff of co-architects, have donned their collective hard hats in pouring the foundation for long-term success here in The Lou: players! Notice was served at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. when the Billikens were picked to finish first in the Atlantic-10's preseason men's basketball poll of all A-10 head coaches and select media members, a first for SLU since joining the league.

There's a real buzz of enthusiasm in the Fall air that cannot be quelled. Ford "wants fans to be excited" about the team's lofty expectations but cautions that "we have done nothing to deserve it. It's all on paper. We are so far from a finished product. We're a work in progress and have a long way to go." In other words, that's coach speak for they're very talented but "under construction". "We're a new and improved basketball team that returns guys who are very good leaders. They know what I want." Chief among those returnees are senior guard/small forward Javon Bess who was named a preseason second-team All-Conference performer along with sophomore guard Jordan Goodwin. Sophomore power forward Hasahn French was a preseason third-team All-Conference selection.

Bess also made the A-10 preseason All-Defensive team. "Javon Bess is the best defender in the league and one of the best in the country," said Ford with a vote of confidence so convincing and emphatic that Bess' hard work is all but certain to land him an opportunity as a defensive specialist at the NBA level. Teaching is the challenge for the coaching staff and "doing a good job of it, especially with eight new players, five of whom are freshman, can be a very slow and difficult process," stated Ford. "With freshmen, who are very hesitant, we've had to take a step back with the X's and O's" of the game. "Mentally, we're impressing upon them we're #10 trying to get to #1."

"So many new players with so much expected of the team" is an enviable position for any program to be in. But, so many of the new players are very good players, impact players, the types of recruits possessing the type of talent, leadership ability and selflessness to make SLU a perennial player for A-10 supremacy, NCAA Tournament inclusion, an AP Top-25 finish annually and a destination for the bi-state's best ballers. Those are lofty expectations for Ford's new and improved basketball team but that's the program that's under construction at Chaifetz Arena on the campus of St. Louis University. Join the throng of hard-hat-wearing supporters who can't wait to tip it up!

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