Amid nationally circulating reports that Lorenzo Romar was not SLU athletic director Doug Woolard's first choice to replace outgoing coach Charlie Spoonhour (John Beilein, the coach at Brian Jordan's alma mater, the Richmond Spiders, was rumored to have turned down the SLU job), Romar himself provided evidence of the daunting nature of replacing a local legend.

Here's the scene. It's Opening Night at Busch Stadium, and rain is in the air--literally.

So the start of the game is delayed, and Cardinals broadcasters Jack Buck and Mike Shannon begin doing what they do as well as anyone--fill the air time with chat that almost any St. Louisan finds interesting.

And Opening Night provided the perfect setting for that sort of thing, what with all the celebrities in attendance.

Making an early appearance in the broadcast booth was Romar, who was escorted into the co-pilot's chair while Buck was on the air.

So there was no time for prior introductions, which, in this case, proved to be necessary.

You see, like only he can, Buck offered the listeners a quick introduction to Romar, and welcomed him to St. Louis.

There was just one problem.

Not a big problem.

Not an insurmountable problem.

And maybe it's not a problem at all.

But Romar's first words to Buck were along the lines of..."Excuse me, we weren't introduced. What is your name?"

Now, not knowing Jack Buck won't cost Romar anything as far as wins and losses are concerned.

For Lomar, getting to know Darius Miles, the 6-9 senior-to-be at East St. Louis...a player reputed to be superior to any produced by that town...is much more important.

But Romar's unfamiliarity with Buck does provide a window into just how big an adjustment it's going to be for himself, in his new job at SLU, and for SLU's fans, many of whom came to love Charlie Spoonhour for a wide variety of reasons...several of which had nothing to do with college basketball.

Remember this. Patience is a virtue.