Rob Loe

[NH]

Looks like Loe might make it to campus sooner than we expected. HE did not qualify for the New Zealand national team.

[jjray]

I'll take that as good news.

[SShoe]

Looks like Loe might make it to campus sooner than we expected. HE did not qualify for the New Zealand national team.

He did not qualify or he did not make it?

[NH]

He did not qualify or he did not make it?

He did not make the team.

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

He did not make the team.

Should we revoke his scholarship then?

[doowop]

Maybe he did not make it on purpose so that he can be here on time to learn RM's system. Seriously though, that should be a BIG lift for SLU.

[EMS67]

The 12 man roster was selected from a group of 21. It looks like they went with veteran guys. Google "New Zealand Tall Blacks" for a number of links and and stories.

[kshoe]

Maybe he did not make it on purpose so that he can be here on time to learn RM's system. Seriously though, that should be a BIG lift for SLU.

I don't think it is a good thing for SLU. Would he develop more as a player battling in practice with grown men on the national team and maybe even getting a few minutes of game action against elite world players or playing in pick-up games at SLU? Not to mention, there is no guarantee this means he is coming to campus early.

He'll pick up RM's system just fine arriving at SLU in early September. Cody came in mid-season and did fine. Loe will have 1.5 months before practice officially starts to learn what he needs to learn.

[slufan13]

I don't think it is a good thing for SLU. Would he develop more as a player battling in practice with grown men on the national team and maybe even getting a few minutes of game action against elite world players or playing in pick-up games at SLU? Not to mention, there is no guarantee this means he is coming to campus early.

He'll pick up RM's system just fine arriving at SLU in early September. Cody came in mid-season and did fine. Loe will have 1.5 months before practice officially starts to learn what he needs to learn.

I think he would become a better "basketball" player by playing in the Worlds, but he'd become a better college basketball player by spending as much time at SLU learning the system and stuff. I think it helps SLU. He struggled in that All Star game in the spring and I think hes gonna need more time than Cody to adjust to the game.

[doowop]

I don't think it is a good thing for SLU. Would he develop more as a player battling in practice with grown men on the national team and maybe even getting a few minutes of game action against elite world players or playing in pick-up games at SLU? Not to mention, there is no guarantee this means he is coming to campus early.

He'll pick up RM's system just fine arriving at SLU in early September. Cody came in mid-season and did fine. Loe will have 1.5 months before practice officially starts to learn what he needs to learn.

It could be a big lift for SLU IF he comes in early. Playing against elite world players is fine. But here he will get the opportunity to adjust to the speed of the D1 college game that gave CS and CE problems early on. Plus he will have more time to get acclimated to life here. The fact is, he won't be playing against the elite world players so his presence here should help him and the team.

[WVBilliken]

I agree that it is much better for Loe to get to SLU early and start getting acquainted with his team mates, perhaps doing some strength training and getting comfortable with his new surroundings. Best thing that could of happened for SLU. Let's hope he is on campus by August 1.

[kshoe]

It could be a big lift for SLU IF he comes in early. Playing against elite world players is fine. But here he will get the opportunity to adjust to the speed of the D1 college game that gave CS and CE problems early on. Plus he will have more time to get acclimated to life here. The fact is, he won't be playing against the elite world players so his presence here should help him and the team.

The speed, physicalness, level of competion, etc. of national team practices far outpaces that of SLU pick-up games in August. I don't see how getting here early will help him acclimate to the speed of D1 games since we won't be playing any D1 games until November. What little game time he would have gotten for the national team would better acclimate him for actual game situations.

I can tell I'm going to be outnumbered here but I really don't see how 3 months in the USA is better than 2 months plus a month playing against the elite world players.

[BillyKen]

The speed, physicalness, level of competion, etc. of national team practices far outpaces that of SLU pick-up games in August. I don't see how getting here early will help him acclimate to the speed of D1 games since we won't be playing any D1 games until November. What little game time he would have gotten for the national team would better acclimate him for actual game situations.

I can tell I'm going to be outnumbered here but I really don't see how 3 months in the USA is better than 2 months plus a month playing against the elite world players.

Absolutely agree with you. Experience against world competition would be far better. Also, if RM and his staff REALLY thought that it would be a huge benefit for SLU's program for him to be on campus then they would have asked him to not even try out.

[thetorch]

I had an inkling this could take place.

No player as young as Loe has been selected to play in the worlds for NZ. Their team is mainly comprised of veteran players with international experience.

I'd love to see him get exposed to that high level of play but you have to factor in would he have gotten any playing time on that team? Probably not, so his experience would be limited to practicing which he has already done.

Lets get him in here and learning Majerus system. I am much more concerned with Loe being a great Billiken rather than a great international player at this point.

[For-DaLove]

I had an inkling this could take place.

No player as young as Loe has been selected to play in the worlds for NZ. Their team is mainly comprised of veteran players with international experience.

I'd love to see him get exposed to that high level of play but you have to factor in would he have gotten any playing time on that team? Probably not, so his experience would be limited to practicing which he has already done.

Lets get him in here and learning Majerus system. I am much more concerned with Loe being a great Billiken rather than a great international player at this point.

Good post!

I also am happy that he won't be missing any time in the classroom. Missing 2 or 3 weeks of your classes to begin college is not a good thing.

[slu72]

Good post!

I also am happy that he won't be missing any time in the classroom. Missing 2 or 3 weeks of your classes to begin college is not a good thing.

A plus in my mind. He was probably not going to see much playing time. He' s got the experience of working w/ older guys in their trials, which means he's not been sitting on the beach all summer. Getting him here earlier and not rushed into anything will serve him better in the long run. He's young, he got plenty of time to play for the national team. Hopefully, the NZ coach talked to RM and they discussed what areas of his game need to be developed to play at such a high level. My guess would be the physical side of the game.

[Taj79]

I'd rather he was in our system, under our wing. I don't see what two or four minutes per game against that competition is going to add in terms of our roster. Granted, he won't get the speed of the game until actual conference games, but hw will get more time knowing and bonding with his SLU teammates and you can't sell team chemistry short.

[Billikenbooster]

The speed, physicalness, level of competion, etc. of national team practices far outpaces that of SLU pick-up games in August. I don't see how getting here early will help him acclimate to the speed of D1 games since we won't be playing any D1 games until November. What little game time he would have gotten for the national team would better acclimate him for actual game situations.

I can tell I'm going to be outnumbered here but I really don't see how 3 months in the USA is better than 2 months plus a month playing against the elite world players.

I believe the coaches can actually work with individual players for limited amounts of time/week during the off season.

mhg

[DoctorB]

I think many of you are missing the key point --

It is FAR BETTER for a student to come on time -- or even early -- and acclimate. It seems very one-sided to focus on whether it is better for his basketball or not -- he is a new student to a new school, in this case even a new country. The jump into university is a very big jump; I was actually worried that he would arrive a few weeks into the semester. This will be great for Rob, though he may be disappointed about not making the team.

as for the early summer basketball, yes it's true -- I was at the summer league games yesterday afternoon and watched many of the SLU guys play in those, they are really just Simon Rec games with running clocks and refs who rarely call anything, except oddly enough zone defense technicals for helpside work, weird. I learned almost nothing about our players from going; I went to see another friend play, not so much the SLU guys (I did notice immediately Jake Barnett's court sense and basketball IQ, however; and his long arms and nice shooting form) -- and I doubt if the purely basketball time here helps a whole lot. but chemistry, team morale, friendship, simply campus awareness, learning your way around, settling into a room, hell even just getting over jet lag -- these are for the benefit of a new STUDENT-athlete.

nota-bene: please remember the STUDENT part comes first in that much maligned moniker -- mercy me!

[slu72]

It is FAR BETTER for a student to come on time -- or even early -- and acclimate. It seems very one-sided to focus on whether it is I was at the summer league games yesterday afternoon and watched many of the SLU guys play in those, they are really just Simon Rec games with running clocks and refs who rarely call anything, except oddly enough zone defense technicals for helpside work, weird. I learned almost nothing about our players from going; I went to see another friend play, not so much the SLU guys (I did notice immediately Jake Barnett's court sense and basketball IQ, however; and his long arms and nice shooting form) -- and I doubt if the purely basketball time here helps a whole lot. but chemistry, team morale, friendship, simply campus awareness, learning your way around, settling into a room, hell even just getting over jet lag -- these are for the benefit of a new STUDENT-athlete.

What's up, Doc? You saw our guys yesterday and report that Barnett has long arms? You had to see something... any little tidbit at this time would be like a 7 course meal since we're starving for information.

[jimbofive]

What's up, Doc? You saw our guys yesterday and report that Barnett has long arms? You had to see something... any little tidbit at this time would be like a 7 course meal since we're starving for information.

barnett also has long fingers. which means he's good at something else... i'll give you a clue. it's round, it has three holes... and you stick your fingers in it.

[Quality Is Job 1]

barnett also has long fingers. which means he's good at something else... i'll give you a clue. it's round, it has three holes... and you stick your fingers in it.

BOWLING!

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[Box and Won]

barnett also has long fingers. which means he's good at something else... i'll give you a clue. it's round, it has three holes... and you stick your fingers in it.

[jimbofive]

BOWLING!

<--------

ha, NICE! also, rebecca, from kingpin.

[campy8]

ha, NICE! also, rebecca, from kingpin.

I didn't want to get Munsoned out here in the middle of nowhere...