Crawford signs

[Clock_Tower]

Haven't gone back to review earlier posts in this thread, but am surprised no one is suggesting we redshirt this kid!!

[RUBillsFan]

Haven't gone back to review earlier posts in this thread, but am surprised no one is suggesting we redshirt this kid!!

Obviously, your comment is made in jest. However, I don't think he will see much playing time his freshman year (not that this would be out of the ordinary). It looks like Crawford is a 6-5 wing type player with Evans (Sr), Barnett (Sr), and Drew (RSFr.) all likely ahead of him on the depth chart at that position. Unless SLU adds some more recruits or transfers though we won't see any redshirts because we'll need a few warm bodies on the bench. I count only 10 scholarship players next year including Crawford (DE, MM, JJ, RL, JB, JM, GG, AM, JD, MC). Hopefully, we fill the remaining spots with some good talent.

[Devils15]

I have seen Drew quite a bit and would be very surprised if he is ahead of Crawford next year.

[Bobby Metzinger]

Since he is from Evansville, suspect he likes Crews. Evansville U. feels Crews was their best coach they have hired ....

And Evansville fans tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves.

[Henry]

Since he is from Evansville, suspect he likes Crews. Evansville U. feels Crews was their best coach they have hired ....

And Evansville fans tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves.

Lest we forget, don't let our emotions dictate our actions, we'll end up in losing battles.

Lets learn from history and use evidence / rationale in decision making.

[MB73]

Nice, but we need quality BIGS.

[doowop]

Now let's sign a big guard or small forward and a power forward to compliment Mr. Crawford.

We also need a center who is a banger and strong on the boards who is not a project. I have seen a number of good big men playing for teams that are not high major teams. We should be able to find one. When I say good I mean players who are tougher than our big men. broy, or anyone else who may know, is the East St. Louis player Munson a high D1 player talent wise and does he have the grades to qualify for a SLU scholarship?

Munson is high major talent but will go JUCO.

Thank you torch.

[doowop]

I have seen Drew quite a bit and would be very surprised if he is ahead of Crawford next year.

If this is true then Drew may not be anything but a bench player during his career. That's disappointing.

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

29 and 10 is very nice numbers no matter who the player is doing it to.

I am sure Drew Diener lit up the stat sheet in high school also.

[SLUDrew]

29 and 10 is very nice numbers no matter who the player is doing it to.

I am sure Drew Diener lit up the stat sheet in high school also.

He did as did that Maguire kid from Edwardsville a few years ago. It doesn't always translate to success at this level

[RUBillsFan]

If this is true then Drew may not be anything but a bench player during his career. That's disappointing.

I'm not going to predict how Drew's career turns out. However, as long as we have/get other players who can star and Drew accepts his role/is a good practice play, then I have no problem with Drew being a bench player. All good teams will have some guys who don't play much or start during their careers. CR had limited minutes until this season and Cassity saw limited minutes his Sr. year once we had the players around him. However, both were key members of the team even when they didn't play much because they were good in practice and good teammates.

[jimbofive]

29 and 10 is very nice numbers no matter who the player is doing it to.

I am sure Drew Diener lit up the stat sheet in high school also.

He did as did that Maguire kid from Edwardsville a few years ago. It doesn't always translate to success at this level

crawford actually sounds EERILY similar to dustin maguire, but from what i've seen, he looks to be much more athletic and "guard-like", and against better competition as well. seems to have a good build if i recall. if he works in the weightroom, he could be a very serviceable slasher/shooter for us.

[slufanskip]

If this is true then Drew may not be anything but a bench player during his career. That's disappointing.

I'm not going to predict how Drew's career turns out. However, as long as we have/get other players who can star and Drew accepts his role/is a good practice play, then I have no problem with Drew being a bench player. All good teams will have some guys who don't play much or start during their careers. CR had limited minutes until this season and Cassity saw limited minutes his Sr. year once we had the players around him. However, both were key members of the team even when they didn't play much because they were good in practice and good teammates.

I know you aren't, but I would think it's a bit premature to label Drew as a bench player already.

[slufanskip]

29 and 10 is very nice numbers no matter who the player is doing it to.

I am sure Drew Diener lit up the stat sheet in high school also.

He did as did that Maguire kid from Edwardsville a few years ago. It doesn't always translate to success at this level

crawford actually sounds EERILY similar to dustin maguire, but from what i've seen, he looks to be much more athletic and "guard-like", and against better competition as well. seems to have a good build if i recall. if he works in the weightroom, he could be a very serviceable slasher/shooter for us.

Dustin Maguire had very slow feet. He just couldn't move quick enough to play a 3 at SLU's level. Imo that is the question regarding Crawford.

[Box and Won]

Drew and Crawford will both prove to be amazing players for the Billikens. Unless they're not good.

[ACE]

29 and 10 is very nice numbers no matter who the player is doing it to.

I am sure Drew Diener lit up the stat sheet in high school also.

He did as did that Maguire kid from Edwardsville a few years ago. It doesn't always translate to success at this level

Did Maguire really light up the stat sheet? At the time, I remember thinking his stats were decent, but not great and Anthony Mithcell I definitely remember not lighting up the stat sheet. His high school numbers were woeful for a D1 signee.

[cgeldmacher]

The way I see it, there are three categories of college basketball player: 1) the instant contributer who adds to your team immediately and gets better throught the years, hopefully, peaking his senior year (see MM & KM), 2) the developer who sits the bench the first year, or two, or three, but works hard and eventually develops into a solid contributor (see CR), 3) the bust who mysteriously and somewhat quietly transfers after a year or two (see CS).

I don't think that there is any way a bunch of guys posting messages on a fan website can have any real way to know which category a high school kid, that none of us have seen play live, will fall into in three years. I know my crystal ball is on the fritz. Let's just cross our fingers and, since we are a catholic school and we can get away with it, pray that these guys end up in at least category 2, possibly even 1.

Comparing these guys to the busts of the past is just as pointless as comparing them to MM, JJ, KM, CE, etc. I'm sure someone could have made a case that each of those guys were comparable to a guy who was a bust at some point in our history, but that's not what happened. The only way to find out for sure is to let it play out.

[jimbofive]

29 and 10 is very nice numbers no matter who the player is doing it to.

I am sure Drew Diener lit up the stat sheet in high school also.

He did as did that Maguire kid from Edwardsville a few years ago. It doesn't always translate to success at this level

Did Maguire really light up the stat sheet? At the time, I remember thinking his stats were decent, but not great and Anthony Mithcell I definitely remember not lighting up the stat sheet. His high school numbers were woeful for a D1 signee.

i don't have numbers, but i think maguire did do pretty well in HS. and in D2. good video (content-wise, it was encoded with a corn shucker) attached. i forgot that he got cancer. video is from 2010, i hope he beat/is beating it. he looks pretty damn rough. poor guy.

oh wait, he beat it twice. http://www.kyforward.com/2012/10/steve-flairty-hoops-star-dustin-maguire-is-a-gamer-in-fight-against-cancer-twice/

good on him. he's going to law school now. i boo that decision, but am glad he was able to make it.

[Billikan]

The way I see it, there are three categories of college basketball player: 1) the instant contributer who adds to your team immediately and gets better throught the years, hopefully, peaking his senior year (see MM & KM), 2) the developer who sits the bench the first year, or two, or three, but works hard and eventually develops into a solid contributor (see CR), 3) the bust who mysteriously and somewhat quietly transfers after a year or two (see CS).

I don't think that there is any way a bunch of guys posting messages on a fan website can have any real way to know which category a high school kid, that none of us have seen play live, will fall into in three years. I know my crystal ball is on the fritz. Let's just cross our fingers and, since we are a catholic school and we can get away with it, pray that these guys end up in at least category 2, possibly even 1.

Comparing these guys to the busts of the past is just as pointless as comparing them to MM, JJ, KM, CE, etc. I'm sure someone could have made a case that each of those guys were comparable to a guy who was a bust at some point in our history, but that's not what happened. The only way to find out for sure is to let it play out.

My thoughts exactly! Different players develop at different time in their lives and some seemingly exceed what appears to be their maximum potential in high school and some do not. Let's just let them play and practice and compete and not set any limitations or make any judgments at this early point.

[billiken_roy]

29 and 10 is very nice numbers no matter who the player is doing it to.

I am sure Drew Diener lit up the stat sheet in high school also.

He did as did that Maguire kid from Edwardsville a few years ago. It doesn't always translate to success at this level

Did Maguire really light up the stat sheet? At the time, I remember thinking his stats were decent, but not great and Anthony Mithcell I definitely remember not lighting up the stat sheet. His high school numbers were woeful for a D1 signee.

i recall mitchell's senior year were decent stats. led the east st louis team in scoring, steals and rebounds. at a basketball school like eastside, he would have had decent numbers to do such. he kind of came out of nowhere as he didnt play varsity for them until high school. he was an extremely good athlete. his problem according to rickma is he didnt understand how to play basketball. i would tend to agree with that. got away with his athleticism in high school, but that wouldnt cut it in college. that said, i also believe he could have been coached. we'll never know as he suffered a knee injury the next summer and was for all practical purposes done.

soderberg would defend maguire by saying he played out of position in high school. the truth was that he played out of position in the summer as he was no where near fast enough to be a guard/wing. soderberg probably also was banking on him becoming some sort of 3 point sniper but without superb players all around, there was no way maguire could succeed as a standstill 3 point shooter.

imo, the mitchell signing made more sense than the maguire one.

[jbizzle09]

Drew and Crawford will both prove to be amazing players for the Billikens. Unless they're not good.

+1

[JMM28]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Box and Won" data-cid="336355" data-time="1358363551"><p>

Drew and Crawford will both prove to be amazing players for the Billikens. Unless they're not good.</p></blockquote>

I don't know about that. How can you make such claims when we may or may not be in an entirely new conference? I

[Quality Is Job 1]

i recall mitchell's senior year were decent stats. led the east st louis team in scoring, steals and rebounds. at a basketball school like eastside, he would have had decent numbers to do such. he kind of came out of nowhere as he didnt play varsity for them until high school. he was an extremely good athlete. his problem according to rickma is he didnt understand how to play basketball. i would tend to agree with that. got away with his athleticism in high school, but that wouldnt cut it in college. that said, i also believe he could have been coached. we'll never know as he suffered a knee injury the next summer and was for all practical purposes done.

soderberg would defend maguire by saying he played out of position in high school. the truth was that he played out of position in the summer as he was no where near fast enough to be a guard/wing. soderberg probably also was banking on him becoming some sort of 3 point sniper but without superb players all around, there was no way maguire could succeed as a standstill 3 point shooter.

imo, the mitchell signing made more sense than the maguire one.

Roy, regarding what I highlighted: Huh? I thought that would be the case for everyone. Some D-1 players don't star on varsity until their sophomore (or even junior) season.

[billiken_roy]

i recall mitchell's senior year were decent stats. led the east st louis team in scoring, steals and rebounds. at a basketball school like eastside, he would have had decent numbers to do such. he kind of came out of nowhere as he didnt play varsity for them until high school. he was an extremely good athlete. his problem according to rickma is he didnt understand how to play basketball. i would tend to agree with that. got away with his athleticism in high school, but that wouldnt cut it in college. that said, i also believe he could have been coached. we'll never know as he suffered a knee injury the next summer and was for all practical purposes done.

soderberg would defend maguire by saying he played out of position in high school. the truth was that he played out of position in the summer as he was no where near fast enough to be a guard/wing. soderberg probably also was banking on him becoming some sort of 3 point sniper but without superb players all around, there was no way maguire could succeed as a standstill 3 point shooter.

imo, the mitchell signing made more sense than the maguire one.

Roy, regarding what I highlighted: Huh? I thought that would be the case for everyone. Some D-1 players don't star on varsity until their sophomore (or even junior) season.

star? start? i would agree. mitchell wasnt even on the eastside varsity i dont think till his senior season.

[ACE]

29 and 10 is very nice numbers no matter who the player is doing it to.

I am sure Drew Diener lit up the stat sheet in high school also.

He did as did that Maguire kid from Edwardsville a few years ago. It doesn't always translate to success at this level

Did Maguire really light up the stat sheet? At the time, I remember thinking his stats were decent, but not great and Anthony Mithcell I definitely remember not lighting up the stat sheet. His high school numbers were woeful for a D1 signee.

i recall mitchell's senior year were decent stats. led the east st louis team in scoring, steals and rebounds. at a basketball school like eastside, he would have had decent numbers to do such. he kind of came out of nowhere as he didnt play varsity for them until high school. he was an extremely good athlete. his problem according to rickma is he didnt understand how to play basketball. i would tend to agree with that. got away with his athleticism in high school, but that wouldnt cut it in college. that said, i also believe he could have been coached. we'll never know as he suffered a knee injury the next summer and was for all practical purposes done.

soderberg would defend maguire by saying he played out of position in high school. the truth was that he played out of position in the summer as he was no where near fast enough to be a guard/wing. soderberg probably also was banking on him becoming some sort of 3 point sniper but without superb players all around, there was no way maguire could succeed as a standstill 3 point shooter.

imo, the mitchell signing made more sense than the maguire one.

My recollection was that Mitchell averaged about 10 or 11 ppg and appeared to have no other decent D1 offers. He could have turned out to be a diamond in the rough, but that seemed like a real gamble. He transferred to SIU-E and was a bench player there. With Maguire, it seemed like after missing on Ahearn, Sodie was intent on finding a sharp-shooting local kid.