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Recruiting - 2014


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Updated. 1 spot remains for 2014. As always, updates on all names are appreciated. Italics represent my impression of where the player currently stands with SLU.

2014 Offer List:

Tevin Glass: Northwest Florida State CC, Norcross, GA - PF: 6-8, 195. Offers: SLU, VCU, Arizona State, Auburn, Mississippi State, New Mexico, South Florida, UAB, Southern Miss, MTSU. Interest: Florida, Georgia Tech. Latest (9/9): SLU has offered the JuCo-enrolled Glass, who will be eligible immediately as a junior. He is considered one of the top JuCo prospects in the nation and is predicted to be a preseason second-team All-American when the season starts. As a senior at Milton HS (Atlanta area) in 2012, he had offers from Memphis, Murray State, Nevada, and others. In his freshman season at NW Florida State, he came off the bench to average 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds on 51.1% shooting. He shot 64.5% from the free throw line. Twitter:@Topnotch_Tglass

-There is minimal recruiting info on Glass since an initial explosion in early September and nothing about him and SLU since then. Since then, most news has been about him getting preseason attention for JUCO players to watch, making all-conference and all-region preseason teams, and the like.

Patrick McCaw: Montrose Christian, Rockville, MD - SG: 6-5, 180. Offers: SLU, DePaul, Oklahoma State, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, SIUC, Missouri State, Bradley, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Loyola-Maryland. Interest: Georgetown, Creighton, Xavier, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State, Missouri, Kansas State, Tennessee, Wichita State. Latest (10/31): McCaw transferred to Montrose Christian (MD) when it became clear he would not be eligible to play this season at Trinity. Previous: McCaw took an official visit to DePaul in September. He transferred from CBC to Trinity to play for his dad. Billikens.com's own TheChosenOne scouted McCaw as a three-point specialist, a report McCaw seems to agree with, based on his Twitter handle (@StephCurryJr_). After the Peach Jam, where he played for Mac Irvin Fire out of Chicago, some scouts on Twitter remarked that he scores in a variety of ways, is strong on the break, and can take guys off the dribble. McCaw was ranked 87th in the June rankings for the class of 2014 (CBC teammate Jordan Barnett was 86). Twitter: @StephCurryJr_

-McCaw's transfer is not good news for SLU, nor is his visit to Florida State. This one appears to have cooled quickly.

Ikenna Okwarabizie: East, Sioux City, IA - C: 6-11, 240. Offers: SLU, Illinois State, Southern Miss, Tulsa, SIUC, SIUE. Interest: Creighton, Marquette, Iowa, Rutgers, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Wichita State, Rice. Latest (9/12): Okwarabizie visited Iowa and said it went very well. Previous: Okwarabizie transferred to Sioux City East HS from St. Louis Christian. He will be living with the family of East teammate Chase Kern. He will miss the first 6 games of the HS season. Okwarabizie emerged this spring and picked up his first offer from Southern Miss. He is drawing "serious attention" from Rutgers and visited Illinois State. He received a SLU offer but things have been quiet on that front since mid-July. He played AAU ball with the St. Louis Eagles. Twitter: @iykerulez1

-SLU offered Ike this summer and then anything tying his name to SLU's seemed to disappear. He transferred to East HS in Sioux City and has visited Iowa and continues to receive calls and interest from many places, but offers have been a slow trickle.

Avery Patterson: Wheeler, Decatur, GA - PG: 6-1, 175. Offers: SLU, Richmond, Xavier, Butler, Boston College, Kansas State, Central Florida, Murray State, Tulane, Western Kentucky, Boston. Interest: Memphis, UAB. Latest (10/15): Patterson visited WKU this past weekend. Previous: Patterson said he will likely be a spring signee. He has not come up with a list of finalists yet, but says Western Kentucky, Tulane, and BU have been after him hardest lately. Patterson was low on offers until mid-July, when a slew of new ones came in from SLU, Richmond, Butler, BC, KSU, UCF, Murray State, and WKU. Most of those schools had already been in contact. He's a left-handed PG with a strong frame and very long range on his jumper. Has also drawn a lot of scouting attention for his leadership and control; a pure PG who gets it done at both ends. Twitter: @Showtime_AP

-Patterson said he will take his recruitment into the spring. He had some nice offers (Xavier, Butler, BC, K-State, etc.) that are no longer fresh and the schools recruiting him hardest lately (WKU, BU, Tulane) represent the next tier down. He appears to be counting on a big senior season and a chance to reopen some higher-level eyes. SLU does not appear to still be recruiting him.

Joe Thomasson: State Fair CC, Sedalia, MO - PG: 6-4, 180. Offers: SLU, St. Bonaventure, Creighton, Oklahoma State, Southern Miss, UTEP, Ball State, Wright State, Eastern Kentucky. Interest: Dayton, Missouri, Purdue, Alabama, Arizona State, Cincinnati. Latest (10/15): Mizzou has been calling Thomasson a lot. It appears to be a two-horse race with Wright State. Thomasson visited Wright State in late September. Previous: Thomasson visited Wright State in late September. He is enrolled at State Fair Community College and will be a 2014 recruit, eligible immediately as a junior. A Dayton native, he originally signed with Wright State and opted for the JuCo route after failing to qualify. He committed to Oklahoma State on 8/14 and decommitted in early September. OSU then landed a commitment from Jared Terrell (major Rhode Island target), and it seems as though Thomasson didn't feel there was room for both of them. He averaged 14.4 points at State Fair his freshman year on 44.6% shooting and 40.9% three-point shooting. He also averaged 4.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists, appearing in 28 games and starting in 27 (State Fair went 20-10 overall). He shot 78% from the stripe.

-Mizzou had been calling Thomasson but I haven't seen anything in the past couple weeks linking them to him. Wright State, the hometown school to which he had originally committed but failed to qualify, seems to be making a renewed push. SLU's name is not being linked to his anymore.

Hunter Ware: North Cobb Christian, Kennesaw, GA - PG: 6-2, 165. Offers: SLU, Murray State, Western Kentucky, Cornell, Brown, Tennessee Tech, Jacksonville, Gardner-Webb, Appalachian State, Stetson, Radford, Wofford, Furman, Middle Tennessee, Georgia Southern, North Florida, Kennesaw State. Interest: Mizzou, Butler, Charleston, Charlotte, UAB, Nevada, Buffalo, LIU-Brooklyn, Charleston Southern. Latest (10/15): Ware has tweeted about SLU twice in the past several days. Previous: Ware picked up a WKU offer and calls them his favorite, with MTSU probably second. He is visiting WKU in late October and scheduling one for LIU-Brooklyn. He's considered one of the fastest-rising players in the state of Georgia's class of 2014. On The Radar Hoops says: "Hunter showcases a great change of speed and high basketball IQ, he constantly gets a piece of the paint and pushes the tempo off the rebound. He fills the middle and goes until he is stopped either scoring or dishing off the ball for the easy basket for his teammates." But this is my favorite profile of him. Twitter: @Hunter_Ware1

-Not much news has leaked on Ware lately, but oddly enough, he retweeted two SLU sources in early-mid October. There is no sign SLU is interested, and WKU and LIU-Brooklyn are the two names that pop up most for him.

Elliott Welmer: Columbus North, Columbus, IN - PF: 6-8, 195. Offers: SLU, Wright State, Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois. Interest: Butler, Purdue, IPFW. Latest (10/15): Welmer just matched up against a SLU 2015 target, Derrik Smits, and gave up 28 points. Previous: Welmer attended SLU's camp with Tucker Blackwell (2016), Nai Carlisle (2015), Matt Holba (2015), Taishaun Johnson (2013), and Filip Serwatka (2015). He visited Northern Kentucky recently with Josh Speidel, a 2015 recruit from the same HS as Welmer, and also a kid on SLU's radar. Welmer seems to be growing still, as he is listed as a SF and an inch or two shorter by many recruiting services. He plays for the Eric Gordon All Stars AAU team. As a junior, he was ranked the 26th prospect in Indiana's class of 2014 (McIntosh: 7, Mercer: 8, Brennan: 10, Mitchell: 90), and the report was: "[Welmer] is relatively unknown, but is getting big minutes and scoring some points this winter for North...He had a good summer and should land his name on the radar of some schools...Has good perimeter skills for a guy of his size, handles the ball well...I think that Elliott will still grow another inch or two and his game is just starting to come into its own...He shoots the ball well from the perimeter and blocks shots defensively...I am sure I have him higher than most people, but I think he will end up moving up even more within the next year...Keep an eye out for him." Welmer's uncle is Steve, who officiated a ton of SLU and other big-time college basketball games over the years. Twitter: @Welmer_33

-SLU offered Welmer and remains interested in his younger HS teammate, Josh Speidel. Welmer has not announced a list or timetable, but as a skinny, growing big, he brings to mind another 2014 name and former 2013 name, Brett Jolly. With the Jolly commitment, Welmer doesn't seem like a 2014 target for SLU anymore, and his other offers aren't nearly at the same level.

Thomas Welsh: Loyola, Los Angeles, CA - C: 7-0, 245. Offers: SLU, UCLA, California, USC, Stanford, Utah, Arizona State, Colorado, Notre Dame, Boston College, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Pacific, Portland, Rice. Interest: Arizona, Wake Forest, San Diego State, Brown, UC-Santa Barbara. Latest (10/31): Welsh has now taken second visits to UCLA, Cal, and Colorado, and has lined up an official visit to Stanford for November 7. Previous: Welsh took official visits in September and October to UCLA, Cal, and Colorado. He has made unofficial visits to USC, Cal, Stanford, Utah, UCLA, and Colorado. He wants to take a couple more official visits and decide in November. Lately in his recruitment, Cal, Stanford, Colorado, Utah, USC, and UCLA are making the biggest push. In Vegas, he was in a much-watched post matchup with top-10 player Myles Turner, who was said to have lived up to his elite shot-blocking billing. However, "the multi-skilled Welsh exhibited his unique skill set as he nailed several mid-range jump shots and displayed his all-around post game." UCLA was apparently present for every Welsh game, and Enfield and USC were at most, too. Welsh has an offer from Steve Alford at UCLA. SLU is said to be one of Welsh's early offers, which is interesting, given that he's a Southern California kid with otherwise exclusively West Coast offers. Welsh has spoken with Andy Enfield at USC quite a bit. He just recently visited Cal. He played very well at camps and AAU tournaments and is now a consensus top-100 prospect.

-All signs seem to point to a 4-team race between UCLA, Cal, Colorado, and Stanford making a major push to get in the final mix. SLU was out of contention not long after offering. Expect an announcement soon.

2014 Interest List:

Brandon Cheeks: Meadowbrook, Richmond, VA - SG: 6-1, 190. Offers: None. Interest: SLU, George Mason, Delaware, Quinnipiac, Radford. Latest (8/27): Cheeks said SLU and Quinnipiac were tracking him in June and July on the AAU circuit. Previous: Cheeks played well at Big Shots Richmond, reportedly scoring well at all levels and rebounding his position well. He also handles the ball well and makes plays in traffic. His father played at VCU and holds their single-game scoring record (42 in a 1989 game vs. ODU). He later coached at VCU, West Virginia, Georgia State, and UNC-Charlotte.

-Any information on Cheeks has been hard to come by since his name was first linked to SLU this summer. I expect him to be a spring recruit.

Arlando Cook: Madison Prep, St. Louis, MO - PF: 6-8, 175. Offers: Kent State, SIUE, Tennessee-Martin, Western Illinois. Interest: SLU, Illinois, Virginia Tech, SIUC, Missouri State, Indiana State, Georgia State, Troy, Indianapolis, Nebraska-Omaha, Alabama A&M. Latest (10/16): Cook will take an official visit to Tennessee-Martin this weekend. Previous: Cook visited SLU with Brandon Hollins of Jennings HS. He visited Western Illinois in early September. After a strong showing throughout July, Cook is officially on SLU's radar and has "big interest" from Indiana State. He had what has been called a "breakout weekend" at the Under Armour Summer Jam in Wisconsin, averaging 19 and 13 during the tournament for the St. Louis Gym Rats Elite AAU team. Florida Gulf Coast will be visiting him at home soon. Tennessee-Martin has "very high" interest. Cook took an unofficial visit to SIUC in early August, and SIUE immediately after. Twitter: @___BallxBooks

-SLU has been keeping an eye on Cook and invited him to campus a couple months ago. All four on his offer list still appear to be recruiting him.

Brandon Hollins: Jennings, Jennings, MO - SF: 6-5, 170. Interest: SLU, UC-Riverside, Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois. Latest (8/15): Hollins visited SLU with Arlando Cook. Previous: Hollins is on SLU's radar after a solid July. He led the Suburban East in scoring his junior season, at 18 PPG. He missed his entire sophomore season with a knee injury. He is said to be a "skilled wing who is most effective slashing to the basket and finishing at the rim," who "needs to be more confident handling the ball" to be successful at the next level. Earl Austin said this of Hollins' July play in Vegas for Team Ramey: "Hollins opened a lot of eyes out west with his energetic play on the wing...averaged about 15 points a game. Always known as a potent perimeter shooter, the slender Hollins displayed slashing ability, plus he rebounded well." Twitter: @NBADreams_

-SLU has been keeping an eye on Hollins and invited him to campus a couple months ago. No word since then, though. I could see him being a spring recruit.

Avery Johnson, Jr.: Plano West, Plano, TX - PG: 5-9, 173. Offers: Southern Miss. Interest: SLU, LaSalle, Baylor, Arizona State, LSU, Rutgers, Florida State, Wichita State, SMU, Rice, Charleston, Santa Clara, Bucknell, Columbia, LIU-Brooklyn. Latest (9/12): Johnson retweeted that Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Tulsa were in the house to watch Plano West, but it's likely they were there to see one of his teammates (probably junior Tyler Davis, a 270-pound center with high interest from SMU and Texas). Previous: Earlier in summer 2013, Johnson said Baylor, SLU, and LSU are recruiting hardest but Baylor stands out most at this point. He has visited Baylor and SLU. The son of former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson, he made headlines when he Tweeted taunts at the Nets after losing to the Bulls in the playoffs (his dad coached the Nets before being fired). He is scouted as being very quick, with a very high basketball IQ and competitive nature. Twitter: @itsaveryjohnson

-Johnson still claims "high interest" from LSU and Baylor, and interest from SLU and many others. It's unlikely SLU is in the picture at all at this point. He has no timetable, solid offer list, or finalists, which tells me this should stretch into the spring.

Anthony Pate: New Hampton Prep, New Hampton, NH - SG: 6-3, 190. Offers: St. Bonaventure, Duquesne, Harvard, Yale, FIU, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Hofstra, Boston, Maine, UMBC, UNC-Greensboro, Binghamton, NJIT. Interest: SLU, George Washington, George Mason, Davidson, Marquette, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Tulsa, Bucknell, Siena, Drexel, Northeastern, Utah State, Marist, Elon, New Hampshire. Latest (9/12): Pate was rated #9 in the loaded NH class of 2014 by the New England Recruiting Report. Previous: Pate is picking up a lot of interest and offers after playing well at the Super 64 in Vegas. Scouts said his game is a lot like that of Elijah Brown, the son of Mike Brown who played at Santa Ana HS in California and is heading to Butler this fall. Pate is said to have a confident stroke and good facilitating ability. One concern may be transfers: Pate is from Canada, attended Saint Anthony in New Jersey before transferring to Long Island Lutheran for his junior season, then New Hampton Prep this past season. He will stay at NHP for a prep year. Twitter: @416Pate

-SLU had been in contact with Anthony Pate in late summer into the fall, but it appears to have died out after the three guard commitments.

Darreon Reddick: Belleville East, Belleville, IL - PG: 6-3, 200. Offers: DePaul, Valpo, Missouri State, Indiana State, Bradley, Detroit, Toledo, IUPUI. Interest: SLU, Dayton, Xavier, Butler, Northwestern, Michigan, Mizzou, Tennessee, Iowa, SIUC. Latest (9/18): Reddick was visited by Indiana State late last week. Previous: Reddick was impressed by Northwestern on his unofficial visit there, but the school has not yet made an offer. If he does get one, he plans to make an official visit before deciding. Reddick visited Bradley and Illinois State in June. He also visited Valpo with C.J. Rivers and both picked up offers. Twitter:@_14Reddick

-SLU had been keeping an eye on Reddick but it never appeared to be serious. His recruitment has been quiet lately. Northwestern never came through with the offer many anticipated.

Shawn Roundtree: Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL - PG: 6-0, 175. Offers: SIUE. Interest: SLU, Ball State, Missouri State, Indiana State. Latest (9/12): Roundtree received visits from SIUE, Missouri State, and Indiana State (twice) as the fall recruiting period opened. Previous: Roundtree played in the Purdue Elite Camp in August. He has been contacted by SLU and Ball State, but SIUE was the early leader in his recruitment. Twitter: @2Yung4_Simba

-SIUE remains Roundtree's sole offer for now, but with 1 scholarship remaining and a PG already in the fold for 2014, it's unclear how strongly the Cougars are still recruiting him. He might be a spring signee. SLU never appeared seriously interested.

Tarin Smith: St. Anthony's, Jersey City, NJ - PG: 6-0, 175. Offers: LaSalle, St. Joe's, UMass, Penn, Princeton, Brown, Lehigh, Bucknell, Detroit, Holy Cross, Delaware, Quinnipiac, Wagner, Stony Brook, Buffalo. Interest: SLU, Providence, Creighton, Boston College, SMU. Latest (10/16): Smith visited SLU in late September. Providence sources are saying there is growing interest in Smith from the Friars. Previous: Smith visited SLU in September but never received an offer. He also took an official visit to Lehigh. Smith is the starting point guard at NJ powerhouse St. Anthony's, whose past point guards include Bobby Hurley, Tyshawn Taylor, Tray Woodall, and recent Temple addition Josh Brown. He says St. Joe's, Bucknell, Stony Brook, Princeton, and Penn have been in contact the most and that SLU, SMU, Creighton, and Boston College have all contacted him to let him know they're coming out to watch him this July. St. Joe's has had a few recent St. Anthony's grads, including Ahmad Nivins and Dwayne Lee. (There is also a 2016 recruit from McCluer North by the same name.) Twitter: @Smittee_

-SLU was still showing interest into October, but the other guard commitments have quieted down things between the two very recently. Providence is showing some interest now.

Dmitri Thompson: Orlando Christian, Orlando, FL - SG: 6-4, 195. Offers: Purdue, Miami, Oklahoma State, Mississippi, Georgia, South Florida, Central Florida, Charleston, Florida International, Murray State, UNC-Greensboro, Georgia Southern. Interest: SLU, Georgetown, Butler, Kansas State, Virginia, Alabama, Appalachian State, Mercer. Latest (10/16): Thompson appears to have some renewed interest from South Florida. Previous: Thompson says Appalachian State and Mercer are interested. He has an offer from FIU and what appears to be some renewed interest from Butler. His offers from bigger programs are all listed as being from 2012, so I'm wondering how current they are. Thompson and teammate Adonys Henriquez had publicly mentioned the possibility of being recruited as a package deal, but Henriquez committed to Miami this past fall, while Thompson continues to explore his options. The two have won a state championship together already and expectations are high for their senior season. Twitter: @BigMeech_2014

-SLU never appeared seriously interested in Thompson, whose most recent offer is from UNC-Greensboro. South Florida has called lately.

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Updated. 1 spot remains for 2014. As always, updates on all names are appreciated. Italics represent my impression of where the player currently stands with SLU.

When we say 1 spot remaining for 2014 that is same verbiage used for last half of our 2013 recruiting thread. are those two "1 spot remaining" the same? I think you all explained to me that we don't lose the 1 remaining once we don't use it so would that roll over to '14 giving us 2? I feel stupid typing this but I really am confused. Plus JC was asked about signing anymore on that podcast and he didn't rule it out.

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We have 1 spot remaining for 2014. If we get a sixth commitment, that will fill all available (13) scholarships for the 2014-2015 season. The last spot could go to a HS senior (class of 2014), or a transfer from a JUCO or other D-I school. If it goes unused, we'll carry it over as an extra to give to a 2015 recruit.

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Updated. 1 spot remains for 2014. As always, updates on all names are appreciated. Italics represent my impression of where the player currently stands with SLU.

When we say 1 spot remaining for 2014 that is same verbiage used for last half of our 2013 recruiting thread. are those two "1 spot remaining" the same? I think you all explained to me that we don't lose the 1 remaining once we don't use it so would that roll over to '14 giving us 2? I feel stupid typing this but I really am confused. Plus JC was asked about signing anymore on that podcast and he didn't rule it out.

We have five seniors on this team plus one unused scholarship, hence we have 6 scholarships to offer.

As of right now, we have 5 players that have given us oral commitments and we expect them all to sign this fall. Thus, we have one more spot to fill either this fall or in the spring.

On the radio interview, crews isn't allowed to even mention the names of the five oral commitments which is why he simply said we expect to sign some players this fall without giving any detail.

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We have five seniors on this team plus one unused scholarship, hence we have 6 scholarships to offer.

As of right now, we have 5 players that have given us oral commitments and we expect them all to sign this fall. Thus, we have one more spot to fill either this fall or in the spring.

On the radio interview, crews isn't allowed to even mention the names of the five oral commitments which is why he simply said we expect to sign some players this fall without giving any detail.

thnx Pistol and kshoe. will try to keep that in my MBM head.

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I do not see why we should be in a hurry to use the last scholarship available at this time. We have 5 commits (good ones) who still have to sign their LOI and there will be plenty of transfers when the spring comes. Why should we be insistent in signing up someone else at this time? That is, unless this is a really top notch player.

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Again, another reason why I wouldn't have a problem with us going one over the limit this year.

So when the time to sign comes, who do you tell ... sorry buddy you are out?

I have no issue with telling a person they need to transfer after a year ( except for the NCAA rules which aren't equal ) when they've had a chance to compete and had the chance to prove that tey belong. I also believe this should be doen within a couple of the weeks of the season ending.

But you want to tell a guy on Nov 13th or whatever the signing date is ... who has told his other suitors NO. Many of those teams would no longer be interested as they've moved on and filled his spot.

Once you offer and the guy accepts ... imo you are ethically bound to give that guy his year. Not longer than that as that's your agreement with him one year. But you should honor that year, give him the opportunity to prove himself.

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streets are mumbling: what if Wamukota is NOT simply a true center but has the athletic chops to guard a 3 or 4 ?? What if this kid's interstellar quickness & athletic prowess make him project elsewhere on defense?? AND what if the kid is still growing, and with those long arms hits 7'2" and plays forward ???

begin drooling. redshirt the kid, put him on the weights, and teach him help defense...

ps: I think sometimes people get too caught up in the 1-2-3-4-5 scheme and forget that one thing Crews really likes, above all, is a basketball player who can play some defense, work extra hard, & turn his papers in on time. He is from IU, ya know...

Who is this 3 or if you don't like the numbers wing player a 7 footer is going to guard?

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I'm not unhappy with Bush going elsewhere. He reminds me of an NFL draft prospect that looks awesome when measued at the combine, but whose playing stats don't match potential. In bush there arent any game stats to look at. With just 2 yrs of playing time there is a very small window of opportunity to develop the player n reap the benifits. I prefer to follow the wisdom of coach M, and invest in freshmen n transfers.

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Sulfanskip, I believe Wamukota commited to Wichita State recently.

Yes, I believe there are a few things we need to note regarding him now that he's committed elsewhere

1. We probably stopped recruiting him a couple of months ago

2. We may have never actually offered just taking a little look see

3. He may not have fit in academically at SLU

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