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Recruiting - 2017


RUBillsFan

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It's a little more than that, but I appreciate the condescension from where you're sitting.

Let me put it this way: Crews completely, utterly ignored a local player who wanted to play at SLU for way too long, and then put in little to no effort after finally extending an offer. We're in a deep, deep hole with this kid's recruitment. He's been insulted. A change of management doesn't reset things 100%. It helps, but after you've been insulted by a program and bigger programs have come along with the full push, I can't overstate how far behind the original program becomes. His recruitment was 99% botched - and I say 99% instead of 100% because we technically did offer him - and we're probably too far out of the picture at this point to get back in.

And you don't have to believe me, based on my geographic location. I don't lose sleep over whether Clock_Tower sees merit in my posts.

If Ford can even get SLU back in the mix, I'll be very impressed with his abilities.

Ok. Tell us more. How do you know what Travis Ford is doing or not doing with respect to Goodwin.

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Because other schools have been developing strong relationships with Goodwin for the last year whereas we had Crews ignore him and then put a terrible product out on the court. If Ford has been in touch with him, he's in the initial stages of developing a relationship. It's honestly a pretty simple theory.

Your theory presumes that recruits actually select the school with whom they have had the longest or strongest relationship. If so, we have no chance with Goodwin. The good news is that not all recruits make their selection this way. Instead, I would suggest that most choose their school based upon which plays at the highest level and with whom they believe is the best coach. We have seen many guys run off, even last minute, for the bright lights of UK (Harrelson) abd IU (Stemler) despite long and strong relationships with SLU. Happens all the time.

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Didn't we hire Ford because he's such a good recruiter? And he's been hyping up wanting to keep local kids here. He has a long time to pitch SLU to Goodwin. I don't think at this point we should be saying simply getting Goodwin to consider us is an achievement. This is the stuff we are paying Ford to do. He needs to get some of these guys to commit.

As far as I know by what I have read in this regard, "we" (that means SLU not us) hired Ford because he was the one the candidate presented by the search firm who really connected with them, that means the execs interviewing him, in a totally favorable fashion. Being a good recruiter may be part of the reason, but there may as well be any number of other reasons why he was hired, for example: his age, the fact that OKSU was going to bring in significant financial support for the first three years of his contract, and many other reasons we will probably never know. We are still in the "honeymoon" stage with our new hire. He knows he has to live up to the expectations of those who hired him (not us), whatever these expectations may be. So far he appears to be doing well and is on track to bigger and better things. Whether he pleases us or not is of no concern to Ford or anyone else in a similar situation, the ones he has to please are the ones who hired him.

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Really, I'm just guessing. Without speaking to him, Groce, and Ford, I really have no way of knowing. As for being associate head coach, I only throw that out there if that's the only inducement of getting him back to his alma mater, considering that he's probably not ready to be a head coach and SLU has already hired one. And maybe he's not more qualified to be second-in-command than Bailey or Macon(?) or anyone else Ford decides to pursue. I have no idea. But I like the idea of a former Billiken being on the staff, and who has more experience as a Div. I coach than Walker?

I understand

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Tweet from Gateway Basketball:

Wyatt Yess has received an offer from Evansville. His previous offer from SLU has also been reissued by new head coach Travis Ford.

It sounds like Yess will be a Billiken if we want him. I kind of question whether he is an A-10 caliber player.

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Apparently Ford doesn't agree with your assessment.

Assuming Yess was 100% healthy during the winter, he likely is not an A-10 caliber player. That being said, he was coming off of an injury and could certainly improve with the AAU season and another high school season.

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4/19/2016 - 2017 SG Keith Williams (6-5, 180, 3★) has received an offer from Saint Louis.

4/19/2016 - 2017 PG Isaiah Coleman-Lands (6-0, 175, 2.5★) | Position Rank: 64 has received an offer from Saint Louis. - Per Link

4/19/2016 - 2017 SF Elijah Childs (6-6, 205, 2★) has received an offer from Saint Louis. - Per Link

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As far as I know by what I have read in this regard, "we" (that means SLU not us) hired Ford because he was the one the candidate presented by the search firm who really connected with them, that means the execs interviewing him, in a totally favorable fashion. Being a good recruiter may be part of the reason, but there may as well be any number of other reasons why he was hired, for example: his age, the fact that OKSU was going to bring in significant financial support for the first three years of his contract, and many other reasons we will probably never know. We are still in the "honeymoon" stage with our new hire. He knows he has to live up to the expectations of those who hired him (not us), whatever these expectations may be. So far he appears to be doing well and is on track to bigger and better things. Whether he pleases us or not is of no concern to Ford or anyone else in a similar situation, the ones he has to please are the ones who hired him.

I mean, come on! If he doesn't please "us", meaning the people whose butts are in the seats, then he ain't gonna please those who hired him. SLU has an 80 million dollar building to pay off, and basketball pretty much is the only moneymaker for the entire athletic program. You had better believe he has to please "us". Why do you think Jim Crews is back in retirement?

And I'm not convinced the "search firm" had much to do with this either. It's not like Ford (or any coach) is unknown and working in secret. The biggest reasons we have Ford is that he's had some success, he apparently comes cheap (at least for a while) and he was suddenly looking for employment.

As far as him so far doing well, I don't know how you can tell. He's hired one assistant, there's a rumor of another, and two players have left.

If enthusiasm and a big smile for everyone means he's doing well, then maybe he is. Get back to me at the end of next season. Or maybe the one after that.

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4/19/2016 - 2017 SG Keith Williams (6-5, 180, 3★) has received an offer from Saint Louis.

4/19/2016 - 2017 PG Isaiah Coleman-Lands (6-0, 175, 2.5★) | Position Rank: 64 has received an offer from Saint Louis. - Per Link

4/19/2016 - 2017 SF Elijah Childs (6-6, 205, 2★) has received an offer from Saint Louis. - Per Link

Have not seen any video on Williams. He looks pretty solid. Already had offers from Oklahoma State and Rutgers.......hmmmm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7dyK3BpZl8

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White Pelican, J. Crews was fired for any number of reasons, not solely because of attendance to the basketball games. A facility like Chaifetz does have a fixed cost in terms of maintenance, staffing, etc... Of course attendance to the games is a source of income to cover those expenses. However, SLU does use the Chaifetz for a number of other types of performances or shows. For example the ATA had an exhibition game at the Chaifetz featuring McEnroe (who is pretty old but still superb) going against some of the current crop of professional tennis players. My wife was there with her daughter and loved it, the place was full. They have all kinds of comedy and music performances in there as well. I would believe that these shows most likely cover the fixed costs for the Chaifetz, or come close to it. So, the Chaifetz is not a money loser for SLU even with poor attendance to the men's basketball games.

Crews was fired because they (the execs at SLU) decided he was not doing what he was expected to do, whatever that was. I personally assume (with no proof that this is correct) that SLU wanted someone that would be active and effective with the media. Crews most certainly was not, Ford most certainly is. I think Ford has been superb in his dealings with the media, at least so far, much better than Crews was.

Whether you fill the Chaifetz seats with people coming to see basketball, tennis, or music performances, the important thing is the money flow produced. I believe they have enough from performances other than basketball games to cover expenses or most of them. People whose butts are in the seats for basketball games are important, but even more important is the public image of SLU and the program, the TV coverage (and how well or poorly we do in it), and finally the sweet attendance to NCAA play. Crews was not doing well in this respect, and this, my friend, is a colossal understatement.

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Childs, Coleman-Lands, Newsome, and Wheeler were the 2017 names we'd discussed yesterday, so Keith Williams is the latest to the party. We haven't seen across-the-board recruiting activity like this in a long, long time. Wow.

Current confirmed 2017 offers: Elijah Childs, Isaiah Coleman-Lands, Carson Newsome, Aaron Wheeler, Keith Williams, Wyatt Yess.

2017 offers not yet reconfirmed: Nojel Eastern, Jordan Goodwin, Zach Gunn, Nate Pierre-Louis, Jared Ridder, Jeremiah Tilmon.

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Have not seen any video on Williams. He looks pretty solid. Already had offers from Oklahoma State and Rutgers.......hmmmm

The Oklahoma State offer is from 4/16/16, so I'd imagine this is a Van Macon recruit (Rutgers offered in February) and OSU is just a coincidence.

Keith Williams: SG, 6-5, 190, Brooklyn, NY (Bishop Loughlin)Offers: SLU, VCU, Dayton, Oklahoma State, Rutgers, Minnesota, Bowling Green, Hofstra, St. Peter’s. Interest: St. John’s, Villanova, Seton Hall, Virginia, Oklahoma. Latest News: SLU is Williams’ latest offer, coming on the heels of the Oklahoma State offer. He recently visited Seton Hall and Rutgers. Scouting Report: Williams is a rim-attacking guard with a developing jumper. He’s one half of Bishop Loughlin’s formidable guard duo, alongside Markquis Nowell. Twitter: @Williams15Keith

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I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this is the busiest SLU has been on the recruiting trail in the last 10-15 years.

Agree. Also maybe a different approach than what we're used to seeing. Ford doesn't seem to have a problem having 10+ offers out there at once

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Agree. Also maybe a different approach than what we're used to seeing. Ford doesn't seem to have a problem having 10+ offers out there at once

This is fascinating to me. Is there any priority at all to the 10? What if his 8th, 9th, and 10th ranked guys all commit? Is that considered a success?

I dont think I will ever quite understand the dynamics behind recruiting. The level of balance it takes to be able to get the high level players you need but at the same time, not being left without a date at the dance seems definitely to be more of an art than a science.

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Perhaps it should be qualified with "in terms of offering scholarships to players." I don't have enough information to speculate otherwise.

Seems like #narrative.

Considering we have a new coach, open scholarships for 2016, and the AAU season began a few weeks ago with the EYBL kicking off last weekend in Brooklyn, hearing about considerable scholarship offers and players we are involved with should be expected.

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Seems like #narrative.

Considering we have a new coach, open scholarships for 2016, and the AAU season began a few weeks ago with the EYBL kicking off last weekend in Brooklyn, hearing about considerable scholarship offers and players we are involved with should be expected.

This is more offers in such a short span than when Crews took over, when Majerus took over or when Soderberg took over (though the info wasn't as good back then). Not sure what your problem with the point is, but it's clear that Ford is being more aggressive offering scholarships than prior coaches have been.

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