Mickey Pearson Commits

[slu72]

If he's 1/2 the player Harry "Big Bird" Rogers was, we'll be very pleased. Leaving Harry off the HOF team was a huge mistake. If we'd had the 3 pt shot back then Harry would have avg 25 ppg a game his whole career. I was in a couple of classes with him. He was a really nice guy that played on some good teams. A 3 yr starter who was ahead of his time. One of his problems was he never did seem to put on any muscle or weight, but training methods for hoops players back then were totally different from today and weight lifting was somewhat frowned upon.

Congrats to Mickey Pearson. Welcome to the Billikens! You won't be sorry.

[Old guy]

Pearson did not get recruited by better schools, given a spot in the all State team rosters, or ranked highly because neither recruiting nor rankings are correct all the time. We know from our time with Majerus as a coach that some coaches may find absolute gems of players where other coaches see little. I hope Ford is like Majerus in this regard, and I hope Pearson is a great addition to the Bills.

[WVBilliken]

1 minute ago, VeniceMenace said:

Pearson didn't make first team, second team or third team all state, he was honorable mention....big upside with his D1 bod and huge hands/wingspan and versatility between playing guard/forward.

My son made 1st team all-state as a senior but not as a junior when he lead his team in scoring and to a state title.  He made the second team.  There is a deference to seniors & lots of politics.  Not saying Mickey should have made first or second team but he had really good number at 22 points a game and 8 rebounds a game.  Seems he was screwed. No way there was like 70 kids in the state better than him.  10 kids on each of the first, second, and third teams and another roughly 40 honorable mention.  Seems fishy.

[NextYearBill]

likely a dumb question...

have we ever wrapped up a recruiting class so early? or is this early?

[VeniceMenace]

15 minutes ago, NextYearBill said:

likely a dumb question...

have we ever wrapped up a recruiting class so early? or is this early?

+1 NextYearBill...much better than Uncle Brad saving the scholarship for the following year.

[almaman]

I'm always for rapping it up asap but of course not just to that end. This is the best getting it done with a highly ranked recruiting class is quite satisfying.

[Quality Is Job 1]

31 minutes ago, NextYearBill said:

likely a dumb question...

have we ever wrapped up a recruiting class so early? or is this early?

I can't recall having a recruiting class done so early.  I mean, two of these guys committed to SLU before their junior season started (or early therein)!  Yeah, this is definitely early, in my experience.  I'm more accustomed to wondering who might commit during the season and then sign in the spring.  This year Coach Ford and staff have the luxury of focusing on the 2019 class, though they'll keep in touch with some 2018 guys just in case a spot or two opens up in the spring (every team averages losing a player or two to transfers each year).

[Spoon-Balls]

23 hours ago, slufan13 said:

 

That black uniform is absolute dynamite.

[3star_recruit]

3 hours ago, davidnark said:

What am I missing? Why isn't he ranked higher and recruited by high major programs? From his video highlights, he looks like Durant. 

Mickey's high school competition is very weak and he averaged 5 ppg for an above average AAU team.  The high school gurus in his state, who've watched him a lot more than we have, rank him around the 7th best prospect in the 2018 Kentucky class.  He was recruited at the level someone of his profile would normally be recruited. Normally, someone like this goes to the  Horizon and lights it up in the tournament in three years.

[cgeldmacher]

I get the impression that Ford looks at his present situation as being one where he had a lot of guys who are ready to play from the get go.  Pearson seems like his opportunity to take a kid that has a huge upside, but that might take a few years to develop.

[doowop]

23 hours ago, AGB91 said:

It was a crime when Harry wasn't named to the all-time team.

Yes, yes, yes!

[Pistol]

Just a quick check-in (I'll have more thoughts tomorrow) on this. I like this commitment for a lot of reasons. A lot on the board figured he was plan C after THT/Rhoden, but I don't think we're in THT's absolute finalist list even though we're in his top 7, and maybe Rhoden is looking harder at Seton Hall or another one of his top 5 (I thought we might get a decision from him before hearing about Pearson). 3star made some great points last week about this being a good first step for Ford in his home state, and he's a guy we don't need to come in and contribute right away, but can bring up slowly and develop a more complete player.

My instinct was to lean toward Rhoden because he's a purer shooter and that's a need for us right now, but I like this commitment a lot. MP has a broad skill set and a HIGH ceiling.

[ACE]

12 hours ago, cgeldmacher said:

I get the impression that Ford looks at his present situation as being one where he had a lot of guys who are ready to play from the get go.  Pearson seems like his opportunity to take a kid that has a huge upside, but that might take a few years to develop.

Agreed. As it stands now, we won't need him to contribute much his freshman year. In his sophomore year, 2019-20, there would be more opportunities to play. 

The staff can really focus on the class of 2019. If an opening or two comes up at the end of this year, I would shop the transfer market. Load up for the 2019-20 season.