Nate Latsch Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Some thoughts and observations from Saturday night's Demetrious Johnson All-Star Basketball Game at Fontbonne University, won by the National All-Stars 151-136. Anyone who wasn't impressed with Tommie Liddell's performance last night should stop watching basketball. Just quit, cold turkey. The kid was great and without him the overmatched St. Louis Metro All-Stars lose by 40 or 50. Liddell made 14 of 20 shots, including eight of eight from the free throw line, and had five dunks. He had five points in the first quarter, 10 in the second, seven in the third and 14 in the fourth. Liddell made all of the players around him better. I asked Liddell after the game what he has improved on in the last year at prep school. “I think I got a lot more aggressive," he said. "I think I got out of my laid-back mode from high school. I can’t come in and play laid-back at SLU. I think I got a lot more aggressive. I’m attacking the goal now. I also got a lot better with my passing. I’m just working on my all-around game.†If Liddell can start knocking down jumpers consistently, he will be nearly impossible to guard. The fact that he scored 36 points in an all-star game against the quality opponents he faced, without a reliable jumper, says a lot about his overall game and ability. He will be a fan favorite at SLU and will fill a lot of seats at the Savvis Center. I haven't been to a SLU game in a couple years, but I'll be there now whenever I get the chance. Other observations: Vashon's Kenny Daniels showed what kind of talent he has, though it wasn't always apparent at the V. I noticed him a couple years ago for his ability to knock down the 3-pointer consistently, and his athleticism is off the charts. He made two of six shots in the first half, but made seven of nine in the second half to finish with 21 points. He had six dunks, but spent most of the time late in the game hanging around waiting for fastbreak opportunities. Webster Groves' Eric Jones looked good, scoring 16 points on six-of-nine shooting. The Southeast Missouri State signee didn't do much more than knock down open 3-pointers and take advantage of what the defense gave him. Jones made three-of-four 3-point attempts. That part of his game was missing at times this season, when he was mostly a defensive specialist for Webster Groves. O'Fallon's Chris Kellermann played well, despite getting beat up on the defensive end of the floor. As the St. Louis squad's biggest player, Kellermann just got roughed up against the National team's offensive tackles. Kellermann missed three dunks, but finished with 15 points on six-of-15 shooting, with two 3-pointers. For someone who doesn't play inside much, I thought the Central Michigan signee signee held his own. I thought Lafayette's Matt Lawrence did a nice job. Again, like Kellermann, Lawrence is forced to play inside because there weren't many other options. Lawrence finished with 12 points on three-of-eight shooting. He made all four of his free throw attempts and hit two-of-six 3-point attempts. He needs to get stronger, but he'll have a chance to make shots from the perimeter at Missouri. Cardinal Ritter's Alex Barnett (Dartmouth) and Vashon's Johnny Hill (SEMO) finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Both played OK and shot the ball OK but never really seemed to get in a rhythm. Outside of Liddell, it looked like everyone on the St. Louis squad was overmatched. I thought that really showed with the St. Louis guards, Lafayette's Landon Shipley (Austin Peay) and Howell Central's Justin Fuehrmeyer (Southwest Missouri State). Both struggled a little bit against pressure. Shipley's shot was off, making just two-of-nine attempts. Fuehrmeyer missed all three shots he took. The St. Louis squad's two other big guys, Alton's Lorenzo Taylor and Normandy's Lenzell Cole, were both out of their league playing against the National team's massive front line. Taylor finished with eight points, while Cole had two on one-of-seven shooting. I was impressed with several players on the National team. I don't know what Martellus Bennett's chances of being picked in the NBA Draft are, because he's either undersized for power forward or too big for the small forward spot, but the kid can play. He finished with 28 points and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. I was shocked when I saw his name on the roster. He is ranked as the top tight end prospect in the senior class and one of the top football players in the senior class. I think he definitely has the athletic ability to play in the NFL, but I don't know what his future is like in basketball. He plans to play both sports at Texas A&M and will probably do that for one year before trying to focus on one sport. He could make a lot of money playing football, so I hope for his sake that's the sport he chooses. Anyone who saw Kansas City O'Hara guard Marcus Walker at the Missouri Final Four knows how explosive he is. The kid can just play. After his 14-point first-half performance I was expecting him to be the MVP. He finished with 21 points on eight-of-16 shooting, with four 3-pointers. He's small, but he's very quick and plays with a lot of confidence. After the game a friend of mine compared with with Troy Hudson, who went to Southern Illinois and is playing in the NBA. Walker will be a great addition to Nebraska's team. I think Missouri really missed out on this kid and will regret it. I was really impressed with Leo Criswell's skills. If you saw the Missouri signee in warm-ups, you would have seen how explosive he is. When the game started, he showed he can pass and has a good feel for the game. He finished with 16 points on seven-of-13 shooting. I think he'll be a very nice player for the Tigers. He will push Kevin Young and Kalen Grimes for playing time early, and may be the starting power forward at the beginning of the season. DeAndre Thomas is a big load. He might have a better future as an offensive tackle or defensive tackle for Gary Pinkel's Tigers, but I think he will help Missouri for a couple years as a back-up center/power forward. He can pass and convert inside, but he needs to get in better shape. He had 19 points on seven-of-16 shooting and made five-of-eight free throw attempts. Illinois recruit Charles Jackson is similar to Thomas, though not quite as big. Jackson finished with 14 points on seven-of-12 shooting, and had 12 points in the fourth quarter. Jackson and Thomas played together for much of the game and Jackson didn't look very aggressive on the offensive end. He'll need to get in better shape to help the Illini. UCLA recruit Mike Roll did some nice things. He can shoot and do a little bit of everything. He looked like he was hustling out there, which helped him score 14 points. Texas A&M recruit David Devezin did a nice job and finished with 12 points on six-of-nine shooting. He's lightning quick, can get to the basket and finish. The St. Louis team's guards couldn't do much to stop him. The other Illinois recruits, point guard Chester Frazier and shooting guard Jamar Smith, didn't show me too much. Frazier scored seven points on two-of-eight shooting, and made three-of-four free throw attempts. Smith finished with three points on one-of-seven shooting. The National team's scoring was dominated by the big guys inside, so these two didn't have much opportunity to stand out. - Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Obviously, this report is very encouraging for Bills fans! It sounds like the comparison of Tommie to Larry is not as much of a stretch as we may have originally thought. If Kevin and Obi can recover completely we could be really good this year--I initially thought that it would take us a year and a half with this group but Tommie seems to have matured greatly in his year at prep school! Go Bills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Thanks for the great summary/analysis Nate. Where do you think a healthy Kevin Lisch would have rated among this talent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Latsch Posted June 19, 2005 Author Share Posted June 19, 2005 >Thanks for the great summary/analysis Nate. > >Where do you think a healthy Kevin Lisch would have rated >among this talent? Lisch definitely would have helped the St. Louis squad. He would have probably been their second-best player. I don't know if it changes the outcome, but Kevin would have helped. - Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Most of us didnt think it was a stretch. Were from Saint Louis. We saw him play in high school and we saw Hughes play in high school. It wasnt that hard for us to decipher. Next time your school is recruiting a kid, go to a game or two. By the way, whatever happened to that Monroe Douglass Jr kid that SLU was at one time recruiting and who was so ridiculously overhyped by the local media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Nate, Have you ever approached your bosses about starting your own blog focused on prep sports? (You hinted at the idea in an earlier post.) I know a lot of basetball diehards who don't have time to get to many high school events would love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Latsch Posted June 19, 2005 Author Share Posted June 19, 2005 >Nate, > >Have you ever approached your bosses about starting your own >blog focused on prep sports? (You hinted at the idea in an >earlier post.) > >I know a lot of basetball diehards who don't have time to >get to many high school events would love it. I've mentioned it once or twice this spring but haven't really pushed the issue because the timing isn't right. I'd like to try to do something starting in the football season. I think it would be a great addition to the site. I think if you had the prep sports version of what Jeff Gordon does, you'd drive a lot more traffic to the site. So, hopefully, we can develop something like that in the future. I've been tempted to start a blog on MLB.com, who I occasionally write for, but I don't think I have the time or effort to do it right. I've been reading the blog there by Brian Kamenetzky and I really enjoy it. Kamenetzky is a St. Louis guy who now writes for ESPN and other magazines. Here's the link: http://bk.mlblogs.com/ I think Cardinal fans will like it. - Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 There should be designated time for Nate and I to get on the forum and argue about the hot topics in sports, our own version of ESPN's "Cold Pizza." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 The last I heard about Monroe Douglass Jr. was that he was going to attend the University of Dayton on some kind of an academic scholarship and there was the possibility of him and one of his Chaminade teammates walking on to the basketball team. There were no St. Louis area players on UD's roster from this season, so either they didn't make the team or just didn't try to walk on this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 That's why I dont care for the stltoday forums anymore because they hype kids, just because they go to a certain school and the media is the same way. We saw Chaminade every week on prepsports show like they were a dynasty and they didnt win anything and none of their players even went on to play college ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Nate, after watching Liddell, dont you agree that he is best when initiating the attack and needs to run the pg. He's not at his best playing off the ball, waiting for someone to set him up. He's best at setting up his teammates and using his crossover and explosive to finish at the rim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 billikan said, "It sounds like the comparison of Tommie to Larry is not as much of a stretch as we may have originally thought." i have been telling the board this for almost two years now. if he has picked up a scorer's mentality to go along with his overall floor game, oh my! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcus aurelius Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 >That's why I dont care for the stltoday forums anymore >because they hype kids, just because they go to a certain >school Good thing no one around here does that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p diddy Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 the daniels kid from vashon has a big up-side with his shooting ability and athleticism. he just lacks focus at all times. he reportedly is up at west pine taking part in the pickup games on a regular basis. two years with jeff kidder will help him greatly. bad boyz for life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I have seen Tommie play several times. As an interloper on a board for a school where you are not even a fan I think you are making ridiculous comments about other fans. The fact is that before he went to prep school Tommie was not as good as Larry was coming in from his senior year. It appears that the additional year has provided Tommie to get bigger and stronger and improve his game. That was the point I was trying to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 He's not doing anything different than he was doing in high school, except he's not playing in a ball-control system thats built around defense. He was always the best player on the floor, even in high school. He's just finally getting the respect he deserves. Ofcourse a young player is going to get better every year, but they're supposed to. He would've still been the best player since Larry had he arrived on campus, but became a bigger name playing on the prep school circuit this past season. When he scored 33 at the Savvis Center his junior it was evident the kind of superstar player he would be. I even posted on the stltoday forums last summer that going to prep school would get Tommie the respect he deserved and that Tommie might've even thought about jumping into the draft. That's how serious I was about his game. People want to act like Tommie all of a sudden got good. He was doing these things in high school and in Tandy's league. Saw him score 50 in a Tandy game before. Instead of being this good as a sophomore he's this good as a freshman, that's the only difference, but he would've led the team in assists easily last year and been second in scoring behind Bryant, maybe even first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Latsch Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 >>That's why I dont care for the stltoday forums anymore >>because they hype kids, just because they go to a certain >>school > > > Good thing no one around here does that.... Wow, hard to believe pro(pot/kettle)black would say that. It's a good thing Vashon killed Poplar Bluff in the state championship game like he predicted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I suspect that SEMO will get an Indiana Hills player or two in the future.....Western Illinois as well. But the really good ones will still head to Oklahoma State! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Latsch Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 >There should be designated time for Nate and I to get on the >forum and argue about the hot topics in sports, our own >version of ESPN's "Cold Pizza." The problem is only one of us is allowed on the forum. Well, the other problem is that one of us uses facts obtained from sources while the other SAYS everything he claims/argues is fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 VTIME said it, not problack. What is your obsession with problack? The best big man in the nation beat the best team in the nation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I was referring to the Billiken forum or Billiken board as you call it. And I am allowed on the stltoday forums on the name Tibiron1. Thank you very much smart mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDELL Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 People dont remember Tommie as a Freshman,he played against Vashon,he got in the game in the 4th quater.He still scored 9 pts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDELL Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I dont remember much about Larry,but I know Tommie and Lisch will be an improvement from last year....Polk fan for life.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDELL Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Hey Jalensdad "Happy Fathers Day" and to everyone else...TDELL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalensdad2002 Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Happy Father's Day to you senior. You have something truly special in your son Tommie. Can't wait to see him in Billiken Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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