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Sludawg

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  1. I thought Dennard qualified late then went to Juco. http://www.charmcityhoops.com/4112003.html His name is mentioned twice in August. May want to also try a word search in this forum.
  2. Got this article from Valley talk. I thought they changed the laws a few years ago regarding former players contacting recruits. Shaw picks SIU Painter nabs key recruit in Centralia High School star Ethan Erickson Daily Egyptian CENTRALIA - First-year SIU men's basketball head coach Matt Painter notched his most important verbal commitment of his short tenure. Centralia High School senior Matt Shaw ended months of speculation when, at a Wednesday afternoon press conference in his high school gym, he committed to the Salukis. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound forward, clad in a royal blue Adidas polo shirt, announced he was choosing SIU over Saint Louis after Painter relentlessly pursued him. "I just felt like SIU was going to work their hardest with me to develop my game to give me a chance to get to the next level," Shaw said. But Painter and his assistants were not alone in their pursuit of Shaw; much-needed help came from former Saluki star Kent Williams. Williams, who is from nearby Mount Vernon, spoke with Shaw for about two hours Monday night at Shaw's home. "He's a lot like me," Shaw said of Williams. "He's just a hard-nosed, hard worker. He just kind of explained everything to me, about the coaching staff even though they're kind of new. He knows Coach Painter's gonna be following in Weber's footsteps. He just really helped me out a lot in making my decision." Shaw is a muscular forward with a smooth jump shot from 15 feet and a knack for scoring in the interior, and he will give the Salukis some much-needed interior depth next fall. He averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds a game last year en route to being named second-team all-state. "I don't even think he's undersized for the Missouri Valley," first-year Centralia head coach Gus Gillespie said. "I think with 6-6 and his frame and some of the things he can do, he's gonna be pretty solid in the Valley." Gillespie is experienced in coaching Division I prospects. He was an assistant at Mount Vernon during Kent Williams' time in high school, and he sent two players to mid-major Division I programs last season when he was head coach at Robinson High School. "I think one of his strengths is he's a coachable kid and he's gonna listen and get better, and also his physical strength," Gillespie said. "He's a very strong and mature kid for a 17- to 18-year-old kid. "A weakness of his might be he just hasn't really had the time and the opportunity to face up on the perimeter. I think he can do it, he has the skill to do it and we're gonna do it some this year but he will get better and better with that." Williams also gave a solid assessment of Shaw's potential impact at SIU. "He's definitely a guy that's gonna step in and play as a freshman," Williams said. "If he keeps improving, he's got the kind of game where he's an inside-outside player, he could definitely be a big threat in the conference and be one of SIU's top players for the next four years." Shaw visited SIU last weekend, but he didn't grow up an SIU fan. His first taste of the SIU Arena on gameday came last season, when he attended several games. "It's a lot like here. That's what I like about it," Shaw said. "The fans get pretty riled up, which I like. The fans are really loyal down there." Shaw is expected to draw in more fans because of his local ties, just like Williams did during his four-year career. "The fans will welcome you in as being a local kid and pretty much root for you all the way," Williams told Shaw. Centralia has provided numerous quality players to SIU through the years, including Rick Shipley, who's No. 5 on the career rebounding list and finished his SIU career in 1991, and Dick Garrett, who spent five years in the NBA in the early 1970s and still holds SIU's single-game scoring record. A large sign commemorating Centralia as "America's Winningest Team" is hung from the north wall of the school's historic Trout Gym. The Orphans currently have 1,936 wins since 1906. Shaw is eligible to sign a national letter of intent finalizing his decision Nov. 12. The commitment, SIU's second of the fall semester, leaves Painter with two scholarships to fill for the 2004-2005 season. One of those could go to Belleville guard Mike Dale, who's currently on campus attempting to gain eligibilitySha
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