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Neufeld, Welmer Sign with Billiken Hoops

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WVBilliken Senior

WVBilliken

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Not much hoopla on the board about the signing of these two athletes. I am excited about these signings. I really like seeing SLU getting big men that are entering college at 19 - 20 years old. I will be tracking their seasons and hoping they mature into solid 3+ star recruits.

Boy what a change for SLU. Next year we have five players 6'8" or taller. SLU will have another two players in the 6'6" to 6'7" range. Being an old guy, I remember when SLU was lucky to have one or two player taller than 6'5". What a change in direction for the program.

Welcome Mr. Neufeld and Mr. Welmer! Have great seasons and come in ready to push playing time.

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almaman Listener of the Streets

almaman

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Not much hoopla on the board about the signing of these two athletes. I am excited about these signings. I really like seeing SLU getting big men that are entering college at 19 - 20 years old. I will be tracking their seasons and hoping they mature into solid 3+ star recruits.

Boy what a change for SLU. Next year we have five players 6'8" or taller. SLU will have another two players in the 6'6" to 6'7" range. Being an old guy, I remember when SLU was lucky to have one or two player taller than 6'5". What a change in direction for the program.

Welcome Mr. Neufeld and Mr. Welmer! Have great seasons and come in ready to push playing time.

right on. keep us posted on their seasons. seems like we've had teams that the 5 you mentioned would all be taller than.

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bauman Listener of the Streets

bauman

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Neufeld will be a starter coming in. You heard it here first.

Just wondering, have you ever seen him play? I assume you see him starting at the 5 with his main competition next year at that spot being Gillmann? Or do you see Jolly playing the 5, also?

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ACE Listener of the Streets

ACE

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Not much hoopla on the board about the signing of these two athletes. I am excited about these signings. I really like seeing SLU getting big men that are entering college at 19 - 20 years old. I will be tracking their seasons and hoping they mature into solid 3+ star recruits.

Boy what a change for SLU. Next year we have five players 6'8" or taller. SLU will have another two players in the 6'6" to 6'7" range. Being an old guy, I remember when SLU was lucky to have one or two player taller than 6'5". What a change in direction for the program.

Welcome Mr. Neufeld and Mr. Welmer! Have great seasons and come in ready to push playing time.

There seems to be a little bit of a shift in recruiting philosophy from RM to JC. RM was excellent at identifying those slightly undersized, yet very effective players that some of the higher profile programs would pass on. RM valued size as well, but usually it was stretch bigs. JC seems to be putting a lot of emphasis on size and the biggest shift has been with the guards. If it is not a shift in recruiting philosophy, it could be simply a case of our recent success opening the door to some bigger, skilled players. JC has pointed out that the winning has made recruiting easier. There is a good chance a guy like Roby doesn't come here without it.

We are bigger, but time will tell if we are as good or better as a program. I don't just like to have big players for the sake of it. Will the program evolve into a Gonzaga with sustained success or slide back? It won't all be answered this season, but I think what we see out of the young players will be a pretty good indicator of what the future holds.

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slufan13 Listener of the Streets

slufan13

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ESPN's writeup on Welmer. Nothing on Neufield yet

ESPN Analyst
Updated 10/28/2014

Strengths:
Welmer is a late blooming four-man who has some very clear upside. He owns a good build with long arms and wide shoulders that should fill out nicely in the coming years. He's got good feet for his size, with agility and mobility, and a nice touch around the rim. He shoots a compact set shot but owns very consistent range out to the three-point line. As he continues to get stronger, develop his game, and adjust to a higher level of competition he has the potential to develop into a true inside-out four-man.

Weaknesses:
He's still lean and a long way away from being a finished physical product. He's struggled with plantar fasciitis at various points in the last year and so that's also a concern moving forward. Most of all, he just needs experience as it's clear he is a prospect with a lot of natural tools and talent, but has not yet played at the levels of competition necessary to develop those abilities.

Bottom Line:
His best basketball is very clearly still in front of him and so while he wouldn't have been ready to make an impact in the Atlantic 10 coming out of high school there's no denying he has a very bright future.

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bauman Listener of the Streets

bauman

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ESPN's writeup on Welmer. Nothing on Neufield yet

ESPN Analyst

Updated 10/28/2014

Strengths:

Welmer is a late blooming four-man who has some very clear upside. He owns a good build with long arms and wide shoulders that should fill out nicely in the coming years. He's got good feet for his size, with agility and mobility, and a nice touch around the rim. He shoots a compact set shot but owns very consistent range out to the three-point line. As he continues to get stronger, develop his game, and adjust to a higher level of competition he has the potential to develop into a true inside-out four-man.

Weaknesses:

He's still lean and a long way away from being a finished physical product. He's struggled with plantar fasciitis at various points in the last year and so that's also a concern moving forward. Most of all, he just needs experience as it's clear he is a prospect with a lot of natural tools and talent, but has not yet played at the levels of competition necessary to develop those abilities.

Bottom Line:

His best basketball is very clearly still in front of him and so while he wouldn't have been ready to make an impact in the Atlantic 10 coming out of high school there's no denying he has a very bright future.

I hope the plantar fasciitis clears up before he gets here-it can really be a problem, especially for a basketball player. Consider how Albert P struggled with it and his sport didn't require the quick movements of the feet like basketball.

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brianstl I have reached billiken_roy levels of posting

brianstl

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There seems to be a little bit of a shift in recruiting philosophy from RM to JC. RM was excellent at identifying those slightly undersized, yet very effective players that some of the higher profile programs would pass on. RM valued size as well, but usually it was stretch bigs. JC seems to be putting a lot of emphasis on size and the biggest shift has been with the guards. If it is not a shift in recruiting philosophy, it could be simply a case of our recent success opening the door to some bigger, skilled players. JC has pointed out that the winning has made recruiting easier. There is a good chance a guy like Roby doesn't come here without it.

We are bigger, but time will tell if we are as good or better as a program. I don't just like to have big players for the sake of it. Will the program evolve into a Gonzaga with sustained success or slide back? It won't all be answered this season, but I think what we see out of the young players will be a pretty good indicator of what the future holds.

I brought this up early after Gillmann. We will definitely look like a basketball team walking through the airport. More height than the program has ever had in my time as a fan.

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GOSLU68 Listener of the Streets

GOSLU68

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I brought this up early after Gillmann. We will definitely look like a basketball team walking through the airport. More height than the program has ever had in my time as a fan.

we definitely need more Bigs: the board did notice we lost the jump ball against Harris Stowe and no one bothered to comment on it until now

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Dwayne's_World Senior

Dwayne's_World

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You heard it here second. I agree with this for sure.

What I love most about this deal is that both of these guys are taking a virtual "redshirt year" in order to gain more experience and become better players coming in. Welmer has only been ranked by ESPN (they have him as a three star PF), and I haven't seen any rankings on Neufeld, but I am assuming his ranking will explode during this year.

Neufeld looks like the real deal based on limited video I saw of him, as well as the fact that he is attending Sunrise Christian, one of the premier prep basketball teams in the country. He is playing with guys that are going to Michigan State, Wichita St, Minnesota, Stephen F Austin, etc. So I expect him to be coming in ready to play at a high level. Definitely excited about these two, we will be a very good (and big) team next year and in the coming years.

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DeSmetBilliken Listener of the Streets

DeSmetBilliken

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There seems to be a little bit of a shift in recruiting philosophy from RM to JC. RM was excellent at identifying those slightly undersized, yet very effective players that some of the higher profile programs would pass on. RM valued size as well, but usually it was stretch bigs. JC seems to be putting a lot of emphasis on size and the biggest shift has been with the guards. If it is not a shift in recruiting philosophy, it could be simply a case of our recent success opening the door to some bigger, skilled players. JC has pointed out that the winning has made recruiting easier. There is a good chance a guy like Roby doesn't come here without it.

We are bigger, but time will tell if we are as good or better as a program. I don't just like to have big players for the sake of it. Will the program evolve into a Gonzaga with sustained success or slide back? It won't all be answered this season, but I think what we see out of the young players will be a pretty good indicator of what the future holds.

This is something I've thought as well. I think only time will tell on that. As you said, Majerus was the master of finding the player with the necessary skills, but with 1 or 2 things (sometimes lack of height) that cause the higher profile schools to pass. Crews has been able to sign a taller group of players. Are these guys we've been signing taller, but less skilled, or are we just able to attract a higher caliber of recruit? I'm hoping it's the latter.

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Duff Man Senior

Duff Man

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There seems to be a little bit of a shift in recruiting philosophy from RM to JC. RM was excellent at identifying those slightly undersized, yet very effective players that some of the higher profile programs would pass on. RM valued size as well, but usually it was stretch bigs. JC seems to be putting a lot of emphasis on size and the biggest shift has been with the guards. If it is not a shift in recruiting philosophy, it could be simply a case of our recent success opening the door to some bigger, skilled players. JC has pointed out that the winning has made recruiting easier. There is a good chance a guy like Roby doesn't come here without it.

Roby hadn't heard of SLU until he saw them beat Memphis in the NCAA tournament.

Ash was impressed by SLU's team culture during their win over Nova in the 2011 76 Classic.

Winning has opened the door to a different caliber of ballers.

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RiseAndGrind Listener of the Streets

RiseAndGrind

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It seems obvious SLU doesn't get Roby without making the tourney.

The other thing I find interesting is SLU's ability to come in late and seal the deal. For example, Yarbrough & Reynolds.

They've also shown the ability to find high-major prospects early and get them to commit after the big boys come calling. For example, Jolly & Neufeld.

So basically, they're great recruiters.

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thetorch Listener of the Streets

thetorch

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Not sure why the link didn't work.

C Matt Neufeld Bel Aire, KansasSunrise Christian Academy 6'10" 220 N/A 3 stars N/A N/A

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Matt-Neufeld-166308

working link to his rivals 3 star profile

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