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Ford recap 11/4/21 on 101ESPN - Regarding losing Goodwin/French. Tough to lose any senior but especially two guys who have so much leadership and impact. Plus losing Perkins to a tough injury. But that's part of the game - It's been a tough week having lost Perkins. He's worked so hard in the offseason. Gained 20 lbs of strength. Feels so bad for him. But the team has to pivot. We did so much to get Perkins shots. Now we will be looking at different options. Not just one person. Has to be done by committee. But we can do that. Love the challenge. Timing not great. Have to make sure each opportunity in practice/games to learn and get better - How do you get so many new faces to play together so quickly. With all the transfers in college and turnover of roster, it's difficult to develop that culture and chemistry. Fortunate to have Collins, Thatch, Hargrove, Jimerson having been in the program so long. They will teach the new guys the culture. Culture develops chemistry. Thatch and Collins will have to have a great presence in the lockerroom. - We went a whole season without eating a meal together. Never all in the lockerroom together. Back in as a group. Enjoying team bonding. Not back to 100% normal but real close. Last year put a strain on any team's culture - On Ford Stuen. It's been difficult. Some days better than others. He had such a presence especially this time of year. Any time there's a "first" (practice, game) it's hard. Family is supporting each other. Courtney and Penn have been around the team. It's been difficult. Plan to honor Ford before Tuesday's game. Get to the game early. Going to do some special things for Ford. Courtney and Ford's mom and dad and Ford's friends will be there. Going to be special. - On there always being "something" in his seasons at SLU. Nobody said it's easy. I tell our guys this is part of life. This prepares you for real life. Playing college basketball isn't "real life". These things are real life situations. Try to use them to learn from and be stronger. Not make excuses. Build relationships and memories of a lifetime. The goal is to go out and win games but use this opportunities to be stronger.

Why would you want Memphis to hang with us? Wouldn't you rather us just blow them out?

was gonna happen win or lose

Marcos’ family is from Brazil. He is a wing midfielder/forward. He made it all the way out of state and regionals, to the USYS U16 National Semifinals this summer, with his former club team, All Nations Sports Academy out of Houston. (They played at the same place and time as 3 current Billikens (Anderson, Townsend, Ross, who also made it to the national Semifinals two age groups older.) Marcos is a good finisher, especially in space. Plays well from the wing midfield or up top. He is strong technically on the ball. He can also play CM. Marcos switched to Rise this fall. They play MLS Next Academy ball. (St. Louis City and St. Louis FC also play in different divisions of that) His division includes teams from Texas, Louisiana, and Colorado. The Boys Academy Director at Rise, spent four years as an academy coach in St. Louis at SLSG.

This year is gonna be great!

- Midtown Madness Pod -- Bills By 40 --- Michael Scott ---- Wayne Gretzky @Pistol

Figured with next week being NLI week, we have a thread to follow the exploits of our three likely signees ..... Thames, Kramer. Parker.

2022 SLU commit, Taylor Krueger, was invited to play in the 2021 Girls High School All American Game, December 11th, in Knoxville, TN. Both the East and West teams will have rosters of 21 players each. https://www.highschoolsoccerallamerican.com/2020-girl-s-roster

Skip, you better watch your back. 72 is going to be looking you . Actually while Yuri wasn't ranked as high as J Good or HF, I included him in the group because my recollection is that we were really hard after him needing a PG with his skills. Part of the reason he wasn't ranked as high as JG and HF had been, was that he was injured for a good part of his senior year. After he got healthy he excelled for St Mary's in the State Tournament, in fact shooting better than he has so far at SLU, although it sounds like he has regained his shooting touch heading into this year. All of the guys I listed came in as starters (Nesbitt will) who were much needed to contribute immediately, not 2-3 years after arriving at SLU.

You list Yuri but remember Yuri wasn't YURI when he was being recruited

Here are Coach B's call ups for the two WCQ matches this month. Notably absent are Brooks and Sargent. Dest recently injured his back. USMNT November World Cup Qualifying roster (Goals/Caps listed) GOALKEEPERS: Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 9/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 24/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 12/0) DEFENDERS: Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 22/1), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 8/0), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/GER; 4/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 17/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 14/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 0/0), Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp/BEL; 8/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 69/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 20/2) MIDFIELDERS: Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 42/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 20/1), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 7/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 33/8), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 27/7), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 9/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 29/0) FORWARDS: Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 13/5), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 41/8), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 2/2), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; 4/3), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 40/16), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 16/1)

In that case I withdraw the "great minds" comment

Thanks for starting this thread as the three are approaching their respective seasons. Agree with 3star and Roy and NH here. Thames and Kramer are on a longer-term development plan. If everyone is fine with that, you need some guys like that on your roster. If everyone expects big minutes immediately, you have a problem with morale because math makes it impossible. And yes, if the 2023 class comes together with a 4-star from Texas and some other nice pieces, we'll be fine.

I agree with what Roy and 3-Star said earlier in this thread, it is near impossible to bring in highly touted recruits if they don't have a clear path to playing time. Recruits are more informed now than they ever have been in the past. When they are evaluating schools, they're looking to see how many players at their position are already on the roster. If you look at the best recruiting classes SLU has gotten in recent memory, they have almost all come when we have lots of open spots on the roster to fill. On a related point, once you get players into the program it is harder than ever to keep them with the current transfer portal dynamic in college basketball. I believe this is one reason why the staff targeted local players who are very familiar with the program. These are players who may be willing to play a smaller role their freshman year and still be bought into the program and are less likely to transfer just because they don't have immediate playing time. Lastly I will just say that I am excited about both Thames and Kramer, having watched them play in both AAU and high school ball. Both of them are big guards with versatility, which is a trait that often separates the top college basketball teams. Kramer is already a sniper who continues to improve his shooting ability especially off-the-ball. His ballhandling needs work but he's a decent playmaker for his size and is a physical defender and rebounder. Thames is a little raw right now, but he is still growing into his body and athleticism. He reminds me a little of Demarius Jacobs, in that he can do a little bit of everything on the floor. I think Thames' upside might be higher because of his playmaking ability and aggressiveness. I don't know much about Parker, but I can't imagine the staff would add a JUCO wing if they didn't think he would be a key piece from day one.

Don’t sell our boys short at Memphis. We have a veteran group who plays defense. This will be the 1st real test for those two youngsters. Hit the 3 ball at a decent clip and this is a game. Memphis is a tough place to play and the place will be packed. I’ll be there.

i understand larry brown is on the staff, he can coach

Have you seen Penny coach?

Yeah. All that legal stuff is way over my head. There’s probably a good chance the upcoming CBA negotiations could effect the Ozuna situation too. But you’re right about her being crazy. Again, nobody here is excusing what he did. But I remember after he first signed him, before LAST season, a story came out that HIS WIFE was arrested and he had to get stitches on his arm or hand because she stabbed him with a broken plate. Just an unbelievably toxic relationship on both sides.

2022 SLU commits: Despite 2 goals from 2022 SLU commit Taylor Krueger, #1 Jesuit (Portland) fell in 2OT 3-2 in the Oregon 6A Round of 16. They were seeking their 4th straight state title. (Krueger is a four year starter) Their loss was only their 2nd in about 80 games. Club ball play next with league play in January. 2022 SLU commit Becca Wolterman, league player of the year, had another big game, recording shutout number 15.5 on the season, helping to lead her team (Badin) to the Ohio Division II Regional Finals (State Quarterfinals). Multiple highlight reel saves, including a breakaway. (Wolterman also helped lead her U17 ECNL club team to the national quarterfinals this summer.) Club ball will have to wait a little longer as her high school run continues. Multiple SLU recruiting targets remain in the Ohio Regional Finals, including one who is breaking some scoring records. We recently mentioned Lauren Hiatt’s (2022 SLU commit) high school state semifinal run in Tennessee. Strong season for Lauren bouncing back from injury, on the back line. (She can also play D-Mid) There was a nice local write up for Lauren recently. (The goal referenced was a great individual effort, receiving a backline pass on her own side of the center circle, where she made a run, beat two players and launched a shot far post upper 90 goal from 25 yards.) She’ll begin ECNL club ball later this month for TSC. http://www.williamsonherald.com/sports/ravenwood-s-hiatt-named-herff-jones-heart-of-the-team-winner/article_103b86ba-37f8-11ec-9ac7-336a41e7d5c5.html

It’s okay to have high expectations it’s just an opinion nothing more. The team is deep and has a great quarterback running the team. Who thought they would win the A10 tournament a few seasons ago? I like this team and believe by the end of the season they will be playing similar to the 2019-2020 team that finished strong if they do not lose anymore players.

That's fair to say. My counter to that would be that this team's ceiling, even without Perkins, would be significantly higher than a majority of teams in the past 33 years.

Other the blue bloods that restock every year with blue chippers, no team that loses 58% of its scoring from the year before should have high expectations. In the past 8 seasons, the most wins we have had is 23. Since 1990, we have had 22 or more wins only 9 times. That's 9 times in 32 years. Those are our best 9 teams in the last 32 years. After losing 58% of our scoring from last year, we are not going to be one of the best teams we've had in the past 33 years. Let's please temper our expectations.

Really the only comp between the two is that they're both inefficient Isabell a much more complete offensive player than Williams

I feel like this is for Hank, Knucksie and Don Sutton, Braves legends who all passed before the start of the season.