stlsfinest

I was under the impression that most schools have closed practices. Pre-game shootaround is another story, but I can't imagine most school having open practices. This is not high school!

I'm really not surprised at Kueker signing with Quincy. QU has been recruiting Kueker since he was a sophomore. He did have D1 offers from UW-GB, Albany, and Air Force, but he ultimately chose QU. I agree that they will be a D2 powerhouse if they continue to recruit at that level.

I voted about 25-30 times. I no longer have the option to vote. It might be over with.

I think he'll do fine there. He's a very respectful young man. His strong work ethic will pay off in the end.

I'll believe it when i see it. A few games in the rec center w/ some of the team members, and he'll realize that he has the ability to play at this level.

Good point. I think the new July event rules will help. Athletically related activities are precluded prior to 8 a.m. and the last athletically related activity may not begin later than 10 p.m. Prospective student-athletes may participate in no more than five games over a rolling two-day period and in no more than three games on any one day.

>Don't know if this has been posted before, but there was a >note in the P-D today about Edwardsville's 7-footer Terrance >Williams signing with Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. > >There was a lot of talk about scholarship offers from places >like Missouri and Missouri Valley Conference schools, but >this appears to be right. > >If Williams has the grades, he'll definitely be a player to >watch for the next four or five years. > >- Nate I totally agree. He is a big time pick-up for SIUE. He is a role player at D1, but an impact player at the D2 level.

>I thought Jennings McGhee was 09 ?? Nope. He's a junior. Plays with Tillman on the Falcons. He's a sleeper also. I see MVC in his future.

>i dont remember cross playing for the illini. i think you >are wrong on that. > >if he is such a great recruiter, then please explain how >america's team the fighting irish isnt in the top 10 every >year? i would think recruiting to notre dame wouldnt be >that tough. where are these great recruits he has brought >in to south bend? He just joined the Notre Dame staff this past season. He was at Virginia the year before. Wow, you were pretty quick to doubt my knowledge. Look the guy up if you want. The point was that he has very strong roots in Illinois, which just happens to be an adjoining state and the home state of Liddell, Lisch, Maguire, Releford, and Mitchell.

I would personally like to see an excellent assistant coach get a chance at the job coach. The biggest complaint has been recruiting. Here are two coaches who have been on the Rivals top 25 recruiters list recently. They are both going to be head coaches very soon. Why not now? 1. Robert Kirby - Mississippi State 2. Gene Cross - Notre Dame *Note: Kirby and Cross are known for being relentless and highly successful recruiters. Kirby played JUCO ball at Three Rivers and has brought been the brains behind Miss State having a nationally ranked recruiting class for the past 8 years. Kirby is excellent with post players. Kirby is 46 years old. Cross is my favorite pick as he is known throughout the country for his innovative recruiting and basketball knowledge. He has been around winning programs during his 10 years of coaching. He has deep roots in Illinois, as he is a Chicago native, played for the Illini, and coached at DePaul and UIC. Cross is 35 years old.

I'm interested to see how he still feels about SLU. Back in December, SLU was a definite favorite. Anyone remember this excerpt from a Scouthoops.com article?? ----- Do you have a leader at this time? “Yes. I would say St. Louis and Coach Brad Soderberg right now. I am impressed with the way he has recruited me. The way he is driven to come and recruit me. He has been very straightforward and honest with my recruitment. That is how I want to be recruited.†----- He now has about 12 offers (Purdue, Indiana, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Missouri State, Southern Illinois and Bradley, SLU, & ???) on the table and is expected to become a top 100 prospect by the end of the summer. He has even received comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki. High majors such as Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Alabama, Missouri, and Michigan State have all been in contact.

Here is a recent quote from Jackson. “Right now on my list, in order, are Indiana, Tennessee, Clemson, DePaul and Illinois. There is no way SLU finds their way onto this list unless Brad is due for a miracle.

1. Demond Watt 2. Jeff Peterson

They talked about how well he's played since the team moved him to pg. They did it to move Sasha Pavlovic into the starting lineup. Larry says its the first time he's started at pg since his final season in Golden State where he was the full-time starting pg, because they had just drafted Jason Richardson. He says that even though he was playing sg in Washington, he was still putting up huge assist numbers in Washington. He mentioned his first-team all-defense selection from I think 2005, when he lead the league in steals. He says he's a playmaker, not a scorer, but he can score when he needs to.

Xavier probably stopped worrying about Peterson when they got a verbal from 2008 combo guard, Mark Lyons. The addition of Redford will definitely lead to them no longer needing the services of Peterson. We must worry about Iowa, Richmond and LaSalle. Peterson doesn't even plan on making a visit to Xavier.

So I won't come off as so negative. Here are the Spring targets you were looking for. The first is DJ Kennedy. He is a 6-5 SF from Pittsburgh. He has a 3.5 GPA and he is being recruited by Xavier, Duquesne, Kansas State, Marquette, V-Tech, and of course SLU. He most recently mention that SLU, K-State, V-Tech, and Marquette were the most current involved. Also, Jeff Peterson is one of the primary PG targets. He will visit SLU this weekend, and said that he might make his decision after the visit.

>You do understand that your post above is negative correct? >Some would say that makes you a hypocrite. I could care less about what people might say. I've mentioned the kid several times on the board, so somebody should've looked him up. This kid was receiving interest from Illinois as a sophomore. Albany has been to the NCAA tournament two years in a row. UWGB is a Horizon program that has former Cardinal Ritter standout Terry Evans. The other D1 that offered is Air Force. He is considering UMSL because he knows that he can be a big star at the D2 level and play close to his family. Anthony Mitchell wasn't being heavily recruited by hardly any schools and the board is happy to have him. Why would the board think this kid is nothing because he has several offers and an impressive resume? I know the talent in the state of Missouri and the Metro East very well. He really could help SLU more than you all realize.

>Is it pretty much the consensus that the PF target is >Gresenkas? The PG targets are Walker and Peterson? Any other >names we should be aware of? Well it appears that SLU has missed out on 6-7 forward, Andrew Kueker of Sweet Springs HS. He will probably play PF in college, but he can stroke it well from the perimeter. I recently learned that he narrowed his list down to four...Albany (NY), Wisconsin Green Bay, another D1 which I can't recall at this moment, and UMSL. He was probably the best Missouri target that Brad didn't go after.

>How good is Thompson? If you have ever seen Mike Tisdale play, Brett Thompson is very similar. However, he is pretty soft offensively around the basket and not the best athlete. On the plus side, his thin build will allow him to run the floor. He's a finesee big man that plays facing the basket and has a really good touch. Most importantly, he can shoot the three well. Schools that enjoy playing 4 Around 1 and 5 Out will go after Thompson

He would definitely be a huge help. Last I heard, he had two offers (UAB and Central Michigan). He is actually more of a SF. I wouldn't put much into his showing on MTV's Battle Grounds. It was a silly little show that meant nothing. All other scouting reports prasis him for his competitive fire. The show had a few D1 players, but that's it. Minnoy led his team to two Illinois state championships, he's a 3 time 1st all-state selection, and has a strong Christian background. I wouldn't worry about his leaving Purdue. Remember that Xavier Price alsotransferred from Purdue after having a very good freshman year.

You make an interesting post. I'm interested to see which conference has had the most NCAA tournament bids in recent years. Unfortunately, if you take SLU out of the mix, the A-10 still has the same numbers. **DJ Kennedy's list has Xavier and Duquesne, but his most recent artlcle says different. "The versatile wing is an excellent athlete who can play the 1, 2 and 3 positions. He mentioned St. Louis, Virginia Tech and Marquette as the schools currently involved. His only visit thus far has been to Kansas State." - Jay Gomes of Rivals Another article said the same thing. It also mentioned that SLU had offered 6 foot PG Jeff Peterson from Maryland. He has a 4.0 GPA and plays for top 25 DeMatha. Our competition for him is Richmond, Xavier and Iowa. The article was published back in Mid-February.

I was just looking through the unsigned seniors in the region. I just read an article about a kid from Illinois named Dan Schouten. I am very happy with the Mitchell committment, but I'm wondering if this kid was ever on SLU's radar. The article is pasted below. ------------ Chicago Hoops March 2, 2007 Email Questions/Comments To [email protected] Class of 2007 Downers Grove South star Dan Schouten is an unsigned senior basketball prospect to watch. Schouten, who ranks as one of the top players in a West Suburban Gold Conference that also includes Kansas State-bound Jacob Pullen, is also a stellar student in the classroom. Schouten, a 6-5 guard/forward, is a highly versatile player who is equally comfortable getting points both inside and outside. Schouten has shooting range that extends out to the three-point arc, but is also capable of scrapping inside. This season, Schouten led Downers Grove South in both scoring (17.2 ppg) and also rebounding (8.2 rpg). Schouten competed on the spring and summer AAU circuit with an Illinois Wolves team that also included Evan Turner (Ohio State), Demetri McCamey (Illinois), Carlton Fay (Southern Illinois), Sam Maniscalco (Bradley), Dwight McCombs (Miami, OH) and Jon Rice (Belmont). In the classroom, Schouten is a standout student, and boasts a 3.9 grade point average in addition to scoring a 29 on his ACT exam. ---------- He definitely seems like a player we would like to have.

6-6 SG/SF - Matt Boswell - Kapaun HS (KS) *A solid scorer from the wing. Has good size and can finish inside. One of the better players in Kansas. 6-7 PF - Demond Watt - Fractional North HS (IL) * Thought to be the best uncommitted PF in the state of Illinois. Probably the best rebounder in Illinois. Has SLU on his list, but some high majors are starting to call. 6-4 SG - Justin Purtee - Topeka HS (KS) *An excellent shooter who has been a sleeper up until this season. Has pretty decent ball handling skills. 6-2 SG - Mike Malat - O'Fallon HS (IL) An excellent shooter who is nearby. Had an offer from Belmont, but they have already completed their recruiting class. I believe he's a pretty solid student too. He could be another Mustapha Abdul-Hamid. (A walk-on for a big time program) 6-3 PG - Kevin Woods - Leo HS (IL) *A stong combo guard that plays that game with a finesse style. However, he is very athletic, and a good playmaker. The local mid-majors are recruiting him. 6-0 PG - Jeff Jordan - Loyola Academy (IL) *A solid PG that will put fans in the seats. An excellent defender that can penetrate at will against opposing guards. 6-2 PG - Justin Hightower - Proviso West HS (IL) *Defensively, he’s an in-your-face type guy. He’s a great floor general and knows how to lead a team. 6-5 SF - Jamel Farmer - Bloom Township HS (IL) * Another available prospect from Illinois. Very skilled small forward who is a warrior on the floor. Very athletic. 6-8 - PF - Isaiah Martin - Morgan Park HS (IL) *A skilled big man who has a solid game on both ends of the floor. Runs the floor very well and is a fierce competitor. 6-8 PF - Andrew Kueker - Sweet Springs HS (MO) *A huge sleeper in Missouri, who is very skilled. Similar to Luke Meyer, but is a few inches taller. Had some interest from Illinois last year, but they have looked in other directions. -------------------- I wanted to give the board an idea of the nearby talent that is available. I am not sure about the academics of every prospect, but most of them have qualified. Other players I thought about when making this list: Rodney Ford (MO), Robert Kreps (IL), and Andrew James (MO)

Whether or not the kid has qualified or not, I don't believe that Brad is very interested in Powell enough to offer.

After failing to pull in any of the mid to high major prospects, I have compiled a list of 10 sleepers who can and probably will play D1 basketball next year. Hopefully Brad has his eye on these young men. Combo Guard - DeAndre Gilmore - Cardinal Ritter (MO) Shooting Guard - Justin Hurtt - O'Hara (MO) Wing - Conner Teahan - Rockhurst (MO) Power Forward - Eric Jones - Ruskin (MO) Power Forward - Andrew Kueker - Sweet Springs (MO) Point Guard - Kavon Lacey - Alton (IL) Power Forward - Byron Woods - Provio West (IL) Combo Forward - Eric Hobbie - Vandalia (IL) Shooting Guard - Sean Kane - Carmel (IL) Shooting Guard - Justin Purtee - Topkeka (KS) ** -Kane is Illinois's top 3-point shooter & an outstanding student who has the Ivy Leagues going crazy. He is perfect for SLU. He is a must have. He is rumored to have a soft verbal to Brown. -Hobbie is the athletic combo forward (similar to Powell) that SLU needs to run the floor. It looks like either SIU or Ill State will get him. -Kueker and Purtee will be excellent steals for whoever signs them. -Although Gilmore has a soft verbal to Miami-OH for football, this kid wants to play basketball at the next level. Miami's basketball program will definitely have him as a walk-on if he sticks with his committment.