stlsfinest

> > since pullen and the swansey kid from georgia are off the >table. lacey would be a good fall-back plan as well. he is >pretty good. > >bad boyz for life I didn't have a problem with SLU going after Pullen, but I think SLU needs to be a little more realistic about the players they go after. They offered Pullen after he had already become a high major prospect, but they didn't bother to really pursue any back up options. Now the early period is right around the corner and there are no back up plans. Where are the back up plans for Chase Simon and Jake Kelly?? Lacey would be a good pick up for SLU, but I would rather them have DeAndre Gilmore from Cardinal Ritter. He is Lacy with a jump shot. I would like to see them go after more big PGs like Liddell too.

Although I agreed with Irons anger, I can not support his verbal assault of Bonner. Bonner is the perfect man for the job. Irons's focus should continue to be on the corruption within school board, and not the person who is trying to help continue the legacy that Irons built. The hiring of Bonner is nothing but a move in the right direction.

>If he led the Hoop Jamboree in scoring why wasn't he invited >to the Nike Camp that year. He is the first person to lead >the Hoop Jamboree in scoring and not get invited to the Nike >Camp straight outta the Jamboree. And he is nowhere near >6'7" Powell was invited to the Nike Camp after his sophomore season. Bobby Hill was an alternate that year. I know a talent recruiter for the Nike Camp, and I was also in attendance that year. Powell's name was on the projected roster, but he was not on the official camp roster after the event stared. However, I'm not sure why Powell and Hill did not attend. I tried to ask around to see why he was not there, but I did not receive a clear answer.

I haven't heard anything from Powell in a while. He has always said that he is interested in the schools that are interested in him. Vashon players do not speak much on their recruitment. I do believe that if Mike Anderson extends the offer, Powell will be a Tiger. However, I don't expect Powell to make a decision until the late period.

Who has offered Jesse Perry & Rakers? --- Even though I like their skills, I do not most of those guys on the second list to become D1 players. Harris, Hickman, McCoy, and Tillman all have a pretty good chance.

>When SLU knocks off North Carolina, you'll be giggling like >a school girl about Brad's big bald head as you were after >the Charlotte game last season. I'm not downing SLU, but do you realize that UNC brought in a recruitment class that is probably better than Ohio State's class w/ Oden & Co.???? UNC's freshman could comprise a team that would give SLU a run for their money. Deon Thompson - Top 5 Center in 06 Alex Stephenson - 4 Star Center Brandon Wright - #1 PF in 06 William Graves - Top 20 SF in 06 Wayne Ellington - #2 SG in 06 Tywon Lawson - #1 PG in 06 Considering that guys like Hansbrough, Terry, Green, and Frasor are still there, I can't see SLU coming close to an upset.

>finest.....didn't Alex Tyus attend Country Day before >transferring to one of the Hazelwood schools. Amazing >someone interested in education would leave Country Day for >Hazelwood ????. I'm not sure what point you are trying to make. People forget that these kids are in high school and usually don't make the decision of which schools they attend. You're talking about a situation where Tyus would've been anywhere from 13-15 years old. Surely you don't believe a kid at that age is making any major decisions in his household. I certainly can't answer that question for Alex and his family. There could be many factors that result in kids changing high schools. The tuition at MICDS is quite expensive. (about $17,000...w/ financial aid, the tuition is still usually over 6,000)

I just hope that St. Louis can be supportive of Swopshire...Alex Tyus was criticized heavily for his decision to prep in Ohio. Swopshire, just like Tyus, is still considered an STL area player. The Pendleton School will give him an excellent education also.

From Alton? Yeah I've heard good things about him. He played for the Falcons. He can do a little of everything. I think he quit the Falcons to play for the alternate Gateway team or something like that. I can't comment on him much because I haven't seen him play. His stats are incredible and his competition isnt that bad. It will interesting to track his progress. I was under the impression he played inside a lot despite the 8apg average. If he's really has guard skills you might on to something. I'll try to get to some of his games. You check out Griffin, Powell and Harrellson, and I'll check out Ford and other guys on your list.

> >Vtime ... you wonder why we think you are ridiculous. You >are claiming that a player for Harris Stowe jumps like >Tommie and shoots like Kevin. Come on ... and he decided to >go to Harris Stowe because Duke was too far away. Then read >your last sentence. Our top 3 guards last year were all >better than Drejaj and Drejaj may have started for us, but >wouldn't have even been our leading scorer. If your top 3 >guards were all better than why would Drejaj have started? >No one who plays at Harris Stowe is better than AD. You >really say some of the stupidest things ... then you wonder >why no one takes you seriously. > > Official Billikens.com sponsor of H >Waldman Drejaj might've started because you can start 4 guards at the NAIA level every game, sometimes 5 depending on the matchups. No one said Duke was too far away. There's so much talent out here that doesnt care about going to college at all. Everyone who plays ball doesnt want to play for Duke. Some guys just want to be playground legends or go to a school with their friends. Everyone cant just leave their families behind either. Most of our players work full-time jobs and go to school full-time and aren't on full scholarship. That goes for almost every sport. Even our baseball and softball teams which have quickly become amonst the best in the conference. What do you know about that?

I'll still enjoy the Quincy game. They are always very competitive. They're returning their leading scorer, Ryan Walker. They also have two big men with D1 experience. They have 6-10 Cody Stoneburner who played behind Tyler Hansbrough on the STL Eagles and had 3 D1 offers (Nebraska, Tulsa, and Evansville), but still chose Quincy. They start 6-3 combo guard Cameron Murkey from Gateway Tech. He'll be extremely pumped to play against old PHL rival Dwayne Polk, and old AAU teammate Tommie Liddell. I can't forget about 6-1 Marlon Jackson from Moberly C.C. He was arguably their best player, and was a major factor in them being one of the best JUCO programs in the country for the past two years. This won't be an easy win for the Billikens.

I actaully know those guys from Harris-Stowe. Melvin ??? could walk-on at SLU right now..I'm not quite sure how he slipped so far under the radar. Arthur Clair was a very good player coming out of Normandy HS. He was one of the stars for the STL Eagles & I think he was an all-metro player. I believe he might've been a late qualifier, and that hurt his D1 chances, so he signed with MO Southern. His mother became quite ill, so he transferred back home to be closer to his family. A year later, he lost his eligibilty after signging with a Semi-pro team that turned out to be a scam. Tough Break for that kid. With better decision making & fewer family issues, he would be at a low-major D1 school right now. ---- While Harris-Stowe is not one of the superior NAIA teams right now, there are several NAIA programs that could beat SLU and other D1 programs if given the opportunity. SLU practices a lot at Harris-Stowe and I'm sure that they know guys like Clair and Martin. While this board may not think highly their talent, some of the SLU players probably have plenty of respect for their skills.

>Powell can play. How well he projects into D-1 is open to >debate. My opinion is that his game fits better with Mike >Anderson at Missouri than Brad Soderberg. Also, we have a >log-jam at PF one class ahead of Mr. Powell. The Dixon >signing especially makes less room for Powell. Why Powell >does not report to the recruiting web sites that he has an >offer from SLU is beyond me. I'm sure Powell will hold out >for an offer from Mizzou before committing elsewhere. I don't buy the whole "log-jam" at the PF position issue. Brad has offered two PF's from Chicago in the 2007 Class and showed some interest in the Leuer kid from Minnesota until the high majors started calling. McCombs isn't as good as Powell and Watt is a similar player that doesn't possess the perimeter shooting ability of Powell. The only reason Watt has received more attention is because he plays for the biggest AAU program in Illinois, while Powell plays for a community sponsored, but still very successful program. Powell is not holding out for any particular offer. He is wide open and interested in whoever is interested in him. After a solid July, Powell will probably have 3-4 offers by mid-august. I can accept that Brad doesn't feel that Powell is a good fit for the team, but I'll never understand exactly why he doesn't fit in Brad's eyes. I would hate to see Powell attend a rival program and torch SLU in college, but I can certainly see it happening.

> > because they have already offered powell. I wouldn't have such a hard time believe that SLU offered Powell if it was reported by a scouting service or even reported by him or one of his coaches.

According to Midstatehoops.com, SLU has offered 6'7 PF Demond Watt of Thorton Fractional North HS in Chicago, IL. Watt is an athletic forward who is very active in the paint and just seems to make the right plays. He holds other offers from Ball State, Indiana State, Loyola - Chicago, Dayton, and Old Dominion. (List is not up to date.) Watt is a very good shot blocker and an overall solid defender. In my opinion, he's better than Dwight McCombs;however, I don't think that he is better than Leon Powell.

I think SLU has a much better chance of getting Kavon Lacey. Lacey has proved all summer that he's a solid PG.

The Eagles 17U went 0-3 in pool play @ the AAU Supershowcase. I never received word on their bracket play. Gateway 17U went 1-2 in pool play @ the Super 64. They defeated the Midwest Storm, but fell to the Indiana Elite and Michigan Mustangs. They were then knocked out in the 1st Round of the playoffs. Gameface 17U went 3-0 in pool play @ The Main Event. They went 6-1 overall. They won their pool games by an average of 35 points. I'm still trying to find out if Gameface added any local players outside of Vashon. I was told that Drew Hanlen was playing with them.

There is no reason to be satisfied with SLU’s recruiting. There is no telling whether these prospects are interested in SLU or not. --2007-- Dwight McCombs only has about 2-3 offers so he’s probably thinking about SLU. However, SLU is loaded at the PF, and most prospects would look for a school that offers more playing time. Andrew Beinert has about 8 offers (7 from Eastern schools) and may be tempted to stay in the East. As his stock continues to rise, the ACC may begin to take notice. Jacob Pullen is one of the most heavily recruited mid-major prospects in America. He’s even starting to get interest from some high majors. He may even end up with double digit offers. He has begun to narrow down his list and has already scheduled two visits (Dayton is one of them). SLU may already be out of the picture. Jake Kelly just had a stellar week at the Adidas Superstar Camp as he showed off his combo guard skills. Rivals talked about him as being one of the biggest surprises at the camp, and labeled him a sharpshooter. He’s expected to teeter between mid-major and high major interest. Chase Simon is very similar to Tommie Liddell, but actually possess more scoring potential. Xavier and Dayton are both on his list and appear to be above SLU. Michigan has also taken a strong interest in the big PG. --2008-- Despite the fact that he doesn’t hold any offers, John Brandenburg still has his sights set on the ACC. He’s never even mentioned the idea of staying close to home. Brett Thompson is our best chance. He’s very similar to Mike Tisdale. He can shoot the perimeter shot well and loves to play facing the basket. Hopefully he can put on some weight begin to realize the importance on an inside game. Scott Suggs is already a high major prospect. SLU’s chances are very, very slim. Jared Swopshire is probably SLU’s second best chance. I think he’s the player that SLU should be looking for. They’ll need quality wing players in the future, and he has a great amount of potential. The fact that he loves to play a mid-range game is a plus, because he’ll be able to cause a lot of match-up problems. -------- It's definitely a step in the right direction. For the first time in a while, we have been able to identify exactly who Brad is recruiting and what he's looking for.

>V, I understand that you know the guy on a personal level, >but to misappropriate $100k should surely end your job. >Winning shouldn't make up for shady dealings. Nobody is >untouchable when they commit wrongs like (allegedly) >spending lots of someone else's money without approval. Go >ahead, try that at your job, see what happens... > >One other unsettling item is that it seems pretty easy to >slip some money past the school system's accounting folks. >How messy are these schools? That seems to be a far worse >situation than letting Irons go. Again, he was cleared of any wrongdoing, but you guys continue to say he's guilty. He's guilty to you guys no matter what. The auditor cleared him of the wrongdoing. There was no evidence. You think he has a paper shredder or something. He cant just write a check with school money. It has to be approved and it was by former administrators.

>Even if you think he helped more than he hurt, he just undid >all of that and demonstrated that it was a sham. He just >slapped every kid he coached in the face. Tens of thousands >of dollars in dirty money (yes, St. Louis city taxpayer >money) misused in his program, some of which probably found >its way into his (and maybe some players) pockets. He had >way too much power there. I've always thought Floyd was a >good basketball coach to his own players, but lacking >integrity for some of his actions, and this proves it. This >is disappointing for all local hoops fans. Call him >whatever you want VTIME, but he embarrassed St. Louis this >time for sure. You have no facts. You cant prove that any of those expenses weren't legit and he's the only reason they got a new school in the first place. He's the reason the PHL got those new football fields after playing on horrid conditions. The PHL will be nothing without him. If he really did that stuff they wouldn't be allowing him to teach. He's allowed to teach, but not coach. Which situation would he be more harmful to the kids in, teaching or coaching? Think about it.

>This was reported a couple of weeks ago and then found to be >false. Well this time it's legit. Just as he told Earl Austin a few weeks ago, he told Scout.com that he just gave Florida a verbal. However, Tyus told me recently that he was thinking about Illinois. I know he wants to have a decision made so he can just concentrate on playing basketball, but I don't think he'll be committed to Florida for long. A lot of the big time players try to decide on a school early so they can just focus on basketball without having all of that pressure on them. They usually end up changing their minds around the time of the signing period. A few more major offers will begin to roll in for him. He just had an excellent performance at ABCD and was a concensus top 10 ranked player at the camp.

These off court issues that several people have mentioned on this board (beating up fellow classmates, both male and female) have never been proven. I doubt if there is any truth to them. However, they are being talked about as if they are fact. These are all rumors. Mayo was never charged or arrested for anything. Mayo has been the number 1 ranked player in his class ever since he was in the 7th grade. Along with the success, Mayo has had to face many challenges and problems. All the college coaches and scouts who know him have nothing but great things to say about him. They all speak about how he's such a respectful and humble young man. If Mayo was guilty of multiple acts of assult, he would not be so highly praised by his peers and elders. Attending North College Hill turned out to be a very bad decision for Mayo and teammates Bill Walker & Keenan Ellis. The high school used them to make money, and never treated them as students. They are currently looking for a prep school, such as Oak Hill or Montrose Christian, to attend for their senior year where they will be treated as students and not like celebrities. Those institutions would not allow such behavioral issues to go on without consequences. Personally, I don't expect them to have any problems.

If anyone has to redshirt, I would rather it be Knollmeyer. I'm not saying that he is not worthy of minutes, but I'm sure that he would benefit from it the most. SLU needs an athlete more than anything right now. I would like to see Brad build a consistent rotation and allow Knollmeyer to continue to get better w/o losing a year on the bench.

>Did O'Rear have an offer from Southern Illinois? > >The Salukis have had success recruiting and winning with >undersized post players, so it's probably telling that >O'Rear wasn't offered a scholarship from S. Illinois. > >- Nate Yes O'Rear had an offer from Southern Illinois - Carbondale. He also had an offer from Eastern Illinois. I'm sure those schools felt that they could've used the services of O'Rear very well.

> >What is the source of this claim? It was printed on the front page of the sports section in the St. Louis American Newspaper. The article was written by Earl Austin, Jr. Tyus is currently enjoying his stay back HOME here in St. Louis. I also contacted Tyus to confirm his decision. He enjoyed his visit enough to give a verbal. However, nothing is certain until he signs on the dotted line. I really hate that people feel he "abandoned" St. Louis (as if he owes something to a particular city). It's a very silly statement to make. Judging by the opinions on this blog, it seems like St. Louis has "abandoned" him. I'm proud of Alex; he has become a very talented basketball player and a pretty good kid that seems to care a lot about his future.