AJ

According to HawkeyeReport.com, an Iowa message board, Lickliter spoke with Peterson on Friday night and plans to meet with him next week. The source, who claims to have talked directly with Peterson, concluded: " If the visit goes well, I am pretty sure he will be a Hawkeye " If this source is correct it sounds like Peterson is headed to Iowa.

This is mere speculation, but Lickliter's delay may be linked to the status of Dairese Gary another point guard from Elkhart, Ind. who signed a LOI with Iowa in the fall. The last I heard Gary was rethinking his commitment in light of Alford's departure. Gary is rated the 10th best overall player in Indiana by Rivals and the 2nd best PG. Since he is from Indiana, if Gary can play I would have to think Lickliter would look at him first before deciding on Peterson. On the other hand, why would Alford have pursued Peterson to begin with ? It sounds like Peterson may be more interested in Iowa than Iowa is in him. It demonstrates how complex the recruiting business can be and how luck and timing plays such a critical role. Let's hope for the best; Peterson sounds like a great fit for us.

Message to the folks at KSU: You lie down with dogs you get up with flies. Lucky for MU they didn't hire Huggins.

Dr. B: Thanks for the interesting personal insight. I am from Des Moines and grew up on hawkeye BB and still get to Iowa City for an occasional game. The hawks have done well over the years but recruiting is always a challenge; it was clearly Alford's undoing. There isn't enough talent in Iowa and they have to compete with Iowa State for the big-time players. Chicago has been their most reliable recruiting venue over the years but they have to compete with Illinois, Depaul, Indiana, Marquette and a host of others for talent there. I think TL may be a better bench coach than Alford, but we will see if he can recruit.

The hawkeyes got a steal. Lickliter may the only mid-major coach that is in the same class with Lowery. Only question: can he recruit Chicago ?

This board was not in existence, but a previous one was that had about 25-30 people who regularly posted. It started right before Larry's first, and only, season at SLU. There was lots of excitement but also the usual crowd of naysayers, including several who insisted that Johnny Parker, Jr. (MU signee) was actually had better potential as a college player.

Based on some of Lowery's earlier comments, I am a little surprised that he locked himself in for 7 years. I am sure SIUC's message was: we'll pay you the big $$$ but you've got to commit to us long-term. Still, I wonder if the contract has a kick-out clause in it that would allow Lowery to leave after 3-4 years without a buyout and/or leave without a buyout under certain circumstances or for 1 or 2 specific jobs. If SIUC really has him signed to a 7 year unrestricted contract its a great move for them; I think Lowery may be one of the best 2-3 young coaches out there, maybe the best.

StLouBlue: Thanks for one of the most informative posts I've seen recently. I know we are all a little down but let's make the glass half-full for just a moment. We have 4 starters and are 2 top subs back from a 20 win team. We have 2 recruits coming in; one of who can contribe immediately at either the 3 or 4. We need one big recruiting break: Powell qualifying and signing or one of the other bigs on this list signing and we are in good shape; if we could get another point guard we would be in great shape.

Scoop, He's not academically qualified and probably headed for JUCO. However, Powell is telling people he is going to attempt the ACT test again and is still interested in SLU if he passes. Pray hard.

Donovan would be crazy to take the job unless he's simply bored and needs a major challenge in life. I've surprised anyone would want it the way Tubby got treated

Suggs on the 3rd team is absolutely insane. But then I guess Bernie and his boys at the Post know more about BB talent than every major college recruiter in the country.

The latest talk out of Iowa City is that Bruce Pearl would be the dream coach. Former Iowa assistant with a great personality who was the chief recruiter for Tom Davis. No idea if Pearl is interested; I am not quite sure why he would leave Tennessee, but I understand why Iowa would be interested. Lowery is mentioned in the article but is written off as too young.

Knowing that our fan base is not represented by a few eternal pessimists is nice for a recruit to know. Welcome, Jeff and we hope you enjoy your visit. I've seen you play once and I think you're a great fit for our program.

V-Time and others may be right and Lowery may stay at SIUC forever; I am only speculating based on my gut that he and his family may want to be in a bigger city and I know he flirted with the Mizzou job and is on Iowa's short list of candidates along with Crean, Altman and the rest of the usual suspects. Everyday is not gameday in Carbondale and you have got to keep family happy the other 350 days a year. I think Iowa may be a better fit for Lowery than Michigan because of its location and the fact that its a little less of a pressure job. Again, all speculation. I hope the best for Lowery and his family, he's a class guy.

I saw the game and was favorably impressed with Peterson. They played Decatur Cristian and DM had a couple of their big-name players unavailable. Peterson basically kept them in the game. I recall at the time wondering why he was going to Princeton when it appeared he had Major D1 potential. Appears to be a super kid who would be a leader on and off the court. Let's pray.

I know they have got several long-time assistants but I don't know that any of them are head coach material. On the other hand, they have done extremely well promoting from within. Recruiting implications could work both ways. Although Lowery has clearly hurt us in St. Louis, luring the big time players to Carbondale is still a challenge. Can you imagine what he could do at a big-time school? He'd create ruts in Hwy. 61 between Iowa City and here. He could probably still get Roundtree and maybe make a major play for Suggs, Griffey, et. al.

Don't be surprised to see Iowa come after Chris Lowery as Alford's replacement. Although Lowery has denied interest in leaving SIUC, his denials have not been all that convincing. One big issue is family health issues. His son, I believe, has a medical condition that needs regular care. Now, they come to St. Louis because it is the closest place with high-quality healthcare. Iowa City has an outstanding medical center. It's a higher pressure job, but the expectations are lower than a Kentucky or Indiana situation. Lowery would also stay in his prime recruiting territory and compete on a near equal footing with Illinois for Chicago talent. Lowery was reportedly interested in the Mizzou job for similar reasons.

Watts is a great player and scorer. His only knock is that he is too small to play forward and does not have a reliable 3 point shot. Still, if Brad can turn Tommie into a 50% 3 pt. shooter, he can do it with Watts. His shoot mechanics are good; he just has never been in a program where he was asked to play the wing. I know SIUC was very interested in him his senior year at Jennings, which should tell us something.

Thanks for the info. Also, congrats on a great year and a great tourney so far. You guys have done a better overall job recruiting in St. Louis over the past 10 years than we have. One thing a lot of people don't realize is that you have had some stability on your staff through the last 3 coaches changes, while SLU has had 3 complete staff turnovers in the last 10 years. Positive relationships with local high school coaches is one of the big contributors to recruiting success.

The school website and season results suggest that this kid may have the potential to give us some big help off the bench next year. I didn't see total stats for the season but from the game summaries I saw it looks like he was the pt with a great stroke from the 3 and an assist machine. One game he had 22 pts. and 15 assists and was 6/7 from 3pt. country. Against Hargrave, Tommie's old school, he scored 19 pts. all in the second half. This school is not the sisters of the poor either: one player signed at ND, 2 at LaSalle, one at Dartmouth. The preseason profile says he has interest and offers from Iowa State, SLU, U. Mass, Drexel and others. This may not be the second coming of Larry Hughes but it doesn't sound like the second coming of Darren Clarke either.

I got there just as the dunk/3 pt contest was ending, although the game itself featured more dunks than I think I've seen in an All-Star game. It's always hard to tell how good people are in these games because there is an unwritten rule that everyone slacks a little on defense. All that considered, I agree with V-Time's assessment of Nick Evans as a solid big man for SIU. We'll see what Lowry can do with some size in his lineup. As for Doss, I've seen him play 4-5 times and he is an impressive athlete but with limited outside shooting skills. What are his plans ? He's a player who could develop into something in a solid JUCO program. What do you think of Ford from Afton ? It was the first time I've seen him play but I was impressed with his game.

I left with approximately 5 mins. left and Mo had a 13 pt. lead. In response to the question from bknightsfan, Eckerle did not play and I guess that Tyus for Mo. by virtue of his family residing here.

Stokes looked good although he was overshadowed by 5'8" UAB signee Aaron Johnson of Chicago Hubbard who had a sensational game with a series of no look passes, incredible layups, 3pt. shots, etc. Stokes hit one nice 3 but could not do much inside, which is his primary game. Stokes apparently will attend Vincennes JC in the fall. Harrellson had some nice power moves inside, but certainly is not in the same league with several of the other big men there. Maybe tried to do a little too much showboating, dribbling the ball the length of the floor, etc. Typical all-star game stuff.

I saw two pretty good games tonight with my first look at Anthony Mitchell, our new recruit. In the first game the St. Louis Stars played to KC all-stars. St. Louis roster included Rodney Ford, Alfred Nelson, Garren Lafser, Mike Baker and others. Ford was the most productive guard, Nelson the most productive inside player. Nelson will attend Drury, Ford is unsigned, but being recruited by several MVC schools. KC won easily with Utah signee Reggie Chamberlain leading the way with 40 + points. The Missouri/Illinois game was the feature event. Probably as much raw talent as I've seen in an all-star game in a long time. Lots of big men including Iowa signee Jarryd Cole of Winnetonka faced up against Indiana signee Brandon McGee from Chicago area. These two guys had their own slam dunk contest with Tyus joining in. Leon Powell played very well as did Zack Plackemeier and George Goode of Raytown South. On the Illinois side, Mitchell showed some good quickness and good moves around the hoop. He also hit a 3pt shot. He appears to be about 6'3" and showed some flashes on the perimeter, but seems most comfortable taking the ball to the hoop; a little bit of a Sanyja Watts type player. SIUC signees Nick Evans of Carbondale and Joe Allarie of Edwardsville both looked good. Lacey of Alton had a good game. The most interesting unsigned player was 7'0" Terrace Williams of Edwardsville. From what I could gather he has only played varsity ball one year. He is a raw athlete with good speed and agility, but with limited skills. He lists Ball State as his top college choice and is also looking at some division II schools. Has a 21 ACT score. A quicker, and more athletic version of Husak who could develop into something with the right coach and the right program. Had a couple and dunks and some nice offensive moves, although he is not very aggressive on either end of the floor. A good night.

BAB: Your analysis makes more sense every time you look at the numbers. When you consider that the #5 RPI conference got 6 bids, #7 got 4. Logically, the MVC should have gotten 4 or 5, particularly when both Bradley and MS were top 40 RPIs. This appears to be payback for last year when Packer and the BCS conferences all whined about the number of bids the MVC got, ignoring the fact that 2 of their teams got to the sweet 16. I hope SIUC and Creighton both go deep in tourney.