Pistol

Well, @Lord Elrond, it appears we're mistaken about having 1 more or they're not using it: "Roster complete."

That number actually seemed pretty low to me when I thought about the things it could be intended for (as willie points out). Ford has a lot more baked into his base salary number than most other coaches with 7-figure salaries.

In our initial interview with Tillett, she told us Isabel would be on scholarship. So my understanding is that she always has been. The current roster shows 13 (before Nazario), so your count is correct and we still have one to give.

Completely agree with this. Long, low, bouncing shot from Lacazette and he reacted late. Not sure if he expected a deflection or what. Second one actually did take a slight deflection off a twisting defender's arm (held down at his side) and perfectly curled around Schulte's outstretched hands and inside the far post. He probably would've had it without the deflection. Third one, he was hung out to dry by poor defending off a corner.

Welcome, Rita Nazario! SLU's late signing is a PG from Portugal. Depth piece, high academic, cultural fit for now. Hopefully develops into a solid rotational player over time.

Thank you! He was an easy interview guest. It's great to have someone used to being on mic.

Yeah, as I said in my posts, it was WPB who led the charge on this one. And I would expect the AD to have contingency plans for everything. I just don't think Schertz himself was a backup plan.

Building on my previous post, Schertz gains more steam as a candidate in early January as more people came to terms with the fact that Ford has to go and started taking harder looks at possible replacements. @thetorch was the first to put him on his list on January 5th and a few more come on board. Then 05 is already calling him "our guy Schertz" on January 23rd. Schertz starts showing up every time people make a master candidate list after that. By mid-late February, he's #1 on a lot of MBMs' lists. I think WPB started hyping him on Twitter as early as November. I know they're the ones that alerted us MMP bozos that we needed to look at what the Indiana State coach was doing and we became advocates after watching clips of his offense.

This is from 8 months ago. @wgstl says "WPB has been chirping about Indiana st coach a bit" on page 1. (WestPineBills on Twitter had been talking about Schertz a decent amount before this 12/22 thread.) Then @3star_recruit says his name on the next page along with Ahearn and McCollum, saying these coaches are high-risk, high-reward and adding "Hiring young, unproven candidates isn't a new idea. It's basically how low-majors hire coaches." @Soderball added on 12/24 (perhaps missing the earlier mention, but still prescient): "What do MBMs think of Schertz at INST? They've been really good this year and have a team with some young players. Avila and Swope would probably help next year." @3star_recruit again: "I'm interested in the Indiana State situation for two reasons. Schertz is a former D2 championship coach. If Indiana State can secure an NCAA bid this year, programs who had shied away from hiring D2 coaches may begin to take a serious look. I'm also curious as to whether his two probable MVC first-teamers stay loyal to Schertz. They don't have to be part of a coach/player package deal. They would have enough portal value to get the best deal for themselves independent of the coach's decision." @Soderball - "He's an example of the sort of coach i'd like us to hire. Someone who's got players and is ready to take us from zero to hero right away. I've seen so many years of "rebuilding" that i'm pretty sure the "rebuilt" part is a mirage." This is the first thread that discusses Schertz as a possible HC at SLU. Bottom line is he was definitely on some MBMs' lists more than 6 months ago. (Some of us MBMs hang out on Twitter and Discord, too, and not all of it crosses over here.) Fun fact: First mention of Schertz on the board was by @HoosierPal when Indiana State hired him in March 2021.

4 new offers announced tonight: Cameron Hutson - SG, 6-5, 180 - Lansing, MI (East Lansing) - AAU: Grand Rapids Storm - Twitter: @CameronHutson5 Offers: Saint Louis, Loyola-Chicago, Illinois State, Kent State, Toledo, Akron, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Miami-Ohio, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Robert Morris, Old Dominion. Interest: Rutgers, Notre Dame, Florida Atlantic, Rice, Illinois-Chicago, Youngstown State, Purdue-Fort Wayne, Northeastern, Bucknell, Stony Brook, Marshall, Tarleton State. Latest News: Hutson received an offer from SLU. (7/24/24) Scouting Report: Hutson is a smooth, sound scoring guard with a natural, replicable jumper. He has range on his shot to go with the excellent form on his consistent shot. He gets to the rim and has good size and strength for his position, also helping him be a strong rebounder. Jaden Vance - SG, 6-6, 180 - Phoenix, AZ (Utah Prep, UT) - AAU: Vegas Elite (Nike EYBL) - Twitter: @jaden_vance Offers: Saint Louis, Fordham, West Virginia, San Jose State, Illinois-Chicago, Texas-El Paso, UC-Santa Barbara, Montana, New Mexico State, Tarleton State, California Baptist. Interest: Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Colorado State, Wyoming, Hawaii, Grand Canyon. Latest News: Vance received an offer from SLU. (7/23/24) Scouting Report: Vance is a long, athletic, versatile two-way player. He's an efficient scorer and is best shooting off the catch. He's hard to stop when going to the rim, which he knows how to do with limited dribbles, and he's an excellent finisher. Vance transferred from Bella Vista Prep (AZ) to Utah Prep for his final HS season. Keaton Wagler - SG, 6-6, 175 - Shawnee, KS (Shawnee Mission Northwest) - AAU: VWBA Elite - Twitter: @KeatonW34 Offers: Saint Louis, DePaul, Colorado State, Florida International, Murray State, SIU-Carbondale, Illinois-Chicago, Oral Roberts, Kansas City, Northern Colorado, Abilene Christian, Texas-Rio Grande Valley. Interest: Loyola-Chicago, Illinois, Wyoming, Tulsa, Illinois State, East Tennessee State, James Madison, UC-Santa Barbara, Northwestern State. Latest News: Wagler received an offer from SLU. (7/23/24) Scouting Report: Wagler is a versatile, smooth, smart, athletic guard who can handle, pass, and shoot. He has great positional size. makes the right reads, and plays at his own tempo. He's an outstanding defender with good instincts and rebounding ability. He finishes in traffic and hits his jumper under pressure. He plays with a high motor and draws fouls. He led his HS team to a state championship and undefeated record as a junior. Abdou Aziz Yadd - C, 6-10, 230 - Senegal (The Patrick School, NJ) - AAU: Wildcat Select (Adidas 3SSB) - Twitter: @The_KingMufasa Offers: Saint Louis, George Mason, George Washington, Rhode Island, Seton Hall, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Manhattan, Eastern Kentucky. Interest: Loyola-Chicago, Duquesne, La Salle, Princeton, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Western Kentucky, Chattanooga, Stony Brook, Towson, James Madison, Appalachian State, Iona, Canisius, Niagara, New Hampshire, UMBC, Le Moyne, High Point, Longwood. Latest News: Yadd received an offer from SLU. (7/23/24) Scouting Report: Yadd is a big, powerful player with tremendous skill. He has an arsenal of post moves and soft touch around the rim, although he dunks with authority. He can step out and shoot from 3, too. He has good handles for his size and can get around defenders. Originally from Senegal, Yadd transferred from SPIRE Institute in Ohio to the Patrick School in NJ.

Originally offered by Ford's staff and refreshed today: David Iweze - PF, 6-9, 215 - Lewisville, TX (iSchool Entrepreneurial Academy) - AAU: Texas Impact 4:13 (Under Armour Association) - Twitter: @davidiwezze Offers: Saint Louis, Loyola-Chicago, USC, Texas A&M, California, Utah State, Tulsa, Charlotte, San Francisco, Texas-El Paso, Appalachian State, Texas-Arlington, Abilene Christian. Interest: Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Marquette, Xavier, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, TCU, Colorado, Utah, Washington State, New Mexico, San Jose State, SMU, East Carolina, Drake, Murray State, Illinois State, North Texas, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Furman, Northeastern, North Carolina A&T, Iona, Texas State, Louisiana-Monroe, UMBC, Oral Roberts, Cal State-Fullerton, Cal State-Northridge, UC-San Diego, Arkansas State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, Tarleton State, Liberty, Texas A&M-Commerce, Nicholls State, Longwood, Northwestern State, Incarnate Word. Latest News: Iweze received a refreshed offer from SLU. (7/23/24) Scouting Report: Iweze is a long big man with face-up skill and offensive versatility. He's a strong finisher who's tough scoring inside. He has long arms, great hands, and good defensive instincts. He has solid passing skills for a big of his age. He hits the glass hard at both ends.

Yeah, I don't think of it as a St. Louis thing at all. Which is a little odd, given that we'd celebrate Blues/Cards/City championships despite all or most players coming from elsewhere. And SLU, for that matter. But there's something about HS/prep/AAU where you assume the players are actually from that place.

16U roster breakdown: MO - 3 TN - 2 AR - 1 IL - 1 IN - 1 KS - 1 So they're all border states except Indiana, but that's 2/3 of the roster from outside Missouri. All 3 MO kids are STL-based.

Jonny Jordan is a PG at Chaminade and SLU is showing interest. They're also tracking Sheek Pearson (Burroughs), who got an offer from the prior staff, but I don't think this staff has refreshed it yet. I honestly don't understand the logistics of top-tier AAU teams anymore. The non-STL players on this BBE roster are from all over - a few from Tennessee, plus Arkansas, Kansas, and Indiana. I'm not sure how they get together aside from the circuit events where every team is already going to the same place. I guess they're just willing to travel a lot more.

UT-Arlington and Northeastern are the logos in question.