Pistol

Injuries are always a risk, but I don't understand the possible threat of a long-term injury as a reason to stay early. Couldn't that also be a reason to stay in school and get that business degree? Like I said, the Greek basketball money isn't going anywhere. Hold out for a better draft position next year.

I didn't say it was only because of his father. No one besides our coaching staff can know the exact reason. What I wanted to present was plenty of factors that may have made the decision not to give Ahearn an offer. Additionally, I could not care less what the parents of DeSmet students think. After hearing the students' feelings, though, I found it interesting. And I also said that it is not uncommon for parents to hold their children back for athletic reasons. Just because a well-known coach like Grawer did it doesn't make it a respectable thing to do. Travis Deiner did it too, and he's in the NBA, but there are plenty of other kids out there who hate their parents. Don't misquote or misinterpret me because you're still bitter about passing on Ahearn. Like I said all along, he might have had a nice career here, but we don't know that. I have no "axe to grind," but I think this particular player has been an interesting case that most fans don't know much about recruiting. And thank you, Hardball, for your fatherly advice. I would have no problem asking Blake if he wanted to go to SLU and why he thinks he didn't get an offer.

You couldn't have described Slaten any better. And look at the fine career his son is having- bouncing around from school to school, never really thriving anywhere. Can you imagine the baggage of having to deal with Kevin Slaten in addition to a player without D1 talent? Good posts, JP and Thicks.

He could definitely be a first rounder if he shows the same degree of improvement as last season. There are lots of teams interested in him now, but they're interested in a lot of other players, too. Come back to SLU, Vouk- it'll be the best decision in the long run.

He won't get drafted this year. My thought is that he'll be back with the knowledge that even if he doesn't get to the NBA after his senior season, the money from Greek ball will always be there.

Blake was set to graduate 8th grade and had gained acceptance at Chaminade, but his dad held him back so he could be more physically ready for high school ball, and thus have a better chance at a college scholarship in the future. After turning down Chaminade's acceptance letter the previous year, school policy wouldn't admit him again, so Blake went to DeSmet for his "freshman" year of high school. Word spread around the MCC pretty fast, and the other four schools in the conference were merciless with the "3rd year sophomore," "4th year junior," and "5th year senior" cheers. Though this practice isn't as uncommon as it should be because of overbearing sports parents, it had to be a humbling experience to take eighth grade courses all over again after passing everything the first time. It's probably a pretty good way to stunt social development as well.

Hardball, I'm not saying that Ahearn wouldn't have worked out well at SLU. Maybe we should have taken him, and maybe he would have had a good career here. But I was pointing out a number of things people seem to have forgotten. There were some question marks with this kid, and that's why SLU went with Darren Clarke instead, who seemed to have a bigger upside a few years ago. Now that looks like a mistake, but it wasn't an unreasonable decision at the time. I was in the stands for multiple games that DeSmet played in during Blake's senior year. I asked people why there were so few DeSmet students at these games, and a couple nearby DeSmet alums with brothers in the senior class started a discussion about how Blake alienated teammates and classmates with his selfishness and inability to get along with anyone. DeSmet's attendance from other schools, parents, and outside fans wasn't affected- it was the senior class that wasn't showing up. You seem to think I made a number of unrelated personal stabs at Ahearn, but everything I stated was fact and a reaction to the failure of people on this board to let it go. He's having a nice career at MSU, but there were many reasons SLU passed on him. Don't base decisions about players based on what you see at camps (the banquet comment had to do with posts from last week where people were judging SLU players based on meeting them briefly at the banquet). I lump them together because they are events in which programs have to present a certain image to the public. The reason I gave all of these examples is to show that recruiting kids is more than statistics and what they do on the floor. Blake seemed nice when he was teaching kids how to shoot free throws, but he somehow managed not to make any friends on his team and in his class in high school. Gee, that might be a red flag. Another big recruiting decision has to do with parents, and his dad is a colossal jerk- try to avoid sitting around him at games. The point of this all is to just keep in mind that coaches know things that fans don't and have to make character decisions as well, and maybe this had something to do with why SLU passed on Ahearn.

He would be a nice player to have. Too bad he's 6'2" and 165- would we pursue another guard?

High school coaches always have their former players in college come back to give a speech or run a few drills at their camps. It doesn't mean they have a great relationship, and it's a lot easier to be civil when they aren't dealing with each other every day. Having Blake come in and speak about free throws is a natural choice with the way the kid shoots them. But to use this example to say that everything is great between the coach and player is foolish. Camps and banquets are largely public relations events for kids and fans, and you can bet that everyone involved with the program is putting their best foot forward. Posters on this board have also made false assumptions about players and coaches at SLU based on a handshake at the banquet. Doesn't anyone remember Blake Ahearn's wrist injury after shanking a dunk after his coach yelled not to dunk when they were already winning by a lot in the 4th quarter? Did anyone watch him play his senior year when he was so unpopular with his own classmates that DeSmet was consistently outdrawn at home by opposing teams' students? People are still complaining that SLU didn't give this kid an offer, but there's a lot more that goes into it than free throws and three point shooting. Look at the Valley conference tournament this year- Blake crumbled with pressure on his shoulders, and MSU deserved the snub they got from the NCAA committee.

DeSmet's coach, Bob Steiner, has NO hard feelings toward SLU whatsoever for not giving a scholarship to Blake Ahearn. Steiner is a "system" coach (though I hate the term), and constantly butted heads with Blake throughout his career because he wasn't a good team player and had a huge ego. It didn't help when Blake broke his wrist trying to dunk and missed a lot of games (I don't remember if that was his junior or senior year). Steiner didn't exactly promote Blake as a great use of a scholarship to college coaches, and harbors no negativity towards SLU's coaches for passing on him. If SLU doesn't offer or sign Brandenburg, it will not be because of DeSmet's coach- in fact, he will probably put in a good word for both parties.

We already offered Griffey, which shows that it doesn't have to do with opportunities. There could be any number of reasons that we haven't offered Brandenburg yet, which still doesn't mean we won't. He's still got a lot of high school ball left.

Local as in his focus is on St. Louis, but we also have strong sights on the best regional talent. We don't have the blinders on, and the bastion of talent that is Peoria has not gone unnoticed.

I think there's a mutual respect, but everyone was frustrated after the St. Joe's loss and left with a bitter taste, and I think the seniors and Ian felt it the worst. With Vas'shun it's not a big deal because he rarely contributed anything anyway, but Anthony gave everything he had every game he played, even when injured, and deserves a lot of credit for overachieving (with his limited size and ability) for four years.

Different positions- maybe we'll offer both. I find it hard to believe that our coaches will give up on Brandenburg.

Anthony may have given everything he had on the floor, but I don't think he has enough SLU pride to want to help anymore. His relationship with Sodie was up and down, and when the season ended with a whimper, he was done here.

Now that's something I've picked up on for sure.

Believe it or not, I check it daily. It's just getting harder and harder to tell who cares about SLU basketball, who knows the local high school talent, and who is just here messing around with nothing better to do. When I see next to a posters name that he's posted thousands of times, I assume he's read enough to know at least what's up on this board if not with SLU basketball. Sarcasm doesn't translate well when typed.

These lame "jokes" don't read well in poorly-written message board posts, and make it hard to keep track of who has any credibility on this board. Sometimes I feel like I'm wasting my time even reading this thing.

I would love to steal recruits from the non-St. Louis area parts of the state from Mizzou. Metz, we already have the Illinois pipeline with Angres Thorpe. We need our recruiting arms stretched in multiple directions.

The kid is the biggest project you could imagine. I'm not joking when I say that basic functions like walking, turning right or left, or catching a ball are massive chores for him. Offering him a scholarship would be the biggest waste possible, and anyone who would suggest this has only seen him on a roster and not in a game.

That is truly sad to hear. Justin's health was always a huge motivator for Larry- staying home to go to SLU, leaving early to go pro and pay his brother's medical bills, and keeping his family close wherever he went. The playoffs will certainly take a back seat now, and SLU fans wish Larry and his family all the best.

I know what you mean- fans can't excactly recruit. But our fans and students have done little or nothing to create an energetic college basketball atmosphere that can help bring in recruits. The "gut feeling" factor can be helped by creating this kind of environment. It seems to have played a big role in IU landing Stemler. Do big recruits want to go to schools where it seems like the students and fans don't care?

You couldn't be more right. Why does everyone on this board want to let the blue chips recruits get away? We aren't playing with the same hand as the biggest programs, but we have to go after big-time recruits to show that we're not content with mediocrity. I'm sick of looking at the top 100 in any given class and not seeing 'SLU' on anyone's short list. We have a real shot at this kid. The announcer at the most recent event he played at said "Memphis, KU, and SLU." That wasn't information from some recruiting board that hasn't been updated since last season. SLU fans need to push harder, create more excitement, and show we want top recruits to come here.

We have to go after him hard. He's shown interest in us, and he needs an offer on the table ASAP, no question about it. Let's bring him back to the Lou.

Don't look now, but it looks like the baseball Bills might actually finish the season with a winning record. Moving to the A-10 was a nice shot in the arm for the team. And if they win a few more (they have 7 regular season games and the A-10 tourney left), will this be Bob Hughes' first winning season ever? Talk about being content with mediocrity. He should have been gone years ago, but I think (just like in Pizzoti's case) Woolard wasn't about to do anything but keep the status quo. Hughes must have the easiest job in the world: take whatever recruits are leftover, win a couple games, lose a lot more, and take home a six-figure salary with no one the wiser. We could do better- after all, SLU is now among the warm weather baseball teams in the conference.