Clock_Tower

Doc B. Go ahead and take your fear mongering to the Coronvirus thread.

Yes. Good example of Paul Eckerle - though not the same as with Fred. And what is the name of the local 6'4" guard/kid who blew his knee out under Majerus? Did he medically retire? Wasn't he given a scholarship to finish school at SLU to honor SLU's 4 year commitment but we were able to remove him from athletic scholarship? You're right, he did not try to then walk on. I wouldn't think you can. And didn't he announce/possibly decide to play for UMSL? Did he go there? How did it out? Real shame b/c he had so much talent.

Interesting. Also interesting to read the connections with Hargrove and Yuri. Anyone know more about the labrum injury? Worse than the ankle injury?

I would like to see Fred Thatch given an academic/medical scholarship with walkon status to take pressures and demands off him but to allow him to play and contribute as much as possible but don’t believe this is possible. Thatch, Goodwin and French not going anywhere.

Swing forward? Perkins, Goodwin, Hargrove, Markhi and Andre? And if he can play, Thatch. What do you have in mind? Next year we will get Nick Kern And our combo PG to back up Yuri will have to be Jacobs. Remember that Yuri averaged 31.3 mpg but ended the year playing closer to 40 mpg. Not much time to fight for - and a JR Jacobs will do just fine. Will need to wait till next year to get another PG.

Can we have Pitbull please?

Thank you!!

Welcome aboard big guy!!

Mods. Can this portion of thread be broken out so he gets own thread?

Maybe he meant he declared for the NFL draft - Round 2 starts at the same time. Coincidence?

Agree. And once an existing player announces he will leave, questions will abound as to where he will go and his leverage may actually drop --- not good for our players

Taj gave us an update of all the A10 teams 2 weeks ago or so, and if memory serves correct, 2 of our A10 competitors were then over-subscribed. Not all that uncommon. RM over subscribed for us here at SLU for a short time. Will Okoro pick us? No idea. But Ford needs to clear a sport first? No. Why would anyone even say that?

Congrats Roy. You and your fellow Shriners do soooooo many good things. And can you give a short update. How much did the Shrine make on the sale of the temple by SLU? And from the sale of hospital land on Lindbergh by Frontenac. And where do your fundraising dollars now go?

Outdoor seating is the key - sidewalks, into parking lots, I would rather sit close outdoors today and all by myself indoors.

Normal time frames are out the window during these crazy times. With that said, silence by now on Thatch indicates to me that he will most likely be back. And if he cannot got next Fall, so be it. His scholarship appears safe. As to Diarra, he has been the huge unknown as Spring. He played this year and did NOT redshirt. Yes, only 10 minutes, yes he is coming off a major injury, yes he is a big man who normally take time to develop.... but still, he has been the huge unknown. Hard to read anything good into the situation for him based on the 10 minutes played and the otherwise silence. And maybe things have now changed with the landing of Marten Linssen for the next 2 years. Maybe being the backup (3rd big) without Hankton and behind a Senior who might go now while being on a good team and at a good school was a good situation but now being the 4th guy and buried on the depth chart is not?

Agree. I am one of his biggest fans and yet I forget about him at times too. But he came up really big at times - that 3 pointer to stop the momentum against Rhode Island (I think it was RI). Many other big time plays from him too. Now that he went through Defensive Boot Camp as well as Defense 101 and 102 all in one year, and now that we have 4 bigs to battle each other each each day at practice and man the lane in games, the speed of the game will slow down for him, and Hargrove can and will thrive at playing offense and being a wing.

Good for Mizzou. Purdue said the same. Most all colleges will do the same by August. Florida State and Boston U said otherwise- but that was a few weeks ago and will either be the minority or will change their minds.

Wonder if the NBA suggested he play a different position, play a different role, develop a different skill... and Rhoades said No?

No way does any NBA team take a flier on French until he proves he can shoot at least 60% from FT line. This summer, I believe French will really work on his FT shot and his midrange shot - and we will be pleasantly surprised this Fall. And next Spring, the NBA will truly give French a chance to make a roster.

Wow. 6'2" TO 6'5" scoring PG? Seem like we would need to be out Duke, Kentucky and Kansas to land such as player. I am good with a solid, promising PG at most any size Under 6' is still a risk - but with the right skills, it can work. And yes, Yuri will certainly improve over the next 3 years - and it will be fun to watch. The truly amazing thing has been how smooth the offense clicked - despite the similarities of our personnel. We lost our shooters to S2 and had to improvise. We ended up with significant yet overlapping talent. Due to installation of strong defense, unselfish play and relentless effort -- bully ball was born. Reliance upon bully ball was to ease last year with improved talent, better spacing and more diverse skills - but then came the losses of Thatch and Jimerson. Yuri's greatest strength was to weave the remaining parts together to hide our overlapping skills -- and it worked. Perkins, though, had a lot to do with it as well. And next year, we should be even more diverse. I like the perimeter shooting of Jimerson, Perkins, Jacobs and Lorentsson. I like the midrange shot of Linssen. I like the depth and FT shooting of the new guys. I like the midrange game of Perkins. As Yuri himself improves, his job actually get easier to weave the parts together. Cannot wait for 2021

Yes. I get it. And just to restate my initial thoughts -- I believe Yuri will make the next leap. He will become a legitimate scoring threat and he will burn opponents who back off him. I say this b/c, again, he has the skill and ability - and as we all know, he was limited this past year due to chronic injuries to both of his wrists. Add normal improvement having a year under his belt, and the leap will be there for Yuri's game. And again, not looking to rehash this topic. My thoughts are well known and are not meant to be a shot at a fine, young, really good player. What did prompt my comments, of course, is where will the minutes for all these good players come from? Next year's roster is set to be far, far better than this year's roster - and we were good this year. Will agree to disagree but not willing to play anyone nearly the whole game without scoring production.

Maybe it’s time for our whole Board to crash VCU and just be “friendly” and not leave like they have done to us? Pester them about their head coach.... ask why Santos-Silva left... ask why their team failed to show up mentally... console them on their end of season losing streak.... Sounds like a alot of dissension

Simple math. When 1 does not score, it puts a larger burden on the other 4. And if defenses don’t guard him, it makes it tougher on the other 4. Is it possible to overcome? Sure. And if it’s so easy to make an extra bucket, just push tempo more, then he should do it. Wonder why he didn’t?

I think Yuri will make a leap as far as his confidence and scoring. He has the skills and ability. Will he be our top scorer? No, but I think he will start to become more of a well-rounded player and not just be the "pass first" PG he was. It's all about keeping team's honest. With better outside shooting from Jimerson, Perkins and Jacobs (possibly from Fred, Markhi and Andre), with a mid-range shot among Marten, Bell and/or French, then the need for Yuri to score will be reduced. Even still, offensive production from all 5 guys will only make the team better. Will Yuri be that player on day 1? I hope so but I doubt it. Again, I may be in the minority - and not looking to re-hash or start a controversy when one does not exist, but when limited minutes are being spread around, but minutes can therefore come from Yuri until he scores. I would not simply not give 32 mpg to a player who does not score. Injuries and illness to Jimerson & Thatch led our guys to playing other positions this past year. Hankton not deserving minutes and being injured further reduced the demand for minutes among guards. Next you thing you know, Yuri was hardly coming out of the game as Goodwin stopped playing PG and Jacobs was being turned to as the guy we needed to be our leading scorer and perimeter threat -- and as such, he was not yet ready. Instead, Perkins came out of no where and picked up the slack.

Good to know. Surprised but not surprised. If both developed just a little more....