TheChosenOne

Yeah, I would have to imagine getting in on him early and building a relationship will matter more than when we offered when he starts making his decision. I don't think being the first to offer really matters much.

I have no animosity towards Ben or scout, I was just commenting on how I am amused by grown men that make their living calling, texting, and tweeting with high school boys.

How many members does Ben have? Does he provide much value? I find these 25-45 year old men that spend their days calling, texting, and tweeting high school boys to be amusing.

All I know is that at this point I am excited by where we are at with Tatum (based merely on reports). From quotes, it is clear that we are high on his list, that he understands the reasons for staying home at SLU, and that he is apparently receiving pressure from those close to him to stay in town. That is all you can ask at this point. But man is it going to be a difficult task to actually close the deal. He is going to have weekends of being wined and dined by the most elite programs in the country and hear sales pitches from the top coaches in country. An elite recruit turning that down for the hometown mid major does not happen often. Lets hope Jayson is one that does and becomes a Billiken legend.

I was a student manager during my time at SLU and understand that role well. I was more commenting on the experience gap between the outgoing DBO, Mike Lepore, and this guy.

Good to hear. I don't know the guy, but on paper it just seems like a big loss going from Mike Lepore to this guy to fill the same position. His experience would seem to line up more with a graduate assistant, but I am not sure whether there needs to be a distinction between those two positions.

We are replacing Mike Lepore with a student manager? Seems like a big skill gap although I don't fully know the role of a DBO and maybe his time as a student manager makes him an ideal fit.

In all honesty, what parent would move their child to CBC? That school sucks.

Jayson should just commit to SLU so that we can quit posting about it.... As a Chaminade and SLU grad it would be pretty awesome to see Tatum and Cook play for the Billikens.

He would have had to sit out his sophomore season had MSHSAA not granted him a waiver to play immediately.

Great, thanks for the update. I am excited to see him play this fall and see the strides he has made. Well done Tyler.

I knew what you were saying, but what impact adding a top 5 recruit would have had on two of the best teams in the program's history is largely irrelevant to the discussion. We had great teams the past two seasons, but essentially all of the key contributors from those teams are gone and this currently unproven collection of talent is the team that Jayson Tatum would be joining. At Duke, Kentucky, or Kansas he would be joining other top talent and instantly be playing for a top ranked team with legitimate National Championship odds. To the extent playing for an elite program with other elite talent and the legitimate chance of winning a National Championship matters to Jayson, he will be heading to one of the blue bloods.

I don't think a freshman or sophomore in high school would have helped us much....

Based on interviews, Jayson understands the draw to SLU and the unique opportunity he would have here. If winning a National Championship is a priority for him, he will not be coming to SLU.

Well there are certainly lots of reasons that the top players go to the elite programs and those programs certainly offer things we can't come even close to. The top players in the country are going to go to the top programs in the country 99 times out of a 100. Maybe Tatum is that 1. With his connections to SLU, the opportunity to play in front of his family and friends in his hometown, and his college choice seemingly not impacting him being a NBA lottery pick we at least have a chance (more than a chance than we likely ever will for a top #10 recruit) and have some things going for us that can't be matched by any other program recruiting him.

Sure its a long shot, but if there was ever a time we actually had a shot at the #1 recruit in the nation it is now. The #1 recruit in the country is from St. Louis and his father played at SLU and his godfather lived what he hopes to live taking his talents to SLU. We will likely never have an opportunity like this again.

Exactly. Now we just need Jim Reynolds to ensure his son gets a top flight teammate.

Tatum would receive significantly more exposure at UK, KU, or Duke and end up a lottery pick, so not sure that is the best argument for why he should come to SLU.

Have we offered Cook? I am excited to see his reported development. I wonder how much of this jump in the rankings stems from the KU offer?

I know it was mentioned that Rob Loe will be playing with Golden State in the Summer League. Willie Reed is playing for Indiana with a team of mostly undrafted players and is having a big day today against the Celtics. Thru 3 quarters he is leading the team in scoring with 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting, rebounds with 6, blocks with 4, and assists with 3. He had 6 point on 3 of 5 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks in their first game against Brooklyn.

For those that know, what is the future of USA soccer looking like? Are there any young studs in the pipeline beyond the kids currently on the roster? Just how high are the celiings for guys like Brooks, Green, Yedlin, and some of the other younger guys?

Anyone that is remotely critical of the team/program gets killed by the other posters on this board, so there typically is not much good discussion on the team and I think that is why posters like Roy and Pistol have moved along. Last season the team had a lot of holes that were apparent throughout the season, but anyone that brought it up was just a hater. I think Pistol spends more of his time on one of the pay sites where he at least gets good information.

Are you connected to Jayson or his family?

Agreed, I think it would be foolish to think otherwise. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/4/10/5594348/college-football-bag-man-interview

With KU offering his currently marginal high school teammate, I am curious to see how Kentucky, Duke, and others respond. Although I am assuming we will not be privy to a lot of what the Tatum family is offered by these programs. There have been a couple of reports about a potential package (I realize these packages seldom come to fruition) including Jayson and top recruits Harry Giles and Dennis Smith Jr from North Carolina. If that were to happen, Duke and UNC would appear to be the most likely beneficiary of their services.