TheChosenOne

Interesting. That would be a talented walk-on.

Nanopore Diagnostics? I am friends with the founder and CEO, but he has no affiliation to SLU (Vandy and Wash U).

Has anyone seen Ronnie Suggs play? Is he deserving of an offer from SLU? It seems like we are recruiting a high caliber of player than Ronnie Suggs, but I have never seen him play.

Before there was the Internet and ridiculous amounts of coverage of recruiting, so it may be hard to find that out. He was a beast in high school though, so I am assuming he had his share of options regardless of his relationship to Larry.

I guess I really don't even care if we were a "dirty" program with the understanding that a lot of programs are. I am assuming a program like Duke goes outside of the rules, but nobody really knows that to be the case.

How do we know what programs are and are not clean? Would we know if SLU was funneling cash to Jayson Tatum's family or if the guys on our team were less than honorable men?

slufan13, what is your connection to Jayson? Are Jayson and his family making it known to a lot of people how he ranks the teams pursuing him or has he even done that himself at this point? This is a program making recruit, great news (assuming there is any accuracy to it)!

That is a good question.

WITTS is also the official feeder program of the St. Louis Eagles. I know Jayson Tatum also trains with Drew Hanlen.

He did not leave on his own terms. I don't think we need to rehash it much further than that.

Any chance Justin is auditioning for a position at SLU and that would be his chance to coach his son? I think very poorly of Justin based on my interactions with him at SLU, but maybe he has grown up a lot as most people do.

I don't recall many Mizzou fans running around thinking that Marshall was going to be their next coach, so I think you are playing that up to further your opinion that Mizzou fans are delusional. I think most if not all Mizzou fans realized that Marshall was an extreme long shot, but the only people that know how much so are Marshall and Alden. It sounds like they made a solid play for him and he at least had some interest which is actually more than I expected since I assumed he would have zero interest. Mizzou is a good program, not a great program. I think some Mizzou fans may overvalue their program, but it is still a good program nationally and a better program than Wichita State of the Missouri Valley.

I have not heard that, but I do think we are on the short list and at least have a chance based on everything said above. Schools like Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, and North Carolina have a lot to offer, so beating them out for any recruit would be quite the accomplishment. You are talking about the most elite programs in the country with the best facilities coached by legendary coaches and playing on the biggest stages, that is tough to say no to. Maybe Jayson will group together with some of his national team buddies and decide they want to be the next group to lead Kentucky, Kansas, or Duke to a championship and gain the national attention that comes along with that. Or maybe he will decide that he wants to follow in the footsteps of his godfather and stay home and be a local legend. One year at SLU as opposed to any of the other programs recruiting him will likely not have any impact on his draft position. I do know that SLU was a little slow to get around to recruiting Brad Beal and that rubbed them the wrong way, but no reason to be overly critical of a past staff missing on a kid that appeared to have the desire to play on the biggest stage. David Lee was in my class at Chaminade and I recall SLU not really being a player for him and specifically him commenting on the facilities in comparison to places like North Carolina, Florida, etc.

I have identified myself as a fan of both programs and have never hiden that. I think you are wrong, but I don't care to argue with you since it really doesn't matter. If you ask people within the college basketball community they would tell you that Mizzou is a good job and a better program than Wichita State regardless of the recent success the Shockers are having (one huge tournament run followed by a great season). I like your narrative though, I love the faction of the Billiken fanbase that hates Mizzou so vehemently.

Absolutely. I think things line up perfectly for him to have another big season at Wichita State, be around while his son graduates from high school, and then put his name out there for whatever jobs open up next spring. Missouri is not a destination job for him, so no reason for him to leave a good thing at this point. Better jobs than Mizzou will be pursuing him in the near future.

Lets be honest, a few really good seasons does not make Wichita State a better program than Missouri. Sure they made a huge run two seasons ago and followed it up with a great season this year and will be good again next season, but a couple of good seasons does not make them the better program. The Missouri Valley is garbage and he would be wise to jump ship as soon as his team gets bounced from the tournament next spring.

Iowa does have the benefit of playing in the Big Ten which is a draw for high level recruits and they could be trending up (?). If Iowa and SLU played this season I likely would have picked Iowa. For a St. Louis kid and where the program is at now, I would expect us to be able to beat out Iowa. For those who have watched Cook, is he a guy you would offer? I have seen him a number of times and am completely on the fence.

I am interested to see how those two kids develop and what level of recruit they become. I am uncertain on both as to whether SLU should offer. Barnes really runs a team well, but he is small and from the few times I have seen him does not appear to have the elite quickness/athleticism to make up for the lack of size. Cook is incredibly heavy on his feet, but he shows flashes. I saw Chaminade play at CBC and in that game he had some really impressive post up moves, but often times he looks slow and limited from a skill standpoint. He is still growing into his body and has a strange build with a relatively thin upper body and then just a massive lower body, his legs are that of a 350 lb offensive lineman.

I know Josh Fisher wore #4 during my time at SLU. I would take him developing into a strong defender like Fish.

I think they had a few guys suspended throughout the season as well, so I imagine the number of transfers, suspensions, and losses have Butler fans a little anxious. With regards to the transfers, Brown seems like the only guy that would be considered a big loss for the program, but it looks like with the return of Roosevelt Jones and some other additions, he may have questioned his role going forward.

Nice link. I think people tend to exaggerate how many guys truly go pro after one season and how many of those guys are left without a job within a few years. The one and done guys are typically the elite talents and don't have much problem finding a place in the NBA. If you don't like the rule you don't like the rule, but it should not be because too many guys go pro after one year and they are failing. This rule impacts very few players. This year's freshmen class was considered to be one of the best in a long time and we are looking at what about 10 guys going pro and all of them will hear their names called in the first round. Are we that naive to think that it is just the handful of guys that go pro after one season that are making a mockery of student-athletes? There are guys graduating from elite universities that are close to illiterate because they were blessed with tremendous athletic ability (read the Bloomberg article on UNC).

That is great. Nobody wants the guy yet he is still going to make over a $1 million dollars next year.

I am going to assume there is zero chance any of the top coaching candidates have much interest in the Mizzou job. I would also assume Mizzou basketball fans won't really care if Haith jumps for Tulsa and may actually be hoping for it to happen. If he does bolt for Tulsa it shows me that Haith has no faith in himself to get things turned around at Mizzou. They should just go full circle and bring back Quinn.

ESPN would never allow that to happen....

I am just expressing my opinion based on what I have read and the little I have seen of these kids. I think they make for a nice class collectively, but I am not sure there is one guy that I would say is definitely going to be a big time player for us. Next spring I may be saying three of the guys are going to be big time players and be extremely pleased with the class. I personally like to take the wait and see approach to recruits especially recruits I have not seen a whole lot of. This is just me, feel free to get as excited as you want to.