AnkielBreakers

That is easy. Conklin.

There is not a lot on him out there. There are only a few videos and they show a player who is similar to Rob Loe (but skinnier), big and somewhat athletic, but needing time to develop muscle. If he develops muscle by next year I will be surprised. As far as the long term, I hate to say it, but it is a toss up. If he is not developed well, or if it turns out that he cannot develop more strength and coordination, then there will be no return. Even with that said, I really like him as a recruit. I like the potential. If he develops, then he can really be a dominant force with his size. But, you have to call a spade a spade.

SLU should "invest" in a Rugby Sevens team, and try to catch the wave before it gets too big. A football investment is too long term for SLU, a return for the university might not be realized for as long as 30 years. However, if Sevens continues its trend towards general popularity (very rapid growth). Then SLU could essentially have a 'football' like program representing St. Louis, and also, we could beat any in-state rival to the punch. Note, There is no actual NCAA rugby, so no scholarships can be granted, but SLU already has a strong rugby club, and I am not sure if they are playing sevens, but it shuold be considered and maybe given more funding by the school. http://www.usasevenscci.com/ http://asia.eurosport.com/rugby/world-cup/2011/irb-hails-popularity_sto2736416/story.shtml

To be honest, my point really isn't to say that SLU should make things easier. It has been recently documented that Stanford makes it easier on its athletes, but I would assume that SLU does as well. The difference is, Stanford gets its players through. I assume that SLU does not have enough tutoring and assistance in place to help its athletes. In particular, if one player is very important to your school, then get him round the clock tutoring, make the teachers come to him. Think outside the box, and don't simply say that he should go to class. If a player does not have the academics required to survive, then find a way to get him declared learning disabled, so that you can get him extra attention. Invest time and especially money in that players education. Prove to me that this already happens or that it cannot be allowed due to NCAA regulations.

I am surprised at two points: 1) No one is blaming SLU for failing to put WR in a position to compete in school. Maybe I am biased, but my time at SLU presented me with textbook examples of administrative inefficiency and incompetency; from faculty and staff treating students like after-thoughts, to the overall system ignoring its problems instead of attacking them. I think as alumni we have to question why one of the most important students on campus was not put in a position to pass his classes. I think when a young man is worth millions of dollars of revenue in the form of licensing, ticket sales, and booster donations to the university, someone at the university should be held accountable for failing to motivate and prepare him for his academic endeavors. Was this something they did not think about until his junior year? I do not think we should ignore this as simply WR being lazy, because I doubt the problem was that simple, he obviously wanted to be at SLU, and that is all anyone can ask of the player, the school has to do better at getting its players through school. 2) Who cares if the assistant coaches are moving on. Lets face it, a hall of fame coach has not been able to make the tournament for the last four years. He is getting paid a million dollars a year. He has to see that something is not working. He may have been pushing these guys out the door. Maybe he is trying to prevent them from losing marks on their reputation by acting like this is a surprise.

Calm down there guy, it's alright if you don't know how we will be next year, there are a lot of unknowns and scary things that can change, don't let it trouble you, everyone else is thinking about it just fine.

Assuming WR is gone, and that there are no big men capable of coming in and contributing heavily, how do you think we will be? Also, I am not assuming any major hiccups because PM is gone, I don't really know how that will change things. I think RL and CR showed great signs of improvement down the stretch of the season. CE could go either way. BC is BC, gotta love 'em. MM and JJ will be better, and obviously KM will be better than them, and JB seems to be a lock. KC is KC. So, that leaves DE, considering that teams keyed off of him at times this year and he still produced, he will likely be good again. So... .I think we will have 24 wins next year, regular season. We won't have a great interior game, but it will be much better than this year and we will be overpowering from the 1, 2, and 3 positions against most teams. A toss up for the NCAA tournament.

I think Cody takes the spot over CR

I disagree completely. He was a solid defender, he gets out of position on defense and his help defense lapses occassionally, and he also showed some promise on the offensive end towards the end of the year. Unless the recruit is a JuCo or a real developed high school player, it is unlikely that we will get an equal return by next year. Also, aren't WR and CR friends. What if CR being pushed out causes WR to leave... .it may have happened with John Smith. That would be a big mistake.

Who are your starters now? Mine: KM MM JB DE WR

If it were now now he wouldn't be on the roster either.

You know, I have literally seen him slash to the basket over a dozen times. That means taking a man one-on-one off of the wing and going to the rim. He doesn't take it from the top of the key, but that is not required to still count as a slash. It is possibly the main improvement of his game this year, and it is why he has really become the starting 3.

The last two games I notiecd that Evans was starting and playng almost exclusively as the small forward. I don't know when that started, but it really feels like it has changed the dynamic of this team (in the past he would play it for stretches and the offense would stagnate, but that has changed). This really has put KC back in as the SG, and has coincided with a real development of the interior of the team. This last bit may be an illusion due to the last two opponents, but it may be that having a small forward who is a rebounding machine takes pressure off of our bigs, and gives them an edge. To this last point, Cory and RL have really improved over the last 4-5 games. Additionally, Evans is giving this team a consistent scorer, and you can just see the team solidifying around it. Overall, it seems like the team is really coming together, I don't know where it will lead, but right now I am looking forward to Duquense on Saturday.

Almost anyone on this team could be a starter next year, with CS being the only likely non-starter. My favorite lineup (with backups following): KM - pg/sg (MM) KC - pg/sg (JJ) DE - sf (JB) CE - pf (BC/RL) WR - c (CR) It seems plain and maybe it is, but I think this group of players really compliment each other and they set a good stage against any opponent and get us off on the right foot. However, next year 11 guys are going to see significant minutes. It is going to be an awesome year if everything goes according to plan.

Either way, no one should be able to say that RM just builds up his players needlessly to the media. He generally downplays a players importance and is not loose with his compliments. He could just be trying to build interest in the program, but most likely he is just being honest, and he knows a lot about basketball. Note, he said JB would all conference at some point, not necessarily next year. I still think Cassity will start next year and play 25 minutes.

These stats look good, and it shows he should be able to score against athletic teams, but it may be better to compare the close games that they played instead. The above mentioned teams probably wouldn't have even bothered to game plan around Barnett.

Pretty unreasonable to compare his statements about Barnett to those of Cassity. He said Cassity was a good all around player, but that he did not shoot or score enough, which is pretty much dead-on. He said Barnett would be All Conference, which is something completely different. I am excited to see if he can push Cassity at the swing man position, or if Evans will develop any swing man skills. That is where we need depth the most assuming WR returns.

Seeing as his situation was destroyed by the NCAA, notwithstanding the fact that other players such as Masoli were allowed to transfer and perform in their respective sport. Does the NCAA grant a final year (or make an exception) where the main reason the student was not allowed to participate in what would have been the last year of eligibility was the NCAA denying a transfer?

Woh, woh, pump the brakes. This kid is pretty talented. Give him a break. How many 7 foot players really have skills in high school? Maybe 10. Otherwise, you have to develop the player. Anyway, I will take the opinion of the hall of fame coach over the unnamed high school scout any day of the week.

Actually, just googled him to see if there is any new video. It shows a kid who is suprisingly athletic for a 7 footer, and is way too skinny. He will need to add 30-40 pounds, and then he will be effective in the post. Just the kind of project Majerus is known for.

Yeah right, this analyst must not have seen our dominate interior game this year. I think we need any help we can get. Manning may seem like a world beater once he gets on campus.

I know I am alone in this, but I think the Billikens are about to bounce back. Let's face it, the problem wtih Freshmen is that they are inconsistent. They will go through streaky phases where they just can't do anything right. The last 10 games have shown a great deal of inconsistency. The early part of the season looked good, and then the wheels came off the wagon. I expect this team to put it together and finish the season strong. The fact is, only a few weeks ago, we were all talking about how Jett and McCall reminded us of KM as a freshman, and now we are starting to see Loe develop as a post player. Things will get better.

Maybe it was just me, but I thought I saw RL being a bit smarter on both ends inside. On defense he was out of position a few times, but overall bodied up an athletic big and pushed him out of the lane. Also, he seemed to seal his man off and get the easy rebounds (without any fumbling clusterf*$!&'s). I am going ahead and saying it: improvement. Maybe he is coming up to speed on this American style basketball.

The answer to this is obvious. WR.

You know, after looking at Loe's stat line the last 4-5 games, I would almost rather see Cory Remekun get 20-30 minutes a game. He is the better defender, and if his offense comes around we will at least have some presence in the paint.