Billikenboy

WWWHHHOOOAAA.....Jack Whitehead just tweeted that Reggie Agbeko is now a Billiken as of 11:30 am this morning. Congratulation to the big guy...time to put in work on the A10 and beyond. Great job to Jim Crews, Jim Whitesell, and the staff for a well done recruiting coup to say the least.

Got word from a reliable source that we should be hearing about Reggie's NLI being signed later today. If that is true, it will be a big win for Jim Crews (the awful recruiter), Jim Whitesell, the staff, & the Billiken nation. Will save my welcome mat till the announcement is made!

Star rating is not at all the exact science it is cracked up to be. In the case of Agbeko, his 2 star rating is from 2011 summer done during AAU. Scout recently upgraded him to a 3 star due to the high interest and BCS offers. Issue here is none of the rating services like to be wrong which is where Crews and his staff see the light. For a kid that played on his first wooden gym floor in 2010 in Buffalo, he continues to amaze us with his growth in the game. I always found the Duke interest a bit eye-raising until I read on "Alex Kline" site why Duke moved on. According to Alex, it was mutual because after their evaluation by Nate James, Reggie was determined to be a 4 that can also play the 3 position. Duke's need is currently for a 4/5 position player and is loaded in the 4/3 players. Duke is losing Plumlee and Kelly which is where the biggest need is for them this coming season. Agbeko needed to be 2 to 3 inches taller and he was not willing to play behind any of their 3 new recruits coming in to fill those positions. Why would Agbeko want to play second fiddle to Jabari Parker when he can score the same number of points he does and can outrebound him on any given night on the defensive and offensive end? Reggie has the kryptonite for every so-called 5-Star player he has faced and none have left the gym floor convinced they are better than he is. I also read that since Reggie's verbal to SLU many BSC programs (top ranked ACC and Big East schools is the reference) have contacted his family to make offers. It will be a testament to the character of Reggie when he signs that NLI to SLU. Means that playing for Crews is his first choice! The recruiting game is a dirty one and Crews can only work with young men who live up to their commitments to him and to SLU. I am still of the opinion that Agbeko is/will be the biggest get of 2013 recruiting season when he signs. I do not see him taking a year or two to develop into a starter. I think he starts this coming season. Crews will make sure of it.

This discussion is comical! "GOSLU68" you took the time to post Reggies stats from his senior year of high school, meaning 2011 to 2012 stat which are phenomenal to say the least. You are talking about the one of the best rebounders in the country coming out of high school/prep basketball right now. This is why he was voted Player of the Year by the Basketball Coaches Association of NY and Catholic League, plus finalist for Mr Basketball NYS and and Gatorade NYS Player of the Year at the end of his senior season. He went further by playing another year of prep school (South Kent School) basketball in the NEPSAC AAA Division (Lion's Den for prep Basketball) against basketball powerhouses like New Hampton, St. Thomas More, Brewster, Northfield Mount Hermon, and others. If you want to know anything about the NEPSAC the one thing you should know is that on any given night you can have as many as 10 high majors on the floor at one time. The Best vs the Best. There are no pretenders in the NEPSAC because it is viewed as the toughest prep school league in the country. Many top players are from there.....Mitch McGary, Russ Smith, Nik Staukas, .....to name a few whom you watched in the Louisville vs Michigan NCAA finals a few days back. These schools would give most D1 programs a run for their money. Reggie also dominated in that setting averaging a double double every time he touched the floor, 16ppg and 12rbd vs high majors 6ft 9 inches up to 7+ ft tall. His most dominant game .... 24 pts and 22 rebounds. Yes, at times he singlehandedly outrebounded whole frontlines. This is why SLU and many nationally ranked programs wanted him. He is a rebound/defense first kinda guy! Offensively he is gifted as well which you will see very soon. I mean if the guy was looked at by Duke and other nationally ranked programs you know he has to be taken seriously. In it all the 2013-2014 will be his time to prove all the cynics like you wrong as he has done time and time again. My gut tells me AB's record is in jeopardy next season from this Freshman. He could have chosen many other schools but he primarily chose SLU because they are a defense first team on the way up. An obvious contender that he can make even stronger! Also his 240+ frame is mostly muscle if you did not know that...he is not fat....my guess is he may stay get bigger if the strength and conditioning coach sees he can increase his speed and agility without reduction in performance. Undersized??? I would like to see anyone on the current SLU frontline that can outrebound Reggie, defensively or offensively. He is a "Man" amongst "Boys" and the 240+ wood he lays is solid like his screens. Time will tell....we will just keep watching and waiting.

Reggie is a legit 6 Ft 8 in tall and 240+ lbs. When he first arrived in the US in 2010 he was 6 ft 6 in and 225 lbs. Verbalcommits.com has the most updated information on him. He is very muscular and I have heard that he has at times been close to 250. He carries that weight very well which is why he is able to push centers and PFs down low with no mercy. I see him as a making of the NBA bully Lebron James with that body, speed, and leaping ability. Take that charge at your own risk! I am told that his senior year of high school at St. Joes, his vertical leap was recorded at 39.5 inches by his strength coach. When SLU gets him into D1 college ball shape, I look for it to be a party in the post and in transition. It will be interesting what the SLU strength and conditioning coach will do with him over the summer into start of season. I expect we will be seeing a "ferocious beast" on the frontline no matter what! Flight city baby!?!?!

Here is what the New England Recruiting Report which reports on all NEPSAC players is saying about Reggie today: http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/3037/Agbeko-Reportedly-A10-Bound.php Here is another on Reggie 2nd Team All-League Award for the NEPSAC AAA Dvision. He is in great company with guys heading to top programs like Indiana, Kansas, NC State, West Virginia, Harvard, Georgia Tech and why not the St. Louis Billikens !.... http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/3013/NEPSAC-AllConference-Honors.php

Guys, this is a very big get for SLU. Reggie's 2 star rating is from 2011 when he emerged as a force to be reckoned with at Hoop Group 2011. ESPN ranked him then as as a 2 star player and never did redo the ranking when he completed his senior high school season. He was then sent to do his prep season at South Kent where he performed once more vs top 10 talents like Noah Vonleh (#8 Indiana commit). I will state here that he is a 5 star player without the subjective ranking. When you consider that he had Big 12 and ACC offers already before SLU offered then you know that he liked Jim Crews and his staff's commitment to player development. Here is info on schools that have offered: http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/reggie-agbeko

Here is 10 minutes of game film on Agbeko. Not to mention a great passer as well! Take a look at around 7:30 for his unbelievable assist. Truly an excellent get if he signs with the Billikens. http://www.highschoolcube.com/highlight/reggie-honing-his-skills-for-d-32236

Coach Crews and his staff are geniuses? I could not understand the interest in Reggie Agbeko until I started watching his recent videos and googling his body of work. First of all he is coming from the NEPSAC AAA division which has arguably the best prep school basketball in the country. On any given night there can be as many as 4-5 high major D1 talents on the floor for each team. Reggie has consistently been the top rebounder in the division and a prolific scorer especially in the post. He has consistently outrebounded whole frontlines by himself. Case in point, Brewster Academy (with 4 top 100 players) which won the NEPSAC AAA division. Their whole frontline was outrebounded by Reggie in their two meetings. He is definitely underrated as a 2 star player since that ranking has not been updated since 2011. From his resume you can easily gather he is currently a 5 star player for sure since prep school kids do not get rated. This kid will contribute as a freshman and his upside is tremendous. The game that really intrigued me is his game against Bridgton Academy in which he had 24 points and 22 rebounds (10 offensive, 12 defensive). Reggie has risen up the recruiting board fast which is why powerhouses like Duke and others have been evaluating him. At 6 ft 8 inches 240+ lbs with the right staff to mold him, he could potentially be our top rebounder and put up offensive numbers to make up for some of what we are losing in our seniors. Enjoy this link boys and girls: http://www.highschoolcube.com/highlight/reggie-s-dunk-on-st-thomas-mor-32233