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Matty Light

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Posts posted by Matty Light

    Recruiting - 2024

    in Billikens.com Main Board

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, Pistol said:

    "McCottry has NCAA Division I scholarship offers from Arizona State, Arkansas State, Grambling State, Indiana State, Louisiana Tech, Miami (Ohio) and UW-Milwaukee, according to WisSports."

    State champ. Almost had a triple double in the final. HS team went 29-1 and only lost to Wisconsin Lutheran (30-0), which has Kon Knueppel. According to West Pine Bills, he averaged 22.1 PPG on a slashline of 56%/32%/73%, with 8.8 RPG, 5.3 APG, and 2.1 SPG. Plays the 1-3 positions.

    Schertz must think he can improve his shooting if he is going to fit in the offense. His fg% is likely buoyed by drives to the hoop and his FT and 3PT percentages are not particularly impressive. But I trust Schertz to actually develop talent. This might be one of those guys who is a sleeper.

    Any of our older (than me) board members remember this dude.....

    in Billikens.com Main Board

    Posted

    10 hours ago, thetorch said:

    My grandfather scouted for SLU in the 40s, 50s and 60s and Richie Parks was one of his favorite STL players he ever saw.

    While SLU had some black players before Parks, Parks was the first black star at SLU, some of that was that he was allowed to play, instead of just being token black guy on the bench but he was a powerful PF.  Musclebound in the mold of the late 70s and early 80s NBA enforcer types.  Inside the paint he was unstoppable and was the best Billiken rebounder until Bonner.

    Bennington recruited him to SLU.  His reputation among blacks in the area was not great but Parks wanted to stay home and he and his HS coach, James Price, wanted him to become the first hometown black star.  As was the custom with many private schools at the time, Bennington didn't let Parks star.  He was relegated to rebounding and setting screens so the white guys could shoot.  I don't know if Bennington was really racist or just going with what was accepted at the time.  Bennington recruited a big man right after Parks from Maplewood, Matthew Aitch.  When he flunked out of SLU Bennington sent him to Moberly and then took him with him to Michigan St where he was all Big 10 performer.  Hard to believe he'd do that if he was really a big racist.

    My father told me he remembers he was 14 or 15 and the Billikens played Bobby Knight and Coach K in the NIT Park's Jr year.  The announcers talked up Parks as the real threat on SLU, even though he was just a role player.  My father didn't think Parks was good at all.  My grandfather quickly informed him the announcers were right and were probably fed their talking points by Coach Knight.

    Parks senior year Brehmer became coach and let Parks off the leash.  He had one of the best single seasons in Billikens history going for an 18 and 12 year.  The MVC was a powerhouse, Cincy went to the elite 8 and 5 of the 8 teams including SLU were ranked at some point in the season.  People piss on Buddy Brehmer but SLU played 26 games that season, 16 opponents were ranked during the season.  A juggernaut of a schedule.  Parks was the 2nd best big in the conference, only bested by somebody named Wes Unseld.  Parks went toe to toe with Unseld at Kiel and beat him, SLU also knocked off Cincy when they were top 5 that year.

    Parks was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals in the NBA draft but they cut him and he played for a semi pro company team.  The year after he made the Pittsburgh Pipers, playing in a reserve role behind Connie Hawkins, and won an ABA title. The Pipers brought him back the next year but while Parks was back home he got into a car wreck at Grand and MLK.  His knees were destroyed.  He came back to play but team doctors said his career was over. 

    Parks life took a downward spiral after that.  Multiple jobs, divorce, and alcoholism.  He moved back in with his mother in his childhood home.  By the time of his death he had become the neighborhood drunk.  The 49er bar was home to him and the regulars knew to put up with the huge man's drunken antics.  The night of his death a couple who didn't know Parks came into the bar.  Parks hit on the woman and physically assaulted her.  The couple fled the bar with Parks in pursuit.  A fight between the man and Parks ended in Parks being shot 5 times.

    A tragic ending but Parks was one of the all-time greats and a true trailblazer at SLU, succeeding as a Billiken despite the many obstacles in his way.

     

    Great history recap! I am curious where the 49er bar was located. Do you happen to know?

    GDT: SLU v. SIU-Carbondale

    in Billikens.com Main Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, SluSignGuy said:

    Don't undersell us....we scored 20 at GW.  Not sure if I ever posted this here, but this is a wall near my home office area:

     

    image.png

    Great frame ups. I only had a PD subscription for one year, the 99-00 school year. Boy I wish I would have saved RAMS WIN SUPER BOWL, SLU WINS CUSA TOURNEY, and BLUES WIN PRESIDENTS CUP. It was a great year in the Lou.

    GoSluBills likes this

    Bruce Zhang

    in Billikens.com Main Board

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, TheA_Bomb said:

    Look what front court depth can do for you.  None of those guys were world beaters but they were serviceable and didn't make a lot of mistakes. 

    Agreed. You couldn't really play Baniak and Braun together because the other team's PF would just murder you. The CUSA was that good. Tatum was the key on defense. He was the only guy strong enough and quick enough to keep those guys out of the paint. Heinrich was strong enough and would spell Tatum but his lack of speed led to fouls. Baniak and Braun were best couples with either Tatum or Heinrich. In 2000, Mo Jeffers would play some PF but Tatum or Heinrich would have to guard the opposing Alpha.

    Bruce Zhang

    in Billikens.com Main Board

    Posted

    4 hours ago, brianstl said:

    We beat Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Louisville 5 times, Cincinnati 3 times and Marquette 5 times with Heinrich at center.  We beat 4 top 25 teams with Heinrich at center including the #4 ranked team and the #1 ranked team in the country.  Good times.

    I am not saying you're wrong, but describing those wins in that matter is a bit misleading. Heinrich only averaged 21 minutes a game his upperclassmen years. And he didn't really start until he was a senior. That means 19 minutes a game you had either Tatum/Baniak, Baniak/Braun or Braun/Tatum as your frontcourt combination.

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