Local players sign with MAC

[bg]

VTime, you probably care more about this than anyone else.......

Mineral Area College will announce at a press conference tomorrow the signings of:

Ryan Lawrence (Desoto), Jeremy Felton (Belleville West), and Eric McCrary (transfer from SWIC/Belleville East)

[p diddy]

the felton kid ooozzzes with potential. b. roy probably knows more about him on the east side. I know he had an offer from indian hills as well.

bad boyz for life

[VTIME]

Thanks. I saw Lawrence in the shootout. He's okay. Felton is a high major kid if he has the credits after JUCO. McCrary was the coach's kid over at Bellevill East. Graduated 2006. He's 6'7 sharpshooter. i'm just glad you didnt say Leon Powell. I hope he's still headed to prep school and doesnt settle for JUCO. Playing an extra year in high school and then having 4 years at D1 is much better than going to Junior College. You make it to D1 faster and you get 4 years instead of 2. I dont understand the mid to high major recruits that choose JUCO.

[billiken_roy]

felton indeed is going to mineral area.

he had an offer from indian hills, but the word i got from close sources is that he wanted to stay closer to home. thus corey tate wins.

mccrary indeed is transferring to mineral area from swic. personally i have never been a mccrary fan. his dad resigned yesterday from belleville east in order to follow his career closer at this point.

i believe jeremy felton was the best high school player in the st louis area last year. in years past he was pretty much just a high jumper. but this year he showed a fantastic shooting touch and played a lot smarter on the defensive end as well. he stepped up his game tremendously. felton is a high d-1 player down the road assuming he finally gets his academics in order.

[brianstl]

Better than Powell?

[billiken_roy]

yes because he is far stronger and jumps higher.

[VTIME]

>yes because he is far stronger and jumps higher.

He is a more explosive off two legs, but doesnt jump higher off one leg than Powell. Powell can drop step easy, not as well as Felton, but when Powell gets a running start and goes off one, its ridiculous.

[moytoy12]

And when Powell has a trampoline it's no contest at all.

[bg]

No other reason. I see and work with these kids every day. They're great kids (most of them), but they've never been challenged in a classroom. They've had coaches telling them what to do every step of the way, and they have minimal critical thinking skills.

On rare occassions, kids will go JC in an attempt to improve their list of suitors. But primarily, it's because they have no choice other than taking the JC route. I assume that most JCs have programs to try to help these kids "learn how to learn", but it's a daunting task. And it's a task that's too often unsuccessful.

[billiken_roy]

i saw felton grab a high arching lacey layup (grab not block) with two hands off a fast break (that would mean he was jumping off one foot.)and his hands were about equal with the top of the square.

i havent seen ANY player jump like that since rodney brooks in the late 70's.

[3star_recruit]

BRoy, you need to see more of Abel Tillman.

[VTIME]

How is it more helpful than prep school though?

[billiken_roy]

3 star that might be happening. i have heard young mr tillman's family might move and is considering transferring to eastside.

[bg]

Can't really answer that one. Each individual has different ideas about what they want after high school. I would guess that many decide against the prep school route because they don't want an additional five years of school after H.S. Remember, for the most part these are kids that haven't exactly embraced the academic side of attending school--their primary goal is to either play in the NBA or to play for (relatively) large bucks overseas.

[Tonka]

So, maybe we could get Powell and Felton for the following year after they straighten up their academics.

[billiken_roy]

i have long wondered on the prep school thing, "who pays for that?" tuition and room and board isnt free.

[bg]

I'm under the impression that Prep Schools can give scholarships. If one were to investigate who endows those scholarships, methinks some slime would be exposed.

[Billiken Rich]

EOM

[VTIME]

But it would only be one additional year, but you would have 4 years at D1 instead of 2. Imagine how you would feel if Tommie spent his first two years in a Mineral Area uniform instead of a billiken uniform.

[VTIME]

Powell in 2008, maybe. It could be a good battle between Majerus and Anderson, but Majerus has probably never heard of Powell and may have his eyes directed elsewhere. Felton is signed,so he couldnt come aboard until 2009.