Local Recruits RM and UB

[brianstl]

I think you are selling Torres way short. He has the pontentail to be a very good player on this level. One of the main reasons Brad is gone is because of missing on that type of local kid. Look at what kind of players RM has landed thru out his history. He hasn't landed a ton of McDonald All-Americans, but has landed that next level kid and refined those type of kid's game.

[Nate Latsch]

>I think many of us are all thinking too small about who RM

>will be recruiting. I hope he is able to take the program

>way beyond the Femi J.'s and T. Roundtree's. That is the

>level of player we would have been satisfied with if BS were

>still HC. After investing over $1M in a long-term deal for

>RM, agreeing to significantly up the pay for ACs and just

>spend more $$$ in general on the program, I think we should

>be looking at much higher levels of talent for RM to

>recruit. Not intending to be critical of that level of

>player, but aren't they really rated as good, mid-major

>level players? I think Fr. B is expecting more than that

>and I believe we should be also. If FJ and TR are key

>pieces of next year's recruiting class then I think RM will

>have failed to deliver to the level of the expectations we

>all have today.

I agree with you about some of this.

But I do think if Majerus is able to pull recruits from other areas, he will also need to fill in the roster with whatever local prospects he thinks will fit in.

It's been brought up to me by a couple people, but if you look at the kids Majerus had success with in the past, they weren't recruits that everybody else was going after — he didn't build his teams with McDonald's All-Americans.

On the radio the other day, Michael Doleac said he went to Utah because he didn't have any other options. Now after a nice college career he's been playing in the NBA for several years.

One of the biggest aspects of recruiting, one that people often forget, is evaluation.

Rick Majerus, Brad Soderberg and Chris Lowery can all look at the same kid and have three different opinions.

The evaluation aspect of recruiting is critical. Anybody can look at a McDonald's All-American and realize the kid is a good player — even though some don't have very good college careers — but it takes the best talent evaluators to find the diamonds in the rough.

- Nate

[brianstl]

Are you looking over my shoulder?

[Nate Latsch]

>Are you looking over my shoulder?

Brian,

I heard you talking about that on the radio and decided to steal the info and present it as my own.

- Nate

[Billiken75]

For Brad to get fired, after a 20 win season, indicates clearly that Biondi felt progress wasn't being made - specifically on the recruiting front. This clearly supports what Nate was reporting. The evaluation of the program, initiated in Feb by news reports, coincides with the early verbal by Torres Roundtree. The lack of signing anyone in the Fall, and a local rival already raiding the '08 class clearly had Brad on the hotseat. My sentiments were to see how Brad did with the '08 class before passing judgement. Biondi took a more aggressive path and I couldn't be happier with the results. I wish Brad well - he left a solid talent-base for Majerus (unlike Romar for Brad). Let's enjoy this next phase of Billiken basketball.

[Schasz]

Last time I checked verbals aren't written in stone, and a kid can change his mind. It sounds like that is what this kid has done. Time will tell if Coach Majerus gets the call from the kid and if he is interested in him.

[brianstl]

LOL

[gister]

Rich Grawer handled it ok and came out very well.

[billiken_roy]

dave, while spoon had three fantastic years, he also had 3 bad years. only soderberg's one losing season was worst than spoon's bad years. so to infer spoon got it done, is somewhat wrong too.

spoon needed the same increases then that majerus just got if he ever was going to sustain any long term success. otherwise spoon would have been the same roller coaster.

[billiken_roy]

david, you need to go back and read the string. latsch is just as responsible for any prolonged attacks and he is doing a pretty good job of throwing the mean stuff around as well. in fact, he is the one that is getting personal with his shots. i have stated the facts that his history is to post negative. that is all. he is the one that has come back and belittled me. which i havent stooped to his level of attack.

[bauman]

Nate, I'm not sure what parts of my post you agree and/or disagree with, and I grant you and brian that RM didn't go after/get McD. AA's while at Utah, BUT he has been hired to bring this mid-level program to a new, much higher level. With the resources he's been given, he should be expected to get players such as SS, JB & TG. I would hope we are competing with Big 10 and Big 12 schools, for recruits, NOT Mo. St and SIU-C. If what we are willing to settle for is MVC-type talent, then we shouldn't need to increase the pay level of our ACs.

[Nate Latsch]

>david, you need to go back and read the string. latsch is

>just as responsible for any prolonged attacks and he is

>doing a pretty good job of throwing the mean stuff around as

>well. in fact, he is the one that is getting personal with

>his shots. i have stated the facts that his history is to

>post negative. that is all. he is the one that has come

>back and belittled me. which i havent stooped to his level

>of attack.

Roy,

You're questioning my character, credibility and reputation at every turn on this board.

I've tried to deal with this through private messages, but you will never acknowledge that your biased opinions about me have clouded your judgment regarding everything I post.

- Nate

[Nate Latsch]

>Nate, I'm not sure what parts of my post you agree and/or

>disagree with, and I grant you and brian that RM didn't go

>after/get McD. AA's while at Utah, BUT he has been hired to

>bring this mid-level program to a new, much higher level.

>With the resources he's been given, he should be expected to

>get players such as SS, JB & TG. I would hope we are

>competing with Big 10 and Big 12 schools, for recruits, NOT

>Mo. St and SIU-C. If what we are willing to settle for is

>MVC-type talent, then we shouldn't need to increase the pay

>level of our ACs.

But there is more talent in this area than people realize.

SS, JB and TG are the biggest names, but there are others who could help get SLU to where everyone wants it to be.

- Nate

[brianstl]

I think Torres is just a small notch below Suggs. He is higher than just a MVC level talent. He was a coup for Chris Lowery.

[billiken_roy]

i just admitted i mispoke. i didnt lie.

you have used the oj mayo line a few times now. and it is extreme to the point it makes you look foolish.

you wanted slu to sign the likes of eckerle, i say mitchell is better. you didnt even present mitchell over the last year. or relephorde (who is way better), or eberhardt (who also is better than your players you suggested the billikens should have been recruiting), or any of the other players that slu was indeed recruiting.

that isnt sunshine. that is fact. even as bad as the billikens did this year it appears that mitchell, relephorde, and eberhardt would have been better than eckerle, harrelson and whomever else from west of 270 would have been. and you cant deny you never once brought up mitchell, relephorde or eberhardt as slu targets or any of the other kids that barely got away which were far better targets than you constantly came here and criticized the billikens for not recruiting.

if you cant see where your "soderberg and staff arent working hard because they arent trying to sign eckerle and harrelson" ##### is negative. so be it.

nate, change your tone and i wont say a word. but if you continue to slam the program with slanted accusations of not working and not chasing your low d-1 kids, i will continue to call that out.

[billiken_roy]

change your tone and i wont say a word.

[billiken_roy]

like you havent challenged my integrity and said some terrible things? in fact, i think if you go back the last 24 hours, the statements you made on the board about me are far worse than anything i have said.

[ACE]

Roy, in the big picture there clearly was a problem with Soderberg's recruiting. That's why he's out of a job. You can quibble all you want about this player or that player, but if Nate was sometimes "negative" about Soderberg's recruiting, it was with good reason. A lot of people shared that same view. Even Tdell alluded to not being overly impressed with some things during Tommie's recruitment. The bottom line is that Nate has generally been a good source of high school info. He offers a different perspective and it usually seems to be pretty well informed. He doesn't have an anti-Billiken agenda like the Mizlosers or the Valley lovers.

[bauman]

Brian, if you are correct in that evaluation, then I will be satisfied. Based on who is recruiting SS vs. TR, I felt that there was more of a difference than you posted.

Nate, I would tend to agree with you about a rich talent pool in the next couple of recruiting classes, but I look for RM to get some of the top of those classes not some of the secondary players. Maybe this is just an issue of semantics or maybe my expectations of what RM should be expected to do are just a little different from yours. In either case, I don't think we are far apart.

[Nate Latsch]

>you wanted slu to sign the likes of eckerle, i say mitchell

>is better. you didnt even present mitchell over the last

>year. or relephorde (who is way better), or eberhardt (who

>also is better than your players you suggested the billikens

>should have been recruiting), or any of the other players

>that slu was indeed recruiting.

I suggested Eckerle was a good fit for the Billikens because he could back up at both guard positions and be a good ambassador for the program as a quality student and athlete.

Obviously Brad Soderberg thought the same thing or he wouldn't have been trying to get Eckerle to walk on to the team.

I suggested giving him a scholarship if they couldn't get anybody else.

You try to make it sound like I was with Floyd and Demetrious picketing outside West Pine with signs that said SIGN ECKERLE NOW!

>that isnt sunshine. that is fact. even ss bad as the

>billikens did this year it appears that mitchell,

>relephorde, and eberhardt would have been better than

>eckerle, harrelson and whomever else from west of 270 would

>have been.

That's not fact. That's your opinion. Just because a kid signs with SLU doesn't make him better than every other basketball prospect out there. You've never even see Relphorde or Eberhardt play, so how you can you say they are better than anybody else?

>and you cant deny you never once brought up

>mitchell, relephorde or eberhardt as slu targets or any of

>the other kids that barely got away which were far better

>targets than you constantly came here and criticized the

>billikens for not recruiting.

The first mention of Mitchell on here was someone asking if SLU was recruiting an East St. Louis kid. I didn't think they were. I don't think Mitchell is good enough to contribute there. Surely you remember the thread where I said I liked the potential of Brandon Harrold and Darian Sain more than Mitchell.

>if you cant see where your "soderberg and staff arent

>working hard because they arent trying to sign eckerle and

>harrelson" ##### is negative. so be it.

My posts about "Soderberg and staff aren't working hard" were YOUR interpretations when I posted that over the years I've hardly seen Soderberg out recruiting. YOU were putting those words in my mouth.

>nate, change your tone and i wont say a word. but if you

>continue to slam the program with slanted accusations of not

>working and not chasing your low d-1 kids, i will continue

>to call that out.

"Change your tone" = only praise the Billikens and blow sunshine or you will trash me, right?

You still have never admitted that I post positive news on here when there is positive news to report. Go back again and look at the post that started yesterday's thread: I posted that Majerus is telling people he plans to schedule top programs to help boost his team's RPI.

If that's being negative, you'll have to also accuse Rick Majerus of being negative toward the program because I was just relaying something that he's told people.

- Nate