Observations on the all star game tonight!

[Billikan]

Well, as a long time fan who has suffered though some of these all star games where Billiken recruits hardly played any minutes and often did not do much this game was totally different and much more enjoyable. The St. Louis team won 134-126 and I did not hear who won the MVP but in my mind it should have been co mvps with Mitchell and Eckerle as the co recipients.

First my observations on the Billiken recruits who have signed:

Mithell--this young man will be a wonderful addition to our team and our program. He is simply one of the most intense hard nosed players you will ever see. He took on everyone and anyone all over the court. He hit three 3 point shots and scored inside against 6'10" players. His shot mechanics are not smooth but his overall offensive game is better than reported here. He is not yet a great ballhandler but he did make several excellent passes and he rebounds like a demon even against much bigger players. He gave his all on the court and he was exhausted at the end. I love the guy!

Eckerle--he played a fantastic game. If he is this good then we are very fortunate to get him late. He did everything! He hit a number of pure outside shots and he was money from the free throw line down the stretch. On several plays in the 4th quarter he looked like Steve Nash where he would have a big guy switch on him and he would take him outside and fake and then go around him for a lay up in traffic or he would pass off for a layup. He got banged around constantly and he was tough as nails. On defense he is relentless just like Kevin--although he is not as good obviously at this point--but he would put his nose in on anybody. Many times he was the only man who hustled back when Mitchell was on the bench and even if it was 4 on 1 with huge centers going to the rim he would never quit and he took some clean but hard fouls. He played most of the fourth quarter and he was huge down the stretch. If he is normally this good we could have used him last year for sure. If teams double teamed kevin, tommie or anyone else and left him open he would kill them. I also noticed that he got along very well with his teammates and he was always giving them props for good plays, etc. He and Mitchell will immediately make practice more intense. It may be fool's gold but based on what I saw tonight I loved this guy.

Relphorde---He was gimpy and I learned at halftime that he has suffered a bad ankle sprain in practice this week. So he was far less than full speed but you could see that he is a MAN in terms of size and he is a good rebounder and seems like a good playmaker. He cannot play point against a top notch defender like Mitchell. He has a nice touch from outside and is a good free throw shooter. Overall he had a nice game but I am sure he will be much better when he gets healthy.

Overall, I felt the best about the SLU recruits that I ever have after this game. They were clearly some of the best players on the floor and Mitchell and Eckerle lead their team to a victory against a team that probably overall had better players so I left very excited.

General comments:

There was a good crowd and the pa announcer was impossible to understand at any time. All of the people around me could not understand a thing he said in the player introductions so we had no idea who was playing until we got a program.

V time is right about Harrelson. He is the real deal and I think he would be perfect in a Majerus system. He is very strong, very tough and is an excellent shot blocker. He blocked two dunk attempts by the big Evans kid that signed with SIU. He kind of reminds me of a more athletic Tom Frericks. The top teams often have three big guys that they rotate and I think he would fit right in with Reed and Thompson.

I sat next to a junior college heard coach and he was there to recruit Leon Powell and watch a player he had recruited. He knew about the Bills hiring of Majerus and he had very good things to say about the potential of the Bills in the future. My observations of Powell are that he is a great athlete and he plays pretty hard but no where near as hard as Mitchell. He is still a work in progress. He did make two very nice inside shots down the stretch. the coach I talked to said he understood that Leon was to get his scores this week and if he qualified that he wanted to go to Missouri. If not, he will go the juco route and 4 or 5 schools are recruiting him.

The Missouri recruit looked good and hustled and hit some nice outside shots.

Felton had the most spectacular dunks but his overall game is limited by his seeming lack of the understanding of team play and his lack of effort on defense.

This was by far the most fun I have had at one of these games and the level of play in the 4th quarter was very high and our guys were all in at the time. Go Bills!

[Quality Is Job 1]

*

[VTIME]

Yeah, Felton won the MVP, and he did deserve it. He put on a show and it is an All-Star Game and he hit some nice turnaround jumpers in the paint, and his man couldnt stop him off the dribble. Mitchell is a heck of a player like I've said before. He hit a very deep three in the second half. He has a quick delivery and his ballhandling is solid. He's not quite a pg, but could play some in a pinch. He can pretty much do what he wants and he plays extremely hard. He kept tapping the ball away from his man on defense, especially Relphorde who got frustrated and looked upset with the officiating most of the game. Depending on how the game is officiated Mitchell could take over a game defensively. His up-and-under reverse layup was the play off the game in my opinion. He used his go-to move which is the step back jumper. Its going to be hard for many guys to stop him from getting it off. He was the best of the Billiken recruits too. Eckerle is tough, he can shoot, he is faster than he looks. He's a steal. He's definitely worthy of a scholarship, if Majerus wasnt the coach I would say he should definitely stay on basketball scholarship. Relphorde is physically imposing. Anyone who says he cant play the 4 hasnt seen him in person. He could run over whoever he wanted. Doss looked good after he calmed down. Hopefully Harrellson showed enough for some of the skeptics on this board to know that he can definitely play for SLU and we'd be lucky to have him. He can shoot, he can hold his position on offense and defense. He has good low post moves, and can drop step finish inside with dunks. He also is an underrated shotblocker, but the secret might be out after tonight. Best player on the court was Terrence Roderick, headed to UAB. Unstoppable. He didnt have much help. He had well over 30 and they were hard earned. I think Mitchell is going to be special and play a lot. His mechanics dont look good, but his shot falls. He did air ball one step back three, but I think it slipped.

[crymdg2]

What time is the game being aired tomorrow on Charter? The TV guide doesn't list it as a program. Anyone know?

[Billikan]

If the most valuable player is to be the player who makes the most spectacular dunks then he should have won. If it is to be the all around most valuable player then he would have no chance because he plays very little defense and sneaks out while others are rebounding so he can get a breakaway dunk. He is clearly a great athlete but his overall game leaves a lot to be desired.

[VTIME]

Was anyone else at the game? You really would've enjoyed your recruits. Hopefully their were 4 future Billikens on the court tonight if you count Harrellson. He would fit good with the Billikens 2011 class of Mitchell, Relphorde, and Eckerle.

[slufanskip]

My opinions

1. MR ... he has an NBA body right now. He could play the 4 easily with his size, but didn't look to have the mentality. He didn't seem to have a lot of hops or be really quick, but someone above said he had a sprained ankle. He moves and carries himself like a 2. He looks good with the ball in his hands and his stroke is smooth and sweet. He has a great release with perfect rotation. He looks to pass alot and made a few very nice ones along with a few forced ones. I can see him helping right away. If he is quicker and has more hops than he showed due to a bad ankle he will be very good. I didn't see him complaining to the refs, I thought he was harping at his teammates to play D and get in position.

2. AM. A hustler, not as thick as I had envisioned. He needs to work on his perimiter game to be effective at the next level. He is not or will not be a pg. He hit some shots, but his form is terrible. I would bet he is a very inconsistent shooter. He smiles a lot works his ##### off and takes it to the hole against anyone. You can tell he has done most of his work in HS from the inside. He is fearless. I like him alot. I think he will eventually be good for us.

3. He's a poor mans KL. Works his butt off, drives, spins, mixes it up defensively and looks to have a pretty sweet shot. He deserves a scholarship. I'll say it again, this time after watching him. Don't be surprised to see him overacheive.

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[VTIME]

Yeah, it does, but he was the high-scorer on the winning team, and that's usually enough to get you the MVP and he showed a very nice turnaround jumper in the paint in addition to the dunks. He is a ridiculous leaper, but if Powell is 6'7, then Felton is 6'5 because Powell clearly had a couple inches on him. The 360 dunk he did where Felton put the ball on his hip was ridiculous. The windmill dunk over Evans got me out of my seat. The Mitchell up and under was great. Mitchell got pulled a lot. I thought he would have played more. Eckerle too. I would've like to have seen them more. It was only 10 guys so I thought some guys would have played more.

[slufanskip]

I agree. I'd like to have Harrelson this year. I also agree Felton should have been the MVP. It's an all star game, it is about showing off a bit and having fun. The guy has incredible ups. I can't tell you how many times he made me say holy $hi#. He just hangs in the air. If you would assume Leon Powell could get up and be a good dunker and he can. If he is a 7 on a scale of 1-10. Felton is a 13. Is he going juco due to grades? IF so is there someone on the board that can take a few tests for him?

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[VTIME]

Mitchell's shot form isnt that nice, but he does hit it regularly, I can tell you that. And he didnt play inside in high school, but he does like to mix it up. He crashed the boards, but he was not a post player in high school. They had big guys, specifically Aveon Jones, a football player who carried the load inside. Mitchell averaged all those rebounds out of pure tenacity. He follows his shot very well. Eckerle is good enough to not disappoint if he keeps the schollie. I say you sign 5 guys in the fall and save the last scholarship for Suggs, if he takes it great, if he doesnt you dont sign anyone else and let Eckerle keep it. I would hope one of those 5 guys is Harrellson. He is big, physical, can run and can score. Relphorde does have an NBA body, and like I've said for a while he can play the 4, I dont why people think I dont know what I'm talking about. Just because he didnt play it in high school doesnt mean that he doesnt have the body to play it and be successful. He might have to play forward exclusively if his ballhandling doesnt improve, Mitchell was all over him. Mitchell handles the ball pretty well, he can play some pg in a pinch. He uses his body well to keep the defender on his hip. I saw him playing some pg prior to K. Mitchell committing, but now I see no need. Working on his mechanics would help Mitchell, but his shot as his, falls pretty regularly.

[VTIME]

The thing that impressed me about Powell was that he was alone under on the fastbreak by himself after a broken play, and instead of dunking it he gave it up to Felton as he was crossing half court and let him put in a monster jam. It shows the kind of unselfish player he is. Skip, where were you sitting. I was sitting directly across from the St. Louis All-Stars bench. Also, I found it weird that Rodney Ford was omitted from the program. Ford sure can pass.

[biggdadiek]

How did chris stokes look?

[VTIME]

Stokes never got going. He hit a reverse layup off of a steal and I dont remember him scoring anything else or getting any assists. Pearson was playing so well that Stokes didnt get much time either. Mitchell played a lot of pg too. He was the only true pg for the St. Louis team. His counterpart Aaron Johnons who is a fantastic pg, was equally unimpressive although he put on quite the show at the Riverwar. Those 2 were sluggish, maybe it was something they ate.

[Majerus Magic]

Paul Eckerle, a 6-1 combo guard who signed with SLU, had one of the most efficient performances on the night. Eckerle’s 20 points came on five-of-seven shooting, including four 3-pointers. He scored six points in the fourth quarter, including four free throws, to help secure the victory for his team.

IMPRESSIVE

[slufanskip]

MR could probably defend the 4, but he didn't really play inside. He plays like a 2 guard or a point forward. Didn't even appear he had any interest in posting anyone up or playng inside even when he was being guarded by guys much smaller than him like AM. I disagree AM can shut him down, they call fouls in real games. Your aren't allowed to just push someone and take the ball or run through them to get it. Whatever you think about AM playing the point, fine, but I'll go o record as saying no way, no how. He needs work on his handles and his perimter game and I think with his work level he could develop into a very good 2.

I'd love to see Mitchells stats last year from the 3.

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Official Sponser of the Stemmler and Ahearn could and would have helped club.

[VTIME]

So having a reliable jumper means you shoot a good percentage from 3? He's not a 3pt shooter. If you leave him open he can make one, but no one will confuse him for being a shooter. He does hit a good percentage from midrange, and he's very good off the dribble creating a shot, something the Bills desperately need. Its so much harder to score with just Liddell being able to create for others. I think Mitchell will play a LOT more than people expect him to do. Also, referees usually give the calls to the aggressor, so if you establish the tone of the game as physical, Mitchell might get those calls, besides he's a bench player and doesnt have to worry about fouls. He shot 25% from three last year in limited attempts. He shot 51% from inside the arc and 47% overall. Why shoot the 3 if opponents cant stop you from getting to the basket. I think his rebounding will translate. The way he skied over Evans for the rebound and thin finished over him for the putback just showed once again how athletic and fearless he is. His shot can use improvement, but its not bad right now. He's not expected to be shooter and maybe he could improve it somewhat like Tommie did. If he ever shoots over 35% from 3, he would be quite the player for the Bills. I dont really want him shooting 3's though. Use Maguire, Lisch, and Meyer for that and later on Thompson and Roth.

[VTIME]

That in one game earlier this season Mitchell had 20+ pts, 20+ rebs, and 7 blks?

[aj_arete]

Was the worse DJ All-Star Game that I ever saw. I thought the play was ragged and quality of play poor. Harrelson must have done damage in the second half because I wasn't impressed with him early. Liked Anthony Mitchell and Paul Eckerle, but was disappointed in Relaphode's play. Thought Relaphode was playing very selfishly and appeared to be getting an earful from his coach.

[Quality Is Job 1]

AJ, something's wrong with your eyesight, or something. This was actually one of the best of these exhibitions that I can remember. You must be a pessimist. You're always complaining about something or other after these games and tend to dwell on the negative.

Vtime, I looked for you all evening, but no one could tell me who you were. slufanskip and I also sat directly across from the local team's bench, two-thirds or three-quarters of the way up, but we were nearly at half-court. At halftime I walked by the place where you were sitting at least a few times, to no avail. You probably saw me (had on khaki shorts, a red church t-shirt &l;my church picnic was earlier in the day&r;, and a black St. Louis Stars ball cap). I didn't see Nate, though I assume he was there. I talked to Joe Wiley, who told me he did not see Earl Austin. I was hoping to see Earl -- anyone know why he wasn't in the house?

I guess I'll make some comments on the game -- er, exhibition. The local team appeared to have had a cohesiveness indicative of their having played together in the past, and it helped them to the victory.

1. Paul Eckerle is a Billiken. He'll be a Billiken for four years. He will be on scholarship for four years, and he's deserving. The way I see it, either Majerus has only two more scholarships to offer this fall, or someone else is leaving. Eckerle is tough and fearless. His shot is pure. It just came to me this morning that his play is reminiscent of Anthony Drejaj. He's definitely worthy of a Div. I scholarship, and he'll be around.

2. Anthony Mitchell does all of the dirty work. He's a guard, but he's probably not a point. His shot looks ugly, but he hit a couple of three-pointers. He does a lot of work around the rim. At first I didn't think he could help us much as a freshman this season, but after his play in the second half, I'm not so certain about that. He can "D" up the opposing team's best perimeter player.

3. Marcus Relphorde (there's no "A" in his last name) didn't have a great game, but he appears to be a promising recruit. He's definitely built like a small forward and he plays point forward -- handling the ball a lot, distributing a lot. He blew a dunk in the first half, but he did have a couple of impressive assists, including one to his teammate from American Christian, Ellis. I didn't know during the game that he was dealing with an injury.

4. UAB is going to be scary. Two of their three recruits in the game were very impressive, and the third was jet-quick.

5. Missouri did get one very good catch in Justin Safford. He's a 6-9 forward who can drain threes and is ubiquitous. He has a nose for the ball.

6. Josh Harrellson can definitely help SLU. Perhaps he'll come in the 2008 class, but Majerus has commitments from two bigs already. Harrellson seems to be more athletic and more polished than Adam Knollmeyer.

[VTIME]

Its Relphorde, not Relaphode. We gotta start spelling our own guy's names right. It was sloppy early, guys just couldnt hold the ball, maybe they were nervous. Harrellson was very impressive. He's huge and he can run. He was mobile enough to run with Mitchell on the break, catch the fancy behind the back pass that was unexpected, put in on the floor and explode for the drop-step jam at 260lbs. Very impressive. Even more impressive was his rebounding and shotblocking. He was the most physically imposing presence on the court, even with Will Bogan out there. He is a steal if Majerus decides he wants him and can ink him.

[davidnark]

>1. Paul Eckerle is a Billiken. He'll be a Billiken for four

>years. He will be on scholarship for four years, and he's

>deserving. The way I see it, either Majerus has only two

>more scholarships to offer this fall, or someone else is

>leaving.

As I understand it, there are no plans for Eckerle not to be a four year player, but his academic abilities and scholarship will allow the program to save an athletic scholarship if necessary.

[VTIME]

I had on a black G-Unit shirt, black shorts, and black adidas. I told anybody in a post thursday if they wanted to catch me at the game, send me a pm. I would've given my cell phone number so you could call me and I would walk over. And dont worry about Majerus already having 2 bigs in his 08 class because Harrellson would be in the same class with Relphorde, Mitchell, and Eckerle, not Reed, Thompson, and Mitchell.

[VTIME]

If you keep Eckerle on scholarship, there is no need for Roth. Eckerle can definitely shoot and he is MUCH more athletic that Roth. He's got pretty good hops and isnt afraid to mix it up. The dunk he had in the championship game his junior year to ice it was a moment Borgia fans will never forget. I'm happy for him. A lot of people didnt know if he was good enough for a scholarship under Soderberg, but I did and now they will know he might be good enough to keep one under Majerus. He's already in school, and hopefully impressing Majerus.

[Taj79]

... sign to play his collegiate ball? I don't recall if I've ever seen Felton's name anywhere as signed to a Division 1 school. Is this one of those football kids I recall reading about?

I wish Leon well but him and Nick Kern ought to be used as prime example/poster children for what it means to have ALL things in order, not just your athletic skills. Here we are, end of June, and this kid is still twisting in the wind. That's a real shame, no animosity intended.

Supposed Rolls Royce talent done in by skateboard wheels. won't be the first time and probably won't be the last.

[Quality Is Job 1]

I think I saw you, but I'm not 100 percent certain. I know you requested the private message, but I never got around to it. Well, I'm sure we'll have another opportunity to meet -- perhaps at a pro-am summer game later this summer.