Predictions

[moytoy12]

Just some ideas for the 3: FJ, PE, BC, Ruben Cotto, other possible signees, MR, AM, Another JUCO scorer (no, I dont have any ideas.)

Cotto at the 3?

V, if DM is around, he is going to face substantially more competition for a starting than AK has this year. It's silly to think that DM has a serious chance to start barring a lot of injuries, grade probs, transfers or some other calamity that knocks out 3-4 of our players for next year.

[NH]

Cotto at the 3?

V, if DM is around, he is going to face substantially more competition for a starting than AK has this year. It's silly to think that DM has a serious chance to start barring a lot of injuries, grade probs, transfers or some other calamity that knocks out 3-4 of our players for next year.

well Tommie does not guard the point on D. You really dont need a pure 3 on Offense since we have at least three perimeter players

[billiken_roy]

from what i hear slu isnt working that hard on cotto. i dont think he will be a billiken. i also hear slu is not in the running for harrelson. harrelson now is being bigtimed and slu isnt amongst the choices. i am sure our favorite coaches at swic are in our corner though.

btw nate, you might want to take back your thoughts that parker from swic isnt going d-1. from what i hear he is getting big time looks as well. if there is a juco player at swic i think we should be pursuing parker might have been the perfect fit. 2 year point guard to help ease mitchell into the role. however parker is now getting sec and big ten and big 12 interest.

[NH]

from what i hear slu isnt working that hard on cotto. i dont think he will be a billiken. i also hear slu is not in the running for harrelson. harrelson now is being bigtimed and slu isnt amongst the choices. i am sure our favorite coaches at swic are in our corner though.

btw nate, you might want to take back your thoughts that parker from swic isnt going d-1. from what i hear he is getting big time looks as well. if there is a juco player at swic i think we should be pursuing parker might have been the perfect fit. 2 year point guard to help ease mitchell into the role. however parker is now getting sec and big ten and big 12 interest.

wow that stinks about cotto would have loved that pure scorer.

[Majerus Magic]

from what i hear slu isnt working that hard on cotto. i dont think he will be a billiken. i also hear slu is not in the running for harrelson. harrelson now is being bigtimed and slu isnt amongst the choices. i am sure our favorite coaches at swic are in our corner though.

That's completely contradictory to what I heard like 2 weeks ago. So I guess we will have to wait and find out.

[Majerus Magic]

Just some ideas for the 3: FJ, PE, BC, Ruben Cotto, other possible signees, MR, AM, Another JUCO scorer (no, I dont have any ideas.)

FJ- Is a 2

PE- 1/2

BC- 4 ( they want to convert him to a three but I hardly believe the transition could be that fast)

Cotto- He's 5'11

MR- He's a slow 3 or a small 4 so maybe

Mitchell- Hopefully he can get his game going

[moytoy12]

FJ- Is a 2

PE- 1/2

BC- 4 ( they want to convert him to a three but I hardly believe the transition could be that fast)

Cotto- He's 5'11

MR- He's a slow 3 or a small 4 so maybe

Mitchell- Hopefully he can get his game going

My thoughts exactly.

[NH]

My thoughts exactly.

as I said you dont need a pure 3. Majerus Magic, please explain how paul is a 1

[billiken_roy]

That's completely contradictory to what I heard like 2 weeks ago. So I guess we will have to wait and find out.

my source is pretty close. i hope i am wrong as it is obvious that rickma ball needs lots of bigs and harrelson is big.

[Majerus Magic]

as I said you dont need a pure 3. Majerus Magic, please explain how paul is a 1

Why don't we need a pure three? Paul has the attributes to play the 1. He is quick and aside from his terrible 3 game stretch has played better than the average freshman. He is a student of the game and knows the plays probably better than anyone. Agreed, he can stand to improve his ball handling but we are talking about a YEAR from now.

[STL Hoops Insider]

He could play the 1 on defense at off guard on defense while Lisch plays the point as he often does now. I'm not saying i advocate that lineup, but its not illogical.

[NH]

Why don't we need a pure three? Paul has the attributes to play the 1. He is quick and aside from his terrible 3 game stretch has played better than the average freshman. He is a student of the game and knows the plays probably better than anyone. Agreed, he can stand to improve his ball handling but we are talking about a YEAR from now.

Because Liddell can guard the 3 on defense. We play with three/four perimeter players. A slasher is not what this team needs, they need shooters and big men. I dont care if those shooters are 5'11.

As for Eckerle he has 29 assists to 24 turnovers. He is shooting less than 40% from the field and less than 35% from three

[BIG BILL FAN]

from what i hear slu isnt working that hard on cotto. i dont think he will be a billiken. i also hear slu is not in the running for harrelson. harrelson now is being bigtimed and slu isnt amongst the choices. i am sure our favorite coaches at swic are in our corner though.

btw nate, you might want to take back your thoughts that parker from swic isnt going d-1. from what i hear he is getting big time looks as well. if there is a juco player at swic i think we should be pursuing parker might have been the perfect fit. 2 year point guard to help ease mitchell into the role. however parker is now getting sec and big ten and big 12 interest.

Not true about Harrellson, he is still very interested in SLU.

[Band Man]

That's completely contradictory to what I heard like 2 weeks ago. So I guess we will have to wait and find out.

Yea I also agree that this is contradictory to what I've heard. Cotto has been seen in SLU shirts before his games, and just based on what I hear he still seems like a real possibility.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see Brian Conklin come in and start from day 1. On his visit he scrimmaged with the team and turned some heads offensively. Evidently, he was a load for our bigs.

[Majerus Magic]

Yea I also agree that this is contradictory to what I've heard. Cotto has been seen in SLU shirts before his games, and just based on what I hear he still seems like a real possibility.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see Brian Conklin come in and start from day 1. On his visit he scrimmaged with the team and turned some heads offensively. Evidently, he was a load for our bigs.

Conklin was the best "big" when he scrimmaged with the team. He is more of a 4 at this point though so it will take a while to adjust to the three.

[cheeseman]

when has eckerle showed any ball skills so far that would justify him as the point guard? he defends ok and apparently knows the plays. i will give him that. but no way i want him as our point guard.

i dont even want him playing all the minutes he has played thus far. only polk has a worse shooting percentage and his assists to turnover ratio is barely over 1. he is not a point guard.

assuming no other signees in the spring, i would assume mitchell comes in and is point guard from day one, but if not, it has to go to lisch.

I agree with you Roy.

[brianstl]

My starting five next year:

1. Mitchell

2. Lisch

3. Lidell

4. BE

5. Most likely Harrellson.

Mitchell is the real deal from everything I hear. He can run the offense as a true pg when that is what the team needs. He can pour in the points as a scorer if that is what his team needs. He will be the most complete player in the class as it stands now. He has really worked on using his left hand and that no longer seems to be a problem with him. He has a work ethic and a competive streak that can be called Lisch like.

Here is the rundown Mark Miller of Wishoops.net gave him in a review of canidates for Mr. Basketball:

Kwamain Mitchell, 6-0, PG, Whitefish Bay Dominican (Saint Louis)

While Lucious is certainly more flashy than Mitchell, Dominican’s four-year varsity lead guard tends to get more done inside the game when you factor in defense, rebounding, assists, steals and team leadership. Mitchell is a streaky scorer, but his real value on the court is his strong will to succeed. That was certainly evident when he sank the two game-winning free throws on Dec. 28 to lead Dominican to a 51-47 victory over Pius in the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Shootout. Mitchell is averaging 17.4 ppg for the 11-1 Knights.

[willie]

I agree with you Roy.

While Eck may start somewhere it won't be at point guard. He really does not handle it that well. In Saturdays game there were a few moments when Kevin and Polk were both out of the game,Tommie handled the point for that time. Tommie had a nice assist to someone inside. I wish RM would let Tommie play the backup point spot instead of Kevin. I've also come to the conclusion that as many faults as he has Polk still has to play most of the point's minutes.

[Guest BillikenReport]

nm

[Guest BillikenReport]

Regarding the Eckerle stuff ...

1) I don't think he will start next year, but based on the fact that he's the No. 1 guard option off the bench right now who is coming back next year it seems logical that RM likes him enough to give him the opportunity.

2) If he does start, Eckerle would likely guard the opponents' point guards while Lisch would be the point guard on offense. Until this team has a true point guard, you'll continue to see Lisch and Liddell handle the ball as well.

3) Kwamain Mitchell was recruited to be the Billikens' point guard. The recruitment of Ruben Cotto is interesting because he plays the same position, but I'm guessing the coaches like Cotto so much that they want him regardless of already having Mitchell in the plans. I'm sure SLU wants to bring a point guard in with the class of 2009 (Bryant Allen?), so maybe if they got Cotto they don't bring in a point guard the following year.

4) I should have included Knollmeyer in my starting five. If he keeps playing well and comes back next year, I think he'll start. The incoming players (Thompson, Reed, Conklin, JUCO?) will have a chance to earn that spot, but you could see those guys being worked into the mix slowly with Knollmeyer holding down the 5 for a while until the newcomers are ready.

- Nate

[NextYearBill]

Next years starters:

C Thompson

F Conklin

G Liddell

G Lisch

G Mitchell

Conklin is listed on ESPN's Ten sleeper prospects in the 2008 ESPN 150. He starts over Barry. Majerus always talks about these players not being his guys. I see him starting "his" guys

[billiken_roy]

Roy,

The Parker to D-2 stuff came directly from the coaching staff. He's got a good basketball body and athleticism.

There are also other factors in play with the kid.

- Nate

well if true, the swic coaches apparently dont know who is recruiting him then. i would think they would know though.

if you are insinuating the kid is an academic risk or a troubled kid, i watched parker throughout high school at centralia and carbondale and he never showed any tendencies that would suggest such on the court. everyone i ever talked to about him have had nothing but glowing reports about him as a young man.

[slufanskip]

This is a hard question to answer or really even give an educated opinion on so early as we just have far too many variables.

We know Tommie and Kevin.

I would think Barry at least early

I think Adam has a chance to earn the starting 5 spot at least early in the year. I certainly wouldn't say he's earned anything yet, but I'm happy with what he has shown so far on D and rebounding. He still needs to work on becoming at least a decent offensive threat down low.

In todays basketball world it's not that unusual to see a player start very early as a freshman even at pg, so my thoughts are the position is KM's to lose.

I'd love to see by midway through the non conference season a starting lineup of

Thompson, Conklin, Liddell, Lisch, and Mitchell.

That would mean that Thompson and Conklin are playing better than Adam and Barry which would make me very happy with our inside game. It would also show that KM was playing well enough at the 1 to leave KL and TL at the 2 and 3.

[BIG BILL FAN]

Regarding the Eckerle stuff ...

1) I don't think he will start next year, but based on the fact that he's the No. 1 guard option off the bench right now who is coming back next year it seems logical that RM likes him enough to give him the opportunity.

2) If he does start, Eckerle would likely guard the opponents' point guards while Lisch would be the point guard on offense. Until this team has a true point guard, you'll continue to see Lisch and Liddell handle the ball as well.

3) Kwamain Mitchell was recruited to be the Billikens' point guard. The recruitment of Ruben Cotto is interesting because he plays the same position, but I'm guessing the coaches like Cotto so much that they want him regardless of already having Mitchell in the plans. I'm sure SLU wants to bring a point guard in with the class of 2009 (Bryant Allen?), so maybe if they got Cotto they don't bring in a point guard the following year.

4) I should have included Knollmeyer in my starting five. If he keeps playing well and comes back next year, I think he'll start. The incoming players (Thompson, Reed, Conklin, JUCO?) will have a chance to earn that spot, but you could see those guys being worked into the mix slowly with Knollmeyer holding down the 5 for a while until the newcomers are ready.

- Nate

I will be very disappointed if AK is a starter next year. That said, this is who I think will start.

1- KM

2 - KL

3 - TL

4 - Conklin

5 - Thompson/Harrellson

Nate, have you heard any more about Harrellson's plans?

[Guest BillikenReport]

I haven't heard anything new about Harrellson for a while.

Something to remember on this thread is that whoever starts might not be the main people getting a majority of the minutes anyway.

For instance, if Knollmeyer starts at center, you could still have Eberhardt or Thompson or someone else seeing most of the minutes at that position. It's just like what is happening right now with the team.

- Nate