Reuben and Kwamain

[slu72]

Wasn't KM recruited as a PG? Now RC as a PG. I have no problem with a talented crowd at that position, but will KM most likely end up a 2? Think someone has posted on here before that's probably his best fit anyways. All that said, RC would be a great get. The list of schools after him, KY, IL, Purdue, etc was impressive. And what a great first year haul for RM and staff. One thing's for sure we don't have to worry about Kelvin showing up and picking our pocket at the last minute this time. Now if we could just land a Dunston JUCO clone in the spring.

[Westy03]

Wasn't KM recruited as a PG? Now RC as a PG. I have no problem with a talented crowd at that position, but will KM most likely end up a 2? Think someone has posted on here before that's probably his best fit anyways. All that said, RC would be a great get. The list of schools after him, KY, IL, Purdue, etc was impressive. And what a great first year haul for RM and staff. One thing's for sure we don't have to worry about Kelvin showing up and picking our pocket at the last minute this time. Now if we could just land a Dunston JUCO clone in the spring.

From what ive read and heard they both are very good ballhandlers with good to great vision that can score. I think they will be interchangeable at the point and 2 guard position. I think its a great "problem" to have. I can see Cotto playing more of the 2 guard position just because of his pure shooting ability, Mitchell scores by getting to the rim with his superb quickness.

[slu72]

From what ive read and heard they both are very good ballhandlers with good to great vision that can score. I think they will be interchangeable at the point and 2 guard position. I think its a great "problem" to have. I can see Cotto playing more of the 2 guard position just because of his pure shooting ability, Mitchell scores by getting to the rim with his superb quickness.

If this is the case, it ain't a problem at all. It's a major opportunity. I have visions of the 2003-04 St. Joes backcourt duo dancing through my head just thinking about it. And one thing we'd have that St. Joe's didn't have back then; bigs. Is there any doubt St. Joe's could have won it all with a couple of strong inside men to go along with West and Nelson?

[Taj79]

Wouldn't that be over the top? Going from a team with nary a point guard on the roster to having two, highly regarded ones. Wait a minute ---- oh yeah, this is BILLIKEN basketball. Such largess will never happen. Or will it?

[bauman]

Wouldn't that be over the top? Going from a team with nary a point guard on the roster to having two, highly regarded ones. Wait a minute ---- oh yeah, this is BILLIKEN basketball. Such largess will never happen. Or will it?

Quite a team for next year if the freshmen are as good as we think.

PG----RC/KM

#2----KL/RC/KM/PE

#3----TL/FJ/BC

#4----BC/BE/WR/JUCO

#5----BT/WR/JUCO

The Juco I have listed is just one player. I have not listed any of the other remaining players since some of them may/will not return and for those that do they will get zero playing time given the above group. The one recruit I am uneasy about is W. Reed since we are hearing nothing about him, either grade wise or if he is even playing anywhere. Anyone have any knowledge (not speculation) on Willie?

I know the above is a real young group, but it does have excellent leadership in KL/TL/ PE/ and hopefully BE. If we didn't have Kevin and Tommie I would be more concerned.

Let's finish strong this year and look forward to 08-09 in the Fetz.

[jjray]

From what ive read and heard they both are very good ballhandlers with good to great vision that can score. I think they will be interchangeable at the point and 2 guard position. I think its a great "problem" to have. I can see Cotto playing more of the 2 guard position just because of his pure shooting ability, Mitchell scores by getting to the rim with his superb quickness.

Cotto is listed at 6'0" probably 5'11". Not quite Marquee Perry size for a shooting guard but not ideal. Kwamain is listed at 6'1". The old saying is speed kills so I'd love to have both Cotto and Mitchell in Billiken blue together despite neither being a protypical SG. Some nice comments on Kwamain from last season from a UWM board:

Re: UWM offers Kwamain Mitchell

Post by uwm97 on Jan 27, 2007, 10:37am

I took in the Dominican/Racine Lutheran game last night. Here are a few observations re: Mitchell:

1. Lightning quick, and I mean lightning. He was playing at a different speed than anybody else. Whenever he wanted to get into the lane, he did. And when he got into the lane, he finished. He was jumping over everybody, including his own teammates.

2. Very fluid jump shot. He's pretty high in the air at the release point, so he'd have no problem shooting over guys taller than him.

3. Dominican employs a true, full-court press. I would guess Mitchell came away with four or five steals. He was all over the place on that press.

4. Attentive. I was sitting a few rows behind Dominican's bench in the 1st half, and Mitchell was soaking up everything the coach was saying. He was also communicating with the coach quite a bit when he was running the point.

5. Mitchell had a few laser, no-look passes to guys open underneath the basket. Tremendous vision.

http://uwmfreak.proboards5.com/index.cgi?b...read=1168371329

[pompeytir]

I've seen Cotto play twice. He's exciting and a legit talent- he has quick hands, a rainbow jumpshot and great court vision. However, Cotto, is not a 2 guard. He's not capable at this point of scoring off the dribble against a taller player who has the same quickness (Kenny Leverette shut him down when Cotto had the ball in the 1/2 court). Also, If he's 5'11 that's being generous. I really think he's on the 5'9-5'10ish size. He's small for a high school basketball player, and he plays even lower because he keeps his center of gravity so low. He's like a thicker version of Polk, maybe an inch or two taller.

[brianstl]

You almost really need two guys on the floor that can handle point duties in a motion offense like we run. Niethers size really worries me. Jimmy Soto did a great job running the point for Rickma at Utah and he was 5'8" at max.

[Guest BillikenReport]

He's like a thicker version of Polk, maybe an inch or two taller.

A couple inches taller and a much better shooter, scorer and passer.

I would guess that Kwamain and Cotto would split time at PG next year, with the two possibly playing together the following couple of seasons.

Not a bad situation.

[bauman]

A couple inches taller and a much better shooter, scorer and passer.

I would guess that Kwamain and Cotto would split time at PG next year, with the two possibly playing together the following couple of seasons.

Not a bad situation.

Nate, any news re the question I buried in my 11:15 post today?

[GOSLU68]

A couple inches taller and a much better shooter, scorer and passer.

I would guess that Kwamain and Cotto would split time at PG next year, with the two possibly playing together the following couple of seasons.

Not a bad situation.

we have discussed our weakness at the 4 and 5, especially depth with LM sometimes the 5, sometimes the 4 at barely 6'5"

however we have probably lost more ballgames with bad passing and ball handling this year and last. Obviously, this year's club has not been consistent offensively, but last year was hard to watch with no offensive-just street ball. If we

have depth at the point and SG positions and bigs 6-9 to 7 feet tall who are ready to start it will be worth the extra money to watch real D1 basketball. I for one would like to see the Bills kick some serious A__ Put Memphis on schedule.

[Guest BillikenReport]

Nate, any news re the question I buried in my 11:15 post today?

You mean the question that comes up a couple times a week?

I don't think anyone will know anything definitive for a while.

[james]

You mean the question that comes up a couple times a week?

I don't think anyone will know anything definitive for a while.

I'm going to have to disagree with a few of the assessments on Cotto.

First, and least importantly, its Ruben, like the name, not the sandwich. It seems to be spelled wrong frequently, so nothing personal.

As for his game, I disagree and think he does look like a legit 6 foot. He's also very strong and well built, and he elevates a lot on his jumper so that also helps. He will be more suited as a 1, but size won't be as much of an issue as its being made out to be.....especially considering the Polk comparisons.

And the mention of his matchups with Leverette, I've seen two of the three games between these two, and to say that Leverette shut him down (or anything even close to that) is simply not true. The first game he put up somewhere in the 35-40 points. Leverette was in foul trouble late in the game, but he was in foul trouble because Cotto was taking it to him. The other game I saw he was slowed a little by Leverette, but never forced anything, and still ended up around 20 pts, but he was constantly getting doubled and creating for teammates. Leverette did ok against him, but he had a ton of help......not to mention that Alton won the game in O'fallon's dome. Both games had Cotto shooting a high percentage from the field.

Assuming the deal gets closed, and he qualifies, this is a super pickup. He's played great competition previously, so making the jump shouldn't be as difficult for him as it would be for the normal freshman.

[courtside]

I've seen Cotto play twice. He's exciting and a legit talent- he has quick hands, a rainbow jumpshot and great court vision. However, Cotto, is not a 2 guard. He's not capable at this point of scoring off the dribble against a taller player who has the same quickness (Kenny Leverette shut him down when Cotto had the ball in the 1/2 court). Also, If he's 5'11 that's being generous. I really think he's on the 5'9-5'10ish size. He's small for a high school basketball player, and he plays even lower because he keeps his center of gravity so low. He's like a thicker version of Polk, maybe an inch or two taller.

Perhaps you meant to say small for a college basketball 1 or 2? I see a lot of high school players all over geographically, and the majority of the 1's I see are in and near that height range in high school. The ones much bigger are the exceptions.

Kwamain Mitchell, seperately, can play the 1 or the 2, and both would do fine playing at the same time for periods of time in a game. Both are better served as point guards in college, but both very easily could play together quite often.

[pompeytir]

I'm already at Cotto fan, he's electric in the open court. As for not being a 2 guard, I mean at the college level.

As for being better than Polk...lol, I know I would not have thought that after Polk dropped 30+ in the state championship game.

[3star_recruit]

Pomp, I agree with you on your observations in this thread but I'd say the implications are just the opposite. The fact that Cotto can just keep stepping further and further back to shoot will enable him to play some 2. The fact that he has problems penetrating against players of similar quickness is what he needs to overcome to be an above average point guard at this level.

[Billiken Law]

Pomp, I agree with you on your observations in this thread but I'd say the implications are just the opposite. The fact that Cotto can just keep stepping further and further back to shoot will enable him to play some 2. The fact that he has problems penetrating against players of similar quickness is what he needs to overcome to be an above average point guard at this level.

looks like it isn't gonna happen:

Multiple sources have informed us that if Cotto decides to prop at a D1 school next season, that in all likelihood it will be at St. Louis University. With that being said, these same sources have indicated that it will be virtually impossible for Cotto to qualify academically, as he has not even taken his ACT as of yet. Therefore, there is also a possibility that Cotto could wind up at a JUCO next season, and several high-profile JUCOs are vying for Cotto's services.

[redbirdfan]

looks like it isn't gonna happen:

Multiple sources have informed us that if Cotto decides to prop at a D1 school next season, that in all likelihood it will be at St. Louis University. With that being said, these same sources have indicated that it will be virtually impossible for Cotto to qualify academically, as he has not even taken his ACT as of yet. Therefore, there is also a possibility that Cotto could wind up at a JUCO next season, and several high-profile JUCOs are vying for Cotto's services.

Ok, enouugh is enough! Don't beleive everything that you read. Yes, SLU is the school of choice, but as for as him NOT qualifying academically, this allegation is strickly a rumor.

[ACE]

looks like it isn't gonna happen:

Multiple sources have informed us that if Cotto decides to prop at a D1 school next season, that in all likelihood it will be at St. Louis University. With that being said, these same sources have indicated that it will be virtually impossible for Cotto to qualify academically, as he has not even taken his ACT as of yet. Therefore, there is also a possibility that Cotto could wind up at a JUCO next season, and several high-profile JUCOs are vying for Cotto's services.

Coulda had Gregory... What a dumb a$$.