SluSignGuy Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 From Timmerman's Blog Jonathan Smith, a 6-foot-7 guard-forward from Grove City, Ohio, has made a verbal commitment to play basketball at St. Louis University. Smith averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds and was an all-conference selection as a junior last season for Grove City High, just outside Columbus. He said most of the other interest in him came from schools in his home state such as Ohio University and he was swayed to SLU by the presence of Coach Rick Majerus. “I’ll get better under him,” Smith said, “and he cares about what you do after basketball.” Smith describes himself as a small forward who also can defend a power forward or a shooting guard. He said he was surprised when he was first contacted by SLU in the early summer because he had drawn little attention outside Ohio. “It was pretty tough choosing them over OU,” he said. “But now, I don’t feel good about the decision. I feel great.” Smith can sign a letter of intent starting on Nov. 12. Smith said he liked the SLU players he met during recruiting. “They’re a bunch of great guys,” he said. “There’s no bad character guys. That was important for me to see that.” And if you want to talk about character guys, I’ll say this about Smith: I don’t think any one ever has called me “sir” as many times as Smith did. I think there was one sentence in our conversation when he used the word “sir” three times. So here’s a guy who has been pretty well raised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 From Timmerman's Blog great news. Congrats to coach and staff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 In terms of his size and stats he would seem like a perfect fit to go with our freshman. A three man who can rebound and score is a nice complement to our guards and bigs. I trust the staff that he must have upside potential and will fit in well with the guys we have on the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 I certainly don't follow recruiting as closely as many on this board, but is beating out Ohio University a good thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Woo hoo! First verbal of '09. A big that can play the 3 or 4. Welcome aboard, Mr. Smith! Let's get the commitment ball rolling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidlee Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 FWIW Here is a thread on Jonathan Smith from BobcatAttack.com (Ohio University)) http://www.bobcatattack.com/messageboard/t...&PID=159707 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malibubill Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 In terms of his size and stats he would seem like a perfect fit to go with our freshman. A three man who can rebound and score is a nice complement to our guards and bigs. I trust the staff that he must have upside potential and will fit in well with the guys we have on the team. Sounds like RM does not recruit players per se, he recruits a team - by that I mean he recruits to fit what he thinks he needs to build the perfect team on the court, he recruits a player who fits that need. The players will know their roles and will not be asked to do more than RM thinks they can do. Players will not be asked to play out of their natural role. I like his philosophy. He is building a team, one piece at a time, a team that will greater than its parts. Good kids, committed to athletics, academics and character. It will take time, but I think we are building a program we will all be proud of - not just for what these players do on the court, but also for who they are. He continues what is good about the Billiken tradition while improving the quality of athlete who fits that mold. I just wish I could be in St. Louis to support what will be a great program in short order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillikenReport Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Woo hoo! First verbal of '09. A big that can play the 3 or 4. Welcome aboard, Mr. Smith! Let's get the commitment ball rolling. Smith said he was recruited to play small forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 I like this description of the kid: Smith reportedly has 15 D-I offers, including one from the ‘Cats. “He’s a great character kid,” said Smith’s Grove City High School coach Greg Waits. “He’s 6-7, long, (and) can jump out of the gym. He runs the floor as well as anybody around….He’s got great leaping ability and tremendous upside.” Waits noted that Smith wears a size 17 shoe and could grow another 1-2 inches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Awesome! Let the dominoes start tumbling. I wonder if any local player is in the mix (for a scholarship). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 I certainly don't follow recruiting as closely as many on this board, but is beating out Ohio University a good thing?Hmm. One of the posters on BobcatAttack said yesterday that he felt good about going head-to-head with SLU for Mr. Smith's services. Apparently, SLU is not very well respected, nationally, right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills10 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 favorite post "I would be ecstatic. This would be an absolutely massive get. I feel really good about going against SLU." Now if we could only play OU as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills10 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 also a good link on him ESPN Recruiting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSLU68 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 FWIW Here is a thread on Jonathan Smith from BobcatAttack.com (Ohio University)) http://www.bobcatattack.com/messageboard/t...&PID=159707 Best line in the thread of responses: Quote: - According to Grove City High School basketball coach Greg Waits, Ohio University, Bowling Green, Xavier and St. Louis are the top four choices for 2009 forward Jonathan Smith (6-7). NICE GET OVER X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenfan05 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 It said on the espn link he considered X. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 also a good link on him ESPN Recruiting I assume Biancardi wrote this piece. I like this comment: "Smith will be one of the most athletic players in the Atlantic 10 next season, regardless of class." God knows we have suffered athletically for a long time. I love the idea of athletes like Willie Reed and Femi John paired together with this kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 It said on the espn link he considered X. I believe X offered him but then pulled the scholarship after another forward committed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 It said on the espn link he considered X. Considered is the key word. He was never offered a scholly. I'm thrilled to have this kid but it would be a mistake if anybody said we stole him from X (not saying you did). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Glad to see that we have a verbal commitment for the class of 2009 now. Players of Smith's are the kind of guys we have had trouble with over the years. Xavier has a few guys around his build, which is one thing that makes them tough. Ohio U has put together some decent records in recent years, normally getting around 19 or 20 wins. Somewhat oddly, their former coach, Tim O'Shea, resigned in June to take the head coaching job at Bryant University, which is beginning a 4 year transition into D-1. Apparently O'Shea is from the New England area. OU seemed to have gotten what I believe to be a real coup in their replacement for O'Shea, former Ohio State assistant John Groce. Groce had a lot to do with the recruitment of guys like Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and some of the other big name recruits OSU has gotten in recent years. It will be interesting to see if Groce has success recruiting and coaching at OU, or if he merely benefited from recruiting to the Ohio State name. Anyway, we beat out a coach with a pretty good track record in recruiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 For those who care about rankings/player grades, ESPN rated him an "88," which translates as follows: "80-89: High Major Prospect Player has the potential to start or significantly contribute as a freshman for most top national Division I programs." Again, I assume Biancardi played a role in identifying and scouting this kid for Majerus. This kid plays his high school ball in the middle of Ohio in Biancardi's historic stomping ground, and Biancardi has obviously been tracking the kid closely for ESPN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crymdg2 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Judging by what I read about Smith, he sounds very similar to that of Jeremy Felton when he was coming out of high school. I would be thrilled if that is the player we are getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 FWIW Here is a thread on Jonathan Smith from BobcatAttack.com (Ohio University)) http://www.bobcatattack.com/messageboard/t...&PID=159707 This thread is incredibly helpful. Xavier and Providence were interested and offered but X got a big kid they wanted so he dropped off their list. Sounds like a nice player with upside potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 This kid sounds good but........ Xavier chose the #75 ranked kid in the country over him, Kevin Parrom. Some onfo for the blue crew, Parrom was arrested this past year for punching out his coach. LaSalle inked Aaric Murray. #35 player in the country and 6th best big man in the nation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majerus Magic Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Glad to see that we have a verbal commitment for the class of 2009 now. Players of Smith's are the kind of guys we have had trouble with over the years. Xavier has a few guys around his build, which is one thing that makes them tough. If Smith can turn into a similar player to Josh Duncan I will be thrilled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 If Smith can turn into a similar player to Josh Duncan I will be thrilled.Im thinking more along the lines of derrick brown than josh duncan. Iva always wanted one of these athletic wings. I hope this gets the ball rolling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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