DoctorB Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Last night there was a faculty event hosted by Coach Majerus. Much of the storytelling was what we heard last week at Tip-Off Club. Many of the players came and were introduced. It's pretty obvious he is thrilled about this freshman class, especially Mitchell, Conklin, and Cassity. He called Eckerle an "Einstein," and singled out the seniors for working hard and being on target to graduate next year. Kudos to them. There was some good talk about basketball strategy and about the student-athlete aspects of the game. The big news, in light of the latest commit from Remekun: Coach expects not one but 2 Australians to commit! No names given, which is against the rules, but both should sign this fall. One is a 1-2 guard, the other a 3-4 big. Coach says he will be heading to New Zealand this summer to watch these two play on Australia's world team, not sure if that means the Aussie nationals or a youth national team. If this is accurate (and a follow-up question indicated that it is accurate), that would give us 4 signings for fall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Iken Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Last night there was a faculty event hosted by Coach Majerus. Much of the storytelling was what we heard last week at Tip-Off Club. Many of the players came and were introduced. It's pretty obvious he is thrilled about this freshman class, especially Mitchell, Conklin, and Cassity. He called Eckerle an "Einstein," and singled out the seniors for working hard and being on target to graduate next year. Kudos to them. There was some good talk about basketball strategy and about the student-athlete aspects of the game. The big news, in light of the latest commit from Remekun: Coach expects not one but 2 Australians to commit! No names given, which is against the rules, but both should sign this fall. One is a 1-2 guard, the other a 3-4 big. Coach says he will be heading to New Zealand this summer to watch these two play on Australia's world team, not sure if that means the Aussie nationals or a youth national team. If this is accurate (and a follow-up question indicated that it is accurate), that would give us 4 signings for fall! Sweet! The Aussie team (aka Boomers) wouldn't have anyone so young and inexperienced. They'd be on the junior team (aka Emus). Perhaps one of these guys, or likely younger as a few of these guys are already playing in the NCAAs (and see below). Aussie players generally play with a lot of heart, and are scrappers. Would be nice to see a few on the team. Oh, I should add, New Zealand is hosting the men's under-19 basketball championship from July 2-12, 2009. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stlodoyle Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Sweet! The Aussie team (aka Boomers) wouldn't have anyone so young and inexperienced. They'd be on the junior team (aka Emus). Perhaps one of these guys, or likely younger as a few of these guys are already playing in the NCAAs (and see below). Aussie players generally play with a lot of heart, and are scrappers. Would be nice to see a few on the team. Oh, I should add, New Zealand is hosting the men's under-19 basketball championship from July 2-12, 2009. Here is a link to the emus roster: http://www.basketball.net.au/FS_extra.asp?...719&OrgID=1 Postion, height, pictures are all on there. D@mn height is in CM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Iken Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Here is a link to the emus roster: http://www.basketball.net.au/FS_extra.asp?...719&OrgID=1 Postion, height, pictures are all on there. D@mn height is in CM. Did my link not work? I linked to the same page... 2.54 cm per 1 inch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills10 Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 It may be because Australia has their school system set up differently than we do, but it looks like most of these guys are my age or a year younger, and I'm going to be graduating from SLU next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Iken Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 It may be because Australia has their school system set up differently than we do, but it looks like most of these guys are my age or a year younger, and I'm going to be graduating from SLU next year If RM is going to NZ to watch the U-19s - which I suspect he is - then they would not have been on the 2007 Emus. However, some of the Aussies don't come directly from high school level to the US. Most actually end up at the Australian Institute of Sport (you'll see AIS as the club for a number of Emu players - so there is a slight chance the recruit could be 20 years old), where they live and train, train, train (all while the taxpayers pick up the tab). The AIS is world class in all respects, and the reason Australia punches above its weight at the Olympics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 I believe the following are the likely lists of candidates: http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sports/basketball/athletes. I have no insider knowledge, but my best guess is that Christian Salecich is the guard recruit. I don't have a good idea who the forward recruit would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorB Posted October 30, 2008 Author Share Posted October 30, 2008 I believe one of the Aussies is of Croatian descent, and that name has the sound of it to me. It also makes this guy sound a bit like Cotto -- he can ring it up from the parking lot, it says. I like getting another long bomber. There was another interesting topic that I forgot to post before, from Tuesday night: Coach made his strongest remarks to date about the A10, and its disadvantages for SLU. He really expects the Big East to split, and he really hopes SLU can work its way into a remade conference of 8 of the more western teams from the Big East, plus two more (SLU being one of those). He went on and on about Notre Dame and it sounded like his highest hopes would be that the realigned new league would rotate around a solid cluster of midwestern Catholic schools: UND, Marquette, DePaul, and hopefully SLU. When asked who would be his dream opponents for future scheduling, Coach immediately answered, Georgetown and Marquette. He keeps repeating his wish for Fr. B. to work his Jesuit magic and get those teams scheduled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 I believe one of the Aussies is of Croatian descent, and that name has the sound of it to me. It also makes this guy sound a bit like Cotto -- he can ring it up from the parking lot, it says. I like getting another long bomber. There was another interesting topic that I forgot to post before, from Tuesday night: Coach made his strongest remarks to date about the A10, and its disadvantages for SLU. He really expects the Big East to split, and he really hopes SLU can work its way into a remade conference of 8 of the more western teams from the Big East, plus two more (SLU being one of those). He went on and on about Notre Dame and it sounded like his highest hopes would be that the realigned new league would rotate around a solid cluster of midwestern Catholic schools: UND, Marquette, DePaul, and hopefully SLU. When asked who would be his dream opponents for future scheduling, Coach immediately answered, Georgetown and Marquette. He keeps repeating his wish for Fr. B. to work his Jesuit magic and get those teams scheduled. The possible breakup of the big east is why we should be in the A-10. If we have any chance of being a part of a new league we will need that eastern visibility. If we were part of the MVC we would be there forever. The A-10 is the best place for our next move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Thanks for the link David. From the descriptions of their games, Matthew Dellavedova reads more like a combo guard and a quick google search reveals a glowing review of his game. http://tinyurl.com/56wgjf Here's a lively discussion of "Delly" with a nice breakdown of the team provided near the bottom of the page. http://www.ozhoopsboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13954 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 According to this 6'9 Brock Motum emerged as an offensive force for AIS earlier this year. Hopefully he's the forward that RM has in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Last post of the day as I'm all googled out. This poster confirms Nark's hunch. http://tinyurl.com/6nbkyw "Totally disagree with Christian having a bad year, shooting wise yes ,but that can be expected from that type of player still in development,A number of senior 2 men from last years AIS class struggled throughout the season with consistant shooting ,the number of games i saw him play he played well his defense is easily the best out of the AIS team, his court vision is v/good his assist to turn over ratio is great and prob the best in the AIS his not the type of player to come out and score 20-30 pts a game but a great role player ,plays 1,2& 3 comfortably very versatile, And from a couple of rumours from up south (Brisbane) has been heavily recruited by Majerus from St Louis College" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Thanks for the web detective work 3Star. We need another shooter to compliment Cotto. A player with court vision, good defender, who can play 1-3 describes Cassity as well. Hope one of these recruits turns out to be a shooter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postcard Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Last post of the day as I'm all googled out. This poster confirms Nark's hunch. http://tinyurl.com/6nbkyw "Totally disagree with Christian having a bad year, shooting wise yes ,but that can be expected from that type of player still in development,A number of senior 2 men from last years AIS class struggled throughout the season with consistant shooting ,the number of games i saw him play he played well his defense is easily the best out of the AIS team, his court vision is v/good his assist to turn over ratio is great and prob the best in the AIS his not the type of player to come out and score 20-30 pts a game but a great role player ,plays 1,2& 3 comfortably very versatile, And from a couple of rumours from up south (Brisbane) has been heavily recruited by Majerus from St Louis College" Okay, I know I'm going to get piled on for this comment. But the description of this Christian guy as a "role player" doesn't exactly make me want to jump out of my chair. I know this is just one post from whatever blog or article that quote was taken from but it makes me wonder. Not saying the guy couldn't develop into a really good player but my first thoughts are thats a long way to go to recruit a role player. Just sayin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 The possible breakup of the big east is why we should be in the A-10. If we have any chance of being a part of a new league we will need that eastern visibility. If we were part of the MVC we would be there forever. The A-10 is the best place for our next move. also if we align with xavier and dayton and they too are part of the deal it only makes the new alliance formation that much easier to vision. that can never happen if we are in the mvc. it is only a matter of time before the football teams of the big east want to be separate. we need to alway cheer for big east football success. the more football success the big east has (keep in mind notre dame isnt part of big east football) the more likely i think the breakup is going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbofive Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Last post of the day as I'm all googled out. This poster confirms Nark's hunch. http://tinyurl.com/6nbkyw "Totally disagree with Christian having a bad year, shooting wise yes ,but that can be expected from that type of player still in development,A number of senior 2 men from last years AIS class struggled throughout the season with consistant shooting ,the number of games i saw him play he played well his defense is easily the best out of the AIS team, his court vision is v/good his assist to turn over ratio is great and prob the best in the AIS his not the type of player to come out and score 20-30 pts a game but a great role player ,plays 1,2& 3 comfortably very versatile, And from a couple of rumours from up south (Brisbane) has been heavily recruited by Majerus from St Louis College" http://www.sportingpulse.com/nf/team_info....;sectionID=-174 I don't get it. Dude jacked up 5 3's per game and only hit 24%, while only shooting 29% from the field total. Only averaged 8 pts per game, though he does shoot 82% from the line. By comparison, Brock Motum hit 45% on threes though he didn't take near as many and shot 57% total, scoring 16ppg. Only shots 65% from FT. Decent rebounder. I kind of agree with Postcard on this one. Unless Salecich is taking these threes from halfcourt, not a real great shooter. I've got range out to the parking lot, too, if I only have to hit one out of 4. We'll have to assume that his intangibles are something else. Or maybe he and Motum have been best friends since they were kids and it's Burke/Rutecki type deal. Regardless, hopefully we see them on the front of Chowder Magazine with Majerus soon. They can rent the caboose down by the Mississippi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Okay, I know I'm going to get piled on for this comment. But the description of this Christian guy as a "role player" doesn't exactly make me want to jump out of my chair. I know this is just one post from whatever blog or article that quote was taken from but it makes me wonder. Not saying the guy couldn't develop into a really good player but my first thoughts are thats a long way to go to recruit a role player. Just sayin. Its not clear to me just how good this AIS team is. If its a direct feeder program for the Aussie national team and he's being called a role player in that context then its considerably better than calling someone a role player in U.S. highschool basketball. Its all relative to how good this Aussie program is relative to U.S. highscholl basketball. At the end of the day, I have to believe RM and our new Aussie assistant know what they are doing on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillikenReport Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 At the end of the day, I have to believe RM and our new Aussie assistant know what they are doing on this one. Majerus isn't going to recruit a player he doesn't think will help the team. If the current team is loaded with guards, and Majerus thinks this guard is good enough to make a difference, then he must be a good player — and also better than the alternative of what is available at that position for the coaches to recruit locally or in the midwest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcglotherirvin Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 http://www.facebook.com/people/Christian_Salecich/780705075 one of this salecich guy's friends on facebook is kyle cassity Majerus isn't going to recruit a player he doesn't think will help the team. If the current team is loaded with guards, and Majerus thinks this guard is good enough to make a difference, then he must be a good player — and also better than the alternative of what is available at that position for the coaches to recruit locally or in the midwest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillikenReport Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 http://www.facebook.com/people/Christian_Salecich/780705075 one of this salecich guy's friends on facebook is kyle cassity Well, there you go. He may have made an official visit to SLU this past weekend. His other friends include Brian Conklin, Barry Eberhardt and Daniel Lisch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 According to another site I found, it appears that Christian Salecich is coming to SLU. Queensland B-Ball Forum Now the question comes down to who is the mystery Aussie #2? Brock Motum has been mentioned here, which could make sense, because according to the previous page of the thread linked above, Majerus was rumored to have been scouting players in the province of Queensland. That's the province in which Salecich lives, as does Brock Motum. Beyond those two, only one or two others on the Institute of Sport roster is from Queensland, one being a guard rumored to be committed to St. Mary's, and another player with no height or weight listed. One thing about Motum is that according to the link above, he is rumored to be committed to Washington State. In perusing a couple of Wazzu boards, no mention of Motum, and in fact some people there seem to think that the Cougs are done for the early signing period, as they have 3 out of 4 scholies filled, with one likely being saved for the spring since they're in the mix for Angus Brandt, who is originally from Australia but is now in school in the Chicago area. We might have to wait until signing day to officially find out the other Aussie, or even to officially find out about Salecich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majerus Magic Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 According to another site I found, it appears that Christian Salecich is coming to SLU. Queensland B-Ball Forum Now the question comes down to who is the mystery Aussie #2? Brock Motum has been mentioned here, which could make sense, because according to the previous page of the thread linked above, Majerus was rumored to have been scouting players in the province of Queensland. That's the province in which Salecich lives, as does Brock Motum. Beyond those two, only one or two others on the Institute of Sport roster is from Queensland, one being a guard rumored to be committed to St. Mary's, and another player with no height or weight listed. One thing about Motum is that according to the link above, he is rumored to be committed to Washington State. In perusing a couple of Wazzu boards, no mention of Motum, and in fact some people there seem to think that the Cougs are done for the early signing period, as they have 3 out of 4 scholies filled, with one likely being saved for the spring since they're in the mix for Angus Brandt, who is originally from Australia but is now in school in the Chicago area. We might have to wait until signing day to officially find out the other Aussie, or even to officially find out about Salecich. I've heard Motum thrown around as a possibility...but nothing official. Your guess is as good as mine on the second guy after Salecich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westy03 Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Thanks for the research here guys. Sounds like that Sports Institute rolls out some pretty good players. If Majerus mentioned getting a forward along with the guard it has to be Motem but maybe Wash State got him. Sounds like we are starting to really stockpile our roster. Long are the days that we have 0 recruits in the fall... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Long are the days that we have 0 recruits in the fall... not to be a buzz kill, but let's wait until the chicken goes over the damn before we count on anything this is, after all, the slu billikens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 also if we align with xavier and dayton and they too are part of the deal it only makes the new alliance formation that much easier to vision. that can never happen if we are in the mvc. it is only a matter of time before the football teams of the big east want to be separate. we need to alway cheer for big east football success. the more football success the big east has (keep in mind notre dame isnt part of big east football) the more likely i think the breakup is going to happen. If the Big East breaks up and there are 8 non-football teams and they plan to expand to 10 then there will not be room for all three - SLU, X, and Dayton. Help me understand why it is important for us to align ourselves. Is ND considered a non-football team? - that really causes a problem then for all 3 to join. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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