OT: former vashon star dismissed from Illinois State

[billiken_roy]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball...tball;headlines

[Clock_Tower]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball...tball;headlines

Unfortunately, the Vashon collegiate legacy continues.

[Taj79]

Still ... Vashon produces great Missouri high school basketball players. Always has.

[SLU_Nick]

Still ... Vashon produces great Missouri high school basketball players. Always has.

"That bit** set me up"

~Marion Berry

Former D.C. Mayor

[redbirdfan]

Bobby and his Brother Johnny were both students of mine. I can't remember which one is older, but they both both excelled in Basketball. I recommended the older one to the Middle School coach for the basketball team. I remember coach had a hard time getting dad to fill out all the required paper work and get the physicals, but eventually it was completed and he was able to play. I hate hearing this about him. He was a good kid....at least in class.

[billiken_roy]

Bobby and his Brother Johnny were both students of mine. I can't remember which one is older, but they both both excelled in Basketball. I recommended the older one to the Middle School coach for the basketball team. I remember coach had a hard time getting dad to fill out all the required paper work and get the physicals, but eventually it was completed and he was able to play. I hate hearing this about him. He was a good kid....at least in class.

had they stayed at alton instead of illegally transferring to vashon they likely would have turned out better.

[MB73]

had they stayed at alton instead of illegally transferring to vashon they likely would have turned out better.

The Vashon program under Irons was corrupt as hell; unbelievable how long it managed to carry on.

[billiken_roy]

The Vashon program under Irons was corrupt as hell; unbelievable how long it managed to carry on.

sadly the kids and the parents all bought into the guise irons was "helping" the players. in reality he used them for his own glory and helped pretty much none of them in the long run. what good is a couple years of high school glory if it didnt lead to a true college education and a successful life thereafter.

sure a couple of exceptions can be noted, but considering all the players that went through that system and the size of that school the actual ratios are probably pathetic.

[SLU_Nick]

sadly the kids and the parents all bought into the guise irons was "helping" the players. in reality he used them for his own glory and helped pretty much none of them in the long run. what good is a couple years of high school glory if it didnt lead to a true college education and a successful life thereafter.

sure a couple of exceptions can be noted, but considering all the players that went through that system and the size of that school the actual ratios are probably pathetic.

Where is the savior Leon Powell?

[brianstl]

Where is the savior Leon Powell?

SEMO

[NH]

sadly the kids and the parents all bought into the guise irons was "helping" the players. in reality he used them for his own glory and helped pretty much none of them in the long run. what good is a couple years of high school glory if it didnt lead to a true college education and a successful life thereafter.

sure a couple of exceptions can be noted, but considering all the players that went through that system and the size of that school the actual ratios are probably pathetic.

I dont know what Floyd's was and I do know that his actions were pretty stupid and may have hurt the kids. But Vashon people swear by him. I know kids who would have followed Floyd off of a cliff. They really though of him as a father.

[For-DaLove]

I dont know what Floyd's was and I do know that his actions were pretty stupid and may have hurt the kids. But Vashon people swear by him. I know kids who would have followed Floyd off of a cliff. They really though of him as a father.

If your high school basketball coach was paying for your apartment and food each month, you'd probably swear by him too. I don't know the Hill brothers financial background, or any of the other Vashon player's for that matter, but I'm sure in some situations, without Iron's these kids wouldn't have survived.

The guy was corrupt as one can be, but there's no debating about how good some of his teams were. I'll never forget the year they played Tyler Hansbrough's Poplar Bluff team in the State Finals. Vashon came in undefeated, and ranked number one in the nation. Pyscho-T had a huge game, and pratically single handedly took down the powerhouse Vashon.

[kmbilliken]

sadly the kids and the parents all bought into the guise irons was "helping" the players. in reality he used them for his own glory and helped pretty much none of them in the long run. what good is a couple years of high school glory if it didnt lead to a true college education and a successful life thereafter.

sure a couple of exceptions can be noted, but considering all the players that went through that system and the size of that school the actual ratios are probably pathetic.

Wouldn't those exceptions be AB and Anthony Jones? Did any of his players have a good career at someplace other than SLU?

The only bomb I remember coming to SLU from Vashon was The Big Chill. He was perhaps the most talented and had a couple of decent years until he decided he had to go "big time" and was never heard from again. Floyd did him a big disservice by jumping back in as his advisor and not telling him to stay at SLU. I thought he had NBA potential if he would have worked at it. Grawer seemed like the perfect coach for him, demanding but would look out for his best interests.

[Pistol]

Wouldn't those exceptions be AB and Anthony Jones? Did any of his players have a good career at someplace other than SLU?

The only bomb I remember coming to SLU from Vashon was The Big Chill. He was perhaps the most talented and had a couple of decent years until he decided he had to go "big time" and was never heard from again. Floyd did him a big disservice by jumping back in as his advisor and not telling him to stay at SLU. I thought he had NBA potential if he would have worked at it. Grawer seemed like the perfect coach for him, demanding but would look out for his best interests.

Jimmy McKinney graduated from Mizzou and started for at least 3 years.

Dwayne Polk got his degree at SLU and started all 4 years, though many consider him a little disappointing based on the hype he got as a scoring PG out of high school. Nice defender, but never did seem to find his shot and my bigger issue with him is that he was too tentative offensively. He'd race down the court with a 3-on-2 and then pull back and go into that slow, deliberate Soderberg offense. I actually give the coach most of the blame for that; Polk's shot was his own but I think a lot of his potential as a distributor and big energy guy was held back. He was also one of my favorite players off the court at SLU.

[Clock_Tower]

Jimmy McKinney graduated from Mizzou and started for at least 3 years.

Dwayne Polk got his degree at SLU and started all 4 years, though many consider him a little disappointing based on the hype he got as a scoring PG out of high school. Nice defender, but never did seem to find his shot and my bigger issue with him is that he was too tentative offensively. He'd race down the court with a 3-on-2 and then pull back and go into that slow, deliberate Soderberg offense. I actually give the coach most of the blame for that; Polk's shot was his own but I think a lot of his potential as a distributor and big energy guy was held back. He was also one of my favorite players off the court at SLU.

Ramone Trice as well.

[Clock_Tower]

If your high school basketball coach was paying for your apartment and food each month, you'd probably swear by him too. I don't know the Hill brothers financial background, or any of the other Vashon player's for that matter, but I'm sure in some situations, without Iron's these kids wouldn't have survived.

The guy was corrupt as one can be, but there's no debating about how good some of his teams were. I'll never forget the year they played Tyler Hansbrough's Poplar Bluff team in the State Finals. Vashon came in undefeated, and ranked number one in the nation. Pyscho-T had a huge game, and pratically single handedly took down the powerhouse Vashon.

Disagree. W/o Iron's these kids would have survived. Non-athletic kids survive every day/year at Vashon. W/o Irons, I do agree that he may not have played highschool basketball and had the memories of highschool basketball. At the same time, the preferential treatment and "free pass" given to the high school players most likely hurt these kids, and other less talented basketball players, in the long run. If basketball is to be the ticket out, then it is a fact that many have not made it out. These kids bought into Iron's promises and things have not turned out like they wanted it to. Maybe if some had hit rock bottom earlier in life (and not give the free passes), they would have not only survived and flourished doing something else. Not every high school player was a bust - both on and off the court. For that matter, there a number of kids at even the best high schools who turn out to be a bust in sports and/or life in general. Still, the number of Vashon kids seems rather large. Blame also cannot be levied ALL upon Irons. Irons looked out for himself and gave these kids the lifetime memories of being a highschool superstar -- shoes, jerseys, warm-ups, travel, tournaments, AAU... but where were the parents and families???

[billiken_roy]

dont even get me started on families having their priorities wacked out because of sports. one of my pet peeves. all too often i think the family worries about athletics first and turns their head on academics and other society responsibilities that should come first.

the number of larry hughes and even darius miles of the world are few and far between and the odds of getting those type of free rides just wont happen 99.9% of the time. yet i see parent go all out for sports first even in non revenue sports that have absolutely no opportunity for life after school possibilities all the time. sad sad sad.

[kmbilliken]

Sounds like all the successful careers were had at SLU with the exception of Jimmy McKinney.