Free Willie and Kwamain

[Westy03]

RM certainly has handled his media exposure much better than I would have expected based on previous quote machine, ramble style exhibited in past

Actually this is the most he ever talked about it. Said it was an embarassment what the committee did not letting them finish the classes they were in. He slipped a few times saying "when KM" comes back. But he stayed away from mentioning Willie. But he dud say Willie had a tremendous feel for the game and u could tell he wanted him back.

Sorry I'm all over the place but I'm just trying to give a quick rundown

[dlarry]

Actually this is the most he ever talked about it. Said it was an embarassment what the committee did not letting them finish the classes they were in. He slipped a few times saying "when KM" comes back. But he stayed away from mentioning Willie. But he dud say Willie had a tremendous feel for the game and u could tell he wanted him back.

Sorry I'm all over the place but I'm just trying to give a quick rundown

Thanks for the info.

Where was he talking about this stuff? Just curious.

[AlumniFan]

Willie posted the following link with no message in his twitter account this afternoon: http://twitpic.com/3dv01v

Feel free to interpret it however you want.

It does not open for me - just get an error. Can you elaborate? Thanks.

[bills10]

It does not open for me - just get an error. Can you elaborate? Thanks.

It is a picture of himself on the basketball court wearing the blue jerseys with a big number 33 on the front. Hopefully he knows something...

[SluSignGuy]

Another thanks to westy for these posts

[The Pelican]

Actually this is the most he ever talked about it. Said it was an embarassment what the committee did not letting them finish the classes they were in. He slipped a few times saying "when KM" comes back. But he stayed away from mentioning Willie. But he dud say Willie had a tremendous feel for the game and u could tell he wanted him back.

Sorry I'm all over the place but I'm just trying to give a quick rundown

You are right; I noticed that too and the group I was with was talking about that on the way out. There were a few slips with regards to KM. The tense in which we spoke of both of them gave a few clues away. It sounds like he is definitely coming back. A little more sticky with WR.

[Westy03]

You are right; I noticed that too and the group I was with was talking about that on the way out. There were a few slips with regards to KM. The tense in which we spoke of both of them gave a few clues away. It sounds like he is definitely coming back. A little more sticky with WR.

Agreed but I'm not sure if that's just because he hasn't talked to Willie. I think he wants Willie back but I'm not sure he has talked to him or he's just not optimistic that "the committee" will let him back

One thing is for sure Willie wants to come back.

[NH]

Agreed but I'm not sure if that's just because he hasn't talked to Willie. I think he wants Willie back but I'm not sure he has talked to him or he's just not optimistic that "the committee" will let him back

One thing is for sure Willie wants to come back.

Westy or ForDaLove or someone like that,

gut feeling on Willie? Do we ever get to see Reed feed at Chaifetz again?

[Westy03]

Westy or ForDaLove or someone like that,

gut feeling on Willie? Do we ever get to see Reed feed at Chaifetz again?

Based on the limited info I have I would say no but I hope I'm wrong

[ARon]

From what RM said tonight I got the feeling that he really may not know anything about WR. He only really spoke about KM. (I did leave a little early so maybe he said something at the end or in a private conversation.)

One thing is for sure, even if they are readmitted I think it is safe to say that we will not see KM or WR on the court this season.

I'm sure he completely intends to coach every game to win and compete. But based on RM's comments tonight he is clearly, "coaching for next year" if you will.

He was funny as usual tonight. Apparently his heart doc is a Duke grad and will be there Saturday to revive him afterward.

[For-DaLove]

Westy or ForDaLove or someone like that,

gut feeling on Willie? Do we ever get to see Reed feed at Chaifetz again?

At this point it's like RM said, it's a matter of whether or not the powers in Dubourg let him back in. He wants to come back, and based on what I understand, he is doing everything in his power to make it happen.

I tend to think they'll let him back in. It would make the school look good if they gave them both a second chance. But, we will see... very soon, I'm sure.

[Billiken4life5]

I would be shocked if RM is out of the loop. He's too smart for that. He may be powerless, but not out of the loop.

I don't know at the meet and greet before the season Rick said he hadn't even talked to Kwamain. He handed the question about KM over too Paul. Obviously he could be bs'ing but maybe he really is just trying to stay out of it.

[Big Rob]

Actually this is the most he ever talked about it. Said it was an embarassment what the committee did not letting them finish the classes they were in. He slipped a few times saying "when KM" comes back. But he stayed away from mentioning Willie. But he dud say Willie had a tremendous feel for the game and u could tell he wanted him back.

Sorry I'm all over the place but I'm just trying to give a quick rundown

Here's some facts that I got from a real good source. WR will be back at SLU by Jan 3. The Reed family and their attorney have met at least twice this month with SLU and all parties are moving forward to put this behind them. WR will have to keep his nose clean because of other issues such as academics but look for him to return soon. The main question is will he play this year or not? I've heard he will choose to play if allowed. I was told that Sr wanted him to rs and concentrate on his grades and come back next year bigger and stronger WR has decided that his first option is to play now if possible.

[billikenfan05]

Here's some facts that I got from a real good source. WR will be back at SLU by Jan 3. The Reed family and their attorney have met at least twice this month with SLU and all parties are moving forward to put this behind them. WR will have to keep his nose clean because of other issues such as academics but look for him to return soon. The main question is will he play this year or not? I've heard he will choose to play if allowed. I was told that Sr wanted him to rs and concentrate on his grades and come back next year bigger and stronger WR has decided that his first option is to play now if possible.

I'm not saying you are wrong and I hope you are right. However some of that seems strange to me, mainly the thing with Sr. who was pretty damn sure his son wasn't coming back.

[For-DaLove]

I'm not saying you are wrong and I hope you are right. However some of that seems strange to me, mainly the thing with Sr. who was pretty damn sure his son wasn't coming back.

Based on the date Big Rob gave, I would say he likely has accurate information.

[NashvilleBilliken]

Here's some facts that I got from a real good source. WR will be back at SLU by Jan 3. The Reed family and their attorney have met at least twice this month with SLU and all parties are moving forward to put this behind them. WR will have to keep his nose clean because of other issues such as academics but look for him to return soon. The main question is will he play this year or not? I've heard he will choose to play if allowed. I was told that Sr wanted him to rs and concentrate on his grades and come back next year bigger and stronger WR has decided that his first option is to play now if possible.

That would be sooo awesome. I hope you guys are right.

[Big Rob]

I'm not saying you are wrong and I hope you are right. However some of that seems strange to me, mainly the thing with Sr. who was pretty damn sure his son wasn't coming back.

Your right but my source said that Sr was hot that jr came out and said what he said since they had a pending law suit against SLU and jr commits took away any advantage that they may have had so he came out and said "There is no way he comes back." My source knows the family well and the family wants to move forward and but this behind them. I'm trying to find out what happen with the K-State deal.

[SpartanBilliken]

Willie posted the following link with no message in his twitter account this afternoon: http://twitpic.com/3dv01v

Feel free to interpret it however you want.

He posted that picture right after he accepted my friend request on Facebook. The picture was my profile picture. I guess he liked it.

[slufan13]

It sure does complicate things with playing time and future recruits if they do come back and redshirt, but I'm sure RM and his assistants have some kind of plan. Hopefully it all works out for the best. It sucks that if they do redshirt to know that once again, "we're a year away."

[Scoop]

It sure does complicate things with playing time and future recruits if they do come back and redshirt, but I'm sure RM and his assistants have some kind of plan. Hopefully it all works out for the best. It sucks that if they do redshirt to know that once again, "we're a year away."

Whatever they do, I hope they do the same thing.

[Pistol]

Rick certainly was funny last night.

As Westy says, most he's said publicly about the Kwamain and Willie situation- had a lot to say about the "committee in DuBourg", which led to some gems about committee thinking in general. He seems to think they got a raw deal and at the very least should have gotten to continue their academics, as both had strong starts to the semester. Said they didn't seem to care about the 'student' in 'student-athlete' and that's not right. He acknowledged they shouldn't have gotten into that trouble, but doesn't seem to feel a crime was committed and that the punishment wasn't fair.

He said we were on Beal but he had his mind set on Florida and there wasn't much we could do. As for the other two local seniors (Young and McLemore), he said it would take some serious doctoring of their transcripts to make it work, and even then we'd be putting them in a situation where they couldn't cut it. He said that's why one of them is going to the SEC and the other one is looking at schools who can can accommodate that sort of thing. Had a lot of gems about the SEC ("Where the mantra is, 'if you aren't cheating, you aren't trying'"), Cam Newton ("Disgusting situation. They say his dad arranged it all and that's fine- give me a break."), and Kentucky ("Their boosters right now are talking about one thing- how do we get that Turkish kid eligible? And they'll take it to court if they have to and I wouldn't bet against them"), but I don't want to offend The A Bomb with them.

Couldn't talk about any younger local recruits, but said "we're on the junior from McCluer." He seems to do better academically and he hopes it works out. Also said it looks like we have another Aussie commitment. He said if Mitchell and Reed don't come back, we'll free their scholarships up at the end of the year, but by then it's probably too late to get anyone good with them. Reiterated his point about how most Jucos can't cut it at SLU, so he'll continue to stay away from them for that reason.

Said he'd love to honor Hank Raymonds at halftime of an upcoming game, and said he would have liked to do the McCauley tribute at the Xavier or Dayton game; would also have liked to have the team come out and see it but they had other concerns at that point.

Said he's excited about playing at Duke and explained how they came into that game (Duke called the A10, they were the first to jump at the $75,000). It's the first time he hasn't had a team come play there, but this was a special circumstance and it's great exposure and money for SLU. He said it's on TV so we can all see the bloodbath. Had nothing but nice things to say about "Mike" and all the Duke kids, and has no clue how we're going to stop Irving and Singler. Also has absolutely no clue how we'll do in the A10.

Ellis seems interested in his girlfriend more than basketball and appears to be a guy who will never be 100% healthy based on all the illnesses and injuries- just wishes he'd play defense. Ellis can't get the kind of points he used to with KM and WR gone. He lost his "general" in KM and a guy who has a great feel for the game in WR; doesn't seem like anyone else on the team right now can fill those shoes. Even if he wants certain guys to do so, they don't have that quality.

He loves the freshmen and say they all work hard and that Loe has the biggest upside, but it just takes time to adjust to the culture, American basketball, and everything. Feels bad that Evans has to play out of position so much but says he's fine academically. He let Conklin and Cassity take too many hours this semester and won't let it happen again; both are trying to do SLU's 5-year MBA program in 4 years and Conklin has something like 18 hours this semester.

Doesn't think a black assistant is the answer for better recruiting of St. Louis City and the east side; says he thinks Moser and the staff he has are doing a fine job and won't fill a spot just based on race ("Sendek out at Arizona State hired black high school coaches with recruits, and now the recruits are all moved on and he's stuck with high school coaches"). Got choked up talking about his dad marching at Selma, and says he understands where everyone is coming from based on their race (he walks a fine line with his comments but never crosses it, and is genuine in understanding recruits and players' situations, even if he doesn't filter anything).

New softball coach seems really cool and like she's dedicated to having a winning program here. I felt bad for her with all the microphone issues she had. The rest of the AD speakers didn't say much except there's a 10:30 reception at Duke before the game in a side gym or something.

Did I miss anything? Also, did anyone catch his "condom" quote? Westy and I were talking at the time and missed it.

[slubilliken09]

For those that don't follow willie on twitter/don't tweet, Willie tweeted this about 5 mins ago:

"3 weeks til a decision of a lifetime! Keep your fingers crossed.and prayers on me! Good luck saturday bills! # just wanna be successful"

[FromDaEastSide]

Rick certainly was funny last night...

Thanks for the recap from last night.

[Westy03]

Thanks for the recap from last night.

When mentioning missing Willie and Kwamain, he made sure to add Femi John to the list as well. Rick really loved the way Femi played(said he played extremely tough) and the way he handles himself off the court and in the classroom. You can tell he really misses having him on the team.

[jbizzle09]

Appreciate the detailed recap, Pistol!