SPRING VISITS

[Clock_Tower]

RM has mentioned in interviews that he wants Manning to redshirt next season. He has made no secret of this.

Thank you. Guess I missed or forgot those comments.

[BIG BILL FAN]

What other schools are after this kid?

Here is a little info about other schools.

http://www.chsglobe.com/tag/christian-thomas/

[cheeseman]

That's just your opinion. If you listen to any of RM's statements he has been anything but positive about CR's performance.

How long have you found yourself intellectually challenged?

[For-DaLove]

Not to mention we all know this kid has to be a future NBA player since he's local and Rick is recruiting him hahahaha

[SluSignGuy]

This is a crazy thought, but any way to get Jon Smith back?

[NH]

I'm all for local players, everyone knows that.

But Christian Thomas is NOT good enough to come to SLU.

[Bobby Metzinger]

What other schools are after this kid?

The U (Fontbonne).

[lloyddobbler]

I'm all for local players, everyone knows that.

But Christian Thomas is NOT good enough to come to SLU.

Could the plan be to bring him in, redshirt him, and have him grow into Kyle's role after KC graduates?

[For-DaLove]

I'm all for local players, everyone knows that.

But Christian Thomas is NOT good enough to come to SLU.

Expect a call from Rick soon. We need someone to fill Porters position.

[slu72]

Located this on a Cornell Basketball Blog:

Christian Thomas (Clayton HS) Clayton, MO, 6-5, G-Penn, Yale, Saint Louis, Missouri State, Eastern Kentucky

also saw local kid:

Carson Sonnerberg (Belleville Althoff HS) Belleville, IL 6-5 Yale, Western Michigan, Marquette, Western Illinois

on the same list.

Ah, Yale and Penn explains it. RM likes smart players who work hard. Still I wish we had some news on someone around 6-8" to 6'11. Also, I'd guess w/o WR's return CE and RL will be forced to undergo a makeover from 3's to 4's. CE was moving in that direction last year and RL started to see more inside work at the end as well. My guess is that RM knew WR wasn't going to make it in the classroom and started the transformation in our lost season.

[slu72]

i have seen sonnenberg many many times. he is not a wing. he is a power forward. however he is short for a power forward as 6'5" might be slightly generous.

my understanding is sonnenberg was chased by notre dame to play football. but declined. i think he could have been a pro football player considering his brains, athleticism and size.

last i heard he was down to saint louis university or kentucky to be a STUDENT only and his sports career is over. not for any reason in particular. i.e. not hurt our anything.

i am pretty sure sonnenberg's grandfather is a billiken hall of famer.

carson would be an upgrade over brian conklin imo.

WALKON!

[slu72]

Just echoing Drew regarding the clayton kid...I know that RM has an eye for talent but I just cant get excited for someone local who this board has NEVER mentioned and has interest only from SIUE and UMKC.

Are we just looking for bodies at this point?

This feels like Obi/Horace...

A little more like Dustin McGuire. Hope RM didn't tell him, "don't worry I won't recruit over you, son."

[Taj79]

This program has lived perpetually with mediocre bigs. The best I have ever seen in my time are Anthony Bonner, Willie Reed, Kelvin Henderson, Ian Vouyoukas and Kenny Brown. And they weren't all that great all the time nor were they complete packages. Below that lies our staple: Matt Baniak, Justin Tatum, Chris Heinrich, Tom Frericks, Brian Conklin, Jeff Harris, Luke Meyer, Barry Eberhardt, Carvin Norman, Willie Becton, Reditt Hudson, Andre Craig, Abdur Raheem al-Maatin and so on. Then the deadbeats: Rick Plate, Bryce Husak, David King, Johnnie Parker, the Big Chill Melvin Robinson, Sekue Barantine, Dick Missavage, Ted Mimlitz, Ross Varner, Va'shun Newborne, Travis Tadysak and so on.

What does it mean? Nothing ... because the greatest times in the modern Billiken basketball era were pretty much done without adequate big men. Sure, Bonner joined Gray and Douglas and then carried the Bills for three additional years. That can be done in today's college environment. But the really recent meat involved a bunch of deadly lilliputins that had 6'3" Donnie Dobbs and 6'6" David Robinson prowling the middle or the one-man-show of the Legend that made all around him better. The college game runs through the guards. We will never get another one-man-band like Hughes, but we can bomb from downtown with the likes of Mitchell, Barnett, McCall, Loe, Ellis and, yikes, even Cassity as a sixth option. Cassity was our #1 option for most of this year. Moving him to sixth speaks volumes to what has happened on this roster -- developing McCall and returning Mitchell and Barnett with rediscovering Ellis. It can be done.

However, given that our big men in this equation are Loe, Conklin and Ellis, we do need something on the interior to clean things up, offer a presence that opens the utside even more than just having six options brings. Could that be Manning? While I doubt it, I have to believe that John brings a better presence to the floor than two years of what Cory has shown me. Would I like to redshirt him? Yes, but can we? Conjk will be a senior -- I'd love to see him be our Bobby Brannen who once scored 23 points on a 23-for-24 night on the foul line. Sweet. Thatr's a guy working the interior -- and fouling a lot of the opposition out.

If we can add something on the inside with one of these two remaining offers, and that makes both Remekun and Conklin better in smaller doses, and Manning is at least a servicable seven-footer, we can be okay. I said a long time ago Reed's return was a key but never believed we'd see him. And I don't believe just gettinbg Mitchell and Barnettg on the floor does enough.

But again, maybe Rick can find someone --- he did a pretty good job with jett who I believe was a spring signee -- so we shall see.

I just hope the guy who said the roster is now stable was and is correct.

[slu72]

This is a crazy thought, but any way to get Jon Smith back?

Wow, Stever, do you realize how many crazed responses/quips there are to that question?

[Clock_Tower]

This program has lived perpetually with mediocre bigs. The best I have ever seen in my time are Anthony Bonner, Willie Reed, Kelvin Henderson, Ian Vouyoukas and Kenny Brown. And they weren't all that great all the time nor were they complete packages. Below that lies our staple: Matt Baniak, Justin Tatum, Chris Heinrich, Tom Frericks, Brian Conklin, Jeff Harris, Luke Meyer, Barry Eberhardt, Carvin Norman, Willie Becton, Reditt Hudson, Andre Craig, Abdur Raheem al-Maatin and so on. Then the deadbeats: Rick Plate, Bryce Husak, David King, Johnnie Parker, the Big Chill Melvin Robinson, Sekue Barantine, Dick Missavage, Ted Mimlitz, Ross Varner, Va'shun Newborne, Travis Tadysak and so on.

What does it mean? Nothing ... because the greatest times in the modern Billiken basketball era were pretty much done without adequate big men. Sure, Bonner joined Gray and Douglas and then carried the Bills for three additional years. That can be done in today's college environment. But the really recent meat involved a bunch of deadly lilliputins that had 6'3" Donnie Dobbs and 6'6" David Robinson prowling the middle or the one-man-show of the Legend that made all around him better. The college game runs through the guards. We will never get another one-man-band like Hughes, but we can bomb from downtown with the likes of Mitchell, Barnett, McCall, Loe, Ellis and, yikes, even Cassity as a sixth option. Cassity was our #1 option for most of this year. Moving him to sixth speaks volumes to what has happened on this roster -- developing McCall and returning Mitchell and Barnett with rediscovering Ellis. It can be done.

However, given that our big men in this equation are Loe, Conklin and Ellis, we do need something on the interior to clean things up, offer a presence that opens the utside even more than just having six options brings. Could that be Manning? While I doubt it, I have to believe that John brings a better presence to the floor than two years of what Cory has shown me. Would I like to redshirt him? Yes, but can we? Conjk will be a senior -- I'd love to see him be our Bobby Brannen who once scored 23 points on a 23-for-24 night on the foul line. Sweet. Thatr's a guy working the interior -- and fouling a lot of the opposition out.

If we can add something on the inside with one of these two remaining offers, and that makes both Remekun and Conklin better in smaller doses, and Manning is at least a servicable seven-footer, we can be okay. I said a long time ago Reed's return was a key but never believed we'd see him. And I don't believe just gettinbg Mitchell and Barnettg on the floor does enough.

But again, maybe Rick can find someone --- he did a pretty good job with jett who I believe was a spring signee -- so we shall see.

I just hope the guy who said the roster is now stable was and is correct.

A year ago, I would have not predicted that BC would have played as well as he did. BC played better than I had expected. Not the greatest college basketball player, but BC again made improvements from his Frosh and Soph year. If BC makes another improvement over the off-season, if RL makes a normal improvment for a guy from Fr. to Soph year, if CR improves over last year, if CE regains his health and shot and if DE picks up where he left off, then we should be OK (not great) at the 4 and 5. If Manning can add to the mix and if RM can get more help this Spring, then we should be in good shape. Last year, we started the season relying upon BC, CE and CR before our Frosh (RL and DE) could get used to the college game. We will be in much better shape this year.

[Clock_Tower]

A year ago, I would have not predicted that BC would have played as well as he did. BC played better than I had expected. Not the greatest college basketball player, but BC again made improvements from his Frosh and Soph year. If BC makes another improvement over the off-season, if RL makes a normal improvment for a guy from Fr. to Soph year, if CR improves over last year, if CE regains his health and shot and if DE picks up where he left off, then we should be OK (not great) at the 4 and 5. If Manning can add to the mix and if RM can get more help this Spring, then we should be in good shape. Last year, we started the season relying upon BC, CE and CR before our Frosh (RL and DE) could get used to the college game. We will be in much better shape this year.

Plus, our guard situation will be much better this coming year as compared to last year. If our outside shooters stretch the defense, then our bigs will have an easier time than this past year.

[cheeseman]

This is a crazy thought, but any way to get Jon Smith back?

Would you think that SLU would require him to sit out a semester? - also, he would have to sit another year. Simply not viable.

[For-DaLove]

Would you think that SLU would require him to sit out a semester? - also, he would have to sit another year. Simply not viable.

The bad thing about him is that he would of stayed if he would have known there would be playing time. He just didn't think there would be.

Let's not forget he would have been punished for the incident that doomed our hopes.

[cheeseman]

Why are you, and others, assuming Manning will redshirt. Has RM, Porter or someone else suggested this?

Perhaps not specifically from what I have personally heard but I know RM would like to red shirt his bigs unless he things they are game ready. The other point is that RM has talked about red shirting players every year but only FJ has done so - talk abounds but action is much more difficult to do. Also, I thought we heard that RM was really pushing to get this JUCO Crossland as a big - anymore news on that front?

[Westy03]

Perhaps not specifically from what I have personally heard but I know RM would like to red shirt his bigs unless he things they are game ready. The other point is that RM has talked about red shirting players every year but only FJ has done so - talk abounds but action is much more difficult to do. Also, I thought we heard that RM was really pushing to get this JUCO Crossland as a big - anymore news on that front?

Crossland was visiting TCU this past weekend and will be visiting Missouri State soon. His assistant at JUCO just got hired as an assistant at Missouri State. I would assume he is still a priority for us.

[brianstl]

Plus, our guard situation will be much better this coming year as compared to last year. If our outside shooters stretch the defense, then our bigs will have an easier time than this past year.

This is why Barnett is the most important transfer to this program since H Waldman.

[Westy03]

This is why Barnett is the most important transfer to this program since H Waldman.

Lets hope he has a similar impact

[NH]

Expect a call from Rick soon. We need someone to fill Porters position.

I'm pretty sure you've made that joke before. It's less funny this time. Have you seen Christian Thomas play? Has Majerus seen Christian Thomas play? I know Porter has and I don't think he was wowed.

This would be equivalent to Anthony Mitchell in my mind.

[For-DaLove]

I'm pretty sure you've made that joke before. It's less funny this time. Have you seen Christian Thomas play? Has Majerus seen Christian Thomas play? I know Porter has and I don't think he was wowed.

This would be equivalent to Anthony Mitchell in my mind.

Probably something similar.

And yes, I have seen him play. I tend to agree with you about wondering if he could cut it here, but in the end I trust RM to make that decision. I was just having a little fun with ya.

[cheeseman]

Crossland was visiting TCU this past weekend and will be visiting Missouri State soon. His assistant at JUCO just got hired as an assistant at Missouri State. I would assume he is still a priority for us.

Interesting - does not bode well for us then. Thanks for the info.