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Willie Reed Update


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I dunno. Willie is posting "Rise and Grind" at 11am central time. You can do a "Rise and Grind" by 7am...8am at the latest. Waking up around 11am is more "Rise,Look Around,Brush Teeth then get lunch" hahaha!

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I dunno. Willie is posting "Rise and Grind" at 11am central time. You can do a "Rise and Grind" by 7am...8am at the latest. Waking up around 11am is more "Rise,Look Around,Brush Teeth then get lunch" hahaha!

It has been pointed out that he is on the West Coast right now, so his 'Rise and Grind' posts are actually around 9:30 AM local time. Now, that isn't exactly early, but he isn't getting up a few minutes prior to noon as we previously thought.

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It has been pointed out that he is on the West Coast right now, so his 'Rise and Grind' posts are actually around 9:30 AM local time. Now, that isn't exactly early, but he isn't getting up a few minutes prior to noon as we previously thought.

I guess I should not be too hard on him! When I was in boot camp...Rise and Grind was getting yelled out of bed at 4:30am, then do push-ups, sit-ups, and run a few miles.. Then eat breakfast when it was still dark! Thank the lord those days are over! hahaha!

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I guess I should not be too hard on him! When I was in boot camp...Rise and Grind was getting yelled out of bed at 4:30am, then do push-ups, sit-ups, and run a few miles.. Then eat breakfast when it was still dark! Thank the lord those days are over! hahaha!

yikes! brings back bad memories. in the army, it was called basic training. for me, it was fort leonardwood in the middle of winter. the 2 months of basic were worse than anything i've ever experienced.
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yikes! brings back bad memories. in the army, it was called basic training. for me, it was fort leonardwood in the middle of winter. the 2 months of basic were worse than anything i've ever experienced.

After graduating SLU I did my basic training at Fort Leonard Wood but it was July and August, 1969 and those also were some of my worst life experiences, which seemed far worse after spending four years on a college campus in the early hippie days. I remember one long hair who got all his hair shaved off, stood in line to get a shot and passed out. Unsure of causation.
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After graduating SLU I did my basic training at Fort Leonard Wood but it was July and August, 1969 and those also were some of my worst life experiences, which seemed far worse after spending four years on a college campus in the early hippie days. I remember one long hair who got all his hair shaved off, stood in line to get a shot and passed out. Unsure of causation.

my basic was jan-mar 1968. i had a student deferment which i eventually lost after grad school. went on to artillery training at fort sill, spent a few months at fort ord (calif), and then on to vietnam to serve with the 1st inf div. came home in sept 69. basic was worse than vietnam. i think the army planned it to work that way.
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my basic was jan-mar 1968. i had a student deferment which i eventually lost after grad school. went on to artillery training at fort sill, spent a few months at fort ord (calif), and then on to vietnam to serve with the 1st inf div. came home in sept 69. basic was worse than vietnam. i think the army planned it to work that way.

I was very lucky. Went to Fort Bragg for a year and then to Seoul, Korea assigned to the United Nations Command. Nice duty and a great experience. Taught English conversation to Koreans in the evenings and enjoyed it a lot. Far better than what I feared about an assignment to 'Nam.
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Agreed. Servicemen and women truly rise and grind. Thank you for all you do.

Obama giving the orders to take down Bin Laden two weeks ago is something we can all be proud of.

Patrick

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Willie's 'Rise and Grind' tweets are getting earlier everyday. Today's came around 8:00 AM local time (10:00 AM CST). Now, if he just gets up another hour or two earlier he will be on pace with the average working American.

In all seriousness, I hope the best for Willie. While I joked when he left that he was a huge c*cktease due to his back and forth in regards to coming back to SLU, he has to do what he thinks is best for him. Obviously school was too difficult for him and perhaps he feels that he might not be seen as having 'potential' and 'raw talent' if he waited another year to declare.

I just wonder if he has the work ethic and drive for professional ball. Majerus had stated previously that Willie was the only player he needed to constantly motivate. Also, Willie was suspended for a game his soph season due to immaturity, which also led to him not starting many games that season. And then there are the other issues outside of 'The Situation' that speak to his immaturity and sense of entitlement.

As for talent and potential, Willie does have some things working in his favor that may lead an NBA team to take a look at him. He has a huge wingspan for a 6'10" forward and has a decent vertical. We know about his shot-blocking ability and he is a good rebounder. However, he doesn't have a jump shot and cannot handle the ball on the perimeter. He is also a terrible free-throw shooter. Defensively, he has some holes. He will be overmatched against stronger 4s and 5s, and he cannot matchup with 3s on the perimeter who can shoot from mid to long range. One other detriment is his ability to stay on the court for long stretches at a time. He would get winded after 3 minutes of court time, and that is with a 35 second shot clock and SLU's slower pace. How is he going to handle the fast paced action of the NBA?

Considering a lot of Willie's limitations, I just don't see a team using a 1st or even a 2nd round pick on him. He has a lot of raw athletic ability, but there are dozens of other guys out there very similar to Willie that aren't playing in the NBA. NBA teams typically don't want skinny 6'10" forwards unless they can shoot from the outside, which Willie cannot. However, I can see him playing for a D-league team and perhaps work on his game as well as put on more muscle. Hopefully, he has the dedication for that.

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NBA teams typically don't want skinny 6'10" forwards

And yet we are constantly recruiting them...

This year they do. Look at any mock NBA draft and 6'10" forwards just like Willie are the only big players available outside of the top 10 picks. Willie probably won't get drafted, but if he had played this year he would probably go in the mid twenties. He would be drafted around the time of JaJuan Johnson, however, I think he could even be better than Thompkins from Georgia. Too bad for him.

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This year they do. Look at any mock NBA draft and 6'10" forwards just like Willie are the only big players available outside of the top 10 picks. Willie probably won't get drafted, but if he had played this year he would probably go in the mid twenties. He would be drafted around the time of JaJuan Johnson, however, I think he could even be better than Thompkins from Georgia. Too bad for him.

This mock draft agrees with you and has Willie going as the last pick in the 1st round at #30 a handful of slots behind JaJuan Johnson at #24.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2011mock_draft

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Willie probably won't get drafted, but if he had played this year he would probably go in the mid twenties.

Disagree, I think Willie is much more likely than not to get drafted.

In the mock draft link, I'm surprised to see Skeen at 49 and Willie at 30. Skeen appeared to have a much better all around game than Willie.

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I was talking about this with a couple of friends today and we had lots of different opinions. True or False. If Willie hadn't gotten kicked out of school in October, he'd be coming back next year.

False.

1. Other off court issues/grades might have been an issue regardless of the situation.

2. If he played, he'd be a year ahead of where he is now in terms of progress

3. It's a weak draft class, so it would have been a good time for him to jump ship.

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I was talking about this with a couple of friends today and we had lots of different opinions. True or False. If Willie hadn't gotten kicked out of school in October, he'd be coming back next year.

Moy is absolutely correct. WR was already on probation beforehand - hence his different treatment than KM when it can be argued that WR did even less wrong than KM. If only the Situation, then WR would have been just like KM - could have played late last Spring or redshirt. Before Fr. Biondi made his announcement - just prior to the start of practice and cutting the Kangaroo Court's sentence in half -- WR was already not lifting weights with the team, etc. WR would not have played the Fall semester anyway. Without the incident and with a strong academic semester last Fall, WR could have rejoined the team after the Fall semester ended. Instead, WR was kicked out of school and not able to finish the Fall semester. In essence, WR go a "do-over" starting in January with the Winter/Spring semester. Had WR done well there, he could have been re-admitted this Fall. Instead, he failed miserably.

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Guest BillikenReport

False.

1. Other off court issues/grades might have been an issue regardless of the situation.

2. If he played, he'd be a year ahead of where he is now in terms of progress

3. It's a weak draft class, so it would have been a good time for him to jump ship.

If Willie had played his junior season, regardless of how well he played, I have no doubts in my mind that he would have at least tested the NBA Draft process this spring.

It makes a lot of sense for a potential draft pick to test the Draft process following his junior season because he can get feedback on what he needs to improve to become a better prospect.

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Below is what one of the writers at Hoopsworld had to say about Willie. The link to the entire article and mock draft is here:

'Willie Reed is such an interesting prospect - he is extremely long and ferocious around the basket. He is an aggressive dunker, loves to bang in the paint and has proto-typical NBA size and length.

Reed was unfortunately linked to a sexual assault issue that took place in his apartment, an allegation he was ultimately cleared of. In fact he was watching TV in the living room area and had no idea anyone was in the dorm, let alone being involved, but that hasn't stopped his name and his character from coming into question in the NBA draft process. Willie is actually a pretty nice kid and really wants to work to improve. Willie may be a stretch in the first round, but second round picks we designed for exactly what Willie is - a dare to be great project that could have tremendous upside.'

In their mock draft they have Willie going late in the 2nd round. Also, I find it interesting on NBADraft.net that they have Willie getting drafted at #30 but when you go to their consensus draft he isn't in either round. However, I think that takes into account all opinons dating back a while, so perhaps opinion hasn't caught up yet.

Regardless, it seems like opinions vary greatly on Willie's draft value. Some feel that it might be worth taking a flier on him late in the 1st round, other to use a 2nd round pick on him, and then others who feel it isn't worth using any pick on him.

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Willie's agent is doing a great job of pumping Willie's name up with the draft media.

The thing Willie has going for him is that no one knows what he brings, and when you don't know, you assume it is really good and you shouldn't pass on it. Owners and GM's are morons. That said, I think Willie would have even been higher if he had played, he is a rare talent.
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