Bills offer Smith

[BWeixScout]

Jordan Smith has an offer from SLU after his visit this weekend: http://heardthisblog.com/?p=282

[GoBills]

Jordan Smith has an offer from SLU after his visit this weekend: http://heardthisblog.com/?p=282

See if you can find out who the kid coming in next week is.

[kmbilliken]

Jordan Smith has an offer from SLU after his visit this weekend: http://heardthisblog.com/?p=282

Not a good recruiting period when all our targets go elsewhere and an afterthought isn't sure if he'd rather take our offer or walk on somewhere else.

[Billboy1]

Is the program that desperate we have to give a scho;arship to somebody that was going to be a walk-on somewhere else. Hope the kid coming in next week is not another 6'2" guard. What is the status of Bruenig's LOI release-this is what the staff needs to work on

[bbill]

Why doesn't SLU hire an African American assistant to recruit like most division one schools?

[davidnark]

Ben, is this an Eckerle deal, i.e. one year on athletic scolarship before he reverts back to his academic scholarship?

[BWeixScout]

Ben, is this an Eckerle deal, i.e. one year on athletic scolarship before he reverts back to his academic scholarship?

Not to my knowledge. I believe this is strictly an athletic scholarship from what he described to me.

[bk18]

Any info on his skill level? Or stats?

I think after RM having enough recruits hit the academic issues and leave, he realizes that good academics/character can guarantee 4 years out of a player which is something a number of players were not able to achieve. What fraction of RM's recruits at SLU will have made it 3+ years? Just curious what it would that number is if someone wants to count them all. I realize that they all didn't leave for academic or character reasons, but I think that is a reason for a few.

[waldo027]

RM's first two classes are:

Brett Thompson

Willie Reed

Kwamain Mitchell

Kyle Cassity

Brian Conklin

Ruben Cotto

Femi John

Cody Ellis

Christian Salecich

Cory Remekun

Jeff Reid

Jon Smith

Justin Jordan

Only 5 out of 13 are still playing here. I still remember when the arena opened and RM said Ruben Cotto is going to be "one hell of a player."

[WVBilliken]

Nothing against this kid, he sounds like a fine young man. But why use a scholarship on him unless it is a one year deal? We are loaded with guards with three being sophomores. Of course if the kid has a 30 on his ACT, then he can probably get an academic full ride if a scholarship isn't there for him down the road.

Heck, though, I thought when we got RM as coach our recruiting would improve. Yet here we are losing recruits to BSC schools again and again and battling mid-majors for the ones we do get. Not what I expected at all.

[waldo027]

Our recruiting hasn't improved since RM took over? Do you honestly believe that?

[WVBilliken]

I did not say recruiting has not improved. It has improved.

My point was with a "name" coach like RM I expected much, much more.

Still no tourney bid and I think getting one next year is pretty iffy at this point.

[NH]

Of course if the kid has a 30 on his ACT, then he can probably get an academic full ride if a scholarship isn't there for him down the road.\

Unfortunately, this is far from true.

[brianstl]

Our recruiting hasn't improved since RM took over? Do you honestly believe that?

The recruiting has improved, but if the current class had been a Sodie class we all wouldn't be very happy.

[waldo027]

I think the recruiting has been excellent considering we haven't been to the NCAA tournament in over a decade. Unless we start winning big, selling out every game, and going to the Dance almost every year, we aren't going to get guys like Beal, McLemore, Biedscheid, ect. We had one scholarship open this fall and it was quickly filled. We just lost out on Chievous, big deal. If everyone on this team stays, there isn't going to be much playing time at guard for a couple years.

[bk18]

I think getting Martin Breunig is going to be what makes this year's recruiting class very good or just good enough. If we do get him, I find it hard to believe anyone can complain about the three recruits coming in. Without him, it does feel a little short.

[Taj79]

Ummmmm .... I got to side with WVBilliken here. Have the recruits improved? Yes. Did I expect more? Yes.

I think the talent level is better including those who've left. Cotto could have been a great player, who knows. The kid might have had the talent, but the head wasn't there. Willie Reed had the talent, but the head wasn't thdre either. Anybody who believes Willie will go from stringbean to NBA player and put on weight playing five games in eight nights is more of a betting man than I am. John Smith had talent, no head for putting up with Majerus. Again, Majerus is a dinosaur ----- not many of today's "press conference kids" are going to accept Rick's all-for-the-gsme style. Coaches nowadays seem to be more psychologists and shrinks over and above X and o men. Coach K and Duke had more four year men than not until Magette and Deng started the one=and=done in Durham followed more recently by Irving and others. Our cupboard remains mostly bare.

I can see Rick finishing out this year and if Mitchell has a big year and declares, I can see Rick hitting the road with this his irst real class graduating. Face it .... we root for a seemingly cursed program.

I hope the other kid is Bruenig. Just because we need inside help. Haven't heard officially that he is out of his LOI at UMd but Turgeon jsut signed a kid to replace the three class losses according to today's Sun. To me, it sounds like Turgeon has moved on. I am gueessing that is true for all three with hopes Faust stays in the fold. I think Gibbs is gone because the kid signed is a 6'2" guard as Gibbs was.

Heres STILL hoping we land Bruenig over the other BCS players.

[TheA_Bomb]

I think the recruiting has been excellent considering we haven't been to the NCAA tournament in over a decade. Unless we start winning big, selling out every game, and going to the Dance almost every year, we aren't going to get guys like Beal, McLemore, Biedscheid, ect. We had one scholarship open this fall and it was quickly filled. We just lost out on Chievous, big deal. If everyone on this team stays, there isn't going to be much playing time at guard for a couple years.

Excellent recruiting is retaining 5 of 13 and no NCAA tournament bids? That's not my definition of excellent.

[JMM28]

RM's first two classes are:

Brett Thompson

Willie Reed

Kwamain Mitchell

Kyle Cassity

Brian Conklin

Ruben Cotto

Femi John

Cody Ellis

Christian Salecich

Cory Remekun

Jeff Reid

Jon Smith

Justin Jordan

Only 5 out of 13 are still playing here. I still remember when the arena opened and RM said Ruben Cotto is going to be "one hell of a player."

In fairness, Femi and Jeff Reid were both injury casualties. Reed and Cotto couldn't hack it in the classroom. Odds are that Jon Smith and Carlton Jordan would have been given the boot along with KM and Willie.

The only really weird/bizarre transfer was Brett Thompson.

And I don't think anyone, including Rick is happy with the lack of NCAA appearances. But looking how close we were at the end of the 09-10 season, one could reasonably assume that we would have been a minimum NIT team and most likely an NCAA team last year. I expect big things this year.

[thetorch]

Any info on his skill level? Or stats?

His HS team has recently graduated several D-1 players. Two of them play at WI, which is why he was going to walk on there. Smith was getting looks from among others Butler, Northwestern, Iowa St, Pepperdine, and some MAC and OVC schools but never received an offer. From the looks of it he wanted to play at a slightly higher level than what was recruiting him and that scared off some of the lesser programs. He's been a known commodity. Played on his HS varsity while he was in JR high. Scored over 2500 points in HS career. Known as a lights out shooter. SLU is the only D-1 school to actually offer him a scholarship.

[bk18]

His HS team has recently graduated several D-1 players. Two of them play at WI, which is why he was going to walk on there. Smith was getting looks from among others Butler, Northwestern, Iowa St, Pepperdine, and some MAC and OVC schools but never received an offer. From the looks of it he wanted to play at a slightly higher level than what was recruiting him and that scared off some of the lesser programs. He's been a known commodity. Played on his HS varsity while he was in JR high. Scored over 2500 points in HS career. Known as a lights out shooter. SLU is the only D-1 school to actually offer him a scholarship.

Sounds like Paul Eckerle with a little more skills. 2500 points in high school is a lot. Can someone post some stats if they are out there. I know stats aren't everything but I'm curious.

[BWeixScout]

Sounds like Paul Eckerle with a little more skills. 2500 points in high school is a lot. Can someone post some stats if they are out there. I know stats aren't everything but I'm curious.

http://www.mnbasketballhub.com/roster_player/show/354562?subseason=30337

[Billboy1]

No D-1 offers-even the lesser programs. This kid hasn't even accepted our offer yet. If he does it is a wasted scholarship. Wish if they can't get better talent they'd hold the scholarship until fall.

[STL Hoops Insider]

In fairness, Femi and Jeff Reid were both injury casualties. Reed and Cotto couldn't hack it in the classroom. Odds are that Jon Smith and Carlton Jordan would have been given the boot along with KM and Willie.

The only really weird/bizarre transfer was Brett Thompson.

And I don't think anyone, including Rick is happy with the lack of NCAA appearances. But looking how close we were at the end of the 09-10 season, one could reasonably assume that we would have been a minimum NIT team and most likely an NCAA team last year. I expect big things this year.

Reid, an injury casualty? He was healthy enough to play in every game this season for Washburn, starting 20 of 27 games averaging 10ppg, 50% FG, and 40% from three point range. Sounds fine to me.

http://www.wusports.com/custompages/mbball/2010-11mbbstats/TEAMCUME.HTM

[cheeseman]

Reid, an injury casualty? He was healthy enough to play in every game this season for Washburn, starting 20 of 27 games averaging 10ppg, 50% FG, and 40% from three point range. Sounds fine to me.

http://www.wusports.com/custompages/mbball/2010-11mbbstats/TEAMCUME.HTM

First of all Reid could have come back but the family was so concerned about his health situation that they wanted him close to home. For them it was an easy decision and the right one. We never said he had to leave.