Matt Shaw

[Billiken75]

I am interested in how the SIU coaching change plays out with Matt Shaw. It seems that his decision was based on his repoirte with Painter. What are Purdue's scholarship situation - how many spots do they have open? what are their needs.

Picking a school is obviously a big decision and feeling comfortable with the coaching staff is key. I believe there is a potential window here and I am sure Soderberg is monitoring the situation.

[billiken_roy]

matt isnt going anywhere. he will go to siu.

[Mobile-iken]

What makes you so confident Roy?

[Box and Won]

With the impending coaching change at Purdue, will X. Price still want to go to Purdue (if he gains eligibility)? Will Painter keep Cuonzo Martin on his staff?

[SIUSalukis]

Well first off, Painter won't have a staff to assemble/disassemble this year because Keady is still around. Next year, I would assume that Painter will keep most of the same staff there at Purdue because we will have had worked w/ them for a season.

I think Shaw will stay at SIU. I highly doubt that Painter would try to lure Shaw to Purdue. Taking a better job with a lot more benefits is one thing, taking your former recruits with you is just unacceptable.

[billiken_roy]

because an extremely available and credible assistant coach candidate is just sitting in his centralia high school principal's office, rick moss, waiting for carbondale to call him and ask him to be an assistant coach for siu.

for those of you that dont remember or know, moss was the centralia high school coach. he had matt shaw's dad as his assistant coach and also let matt have the run of the school gym year round. for some reason the school board didnt like those two facts and told moss to stop shaw from coming in the school unsupervised and to find a new assistant coach. moss refused, they said, either do it or you are fired, moss stuck to his guns and is no longer coaching.

moss knows the game. he has been a very successful coach for a long time, before stepping down. he recently accepted the carbondale high school athletic directors job for next year, but my guess is it wont take him long to pack up his stuff and move it a few blocks over to the college.

it is widely known that moss and shaw are extremely close. surely the siu people if they want to keep matt will make the same connection i have persented here.

[Mobile-iken]

You are well connected Roy...Thanks.

[Taj79]

.... could he help us? Maybe. Sounds like he could from what everyone else is saying here. But I for one cannot b*tch and moan about unethical recruiters and coachs being vultures and then condone to have Brad "monitor" the Shaw situation, espousing the very same tactics that some of us despise. I wish Matt the best of luck but he made his choice and this is a pitfall of that choice.

Why SIU? The school? That did not change. The major? That did not change. The playing situation? The competition? The travel distance from home? The coach? None of those situations changed except the coach. Now, if it is indeed the coach, then I as the NCAA would allow Matt out ... but only an out to Purdue. Follow the coach. Maybe Matt can't play in the Big Ten based on someone's review, I don't know. Maybe he's not a fan of West Lafayette. If that's the case, the school's can negotiate the LOI issue. We let Hollins go. Duke let Humphries go. Tulane let Solomon Hughes go. It can be done. If all of a sudden its a round peg in a square hole, so be it.

I'd give a grace period ... say two weeks. After that, an LOI-out or whatever becomes a typical transfer. Sit out a year. Some may think that harsh but there has to be an accountability for something somewhere. The kid. The coach. The school. The NCAA. You can't clean up one without the others.

I certainly hope Matt does well as a Saluki. Good luck and best wishes.