Recruiting - 2013

[Jrberendzen]

This isn't my first message board problem also. I am a horrible typer. And I think it's best if i just leave this site forever

[Quality Is Job 1]

Remeken

Maybe. SLU doesn't appear to compile and/or publish that "stat," so I can't really verify whether Remekun or Conklin had more dunks that year without poring through the play-by-play portion of individual box scores (if they all included it), but it seemed to me from following the games that Conklin had more.

Regardless, he certainly had a lot more than two dunks all season. He probably had at least one game with at least two dunks.

[billikenfan05]

This isn't my first message board problem also. I am a horrible typer. And I think it's best if i just leave this site forever

A little extreme...maybe work on your typing and return with a new name...that's what I didn't moons ago

[The Wiz]

Just maybe.....

SLU has 2 kids lined up for the remaining scholarships (not on "the list") and they are not in a position to sign just yet (have to finish summer school, need travel documents, etc). but might be by the end of summer.

Just maybe....

J Drew was let go because he didn't fit in....and even if we had no one in waiting he would have been let go anyway.

Just maybe....

We let J Drew go "early" instead of waiting till August when we might need the schollie....Getting the news in Aug...that would have been blindsided.

Just maybe .....

You can be blindsided when you have your eyes closed.

I think Crews has done a pretty good job so far ....landing 2 quality 4 yr players.

Just maybe....

We should wait till the school year starts before we pass judgement on his decisions.

[GOSLU68]

Crews has: A multi year contract. Good team of assistant coaches I'd rate them just

A little lower than the ones RM had because he had assistants expecting to get his job and JC was more typical now Whitesell is more typical. Great facilities: Chaifetz, etc. Great returning players. Great linage in basketball: Bobby Knight player on perfect season team; assistant to BK. Good results at SLU and Evansville; i hated it when the Purple Aces beat us

and ever since his run in Evansville they returned to bottom dwelling. Maybe 18 year olds don't know who Bobby Knight is but was't JC also coach of year 2012? Didn't he continue to raise the bar at SLU as we repeated in the NCAAs? Aren't we predicted to go to the dance, again? Isn't thus team due to upgrade with Austin Mcbroom, Crawford, Agbeko, Lancona getting chances to play. If anything was a disappointment in 2012 it was injuries that held KM and some others from having their best years. Hoping CR would finally break through with a Conklin type senior year or that JM would step up instead of getting a concussion. You know we could have been better and this was a very good year. When was the last time we won any league title and tournament? The Kenyon Martin leg breaking is the last miracle finish I can think of.

[slu72]

Just maybe.....

SLU has 2 kids lined up for the remaining scholarships (not on "the list") and they are not in a position to sign just yet (have to finish summer school, need travel documents, etc). but might be by the end of summer.

Just maybe....

J Drew was let go because he didn't fit in....and even if we had no one in waiting he would have been let go anyway.

Just maybe....

We let J Drew go "early" instead of waiting till August when we might need the schollie....Getting the news in Aug...that would have been blindsided.

Just maybe .....

You can be blindsided when you have your eyes closed.

I think Crews has done a pretty good job so far ....landing 2 quality 4 yr players.

Just maybe....

We should wait till the school year starts before we pass judgement on his decisions.

3 good 4 yr players. Unless you're thinking RA is a one and done. I think MC's gonna be a good one; hard worker, can shoot, and rebound. All around solid player in the vein of Meyer and Sloan.

[AlumniFan]

Just maybe.....

SLU has 2 kids lined up for the remaining scholarships (not on "the list") and they are not in a position to sign just yet (have to finish summer school, need travel documents, etc). but might be by the end of summer.

Just maybe....

J Drew was let go because he didn't fit in....and even if we had no one in waiting he would have been let go anyway.

Just maybe....

We let J Drew go "early" instead of waiting till August when we might need the schollie....Getting the news in Aug...that would have been blindsided.

Just maybe .....

You can be blindsided when you have your eyes closed.

I think Crews has done a pretty good job so far ....landing 2 quality 4 yr players.

Just maybe....

We should wait till the school year starts before we pass judgement on his decisions.

Well said.

[cheeseman]

Why? This recruiting class is fine with the three already signed. Getting an impact transfer would be a cherry on top but its not a requirements to call this spring a success.

Now the summer recruiting and fall signing period which we currently have 7 schollys to give is something to be nervous about. Our future success depends on it.

I disagree - while this year's 3 signings help to make this year's effort not a total bust we are in big trouble guard wise for the future and honestly next year if we suffer an injury to one of our 3 guards. We have to and I can not stress this enough get another guard at least for next year! Two would be better. By the way I would be OK with a transfer as one who would be able to start playing as soon as they are eligible.

[billiken_roy]

unlike bigs, effective guards are plentiful each year. and if we cant sign a decent guard(s) this fall, then crews isnt a recruiter. spring signings are tough. all too often what you get reeks of desparation and i would rather go into next season a roster spot short than sign a warm body. especially since we now know that crews isnt afraid to dump and run to something potentially better for the sake of inserting a better player on the roster like his predecessor.

one or two of the potential players on pistol's list sign fine, but after that, like i said, let's just wait till this year's high school Juniors are seniors and nab a couple of them.

crews should be given bigtime kudos for the two bigs he signed this spring. if press clippings and physical dimiensions mean anything, it appears he did outstanding. of course as a long time billiken fan, i have seen enough hope from recruits that end up not really panning out to be wary and thus will wait until they show us their true worth and potential.

[kshoe]

I disagree - while this year's 3 signings help to make this year's effort not a total bust we are in big trouble guard wise for the future and honestly next year if we suffer an injury to one of our 3 guards. We have to and I can not stress this enough get another guard at least for next year! Two would be better. By the way I would be OK with a transfer as one who would be able to start playing as soon as they are eligible.

So would you have been fine with a transfer before Drew left? If so, then I'm not following your concern about next season as a transfer wouldn't have helped next year and Drew was never considered a major factor for playing time. With McCall, Jett and McBroom getting the lions share of the minutes at the 2 guard spots we'll be fine if one gets hurt with Barnett and Crawford as capable reserves. We basically traded Mitchell for McBroom as far as the depth chart goes. I can't imagine a freshman we'd find at this point being able to meaningfully contribute next season.

[ldm]

broy

Since you know east side players, what is your impression of guard from SWIC who has visited several times and appears to be in consideration to be signed? He played at Alton, I believe.

[JMM28]

I am okay with signing one more and then holding the other one until 2014.

Having 6 scholarships to offer next fall wouldn't be the worst thing. After the new seniors graduate in 2014, the roster will look like:

SR - Glaze, Manning

JR - McBroom

SO - Crawford, Lancona, Agbeko

SIgning 2 JuCo guys and 4 HS/prep guys would set up nicely.

[Pistol]

Ro is making his decision by End of month:

Ben Weixlmann ‏@BWeixScout 6m

2013 PG Randy Onwuasor told me he will decide by EOM. RT @_Peanut3: Can this week please go fast last visit!!! Then decision yes sir

Where's the last visit?

[billiken_roy]

ldm, on 20 May 2013 - 09:27 AM, said:

broy

Since you know east side players, what is your impression of guard from SWIC who has visited several times and appears to be in consideration to be signed? He played at Alton, I believe.

i detest harrington and his top recruiting asst campo (convinced they worked real hard to chase stemler and harrelson away from slu. regardless if true or not, they havent sent us a player since the late 80's) so i do not follow swic. sorry.

[billiken_roy]

kshoe, on 20 May 2013 - 09:26 AM, said:

So would you have been fine with a transfer before Drew left? If so, then I'm not following your concern about next season as a transfer wouldn't have helped next year and Drew was never considered a major factor for playing time. With McCall, Jett and McBroom getting the lions share of the minutes at the 2 guard spots we'll be fine if one gets hurt with Barnett and Crawford as capable reserves. We basically traded Mitchell for McBroom as far as the depth chart goes. I can't imagine a freshman we'd find at this point being able to meaningfully contribute next season.

been a long time since i agreed 100% with kshoe.

[HusakAttack]

Why is everyone so obsessed with RO? At this point I'd rather not have him. He visited and its been forever since then with no action. The last thing I want is another Keith Carter

[kshoe]

Why is everyone so obsessed with RO? At this point I'd rather not have him. He visited and its been forever since then with no action. The last thing I want is another Keith Carter

Because we aren't aware of any other quality freshman names available. Accordingly, the staff seems willing to wait on him, which suggests they don't have a great Plan B highschool recruit if he goes elsewhere. Plan B may very well be pocket the scholarship.

Don't worry, the obsession over 2014 recruits will start soon enough.

[HusakAttack]

Because we aren't aware of any other quality freshman names available. Accordingly, the staff seems willing to wait on him, which suggests they don't have a great Plan B highschool recruit if he goes elsewhere. Plan B may very well be pocket the scholarship.

Don't worry, the obsession over 2014 recruits will start soon enough.

Why do you say the staff seems willing to wait? I havent heard anything that suggests this...

For all we know, the staff has moved on to other targets and transfers which seems more likely. Feel free to show me where I missed the staff mentioning him as a target recently.

[MB73]

Just maybe.....

SLU has 2 kids lined up for the remaining scholarships (not on "the list") and they are not in a position to sign just yet (have to finish summer school, need travel documents, etc). but might be by the end of summer.

Just maybe....

J Drew was let go because he didn't fit in....and even if we had no one in waiting he would have been let go anyway.

Just maybe....

We let J Drew go "early" instead of waiting till August when we might need the schollie....Getting the news in Aug...that would have been blindsided.

Just maybe .....

You can be blindsided when you have your eyes closed.

I think Crews has done a pretty good job so far ....landing 2 quality 4 yr players.

Just maybe....

We should wait till the school year starts before we pass judgement on his decisions.

Hey, we agree.

I do not think that so many should panic or be overly analytical of the J Drew escapade.

I would add that we should be very, very pleased with the 3 signees thus far, especially the two high potential BIGS. That was some fine recruiting under the late start circumstances and is exactly what we needed, two different role style types, legit BIGS.

A guard or two would be nice, though we should add guards ONLY if they are in the KM-MM-JJ category of potential. If the remaining guards are "plugs" then I would rather wait a year, a slight gamble, yes, but still I would rather wait. I also think possibly Crews might come up with someone not yet on Pistols radar... so many transfers out there.

[moytoy12]

Out of curiosity, let's say the Nova kid and RO go elsewhere and there really is no one else on the radar, would folks take J.Strawberry even if JS wasn't quite up to an A-10 quality guard? Maybe he could turn into a solid pg after 2-3 years?

I see cheese's point about an injury, but outside of RO, it doesn't seem like we have anyone on the radar that would be able to help out if one of MM, AM or JJ goes down. Cheese, would you take Strawberry just to have as a possible emergency fill-in?

[kshoe]

Why do you say the staff seems willing to wait? I havent heard anything that suggests this...

For all we know, the staff has moved on to other targets and transfers which seems more likely. Feel free to show me where I missed the staff mentioning him as a target recently.

You know as well as I the staff can't say anything about RO because of NCAA rules. In fact they have never said anything about RO.

The fact he is still in contact with B Wex probably is a pretty good indicator that there is still interest.

[HusakAttack]

Out of curiosity, let's say the Nova kid and RO go elsewhere and there really is no one else on the radar, would folks take J.Strawberry even if JS wasn't quite up to an A-10 quality guard? Maybe he could turn into a solid pg after 2-3 years?

I see cheese's point about an injury, but outside of RO, it doesn't seem like we have anyone on the radar that would be able to help out if one of MM, AM or JJ goes down. Cheese, would you take Strawberry just to have as a possible emergency fill-in?

When Grandy committed he was on nobody's radar and I don't even remember anyone ever even hearing of a visit. Just trust what the staff is doing...they aren't just sitting on their hands waiting and hoping for RO to commit.

[HusakAttack]

You know as well as I the staff can't say anything about RO because of NCAA rules. In fact they have never said anything about RO.

The fact he is still in contact with B Wex probably is a pretty good indicator that there is still interest.

He's a frickin HS kid - he will talk to anyone who wants to talk to him about where he is gonna go.

The fact that he is talking to Ben Weixlman means absolutely nothing...

[Pistol]

Update for the last two spots:

Paul Jesperson, SG: 6-6, 197, Virginia. Transfer eligible as junior in 2014-2015. Interest from SLU, Northern Iowa, USC, Nebraska, and Florida. Latest (5/19): Jesperson is back home in Merrill, Wisconsin and will not make any other visits. A Wisconsin Badgers source says he'll likely choose between UNI and USC. His younger brother just committed to Pepperdine, which bodes well for USC. Previous: Jesperson tweeted "UNI, St. Louis, USC... 3 great visits, couple more left tho" on the 11th. It appears he will not be visiting Nebraska or Florida. At SLU, Manning (Virginia native) and Barnett (Wisconsin native) were his hosts. Pappy's was part of the itinerary.

Randy Onwuasor, PG: 6-3, 190, Inglewood HS, Inglewood, CA. Top Choices: SLU, Miami-Ohio, LSU, and Pitt. Other offers: UC-Irvine, UC-Riverside, and Cal State-Fullerton. Interest from Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Seton Hall, Florida State, Arkansas, UNLV, Tulane, New Mexico State, and Utah. Latest (5/20): Told Ben Weixlmann he will go on one more visit this week and make a decision by the end of the month. Previous: Onwuasor has visited SLU and Miami-Ohio. SLU and Miami have both made in-home visits. He will be playing in the Nike Global Challenge in DC in July. He has been retweeting SLU fans a lot, but more recent tweets feature Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, and LSU. A TTU assistant apparently visited, and he now says he plans to visit Knoxville soon. No word on offers from either. Onwuasor has picked up an offer from LSU and has already visited there. What looked like a SLU-Miami race has now opened back up.

Jordan Strawberry, PG: 6-1, 170, Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, CA. Offers: SLU, UC-Riverside, and UNC-Wilmington. Claims interest from Arizona, Virginia Tech, Gonzaga, California, and Florida State, but that appears to be stale. Latest (5/16): Darryl Strawberry told Frank Cusamano that SLU "looked at" Jordan but that he's considering prep school in Connecticut. Previous: Visit to SLU (and dad) went very well. Since then, UNC-Wilmington has gotten in the mix and has one scholarship left to give after Addison Spruill, a shooting guard from Brevard CC, committed on 4/30. He seems to be SLU's backup plan to Randy Onwuasor, but SLU seems like his best opportunity if he doesn't reclassify as a 2014 recruit. This list came out on 5/1 and Strawberry's name and picture is in it. Interestingly, Onwuasor and Lancona are not mentioned. He also told a buddy on Twitter that his visit "out there" went well and he's trying to make his decision.

JaQuail Townser, PG: 6-3, 185, SWIC. Juco transfer eligible as sophomore in 2013-2014. Unclear whether SLU has offered or who else has. Latest (5/19): Townser has already visited SLU multiple times, at least once with another teammate. Townser averaged 8.8 PPG at SWIC this season along with 4.8 APG and 3.2 RPG on 42.5% shooting (26.0% from 3 and 78.7% from FT). The Telegraph on May 2 said, "Look for former Alton High standouts JaQuail Townser and Tony Bradley, both at SWIC in Belleville, to sign soon with four-year colleges." Here's a

of some high school (2012) highlights.

Achraf Yacoubou, SG: 6-4, 210, Villanova. Transfer eligible as junior in 2014-2015. Interested in SLU, Pitt, and Georgia Tech. Latest (5/16): He was supposed to visit Pitt on 5/14 but I haven't seen anything confirming that he actually visited. I have confirmed that he was in the Bronx (his hometown) on 5/15. Previous: Two Tweets from sportswriters on Friday, 5/3 said that Yacoubou visited SLU and will be visiting Pitt and Georgia Tech next. UNLV and Miami are out of contention. According to pantherlair.com writer Matthew Steinbrink, Pitt is focused on Yacoubou, Sheldon Jeter (if he decides to transfer), and DeAndre Kane. Kane made it official, so Pitt has one scholarship left to give.

[ldm]

broy

I was not referring to the guard's play last year at SWIC, but to his play in hs in Alton the years before. Do you recall him from that time and the quality of his play?