Recruiting - 2013

[cheeseman]

Let's assume for the sake of argument Strawberry isn't quite to the level of an A-10 guard (i.e. he's more like an SIU-E level player), would you take him if he was out only option for a 4th guard?

I answered that question - if I do not have enough info on the kid to say anything one way or the other the first time I was asked then why would have it now? It is JC's responsibility to find guards that can play - same as with any player in any position - if he decided to take Strawberry then all I can do is live with it and hope he is correct if he isn't then it was his call and the consequences fall on him - that is why he is getting the big money. I would not just want a body but like I said it is Crew's job to make sure he is not just finding bodies.

I also agree that at some point you have to have enough bodies to get through the season and if you have to recruit over somebody then so be it - every good team at D1 does it. I just worry about how JJ plays with such reckless abandonment - I love it but he is always on the edge of getting hurt. Another way I might respond to your question would be - is Strawberry better than Barnett and Crawford as guards? - if so then maybe you have to sign him and then let the chips fall where they may in the future. How many players have we lost to BCS teams who swooped in and took the guy on the come in the spring because they were surprised by someone leaving and then they recruited over the kid the next year - Roth, Stemler, and Harreleson come to mind.

[moytoy12]

I answered that question - if I do not have enough info on the kid to say anything one way or the other the first time I was asked then why would have it now? It is JC's responsibility to find guards that can play - same as with any player in any position - if he decided to take Strawberry then all I can do is live with it and hope he is correct if he isn't then it was his call and the consequences fall on him - that is why he is getting the big money. I would not just want a body but like I said it is Crew's job to make sure he is not just finding bodies.

I also agree that at some point you have to have enough bodies to get through the season and if you have to recruit over somebody then so be it - every good team at D1 does it. I just worry about how JJ plays with such reckless abandonment - I love it but he is always on the edge of getting hurt. Another way I might respond to your question would be - is Strawberry better than Barnett and Crawford as guards? - if so then maybe you have to sign him and then let the chips fall where they may in the future. How many players have we lost to BCS teams who swooped in and took the guy on the come in the spring because they were surprised by someone leaving and then they recruited over the kid the next year - Roth, Stemler, and Harreleson come to mind.

Nice cop out.

[Littlebill]

Do you like guns and foreign travel? I may have a job for you.

+1

[cgeldmacher]

Let's assume for the sake of argument Strawberry isn't quite to the level of an A-10 guard (i.e. he's more like an SIU-E level player), would you take him if he was out only option for a 4th guard?

I have not seen Strawberry play in any form, but I have liked what I have heard. You can't be a point guard on a team full of top recruits without having some skills and the ability to distribute the ball. I also have to give him a sliver of a positive in his column for being the son of a professional athlete. Kids of pro athletes typically have seen the level of commitment that is required to succeed at the highest level. This is why so many fall into the "coachable" category.

If the staff sees something in him, I will trust their evaluation given the two facts mentioned above.

What I can't figure out, though, is his height. I just looked it up and Darryl is 6'5". How is his son only 6'1", if that's accurate (I thought I saw somewhere that he was 6'0" or under). Maybe Darryl's "shorty" at the time was a literal term.

[moytoy12]

I have not seen Strawberry play in any form, but I have liked what I have heard. You can't be a point guard on a team full of top recruits without having some skills and the ability to distribute the ball. I also have to give him a sliver of a positive in his column for being the son of a professional athlete. Kids of pro athletes typically have seen the level of commitment that is required to succeed at the highest level. This is why so many fall into the "coachable" category.

If the staff sees something in him, I will trust their evaluation given the two facts mentioned above.

What I can't figure out, though, is his height. Isn't Darryl like 6'4". How is his son under 6'0". Maybe his "shorty" at the time was a literal term.

Mom's genes.

[bonwich]

I have not seen Strawberry play in any form...

Clearly, a violation of the Prime Directive.

[RiseAndGrind]

Man. We miss out on 1 or 2 recruits (depending on Jesperson) and now people are in a panic. I think SLU is still strong for Yacoubou and maintain that he has been the top target all along.

Also, I'd take Strawberry in a second.

[cheeseman]

Nice cop out.

Did you read the second paragraph - I believe I did answer your question.

[NH]

Look, I know there's something to be said for making the players around you better. But when the best compliment you can give a guy is that he played with other good players, that's a warning sign to me. If Strawberry were good enough to play for SLU, he would be committed here. The staff watched him play with the team, brought him in for a visit and clearly needed a point guard. If they STILL passed then i'm going to trust them.

I'm not about saving scholarships. Given roster turnover injuries, I think it's too risky a practice. But I'm certainly NOT for taking players who are not good enough to play at this level. That will only turn out poorly.

I understand the worry about the 2013 class, I really do. We only filled 3/5 scholarships and missed on some promising transfers. But I sincerely believe that the 2013 recruiting has gone fine and the true class we need to worry about is 2014. We have our name in that hat for LOTS of good players and we have 7 open scholarships. That is the class that will make or break the immediate future of SLU bball and Jim Crews.

[milwaukeebill]

+1

2014 class is incredibly important.....

[milwaukeebill]

+1

2014 class is incredibly important.....

[cgeldmacher]

Look, I know there's something to be said for making the players around you better. But when the best compliment you can give a guy is that he played with other good players, that's a warning sign to me. If Strawberry were good enough to play for SLU, he would be committed here. The staff watched him play with the team, brought him in for a visit and clearly needed a point guard. If they STILL passed then i'm going to trust them.

I'm not about saving scholarships. Given roster turnover injuries, I think it's too risky a practice. But I'm certainly NOT for taking players who are not good enough to play at this level. That will only turn out poorly.

I understand the worry about the 2013 class, I really do. We only filled 3/5 scholarships and missed on some promising transfers. But I sincerely believe that the 2013 recruiting has gone fine and the true class we need to worry about is 2014. We have our name in that hat for LOTS of good players and we have 7 open scholarships. That is the class that will make or break the immediate future of SLU bball and Jim Crews.

I think we might agree, even though we made our comments in different ways. I said that I trust the staff if they think that Strawberry can play. You said that if the staff passed on him, you trust them. The problem is that we don't know how they view Strawberry. I think you would agree that if they thought he was a fit, but wanted to explore other options, it doesn't mean that he still may not be a fit. I would agree that if they are passing, I trust them.

It seems to me like Strawberry is the type of player we have recruited in the past, but that we have our sites set a little higher right now. However, if we need a point guard and he is our Plan B, let's not set our standard so high that we're not filling out recruiting classes or leaving holes in our line up. The difference between him and others on our wish list may not be that great. I'm going to leave up to Crews to decide. All teams have their Plan A and Plan B and Plan C. That's how it works. I would hazard a guess that there have been times that teams end up very happy, years later, that their Plan A didn't work out and that they got their Plan B or C guy. I've mentioned this many times, but MM, JJ, and DE weren't highly recruited out of high school and I'm pretty sure we're all happy we have them as seniors for this upcoming season.

[NH]

I think we might agree, even though we made our comments in different ways. I said that I trust the staff if they think that Strawberry can play. You said that if the staff passed on him, you trust them. The problem is that we don't know how they view Strawberry. I think you would agree that if they thought he was a fit, but wanted to explore other options, it doesn't mean that he still may not be a fit. I would agree that if they are passing, I trust them.

It seems to me like Strawberry is the type of player we have recruited in the past, but that we have our sites set a little higher right now. However, if we need a point guard and he is our Plan B, let's not set our standard so high that we're not filling out recruiting classes or leaving holes in our line up. The difference between him and others on our wish list may not be that great. I'm going to leave up to Crews to decide. All teams have their Plan A and Plan B and Plan C. That's how it works. I would hazard a guess that there have been times that teams end up very happy, years later, that their Plan A didn't work out and that they got their Plan B or C guy. I've mentioned this many times, but MM, JJ, and DE weren't highly recruited out of high school and I'm pretty sure we're all happy we have them as seniors for this upcoming season.

It seems pretty clear that the staff passed on Strawberry.

Furthermore, I disagree with your comment that it seems like Strawberry is the type of player we've recruited in the past. Every single scholarship player on the roster with the exception of maybe Barnett was more highly touted coming out of high school than Strawberry.

We have a lot more work to do before we can say the staff has their sights set higher. I think we will see that work come to fruition but still it is too early to say we are landing a higher-caliber or even more highly-touted player.

[moytoy12]

Did you read the second paragraph - I believe I did answer your question.

Yea, you said a lot about nothing. You want him if he is better than Crawford or Barnett. The latter is pretty funny

[almaman]

on my thread padding ? about WTF is the deal about those basketball prep schools I found this,

http://www.ctpost.com/basketball/article/Prep-schools-can-provide-avenue-to-college-512963.php

kind of what I thought and kind of unpleasant in some way.

[cheeseman]

Yea, you said a lot about nothing. You want him if he is better than Crawford or Barnett. The latter is pretty funny

I am sorry you have problems reading for meaning - so I will try one more time to help you understand. You asked if I would be willing take Strawberry if no one else was available. Given I do not have a firm opinion on the quality of Strawberry as a player it is not possible for me opine an answer. However, I did offer that even if we did sign Strawberry and he did not work out then we could recruit over him in the future. I am not sure how that is not answering your question.

[Duff Man]

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

If Keith Carter took his time to think through decisions as Randy O is doing, he possibly never would have come here at all...or maybe he would have come, and not left.

There is nothing wrong with Randy O taking his time before he making one of the most important decisions of his life. From the kid's perspective, it's better to avoid signing an LOI.

SLU, Miami University, and LSU would all be wildly different experiences, and it really comes down to where he feels is the best fit.

[moytoy12]

I am sorry you have problems reading for meaning - so I will try one more time to help you understand. You asked if I would be willing take Strawberry if no one else was available. Given I do not have a firm opinion on the quality of Strawberry as a player it is not possible for me opine an answer. However, I did offer that even if we did sign Strawberry and he did not work out then we could recruit over him in the future. I am not sure how that is not answering your question.

Huh? Did you even read or think about your post before you hit reply? So, on the one hand you're saying you can't opine an answer and then on the other you say you don't understand how you're not answering my question. Um, ok.

Apparently, you failed to read the part where I said we could assume that Strawberry was a lower D-1 quality player.

Nevermind. This is futile. You can't and won't give an answer. That should come in handy after the fact when you tell us what Crews should have done.

[JMM28]

Miami Ohio just picked up a transfer PG from Presbyterian. What does their scholarship situation look like now?

http://www.gobluehose.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18100&ATCLID=205028449

[doowop]

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.

If he's no better than Meyer or Sloan he will never be a starter. I think he is and will be a much better scorer than either of them. As tough as they were they would have a hard time getting much playing time on this team. imo They were offensively challenged at the college level. I think Crawford will average double figures in SLU's system.

[Pistol]

Miami Ohio just picked up a transfer PG from Presbyterian. What does their scholarship situation look like now?

http://www.gobluehose.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18100&ATCLID=205028449

Pretty sure they still have 1. But the fact this was a PG helps, I'd think.

[JettFlight5]

Pretty sure they still have 1. But the fact this was a PG helps, I'd think.

I think Kane not committing to Pitt is "worse" for us than the RO situation.

We're still talking about very high quality players here.

[ACE]

If he's no better than Meyer or Sloan he will never be a starter. I think he is and will be a much better scorer than either of them. As tough as they were they would have a hard time getting much playing time on this team. imo They were offensively challenged at the college level. I think Crawford will average double figures in SLU's system.

+1 If he is Meyer or Sloan, that would be disappoinnting considering how far I think this program has progressed. I know we have to compare white guys to other white guys, but why can't Crawford be closer to Scott Highmark than Chris Sloan?

[Pistol]

I think Kane not committing to Pitt is "worse" for us than the RO situation.

We're still talking about very high quality players here.

That really threw me for a loop. That appeared to be a done deal. And doing some Googling, I'm not the only one who thought so. He's a head case.

Anyway, we're still head-to-head with Pitt on Yacoubou for sure, and maybe Onwuasor. Randy O never visited there, and they appeared to have backed off. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if them backing off and leaving him with SLU and Miami right after he narrowed it to three publicly may have caused him to see if other programs were interested.

By the way, the two latest threads on Miami's board about Onwuasor end with one guy thinking he's going the Juco route and another thinking he's going to UC-Riverside. There aren't many people there, but they could use some voices of reason.

[TheA_Bomb]

Lawyered.

Huh? Did you even read or think about your post before you hit reply? So, on the one hand you're saying you can't opine an answer and then on the other you say you don't understand how you're not answering my question. Um, ok.

Apparently, you failed to read the part where I said we could assume that Strawberry was a lower D-1 quality player.

Nevermind. This is futile. You can't and won't give an answer. That should come in handy after the fact when you tell us what Crews should have done.