Drew is Transferring

[waldo027]

This is a bad situation. Bad pub for the school and coaching staff. Rob a player a year of eligibility. And as others have said, this might have an adverse effect on team chemistry. Those on social media know Glaze, McBroom and Drew seemed close.

You would have thought the staff would have let JD know earlier.

No one except the die-hards (i.e. the people on this board) even know who Jared Drew is, let alone what happened to him. Just like no one except the die-hards even knew or cared that Crews wasn't announced as the head coach until 3 weeks after the season ended. There is no bad pub, unless the PD, KSDK, KMOV, ect decide there is a scandal involving the treatment of a SLU basketball player.

But having said that, we had better get 2 commitments, PDQ.

[Pistol]

Just looking at the tone of the recent tweets on Drew's Twitter feed, this was not his decision.

I share everyone's concerns about the timing and handling of this, and its effect on team chemistry moving forward. I don't like stuff like this one bit. Have a conversation with him, and if he wants to stay, the ball should be in his court. Don't run guys off, especially when they just agreed to sit a year and redshirt just to play for you.

I definitely question how this was handled and will be interested to see how the team responds.

[thetorch]

Didn't we just have discussion about how our APR had risen and we were basically in good shape now and would only get better. Plus Crews touts his ability to graduate players.

This was a move by the coaching staff. Even Majerus didn't release kids this late. Maybe we do sign 2 impact players but that doesn't make up for the PR hit we are currently taking as a program. We look just as bad or worse than Wazzu.

If this was all about APR well we should have made sure this kids grades were in order way before May. If you think the kid is going to tank his classes that makes little sense, he'd just be ineligible to play at his next stop. Drew had already signed up for summer courses, that doesn't make him a great student but it does make him a more responsible one than he is being portrayed.

I'm not against releasing players from scholarships either. You have to do it in a timely manner and give the kid every opportunity to find another place to play. We didn't do that this time and it is unfortunate. I know we are trying to play with the big boys but you don't have to be a dick to do that.

[Pistol]

http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/archives/3552

Sorry, I'm just catching up with the rest of this thread. But it's amazing he's this candid in an interview right after the release.

“I was completely blindsided,” said Drew, a 2012 Cathedral graduate who redshirted last season. “I don’t believe they handled that situation as well as they could have. (Crews) basically told me I’m not the right fit for what he’s trying to do. I’m moving on, though.”

[RiseAndGrind]

http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/archives/3552

Sorry, I'm just catching up with the rest of this thread. But it's amazing he's this candid in an interview right after the release.

“I was completely blindsided,” said Drew, a 2012 Cathedral graduate who redshirted last season. “I don’t believe they handled that situation as well as they could have. (Crews) basically told me I’m not the right fit for what he’s trying to do. I’m moving on, though.”

It seems like Crews was waiting for a couple of kids to commit before he did Drew dirty. I want to be big time, but I don't like how this went down. The kid red-shirted and stuck it out this year (unlike Carter) only to be kicked off at the last second? Damn.

I can only assume Crews has two commitments lined up. At least he better.

[sluball200]

Terrible the way this was handled, the season ended how long ago? You string the kid along till the end of the school year and then TEXT HIM??? Come on now, I don't like this pub for the program..Poor choice on Crews

[TheA_Bomb]

40k a year does.

I didn't have 40K/year and I found a way to get it done.

No one gives a damn about the recruiter "Tweets"

Strange situation because it is late but SLU and so many other schools have had lots of transfers check out the list.

[TheA_Bomb]

Terrible the way this was handled, the season ended how long ago? You string the kid along till the end of the school year and then TEXT HIM??? Come on now, I don't like this pub for the program..Poor choice on Crews

They didn't break up via text get it straight the coaching staff called him into the office via text. Did we get negative pub from all the other transfers? I don't recall.

[sluball200]

The semester ended today and you tell the kid not to come back? Thats not good, what do you think that says to potential high school prospects?

[moytoy12]

Didn't we just have discussion about how our APR had risen and we were basically in good shape now and would only get better. Plus Crews touts his ability to graduate players.

This was a ###### move by the coaching staff. Even Majerus didn't release kids this late. Maybe we do sign 2 impact players but that doesn't make up for the PR hit we are currently taking as a program. We look just as bad or worse than Wazzu.

If this was all about APR well we should have made sure this kids grades were in order way before May. If you think the kid is going to tank his classes that makes little sense, he'd just be ineligible to play at his next stop. Drew had already signed up for summer courses, that doesn't make him a great student but it does make him a more responsible one than he is being portrayed.

I'm not against releasing players from scholarships either. You have to do it in a timely manner and give the kid every opportunity to find another place to play. We didn't do that this time and it is unfortunate. I know we are trying to play with the big boys but you don't have to be a dick to do that.

Notwithstanding the emotional connection Drew had to SLU, is there really much difference between being released now as opposed to early April?

[davidnark]

Shouldn't we reserve judgment until we see what the roster looks like in a month or two? For better or worse, we are all judging the situation without understanding the full picture. Plus, if we want to be a high-major program, we are just going to have to get comfortable with these kind of difficult decisions. This is just reality.

[jimbofive]

you know he would have bombed his finals if they told him this 10 days ago. if he even took them. bad for him, bad for us, etc. etc. he'll probably win his appeal and we'll all forget it ever happened and who knows, he could even get a double major, going to school for six years. don't get me wrong, i'd probably be upset in his position, too, but in my mind the later in the semester they let him know, the better.

[BilliKat]

you know he would have bombed his finals if they told him this 10 days ago. if he even took them. bad for him, bad for us, etc. etc. he'll probably win his appeal and we'll all forget it ever happened and who knows, he could even get a double major, going to school for six years. don't get me wrong, i'd probably be upset in his position, too, but in my mind the later in the semester they let him know, the better.

+1

[NH]

you know he would have bombed his finals if they told him this 10 days ago. if he even took them. bad for him, bad for us, etc. etc. he'll probably win his appeal and we'll all forget it ever happened and who knows, he could even get a double major, going to school for six years. don't get me wrong, i'd probably be upset in his position, too, but in my mind the later in the semester they let him know, the better.

He probably won't win the appeal.

[JettFlight5]

Have to wonder if this hurts future recruiting.

Look what happened to Ben Howland in SoCal after he pulled the offer from Kendall Williams.

[SluSignGuy]

I have to concede that I had little qualms about Majerus running off players, so without being hypocritical, I can't really criticize this, other than saying if you are going to pull a kids scholarship. Do it in March not May.

I, however, was less than enthusiastic about the Crews hire. If he does well, great. But I think that plays into my disappointment.

[Duff Man]

Of course, it's incredibly sh1tty that Jim Crews hung this kid out to dry like this...of course

But maybe...it was never going to end well for the kid here...maybe Crews did him a favor by cutting him loose before he wasted another year of eligibility riding the bench.

Of course, it's fuoked up that they waited so long to break the news...of course

But maybe...there's never a good time to break the news...maybe it's better for everyone that he complete his finals without the devastating circumstances hanging over him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkjmzEEQUlE

[majerus mojo]

Ben w also tweeted:

@BWeixScout: Hearing few more in Midwest, too. RT @JeffRabjohns IUPUI, IPFW, Ball St, Kent St, FIU. among schools interested in SLU transfer Jared Drew.

So he'll be fine.

Did you guys see the schools interested? I know this is a shady way to dump a kid considering the timing, but the NCAA is a business, and SLU is just doing what the big schools always do to better the program. The team got through some extraordinary circumstances last season, I think they'll be able to handle it.

[thetorch]

Notwithstanding the emotional connection Drew had to SLU, is there really much difference between being released now as opposed to early April?

It gives him more time to look at his options. Summer classes that he wanted to take start in a couple weeks. There is a reason 95% of kids transfer at the end of the season not in May.

That and its just inherently douchey to have so little regard for a kids future. Drew isn't going to the NBA. His college choice will determine what he does in life. We could have given him weeks to make a huge decision or days. We chose days.

[moytoy12]

It gives him more time to look at his options. Summer classes that he wanted to take start in a couple weeks. There is a reason 95% of kids transfer at the end of the season not in May.

That and its just inherently douchey to have so little regard for a kids future. Drew isn't going to the NBA. His college choice will determine what he does in life. We could have given him weeks to make a huge decision or days. We chose days.

I disagree that the timing is as drastic as you make it seem. It's quite possible Drew has more schools to choose from now.

Was it a crappy to handle the situation? Probably. Did the difference of a month really screw Drew over that badly. Probably not.

[thetorch]

I disagree that the timing is as drastic as you make it seem. It's quite possible Drew has more schools to choose from now.

Was it a crappy to handle the situation? Probably. Did the difference of a month really screw Drew over that badly. Probably not.

Schools pursuing him to play ball is one thing. Do these schools have the major he wants and a solid program in that major? Not to mention about 50 other variables that go into it. We've given him considerably less time to research this stuff. Of course he could take the whole summer but then he wouldn't get to take summer classes.

Whether it is a big inconvenience or a small one it was still needless.

[jimbofive]

Of course, it's incredibly sh1tty that Jim Crews hung this kid out to dry like this...of course

But maybe...it was never going to end well for the kid here...maybe Crews did him a favor by cutting him loose before he wasted another year of eligibility riding the bench.

Of course, it's fuoked up that they waited so long to break the news...of course

But maybe...there's never a good time to break the news...maybe it's better for everyone that he complete his finals without the devastating circumstances hanging over him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkjmzEEQUlE

i do enjoy louis c.k. you fuoking nailed that one. the levity and acuity of that jab rival pretty much anything i've done. well done. hermione's now coming over to your house to wingardium leviosa your dong.

[jbizzle09]

I disagree that the timing is as drastic as you make it seem. It's quite possible Drew has more schools to choose from now.

Was it a crappy to handle the situation? Probably. Did the difference of a month really screw Drew over that badly. Probably not.

Maybe it wasn't that bad. Maybe.

However, let's be fair. Telling a player on May 14th that you don't want him anymore, after he finished his spring classes, was getting ready to head home for a bit of vacation, and had NO IDEA that he was going to be released from his scholarship, is a pretty sh!tty deal. We can try to justify it all want, state that it won't matter much when it's all said and done, think that it is all for the best of the program. But make no mistake...this is a sh!tbag thing to do at this time of year. We really should call it like we see it.

It is one thing to tell a player, in late March/early April, that you don't see much of a future for him at this school and it is best that we part ways now, that we'll help you find a new home and do whatever it takes to assist you in your further endeavors. It is quite another thing to make sure the kid finished his classes and then tell him he is released from his scholarship in mid-May. Sure, he will probably find another home. He may even find a place at a school that would have offered a place if he were told more than a month ago that he was unwanted. However, it is apparent that he wasn't told of his future beforehand and that the coaching staff sees better opportunities. It doesn't appear that he was given a fair assessment at the end of the season and was allowed to make a decision at that time. And that is a pretty crappy way of getting rid of a player, IMO.

On another note, it should be somewhat comforting to some that it appears that Crews is a pretty hardnosed recruiter, and is willing to make the TOUGH decisions in regards to his vision of what this team should look like. He obviously isn't trying to win a popularity contest, whether it be with his current players or the die-hards.

[brianstl]

Before we hang Crews out to dry on this and put none of this on Jared we should probably wait until more comes out about this specific situation over time. For example, none of know if Jared was told at the end of the season that he needed to do certain things in the offseason and if he did any of those things.

[slu72]

JC must have strong indications from 2 of the guys on our list that they want to come to SLU. If he didn't, what would have been the problem in keeping JD around for another year and letting the transfer happen then, unless of course he had become a contributor? JC does not seem to have the Calipari cut throat personna, nor does he seem the Soderberg type that saves scholies. But his job is to put the best product on the floor, and if he needs to open space for an upgrade it's hard to find fault with this move.