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Recruiting - 2014


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Yeah, Robin Thompson from MICDS. I had asked about him somewhere in one of these threads, but the consensus is that our staff was not going to offer him and hadn't shown much interest.

I wonder if he could be the next Kyle Weems for them. Man, that kid killed us a couple times. Thompson and Weems are both listed at 6-6, 220. I'm not sure if Thompson is as good a shooter, or whether he might be more of an inside player (he wears size 17s, so he might still grow). Either way, every report is that he's a tireless worker. He may have been one of those kids who ended up with more and more offers had he waited past the fall period into the spring. I could see him being a very nice player for Missouri State. Nice get for them.

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July evaluation starts today. Any idea where the coaches are today? A bunch of camps and aau tournaments across the country.

I am done with this staff, I heard a few of them are in Augusta, GA golfing, wtf...

I saw the St. Louis Eagles 16u are 2-0 at Peach Jam's Sweet 16 after day #1. Sounds like the Eagles have a lot of talent coming thru the ranks the next couple of years. Hopefully Justin Tatum and Corey Frazier are talking about the Billikens to these kids.

I read a report that mentioned 2015 shooting guard Chance Ellis for Team Scan (NY) playing well out there and holding a SLU offer.

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I would not be worried about Robin Thompson coming back to bite us, Pistol.

Are you saying that because you don't think he'll be that good, or because Missouri State doesn't play SLU?

I think Earl Austin Jr. might find it a bit unpleasant to provide analysis of a game in which his nephew is going up against SLU.

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Are you saying that because you don't think he'll be that good, or because Missouri State doesn't play SLU?

I think Earl Austin Jr. might find it a bit unpleasant to provide analysis of a game in which his nephew is going up against SLU.

I'm not sure how strong of a career he will have and I don't mean to demean Thompson. Having seen him play more than a few times, I don't view him as a player the Billikens should have made a push for. I do not think in four years we will be saying "man I really wish we had gone after Robin Thompson back in the day."

Hope that answers your question.

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I'm not sure how strong of a career he will have and I don't mean to demean Thompson. Having seen him play more than a few times, I don't view him as a player the Billikens should have made a push for. I do not think in four years we will be saying "man I really wish we had gone after Robin Thompson back in the day."

Hope that answers your question.

I have no opinion on Thompson, but we've seen plenty of times when players good enough for SMS or SIUC became a thorn in our side as Billikens fans. Ball in the Missouri Valley isn't beneath SLU. Look at Wichita State in '13 (or Creighton in '14).

(That's not to say that I think SLU should be in the MVC!)

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NH, I wasn't suggesting that our staff was wrong to keep from offering Thompson. I just think he has some potential to have a nice career at Missouri State and I wish him the best.

I would certainly hope he doesn't become yet another regional kid who ended up in the Valley and haunts us for four years (Kent Williams, Darren Brooks, and Blake Ahearn are the obvious names that come to mind). But that's not what I had in mind with my post. I was just pointing to another Missouri State player with the same measurements who ended up having a nice career there (and torched us) and wondering if Thompson could develop into a threat of that stature (that said, I still think Thompson might grow more and be more of a 4, whereas Weems liked to shoot and was more of a 3). I don't think Weems was ever a SLU target.

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You mean, "How will we know which CE we're talking about?"

impossible, the initial system is perfect and easy to understand always.

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Updated. 4 spots remain (1 2013, 3 2014) after the Roby and Gillmann commitments. As always, updates on all names are appreciated.

2014 Offer List:

Ore Arogundade: St. Viator, Arlington Heights, IL - SG: 6-3, 180. Offers: SLU, Creighton, SIUC, Murray State, Drake, Santa Clara, Loyola-Chicago, San Jose State, Wright State, Toledo, Northern Illinois, San Francisco, Utah State. Interest: DePaul, Xavier, Temple, LaSalle, Texas Tech, Wichita State, Missouri State, Oregon State. Latest (6/15): Arogundade vistied Drake and SLU. Previous: Arogundade said Murray State, St. Louis, Santa Clara, and Drake are strong right now. Texas Tech, Xavier, Temple and LaSalle are also looking. Twitter: @OreAro_23

Darius Austin: Cahokia HS, Cahokia, IL - SF: 6-6, 200. Offers: SLU, DePaul, Indiana State, SIUE, UMKC. Interest: Xavier, Indiana, Illinois, Mizzou, Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Iowa, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Murray State. Latest (7/5): Austin is working with a personal trainer to recover from an ankle injury that kept him sidelined in April and May and will be playing with the Illinois Wolves for the July evaluation period. DePaul seems to be his frontrunner of those that have offered and Oregon State is recruiting the hardest from the interest list. He wants to decide before his senior year starts. Previous: Austin visited Murray State at the end of June. According to IL Prep Bullseye, Austin is their pick for a mid-late summer high-major break-out recruit. He tore it up at the DePaul Team Camp and may have been the best player in the thing. Twitter: @DariusAustin23

Larry Austin, Jr.: Lanphier, Springfield, IL - PG: 6-1, 165. Offers: SLU, Mizzou, Illinois, DePaul, Memphis, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, Iowa, Florida State, Mississippi State, Bradley, SMU, Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Interest: Butler, Ohio State, Tennessee, Stanford, West Virginia, Harvard. Latest (6/5): Austin says that out of all the schools on his offer list, Oklahoma State is probably the one recruiting him the hardest. Twitter: @_LarryAustin2_

Jordan Barnett: CBC, St. Louis, MO - SF: 6-7, 185. Offers: SLU, Mizzou, Butler, Purdue, Florida, Michigan State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa, Iowa State, Stanford, Harvard. Interest: UNC, SIUC. Latest (5/22): Barnett mentioned that UNC had shown interest and been in contact several times. On 5/22, UNC got a commitment from 5-star SF Theo Pinson, which may lead them to back off Barnett. Previous: SLU and St. Louis Eagles alum Larry Hughes spoke to Barnett's Eagles team after a loss in Dallas on 5/16. Twitter: @JBounce33

J.P. Macura: Lakeville North, Lakeville, MN - SG: 6-5, 185. Offers: SLU, Dayton, Butler, Xavier, Creighton, Miami, NC State, Boston College, Iowa State, Kansas State, Florida State, Drake, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Vermont, South Dakota, South Dakota State, New Mexico State, Utah State, Toledo, Wyoming, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Nebraska-Omaha. Interest: Indiana, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota, Providence, Penn State. Latest (7/11): Macura picked up offers from Miami and NC State. Previous: Macura made an official visit to Butler and shortly thereafter was shocked by Brad Stevens' decision to leave the school, which was one of his leaders. Since then, he has been contacted by Minnesota, Miami, Purdue, and Penn State. Showing an elite three-point shooting ability, Macura has had a couple huge AAU tournaments (including the recent adidas VIP Exclusive Run) and is hitting the radar of Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC schools. He is looking for a school with a "family atmosphere." He is up to #89 in Scout's 2014 rankings. Twitter: @jpmacura

Logan McLane: Greenfield School, Wilson, NC - PF: 6-8, 210. Offers: SLU, Seton Hall, Miami-Ohio, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, Buffalo, Winthrop, Mercer, High Point. Latest (6/19): McLane is currently recovering from a torn ACL, which is why higher-level schools have not offered, but he aims to be ready for an AAU event in July. He just visited Miami-Ohio. Previous: McLane gives some reasons why he likes his current list of offers. Twitter: @LMcLane4

Sean O’Mara: Benet Academy, Lisle, IL - C: 6-9, 240. Offers: SLU, Illinois, DePaul, Marquette, Xavier, Dayton, LaSalle, Boston College, Virginia, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, SIUC, SIUE, Loyola-Chicago, UIC, Oakland, Lehigh, Columbia, Ball State, Eastern Michigan. Interest: Michigan, Notre Dame, Purdue, Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern. Latest (5/21): Considered one of the best centers in the Midwest, O'Mara is in the belly of the Big Ten and has their attention. He was dominant in an AAU Tournament in April. Offers are starting to cascade in. Twitter: @S3AN_54

Quadree Smith: Paul VI, Fairfax, VA - PF: 6-7, 290. Offers: SLU, St. Joe's, George Mason Nebraska, Tennessee, Tulsa, Kent State, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International, Drexel, Siena, Fairfield, Rider, Radford, Quinnipiac, UNC-Greensboro, Kennesaw State. Interest: Xavier, Virginia, Albany. Latest (7/2): Smith picked up offers from SLU and Florida Gulf Coast. No, the "290" is not a typo. He's a man mountain of Bill Brasky proportions. He was not allowed to play pee wee football because of his size so he picked up hoops instead. He transferred into Paul VI at over 300 lbs, but the school has a good strength and conditioning coach working with him. He's billed as a relentless worker. He averaged 9 PPG and 13 RPG his junior season and was a key factor in a double overtime win over Oak Hill (13 and 19, with 2 free throws to seal it). Twitter: @Dont_Hate_Q

Delshon Strickland: Holy Angels, Minneapolis, MN - SG: 6-4, 180. Offers: SLU, Richmond, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech, Missouri State, Drake, Toledo, Lehigh, Vermont, North Dakota, Northern Colorado, Hampton. Interest: Butler, Gonzaga, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Iowa State, Northwestern, Florida State, Washington State, Northern Iowa, Utah State. Latest (6/28): Strickland has picked up a SLU offer, one week after receiving one from Missouri State and two weeks after Virginia Tech. Twitter: Delshon_11

Andre Walker: Bullis School, Clarksville, MD - C: 6-10, 210. Offers: SLU, VCU, Xavier, DePaul, Cincinnati, Temple, UMass, George Mason, SMU, Fairfield, Delaware. Interest: Georgetown, Indiana, Kansas, NC State, Maryland, Miami. Latest (6/6): Walker now has offers from VCU and DePaul. Previous: This guy is hard to Google. Xavier recently had a player by the same name, and there's another HS recruit with the same name. He wears rec specs. Twitter: @Andre_Walker21

Hunter Ware: North Cobb Christian, Kennesaw, GA - PG: 6-2, 165. Offers: SLU, Murray State, Cornell, Brown, Tennessee Tech, Jacksonville, Gardner-Webb, Appalachian State, Stetson, Radford, Middle Tennessee, Georgia Southern. Interest: Mizzou, Butler, Charleston, Charlotte, UAB, Nevada, Buffalo, Charleston Southern. Latest (6/19): Interesting offer list. I guess we're in early on a guy we think has more potential than shows with his current list, and I'm guessing he's also a pretty solid student with two Ivy Leage offers. He's considered one of the fastest-rising players in the state of Georgia's class of 2014. On The Radar Hoops says: "Hunter showcases a great change of speed and high basketball IQ, he constantly gets a piece of the paint and pushes the tempo off the rebound. He fills the middle and goes until he is stopped either scoring or dishing off the ball for the easy basket for his teammates." But this is my favorite profile of him. Twitter: @Hunter_Ware1

Thomas Welsh: Loyola, Los Angeles, CA - C: 7-0, 245. Offers: SLU, UCLA, Gonzaga, California, USC, Arizona State, Rice, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Pacific, Portland. Interest: Arizona, Colorado, Wake Forest, Brown, UC-Santa Barbara. Latest (7/5): Welsh picked up a UCLA offer from Steve Alford. Previous: SLU is said to be one of Welsh's early offers, which is interesting, given that he's a Southern California kid with otherwise exclusively West Coast offers. Welsh has spoken with Andy Enfield at USC quite a bit. He just recently visited Cal. He played very well at the recent Pangos All-American Camp and is now ranked #75 in Scout's 2014 rankings.

2014 Interest List:

Marcus Bartley: MacArthur, Decatur, IL - PG: 6-2, 175. Offers: Oklahoma State, SIUC, Bradley, Northwestern, Illinois State, Eastern Illinois, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Tennessee-Martin, Southeastern Louisiana, William & Mary. Interest: SLU, Mizzou, Iowa, Georgetown, Harvard, Tennessee. Latest (5/21): Northwestern is recruiting him very hard. Oklahoma State is the biggest program to offer so far but he may be on the cusp of a few more. Twitter: @MB3_Dreamville

Aaron Brennan: Guerin Catholic, Noblesville, IN - PF: 6-6, 200. Offers: Indiana State, Loyola-Chicago, Belmont, Cornell, Columbia, Toledo, IUPUI, UNC-Greensboro. Interest, SLU, Butler, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa, Wright State. Latest (7/11): Brennan contracted foot-in-mouth disease last June and was quarantined for the rest of that month. He had a rough AAU season the rest of last summer after returning, sluggish from lingering effects. Several Big Ten schools have shown interest but, according to Brennan, want to see if he grows more. He just made an unofficial visit to Toledo in late June and has also visited Butler, Loyola-Chicago, and Indiana State. Twitter: @Aaron_Brennan_

Brandon Cheeks: Meadowbrook, Richmond, VA - SG: 6-1, 190. Offers: None. Interest: SLU, George Mason, Delaware, Radford. Latest (7/2): Seems to be considered a lower-tier D-I recruit at this point.

Josh Cunningham: Morgan Park, Chicago, IL - SF: 6-7, 195. Offers: Mizzou, Oklahoma, Iowa, DePaul, Nebraska, South Carolina, UMass, Bradley, Northern Illinois. Interest: SLU, Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Illinois State, UIC. Latest (5/21): Cunningham opened some eyes at the recent Nike EYBL in Hampton, Virginia when he filled in for an injured 5-star player. He's said to be a gamer with explosive leaping ability and a nice 3-point stroke. Twitter: @JoshMCunningham

Mory Diane: Detroit Country Day, Franklin, MI - SG: 6-3, 170. Offers: Detroit, Kent State, Indiana State, Toledo, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Central Connecticut. Interest: SLU, Xavier, Butler, DePaul, Michigan State, Iowa, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Ohio, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, IPFW, Robert Morris, Buffalo. Latest (7/2): Diane hopes to have his list down to 5 by the end of July or possibly just before school starts in late August. He expects a few more offers to come in by then. Billed as a strong perimeter and mid-range scorer, solid defender, and natural shooting guard with PG skills if necessary. Twitter: MDiane_20

Jacob Hammond: Home School United Prep, Oklahoma City, OK - C: 6-10, 240. Offers: Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Nebraska. Interest: SLU, Indiana, UCLA, Mizzou, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Wake Forest, Creighton, Wichita State, TCU, Tulsa, Loyola-Marymount, Navy. Latest (6/25): Hammond previously committed to Oklahoma but recently backed out. He reportedly played very well at the Pangos Camp. He has played his three years of HS basketball at three different schools in Oklahoma and Kansas. Twitter: @J_ham_24

Avery Johnson, Jr.: Cooper, The Woodlands, TX - PG: 5-9, 173. Interest: SLU, LaSalle, Baylor, LSU, Rutgers, Florida State, Rice, Charleston, Santa Clara, Bucknell, Columbia. Latest (7/2): LaSalle has contacted him. Previous: Johnson has visited SLU but called Baylor his leader at one point. He now says Baylor, SLU, and LSU are recruiting hardest. He has only visited Baylor and SLU so far. The son of former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson, he recently made headlines when he Tweeted taunts at the Nets after losing to the Bulls in the playoffs (his dad coached the Nets before being fired).Twitter: @itsaveryjohnson

Kelan Martin: Ballard, Louisville, KY - SF: 6-5, 185. Offers: Providence, New Mexico, Indiana State, Ohio, Western Kentucky, IUPUI. Interest: SLU, Butler, Xavier, Creighton, Mizzou, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, LSU, Boston College. Latest (5/29): Martin has had an impressive spring on the AAU circuit and the offers are starting to roll in.

Mack Mercer: Plymouth, Plymouth, IN - PF: 6-9, 210. Offers: Boston College, Indiana State, Ball State, Kent State, Belmont, Loyola-Chicago, Rice, Vermont. Interest: SLU, Butler, Xavier, Mizzou, Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Clemson, Mississippi State, Northwestern. Twitter: @MackMercer

Ikenna Okwarabizie: St. Louis Christian, St. Louis, MO - C: 6-10, 240. Offers: Southern Miss, SIUE. Interest: SLU, Marquette, Oklahoma, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Illinois State, Rice. Latest (6/19): Okwarabizie has "serious attention" from SLU and Rutgers per @runhouse. He is visiting Illinois State. Previous: Okwarabizie is just starting to emerge this spring and picked up his first offer from Southern Miss. More will be on the way. Twitter: @iykerulez1

Jalyn Patterson: Montverde Academy, Alpharetta, GA - PG: 5-11, 170. Offers: George Mason, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia State. Interest: SLU, Houston, Tennessee, Florida State, South Carolina, Charleston, Tennessee Tech, Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State. Latest (5/29): Of the three schools recruiting him hardest lately, he says, “I am planning on trying to get out to St. Louis and George Mason and probably Houston,” he said. “I am still thinking about other schools and choosing which schools I would like to visit but those are three that I am definitely hoping to get to.” Twitter: @jalynpatterson

Darreon Reddick: Belleville East, Belleville, IL - PG: 6-3, 200. Offers: DePaul, Valpo, Missouri State, Detroit, Toledo, Indiana State, IUPUI. Interest: SLU, Mizzou, Butler, Michigan, Xavier, Tennessee, Iowa, SIUC. Latest (5/21): Reddick visited Valpo with C.J. Rivers and both picked up offers. Twitter: @_14Reddick

C.J. Rivers: Cahokia, Cahokia, IL - PG: 6-2, 180. Offers: SIUC, SIUE, Miami-Ohio, Valpo, Toledo, Cornell, Brown, UIC, Wright State, Northern Kentucky. Interest: SLU, Illinois, Mizzou, Xavier, Tennessee, Drake. Latest (5/22): Rivers will visit Drake on June 12. Previous: Rivers visited Valpo with Reddick and both picked up offers. Rivers has visited SLU already. Twitter: @Cj_Rivers05

Marial Shayok: Blair Academy, Blairstown, NJ - SF: 6-6, 205. Offers: Marquette, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, LaSalle, Cincinnati, Boston College, Minnesota, Rutgers, Kansas State, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Georgia. Interest: SLU, VCU, Dayton, Illinois, Purdue, Gonzaga. Latest (7/8): Shayok picked up a Marquette offer. Previous: In early June, Shayok listed West Virginia, Providence, Boston College, VCU, Cincinnati, and SLU as the schools recruiting him the hardest. He said Minnesota, Rutgers, Kansas State, Seton Hall, and Villanova are also in the mix. He has not decided on any visits yet and doesn't plan to do so until August. He is considered one of the most athletic wings in the class of 2014. He's from a big-time basketball family: His father played at Dayton, his sister plays at Detroit, and his brother just transferred to UMKC from Bradley. Twitter: ToOffical_11

Dmitri Thompson: Orlando Christian, Orlando, FL - SG: 6-4, 185. Offers: Purdue, Miami, Oklahoma State, Mississippi, Georgia, South Florida, Central Florida, Murray State, Georgia Southern. Interest: SLU, Georgetown, Butler, Kansas State, Virginia, Alabama. Twitter: @BigMeech_2014

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Not trying to be a jerk, but you could use context clues... especially considering Cody Ellis will never play for us again.

I was trying to be a jerk. The initial system for posting is horrible.

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Not trying to be a jerk, but you could use context clues... especially considering Cody Ellis will never play for us again.

Some people just don't get it: words and symbols take on meaning -- which gets wired into our brains. We know who Tommie Liddell is (with or without "III"). And then those of you who favor the selfish shortcut have trained us to equate "TL" with Liddell; however, now you're trying to make us rewire our brains to automatically equate the symbol, "TL," with Tanner Lancona. But it's not that easy. "TL" means Tommie Liddell. "CE" means Cody Ellis. Reading context takes extra time. It doesn't take any more time for someone who can type -- and maybe not even for peckers -- to render "Cody" or "Chance" than "CE."

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Not trying to be a jerk, but you could use context clues... especially considering Cody Ellis will never play for us again.

It's really quite simple. Chance Ellis should be first and last name because he is just a recruit at this point. If he signs, as soon as he suits up, he becomes CE. Now that Cody Ellis has graduated, we've gotten to know him so well over the years, that he just becomes Cody... no need to reference his last name. So to recap, recruit: first and last name; current player - initials; former player - first name only

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It's really quite simple. Chance Ellis should be first and last name because he is just a recruit at this point. If he signs, as soon as he suits up, he becomes CE. Now that Cody Ellis has graduated, we've gotten to know him so well over the years, that he just becomes Cody... no need to reference his last name. So to recap, recruit: first and last name; current player - initials; former player - first name only

yep. justin johnson went from JJ to THE AIRPLANE. now JJ is JJ. vashon newborne went from never having any initials, because there was no reason to ever mention him in a basketball context, to THE FAT FUOK ICE CREAM MAN. VN is wide open for a Virgil Necrophiliac or Violent Nardbuster, whoever signs first.

this is not that hard.

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It's really quite simple. Chance Ellis should be first and last name because he is just a recruit at this point. If he signs, as soon as he suits up, he becomes CE. Now that Cody Ellis has graduated, we've gotten to know him so well over the years, that he just becomes Cody... no need to reference his last name. So to recap, recruit: first and last name; current player - initials; former player - first name only

yep. justin johnson went from JJ to THE AIRPLANE. now JJ is JJ. vashon newborne went from never having any initials, because there was no reason to ever mention him in a basketball context, to THE FAT FUOK ICE CREAM MAN. VN is wide open for a Virgil Necrophiliac or Violent Nardbuster, whoever signs first.

this is not that hard.

So, who's "Justin"? Love, Johnson, or Jordan?

Five years of JJ? I guess that guy will never graduate, huh?

We've never had a player named "Vashon," though Anthony Bonner and Dwayne Polk came to SLU from Vashon. We did have some guy named Vashun.

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