Recruiting - 2014

[slu72]

Agree w/chosen. I just heard an interview w/ a So Carolina recruit who said he wanted to play on the big stage of the SEC. Kids like the bright lights of the BCS.

[milwaukeebill]

I can't even read your insane posts anymore. You don't live in stl and haven't been to chaifetz in god knows how long but yeah you definitely would know better than anyone on this subject....

Being in the big east certainly wouldn't hurt and would most likely help our case though right? I'm pretty sure we can all agree with that

[Crewsorlose]

On Power Conferences, if most of us saw about a recruit that LSU offered, or Georgia, we'd figure they were good, and if Utah St. or Ohio U offered, not so much. But in fact the latter two programs have been more successful in recent years.

On Bluett, Indiana had offered. Was our man Calbert the lead recruiter? If so, could we get in late?

[Basketbill]

Calbert was the director of basketball operations and did not recruit. He may have come into contact with a recruit while on a visit or arranging the visit or camp....

[billiken_roy]

On Power Conferences, if most of us saw about a recruit that LSU offered, or Georgia, we'd figure they were good, and if Utah St. or Ohio U offered, not so much. But in fact the latter two programs have been more successful in recent years.

On Bluett, Indiana had offered. Was our man Calbert the lead recruiter? If so, could we get in late?

chaney was not an assistant coach at iu. therefore he was not allowed to recruit.

[majerus mojo]

Is this 2016 or 2014 recruiting thread

[JettFlight5]

Is this 2016 or 2014 recruiting thread

All of the above.

[For-DaLove]

Tatum's mother will have a very big impact on his decision. Which is a very good thing for us

[Quality Is Job 1]

Is this 2016 or 2014 recruiting thread

Yeah, I've been thinking about moving these posts on Tatum to the 2016 thread. I may.

Is this 2016 or 2014 recruiting thread

Yes.

FIFY.

[RiseAndGrind]

@THicksTBOH: @kelan30_ A Butler Bulldog?!?

@kelan30_: @THicksTBOH no

_________

Found that exchange pretty funny. Hopefully it stays true.

[Pistol]

@THicksTBOH: @kelan30_ A Butler Bulldog?!?

@kelan30_: @THicksTBOH no

_________

Found that exchange pretty funny. Hopefully it stays true.

A lot of Butler fans are - what's the expression? - counting their chickens before they hatch. See the Twitter feed box: http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/kelan-martin

Also of note: Texas Tech just picked up a commitment from 6-7 forward Zach Smith. They have one spot remaining for 2014.

[Pistol]

1. Jon Olaes ‏@N2Ojon9h

   @kelan30_ Yoooooo! Committed? Tell me this is true dawg. #butler
2. Kelan Martin ‏@kelan30_9h

   @N2Ojon I didn't

[Pistol]

Taking the TTU commitment a step further, here's how their 12 scholarships break down by position beginning in 2014:

PG: 3
SG: 5

SF: 1

PF: 3

C: 0

7-footer Satchel Pierce is reportedly a major target for TTU. So unless they want to overcommit, this bodes well for SLU (and Butler).

[Pistol]

Andre Walker committed to Hofstra. We never appeared to be solidly in the mix on him.

[Pistol]

Updated. 3 spots remain for 2014. As always, updates on all names are appreciated.

2014 Offer List:

Tevin Glass: Northwest Florida State CC, Norcross, GA - PF: 6-8, 195. Offers: SLU, VCU, Arizona State, Auburn, Mississippi State, New Mexico, South Florida, UAB, Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee State. Interest: Florida, Georgia Tech. Latest (9/9): SLU has offered the JuCo-enrolled Glass, who will be eligible immediately as a junior. He is considered one of the top JuCo prospects in the nation and is predicted to be a preseason second-team All-American when the season starts. As a senior at Milton HS (Atlanta area) in 2012, he had offers from Memphis, Murray State, Nevada, and others. In his freshman season at NW Florida State, he came off the bench to average 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds on 51.1% shooting. He shot 64.5% from the free throw line. Twitter:@Topnotch_Tglass

Kelan Martin: Ballard, Louisville, KY - SF/PF: 6-6, 210. Offers: SLU, Richmond, Butler, Xavier, Providence, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Auburn, New Mexico, Indiana State, Ohio, Western Kentucky, IUPUI, UMKC. Interest: VCU, Creighton, Mizzou, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Boston College, Tulsa, Southern Miss. Latest (10/6): Martin did not commit to Butler on his official visit, as of Sunday morning, 10/6. Texas Tech is scheduled next, but the Red Raiders just picked up a commitment from 6-7 forward Zach Smith and have one scholarship remaining for 2014. Previous: Martin took official visits to SLU and Butler on consecutive weekends. He is ranked 97th in the new ESPN Top 100 for the class of 2014. He received an in-home visit from TTU head coach Tubby Smith. He took an unofficial visit to SLU the weekend of 9/7. Crews and Bronson went out to Vegas at the end of July to see Martin, among others. Martin impressed at the Elite 40 Skills Academy, where he was said to have one of the smoothest jump shots there. He said this about Butler: "I like their program and I think I'm a good fit for their school." Martin has had an impressive spring on the AAU circuit and the offers are starting to roll in. He has no top 5, though many presume Butler is the favorite at this point. Twitter: @kelan30_

Therence Mayimba: Saint James, Hagerstown, MD - SF: 6-5, 200. Offers: VCU, George Mason, Georgetown, Villanova, Miami. Interest: SLU, Duquesne, George Washington, Indiana, Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia Tech, UAB, Tulsa, Morgan State. Latest (9/20): Mayimba received offers from SLU and UAB ahead of his planned visits to each. Previous: Mayimba has four official visits planned: SLU, George Washington, George Mason, and UAB. He transferred to Saint James School in Hagerstown. He seriously impressed scouts at the DMV Elite 80, being called by some the "Defensive MVP" of the camp. He was said to be one of the best multi-position defenders there and was "making plays all over the court" at both ends. He is following former Montrose Christian head coach Dan Prete there and fellow former MC teammate Justin Robinson will join him. Mayimba says he's been hearing from UAB, GW, George Mason, Georgetown, SLU, Duquesne, Tulsa, VCU, and Morgan State. His profile reads like a guy who'd be ranked in the top 50 if he were a couple inches taller (most have him at 6-5; Scout has him at 6-7). ESPN says he's "blessed with a prototypical basketball body, long, cut-up, and extremely athletic. He's a phenomenal defender because he has the ability to guard multiple positions and is equally dangerous as a help-side defender where he aggressively rotates to block shots. Mayimba is also a ferocious rebounder." VerbalCommits is the only site that lists any offers, and all but one (VCU - 2/13) are dated 7/28/12, so the current status of all is questionable. Mayimba played for the Pan Africa team at the Nike Global Challenge, where he was scouted as a heady player, lock-down defender, and someone who could knock down 3-pointers. His offense is said to be still developing, but he's a high-energy guy. Twitter: @GabonHoop23

Patrick McCaw: Trinity, Spanish Lake, MO - SG: 6-5, 180. Offers: SLU, DePaul, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, SIUC, Missouri State, Bradley, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Loyola-Maryland. Interest: Georgetown, Creighton, Xavier, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State, Florida State, Missouri, Kansas State, Tennessee, Wichita State. Latest (9/24): McCaw took his first official visit to DePaul in mid-September. Previous: McCaw transferred from CBC to Trinity to play for his dad. Billikens.com's own TheChosenOne scouted McCaw as a three-point specialist, a report McCaw seems to agree with, based on his Twitter handle (@StephCurryJr_). After the Peach Jam, where he played for Mac Irvin Fire out of Chicago, some scouts on Twitter remarked that he scores in a variety of ways, is strong on the break, and can take guys off the dribble. McCaw was ranked 87th in the June rankings for the class of 2014 (CBC teammate Jordan Barnett was 86). Twitter: @StephCurryJr_

Logan McLane: Greenfield School, Wilson, NC - PF: 6-8, 210. Offers: SLU, Seton Hall, Miami-Ohio, Toledo, Buffalo, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, Winthrop, Appalachian State, Mercer, High Point, Western Carolina, Georgia Southern. Interest: George Mason, Stanford, Iowa, Old Dominion, East Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International, East Tennessee State, Mount St. Mary's, Furman. Latest (9/12): McLane picked up an offer from Appalachian State. He received home visits from Appalachian State, FIU, East Carolina, Western Carolina, UNC-Greensboro, and Mercer. Previous: Mclane remains a SLU target and offers are coming in. He played well after returning from his ACL injury and has started hearing from the likes of Stanford, Iowa, and George Mason. He made an official visit to High Point. He was cleared to play after recovering from a torn ACL, finally returning to action in Vegas with Team Loaded from NC. He injured it early in his junior season, November 2012. Scouts say schools "should not sleep on him," though, as he has a high-level skill set for his position. He has visited Miami-Ohio. Twitter:@LMcLane4

Ikenna Okwarabizie: East, Sioux City, IA - C: 6-11, 240. Offers: SLU, Illinois State, Southern Miss, SIUC, SIUE. Interest: Creighton, Marquette, Iowa, Rutgers, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Wichita State, Tulsa, Rice. Latest (9/12): Okwarabizie visited Iowa and said it went very well. Previous: Okwarabizie transferred to Sioux City East HS from St. Louis Christian. He will be living with the family of East teammate Chase Kern. He will miss the first 6 games of the HS season. Okwarabizie emerged this spring and picked up his first offer from Southern Miss. He is drawing "serious attention" from Rutgers and visited Illinois State. He received a SLU offer but things have been quiet on that front since mid-July. He played AAU ball with the St. Louis Eagles. Twitter: @iykerulez1

Avery Patterson: Wheeler, Decatur, GA - PG: 6-1, 175. Offers: SLU, Richmond, Xavier, Butler, Boston College, Kansas State, Central Florida, Murray State, Tulane, Western Kentucky, Boston. Interest: Memphis, UAB. Latest (10/1): Patterson said he will likely be a spring signee. He has not been able to come up with a list of finalists yet, but says Western Kentucky, Tulane, and Boston have been on him the hardest lately. He will visit all three in October. Previous: Patterson was low on offers until mid-July, when a slew of new ones came in from SLU, Richmond, Butler, BC, KSU, UCF, Murray State, and WKU. Most of those schools had already been in contact. He's a left-handed PG with a strong frame and very long range on his jumper. Has also drawn a lot of scouting attention for his leadership and control; a pure PG who gets it done at both ends. Twitter: @Showtime_AP

Jalyn Patterson: Montverde Academy, Alpharetta, GA - PG: 6-0, 170. Offers: SLU, George Mason, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Georgia, Texas A&M, Oregon State, Houston, Tulane, Murray State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville. Interest: Rhode Island, LSU, Tennessee, Florida State, South Carolina, Charleston, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Kennesaw State. Latest (10/1): Patterson visited SLU and George Mason. He will visit LSU on 10/12. Previous: Patterson enjoyed his SLU and George Mason visits, and said in addition to those and LSU, he is also leaving Minnesota and Rhode Island in the running and may set up visits to each. Patterson gained some attention on the national radar after hitting the game-winning 3-pointer to defeat St. Benedict's Prep (NJ) in the ESPN National High School Invitational championship game. As a junior, Patterson played with 2 McDonald's All-Americans (Dakari Johnson and Kasey Hill) and the team finished the season ranked #1 in the nation. This year, he will play alongside potential All-American SG D'Angelo Russell and 4-star SG Justin Bibbs. Twitter: @jalynpatterson

Johnnie Shuler: Theodore Roosevelt, Washington, DC - PG: 5-11, 160. Offers: SLU, LaSalle, Seton Hall, Fairfield, Quinnipiac. Interest: Villanova, Maryland, Nebraska, Miami, UNLV, Wichita State. Latest (7/22): Shuler picked up offers from SLU and Quinnipiac. Seton Hall was the first one, followed by Fairfield and LaSalle. He transferred to TRHS from DeMatha and sat out for half of last season. He plays on a loaded DC Warriors AAU team. He said he'd like to play "out west" for a team that plays an "up and down" style, so UNLV is particularly attractive. He acknowledged Seton Hall also plays that style. Twitter: @jshuler_0

Quadree Smith: Paul VI, Fairfax, VA - PF/C: 6-7, 280. Offers: SLU, St. Joe's, George Mason, Nebraska, Tennessee, Southern Miss, Tulsa, Kent State, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International, Drexel, Siena, Fairfield, Rider, Radford, Quinnipiac, UNC-Greensboro, Kennesaw State, Austin Peay, Towson, St. Peter's. Interest: Xavier, Virginia, Albany. Latest (10/2): Smith picked up a new offer from St. Peter's. Previous: Smith has taken official visits to UNC-Greensboro and St. Joe's. He received an in-home visit from Drexel. Scouts who attended the DMV Elite 80 said he appears to have slimmed down and has improved his mobility. He told a writer he has offers or interest from Towson, George Mason, Radford, Nebraska, Southern Miss, FGCU, Fairfield, Tennessee, and Tulsa- he mentioned 9 schools and SLU wasn't one of them. 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

Joe Thomasson: State Fair CC, Sedalia, MO - PG: 6-4, 180. Offers: SLU, St. Bonaventure, Creighton, Oklahoma State, Southern Miss, UTEP, Ball State, Wright State, Eastern Kentucky. Interest: Dayton, Purdue, Missouri, Alabama, Arizona State, Cincinnati. Latest (10/6): Thomasson visited Wright State in late September. Previous: Thomasson is enrolled at State Fair Community College and will be a 2014 recruit, eligible immediately as a junior. A Dayton native, he originally signed with Wright State and opted for the JuCo route after failing to qualify. He committed to Oklahoma State on 8/14 and decommitted in early September. OSU then landed a commitment from Jared Terrell (major Rhode Island target), and it seems as though Thomasson didn't feel there was room for both of them. He averaged 14.4 points at State Fair his freshman year on 44.6% shooting and 40.9% three-point shooting. He also averaged 4.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists, appearing in 28 games and starting in 27 (State Fair went 20-10 overall). He shot 78% from the stripe.

Hunter Ware: North Cobb Christian, Kennesaw, GA - PG: 6-2, 165. Offers: SLU, Murray State, Western Kentucky, Cornell, Brown, Tennessee Tech, Jacksonville, Gardner-Webb, Appalachian State, Stetson, Radford, Wofford, Furman, Middle Tennessee, Georgia Southern, North Florida, Kennesaw State. Interest: Mizzou, Butler, Charleston, Charlotte, UAB, Nevada, Buffalo, LIU-Brooklyn, Charleston Southern. Latest (9/20): Ware is taking an official visit to WKU on October 26. He is also scheduling one for LIU-Brooklyn. Previous: Ware picked up a WKU offer and calls them his favorite, with MTSU probably second. 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

Elliott Welmer: Columbus North, Columbus, IN - PF: 6-8, 195. Offers: SLU, Wright State, Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois. Interest: Butler, Purdue, IPFW. Latest (9/15): Welmer received an offer from SLU on his visit this weekend. Previous: Welmer attended SLU's camp with Tucker Blackwell (2016), Nai Carlisle (2015), Matt Holba (2015), Taishaun Johnson (2013), and Filip Serwatka (2015). He visited Northern Kentucky recently with Josh Speidel, a 2015 recruit from the same HS as Welmer, and also a kid on SLU's radar. Welmer seems to be growing still, as he is listed as a SF and an inch or two shorter by many recruiting services. He plays for the Eric Gordon All Stars AAU team. As a junior, he was ranked the 26th prospect in Indiana's class of 2014 (McIntosh: 7, Mercer: 8, Brennan: 10, Mitchell: 90), and the report was: "[Welmer] is relatively unknown, but is getting big minutes and scoring some points this winter for North...He had a good summer and should land his name on the radar of some schools...Has good perimeter skills for a guy of his size, handles the ball well...I think that Elliott will still grow another inch or two and his game is just starting to come into its own...He shoots the ball well from the perimeter and blocks shots defensively...I am sure I have him higher than most people, but I think he will end up moving up even more within the next year...Keep an eye out for him." Welmer's uncle is Steve, who officiated a ton of SLU and other big-time college basketball games over the years. Twitter: @Welmer_33

Thomas Welsh: Loyola, Los Angeles, CA - C: 7-0, 245. Offers: SLU, UCLA, California, USC, Stanford, Utah, Arizona State, Colorado, Notre Dame, Boston College, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Pacific, Portland, Rice. Interest: Arizona, Wake Forest, San Diego State, Brown, UC-Santa Barbara. Latest (10/6): Welsh took official visits to Cal and UCLA in September and Colorado the first weekend of October. He will schedule two more official visits by November and choose from one of those five schools. Previous: Welsh has made unofficial visits to USC, Cal, Stanford, Utah, UCLA, and Colorado. Late in his recruitment, Cal, Stanford, Colorado, Utah, USC, and UCLA are making the biggest push. In Vegas, he was in a much-watched post matchup with top-10 player Myles Turner, who was said to have lived up to his elite shot-blocking billing. However, "the multi-skilled Welsh exhibited his unique skill set as he nailed several mid-range jump shots and displayed his all-around post game." UCLA was apparently present for every Welsh game, and Enfield and USC were at most, too. Welsh has an offer from Steve Alford at UCLA. 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. Dave Telep says, "Welsh has touch, size, and he can pass. Patience in the post is uncommon. Nice player. Pac 12 guy talent-wise."

2014 Interest List:

Aaron Brennan: Guerin Catholic, Noblesville, IN - PF: 6-6, 200.Offers: Indiana State, Loyola-Chicago, Belmont, Cornell, Columbia, Toledo, IUPUI, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, William & Mary. Interest: SLU, Butler, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa, Ball State, Wright State, Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky. Latest (9/18): Brennan took an official visit to IUPUI this past weekend and Tweeted that he had a great time. Previous: Brennan played well at Top 100, picking up an offer from UNC-Asheville immediately after. He 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, Quinnipiac, Radford. Latest (8/27): Cheeks said SLU and Quinnipiac were tracking him in June and July on the AAU circuit. Previous: Cheeks played well at Big Shots Richmond, reportedly scoring well at all levels and rebounding his position well. He also handles the ball well and makes plays in traffic. His father played at VCU and holds their single-game scoring record (42 in a 1989 game vs. ODU). He later coached at VCU, West Virginia, Georgia State, and UNC-Charlotte.

Arlando Cook: Madison Prep, St. Louis, MO - PF: 6-8, 175. Offers: Kent State, SIUE, Tennessee-Martin, Western Illinois. Interest: SLU, Illinois, Virginia Tech, SIUC, Missouri State, Indiana State, Georgia State, Troy, Indianapolis, Nebraska-Omaha, Alabama A&M. Latest (9/24): Cook will take an official visit to Tennessee-Martin on October 19. Previous: Cook visited SLU with Brandon Hollins of Jennings HS. He visited Western Illinois in early September. After a strong showing throughout July, Cook is officially on SLU's radar and has "big interest" from Indiana State. He had what has been called a "breakout weekend" at the Under Armour Summer Jam in Wisconsin, averaging 19 and 13 during the tournament for the St. Louis Gym Rats Elite AAU team. Florida Gulf Coast will be visiting him at home soon. Tennessee-Martin has "very high" interest. Cook took an unofficial visit to SIUC in early August, and SIUE immediately after. Twitter: @___BallxBooks

Corey Henderson, Jr.: Episcopal School of Dallas, Dallas, TX - PG: 6-3, 175. Offers: Wichita State, Wright State, Fresno State, Weber State, Long Island, Grambling State. Interest: SLU, Creighton, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Alabama, Auburn, TCU, Tulsa, Houston, Indiana State. Latest (8/21): Henderson is said to have picked up a SLU offer as of July 30th, but I can't confirm anywhere. Most sources list SLU as interested. Henderson appears to be a late bloomer, having just picked up most of his offers at the end of the July period. Wichita State and Fresno State were first. Henderson plays for his dad at the same high school program that produced Phil Pressey. He is listed as a PG by some sources and SG by others. He had a triple-double for Episcopal in late January. Twitter: @chendc3

Brandon Hollins: Jennings, Jennings, MO - SF: 6-5, 170. Interest: SLU, UC-Riverside, Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois. Latest (8/15): Hollins visited SLU with Arlando Cook. Previous: Hollins is on SLU's radar officially after a solid July. He led the Suburban East in scoring his junior season, at 18 PPG. He missed his entire sophomore season with a knee injury. He is said to be a "skilled wing who is most effective slashing to the basket and finishing at the rim," who "needs to be more confident handling the ball" to be successful at the next level. Earl Austin said this of Hollins' July play in Vegas for Team Ramey: "Hollins opened a lot of eyes out west with his energetic play on the wing...averaged about 15 points a game. Always known as a potent perimeter shooter, the slender Hollins displayed slashing ability, plus he rebounded well." Twitter: @NBADreams_

Avery Johnson, Jr.: Plano West, Plano, TX - PG: 5-9, 173. Offers: Southern Miss. Interest: SLU, LaSalle, Baylor, LSU, Rutgers, Florida State, Wichita State, Rice, Charleston, Santa Clara, Bucknell, Columbia. Latest (9/12): Johnson retweeted that Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Tulsa were in the house to watch Plano West, but it's likely they were there to see one of his teammates (probably junior Tyler Davis, a 270-pound center with high interest from SMU and Texas). Previous: Earlier in summer 2013, Johnson said Baylor, SLU, and LSU are recruiting hardest but Baylor stands out most at this point. He has visited Baylor and SLU. The son of former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson, he 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). He is scouted as being very quick, with a very high basketball IQ and competitive nature. Twitter: @itsaveryjohnson

Brett Jolly: Blair Academy, Blairstown, NJ - C: 6-10, 200. Offers: Colorado, TCU, Charlotte, Old Dominion, Pepperdine, Weber State. Interest: SLU, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Texas, Arkansas, Tulane, South Alabama. Latest (10/3): Jolly has new offers from Colorado and Old Dominion. Previous: Jolly is officially back on the SLU interest list after being recruited for a while as a 2013 HS senior from Southlake, Texas. He decided to go to prep school in NJ for a year and it appears to already be paying off with greater attention. He has better offers already and Colorado is showing serious interest, asking him to take an official visit after watching him work out in mid-September. Jolly took an unofficial visit to SLU before reclassifying so there is plenty of familiarity between the two already. Twitter: @B_jjolly

Anthony Pate: New Hampton Prep, New Hampton, NH - SG: 6-3, 190. Offers: St. Bonaventure, Duquesne, Harvard, Yale, FIU, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Hofstra, Boston, Maine, UMBC, UNC-Greensboro, Binghamton, NJIT. Interest: SLU, George Washington, George Mason, Davidson, Marquette, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Tulsa, Bucknell, Siena, Drexel, Northeastern, Utah State, Marist, Elon, New Hampshire. Latest (9/12): Pate was rated #9 in the loaded NH class of 2014 by the New England Recruiting Report. Previous: Pate is picking up a lot of interest and offers after playing well at the Super 64 in Vegas. Scouts said his game is a lot like that of Elijah Brown, the son of Mike Brown who played at Santa Ana HS in California and is heading to Butler this fall. Pate is said to have a confident stroke and good facilitating ability. One concern may be transfers: Pate is from Canada, attended Saint Anthony in New Jersey before transferring to Long Island Lutheran for his junior season, then New Hampton Prep this past season. He will stay at NHP for a prep year. Twitter: @416Pate

Darreon Reddick: Belleville East, Belleville, IL - PG: 6-3, 200. Offers: DePaul, Valpo, Missouri State, Indiana State, Bradley, Detroit, Toledo, IUPUI. Interest: SLU, Dayton, Xavier, Butler, Northwestern, Michigan, Mizzou, Tennessee, Iowa, SIUC. Latest (9/18): Reddick was visited by Indiana State late last week. Previous: Reddick was impressed by Northwestern on his unofficial visit there, but the school has not yet made an offer. If he does get one, he plans to make an official visit before deciding. Reddick visited Bradley and Illinois State in June. He also visited Valpo with C.J. Rivers and both picked up offers. Twitter:@_14Reddick

Shawn Roundtree: Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL - PG: 6-0, 175. Offers: SIUE. Interest: SLU, Ball State, Missouri State, Indiana State. Latest (9/12): Roundtree received visits from SIUE, Missouri State, and Indiana State (twice) as the fall recruiting period opened. Previous: Roundtree played in the Purdue Elite Camp in August. He has been contacted by SLU and Ball State, but SIUE was the early leader in his recruitment. Twitter: @2Yung4_Simba

Marial Shayok: Blair Academy, Blairstown, NJ - SF: 6-6, 205. Offers: Marquette, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, LaSalle, Cincinnati, Boston College, Virginia, Minnesota, Rutgers, Kansas State, West Virginia, Texas A&M, USC, Georgia. Interest: SLU, VCU, Dayton, Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, Notre Dame, Gonzaga. Latest (10/3): Shayok visited Providence, which went very well. He is returning to Marquette for Marquette Madness. Previous: Shayok took an unofficial visit to UVA in late August and Marquette in September. He also visited BC. He received an in-home visit from Minnesota HC Richard Pitino, as well as Seton Hall, Marquette, and USC. He previously said Marquette, BC, Villanova, Cincinnati, and Rutgers are recruiting him hardest. Georgia and Michigan have shown increased interest recently. 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

Tarin Smith: St. Anthony's, Jersey City, NJ - PG: 6-0, 175. Offers: LaSalle, St. Joe's, UMass, Penn, Princeton, Brown, Lehigh, Bucknell, Detroit, Holy Cross, Delaware, Quinnipiac, Wagner, Stony Brook, Buffalo. Interest: SLU, Creighton, Boston College, SMU. Latest (10/3): Smith visited SLU in late September. Previous: Smith took an official visit to Lehigh. SLU has been looking at Smith very closely but has not yet offered. Smith is the starting point guard at NJ powerhouse St. Anthony's, whose past point guards include Bobby Hurley, Tyshawn Taylor, Tray Woodall, and recent Temple addition Josh Brown. He says St. Joe's, Bucknell, Stony Brook, Princeton, and Penn have been in contact the most and that SLU, SMU, Creighton, and Boston College have all contacted him to let him know they're coming out to watch him this July. St. Joe's has had a few recent St. Anthony's grads, including Ahmad Nivins and Dwayne Lee. (There is also a 2016 recruit from McCluer North by the same name.) Twitter: @Smittee_

Dmitri Thompson: Orlando Christian, Orlando, FL - SG: 6-4, 195. Offers: Purdue, Miami, Oklahoma State, Mississippi, Georgia, South Florida, Central Florida, Charleston, Florida International, Murray State, UNC-Greensboro, Georgia Southern. Interest: SLU, Georgetown, Butler, Kansas State, Virginia, Alabama, Appalachian State, Mercer. Latest (9/23): Thompson received an offer from UNC-Greensboro. Previous: Thompson says Appalachian State and Mercer are interested. He has an offer from FIU and what appears to be some renewed interest from Butler. His offers from bigger programs are all listed as being from 2012, so I'm wondering how current they are. Thompson and teammate Adonys Henriquez had publicly mentioned the possibility of being recruited as a package deal, but Henriquez committed to Miami this past fall, while Thompson continues to explore his options. The two have won a state championship together already and expectations are high for their senior season. Twitter: @BigMeech_2014

[cheeseman]

I do agree that the conference a school belongs to can make an impact on the recruiting and decisions a kid makes regarding where to play. But as was pointed out by Crewsorlose, if that was the biggest factor then it would be very unusual for non BCS schools to ever be bettter than a power conference school in bb. We know that is simply not true. For some kids - yes I know a BCS school could miss evaluate a kid and that is how he falls to a non BCS school - the power conference thing is simply a "one more check mark" for why he may choose to go to that school. The coach, school in general, location, chance of success, and overall impression of the experience he may have at that the school/city are the key decision makers. Now if a BCS school -successful or not - meets the above criteria then of course the BCS factor will probably tip the scale.

[Quality Is Job 1]

@THicksTBOH: @kelan30_ A Butler Bulldog?!?

@kelan30_: @THicksTBOH no

_________

Found that exchange pretty funny. Hopefully it stays true.

Considering that we've discussed "devil's advocate" tweeting at recruits, let me make it clear that I do not have a twitter account.

[Pistol]

Considering that we've discussed "devil's advocate" tweeting at recruits, let me make it clear that I do not have a twitter account.

SLU and Butler are recruiting or have recruited a lot of the same players, so this guy's account has been confusing me for some time now. Gets me every time.

[William Iken]

Marcus Camby went to UMass

Marcus Camby, are you serious? The fact you had to reach back to 1993 (yes, that is his first year in college - 20 years ago) just proves WVs point!

[Pistol]

Updated. 3 spots remain for 2014. As always, updates on all names are appreciated.

2014 Offer List:

Tevin Glass: Northwest Florida State CC, Norcross, GA - PF: 6-8, 195. Offers: SLU, VCU, Arizona State, Auburn, Mississippi State, New Mexico, South Florida, UAB, Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee State. Interest: Florida, Georgia Tech. Latest (9/9): SLU has offered the JuCo-enrolled Glass, who will be eligible immediately as a junior. He is considered one of the top JuCo prospects in the nation and is predicted to be a preseason second-team All-American when the season starts. As a senior at Milton HS (Atlanta area) in 2012, he had offers from Memphis, Murray State, Nevada, and others. In his freshman season at NW Florida State, he came off the bench to average 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds on 51.1% shooting. He shot 64.5% from the free throw line. Twitter:@Topnotch_Tglass

Kelan Martin: Ballard, Louisville, KY - SF/PF: 6-6, 210. Offers: SLU, Richmond, Butler, Xavier, Providence, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Auburn, New Mexico, Indiana State, Ohio, Western Kentucky, IUPUI, UMKC. Interest: VCU, Creighton, Mizzou, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Boston College, Tulsa, Southern Miss. Latest (10/6): Martin did not commit to Butler on his official visit, as of Sunday morning, 10/6. Texas Tech is scheduled next, but the Red Raiders just picked up a commitment from 6-7 forward Zach Smith and have one scholarship remaining for 2014. Previous: Martin took official visits to SLU and Butler on consecutive weekends. He is ranked 97th in the new ESPN Top 100 for the class of 2014. He received an in-home visit from TTU head coach Tubby Smith. He took an unofficial visit to SLU the weekend of 9/7. Crews and Bronson went out to Vegas at the end of July to see Martin, among others. Martin impressed at the Elite 40 Skills Academy, where he was said to have one of the smoothest jump shots there. He said this about Butler: "I like their program and I think I'm a good fit for their school." Martin has had an impressive spring on the AAU circuit and the offers are starting to roll in. He has no top 5, though many presume Butler is the favorite at this point. Twitter: @kelan30_

Therence Mayimba: Saint James, Hagerstown, MD - SF: 6-5, 200. Offers: VCU, George Mason, Georgetown, Villanova, Miami. Interest: SLU, Duquesne, George Washington, Indiana, Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia Tech, UAB, Tulsa, Morgan State. Latest (9/20): Mayimba received offers from SLU and UAB ahead of his planned visits to each. Previous: Mayimba has four official visits planned: SLU, George Washington, George Mason, and UAB. He transferred to Saint James School in Hagerstown. He seriously impressed scouts at the DMV Elite 80, being called by some the "Defensive MVP" of the camp. He was said to be one of the best multi-position defenders there and was "making plays all over the court" at both ends. He is following former Montrose Christian head coach Dan Prete there and fellow former MC teammate Justin Robinson will join him. Mayimba says he's been hearing from UAB, GW, George Mason, Georgetown, SLU, Duquesne, Tulsa, VCU, and Morgan State. His profile reads like a guy who'd be ranked in the top 50 if he were a couple inches taller (most have him at 6-5; Scout has him at 6-7). ESPN says he's "blessed with a prototypical basketball body, long, cut-up, and extremely athletic. He's a phenomenal defender because he has the ability to guard multiple positions and is equally dangerous as a help-side defender where he aggressively rotates to block shots. Mayimba is also a ferocious rebounder." VerbalCommits is the only site that lists any offers, and all but one (VCU - 2/13) are dated 7/28/12, so the current status of all is questionable. Mayimba played for the Pan Africa team at the Nike Global Challenge, where he was scouted as a heady player, lock-down defender, and someone who could knock down 3-pointers. His offense is said to be still developing, but he's a high-energy guy. Twitter: @GabonHoop23

Patrick McCaw: Trinity, Spanish Lake, MO - SG: 6-5, 180. Offers: SLU, DePaul, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, SIUC, Missouri State, Bradley, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Loyola-Maryland. Interest: Georgetown, Creighton, Xavier, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State, Florida State, Missouri, Kansas State, Tennessee, Wichita State. Latest (9/24): McCaw took his first official visit to DePaul in mid-September. Previous: McCaw transferred from CBC to Trinity to play for his dad. Billikens.com's own TheChosenOne scouted McCaw as a three-point specialist, a report McCaw seems to agree with, based on his Twitter handle (@StephCurryJr_). After the Peach Jam, where he played for Mac Irvin Fire out of Chicago, some scouts on Twitter remarked that he scores in a variety of ways, is strong on the break, and can take guys off the dribble. McCaw was ranked 87th in the June rankings for the class of 2014 (CBC teammate Jordan Barnett was 86). Twitter: @StephCurryJr_

Logan McLane: Greenfield School, Wilson, NC - PF: 6-8, 210. Offers: SLU, Seton Hall, Miami-Ohio, Toledo, Buffalo, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, Winthrop, Appalachian State, Mercer, High Point, Western Carolina, Georgia Southern. Interest: George Mason, Stanford, Iowa, Old Dominion, East Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International, East Tennessee State, Mount St. Mary's, Furman. Latest (9/12): McLane picked up an offer from Appalachian State. He received home visits from Appalachian State, FIU, East Carolina, Western Carolina, UNC-Greensboro, and Mercer. Previous: Mclane remains a SLU target and offers are coming in. He played well after returning from his ACL injury and has started hearing from the likes of Stanford, Iowa, and George Mason. He made an official visit to High Point. He was cleared to play after recovering from a torn ACL, finally returning to action in Vegas with Team Loaded from NC. He injured it early in his junior season, November 2012. Scouts say schools "should not sleep on him," though, as he has a high-level skill set for his position. He has visited Miami-Ohio. Twitter:@LMcLane4

Ikenna Okwarabizie: East, Sioux City, IA - C: 6-11, 240. Offers: SLU, Illinois State, Southern Miss, SIUC, SIUE. Interest: Creighton, Marquette, Iowa, Rutgers, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Wichita State, Tulsa, Rice. Latest (9/12): Okwarabizie visited Iowa and said it went very well. Previous: Okwarabizie transferred to Sioux City East HS from St. Louis Christian. He will be living with the family of East teammate Chase Kern. He will miss the first 6 games of the HS season. Okwarabizie emerged this spring and picked up his first offer from Southern Miss. He is drawing "serious attention" from Rutgers and visited Illinois State. He received a SLU offer but things have been quiet on that front since mid-July. He played AAU ball with the St. Louis Eagles. Twitter: @iykerulez1

Avery Patterson: Wheeler, Decatur, GA - PG: 6-1, 175. Offers: SLU, Richmond, Xavier, Butler, Boston College, Kansas State, Central Florida, Murray State, Tulane, Western Kentucky, Boston. Interest: Memphis, UAB. Latest (10/1): Patterson said he will likely be a spring signee. He has not been able to come up with a list of finalists yet, but says Western Kentucky, Tulane, and Boston have been on him the hardest lately. He will visit all three in October. Previous: Patterson was low on offers until mid-July, when a slew of new ones came in from SLU, Richmond, Butler, BC, KSU, UCF, Murray State, and WKU. Most of those schools had already been in contact. He's a left-handed PG with a strong frame and very long range on his jumper. Has also drawn a lot of scouting attention for his leadership and control; a pure PG who gets it done at both ends. Twitter: @Showtime_AP

Jalyn Patterson: Montverde Academy, Alpharetta, GA - PG: 6-0, 170. Offers: SLU, George Mason, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Georgia, Texas A&M, Oregon State, Houston, Tulane, Murray State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville. Interest: Rhode Island, LSU, Tennessee, Florida State, South Carolina, Charleston, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Kennesaw State. Latest (10/1): Patterson visited SLU and George Mason. He will visit LSU on 10/12. Previous: Patterson enjoyed his SLU and George Mason visits, and said in addition to those and LSU, he is also leaving Minnesota and Rhode Island in the running and may set up visits to each. Patterson gained some attention on the national radar after hitting the game-winning 3-pointer to defeat St. Benedict's Prep (NJ) in the ESPN National High School Invitational championship game. As a junior, Patterson played with 2 McDonald's All-Americans (Dakari Johnson and Kasey Hill) and the team finished the season ranked #1 in the nation. This year, he will play alongside potential All-American SG D'Angelo Russell and 4-star SG Justin Bibbs. Twitter: @jalynpatterson

Johnnie Shuler: Theodore Roosevelt, Washington, DC - PG: 5-11, 160. Offers: SLU, LaSalle, Seton Hall, Fairfield, Quinnipiac. Interest: Villanova, Maryland, Nebraska, Miami, UNLV, Wichita State. Latest (7/22): Shuler picked up offers from SLU and Quinnipiac. Seton Hall was the first one, followed by Fairfield and LaSalle. He transferred to TRHS from DeMatha and sat out for half of last season. He plays on a loaded DC Warriors AAU team. He said he'd like to play "out west" for a team that plays an "up and down" style, so UNLV is particularly attractive. He acknowledged Seton Hall also plays that style. Twitter: @jshuler_0

Quadree Smith: Paul VI, Fairfax, VA - PF/C: 6-7, 280. Offers: SLU, St. Joe's, George Mason, Nebraska, Tennessee, Southern Miss, Tulsa, Kent State, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International, Drexel, Siena, Fairfield, Rider, Radford, Quinnipiac, UNC-Greensboro, Kennesaw State, Austin Peay, Towson, St. Peter's. Interest: Xavier, Virginia, Albany. Latest (10/2): Smith picked up a new offer from St. Peter's. Previous: Smith has taken official visits to UNC-Greensboro and St. Joe's. He received an in-home visit from Drexel. Scouts who attended the DMV Elite 80 said he appears to have slimmed down and has improved his mobility. He told a writer he has offers or interest from Towson, George Mason, Radford, Nebraska, Southern Miss, FGCU, Fairfield, Tennessee, and Tulsa- he mentioned 9 schools and SLU wasn't one of them. 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

Joe Thomasson: State Fair CC, Sedalia, MO - PG: 6-4, 180. Offers: SLU, St. Bonaventure, Creighton, Oklahoma State, Southern Miss, UTEP, Ball State, Wright State, Eastern Kentucky. Interest: Dayton, Purdue, Missouri, Alabama, Arizona State, Cincinnati. Latest (10/6): Thomasson visited Wright State in late September. Previous: Thomasson is enrolled at State Fair Community College and will be a 2014 recruit, eligible immediately as a junior. A Dayton native, he originally signed with Wright State and opted for the JuCo route after failing to qualify. He committed to Oklahoma State on 8/14 and decommitted in early September. OSU then landed a commitment from Jared Terrell (major Rhode Island target), and it seems as though Thomasson didn't feel there was room for both of them. He averaged 14.4 points at State Fair his freshman year on 44.6% shooting and 40.9% three-point shooting. He also averaged 4.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists, appearing in 28 games and starting in 27 (State Fair went 20-10 overall). He shot 78% from the stripe.

Hunter Ware: North Cobb Christian, Kennesaw, GA - PG: 6-2, 165. Offers: SLU, Murray State, Western Kentucky, Cornell, Brown, Tennessee Tech, Jacksonville, Gardner-Webb, Appalachian State, Stetson, Radford, Wofford, Furman, Middle Tennessee, Georgia Southern, North Florida, Kennesaw State. Interest: Mizzou, Butler, Charleston, Charlotte, UAB, Nevada, Buffalo, LIU-Brooklyn, Charleston Southern. Latest (9/20): Ware is taking an official visit to WKU on October 26. He is also scheduling one for LIU-Brooklyn. Previous: Ware picked up a WKU offer and calls them his favorite, with MTSU probably second. 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

Elliott Welmer: Columbus North, Columbus, IN - PF: 6-8, 195. Offers: SLU, Wright State, Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois. Interest: Butler, Purdue, IPFW. Latest (9/15): Welmer received an offer from SLU on his visit this weekend. Previous: Welmer attended SLU's camp with Tucker Blackwell (2016), Nai Carlisle (2015), Matt Holba (2015), Taishaun Johnson (2013), and Filip Serwatka (2015). He visited Northern Kentucky recently with Josh Speidel, a 2015 recruit from the same HS as Welmer, and also a kid on SLU's radar. Welmer seems to be growing still, as he is listed as a SF and an inch or two shorter by many recruiting services. He plays for the Eric Gordon All Stars AAU team. As a junior, he was ranked the 26th prospect in Indiana's class of 2014 (McIntosh: 7, Mercer: 8, Brennan: 10, Mitchell: 90), and the report was: "[Welmer] is relatively unknown, but is getting big minutes and scoring some points this winter for North...He had a good summer and should land his name on the radar of some schools...Has good perimeter skills for a guy of his size, handles the ball well...I think that Elliott will still grow another inch or two and his game is just starting to come into its own...He shoots the ball well from the perimeter and blocks shots defensively...I am sure I have him higher than most people, but I think he will end up moving up even more within the next year...Keep an eye out for him." Welmer's uncle is Steve, who officiated a ton of SLU and other big-time college basketball games over the years. Twitter: @Welmer_33

Thomas Welsh: Loyola, Los Angeles, CA - C: 7-0, 245. Offers: SLU, UCLA, California, USC, Stanford, Utah, Arizona State, Colorado, Notre Dame, Boston College, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Pacific, Portland, Rice. Interest: Arizona, Wake Forest, San Diego State, Brown, UC-Santa Barbara. Latest (10/6): Welsh took official visits to Cal and UCLA in September and Colorado the first weekend of October. He will schedule two more official visits by November and choose from one of those five schools. Previous: Welsh has made unofficial visits to USC, Cal, Stanford, Utah, UCLA, and Colorado. Late in his recruitment, Cal, Stanford, Colorado, Utah, USC, and UCLA are making the biggest push. In Vegas, he was in a much-watched post matchup with top-10 player Myles Turner, who was said to have lived up to his elite shot-blocking billing. However, "the multi-skilled Welsh exhibited his unique skill set as he nailed several mid-range jump shots and displayed his all-around post game." UCLA was apparently present for every Welsh game, and Enfield and USC were at most, too. Welsh has an offer from Steve Alford at UCLA. 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. Dave Telep says, "Welsh has touch, size, and he can pass. Patience in the post is uncommon. Nice player. Pac 12 guy talent-wise."

2014 Interest List:

Aaron Brennan: Guerin Catholic, Noblesville, IN - PF: 6-6, 200.Offers: Indiana State, Loyola-Chicago, Belmont, Cornell, Columbia, Toledo, IUPUI, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, William & Mary. Interest: SLU, Butler, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa, Ball State, Wright State, Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky. Latest (9/18): Brennan took an official visit to IUPUI this past weekend and Tweeted that he had a great time. Previous: Brennan played well at Top 100, picking up an offer from UNC-Asheville immediately after. He 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, Quinnipiac, Radford. Latest (8/27): Cheeks said SLU and Quinnipiac were tracking him in June and July on the AAU circuit. Previous: Cheeks played well at Big Shots Richmond, reportedly scoring well at all levels and rebounding his position well. He also handles the ball well and makes plays in traffic. His father played at VCU and holds their single-game scoring record (42 in a 1989 game vs. ODU). He later coached at VCU, West Virginia, Georgia State, and UNC-Charlotte.

Arlando Cook: Madison Prep, St. Louis, MO - PF: 6-8, 175. Offers: Kent State, SIUE, Tennessee-Martin, Western Illinois. Interest: SLU, Illinois, Virginia Tech, SIUC, Missouri State, Indiana State, Georgia State, Troy, Indianapolis, Nebraska-Omaha, Alabama A&M. Latest (9/24): Cook will take an official visit to Tennessee-Martin on October 19. Previous: Cook visited SLU with Brandon Hollins of Jennings HS. He visited Western Illinois in early September. After a strong showing throughout July, Cook is officially on SLU's radar and has "big interest" from Indiana State. He had what has been called a "breakout weekend" at the Under Armour Summer Jam in Wisconsin, averaging 19 and 13 during the tournament for the St. Louis Gym Rats Elite AAU team. Florida Gulf Coast will be visiting him at home soon. Tennessee-Martin has "very high" interest. Cook took an unofficial visit to SIUC in early August, and SIUE immediately after. Twitter: @___BallxBooks

Corey Henderson, Jr.: Episcopal School of Dallas, Dallas, TX - PG: 6-3, 175. Offers: Wichita State, Wright State, Fresno State, Weber State, Long Island, Grambling State. Interest: SLU, Creighton, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Alabama, Auburn, TCU, Tulsa, Houston, Indiana State. Latest (8/21): Henderson is said to have picked up a SLU offer as of July 30th, but I can't confirm anywhere. Most sources list SLU as interested. Henderson appears to be a late bloomer, having just picked up most of his offers at the end of the July period. Wichita State and Fresno State were first. Henderson plays for his dad at the same high school program that produced Phil Pressey. He is listed as a PG by some sources and SG by others. He had a triple-double for Episcopal in late January. Twitter: @chendc3

Brandon Hollins: Jennings, Jennings, MO - SF: 6-5, 170. Interest: SLU, UC-Riverside, Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois. Latest (8/15): Hollins visited SLU with Arlando Cook. Previous: Hollins is on SLU's radar officially after a solid July. He led the Suburban East in scoring his junior season, at 18 PPG. He missed his entire sophomore season with a knee injury. He is said to be a "skilled wing who is most effective slashing to the basket and finishing at the rim," who "needs to be more confident handling the ball" to be successful at the next level. Earl Austin said this of Hollins' July play in Vegas for Team Ramey: "Hollins opened a lot of eyes out west with his energetic play on the wing...averaged about 15 points a game. Always known as a potent perimeter shooter, the slender Hollins displayed slashing ability, plus he rebounded well." Twitter: @NBADreams_

Avery Johnson, Jr.: Plano West, Plano, TX - PG: 5-9, 173. Offers: Southern Miss. Interest: SLU, LaSalle, Baylor, LSU, Rutgers, Florida State, Wichita State, Rice, Charleston, Santa Clara, Bucknell, Columbia. Latest (9/12): Johnson retweeted that Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Tulsa were in the house to watch Plano West, but it's likely they were there to see one of his teammates (probably junior Tyler Davis, a 270-pound center with high interest from SMU and Texas). Previous: Earlier in summer 2013, Johnson said Baylor, SLU, and LSU are recruiting hardest but Baylor stands out most at this point. He has visited Baylor and SLU. The son of former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson, he 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). He is scouted as being very quick, with a very high basketball IQ and competitive nature. Twitter: @itsaveryjohnson

Brett Jolly: Blair Academy, Blairstown, NJ - C: 6-10, 200. Offers: Colorado, TCU, Charlotte, Old Dominion, Pepperdine, Weber State. Interest: SLU, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Texas, Arkansas, Tulane, South Alabama. Latest (10/3): Jolly has new offers from Colorado and Old Dominion. Previous: Jolly is officially back on the SLU interest list after being recruited for a while as a 2013 HS senior from Southlake, Texas. He decided to go to prep school in NJ for a year and it appears to already be paying off with greater attention. He has better offers already and Colorado is showing serious interest, asking him to take an official visit after watching him work out in mid-September. Jolly took an unofficial visit to SLU before reclassifying so there is plenty of familiarity between the two already. Twitter: @B_jjolly

Anthony Pate: New Hampton Prep, New Hampton, NH - SG: 6-3, 190. Offers: St. Bonaventure, Duquesne, Harvard, Yale, FIU, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Hofstra, Boston, Maine, UMBC, UNC-Greensboro, Binghamton, NJIT. Interest: SLU, George Washington, George Mason, Davidson, Marquette, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Tulsa, Bucknell, Siena, Drexel, Northeastern, Utah State, Marist, Elon, New Hampshire. Latest (9/12): Pate was rated #9 in the loaded NH class of 2014 by the New England Recruiting Report. Previous: Pate is picking up a lot of interest and offers after playing well at the Super 64 in Vegas. Scouts said his game is a lot like that of Elijah Brown, the son of Mike Brown who played at Santa Ana HS in California and is heading to Butler this fall. Pate is said to have a confident stroke and good facilitating ability. One concern may be transfers: Pate is from Canada, attended Saint Anthony in New Jersey before transferring to Long Island Lutheran for his junior season, then New Hampton Prep this past season. He will stay at NHP for a prep year. Twitter: @416Pate

Darreon Reddick: Belleville East, Belleville, IL - PG: 6-3, 200. Offers: DePaul, Valpo, Missouri State, Indiana State, Bradley, Detroit, Toledo, IUPUI. Interest: SLU, Dayton, Xavier, Butler, Northwestern, Michigan, Mizzou, Tennessee, Iowa, SIUC. Latest (9/18): Reddick was visited by Indiana State late last week. Previous: Reddick was impressed by Northwestern on his unofficial visit there, but the school has not yet made an offer. If he does get one, he plans to make an official visit before deciding. Reddick visited Bradley and Illinois State in June. He also visited Valpo with C.J. Rivers and both picked up offers. Twitter:@_14Reddick

Shawn Roundtree: Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL - PG: 6-0, 175. Offers: SIUE. Interest: SLU, Ball State, Missouri State, Indiana State. Latest (9/12): Roundtree received visits from SIUE, Missouri State, and Indiana State (twice) as the fall recruiting period opened. Previous: Roundtree played in the Purdue Elite Camp in August. He has been contacted by SLU and Ball State, but SIUE was the early leader in his recruitment. Twitter: @2Yung4_Simba

Marial Shayok: Blair Academy, Blairstown, NJ - SF: 6-6, 205. Offers: Marquette, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, LaSalle, Cincinnati, Boston College, Virginia, Minnesota, Rutgers, Kansas State, West Virginia, Texas A&M, USC, Georgia. Interest: SLU, VCU, Dayton, Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, Notre Dame, Gonzaga. Latest (10/3): Shayok visited Providence, which went very well. He is returning to Marquette for Marquette Madness. Previous: Shayok took an unofficial visit to UVA in late August and Marquette in September. He also visited BC. He received an in-home visit from Minnesota HC Richard Pitino, as well as Seton Hall, Marquette, and USC. He previously said Marquette, BC, Villanova, Cincinnati, and Rutgers are recruiting him hardest. Georgia and Michigan have shown increased interest recently. 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

Tarin Smith: St. Anthony's, Jersey City, NJ - PG: 6-0, 175. Offers: LaSalle, St. Joe's, UMass, Penn, Princeton, Brown, Lehigh, Bucknell, Detroit, Holy Cross, Delaware, Quinnipiac, Wagner, Stony Brook, Buffalo. Interest: SLU, Creighton, Boston College, SMU. Latest (10/3): Smith visited SLU in late September. Previous: Smith took an official visit to Lehigh. SLU has been looking at Smith very closely but has not yet offered. Smith is the starting point guard at NJ powerhouse St. Anthony's, whose past point guards include Bobby Hurley, Tyshawn Taylor, Tray Woodall, and recent Temple addition Josh Brown. He says St. Joe's, Bucknell, Stony Brook, Princeton, and Penn have been in contact the most and that SLU, SMU, Creighton, and Boston College have all contacted him to let him know they're coming out to watch him this July. St. Joe's has had a few recent St. Anthony's grads, including Ahmad Nivins and Dwayne Lee. (There is also a 2016 recruit from McCluer North by the same name.) Twitter: @Smittee_

Dmitri Thompson: Orlando Christian, Orlando, FL - SG: 6-4, 195. Offers: Purdue, Miami, Oklahoma State, Mississippi, Georgia, South Florida, Central Florida, Charleston, Florida International, Murray State, UNC-Greensboro, Georgia Southern. Interest: SLU, Georgetown, Butler, Kansas State, Virginia, Alabama, Appalachian State, Mercer. Latest (9/23): Thompson received an offer from UNC-Greensboro. Previous: Thompson says Appalachian State and Mercer are interested. He has an offer from FIU and what appears to be some renewed interest from Butler. His offers from bigger programs are all listed as being from 2012, so I'm wondering how current they are. Thompson and teammate Adonys Henriquez had publicly mentioned the possibility of being recruited as a package deal, but Henriquez committed to Miami this past fall, while Thompson continues to explore his options. The two have won a state championship together already and expectations are high for their senior season. Twitter: @BigMeech_2014

[Pistol]

@EvanDanielsFOX: I'm sure there will be plenty of schools involved with Trevon Bluiett, but bank on Xavier and Butler being involved.

Hopefully he goes to Butler. Then Martin can come here.

Every source on Twitter seems to think it's a two-horse race for Bluiett between Butler and Xavier. Further muddying the waters at Butler is that former Duquesne forward Quevyn Winters is visiting next week. He's playing this season at a junior college.

Between Butler's suddenly renewed pursuit of higher-rated guys and Texas Tech's commitment from Zach Smith, SLU might be Martin's most attractive option by process of elimination - unless he brings other schools into the mix or waits until spring.

[brianstl]

Marcus Camby, are you serious? The fact you had to reach back to 1993 (yes, that is his first year in college - 20 years ago) just proves WVs point!

WV has no point.

You don't have to go back 20 years. In the draft this year the #1 overall pick came from a non-power conference. Over the last 10 years 3 #1 overall picks have come from non-power conferences. More overall # 1 picks have come from non-power conferences than any power conference (SEC 2, ACC 1, Big Ten 1, Big Twelve 1, PAC 0, Big East 0) Over the last 10 years 15 players from non-power conferences have gone in the lottery. And, future Billiken Jayson Tatum is more than familiar with these facts because his godfather played at a non-power conference before he was a lottery pick.

Here is the rundown

2013

Anthony Bennett #1 overall

CJ MCCollum

Kelly Olynk

2012

Damian Lillard

2011

Jimmer Fredette

2010

Gordon Hayward

Paul George

2009

Tyreke Evans

Stephen Curry

2008

Derrick Rose #1 overall

Jason Thompson

2006

Adam Morrison

Patrick O'Bryant

2005

Andrew Bogut #1 overall

2004

Rafael Araújo

[Bizziken]

WV has no point.

You don't have to go back 20 years. In the draft this year the #1 overall pick came from a non-power conference. Over the last 10 years 3 #1 overall picks have come from non-power conferences. More overall # 1 picks have come from non-power conferences than any power conference (SEC 2, ACC 1, Big Ten 1, Big Twelve 1, PAC 0, Big East 0) Over the last 10 years 15 players from non-power conferences have gone in the lottery. And, future Billiken Jayson Tatum is more than familiar with these facts because his godfather played at a non-power conference before he was a lottery pick.

I think the distinction is between 'one-and-done' players vs lottery picks from non-power conferences...it is arguable whether or not UNLV and Memphis count as true non-power schools given their past successes and higher profiles. Just my opinion, but I think that if it is FBJT's desire to be a 'one-and-done' player it is less likely he will come to SLU.

Hopefully PBLH (Past Billiken Larry Hughes) along with FBJTM (Future Billiken Jayson Tatum's Mom) can convince FBJT to matriculate!

[Billikenboy]

I would not bet on that. From all indications the kid wants to play in the big lights. Would be nice for those big time schools to play SLU so players like him can see that it is all about best fit in the end. SLU can defeat and hold its own vs all those programs. Just because you get an offer from BCS programs does not guarantee you are lottery pick. Fail to produce and you get recruited over the next year for sure.

[ACE]

Every source on Twitter seems to think it's a two-horse race for Bluiett between Butler and Xavier. Further muddying the waters at Butler is that former Duquesne forward Quevyn Winters is visiting next week. He's playing this season at a junior college.

Between Butler's suddenly renewed pursuit of higher-rated guys and Texas Tech's commitment from Zach Smith, SLU might be Martin's most attractive option by process of elimination - unless he brings other schools into the mix or waits until spring.

Winters was a former Billiken recruiting target out of high school... pretty sure he visited us. SLU should be Martin's most attractive option regardless of where these other recruits go. An opportunity for immediate significant playing time for an outstanding program.