Recruiting - 2020 Class (Optimal Vision Class)

[wgstl]

7 minutes ago, TJHawk said:

Fletcher apparently did not impress many this summer and his stock dropped.

I feel like this is the case for several Beagles this summer

[Pistol]

Bunch of 2020 updates on the Recruiting Lists thread today. (And more on the way with the upcoming camp rosters being announced.) Here's a sampling:

-Several guys are about to announce finalists in the next week or two, including Caleb Love, Nimari Burnett, Xavier Foster, John Hugley, Colby Jones, and Mark Williams. Don't expect SLU to be on any of those lists.

-I expect a number of others to start whittling their lists down and taking official visits in August-September. OVs are a good indicator of who will end up on finalist lists, if players announce those before their finalists. Some guys have scheduled them or have said they'll visit certain schools soon: Keon Ambrose (Illinois), Dudley Blackwell (Iowa State), Davion Bradford (K-State), Chris Moore (Memphis), Kiyron Powell (Houston, Xavier, Cincinnati, Iowa), Keshawn Williams (K-State), Mark Williams (Duke, UCLA, Ohio State).

-We know a few players that SLU is prioritizing in this class, but they were definitely tracking recent offer Markhi Strickland this past weekend. He's the son of former NBA player Mark Strickland and was playing with E1T1 at the Peach Invitational (Peach Invitational : Peach Jam as NIT : NCAA Tournament).

-Some stock risers who added multiple new offers in the past two weeks: Isaiah Adams, Keon Ambrose, Reece Brown, Ramean Hinton, Dayvion McKnight, Martice Mitchell, Kiyron Powell.

-The 5-starification of D.J. Steward is now complete, with a Duke offer and UNC and Kentucky showing interest. Plenty of others are still involved, but this is bad news for all of them.

-Some guys have had disconcertingly quiet summers. This isn't necessarily a reflection of low interest or stock dropping or poor play, just that it's hard to find any chatter at all about who's recruiting them lately: Reggie Strong, Lamontay Daughtery, Kobe Clark, Dominiq Penn (considering a 2021 reclassification), Antoine Bloxton, Quincy Ademokoya.

-I expected some guys to pile up more offers (or higher-level offers) based on recent play but they've been slow to come. This could mean a lot of different things, but I'd include Quincy Ademokoya, Eric Butler, Seryee Lewis, and Jackson Sivills in this category.

[Pistol]

New this year is the NCAA College Basketball Academy, which will be held in four regions with two sessions apiece (7/22-7/25 and 7/25-7/28). SLU 2020 recruits by location:

East (UConn):
Reece Brown, Session I
Zed Key, Session I
Tristan Maxwell, Session II
Liam Murphy, Session I

South (Houston):
Keon Ambrose-Hylton, Session I
Matteus Case, Session I
Christian Fussell, Session I
Colby Jones, Session I

Midwest (Illinois):
Davion Bradford, Session I
Dylan Branson, Session I
Ramean Hinton, Session I
Luke Kasubke, Session I
Dayvion McKnight, Session I
Cody Potter, Session II
Jackson Sivills, Session I

West (Grand Canyon):
Graham Ike, Session II

If you're wondering what this thing is, more info is available here.

[Pistol]

5 hours ago, CBFan said:

Bradford and Kasubke are the 2 I hope to see commitments from in October.

However I would still would be happy with a  Kalkbrenner / Kasubke commit also.

Having 2 scholarships for the 2020 class is important.  Locally there are some great players.

We seem way more in the mix on Bradford than Kalkbrenner. Kasubke is harder to read. We're in the mix but I can't tell where exactly. I don't necessarily agree that we're his "back-up plan" but we also don't seem like his top choice, either. I'm guessing we're in the 4-6 range for him now. Work to do, basically.

4 hours ago, wgstl said:

I guess he wasnt happy that Duke never offered. 

Yeah, and I wondered if he'd include them and force their hand. I thought Alabama and UCLA would be just outside the top 5, but apparently Alabama was just in and UCLA just out. Michigan State, Mizzou, and Kentucky really feel like the leaders here (MSU has seemed like his leader all along) but UNC can't be taken for granted.

As for Fletcher underperforming for BBE this season, I got the impression that Love did everything he could to dominate the ball, followed by Moody. Love is trying to position himself as a scoring point guard and he and his dad have been public about this strategy for his future. Moody took the most shot attempts, just 5 more than Love, and Fletcher was third. But I think the other two dominating the ball left him without the opportunities he normally would've had. Their record suffered from the lack of team basketball; everyone outside those three seemed to get lost in the shuffle. The three STL kids who went to MOKAN (and Kalkbrenner playing for Mac Irvin Fire) all made the right decisions and won a lot more games than BBE. Three of them got a title, the other got DPOY for the EYBL, and they all boosted their profiles and stocks.

[3star_recruit]

27 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Bunch of 2020 updates on the Recruiting Lists thread today. (And more on the way with the upcoming camp rosters being announced.) Here's a sampling:

-Several guys are about to announce finalists in the next week or two, including Caleb Love, Nimari Burnett, Xavier Foster, John Hugley, Colby Jones, and Mark Williams. Don't expect SLU to be on any of those lists.

-I expect a number of others to start whittling their lists down and taking official visits in August-September. OVs are a good indicator of who will end up on finalist lists, if players announce those before their finalists. Some guys have scheduled them or have said they'll visit certain schools soon: Keon Ambrose (Illinois), Dudley Blackwell (Iowa State), Davion Bradford (K-State), Chris Moore (Memphis), Kiyron Powell (Houston, Xavier, Cincinnati, Iowa), Keshawn Williams (K-State), Mark Williams (Duke, UCLA, Ohio State).

-We know a few players that SLU is prioritizing in this class, but they were definitely tracking recent offer Markhi Strickland this past weekend. He's the son of former NBA player Mark Strickland and was playing with E1T1 at the Peach Invitational (Peach Invitational : Peach Jam as NIT : NCAA Tournament).

-Some stock risers who added multiple new offers in the past two weeks: Isaiah Adams, Keon Ambrose, Reece Brown, Ramean Hinton, Dayvion McKnight, Martice Mitchell, Kiyron Powell.

-The 5-starification of D.J. Steward is now complete, with a Duke offer and UNC and Kentucky showing interest. Plenty of others are still involved, but this is bad news for all of them.

-Some guys have had disconcertingly quiet summers. This isn't necessarily a reflection of low interest or stock dropping or poor play, just that it's hard to find any chatter at all about who's recruiting them lately: Reggie Strong, Lamontay Daughtery, Kobe Clark, Dominiq Penn (considering a 2021 reclassification), Antoine Bloxton, Quincy Ademokoya.

-I expected some guys to pile up more offers (or higher-level offers) based on recent play but they've been slow to come. This could mean a lot of different things, but I'd include Quincy Ademokoya, Eric Butler, Seryee Lewis, and Jackson Sivills in this category.

Hasn't done much until this summer.  Jump shot is improving to the point where he's not simply a 6'7 uber athlete. I think Coach Ford is on to something. 6'7 jumping jacks with any semblance of a perimeter game can play the 3 or 4 in the A10.

[moytoy12]

1 hour ago, 3star_recruit said:

Hasn't done much until this summer.  Jump shot is improving to the point where he's not simply a 6'7 uber athlete. I think Coach Ford is on to something. 6'7 jumping jacks with any semblance of a perimeter game can play the 3 or 4 in the A10.

Honestly, I can’t remember the makeup of his teams at UMASS, but I’m guessing he’s informed by past experience here. 

[Cowboy]

-Pistol, GREAT work, as always, do you have a thought as to who at this point is leading the Luke Kasubke race? 

[Coach314]

6 hours ago, TJHawk said:

Fletcher apparently did not impress many this summer and his stock dropped.

Fletcher picked up offers from West Virginia, Kansas,  North Carolina and Kentucky this summer.   Also was invited to a top 100 camp in which he and his BBE teammate Moody were top performers.

[RiseAndGrind]

11 minutes ago, Coach314 said:

Fletcher picked up offers from West Virginia, Kansas,  North Carolina and Kentucky this summer.   Also was invited to a top 100 camp in which he and his BBE teammate Moody were top performers.

Ha RJ Davis is the first name mentioned in this thread. 

[wgstl]

43 minutes ago, RiseAndGrind said:

Ha RJ Davis is the first name mentioned in this thread. 

Full circle 

[Coach314]

Congratulations Jordan

[courtside]

RJ Davis is a good example. SLU identified his talent early. But then some other teams came in such as Georgetown, Marquette and received visits. They thought they were in good position early. Now with elite performances this Spring and Summer, Kansas, and now North Carolina have offered him. For many schools, it’s about getting in early, trying to hold off those handful of Duke Kentucky etc...teams. Sometimes they can, many times they can’t. 

[RiseAndGrind]

8 hours ago, Coach314 said:

Congratulations Jordan

Isn’t he 2021 now?

[Coach314]

1 hour ago, RiseAndGrind said:

Isn’t he 2021 now?

You're right.  I forgot he reclassified 

[Pistol]

1 hour ago, RiseAndGrind said:

Isn’t he 2021 now?

Yes, he reclassified. I'll put his updated bio in that thread.

[Pistol]

16 hours ago, Cowboy said:

-Pistol, GREAT work, as always, do you have a thought as to who at this point is leading the Luke Kasubke race? 

Kasubke has been fairly quiet about anything other than the offers that come in, but my sense based on what I've been able to find is that his leaders have been the same for quite a while. He visited Xavier and K-State earlier this summer, and those two seem to be out in front. Behind those I would put Illinois, and then maybe Loyola and SLU if I'm rounding out a top five. That's my best crack at it, and I could be wrong on a couple. His sister plays softball at Loyola (the other one is at Boston College). I don't get the impression he's a priority for Mizzou.

Here are his lists:

Offers: Saint Louis, Xavier, Creighton, Illinois, Nebraska, K-State, Mizzou, Loyola-Chicago, Valparaiso, SIU-Carbondale, Missouri State, Indiana State, Illinois State, Western Michigan, Tennessee-Martin, UMKC.
Interest: Dayton, Providence, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State, Stanford, Tulsa, SIU-Edwardsville.

He has three offers this summer, all in June: UMKC, SIUC, and Illinois State, in that order. Nebraska offered in April. All other offers were in 2018. Wisconsin is one of the newest schools on his interest list. I really thought the EYBL/Peach Jam would lead to more verified offers and interest by now. Maybe there are still more to come.

New assistant coach Ford Stuen recently started following him on Twitter. Other schools with staff members following him on Twitter that I don't have listed as interested (and probably should; I'm rethinking how I verify interest and I think a Twitter follow should be enough - feedback is always welcome) - Drake, North Dakota, Marshall, Ohio State, New Mexico, Arkansas, Georgia State, Vanderbilt, South Dakota, Wake Forest, Iowa State, Florida, Cornell, Appalachian State, Arizona State, Butler, William & Mary, Western Michigan, Indiana, Princeton, Notre Dame, DePaul, Texas, Louisiana-Monroe, Furman, Minnesota.

[Cowboy]

8 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Kasubke has been fairly quiet about anything other than the offers that come in, but my sense based on what I've been able to find is that his leaders have been the same for quite a while. He visited Xavier and K-State earlier this summer, and those two seem to be out in front. Behind those I would put Illinois, and then maybe Loyola and SLU if I'm rounding out a top five. That's my best crack at it, and I could be wrong on a couple. His sister plays softball at Loyola (the other one is at Boston College). I don't get the impression he's a priority for Mizzou.

Here are his lists:

Offers: Saint Louis, Xavier, Creighton, Illinois, Nebraska, K-State, Mizzou, Loyola-Chicago, Valparaiso, SIU-Carbondale, Missouri State, Indiana State, Illinois State, Western Michigan, Tennessee-Martin, UMKC.
Interest: Dayton, Providence, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State, Stanford, Tulsa, SIU-Edwardsville.

He has three offers this summer, all in June: UMKC, SIUC, and Illinois State, in that order. Nebraska offered in April. All other offers were in 2018. Wisconsin is one of the newest schools on his interest list. I really thought the EYBL/Peach Jam would lead to more verified offers and interest by now. Maybe there are still more to come.

New assistant coach Ford Stuen recently started following him on Twitter. Other schools with staff members following him on Twitter that I don't have listed as interested (and probably should; I'm rethinking how I verify interest and I think a Twitter follow should be enough - feedback is always welcome) - Drake, North Dakota, Marshall, Ohio State, New Mexico, Arkansas, Georgia State, Vanderbilt, South Dakota, Wake Forest, Iowa State, Florida, Cornell, Appalachian State, Arizona State, Butler, William & Mary, Western Michigan, Indiana, Princeton, Notre Dame, DePaul, Texas, Louisiana-Monroe, Furman, Minnesota.

-thank you for this, we need to beat Bruce Weber in most of these fights

[billiken_roy]

you have to admire how hard weber and his staff works the st louis area.   there is a reason they get so many players from st louis.

[SLURadioBoy]

@Pistol, with Bradford visiting campus lately, what do you think are SLU’s chances with him? 

It seems like he’s friends with a lot of the Bills on social media and attended a lot of games last year. Do you think that’s the local player we have the best shot at?

[Pistol]

20 minutes ago, Cowboy said:

-thank you for this, we need to beat Bruce Weber in most of these fights

 

4 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

you have to admire how hard weber and his staff works the st louis area.   there is a reason they get so many players from st louis.

I haven't crunched the data but my guess is that K-State has more common offers with SLU than any other school. STL is their top metro area. I've also noticed that both schools tend to offer the same players around the same time period. Maybe they have a mole, or vice-versa.

[3star_recruit]

1 minute ago, billiken_roy said:

you have to admire how hard weber and his staff works the st louis area.   there is a reason they get so many players from st louis.

Yeah, Chris Lowery. As a former assistant himself, Weber understands the importance of hiring the right assistant. Lowery has done a great job of getting the "best of the rest" in the St. Louis area ever since he was the coach at Carbondale.

Coach Ford also understands the importance of St. Louis recruiting. Hiring Corey Tate is the best decision he ever made.

 

[Pistol]

3 minutes ago, SLURadioBoy said:

@Pistol, with Bradford visiting campus lately, what do you think are SLU’s chances with him? 

It seems like he’s friends with a lot of the Bills on social media and attended a lot of games last year. Do you think that’s the local player we have the best shot at?

Of all the 2020 recruits we're involved with, I see his name tied to SLU the most. This is fairly rare even when SLU is involved because we don't have a dedicated recruiting beat writer at Rivals, 247, SB Nation, or anywhere else - meaning that when those writers list schools players are talking to, visiting, etc., they tend to mention ones they can link, so SLU and others tend to get left out.

He also seems to have good friendships with the guys at SLU, he posts when he's on campus, and he's said positive things about us to the media. He's taking an official visit to K-State the last weekend of August. He also just said he's "being heavily recruited by Mizzou, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and SLU" but is still wide open.

I haven't seen a timetable for other official visits or a list of finalists. Given his recruiting stature, I feel really good about SLU being in the mix with some major players. We might not get an OV - although I really want one - because we're local and he's been there so frequently, but I think we'll be a finalist.

To answer your questions most directly: I think we have a good chance with him relative to his level - meaning he's a big-time recruit and we're still very much in it. I can't offer odds until I have a better idea of who's in the final mix.I have a hard time saying we have a better shot at him than other local recruits because he's a higher-profile recruit and there are other kids we could have more easily because there's less competition for them. But of all the high-profile 2020 kids, yes, we've got the best shot at him.

[SLURadioBoy]

4 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Of all the 2020 recruits we're involved with, I see his name tied to SLU the most. This is fairly rare even when SLU is involved because we don't have a dedicated recruiting beat writer at Rivals, 247, SB Nation, or anywhere else - meaning that when those writers list schools players are talking to, visiting, etc., they tend to mention ones they can link, so SLU and others tend to get left out.

He also seems to have good friendships with the guys at SLU, he posts when he's on campus, and he's said positive things about us to the media. He's taking an official visit to K-State the last weekend of August. He also just said he's "being heavily recruited by Mizzou, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and SLU" but is still wide open.

I haven't seen a timetable for other official visits or a list of finalists. Given his recruiting stature, I feel really good about SLU being in the mix with some major players. We might not get an OV - although I really want one - because we're local and he's been there so frequently, but I think we'll be a finalist.

To answer your questions most directly: I think we have a good chance with him relative to his level - meaning he's a big-time recruit and we're still very much in it. I can't offer odds until I have a better idea of who's in the final mix.I have a hard time saying we have a better shot at him than other local recruits because he's a higher-profile recruit and there are other kids we could have more easily because there's less competition for them. But of all the high-profile 2020 kids, yes, we've got the best shot at him.

Thanks, @Pistol. Great post! This was exactly what I was looking for.

I actually meant best shot of all of the “high-profile” local recruits. I wasn’t necessarily looking for odds since that would be impossible to know unless if you heard it directly from him.

[Pistol]

5 minutes ago, SLURadioBoy said:

Thanks, @Pistol. Great post! This was exactly what I was looking for.

I actually meant best shot of all of the “high-profile” local recruits. I wasn’t necessarily looking for odds since that would be impossible to know unless if you heard it directly from him.

There seems to be a top five of 2020 local recruits that includes Bradford, Love, Fletcher, Kasubke, and Kalkbrenner. Love and Fletcher are obviously in another tier but they're all nationally recruited kids. So that's really who I'm lumping him with.

Then there are other D-I players like Branson, Daughtery, Clark, Catchings, Case, Weekly-McDaniels, and a few others, but I don't have a sense yet what level they'll end up at. It'll be interesting to see who signs early and who waits until spring, and what the ceilings are for some of these guys. We'll probably see a few late bloomers.

[3star_recruit]

27 minutes ago, Pistol said:

There seems to be a top five of 2020 local recruits that includes Bradford, Love, Fletcher, Kasubke, and Kalkbrenner. Love and Fletcher are obviously in another tier but they're all nationally recruited kids. So that's really who I'm lumping him with.

Then there are other D-I players like Branson, Daughtery, Clark, Catchings, Case, Weekly-McDaniels, and a few others, but I don't have a sense yet what level they'll end up at. It'll be interesting to see who signs early and who waits until spring, and what the ceilings are for some of these guys. We'll probably see a few late bloomers.

If we don't sign Kasubke or Bradford, I'd prefer we not sign any local recruits in the 2020 class.  It would be extremely difficult for a  Dylan Branson or a Lamontay Daughtery to break into this rotation.   I want to see local guys play.  And the program looks better to local recruits when they see the kids they look up to succeeding.