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Recruiting - 2021


Pistol

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1 hour ago, Reinert310 said:

Just looking at Instagram, he looks to be getting along swimmingly with the other guys. He transferred from Wilmington after his coach left. He’s already got his bachelors and is now working on a 2-year masters program. Doesn’t exactly seem like the type of kid who is gonna become a team chemistry problem.

Exactly.  He got no PT at Valpo, got PT at another school and transferred after his coach was fired.  What one person calls "nomadic" behavior, I call "logical".

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1 hour ago, Littlebill said:

He's on a very similar path as Isabell, fwiw. That worked out okay.

and in full disclosure i wasnt a fan of isabell's transfer at the time.   really i wasnt on the isabell train until the conference tourney when he was splendid in all aspects.   so by the time all was said and done, i indeed was wrong on isabell.   hoping for the same here. 

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2 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

whatever, whichever one is on his 3rd school i am not expecting much and just hoping he doesnt f up the team blue chemistry at this point.  

I guess I kind of see your point. But it’s pretty pessimistic. 

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1 hour ago, 3star_recruit said:

Exactly.  He got no PT at Valpo, got PT at another school and transferred after his coach was fired.  What one person calls "nomadic" behavior, I call "logical".

Left first school due to fit/PT, left second school after coach was fired and he graduated, graduated a year early, has been very supportive of SLU players and vice versa on social media before meeting any in person, eagerly accepted offer to program that guarantees him a supporting role (implying desire to win above all else), eligible for two years while he works on a graduate degree in International Business, will undoubtedly bring an already all-time record-high team GPA even higher.

I've tallied them up and counted exactly zero red flags here.

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1 minute ago, Pistol said:

Left first school due to fit/PT, left second school after coach was fired and he graduated, graduated a year early, has been very supportive of SLU players and vice versa on social media before meeting any in person, eagerly accepted offer to program that guarantees him a supporting role (implying desire to win above all else), eligible for two years while he works on a graduate degree in International Business, will undoubtedly bring an already all-time record-high team GPA even higher.

I've tallied them up and counted exactly zero red flags here.

I think even if someone were to come in that was a problem, I think our combo of leadership and experience could control/survive something like that

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Just now, Littlebill said:

I think even if someone were to come in that was a problem, I think our combo of leadership and experience could control/survive something like that

Assuming this season plays out, I do not see a scenario in which our seniors allow one guy to mess with #TeamBlue's chemistry.

Isabell actually was kind of a problem at times in his one season here, but he got his head right and the right time and Goodwin and French were sophomores. This roster is totally different. Isabell also had some reports of being a headcase earlier in his career. Linssen has none of that.

If anything, Linssen is a chemistry play. He's exactly what we needed in the frontcourt, taking pressure off both French and Bell. He also bridges the transition from French to Okoro.

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2 minutes ago, Littlebill said:

I think even if someone were to come in that was a problem, I think our combo of leadership and experience could control/survive something like that

Think about the Gordon fiasco. We still regrouped to make a miracle run in the A10 Tourney. Granted, Bess and Isabell and Foreman probably played big roles in that as well, but now we have Yuri and Perk and TJ to take over leadership roles. I’m not concerned in the least (mostly because I think Marten is gonna fit right in, but your point still stands).

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3 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

i know he's enrolled.   i am talking about i dont like he seems to not want to find a place he can call HIS future alma mater.   3 programs and still has 2 years of school to go isnt normal.  like i said i hope i am wrong about my concern.  

Unfortunately it's very normal in today's landscape. What isn't normal is that he finished a bachelor's degree in three years, so instead of being a 5th year transfer, he gets to play two years as a grad. transfer. All it means is that he's a good student, or that he had a lot of credits coming in. 

Look, I'd much prefer guys come here for four years, but there are about 600 transfers/season. You're not a bad kid, or a problem kid, if you want to transfer. (see Bess, Javon). You're a bad kid of if you're a bad kid. 

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4 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

whatever, whichever one is on his 3rd school i am not expecting much and just hoping he doesnt f up the team blue chemistry at this point.  

He graduated.  He now wants a masters degree in International business.  Obviously he is a smart kid and decided to move on to a top school to get that degree.  Seems like a no brainer to me.  Plus, he gets a chance to dance come March.  Good get for SLU basketball and for the University.

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Unless I'm missing or forgetting anything, our last 2021 offer was to Jalen Blackmon on July 25th, and he's a guy we had been interested in for almost a year before the offer. Obviously we haven't had anyone on campus. We showed up as a finalist for Nesbitt but no one else yet. It's been quiet lately compared to this time last year. In roughly the same period (7/25 through the first week of September), here's what last year looked like:

-Offers: Jayden Stone, Kobe Elvis, Jamal Mashburn Jr., Baylor Hebb, Andrew Laczkowski
-Visits: Stone, Luke Kasubke, Davion Bradford, possibly a couple more. We either had Laczkowski out or were about to.
-Finalists: Keon Ambrose-Hylton (top 10), Donte Houston (top 10), Toneari Lane (top 7)
-I wrote that we "appear to be very much in the mix for Markhi Strickland" during this time, as our coaches had already visited him, were planning later visits, and talking to him frequently.
-Bradford and Kasubke committed to K-State later in this time frame. Caleb Love announced his top 5, Cam'Ron Fletcher committed to UK.

The fact that this period is so quiet means one of three things to me, or more likely a combination of the three:

1. We still don't have a third recruiting assistant on staff. (And Stuen is about to get married.)

2. Effects of the pandemic on travel, recruiting calendar, events, etc. Although overall D-I commitments are up year-over-year and a lot of players are announcing finalists, getting offers, committing, doing virtual meetings/visits, and so forth.

3. We're zeroing in on a few targets and aren't casting as wide a net in this class. Nesbitt is getting closer. Kern looks like a spring recruit. One or both of the De Smet bigs should be around in spring, as will some other big men we've been recruiting (e.g. Ola Ajiboye). Of the five guys we added to the roster this year, only one (Strickland) was a known recruit at this time last year. At least one poster previously said that the staff's plan was to wait until spring if they land Nesbitt in the coming weeks.

So it seems like the quiet of the past six weeks has been partially circumstantial, partially intentional.

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On 9/4/2020 at 8:55 AM, Pistol said:

The fact that this period is so quiet means one of three things to me, or more likely a combination of the three:

1. We still don't have a third recruiting assistant on staff. (And Stuen is about to get married.)

2. Effects of the pandemic on travel, recruiting calendar, events, etc. Although overall D-I commitments are up year-over-year and a lot of players are announcing finalists, getting offers, committing, doing virtual meetings/visits, and so forth.

3. We're zeroing in on a few targets and aren't casting as wide a net in this class. Nesbitt is getting closer. Kern looks like a spring recruit. One or both of the De Smet bigs should be around in spring, as will some other big men we've been recruiting (e.g. Ola Ajiboye). Of the five guys we added to the roster this year, only one (Strickland) was a known recruit at this time last year. At least one poster previously said that the staff's plan was to wait until spring if they land Nesbitt in the coming weeks.

So it seems like the quiet of the past six weeks has been partially circumstantial, partially intentional.

All of these seem very plausible, but obviously I hope #3 is the main reason. I would think that even being short an assistant, they would be putting more offers out there if they weren’t feeling confident in the ones they have out there. I don’t think any program wants to get out of the fall signing period without a single commitment when you have multiple spots to fill.

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4 hours ago, WVBilliken said:

Interesting how high this guy has been rated in 2019.  https://247sports.com/PlayerSport/Jalen-Blackmon-at-Marion-219811/RecruitRankHistory/

We've had some recent success with a high scoring 6'1 combo guard, though we got him at the end of his career.  Isabell had a similar ranking out of high school.  

 

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Blackmon returned to full action in mid-July. He received the Tulane offer shortly thereafter. UCF and Murray State just started showing interest in the past couple weeks and neither has offered yet. Houston was his first offer almost two years ago. Grand Canyon offered in June, SLU in July. SLU has been recruiting him for about a year.

He has had a lot of high-level interest but the only offers he has in addition to the four listed above are Ball State, Miami-Ohio, and Akron. He's in Big Ten country but I think most of those schools were holding off to see more and then the ACL injury happened. He's not going to be a fall priority for any of them. Xavier, Butler, and a few other power programs had been sniffing around, as well, but it seems like he doesn't want to wait it out to see if any power conference schools come back or pop up six months from now.

Before the ACL injury ended his junior year in January, Blackmon had a realistic shot at the all-time Indiana scoring record. (Mike Crawford is 36th on that list.) He already had 1,000 points halfway through his sophomore year and was lighting it up as a junior (at 1,565 at the time of his injury). His dad is his HS coach and was the runner-up for IN Mr. Basketball to Steve Alford in 1983. His brother is the state's 13th all-time leading scorer and played at Indiana. His other brother was a grad transfer at Lindenwood who rode the bench at Indiana and also played at St. Francis. Both of his older brothers also have had ACL surgery.

He's undersized but can really score. He's a coach's kid and has most of the attributes that come with that - good feel for the game, can distribute in addition to being a big-time scorer, and is constantly in the gym. He's got a quick, compact, consistent shot (despite a wider stance with his feet) and gets it off quickly whether from the catch or off the dribble. He strongly favors his right hand so even though he's a good finisher, he's always looking to finish with his right. His percentages were .373 from 3 and .510 overall as a junior before his injury, which is solid considering the volume. As mentioned above, he also averaged over 6 APG.

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4 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Blackmon returned to full action in mid-July. He received the Tulane offer shortly thereafter. UCF and Murray State just started showing interest in the past couple weeks and neither has offered yet. Houston was his first offer almost two years ago. Grand Canyon offered in June, SLU in July. SLU has been recruiting him for about a year.

He has had a lot of high-level interest but the only offers he has in addition to the four listed above are Ball State, Miami-Ohio, and Akron. He's in Big Ten country but I think most of those schools were holding off to see more and then the ACL injury happened. He's not going to be a fall priority for any of them. Xavier, Butler, and a few other power programs had been sniffing around, as well, but it seems like he doesn't want to wait it out to see if any power conference schools come back or pop up six months from now.

Before the ACL injury ended his junior year in January, Blackmon had a realistic shot at the all-time Indiana scoring record. (Mike Crawford is 36th on that list.) He already had 1,000 points halfway through his sophomore year and was lighting it up as a junior (at 1,565 at the time of his injury). His dad is his HS coach and was the runner-up for IN Mr. Basketball to Steve Alford in 1983. His brother is the state's 13th all-time leading scorer and played at Indiana. His other brother was a grad transfer at Lindenwood who rode the bench at Indiana and also played at St. Francis. Both of his older brothers also have had ACL surgery.

He's undersized but can really score. He's a coach's kid and has most of the attributes that come with that - good feel for the game, can distribute in addition to being a big-time scorer, and is constantly in the gym. He's got a quick, compact, consistent shot (despite a wider stance with his feet) and gets it off quickly whether from the catch or off the dribble. He strongly favors his right hand so even though he's a good finisher, he's always looking to finish with his right. His percentages were .373 from 3 and .510 overall as a junior before his injury, which is solid considering the volume. As mentioned above, he also averaged over 6 APG.

I know IU was still sniffing around mid-summer.  But I guess that has cooled.

I don't know about Jalen's total game.  His brother, James Blackmon, Jr., was a snipper but 'couldn't guard a chair'.  I wonder if that is a family trait or something that Jalen has discovered will hold him back.  Jr. played 3 years at IU, averaged 16 ppg, went undrafted, and I believe played recently in Italy's pro league. 

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6 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Blackmon returned to full action in mid-July. He received the Tulane offer shortly thereafter. UCF and Murray State just started showing interest in the past couple weeks and neither has offered yet. Houston was his first offer almost two years ago. Grand Canyon offered in June, SLU in July. SLU has been recruiting him for about a year.

He has had a lot of high-level interest but the only offers he has in addition to the four listed above are Ball State, Miami-Ohio, and Akron. He's in Big Ten country but I think most of those schools were holding off to see more and then the ACL injury happened. He's not going to be a fall priority for any of them. Xavier, Butler, and a few other power programs had been sniffing around, as well, but it seems like he doesn't want to wait it out to see if any power conference schools come back or pop up six months from now.

Before the ACL injury ended his junior year in January, Blackmon had a realistic shot at the all-time Indiana scoring record. (Mike Crawford is 36th on that list.) He already had 1,000 points halfway through his sophomore year and was lighting it up as a junior (at 1,565 at the time of his injury). His dad is his HS coach and was the runner-up for IN Mr. Basketball to Steve Alford in 1983. His brother is the state's 13th all-time leading scorer and played at Indiana. His other brother was a grad transfer at Lindenwood who rode the bench at Indiana and also played at St. Francis. Both of his older brothers also have had ACL surgery.

He's undersized but can really score. He's a coach's kid and has most of the attributes that come with that - good feel for the game, can distribute in addition to being a big-time scorer, and is constantly in the gym. He's got a quick, compact, consistent shot (despite a wider stance with his feet) and gets it off quickly whether from the catch or off the dribble. He strongly favors his right hand so even though he's a good finisher, he's always looking to finish with his right. His percentages were .373 from 3 and .510 overall as a junior before his injury, which is solid considering the volume. As mentioned above, he also averaged over 6 APG.

-does this equate to you interpreting the tea leaves that he will commit to wherever soon or at least in the fall?

-do you know if LOI dates have been changed?

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42 minutes ago, Cowboy said:

-does this equate to you interpreting the tea leaves that he will commit to wherever soon or at least in the fall?

-do you know if LOI dates have been changed?

If he's trimming his list in September, it almost certainly means he's committing by November.

I believe LOI dates for this year are unchanged. The date was extended through August 1 this past period, but right now it's still the November early period (November 11-18) and the regular spring period (April 14-May 19).

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