Recruiting - 2022

[3star_recruit]

The SLU in-state prospect having the best season so far is 6'6 SG Braden Appelhans at Blue Springs HS in the KC Metro.  He's been a 180 shooter so far this season.  Already made an on-campus visit back in October.

[Cowboy]

33 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

The SLU in-state prospect having the best season so far is 6'6 SG Braden Appelhans at Blue Springs HS in the KC Metro.  He's been a 180 shooter so far this season.  Already made an on-campus visit back in October.

-24/7 has 18 schools in the mix, including us,  all with cool interest, if 6'6 and a 180 shooter I would think there would be more 'heat' on the kid

[Littlebill]

38 minutes ago, Cowboy said:

-24/7 has 18 schools in the mix, including us,  all with cool interest, if 6'6 and a 180 shooter I would think there would be more 'heat' on the kid

You could've said the same about Jimerson

[courtside]

On 1/20/2021 at 10:37 AM, RUBillsFan said:

John Duff was a really good 3 point shooter.  Assuming Justin had a similar game, there is a much greater appreciation for that kind of player today than there was during John Duff's career.

Justin can shoot it and throw it down. He's a bit more athletic than his dad. He is certainly someone to keep an eye on moving forward. His sister is a 2021 Clemson soccer commit. 

[TheChosenOne]

23 hours ago, 3star_recruit said:

Hughes is a good defender and decent rebounder for a skinny guy (ignore the StlToday rebounding stats, they're useless).  He's a good free throw shooter.  There's a lot to like.  He just needs to exercise better shot selection.  He's one of those players that needs to see the ball go through the hoop.  I rarely see him get hot after missing a bunch of shots early.

Do you think he is MM+ athlete in general? I candidly don't watch CBC much beyond when they play Chaminade, but he doesn't stand out athletically to me and truly plays more like a true spot up 3 point shooter than a scorer. Attempted some really bad shots the other night, but again they were all deep 3s. I have only seen games online where he doesn't seem overly active unlike Karate or Martin, so it could just be his role and how he plays as opposed to any specific limitation. Watching him play the other night, the most surprising thing to me was when the play by play folks said he is 6'5. Because he is not mature physically, there would still appear to be upside there, but this strikes me as having the potential of becoming an awkward situation.

[cheeseman]

Well unlike the Tatum situation when everyone knew he was a stud this might be one where Larry can see for himself if the kid will be able to play or ride the bench. Larry may be open to having his son play somewhere that he can play meaningful minutes.  If his son still wants to come then look at him as a legacy 

[SLURadioBoy]

A new career high for Larry tonight.

[SLURadioBoy]

Hughes even had a four point play tonight.

 

[billiken_roy]

Pretty sweet step back.  Particularly  since some here like to tell us he's not that good of a shooter.

 

[3star_recruit]

Hughes made his first couple of shots, both in the flow of the offense and he was off to the races.  He just needs to see the ball go through the hoop.  When he misses shots early, he starts taking harder shots instead of taking easier ones.  I stated before that he and Stacker have the highest upside of the MM+ group and I stand by it.

[slufanskip]

2 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

Pretty sweet step back.  Particularly  since some here like to tell us he's not that good of a shooter.

 

It wasn't the posters here saying that. It was the stats. 

[billiken_roy]

sometimes stats dont tell the whole story.   i remember spoon telling me that larry senior was going to be a better player at every level because he wouldnt garner as much focus as he did at previous levels.   

you watch junior shoot, that is a pure shot.   he is a shooter.   i dont care what the stats are saying.   and as 3 star says, maybe it is just a matter of shot selection, but that might be because he feels the need to be the man and like 3 star says, take tougher shots.   i see big things for this kid.  i dont care what the stats say

[Pistol]

Hughes is up to 16.1 PPG after last night's performance but his current slashline as listed on the P-D's stats page is incorrect because they're showing all of his makes from last night and none of the overall attempt numbers. So the numerator has been updated but not the denominator, making his percentages for the season look better than they are. This could update in the next few days - just pointing that out so there isn't any confusion based on this.

He was at .345/.279/.765 heading into last night's game. He definitely helped his averages but he's not truly at .471/.419/.725 now (although I think the FT percentage is correct; they show him at 3-6 last night).

By the way, it can be true that Hughes has not been shooting well from the perimeter, needs to expand his offensive game, has a good looking shot, and has higher potential than most of his local 2022 peers. None of these statements are in conflict with one another.

[HoosierPal]

3 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

sometimes stats dont tell the whole story.   i remember spoon telling me that larry senior was going to be a better player at every level because he wouldnt garner as much focus as he did at previous levels.   

you watch junior shoot, that is a pure shot.   he is a shooter.   i dont care what the stats are saying.   and as 3 star says, maybe it is just a matter of shot selection, but that might be because he feels the need to be the man and like 3 star says, take tougher shots.   i see big things for this kid.  i dont care what the stats say

I am not sure who it was, but on a recent radio interview, (maybe it was Larry Sr) it was stated that Jr. is a better shooter at his age than Sr. was. The comment was then made that Jr. may be the better shooter, but Sr. was the overall better ball player.

[TheChosenOne]

14 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

Pretty sweet step back.  Particularly  since some here like to tell us he's not that good of a shooter.

I assume I would be one of the folks this would be directed at, I don't think I ever said he wasn't a good shooter, but I did point out his shooting percentages. Candidly, my biggest concern when I watch him is that he does not strike me as a high major athlete for a wing, but that might not be accurate as I have only seen him in a handful of games where again he tends to be more of a standstill shooter. As it stands now, he does not stand out to me as a high major caliber recruit, but he is so young looking and physically undeveloped, that he could have a lot of room for growth.

Sophomore Season (shooting stats appear to be complete) - 33.7% from the field/32.5% from 3/71.4% from the line

Junior Season (shooting stats does not include his big game last night) - 34.5% from the field/27.9% from 3/76.5% from the line

[DOC]

A year at a prep school to fill out his body might be an option they look at with him

[wgstl]

11 minutes ago, DOC said:

A year at a prep school to fill out his body might be an option they look at with him

Hes still a junior, he has 1.5 years to get a little stronger

[TheChosenOne]

4 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

sometimes stats dont tell the whole story.   i remember spoon telling me that larry senior was going to be a better player at every level because he wouldnt garner as much focus as he did at previous levels.   

you watch junior shoot, that is a pure shot.   he is a shooter.   i dont care what the stats are saying.   and as 3 star says, maybe it is just a matter of shot selection, but that might be because he feels the need to be the man and like 3 star says, take tougher shots.   i see big things for this kid.  i dont care what the stats say

Have you watched CBC the past few seasons? I will ask some of the coaches at Chaminade, but I don't think he is the guy opponents would be game planning for defensively beyond the typical assignment of guarding a shooter. The younger Hughes from what I have seen isn't attacking off of the dribble much and is more of a true shooter. And with other offensive threats on the court who are more dynamic with the ball in their hands like Martin and Karate that penetration is likely what you are more keyed in on containing. I understand that quote for a dude like Larry who I recall dribbling thru 5 guys to get to the rim and teams would certainly be preparing for, but probably wouldn't apply it to his son who is more in the mold of a true shooter who teams are just guarding with one man. His game looks smooth, so I think he can become a more dynamic scorer, I am just waiting to see that. And when I see how young he looks, we certainly aren't looking at the finished product which is what does keep me intrigued by him.

[TheChosenOne]

15 minutes ago, DOC said:

A year at a prep school to fill out his body might be an option they look at with him

I was thinking that same thing if he is in a similar place physically a year from now. He is so young looking that maybe we see a completely different player physically next fall.

[RUBillsFan]

19 minutes ago, TheChosenOne said:

Sophomore Season (shooting stats appear to be complete) - 33.7% from the field/32.5% from 3/71.4% from the line

Junior Season (shooting stats does not include his big game last night) - 34.5% from the field/27.9% from 3/76.5% from the line

I know NBA stat types often look at FT% as an indicator of pure shooting ability because it removes things like defense & shot selection from the equation.  Therefore, it seems the stats actually provide evidence that Roy is correct about Larry Jr. being a good shooter and 3 star is correct that his shot selection needs work.

Obviously what you want to see is Larry Jr. being a good in game shooter as well.  Hopefully that happens as he learns better shot selection or as Roy said doesn't have to be the guy taking tough shots.

[cgeldmacher]

1 hour ago, TheChosenOne said:

Have you watched CBC the past few seasons? I will ask some of the coaches at Chaminade, but I don't think he is the guy opponents would be game planning for defensively beyond the typical assignment of guarding a shooter. The younger Hughes from what I have seen isn't attacking off of the dribble much and is more of a true shooter. And with other offensive threats on the court who are more dynamic with the ball in their hands like Martin and Karate that penetration is likely what you are more keyed in on containing. I understand that quote for a dude like Larry who I recall dribbling thru 5 guys to get to the rim and teams would certainly be preparing for, but probably wouldn't apply it to his son who is more in the mold of a true shooter who teams are just guarding with one man. His game looks smooth, so I think he can become a more dynamic scorer, I am just waiting to see that. And when I see how young he looks, we certainly aren't looking at the finished product which is what does keep me intrigued by him.

He doesn't have to be his father to be a contributor here.  If he can step into Jimerson's spot as our outside threat, that would be fine by me.  I'm not saying that he has Gibson's shooting ability.  That remains to be seen.  I'm just saying that a consistent outside shooting threat is nothing to turn our noses up to.

[Pistol]

 

[TheChosenOne]

51 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said:

He doesn't have to be his father to be a contributor here.  If he can step into Jimerson's spot as our outside threat, that would be fine by me.  I'm not saying that he has Gibson's shooting ability.  That remains to be seen.  I'm just saying that a consistent outside shooting threat is nothing to turn our noses up to.

I never said anything about needing be his father or not liking a guy like Jimerson or true shooters in general, so I don't know where you took that from. My commentary was confined to Larry Jr. and having questions about his athleticism to be a high major wing at the next level and to date he does not strike me as a true knock down shooter from 3 like a Jimerson. Again, all of that can change, I just currently am on the fence on the kid like I am with almost that entire local class beyond Reed. I doubt anyone who watched their game with Chaminade a week ago would be confident in his ability to produce at this level, so I acknowledge I am coming at this from a really rough one for him (4-18 from the field, 0-7 from 3, 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 2 steals and many of his misses were either air balls or nowhere close to being makes), but beyond the missed shots you just expect more impact on the game from a high major caliber wing recruit. I went back to their previous game against Chaminade that I would have been watching closely and see he had 2 points on 1-3 shooting, 0-1 from 3, 3 rebounds, and 1 block, so I include that in full disclosure so you understand why I have doubts, but also why I qualify all of my commentary on him since I am potentially seeing some of his worst games. But if you dig into his stats, you probably aren't coming away thinking he is a Jimerson caliber shooter, so it will be interesting to see whether he can improve on those #s the final month+ of his junior season with a lot of conference games and some other tough local competition (U-City, Vashon, and MICDS) on their remaining schedule.

[Pistol]

Here's his bio:

Kellen Thames - G, 6-5, 175 - Maryland Heights, MO (Pattonville) - AAU: Brad Beal Elite (Nike EYBL)
Offers: Saint Louis, Georgetown.

Interest: Missouri, Morehead State.

Latest News: Thames received an offer from SLU. (1/21/21)

Scouting Report: Thames is a growing combo guard who thrives in transition. He has a quick first step, gets to the rim through traffic, and finishes. He can also shoot the three but needs to become more consistent with it. He has nice handles and passing ability. He plays with a high motor and is aggressive at both ends. He was Pattonville's leading scorer as a sophomore and is leading them again as a junior. He is the son of former Mizzou player Kelly Thames.

It's hard to gauge interested schools when he doesn't have much of a social media presence and he doesn't play for a program that's constantly talking about who's recruiting their players. Suffice it to say that his interest list is much longer in reality. I'm just not able to confirm others at the moment.

[cgeldmacher]

2 minutes ago, TheChosenOne said:

I never said anything about needing be his father or not liking a guy like Jimerson or true shooters in general, so I don't know where you took that from. My commentary was confined to Larry Jr. and having questions about his athleticism to be a high major wing at the next level and to date he does not strike me as a true knock down shooter from 3. Again, all of that can change, I just currently am on the fence on the kid like I am with almost that entire local class beyond Reed. I doubt anyone who watched their game with Chaminade a week ago would be confident in his ability to produce at this level, so I acknowledge I am coming at this from a really rough one for him (4-18 from the field, 0-7 from 3, 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 2 steals and many of his misses were either air balls or nowhere close to being makes), but beyond the missed shots you just expect more impact on the game from a high major caliber wing recruit. I went back to their previous game against Chaminade that I would have been watching closely and see he had 2 points on 1-3 shooting, 0-1 from 3, 3 rebounds, and 1 block, so I include that in full disclosure so you understand why I have doubts, but also why I qualify all of my commentary on him.

I don't disagree with what you are saying.  I'm just saying that if he can shoot at a level near what Gibson can, I'd strongly consider taking him.  I have to assume that he can defend at a better or same level as Gibson could when he first arrived.  If his shooting doesn't pan out to what was previously discussed, then we'd have to think twice.