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Fred Thatch, Jr


HoosierPal

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8 minutes ago, Old guy said:

It is the 12th of February and Thatch has not been seen in the court playing yet. This could be due to a number of different developments during practice:

1. Thatch's endurance in practice has been improving steadily with changes in treatment, etc. This means that there is the  hope in the team that he will be able to play significant minutes next season. How many minutes, I cannot guess. How much of his prior ability he will be able to use, I also cannot guess.

2. Thatch endurance in practice is not progressing beyond a certain level which  I cannot guess either. This means that next season he may be at best called from the bench when the circumstances of the game require it. He might be used as relief for other players or to plug a significant defense gap for a certain (not long) amount of time.

3. Thatch has not progressed in practice beyond a certain (limited) number of minutes despite changes of supplements and support therapy. This means the coach will have to have a serious talk with him about his future.

I have seen Thatch at the end of the line giving high fives to the starters in games. He moves freely and smiles, he seems happy. I assume he would not be this happy if he was not showing progress during practice (this is my assumption, not a fact). Therefore I think it is probable that we will see Thatch playing significant minutes next season. This is an educated guess based upon medical experience and disability experience, it cannot be considered a fact.

 

That's pretty much all of the possible outcomes........

Are you getting graded by the word count somehow?

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can someone explain to me why its been said that theres a chance Thatch cant play at the D1 level and may have to drop down.  Does this hint at no team would use a scholarship on a player who cant play a lot?  Not sure why one could play d2 but not d1 due to health. 

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8 minutes ago, wgstl said:

can someone explain to me why its been said that theres a chance Thatch cant play at the D1 level and may have to drop down.  Does this hint at no team would use a scholarship on a player who cant play a lot?  Not sure why one could play d2 but not d1 due to health. 

Maybe they mean that he could transfer if he wanted to to a D2 school and not sit the year?

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Speculation at this point is really a moot exercise. Let's just wait and see what the Med Staff comes up with. I'm sure he's hoping to play again, as we all are, but right now the most important thing is getting him healthy so he can live a long life regardless of whether he's BB ready or not. He'll be missed if he doesn't play another minute for us, but everything now should be getting him ready for living a full life.

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I think they will figure out get a medical redshirt for Fred and look out A10 the defender is back.

For those that do not see the pre game shoot around Fred is totally involved with his teammates.  Fred smiles a lot and is very upbeat you can see he really likes his teammates.

A good attitude should go a long way to help out his recovery and he has a look like he wants to be back on the court.

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1 hour ago, cheeseman said:

Maybe they mean that he could transfer if he wanted to to a D2 school and not sit the year?

I dont know, maybe.  But the way its been worded or sounding, its that he'll have to quit D1 and play D2 or beyond. If thats the case, i dont understand why that matters. 

My guess is, thatch realizes a coach at the D1 level wont use a scholarship on someone who can only play a few minutes a game. 

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I wonder if SLU will attempt for 3 redshirts this year.

Jimerson, thatch, and maybe Hankton. 

I wonder if having that many actually hurts the chances of lets say Jimerson or Thatch who have really good reasons. 

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1 minute ago, wgstl said:

I wonder if SLU will attempt for 3 redshirts this year.

Jimerson, thatch, and maybe Hankton. 

I wonder if having that many actually hurts the chances of lets say Jimerson or Thatch who have really good reasons. 

I'd be shocked if the team goes for a redshirt for Hankton.  

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16 minutes ago, SShoe said:

I'd be shocked if the team goes for a redshirt for Hankton.  

I’m thinking it will be a moot point.

 

It is easy to see that Fred’s career is at risk.  The writing would appear to be on the wall for KC.  What Hightower has accomplished is really commendable.  If all three are back next year I will be happy and happy for them.

But, as pessimistic as it may sound, I suspect that the coaching staff is recruiting as though they have up to three spots still available for next year.

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7 minutes ago, ARon said:

I’m thinking it will be a moot point.

 

It is easy to see that Fred’s career is at risk.  The writing would appear to be on the wall for KC.  What Hightower has accomplished is really commendable.  If all three are back next year I will be happy and happy for them.

But, as pessimistic as it may sound, I suspect that the coaching staff is recruiting as though they have up to three spots still available for next year.

Raboin (a senior) is the former walk-on who is on scholarship, not Hightower.

We have will have 2 scholarships open after this season (Weaver's and Raboin's) and one of those will go to Strickland.  I am in agreement that we will likely see 1 or more others open up, but that has nothing to do with Hightower (unless we strike out everywhere else or something unexpected happens and we give him the last scholarship for next year).

Given that Hightower started out as a manager at the beginning of last season, I kind of doubt he's going anywhere.  Could be wrong though if he decides he wants to get more playing time elsewhere.

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22 minutes ago, ARon said:

I’m thinking it will be a moot point.

 

It is easy to see that Fred’s career is at risk.  The writing would appear to be on the wall for KC.  What Hightower has accomplished is really commendable.  If all three are back next year I will be happy and happy for them.

But, as pessimistic as it may sound, I suspect that the coaching staff is recruiting as though they have up to three spots still available for next year.

If so, they're doing a great job of covering it up.  All the recent 2020 offers have been to bigs.

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3 hours ago, wgstl said:

can someone explain to me why its been said that theres a chance Thatch cant play at the D1 level and may have to drop down.  Does this hint at no team would use a scholarship on a player who cant play a lot?  Not sure why one could play d2 but not d1 due to health. 

To WGSTL and others with the same idea that a transfer to D2  might  be a valid option. To put it down clearly, it is not a matter of playing D1 or D2, it is a matter of the exertion level placed upon Thatch's muscles during play. This is the key factor. I think there is not likely to be a very different degree of exertion required to play either D1 or D2, and a higher level required to play NBA. Is this  clear now? Any team that takes him, and Fred himself, have to be aware of the possibility to making his disease worse by continuing to place a level of exertion he cannot tolerate upon his legs. SLU is doing all they can to see how much he can play without problems. This does not, in any way  indicate that he will recover his prior level of play. He should be aware of this and the team should be aware of this.

If he cannot do much more than a low level of minutes per game, and not at his prior level  of excellence, the team and Fred will have to jointly decide what would be best for him. This is not a disease that will kill him, just like Welmer's ankle issue was not going to kill him. In Welmer's case he would have wound up with a permanent ankle fusion and a permanent limp (and possibly a cane) if he  persisted in trying to play. In Thatch's case he may well wind up in a wheelchair, something that will not diminish his life expectancy either. This is in D1 or in D2, and most certainly in the NBA. What SLU is doing with him is is only chance he has to get back to the court which he loves. He may not be able to  play fully and may not be able to play for long, but he may be able to play. Give him time, these are very difficult decisions he and Ford have to make.

From the point of view of the team, I think they have to assume they may need to fill 3 openings for next season instead of 1. I think they need to recruit with a goal of having 3 acceptable recruits for next season, at least until the situation with Thatch is decided. We will have an opening after Weaver's graduation, and I cannot see us maintaining Hankton in the active roster another season. Fred is a different case, we are actively trying to keep him in an active position in the team. Time will tell, it is too early to say now.

However, judging by the way Fred smiles during games, I think things may be working well with the practices and therapy. We will see what happens. Again is not a matter of D1 or D2, it is a matter of play or not play.

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3 minutes ago, Old guy said:

To WGSTL and others with the same idea that a transfer to D2  might  be a valid option. To put it down clearly, it is not a matter of playing D1 or D2, it is a matter of the exertion level placed upon Thatch's muscles during play. This is the key factor. I think there is not likely to be a very different degree of exertion required to play either D1 or D2, and a higher level required to play NBA. Is this  clear now? Any team that takes him, and Fred himself, have to be aware of the possibility to making his disease worse by continuing to place a level of exertion he cannot tolerate upon his legs. SLU is doing all they can to see how much he can play without problems. This does not, in any way  indicate that he will recover his prior level of play. He should be aware of this and the team should be aware of this.

If he cannot do much more than a low level of minutes per game, and not at his prior level  of excellence, the team and Fred will have to jointly decide what would be best for him. This is not a disease that will kill him, just like Welmer's ankle issue was not going to kill him. In Welmer's case he would have wound up with a permanent ankle fusion and a permanent limp (and possibly a cane) if he  persisted in trying to play. In Thatch's case he may well wind up in a wheelchair, something that will not diminish his life expectancy either. This is in D1 or in D2, and most certainly in the NBA. What SLU is doing with him is is only chance he has to get back to the court which he loves. He may not be able to  play fully and may not be able to play for long, but he may be able to play. Give him time, these are very difficult decisions he and Ford have to make.

From the point of view of the team, I think they have to assume they may need to fill 3 openings for next season instead of 1. I think they need to recruit with a goal of having 3 acceptable recruits for next season, at least until the situation with Thatch is decided. We will have an opening after Weaver's graduation, and I cannot see us maintaining Hankton in the active roster another season. Fred is a different case, we are actively trying to keep him in an active position in the team. Time will tell, it is too early to say now.

However, judging by the way Fred smiles during games, I think things may be working well with the practices and therapy. We will see what happens. Again is not a matter of D1 or D2, it is a matter of play or not play.

-Old Guy, I too smile during games, however not all of the time, can you analyze me? I'll get you the $0.05 for the session like Lucy Van Pelt charged

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1 minute ago, Old guy said:

This is normal Cowboy, particularly for someone with no career threatening medical disorders. You can donate the $0.05 next time you go to Church.

Until I read something that Fred will not play for SLU again then he will be playing next season.

I agree what you are saying about Fred’s attitude when he is working with the team on the shoot around he is fully engaged and smiling all of the time.  It might just his positive personality or it could be I am beating this problem and playing next season.

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1 hour ago, HoosierPal said:

Why?  If KC is eligible for a medical waiver, wouldn't it be the right thing to do file the paperwork?

Only if you think he'll have a significant role with this team going forward.

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22 minutes ago, SShoe said:

Only if you think he'll have a significant role with this team going forward.

I don't care what his role is.  I don't think kicking him into the curb is the right thing to do.  He didn't ask to get injured.  If we don't help Hankton get a waiver (again, if he is eligible - I believe he is game number's wise) then we are doing him a disservice.  IF he gets a waiver, then the question is does he stay here or leave.  I will leave that up to him, his family and the coaching staff.    

And what are the chances these days that ANY 5 year student-athlete stays at the same school for all five years. Sure there are some.  But my guess is that the number who don't stay for all available 5 years is trending up and the number staying five years is trending down.  Look at the number of GT's available last spring.  A large portion of this board says "pick up a GT big" this off season.  That GT big is currently on someone else's team.  He is almost a commodity that we are shopping for. 

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59 minutes ago, Cowboy said:

-Old Guy, I too smile during games, however not all of the time, can you analyze me? I'll get you the $0.05 for the session like Lucy Van Pelt charged

Or what about Elliot Welmer?

I’m sure he was smiling on the bench but his career was basically ended by injuries.

Were his smiles any different than Thatchs’s?

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17 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

I don't care what his role is.  I don't think kicking him into the curb is the right thing to do.  He didn't ask to get injured.  If we don't help Hankton get a waiver (again, if he is eligible - I believe he is game number's wise) then we are doing him a disservice.  IF he gets a waiver, then the question is does he stay here or leave.  I will leave that up to him, his family and the coaching staff.    

And what are the chances these days that ANY 5 year student-athlete stays at the same school for all five years. Sure there are some.  But my guess is that the number who don't stay for all available 5 years is trending up and the number staying five years is trending down.  Look at the number of GT's available last spring.  A large portion of this board says "pick up a GT big" this off season.  That GT big is currently on someone else's team.  He is almost a commodity that we are shopping for. 

If he can't play, the Femi John plan should hopefully be available to him.  That would suck but no one wants to "kick him to the curb."

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20 minutes ago, dlarry said:

Or what about Elliot Welmer?

I’m sure he was smiling on the bench but his career was basically ended by injuries.

Were his smiles any different than Thatchs’s?

To be sure dlarry, the reason Thatch or Welmer or anyone else smiles is known only to themselves.

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