Welcome Sincere Parker!

[Pistol]

4 hours ago, drkelsey55 said:

Verbal Commits list him as a 2021 recruit.

VC hasn't shifted the classes over yet. A lot of JUCO players can go after either their freshman or sophomore years; Parker opted to return. VC will update soon.

[brianstl]

23 hours ago, ARon said:

 

Welcome Sincere.

 

Also, I see the Ford Stuen patch on the jersey.

[HoosierPal]

On 9/20/2021 at 1:46 PM, Pistol said:

Perkins and Jones are done after this season, as fifth year seniors. Kramer and Thames can't replace 10 combined years of experience immediately. Parker gives some immediate scoring punch at the 2 with a couple years of JUCO experience under his belt.

I'm not 100% sure whether Williams can play another year or not. I wasn't sure if COVID waivers were going to 2x transfers but I could be wrong. He's listed as a junior.

As we all know, Williams has played 3 years at the D1 level. This season will be his fourth.  If he, along with all other 2x's, gets a COVID year I assume it would not count on the roster limit.  Parker would put us at 13 for the 2022-23 season, with potential outgoing transfers messing that up.  Williams would/could then be #14, without counting on the limit. 

The wrinkle might be if for some reason Williams is the only 2X not granted a waiver by the NCAA, and he has to sit this season.  That would screw up my count.

[dennis_w]

1 hour ago, HoosierPal said:

As we all know, Williams has played 3 years at the D1 level. This season will be his fourth.  If he, along with all other 2x's, gets a COVID year I assume it would not count on the roster limit.  Parker would put us at 13 for the 2022-23 season, with potential outgoing transfers messing that up.  Williams would/could then be #14, without counting on the limit. 

The wrinkle might be if for some reason Williams is the only 2X not granted a waiver by the NCAA, and he has to sit this season.  That would screw up my count.

Transfers count on the roster limit,Perkins doesn’t because he was not a transfer

[HoosierPal]

44 minutes ago, dennis_w said:

Transfers count on the roster limit,Perkins doesn’t because he was not a transfer

We are talking about next season for Williams.   Perkins has the Covid Year exemption for this season.

[dennis_w]

2 hours ago, HoosierPal said:

We are talking about next season for Williams.   Perkins has the Covid Year exemption for this season.

Williams will not get a roster exemption for next year

[3star_recruit]

I know I've been giving off vibes that I'm not crazy about this commitment but it has nothing to do with Parker as a player.  I've been aware of him since his junior year at Rockford East and he's a legit scorer.  Not Perkins-level, but definitely a double digit scorer if he were to to get starter minutes.  At worse, he's instant offense off the bench.

The issue is we don't have any legitimate starter prospects at the 4 next year, yet we signed another guard.  Even if Linssen were to return, he's more of an undersized center.  He's not quick enough to guard 4 men consistently.  And Okoro only has slightly more range than French so playing him at the 4 is not the answer either.

Finding a starting 4 man has always been our toughest get.  Fortunately, we have almost an entire year to land that player now.  The guard cupboard is full.

[WVBilliken]

49 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

I know I've been giving off vibes that I'm not crazy about this commitment but it has nothing to do with Parker as a player.  I've been aware of him since his junior year at Rockford East and he's a legit scorer.  Not Perkins-level, but definitely a double digit scorer if he were to to get starter minutes.  At worse, he's instant offense off the bench.

The issue is we don't have any legitimate starter prospects at the 4 next year, yet we signed another guard.  Even if Linssen were to return, he's more of an undersized center.  He's not quick enough to guard 4 men consistently.  And Okoro only has slightly more range than French so playing him at the 4 is not the answer either.

Finding a starting 4 man has always been our toughest get.  Fortunately, we have almost an entire year to land that player now.  The guard cupboard is 

Lorentsson can fill that slot.  Next year after two years in the program, with with maturity and weight training, I can see him being a huge factor as a big with 3pt range.  The roster SLU published has him at 6'8" and 240 lbs. 

SLU could also go (like many of the great Villanova teams) with a big and several very athletic 6'-4" to 6'6" slashers/shooters.  Love that style of play.

 

[dennis_w]

How do we know lorentssen is not quick? 

[RUBillsFan]

23 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

SLU could also go (like many of the great Villanova teams) with a big and several very athletic 6'-4" to 6'6" slashers/shooters.  Love that style of play. 

I suspect this is the way we will operate and it's actually how we've played most of the time under Ford as well with Perkins and/or Goodwin as one of the 6'4" to 6'6" guys.

We'll still have plenty of the 6'3" (going down a bit to include more guys) to 6'6" guys to choose from after this coming season: Thatch, Hargrove, Nesbitt, Strickland, Jimerson, Kramer, Thames, Parker.  The challenge will be defending 2 bigs if our opponent plays that way.  I suspect that'll fall on Hargrove, Strickland, & Nesbitt as the bigger guys of that bunch with Thames perhaps filling that role down the road.  Alternatively, we could play some zone D.

[AnkielBreakers]

I think the ‘Okoro is not a 4’ argument is going to fail.

[almaman]

if we start Nesbitt, Perkins, Hargrove, Okoro, & jimerson, the average height is 3" higher than Donnie Dobbs.

[CBFan]

1 hour ago, 3star_recruit said:

I know I've been giving off vibes that I'm not crazy about this commitment but it has nothing to do with Parker as a player.  I've been aware of him since his junior year at Rockford East and he's a legit scorer.  Not Perkins-level, but definitely a double digit scorer if he were to to get starter minutes.  At worse, he's instant offense off the bench.

The issue is we don't have any legitimate starter prospects at the 4 next year, yet we signed another guard.  Even if Linssen were to return, he's more of an undersized center.  He's not quick enough to guard 4 men consistently.  And Okoro only has slightly more range than French so playing him at the 4 is not the answer either.

Finding a starting 4 man has always been our toughest get.  Fortunately, we have almost an entire year to land that player now.  The guard cupboard is full.

I agree they need a 4.
Looking at the recruiting thread Pharrell Payne looks like an offer that fits that 4 position.

They have been looking at the Chicago big that reclassified for almost 2 years but at 185 seems to be a little thin.

Is there any 4 out there you like that would consider SLU?

[Reinert310]

2 hours ago, 3star_recruit said:

I know I've been giving off vibes that I'm not crazy about this commitment but it has nothing to do with Parker as a player.  I've been aware of him since his junior year at Rockford East and he's a legit scorer.  Not Perkins-level, but definitely a double digit scorer if he were to to get starter minutes.  At worse, he's instant offense off the bench.

The issue is we don't have any legitimate starter prospects at the 4 next year, yet we signed another guard.  Even if Linssen were to return, he's more of an undersized center.  He's not quick enough to guard 4 men consistently.  And Okoro only has slightly more range than French so playing him at the 4 is not the answer either.

Finding a starting 4 man has always been our toughest get.  Fortunately, we have almost an entire year to land that player now.  The guard cupboard is full.

I think the odds of nobody transferring after this season is very unlikely. I don’t know how it will all shake out, but I am sure Ford & Co. have a plan. Maybe Traore is the 4 next year. He looks to have a legitimate jumper. Who knows? But something tells me that slot will eventually get filled.

[3star_recruit]

15 minutes ago, Reinert310 said:

I think the odds of nobody transferring after this season is very unlikely. I don’t know how it will all shake out, but I am sure Ford & Co. have a plan. Maybe Traore is the 4 next year. He looks to have a legitimate jumper. Who knows? But something tells me that slot will eventually get filled.

I'm sure it will.  I can't remember the last time we locked up three guards this early.  If ever there was a class where we have plenty of time to to pull in a starting 4 man, this is the year.  

[slu72]

With the log jam at wings (2&3) transfers are almost a certainty. See Jacobs for an example. 

[cgeldmacher]

I also think that some guys may not use all of the eligibility they have available.  Not everyone wants to stay in college for 5 or 6 years.

[shempie]

On 9/22/2021 at 11:30 AM, WVBilliken said:

Lorentsson can fill that slot.  Next year after two years in the program, with with maturity and weight training, I can see him being a huge factor as a big with 3pt range.  The roster SLU published has him at 6'8" and 240 lbs. 

SLU could also go (like many of the great Villanova teams) with a big and several very athletic 6'-4" to 6'6" slashers/shooters.  Love that style of play.

 

That's Linssen. The Swede is listed at 215 lbs. 

[thetorch]

 

[Reinert310]

58 minutes ago, thetorch said:

 

That’s 1 thing I’ve noticed about #TeamBlue, following the guys on social media. It feels like a family. Everybody posts good stuff about everybody else. They all seem to really like each other. Jimmy Bell left and he’s still posting about the guys all the time. I don’t think Ford gets enough credit for the culture he’s built here.

[billikenfan05]

13 minutes ago, Reinert310 said:

That’s 1 thing I’ve noticed about #TeamBlue, following the guys on social media. It feels like a family. Everybody posts good stuff about everybody else. They all seem to really like each other. Jimmy Bell left and he’s still posting about the guys all the time. I don’t think Ford gets enough credit for the culture he’s built here.

Wish Travis would ditch Team Blue, yes I’m sure it’s not a popular opinion. It’s so bland and it’s being used in place of Billikens the most unique mascot in sports.

[Reinert310]

12 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Wish Travis would ditch Team Blue, yes I’m sure it’s not a popular opinion. It’s so bland and it’s being used in place of Billikens the most unique mascot in sports.

I’ve always been partial to #RiseOfTheBillikens. I don’t know why I like it so much. It’s not particularly fun or clever. Maybe it’s because I used it sarcastically so often in the crews era that it became a guilty pleasure.

[DeSmetBilliken]

41 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Wish Travis would ditch Team Blue, yes I’m sure it’s not a popular opinion. It’s so bland and it’s being used in place of Billikens the most unique mascot in sports.

If the team is buying into it and it’s not something offensive, I don’t care what they use. We’ve had a variety of phrases used over the years, most of which didn’t really land, so whatever works, I’m good with it.

[billikenfan05]

35 minutes ago, DeSmetBilliken said:

If the team is buying into it and it’s not something offensive, I don’t care what they use. We’ve had a variety of phrases used over the years, most of which didn’t really land, so whatever works, I’m good with it.

I feel like I should clarify, I really don’t mind it as an internal thing but replacing the word Billikens in social media posts marketing the team kind of offends me. Im a Billiken fan, I’ve been a Billiken fan for 32 years. I’ll be a Billiken fan long after Travis is no longer the coach. I don’t yell go Team Blue at games, and nobody should. It’s being framed as a nickname, not a rally cry. That’s where I take issue. 

[billikenfan05]

1 hour ago, Reinert310 said:

I’ve always been partial to #RiseOfTheBillikens. I don’t know why I like it so much. It’s not particularly fun or clever. Maybe it’s because I used it sarcastically so often in the crews era that it became a guilty pleasure.

I liked it too, read my post above for more clarity on my position. It’s that it’s being used as an alternate nickname.