davidnark Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 I expected someone to provide a full report, but since no one has, I will provide a summary of some of Coach Thorpe's comments (I will leave it to someone else to summarize Earl Austin's comments). -We will sign a local prep player (i.e., Liddell) and a local guard (i.e., Lisch) tomorrow. Everyone, including the two players, is estatic about the signings. -We will probably sign a juco big man and a high school/prep player big man with the other two scholarships, although it may not be until the spring. -Husak didn't play the other day because he wasn't in a position to match up defensively with the 6'2" players UMSL played up front. -Ian has worked his tail off and has a real shot at starting at center. He is a better overall offensive player than Tom, but doesn't bring the aggressiveness and rebounding skill that Tom brings. Both players will play a lot this season. -Expect Izik and Newborne to play the four and five at the same time during the early part of the schedule when we match up with the smaller teams. -Clarke practiced today for the first time in a week and looked real good. -Polk, Polk, Polk - They absolutely love this guy. They are not worried about his defensive matchups. They believe that he had his worst practice/scrimmage of the year in the game against UMSL. He will play 30-35 minutes ppg. They expect him to single handedly create 10+ more easy buckets a game. In short, the staff loves him. -Drejaj and Clarke will probably backup Polk at point by committee. -They expect Brown to be a Mo Jeffers like player in the future. -They expect Meyer to contribute this year. -Soderberg is going to play all kind of combinations this year. Dont' be surprised if there is a game with 4 or 5 guards in at the same time or another game with Ian, Frericks, Izik, Newborne, and Polk in at the same time. It sounds like the only guaranty will be Polk's 30+ minutes ppg. -They are still high on Reggie and expect big things. -Outside of Polk, the player they sound highest on is Newborne. They love him, although they gave him a real, real hard time about his one rebound against UMSL. -Without getting into details, Coach Thorpe indicated that Brad absolutely tortured the guys in practice last Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 Thanks for the recap David. I was surprised Bryce didn't get in the UMSL game at all. It is an exhibition game and there are two sides to the floor. Yes, he would have had trouble guarding an undersized UMSL "big" but how is a vertically challenged riverman going to cover a 7 footer on the other end? I guess Brad didn't want to play zone just so Bryce could get in the game. Too bad, after riding the pine for an entire year he should have been treated to a few minutes. Also, with Tom's injury history, we really should prepare for the possibility that Bryce ends up as the #2 center for a span during this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volfan Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 I realize the women are not a high priority, however was there any report concerning the women? Did Jill show up? What are the predictions for their success this season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 Anybody find out about Shootout tickets ... can we get them through the Billiken Club? If so who do we contact. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 Skip, I got our usual allotment of Shootout tickets from Keith Pickett last night. 23 of the 50 were sold immediately. What is your business phone number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 They're expecting at least 10 MORE easy baskets because of Polk? That's 20 or more points (sometimes easy buckets are wide-open three pointers). Please excuse me for drooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 I don't think there's a bigger Polk fan on the board than me but if Coach Thorpe really said 10 more easy baskets a game, he's getting a little ahead of himself. Polk is our point guard, not Isiah Thomas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 ...10 more points on easy baskets because of Polk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 I look on her roster, why does she have 8 guards and only 4 forwards. Why did she recruit all those guards they need size. Most of the guards are sophomores and freshman. In the paper today they said they will be signing a 6'4 girl which is good but they are signing another guard. I think she has enough guards already. Her assistants seem very enthused when they talk, this goes back to last year. I Levivck(sp) needs to make a change if she does not do something this year, there should be no reason why she cant win a make tournament appearance a la womens soccer, they havent made the tourney yet, but womens soccer only has been around for 7 yrs if I am correct and they are winning SO there is no reason why Jill should not be able to win becasue it really seems like she has good staff and players. I have sent my daughter to her camps the last couple of years and Jill is never there just her assistants. I cant think of their names One was named Tony I think and the other Mike. They both seemed very nice very helpful When Iask why Jill wasnt there they couldnt really say why she wasnt there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Majerus Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 314-721-8564 or email [email protected] - will you be attending any practices this week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 louP, i also have sent my daughter to jill's camp the last 3 years. in previous years, you are correct, she only made the one day visit to talk to the girls. but this past year, she was there every day. or at least she was there the last hour or so when i would sneak away from work to check it out. i do though agree with your roster assessment. it was very obvious the other nite vs umsl that the inside game will just kill the jillikens this year. what size they have is not very good, and he girls that she ended up sending out there to play the middle with some gusto and talent were just too little. i will say that the freshman guards she has brought in were very talented though. johnson and artis in particular were impressive imo. i liked the javois girl last year already, but she is so skinny. i actually was disappointed with rachel diener. but she has been off for basically two years, so i give her a pass to get back into it. i wasnt particularly impressed with the leake girl. too many turnovers and seemed like she was afraid to take charge. ended up with johnson and artis usually stepping up. it is a shame that the king girl isnt 5 inches taller. she isnt afraid to go inside and appears to have heart. ava smith was wild and committed some dumb fouls and turnovers. and man she is small. they need inside help badly. the girl from belleville east will help a lot. i have seen her before and she is a solid player. they need to start recruiting the other local girls that play inside. alexandria blake at john burroughs is a very talented inside player and has been starting varsity since a freshman. she recently gave up volleyball to concentrate on basketball. her dad is a slu grad and her sister attends slu now. plus, she is a childhood bud of teresa lisch. recruit the package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 664-2600 ... I need 3 ... I can send you a check or money order if you prefer. Thanks Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted November 11, 2004 Author Share Posted November 11, 2004 I may have misspoken. I think coach Thorpe meant ten more points off of buckets created by Polk. Regardless, it is big praise for a freshmen. According to Thorpe, the other interesting thing is that the staff will give Polk very broad discretion to call his own offensive plays from the point. Coahc Thorpe pointed out that neither Perry nor Fisher were given that kind of discretion because neither was a "natural" point guard like Polk. For better or for worse, the reins are in Polk's hands this year. At least they are in the hands of an all-state, super athletic, national Merit Scholarship member. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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