Billikan Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 Nate, a regular contributor to our board, wrote two nice articles in the Post today about Polk and Tommie L. It was nice to see two of the top players int eh area identified as Billiken recruits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 ken roberts should get credit for the liddell article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Latsch Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 Thanks. Roy is right. The Liddell story was by Ken Roberts. This should be a great high school basketball season. Last year was kind of down, but there are several really good teams in the area this year and a couple that could win state championships. - Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLURadioBoy Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 Nate, The Polk article was very good, but I LOVED your top 10 players list and what you had to say about the players. Of course, I also loved the fact that you mentioned who was going to SLU. Let's hope Lisch follows his fellow "Top 10ers" and picks us. 4 out of the Top 10 players, ain't bad! "Praises we sing, to you our alma mater, Praise to the white and blue. Our hymn shall ring, in tribute strong to you, We hail Saint Louis U." Official Billikens.com sponsor of Andrew Latimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 hey nate, i didnt see the "top 10" article at stltoday.com. anyway you can put that there for all of us to read? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Latsch Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 Top 10 Players Terry Evans – Cardinal Ritter, 6-5, senior, forward - Evans has struggled with injuries over the last year, but when he’s healthy there are few players who can match his athleticism. Versatile player who can score inside and outside. Averaged 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds for 31-0 Lions, which captured the Class 3 championship. Kalen Grimes – Hazelwood Central, 6-9, senior, forward - A dominating force around the basket, Grimes hopes to follow in the footsteps of center Arthur Johnson at the University of Missouri. Grimes averaged 13.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 blocks a game last season and has an improved cast around him. Aaron Jackson – Hazelwood Central, 6-3, senior, forward - Forms an outstanding 1-2 punch with Grimes. Jackson is a high riser with a great mid-range jump shot and the ability to score points in bunches. Averaged 16.5 points per game last season, including 32 against McCluer in the district championship game. Tommie Liddell – East St. Louis, 6-5, senior, forward - A St. Louis University signee, Liddell is versatile enough to play all five positions on the floor. Led the Flyers in scoring (17.2), rebounding (7.9), steals (2.7) and blocks (2.1) and was second in assists (2.8). An improved supporting cast this winter will make Liddell even more dangerous. Kevin Lisch – Althoff, 6-2, junior, point guard - Became just the fifth sophomore to earn All-Metro first-team honors after averaging 21.7 points a game and leading Althoff to a 25-5 record last season. A smooth lefthander, Lisch is a great shooter (41 3-pointers) and defender and makes the players around him better. Luke Meyer – Borgia, 6-5, senior, guard - Like Liddell, Meyer is versatile enough to play all five spots on the floor. Signed with St. Louis University. Meyer is a scorer (18.2 per game last year) and a shooter. He made 46.7 percent of his 3-point attempts and 86.3 percent of his free throws. Paul Paradoski – Vianney, 5-10, senior, point guard - One of the most exciting players in the area, Paradoski has And 1 Mix Tape ballhandling skills. Paradoski can score (17.8 per) and dish (4.8 assists per game) and does whatever it takes to win. Signed with Division I Southeast Missouri. Dwayne Polk – Vashon, 5-7, senior, point guard - A member of two state championship teams, Polk could lead Vashon to another title this spring. A great shooter and leader, Polk signed with St. Louis University and is still coming back from a broken kneecap that limited him last season. Xavier Price – Belleville West, 6-4, senior, guard - An incredible leaper, Price transferred from O’Fallon this summer and recently signed with Purdue. Price can score (18.9), shoot (42 3-pointers) and play defense with the best of the best. Makes a good Belleville West team even better. David Ward – DeSmet, 6-6, senior, forward - Just the third Spartan to play varsity for four years, Ward is just a steady performer who gets the job done every night. Ward averaged 12.3 points and 9.5 rebounds a game last season and had 29 and 12 in a win at Riverview Monday. - Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLURadioBoy Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 Once again, great job Nate! I loved how you mentioned that all of our signees are great scorers. Keep up the great work and Happy Thanksgiving! "Praises we sing, to you our alma mater, Praise to the white and blue. Our hymn shall ring, in tribute strong to you, We hail Saint Louis U." Official Billikens.com sponsor of Andrew Latimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 nate pretty good list and analysis. i would have only added in grimes synopsis the words "can be" right before dominating and in price's "will occassionally" before your comment about defense. the problem with both grimes and price imo is they play and coast at their leisure. price had a dunk the other night that was as good as anything i have seen on espn this year. he is a fantastic athlete no doubt about it. but even his coach, billy schmidt, said in the paper that x doesnt play defense yet like the rest of the team. right now, jones, sargent and mcpeak are more vital to the maroons than price. they shouldnt be, but they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLURadioBoy Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 Nate, Do you (or anyone else) know what other 4 players were first team All Metro as sophomores before Lisch? I was just wondering who else received that honor at such a young age? I'm sure the names will be pretty impressive. "Praises we sing, to you our alma mater, Praise to the white and blue. Our hymn shall ring, in tribute strong to you, We hail Saint Louis U." Official Billikens.com sponsor of Andrew Latimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 just guessing darius miles would be on that list. i am thinking kevin stallings was extremely highly regarding as a sophomore. loren woods probably, and i am clueless on a 4th choice, maybe hughes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLURadioBoy Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 Good guesses Roy. I could definitely see all those guys being First Team All Metro as sophs. If those, in fact, were the guys, I think it's pretty safe to say Lisch could end up being quite the special player. I'm sure you've thought that all along though, since I know you're a big fan of his. If you ever get the chance, be sure to tell Lisch how much we'd love to see him in "SLU Blue!" "Praises we sing, to you our alma mater, Praise to the white and blue. Our hymn shall ring, in tribute strong to you, We hail Saint Louis U." Official Billikens.com sponsor of Andrew Latimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 as much as i would love to, i never talk to kevin about slu or any college. i do not want to even take a chance of screwing anything up. it is brad's sale and i have no business being in the middle of it on the few occasions i have talked to kevin, or anyone in his family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 Have you ever asked SLU's Athletic Department about it? I know they have something online posted about Boosters, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 i am not talking about ncaa rules, which god only knows what problems that could be. i am just talking about brad's plans. how am i or anyone else to know exactly what brad has plans for any recruits etc. we have no business getting in the middle of that no matter what our intentions or innocence might be. let that up to the slu coaches. that is my point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLURadioBoy Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 I don't blame you for not wanting to get in the middle of that or perhaps jeopardizing it, Roy. I was just kidding anyway. I remember reading earlier that you were going to stay out of it. Hopefully Kevin reads the board and sees how much we want him to be a part of our program. The idea of Liddell, Polk, and Lisch being in the same starting 5 really excites me! Maybe Polk can call Kevin and tell him to come to SLU just like he did with Meyer? "Praises we sing, to you our alma mater, Praise to the white and blue. Our hymn shall ring, in tribute strong to you, We hail Saint Louis U." Official Billikens.com sponsor of Andrew Latimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 you have a great point there. there have been so many great recruiting stories of players influencing other players to come to a certain school. i know kevin visits slu to play pickup with the billikens in the summer. my guess is that brad has the billikens scouting and hawking for him all the time. kevin has played against liddell a couple of times in summer leagues, tommie could do some hawking as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonka Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 Roy, just follow him to his car, and have $5K in a plain white business envelope and run up to him and say "hey, hold on, you dropped this back there - better be careful! Here you go!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLURadioBoy Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 Let's hope Lisch gets along with Liddell, Polk, and Meyer. I would think that the more local players we have on our team, the better our chances are of getting young Mr. Lisch. Plus the fact that Brad has been recruiting him the hardest and the longest. Do you know of any other schools he goes to to play pickup games in the summer? I just can't believe he doesn't get more recognition since he averaged 21 pts a game and was only a soph! I've never even seen his name on any recruiting websites, but you definitely can't go by those on how good a player is. "Praises we sing, to you our alma mater, Praise to the white and blue. Our hymn shall ring, in tribute strong to you, We hail Saint Louis U." Official Billikens.com sponsor of Andrew Latimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 You sound like you've done this before -- like you're an old pro. Are you sure you're a Billikens fan? Either your ploy hasn't been working to help SLU get the $5k-handshake players, or you've been very poor in selecting the players you go after! :+ (Just kidding, of course.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonka Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 Thicks, I'm just a "friend of the program". They chased me away for a few years, but I am back. How do you think we landed Bonner and Hughes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 Nate, be sure to check out Nathan Whittaker, a junior guard for Sullivan and Dustin Maguire, a sophomore swingman for Civic Memorial. Those kids are both the real deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 i saw mcguire this summer. right now i am not sure if he has swingman d-1 ability. he typically plays inside from my understanding and is just starting to "expand". the fact i think he is only a sophomore definitely gives him time to make the adjustment to the outside. if he is going to be an inside player, his "tweener" size may prohibit that. but his remaining years in high school could resolve a lot. he is definitely one to keep an eye on. a swingman that is worth watching develop is chris kellerman at o'fallon. he is a junior that has gotten bigger (probably 6'7" and strong) and still has a great outside shot and can run the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 I'd take Maguire over Aaron Jackson right now. I'd also take Matt Akins over David Ward as far as post players are concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 i think aaron jackson is one of the most fundamentally unsound basketball players with the talent level he has, that i have ever seen. the games this summer i saw him play with the eagles i was just shuddering at his defensive efforts and his horrible offensive decisions. that said, he is a high flyer that has skills that few in st louis area can match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 Besides jumping real high and shooting 12 footers, I'm not sure what skills you're referring to. After 3 years, he's still very raw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.