Nate Latsch Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I don't know if this has been posted or not, but a source told me that Lance Stemler was officially offered a scholarship by St. Louis U. last Friday. Also, it sounds like Stemler was interested in the Billikens long before the Billikens were interested in him. May be a Matt Shaw-type of situation there. And ... several schools are also interested in Stemler, including Marquette. Coach Tom Crean is expected to visit SWIC soon to see Stemler for himself. This could get interesting. - Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Sounds like Crean is looking for his next Novak, who is having a hell of a year. C'mon UB land this one. Nate were you implying we may lose him like we did Shaw, because we just now showed up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knight_rider Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Heard it from Harrington himself that Crean will be in attendance at SWIC's game tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Stemler's academic abilities are unknown to this poster. But perhaps someone needs to show him the US News and World Report college rankings, in which SLU is rated ahead of Marquette. And it is not as cold in St. Louis in the Winter as it is in Milwaukee. As usual, SLU finds itself in the role of the matador, fending away invading bulls (and sharks) from the home turf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Even if it is a Matt Shaw-type situation, I can't imagine that Crean has been after Stemler for too long. BTW, a Missouri State fan on the STLToday forum says that he doesn't think they are interested in him anymore. I don't know how reliable his information is, but just wanted to throw it out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I would hope all of the good Karma coming from SLU would help Lance come the the realization that this would be a very good place to finish out his playing career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OC Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 He has indeed been offered and he is dating SWIC's coach's daughter, apparently it's pretty serious...that should help SLU land him if it wasn't already likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I am uncertain but I think you have to sign up for Chicago Tribune..so I am posting whoe article. Novak has been nothing short of terrific his senior season...41 and double digit boards vs Conn...and monster game vs Pitt Sat. I just read this in this week's Chicago Tribune. Marquette, Novak are taking dead aim Golden Eagles making strong case for NCAA tournament berth, writes Dan McGrath Dan McGrath February 20, 2006 MILWAUKEE -- Marquette fans might have sensed it was their night Saturday when MU student Andy O'Connell flipped in a shot from three-point range for a semester of free tuition during a timeout for a promotion in the Golden Eagles' Big East game with Pittsburgh. The kid's bucket had an estimated street value of $10,500, but the record crowd of 19,007 that packed the noisy Bradley Center was even more demonstrative after Steve Novak drilled a three-pointer over Pittsburgh 7-footer Aaron Gray with 2 minutes 48 seconds left. Novak's fifth three-point basket of the evening gave Marquette an 81-77 lead. Much would transpire in those remaining 168 seconds, including two missed free throws by the aforementioned Gray with Pitt trailing 81-80 and two makes by Novak that pretty much sealed it for the Golden Eagles with 11.9 seconds left. The result was an 84-82 victory over the ninth-ranked Panthers, Marquette's second in three days over a top-20 team following a six-point win over No. 17 Georgetown on Thursday. At 8-5, the Golden Eagles are guaranteed at least a .500 finish in their first year of Big East membership, and at 18-8 overall they present a strong case for their first NCAA tournament berth since 2003. That's remarkable progress for a team that lost four of its last five and staggered to a 19-12 finish last season. Marquette was a first-round NIT casualty and struggled to score when do-it-all guard Travis Diener missed eight games with a foot injury and a broken hand. "We were scuffling at the end, but I don't think it's indicative of the type of team we were," coach Tom Crean said. "We were good and getting better when Travis got hurt." Diener made the Orlando Magic as a second-round draft pick. But it's quite possible Marquette has upgraded at his position with Dominic James, an explosive freshman who plays point guard the way Barry Sanders played running back. Going head-to-head with four-year starter Carl Krauser, James hit Pitt with 16 points and six assists in 32 minutes, without a turnover. Fellow freshmen Jerel McNeal (of Hillcrest) and Wesley Matthews also have been impact players for the Golden Eagles, but Crean insists he's not surprised. "I never doubted the young guys' competitiveness," he said. "They know how to win. "Plus we've got three seniors who have been through a lot and they're playing with a great sense of urgency. We've got old pushing young and young pushing old. It's a good mix." Novak, in particular, is flourishing. The 6-foot-10-inch senior forward is a remarkable deep shooter, in range when he enters the building, and the Bradley Center buzzes with anticipation each time he loads up. Novak leads the Golden Eagles with 17.1 points per game, shooting 47.2 percent overall and 45.3 on three-pointers, but here's some real money numbers: 66-for-67 on free throws this season, 235-for-252 in his career, one miss in the last 14 months. "You can see why we want the ball in Steve's hands at the end of the game," Crean said. "He's a high-level, big-time shooter, and he's playing with a great deal of confidence. With the way he's improved his overall game, he's going to make somebody a really good pro." Novak was a dangerous weapon off the bench for Marquette's Final Four team as a freshman in 2003, a beneficiary of Dwyane Wade's creativity. Left more to his own devices the last two years, he sometimes struggled to find shots, but James' ability to draw defenders and his own improvement as a ballhandler have helped make him a more consistent scorer this season. "If you pass it to him, there's a pretty good chance you're going to get an assist," Crean said. Novak dropped a career-high 41 points (with 16 rebounds) on top-ranked UConn as Marquette won its Big East debut on Jan. 3. He beat Notre Dame with a last-second three-pointer 2 1/2 weeks later, and he has hit five or more three-pointers in 10 of Marquette's 26 games. He's shooting with such blithe self-assurance that it's surprising when he misses, no matter the distance. "Coach has been on me to take the shot when I'm open," Novak said. "The other guys tell me that, too, so when everybody has that much confidence in you, you almost have to be confident in yourself." Even against the Big East's behemoths. "Before the season, coach made it clear that our goal was to win in the Big East now, not two, three years from now," Novak said. "I appreciate that. I'm a senior. Joe Chapman, Chris Grimm . . . this is it for us, so we want to win this year. The young guys who have come in, they play with a lot of confidence. We've been getting better the whole year, maturing as a team. We're starting to figure out how good we can be." ---------- [email protected] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I guarantee you kids care a lot more about staying near their girlfriend then they do where SLU ranks vs. Marquette in the World News. I think Stemmler is a perfect fit and I hope he makes the right choice. Add in a Knollmeyer and maybe one more JUCO PF and you've actually got a pretty solid class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 SWIC has been playing pretty good JC bb - I wonder if we could somehow get connected with them and help steer players we are interested in but who need to go to JC and have it become a pipeline? Although Brad has said several times he prefers to recruit h.s. kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills16 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 is swic a juco d-1 or d-2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 i didnt know there was a d-1 and d-2 juco? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikenbooster Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Yeah,Roy. Don't you remember the last Greek we got, Pual Nondas, had great numbers, then after he got here, we found out it was in the lower level JUCO competition. mhg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OC Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 has to do with housing i believe...maybe some money too, but jucos are obviously affordable. Meramec and Flo are D2's and still produce players, and beat D1s more than occasionally...D1's like 3R and Mineral can bring in a little more quantity. If i'm not mistaken, the Meramecs of the world are not able to provide housing of any kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Interesting - then what about SWIC - housing or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OC Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 region 16 D1 mineral area Mo st west plains moberly st fair 3rivers d2 North central penn valley flo fo park meramec region 24 d1 kaskaskia lincoln trail lakekand SWIC se ill wabash valley JA Logan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 D1 and D2 Juco do have a difference of playing ability. Say a recruit like Sanjay Watts would be out of his mind to play for Flo Valley if he wanted to go D-1. Flo, which granted doesn't have a great program, rarely produces D-1 players. Meremac and Forest Park as well do not get top level talent and do not produce D-1 players in the same vein as say the Iowa JCs or the Kansas JCs do. SWIC has turned their program around but they are hardly elite. Missouri has good JC programs outstate like 3 rivers, Mineral Area, West Plains etc who compete nationally. Still the best JCs are historically in Kansas, out far west, Iowa and Florida and the southern region. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoop Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I talked to a player from Mineral Area College today that played against Stemler twice this year. He said LS was the real deal scoring anyway he wanted with the 3 and posting up against big bodies. MAC is 24-4 this year spliting the 2 games with SWIC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OC Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 no doubt that Flo is not elite, but i just wanted to make the point that a d2 juco beating a d1 juco is not comparable to a ncaa d2 over a d1. even Flo had recent d1 signings like ryan belcher and kareem mathews...demarius bolds (d2 mo west) and bryant lyles (naia mckendree) are both players who couldve easily played d1 juco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billinikens Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Agreed kshoe, all could turn out very rosy for the Billikens in this recruiting class after all. Any idea where we stand on the Knollmeyer recruitment? I haven't heard anything new in a while.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenmetz Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Can I drop an F-bomb on this site? Well, screw it. I fu#king hate Tom Crean. I watched the "Tom Crean Show" on Comcast the other night and called Insight Cable to cancel my fuc*ing subscription. There's just enough sports and porn on the internet for a reasonable fee anyway. God I hate Marquette. I burned all my Chris Farley t-shirts too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills16 Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 my understanding is that the major difference in d-i and d-2 is the amount of scholarships offered. with that said, generally you find more talent at the d-1 level. in iowa i believe there are only about 4 d-i jucos. western iowa, marshalltown cc, indian hills and southeastern cc in burlington, ia. charlie spoonhour coached there years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills16 Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 earlier this season i saw the local juco (d-2) upset indian hills (d-1) which was ranked in the top 10 in juco d-1. the local juco is very well coached but isn't even close to the talent level of indian hills. on the return visit to ottumwa smoked iccc as you would expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM PeteNice Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 >Stemler's academic abilities are unknown to this poster. >But perhaps someone needs to show him the US News and World >Report college rankings, in which SLU is rated ahead of >Marquette. And it is not as cold in St. Louis in the Winter >as it is in Milwaukee. > >As usual, SLU finds itself in the role of the matador, >fending away invading bulls (and sharks) from the home turf. You act like SLU is Harvard and Marquette is Mizzou. Not quite - 78 to 85. Yep, big difference. But if that is all a mid-major in a 1 bid conference has to go on when running with the big dogs then play it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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