Stemler

[honeybadger]

I saw Soderburg and Lance at the ball game last night. Not much of a story, but I thought I would let everyone know.

[Box and Won]

Dan and Al even mentioned it on the broadcast last night and briefly talked about Ian entering the draft!

[BleacherBum593]

As I was walking to the game last night on Broadway, I saw Brad and someone walking up the street towards the Hilton (away from the park). If that was Stemler, he doesn't look very big to me. Thought he was supposed to be about 6-6, but the person I saw was much shorter.

[slu72]

Two days at the new Busch? Are we confusing Sir Lance-e-scoresalot, that he's being recruited by SLU rather than the Cards? We better hope he likes the Cardinals better than he likes Hoosiers, Huskers, and Golden Eagles.....wonder if Crean took him to a Brewers game or a Bucks game? Just sign here, son, that's right, right where the x is.....ok, Lance e scoresalot you are now a Billiken.

[slu72]

That was Kelvin Sampson. UB was taking him to a meeting with Tony Soprano.

[Box and Won]

Here's an article a friend (an IU fan) just sent me:

'06 recruiting not over for Hoosiers

Mike Pegram

It may be nearly May but that's far from too late for adding to you incoming class. Just look at the additions the past two years of Lucas Steijn and Cem Dinc. Both made decisions to attend Indiana in the late August to early September time frame. At the same time neither of those players made an impact. Steijn transferred out and Dinc played in just three games. So are there still some hidden gems to be found late?

Apparently the new staff in Bloomington thinks so as this weekend they will host two prospects all set to play for somebody in the fall. Tomorrow coming into town is 6-foot-8, 215-pound Lance Stemler, a junior college sophomore from Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC). Then on Friday driving down from the Indianapolis area is 6-foot-3 Vaughn Duggins from Pendleton Heights High School.

Another Steve Novak?

Since Stemler is a junior college player, a decision this late is fairly typical. His path to junior college though is not that typical. Actually it was a path to and back again for Stemler. He came to SWIC in 2003 as a skinny 6-foot-7, 195-pound senior from Gibault Catholic in Columbia, Illinois. In his senior year at Gibault, he averaged 23.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and the the school to a 25-3 record. Stemler was a real marksman, shooting 63-for-111 (.568) effort from 3-point territory and 57.2 percent overall.

In his first season at SWIC in 2003-04 he suffered a wrist injury and was later given a medical redshirt. Stemler then transfered to Bradley of the Missouri Valley Conference. Again injuries were an issue as an early season groin injury got him off to a late start and he ended up appearing in 12 games for the Braves, ending the year with 11 points (0.9 ppg) and 11 rebounds (0.9 rpg). After the season he made the decision to return to SWIC. That junior college is located in Belleville, Illinois, near Stemler's hometown of Columbia. Both cities are just across the Missouri River from St. Louis.

Stemler's ability to knock it down from deep has drawn him comparisons to Steve Novak, the sweet shooting Marquette forward that just finished up his college career. Novak's former coach Tom Crean certainly hopes Stemler is of the same ilk and has made the juco a top recruiting priority for the Golden Eagles. Crean and Marquette hosted Stemler in Milwaukee for an official visit that began on Monday of this week. In addition to that trip, Stemler has made official visits to Nebraska and nearby St. Louis University.

The Indiana visit could be his last trip which can be an advantage in the recruiting decision. While the Hoosiers have not been on Stemler nearly as long as the other three schools that garnered visits, new Indiana assistant coach Rob Senderoff was actively recruiting the forward when he held that job at Kent State.

The interest from Big Ten teams should not come as a surprise. Stemler averaged 22 points and 6.7 rebounds a game this season for a 34-4 SWIC team that placed sixth at the NJCAA Tournament last month. After the season he was given the honor of being named a first team NJCAA All-American.

"Coaches like his ability to stretch the defense and 6-8 and that he's a very skilled player," said SWIC coach Jay Harrington last week. "He can pass, he knows the game and understands the game.They saw how he was double- and triple-teamed a lot of times this year and how he was still able to generate points."

[Spoonball]

I think 6-7 195 in high school was being a little generous, he was more like 6-6 180. Hopefully the Steve Novack comparisons dont draw him to Marquette.