Billikan Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Modern recruiting is so different than the old days that it is almost irrelevant to even talk about coaches like Grawer. Rich was a very nice guy with a lot of energy but in those days he had no program to speak of yet he did get a lot of help that is not available now. I was very active in the recruiting of Gray and Douglas and I know that many other people in St. Louis were as well. I wrote them letters every week and met with them several times, and they were "covered up" by many many Bills fans and friends of Rich. There were no payments or improprieties but almost all of what was done would be "illegal" under NCAA rules today where "boosters" technically cannot have any contacts with recruits. HOwever, those constant local contacts by a broad base of people -- where the national recruiting scene was nothing like it is today-- gave Grawer a huge leg up. then we got Bonner--who was much better in college than he ever was at Vashon-although he was murder at the back of their full court press- and we were off to the races. If the university had not been so stupid we would have had Upchurch with that group and we would have made the NCCAs at least twice rather than two trips to the finals of the NIT. The real question is--where will the new generation of Billiken stars come from? The answer is probably more difficult today with the national and international recruiting. I hope that Polk recovers fully from his injuries because if he does he has the potential to be a star and he is a local kid which should help our local recruiting. I think both of our foreign players have a chance to develop into stars with this team--something (stars from Israel and Greece) I would have never believed possible even 5 years ago. Kids like Drejaj, who fit the mold of the coach and will leave it all on the floor every game--they will be major contributors with this coach. If Drejaj can shoot the ball consistantly from the 3--he showed flashes last year--then he has the chance to become a star. It has become apparant that many teams will play two "lead" guards at the same time--guards that in the past would have been classified as point guards. I would love to get at least 1-2 potential stars locally each year but I question whether that is possible with the intensified national recruiting. I have never seen Shaw play but from what I hear I think he would be a great addtion to the Bills because he fits so perfectly into the mold of our coach--tough, hard nosed hustler. It does not bother me that the big names are not recruiting him hard. He is a local kid with guts and determination--just like Chris Sloan who has become a big part of our team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 great post. if you think about it if matt shaw was probably just 2 inches taller (hold your fingers two inches apart.....not much is it) he would currently be chased by every college in the country with his performance and efforts night after night. it is just stupid. keep in mind all, probably our two of our best inside players in the last ten years werent even over 6'4" tall, donnie dobbs and jeff harris. i think matt shaw's 6'6" is worthy of billikenworld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 How far is Centralia from St. Louis? Hopefully, it's not "too close" for Shaw! I hope we offer him a scholarship immediately, and if we're able to get Taj Gray, that's great, but if not, I think Shaw would be a good fit for us. In my opinion, Polk is a good signing for the Billikens, and I hope that he is able to fully recover from his injury. While I definitely want us to be able to sign all of the top players in the St. Louis area, it's unrealistic to expect Brad to be able to sign blue chip recruits after just one fairly successful season. I think if Brad's early teams are able to overachieve with good but not great athletic ability (like last year's team) and we are able to reach a sustained level of success, then we will be able to land the more highly regarded recruits. I think Soderberg is the man to turn this program around, I just don't expect him to do it overnight. By the way, what's the story with Evans of Cardinal Ritter? Are we recruiting him at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 You are right on with your analysis. I am sorry I have never seen Shaw play so I am at a disadvantage regarding evaluating his talent. Some of you really like him but for some reason Brad seems reluctant to offer - maybe I am misreading the situation so could someone shed some light on this issue. This Gray kid - where is he now and is he really that good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Three thoughts on this; for a few years Brad is going to have trouble landing one of the top 100 either locally or nationally. First, the program needs better results, read: NCAA appearances and more TV exposure. Second, we have the current facilities problems. Yeah, we can say the Biondi domes coming but until a shovel is put in the ground we don't have much to show a potential recruit. Third, this conference thing could come into play. Us going with the merged non bb schools will help, us going to a revised MVC will not help. In fact, we would probably lose UB. So, until all this develops, SLU's program is going to have to be built with "the hidden gems" out there populating hs hoops. AD is one and have a suspicion Matt Shaw is another. Get him. Also, I am encouraged by Brad's euro excursions. There's probably a whole crop of kids flying underneath the radar overseas. I don't forsee us being a team with 2 or even 1 Mickey D all americans until the above happens. But the good news is you don't have to be to succeed, sucess defined as at least one sweet 16 appearance sometime in the next four years. That coupled with a sparkling state of the art on campus arena, will garner us the Grimes, Lidells, etc of the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 IMHO, the issue with Matt Shaw is that he is a very good 6-6 power forward. His skills and heart are top notch. But the question is.....can you win C-USA, or a like conference, with a very good 6-6 power forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Last year, SLU got in games with teams manned by waves of medium sized, athletic forwards--Tenn. Martin and UAB are two that quickly come to mind. A 6'6" athletic, skilled PF would have been quite useful in such games. I like the idea of having a range of skills and sizes to plug into the forward slots--Ian at 6'10" (or 11), JJ at 6'8" (and hopefully adding more muscle and weight as we speak) and, then, I think there is room for a smaller more athletic forward. When Chris Sloan leaves, we are losing a lot of intensity and athleticism from the forward position. It would be nice to get a guy like Grimes who post up down low in the blocks for PF; however, we do have a need for athleticism at forward and Shaw would address this. To make a short story long, "yes", I think we can win with a 6'6" PF ... as long as we have some bigger dudes on the roster who coach can plug in as the matchups and game conditions dictate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 I agree completely. I believe SLU should go after Matt Shaw hard (even though I haven't seen him play, myself). First of all, Shaw is probably a swing forward. He would be able to play three or four. He would enable the Bills to play big or small, depending on the situation. SLU has had success in the past with big men shorter than Shaw, so what's the problem? Besides that, 7-1 Bryce Husak would be in the same class as Shaw and 6-11 Ian Vouyoukas and 6-8 Justin Johnson would be one year ahead of him. Shaw is all of one inch shorter than Justin Tatum was. Jeff Harris, at 6-5, was an inch shorter than Shaw is, and he's probably the best power forward SLU has had since Anthony Bonner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Coach Soderberg watched Matt Shaw at the Nike camp last week, and is probably at the Peach Jam this week watching Shaw and his St. Louis Eagles teammates. I assume Coach Soderberg will also be at the Nike Orlando showcase tournament later this month where the Eagles play next. By the end of July, Coach Soderberg should has seen Shaw play enough against top-flight competition to finalize his offer/don't offer decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 tseugnekillib, Do you happen to know where I could get the dates of the Orlando Tourney? It's close to home, and if the timing fits with my schedule then I might try and swing by to see the St. Louis kids play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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