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unsung hero


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i've been to a couple of the pick up games at the simon rec center and it seems to me that an unsung hero in the program is mike linn, the strength and conditioning coach. have you guys noticed how big some of our players have become.

i asked a few of them how much they were weighing now. drejaj and bryant are both over 200 pounds. fisher is about 212 and justin johnson is close to 230 pounds. johnson said that he was 198 pounds during his senior year in high school. even izik looks like he has picked up about 15 extra pounds of muscle. i can't wait to see what he does with husak, ian and darren clarke in the next year.

maybe there are some long-time fans who may remember more than i do, but i don't remember our program having this kind of impact strength coach on a full-time basis. i think it has made a big

difference in our program, especially in our late-season rush.

it looks to me that brad is giving the slu program a little big ten flavor with strong players who play physical man to man defense.

in my humble opionion, it seems to me that sodes is recruiting in this manner as well, especially with some of his guards. he didn't recruit ahearn, but he found dreja and bryant and he seems to be all over luke meyer, kevin lisch and kyle kirk, who are all pretty athletic, but very physically tough with good bodies,. for quicks and athletic ability, he is after liddell and he got polk. blake is a great shooter, but he wasn't very big and he didn't show much interest in defense. that's not to say he couldn't play at slu, but maybe he didn't fit what the coach was looking for. every coach is different in that regard. remember, spoon always had this fetish for point guards under six feet. h was great, but hewas an atypical spoonhour point guard.

polk is a point guard who has the ability to shoot. so does morris, although he doesn't look to shoot. he is a good shooter. i don't think he was a big fan of pulley because he cannot shoot. i don't think douglass is as big a target at point guard for that reason. the jones kid from belleville west does intrigue me. (what's his recruiting story, b. roy). the streets aren't talking about him too much, but i wouldn't mind a little conversation about j.b.)

up front, he seems to favor a little more size and height, which is why he may be slow to pull the trigger on matt shaw.

next year, we're looking at i.o. at 6'9", sloan at 6'7", tom at 6'9", j.j. at 6'8" and ian at 6'11" and bryce getting the redshirt at 7'0".

not saying whether he's right or wrong, but we seem to have found some common denominators in his recruiting philosophy.

anybody have any other thoughts on recruiting philosophy. maybe we can all get a better understanding on why slu is recruiting some players and not recruting some others. join in the discussion

bad boyz for life (go knicks)

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I agree with your post as to the type of player BS is recruiting. I don't get the chance to watch much high school ball ... so I cannot give much of an opinion on the different recruits besides what I read on the internet. ( That's why I was looking for a clearer picture of Shaw's skills )

It sounds to me Like Lisch is a must have ... and Lidell would be a nice addition at the 3. I'm still not sold on Shaw due to his height. This year I need to make time to see more games

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To read "in between the lines" of your post, the thing I seem to have gathered is that Brad has "a plan." Now if that plan is similar to what we saw in his and Bennett's days at Wisconsin, so be it. It worked there, did it not (this has been discussed before)?

Maybe that's why I'm not one of those guys to get too upset at the loss of a Blake Ahearn. I don't know Blake and his skills so its not so much a knock on him but moreso as a testament to BS knowing what he wants, what his systems is, and who he thinks will best fit it.

By the way, lets work on sending Abraham to Fork Union or Hargrove Military ..... a prep school where he doesn't lose any eligibility and comes in with his four years intact. Screw that JUCO route. That's Joe Fluegel bullcrap.

I think strength is good ... but it has to be used. Heiny was strong as an ox but did that help? I remeber guys gushing about the size and pounds Braun had put on. Did that help? Strength is good, but it ... like anything else ... has to be used properly to be an advantage.

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I think the added mass is really going to help JJ because he is an active inside player and will be bumping against some big bodies.

The added mass will also help Bryant because he has the ability to get to the basket and will need to absorb the contact.

If Luke Meyer comes here, I suspect he will be a shredded a 220 lb before his 4 years is done. He's a muscular 6'5 200 lb already and his dad told me Luke has never lifted a weight a weight in his life.

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... how does one go to a "prep" school and NOT get grades???? I thought that's what they were for??????? Still, thanks for reminding me and correcting me on that.

But explain the JUCO route to me one more time ... some, like Charles Newsberry, can come out in one year and get three years of eligibility. Most go two to JUCO and finish out two at Upper U. Then there's the Randy Pulley kid ... flunk out with a Bluto Blutarsky grade point, get one year under your JUCO belt and back you come. Can someone put that into English for me?

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Players that meet the NCAA initial eligibility requirements can play at a juco for one year and then enter a four-year school and have three years of eligibility. Corey Tate did that at Missouri; Tyrone Caswell and Sekue Barentine did it at SLU.

Years played at juco's count against a player's eligibility at a four-year school. Players that weren't initially eligible at a four-year school must get an associate's degree (usually playing both years, though I think I've seen an occasional player attend for two years but play just one -- due to injury) and then can transfer to a four-year school an play out their remaining eligibility (usually two years). I don't think it's often that players play one year at a four-year school and then play one year in junior college, but Randy Pulley, Tom Frericks, and Marcus Sommerville have done it.

Years played at a prep school do not count towards a player's eligibility at a four-year school.

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I'm certain that the transfer rules have changed since Charles Newberry came to SLU from BAC.

Today, if you were originally eligible coming out of high school ( a full qualifier) a player such as Pulley must fulfill the "4-2-4" transfer rules.

Basically, you must (a) complete 24-semester hours of transferable-degree credit at the juco with a minimum grade point average of 2.000. (The key word here is "transferable". What is accepted as a "transferable credit" at STATE U may not be acceptable at a private university.)

(:o one calendar must have elapsed between the transfer from the previous four-year college and

© the player must graduate from the juco. (To me this means that the player must bring 24 earned credits with him from the four-year school to the juco. If a player flunks out of the four-year school after his freshman year than means that he is bringing at least 12 but less than 24 earned credits. Thus, this player must complete +/-36 semester hours of transferable degree credits to earn his juco degree.

It appears a qualifier like Abraham would have to at a minimum, spend one semester at a juco, earn at least 12 hours of transferable credits and maintain a 2.000 gpa. It he stays two semesters at the juco, he would need 24 transferable credits and a 2.000 gpa.

Don't bet the family farm on the above, but it should be pretty close, if not right on!

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pulley, like ricky clemons, is an exception. lucky for both, they enrolled at the super secret coach odom tutorial school that produces academic miracles. that is the true worth of odom. he is an academic assistance wonder.

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p diddy, i dont know what jb jones current suitor list looks like. i need to ask around and find out. i do have another high school tidbit to share though. apparently darius luster, the fine prospect that was at cahokia has transferred to east st louis to play with liddell. wow. what is nice about this for luster is that he will undoubtedly get to play wing now whereas at cahokia he might have been looked to provide much needed inside help.

what it will do for east side is make that lineup look pretty darn good. it definitely will be able to match up to the belleville west lineup now imo.

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