shaw home visit

[bills16]

sounds like coach made a home visit to matt shaw last night.

http://newshound.de.siu.edu/Sports2003/sto...storyReader$685

Come September, the jobs of SIU men's basketball coach Matt Painter and his assistants are more akin to truckers than basketball coaches.

Nearly every day from Sept. 9 to Oct. 5, two Saluki basketball coaches will be traveling around the Midwest to scout and sell SIU to potential recruits, most of whom are seniors in high school.

Painter was out recruiting Tuesday through Friday of last week and then again on Monday. He stayed in the area Tuesday and Wednesday last week.

One of the most prized local recruits is Centralia's Matt Shaw, who has narrowed his list of possible choices to three - SIU, Saint Louis and Stanford. Saint Louis was scheduled to pay a visit to Shaw's home Tuesday evening.

Shaw, a muscular 6-foot-6 forward, is equally adept at banging inside and knocking down the mid-range jump shot.

Another local recruit of note is Carbondale Community High School product Justin Dentmon, a quick point guard with a smooth shooting stroke from the outside who is also being recruited by Xavier, Dayton and Marquette.

But after the 2003-2004 season, the Salukis will have only three returning players taller than 6-foot-5, hence Painter's focus on the vertically gifted.

"We need big kids, not to say that we're not recruiting guards because you never know what can happen," Painter said.

One local post player, Gerren Rogers, a lanky 6-foot-8 center from Massac County High School, has also received some looks from SIU.

But Painter can't stock an entire team from Southern Illinois; therefore frequent travels are required to ensure future success on the court. Painter went to Indianapolis Thursday and trekked to Michigan Friday.

Indianapolis has been a boon to the Salukis of late, with Jermaine Dearman, an Indianapolis native, recently finishing his four-year stay in Carbondale. Painter also recently received a verbal commitment from guard Wesley Clemmons of Indianapolis Northwest High School.

But there are more possible future Salukis in Indy, such as 6-foot-10 Stanley Dunson, who's being looked at by Ohio State in addition to several mid-majors.

SIU is also rumored to be recruiting Chuck Flynn, a 6-foot-6 forward from Indianapolis.

Painter is also reportedly pursuing several players from Minnesota, including 6-foot-6 Everette Pedesclaux and 6-foot-11 Patrick O'Bryant, who reportedly has interest from several schools from major conferences.

When it comes to junior college players, Painter doesn't just stay in the Midwest. According to several web sites, SIU is recruiting 6-foot-8 Jamahl Stokes of Georgia Perimeter College. Recruiting expert Russ Blake projects Stokes as a mid-major to high-major prospect.

With all the travel involved, recruiting days can be long. On Monday, Painter and first-year aide Paul Lusk watched a player workout at 7 a.m. in Missouri, then went back across the river to the Metro East area before crossing back into Missouri again later that evening.

Painter is reportedly interested in St. Louis products Terry Evans, a 6-foot-4 Cardinal Ritter High School student, and point guard Monroe Douglass Jr. of Chaminade High School.

Vince Humphrey, a versatile 6-foot-4 left-handed guard from Oak Park Fenwick High School is also rumored to be interested in SIU.

But Painter has to concern himself with more than just recruiting - he has to keep closely abreast of the myriad of NCAA regulations.

"The fall recruiting is just a contact period, and so when you go you have to make a contact with a kid," Painter said. "And so if you go by and you do a school visit, you're going to sit down to talk with a senior at school. If you're going by to watch an open gym, you still have to make a contact with a senior while you're there at open gym."

And of course, the fall means plenty of home visits in which the coaches act as pitchmen.

"You're just more or less presenting your sales pitch, so to speak - talking about your school, talking about your situation, talking about the academics, talking about where they fit in on and off the court," Painter said. "Just kind of an overview of SIU and what we have to offer to a student-athlete."

SIU will have three seniors departing and one open scholarship after the departure of Blake Schoen during the summer. One of the scholarships should go to Clemmons, and touted guard Mike Dale, a former teammate of junior guard Stetson Hairston at Belleville East High School, could receive a second scholarship.

Dale was being recruited by Illinois before academic and personal troubles caused him to enroll at SIU, where he'll attempt to gain eligibility in time for the 2004-2005 season.

Painter is hopeful all the hard work will pay off when National Signing Day rolls around Nov. 12.

"That's kind of how recruiting goes; you never know. We feel very good about some kids, but that doesn't mean that they're gonna come," Painter said. "That's their decision, and hopefully it works out.

"If it doesn't, we'll just work hard during the year and try to get some kids during the spring."

Reporter Ethan Erickson can be reached at [email protected]

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[3star_recruit]

I was kind of miffed that the staff waited until August to extend a formal offer but they're doing a great job of following through.

[Box and Won]

Would you say that our chances of getting Shaw are better than SIU's, since they have a new coach? I guess Painter probably already had established a relationship with Shaw, but who knows.

Is SIU one of the few programs still recruiting Terry Evans? From what I've gathered from this board, it doesn't sound like we're recruiting him at all. I hope things work out for him with his injury.

It sure would be nice to round out this recruiting class with Liddell and Shaw.

[3star_recruit]

SIU has been recruiting Matt the longest and his high school coach has a good relationship with Painter. This will be a tough get.

[billiken_roy]

i thought i had heard that matt painter was the lead asst coach recruiter for shaw before he became the head coach. i.e. he already had a tight relationship with matt.

[Quality Is Job 1]

It's good nettiquette to post the address when you copy and paste copyrighted material.