TheBand Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 OR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 14, 2006 Men’s Basketball Contact: Doug McIlhagga VOUYOUKAS WITHDRAWS FROM NBA DRAFT ST. LOUIS—Saint Louis head men’s basketball coach Brad Soderberg today announced that center Ian Vouyoukas (Athens, Greece) has withdrawn from the National Basketball Association June draft. Vouyoukas had originally declared for the draft on April 25 but did not hire an agent to keep open his option of returning for his senior season with the Billikens. “This was absolutely the best scenario for Ian,†Soderberg said. “He now has a feel for what the NBA looks for in a player at his position. He also got to play for a week against the best college players in the country and be seen by scouts and player personnel staff from every NBA team. This will only make his senior season even better as he works toward his ultimate goal of playing professionally.†Vouyoukas participated in an individual workout for the Toronto Raptors in late May and also attended the 2006 NBA Pre-Draft Camp that was held June 6-10 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. “I had a positive experience in the workouts and camps in highly competitive situations,†Vouyoukas said. “I had a good showing but discovered things that I need to work on. I have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful in the NBA. Now, I’m focusing on returning to the Billikens and competing for an Atlantic 10 Conference championship.†After his breakout junior year, the 6-foot-10, 270-pound Vouyoukas was named the Billikens’ Most Valuable Player, selected first-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference and received the A-10’s Chris Daniels Most Improved Player award. He ranked 14th in the A-10 in scoring at 13.9 points per game, sixth in rebounding at 7.4 rebounds per game, fourth in blocked shots at 1.9 blocks per game and 13th in free throw percentage at .725. The Billikens finished 16-13 overall in their inaugural season in the A-10 in 2005-06 and tied for third in the league race with a 10-6 mark. — www.slubillikens.com — Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlecat455 Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 Marvelous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 UB and bring in Bonner to help school him in the ways of the NBA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 What position can Bonner fill? We have a full coaching staff already. I'm sure Bonner would like to talk to Ian in some capacity, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 actually, other than just playing against bonner in informal pickup games and such, bonner is not allowed to "coach" ian or any other current or future billikens. an ncaa no no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 That's what I thought- unless we fired someone on the staff, which doesn't need to happen, Bonner really can't do anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICHAELSPAPPY Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 And he must have learned a lot from the workouts. Come on, next season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBand Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 www.wgnu.net for the out of towners. Sports Overdrive with Brian Stull will have a short interview with Ian taped this afternoon. A few tidbits -has been getting calls from Greek Pro leagues since freshman year. He has no interest at this time in them. -wants to continue his collegiate experience & likes SLU. -was informed that he was probably a mid 2nd round pick this year. -had a good experience at Orlando as well as Toronto (included some praise for Ryan Hollins, a "could have been" teammate) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikenbooster Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 but TK said..... mhg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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