SLU going after Chicago PF

[stlsfinest]

According to Midstatehoops.com, SLU has offered 6'7 PF Demond Watt of Thorton Fractional North HS in Chicago, IL. Watt is an athletic forward who is very active in the paint and just seems to make the right plays. He holds other offers from Ball State, Indiana State, Loyola - Chicago, Dayton, and Old Dominion. (List is not up to date.)

Watt is a very good shot blocker and an overall solid defender. In my opinion, he's better than Dwight McCombs;however, I don't think that he is better than Leon Powell.

[p diddy]

word on the street was that a slu coach was in vegas tracking leon throughout much of the tournament that game face played in. can anyone verify this?

bad boyz for life

[VTIME]

Well, this board criticized O'Rear for being 6'6. Watts is too. We are a lot more critical of our local guys while we expect the out of area guys to automatically be good. And if Brad is offering pf's despite having the 3 freshman pf's currently on the roster, why not offer Powell and Harrellson?

[p diddy]

because they have already offered powell. don't know why they didn'f offer harrellson.

bad boyz for life

[stlsfinest]

>

> because they have already offered powell.

I wouldn't have such a hard time believe that SLU offered Powell if it was reported by a scouting service or even reported by him or one of his coaches.

[VTIME]

According to troopsports.com on July 11th, Floyd said that Powell had a solid Nike Camp and Missouri expected to offer soon and SLU is still showing interest.

SHOWING INTEREST IS NOT AN OFFER! STOP LYING TO THE BOARD. You've been saying he had a SLU offer since May. Stop spewing lies.

[Taj79]

And now we all know .. thanks to Vtime. And all this time I thought pdiddy was credible. Boy, am I an idiot! Sometimes I wonder why, if a guy is that good, the only offer he has in hand is from a Valley school, not that there's anything wrong with a Valley school. Where's Duke? Kansas? SIU? Even kansas State for that matter. We all know who's in charge down there now. He would certainly know St. Louis talent better than most. Good to see Mizzou is cocked, locked and ready to rock.

Liar, liar pants on fire!

[p diddy]

hope you didn't pop a blood vessel writing that last post.

bad boyz for life

[Taj79]

If I did, it was from laughing at it myself. Hmmmm ... let's see .. choice between pdiddy and Vtime ...... what to do, what to do ....

Do I believe a guy who's been on here for years with credible information and a history of backing it up OR ..... do I believe a kid from Harris Stowe who never met a Vashonite who he didn't elevate to a pedestal no matter the reality and advocates signing every kid in the St. Louis metro area despite track records to the contrary? Let me think on that one while the lies spew .....

[NashvilleBilliken]

Diddy...do you know why this is being kept on the DL so much? It's just odd that we see nothing about it on any of the recruiting sites or papers. Is there something wierd going on here? This guys doesn't seem like a prize recruit or anything. As much as VTIME has pumped him up over the last two years, it leads me to believe Powell probably isn't that great. The more Vtime talks about a kid, it seems the less talented he is.

[jjray]

Powell can play. How well he projects into D-1 is open to debate. My opinion is that his game fits better with Mike Anderson at Missouri than Brad Soderberg. Also, we have a log-jam at PF one class ahead of Mr. Powell. The Dixon signing especially makes less room for Powell. Why Powell does not report to the recruiting web sites that he has an offer from SLU is beyond me. I'm sure Powell will hold out for an offer from Mizzou before committing elsewhere.

[Hardball]

The rich get richer!

Millard transfers to Creighton

Jeff Goodman / FOXSports.com

Posted: 2 hours ago

Chad Millard is headed back to the Midwest.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward, who left the Louisville program after averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds this past season as a freshman, has decided to transfer to Creighton and play for Bluejays coach Dana Altman.

"They've got a good program and it was the best visit I ever had," Millard said. "All my family is back in Nebraska and I really like the staff and the guys on the team."

Millard played high school in New Hampshire.

"I played with the guys and really enjoyed it," Millard said. "They set screens and passed the ball. It's real conducive to how I play."

Millard also considered Northeastern and Vanderbilt after making the decision to leave Rick Pitino's program.

Millard started three games and averaged 12.2 minutes per game in 32 contests a year ago despite battling various injuries.

Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com.

[3star_recruit]

A 6-5 playmaker/rebounder like Liddell is a program changer and warranted an unconditional offer. Powell is a talented top 150 caliber forward but he is not a program changer. If Brad offered him a scholarship w/ no academic strings attached and he doesn't qualify, Brad would have stuck his neck out for nothing. I haven't seen Demond Watt play but guru descriptions of his game are very similar to what Powell brings to the table, without the 3 point range. Plus he comes from a school with significantly stronger academics:

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/200...0bc0004fd82.txt

Bradley's Jim Les has a history of making unconditional offers before kids have qualified so it doesn't surprise me that's the only offer Powell acknowledges.

[AJ]

Why are people on this board constantly questioning Powell's academics ? My Vashon sources tell me that Powell is a good student and an all-around good kid who should qualify. Vashon may not be MICDS but we've had 6 players from Vashon in the last 20 years and 5 of them have proven to be good students. If someone has some different information about Powell's academics/ability to qualify let's hear it.

[VTIME]

>If I did, it was from laughing at it myself. Hmmmm ...

>let's see .. choice between pdiddy and Vtime ...... what to

>do, what to do ....

>

>Do I believe a guy who's been on here for years with

>credible information and a history of backing it up OR .....

>do I believe a kid from Harris Stowe who never met a

>Vashonite who he didn't elevate to a pedestal no matter the

>reality and advocates signing every kid in the St. Louis

>metro area despite track records to the contrary? Let me

>think on that one while the lies spew .....

I can understand you questioning me, but you are questioning the credibility of both troopsports.com and Floyd Irons now. Everyone just assumes I'm lying even when I provide actual proof. Also, you say he was offered by a Valley school like the Valley isnt a better conference than the A10 and had more bids. And you act like the school that offered him didnt make it to the NCAA Sweet 16, while his hometown team that hasnt offered didnt even make the NIT.

[stlsfinest]

>Powell can play. How well he projects into D-1 is open to

>debate. My opinion is that his game fits better with Mike

>Anderson at Missouri than Brad Soderberg. Also, we have a

>log-jam at PF one class ahead of Mr. Powell. The Dixon

>signing especially makes less room for Powell. Why Powell

>does not report to the recruiting web sites that he has an

>offer from SLU is beyond me. I'm sure Powell will hold out

>for an offer from Mizzou before committing elsewhere.

I don't buy the whole "log-jam" at the PF position issue. Brad has offered two PF's from Chicago in the 2007 Class and showed some interest in the Leuer kid from Minnesota until the high majors started calling. McCombs isn't as good as Powell and Watt is a similar player that doesn't possess the perimeter shooting ability of Powell. The only reason Watt has received more attention is because he plays for the biggest AAU program in Illinois, while Powell plays for a community sponsored, but still very successful program. Powell is not holding out for any particular offer. He is wide open and interested in whoever is interested in him. After a solid July, Powell will probably have 3-4 offers by mid-august.

I can accept that Brad doesn't feel that Powell is a good fit for the team, but I'll never understand exactly why he doesn't fit in Brad's eyes. I would hate to see Powell attend a rival program and torch SLU in college, but I can certainly see it happening.

[Taj79]

You are absolutely right, Vee. I AM questioning the validity of troopsprts.com (which I've never heard of) and always Floyd Irons (I always will whereas you never will). Don't get me wrong, I will question all the .com's the world has to offer because there is little at stake with whether they get it right or they get it wrong. What makes them more credible than pdiddy? The fact that they're a web site? So what ... newspapers get things wrong. You want to place all this "no offer" blame on Brad and the staff yet pdiddy and others on here have talked about Powell having an offer for some time now. I don't know which is truth and which is fiction but I tend to believe the folks with the longevity on here and that has been pdiddy more times over you. Floyd has had his problems with SLU for some time now, I dont' think I'd ever belief Floyd's word on anything past the immediate of Vashon basketball ... the current team and the current season. Which is now p*ssed away from Floyd's control.

As for better conferences, better schools, more bids, Sweet 16 and not making the NIT .... that stuff is all cyclical. When one conference is up, another is down. A couple two three years ago, the ACC got what, three bids? Its been well-documented on here that last year, the Valley may have figured out the best way to use the RPI and scheduling and did so to their advantage. The better question is was it an aberration or will it stick? Bradley, and George Mason for that matter, will they be back this year or will it only be another one of those "feel good" stories that disappear over time and they then make movies about like "Hoosiers." Gonzaga has managed to parlay their initial success and feel good story into a nice run. I guarantee that if you go back over the last two or three tournaments, you'll find lots of Bradleys and George Masons ..... Wisconsin-Milwaukee comes to mind and so does Butler and even Xavier .... the key is what is the sustainment of that "lucky" run. Sure, in the here and now, the argument is valid. And if its valid, why isn't Powell drooling, salivating and committing to a Sweet Sixteen school that you point out Bradley is? I'd offer because he and his handlers believe he is much more special and deserves something better. Better than a Sweet Sixteen school? Imagine that.

You can look at it your way. So what? I happen to believe pdiddy and his credibility is a lot more entrenched than yours. I believe Mr. Powell has a scholarship offer in hand and is playing for a "better" deal. Maybe Brad offered and Powell delayed, Brad then moved on. Fish or cut bait. Sh*t or get off the pot. Pick a cliche. Maybe even Floyd needed a "handling" fee to deliver Leon and Brad said no.

And this academic stuff ... if I were a basketball or other sport-eligible recruit in high school, I'd be taking the SAT or ACT or whatever I needed early enough so that qualifying was not the hang up. I'd go back and make sure that I was scheduled to graduate on time and that all my high school credits were where they needed to be to check those blocks. I don't understand why these types of questions linger at this time of year. Scholarship offers should be in hand by now and the onus is on the kid to decide. Early signing period is in November. The calendar is what it is. Maybe Leon has good grades because Floyd influenced those grades. Maybe not. Seems to me that you'd want to take it out of the shadows as soon as possible if you want that full-ride to come your way.

[brianstl]

Come on V. Troop is a 17 year old senior to be in H.S., who started is own website. Not exactly Sports Illustrated. Flojo, do you even really want to go there. I heard that him and Powell have not talked to each other, for more than just a few seconds, in months. I heard they had a falling out over him playing for KC/R-town instead of Gameface.

[cheeseman]

The key word here is "should". The point some are making regarding any player's academic status is that until he qualifies any coach has to be a little hesitant towards the kid. All the reports we have say that Powell has been offered - by the way there are probably other local kids who have been offered but the recruiting sites are not necessarily listing us either - and that he hangs around West Pine and talks with Thorpe all the time. Lets use our energy to share new info about the program/players rather than continue this immature "your a monkey, no your a bigger monkey" posts.

[VTIME]

>You are absolutely right, Vee. I AM questioning the

>validity of troopsprts.com (which I've never heard of) and

>always Floyd Irons (I always will whereas you never will).

>Don't get me wrong, I will question all the .com's the world

>has to offer because there is little at stake with whether

>they get it right or they get it wrong. What makes them more

>credible than pdiddy? The fact that they're a web site? So

>what ... newspapers get things wrong. You want to place all

>this "no offer" blame on Brad and the staff yet pdiddy and

>others on here have talked about Powell having an offer for

>some time now. I don't know which is truth and which is

>fiction but I tend to believe the folks with the longevity

>on here and that has been pdiddy more times over you. Floyd

>has had his problems with SLU for some time now, I dont'

>think I'd ever belief Floyd's word on anything past the

>immediate of Vashon basketball ... the current team and the

>current season. Which is now p*ssed away from Floyd's

>control.

>

>As for better conferences, better schools, more bids, Sweet

>16 and not making the NIT .... that stuff is all cyclical.

>When one conference is up, another is down. A couple two

>three years ago, the ACC got what, three bids? Its been

>well-documented on here that last year, the Valley may have

>figured out the best way to use the RPI and scheduling and

>did so to their advantage. The better question is was it an

>aberration or will it stick? Bradley, and George Mason for

>that matter, will they be back this year or will it only be

>another one of those "feel good" stories that disappear over

>time and they then make movies about like "Hoosiers."

>Gonzaga has managed to parlay their initial success and feel

>good story into a nice run. I guarantee that if you go back

>over the last two or three tournaments, you'll find lots of

>Bradleys and George Masons ..... Wisconsin-Milwaukee comes

>to mind and so does Butler and even Xavier .... the key is

>what is the sustainment of that "lucky" run. Sure, in the

>here and now, the argument is valid. And if its valid, why

>isn't Powell drooling, salivating and committing to a Sweet

>Sixteen school that you point out Bradley is? I'd offer

>because he and his handlers believe he is much more special

>and deserves something better. Better than a Sweet Sixteen

>school? Imagine that.

>

>You can look at it your way. So what? I happen to believe

>pdiddy and his credibility is a lot more entrenched than

>yours. I believe Mr. Powell has a scholarship offer in hand

>and is playing for a "better" deal. Maybe Brad offered and

>Powell delayed, Brad then moved on. Fish or cut bait. Sh*t

>or get off the pot. Pick a cliche. Maybe even Floyd needed

>a "handling" fee to deliver Leon and Brad said no.

>

>And this academic stuff ... if I were a basketball or other

>sport-eligible recruit in high school, I'd be taking the SAT

>or ACT or whatever I needed early enough so that qualifying

>was not the hang up. I'd go back and make sure that I was

>scheduled to graduate on time and that all my high school

>credits were where they needed to be to check those blocks.

>I don't understand why these types of questions linger at

>this time of year. Scholarship offers should be in hand by

>now and the onus is on the kid to decide. Early signing

>period is in November. The calendar is what it is. Maybe

>Leon has good grades because Floyd influenced those grades.

>Maybe not. Seems to me that you'd want to take it out of

>the shadows as soon as possible if you want that full-ride

>to come your way.

If you've never heard of troopsports.com or Caleb Troop, you dont have a whole lot of credibility, when it comes to local high school sports. Caleb Troop not only has the website, but he has his own sports show on Prepcasts.com. He's had interviews as small as local guys and as big as Jerry Colangelo, the former Phoenix Suns GM and current Director of Team USA Basketball. He's even had our very own Nate Latsch on his show. He's also had notables such as Joe Buck, Gabe DeArmond, Matthew Leach, Derrick Goold, Joe Garogiola, Mike Bidwill, Brian Burwell, Frank Cusamano, Randy Karraker, Bob Carpenter, Rick Horton, Dan Caesar, Alex Tyus, and Jairus Byrd on the show. He's more than credible. http://troopsports.com/Interviews.html

[VTIME]

http://www.troopsports.com/about1.html

July 11th

- Vashon basketball coach Floyd Irons told me on Monday that the recruiting process for his 6-7 forward Leon Powell is going well. Powell is arguably the top hoops prospect in the state of Missouri for the class of 2007 and he averaged 14 ppg, 8 rbg, and 2.48 bpg for the Class 5 state champion Wolverines. Irons also noted that Powell had a solid Nike All-American camp recently and that Powell is still wide open. An offer from Mizzou is expected for Powell according to Irons and SLU has also shown interest among many other schools.

[VTIME]

Its a Caleb Troop audio interview with Irons and then Randy Karraker on the troopsports.com. Karraker makes a lot of sense.

[brianstl]

V, have you heard anything about Floyd and Leon having a following out? I heard this right after Floyd got fired. Is there any truth to this, as for as you know?

[VTIME]

No truth to it. Floyd was in favor of him going to Rocktown to get him more exposure playing on the same frontline with 2 high major prospects. It landed him at the Nike Camp as a Wing Forward. It gave Goode a legit sf, so he can show that he can play inside while giving Leon a chance to show he can play on the outside. With Jarryd Cole playing the C, they had one of the most imposing frontlines in the midwest. Their backcourt wasnt bad either with 6'4 Justin Hurtt, and Rahmon Fletcher.

[AJ]

Cheeseman:

I guess by that standard we shouldn't have aggessively recruited Tommy and we shouldn't be making offers to kids like Brandenberg, Griffey or Harrellson.