Team observations

[Billikan]

Based upon the less than an hour watching the team today I would offer the following--with the caveat that it is really early and no one should reach firm conclusions based upon one practice!

To me the person most prominent was Cody Ellis. He looks to be in much better shape and is very self confident. His shot looks excellent and he looks stronger with a much lower body fat percentage. He hit a number of long 3s in the controlled scrimmage. If he can just keep getting better on defense he could be a real star this year.

The second person who caught my eye was JJ. He is very strong and athletic. He and MM were matched up together and both looked good but JJ is a bull in the lane and he can rebound from the guard position. He is also tough off the dribble. Coach said he will play the 1 and the 2 and he will be the only 1 who will be told to crash the offensive boards because he has a knack for getting rebounds in traffic. He is a good ballhandler but he will need to get better. MM picked his pocket for a layup on one play. But on the very next play JJ powered him to the rim so he will cause some problems for smaller guards trying to keep him out of the paint.

MM looks very smooth and talented. He also looks a bit thin so he will have to play really tough and position himself well. Coach said he will also play the 1 and 2 so I would not be surprised if he and JJ play together at times.

Christian S looks bigger and stronger and his defense looks excellent. He is more confident and just tougher. He did not shoot much but I am told he is shooting the ball better.

KC looks like he did late last year. He is playing tough defense and seemed to shoot more although he was not hitting shots. He is an excellent penetrator but Evans was guarding him and playing him tough.

BC looks bigger and tougher. He was clogging the lane and doing the little things. He is our enforcer and may get some tough inside points. He is also defending hard with energy.

RL is pretty much as advertised. He has a very nice outside touch and he is a legit 6'11". He needs some experience and some more muscle but it is obvious he could be a very nice player in the future. This year?????? Who knows!

Evans is a fine looking young man who is athletic and he seems to be an excellent driver to the hoop. He is already the best freshman defender we have seen in many years in terms of fundamentals. I may be crazy but he looks like a player to me-- one who could help us this year. Coach said he would be playing the 3 and 4.

Cory looks bigger and stronger and he looks to want to defend and block shots. It is amazing what a year can do for an 18 year old young man. Coach said he would love to get him that redshirt year at some point but obviously we need him this year. He was active on the offensive end as well. He did not make much but he was not shy with his shot. In the league he will be out most important defensive presence and he will need to rebound in traffic.

Paul E was hustling every minute and plays tough. I do not see him playing ahead of the frosh except for a few minutes of energy and defense but he will help.

Barnett looks like a fine player. He will help next year.

After the controlled scrimmage, the Coach answered questions for about 30 minutes and as always he was by far at his best when he was talking basketball. He deflected a question about KM to Paul who answered that Kwamain really looks at the team like his family and he had been in contact with him several times and he was optimistic that he would come back to SLU.

Paul then introduced the team and they all looked really happy and loose-- a good sign in my opinion. Then Kyle and Brian asked a few questions--mostly joking types and all of the players talked a bit.

Overall, a low key but successful night. Not as much play and most of us would have liked but it was obvious that the kids were playing very hard and paying attention to the coaches. My conclusion is that I have no idea how good we might be as a team!!!!!!!!

[dlarry]

Thanks for the info.

I enjoyed reading it and appreciate it.

Also this may be the most truthful and correct statement I have ever seen on a message board:

My conclusion is that I have no idea how good we might be as a team!!!!!!!!

Very nice!

[NH]

Eckerle: Good form on his shot. Not as athletic as he was before the injury. Good leader on the floor and a very good defender. He could be used as a shut-down guy off the bench for stretches this year.

Cassity: Similar to last year. He must have trouble putting on weight because he was still not very strong. But KC played with smarts, his jumper looked nice and he was aggressive getting to the rim. Very good defender as well.

My Obesrvations:

Conklin: Stronger, more athletic but had trouble finishing. Has been working on his jumper a lot over the summer. Could definitely start at PF.

Remekun: Looks raw in the post, but is definitely taller and improved. He was very good defensively with several nice blocked shots. Will be a solid starting C/PF.

Ellis: Looked thinner and a little more agile, but still a tad slow. Shot looked good and will definitely score for us. Needs to remember to box out and take it to the basket on offense.

Salecich: Didn't show much but was aggressive and had a nice pass.

McCall: Not as small as is being described. Very quick with a quick release and good form on the jumper. Made what I thought was a tremendous play: Jett was going to the O-Boards all day and he made a layup over McCall on one of them. McCall was clearly upset with himself and next possession got really low on defense and made a great steal and took off for a breakaway.

Jett: Strong, athletic could be a great defender. Cant really shoot from what I saw but will definitely be able to get to the basket.

Evans: Stronger than TLIII was definitely, and more athletic than I expected. Shot did not look bad. Will definitely be a player once he gets a position (I think he is a perfect 3).

Loe: Big, good shooter. Slow but big enough to play immediately. I really liked his attitude. Not afraid to shoot threes. Needs to use his size more on offense.

Barnett: Didn't play enough to make judgement. Great attitude. Will be a leader of the team.

No idea what to expect of the team.

[GOSLU68]

Eckerle: Good form on his shot. Not as athletic as he was before the injury. Good leader on the floor and a very good defender. He could be used as a shut-down guy off the bench for stretches this year.

Cassity: Similar to last year. He must have trouble putting on weight because he was still not very strong. But KC played with smarts, his jumper looked nice and he was aggressive getting to the rim. Very good defender as well.

My Obesrvations:

Conklin: Stronger, more athletic but had trouble finishing. Has been working on his jumper a lot over the summer. Could definitely start at PF.

Remekun: Looks raw in the post, but is definitely taller and improved. He was very good defensively with several nice blocked shots. Will be a solid starting C/PF.

Ellis: Looked thinner and a little more agile, but still a tad slow. Shot looked good and will definitely score for us. Needs to remember to box out and take it to the basket on offense.

Salecich: Didn't show much but was aggressive and had a nice pass.

McCall: Not as small as is being described. Very quick with a quick release and good form on the jumper. Made what I thought was a tremendous play: Jett was going to the O-Boards all day and he made a layup over McCall on one of them. McCall was clearly upset with himself and next possession got really low on defense and made a great steal and took off for a breakaway.

Jett: Strong, athletic could be a great defender. Cant really shoot from what I saw but will definitely be able to get to the basket.

Evans: Stronger than TLIII was definitely, and more athletic than I expected. Shot did not look bad. Will definitely be a player once he gets a position (I think he is a perfect 3).

Loe: Big, good shooter. Slow but big enough to play immediately. I really liked his attitude. Not afraid to shoot threes. Needs to use his size more on offense.

Barnett: Didn't play enough to make judgement. Great attitude. Will be a leader of the team.

No idea what to expect of the team.

Anyone else notice how much positive energy JB. RL, MM, DE added to what looks like some oh the happiest players we ever had-CS, Kyle, Paul, Conklin, Cody only CR seems tentative to a point where coach is still trying to get him his redshirt year

[GOSLU68]

Eckerle: Good form on his shot. Not as athletic as he was before the injury. Good leader on the floor and a very good defender. He could be used as a shut-down guy off the bench for stretches this year.

Cassity: Similar to last year. He must have trouble putting on weight because he was still not very strong. But KC played with smarts, his jumper looked nice and he was aggressive getting to the rim. Very good defender as well.

My Obesrvations:

Conklin: Stronger, more athletic but had trouble finishing. Has been working on his jumper a lot over the summer. Could definitely start at PF.

Remekun: Looks raw in the post, but is definitely taller and improved. He was very good defensively with several nice blocked shots. Will be a solid starting C/PF.

Ellis: Looked thinner and a little more agile, but still a tad slow. Shot looked good and will definitely score for us. Needs to remember to box out and take it to the basket on offense.

Salecich: Didn't show much but was aggressive and had a nice pass.

McCall: Not as small as is being described. Very quick with a quick release and good form on the jumper. Made what I thought was a tremendous play: Jett was going to the O-Boards all day and he made a layup over McCall on one of them. McCall was clearly upset with himself and next possession got really low on defense and made a great steal and took off for a breakaway.

Jett: Strong, athletic could be a great defender. Cant really shoot from what I saw but will definitely be able to get to the basket.

Evans: Stronger than TLIII was definitely, and more athletic than I expected. Shot did not look bad. Will definitely be a player once he gets a position (I think he is a perfect 3).

Loe: Big, good shooter. Slow but big enough to play immediately. I really liked his attitude. Not afraid to shoot threes. Needs to use his size more on offense.

Barnett: Didn't play enough to make judgement. Great attitude. Will be a leader of the team.

No idea what to expect of the team.

Anyone else notice how much positive energy JB. RL, MM, DE added to what looks like some oh the happiest players we ever had-CS, Kyle, Paul, Conklin, Cody only CR seems tentative to a point where coach is still trying to get him his redshirt year

[Billikan]

Anyone else notice how much positive energy JB. RL, MM, DE added to what looks like some oh the happiest players we ever had-CS, Kyle, Paul, Conklin, Cody only CR seems tentative to a point where coach is still trying to get him his redshirt year

I did not see where CR was tentative at all. On defense, he was extremely aggressive and made several nice blocks out of his area. On offense, he took more shots than he ever has in a game, although he was not hitting them. To me, he seemed more confident and aggressive than last year, and bigger!

[slufanskip]

I know we all get tired of hearing how we're going to be good in the future, but just think about 2 years from now. I'm not saying we won't be good this year or next, but even after KM's class of him, Kyle and Brian leave we'll have

Guards, In no particular order - Jett(jr), McCall(jr), Salecich(sr), Barnett(sr)

Wings, Ellis(sr), Evans(sr)

Bigs, Cory(sr), Loe(jr), Manning(soph)

How do you make a starting 5 from that? Hell 4 very good experienced players will be coming off the bench.

Maybe Jett, Barnett, Cody, Loe, Manning? That leaves McCall, Salecich, Evans, and Cory off the bench.

Seriously, how many very good starting 5's could you make from that group if the newer players develop as we've seen the previous players develop under RM.

[bonwich]

I know we all get tired of hearing how we're going to be good in the future, but just think about 2 years from now.

Perhaps the AD should move them all into Jesuit Hall as a precautionary measure.

[Billikan]

I know we all get tired of hearing how we're going to be good in the future, but just think about 2 years from now. I'm not saying we won't be good this year or next, but even after KM's class of him, Kyle and Brian leave we'll have

Guards, In no particular order - Jett(jr), McCall(jr), Salecich(sr), Barnett(sr)

Wings, Ellis(sr), Evans(sr)

Bigs, Cory(sr), Loe(jr), Manning(soph)

How do you make a starting 5 from that? Hell 4 very good experienced players will be coming off the bench.

Maybe Jett, Barnett, Cody, Loe, Manning? That leaves McCall, Salecich, Evans, and Cory off the bench.

Seriously, how many very good starting 5's could you make from that group if the newer players develop as we've seen the previous players develop under RM.

Don't forget that we are recruiting some very good juniors who would be frosh that year and we have seen some good production from some of our frosh under this Coach!

[Billikenbooster]

Don't forget that we are recruiting some very good juniors who would be frosh that year and we have seen some good production from some of our frosh under this Coach!

This team will be very thin up front for this year. One injury to CR, BC, or RL and we are duck soup. A team very deep with big men will just manhandle our young New Zealander and wear us down. Absolutely have to have offensive production from KC or we will have to wait til next year. KM if and when he arrives will help, but we are still one warm body short up front.

mhg

[slufanskip]

Don't forget that we are recruiting some very good juniors who would be frosh that year and we have seen some good production from some of our frosh under this Coach!

How good would you have to be as a frosh to break into that group which would already be 9 deep? That would be amazing.

[slufanskip]

Perhaps the AD should move them all into Jesuit Hall as a precautionary measure.

Do they make a male chastity belt? I'd bet Roy knows the answer, I think he has a really extensive leather collection.

[bauman]

I know we all get tired of hearing how we're going to be good in the future, but just think about 2 years from now. I'm not saying we won't be good this year or next, but even after KM's class of him, Kyle and Brian leave we'll have

Guards, In no particular order - Jett(jr), McCall(jr), Salecich(sr), Barnett(sr)

Wings, Ellis(sr), Evans(sr)

Bigs, Cory(sr), Loe(jr), Manning(soph)

How do you make a starting 5 from that? Hell 4 very good experienced players will be coming off the bench.

Maybe Jett, Barnett, Cody, Loe, Manning? That leaves McCall, Salecich, Evans, and Cory off the bench.

Seriously, how many very good starting 5's could you make from that group if the newer players develop as we've seen the previous players develop under RM.

Plus, you have only used 9 of our 13 scholarships.

I am surprised at some of the lukewarm comments regarding Loe. I saw him make a couple 3-pointers, a few really good passes, rebound reasonably well and guard CE tough except for a couple of treys by Cody, afterwhich Loe's "D" was much better on CE. All of this after only 1 1/2 weeks of practice and formal coaching by RM and the staff. Frankly, I've made a post or two over the past 3 months or so, based on what I saw in that all-star game which was on ESPN, and I wasn't expecting RL to be anywhere as good as I saw last night. Same with JJ III-much better than I expected. Conversely, I didn't see much to excite me from DE, BUT again they just started practice. MM was an Incomplete for me-he didn't do anything great (I expected him to make a few 3's) (I did like his steal from JJ) but he didn't do anything poorly.

Potential wise, this looks to be a very promising class.

Thanks to RM and whoever convinced him to allow an open practice-type event.

Finally, I hope no one is ever taping RM as he speaks or we are liable to get some probation time from the NCAA. When asked a question about Ben McLemore he acknowledged that he couldn't speak about individual recruits then....well I better not say what he said so as to protect the program.

[slu72]

Plus, you have only used 9 of our 13 scholarships.

I am surprised at some of the lukewarm comments regarding Loe. I saw him make a couple 3-pointers, a few really good passes, rebound reasonably well and guard CE tough except for a couple of treys by Cody, afterwhich Loe's "D" was much better on CE. All of this after only 1 1/2 weeks of practice and formal coaching by RM and the staff. Frankly, I've made a post or two over the past 3 months or so, based on what I saw in that all-star game which was on ESPN, and I wasn't expecting RL to be anywhere as good as I saw last night. Same with JJ III-much better than I expected. Conversely, I didn't see much to excite me from DE, BUT again they just started practice. MM was an Incomplete for me-he didn't do anything great (I expected him to make a few 3's) (I did like his steal from JJ) but he didn't do anything poorly.

Potential wise, this looks to be a very promising class.

Thanks to RM and whoever convinced him to allow an open practice-type event.

Finally, I hope no one is ever taping RM as he speaks or we are liable to get some probation time from the NCAA. When asked a question about Ben McLemore he acknowledged that he couldn't speak about individual recruits then....well I better not say what he said so as to protect the program.

Appreciate the objectivity about this fan fest thing. I think everyone might be playing it a little close to the vest because we're minus the 2 guys who were really supposed to get us to the promised land. Good to hear from PE he's staying in touch with KM and that KM feels strongly about coming back. It's time for SLU to live up to it's Christian and Jesuit credo and forgive him. All in all, I'm sure it's difficult for everyone to get as excited as we were 2-3 months ago as we're looking like we're gonna be pretty much the same old same old this year. So another year of development is upon us and let's get our kicks from seeing these kids improve and come together under some pretty trying circumstances.

[Cowboy]

Finally, I hope no one is ever taping RM as he speaks or we are liable to get some probation time from the NCAA. When asked a question about XXXXXX he acknowledged that he couldn't speak about individual recruits then....well I better not say what he said so as to protect the program.

-right, let's not record it but rather mention it on a message board

[doowop]

I know we all get tired of hearing how we're going to be good in the future, but just think about 2 years from now. I'm not saying we won't be good this year or next, but even after KM's class of him, Kyle and Brian leave we'll have

Guards, In no particular order - Jett(jr), McCall(jr), Salecich(sr), Barnett(sr)

Wings, Ellis(sr), Evans(sr)

Bigs, Cory(sr), Loe(jr), Manning(soph)

How do you make a starting 5 from that? Hell 4 very good experienced players will be coming off the bench.

Maybe Jett, Barnett, Cody, Loe, Manning? That leaves McCall, Salecich, Evans, and Cory off the bench.

Seriously, how many very good starting 5's could you make from that group if the newer players develop as we've seen the previous players develop under RM.

Barnett and Evans will be juniors two years from now.

[Billikan]

Appreciate the objectivity about this fan fest thing. I think everyone might be playing it a little close to the vest because we're minus the 2 guys who were really supposed to get us to the promised land. Good to hear from PE he's staying in touch with KM and that KM feels strongly about coming back. It's time for SLU to live up to it's Christian and Jesuit credo and forgive him. All in all, I'm sure it's difficult for everyone to get as excited as we were 2-3 months ago as we're looking like we're gonna be pretty much the same old same old this year. So another year of development is upon us and let's get our kicks from seeing these kids improve and come together under some pretty trying circumstances.

I have never heard a word from anyone to suggest that we do not have a forgive and forget attitude with Kwamain and everyone seems very anxious and excited to welcome him back.

Even before we lost Willie, I thought that we could be good this year and really good next year. Now with Willie gone and KM gone for at least the beginning of the year, this year will be like when KM and Willie were frosh. We have two frosh point guards/two guards with a lot of potential who have played some pretty tough competition in HS and on the travelling circuit. We have a 6'11" big man who is a frosh but has played a lot of international ball. Evans is a bit of an unknown and an untested frosh but he sure looks like a player to me. The faster they develop and prove they can compete in the A10 the better for this team. I think Cody, Brian, Cory, Christian and Kyle will be better than they were last year but it will be the development and contribution of the frosh that will determine whether we will be a .500 team or possibly a team that can win 20 games or more and go to post season. If KM comes back and is fully capable of playing like he did last year then the predictions go up!

[Billiken4life5]

Sounded like Rick was still unsure of who would start at the point he said it could be either one but did elaborate more on Jett than he did McCall...with Jett's build, if he buys into Rick, he can be an absolute shut down defender. We struggled against penetration last year and Jett looks like an athlete that can help stop that. What worries me is that our reasoning for playing a frosh at point was so that we could score Kyle Cassity up to score more. I agree KC has all the skills to be a good scorer but he has not put it all together yet on a consistent basis. If he can average maybe ten a game then this team will be in the top four of the A10 again. Nonetheless, don't like going into the season counting on a guy who can look a bit clueless on offense occasionally. Two of the freshman looked like they had all the potential in the world: Loe and Evans. Loe looked a bit slow, especially on D (Cody got his 3s way too easy) but Rob did have the shooting touch we had all heard about. If we can get a true 5 man that allows Loe to play to his strengths than he will be a fantastic player. Evans looked like the slasher that we lacked last year. He was quick enough to get to the rack and big enough to finish once he got there. Only saw him take one outside shot but it looked good too. Once again though,all we're talking about is offense and Rick is going to start the five best defenders. We all expect Cody to be our best player the first half of the season and Rick spent half his time bashing Cody's defense.

[slu72]

Sounded like Rick was still unsure of who would start at the point he said it could be either one but did elaborate more on Jett than he did McCall...with Jett's build, if he buys into Rick, he can be an absolute shut down defender. We struggled against penetration last year and Jett looks like an athlete that can help stop that. What worries me is that our reasoning for playing a frosh at point was so that we could score Kyle Cassity up to score more. I agree KC has all the skills to be a good scorer but he has not put it all together yet on a consistent basis. If he can average maybe ten a game then this team will be in the top four of the A10 again. Nonetheless, don't like going into the season counting on a guy who can look a bit clueless on offense occasionally. Two of the freshman looked like they had all the potential in the world: Loe and Evans. Loe looked a bit slow, especially on D (Cody got his 3s way too easy) but Rob did have the shooting touch we had all heard about. If we can get a true 5 man that allows Loe to play to his strengths than he will be a fantastic player. Evans looked like the slasher that we lacked last year. He was quick enough to get to the rack and big enough to finish once he got there. Only saw him take one outside shot but it looked good too. Once again though,all we're talking about is offense and Rick is going to start the five best defenders. We all expect Cody to be our best player the first half of the season and Rick spent half his time bashing Cody's defense.

RM may not be pleased w/ CE's defense and that's the reason he's staying on him. But no way is CE not starting due to his defense or lack thereof. CE's the only proven scorer on this team. He's got to play. Also, whether CE's guarding a slashing 3 or an athletic 4 he's gonna have problems and need backside heip. This will probably never change unless RM's got some tricks of the trade to teach him. CE's a good bb player with good fundamentals on offense, but he's not athletic enough to stop a slasher 3 or a quick strong 4. He will have to do it by outsmarting them.

[Archy McNally]

RM may not be pleased w/ CE's defense and that's the reason he's staying on him. But no way is CE not starting due to his defense or lack thereof. CE's the only proven scorer on this team. He's got to play. Also, whether CE's guarding a slashing 3 or an athletic 4 he's gonna have problems and need backside heip. This will probably never change unless RM's got some tricks of the trade to teach him. CE's a good bb player with good fundamentals on offense, but he's not athletic enough to stop a slasher 3 or a quick strong 4. He will have to do it by outsmarting them.

CE's defense was weak for a D1 starter last year, but I thought it was at least average for a typical freshman in his 1st semester of playing. I thought it was just as good as the freshmen versions of KM and KC and CS in his 1st semester, and they became pretty good defenders. Not to mention he was light years ahead of WR. For a 4 man, you think he could be pretty good now that he has lost some weight, has decent fundamentals, good hoops IQ, has a pretty strong frame. Starting out this year, he might be a little better than last year, but I expect him to improve his "D" a lot over the year, at least against PFs. I think RM is just sending a message to CE - he needs to step it up on defense for the Bills to be as good as they can be.

[DoctorB]

I'll make 2 further comments that so far have not been reported much on here:

1. the comments about CE's defense and "heart" were interesting insofar as RM also made a more general point about how hard it is to find heart, passion. He clearly loves BC for that aspect, and keeps going back to KL for same reason. He spoke of JB in those terms, as a cross between KL and Luke; these are true blue gym rats who live to play and win. I think as many have said, CE will be just fine but RM would love to see in him --and all the others -- more of the eye of the tiger. Interesting to me that he said that is harder to find in HS players than it used to be; I remember Brad S. telling me that once; that he was always looking for the good player who just loves the gym.

2. As for the comments about the recruit "not to be named" (though he was named, by the kid sitting right in front of me!): I think RM is now very wary of any recruit who may struggle academically. some hotshots on here love to brag about how easy SLU is but that is not in keeping with reality. If you sailed through SLU, hooray for you; we're all impressed. But having taught previously at 2 Big Tens, and often athletes and other open enrollment type kids, I can assure you that many do in fact struggle-- HARD.

My obvious point is this: I think RM went on and on because, having now been burned not once and not twice but 3 TIMES by taking serious chances on borderline recruits (3!) -- I sensed that he is just plain tired of dealing with good players who are nevertheless fundamentally unsound academically -- and then having that particular issue ultimately contribute to really hurting the team's progress & morale; (not to mention other "social" elements). No names here; remember FERPA? you do the math. Another reason he kept going on and on about Paul as boy genius, and also mentioned DE's excellent grades, etc.

ps -- I've found it curious that the academic side of all this has never seemed to occur to many folks; as if transferring is only a basketball issue. As has always been the case (i.e. at Indiana, when some of the top recruits got booted for smoking dope back in the day, they also happened to be flunking out and quit attending classes) -- sometimes athletes just quit on school.

[bauman]

-right, let's not record it but rather mention it on a message board

Cowboy, since you are on this Board, I assume you can read and somewhat comprehend.

Reading my post I'm not sure what I wrote that might be NCAA Probation worthy. Can you help, so that I don't make the same mistake in the future?

Thanks

[jjray]

RM may not be pleased w/ CE's defense and that's the reason he's staying on him. But no way is CE not starting due to his defense or lack thereof. CE's the only proven scorer on this team. He's got to play. Also, whether CE's guarding a slashing 3 or an athletic 4 he's gonna have problems and need backside heip. This will probably never change unless RM's got some tricks of the trade to teach him. CE's a good bb player with good fundamentals on offense, but he's not athletic enough to stop a slasher 3 or a quick strong 4. He will have to do it by outsmarting them.

Or he was willing to play zone. Cody has to be on the floor but is a defensive liability. Why not zone? Loe will probably be a decent defender as he gets stronger but right now is also a defensive liability. We would give teams fits on the offensive end with both Cody and Loe on the floor but there is no way we can play man with them both on floor unless our opponent that night happens to be Cardinal Strich. We just can't count on much scoring from our backcourt of JJ3 and KC (until Kwamain comes back) so I think we are almost forced to play Cody and Loe a lot the first semester. Who else on this team is going to score? I wish coach was willing to be creative the defensive end and do what is necessary to get the best players on the court. That means zone IMHO. When Kwamain comes back, different team.

[bauman]

I'll make 2 further comments that so far have not been reported much on here:

1. the comments about CE's defense and "heart" were interesting insofar as RM also made a more general point about how hard it is to find heart, passion. He clearly loves BC for that aspect, and keeps going back to KL for same reason. He spoke of JB in those terms, as a cross between KL and Luke; these are true blue gym rats who live to play and win. I think as many have said, CE will be just fine but RM would love to see in him --and all the others -- more of the eye of the tiger. Interesting to me that he said that is harder to find in HS players than it used to be; I remember Brad S. telling me that once; that he was always looking for the good player who just loves the gym.

2. As for the comments about the recruit "not to be named" (though he was named, by the kid sitting right in front of me!): I think RM is now very wary of any recruit who may struggle academically. some hotshots on here love to brag about how easy SLU is but that is not in keeping with reality. If you sailed through SLU, hooray for you; we're all impressed. But having taught previously at 2 Big Tens, and often athletes and other open enrollment type kids, I can assure you that many do in fact struggle-- HARD.

My obvious point is this: I think RM went on and on because, having now been burned not once and not twice but 3 TIMES by taking serious chances on borderline recruits (3!) -- I sensed that he is just plain tired of dealing with good players who are nevertheless fundamentally unsound academically -- and then having that particular issue ultimately contribute to really hurting the team's progress & morale; (not to mention other "social" elements). No names here; remember FERPA? you do the math. Another reason he kept going on and on about Paul as boy genius, and also mentioned DE's excellent grades, etc.

ps -- I've found it curious that the academic side of all this has never seemed to occur to many folks; as if transferring is only a basketball issue. As has always been the case (i.e. at Indiana, when some of the top recruits got booted for smoking dope back in the day, they also happened to be flunking out and quit attending classes) -- sometimes athletes just quit on school.

Following up on your "gym rat" comment, I remember Jake Barnett's answer to the question from KC about what he does with his free time. His answer, "Shoot hoops." I think he is RM's type player.

[slufanskip]

Barnett and Evans will be juniors two years from now.

yes, my bad. Adding 2 is difficult for me .... obviously