Losing back-to-back recruits to teams that were in the Horizon League two years ago or are currently ain't a great look.
The wait continues ... 😆
Losing back-to-back recruits to teams that were in the Horizon League two years ago or are currently ain't a great look.
The wait continues ... 😆
I was expecting Smith and Kennedy to commit somewhere this week unless Smith had another visit lined up. Unless SIU has something locked up I don’t know about, I’m guessing we’ll get more visits this weekend and have to wait another week for something. Going into May with 5 spots open is not encouraging.
Howard is really going to have to work some magic now for me to feel good about this season
Regarding these unsuccessful visits, I wonder if the state of the roster is part of the issue. A big part of visits is meeting/mixing with the team, and in Southern's case, you have four guys in the portal, including some of the more outgoing personalities like Banks, so it may be a bit of a weird vibe. Not sure who among the returnees has the personality to really sell the program.
Ultimately, though, it's the coaches' job to close the deal. And it's also not like SIU is the only program in the country with a bunch of guys in the portal and other schools seem to be able to sign people.
I think almost all of my top guys we were after are gone now so here’s a new list (and these are only guys mentioned on Twitter or here that we’re interested in):
1) Tyreek Smith 6-9 Junior Forward from Oklahoma State. Averaged 5.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG. Was a 3 star out of HS and was at Texas Tech to begin with. Seems like a force down low that gets a lot of dunks and can really take the pressure off Cade and Ebube for a season.
2) Kareem Thompson 6-5 Grad Senior Guard from Oral Roberts. Averaged 8.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG. Haven’t seen much about his interest level lately but he’s a guy that can shoot and create his own offense to the rim. Numbers are low but he played with Max Abmas.
3) Mike Meadows 6-2 Junior Guard from Portland. Averaged 11 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.2 APG. Originally committed to Loyola Marymount a few weeks ago but opened up his recruitment again. Started his college career at Wazzu. He’ll be 25 in October.
4) Josiah Allick 6-8 Senior Forward from New Mexico. Averaged 8.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG. Being recruited by high majors. Was 78th in the country in 2 point % (105-163, 64.4%)
5) DeAnthony Tipler 5-10 Grad Senior Guard from East Tennessee State. Averaged 10.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.7 APG. Very similar player to Lance Jones. Smaller guard that can get to the rim and knock down 3’s and averaged 1.3 steals per game.
6) Kobe Knox 6-5 Freshman Guard from Grand Canyon. Averaged 5.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.2 APG. Was a 3 point specialist on a Tournament team last year and was a 3 star out of high school
Only Allick on this list is scheduled to visit right now. He would be a great get. He has visited San Diego State and Nebraska. Not sure that we have a great chance to get him but he is scheduled to visit.
Is it safe to say the coaching staff botched this recruiting period?
I think you have to look at Tevin Smith in a couple of ways. If he is the best we can do then its not good enough. Maybe they backed off of him We will not win if Tevin Smith is our big signee so I am not at all worried about losing him. Again, he and Kennedy might be nice pieces but their are plenty of pieces out there . We need guys who can really ball and neither of them is that guy. So , frankly I am glad we didn't get him because personally I think we need and can do better.
Maybe we’ll look back on it differently but I don’t think we’re in position to be okay with good players transferring elsewhere right now. I’d be really surprised if we signed 5 players better than Kennedy and Smith. In fact, it’s more likely we sign 5 players worse than those two, or at least 4 players.
It's not over yet.Is it safe to say the coaching staff botched this recruiting period?
When you took a final exam in Faner or Lawson, did you get graded while you were halfway through the test or after the time was up and you turned your test in?
There is still an insane amount of talent available in the portal, and more joining every day.
Cross DJ Davis off the list. Had him as one of my remaining 16 players
https://twitter.com/VerbalCommits/status/1650975401219350531
@saluki-4-life Trent would be another good ambassador
right now Trent is looking at playing 25-30 minutes a game he is one of two scholarship guards on our roster. I am sure we will sign a few more but the reality is he is coming back because he anticipates having a bigger role on our team otherwise after graduating last December why would he return for a 5th year? Even though by all accounts Trent is a great kid not sure how much he would advocate for basically someone to take his job.
@saluki-4-life Trent would be another good ambassador
right now Trent is looking at playing 25-30 minutes a game he is one of two scholarship guards on our roster. I am sure we will sign a few more but the reality is he is coming back because he anticipates having a bigger role on our team otherwise after graduating last December why would he return for a 5th year? Even though by all accounts Trent is a great kid not sure how much he would advocate for basically someone to take his job.
If Trent plays 25-30 minutes a game, we're in trouble.
