SIU's heralded recruiting class of 2008 may be history

[Da Coach]

Many people called Chris Lowery's recruiting class of 2008 at SIU the best in the MVC for that year, and one of the best in a long time.

But now there are a number of people reporting that the last 2 remaining players from that 4-man class have decided to leave SIU and transfer.

There are unconfirmed reports that sophomore and last year's Freshman of the Year Kevin Dillard has notified Coach Lowery he intends to transfer, and sophomore Anthony Booker, once ranked in the top 30 nationally among recruits for 2008, is also planning on leaving.
Here is just 1 of multiple threads discussing player defections-

http://www.salukitalk.net/st/viewtopic.php?t=32588&sid=5d744503be2d75234f583ef56402d221

Here is that heralded SIU recruiting class of 2008-
Kevin Dillard- reportedly leaving school after this semester
Anthony Booker- reportedly leaving school after this semester
Ryan Hare- left school earlier this season
Torres Roundtree- left school after last season

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=9&c=8&cfg=bb&toinid=518&yr=2008

In addition, Brandon Wood, a 2007 recruit, left SIU after his freshman season, and Nick Evans, who was a 2007 recruit who redshirted and was a freshman in 2008 with the other 4 recruits above, has also left school and transferred to Southern Indiana University.
Other transfers include Josh Bone (recruiting class of 2006), and 3 from class of 2005- Chris Cornelius, Jordan Armstrong, and Nick Rogers.

[thefish7]

Jeez that would be a disaster. As bad as this last season felt, at least we're not Saluki fans.

[Future Walk-On]

OUCH. I hope we get dillard and booker.

[thefish7]

FWO, I'm guessing you weren't over-serious with that one, but, unfortunately, I think you have a conference mandated two-year waiting period for an in-conference transfer.

[KillerB]

I have heard the same thing as Da Coach.. but nothing confirmed.

[KMart]

Are there any sources besides their fan discussion board?

[Da Coach]

Are there any sources besides their fan discussion board?

Nothing with any more information-
These sites might have morer at a later time, but nothing now.

Saluki news from the Carbondale newspaper-

http://thesouthern.com/sports/article_5f13bae0-3892-11df-86ec-001cc4c03286.html

Here are a couple private bloggers, but don't waste your time- there is nothing there-

http://www.thesouthern.com/app/blogs/dawgblog2/

http://www.dawgtracker.com/

[KillerB]

Are there any sources besides their fan discussion board?

My guy who is close to the situation doesn't know any more .. or is not saying any more than what is floating around out there.

[tornado]

A new interview in which Chris Lowery talks about his vaunted recruiting class of 2008..

http://thesouthern.com/sports/article_9c4f44c2-5414-11df-9605-001cc4c03286.html

But I have to take serious issue with several things he says....

--he calls Bocot his last man from that class, but Bocot was a 2007 grad who verballed in Feb. 2007 and enrolled in Fall of 2007.
To count him in your 2008 class to help out the appearance that they're not all gone - is incorrect.
If Bocot is 2008 then he shouldn't include Tony Freeman also as a 2008, when Freeman didn't play until 2009.

--but the real stumper is this line...

"The seven person class of 2008..Hare, Freeman, Dillard, Booker, Roundtree, Bocot, Allen...
..we got every one of those guys before they even played a game in their senior year.."

that's not true-
Four of those seven didn't verbal until after their senior seasons were completely over..
and Ryan Hare didn't decide on SIU until April of 2008!
BTW -- Nick Evans also was a 2007-2008 redshirt and first played in 2008-2009 so actually he should also be in this class...and SIU was
really his only offer, so you can't blame Evans for coming to SIU - yet read on and you'll see that's exactly what Lowery does.

Chris Lowery claims it was those "early commitments" that caused all the kids to be unhappy and leave once they got to SIU.
He blames it all on the kids...who he claims chose SIU maybe too quickly and thus were the ones who made the mistake of committing too soon before being sure
that it was what they were going to be committed to.....

Baloney -- like I said 4 of the 7 didn't commit until really late their senior HS season, and one was a junior transfer from another college!

The few words they were able to eke out of Dillard and Booker were a bit more telling -- suggesting a serious rift between players and coaching staff...
I think it was the coddling, moving the newbies right past the established players for starting and playing time (causing Josh Bone and many others to leave),
and ignoring serious behavior issues -
CLo overfed the kids' egos and couldn't hold them in check...they were out of control.....

[flipper]

lowery made a mistake by recruiting some kids that didnt fit their system(dillard & booker) or had questionable off court issues(hare).

dillard and booker didnt play good defense.siu finished ninth last season and lost in the play-in game so how good were dillard and booker?

i predict siu will be in play-in game next season.lowery has got be feeling the heat.

[tornado]

Hare, Bocot, and Dillard all had at least one arrest or court date even before the 2008 season began....
..not big stuff, except for Hare........Hare had an alcohol related arrest within days after getting on campus his freshman season, and as noted elsewhere, he didn't miss a second of playing time or a start...kinda reminiscent of the ISU-style discipline.

http://judici.com/courts/cases/case_dispositions.jsp?court=IL039015J&ocl=IL039015J,2008OV1582,IL039015JL2008OV1582D1

Booker, Roundtree, Allen, and Freeman all took just a little longer to get their names in the database..

[saluki762]

Hare, Bocot, and Dillard all had at least one arrest or court date even before the 2008 season began....
..not big stuff, except for Hare........Hare had an alcohol related arrest within days after getting on campus his freshman season, and as noted elsewhere, he didn't miss a second of playing time or a start...kinda reminiscent of the ISU-style discipline.

http://judici.com/courts/cases/case_dispositions.jsp?court=IL039015J&ocl=IL039015J,2008OV1582,IL039015JL2008OV1582D1

Booker, Roundtree, Allen, and Freeman all took just a little longer to get their names in the database..

With this type of criminal record, it is amazing they aren't all serving time.

Dillard = seatbelt
Freeman = no proof of insurance (dismissed)
Roundtree = seatbelt
Allen = speeding
Booker = seatbelt
Bocot = no proof of insurance (dismissed), seatbelt, suspended license

[basketballshadow]

With this type of criminal record, it is amazing they aren't all serving time.

Dillard = seatbelt
Freeman = no proof of insurance (dismissed)
Roundtree = seatbelt
Allen = speeding
Booker = seatbelt
Bocot = no proof of insurance (dismissed), seatbelt, suspended license

ya and Hare did sit out the first exhibition game of his freshman year as punishment so it might have been noted else where it has been noted incorrectly

[Braves4Life]

With this type of criminal record, it is amazing they aren't all serving time.

Dillard = seatbelt
Freeman = no proof of insurance (dismissed)
Roundtree = seatbelt
Allen = speeding
Booker = seatbelt
Bocot = no proof of insurance (dismissed), seatbelt, suspended license

I'm guessing these charges were plea deals by an attorney. How many people do you know that have had ANY of these driving charges (with the exception of a speeding ticket)? I'm going to guess that they got tickets for more serious charges and hired (or at least SOMEBODY hired ) an attorney who went to court and pleaded to a lesser charge. I've paid $250-500 a couple of times to have an attorney plead a speeding ticket down to "faulty equipment"; it also kept it off my insurance record.

It's kind of funny (and sad) how many SIU and ISU players get these "minor" tickets. Come on man! 6 players on the team get these tickets? I could poll a circle of 100 of my friends and I GUARANTEE there wouldn't be this many tickets in a 1 or 2 year span.

[shaunguth]

It's kind of funny (and sad) how many SIU and ISU players get these "minor" tickets. Come on man! 6 players on the team get these tickets? I could poll a circle of 100 of my friends and I GUARANTEE there wouldn't be this many tickets in a 1 or 2 year span.

What amazes me is that it happens like clockwork at the same time every year for some players!