Article about St. Louis University

[Da Coach]

Article from St. Louis Post Dispatch very critical of SLU coach Brad Soderberg. The move to the Atlantic 10 is not working out very well--

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/berniemiklasz/story/0C744AD0D55E562B8625726A00132605?OpenDocument

[smitty]

A St. Louis TV station had a piece last night about Scott Suggs. He is a junior at Washington, MO, high school, and one of the top juniors in the country. In the report they interviewed Suggs. He has had offers from Kansas, Florida, North Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee, and Washington. But they also mentioned the offer from Bradley and implied Bradley was right with the other schools. I thought it was a pretty nice compliment for Bradley to be mentioned with those other top schools.

[Da Coach]

Here are some links with more info about Suggs from our recruiting forum. The kid is very highly rated, and it would be a miracle if he ended up at Bradley. Illini coach Bruce Weber has also spent a great deal of time recruiting Suggs, so I suspect he would be disappointed to hear that Illinois was not mentioned among the schools he is still considering. But stories like this tell what a great job this coaching staff is doing on the recruiting trail.

http://www.bradleyfans.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4117

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=2292687

Here is a recent Rivals article from the OrangeandBluenews.com about how Illinois and Bruce Weber have recruited Suggs as one of their top targets (sorry it may be a premium article)--

http://illinois.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=624135

In the article, it says he is still considering Illinois, and has made unofficial visits to Missouri, Bradley, and Illinois. He says'
""I like Illinois a lot. Their style of play fits me pretty well I think. I like all the coaches and players at Illinois too. When the time comes to start trimming my list I'm pretty sure they'll be on there."

The Orangeandbluenews.com also has a recruiting article about another Bradley target, Leon Powell--

http://illinois.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=630344

It reports that-
Powell is averaging 22 points, ten rebounds, and four blocks per game.....Mizzou, Bradley, Saint Louis and Missouri State are four other programs along with Illinois that have been in-contact with Powell.

[tornado]

Scott Suggs was at a Bradley home game earlier this season.

[Dallas Brave]

Re: Article about St. Louis University

Article from St. Louis Post Dispatch very critical of SLU coach Brad Soderberg. The move to the Atlantic 10 is not working out very well--

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...5?OpenDocument

SLU really screwed up by chasing the quicksilver lights of the A10. If they had played their cards more wisely, they would have positioned themselves to become a top tier player in the MVC with the built-in advantages of being in the primary market of the conference.

[Da Coach]

With the talent they have, they are 11-7, 2-4 in the weak Atlantic 10 conference (ranked #10 in conference RPI), and with an RPI over 100.
Things could get worse for Soderberg if he can't land more good recruits.

Too bad Tommy Liddell didn't come to Bradley. I have heard BU was a close 2nd in his college decision, and he is a big time player with NBA talent.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=18000

[tornado]

St. Louis U. has other problems lurking beneath the surface.


The Billikens get beaten in four games recently by very weak opponents, St. Bonaventure (RPI 304),
Duquesne (RPI 235), Temple (RPI 146), and Fordham and get hammered in the press.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/slu/story/B130DD28FD97AE8C8625726A0015DCA8?OpenDocument

St. Louis basketball guru Bernie Miklasz (and other writers, too)really turns up the heat with a couple recent articles calling SLU a "bad team",
has bad defense, rips into Soderberg's recruiting, and criticizes him for playing walk ons.
He also seems to long for getting out of the A10 and into the MVC.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/berniemiklasz/story/0C744AD0D55E562B8625726A00132605?OpenDocument

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/bryanburwell/story/CFB5D9140CEF44DC86257264001ADE28?OpenDocument

Also- two players have left the team in mid-season.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/slu/story/77EACBA5A300E2F8862572660083280C?OpenDocument

[beamer]

I have an idea.
Kick ISU out of the Valley and get SLU to join.

[Big Mike]

I say bye to UE and Hello to Butler!

[Da Coach]

UE will be back (someday). They have a great history, but much of their support and following has been squandered by several poor seasons.

[Grassman]

I say bye to UE and Hello to Butler!

I agree. A great RPI + a maJor market in INDY= a great Valley addition.

[Grassman]

UE will be back (someday). They have a great history, but much of their support and following has been squandered by several poor seasons.

Evansville shot themselves in the foot about 4- 5 years ago when there was serious talk of downgrading their athletic programs to Div. III level.
There Coach Jim Crews bolted to ARMY(?) and a combination of his departure, and the downgrade threat, sevely hindered their recruiting.
I do not think they have recovered to this day.

[IlliBraves]

SLU should come back to the MVC. Although the A10 is working well for their other sports teams. SLU is a great school academically and would make a good fit in the Valley.

[georgethedog]

I have an idea.
Kick ISU out of the Valley and get SLU to join.

I would hope that you meant Indiana State? Get rid of them and Evansville and add St. Louis and Butler. Both I(nd)SU and Evansville have been bad for a long time and I don't see that changing drastically very soon.

[Big Mike]

OK.......What if we bring in Butler and St Louis which would put the MVC @ 12 members........only the Top 10 make it to the Valley tourney.......? I like it...... gives us more press in big cities and 2 pretty good schools to join the league!