SLIAC still gets there share of players from large schools in the STL area. Off the top of my head I can name (returners)...

Webster - Smith (Clayton), Zehner (Oakville), Drady (Vianney)
Fontbonne - Dorhauer (Vianney), Carel (Pkwy Central), Welch (Lindbergh), Ahearn (Clayton)
Westmin - James (Vianney), Jones (Marquette), Stonecipher (Lafayette), Ebert (Lindbergh)

Even Greenville has a freshman from Webster Groves.

I understand these guys weren't "stars" by any means in HS, but I will go out and say all were pretty good HS players, deserving to play D3 basketball in the SLIAC. Agree that we need to get more of these guys

hopefan, do you think Mac has the guard play to be able to win this conference next year?

Unfortunately haven't gotten to see much SLIAC basketball this season. I HAVE seen a bit of STL area HS hoops, and not really sure what to think. There are a number of great recruits from this area that are going to play at D1, D2 schools next year, but then I just see a BIG talent drop off.  Not really sure who would be good SLIAC candidates; then again, I wasn't sure who would be last year, but was pleasantly surprised, especially by Fontbonne's recruiting class

WashU-Mac postponed this evening

Also, I'm expecting Fontbonne to be a little better than projected. I really like a couple of freshman players coming in for them. Richard Dorhauer, Blake Welch, and Jacob Martin all seem like they could contribute immediately. Dorhauer was a very solid, smart PG for a very good Vianney team last year. Kid looks like he can do a lot for them... defend, handle the ball, and score a little. If not this year, this Fontbonne team will continue to get better over the next 4 years

Quote from: Former Devil 40 on November 13, 2012, 01:54:23 PM
2012-13 SLIAC Men's Basketball
Pre-Season Coaches' Poll
1 - Spalding (4)
2 - Eureka (1)
3 - Westminster (2)
4 - MacMurray
5 - Webster
6 - Greenville (1)
7 - Fontbonne
8 - Blackburn
9 - Principia

Strange that there were only 8 first place votes given out...doesn't every team get to vote?  No suprise that Spalding and Eureka are at the top.  I beleive this is the highest preseason rating for the red devils since joining the SLIAC.

I feel like the league could be a toss up between Spalding, Eureka, or MacMurray. I'll give the upperhand to Mac given their size advantage. Hoping to get out and see at least a LITTLE more hoops than I have in years past! 

Heard a rumor this summer that Nolan Zoellner would not be playing for Fontbonne for his senior year. Any truth to this?

Quote from: hopefan on September 17, 2012, 09:09:44 AM
I received a list of Westminster's recruits...  unfortunately most of the new faces are either not from the St Louis area or are from JCs, so I couldn't find much in the way of stats...  it looks like a very solid, well rounded group of players..

2 kids from Blair Oaks, down near Jeff City... Ben Cooper, 6'2" and Kellen Brondell, 6'7"...  Blair Oaks is a class # school, plays pretty decent competition... found some box scores where both of these guys performed well...  Both made first team Al Tricounty and First Team All District.   The remarks that I've heard is that both are good enough to find playing time as Frosh. 

2 kids from Rolla   Jay Zallis 6'2"  16 points per game; Keegan Garner 6'5" 10ppg  8rpg

Mike Ebert 6'6" Lindbergh...  9 ppgt, 4rpg,  3 apg...  gotta think he's played against good competition...

Mike Bussman  6'5" Gillespie....  13 ppg (from St Louis Post, which had about 70% of Gillepsie's games)

Trent Roach  6'2"  Pleasant Hill Missouri just outside of KC...

and two JCrs

Robbie Burroughs  6'2"....  Santa Rosa JC   from Coach Mitchell   "Great Athlete that will help immediately"
Could this be the SLIAC's next Willie Trimble?  I found some writeups that he started on s a very good JC team....

Jordan Jones  6'0"   STLCC.   All Region XVI JC First Team  "Immediate Depth at Point guard"

There is some size here that is badly needed, even moreso dependent on the health of Joe Prophet....but it all is in the freshman group... big question is can one or two of those frosh bigs step up....  If Jones and Burroughs can flow right in, Westmin could be extremely athletic, but with no size but the frosh....

Only kids I recognize are Ebert and Jones (STL Area). Ebert is TOUGH; a little undersized for a post/wing though. Any word on the Stonecipher kid? I saw Lafayette a few times last winter and thought he was extremely under-utilized, playing behind a very, very good PG there; sad to see. Saw both Ebert and Stonecipher this summer. Stonecipher had a tremendous last game of the year against a big, strong Lindenwood-Belleville team. Ebert had to play more of a big man, especially on defense, which is probably good for him in developing strength.

I've seen this topic brought up on this board before, but my opinion is that these large school kids (mainly from STL), seem to be more prepared for college ball due to the type of competition they played in HS. I've seen countless players who have dominated at Class 1, 3, whatever, and STRUGGLE in the SLIAC, just because they haven't gotten to see the Chaminades, Vianneys, etc. on a regular basis.

Just my thoughts..

Quote from: hopefan on August 26, 2012, 03:54:46 PM
lou... welcome to the board... and good post.... I haven't seen all the names going to Westmin yet, Coach Mitchell always waits until school starts to communicate with me... but I heard from a couple sources they also got a VERY good kid from outstate Mo....

I can't confirm but that would be another nice pick up. Do you happen to know whether he's a guard, post, wing, etc?

Quote from: hopefan on August 03, 2012, 09:47:16 AM
Received a nice note from Todd Creal at Mac, which got my mind back to SLIAC basketball and the upcoming season...  I've seen so little recruiting info from most of the schools that it's difficult to write much of substance... maybe the coaches will communicate more after the new faces arrive on campus... let's hope so....   what I can do is write out the questions I have regarding each of the teams as we begin to think about hoops....

Webster:   Well, it's no secret now to anyone close to the program,that unless somthing has changed,  Webster has lost conference MVP Stefan Whittingham to D2 Lincoln U in Pennsylvania.  Just a darned shame, I'd imagine finances were a major factor, but can a good player in a lower level D3 conference be successsful at the D2 level where most all players are ATHLETES... I wonder....  So how does Webster replace that scoring and rebounding?  Will Ramon Robinson return from California for another year, or also look for a different option? and what of Willie Trimble?  Webster has won with better jumpers, better quickness, the last several years, but won't have that advantage this year unless Robinson and Trimble show up.

Fontbonne:  What do you do with a mix of 7-10 kids returning from an awful team, and 10-15 new faces.. who's going to go, who's playing JV, how many guys will be in the rotation on the varsity... does loyalty get rewarded, or does Coach Scafer go with the new faces?  And does Clayton Cahill suit up for the Griffs.. something that could be worth 3-5 more wins for a team that will likely struggle again,  but will gradually begin to develop with new faces....

Eureka:  Can't figure out why emails to coach Wilde are totally ignorred.... well, let's see, I did write a letter in support of ECSID several years ago, but not in any way condemning that young man's dismissal from the college, only that as a fan I appreciated the coverage of D3 Basketball that he had provided....  Well, as far as the upcoming season goes, my question would be is if Eureka was able to recruit strong enough talent to lend some bench depth to the returning starting 5.  Two or three solid players would really help when starters need a break or get in foul trouble.  Also... has anyone yet talked Jordan Kindred out of trying Football???   Don't do it Jordan!!!!   Think NCAA Tourney!!!!!!

Mac :   The obvious question is can Mac find a replacement for graduated point guard Clint Lee....  Coach Creal has recruited at least two potential candidates... can they fit right in....  and more interesting to me, and something that will generate wins, can Dylan Burton bounce back from an injury riddled sophomore season and return to the form he showed Frosh year... if so, I still think he's a first team all Conference talent.....

Prin :  good grief.... this may have been the least talented program in D3 last year, and they lost some of the talent they did have to graduation...   can they find anyone to play ball with Kenny Sydness and Stanley Beal??

Greenville : Lost alot to graduation, but still have a solid nucleus returning, and a recruiting class that reads great on the Greenville site and that the coaches are very excited about... can the recruits come in and immediately play at the level of the graduating seniors... Greenville is one of my favorite D3 schools due to quaint town, game time atmosphere, good guy coaches and players...  I'm anxious to see how the new faces fit in....

Westmin :  The SLIAC's NCAA rep from last year loses one very good player to graduation, Kurt Kovach, and I'm very curious if Joe Prophet can return from a devastating knee injury suffered at the end of the season....   if Prophet can't play, or depending on what level he can play at, depth will suffer... not alot showed off the bench last year, so again, how will new faces impact the program... tough to replace any of the incumbent starters, but depth at the big man positions or at point will surely help....

Blackburn : This team will show a whole new look as graduation took a major toll....  with only Brandon Adams and Brandon Hill returning with any experience, a huge recruiting year is needed....What did they get?

Spalding :  2011 League MVP Dewhon Mcafee and Cody Cutsinger sit out last season in order to play a year of SLIAC hoops with the program eligible for NCAA this season....   a heck of a risk (another year of classes- ugh) .. will it pay off... will they be in physical and mental shape to play?  Will they be received positively by the guys they left last year.... ie, someone who played last year is gonna get pushed out this year....   interesting situation.....

Just my two cents:

Webster - I feel like Coach Bunch always has Webster prepared to compete in the SLIAC no matter what he is working with. There is no question that Whittingham is a big loss, but I think Coach Bunch will have his team prepared come December whether it's with returners or some new faces to the program.

Fontbonne - Let me just say, wow, Coach Schafer brought in a big recruiting class to say the least. The roster is already posted on Fontbonne's new athletic site... 28 players! Looks more like a Grinnell roster than Fontbonne. Obviously, not all of these guys will be travelling and playing with the varsity team. Coach Schafer is bringing in some solid talent such as Richard Dorhauer and Blake Welch from the St. Louis area. I think they can play for this team right away. Congrats to Coach Schafer on bringing in so many freshman to the program - 16 guys - but it will be interesting to see what guys stick around and who becomes unhappy with playing time/lack of, etc. and transfers elsewhere.

Westminster - The only players to graduate that logged serious minutes were Kovach and Kelsey Weymuth. Mookie Valandra is a player who should be able to step right in for Weymuth. As for Kovach, that's hard to replace. In regards to depth at the point, I think they should be fine. They are getting a quick guard in STLCC transfer Jordan Jones and a good incoming freshman PG Blake Stonecipher from the St. Louis area. I saw both play this summer. They don't exactly play the same style, but I liked both of their games from what I saw: Jones is very quick, to say the least. He gets to the basket well and is a solid defender; Stonecipher is more of a shooter who can also take it to the rim if overplayed and does a good job of finding open guys for scoring opportunities.

Less than a week until start of the season, can't wait!