The people in the “618” would like to say thank you to seniors Dwayne Polk, Luke Meyer, Bryce Husak and Danny Brown for you commitment to the Saint Louis University basketball program. Dwayne, you are a great representative for SLU under former coach Brad Soderberg. Polk was often in East St. Louis signing autographs and speaking with the youths on the East Side. Good luck in the future, D.P.
What do you people mean when you say I don’t like SLU coach “Slick” Rick Majerus? Nobody is questioning his coaching credentials. He’s a heck of a coach. And to his credit, he has let the “618” boys play a little in recent games.
However, there is one question that the brothers you hang out in TWINS Barbershop ask every Tuesday morning. “Why does coach act as though nobody else around here knows basketball but him? And why all that rambling and …. When someone asks him a simple question?
I really couldn’t answer that… but I understood. On his local chit/chat show a couple of weeks ago, Slick Rick was discussing the play of Tommie Liddell III. After giving T.L.III., his props on the defensive end, he stated, “Tommie took some bad shots” in the U-MASS game.
Then he asks the host, “Wasn’t this game on television?” The host said yes. Slick Rick responded, “The real fans saw them too.”
What the HELL does that mean? I thought a bad shot is just a bad shot? Since when does watching on TV make you a real fan?
I was listening to Earl and Rammer, and thought T.L.3. took a few bricks to the shed too, at times.
I hear people, even friends, try to give Slick Rick a pass by saying, “Sometimes he just rambles and doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
Right. This time last year, Coach was working as a contributor for ESPN. He knows how to work the media.
I wish Slick Rick would have attended the St. Louis Gateway Classic Basketball Shoot-Out that Earl Wilson Jr. put on and that my man Femi John of McClure North played in. Former SLU coaches Charlie Spoonhour, Lorenzo Romar, and Brad Soderburg all attended this event when one of their recruits played in it.
Come join us, sometimes.
Hot Cotto
Alton guard Rueben Cotto is one of the most gifted players to play in the Southwestern Conference in some time. Cotto is being recruited by SLU, and Purdue among others.
Stetson peeks
Former S.I.U. Saluki/Belleville East graduate Stetson Hairston visited his alma mater Friday night looking at the talent between Alton and Belleville East. Hairston, one of the top guards ever at SIU, is an assistant coach at Lincoln Trail J.C.
Sign, sign
Family and friends throughout the Metro East were proud of several student-athletes last week who signed National Letters of Intent to continue their athletic and academic careers.
At Belleville Althoff Catholic High, Jason Ford, the all-time leading rusher in IHSA History, choose the University of Illinois to show the folks in Missouri what a real running back looks like.
Ford, who punished opposing defenses throughout the area and Southern Illinois the last four years, had opposing coaches jokingly telling him not to return to their stadiums as an opponent.
Ford said, “Hopefully, I can make my family proud, get an education, and get the ILLINI back to the Rose Bowl or play for a national championship some day.”
At East St. Louis Senior High, defensive lineman Brandon Harold signed to play for the Malcolm Briggs Wildcats – I mean, the Kansas Sate Wildcats.
Harold, a 6’7” 290-pound All State performer, led the Flyers to a 13- 1 record a trip to the IHSA Class 7A state semifinals. Harold credited his coaches at East Side for his improvement each season, including head coach Darren Sunkett and former NFL players James Harris and John Clay.
Question. Didn’t Mizzou used to consider the Metro East part of its recruiting scene?
ESL news
The Flyers have been invited too participate in the prestigious Kirk Herbstriet Football Classic during Labor Day weekend.
Sunkett’s Flyers will play at either the Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, or the University of Cincinnati.
The Flyers return over 20 lettermen from a 13-1 team, including two of the best wide-outs in the country in 6’4” Craig Appleton, and 6’3” Terry Hawthorne. Both come from prestigious Lincoln Middle School with Appleton being the returning 300-meter intermediate hurdles state champion. Several major universities are eyeing the pair including Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas State, Miami and USC.
Also, Flyers’ All American candidate in girls basketball Teandra Smith committed to the University of Illinois. The 6’2” senior is hands-down the best player south of Interstate 80 in Illinois. Smith has led the Flyerettes to an impressive mark this season and the Southwestern Conference championship. However, it had to be disappointing end for Smith and her teammates as they lost to conference rival Belleville East in the championship game of the Belleville East Regional.
Some of you may remember “TT Smith” when she scored 36 points on a running clock only playing three quarters when she was in the eighth grade during the Joe Torry “Giving Back the Love” Weekend Youth Game in the summer of 2004.
