Don’t be a doubting Thomas about St. Thomas HS’s gift to LU, Jeremy King.

He has consistently come through. As a senior he led the St. Thomas team to the Texas final 4, losing to the state champions. As a junior his team won the state championship. A junior 1st team all-state, and as a senior 2nd team all state. A great defensive player & an accurate field goal shooter.

As a LU red-shirt last year, he did his job. He added 26 pounds of muscle to his slim formerly 209 lb., 6'10" frame. He kept up with his studies and his quick wit & good sense of humor strengthen the team’s morale. He also was learning from our accomplished center Ben Averkamp, 2nd team All Conference for the last 2 years.

In his first year, Coach Moser did a great job in developing Chris Thomas & Joe Crisman between their freshmen & sophomore year. Likewise in his second year, Coach Moser did a great job in developing freshmen Keke White and Devon Turk, & it looks like this year we can say the same for last year’s freshmen, Nick Osborne and Matt O’Leary.

So far King has not played a minute of Division I basketball. To say he is a mistake at this point, you may find in the future is a very mistaken statement. Bob Knight says it usually takes players 2 years to develope. King has 4 years left. If he stays healthy, this 6'10", 235 lb., great kid may make a big mark in LU history.

There's a lot to like about Jeremy King, especially if he's the great kid and teammate you describe. He may get a chance to contribute this year but the final verdict is more likely way down the line. He seems to have some real skills that can be developed.

When it comes to expectations for Jeremy, just one note about Texas. Except for the biggest schools, private schools in Texas do not compete in the same leagues as public schools. Moreover, there are far fewer private schools in Texas than we are used to here. St Thomas is in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS), and although a state championship and all-state staus are laudable, they are not the same kind of credentials as being an all-state member of a public school championship team.

Jeremy King reminds me a lot of Tyrelle Blair. Great basketball body and dimensions, big wingspan, huge upside. He seems to have come from a similar prep background (Blair was a player at FSU high school in Florida). If he can average 5 minutes a game, pick up some blocks and rebounds, and force some bad shots, I don't care if he doesn't score 10 points this year. He could end up being a major factor in 2 years if he spends this time learning.

TAPPS is probably stronger than most state associations. Wichita recruits from both the private and public schools in Texas and it's because both provide strong competition. Maybe it's slightly below the public schools, but not by a whole lot.

With that said, I know nothing about King.

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The Roundhouse

Us either.... Cant wait to see him play as well as our other new big Guy Cody Johnson. I am curious to see what style we play this year. If we go with Osbourne 3 small forward/big guards we may be pressing and up tempo. If we add either King or Johnson to the lineup with Osbourne at the 4 or play Osbourne at the 5 with OLeary at the 4 we may be more methodical. Or maybe we can be flexible and be able to play a couple of styles.

Well, we have accomplished step one in the "BIG" department--We finally after all these years have some -- Step two --get them experience--

Lookin' far better for the RAMBLERS --Its now goin' to be squarely up to Porter and his troops. Gosh ! This is great !! GO RAMBLERS !

BTW, Guys, Have you noticed the timbre of SubGod's posts?? At the moment Shockers will be our toughest opponent---same as Butler was--He quotes facts about things MVC and us sans the vitriol we were used to reading from INDY.

Brot, I'll gladly take the Shockers. They seem far more down to earth than Butler. Plus, the MVC isn't making new rules to protect the Shockers like the Horizon did for Butler.

Sure, they will be our toughest opponents. I hope they become a rival. But they won't be NEARLY as hated as Butler.

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Cigarboy sucks!

WOW GO !! I forgot about the Butler rules---Cripes !! That is such a true story. The Valley has and will continue to be a REAL conference. We have no need to tinker as did the Horizon to foster Butler...

The MVC gives what people EARN--Nothing more --nothing less.

Funny-- I was just talking today to friend in Normal about the f-ed up strategy the Horizon League had. They built Butler into a national team at the expense of almost every other school in the league. They changed rules to benefit Butler, angled the officiating to benefit Butler, and operated everything out of Indianapolis for Buter's benefit. So when Butler had a chance, they ditched the HL with no notice. In fact, Butler has been in three different conferences in the past three years.

I have no idea what LeCrone thought would be the result of his strategy of building Butler into a dynasty at the expense of the other schools in the league, but we now see what a lot of us thought would happen. I'm not even going to invoke the rife political parallels, including HL/LeCrone apologist Cigar Boy, but one side of the argument ultimately proved to be right.

I'm just grateful and excited to be in this league. A lot of us advocated a long time for a move like this-- even against the crap comments from Butler fans and the LeCrone apologists that were geared toward discouraging our fanbase. We're here now, and we have to step up. I want a 20-point win over Milwaukee and an 18-point win over UIC.

*drops mic*