Putting the Super in SuperDraft …live posting from “The Lou”
Welcome back to St. Louis everybody for our live blow-by-blow blog from the annual MLS SuperDraft. We’ll do what we can over the next 4+ hours to bring you the sights and sounds from behind the scenes at the America’s Center, so grab your lunch, kick back and check in often for news and notes from the unofficial kickoff of the ‘09 season.
11:58 a.m. MT: The Commish, Don Garber is at the podium and is ready to kick off this shindig. He’ll soon be throwing it over to the Seattle Sounders FC table for their first-ever pick … don’t worry, even though we’ve never played them and have no reason to hate on our new Western Conference brethren just yet, you may still quietly boo their pick, New York Jets fans-style.
12:03 p.m. MT: “Chiklis” has officially put Seattle on the clock, so while we wait we’ll remind you that you can take in the first hour of the draft on ESPN2. After that, you can follow along online at mlsnet.com.
12:10 pm: The rumors have been confirmed, as Seattle has selected Akron FW Steve Zakuani (that’s zack-oo-ah-knee for those looking to formulate chants) with the top pick.
12:13 pm: Caught up with RSL sideline boss Jason Kreis just before we got underway here in St. Louis. Jason’s got plenty of reason to smile these days, especially after earning a contract extension yesterday that will keep him on the RSL sideline through 2011.
12:17 pm: Well, if you bet on “Trader Mo” Johnston to give away one of Toronto FC’s first round picks, you’ve lost out early on, as the Reds selected the darling of the draft, Wake Forest MF Sam Cronin at #2 and UConn FW O’Brian White (who easliy has the coolest name in this year’s draft) at #4. Don’t worry, Toronto also picks at #13, so you might still be able to cash in!
The LA Galaxy sandwiched Toronto’s picks by taking the first of three underclassman from the national champion Maryland Terrapins, DF/Manchild Omar Gonzalez, at #3. More about the Galaxy later on…
12:36 pm: FC Dallas goes with Michigan’s Peri Marosevic at #5, while D.C. United stays local with its first of back-to-back picks at #6, selecting Maryland MF Rodney Wallace. United then uses the first time out of the day before selecting UC-Santa Barbara striker Chris Pontius (not that Chris Pontius, MTV fans).
12:50 pm: We’re rolling right along and approaching RSL’s first-rounder, with Notre Dame DF Matt Besler (KC), Wake MF Michael Lahoud (Chivas USA), and Indiana DF Kevin Allston (New England) going 8-9-10 respectively. If you want more details, might we suggest checking out the SuperDraft MatchTracker at www.mlsnet.com.
12:55 pm: With “That Team from New Jersey” picking the third Maryland Terrapin of the first round, MF Jeremy Hall, at #11, that puts RSL on the clock… stay tuned!
1:00 pm: The RSL braintrust makes Lynn University MF Jean Alexandre the newest memner of the Claret-and-Cobalt with the #12 selection. So what’s the skinny on Mr. Alexandre? A Haitian citizen who made his first appearances for that country’s senior national team in 2008, the 22-year-old had a stellar senior campaign for the Div II Fighting Knights, netting 23 goals and 7 assists while moving up to forward during his final campaign. Those numbers helped Alexandre earn a slew of accolades, including the 2008 Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year, 2008 Daktronics First Team All-American and NCSAA Third Team All-American honors. We’re tracking down Jean right now (he’s not present at the draft here in St. Louie), so look for reaction from RSL’s newest member shortly.
1:25 pm: While Alexandre may be a mystery to many an MLS observer, he’s actually been on the RSL radar for about the last year. The RSL braintrust took notice of the exceptional athlete last Febuary, when he scored a goal that helped the Fighting Knights to a surprising 2-1 preseason exhibition win over RSL.
2:47 pm: Alright, after some help from the fine folks at MLS Communications, we’ve tracked down visual proof of the one, the only Jean Alexandre. In addition, we also spoke with the young lad to get his reaction:
“When I heard I was selected, to be honest, I was speechless. I have worked so hard for this moment for so long, and when it finally came true I dropped down to me knees and I prayed. The Real Salt Lake staff showed interest in me after we played in preseason last year and spoke to me again leading up to the draft, but I was still surprised when the moment happened.”
First impressions? A humble player that will fit RSL’s “the team is the star” mantra, no doubt. From all accounts, Alexandre is an honest, hard-working player with incredible atheticism and versatility, enough so that some draft-niks say he’d be able to play any position on the field outside of goalkeeper.
15 Jan 2009 RSL HQ
is it true that dema was traded to LA?
Boooo Seattle! It doesn’t matter who you pick, you still suck!
Yes Dema is gone for a 2011 draft pick and some allocation money. I really wonder how the Galaxy are going to finish out a roster, they still have some very high dollar players. They will not have any depth that is for sure.
As a season ticket holder, I’m a bit shocked by our selection of Jean Alexandre. When he wasn’t in many people’s top 25, or even top 10 at the midfield position.
23 goals? I like the sound of that…
Very Surprising pick to be sure. From what I have read he has a great strong body but is still somewhat raw and hasn’t played against good competition. I believe that he will be slotted at Holding Mid but may take some time to develop.
I do think that it was a bit of a reach as there seemed to be some very good players still on the board that could have contributed earlier. I really would have liked to see RSL get a wide midfielder like Kyle Patterson of St. Louis University. Perhaps the FO just thought that defensive mid was a more important position and wanted someone to backup and possibly replace Beckerman after getting rid of Dema and Sturgis this off season.
Why bother with the draft, Kreis will never play even the most talented rook.
Sooooo… Alexandre? Any thoughts?
I love how season ticket holders often preface every opinion they share with the rest of us with the fact that they are season tickets holders. As if that sort of entitles them to some say in who we draft/what formation we play/what the practice schedule should be/etc.
The more I follow the draft the more I like this pick. Since it was RSLs only pick in the first 3 rounds, the FO just decided to take the guy that they like even if it might have been a little too high. I just don’t think there were any attacking players (wing or striker) left on the board that could make a difference.
The comparison that is being made is a more athletic version of Dema Kovalenko in his prime. Despite having Beckerman, I actually think that RSL needs another holding mid and this kid will help. I believe that RSL will still target a left footed wide player in the international market. Most likely they will get someone from south america but I don’t think it will be a DP.
Me: As a season ticket holder, I agree.
me, as a season ticket holder this is the first and last time I ever start a post or sentence that way.
sweet. lets wait and see what happens. He will either play for the first team or he won’t. Following this is not near as important as thanking kova for his contributions.
Kyle Christiansen, another Utah kid goes to Chivas.
Am I missing something? In the description of this guy it says he was a mid who moved up to forward his last year, why is everone on the post calling him a d-mid?
Look at the teams they played and the scores of those games. I mean there are some good D2 teams but how many of this kids goals were in the 5 nil to 10 nil victories they had?
Robo55 “Why bother with the draft, Kreis will never play even the most talented rook.”
Tony Beltran ring a bell?
1st pick = biggest reach of the draft (not on anyones top 25 board)
2nd pick = shortest player in the draft (5′6″)
3rd pick = oldest player in the darft ( 26 years old)
Not an inspiring list there? I wouldn’t be so worried but this team hasn’t historically shown much ability at identifying (and/or developing) talent in the draft?………..season ticket holder.
But…it was DEMA!!! That’s very sad.
J,
Obviously it is because he projects as a D mid. That is where he played at the combine and while he has some attacking skills, his strengths are his tough tackling abilities. Sometimes stats don’t really tell the story. He played against poor competition in college so just because he scored goals doesn’t mean he projects as an attacking player at the next level.
Any info on our other two picks, Cox and Bhembe?
First in a number of Soccer organizations season ticket holders do get a stake in some level of team decisions. Not in the US, exception is Seattle. Second, as fans season ticket holders show their dedication by purchasing season tickets, meaning they are vested in the team.
Anyhow. With only one pick in the first 3 rounds of the draft RSL chose to select a player they knew and were interested in higher than many projected, their next pick was sin the middle of the 4th round. Lynn actually had gotten a lot of attention at the Combine,
Cox also was at the combine and played at the University of Washington was a first team pac 10 player with 7 goals and 6 assists in 17 games this year
Bhembe is a Forward who played in Swaziland before coming to college in the US, he scored 14 goals and had 5 assists for Alabama A&M this year.
Each of our 3 players were more offensive minded picks, which considering our need for scoring seems like wise moves. I only imagine that 2 of them will actually stick with the team coming out of the preseason, now that there is only 24 spots on the team. None of our picks were Generation Adidas, I believe that is a first for RSL in a draft.
thanks Matt C
As a non-season ticket holder, I’m sad to see Dema go. He contributed a lot to the team and I hope he does well. I hope he doesn’t rough us up too bad when he’s with LA though.
Goalkeeper Frei was still available. I would have taken him for trade bait.
Draft?!? Are you kidding me? Hasnt RSL’s history on the draft been a bit sorry, with the exception of Beltran. The story of Alexandre having a great game last year reminds me of when we played in the US Open Cup and Mel Tarley (remember him?) schooled us and we went out and signed him and he did absolutely nothing since! Also this story reminds me of Garth Lagerway seeing Deuchar score 2 goals against Celtic in the SPL and since we signed him he scored only one more goal for us the entire season! Bottomline is that these guys are not the answer to our problems. Hopefully a few of them are left footed midfielders and they might put some pressure on our existing forwards to keep their jobs but we still need a guy who can realiable knock in 10 goals a year for us, the likes we have not seen since Cunningham.
If we were really smart in the draft we would find out who Chivas is planning on picking and drafting those guys. Remember they took Klejstan, Guzan, and Bornstein after RSL passed on them a few years back.
Me: i love your comment!!!!!! and being a season ticket holder i agree with you!!!
oh, and the talented James Rogers has QUIT soccer! he was predicted to be the next pele. if any one can tell me why he did that message back.
I hope that Alexandre will be good at midfield. We could use a tough tackler. Our defense is better but we are still allowing a lot of goals. But, I’m not going to live up to the hype of anybody. So far I haven’t liked any of the players that were really hyped up (Pope, Mathis, Deuchar, etc.). Alexandre doesn’t sound hyped up so far, but I hope he can be a good addition to the team. So I guess time will tell. Will Alexandre be playing in games or will he be more of a developmental player?
Hey JVC,
Tony actually started a number of games for us as a rookie, but playing the same position as Chris Wingert and Ian Joy meant he was going to get time when they were away or injured. He sure didn’t beat them out on talent, he is a good young player but it is very rare for a rookie to adjust to the MLS style of play and make an impact in one season.
The loss of the reserve division will hurt young players who will not find less and less chances to play in matches and will only have practices to impress the decision makers enough to get first team time. I really believe this was an incredibly short sighted move by MLS. I understand the need for cost savings but this is not a wise move and will hurt the league and young players. Someday when every team has a full blown academy system (not likely because they cost more than reserve roster and system), there will be a good path for development. Until then we will likely see a lot more loaning and poaching of USL players, which isn’t likely to make the MLS-USL relationship stronger.
“This pick was one of the shockers of the first round. Not because RSL chose to beef up its attack, but because no one else had Alexandre on their radar.”
Is this really a shock? RSL likes to throw the dice on draft day. You would like to think they could have maneuvered a bit to get this gamble. Sounds like they could have got him in at least the 2nd round… Anyway, at least we still have Cleetus on the roster! Oh yeah, we gave away our resident enforcer/tough guy that alays played with passion, if not a lot of technical skill. Difficult day for us to be excited about anything the FO has done. Maybe they have a big international acquisition they are going to bring in to play the wing? We are clearly trying to rebuild, go younger, not necessarily get better and go further next year. The FO is looking 2-3 years ahead.
Besagno, Luke kramelmeyer, etc etc… I think the same scouts for the Jazz are moonlighting as scouts for RSL.
As a season ticket holder, f4denz obviously knows everything related to soccer.
Just because a person pays money to watch a soccer game doesn’t automatically grant them superior knowledge regarding the game or any particular club. True, people who pay for tickets generally pay more attention than the average joe on the street. But I have season tickets, and I can guarantee you my friend who hardly goes to any games knows more about the sport than I do. He lives in SL and makes way more money than I do, but chooses to spend his money on other things. He’s still a fan - watches games on TV when he can and follows the team on the internet. But even though I have season tickets and he doesn’t, he still knows more about the sport than I do.
So why should we think anyone with season tickets carry’s a more valued opinion? As a season ticket holder, I think it’s a bunch of BS.
As a season ticket holder, i think we should stop with the “as a season ticket holder thing”…
Except it’s way hilarious…
And with the draft, it will be interesting to see what happens. And now that LA has Dema, they’ll certainly get to the playoffs–Dema’s team has gone every year he has played…
REAL SALT LAKE: F
When you only have one pick in the first three rounds you need to make it count, and RSL reached badly for midfielder Jean Alexandre. It isn’t that Alexandre isn’t a quality prospect — he impressed some scouts at the combine with his tough tackling and physical qualities — but he could have been taken in the second or even third round. Five years from now, RSL will wonder how it took Alexandre ahead of Stefan Frei (whom it could have traded).
Ives Galarcep covers MLS for ESPNsoccernet. He also writes a blog, Soccer By Ives
Ryan; the money is the point. Some organizations choose to pay attention to the input of season ticket holders on club decisions, not because a season ticket holder necessarily knows more, but because the club views them as shareholders in a sense.
Is this necessarily the right thing to do? I don’t know, nor do I particularly care. But you’re missing denz’s point.
lets pickup bobby convey. the man needs some playing time and we need a good left footed player in midfield. i know he’s been out with a few injurys as of late, but i would love to see him here. also im a season ticket holder so this must be done cause i said so!
hey blog admins*** I abbreviated a swear in my last post and you didnt post it, it wasn’t a bad swear. a minor at best. anyway next time I have a yellow card infraction please email me and let me know. Since I had input and now the topic is irelevant, I understand the censorship. but I would have been happy to edit the post had I been emailed and notified. plus whats the point of including my email if its never used?
you boys do good work though.
fyi……I’m a season ticket holder…….lol
Our offseason so far
Out:
Nik Besagno (waived)
Kenny Cutler (waived)
Fabian Espindola (unknown club in Venezuela)
Dustin Kirby (waived)
Dema Kovalenko (trade w/LA)
Nathan Sturgis (Expansion Draft)
In:
Allocation $ (from LA in D. Kovalenko trade)
Conditional SuperDraft pick in 2011 (from LA in D. Kovalenko trade)
(I don’t think our picks have signed yet, so they’re not officially “in” yet)- not that they are much to brag about either.
Don’t forget about giving Kreiss a 3 year extension when he hasn’t really proved anything yet, still was able to win most of our home games on turf at altitude. What was Checketts thinking here? Was he afraid Kreiss would be stolen by another team, because he is so well-respected in the league??
We just lost 2 of our top 3 strikers (IMO), but it appears we still have Cteetus to score all those goals for us. What? Oh that’s right, he didn’t, nor did he even tally an assist.
We’re screwed.
As a season ticket holder, who probably said it before, just realized how big of a tool I must have sounded like when I said, “as a season ticket holder” followed by my opinion.
I thought I was Mr. Awesome, but ended up being a tool.
My thoughts anyway…
RSL wanted Alexandre, so they took him plain and simple. I still think that he won’t contribute this year, and the international slots available will be used for a new forward player.
I could care less about the draft, but I won’t.
…out also Kenny D.
sweet.