SuperDraft Activity

I don't know anything about Blake, but Cole is an interesting pick.

MLS lists him as D/M because his first three seasons at SLU he played as a defender (and he's a pretty good one), but as a senior he was moved to forward and this fall led the team with 18 goals and 4 assists.

I wonder if he'll stick with the team and in what position.

 

Rapids gain #27 through a pick-swap with Crew.

Alex Blake, 6-1 (!!!) forward from Williams Coll.
From Jamaica, so don't know if there are any residency issues. All time scorer for WillColl.

Jason Cole, 5-10 defender/midfielder from St Louis U.
Some pressure for Kotschau, Hart, and Stewart.

 

Blake I think has a green card??
Hankinson went and scouting a game while in MLS cup and saw Blake play.
Nobody else did.
He was one of CO sleeper picks in hopes that others didn't know about him. And I guess they didn't.

 

When I first saw Cole listed as d-mid, I thought, "Why do we need more bodies there?!" And then I saw what TheSlipperyOne saw, that he has been moved to forward and is C-USA's leading scorer (http://slubillikens.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/cole_jason00.html)

Blake sounds like a great addition to the team. There are photos-a-plenty of him at the Williams website (http://www.williams.edu/News/SportsInfo/pics/soccer/index.html) And who doesn't love a caption like "Alex Blake goes over three Salem defenders to head the ball on goal" Looks like Blake is really strong in the air and can put goals in with his noggin pretty well.

All things considered, a pretty good day, eh?

 

Never saw Blake play, but heard he was very dominant in D3. Williams has one of the better D3 soccer programs, and to be one of the top Williams scorers means either a) he's something special, or b) everyone else around him was. I'm guessing choice a.

And in the fourth round, a guy from North Carolina, All-ACC, Academic All-American, Matt Crawford. Hmm... Academic All-American, a guy from Williams... are we trying to become the smartest team in MLS, too?

 

And from what I hear all the additions are going to challenge Herdsman to the MLS fastest man title!

 

Alex Blake's major qualities are his great speed and nose for the goal (he has a good shot and is always in good position to put in rebounds etc.). He brings a decent set of skills but nothing special for MLS. He's not especially great in the air.

He's has tons of potential but has been criticized in the past for lack of drive/desire.

He was recently added to the Jamaican national team pool.

He may not even join the team until May because he may want to finish school (Williams is an academic rather than a soccer powerhouse).

 

When I was still living in MA, I heard good things about Blake. Who knows he could stick. For picks like these, it makes you wish for expanded rosters, reserve teams, or even a set affiliate A-League club for each team.

 

I've heard this as well.

Well, they are a D-III athletic powerhouse in addition to being a strong academic institution. They've won the Sears Director's Cup 6 of the last 7 years for Division III. The Director's Cup is an award for the best overall collegiate athletic program in the country.

 

i have seen blake play a number of times at williams and have spoken with him on a few occasions. He is a quality player.... big, strong, fast and just always seems to be in the right place to score goals. As far as his drive/motivation is concerned.... you dont score that many goals if you are not working hard. Williams may be DIII, but year after year they have an excellent program. I am not sure that Alex has the all around skills it takes to make it in MLS. He needs to polish his game up a little, but i guess that is what professional coaching staffs are for.
Cheers

 

Saw you guys picked up Cole during the draft. Having watched for the last four years at SLU, I really hope this guy can make an impact in the MLS. First of, he's a great guy all around. Second, SLU's season was looking pretty bad through the first three games (0-2-1), and then at the SMS game, in the 65th minute, SLU's coach puts Cole up front and pulled back Jackie Jewsbury (KC Wiz) to attacking center mid. The whole game changed as SLU's whole dynamic changed on the field. Cole ends up scoring the game winner with 8 seconds to go. From there, he went on to have a hell of a season at forward after spending three seasons at defense.

Anyway, the guy can out jump anyone in the air, has blazing speed, and just plays tough defense. Man, I'm gonna miss watching him on the field. His touch failed him somewhat at forward but hey, he hadn't played up there for three freakin years. I don't see him as a forward in the MLS, but jsut to have that type of versatility out of one of your backs is priceless. You don't bench his type of athleticism.

Anyway, just my two cents.

 

I'll second what Kami said. I hope Cole gets a chance to show what he can do.

He's a great athlete: very fast and absolutely incredible in the air. He had some headers this year that were all-time highlight reel stuff.

I don't see him as a forward in MLS, either, but we know he can play defense, and we know he can attack.

The SLU season, which looked like it was going to be in the toilet after the first few games, totally turned around when they moved Cole to forward and Jewsbury to mid. It was just a totally different team after that. I'm not at all suprised that those two were the ones to go in the MLS draft.

 

So then...
He's another D-Mid? Great! We were a little weak in that department, since we only have the USMNT D-Mid and a former EPL D-Mid.

 

No. A defender. A press report (Denver Post I think) quoted management as saying he would press for the right back spot. We then would use his heading ability on corners.

 

Well that's better. That gives us 4 players competing for right back -- Stewart, Hart, Sleeth and Cole. (according to another post, sleeth is injured)

I'm all for competition, but I'd hope that if the kid has defensive smarts, some speed and skill in the air that he'd be able to compete for central defense, of which his only competition would be Herdsman or Jackson.

Moreover, I think Kotschau is a solid player but I wouldn't mind hearing the team mentioning the left back position a little more often.

If a bunch of the young defenders show well in preseason training and exhibitions, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see one or two of them traded away for a defender with a touch more experience.

 

For those of you that don't know Cole, here's his bio from SLU.

http://slubillikens.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/cole_jason00.html

 

Blake's desire...

Blake has all the physical tools to make it in the MLS, but the one thing that I noticed playing against him this year is that he gets frustrated easily if things aren't going his way. We kind of frustrated him in the first half of the game, and it seemed like he lost desire. He stopped running and working hard after a while after hitting the post twice.
However, I do give him credit, he had the resolve to nail a free kick in the 89th minute to beat us. He should do well in the L.

 

Interesting you should mention that!!! There will be a new guy on that position too. And a very good one (better than Richie). It will take a couple of more weeks to get the deal sorted out but the parties are in agreement of salary etc. SO, it's just matter of getting the deal signed.

And on another note - Sleeth had a surgery on that broken foot, and it will be 8-10 weeks on recovery.

And one more. Kingsley is also having a problem - he has a bone chip in his foot which he will have to have surgery on. Luckily the recovery is a lot quicker for that.