GEORGETOWN BASKETBALL THREAD

[al3xis]

Yup, the problem wasn't the 'system'

it's executing it....we didn't cut hard, and a few guys just like to stand and watch and wait for the ball.

People say the system holds people back, when in actuality, it offers TONS of freedom, not in a traditional sense, but the freedom is definitely there if runit they way it's supposed to be run.

Years ago when III got here, he did say it takes about a year and a half for people to 'get it'...so I'm hoping youth was a key.

It does hurt that outside of Chris and Greg...who can put the ball on the floor and also pass?



DaJuan, Clark, Nikita and Austin should take a ball with them wherever they go this offseason..

the perfect offseason would result in..
Wright/Clark/Sanford
Freeman/Clark/Wattad
Summers/Thompson/Nikita
Sims/Williams/Summers
Monroe/Vaughn/Sims

and this would be a hell of a team IMO..at least on paper...

 

[al3xis]

A win tonight would be nice, huh?

but this team on the road against a team playing well

.

Looks like we're in the lead for Sanford.

Lexington Catholic senior Vee Sanford has become the most sought-after unsigned senior basketball player in the state of Kentucky this season.

But before the 6-foot-3 Sanford can make a decision on his future, he's concentrated on trying to help LexCath win a state title this week. The Knights play Bowling Green in the opening round of the Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena on Thursday at noon.

"I'm focused on trying to help my team right now," Sanford said.

And after this week, the attention will turn to colleges. He's already visited Bradley and will make visits soon to Georgetown University, Virginia and Baylor. His final visit will likely be to either Nebraska or Charlotte. All of those schools and a host more have offered a scholarship.

"It's kind of like another college is coming in every week," Sanford said. "I am enjoying this but they're all pretty even right now. I think I will know just from making some visits and seeing how I fit in at school. I'm trying to enjoy the process."

Sanford said Georgetown coach John Thompson III has been to several practices and will be in attendance at Rupp Arena on Thursday, along with South Florida coach Stan Heath.

Sanford averages 22.3 points and 5.7 rebounds a game for the Knights.


Will Barton and Mike Gbinjie are playing with Team Takeover this spring/summer. That's a plus.

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

Give it up Allen.

 

[lnmymind]

This is Vee Sanford?

No thanks...I'll take both Williams and Roscoe Davis

 

[al3xis]

Everything I've heard says the kid can play, and probably most importantly for this team..can shoot it.. Overlooked cause of no AAU (we've been downthat road before and struck gold)

And, I'm guessing they are indeed banking on Greg returning by getting a guard.

we do need another ball handler.

 

[al3xis]

let's go

 

[al3xis]

When he uses it, you can see why everyone pegged Austin as having the best mid range game in the 07 class.

Just wish we saw more of it.

 

[al3xis]

First half was therapeutic. 2nd half was back to crap.

A true microcosm of the season.

Please end the Nikita experiement and give Henry minutes. I think we got closer to that happening tonight.

They fought tonight, but things that went wrong this year just aren't correctable in a week.

So long, Sapp. Too bad it went down like this. Had a good game tonight, but fitting his 3 to tie went halfway down and out.

DaJuan and Greg both need 1 more year. For different reasons....DaJuan needs to become more complete. Gain the ability to pass, defend and dribble. Greg justneeds to get stronger.

Austin needs to lose weight, it's effected his 3 point shooting...ALWAYS off balance. He's too good and talented to not work hard this off season. Ihope Hollis pushes him to this. I did enjoy how he came out late this year handling the ball more and facilitating more on offense at the top against zone.

Clark just needs to get older, he's a player. I feel the same about Sims when he gets time.

Wright, I hold out hope he takes on a leadership role. I think he can. And with Sapp gone, it'll be his back court and hopefully team. He's got it inhim.

Vaughn serves a role, and he's progressed nicely. Get stronger, more comfortable and he's good for 15 minutes a game. Not just for spot foul trouble,but to contribute.

Nikita and Omar...spot minutes. But it's been a good experience for them this season. They both had their moments.

....staff.....Rebounding. Handling pressure. In bounds plays. Cutting out pointless TO's. I'll give them a pass for this year being such a youngteam...but these problems have been around before....


There can be negatives thrown on this team....whether it's too soft, too many guys are just scorers, no defined roles, etc, etc.

But, It's still a bunch of talent and when things 'click' I think we'll have a pretty special team.

 

[DeadsetAce]

goodnight 08-09 season...it was a painful season and im glad to see you go...but it makes my anticipation for next year even greater

 

[al3xis]

what is new?

Well that season (past tense) was like a really long Fray song. Queue the Piano.

There is a fine line between being a very good team, and being whatever that team was. That team lost most games it would normally have won over the past few seasons. Now the simplistic response is to say the team has lost four incredibly clutch and experienced players over the past couple of season: Pat, Roy, Jon, Jeff. However, the team was 12-4 with the toughest schedule in the country and then went downhill. So obviously there were more issues than a dearth of clutch experience. The teams have never been great rebounding teams, but over the years the on the ball and help defense has basically been the best in the country which helped compensate for bad rebounding. The teams have always had high turn-overs, but great execution and FG/3pt% compensated. This past season the man-to-man defense both on the ball and help rotation was poor. Three point shooting was also poor, and the team shot too many. Therefore, you have that unfavorable equation of giving up more points and scoring with less frequency. Consequently that fine line between being a very good team, and being what that team was...

Note: Any critique of players is only basketball related. Anyone that tries to take this out of context and make it about a kids "character" or some garbage because a player did not smile or pour tea for a student, should try getting a life. Or just seek counseling because mommy did not give you enough hugs.

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Summers.
Well the good news is Summers has improved as a shooter/scorer every season. The bad news is he has not improved at any other phases of the game. I luv the kid personally but I have never sugar coated my post before, so I won't start now. The reality is that Summers has completely played himself out of the draft( even mid second round). An even more stark reality for Summers is that if he does not dramatically improve his ball handling, lateral movement, defense, and court awareness, then he has no chance of getting drafted in the first round next season either. Regardless of what position Summers is playing on the court, he is a way below average: defender, ball handler, and passer. Equally if not more disturbing is his complete lack of court awareness. He is a 3 year started and still has no concept of seeing his man and ball. He does not even point to his man and the ball(and yes he is coached to). He does not communicate well with his teammates on defensive rotations. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Summers is the Final Four game against OSU. The team played perfect defense for 30 seconds, forcing OSU into a bad shot. Jeff and Roy located their man and boxed them out text book, while Summers just turned and watched the ball as his man came flying in from the wing for the rebound (and yes he is coached to locate and box out). 3 years later, he is still the same player. Now what is most problematic for Summers and the team is that he is a "go through the motions" type of player. Which means he turns it on and off in practice. This translates to inconsistent play in games. He cuts hard some time, while other times he loafs. He is the only senior on the team, and should be the leader. However, "go through the motions" guys are worst players to have as leaders because they do not set a good example for the rest of the team nor do they elevate the level of practice and intensity (clock watchers). This does not make him a "bad person" or "cancer". Everyone is wired differently. Some guys are self motivated natural leaders that go hard all of the time; others simply do not have that. The past two seasons I always seem to find myself asking the same question after a game win or lose: Does Summers positives on the court outweigh his negatives. Meaning does his 12-18pts per game outweigh his non-existent defense, horrible turnovers, and anemic rebounding. I still don't know that answer. I am never a stats guy but his 81 turnovers had to be among the highest for non PGs in the country. That number would be ok if he was a high assist guy or someone that created scoring opportunities like Monroe, but Summers only had like 30 assist. Summers is not a facilitator so it is ok that he is not a high assist guy, but there is no excuse for his ridiculous turnovers. A wise man conceals his weakness public and improves upon his weakness privately. While a player can't completely hide the fact that they have no handles, there is also no need to give confirmation 4-8 times a game. Full discloser, I swore that since I had no expectations for the team last season that I would not break any remote controls. Alas came Summers first half at nova. He was well on his way to a double digit turnover game when he got a defensive rebound and proceeded to start trying to dribble down the court. As has become common place for him, he dribbled himself into the ground (literally) and just gave the ball to nova for a lay-up before halftime. Sadly an innocent remote control lost its life. I went a whole year without breaking one, which might be a personal best. I believe that my lack of remote control breakage had a direct correlation to Circuit City's bankruptcy. Summers will probably put his name in the draft to get a front office assessment. They will politely tell Summers what they have already brutally told me. But he will get the point regardless. Honestly at this time Summers needs to have the old look yourself in the mirror self reflection moments, because there is nothing that JT3, his family/friends, or scouts can say to him. He has be honest with himself and determine whether or not he is going to dedicate himself to doing the things he has to do, or if he is just going to be one of those guys that forever teases but never quite gets there. Right now he is that guy that will be a 10 year NBDL/Overseas player. Nothing wrong with collecting checks overseas, heck since the dollar ain't worth squat that is not a bad living at all. The big question will be is going to be able to playing wining basketball his senior season. Nobody knows the answer to that, because seniors always come to an interesting crossroads. If they are not playing at a high level then they press and do not help the team, as the situation becomes more about their individual futures as opposed to the team's overall success. Well these next six months are the most important of his young life. Of course we never realize these things until we are older and we find ourselves looking back and saying what if.

Freeman:
You won't find a better kid, so I will just get to the point. LOSE WEIGHT! It does not matter what people want to call it: muscle/bulk/chub/big-boned… Labels are irrelevant, because he simply has to slim down. He is painfully slow laterally and can't guard anyone. Freeman only has one position SG, because he does not have the height or athleticism to play SF. Frankly Austin is a lot like Summers right now in that he is a good scorer, but he is way below average at other aspects of the game. His ball handling and head scratching decision making…ehh. His shooting also really fell off last season. He had a very good freshman season and did not show up for most of his sophomore season. Of course it would not hurt if Freeman stopped hanging out at curtis' eating BBQ all day.

Wright:
Interesting season for Chris. Offensively, he was excellent the first part of the season, as good as any PG in the country. He was horrible in the middle part of the season, as he was not sharing the ball, took bad shots, and made poor decisions with the ball. He was solid at the end of the season, regained his composure and played under control. Such are the growing pains for a young PG. But he is now a junior, so he must improve his consistency. The first halves against uconn/dook/baylor were text book on how a PG should run a team (except the last minute of the dook first half). In those games Chris ran the offense, got his teammates the ball in good scoring positions, played under control, attacked the opponent in the lane and showed great decision making. Unfortunately he would also fall into his bad habits of bad shot selection and not giving the ball up for good scoring opportunities. Most disturbing was his porous on ball defense. He got better towards the end of the season, but he really struggled staying in front of his man. He stands upright on defense and does not drop down and move his feet. In fact the entire team stands upright on defense and does not move their feet well (except Clark). Chris is a well below average shooter right now, and he MUST improve. No excuse for such a poor shooting percentage.

Monroe:
Nice Frosh season from the young fella. Being freshman of the year in the Nation's toughest conference and playing the Nation's toughest schedule, is impressive. What you want to see from talented freshman is how hard they compete and how consistently they do it. For the most part Greg did this all season. His passing and decision making are as good as it gets from a Frosh bigman. His shot has really improved since highschool, and he has developed a consistent lefty hook. His rebounding and help defense have also really improved. Sun is a winner even though the team did not win last season. Obviously, nobody luvs Greg any more than I do. But there is a reason for over two years I have said the Monroe is 2 year college player (even long before he committed to Gtown). He has glaring deficiencies in his game. His legs are weak and lacking in strength/explosiveness. Causing him to struggle when finishing around the basket. Perhaps SFhoya or one of our stat guys has this info already, but Monroe had to lead the country in missed layups. His right hand is almost non-existent. His post game is raw. He has the lefty hook now, but no other consistent post moves. He lacks strength in his upper body also as the ball is too easily taken from him. This is now the silly season where everyone with nothing better to do or a need to drum up interest will float whatever story about so and so going pro. Here is the reality; Monroe is NOT a top 3 pick in this year's draft. He is not even top five. The usual suspects will try and float all of their mock draft/someone told me garbage, but Monroe knows he is not ready. Yes, Monroe is clearly the top freshman prospect. But no, not all classes are created equal and the 08 class is poop. So let mullens/evans/deroza go pro, and see where they get drafted. Some people clearly don't have a clue on how the draft process works. Greg does not have any reason to even put his name into the draft because he is in a very different position from Summers. Monroe is a lotto pick whenever he decides to come out. Lotto picks do not do anything at pre-draft camps except basically pee in a cup, and they do not travel to work-out against other players. People should not get too caught up in his game against Thebeat, because Greg is a match-up nightmare for Thabeat. A week later, Harangody got the better of Monroe. However, that does not mean that anyone that values their job would draft Harongody over Monroe. Playing PF in the NBA is for men only. People forget that Greg is only 18, and just not near ready. He struggled with the physicality of cincy, wvu and St. Johns, so he needs to dominate college kids before seriously looking at the grown men in the league. People always want to talk about players going for the money, what they do not realize is that the economy has changed dramatically from the NBA's perspective. About half of the teams are operating in the red this season, and it will be worse next season. The books of most NBA franchises right now are a tax attorney's dream, but an owner's nightmare. The pressure is intense right now on front offices to cut cost, but still put out a competitive product that will put fans in the seats. You will see teams trying to trade out of the first round so they do not have to sign a first rounder. You will also see teams draft more European players, because they will not have to sign them to a contract for a couple of years. This is just another reason that a guy like Summers has no chance of getting drafted in the first round this year, because teams are not going to pay a guy first round money while he is down in the NBDL. Likewise for Monroe, teams are not going to spend a top five pick on a "potential" type player. Meaning a player that everyone believes will eventually be good, but will have to sit a lot the first season. Coaches, GMs, and owners do not have the time/money/luxury to do that anymore. Not to mention the history of bigmen in the NBA. Since the lotto, the best bigs(PF/C) have all been at least 3 year college players: Shaq, Pat, Zo, Hakeem, Malone, Duncan, … Bigmen need those years in college to develop like quarterbacks do. There are always a few exceptions like Garnett and Dwight Howard, but those two were athletic freaks of nature. Monroe is not near that kind of athlete, and he needs to improve his explosiveness and athleticism on the college before even thinking about the league. Greg has the ear of friends like Jonathan Bender that went pro before they were ready. Fortunately for Greg he also has access to the most knowledgeable people in the business: Pops and Falk. They will give Greg the unfiltered truth and always have his best interest:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12272008/spo....s_su_146110.htm

Sims.
Sims will be a beast this season. With a year under his belt he now has a good understanding of the system. Ironically, he got a good grasp of the offense mid-way through the season but was still getting a bit lost on the defensive rotations. Sims needs to place a bunk-bed in the weight room and he and Greg need to live in there. Sims was a good 3pt shooter in HS, but struggled with the new distance in college. This is actually a blessing, because he needs to focus on perfecting the mid-range shot and becoming a back to the basket player. He has all of the skills, and he plays hard. Like Monroe, Sims is just 18 so they need to fill out and refine their post games. Monroe needs his boi in the trenches with him this coming season. I never want to see a 3 guard offense or Summers at PF again, so Henry has to make that jump. Funny how noticeably higher the energy level was when Sims, Monroe, and Clark were all on the floor at the same time. Now the youngins made their share of mistakes, but they sure play hard. And Henry won't get cheated on a foul call, cause he is going to let the opponent feel it.

Clark.
I luved everything Clark brought to the table last season. Played hard, smart, made shots, defended, rebounded…EXCEPT ball handling, Ball handling, ball handling, ball handling…get the 'point' of where I am going with this. Jason needs to spend every free second between now and the beginning of the season improving his handles. He has to develop the ability to bring the ball up under pressure and get the team into the offense.

Vaughn.
Well my highlight of the season had to be the Julian Vaughn "killa" cross-over dribble against wvu. Uh, no son. See my reference to concealing ones weakness in the Summers section. Having said that, Vaughn is what he is. So I am fine with that. Anyone that watched him in highschool or at FSU understands what I am saying and his limitations. So he did a good job of coming in and playing hard. He actually was a very good post defender and improved his rebounding. He needs to focus on becoming a legit post (back to the basket) threat. He also needs to get stronger and more athletic. He is in the process of changing his body and it is noticeable so that is good. But he does have a relatively low ceiling so I am not sure how much better he can get.

Nikita.
Promising passer, understands the system and what to do on the court. He plays hard and sticks his nose in there. If he is going to be on the court though he has to make shots, because last season he could not guard anyone on defense. He has to get quicker as all of the wings need to because he gets beaten easily, and is forced to hand-check(foul). Also he needs to hack the heck out of an opposing player instead of giving them and ones all of the time. He should have fouled cincy and cuse bigmen about 20 times instead of giving them lay-ups.

Omar.
He began the season well. Giving the team lots of energy, and smart/hard play while knocking down shots. He was always giving positive energy on the bench even when not playing. For whatever reason he fell off the second half of the season, on the court and on the bench. But just like Freeman, Omar has to slim down and get much quicker.

Hollis. Ya know!

BTW. And now the rest of the story (and no I was not a Paul Harvey fan, but he did get me to buy a Bose acoustic wave machine). Hollis was actually going to play last season. This was 100% Hollis decision, NOT JT3's. He picked up the system quickly because he is a quick study and had already been acclimated to the systems principals for a month of practice at DLHS. He was locked and loaded ready to go for the home cuse game, but ironically enough that was the last good game of the season and everyone shot and played so well that the consensus was for Hollis to just sit out the rest of the season. Gee, just what this team needed an athletic wing that can know shots down. In hindsight it was best he did not play, because the speed/strength of the Big East would be tough for any kid to jump right into.

Well President Obama's two biggest problems these days are Pelosi/Reed. So, they are still trying to kill a brotha with pork.

" border="0"> Dodd is not helping either, and Tim Geitner ehh.
So cnbc is morphing into fox news huh.

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More Limbaugh please, the good guys always need a villainous figure-head. I could not come up with a better distraction if I was a Gtown Professor myself. BTW, I highly recommend Professor Begala's course on how to distract and manipulate the media 101.

More of Larry King's blogger gal please.

BTW, it is about time to FINISH building that fence on the Mexican border and it would not hurt to place troops there either.

Staff:
JT3. Obviously I luv JT3, he is the CEO of Gtown hoops. However, like any CEO after a company does not meet expectations, he must fully evaluate the organization from janitor to himself. Things like the "system" are fine. It just gives haters something to %##%% about or try and use against recruits. Of course the guys Gtown is recruiting and has for the most part signed, have luved the "system". Always funny when people say, 'just let them play'. Yeah, okay. The reality is that the system conceals a lot of the players' faults, and allows them to excel. Imagine a system in which these players just went up and down and guys like Summers/Freeman had to create their own offense by going one on one in dribble drive type situations. The other reality is that this "sysytem' is/has been used by a quarter of the teams in the NBA. Most of those teams had the highest scoring offenses in the league. Kings(bibby), Nets(kidd), Hornets(Barron/Paul), Wizards(Gil), even Roy is running the same system in Indiana(although I don't know how Obrien is still employed). Now every coach tweaks the system based on personal. As JT3 will do over the years with more versatile athletes on the wings. As we have discussed the team will look much different in the future with long, skilled multi-dimensional athletes. You will even see more pressing(Hoya basketball) on defense. Having said that, there is some immediate tweaking he can do with his current personnel for this coming season and with future players.
1. System. Like B-Scott has done with the Hornets, JT3 can implement more pick and rolls at the top of the elbow/key area(not the wings) between Wright/Monroe. In the past JT3 has not had a PG like Chris or a big like Greg. With their skills sets, they should excel in a pick and roll set. Now the team should not do this every time down the court. But when the shot clock is winding down or at end of half/game situations Wright just signals to Monroe to come up. Monroe is normally in that area a lot anyway. Wright and Monroe are the team's two best ball handlers, passers, and decision makers. So if the ball is in their hands more at the end of possessions this gives the team the best chance for a positive outcome. Chris is at his best when he is in the paint putting pressure on the defense. This will create more opportunities for Chris to score or give his teammates a good shot. A pick and roll set also keeps the ball out of the hands of the other guys as much that are not good ball handlers. This will cut down on turnovers, and bad possessions. This also gives guys like Summers/Freeman/Sims good spot-up looks as opposed to forcing them to make a play. Now for this to be successful: Chris is going to have to become a better shooter and decision maker, and Greg is going to have to become a better shooter and finisher. This should also work with Sims on pick-n-pops situations, and a guy like Latavius on pick-n-roll situations.
2. Practice. Designate more time for 3 on 2 and 2 on 1 fastbreak drills.
3. Recruiting. No more recruiting slow footed, one dimensional wings. All of the wings that played last season were basically the same player. Freeman/Summers/Nikita/Omar are all decent offensive players(varying degrees), but they do not bring much else to the table. The team could get away with Summers/Freeman's lack of defense/lateral movement in past seasons because guys like Pat and Roy could cover their mistakes. All of the wings on last season's team were also bad ball handlers. That was just turnover after turnover waiting to happen, and it puts too much pressure on the guards to get the ball up and get the team into the offense.
4. Gtown Hoops Camp. Almost every program has one now, and Gtown should also. Not the crap that Gillespie/Calhoun/Calipari do in which they just payoff a bunch of aau coaches a lot of money for their players. This is just for JT3/staff to get a good evaluation of all the players they invite and the players to get a feel of campus… With the insane amount of talent in Gtown's backyard it only makes sense. This gives the staff the ability to see how good some of these prospects are against each other. This also gives the staff the ability to see how the prospects accept coaching and can assimilate information. All players process information differently, so this is good for JT3 to see who picks things up quicker. AAU ball is basically all-star pick-up ball, so a Gtown Hoops camp can help the staff differentiate which players are really better. This will also help determine what players are more fundamentally sound. For example when the prospects are playing and a shot goes up, the staff can see which player automatically locates his man and boxes out(Jason Clark) vs. the player that just turns and watches the ball(Summers).
5. Staff. As for changes in the staff, TAUB must go! It has been two seasons now, and Taub clearly brings nothing to the staff. He is a self promoting opportunist that undermines his boss. He talks too much and I DON'T trust him. He has no semblance of Loyalty, and has already tried to leave for another job. Since he does not like the Princeton way of life anyway, it is time to CUT bait. Besides, ya can't get rid of 13 because she is a dysfunctional freak.

Speaking of Calhoun/Calipari, it has always been entertaining to see which crook could out cheat the other one and spit in the NCAA's face the most. Calhoun's scam has always been straight cash to the player or cash to the aau coach, so there are fewer middlemen. While Calipari has always cheated through agents, so he could use plausible deniability. Well it has taken two decades, but the NCAA might actually spit back at those two slugs FINALLY. Of course Calhoun will claim ill and go into early retirement as espn covers his butt. Calipari will try and slither back into the NBA then flame-out again, only to try and slither back into another college program. BTW, can Gillespie get a refund from Daniel Orton's daddy? Billy G should have worked out a lay away payment plan.

It is nice to have Sir Charles back. Not that Webber and Peyton were horribly bad like jay Williams/gottlieb/Walton. However, since I have no vested interest in Disney corp, I do not care if espn puts out a crap product. So the more cuse turds with god awful lisp hosting shows the better. I am pretty sure that mike patrick has a picture of mickey mouse in a compromising position at this point. Must be the curse of mark sharpiro, he ran espn into the ground now he has done the same to six flags. Oh and speaking of jay Williams, this guy went from one of the biggest PG bust in NBA history to an incoherent slug on espn. Now he is moonlighting as a pimp, trying to turn tricks on highschool/college kids to sign with agents while williams is being paid to comment about these kids on the four letter network. Stay classy.

Recruiting:
As we have discussed the 09 class is garbage, but the plan has always been to take 3 players in the 09 class: Hollis, a big, and a combo guard in the spring.

Latavius Williams: = Athletic Beast! He jumps out of the gym, but more importantly he luvs to rebound and defend. He enjoys banging even though he is not built like a banger. This dude will dunk on anybody. Think Tyrus Thomas/Pat jr/Jerome type. He is not as long as Tyrus, pass as well as Pat, or handle as well as Jerome. But he is in that mode. His coaches at Humble Texas have done a very good job of helping Latavius develop his jump-shot and improve his handles. The next step for him to improve his post game and mid-range game to become a good inside-out player, but he is coming along nicely. I would have luved for Gtown to have taken him last season if his grades were in order. He is a good fit with Monroe and Sims. Now from a Hoya perspective folks just have to sit tight and hope he gets everything done to qualify. With all of the A type students Gtown has, the team can take a couple of fingers crossed that they qualify types. Before people get too excited and think he is some kind or Gtown lock, just keep in mind that a dozen teams are trying to get in on him and he still needs to qualify. Of course if/when Latavius commits to Gtown, jerry "BJ" meyers will immediately down-grade Williams to a two star not top 100 player. For future references, just pre-suppose that "BJ" is short for BJ Mullens.

The big in 09 was going to be Riley, however if Gtown can get Latavius Williams that would be a huge upgrade over riley in the short term(frosh-soph season). Ya can't teach height, so long-term(jr-senior season) riley should develop into the better player. Then again, Latavius is a man. Williams is all business when he steps on the court, so JT3 will not have to coddle him. As opposed to riley who got punked by Donte Taylor then riley proceeded to begin crying, take off his jersey, and go into the stands to watch the rest of the aau game. More problematic was riley getting crushed by Sims when the team played pick-up on riley's visit. It did not help that Lubick was ballin well also. It was immediately after that that JT3 explained to riley that he would not see much time his freshman season and should focus on developing his game for the longterm. JT3 is always honest with recruits, so at that point parties began looking at other options. Of course 3 years from now it could be irrelevant because some elite young bigs in 2011 already want to be Hoyas. I would normally wish riley well, but since he is going to the exploitative wasteland(cuse) I simply hope he gets a degree. That would make him like the fifth African-American player Boehime has graduated in about thirty years.

Combo Guard. Like I said Gtown taking a combo guard in the 09 class would be determined by how well Clark demonstrated he can handle the point and handle the ball in general. Well as much as I luv Clark, nobody can feel comfortable with him as the second ball handler on the team to Wright. So whatever combo guard Gtown takes in 09, the player has to be a good ball handler for the Big East.
If Gtown does not get latavius or another elite big, frankly I would just hold that schollie and not burn it on another developmental player. Gtown probably already has too many of those developmental/project type players, and they are fungible. Frankly JT3 should never take another project type player unless he is a real bigman. Or course as what always happens this time of year, there are a lot of coaching changes and some quality players will pop onto the radar. The only positions of interest are PF/C or combo guard type(preferably more PG than SG). Because there is nobody on the wings that Gtown would take in the 09 class that is going to play anyway this season, so it is best to not clog-up or waste a schollie when JT3 wants 4 schollies for the 2010 class. And before someone displays their ignorance by saying worry about the future later… longterm(3-4 years) that is correct, however short-term(1-2 years) that is wrong. Programs don't take the maximum 13 schollies every season just to have warm bodies on the bench that can't contribute. A head coach in college is like a GM/head coach in the pros. It is about winning today, and preparing for the future. Taking 3 players in 09(hollis/a big/a combo) will leave the team with 3 schollies for the 2010 class: the 13th schollie is free, plus Summers and Monroe is most likely gone after his sophomore season. Starks and Lubick have a spot, then that leaves one right now for the wing guys and JT3 wants 4 schollies for 2010. Naturally there is always one transfer (not an impact player that affects wins/losses). So these things always work themselves out. No point in wasting time with redundant post about transfers because it is useless and not important. All the team needs is 11-12 players on schollie for this coming season anyway. That is much better than the only 10 guys the team had to rely on this past season. Now in a perfect Gtown world Markel Starks graduates highschool early/reclassifies into the 09 class, and gets to the Hilltop PRONTO! He has been well coached by Coach Bryant, so there is not much more for him to learn on the highschool level. Of course the usual suspects will throw out all kinds of names with the old National Enquirer business model(throw every name out there, hope something sticks, get one out of five correct, then beat ones chest).

" border="0"> Nonetheless people should not get too excited by every name that gets thrown around between now and signing day, because this is the recruiting silly season.

People should not be concerned with Gtown losing future prospects because of the crap curtis pulls with dc assault. The only real prospect left in the assault pipeline that Gtown is interested in is Cooke. But there are a lot of other elite PGs on Gtown's radar in the 2011 class so no worries. Most of Gtown's priority guys prospects will all be playing for one of the 3 local Nike teams: Boo, Team Take Over, and Baltimore Elite. Funny that curtis has so much animosity toward Gtown for Jeff signing with Faulk. Let's see now, mike beasly signed with curtis' agent then mike proceeded to get busted with drugs and already has fired curtis' agent. So Jeff Green had the option of listening to curtis 'former crack dealer' malone and go with his agent, or Jeff Green had the option of listened to Pops and go with David Falk the best in the business. Hmm, decision decisions…

I must be getting old because I had no idea who chris brown was. First I thought he was the old running back for the Titans then when I saw the little dude, I just thought he was the black kevin feterline. Oh well, I am more interested in the 50cents/Rick Ross "family reunion".

2010 Recruits:
Nate: Did I ever mention youngin has that dawg in him. He will get after it and get the 50/50 balls. Right now the only guys on the team like that are Clark, Nikita, and Sims(Monroe is getting there). His shot has improved, and his passing is excellent. He needs to focus on improving his back to the basket game, mid-range shot, and lateral movement.

Markel: Sick handle Starks. Can't wait to have this kid join the varsity Gtown team(the sooner the better). After watching all of the local guards(Starks, Marshall, Thornton), me LIKES the outcome of who Gtown got. BTW, Shelby is NOT a PG he is an undersized headcase of a SG. Marshall has better size and Thornton better defense, but Starks is the superior offensive player. Honestly you won't find a better ball handler in the country 09 or 2010 class(outside of J. Wall). Markel was having an excellent season until he tweaked his knee, but still finished solid. Really showed a leadership and majority about his game. He still needs to get stronger and improve his on the ball defense, because I do not want to watch anymore Gtown guards that don't play lock-down defense.

Roscoe:
Keeps getting better. He is legit 6'8 now and has gotten stronger. His shot has also improved. He basically had to play center for his team this season, but he still got it done. Most importantly he really has improved in the classroom. Over the spring/summer he needs to focus on improving his handles, and developing a mid range game. Now that he is 6'8, he should work on his post game so he can punish smaller SFs in college. He also needs to work on getting low, moving his feet, and guarding better on defense. Roscoe is a tall SF, so he has to get accustomed to guarding smaller quicker players.

Will Barton: I have to give this kid a lot of props. I have always luved his game, but I honestly did not think he would seriously be recruitable because of his academic situation. But this year he is really hitting the books and getting it done. I think that both Roscoe and Barton had over 3.2 GPAs. Don't know if Barton has hit his college entrance exams yet. This kid can flat out play. He defends, handles, shoots, passes, and wins. He is just an excellent all around player. I don't think there is an SG in the 2010 class I would want over him. Now he needs to hit the weight room, cause he is a twig. He has a very good handle for highschool, but needs to tighten that thing up for college. It would be nice to have a SG that can bring the ball up the court under pressure and initiate the offense. BTW. I like Barton's attitude. It reminds me of an Ol' B-more buddy of mine named Cassell. Or as Sam would say, he has a positiv swaga.

Odom: He had a solid season. He was in a position similar to Roscoe in that he basically had to play center for his team, which did not have a lot of talent around him. But his all around game is developing nicely. Great grades as usual. He needs to get stronger and improve his handles over the spring/summer. Remember he is younger than the other players in his class.

Kendrick: He had a good year. He is a very talent player offensively and can basically do it all on the offensive end of the floor. Now his defense is basically non-existent, like many highschool players. I do not know if this is a lack of ability or desire. Certainly that needs to be corrected, after watching the matador defense of this past season's Gtown wings.

Casey Prather. Is a really talented kid that I would not mind seeing Gtown go hard after(not at the expense of Roscoe or Barton). Kid is a good student and a heck of an athlete. Plus he likes to defend.
Movies. Pretty slow lately. I tried to watch The Watchmen. I know I got a big tub of popcorn with butter and went into the theater. The next thing I remember is waking from my popcorn induced comma three hours later with no recollection of the movie. So I have no idea if that thing was good or not.

You Da Man Tiger! Suddenly I am feeling better about my Nike stock this morning.

One would think with the budgetary cuts that the WaPost is making, finklestien would be next on the chopping block. There are a lot of great people working at the post. So the company could get out of the red just by eliminating Finklestien and his !!%+%% expense account. At this point it is ridiculously excessive for Finklestien to be paying a !!%+%% $1,200 per hour to sit in a hotel room everyday and gaze longingly into Finklestien's eyes as he/she repeatedly proclaims to Finklestein: YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL MAN, YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL MAN, YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL MAN, pizza, pizza, pizza.

I hear The Hoya sports section has been inundated with a bunch of mini Julia Baughers (no talent hacks with rapidly deteriorating look at me syndrome). At least Julia was decent to look at. I am still waiting for her video to make it to the internet. Anyway, it is about time for the adults to step back in.

For those that persist on whining about Gtown being a basketball school (in regards to sports), try getting a life or joining the rest of us in the real world. When most people think Gtown sports, it is what is. So get over it. Most students/faculty/alums of Gtown are actually well rounded and well adjusted individuals. This means they will normally do what interest them on campus or in DC(shocker). Whether or not the men's hoops team is having a good season or not, that is not going to have any sway on people attendance/support for other school sports. I used to catch some women's hoops games and some track events. Although I had no idea that the Georgetown had a football team(kidding). The point is to each his/her own. For the handful of people that have issues with Gtown/Thompsons/Nike relationship, LOL… You really should find another hobby.

Anyway, we are all Hoyas. Now the important thing is that the clock to next season has begun. Coaches/players have 6-7 months to get much better. So go to WORK!

Best For Last.
Alonzo. Excellent career on and off the court, despite the kidney illness. Talk about repetitive perseverance. Zo basically came from dirt to make a little something of himself. I have a hunch that Zo will be even more successful in the next phase of his life (except on the golf course)

Interesting stuff from DaJuan, Greg, Hollis, Riley and much more.

Again, clueless as to who the guy actually is. But clearly involved/around in the program in some capacity. His stuff is always 100% true.

 

[downyboy]

good by summers..
Summers bypasses senior year for NBA
Comment Email Print Share
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Georgetown junior DaJuan Summers is skipping his senior year and making himself eligible for the NBA draft.

Georgetown coach John Thompson III said Monday that Summers is "in the process of choosing an agent."

Summers averaged 13.6 points and 4.1 rebounds this season for the Hoyas.

Georgetown went 16-15 and lost in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

The 6-foot-8, 236-pound Summers leaves Georgetown tied for 29th in team history with 1,129 points.

He averaged 11.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in his 101-game college career.

 

[DeadsetAce]

GOOD RIDDANCE, SUMMERS! thanks for underachieving like a champ during your time at georgetown! i'm glad you're not getting a degree out of it, either.




ok that was OD...but whatever

 

[al3xis]

mannnnnnnnnn.......

 

[doublejs07]

Dumb move on his part....and he's signing w. an agent

I guess him and JT3 just couldn't co-exist....

dude better ball in pre-draft camps/workouts....I still think he's going early 2nd round...too much of an underachiever, and this season was a wash forhim.....

 

[al3xis]

He's just not ready -- bottom line.

Next year best case..

Wright
Freeman
Thompson
Sims
Monroe

Clark
Williams?
Vaughn
Nikita
Omar
Sanford?

It really hurts cause Austin CAN'T play the 3 again. I fully expect Hollis to be ready, but now we don't have the luxury of him not being..

Latavious is absolutely a necessity now.

 

[al3xis]

Looks like news is breaking that Omar is transferring.

and what I was told the other day

Well Omar is looking at options and the team needs more schollies
Makes me think III is about to load up on talent and learned his lesson this year.

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Yall will really miss Sapp.

 

[DeadsetAce]

latavious was looking at memphis and us right? so is he a lock for gtown now that calipari is out at memphis? or would he consider kentucky now?

 

[al3xis]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Yall will really miss Sapp.

the senior sapp? nah.

correct deadset...he still needs to qualify now...and if he does, have to like our chances.

Can't see him considering Kentucky.

 

[DeadsetAce]

gotcha

 

[downyboy]

Goodbye wattad, you will not be missed

 

[DeadsetAce]

 

[al3xis]

Well,

Greg returning is huge.

things are back on the upswing.

In regards to Omar

Well Omar is looking at options and the team needs more schollies, but keep it off the boards.
what i was told 2 weeks ago.

I think that role for Nikita/Omar was up for grabs and Nikita was the choice. I don't know if Omar was given a nudge out, but it is possible. Especiallywhen III makes this comment..

"I think there is attrition in college basketball, in one form or another," Thompson said when asked about the several transfers over a few years. "People leave because they are unhappy with the basketball situation, people leave because they have things going on in their personal life, and people leave because they don't have the opportunity to return."

We need 4 schollies for 2010. Lubick and Starks take 2 right now, Greg leaving will be 3...this was number 4.


..

Latavious is still lookin like either us or Memphis. It's tough to tell now, but i still think we're in the drivers seat. We'll see what tricks Pastner has up his sleeve tho.

That combo guard spot will get filled too, somehow. Sanford, James Rahon, Brandon Thompson, etc.

And if Latavious falls through, there's a few other frontcourt kids that the staff has shown interset too. But he's top priority and would add A LOT to this team.

..
Roscoe is lookin like he won't get a UNC offer, which is great...and there are no locks in recruiting, but that'd push him close to one.

you take he, Lubick, Starks and another player (Kendrick,Odum, Barton) and that class is

. Still wishful thinking right now.

Staff is on a lot of kids for 2011, and GOOD kids. A bounce back year will get things right back on track.


..
Ideally we break in fall with this..

Monroe
Sims
Thompson
Freeman
Wright

Clark
Vaughn
Williams
Nikita
Sanford/Thompson

that team is long, athletic and well balanced. Henry will be a beast this year. Mark it down. Not Macklin 2.0.

Hollis has grown to a legit 6'7, 6'8. but the whole frontcourt has to hit the weights.

It will be a Chris/Greg led team but I have high hopes for Austin...staff has informed him he needs to get in shape and from what I gathered he's in the process of doing so.

He was such a good HS player, that it'll be a shame if he doesn't excel these past 2 years. In HS he was still built well, but lean. The added weight has affected his whole game.

As last year was on DaJuan (we know how that went)...IMO, next year it's on Austin to be the X factor for better or worse.


get back to this




I guess I can't fully blame Austin as i'm sure knowing he had to play the 3 the past 2 years he wanted to add some weight.

but with the report III gave Katz about next years lineup, i'm sure everyone is on the same page now with commitment to Austin getting back to his naturalspot, and weight.

 

[al3xis]

the 3 ball at :51 is a perfect example, looks nothin how Austin shoots the deep ball now, right?Feet and shoulders square, elevating on the shot. Now with his size, he's always off balance and the ball is coming off sideways. he went from a 40% 3shooter frosh year to 30% this year. He didn't lose his ability, it just got altered.he gets down to 215, we'll see great things.

 

[downyboy]

^ you're on point with how he shoots the ball.