No...I'm just saying it's nice that KD just happen to be on campus for open run along with a few other NBA's and current tigers and Gathers just so happen on the same day, took the hour long trip to get some good open run at LSU!
That's awesome. In fact, I thought it was funny b/c there was almost more LSU in it than KD's Texas footage! But, in addition to Big Baby and Darnell, it looked like Ron Dupree, Marcus Thornton and Anthony Randolph were there. And, you had Johnny O'B, Chris Bass, Andre Stringer playing pick up with them, and while Hamilton, Del Piero and Ludwig practiced at the near by court. Gathers covered Durant briefly on the perimeter and didn't look too slow, but clearly, he gave some inches to both KD and Big Baby. Ricardo Gathers will be a very interesting prospect to watch through the college ranks. Obviously I like him a lot for this LSU team for many reasons, but I still struggle a little bit to see who he is most like. He's obviously built like a rock, but I wonder based upon the video whether 6'7" is generous. At 6'6-7" and about 230 lb, the interesting question will follow him throughout his career--will he be more like a PF or more like a SF? When you think back to players at LSU like Tas Mitchell, Darnell Lazare (who he happened to practice against), or other college "tweeners" like George Lynch of UNC or Clarence Weatherspoon, one thing is true, if you're a good baller you have a chance to be a great college player no matter where you play. Once you get to the pros, it's a different story. What's clear to me though, is Rico is strong and assuming he's as meticulous about his defensive positioning and rebounding position as he is about his body, he is going to be a good rebounder in college. Alot will be what staff can give him the proper tutelage on positioning and fundamentals. He's pretty athletic up and down and straightline, and while the comparisons to Tas' are plentiful, I see Gathers a little more athletic in an up and down game and less skilled at this point. Thus, I think he will want to balance some good set offensive sets with an up and down transition game, where his size and ability to finish at the rim (he's a tremendous dunker and that is an area where he separates from Tas') will be an asset. So, it's no conincidence that Trent is trying to speed his teams up--guys like Hickey, Stringer, Isaac and soon coming, Malik Morgan, can get up and fly and they need mobile bigs like Gathers and Hamilton to go and go some more. Gathers would be good to continue working on his mid-range jumpshot, free throws and little jump hooks off both sides, b/c the stuff about him being LeBron is probably overstated. If he came to LSU frankly, the best comparison today is Storm Warren. Warren is also a 6'7" 235 ish guy, who has above average hops and legs. When healthy, the guy is a good rebounder/defender despite his size playing at the four. And, with a guy like Hamilton/O'Bryant next to him, he can roam and crash the boards without having to hold down the fort. Now, Warren has a repetoire of baby hooks and jumpers to complement the leaping which is something he's had to develop between his freshman season and now. Gathers would be smart to work with Warren/Brent Scott on that element of his game... because Warren graduates and Gathers could come in and start playing that hybrid 4 right away. Depending on how match-ups dictate LSU plays, Hamilton and/or O'Bryant may require a Gathers playing a 4 next to them. No Malcolm White next year either, so Rico's going to get plenty of PT in that line up. Gathers in time can develop that lateral quickness and extend his range to get to a NBA 3 much like Tas did over time. If he can stay healthy, he has probably a better chance of developing athletically to be a hybrid 3, which is likely where he'll want to play if he has a shot at the pros. The nice thing about this LSU squad is that Gathers has a versatile bunch of guys to go against in practice, Turner, Ludwig, Courtney, both perimeter oriented guys and more beefy post players. Since this is a recruiting thread, according to Times Pic, Louis Dabney will sign his papers today with Tulane afterall. Tulane men's basketball commitment Louis Dabney will sign tomorrow at 11 a.m., Riverside Coach Timmy Byrd said | NOLA.com Not sure whether LSU was ever interested, but perhaps that was more speculation than reality. I think what Trent likely sees is that with Hickey as a solid PG and Isaac in a position to spell him after Bass graduates, his focus on recruiting a PG in the following year. Also, with how this team seems to be stacked and playing now, with Malik coming in, the priority is on signing another versatile wing (that could presumably be Gathers) and at least one big man--the prototypical big would be a versatile 6'9-7 foot kid who could really rebound and play defense, but also mobile enough to get out on the break and pass out of the post. I continue to like a kid like Orlando Sanchez in this spot--or a Spring signee late bloomer that Trent/Brent like. If you look at the past couple of box-scores you see the scoring and production from sophomores and freshmen, and you see LSU adding another prolific scorer in Malik Morgan next year. You reallly can't help but get excited. While Trent does get his lumps for his recruiting, I think this year's class of Hickey, Isaac and O'Bryant is very underrated, and next year's class could really build on that... Trent is quietly but effectively recruiting perhaps?
Although this is women's basketball recruiting, it's an article that comes out today with Times-Picayune. I know that Nikki Caldwell quietly and quickly swooped in with a few top signees in early signing period. Way to Geaux, Nikki. Helen Cox High School girls basketball star chooses LSU | NOLA.com Perhaps Rico Gathers is thinking along the same lines? :grin: :LSU231: Lady Tigers Announce Three Signees - LSUsports.net - The Official Web Site of LSU Tigers Athletics
Who else is out there? With so much speculation about Ricardo Gathers we forget that alot of recruiting is still to be had by the LSU staff as they move towards coaching this team up and putting LSU in a nice place for a nice spring recruiting closing. Clearly they need to sign a big man to go along side Morgan and hopefully Gathers. The names that seem most associated with LSU interest at this time include a couple of JUCOs, Jason Carter and Orlando Sanchez, and some SF propects like Clyde Santee or Wannah Bail out of TX (who likely take less precedence depending on what happens with Gathers). The idea of a Juco big man who can come in and help quickly fill the void of Storm and Malcolm graduating certainly does make some sense. But what's clear is that in addition to the Gathers sweepstakes, there will be some names that come out of nowhere to grab attention as high school ball kicks into high gear, and seniors that may not have been prominently featured on the AAU circuit make their names like LSU's Anthony Hickey did.... For example, watch out for another LA prospect late-bloomer with legitimate girth at 6'9" 270 ish... Gilbert Talbot... Tri-Parish Times It'll be interesting to watch where his senior year takes hm given a pretty amazing development path. Other LA prospects that LSU may be interested in... Jamal Samuel (6'7" ish SF of O.Perry), or a couple of big men out of local Scotlandville. Also, do we go to neighboring states in TX: Basketball Recruiting - Jeremy King - Player Profiles - ESPN Or, in AL: A little Cousins at the HoopFest | Jody Demling – Recruiting Seton Hall Basketball: Pirates Target 2012 C Jaleel Cousins (Spanish Fort, AL) Ready for Senior Season - South Orange Juice Or, in GA: Basketball Recruiting - Rontavious Gilbert - Player Profiles - ESPN Or, even somewhere farther? Here are some of the top-ranked unsigned Centers at this point that may have reasonable connections to the south, LSU or Trent, or simply may want to develop with a school and/or a coach who has sent handfuls of big men to the pros: Basketball Recruiting - Daniel Robinson - Player Profiles - ESPN Basketball Recruiting - Zach Banner - Player Profiles - ESPN Basketball Recruiting - Dominique Wilson - Player Profiles - ESPN Basketball Recruiting - Ismaila Dauda - Player Profiles - ESPN Basketball Recruiting - Matt Willms - Player Profiles - ESPN
Zach Banner is a NFL prospect at OT. Can't see him playing hoops, and he won't be coming to LSU either. His football finalists are as follows: Michigan Notre Dame Oklahoma USC Washington
I fully acknowledge that most of these prospects are long-shots. At one point Banner had listed LSU and had an offer and Trent's WA ties might have at least given him a toe in the door, but I know Banner has recently moved away from LSU. Of course, one never knows what can happen. But, you're likely right that he's focused on football.
Rivals ranks SEC Rivals today released an article ranking the SEC b-ball recruiting classes. Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting - UK leads down year in SEC recruiting LSU, with Rivals top 75-ish prospect, Malik Morgan comes in at #8, and KUDOS to Malik Morgan for being tagged "Most Versatile" in the SEC recruits. Like that! :grin: If Rico Gathers signs with LSU, that ranking could very quickly spike as well, given an overall weaker recruiting year so far for SEC schools.... So, keep winning Tigahs, and c'mon Gathers! :geaux: As a side note, you expect schools like Tennessee maybe South Carolina to be down, but what's the deal with Vanderbilt and Alabama? Trouble ahead for those schools?
More Rico G publicity Guys, obviously things are slow on the LSU hoops recruiting front, but if you wanted to continue to hype the Ricardo Gathers machine, here's more food for thought: Ballislife – It's A Movement – louisiana Footage of AAU summer ball, including a new reel as of a couple of weeks ago. As I sat and pondered how RG fits in a LSU line-up some, I think the quick mistake I made was to quickly associate RG as a Storm Warren sort of player. While I think they're bodies are similar (i.e., 6'7", 235-40 ish), looking at the highlight reel really gives you a view to where RG excels, in the open court, as a slasher + rebounder. Whereas Storm really has tried to develop as a 4 with post moves, I think now that Rico is really more of a 4 in college with more diversity to play 15 feet and in. He shows he can actually dribble and slash, as opposed to play with his back to the basket. This poses some interesting questions for a line up utilizing Johnny O'B and Justin Hamilton. I'm not sure Rico would play 3 with these two bigs, unless there was a very "big" line up, and that leaves him at a 4. In college, though, I could see him as a very active 4, being able to body folks out of the lane for rebounding but also play off a true center. Having Johnny or Justin play center, and Rico play 4, would be pretty stout front line against most teams, and assuming Johnny O' plays until he's at least a junior, you'd have him at 5 and Rico essentially entrenched at 4. You'd really like to see LSU get some BIG besides Gathers. I'm not sure another 6'7" 6'8" PF is what we want--and unfortunately we are in limbo somewhat waiting for what Gathers does. Focusing on 6'9"+ centers is ideally what we'd want in this class. All in all though, this team needs to toughen up inside, and Gathers would do that immediately.
A new name popping up on the LSU radar Nate Guy 2012 Nate Guy - Left Coast Recruiting - A College Basketball Recruiting blog He's considered a late bloomer and is also a teammate of Zach Banner (6'9 305) who once had LSU on his radar and has not committed to anyone yet! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtwAj-fuERs"]Nate Guy 6'6 SG Class of 2012 - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ABGbA0sLc"]Nate Guy Class of 2012 - YouTube[/ame] Looks to be 6'6 or so, has a nice shot and good court vision Also looks to be serious about LSU https://twitter.com/Tizzey22 Guess a win over a top 25 team can get you attention!
