Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) So, as I intimated, the new ball coach certainly has something up his recruiting sleeve for the Spring, as I think he is, along with some other vocal few, concerned about the near term pipeline. I for one am not as concerned as others about next year, especially if Tas' comes back. While I think Tas' is raising some eyebrows this year as a potential pro prospect, I'm not sure that another year won't help him more. And, you look at Trent's ability to develop guys, and you have to like Bo and Chris Bass coming back, Dotson coming in (although the news there is Dotson's got a serious bum knee in his senior year and may be considering surgery), guys like Dennis Harris and Storm Warren with another year of seasoning. Hopefully we get Garrett Green back. http://www.bayoubengalblog.com/ BUT, clearly a couple of impact Spring signings would be huge. A couple top 25 signings would be even huger. According to our resident BB blogger, it appears that official visits from Riley and Natyahzko (back in the game, baby! :grin are imminent. You also have now some interest from Cousins and Sidney. I don't know if any of these shoes will drop, but I like our chances getting one of Riley or Kyryl, just because they recognize that CTJ is a guy who develops guys, LSU is a school that can get the most out of athletes, and this team needs big men in a BIG way. Also is a very nice piece on the future of LA hoops recruiting... LOTS of talent to get in on the ground floor on, and from what I'm hearing, CTJ is really making inroads into key N.O. and LA high schools like Brady never was able to do. I'm starting to get excited folks! :geauxtige BE A PART OF THE TRENT JOHNSON ERA.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) my concern is---who will score? post play may end up being better with warren and green replacing johnson and thornton, but marcus thornton's 20 pts/game is a ton to make up. maybe bo will pick up some slack and temple's spot will score more.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) You seem to give players no credit for gaining a year of experience and stepping up. It is completely common to see the scoring go up year over year for a player, depending on playing time. If the system is installed, players know the system better, presumably Bo is running the point again, there will be new players to pick up the slack. As you said, Green may be a better scorer than Q, and Dennis Harris may surprise and score more than Chris (keep in mind that Dennis Harris averaged close to 30 points a game his Sr year and is a skilled big man, just needed the bulk). Also, you give no credit for guys like Storm Warren, Delwan Graham, Chris Bass learning more. Now, I'll give you it's hard to replace the experience and production of the trio of MT, GT and Terry Martin--I'd actually worry more about the loss of their defense. But, losing Terry Martin gives way to perhaps Delwan Graham or Eddie Ludwig getting more SF minutes, and the flexibility to see Tas' play 3 and 4. Shooting Guard will take a hit, but with Dotson and Farrer, you'll probably see those points spread more to Tasmin and the front line. You might find that Bo has to become more aggressive shooting the ball as a combo guard. I'm not saying that you're not going to have issues, but then next year's team adapts to the personnel. I personally see if Tas' comes back, he's probably going average around 17-18 ppg, you'll see about 13-14 ppg from Bo, maybe 10-12 ppg from the SG spot, and more point production needed from SF and C positions. CTJ's also perhaps just one or two signings away from injecting some more firepower into that mix too. So, I'd say right now, if Trent signs no players in the Spring, he'll have a challenge and probably drop back to mid-pack SEC West (in an overall more experienced, better SEC). If he signs a Riley, Natyahzko, Sidney, and/or Cousins, he's probably right up there as 1 or 2 in the SEC West.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) What I like about college B Ball is how one or two new players can turn a program completely around. Remember Tas when he was a freshman? If you think recruiting rankings are dicey indicators in football, the stars mean even less in basketball. I think coaching is a bigger factor in basketball than in football. That's why players step up and make huge impacts from year to year. Heck, almost every team has players with similar physical abilities; but most success on the court is due to mental differences. That's why coaching is so important. Dale Brown was the master coach when it came to the mental aspect of the game. He was great at getting his teams to overachieve. He wasn't so good at coaching great players like Shaq because they were so superior physically that they didn't depend on overachieving. Conversely, one or two individual, me first type players can completely destroy a good team. Coach Johnson seems like a coach that can get average players to step up, and he seems like a coach that knows when to sit players who are not team first. Looks to me like LSU is in real good hands because if our recruiting is somewhat equal to other teams in our league, our coaching will trump any athletic disparity.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) no, i do. that's the main reason its hard for me to say how much of this team's play is because ctj is better than brady. you are right. point taken. however i think the points will need to mostly come from outside. dotson may be the best hope. you didnt just write that terry martin will be hard to replace? did you?:insane: i'll have to give you a pass on that one. sounds about right.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) but, here's where we differ a little bit. As I posted in your remaining schedule thread, there's a big difference and jump between that year where a kid goes from playing a little bit of minutes to a lot more minutes. Like when a FR goes to a SO, like we're seeing with Bo. It's different when you apply that logic to Garrett Temple or Tas'. I don't think you can chalk up their better play to "experience". They've been there and done that in the SEC for 3+ years. What's different this year with THOSE guys is the system that's been placed around them, and how the players are used/playing around them. Terry Martin won't be a huge loss, but the plain fact of the matter is he's the 6th/7th man off the bench and getting that 12-15 mpg at SF/SG. Will a Delwan Graham, or Farrer match what Terry brings? Hard to tell right now. Farrer probably can be solid enough, good on d, but really doesn't make that big of an impact. Graham is actually a pretty nice athlete, but is more of a SF or PF in a SG's body. The question for his offseason is does CTJ want to try to make him more of a SF or SG, i.e., can he develop ball handling skills, ability to guard a 3, and develop a dependable jumper.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) players that love the college game (especially if they have little prospects of pro careers) will play better in their last year. they will have a sense of urgency that the younger players do not. they will prepare harder in the off season and practice better. we can guess, but it is impossible to parse the contributions of coaching and experience to better play.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) I've herd from a very reliable source that LSU is actively recruiting the number 2 prospect in the country 6ft 9 PF DeMarcus Cousins out of Leflore, AL which is locate outside of Mobile, AL. Demarcus originally committed to UAB but pulled his commitment when the school refuse to assure him that Mike Davis would retuning as the head basketball coach next year. My sources tell me that Trent Johnson hosted an in home visit last Monday night trying to convince Cousins that LSU was the place for him. Currently, Memphis State is the leader in his recruitment however; LSU still has a realistic chance to sign him. DeMarcus is 6ft 9 PF with a pro’s body weighing approximately 250 pounds. In like manner, the Tigers are recruiting other big men to go along with Cousins in 6-10 center Gregoryshaun Magee out of New Orleans McMain High http://slamonline.com/online/college-hs/high-school/2008/07/sayonara-to-the-sunshine-state/ and 6-10 power forward Renardo Sidney out of Los Angeles (CA) Fairfax (originally from Jackson, Mississippi). On another recruiting note, Kashiff “Cadillac” Carr Tigers a 6-6, 210-pound forward out of Angelina JC in Texas whom the Tiger were recruiting recently blew out his knee. http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/sports/local_story_029003150.html
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) Gumby, Thanks for posting on the hoops thread and welcome! Always happy to see more hoops lovers. Yeah, there's been a lot more talk lately about Demarcus Cousins, esp since Trent talked about being in Mobile last week on his radio show. I think that clearly, picking up the no.2 recruit of 2009 would be incredible--it's a shot in the arm for the 2009 class, but more importantly, it'd validate the fact that CTJ can not only coach, but he can recruit the South. So far, that hasn't hit stride yet, as his best signee to date at LSU has been Aaron Dotson who hails from Johnson's hometown of Seattle. That said, this team needs bigs, and that's why CTJ clearly has been after Cousins and Sidney. Not sure, as you intimated, how seriously either is considering LSU. But, hopefully your sources turn out to be true. When you look at Cousins being from Mobile, LSU makes a lot of sense--from a geography standpoint, it's close, but also from a PT and tradition standpoint. Memphis (you saying it's Memphis State?) will be tough to beat, but LSU's big men on the roster right now are really PF/SFs, and Cousins, from what I've seen from him, doesn't shy away from mixin' it up down low. I'd take CTJ's ability to coach up bigs (both at Nevada and Stanford) over what Calipari has historically really done with bigs (there have been truly athletic bigs at Memphis and UMass, but not sure that Calipari really did anything to get these kids better than what they already had... Camby is still the best big kid that Calipari has coached). Renardo Sidney, likes to dribble drive and shoot the jumper from outside a little bit more, but would be an interesting combo 4/5 to Demarcus at 5. We can only wait and see and hope. As for Magee, Rivals has put some footage of the kid recently up. To be honest, the first thing that jumped out at me was.... Magnum Rolle--which truthfully is not a compliment. Granted, the kid is 6'9"/6'10", but he's rail thin (adding to the long line of LSU skinny projects of late). He's got a little bit (not a particularly smooth or quick one at that) of a jumper and seems to have some fluidity putting the rock down on the dribble drive. But, he didn't wow me. He would clearly be a project, but he may be a late season LA signing like Dennis Harris this year, who redshirts, (hopefully) bulks up, and you can play for 3-4 years in spots. He's a N.O. kid too, so I know Trent wants to get into that hotbed. I think a Riley or Natzyahko are better, obviously, and can have an impact sooner, but not going to say Trent is crazy for scouting Magee.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) this isnt meant as a criticism of ctj at all, but i think calipari did a good job with dorsey and a great job with barron. id think you almost have to go after a 6'9"/6'10" athletic player in your state (especially in N.O.)---as long as there arent grade/character issues. even rich krajewski ended up making a contribution his Sr year.
