Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) i dont have strong feelings about the coaching situation. just keep in mind that it aint easy getting a good coach. has anyone else in the SECW had one since cjb came here? arky has done worse after getting rid of nolan. bama has done ok (arguably worse than lsu though), but they have underacheived with their talent. msu hasnt done much. auburn hasnt done much. olemiss has been a coaching carousel. id rather have couple great seasons every 5 yrs and a chance at something special than to change coaches and fall flat. id love to steal kennedy away from OM.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) Can Brady! I'm sick of him and he's a horrible coach. I'm not the "typical" fan who is hard on coaches, I just think he is a lousy coach. BRADY"S GOT TO GEAUX!!!!!!!!!
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) mgreen, ask and you shall receive. It's kind of poetic looking back at this thread, especially towards the end. The fans demanded it and it is done. Now, we have the Trent Johnson era to look forward to. Who does he recruit? What kind of player does he like? What's ironic is that in MANY ways, Trent may be a more likeable (at least now) version of CJB himself--he wants defense, rebounding and an offense where folks value the ball. Sound familiar? What is interesting to me is can in fact Trent appeal to the Greg Monroes and DJ Augustins of the world. It's easy to say put a fence around LA, it's another thing to actually do it--especially in hoops. Some recruits are just out for #1, and they may not like what Trent is selling. In any case, with TMG and Keith Gallon more out of the picture, 2009 is wide open. I have a feeling that Atlanta may be our best bet, especially if Butch goes and Chad stays. I see Trent working the west a little bit and Houston a bunch.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) So, folks, as Coach Trent Johnson secures first his 2008 signees, and works on finishing his coaching staff, the start of AAU ball has tipped off. What's amazing about today's high school hoops landscape is that in a given year, the good high school kids in AAU probably play about 100 games... 70 of them being AAU games during spring and summer. This is where the scouting happens my friends. And you can be sure that CTJ will be roaming the sidelines in new tourneys in the deep south looking for talent. Here are some early reports of players to watch. Keith "Tiny" Gallon was on our list, and seemed to impress. Let's see if Butch staying sways the Mason-Griffin/Gallon duo back in LSU's camp. http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=797663
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) For what it's worth, there's been a lot of lip service to "keeping the players in LA" in the state. As we look at 2008 and 2009, and what Trent and Butch are going to differently (if they do anything differently), we need to keep in mind that in 2009, for example, there are NO LA players listed in the Rivals top 100. And, these are the players in 2009 listed by ESPN/Scout as recruits from LA: http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/prospects?&pos=null&status=null&toggle=state&season=2009&state=LA&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fprospects%3f%26pos%3dnull%26status%3dnull%26toggle%3dstate%26season%3d2009%26state%3dLA If there was a schollie that opened up b/c of Anthony Randolph's departure, could we sign a guy in 2008? Perhaps a PG? Here are some options: http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/prospects?&pos=null&status=0&toggle=state&season=2008&state=LA&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fprospects%3f%26pos%3dnull%26status%3d0%26toggle%3dstate%26season%3d2008%26state%3dLA Maybe a diamond in the rough that wants to play for Trent? I think that it's fair to say that really, what folks mean to say, is that when LSU has a chance to sign the BEST player in the state of LA, like Greg Monroe or DJ Augustin, we have to find a way to keep those guys in state. The truth is, it's hard to do that in hoops every year. It's hard to win on LA talent alone, and that's why it's essential to mine TX, GA and other places.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) Still amazes me all the research you do Tger...good job, but I would love if somehow we could land a point guard in 08 but if not save the scholly and just go nuts next year with a really good class.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) I doubt there is a point guard available that is worth risking a scholarship. In regards to Monroe and Augustin, when has LSU ever signed the best player from New Orleans. Livingston is the only one I can remember and his brother had some connection with LSU at the time. Hopefully Johnson can break down the NO wall like Saban did in football. Brady and Butch did a pretty good job of bringing the best players in the state to LSU. Stromile, Bass, Thomas, and Davis IMO, are superior to the Louisiana recruits that Brown brought in during his twenty-seven years.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) Brown had some pretty strong teams, and players, in the late 70's and early eighties. And the year he recruited Shaq, he had that 7-footer from South Carolina who just couldn't keep his grades up. Jackson and singleton, among others, weren't too shabby, either. Say what you want about Brown, he was an excellent recruiter.
Re: Hoops Recruiting (2009) Just reread my post and realize I didn't speak to your point. Sorry. While I agree that most of his top recruits were from out of state, Brown usually got the top in-state guys. They were usually not top level national recruits. But two points: He coached them to get the most out of them and Louisiana didn't have many of the the top national high school seniors. While the level of play of La. kids has improved, no little thanks to AAU and similar teams for the younger kids, there's not many years when the state has more than one kid who fits this description. We'd all like to see him lock these kids, but he'll have to recruit nationally (at least regionally) to really put together a top program. With the assistants he's bringing on board, looks like he'll have the opportunity.
