^ what he said... but qualified...

Being a Mickey-D AA in and off itself means nothing, that's true. It's just another measuring stick among many. So does it mean everything? Not a chance. Lo Brown and Painter weren't on the list, but hell if I don't think they could hold there own against a lot of those who did.

But does it mean something? Most definitely. Let's not pretend this is some useless award. It's an honor to an AA and every elite level prospect WILL make the cut. But there's a lot of guys out there that COULD make it, but don't for whatever reason. That's the point where it's a wash, and typically the selections become more about hype and your school of choice than it does actual talent.

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 7:12 PM. Reason : w]

5/14/2009 7:08:57 PM

Quote :

"Let's not pretend this is some useless award."

No one was

5/14/2009 8:23:54 PM

Yeah, I didn't mean to belittle the award to a point of being worthless. All of the Elite players do make it; at least the top 10-15 players. After that it's pretty meaningless. This year the Wear twins were in the game and they are nowhere near the players that brown is. They got in basically because they are twins that happen to be going to unc.

5/14/2009 8:54:13 PM

our recruiting class is #13 in Scout's final rankings:
http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/a.z?s=178&p=2&c=865198

Quote :

"13. NC State Sidney Lowe's got replacements on the way. Lorenzo Brown is the straw and Painter is great late"

5/15/2009 3:13:33 PM

The straw?

Is that an And1 term or something?

5/15/2009 3:15:27 PM

I think they are saying he is the byproduct of a one night stand coming from a strung out Darryl Strawberry coke binge. But I could be wrong.

5/15/2009 3:18:08 PM

^Nah, that's DJ.

He's referring to Gooden.

5/15/2009 3:28:57 PM

Or really anyone who played for the Mets in the 80s. Just pick a name.

5/15/2009 3:55:57 PM

The straw that stirs the drink

just like Ernie is to TWW

5/15/2009 4:02:52 PM

Maybe they meant he's hung like a straw

Just like Slave

5/15/2009 4:11:01 PM

^^good call, I was thinking it was some "the straw that broke the camel's back" type deal which didn't make any sense

[Edited on May 15, 2009 at 4:12 PM. Reason : .]

5/15/2009 4:11:16 PM

Prepstars (http://www.prepstars.com) released their finals rankings for the 2009 class

of note:
No. 24 Lorenzo Brown
No. 71 Deshawn Painter
No. 74 Richard Howell
No. 76 Scott Wood

5/16/2009 12:06:05 PM

so who's going to have the better freshman year? painter or howell?

5/16/2009 12:13:16 PM

#13 in the country and still 4th in the ACC, maybe 5th if miami lands wall



pwnt

[Edited on May 16, 2009 at 12:18 PM. Reason : .]

5/16/2009 12:18:18 PM

but even with a top 15 recruiting we don't seem to have any one (or even two) and done kinds of players (i hope) which is good.

5/16/2009 12:29:49 PM

^except for the silent verbal from john wall that we have that i'm making up if you ignore the fact that he'll tear his ACL and never be able to play again... because of NC State shit (I'm guessing wet bricks on a day he was pretending to go to class)

5/16/2009 12:33:39 PM

I kind of would like for John Wall to go to Kentucky with that monster class Calipari is bringing in, and for them to fail miserably in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament. Then all of them (Orton, Cousins, Wall, Meeks, Patterson) leave for the NBA.

5/16/2009 12:42:49 PM

what'd be even more awesome is if he went there, and all of them tried to do it all on their own... leading to kentucky missing the NCAA tourney again!

5/16/2009 12:46:16 PM

^ true, but I doubt that even that could happen with all of that talent.


On another topic though how is our recruiting class ranked below Arizona's in Scout's rankings? We both have 3 commitments from Top 100 players, but we have the added advantage of having Wood who is one of the best shooters in the class and is just outside the Top 100 (prep stars have him in the Top 100 fwiw). Then we have two unheralded recruits that will be good 4 year role players in Davis and Vandenberg.

5/16/2009 12:55:37 PM

favoritism

5/16/2009 1:01:52 PM

Quote :

"Then we have two unheralded recruits that will be good 4 year role players in Davis and Vandenberg."

Uhh, if scout did give us credit for them, they wouldn't be unheralded. The fact that we aren't getting credit for them is what makes them unheralded.

5/16/2009 1:09:12 PM

I've never understood how they ranked classes anyway. Is it some sort of average If so, having a * and a ** in your class would slide it down.

And maybe the scout guys think that those two won't be productive ACC players? I don't know...

[Edited on May 16, 2009 at 1:14 PM. Reason : x]

5/16/2009 1:13:39 PM

Quote :

"And maybe the scout guys think that those two won't be productive ACC players? I don't know..."

that's my guess.

5/16/2009 3:25:16 PM

^ & ^^ its more likely that they cannot list every single player because the list would be very long.

5/16/2009 5:04:03 PM

^no

5/16/2009 5:05:56 PM

ESPN can rank them all. They have Davis as the #102 SF and Vandenberg as the #58 C.

5/16/2009 5:59:57 PM

blah, after the first 30 or so players, its hit or miss. you can usually bank on the 5*'s being studs....after that, throw away the rankings

5/16/2009 6:01:30 PM

^for the most part yes but I would give a little more leeway. Anyone ranked in the top 50 or 60 is usually going to have at least a productive college career. After that though it is a crapshoot.

BTW, don't know how much this has been discussed (haven't read back in the thread), but with the addition of Painter could this be the best recruiting class we have ever had - at least since they started the rankings and all that?

5/16/2009 6:37:25 PM

Quote :

"BTW, don't know how much this has been discussed (haven't read back in the thread), but with the addition of Painter could this be the best recruiting class we have ever had - at least since they started the rankings and all that?"

Scout ranked our 2005 class at 11th (w/ 5* Costner and 4* McCauley and Fells)

5/16/2009 7:01:27 PM

this is a blurb from a Rivals mailbag column, regarding Ryan Harrow:

Quote :

"I left Atlanta last weekend extremely impressed with Harrow. As a scout who watches a lot of basketball, and often not-so-good basketball, it is quite refreshing to come across a talented player like Harrow. Yes, he is awful small at only 150 pounds, but that is part of what makes him fun to watch. Harrow is as slippery with the ball as they come, and he is a big-time shot-maker. He also has a special feel for the game and sees the court as a passer while being a constant threat to score. In other words, he keeps constant pressure on the defense. On the other side of the ball, Harrow will need to get stronger to defend high-level ACC guards, but he has quick feet, good hands and instincts as a defender. I expect him to rack up a bunch of steals at NC State, although he might run into some matchup problems with bigger guards. Presently, Harrow is ranked No. 25 overall and No. 6 as a point guard, and there is the potential for him to move up the rankings. "

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=946367

5/16/2009 7:06:52 PM

RCSI goes back to 1998: http://rscihoops.com/

We were 5th in 2001, 10th in 2005, 18th for this year as of November.

Quote :

"If he stays away from the NBA for another season or two, Damien Wilkins (a former top 10 caliber player) could team up with Hodge to form an explosive 1-2 punch."

[Edited on May 16, 2009 at 7:44 PM. Reason : ]

5/16/2009 7:34:13 PM

Quote :

"but with the addition of Painter could this be the best recruiting class we have ever had - at least since they started the rankings and all that?"

I'd say the 2001 class with Hodge, Levi Watkins, Josh Powell, and Jordan Collins is pretty high on the list as far as recent recruiting classes go

5/16/2009 7:41:39 PM

Quote :

" Presently, Harrow is ranked No. 25 overall and No. 6 as a point guard, and there is the potential for him to move up the rankings. "

Sounds like this guy likes Ryan almost as much as our fanbase does. Back when he was toiling in 3* land I had him pegged for ~25 overall, on that 4/5* line much like Zo has been on but this is even better. I don't know how much further you can really move him up though, because once you get to high 5* land (say 15 overall) you need to start taking into account NBA potential. IE Ryan Kelly at #13 - wtf? I think Harrow has the ability and athleticism to be good in the League, but man...growing those couple inches we were guaranteed when he committed and putting on at least a little weight would make him really projectable and get the scouts drooling

Not that I'm saying I necessarily want that. No reason to give him any reason to leave college early

5/16/2009 7:50:35 PM

if he gets higher, he will just de-commit and go to kentucky

5/16/2009 7:53:59 PM

I'd take this class hands-down over our 2005 class. Especially in hindsight. (and in my earlier post, it was Fells who was the 5*, not Costner)

This year we picked up at least 3 or 4 (hopefully immediate) ACC-caliber players, and a player at each position. (if you assume Zo will play some point and consider JD a SF).



And then you look at Kentucky's #1 class. A player at each position, three 5*s and two 4*s. And I've heard they might still be in the running for that guy.

v I said hopefully immediate. I think it's safe to say that at least 3 or 4 of these guys will be eventually be decent ACC players, and sooner rather than later.

[Edited on May 16, 2009 at 8:46 PM. Reason : ]

5/16/2009 8:17:20 PM

When is the last time a team picked up 3-4 immediately ACC-caliber players?

5/16/2009 8:21:26 PM

Quote :

"Especially in hind-sight."

ha

Quote :

"When is the last time a team picked up 3-4 immediately ACC-caliber players?"

Depends if you're going by results or message board talk.

5/16/2009 8:28:47 PM

^^^Oops, I was looking at older rankings of Kentucky's recruits. They actually only have two 5*s, two 4*s, and a 3*.

[Edited on May 16, 2009 at 8:49 PM. Reason : ]

5/16/2009 8:31:01 PM

^^^^

http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/a.z?s=178&p=8&c=1&nid=449872

5/16/2009 8:49:37 PM

so much wasted potential in that class with fells and costner, and it was all headcase shit.

5/16/2009 8:53:43 PM

^you have to wonder if maybe some of that was due to not playing for the coach or in the system they were recruited for.

5/16/2009 9:08:16 PM

the system they were recruited for would have us talking about wasted potential too

5/16/2009 9:26:28 PM

^^No I don't.

If they are pouting because they didn't get to run the weave and heave, then they definitely are headcases. I can see guys favoring a particular system, especially guys with marginal talent who need a system to be good, but real basketball players are competitors first and want to win no matter what system they are in.

FYI, this applies to any field, not just basketball. You'll find that the best people in a field are the ones who want to do the best, no matter what, not the ones who whine and pout about how shit is not exactly how they want it.

That's the reason a marginally talented Atsur excelled under Sidney and the others didnt. He had a good head on his shoulders. The other two simply didn't have the temperament to play basketball at a high level.

[Edited on May 16, 2009 at 10:47 PM. Reason : .]

5/16/2009 10:46:01 PM

^I definitely agree with that, Arizona had three different coaches the past 3 years and they did fine...if you're looking for excuses for Fells, Costner and McCauley you can certainly use that but if they were really the players they were touted to be they would have excelled regardless. Plus their best year was under Lowe anyway, they all played sparingly (if at all) their freshman year under Sendek and had "breakout" seasons under Lowe. Maybe in the long run it will turn out to be Lowe who couldn't develop players, but right now it's hard to put the blame for their lack of accomplishments on anyone but themselves.

5/17/2009 12:26:37 AM

^&^^ agreed

plus add to the fact that they acted like bitches when hickson came in, expecting to play automatically with no effort whatsoever

5/17/2009 12:35:35 AM

Quote :

"Back when he was toiling in 3* land I had him pegged for ~25 overall, on that 4/5* line much like Zo has been on but this is even better."

such foresight.

5/17/2009 2:08:32 AM

if harrow grows a couple inches before he gets here, that makes him a 1 and done type, 2 years max. i'd rather him stay undersized and then maybe grow a few inches as an upperclassman to really send his nba stock through the roof.

5/17/2009 3:19:51 AM

we can always chop off one of his legs when he gets here. the nba draft discriminates against the handicap so we'd have him for all 4 years.

i'm just hoping there are no egos coming into this team. sid should set up the position battles like TOB does. those who play the hardest, get the spot. we'll definitely see a lot of substituting early in the season like last season.

5/17/2009 10:01:08 AM

^ i think that was exactly the problem with the transition year, at least from what little has leaked out over the last 2 years...

Lowe coached and played in the NBA where there is no such thing as a guaranteed spot. Kind of makes you really marvel at guys that stick around for so many years because it means with the hundreds of NBA quality players that try and make it to the league every year, doesn't mean they can and if they have to beat out someone like Kobe or Ray Allen or Dwayne Wade, good luck.

That first year with Lowe in hindsight, is what did them in (the Sendek recruits). They played short-handed that whole year, 35 min+ a game, and then Hickson comes in, and was already the best player on the court.

I think you will definitely see the competition for starting spots now, these are Lowe's kids, the next two years, i really think we'll see astronomical improvement. Any coach who is worth his salt has done this in his career. And if Lowe can't, he knows the deal, its a bid'ness

5/17/2009 11:13:12 AM

Quote :

"such foresight."

yea yea, sounds dumb but i actually have a record of it...but its on pp premium

and he still aint there yet where it really matters, on scout

5/17/2009 12:29:33 PM