Question and Answer with LFBall and stuff from last night

Thursday, January 26, 2012

What a day in College Basketball! A team actually lost a game. Can you believe that?  Who would have thought it? Are you telling me there has to be winners and losers? Please! Are you telling me the chances of every team playing great all season long is close to impossible? Wow! Again I am stunned that a team in the United States of America with a name other than FDU lost a game.

Lets start with both Rutgers and Seton Hall. Was it actually "Horrible Wednesday" in New Jersey based on both losing games that on paper they should have won? I say no! Do I feel both played much worst than expected?  I say yes! I have said repeatedly that the good teams win all games they are supposed to win based on better talent or at the least home court advantage based on outstanding crowd support and familiarity of your home court. In the case of Rutgers I really feel it is hard to justify your great wins when you turn around and lose to a team you should beat in DePaul.  I mean this is not the DePaul made famous by Ray Myers.  But on the other hand it is the DePaul of The Big East and honestly all the teams in the Big East are at least decent. And decent teams can win games when the chips fall into place for them.

Lets look at Seton Hall. Again I say the world is not coming to an end for any of us based on a loss to Notre Dame. Seton Hall can still be a post season entry. And I sure am not talking about that Coaches Invitational or the big NJ event with FDU, Binghamton, St. Peters, and Marist.  NJIT was eliminated from the field based on having a better record than all the others. Again I say Seton Hall must hold serve and beat the teams they are supposed to based on certain factors.  Playing at home should mean something if the fans come out and really support them. Senior leadership should be in place with Theodore and Pope, who both saw their games go south on Wednesday evening. 2 for 16 for Pope, the former top 75 national recruit? 4 for 14 for Jordan the highly recruited guard from Englewood NJ and Paterson Catholic HS?  The rest of the players following their lead and playing equally unimpressive.  Coaches cannot shoot the ball or play the game for you. If that was the case SHU would have won because Coach Willard and Coach Holloway together would be too tough as nails mentally and physically to ever let a game such as this turn out the way it did. And trust me Coach Willard was a tough role player who had to prove he was worthy every day,

On a positive note St. Johns won last night at the Garden against a very good but recently under achieving West Virginia University in front of a huge crowd of 6000 plus. I do wonder if this game could have been played at Alumni Hall or Carnesseca Arena as they now call it. But at least they won and it is too bad no one really saw it (smile). We do have to remember that St. Johns is very young with a watered down Fab Five type Freshmen Class who still are potential stars and in a few cases potential NBA draft choices.

Here is my message about the games and played and Fans of the respective teams mentioned. Rutgers, Seton Hall, and St. Johns will not win every game they play. They will make you cheer and approve and they will make you upset and disappointed.  Its just the nature of the game we all love. Winning and losing will happen every time a game takes place. No such thing as a tie in basketball!  But I will say Fans have every right to be fans.  This means they have a right to moan, bitch, applaud, and cheer. It means they can vent frustration as well as predict great things when the final score is in favor of their team. Now here comes where I disagree with many tri-state area fans.

When will local fans understand that support must be consistent, even when you bitch and moan about your teams performance. True fans help teams become programs and programs worthy of recruiting high caliber players such as what St. Johns, Rutgers, and Seton Hall has.   Players want to be part of programs and not teams. Well, the greatest coach in the world with good talent will not be able to attract players if the fans of that team are not supportive by attending games. Well, than  again Miami gets players with very little fan support outside of Luke and his entourage lol.  This brings me to support after a bad loss. Duke can lose games they are supposed to win and return home to a sell out crowd in that old building that seats 4000 but they get 9000 because everyone stands the entire game.  North Carolina will get a sell out if they lost the last game to the Belmont Abby Alumni Association B Team.  Louisville? not having a great season as many predicted but still selling out the YUM Center. Memphis lost its coach and people still purchased season tickets and the crowd is always around 17,000 at Tiger games.

You want to see your team do well? Than I say to the fans at SJU, RU, and SHU, get out to the next game. Get your friends to come out. Pack the place to capacity and when your team comes out for warm-ups give them a standing ovation as opposed to sitting there expecting to see a bad performance. This is how fans of programs react. Fans of teams? They just bitch and provide negative energy. I am sure recruits like Aquille Carr, who still has to be recruited up until he actually shows up on campus in summer 2013 will be watching because at Maryland, it will be 16,000 plus cheering even after a loss!

Question and Answer with LFBall

Since no one seems to ask me my opinion on College or HS basketball related issues I have decided to interview myself. For this I have asked LS who I really am to interview LFBall, who I post under. I hope this interview is enjoyable and enlightening.  Trust me this is just another way of expressing my opinion. No ego, no agenda except information sharing.

LS
We are here with LFBall who has been a fixture on the internet for many years commenting and writing about HS and College basketball. LFball can you tell us what started you posting?

LFball
LS I started back when we only had AOL boards and I read a college basketball board on my old IBM computer. A guy named Giggydawg was saying such interesting things and was so positive about St. Johns University that it peaked my interest to read all the time and occasionally post. This led me to other sites such as NYCNJHoops where we formed almost a bond and supported each other and even attended certain games as a group,  later writing posts about the games we watched. From there I met a guy named Russ Blake who actually figured out who I was when I posted a question asking how good a certain kid was and he knew it had to be the Father of the kid. We communicated and i even wrote some stories for him and Mike Sullivan when Russ was unavailable. By the way Mike Sullivan still owes me my money lol. I than started reading all the good, bad, and ugly on the internet about players, teams, and more. As a parent it was often very hard to read and I found myself writing more and more. Which is how I found the Seton Hall and Rutgers boards to go along with The St. Johns board.

LS
What do you actually know about basketball?

LFBall
Honestly not much lol.!  No really I played the game from 10 years old until my last college game in West Virginia. I was an All City honorable mention player on a 30 and 1 NYC HS team and served as Captain. As I did in junior college and at the 4 year college I graduated from. Coaching wise I coached many great HS, College, and Pro players over the years in leagues in and around NYC with the Dyckman Basketball Program where I served as one of the two lead coaches and primary trainer/instructor. I also coached at Westchester Community College where our teams went to Hutchinson Kansas to the Nationals 3 different times while I was there. I learned alot from the head coach Ralph Arietta as I did from jim Couch of the Dyckman Program.

LS
Can you tell us a few of the players you have worked with in the past?

LFBall
OK I will try to get this right. This is just a few guys I have had an opportunity to work with. Rik Smits, Gus Williams, Mark Jackson, Kevin Williams, Rodney McCray, Scooter McCray, Lowes Moore, Darwin Cook,  Ronny Williams, from Florida, Phil Smith from New Mexico,  Steve Burtt,  Steve Burtt Jr.,  JR Inman, Ryan Ayers, Gerald Henderson, Wayne Ellington, Antonio Pena, God Shamgod, JC Mathis, Mike Nurse, Peter Vignier,  Seth Brown, Donald Osbourve, Pat Sullivan, Rynn Sullivan, Ricardo Greer, Jeffrey Greer, Craig Carter, Jean Preliou, Sean Banks, Sean Couch, and many more.

LS
How did you get to work with the Philly kids?

LFBall
I worked with kids on competing much more than skill development. So my practices were all run like a boot camp. React to the whistle and alot of mental games to make players tougher. When you came to the gym with me you could not talk until the final whistle was blown unless you were talking the game on offense and defense. Honestly it was so hard many players were scared to attend. Fred Benjimin, who now coaches at a New England Prep Power was one of our Dyckman team members who we made a player. Now he has studs every year and uses many of the drills we used. He said to folks about two years ago that I was a Black version of Bobby Knight based on my drills and discipline. Well, back to your question LS. Jim Solmon a guy I know and respect liked the workouts I was doing. So he often brought select kids he thought could handle it to the workouts. Thats what brought the Philly Kids on more than one occasion.  And they were such a pleasure to be around!

LS
Now that we know a little about you I want to ask you some basketball related questions. Is that OK?

LFBall
Yes please be my guest. By the way can I get you a soda or water?

LS
No thianks. But please give me your honest assessment of Seton Hall Mens Basketball?

LFBall
I think Seton Hall is just fine. I feel they are currently trying to fight out of a mini slump but are more than capable of turning the ship around. At first I thought they got the short end of the stick when St. Johns hired Lavin and Rutgers hired Rice. They both seemed to be more news worthy at the time. But reflecting on the season so far it seems Seton Hall actually made the best hire as of this moment. He sure has done better than many expected at this point.  I feel Seton Hall needs a tougher and mentally stronger Herb Pope to show up from this point forward. Herb needs to play with purpose! He needs to be in attack mode and stop playing as if he just enjoys the life around beautiful South Orange with the trees and wonderful people. Time for him to step up.  Jordan Theodore needs to become a leader by taking care of his teammates. He needs to get the ball to them where they can be effective. He also has to hit shots if he is going to take so many. Toughness is  not a concern when it comes to him. Just making shots and making those around him more effective remains my concern. By the way Jordan does not remember me but I worked with him also when he was about 9 years old and his wonderful Mom brought him over to us at Dyckman along with his brother Kwami. He always had a ball with him lol. Still remember his Mom walking on the court during a Rucker game and putting him on the ground for being disrespectful on the bench when he came out of a  certain game. She walked right across the court lol. His Mom is OUTSTANDING!  I also feel the SHU fans have more to cheer about than to frown about. They just do not realize it yet. Lastly I look forwrd to the day that curtain comes down like the Berlin Wall because people will rediscover SHU basketball is a great event to watch.

LS
Same question about Rutgers

LFBall
Rutgers is a sleeping giant.  I dreamed about playing at Rutgers after watching the Phil Sellers, Ed Jordan, Mike Dabney, Hollis Copeland, James Bailey, Les Cason and Abdul Anderson team turn the Garden out. They arrived in two buses with Rutgers, The State University, on the side. Inside the crowd was going crazy shouting RU RAA RAA RU RAA. It was electric and every kid wanted to be part of this magical team from NJ that were like movie stars. Heck they even chanted Les Cason's name and he was no where the player Dick Vitale made folks think he was when he attended Rutherford NJ HS.  Rutgers seems to be on the way back although I feel they could have been right up there if they had kept Gary Waters. I hated his negative energy on the side lines frowning at players for every little mistake but he got results and took RU to the NIT where RU fans packed the place as they did during the Phil Sellers years. When Fred Hill took over we all saw it coming so no one was really surprised. What surprised many of us was the new Fred Hill. This was not the wonderful guy from FDU we all knew. This was not the guy I called Tommy Amaker and told he needs this guy bad!  This was not the guy I went on the internet daily trying in my own silly way to drum up support for when he was trying to get the Seton Hall Assistant job. This was not the guy my son adored! This was definitely a case of "The Return of The Body Snatchers" because someone took the Fred Hill Jr. we loved and adored from us. He really might have come around with another year, But to tell his staff that they could not even speak to certain folks was a definite no-no in my book. I was actually on a list! Wow. I wish him well and know he will do a good job at Northwestern. Enter Mike Rice who I thought was a good candidate but not what Al Skinner or Fran Frachilla could bring to the table. Well,  I was wrong!  I guess that is why I write a blog and do not have a real job involving college basketball lol. Mike Rice is turning the RU Program around. He has them playing hard and recruiting great student athletes.  His staff is superb and really doing wonderful work from NY to Washington DC getting players interested. Rutgers remains a sleeping giant who seems to be on the verge of waking up. Right now they are sleep walking and beating some high profile teams on occasion, but still sorta sleeping. However Coach Rice with a capital C, a guy I remember from Fordham and a guy who also actually worked out with us in the past during his Fordham years, is going to make Rutgers a true upper tier Big East team sooner than later. I also remember Coach Rice working the door at Hoop group Events years ago. Yes I love what Rob kennedy and The hoop group foes and stands for.

LS
How about St. Johns

LFBall
SJU remains "The program" in the NYC Metro area. The question is can they hold on after many seasons of mediocrity? Norm Roberts did a wonderful job based on having nowhere the budget or lets just say opportunities Lavin has to produce a winner. St. Johns for years did it with the best from NY, NJ, and LI who often lived at home with the housing stipend money in their pocket based on fair rent costs in the part of Queens where St. Johns is located. This was a huge recruitment tool since at the time St. Johns did not have dorms and according to NCAA guidelines each player could receive a certain amount to cover living and eating expenses. So players took the money and purchased cars to drive back and forth. Some even took apartments with up to 3 other teammates nearby and paid 1/4 the rent. I still remember a friend of mine who was a SJU star driving a nice Electra 225 with red interior.  Those were the days when playing for St., Johns was almost like playing for the Knicks. St. Johns choose players who they wanted and in most cases got. The NYC PSAL and CHSAA had players, great players, who wanted to attend St. Johns so bad they would have paid to attend. The real stars had great incentives to stay home because the Garden rocked when they played. Interesting also was the large number of players who transferred back home to St. Johns. Reggie Carter and Bernard Rencher are two who come to mind. How about that 6 ft 5 workhorse Matt Brust? SJU was not scared of JC transfers either. Chris Mullin and Walter Berry were the dynamic duo after Walter transferred from San Jacinto to play on a great team with Chris and Mark Jackson. Every now and than they would get that super player from far away. Players like Willie Glass from Atlantic City, or the great HS player from Colorado Chuckie Sprolling (sp) I think. I remember Mike Moses in the backcourt as well as Kevin Williams getting drafted even though he did not start for St. Johns. St Johns players were like pro's. I remember seeing Mark Jackson with a suit and tie on arriving for his games and Walter with an entourage. Even back in the day Beaver Smith was a household name and more famous than many area professionals. I heard Beaver had Dr. J watch his clothes when he played summer league lol. fast forward to now and i see them getting 6000 at the Garden for a Big East game. The new arena is supposed to be nice but I have not been there to see it for myself. I am not sure Lavin will return this season or if at all. I know they have very good players but I also feel something is missing. Maybe it is more tough  representatives from the PSAL and CHSAA. I really look forward to sell outs at the Garden in the near future hopefully. And not just during the Big East Tournament!

LS
Why are you so tough on FDU?

LFBall
Plain and simple I am upset over the way they have ruined what was a solid program under Tom Green. I have never seen in all my years watching basketball a school go out of their way to make a gym unattractive and a team so damn non competitive. I have heard I have been the topic of conversation in the SID's office on more than one occasion.  Maybe that time would be better spent working on getting a few people to know FDU has a team starting with your administration. Or are they at the Madison campus watching the D3 team compete? FDU could really be a good program. It really is a very good school. No reason a place such as that should not average 2500 fans a game and be in the top 1/4 of that conference yearly.

LS
What do you think of College Basketball Recruitment and kids leaving the area to attend college?

LFBall
Honestly unless you are going to Stanford, Northwestern (all you future Doctors and Lawyers), Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, Harvard, and maybe UCLA and Kansas, no kid should go further than 180 miles from home unless no school locally or regionally recruits him. If you are a legit 4 star player and none of the area Big East schools offer you a scholarship I sure understand you attending Clemson, Wake Forest, Rhode Island, Boston College, or even Miami where no one will ever see you again. Yes, thats right! No one will ever see you again. Don't believe me? What happened to the player from paul Roberson who transferred to Miami from Villanova? OK you got my point.  Why not give RU, SJU, and SHU an opportunity? Heck what is wrong with Fordham, Iona, and Manhattan who at one time played games at The Garden and was competitive with SJU during the Campion, Lockhart, and Bucci years? Monmouth is the best thing other than being on the beach in Florida.  Rider though a band box gym is really a nice place. Heck even FDU will not be a bad place once they get it together. Ego makes kids choose wrong. So do advisers who are choosing to benefit them and their personal egos.  NY and NJ is where most of these kids will return and work one day. Not Wisconsin, Indiana, or even Miami.  Not Kentucky or Memphis!  Why not attend school where you will need connections when that NBA contract does not materialize?  So if you do not realize it, I am a fan of kids staying home if the opportunity is right. Plus I want a Tobacco  Road atmosphere like they have in North Carolina. I guess I am just being selfish.

LS
What is our take on the recruitment services ranking HS players?

LFBall
Let me stop laughing. In our area there are a few folks who know the business and even they can be wrong. Just to name a few let me start with Steve Keller, Robert "Rebel" Boyd, Jay Gomes, Ed Butler, Russ Blake, Nate Blue (yes he does know what he is talking about) and Tom Konchalski.  And as I said even those guys and ME get it wrong somtimes. Like I have said in the past the biggest laugh when certain folks go out to a diner with Tom Konchalski is his rating Mike O'Koran a 2 star D3 recruit prior to his senior year at Hudson Catholic. Just think if Dean Smith listened to Tom Mike would have attended Jersey City State University.  Mike as we all know went on to star at North Carolina and for the NJ Nets. I guess even Tom can get it wrong lol.  Many of the other guys with services have no clue. They sit court-side taking notes for publications you never heard of or will never ever see. Many never played, or coached. In fact some barely watched yet now are experts on what level a kid should be recruited. Ever see those bogus top 20 6 grade rankings? How about the top 3rd grader in America? Funny as you know what! Yet they tend to have credibility with college coaches. I happen to know many coaches and often tease them when then call me. They pay folks who do not know yet want free info from me (smile).  Big business for many but the driving force for many is the power of influence.

LS
What is your take on AAU Teams?

LFBall
I think people get it confused. Most of the teams you are really asking about our really just travel programs who might play in one AAU event yearly if that. But let me give my take on travel teams. Most of these teams are funded through fund raising efforts. Tournaments, candy sales, concessions at games, and car washes. In many cases the teams do get funding from people such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and Under Armor who is the new kid on the block spending alot of money. Do not be surprised if Sonny Vacarro re-appears running the Under Armor top 100 Camp or something similar. I still do not think a kid will see a HS player with a pair of Under Armor sneakers on and run to buy a pair himself.  What many people fail to realize is 95 percent of the teams playing travel basketball lose money and coaches often pay alot of the expenses from their own pocket. Now there are some that get so much funding even the parents are outfitted at games. One team heading south gets support from Nuke, plus the 5 NBA players who came through their program. I wonder why these successful Athletes rarely give back to the HS Programs other than a set of sneakers here and there? Maybe because the HS did not provide what the travel teams do in terms of tutoring, advice and guidance, exposure opportunities, and in many cases better coaching. Some say the real season if you are not at a good HS program is the travel team season from late March to October. Thats when you will get your real exposure in a very competitive environment. So yes I am a fan of travel teams. And locally there are some very good ones!

LS
Please give us your impression of Kyle Anderson?

LFBall
In two sentences. I would average at least 10 points a game playing with him even at my age. He is super special and extremely gifted and well coached. He does need a vacation after the season away from basketball because he has faced every challenge, played every  game, and hid from no one to be crowned the best in America.

LS
How about Karl Towns Jr.?

LFBall
OUTSTANDING and tons of potential! A once every 20 years player!

LS
I have to ask you about Chris Jones from Teaneck?

LFBall
I am going out on a limb on this one. With the right school choice and a patient College Coach, we will see Chris play in the NBA as a 6 ft 6 guard one day. Extremely underrated and a real candidate for the 2nd best HS player in NJ this season.

LS
What is your take on Gil St. Bernard HS?

LFBall
Ritzy school with an outstanding team and very good coach. Young Sina is very special and will be great in college. I look forward to the game against Plainfield.

LS
Speaking of Plainfield what are your thoughts on them?

LFBall
I hope for a Teaneck vs Plainfield rematch in the sectional finals. Honestly this team is special and after St. Anthony's and St. Benedict's,  rightfully deserves the 3rd spot in the rankings. This is a throwback team if I ever saw one. They play like kids did years ago. Tough and with a purpose!  In fact they remind me of those teams from the deep south that has tough kids who just get after it. I love this team because they are doing it, as is Teaneck, with home grown talent.

LS
Who is the best players you have ever seen in HS

LFBall
In no particular order. Tim Thomas, Shaheen Holloway, Vince Carter,  Koby Bryant, Allen Iverson,  Wayne McKoy,  Dejuan Wagner, Lebron James, John Wall, Filipe Lopez, Lamont Odom, and Aquille Carr. There are more I just cannot think of them at this moment.

LS
What about the best HS Coaches?

LFBall
Bob Hurley, though it gets tired hearing TV people say his name when a St. Anthony's graduate is playing lol. Also Kevin Boyle, Moe Hicks, Johnny  Mathis, Ray Haskins, Gary DeCaeser, Tiny Morton, Danny Hurley, Ron Naclerio,  Abe Heyman (my HS Coach), Curtis March (Outstanding Coach but having to deal with a crazy like me makes him even that mush more special), Ruth Lovelace and her Staff,  Bill Speigal (ex Ben Franklin Coach), and Howie Jones (ex Boys HS Coach) just to name a few.
 
LS
Last question. Why did you start your blog?

LFBall
Easy question and thanks for asking. I started my blog as a hobby. I wanted to say what I felt and not be censored by anyone.  I felt I had alot to share and even more to say. I was going to really give it to certain people but decided to just keep it clean. But trust me the cheating and corruption in basketball is there and everyone from the NCAA to the AAU know. Kids are getting paid, parents get paid and perks, and even colleges are listening to power brokers who control who they hire based on the promise of special funding and future opportunities. Ohhhhhhh do not start me preaching.  I better end this right now before I provide names!

LS
Thanks for your time

LFBall
No problem I enjoyed it.