Bobby Gonzalez
Glad this stuff is behind him. I still think there were legs to those rumors. Fortunately folks saw the great support he has and recognized it would be wrong to let him go. Now watch him work even harder to make SHU a great program
The Freddy vs Bobby Rivalry
I LOVE IT!!!! This is one of the best things to happen to local college basketball in many years. You could not pay for better press than what this will generate.
Tamir Jackson
Are you kidding me? UAB!!!! What is he thinking? O guess there are a lot of local UAB grads around here to help him when he completes school. Ernie Loich, the Riverside/Metro Hawk head guy taught me years ago that kids need to attend school near where they want to live as adults unless they choose a high profile national programs. UAB is not that type of program. Maybe he wants to make Alabama his future home. This is the type of kid that should not be leaving the area. Where was Fordham? Siena? SJU? St. Joe's? Temple?
The Local Scene
lots of talk about recruiting on the HS level. Funny because why would a kid not want to attend a school that has their program together. As opposed to complaining, why not put the time and work into your local program to make them competitive.
I often have complained about the Teaneck NJ HS program becoming just a team after doing so well in prior years. Well if the Coach is not making it attractive and putting in the time to make the team a program, it is no wonder they are running to attend school 20-40 miles away. And the school board needs to recognize this as much as the current principal.
The College Season
Well the college season for teams is about complete. The only thing left are tournaments for the various players seeking to make the NBA or play in Europe. I am referring to a colege all-star game here and there,the Portsmouth Invitational, and the NBA pre-draft stuff.
Personally I am glad it is over! Seemed like a very long season and I for one think the ESPN, ABC, CBS, and other games on TV were less interesting than in previous years. If I saw Michigan on TV one more time last season I would have broken my TV. How did that horrible team get so many games on TV?
Well as a local AAU Coach said to me many years ago when my son's sophomore season in HS was ending, "The Real Season Is About To Start." He of course was referring to the Travel Team season. This season should be great despite the lack of any real strong NYC teams. The talent seemed, from the little I saw in Saturday, watered down! Again that's good and bad.
Just to recap local things of interest.
Seton Hall
Decent season and chance to really improve next season. It was wrong what Bobby G had to go through but the experience will make him stronger in the long run. However, I am sure he will remember his treatment so watch out if he really turns Seton Hall into a NCAA team.
recruitment wise, no matter what the outcome is, all the negativity had to hurt SHU recruitment. I think SHU needs to extend Bobby G's contract 2 additional years to show they are really in his corner. That would send a strong message to everyone including those doing negative recruitment against SHU.
Rutgers
Rosario and Chandler? Sounds and looks great on paper. But what will be also needed is JR Inman to step his game up to a level where RU has three legit scoring options. Of course others can score, but three definate makes a world of difference.
I do know JR wants to play in the NYC Pro-Am this summer as opposed to the Barn League. A team for him to play on has been identified. Up to FHJ now! JR will also go back to working out the way he did in HS and prior to his first season at Rutgers. Good news because sometimes guys working out kids for money over do it and forget the real important thing such as how to compete on every play, working away from the ball, running the court, positioning, leadership, and did I say competing!
The other new recruits, especially Jackson will help as well. Everyone is curious to see the 2008-2009 RU Men's Basketball Team. And if Ebanks is on the team......!
St. Johns
Oh St. Johns!! What is happening in Jamaica? Who are they getting? Can Norm right the ship? Will the school be happy with a slightly over 500 record? Will the attendance in Alumni Hall get back to the glory days when every game played there was sold out? Can they ever draw 15,000 to MSG again? Can they keep NYC players home? Can they again attract high level transfers?
As you can see alot of stuff revolving around the SJU Program. And we all know with the exception of only one assistant coach there, the others would bolt in a second for a more stable job based on program pressure and the possibility next year could be it for all of them.
But believe it or not I have seen some college teams turn it around tremendously in one season. It is possible with hard work and dedication. I for one hopes it will happen.
Iona
They will be better, much better! Watch the transfers roll in and they become a player in the MAAC. They also are that local program that has almost every past NYC player making over $100,000 after finishing school there, The Iona alumni really look out for the players the right way.
Fordham
One day Derrick Whittenburg will realize the importance of local folks with clout on his staff. THEY ARE 10!!!! Not MAAC!! They have to recruit the kind of players Xavier and Dayton, and RI has!! I really like him alot but he needs to get it done soon. Where are they on the local scene. I only know one guy working there, Travis ?, and he is from DC and Dematha. Oops forgot, that is where Derrick is from also!
NJIT
has a coach now just have to put the right staff together. They really need a travel team connected guy on that staff to give recruiting a jump start. Steep hill to climb gut they have a guy who can get it done.
Manhattan
EVERYONE has always loved the current Manhattan College Coach. Going all the way back to his days working the door at The China Club in NYC. He really has a staff of close to 250, since everyone I know is on the lookout for him in the area lol. He has no choice but to be successful.
9 comments:
I still think there were legs to those rumors.
The old saying is "where there is smoke there is fire." It has to be true somehow - even though most of us simply do not have the dots connected on this sequence of events yet.
Here's a hypothesis I've been toying with:
(1) It's now clear that BG and the AD have had a worsening relationship and that this spring it become very aggravated.
(2) Finally it got some reporting. Those few who were in the know were not surprised, but the rest of us were - especially at what looked like an unprecedented feeding frenzy.
(3) The rumor mill took hold in a surprisingly nasty way. But the fact is, people just don't lie awake at night trying to invent sheer lies. It makes no sense that the NY Post reporter would run a set of stories that were completely without any basis, without any source. It's true - he might be inclined to dislike the school but it makes no sense that he would arbitrarily decide to try to "kill the program". Someone somehow had to give him something credible.
(4) Let's assume that something credible was passed. For example, something like: "if the university administration actually decides they've had enough of this BG experiment, I/we/they have already figured out the next move in the chess game and we'll have coach so-and-so ready to step in front of the microphones instantly after BG is dismissed". If such a conversation was privately held, it makes some kind of sense to throw out a reporterly teaser to stir things up. Who knows - the SHU administration might have finally succumbed to the pressure and suddenly the insane rumor is actually true and the coaching change scenario suddenly occurs and whamo - done deal!
(5) But no - the SHU administration made very firm declarations of support for BG - and the rumors simply look crazy. But, where there was smoke, some how, some way - there was fire.
Anyway, I'm probably wrong in the details, I'm just saying that all the interests of all the agents in this situation have not come to light - and they may not come to light for a long time.
For now - the focus must be - get Letters of Intent.
And then the intense BB rivalry in NJ can flourish (hopefully no one will ever be physically hurt - no sport is ever worth that). Let's just have a lot of fun!
Great comments. However I know FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE that the "Where There Is Smoke There Is Fire" theory is not always true. Maybe in this case, but not all the time.
But your comments are on point. Thanks again and please continue to post comments.
A particular irony for me is that this saying "where there is smoke there is fire" was used against me to destroy me in one of my former careers. From personal experience, I also agree with you wholeheartedly that it is not always true.
Same thing happened to me. Thus I had to re-event myself and start a new career. False stuff hurts and thats why I always say, "Show Me The Video Tape." Even my small company has a whole group of people who have been through alot. Some rightfully, and others based on false accusations and more. Thanks again for making this blog even more interesting.
Can't fault Tamir Jackson by committing to UAB. A program that's probably a bit better then the schools around here, plus Mike Davis is the coach and is a pretty good mentor. Not to mention, they seem to be in the NCAA's every other year.
Honestly it is not as good a program as many A10 schools. It's nowhere the place that the U of Alabama is.
Is he a definate NBA player? Kids need to stop pickinf the largest programs and start picking the program best for them. Too much peer pressure and impressive gyms, etc.
Kid could have had a solid career someplace like Hofstra, Delaware, Temple, RI, St. Joes, etc.
Lastly, I guess he will one day work in Alabama because there are not many UAB grads in this area.
LF Ball,
Jackson would do OK at Temple and St. Joe's, but they really aren't too much better than UAB. It's really a crapshoot here.
I'm sure his intentions aren't to totally transplant to Alabama, but there's nothing wrong with a tri-state kid attending school in the deep south.
LF, sounds TJ's commitment to UAB has gotten a bit under your skin?
LF,
Contrary to what you might think, Mike Davis is putting together a nice class for 2009 at UAB. Not only is Jackson signed, but he also signed DeMarcus Cousins out of Mobile. Maybe that swayed Jackson a little?
You are right. I really think it is more to life than playing basketball. One day this young man, who currently does not seem NBA bound, will need to go to work in the real world. Because of this, he will need all the help possible. That means he will call on alumni for assistance and potential employers will need to know about the college he graduated from. Thus my push for kids never to go further than the Carolinas unless they are attending Stanford, Berkley, Northwestern, Wisconsin, or other tier 1 universities. UAB and Mike davis, who I LIKE ALOT, are far from being bad. But in the long run going so far to attend a school very equal to a local A10 school is alarming to me. He seemed to just choose the largest school that really went after him it seems. I do hope it works out for him!
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