Demo

Also not a Rushmore candidate, but love Murder by Death.

Yup. But there seems to be more to some of the borderline animosity toward this particular kid, be it his social media presence or whatever it is. If TJD said in an interview something along the lines of, “I’m gonna come in, dominate the paint, and get every single rebound, even if I have to rip De’Ron’s arms off to do it,” we’d be extolling his steely competitiveness. Rightly so. But Quinones says something like, “This team needs scoring and I flat bring scoring to the table,” and he’s selfish and not an Indiana kid. I’m 100% ok with the kid understanding who he is and what he brings and saying so as long as he comes in and works and competes his a** off. Now, if he doesn’t, that’s a different thing.

2 things, both of which I might be wrong about: 1) Isn’t Quinones a grad prep? Thought I remembered Chris noting that. If so, he graduated from the HS. 2) Didn’t Brooks do the same thing? Either way, I think the school being gracious wouldn’t have been the end of the world.

Haven’t watched any of Pack yet. Have watched a couple of Saunders’ games on YouTube. Couple of things stand out: wow, is he quick, particularly laterally. Can really defend on the ball. Handle is college-ready. Seemed very much pass-first, though 1 announcer mentioned he had led them in scoring the previous game. Regret missing his game against Cole Anthony in the Geico event. Curious how tall he really is.

Yeah, that was an overlong way of saying his shot works. Though the drift is a thing. I have a kind of pathological need to break things down. Makes my wife nuts.

It’s ok as long as it’s repeatable. A little like Trey Galloway’s stroke, but Galloway elevates more. Wrist and elbow are aligned. Ball’s off his palm. Ok wrist snap. He does have some leftward drift. Similar to Robert Johnson, but not as pronounced because Johnson elevated so much. Drift creates inconsistency, it sure did for RoJo. I think the drift is what the coaches will focus on, wherever he ends up.

Gotta be AJ Griffin Jr. Top10 kid in ‘21.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/jordan-brand-classic-five-star-trendon-watford-nearing-decision Couldn’t sound a whole lot less interested in IU.

Thanks for the feedback. I want to find more game footage of Leal. Funny that you make that comparison. I really like Windham and I was watching Leal to try to project him as a true frosh against Windham as a redshirt frosh.

I think he walks in and gets 12-15 mins as backup pg immediately. Neither Green nor Durham are remotely effective in that role. Also like him next to Rob as a secondary creator. Think he’s one of those kids who will just force Archie to find him time. And I agree with you on Carton.

I need some feedback from the folks who have seen a lot of this kid. Just got done watching the Regional game against Center Grove. 1st full game of Leal’s that I’ve watched. Knew going in that he had a tough game and had rolled an ankle in the 2nd half. Was prepared for that. But, sorry, he was lousy before the ankle. Just incredibly passive. Didn’t run or cut hard. Didn’t defend hard. Wasn’t physical. Got flat outhustled on 2 loose balls. Just didn’t really compete, and in the biggest game of their year. I had no idea that’s what I was going to see. It’s one thing to have a bad night, everyone has them. It’s another thing to just not play hard and not contribute. The effort was the issue. So was he sick or hurt, or is he one of those kids who doesn’t always show up? Have seem multiple games of Galloway’s. Hasn’t always played well, but has always, always, played hard and found ways to contribute.

If the kid is ready to start the next phase of his life, good for him. But if he’s leaving because he thinks he’s an NBA player next year, he’s getting very bad advice.

Man, if you created an NBA 3 from scratch, that’s what he’d look like. Most talented kid on this roster. With a full year of skill/physical development, assuming he’s good to go, I would expect Hunter to be Conference Freshman of the Year.

Ayo Dosunmu officially coming back to Illinois. Good decision. Making the Thomas Bryant move and not even bothering to go through the process. Illinois will be one of the few improved teams in the conference next year.

A single like doesn’t really do it. Great post. Bravo.

Maryland just took a commitment from ‘19 6’6” SG Hakim Hart, per Corey Evans.

Anthony would be the 2nd guard in this class for UNC. They signed Jeremiah Francis in the fall. And they have 3 returning guards, Woods and Robinson, who played, and Platek, who didn’t. So I think Harris is probably a contingency plan for Anthony, otherwise he’d be the 6th scholarship guard. Doesn’t mean Roy can’t pull it off.

Not sure he’s quite as physically talented as Quinones, and not as good a shooter, but, man, would I love to have this kid. The kid radiates toughness in a way that we have not seen around here in a while. Kind of reminds me of Xavier Simpson in that whenever you watch UM his competitiveness just pops and he’s clearly the heartbeat of that team. This needs to happen.

Wow. Good, good player. Game changer for somebody

Favorite list of the bunch: the Jenkins kid from South Dakota St, and who is from Tacoma, Washington, has a final 6 of 5 west coast schools.........and Memphis. Yeah, nothing sketchy going on at Memphis.

Ben Roderick to Ohio U, per Brian Snow.

Odd choice. Bad team that’s losing a couple of their leading scorers and isn’t bringing in much else. Plus Larranaga has to be pushing 70. But there should be a ton of shots available and they do have an experienced PG.

Situation reminds me of Mizzou in ‘15. Had a returning Jr starter in Maty Mauk, who was serviceable and a team leader, and a more talented Fr in Drew Lock. Lock got increased reps in every game and took over full time in game 4, I believe. Lock struggled early and Mauk may have been better that season. But going to Lock set them up for the following 3 yrs. Doubt that Tuttle or Penix are as talented as Lock, but confident that they have more upside than Ramsey. Will be fun to watch this play out.

I’ve really become fond of Windham and would be happy to add him. But I don’t think he’s physically ready to help now. To me, he’s a perfect redshirt candidate who could step into the rotation in ‘20 and be good for 4 yrs. That makes me less excited about the idea of taking both Leal and Galloway. A Windham with a year in the program is probably more ready to play than either of those kids. But, big but, I don’t think a ‘19 backcourt of only Rob, Green, Al and Franklin gets it done. I really want another guard who can take Rob’s back up minutes and who’s ready to play this year. Windham’s not that. Green and Al have proven they aren’t facilitators. So if there is only 1 scholarship and I have to choose between Windham and a guard who can play this year, I want the kid who can play. But if there ends up being another ride available, or there isn’t a better short term option, would take Windham, no problem.

Dude, I spent 2 years at Oral Roberts before transferring to Bloomington and then went back as a Grad Asst. I can tell you with great confidence that they are not mutually exclusive.