Class of '66 Old Fart

And yet another in-season transfer: Marquette sophomore guard Traci Carter has left the program, according to a release. Carter is the second Marquette player to transfer this season. Sandy Cohen left the program in November.

I believe that it is.

Generic piece from the Louisville Courier-Journal on Langford and his recruitment: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/recruiting/2016/12/14/romeo-langford-stays-cool-amid-college-basketball-recruiting-hoopla/95419712/

Detroit Free-Press - 12.05.16 OKEMOS - Laya Hartman hates to be caught off guard. The Okemos sophomore guard likes to know the questions before you ask. She likes to ponder over them before giving her responses. Facing scrutiny since the eighth grade, the glare from the spotlight doesn’t bother her anymore, even though she can be reserved. Hartman is a 5-foot-11 guard who is ranked as the 29th best sophomore in the country for the class of 2019, according to ESPN’s Dan Olson. In her season opener against Chandler Park Academy, she had 28 points with six three-pointers to lead the team to a 57-28 victory. As a freshman on a team that went 8-12 she averaged 18 points, six rebounds, and four assists. She has already hit game-winning shots and caught the eye of some of the country’s top programs. She has 12 Division I offers, including Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Villanova, Oregon State, Purdue, Indiana, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Akron. “It’s been going good so far," said Hartman. “We have three freshman this year. Jasmine (Clerkley) is in the post and we have Leah (Zaleski) at point guard. So I won’t have the ball in my hands as much. I won’t be the main point guard. I’m OK with that. I don’t see myself being a point guard in college. I’ll probably be a wing, slash guard.’’ Okemos has a new coach in Kristen Rasmussen, who played at Michigan State and in the WNBA. “Our coach this year is more developed, so it’ll be a lot different this year," she said. “I’ll have more help." That already is evident. Clerkley had 13 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in her varsity debut, so Hartman does have more help. Young but talented, Okemos has the potential to make some noise around the Lansing area this year. “There was a lot of freedom last year; there’s more structure this year," said Hartman. “There’s more structure offensively, but (Rasmussen) is really big on defense. My role has changed because I won’t be the main point guard. I’ll still do scoring and assists. I like how she stresses defense." Hartman plays for an AAU team in Indiana, where she carved out a reputation at an early age. “I like things about AAU basketball and high school basketball," said Hartman. “I don’t feel as much pressure in high school basketball. There’s more room for me to play my game. AAU, there aren’t as many opportunities, but the level of play is a lot higher. There isn’t as much responsibility on you. There’s not as much ball movement. I just play my game and not be concerned about what other people are doing. Just know what you can do. Play with a lot of intensity." One of Hartman’s biggest fans is Okemos athletic director Ira Childress, who made sure he brought in a quality coach this year. “Laya is not only of the best basketball student-athletes in the state, but she’s a great young lady and an excellent student," said Childress. “Laya has a great work ethic and spends hours in the gym working on her game. Her success on the basketball court didn’t come by accident." The early offers didn’t faze her until she sat down and thought about it. “I realized how it’s important, but I didn’t focus on it that much because there’s still things that I want to do," she said. “I was thankful for it. I knew I didn’t need to stop practicing." Her conversation needs to improve on the court. “I think I need to communicate more," she said. “Be louder on the court and that’ll help with leadership and defensive intensity." Her game already speaks volumes.

Vic did not play as expected because of the sprained wrist he suffered Sunday. VonLeh had a rare starting role. 12.13.16 Season W/L W/L Min. Pts. FG's 3's FT's Reb Asst Stls Blks TO's PF + / - Houston 18-7 Gordon NG Oklahoma 15-10 Oladipo L DNP Portland 13-15 VonLeh W 19 5 2-4 0-0 1-2 4 0 0 1 1 4 -4 Memphis 17-10 Williams L 36 13 6-16 1-4 0-0 6 1 0 0 3 5 -10 Charlotte 14-11 Zeller NG D-LEAGUE LI Nets 2-11 Ferrell NG Mad Ants 9-2 Watford NG Mad Ants 9-2 Zeisloft NG Raptors 905 9-2 Sheehey NG

MOREHEAD STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH CHARGED WITH BATTERY EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) – Morehead State suspended men’s basketball coach Sean Woods has been charged with misdemeanor battery in Indiana. Media outlets report a police affidavit accuses Woods of shoving or hitting two players, sophomore Malik Maitland and junior Soufiyane Diakite, while the team was playing an away game at the University of Evansville last month. The players told a Morehead State University police officer that they had been assaulted during the game by Woods. The officer contacted police in Evansville. Maitland told police that Woods backhanded him in the chest during halftime, and Diakite said Woods shoved him during a timeout and again in the locker room. When Woods, who played at Kentucky in the early 1990s, was suspended last month, athletic director Brian Hutchinson declined to comment until an investigation was concluded. The team was playing out of state Tuesday night, and the university released no comment.

If he did, he didn't pay very close attention to the info he was given - Wake won the game 33-28.

Bunch of hack players. MSB could take them all on singlehandedly and mop the court with them.

Have to wonder if this decision has anything to do with our coaching change as our early contacts with the young man would have been under Wilson's tenure, our offensive guru, and this kid is a running back.

If this turns out to be true, this is an unbelievable story. Wake Forest says its radio announcer gave secret game plan info to opponents for years http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/12/13/13942472/wake-forest-louisville-radio-announcer-tommy-elrod-mole

Adam Zagoria ‏@AdamZagoria 2m2 minutes ago Indiana's Chuck Martin saw 2018s Louis King, Jahvon Quinerly and Luther Muhammad today at @Hudson_Bball & will see 2019 @Bryce_Wills5

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/front-office-insider-breaking-down-trade-restrictions-173627063.html The date when 125 free agents signed this summer are eligible to be traded is Dec. 15, but don’t expect a flurry of trades once the restriction is lifted. Cody and Vic both fall under the 'Poison Pill' restriction. ‘Poison pill’ restriction The “poison pill” restriction impacts eight players and teams that agreed to rookie-scale extensions before Oct. 31. Because each player is still operating under his rookie-scale contract – the new contract doesn’t start until next season – the NBA takes the average of all the years in both contracts when determining the trade value of a player. While there is no date restriction and the player does not have to consent to a deal, there are trade limitations.

Putting Fisher's coaching career in its proper perspective. This is how bad he's been.

Vanderbilt announces that sophomore shooting guard Camron Justice is transferring. Is it just me or does it seem like there's more in-season transfers being announced this year than in years past?

Uh, I think that was just a piece of that 'fake news' we're hearing a lot about and a reminder that Hova needs to keep his day job!!!

12.12.16 Season W/L W/L Min. Pts. FG's 3's FT's Reb Asst Stls Blks TO's PF + / - Houston 18-7 Gordon W 29 24 7-15 6-10 4-6 0 1 1 0 6 3 +8 Oklahoma 15-9 Oladipo NG Portland 12-14 VonLeh L 15 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 4 0 1 1 1 2 -2 Memphis 17-9 Williams NG Charlotte 14-11 Zeller L 31 8 4-9 0-0 0-0 7 1 0 2 1 3 -4 D-LEAGUE LI Nets 2-11 Ferrell NG Mad Ants 9-2 Watford NG Mad Ants 9-2 Zeisloft NG Raptors 905 9-2 Sheehey NG

Humorous tweet of the day.

Yogi and his LI Nets teammates are going to be guinea pigs for 9 games. Full story at: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18264670/nba-d-league-tinker-4-5-person-crews MIAMI -- The NBA is going to take a look at having more officials on the court. The league said Monday that nine upcoming NBA Development League games will feature four- and five-person crews instead of the customary three, in an effort to collect data and see if having additional officials involved affects the game. All nine games will be hosted by the Long Island Nets at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, home of the NBA's Nets.

On his radio show tonight, CTC was asked what he looked for in recruits. His response: - Somebody who's got awareness - Ability to shoot - Good teammate - A pride and maturity on the court. If there's a lack of maturity, how quickly that can be corrected - The desire to play hard on defense. Don't even have to be good yet - Ability to move the ball - Ability to move quickly in small spaces, with or without the ball

You are a hard man to please!!

Not sure how many will catch this one.

As to USPS, such nonsense you speak. This board is all-knowing and the most intelligent and insightful board in our solar system. LOL And for you Stu as well as USPS, I do understand what you're saying. In part, I guess I just don't fully understand our love affair with the east coast which is where the majority of our offers seem to go. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an "only Indiana" believer, but when I see an offer such as the one made to Forrester, my thought is aren't there any other equally good recruit candidates between the Appalachians and the Rockies? OK, I'm done!

So why do we throw an offer at Forrester? Rhetorical question; just doesn't make sense IMO.

I'm not 100% certain just where Forrester is enrolled this year. In '14-15, he attended Central Dauphin HS in Harrisburg, PA. In Aug. '15, he announced he would transfer to Kiski School in Saltsburg, PA (about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh) and re-classify to '18. Good background on Forrester and family in the following: http://highschoolsports.pennlive.com/news/article/-7269964313469696720/central-dauphins-basketball-playing-jake-forrester-making-the-move-to-western-pennsylvanias-kiski-prep/ This snippet from December '15: JAKE FORRESTER, PF, KISKI SCHOOL, 2018: One hard-playing forward who posts hard down low on the block and is engaged on every loose ball and rebound opportunity, Jake Forrester displayed a wealth of upside during his time on the floor at Kiski on Sunday. While he isn’t the most athletic of guys around, that doesn’t affect the Pennsylvania native’s ability in producing from 15-feet and in. He shows off major shades of Wake Forest star big man Devin Thomas within his arsenal as he passes the ball very well facing the basket, plays angles well on the block, has a solid turn and face jumper from the mid-range, and is a giant area rebounder of the ball. With a lone offer in hand from North Florida, Forrester has the capabilities to become a top-100 recruit within his respective recruiting class. In June 2016 he received an offer from Temple and was quoted in the following cbssports article: " I hold offers from Siena, North Florida, Rice, Bowling Green, Boston U, and Stony Brook." http://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/temple-offers-versatile-2018-f-jake-forrester/ Central Dauphin to Kiski and now apparently attending Westtown HS in Norristown, PA. I could not find any summer 2016 AAU stats for him as he apparently did not play 'up'. Based solely on the limited information I've found, I can't understand why we would extend an offer. He's certainly not on any high major radar screen.

Sources: OKC's Victor Oladipo passes concussion tests, X-rays return negative on sprained right wrist. Clean results after fall on back.