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Having said that this one is strange, if not for any other reason than this kid's name hasn't been mentioned on any of the boards or scouting reports most of us read. Its just a little weird. Nevertheless, I do like 6' 7" wing players.
It makes no sense to offer scholarships at the drop of a hat. It's a no-doubt decision for a guy like this to commit within 48 hours. And so we lose a very valuable scholarship.
But I must agree with some of you... I'm not getting paid $1+ mil a year to coach, so maybe there's something I'm missing. I certainly hope that's the case...
What obligations do either the player or the school have under an oral offer and commitment ?
It seems to me we offer alot of kids . Look at all the kids who say IU has "offered" . Can IU later not accept the written commitment if we get jammed up with recruits we like better ?
I am going to go with the coach on this one.
Where was Courtney Lee ranked in HS ?
The reason why he didn't get a lot of high-major attention is because most schools knew he was an academic risk.
To play devil's advocate, maybe the scouts just haven't seen enough tape on Williams yet. Sometimes a prospect is a default two-star (Scout) or unranked (Rivals) because he hasn't been fully evaluated yet. I'm not saying that's the case here, but it could be a possibility.
TC gets paid to make decisions like this. He sees something and I'm fine with his judgment.
What is his personality, work ethic and attitude in a team setting ? What are the chances his 3.8 GPA signals a kid who matures into a leader and a long term asset to a building program ?
Will he throw a potted plant at the coach, use drugs, refuse to play, refuse to go to class, or pull a Brandon McGee "dunk" when we are stalling out the clock against Michigan ?
Or will he kill the clock as designed or at least get over the rim and jam it down UM's throat
I am going with the coach , not the ranking services, who never seem to know or comment on anything but offensive stats.
Couldnt have said it better. Just look at all the former hoosier recruits that were not highly ranked but made solid ball players. Not all highly ranked recruits pan-out.
A couple of things here.....
1. The Atlanta Celtics are one of the top AAU teams in the country....I believe one Josh Smith and Dwight Howard played on that team...
2. Indiana getting a solid 6'7 wing player is a good thing as we have been guard heavy for ahwile...
3. Making inroads in Florida is a plus, as there is another top recruit out of Florida we are looking at also.
4. The kid has a 3.8gpa, so I am going to give him some credit for that
5. For coach Crean to watch the kid workout last week and the kid commit this week, says Crean saw something he liked and went for it.
6. Slow your roll on the two star things....How would you like these ONE star athletes to commit to IU now......D.Davis, Spencer Turner, Smith-Rivera, and Ron Patterson? All kids with ONE star and if we got ONE of them it would be HUGE......
I believe he was hurt most if not all of his senior year, which caused his stock to take a hit, but I don't think Calbert Cheaney was a superstar recruit and he turned out alright.
Regardless of his rankings, I've talked to one person who has an opinion that I value greatly and he told me the kid is good enough to play at IU. He recently grew two inches and improved a lot this season. Several programs were starting to look at him closely. Even if he doesn't turn out to be a star or even a starter, if he can fill a role and do what the coaches ask of him, that's good enough for me.
The last thing I remember Coach Crean saying was the program was needing class balance. I am not saying this kid is gong to be a star, nor am I saying he is going to be a bust, but he IS going to be a Hoosier....that alone garners my support (unless he proves during the course of his tenure he does not deserve it; see: Denim Shirt, J. Ellis, D. Thomas, etc.). He provides what Coach was saying, class balance. 2-star rated kids rarely ever go early (after fresh. and soph. years) to the NBA.
As far as the scholly situation goes, one of three available in 2010 on a lower rated kid means absolutely nothing (see: Bobby C., Bawa) related to a stellar class. If you land a 4 or 5 star or two with the other two, then we won't be talking about this one anyway.
Just remember that a TEAM is made up of all kinds of people, some are A players, some are B players. Every good team has a Brian Cardinal, Joe Krabbenhoft-type player. For example, I contend that the 1989 team would not have won the Big Ten title without Todd Jadlow, nor the 2002 team without Jarrod Odle, not stars like Jay Edwards and Jared Jeffries, but certainly key players. Not everyone is going to average 20 ppg, and there is always a possibility that this one could, but everyone is on the TEAM for a reason, even Tijan Jobe.
I read he averaged 15-8-7 last year.......He is more of a point forward....
Here is a quote from him....
"After the Las Vegas tournament this summer, I had a few schools start calling a lot," Williams said. "Clemson was one of the first, but Kentucky saw me out there and liked how I played. Coach (Tracy) Webster said he was at my game where I had this huge dunk over this guy. I cradled the ball and went right over top of him while we was trying to block my shot. (Webster) said he loved my aggressiveness and how I attacked the rim."
I believe that leaves us with two scholly's for next year.....I expect one of the big three we want to commit....either Teague, Irving, or Fergunson....
Teague is 2011.
Wow the IU faithful woke up this morning about signing a good player. I am sure a youtube video will surface soon to put everyone at ease......
http://blogs.indystar.com/hoosiersinsider/
I like this kid and this pick up by IU.
Having a forward who is a solid ball handler and adamently believes he is a "BIG guard" is something that fits Tom Crean's style. Look at Dwayne Wade.
I also love making the connection with the Atlanta Celtics and taking care of one of there own. I'm excitied to follow this kid before he comes to IU. I hope he sees some of this senseless whinning by some of the people on all the Hoosiers message boards. Talk about locker room motivational material for him.
Give the guy a chance, give crean some credit....and be reasonable...we can't have ALL the 5star kids people.......
Now if you keep this up, I have denim shirt's number and I will call him and let him know IU may be interested after Crean retires............
Ok, calm down, I'm just kidding!
Like everyone else, I agree every team needs roles players and if your role player is a 6-7 point forward that can handle and defend, that's a good thing. I think people problem is that this is so out of left field, and usually the 2-3 star role players are added after you've landed the big fish, not before.
Either way it's good to get a presence in Florida and with that AAU team.
-Crean is the same coach that you loved and trusted yesterday at this time. I would and do trust his judgment and I think you should too.
From Wikipedia (so you know is has to be true)....
"Wade attended Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn.[1] He did not see a lot of playing time his sophomore year as his stepbrother, Demetris McDaniel, was the star of the team.[5] Wade grew four inches in the summer before his junior year and proceeded to average 20.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.[6] Wade then averaged 27.0 points and 11.0 rebounds his senior year, and led his team to a 24–5 record.[6] They advanced to the title game of the Class AA Eisenhower Sectional,[6] during the season he set school records for points (676) and steals (106) in a season.[6]
Wade was recruited by only three schools (Marquette University, Illinois State, and DePaul University) as a result of academic problems."
Regardless, Welcome to Indiana University Mr. David Williams. Here's to wishing for the best.
It appears the 21P/G and 11 Rebs repeated here alot is untrue as S Martin says.
I checked the First Coast HS stats and he was not at all close to these numbers. He had a complete stat sheet however with assists. steals, blocks etc. but poor foul shooter.
Again, only a maturing JR, 3.8gpa, Crean knows basketball, I am on board.
The kids dad is a firefighter? Mom is a teacher? Physical Therapy major? 3.8 GPA?
Look, there is more to this rebuilding program than meets the eye. We had a handful of dope smokers two classes ago. We just hauled in a 4-year kid that will boost the team GPA and by the way, he's a gifted athlete with good size? Bring him on........
Maybe this last season was necessary to humble us a little. I hope some of these reactions aren't an indication of things to come when Crean gets us back to glory.
I think we would all agree that recruiting is an inexact science which depends on a multitude of factors, most of which are subjective.
A large part of this picture depends on the coach, in this case, Coach Crean who is getting paid a ton of money, is coming off a 6 win season and obviously has his reputation/future riding on decisions such as recruiting and making offers to kids like Williams - so I cannot imagine that he's just going to be giving scholarships away for giggles. Further, as the article says "Williams plays for AAU basketball for the Atlantic Celtics, an organization that Indiana assistant Roshown McCleod." Clearly, 2 of our coaching staff like something in this player.
Then combine all that with these recruiting ranking systems (which I will confess, I know little about their methodology - but wasn't Richard Mandeville the next big thing as opposed to turning out to be the poor man's Magnus Pelkowski?) which tend to fluctuate over time since these kids are growing boys who might develop as they mature (what a concept!)
So while we all want Coach Crean to sign the second coming of Calbert Cheaney, Isiah Thomas, A.J. Guyton, D.J. White, Scott May, Eric Gordon, Mike Woodson and Steve Alford, I think most of us realize that getting a few of those types of special players is the most likely scenario and surrounding them with other players who can fill roles on the team is critical.
So, to sum up:
David Williams, slowly gaining acceptance.
Tom Crean, stay the course.
IU Hoops, thousand points of light
yeah that dude had three scholly offers and wasn't a five or four star either.
oh and by the way imagine you have waterford who is just about his height and seems to do the same things with the basketball and then you have this guy sub in for him. or better yet play at the same time. you tell me that won't cause match up problems. throw in a ridiculous point guard in teague and we could be the scariest team in the big ten in 2 years.
plus if this guy is as good as his stats are hell be a ranked player by next year anyhow
Personally, for a progam that has already lost 1-2 scholarships due to infractions, I just don't get it. Why would you basically take away another scholarship for 4 years, but awarding it to a kid who really cannot compete at your level? I mean, you're taking a gamble when you are counting on the kid improving ... the only players you should take such gambles on are 7 footers, and even then, only freshmen (not junior college transfers who averaged all of 4 ppg and 4 rpg like Jobe). Frankly, I think Crean & Co. are recruiting like they're still at Marquette, and not at Indiana, an elite program.