GumbyDamnit! wrote:TheHall wrote:Someone needs to call them about Whitehead too, he's a top 10 player, a McD's AA.
Gumby: And you base that on...???
Hall: It's a prediction since McD's AA haven't been named yet right. I'm going on the record saying he will be one, are you going on the record saying he won't be a McD AA this year...if you're not willing to say that then outside of obviously hating what's the point of your question?
"Obviously hating?" Yeah, ok...sure. What are we, 12 years old? Why would I make a prediction on him playing in the game? If he is a Top 20 player I would assume that he would be there as they grab 24 or so kids to play in it. I asked the question because I thought that maybe you had some information on the McD's AA rosters that the rest of us did not. And I can't tell you how many times I have read fans of a program, that just landed a recruit, say things like: "Well he's not in the Top 100 (or 50 or 25 or 10) but he's blowing up and he will be when the next rankings come out." It's usually a statement based on some insecurity and/or hopeful conjecture, not based on pertinent new information from a credible source. His talent isn't going to change just b/c he is #20 instead of #10 in the rankings. It doesn't make it any less a really good get.
Since you're in to predicting, can you tell me which current Top 20 recruits you would expect Whitehead to leap frog to become a Top 10 player? I am happy that SHU is having a good year with recruits; I want all BE teams to do well. We all need you guys to lift your program back up to be a tourney team. It helps us all in terms of conference pedigree and with NCAA credits. I get that you guys are excited as it's been some time since you all have gotten players of this caliber. But I would caution you to temper your expectations of Whitehead and Delgado a bit until they have played a game in the SHU uniform. Other guys that have recently been in that 20 range include: Josh Smith (now of Gtwn), Wally Judge, Dominic Cheek. All Ok players but not program changers. In other words it's never a sure thing, and it may take a couple years before these guys can figure things out. This is a tough league. Every team is bringing in talent and some bring in a couple Top 50 players every year, not just once. You might get a program changer or you might get a so-so player; there are no guarantees. If you take that as me being a "hater" than I guess I am guilty as charged.
Hating was a bad choice of words...my bad. I should have said "doubting." If we can move past that, the reason I went overboard & said "obviously hating" is because in the post I was quoting it was mentioned that the day Bentil commits to prov ESPN decided to move him up to a 4*. Did you ask that poster what was that based on? Or did you question ESPN having him still outside of the top 100, or the fact that Bentil was even as a 3* recruit in the first place. No to all, which seemed selective to me. SHU fans have played the back for nearly 10 years now, but we're not in the "let it slide" mode anymore. Sooo I questioned your doubt & not my confidence in IW that's all. And for the record I was only talking about recruiting rank because this is the recruiting board, not how players will develop in college. That's a totally different subject.
As to your question I believe IW is the best SG in the country, not the 5th. In ESPN rankings they list the following:
D'Angelo Russell 6-4 180 lbs #11 Overall
Rashad Vaughn 6-6 200 lbs #17
Devin Booker 6-5 185 lbs #18
James Blackmon, Jr. 6-2 175 lbs #19
Isaiah Whitehead 6-4 195 #20
I base my confidence on a couple of things:
1) Lincoln & Tiny Morton have a track record of producing not just McD's AA, but NBA players.
2) BE recruits have historically been underrated (not all the time as your examples show, but most times). Just check how many Top 20 recruits the BE has had over the past 10 years...not many even though the BE has been the #1 conference.
3) I listed the players height & weight to show IW's biggest advantage over the other 4 SGs...he's a beast & 6-4, nearly 200lbs he plays bully ball, but he can still shoot.
4) HS scouts always have a bias to big men, but I think as the #1 SG you should be ranked in the top 10 overall. Right now ESPN doesn't have any SG in the top 10 & only 2 PGs.
5) I'm a BE fan so of course I have a BE bias...anymore need to be said.