Allen Payne - Visiting on 9/26 & VCU leads his recruiting

MozingoWasFilthy said:
Burgess was a very nice piece (43% from trey-land)...............and I'm hoping Rozzell turns the corner this year.

We've had Dom Jones, Michael Doles, BA Walker, Jesse Pellot-Rosa, Derrick Reid, Troy Daniels, Darius Theus, Brad Burgess, Brandon Rozzell, even Nick George/Troy Godwin (nearby MD), Mark Adams, Wil Fameni (Amelia Academy), Mike Anderson, etc. Varying degrees of studliness from this "local" bunch.

We're a mid-major..........we're not getting the cream of the crop. However, we've "mined" the second-tier very well.........and uncovered some real gems.

We've had some fairly nice VA/MD representation over the past eight years IMO..........despite the 3-4 yr coaching tenures, which, by the way, I'll take any day of the week if they are the result of success, titles, dancing, etc. UVA, Tech, UR would love to have our record/success/post-season appearances over the past eight yrs.

Ask Xavier alum the same thing.........they lost Gillen, Prosser, Matta, Miller to BCS-land because they regularly danced. We lost Capel/Grant for the same reason(s). I hope we lose Shaka in 3-4 yrs because we've danced some more.



Troy Godwin was from the Hampton Roads Area. Also, Gerald Henderson, Ed Sherod, Mike Brown, Bo Jones, Lamar Taylor, and Kendrick Warren, Ren Watson, etc.

There are good VA players out there. However, every kid thinks they are UNC, DUKE, material. It takes a relationship with HS coaches to land the good but not great players. I am certain Shaka and crew will make those changes at some point during there tenure. I am also certain that's one of the reason Mike Rhodes was added to the mix.

Again there are good players in VA if Shaka can get us good players from elsewhere so be it. As long as we win, can get to the dance regularly players will come.

I remember asking a friend of mine why he chose VCU when he was a top fifty recruit many years ago? He said it was close, and they were winning (it was during JD's years when we were in the tourney 5/6 years and won 4 games during that span). If we win the we will land a Reco from VA just like we got the other guys.
 
Shaka need not burn much gas in locating premium talent - Benedictine junior Michael Gbinije just committed to Duke, and it's very possible Gbinije isn't even the best player on his high school team. That honor may go to Trey Davis, another junior, yet uncommitted.

Interesting note: in Friday's State Group AAA championship game at The Stu, victorious Norcom featured James Theus (brother of Darius) and Dorian Finney-Smith (brother of ODU's Ben). The best player on court, though, by a landslide, was Petersburg's Du'Vaughn Maxwell, an uncommitted 6-6 senior who out-played JM's Wake-bound McKie in the put-up or pack-up Region semifinals (also at The Stu).

Norcom was founded as Portsmouth's school for African Americans in 1913. In 1961, Norcom Greyhound Johnny Morris scored 127 individual points in a 173-47 victory over Mary L. Smith High of Acomack. Morris later played at Norfolk State.

Rhoades looms as the key, locally. The current VCU aide showed his recruiting talent at RMC a few years back by landing Justin Wansley from Henrico - generally thought to be a mid-major talent and the son of former VPI center Ernest Wansley.

The younger Wansley went on to become RMC's best player since former coach Paul Webb landed Fletcher Johnson out of JM in 1970.

Also, consider Rhodes signed all the players at RMC now preparing for this weekend's NCAA Division III semifinals in Salem.
 
bighorn said:
The best player on court, though, by a landslide, was Petersburg's Du'Vaughn Maxwell, an uncommitted 6-6 senior who out-played JM's Wake-bound McKie in the put-up or pack-up Region semifinals (also at The Stu).

Maxwell has athleticism, but didn't display much other than his ability to dunk and inability to keep his cool.
 
xjohnx said:
bighorn said:
The best player on court, though, by a landslide, was Petersburg's Du'Vaughn Maxwell, an uncommitted 6-6 senior who out-played JM's Wake-bound McKie in the put-up or pack-up Region semifinals (also at The Stu).

Maxwell has athleticism, but didn't display much other than his ability to dunk and inability to keep his cool.

Agreed. If I had first pick from that tournament final I'd go with Finny-Smith. Maxwell could be a steal for some team thought with all that athleticism.
 
xjohnx said:
bighorn said:
The best player on court, though, by a landslide, was Petersburg's Du'Vaughn Maxwell, an uncommitted 6-6 senior who out-played JM's Wake-bound McKie in the put-up or pack-up Region semifinals (also at The Stu).

Maxwell has athleticism, but didn't display much other than his ability to dunk and inability to keep his cool.

The Petersburg senior first-year starter did hit one trey vs. the Greyhounds, snagged 12 rebounds, scored 23 points, and showed plenty of grit, gutting out the final minutes with a cotton swab protruding from a nostril (resulting from collision when he was nearly KO'd).

According to Petersburgbasketball.com ...

On the season, Maxwell was 10-for-27 on treys, 76-for-138 on free throws; defensively, he blocked an incredible 94 shots and had 47 steals. He sparkled against the toughest foes - helping the Wave rout John Marshall, Highland Springs and Benedictine (with Gbinije, Davis) ... and nearly pulling off the 30-0 perfecto in the finale vs. Norcom (on night when team missed virtually everything).

XjohnX's criticism of Maxwell is interesting for this reason: when you actually see a person play a full game (as opposed to YouTube highlights and reading often-slanted scouting service reports), you observe the full package, the flaws blended with the brilliance ... and obviously that's the best route to travel in any evaluation.
 
bighorn said:
XjohnX's criticism of Maxwell is interesting for this reason: when you actually see a person play a full game (as opposed to YouTube highlights and reading often-slanted scouting service reports), you observe the full package, the flaws blended with the brilliance ... and obviously that's the best route to travel in any evaluation.

:shock:
 
bighorn said:
XjohnX's criticism of Maxwell is interesting for this reason: when you actually see a person play a full game (as opposed to YouTube highlights and reading often-slanted scouting service reports), you observe the full package, the flaws blended with the brilliance ... and obviously that's the best route to travel in any evaluation.

I did watch the entire game. I can assure you, I'm not the only one who came away with that impression.

See: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2970#p51062
 
You misunderstood. I wasn't doubting for a moment you saw the whole game (after all, they practically played in your own living room). My point is that the more you see of an athlete, the more you discover their warts.

Even Larry Sanders - great as he is - gets ridiculed endlessly on these boards by those placing his every movement under the microscope.

By contast, forum contributors seem quick to embrace long-distance recruits as Life Lines to to the Sweet 16 long before having the opportunity to see for themselves the inevitable wrinkles.
 
Excellent point on Larry, horn. I predicted he would be an 18 and 14 last year, for this, his junior year. But I see some warts. Still I love him and wish him all the success in the world.
 
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