Coach Phil Martelli Jr. Show, Media Minutes, & Pressers

connell said:
I think Jennings and Luke will follow Odom.
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So when I saw Ed Nixon at the bowling alley before my league on Monday night..... while he told me, everything he had heard was we were going after Pitino still at that point (which coulda been true, but we didn't end up getting him)..... I mentioned how I was bummed that Luke & Brandon had entered the portal (though it was not entirely unexpected).

His response to me was "Luke was gone regardless" which to me told me, hes intending on following Odom to UVA.

He didn't specifically say anything about Brandon one way or the other.

Take that for what you will.

ColonelRam said:
I think Luke definitely will. Jennings a toss up. Based on his mom’s twitter activity, being the starting point guard that’s trusted from the get-go by the staff, is the most important thing in his rerecruitment
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This is how I feel.... prob more so bout Jennings than than any player in recent history.

Parents obviously always want what they believe is best for their kids (as they should)..... but in years past when players have entered the portal...

None of the players/family members were going out of their way to give off the vibe that they were open to coming back to VCU.... unless you wanna bring up the guys who opened up their own player shops, which at the time had all VCU stuff in it because while they were technically in the portal.... they had not committed to anyone else & were still enrolled at VCU.... so of course they had all VCU stuff in their personal shops. Why not try to make a quick buck or two on the way out. He11 thats what america has turned into nowadays.... everything's about the money.

Meanwhile, Jennings' mom is out here keeping it real for the most part. She made it clear that the reason he entered the portal was to keep his options open for when the portal opened.... because VCU still did not have a Head Coach.

And the longer that he waited for VCU to get a HC before entering the portal.... the more potential offers that coulda gone by... in the event that the new coach (whether it ended up being Pitino, Morrell, Huss, the dude from UC Irvine.... or Martelli Jr. who we got) told him "its in your best interest to enter the portal".... and here he woulda been with 2-3 extra days of "wasting time" when he coulda been listening to offers.

Now there's no guarantee that Jennings comes back to VCU.... Maybe Odom recruits him to UVA, or maybe someone else snags him..... but unlike transfers in the past..... Jennings' mom makes it appear that VCU is absolutely still in the mix.... and they aren't just trying to make a quick buck off of his Name or how much fans here loved this kid already as a freshman.

For that I 100% respect her & again.... I hope like he11 we can keep him. I hope Martelli Jr. likes what he sees in Jennings & recruits him back to VCU.
 
WillWeaverRVA said:
Not singling out this reply in particular, but regarding Pitino, I'm pretty sure Chris Mack electing to stay at Charleston is what threw a wrench in the Pitino plan. I'm pretty sure Xavier's #1 choice was Mack, and when it was clear that wasn't happening, they went for Pitino (since, like Villanova, it'd allow him to be in the same conference as his dad). Pitino probably leveraged a VCU offer to get a better deal from Xavier.
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Yeah, he had a P5 in his pocket so why wait on Villanova? He would've been their second choice too. Villanova is obviously going after Willard or already has a commitment from him. What Pitino did makes sense.
 
RowdyPkunk said:
So when I saw Ed Nixon at the bowling alley before my league on Monday night..... while he told me, everything he had heard was we were going after Pitino still at that point (which coulda been true, but we didn't end up getting him)..... I mentioned how I was bummed that Luke & Brandon had entered the portal (though it was not entirely unexpected).

His response to me was "Luke was gone regardless" which to me told me, hes intending on following Odom to UVA.

He didn't specifically say anything about Brandon one way or the other.

Take that for what you will.


This is how I feel.... prob more so bout Jennings than than any player in recent history.

Parents obviously always want what they believe is best for their kids (as they should)..... but in years past when players have entered the portal...

None of the players/family members were going out of their way to give off the vibe that they were open to coming back to VCU.... unless you wanna bring up the guys who opened up their own player shops, which at the time had all VCU stuff in it because while they were technically in the portal.... they had not committed to anyone else & were still enrolled at VCU.... so of course they had all VCU stuff in their personal shops. Why not try to make a quick buck or two on the way out. He11 thats what america has turned into nowadays.... everything's about the money.

Meanwhile, Jennings' mom is out here keeping it real for the most part. She made it clear that the reason he entered the portal was to keep his options open for when the portal opened.... because VCU still did not have a Head Coach.

And the longer that he waited for VCU to get a HC before entering the portal.... the more potential offers that coulda gone by... in the event that the new coach (whether it ended up being Pitino, Morrell, Huss, the dude from UC Irvine.... or Martelli Jr. who we got) told him "its in your best interest to enter the portal".... and here he woulda been with 2-3 extra days of "wasting time" when he coulda been listening to offers.

Now there's no guarantee that Jennings comes back to VCU.... Maybe Odom recruits him to UVA, or maybe someone else snags him..... but unlike transfers in the past..... Jennings' mom makes it appear that VCU is absolutely still in the mix.... and they aren't just trying to make a quick buck off of his Name or how much fans here loved this kid already as a freshman.

For that I 100% respect her & again.... I hope like he11 we can keep him. I hope Martelli Jr. likes what he sees in Jennings & recruits him back to VCU.
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Couple of questions: 1) didn't UVa get a re-commitment from a highly ranked PG? 2) are people that sure Jennings is an ACC caliber guard at this point in his career?
 
FYI, George Templeton is scheduled to talk with Ed Nixon tonight about the Martelli hire, and (unless something falls through) you’ll be able to hear it on a new episode of Rams Rewind tomorrow morning.

Also, I’m planning to get credentialed for the eventual introductory presser, and will probably put something out with the sound I gather there.

Also, as soon as we know when the introductory presser will be, I’m going to start working on getting an interview with Martelli Jr. for Rams Rewind.
 
Mistachill said:
Couple of questions: 1) didn't UVa get a re-commitment from a highly ranked PG? 2) are people that sure Jennings is an ACC caliber guard at this point in his career?
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1. Chance Mallory I believe? Yes he committed / re-committed to UVA.

2. Interesting question. I'm not gonna say yes or no to that.... YET.... because while we saw a lot of good things out of him this year as a freshman.... We didn't see enough to 100% say hes ready for the ACC.... YET. Because the ball was always in Max, Joe, Phil or Zebs hands.

I think hes got the toughness mentally in the way that he plays from what I saw this year, to make it in the ACC.... but I think at the very least another year in the A10, this time as a starter would certainly help his stock further, if he were to go to the ACC or a P5 next year or down the line.
 
RowdyPkunk said:
1. Chance Mallory I believe? Yes he committed / re-committed to UVA.

2. Interesting question. I'm not gonna say yes or no to that.... YET.... because while we saw a lot of good things out of him this year as a freshman.... We didn't see enough to 100% say hes ready for the ACC.... YET. Because the ball was always in Max, Joe, Phil or Zebs hands.

I think hes got the toughness mentally in the way that he plays from what I saw this year, to make it in the ACC.... but I think at the very least another year in the A10, this time as a starter would certainly help his stock further, if he were to go to the ACC or a P5 next year or down the line.
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Kids a baller. If he can contribute at VCU he can do the same a UVA. Same ball, same size court, same system.
 
RowdyPkunk said:
2. Interesting question. I'm not gonna say yes or no to that.... YET.... because while we saw a lot of good things out of him this year as a freshman.... We didn't see enough to 100% say hes ready for the ACC.... YET. Because the ball was always in Max, Joe, Phil or Zebs hands.

I think hes got the toughness mentally in the way that he plays from what I saw this year, to make it in the ACC.... but I think at the very least another year in the A10, this time as a starter would certainly help his stock further, if he were to go to the ACC or a P5 next year or down the line.
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The ACC has worse guards in the league than BJ, for sure. He didn't get a ton of minutes, but he is athletic and obviously works his ass off, and at worst he can earn minutes with his defense. But he can shoot, too, and he's got good size. No reason he couldn't succeed in the ACC
 
RowdyPkunk said:
1. Chance Mallory I believe? Yes he committed / re-committed to UVA.

2. Interesting question. I'm not gonna say yes or no to that.... YET.... because while we saw a lot of good things out of him this year as a freshman.... We didn't see enough to 100% say hes ready for the ACC.... YET. Because the ball was always in Max, Joe, Phil or Zebs hands.

I think hes got the toughness mentally in the way that he plays from what I saw this year, to make it in the ACC.... but I think at the very least another year in the A10, this time as a starter would certainly help his stock further, if he were to go to the ACC or a P5 next year or down the line.
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What I didn't see was ultra athleticism for a guard who would be relatively small by P5 standards. Personally, I think he's at the level best suited for his abilities at VCU. I would hate to see him end up like Ben Eblen or Lavar Batts.
 
Mistachill said:
Couple of questions: 1) didn't UVa get a re-commitment from a highly ranked PG? 2) are people that sure Jennings is an ACC caliber guard at this point in his career?
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There are a lot of guards in the portal rated higher than Jennings (he's about #125). He might not get a better deal than at VCU. I think we value him more than a lot of other folks. Unless Odom really wants him. Might explain his mother's tweets.
 
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