TheTastyGreek

Thanks, Cooley. We're planning on doing a few more of these events over the summer... If you have any recommendations, please let us know. If you get a chance, try to check out Michael Williams (if you haven't already). I'd love to hear what you think of his prospects.

Sorry, I overlooked this part of the question. The earliest that 2013 kids can sign a letter of intent is November. Early signing period runs for a week in November, then opens up again in April of 2013.

It's Kansas State. The 4th team will probably wind up being an MVC caliber school, like a Northern Iowa or a Creighton.

One last fun fact: If you're wearing a polo shirt with a college or university logo, or if you're carrying notes and writing down information during games... A lot of people apparently just assume you're somehow involved with scouting or recruiting. Doesn't matter where you're sitting. Luckily, none of us had both things going for us. We might have walked out of the place on staff at one of the D-2 or JUCO programs with representatives in attendance.

Teams and coaches in attendance: We saw Coach Benford, former(?) Coach Luster still sporting Mean Green gear, Danny Manning from Tulsa, Scott Cross from UTA, and Steve Lutz from Creighton. Other schools with one or more representatives in attendance: Northeastern Weber State Montana State Air Force New Hampshire Liberty Bucknell Tulane UC Santa Barbara Penn UTEP Nebraska Boston College The Citadel Houston Boise State Nicholls State Denver Sam Houston State Wichita State Lehigh Army Evansville San Francisco Louisiana-Lafayette Princeton A&M Corpus Christi Wright State Pepperdine Oral Roberts Lamar Indiana State Navy Texas Army Texas State New Mexico Centenary SFA Dartmouth Kansas State Houston Baptist American and possibly Central Michigan There were a lot of other coaches there wearing apparel that we couldn't read from where we were sitting, and many who never seemed to leave the behind-glass upstairs observation area.

Other random player observations: While we were watching Triumph Select Gold, some parents from another team sitting nearby started asking us some questions. They mentioned (not that we asked them any questions or engaged them in/sustained the conversation beyond their utterances, which would of course potentially be a Booster recruiting violation) that they had a kid on Houston Lynx Blue that's a 2013 recruit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjCIaVZk7c4, a 6'7" post who plays between 260 and 280 pounds. His parents said that if they could get about 20 pounds off him, he'd "jump out of the gym". We saw a little of him from the next court over later in the day, and he reminds me of a younger and shorter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOxw8xcf7kE. Tangential relevance? Poulter is an incoming UALR recruit. The Mustangs squad we were focused on have two other guys that are worth mentioning. One was #23, Zack or Zach something (Update your damn website, Mustangs). He looked promising. They also had a very slender but tall player named Cornelius Hudson. Everyone called him "Crab" because he's apparently Michael Crabtree's younger brother. The Rytes Warriors, and Xavier Dupree in particular, played very good defense. Tight, aggressive... And Dupree caught up from behind on breakaways and blocked at least 2 layups against the glass. The more I think back, the more I really liked that guy. From the Irish, they have a 6'7" post (2014 kid) named Jordan Alvarado. He's from the Andrew Poulter/Hunter Leahy school of physical conditioning... But if he gets in better physical shape, he could be very interesting a year from now. He looked natural and comfortable playing under the basket, and he also had nice shooting range (hit at least one 3 pointer that we saw). They also have a 2015 kid who played solid minutes named Asa Cantwell. Unfortunately for Asa, he looks like the Munch painting "The Scream" when he's playing. That's about the nicest way of saying it I can think of. Looked damn good for a current high school Freshman, though.

There was another Mustang who looked a lot like Soma Edo (hair, height) but right now he doesn't seem tall or big enough to be even a Sun Belt forward. At his current size, he looks like a Harold Edwards type guy.

Sexy fun adventures all around for NT03, FilmerJ, Emmitt and me out at the GASO today. We all had Many Passionate Opinions! about what we saw. But I'm exhausted after almost 12 straight hours of AAU basketball, and I'll just mention a few of the guys that most or all of us were particularly impressed by. Everyone listed is a 2013 recruit unless otherwise noted. From San Antonio Legends: C.J. Siples looked like the most consistent and complete 2013 prospect on their roster. Undersized SG, but talented. Quincy Boyton from Converse Judson looked a little silly with a weird reverse-beard haircut poof on the back of his head at the base of his neck... But also like he could potentially turn into a viable post player for a low to mid major school. Greg Monday is an unsigned, smallish PG (2012 prospect). Emmitt in particular fell in love with the guy, but all of us thought he looked like a nice little talent. He could definitely play a role for a Sun Belt school, and potentially be bigger for a Southland or lower level program. He was quick, accurate passing and shooting, and he was clutch in both games we saw SA Legends play. Some JUCO or low major school is going to get a pleasant late surprise with him. From Deron Williams Elite: Derrick and Erick Neal are twin brothers and 2014 prospects from Dallas Lincoln. They're somewhere around 5'9" or 5'10", they both have goofy looking faux-hawk style haircuts... And they're both electric to watch. Very, very exciting players. We were joking (and then, not-so-much-joking) about organizing field trips of a dozen or more fans decked out in NT gear to go to Lincoln games and start cheering them on in person to get their attention. They kept distracting us from the team we (and, as NT03 mentioned, Coach Benford) were most intersted in following- the Dallas Mustangs (Booker). I don't think we'll have scholarships available for two guards in 2014... But I'd definitely love to see these guys wearing green someday. And they're still SOPHOMORES. Jeffrey Walker, we aren't sure we specifically ID'd, but he's too interesting not to mention. We think he was #21 (Cooley, help us out if you know for sure) and he looked pretty good if not consistently spectacular like the Neal twins. But he DID get into an altercation in a football game, then get arrested and charged for battery after beating up his coach in a separate incident. He's 6'5" and averaged over 30 ppg for Pinkston at the time that story was written. P.J. Carlesimo has already offered a scholarship. Not present, but usually active with Deron Williams Elite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OldPvDdMuQ4. Some guy who saw me taking a lot of notes came by and started talking Neal twins with me, and then insisted that I look up and mention 2014 G/F Trent Brinkley from Kimball. Here you go, creepily friendly stranger. Check out Trent Brinkley, everyone. Word is, he pretty good. From Triumph Select Gold: This whole team is full of white guys from places like Southlake and Highland Park who will likely end up as bench guys at weaker BCS schools or bringing talented but limited lunchpails and coach-on-the-floorism to mid major schools. Brett Jolly is a not-6'9" Center who didn't live up to his billing. He wasn't bad, but the best thing you can say about him is that he's tall. And the fact is that he's not as tall as advertised. Austin Freet, Chase Fletcher, Taylor Tankersley... They all seemed like solid players but none of them stood out much from each other after watching two full games. Steven Spieth (pronounced like "speech", if you have a lisp) was the one who seemed noticeably better than the rest of the team. Jake Flaggert was one guy I particularly liked. I don't know how much everyone else agreed... But I was very impressed by his first game and some flashes he showed in far fewer minutes in the 2nd game we saw. He's very new to the team... The wife of their head coach and one of the other team moms couldn't remember his name. Thanks to NT03 for figuring out his identity from the few clues they were able to remember. Also of interest- Caden Dickerson's little brother Zach is a point guard for this team. Emmitt's analysis was that he dribbles very hard out of frustration every time he goes up against someone he's not athletic enough to drive past or around. There was a lot of loud dribbling when he was running the offense. Also, the college coach bench was filled with guys from Princeton, Penn, Dartmouth, and Denver. Draw your own conclusions. Rytes Warriors: Xavier Dupree is pretty damn good. He's tall, he's built like he can put on weight and play strong underneath the basket, and he can shoot from everywhere we saw him taking shots. Latinos Select: Analysis of the day came from FilmerJ (a proud Hispanic man, for the record). He asked whether the main criteria for "Select"-ion isn't just being taller than 5'9". Ray Barreno looked like a legit 6'9" or 6'10". He plays like a real center... But word was he's already locked in to New Mexico. San Antonio Spurs: Ben Lammers is a 6'9" Sophomore (Class of 2014). He was the most interesting guy on the team. Taylor Sutlive looked ok. Like a shorter Collin Mangrum, basically. Dallas Mustangs (Booker): This was the team we were most interested in seeing, and arguably the most talented (in terms of star players) in the building. Leyton Hammonds was nursing a minor injury and didn't dress out to play, which was a disappointment. But, FilmerJ and I walked out right behind him as we left for the day. He's definitely 6'7" tall. looked very good, as expected. I really hope we get the guy. Considering how locked in on the Mustangs coach Benford was, he probably does, too. Houston Cowboys Black 2014: Almost everyone on the roster is a Sophomore. One guy is a Freshman, 2 of them are 2013 players. Tough to figure out where these guys are compared to their competition... But Taj Jones looked ok, and Jerome Segura was the most impressive player on the team. Finished very strong in the one game of theirs that we saw. Definitely worth checking up on again a year from now. South Texas Irish: Apparently, basketball is just like boxing. Irish = Sports White. But they were like a much more athletic and aggressive version of Triumph Select Gold. 3 guys in particular stood out: Luke Wilshire and DJ MacLeay were very impressive. Michael Williams was on another level, though. He looked GOOD. Like, Chris Jones/Orlando Mendez-Valdez good. And he's a legit PG with size (6'2"). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zelQgdxylXs... I hope someone on our new coaching staff has seen this kid, because to my untrained eye... He was one of the 4 or 5 best players we saw all day. With 6 scholarships that will likely need filling in the 2013 class... I definitely think we could have a place for him here.

Lumps?

Also... Quincy Carter and Brien Taylor have never been photographed together. Coincidence?

Hutchinson and Henson are still available in the Former Baseballer/Old Football Prospect joke pool.

For the record, I was just teasing you a bit. I shed no tears over your condemnation of Luck and Griffin. I think Chris Weinke is going to have a great career, too.

Michigan looks like the best team in the field (maybe Pittsburgh? Not sure what they have coming back) but they also have a pod where they may be the most likely host to be upset. Virginia should have a leisurely stroll to NYC.

The NIT Season Tip-Off field has 13 out of 16 confirmed teams: Michigan (host) Cleveland State Bowling Green Oakland Virginia (host) Delaware Fairfield Robert Morris Kansas State (host) North Texas Lamar TBD Pittsburgh (host) Fordham TBD TBD

Well, that and his pedestrian taste in socks/inability to design buildings.

All I need to know about Robert Griffin Brandon Weeden on draft day, if I'm an owner or GM, is that he led Baylor to a 55-28 loss to a very average Texas A&M squad. threw 3 interceptions and couldn't stop his team from blowing a 17 point lead against a very weak Iowa State team.

The reality of it is that Robinson played a grand total of 96 minutes all season. 31 of them came in November/1st week of December against La Sierra and St. Gregory's. 16 games, 13 of them after an injury that left him walking with a noticeable limp (and which we thought would wind up getting him a medical redshirt). We don't know much at all about how he plays at the college level. I hope he tuns into a serious contributor. I hope we can keep him and that his attitude makes him someone worth keeping. 6'10"+ guys who can shoot 3 pointers are rare, rare, rare. For us to get one ought to make it pretty obvious that he needs some work and seasoning. You don't get that with a bum leg and 4 minutes of game time against Arkansas-Little Rock. But, if he's going to be a delicate guy who needs to be handled... Or if he's probably just going to end up transferring after next season... Probably best to get this situation worked out sooner instead of later. Filling 5 scholarships well is tough enough. Filling 6 (sorry, CBL... but it's going to happen) is even tougher. I don't want us to have to fill 7 next year.

Bob Knight Fieldhouse is the place to be. DJH5 17 may be the team with both Keith Frazier and Alex Robinson, 2013 and 2014 targets under JJ. I'll look up others... Reliable/current AAU rosters are very tough to find.

He's not going anywhere. Not him, not Cunningham... Not any of the guys who might be potential rotation players for us.

That was the 2nd half of a previous home-and-home, if I remember right. I think we may have sold a game to Arkansas that same year that I left off the list.

We also played guarantee games against Mississippi State, Boise State, A&M, and Houston. We usually sell 2 games a year. Some (Houston and Boise State) were less about a big paycheck and more about keeping recruiting promises or filling out a schedule, respectively.

Few people realize that Larry Brown was years ahead of the Livestrong craze. Brown's medical awareness bracelet is metal, and it lists his allergies and known conditions.

Ya got me. It was me. Both of them. And I twirled my moustache, cackling with laughter while I did it. I'd have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those pesky kids and their dog...

Don't underestimate us, man. Believe. Achieve. Nothing is impossible if we as a fan base really dig deep into bitterness and let the hate flow as hard as we possibly can. There's no mountain we can climb that's too high for us to poop down on during or after.

Whoops! Careful... You dropped something.