Recruiting Thread

[thedoctor]

doctor,

 

A lot of times I think 5 star recruits actually set a program back. They come in for 1-2 years and then leave. The coach has no time to adopt to their playing style and really get the team going.

 

That is why many times these "vet" teams take out the diaper dandies.

 

Im not an Illini fan, but honestly I just cant understand why so many people are down on Weber. He may not be the greatest recruiter, but so far his teams have done well.

 

Isnt that all that matters?

 

Self has recruited like a champ but has bombed in the tourney.

 

Which would you prefer?

 

well, you can accomplish some pretty good things in a short period of time. besides, i don't think a majority of four-star recruits are going to the nba after one or two years. even five star recruits, for the most part, are going to be with you for a few seasons.

 

i do agree on weber, though. i'm an illinois fan and i'm bitterly disappointed in the gordon stuff. but the fact of the matter is that weber's first three seasons have been unrivaled in school history in terms of winning. yes it wasn't his players, and yes he has struggled in recruiting, but i think history has born out that just having really talented players isn't good enough to get it done. weber's played a role, and his role is what makes me confident that illinois will be a team to contend with as long as he's the coach.

 

as for self, he's had his tournament problems but i'm not going to give him a hard time about it. as zoom pointed out, i think kansas's arrow is pointing up, and if he can harness all that talent, kansas will be tough for anyone to beat this year. if they aren't his seat will be hot.

Edited October 17, 2006 by thedoctor

[farmteam]

so far they are only offering a 20% baseball scholarship for me... but with the way their basketball team is starting to shape up that might have an effect? haha

 

If you don't mind me asking, who else is recruiting you?

[TaylorStSox]

Well, so far Illinois has been winning with Weber's coaching but Self's recruits. His own signees have been much less impressive.

 

 

Recruits that were subpar when measured by your "elite" standards. Let's not act like Self was the be all/end all of recruiting. Most of his recruits were 4 star guys. Weber's recruiting hasn't been as good, but it certainly isn't off by much. I respect Weber's ability to evaluate talent. He took a chance on Jamar Smith who has proved that some "gurus" are absolutely clueless. Semrau and Carlwell weren't chumps in the rankings and from all reports seem to be pretty good players with alot of upside. Frazier can run a team, plays great defense and is tough as nails. Ironically, the one rated higher than the rest (aside from Carlwell) has been a disappointment (Brock). Cole and Tisdale might not be big names, but they seem to fit Weber's system well-bigs that see the floor well, shoot and block shots.

 

On a side note, recruting reminds me prospect evaluating. The guys that seem to really be into recruiting/prospect evaluating always seem to think that the minor league guy is better than his major league counterpart. I prefer winners over those guys that look sexy on a stat sheet.

[ZoomSlowik]

Recruits that were subpar when measured by your "elite" standards. Let's not act like Self was the be all/end all of recruiting. Most of his recruits were 4 star guys. Weber's recruiting hasn't been as good, but it certainly isn't off by much. I respect Weber's ability to evaluate talent. He took a chance on Jamar Smith who has proved that some "gurus" are absolutely clueless. Semrau and Carlwell weren't chumps in the rankings and from all reports seem to be pretty good players with alot of upside. Frazier can run a team, plays great defense and is tough as nails. Ironically, the one rated higher than the rest (aside from Carlwell) has been a disappointment (Brock). Cole and Tisdale might not be big names, but they seem to fit Weber's system well-bigs that see the floor well, shoot and block shots.

 

On a side note, recruting reminds me prospect evaluating. The guys that seem to really be into recruiting/prospect evaluating always seem to think that the minor league guy is better than his major league counterpart. I prefer winners over those guys that look sexy on a stat sheet.

 

Frank Williams, Cook, and Brown were McDonald's All-Americans, and Deron Williams was a top-50 recruit. How is that not elite talent? Those are your 4 most important players from the last 5 years. Brock was a 3-star, that's not higher than the rest of them. McBride and Randle were by far the best recruits during Weber's tenure, and Self actually did most of the work with that class. Smith was a good find, but you're not going to get too many 3-stars that play like that early in their career. Pruitt is the only other Weber recruit that has shown anything so far.

[TaylorStSox]

Frank Williams, Cook, and Brown were McDonald's All-Americans, and Deron Williams was a top-50 recruit. How is that not elite talent? Those are your 4 most important players from the last 5 years. Brock was a 3-star, that's not higher than the rest of them. McBride and Randle were by far the best recruits during Weber's tenure, and Self actually did most of the work with that class. Smith was a good find, but you're not going to get too many 3-stars that play like that early in their career. Pruitt is the only other Weber recruit that has shown anything so far.

 

 

Here's the thing though, Williams and Cook were not Self's recruits. Mcbride and Randle were Self's recruits. Dee is the exception. Deron wasn't too far off from McCamey. Wasn't Brock a 4 star on Scout? I thought he was.

 

Anyway, Smith is a good example of what a good coach can do when he recruits for his system ie. Bo Ryan.

 

After all is said and done, ratings don't mean s***. Results mean everything. Bruce Weber has done more for Illini basketball than Kruger, Self or Henson ever did.

Edited October 17, 2006 by TaylorStSox

[nitetrain8601]

Here's the thing though, Williams and Cook were not Self's recruits. Mcbride and Randle were Self's recruits. Dee is the exception. Deron wasn't too far off from McCamey. Wasn't Brock a 4 star on Scout? I thought he was.

 

Anyway, Smith is a good example of what a good coach can do when he recruits for his system ie. Bo Ryan.

 

After all is said and done, ratings don't mean s***. Results mean everything. Bruce Weber has done more for Illini basketball than Kruger, Self or Henson ever did.

 

Brock was a 3 star.

 

Also, I think the point he's making is that you do need talent to be an elite program. For the past 5 years, you could make the claim to Illinois being an elite program. It now appears with Weber's recruiting, they've fallen off. And I consider being an elite team being a lock to make it to the 2nd weekend of the tourney and constantly competing for the Conference title which I can't see the Illini doing. BTW, Bo Ryan is recruiting some fine players from what I see.

[ZoomSlowik]

Here's the thing though, Williams and Cook were not Self's recruits. Mcbride and Randle were Self's recruits. Dee is the exception. Deron wasn't too far off from McCamey. Wasn't Brock a 4 star on Scout? I thought he was.

 

Those two players are still better than anything Weber has signed. Augustine was also a better recruit, he was somewhere in the 60's. Regardless of that, Weber has exactly 2 4-stars that he signed on this team which is still less than Self. Plus those 2 4-stars he signed were 78 and 77 (and McCamey pending), which isn't that close to what Self did, and he's already been at Illinois just as long. Even ignoring stars, the best Weber has come up with so far is a 8-point per game SG and a 6.2 point 5.1 rebound PF. Not exactly stellar results there.

 

Weber has a good record, but how well do you think he'd have done if Self didn't leave him Brown, Williams, and Augustine? That'd be a totally different team if he were following a coach that couldn't recruit. Plus Smith isn't really a factor of the system, he's an obvious miss by the recruiting community. He's obviously a good athlete and a great shooter, he'd do well in a lot of places.

 

I'm not arguing that Weber is a bad coach, he's clearly pretty solid. However, he needs someone to help him with his recruiting if they want to keep their recent success going.

Edited October 17, 2006 by ZoomSlowik

[Heads22]

Hopefully well this year.

 

With the Big 12 KU should have a 1 seed locked up.

 

As a 1 seed that is 2 games against teams that are not even top 25.

 

So I would say that they have sweet 16 easy and beyond.

 

 

Heh.

[TaylorStSox]

Those two players are still better than anything Weber has signed. Augustine was also a better recruit, he was somewhere in the 60's. Regardless of that, Weber has exactly 2 4-stars that he signed on this team which is still less than Self. Plus those 2 4-stars he signed were 78 and 77 (and McCamey pending), which isn't that close to what Self did, and he's already been at Illinois just as long. Even ignoring stars, the best Weber has come up with so far is a 8-point per game SG and a 6.2 point 5.1 rebound PF. Not exactly stellar results there.

 

Weber has a good record, but how well do you think he'd have done if Self didn't leave him Brown, Williams, and Augustine? That'd be a totally different team if he were following a coach that couldn't recruit. Plus Smith isn't really a factor of the system, he's an obvious miss by the recruiting community. He's obviously a good athlete and a great shooter, he'd do well in a lot of places.

 

 

I dig what you're saying but recruits don't make you elite. Results make you elite.

 

It wasn't like Smith was an unknown. He committed early to Bruce Weber. There's not enough sex appeal for the "guru's" to raise him in the rankings. Rankings are subjective bulls*** that, outside of the top 20, are rarely accurate.

 

IMO, the Illini have the potential to be a S16, or better, team right now. That's all I care about. Fifteen years ago, none of this bulls*** would have been said. Computer nerds weren't obsessing about player rankings. They were watching games, and Bruce Weber wins the majority of them.

[ZoomSlowik]

I dig what you're saying but recruits don't make you elite. Results make you elite.

 

It wasn't like Smith was an unknown. He committed early to Bruce Weber. There's not enough sex appeal for the "guru's" to raise him in the rankings. Rankings are subjective bulls*** that, outside of the top 20, are rarely accurate.

 

IMO, the Illini have the potential to be a S16, or better, team right now. That's all I care about. Fifteen years ago, none of this bulls*** would have been said. Computer nerds weren't obsessing about player rankings. They were watching games, and Bruce Weber wins the majority of them.

 

Recruits and results are usually linked, that's part of the point.

 

I don't see how they are going to make the Sweet 16 this year. They didn't make it last year and they lost by far their best two players. They lack depth and have issues at point guard. They simply have very few proven players, which is generally a big problem. Plus McBride might not even be there, who knows what happens with that. Smith and Pruitt should be good and Randle is decent, but they're going to need more than that.

[Buehrle>Wood]

I don't see how they are going to make the Sweet 16 this year.

 

Quoted for emphasis later.

 

And if Illinois is in as much trouble as you think, well, then the Big ten conference is in MAJOR trouble.

[ZoomSlowik]

Quoted for emphasis later.

 

And if Illinois is in as much trouble as you think, well, then the Big ten conference is in MAJOR trouble.

 

They are going to need a really sweet draw and some guys stepping up. ESPN had them at 33, and that's with McBride on the roster. I think that's a pretty fair assessment. They need at least 3 guys to step up and be double digit scorers, and the only guy they still have that did it last year got suspended. One of two things will have to happen to change my mind: Randle becoming a star or someone like Carter, Brock or Carlwell stepping up and being a key piece to the team. They'll do okay in the Big Ten and should still be tough at home, but the tourney is another story.

 

Not really. They have two potential top-10 teams in Wisconsin and Ohio State, that's more than most conferences can say. Plus Michigan and Penn State also have some talent, and Illinois isn't a total dog.

Edited October 17, 2006 by ZoomSlowik

[Buehrle>Wood]

They are going to need a really sweet draw and some guys stepping up. They'll do okay in the Big Ten and should still be tough at home, but the tourney is another story.

 

Not really. They have two potential top-10 teams in Wisconsin and Ohio State, that's more than most conferences can say. Plus Michigan and Penn State also have some talent, and Illinois isn't a total dog.

I just don't see why they are in such bad shape. They have arguably the best defensive team in the country with Frazier, Randle, Pruitt, and McBride on the floor. With the little scoring they'll need, they should be able to get from Jamar Smith, McBride and Pruitt. Their major problems are will be foul problems and the lack of a star player. Illinois is extremly deep, but they simply don't have anyone who has shown the ability to take over a game.

[ZoomSlowik]

I just don't see why they are in such bad shape. They have arguably the best defensive team in the country with Frazier, Randle, Pruitt, and McBride on the floor. With the little scoring they'll need, they should be able to get from Jamar Smith, McBride and Pruitt. Their major problems are will be foul problems and the lack of a star player. Illinois is extremly deep, but they simply don't have anyone who has shown the ability to take over a game.

 

One major problem with that is McBride is suspended indefinitely.

 

I don't see how they're that deep. They have exactly 4 players that have gotten significant playing time on the college level, and one of them is McBride. They'll still need to score about 70 a game to win consistently (basically what they did last year), and I'm not sure where they are going to get all those points. Even assuming that Smith averages 15, Randle and Pruitt averages 12, and McBride comes back and averages 12 a game, they'd need 19 from everyone else, and they don't exactly have a whole lot of firepower off the bench this year. IMO those are pretty optomistic projections for those guys too. I expect them to end up as like a 6 or 7 seed, which means they will run into a pretty solid team in the 2nd round.

 

I gotta admit, I didn't realize that they don't play at OSU or Wisconsin. That will help. Still, they could easily end up as a 5 seed, which doesn't make the draw that much easier.

Edited October 17, 2006 by ZoomSlowik

[CanOfCorn]

What you all may be forgetting is the Dee Brown factor...yes, he's gone, but that might not be a bad team. Last year, at times, the Illini would stand around and wait to see what Dee would do. Same with James Augustine.

 

Weber seems like the kinda coach that would say to his kids, [insert gravely voice here] "Hey, the big stars are gone now, it's on you to show what you got and prove these pollsters wrong."

 

McBride will be back after a few games...5 at the most, I would imagine. The Illini will be in the top half of the Big Ten, possibly top 3. Get to the semis of the conference tournament, get a 4 or 5 seed and make it AT LEAST to the Sweet Sixteen. Watch for a breakout year from some of these same players that others on this board are dogging.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

Simeon's Rose to sign early

HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP

 

October 17, 2006

BY STEVE TUCKER Staff Reporter

Simeon guard Derrick Rose, one of the top three players in the country, will sign during the early signing period, which begins Nov. 8, according to his brother Reggie Rose.

Sources say that Rose will pick Memphis or Indiana. Apparently, DePaul is still involved, but Kansas, which was in his final four, is now out of the picture.

 

''It is up to Derrick,'' Reggie Rose said. ''It is his decision. I think he will probably have a press conference [to announce his decision].''

 

 

 

scout.com team recruiting rankings so far...

 

1. Syracuse 5 Big East

2. Purdue 4 Big Ten

3. Michigan State 3 Big Ten

4. Ohio State 4 Big Ten

5. Arizona 5 Pac-10

6. Florida 4 SEC

7. Indiana 4 Big Ten

8. Virginia Tech 5 ACC

9. UCLA 2 Pac-10

10. Georgetown 2 Big East

11. Michigan 4 Big Ten

12. Duke 2 ACC

13. Texas 3 Big 12

14. DePaul 3 Big East

15. Kansas State 3 Big 12

16. Alabama 4 SEC

17. Florida State 3 ACC

18. Wake Forest 2 ACC

19. Texas A&M 5 Big 12

20. Arizona State 2 Pac-10

21. LSU 4 SEC

22. Villanova 2 Big East

23. Oklahoma 4 Big 12

24. Georgia Tech 3 ACC

25. Baylor 2 Big 12

 

 

* Rankings as of 10/17/2006 6:00 AM ET

[whitesox61382]

They are going to need a really sweet draw and some guys stepping up. ESPN had them at 33, and that's with McBride on the roster. I think that's a pretty fair assessment. They need at least 3 guys to step up and be double digit scorers, and the only guy they still have that did it last year got suspended. One of two things will have to happen to change my mind: Randle becoming a star or someone like Carter, Brock or Carlwell stepping up and being a key piece to the team. They'll do okay in the Big Ten and should still be tough at home, but the tourney is another story.

 

Not really. They have two potential top-10 teams in Wisconsin and Ohio State, that's more than most conferences can say. Plus Michigan and Penn State also have some talent, and Illinois isn't a total dog.

 

As an IU fan I am a little bias and optimistic before the season starts, but IU really has the chance to be a sleeper. Most preseason rankings have IU just outside the top twenty-five, so they are getting a little national recognition as well. The key for IU will be the return of DWhite. If he is healthy and in shape, he will be one of the top big men in the Big Ten and maybe the country. Lets not forget that he was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year two years ago. A dominating big man in the college game is like gold. They also have three veteran guards in Calloway, Wilmont, and Ratliff. Calloway brought stability to the PG position, and was a key factor in the Hoosiers late season run(no coincidence that his minutes drastically increased around that time) including two impressive performances in the NCAA Tourny. Wilmont and Ratliff are freaky athletes who are streaky shooters, but who have the talent to be a go-to guys. The question for IU is about depth and uncertainity. They have a handful of players who will see significant increases in PT(or who have never played at the college level to begin with), and it will be interesting to see who steps up. Up front they will be relying on two juco players in MWhite who is being compared to Killingsworth(only two inches shorter), and Stemler who is more of a perimeter big man. Ben Allen will also see minutes up front, and has reportedly bulked up to about two-fifty/two-sixty(Sampson wanting him to be more of a post player). At the wing they will have Shaw who is talented 6'6 guard who skyrocketed up the charts his senior year and was reshirted last year. He will be a guy to watch out for. Finally, Bassett the true freshman will see minutes as the back-up PG. There are a lot of questions marks, but this is a team that could develop into a potential sleeper.

[thedoctor]

As an IU fan I am a little bias and optimistic before the season starts, but IU really has the chance to be a sleeper. Most preseason rankings have IU just outside the top twenty-five, so they are getting a little national recognition as well. The key for IU will be the return of DWhite. If he is healthy and in shape, he will be one of the top big men in the Big Ten and maybe the country. Lets not forget that he was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year two years ago. A dominating big man in the college game is like gold. They also have three veteran guards in Calloway, Wilmont, and Ratliff. Calloway brought stability to the PG position, and was a key factor in the Hoosiers late season run(no coincidence that his minutes drastically increased around that time) including two impressive performances in the NCAA Tourny. Wilmont and Ratliff are freaky athletes who are streaky shooters, but who have the talent to be a go-to guys. The question for IU is about depth and uncertainity. They have a handful of players who will see significant increases in PT(or who have never played at the college level to begin with), and it will be interesting to see who steps up. Up front they will be relying on two juco players in MWhite who is being compared to Killingsworth(only two inches shorter), and Stemler who is more of a perimeter big man. Ben Allen will also see minutes up front, and has reportedly bulked up to about two-fifty/two-sixty(Sampson wanting him to be more of a post player). At the wing they will have Shaw who is talented 6'6 guard who skyrocketed up the charts his senior year and was reshirted last year. He will be a guy to watch out for. Finally, Bassett the true freshman will see minutes as the back-up PG. There are a lot of questions marks, but this is a team that could develop into a potential sleeper.

 

is there a faq about the beauty of paragraph breaks that i could link to?

Edited October 17, 2006 by thedoctor

[chimpy2121]

 

scout.com team recruiting rankings so far...

 

1. Syracuse 5 Big East

2. Purdue 4 Big Ten

3. Michigan State 3 Big Ten

4. Ohio State 4 Big Ten

5. Arizona 5 Pac-10

6. Florida 4 SEC

7. Indiana 4 Big Ten

8. Virginia Tech 5 ACC

9. UCLA 2 Pac-10

10. Georgetown 2 Big East

11. Michigan 4 Big Ten

12. Duke 2 ACC

13. Texas 3 Big 12

14. DePaul 3 Big East

15. Kansas State 3 Big 12

16. Alabama 4 SEC

17. Florida State 3 ACC

18. Wake Forest 2 ACC

19. Texas A&M 5 Big 12

20. Arizona State 2 Pac-10

21. LSU 4 SEC

22. Villanova 2 Big East

23. Oklahoma 4 Big 12

24. Georgia Tech 3 ACC

25. Baylor 2 Big 12

* Rankings as of 10/17/2006 6:00 AM ET

 

One more who is verballed to another school is close to becoming the fourth recruit for FSU according to one of the admins on the rivals site. All I know is the guy is not verballed to UF.

[whitesox61382]

 

scout.com team recruiting rankings so far...

 

1. Syracuse 5 Big East

2. Purdue 4 Big Ten

3. Michigan State 3 Big Ten

4. Ohio State 4 Big Ten

5. Arizona 5 Pac-10

6. Florida 4 SEC

7. Indiana 4 Big Ten

8. Virginia Tech 5 ACC

9. UCLA 2 Pac-10

10. Georgetown 2 Big East

11. Michigan 4 Big Ten

12. Duke 2 ACC

13. Texas 3 Big 12

14. DePaul 3 Big East

15. Kansas State 3 Big 12

16. Alabama 4 SEC

17. Florida State 3 ACC

18. Wake Forest 2 ACC

19. Texas A&M 5 Big 12

20. Arizona State 2 Pac-10

21. LSU 4 SEC

22. Villanova 2 Big East

23. Oklahoma 4 Big 12

24. Georgia Tech 3 ACC

25. Baylor 2 Big 12

* Rankings as of 10/17/2006 6:00 AM ET

 

It is nice to see that 3 out of the top 4 teams are from the Big 10 at this point, and if IU lands Rose(still think he will end up at Memphis) they will certainly jump into the top 5(maybe #1 - which would be nothing short of remarkable considering that Sampson has been with IU for about 6 months), which would make 4 out of the top 5 teams from the Big 10. With that said, I think that Purdue and Michigan State might be a little overrated.

 

Purdue - This isn't just an IU fan trying to bring down Purdue fans spirits considering that I have held these opinions since before the recruits committed to Purdue, and were being recruited by IU as well. I really like Moore. He is going to be a very good player and was the #1 priority for IU IMO(before Gordon opened his recruiting back up). The boy has skills and will be a good scorer in the Big 10. After Moore, you have some question marks. I have seen Hummel play a few times and never really came away that impressed. He has a nice skill set for a 6'8 kid, but he does nothing particularly well. Martin is a guy that get the maximum out of his talent, but a guy that has a limited upside. Furthermore, while he is the type of player that can score in many ways, other facets of his game are lacking(especially on defense). Finally, Johnson is your typical big man out of high school: raw, needs to add weight, and limited offensive game at this point(similar to IU recruit Holman). Don't get me wrong, Purdue certainly has a great(top 10 for sure) class coming in and have made a strong impression on instate kid, however, there are some question marks and limited upsides. They really don't have an instant impact type guy(or two - Moore being the closest thing). This is the type of class that will benefit Purdue 2-3 years down the road.

 

MSU - I don't know as much about the MSU class, but just looking over the class I wasn't that impressed. They only have 3 recruits(at this point), none of which are top 25 players/5* recruits, and all of which are guards. They appear to be very solid recruits(all three ranked between 30-60) who might have an immediate impact, but I also look for diversity in recruiting classes and I think MSU could use some help up front and haven't addressed that weakness. They have landed only one legit big man in the last 3 recruiting classes(Herzog). Maybe a MSU fan can fill me in since they have a better understand of their team. With that said, it should make for some good competition in the Big 10.

[Heads22]

Iowa State just landed a German Superstar, apparently. A guy that scored 104 points in a high school game, and described as Germany's top player.

 

Lucca Staiger, Decatur Christian. Originally from Germany. Comitted to ISU over Wazzu, says other interested school were Illinois, Iowa and KState. Was the only 18 uear old on Germany's U20 team.

 

What does the best recruit available in Germany equal these days?

[Rowand44]

What does the best recruit available in Germany equal these days?

Maybe 8th in the big 12?

[whitesoxfan101]

What does the best recruit available in Germany equal these days?

 

Dirk. People will be waving the Hasselholf masks when he shoots free throws.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

N. Central basketball star getting Internet threats

 

Oct 19, 2006 05:25 AM CDT

 

Sandra Chapman/Eyewitness News

 

Indianapolis - He is considered one of the best high school basketball players in the country. Recently, he announced which university he'll attend. North Central's 17-year-old Eric Gordon has now seen the best and the worst of what Big 10 fans can dole out and he hasn't evey played his first college game.

 

Earlier this year he indicated he would attend the University of Illinois. His change of heart to suit up for Indiana instead of Illinois was expected to draw some foul reaction, but death threats weren't really considered a possibility.

 

"Where those things are coming from and going is mostly on the Internet," said North Central Coach Doug Mitchell. "When it's in the written word it seems so real."

 

The Internet threats are considered so disturbing that Coach Mitchell says the North Central High School Athletic Department is considering increased security. Mitchell says fans who consider Gordon's choice a tragedy have lost perspective.

 

"I don't want to talk about tragedy with anybody," he said, "I know what tragedy is. (Coach Mitchell lost his son, Bryce, in a tragic automobile accident more than four years ago). One young man not going to your school as opposed to another or coming to your school..." Mitchell stopped short and just shook his head. "This is a 17-year-old human being and we're talking about a game."

 

The most offensive messages posted on Gordon's MySpace page are gone. These remain:

 

"Thanks for vindictively ruining our basketball program."

 

"Seriously? I.U. That's weak man, you screwed Bruce."

 

On the other hand, the Indiana University fans have given Gordon's decision some glowing reviews.

 

"Thanks for changing your mind. It's been a while since Indiana fans have been this happy."

 

"All of you haters from Illinois are just showing why Eric did make the right decision." The message goes on to say, "Circumstances changed and he had every right to go with his heart and stay home."

 

So how's Eric handling it all? His coach says he's doing well.

 

"That's the beauty of Eric Gordon. He understands exactly who he is because he has such a strong family and such a strong extended family. The young man can only go to one school and he made his choice and I hope that everyone understands that," Coach Mitchell told Eyewitness News.

 

Eric Gordon's mother says she is just as overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for her son as she is by the over-the-top reactions. Coach Mitchell says the NCAA tries to help prepare young recruits, but he can't remember a scenario quite like this.

 

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=5559529&nav=9Tai

[whitesoxfan101]

N. Central basketball star getting Internet threats

 

Oct 19, 2006 05:25 AM CDT

 

Sandra Chapman/Eyewitness News

 

Indianapolis - He is considered one of the best high school basketball players in the country. Recently, he announced which university he'll attend. North Central's 17-year-old Eric Gordon has now seen the best and the worst of what Big 10 fans can dole out and he hasn't evey played his first college game.

 

Earlier this year he indicated he would attend the University of Illinois. His change of heart to suit up for Indiana instead of Illinois was expected to draw some foul reaction, but death threats weren't really considered a possibility.

 

"Where those things are coming from and going is mostly on the Internet," said North Central Coach Doug Mitchell. "When it's in the written word it seems so real."

 

The Internet threats are considered so disturbing that Coach Mitchell says the North Central High School Athletic Department is considering increased security. Mitchell says fans who consider Gordon's choice a tragedy have lost perspective.

 

"I don't want to talk about tragedy with anybody," he said, "I know what tragedy is. (Coach Mitchell lost his son, Bryce, in a tragic automobile accident more than four years ago). One young man not going to your school as opposed to another or coming to your school..." Mitchell stopped short and just shook his head. "This is a 17-year-old human being and we're talking about a game."

 

The most offensive messages posted on Gordon's MySpace page are gone. These remain:

 

"Thanks for vindictively ruining our basketball program."

 

"Seriously? I.U. That's weak man, you screwed Bruce."

 

On the other hand, the Indiana University fans have given Gordon's decision some glowing reviews.

 

"Thanks for changing your mind. It's been a while since Indiana fans have been this happy."

 

"All of you haters from Illinois are just showing why Eric did make the right decision." The message goes on to say, "Circumstances changed and he had every right to go with his heart and stay home."

 

So how's Eric handling it all? His coach says he's doing well.

 

"That's the beauty of Eric Gordon. He understands exactly who he is because he has such a strong family and such a strong extended family. The young man can only go to one school and he made his choice and I hope that everyone understands that," Coach Mitchell told Eyewitness News.

 

Eric Gordon's mother says she is just as overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for her son as she is by the over-the-top reactions. Coach Mitchell says the NCAA tries to help prepare young recruits, but he can't remember a scenario quite like this.

 

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=5559529&nav=9Tai

 

People are SO stupid. HE'S A 17 YEAR OLD KID, and this is a hard decision with a lot of outside sources trying to pry him certain ways. How can you blame HIM? If your pissed, talk to the kid's dad, Sampson, and Weber. And even then, threats?? What a bunch of fools.