Doyel on Gtown recruiting - fear the Hoyas

[millerj9]

Alright, Doyel might not be a talk board favorite, but I'm glad we're making some noise. "Fear", that's what I like to hear

"John Thompson III is on the phone, and he'd love to talk about his second recruiting class at Georgetown. It's a great class, on track to be one of the top 10 in the country next year and maybe even Georgetown's best since 1981, when Thompson's father signed Patrick Ewing, Bill Martin and Anthony Jones."

But John Thompson III won't say a word. He can't. NCAA rules prevent him from discussing his three recruits until they've signed with the Hoyas, and they can't sign until November. But if you jam the phone close enough to your ear, and if you listen hard enough, you can almost hear Thompson grinning. And it sounds like he's grinning big.

The recruits' names are Vernon Macklin, DaJuan Summers and Jeremiah Rivers. If you're a fan of college basketball, learn them. If you're a fan of another Big East program, fear them. Macklin, 6-feet-9, is a definite McDonald's All-American; Summers, 6-8, is probably going to join him after blossoming this summer; and Rivers is a consensus top-100 recruit with great size (6-4) and bloodlines (Doc Rivers is his dad) for a point guard.

And Georgetown isn't necessarily finished, either...."

www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/8837536

[fsohoya]

THAT is what I like to read!

[jerseyhoya34]

That rivals Barker Davis' column from the Macklin commitment in terms of the level of positive press. Great piece of work, Doyel. It will be hanging from my door momentarily.

[theEDGEfactor]

ya surprised me doyel rote it, but great 2 see the media is seeing what weve seen for a year now

[GUHoya07]

Talk about great press for us, I LOVE IT!!! This is perfect AIM away message material.

There is gonna be so much buzz on campus about this recruiting class, people have already been talking about the Macklin commitment a lot but by the time next basketball season comes around things are really gonna be crazy.

[MCIGuy]

Its a great article that not only says a lot about the Hoyas' recruiting but about some of the current players too. It also demonstrates how JT3 understands the modern day pitfalls of the college game by preparing his team for the possibility of early departures. Plus its the second article to mention that Bogut, Haywood and Sweetney have at one time or another been working out with the players on campus.

He did get the recruiting info wrong. Mutombo was actually in school a year before he first played so he can't be included in the recruiting class along with Alonzo. Besides....Deke wasn't even ranked because no one knew who he was. Milton Bell was the other McDAA that year and John Turner was the juco All American brought in. No one cared about Ronnie Thompson as much as they did those other guys. The '92 class should have been mentioned because both Othella and Duane were McDAAs and Eric Micould was a WPost All Met (or maybe second team). Last of all I think Jerry Nichols was ranked higher than Boubacar coming out of high school in the '94 class.

[gopaland]

I like the last sentence of the article

"Baby steps? With 19 victories in his first season and monster results with his second recruiting class, Thompson isn't taking baby steps. He's stomping around like Godzilla. "

because you know what Godzilla did, right? Godzilla tore through NY, just like Gtown is going to tear through the Big East Tourney"

[theEDGEfactor]

lol love that gopaland, perfect way to put it, midnight madness couldnt start any sooner, cant wait to get this season underway lets gets Duke in here and get our class done for 06

[Dhall]

No mention of Patrick Ewing, Jr. who may not technically be a member of the class but was obviously recruited to join in the same year. Kind of an oversight not to mention it. If Jr. reads it, maybe he'll get fired up by it - he has a little something to prove.

[EasyEd]

Did you notice the reply by someone who was probably a GWite? Said Georgetown and GW are the best teams in town. What? No Maryland? I love it.

[theEDGEfactor]

LOL, i saw that 2, i luved it 2, but u know in a lil, there are gonna be terps all over it. And ya, Dhall, I agree totally with you, I keep geting mad that they might be forgetting the best player in the class with PEJR. Another great surprise we are gonna have up our sleeves I guess..!!

[Frank Black]

I thought he gave the 94 class short shrift, mentioning Boubacar, AI and Jahidi but not Jerome Williams. Not to mention Frank Black, who arrived with less hype on the Hilltop that year.

[HoyaSox04]

Did you see the 2 names he mentioned from the class of '05?

Sapp and 'Tay.

Interesting... I thought the majority of the buzz was around Marc and Jesse... but that's great to see too.

Overall, excellent article. I really don't mind Doyel as a writer - he's better than a lot of crap that goes up on the Espn.com sight (ahem, Dukie V).

[sweetness]

Great article -- let's make sure Duke gets a copy! It is interesting to see which recruits from this year's class are named when people discuss the class -- it seems to be all over the place. I have seen each of them emphasized in one way or another -- will be interesting to see who has the biggest impact.....there is no consensus.

You're right, Doyel has an interesting take on things -- his article calling out Calhoun earned him a lot of respect in my eyes.

[SFHoya99]

I actually like Doyel a bit. He doesn't know anymore about college bball than the usual person. And he definitely writes every article from a sensationalistic point of view -- you'll notice he switches POVs a lot to be provocative. That said, he's not a bad writer; he'll be critical of people; he spreads the press from Manhattan to Georgetown to Duke; and he's not heavy handed in general.

There's lots worse.

[MCIGuy]

dhall said:

No mention of Patrick Ewing, Jr. who may not technically be a member of the class but was obviously recruited to join in the same year. Kind of an oversight not to mention it. If Jr. reads it, maybe he'll get fired up by it - he has a little something to prove.

Weeks ago, way before Macklin committed, Doyel had his top ten recruiting classes for the summer up to that point and Gtown was #10. He listed Rivers, Summers AND Ewing. Guess he just forgot about Junior this time.

[hoyalove4ever]

I still think Doyel is a bad HS writer at best, but it's good to get some positive pub.