Odds of adding a 5th recruit?

[hoyaboy1]

What do you think the chances are? I know JTIII is supposed to be out recruiting this week, but do you think he is reaffirming old commitments or trying to get a new one?

[MEGAFAN]

I think that there are three variables at play.

<b>Current Players</b>
It sounds like the whole team is excited to have JT III as their new coach, and therefore let's hope that during these 5 weeks, none of them let their grades slip. In other words, lets hope everyone is eligible for next year and that there are no transfer. I don't see any reason to speculate about this now, but given the recent at Georgetown, it would be naive to act as though this is of zero concern.

<b>Current Recruits</b>
It seems as though at least two of them (Hibbert & Green) have been vocal about wanting to play at Georgetown, and in Hibbert's case, he was at the conference, ready to welcome JT III. We haven't heard much on the Guibunda front, but I imagine that no news is good news. As for Crawford, again, haven't heard much, but at least my understanding is that Guibunda nd him are eligible. Green definitely sounds like a Hoya, in more ways than one, but let's hope he qualifies. The Hoya reports that he his taking the SAT's again in May, so I assume the results were not positive from March, as he should have already received the scores back by now. Basically, we won't know about Green's eligibility until later on, as he still has two more shots at the SAT. I imagine that the coaching staff will temporarily assume that all four recruits will be on the hilltop, and eligible come Midnight Madness.

<b>New Recruits</b>
I would say that there are a couple of different categories to discuss here. Some recruits status will depend upon the relationships they have/had with Esherick and/or the assistants. To be honest, and this is not me trying to knock Esh, but just as the team seems to be happy, I don't see why a potential recruit would not want to play for Georgetown even more now. Granted, players are supposed to say the right thing, but I'm confident that Aboya will eventually become a Hoya. However, what about a guy like Pettway? He was being recruited hard by Esherick (does this mean Esh himself, or his assistants?) but most sites don't list Georgetown as being among his final choices. Is this because of the Esherick situation, or may it be that JT III has a better chance of grabbing him now, as the program now has some buzz surrounding it, and he can take a new/exciting approach to presenting the Georgetown program to him. Otherwise, I wonder whether we are going to consider any other JUCO's, as there are several PF/C's out there that would make sense, if they have their academics in order. Furthermore, the other variable concerns recruits that JT III was looking at for Princeton. Most likely, these would not be the calibre of athletes that we are looking for, but you never know if there is a very strong player that was considering Princeton, or perhaps a player that JT III was after hard, but looked to be more interested in a big-time league. Who knows. Supposedly, there were two unidentified basketball players at the press conference, one who was overheard talking about being recruited by Princeton. Who knows, but if they were in fact recruits of JT III's, I find it hard to believe that they would travel to Georgetown to join the press conference unless they were seriously considering Georgetown, or maybe if they were from the D.C./Maryland area.

Finally, I believe the renegging of the 5/8 rule goes into effect immediately. This means that in theory we could recruit 2 more players, if need be, this year. However, I see this as unlikely, unless a recruit changes his mind, a player looks to transfer, or if there are academic eligibility concerns with either current or future Hoyas.

If I were a betting man, and I am, I would say that JT III will bring in at least one assistant coach, such as Burke, in addition to one player. Do I think this will be a high-impact player? I hope so, but I also wouldn't be surprised if this player were a mid-level Hoya recruit (high-level Princeton recruit) who showed academic character and integrity, and who really wanted to play for JT III. Even so, I don't see JT III taking a player away from Princeton unless it was openly discussed with their athletic department and/or new coach, as he still considers Princeton part of his family, and it wouldn't be his style to "steal" one of their prized recruits.

I'm not privvy to any special information, but I hope my analysis was somewhat insightful, albeit speculative.

With all that said, I'm ecstactic that JT III is our new coach. I believe that with some hard work and a little luck, we will be back in the spotlight soon!

GO HOYAS!!!

[bigblue123]

JTIII better bring someone who can help him recruit nationally. Nationally, he is not well known among high profile recruits. I hope JTIII is smart enought to bring high profile recuiter to help him.

[RaleighHoya]

Crawford has said that he is coming to GU, but he was upset that they fired Esh. I am sure "keeping it in the family" will not hurt when it comes to him. Cornelio was a bit more reserved. While I think he is still coming, he is the recruit I worry most about. Green should qualify soon.

[HoyaLawya]

Big Blue -- as far as JT III not being well known nationally among high profile recruits, I'm not sure if it's the RECRUITS that need to know him so much as their COACHES' knowing him.

A check of the Princeton roster over several past seasons reveals players who were recruited out of places like California's Westchester and Mater Dei high schools. Athletic powerhouses. The academic threshold of a Princeton would have found JT III picking the players on those teams who fit the student-athlete mold -- but it means he got to know the coaches.

If he has good relationships with the coaches, I would expect that JT III's step up to a more competitive league will prompt those same coaches to encourage their more elite-level players to give Georgetown some thought as a good choice.

As with all things, only success can then build upon itself. Baby steps -- one at a time.

[rccoleon]

the 5/8 rule has not been removed, it will likely be done on 4/29 when the entire committee meets to vote on the issue. it looks like it will be repealed though. could be good as their are still many studs out there.

[RaleighHoya]

rccoleon said:

the 5/8 rule has not been removed, it will likely be done on 4/29 when the entire committee meets to vote on the issue. it looks like it will be repealed though. could be good as their are still many studs out there.

I was under the impression that we could add a fifth this year without worrying about the 5/8 rule. Is this wrong? I also thought if the 5/8 rule was abolished, and we met the criteria, we could add a 6th.

[SFHoya99]

Given that Princeton doesn't give athletic scholarships, would the Princeton recruits at the press conference be walk-ons? Seems to me they might.

I worry about Aboya because his profile is rising -- I think even Esherick/Chuck may have had trouble keeping him if UConn begins to focus on him (not sure they will).

Crawford, who grew up loving the Hoyas, seems like a safe bet. I'm more worried about Jeff's scores than Cornelio coming. (I think he does).

[rccoleon]

we could add a 5th this year no problem. i dont know what other scholarships we have available if we could add a 6th. it sure would be nice.

[SFHoya99]

rccoleon said:

we could add a 5th this year no problem. i dont know what other scholarships we have available if we could add a 6th. it sure would be nice.

Rc, we're fine on schollies. All depends when the 5/8 rule is rescinded in terms of effectivity date.

Schollies:

Brandon
Ashanti
Matt
Darrell
Ray
Sead
Ramell
------------- That ain't much returning, huh?
Roy
Jeff
Cornelio
Tyler
-------------- That's 11, and we can have 13.

So we could grab two more scholarship players, if the 5/8 rule is rescinded. That would leave us with 1-2 scholarships for next year, all depending on what happens with DJ.

[Deleted]

Is Ramell still around? Is he actually on scholarship with the team or with the Hospital?

[the_way]

i think our chances are great.