Nikita Mescherakov to Hoyas

[RBHoya]

nchoya said:

Sounds like a good fit to our system, but I am not holding any expectations on this one. Too far out of left field for me.

Does this basically mean at least one of Green or Hibbert is gone for sure?

Not necessarily, Omar has declined to comment on his scholarship situation so its not for certain that we have 11 players other than Jeff and Roy on 'ship.

[dajuan]

hoyalove4ever said:

Another tall forward who can shoot (presumably, considering he's from the old country). Solid addition for the Hoyas.

Belarus = The old country. Fact.

[Cambridge]

Well considering Roy's going to be wearing 55 on the Charlotte Bobcats...

[Oh My!]

This offer is far from out of left field. His American host, Steve McCaskill, who is mentioned in the MDVarsity link, is a former Hoya manager.

I have seen Niki play, and he is quite sound fundamentally (expected from Eastern Europe) and has an excellent mid-to-long range shot. He does not handle the ball particularly well, and he will absolutely have to start putting on weight immediately to get ready for next year.

Decent passer, slightly below-average rebounder, and above all, A REALLY NICE KID. True gentleman. Look for him to make more of a 4-year impact than his Serbian predecessor.

[SFHoya99]

I don't know anything about this kid's game, but people should also remember that not all 13 scholarship players can play right away.

That said, I think at least potential-wise he is a step up from Sead. The articles talk of him driving past guys and dunking on people. I can't see Sead doing that, even in high school.

Vegas says his handle is suspect; the article disagrees, but either way, a 6'8" guy who can shoot, is fairly athletic, can pass, etc. is always welcome. People wondered why, in a system that seems to fit Euros, why we don't have more. Well, here's one.

[SFHoya99]

Oh, and can anyone tell me whether he is 07 or 08? The Quinn article says senior -- does he mean senior or rising senior?

[Filo]

By the time he graduates, you just know Nikita will be holding court at Red Square.

[Oh My!]

The times he drove past guys & dunked may well have been against some of the lower-tier MD private schools that SJCP plays. His team does NOT play the same schedule as St. Francis, Towson Catholic, Mt. St. Joe's, Gibbons, and Spalding. They are in the "lower" division, with Gilman, Boys Latin, St. Paul's, Pallotti---not your basketball powerhouses by any means.

[vcjack]

sfhoya99 said:

Oh, and can anyone tell me whether he is 07 or 08? The Quinn article says senior -- does he mean senior or rising senior?

With all the talk about scholorship apparently he is a graduating senior

[hoyalove4ever]

Passing ability from bigs is HUGE in our system. As this kid sounds like he's got decent height, a good shot, and solid/ good passing ability, he is a nice fit.

Can we get someone to find a Belarus flag and waive it at games???

[hoyaboy1]

So far he seems pretty similar to Wattad. Perhaps if he can bulk up, he can play some 4 too.

[CAHoya07]

Interesting signing. I'm not going go to criticize, but it does seem weird that we seem to be offering a guy a scholarship when the other schools interested in him are Loyola, Richmond, George Mason, Mt. St. Mary's, etc. Maybe that's the best we can get this time of the year, but it does raise my eyebrow a little.

I wonder what this means for whether Wattad is getting a schollie or not, and more importantly, what it means for Jeff and Roy staying or leaving. Josh Barr seems to think both are "NBA bound" in his blog, so we have scholarships to give out.

I'll be interested to see this guy, his game, and how he fits into our system. I doubt a 195-pound kid will play much from the get-go, but he could develop into a role player. We'll see what happens, seems like an interesting prospect.

Welcome to Georgetown, Nikita... maybe Eastern Europe live on on the Hilltop.

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

Wheels, does he have wheels? That was Sead's issue was speed and not being able to D up BE talent. I hope he has some wheels. Since he is similar in size to Wattad, it makes that pick up seem very interesting whether it is scholly or not.

With two big time recruits in the past two classes (summers/Mack & Wright/Freeman), I think two marquee guys and some system players can be really good. Now with Clark/Braswell in '08, we just need the right guys to compliment them and we will be solid.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

This article must be wrong after all The thompsons are "notorious racists" and "don't recruit white players."

[williambraskyiii]

dude, we'll see with this cat, but i was hoping for a more impact player vs. a sead-like cheerleader...not to ethnically-profile or anything. (p.s. i know the diff btw montenegro and belarus)

i mean a 6'7 skinny belorussian? we have 3 people who could possibly start in the 4/5 next year and that is who we use our sole schollie on? this makes me think roy and jeff are GONZO for sure....i doubt we would burn our only '07 'ship on a complete unknown, even if he does have good genes, being yegor's brosef.

i know, i know...trust the staff.

i also know the sky is not falling.

[paranoya]

vegasrain said:

The times he drove past guys & dunked may well have been against some of the lower-tier MD private schools that SJCP plays. His team does NOT play the same schedule as St. Francis, Towson Catholic, Mt. St. Joe's, Gibbons, and Spalding. They are in the "lower" division, with Gilman, Boys Latin, St. Paul's, Pallotti---not your basketball powerhouses by any means.

I resent the Pallotti comment (just kidding), we were becoming a powerhouse (in the WCAC before we moved to the MIAA) until they stupidly dismantled our program and our coach went to Spalding. Now our team is horrible amd Im sure this kid would have no problem owning kids of that talent level.

[hoyaboy1]

Agreed - I'm a little wary of adding 2 "system" players when it seems like we are also losing a little momentum in our 2008 recruiting.

[prhoya]

Instant member of the All-Name team at GU...

[vamosalaplaya]

If Green and Hibbert go pro, next year's mix will include:

The starting backcourt from a final four team plus
Three McDonalds All Americans plus
One Jordan All American who scored in double figures in his freshman year plus
A 6-8 senior who can play three positions, is an outstanding leaper, and doesn't scare.

And some other guys.

The front line will be thin, figuratively and literally. But there are alot of Big East teams that don't have anywhere near that raw talent. And plenty of teams have made NCAA runs with less talent than this.

[HealyHoya]

Great, this guy can just step in for Green next year. Perfect.

Seriously, if (...) Green and Hibbert leave, you'd like to see guys enter the program who, from their descriptions, at least sound like they would be able to step in and contribute immediately (immediately in whatver sense is appropriate considering III's system). While I'm not sure exactly what that would sound like, I'm pretty sure Mercherakov's write-up isn't it.

That said, welcome Nikita, you've made an incredibly good choice.