Some 3-29 MBB Recruiting Notes

[ChrisMWilliams]

Just a few small tidbits on the MBB front for you guys today.

- John Wilkins did in fact visit Indiana but to my knowledge, he did not commit. Obviously, that is a positive thing for Iowa State. I'll work on getting some more information on this topic as the day rolls along.

- 2010 Arizona SG prospect Bo Barnes will be coming in on an official visit April 9. I want to talk with his coach or someone more familiar with his game between now and then. From the looks of things, Barnes is a great shooter but there has to be a reason that he is still around at this point in time. Barnes originally committed to Liberty in 2009. He then backed out and went the prep school route after a Liberty coaching change.

- A recruiting dead period will begin on Wednesday at noon for a week. The spring signing period begins on April 14.

 

[nickwc]

if barnes is just another lucca or eikmeier, i would rather bank the schollly for next year when we can put it to better use.

by lucca or eik i mean a one dimensional scorer who can't get to the paint off the dribble, or have a struggle to get your shot off with good defense. we need guards who are hard to guard, not so one dimensional.

 

[Clones85']

if barnes is just another lucca or eikmeier, i would rather bank the schollly for next year when we can put it to better use.

by lucca or eik i mean a one dimensional scorer who can't get to the paint off the dribble, or have a struggle to get your shot off with good defense. we need guards who are hard to guard, not so one dimensional.

I would hate to find a 2 year starter like Lucca this late in the spring

 

[KCy]

I want a player who wants to win so bad that they will attempt to take over a game rather than sit around and hope someone else will do it. Are there any of those out there. We have a lot of talented players, now lets get one that will make the difference in a game.

 

[nickwc]

I would hate to find a 2 year starter like Lucca this late in the spring

I had zero lucca love after his first season, it was clear what lucca was and that was if he was wide open he could shoot lights out. other than that the rest of his game was a struggle imo

 

[Clones85']

I had zero lucca love after his first season, it was clear what lucca was and that was if he was wide open he could shoot lights out. other than that the rest of his game was a struggle imo

Most teams have a guy they can bring in to hit some 3's. Lucca wasn't as bad as most people say. His game didn't have a lot of areas of strength but he was still a starter and our 3rd leading scorer.

If we find a guy like that this late in the spring than sign him up

 

[brentblum]

Does anybody know how old Melvin Ejim is? My google skills are failing me. The only thing I could find was his MySpace (creepy, I know) which said he was 21. If that's the case, that is an extremely old Freshman! Anybody know for sure?

On a side note, if Bo Barnes makes his way to Ames, I envision many really bad jokes from Dave Armstrong, "WOW...Bo knows Buckets!"

 

[BigCojones]

I would hate to find a 2 year starter like Lucca this late in the spring

It's clear the only reason Lucca was starting is to keep him from leaving. Once his minutes started to dwindel he was gone. Scotty is the better over all player.

 

[Clones85']

It's clear the only reason Lucca was starting is to keep him from leaving. Once his minutes started to dwindel he was gone. Scotty is the better over all player.

It's not clear. Check the stats on our 3 point shooting w/ and w/o Lucca and get back to me. Plus he stretched the defense. When he was gone Brackins job got even harder

 

[isuno1fan]

Count me as one that thinks Scotty is clearly a better player than Lucca.

I'm also not sold on Barnes as of yet.

Really hoping for Wilkins, Clark, and Clyburn to finish out the Spring.

 

[TheHelgo]

Just a few small tidbits on the MBB front for you guys today.

- John Wilkins did in fact visit Indiana but to my knowledge, he did not commit. Obviously, that is a positive thing for Iowa State. I'll work on getting some more information on this topic as the day rolls along.

I'll add to this a little bit. There is almost no discussion of Wilkins on the IU Rivals Premium board (yes i am a member), and what little there is somewhat slanted negative. At this point, a lot are saying that Wilkins is a project and IU cannot afford to risk schollys on projects right now. There is very little excitement about the prospect of Wilkins being added to the class. Peegs (their version of CW here or Paul Clark at Rivals) will be phoning Wilkins' coach sometime this afternoon to get a status. I'll report back if there is any meat.

 

[StLouisClone]

At this point, a lot are saying that Wilkins is a project and IU cannot afford to risk schollys on projects right now. There is very little excitement about the prospect of Wilkins being added to the class.

What does that say about the state of the two programs? IU perceives Wilkins as a risk they cannot afford to take, but ISU perceives him as someone who we cannot afford to miss on. I hope Wilkins sees he will get more love (and playing time) at ISU.

 

[nickwc]

Most teams have a guy they can bring in to hit some 3's. Lucca wasn't as bad as most people say. His game didn't have a lot of areas of strength but he was still a starter and our 3rd leading scorer.

If we find a guy like that this late in the spring than sign him up

bring in and hit some threes is different from a guy that was starting would have been a two year starter in the big 12. Also, he was the 3rd leading scorer on some bad iowa state teams. Lucca reached his ceiling and wasn't that dissapointed to see him go. However, we definitely could have used the extra pair of legs this year.

 

[Goldfinger]

Does anybody know how old Melvin Ejim is? My google skills are failing me. The only thing I could find was his MySpace (creepy, I know) which said he was 21. If that's the case, that is an extremely old Freshman! Anybody know for sure?

On a side note, if Bo Barnes makes his way to Ames, I envision many really bad jokes from Dave Armstrong, "WOW...Bo knows Buckets!"

Brent, I don't see how that could be right. He's been at Brewster for two years and at a Maryland high school before that. We know he's a very good student. He played AAU ball last summer and represented Canada in the Nike Global Challenge last summer. For the Nike event you have to be a high school player from the U.S. or part of an U19 team for the other countries(Canada).

 

[Clones85']

bring in and hit some threes is different from a guy that was starting would have been a two year starter in the big 12. Also, he was the 3rd leading scorer on some bad iowa state teams. Lucca reached his ceiling and wasn't that dissapointed to see him go. However, we definitely could have used the extra pair of legs this year.

Regardless if we can sign a guy this late to come in and hit some key 3's for us you do it. Would you seriously pass on a Lucca caliber player this late in the recruiting year? Because that is essentially what you said and what we are arguing

 

[nickwc]

Regardless if we can sign a guy this late to come in and hit some key 3's for us you do it. Would you seriously pass on a Lucca caliber player this late in the recruiting year? Because that is essentially what you said and what we are arguing

if were signing him to come in off the bench and hit some threes, i'm for it. I'm not for it if we are reaching for a big 12 starter and need him to play 25+ min like lucca.

 

[saf]

if barnes is just another lucca or eikmeier, i would rather bank the schollly for next year when we can put it to better use.

by lucca or eik i mean a one dimensional scorer who can't get to the paint off the dribble, or have a struggle to get your shot off with good defense. we need guards who are hard to guard, not so one dimensional.

Yeah, that would be terrible to have someone to fill in for or spell our 3-point threat if, say, they get mono.

 

[nickwc]

bring in and hit some threes is different from a guy that was starting would have been a two year starter in the big 12. Also, he was the 3rd leading scorer on some bad iowa state teams. Lucca reached his ceiling and wasn't that dissapointed to see him go. However, we definitely could have used the extra pair of legs this year.

Yeah, that would be terrible to have someone to fill in for or spell our 3-point threat if, say, they get mono.

did you not see where i said the above? I'm not arguing the fact that we could use a lucca type player in our program, but what i am arguing is I don't want another lucca type player needing to be our starting 2 guard and play 25+ min a game.

 

[Clones85']

if barnes is just another lucca or eikmeier, i would rather bank the schollly for next year when we can put it to better use.

if were signing him to come in off the bench and hit some threes, i'm for it. I'm not for it if we are reaching for a big 12 starter and need him to play 25+ min like lucca.

The first one is your initial post. I am sorry but if we can get a player of Lucca's level this late in the year than sign him up. We aren't talking about how much the guy should play. We are talking about his game. If his game is similar....than what is the problem?

 

[kansascy]

Does anybody know how old Melvin Ejim is? My google skills are failing me. The only thing I could find was his MySpace (creepy, I know) which said he was 21. If that's the case, that is an extremely old Freshman! Anybody know for sure?

On a side note, if Bo Barnes makes his way to Ames, I envision many really bad jokes from Dave Armstrong, "WOW...Bo knows Buckets!"

I think this is a given whether or not Bo Barnes makes his way to Ames. :wink: