ASU gets McDonalds ALL-AMERICAN

[MaoTosiFanClub]

What Russ is saying is that Duke has no good true centers...yet. Boateng isn't a good college basketball player yet although he has the tools to become one, same as Zoubek. Both those guys are projects like most 7-footers that play more than one year in college and were never counted on to play from Day 1.

McRoberts will most likely start a "center" next year for Duke although he is actually power forward. Same as Lance Thomas and Jamal Boykin should they ever be forced to play center.

 

[AZBALLER]

Fair enough Mao...but don't 95% of college teams start forwards at center?

 

[Russ Smith]

I know you know your stuff Russ...

I'm always impressed with your knowledge of collge basketball, and normally agree with what you say, and I'm a huge UCLA fan in basketball, since they represent the Pac better than any other team...But I still can't remember any boy's club/ymca/high school/college/NBA team that had 3 good centers...Duke might not have 3 good centers, but the rankings said that they did...Heck, Duke has more centers than then Suns, who are 1 of the last 4 NBA teams standing...Centers are hard to find, and Duke lost a good one.

Duke never had all 3 at once. Zoubek will be a freshman this year. And again he's not that good, his rating went up right away after he signed with duke, that tends to happen with duke signees ratings services think well he must be good Duke signed him. Zoubek was possibly going to redshirt this year, now there's an outside chance he starts. Boateng will probably start his whole ASU career but he's a very raw kid.

FYI I read that Michigan was in fact still interested in him after he left Duke so I take that back about all the schools he originally wanted to go to said no, Michigan did in fact still want him. I'm sure he'll help ASU immensely but I'm just pointing out if he had signed with ASU out of HS, he wouldn't have been a McDonald's AA, he got that because he signed with Duke.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Fair enough Mao...but don't 95% of college teams start forwards at center?

Either that (ASU, Washington) or a uncoordinated 7 foot stiff who can do nothing except block a couple shots and get some rebounds (UCLA, Arizona).

Polished, skilled true centers don't last more than a couple years in college. Hell, a lot of non-skilled, unpolished centers don't last more than couple years in college.

 

[AZBALLER]

and don't a lot of NBA teams start forwards at center?

How many true centers are there in this world?

If a college team had 3 legit potential centers, then they are a BIG team...They are not lacking in size.

 

[AZBALLER]

FYI I read that Michigan was in fact still interested in him after he left Duke so I take that back about all the schools he originally wanted to go to said no, Michigan did in fact still want him. I'm sure he'll help ASU immensely but I'm just pointing out if he had signed with ASU out of HS, he wouldn't have been a McDonald's AA, he got that because he signed with Duke.

Michigan wasn't the only major program still interested...keep reading.

I agree though about the McAA thing though, if Ike would have signed with Illinois, then he would have been a McAA.

 

[Russ Smith]

Michigan wasn't the only major program still interested...keep reading.

.

I'm not sure what your disagreement here is. Boateng was originally recruited by Duke, UCLA, Michigan, UNC, Georgia Tech, Villanova and Boston College(as well as NC State by Sendek) according to the story on AZ central after he signed with ASU. This time around he was recruited by ASU, Michigan, Notre Dame and George Washington.

What I'm saying is this time around the list of schools after him was less impressive than before. I think you'd agree that ASU, Notre Dame and GW are not as impressive as Duke, UCLA, UNC et al?

I think he's a nice get for ASU, but if you think ASU signed a future first team all american C, I think you're in for a letdown. It's a start and as I said, I personally wish UCLA had signed him I think they're putting far too much stock in the internet rumors that Love is a lock to UCLA, if Kevin Love winds up at UNC or Duke, UCLA might long regret not taking Boateng.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

If a college team had 3 legit potential centers, then they are a BIG team...They are not lacking in size.

Technically, you're right. But you can have all the size in the world yet it won't matter if you can't play. The Suns technically have plenty of size on their team with Burke and Grant but in the end they really don't because theose two guys can't play. Last year's Arizona team tefhnically had size last year in Kirk Walters, Isaiah Fox, and Mohammed Tangara but none of them can play so Arizona when all was said and done was a small team. UCLA had a couple 7 footers on their roster as well but they like Arizona were a small team because Fellins sucked.

Duke had a potential legit center in Boateng but he wasn't ready top contribute so it made whatever size he has basically meaningless. The same thing will likely occur this year with Zoubek. There's a difference betwen having big guys on your team and having size.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

he wasn't ready top contribute so it made whatever size he has basically meaningless.

Luckily, he'll have a good chance to learn the system. Hopefully he develops his game to the point where both he and Pendegraph can contribute.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Luckily, he'll have a good chance to learn the system. Hopefully he develops his game to the point where both he and Pendegraph can contribute.

Yeah, that's why I commented earlier in the thread that transferring is a win-win scenario for both Boateng and ASU. He'll get a kind of redshirt year that he would have gotten at Duke had Shav Randoplh not crybabied his way to the NBDL in order to put on some weight and work on his fundamentals and ASU will get a legit center so they can put Pendergraph where he belongs at PF.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Then we are in agreement, at least ASU basketball seems to be moving in the right direction. I like the pick of Sendek, but again wasn't really wowed. I guess you have to consider the situation.

 

[Russ Smith]

Luckily, he'll have a good chance to learn the system. Hopefully he develops his game to the point where both he and Pendegraph can contribute.

Oh absolutely. in 2 years they have Boateng as a soph, Pendergraph as a junior, Shipp as a freshman, whoever else they sign etc, they are absolutely going in the right direction.

I really like Pendergraph, he played with Darren Collison in HS and at times this year looked outstanding.

Sendek can coach, the problem he had at NC State was recruiting against the rest of the ACC, so far he's off to a pretty decent start it looks like he'll be a more effective recruiter in the Pac 10. Can he recruit with Arizona, UCLA and UW, who knows, but he's off to a nice start.

 

[AZBALLER]

I'm not sure what your disagreement here is. Boateng was originally recruited by Duke, UCLA, Michigan, UNC, Georgia Tech, Villanova and Boston College(as well as NC State by Sendek) according to the story on AZ central after he signed with ASU.

GT was still recruiting Boateng...Don't believe everything you read in the rag...You certainly know your stuff Russ, but you should probably never base your facts on the Az Republic/Az central.

 

[Russ Smith]

GT was still recruiting Boateng...Don't believe everything you read in the rag...You certainly know your stuff Russ, but you should probably never base your facts on the Az Republic/Az central.

OK add in GT and the list is still not as impressive as it was before.

I don't know the full list of teams who wanted him this time around, maybe if you provided that I would agree he was still heavily sought. But from my understanding the only team that was on his final list the first time around, that still wanted him this time around, was Michigan. and of course Duke who didn't want him to transfer in the first place.

Here's another question, does anybody know is he related to Nyan Boateng the WR from New york who I think was a freshman at Florida last year? Or is Boateng a really common last name? Nyan played hoops with Sebastian Telfair in HS but football was his best sport. I know Eric was raised in England before moving to the US for highschool.

 

[AZBALLER]

OK add in GT and the list is still not as impressive as it was before.

I don't know the full list of teams who wanted him this time around, maybe if you provided that I would agree he was still heavily sought.

So having Duke, Michigan, and Georgia Tech battling to get your services doesn't make a kid heavily sought after? What does a kid have to do to be "heavily sought" after?

Honestly, you admit that you don't know what teams are going after him, and then before that, you say that nobody good is going after him?

Which is it???

 

[AZBALLER]

Pittsburgh(sp?) was also in the running if you took the time to read the tribune...

 

[Russ Smith]

So having Duke, Michigan, and Georgia Tech battling to get your services doesn't make a kid heavily sought after? What does a kid have to do to be "heavily sought" after?

Honestly, you admit that you don't know what teams are going after him, and then before that, you say that nobody good is going after him?

Which is it???

I didn't say I didn't know who was going after him, I asked you to give me the full list since you said there were other major programs recruiting him besides Michigan and then later said Georgia Tech was still recruiting him but that's the only team you added to the list.

Duke wasn't recruiting him, they didn't want him to transfer. I'll concede them on the list since they DID want him to stay. Michigan to me is not a major school anymore, since all the scandals they're kind of irrelevant, some talent here and there but they haven't made the NCAA tournament since Fisher was fired. Are they a big school yes, are they a bigtime basketball program, to me not at the moment no. they're a factor for a lot of local kids every year but they're not getting them nearly as often as they did in the good old days of buying players and giving away grades. if they get Alex Legion that might change, but his reopening his recruitment is not exactly a sign that's going to happen.

Georgia Tech I'd say definitely big time, I can't find anybody that actually lists Tech as recruiting him still but I know he did an interview with Rivals.com (i don't subscribe) so maybe he told them Tech still wanted him?
I know Delaware was also in the running for him(he played there in HS) not exactly a bigtime school.

Basically what I said was most of the teams who wanted him out of HS, passed on him this time around. Assuming we count Tech and Duke that's debatable, 3 wanted him, 4 didn't, when I made that statement I wasn't aware that either Tech or Michigan were recruiting him again. notre Dame to me is a fringe power, they're in the Big East, they have a lot of tradition, they get the occasional Chris Thomas or Torin Francis touted recruit, but again they aren't getting to the big dance consistently let alone making runs.

I think he's a good get but you seem to be suggesting a lot of top 25 programs were after him and lost out to ASU and that doesn't appear to be true to me.

Guess we'll just agree to disagree and see how big of an impact he makes with ASU down the line.

 

[AZBALLER]

So Michigan, Duke, Georgia Tech, Pitt, a few other schools(I'll name them, if you insist on me doing research for you), and ASU all rerecruited Boateng, yet he had a week bunch of schools rerecruiting him?

 

[AZBALLER]

Guess we'll just agree to disagree and see how big of an impact he makes with ASU down the line.

That is the most true statement either of us has made.

 

[Russ Smith]

So Michigan, Duke, Georgia Tech, Pitt, a few other schools(I'll name them, if you insist on me doing research for you), and ASU all rerecruited Boateng, yet he had a week bunch of schools rerecruiting him?

FWIW my understanding is that Boateng contacted Pitt, not the other way around. boateng called howland at UCLA who told him they weren't interested, but he offered to put in a good word with Dixon at Pitt his former assistant. I have no idea if Pitt actually offered him but that's the rumor that was on UCLA boards not long after Boateng announced he was leaving Duke. People were saying they felt it wasn't right for Howland to be steering a recruit to another school like that while others were saying they admired Howland for offering to help a kid and as long as he wasn't steering players to Pac 10 schools what was the harm?


I'm not insisting you do any research you seemed to imply that you had the list of who was recruiting him and it was more impressive than I thought.

Just for fun I looked him up online out of HS. Rivals.com has him rated #82 overall, 19th best PF(I know he's a C they rated him a PF). he was 4th team Parade AA(along with Darren Collison). Bobby Frasor was also 4th team and made the Mickey D's game because he signed with UNC. James Keefe as a junior was 2nd team Parade AA that year. Keefe, Spica and possibly Kevin Love are the reason UCLA had no interest in Boateng this time around. Hoopscoop rated him #48 overall that year.

FYI not to obsess or anything but Boateng didn't score a single point in the Mickey D's game and after the game scouts were saying this about him:

NBA ETA: 2009
Word: Definition of a raw talent. Has all the physical tools -- long arms will enable him to play center in the NBA -- and will only develop better basketball skills under Coach K. Don't look for an immediate impact at Duke: has bad hands and poor footwork.


Again, talented player no doubt but if he hadn't signed with Duke he would have never played in the Mickey D's game. ASU did a nice job in getting him but I think his stock is lower now than it was coming out of HS.

Didn't mean to come off as bashing ASU here, I just feel it's accurate to say he was more heavily recruited out of HS than he was after leaving Duke, I think he'll help ASU a lot. We just disagree.

 

[AZBALLER]

Didn't mean to come off as bashing ASU here, I just feel it's accurate to say he was more heavily recruited out of HS than he was after leaving Duke, I think he'll help ASU a lot. We just disagree.

No, I do agree with your last statement...maybe we were just arguing different points.

 

[AZBALLER]

ASU may be getting another McD's AA in James Harden...It's no lock, but considering ASU's recent basketball hire, the odds have improved.

 

[DevilPrideBAS]

They just hired his high school coach right?

 

[AZBALLER]

Yep.

And he was considering ASU before that...

 

[DevilPrideBAS]

I believe they also hired another assistant who was the assistant at Nevada for the past couple years, has california ties as he played at UC Davis and coached at Loyola Marymount for a year. All I know is Herb Sendek is making a splash, and you better believe that old man down in little mexico is aware of it. Its a new era of sun devil basketball...Go Devils.