A positive comment from one of our top targets

[Halldan1]

Just posted a story on the Trove re Aiken.

Here's a quote from him about SHU.

"It would give me the opportunity to stay close to home. That's always in the back of my head. I could play in front of my family and they could come to every game. That's probably the most comfortable I've been with a coaching staff throughout the process. They have picked up their recruiting the past couple years and want me to be a part of that."

 

[Seton75]

Good to hear. Way to go Sha.

 

[batts]

Is there any way to kidnap him, and not let him go until he signs a LOI?

 

[Seton75]

Is there any way to kidnap him, and not let him go until he signs a LOI?

Maybe we get Danny the Gent on this

 

[HallBall02]

Is there any way to kidnap him, and not let him go until he signs a LOI?

Kelly Whitney may know a way. Too soon?

 

[hallgrad80]

The only words that are meaningful from a recruiting target is " I'm committing to Seton Hall." Recruiting targets today are smart enough to learn to say nice things about each school that they're considering. I'm glad we're still in the chase for Aiken but I'll get excited when he tells us he's coming to SH and signs his LOI.

 

[Haas01562]

Xavier Simpson (2016 PG) just signed with Michigan...that should eliminate them from the board.

Looks like Harvard, Seton Hall, Miami (Fla.), USC or Illinois. He is supposed to be at Harvard for an official today...

 

[Halldan1]

Michigan was not strong. Believe it or not Harvard could be a problem.

 

[HALL85]

Michigan was not strong. Believe it or not Harvard could be a problem.

If he's that smart to get into Harvard, then, yes, it's a big problem. I could completely understand that choice if he has a passion for long term goals in his life.

 

[BabyBlue]

Michigan was not strong. Believe it or not Harvard could be a problem.

I can easily believe that. TA knows us and can easily recruit against us. And nevermind the fact that it's Harvard. Wouldn't I love to have a diploma from Harvard.

 

[hallgrad80]

Let's be honest about the highly regarded and ranked players we're recruiting and the level of the competition we're facing for those players. In just about every instance you could point to any number of those schools and say we're at a disadvantage in one way or another and you wouldn't be wrong. That doesn't mean we don't have a chance to sign that type of player but the odds are not in our favor.

 

[Seton75]

We have always had lots of disadvantages.

 

[hallgrad80]

We have always had lots of disadvantages.

True 75 but we've had coaches in PJ and TA who were able to land that type of player despite those disadvantages and in recruiting who the head coach is remains the key factor in having recruiting success.

 

[Seton75]

True 75 but we've had coaches in PJ and TA who were able to land that type of player despite those disadvantages and in recruiting who the head coach is remains the key factor in having recruiting success.

Yes, exactly.

 

[radecicco]

Interesting that we have had only two of those types of coaches in the last quarter century.

 

[lokiSHU]

IMHO the primary factor in recruiting is the Head Coach. Kids sign on to play for the head coach. The programs where the Head Coach is taking the lead on closing a commitment are the ones that are most successful recruiting wise. Assistants open doors and narrow the pool of targets; the head coach then needs to take over. At least that is my take from my own kids being recruited. Academics, facilities, location all play a role. But at the end of the day, kids sign in large part due to the relationship develop with the head coach.

 

[cernjSHU]

Michigan was not strong. Believe it or not Harvard could be a problem.

Let's face facts. If Seton Hall loses a a top 75 recruit to any Ivy League school, that would be an embarrassment. Amaker is a fantastic recruiter but come on. All of these kids have dreams of playing professionally. Harvard does not give that dream the best shot.

 

[knowknow456]

Let's face facts. If Seton Hall loses a a top 75 recruit to any Ivy League school, that would be an embarrassment. Amaker is a fantastic recruiter but come on. All of these kids have dreams of playing professionally. Harvard does not give that dream the best shot.

I am not sure I agree. Harvard, Stanford and possibly Michigan are three schools where academics can actually trump athletics. Losing a top 75 recruit to one of those schools is not necessarily an embarrassment. After all, if the kid is that good, every top program is recruiting him so indirectly he is turning them down as well.

 

[Seton75]

Let's face facts. If Seton Hall loses a a top 75 recruit to any Ivy League school, that would be an embarrassment. Amaker is a fantastic recruiter but come on. All of these kids have dreams of playing professionally. Harvard does not give that dream the best shot.

A Harvard kid on the knicks was the toast of NYC a few years ago. To me, losing to Harvard or Princeton is not that bad, but losing to schools in lesser conferences really troubles me.

 

[hallgrad80]

A highly regarded player choosing to attend an Ivy League school is not a deterrent to that player going to the NBA and that player if he doesn't wind up in the NBA has an outstanding education to fall back on. I would agree with KnowKnow that losing a player to an Ivy League school is not an embarrassment .

 

[mga pirate]

Bring back amaker

 

[shu09]

Let's face facts. If Seton Hall loses a a top 75 recruit to any Ivy League school, that would be an embarrassment. Amaker is a fantastic recruiter but come on. All of these kids have dreams of playing professionally. Harvard does not give that dream the best shot.

That's not true. If a player is good enough for the NBA, the NBA knows about him and will find him.

 

[SOBO1]

That's not true. If a player is good enough for the NBA, the NBA knows about him and will find him.

That is true for top level talent like IW and other McDonald's all Americans, but aside from a magical run in the NCAA tourney these kids at smaller schools don't get the exposure they sometimes deserve (This applies to all sports, not just basketball).

 

[shu09]

That is true for top level talent like IW and other McDonald's all Americans, but aside from a magical run in the NCAA tourney these kids at smaller schools don't get the exposure they sometimes deserve (This applies to all sports, not just basketball).

Elfrid Payton
Alec Brown
Damian Lillard
Andrew Nicholson
Orlando Johnson
Kyle O'Quinn
Kenneth Faried
Norris Cole
Justin Harper
Charles Jenkins
Andrew Goudelock
Keith Benson
Paul George
Luke Babbit
Hassan Whiteside
Jerome Jordan
Magnum Rolle
Jeremy Evans
C.J. McCollum
Isaiah Canaan
Ray McCallum
Tony Mitchell
Nate Wolters
Mike Muscala
James Ennis
Colton Iverson

All "small school" players drafted by NBA teams only dating back to 2010. If you're good, the NBA will find you.

 

[shupat08]

Dellavadova

 

[Flnj86]

It is nice to play in front of family and friends at every home game.

 

[cernjSHU]

Elfrid Payton
Alec Brown
Damian Lillard
Andrew Nicholson
Orlando Johnson
Kyle O'Quinn
Kenneth Faried
Norris Cole
Justin Harper
Charles Jenkins
Andrew Goudelock
Keith Benson
Paul George
Luke Babbit
Hassan Whiteside
Jerome Jordan
Magnum Rolle
Jeremy Evans
C.J. McCollum
Isaiah Canaan
Ray McCallum
Tony Mitchell
Nate Wolters
Mike Muscala
James Ennis
Colton Iverson

All "small school" players drafted by NBA teams only dating back to 2010. If you're good, the NBA will find you.

This is not the point. How many of these recruits were top rated kids coming out of high school? Top rated high school kids rarely go mid major but they certainly do not go to the Ivys. Please do not compare Stanford and Michigan to Harvard when it comes to college basketball. Stanford and Michigan play for power conferences. Harvard does not.

Losing a player to an Ivy League school is an absolute embarrassment. Aiken is not a kid who would be at the end of the bench player in a power conference. This kid is either a starter or getting major minutes as a freshman at a major coference school. This type of recruit does not go Ivy.

The only top player I ever heard of turning down a major school was Foyel who went to Colgate and I think there was some connection there at Colgate.

 

[shupat08]

If he goes to Harvard - plays major minutes from day 1...wins 25 games a year... Goes to multiple NCAA tournaments... Gets a Harvard degree

If he goes to SHU - In all honesty... Who knows what happens.

 

[Pirate64]

Tony Bozzella is landing women who get us to the tournament. We'll be Top 25 again this year.
Seton Hall as an institution can now compete with anyone except the very top academic schools.
Harvard? If a kid isn't going to be a lottery pick , he should go there if he can. It practically guarantees him a successful life out of basketball.

 

[pmulcahy96]

Michigan was not strong. Believe it or not Harvard could be a problem.

My brother who has an excellent St. John's contact, says Harvard is a major problem and they are the school to beat and that they have done the best job recruiting him. If he stays home, SHU is the obvious choice. I'm sure we will here a peachy report on how his visit went. I also was told Coach Hill is doing a phenomenal job recruiting Walter Powell. Seton Hall needs to land one of these kids.

 

[cernjSHU]

My brother who has an excellent St. John's contact, says Harvard is a major problem and they are the school to beat and that they have done the best job recruiting him. If he stays home, SHU is the obvious choice. I'm sure we will here a peachy report on how his visit went. I also was told Coach Hill is doing a phenomenal job recruiting Walter Powell. Seton Hall needs to land one of these kids.

Seton hall needs both Aiken and Powell. And yes I know that there is only one ship available but I am sure another will open up one way or another. The only way the Hall lands either is that these kids just want to stay home. Let's hope that's the case. These are homegrown talent that the Hall has landed when it was a great team.

 

[Halldan1]

also was told Coach Hill is doing a phenomenal job recruiting Walter Powell. Seton Hall needs to land one of these kids.

Myles Powell. And yes as noted previously he is a Fred Hill recruit.

Sha is the main recruiter for Aiken.

 

[Halldan1]

Seton hall needs both Aiken and Powell. And yes I know that there is only one ship available but I am sure another will open up one way or another. The only way the Hall lands either is that these kids just want to stay home. Let's hope that's the case. These are homegrown talent that the Hall has landed when it was a great team.

My gut says right now we are the favorite for Powell and right there with Aiken.

 

[Seton75]

Amaker knows a lot about SHU and Sha knows a lot about Amaker. Will be interesting.

To say a kid only goes to SHU if he wants to stay home just is not fair. We are not Notre Dame, but we do have positive things to offer. A kid may like the smaller campus/class size. When Barrett committed to us, he said the smaller class sizes will help him deal with academics. I am certain TA put that idea in his head and used it to combat his interest in Stanford and other more prestigious academic schools. We have three terrific sophomores. We are in a good conference with great TV presence. We are a fine academic school...not Harvard by a long shot but maybe a place where a bright kid will feel more comfortable. And, he can play in front of family every game.

 

[lokiSHU]

Times are changing. Amaker has kicked off a little arms race in Ivy League basketball. They are now recruiting against A10 and lower BE teams for players. It's not just Harvard. Look at who Princeton, Yale, Columbia and Brown etc are recruiting.

 

[jcalz88]

Dont forget Aikens best friends play here at SHU. How much that comes into play I dont know.

 

[lokiSHU]

Dont forget Aikens best friends play here at SHU. How much that comes into play I dont know.

I think Sha is tight with Aikens, his HS and AAU program. Question is whether Willard can close. That is my concern.

 

[Seton75]

Dont forget Aikens best friends play here at SHU. How much that comes into play I dont know.

And, they are GOOD.

 

[hallgrad80]

What a school has to offer academically, the size of the campus , class size , etc, are not the primary determining factors in a player's decision of what school he commis to if that player's primary goal is to play professional basketball. That is especially true for the top rated player whose goal is the NBA. Are their exceptions to that , of course there are yet who the head coach is and how comfortable a target is with the head coach, his assistants and the players on the team remain among the key factors in the decision making process and let's not forget the influence a player's coaches and advisors have in that process as well. Head coaches , like TA , who are very good recruiters will always have success in attracting talent no matter what school or conference they're in and when you're competing for same player you have to bring your A game against them.

 

[sportsfantatic44]

Is the Hall going to have any assistant coaching openings at the end of the season? Maybe we can entice the kids high school coach to come as well. Tiny worked out well. I mean a probable 1st team Big East player left. Dont worry though Lyons has it under control.