Dominic James and Family With and uplifting message. Worth watching.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MOW6DF7g3UM
Beautiful family and a man of strong beliefs
Yeah, Dominic and family! A beautiful family and beautiful message!
I still seethe when I think how he was projected to be a first round pick after his freshman year but Tanned Tommy talked him into staying so that he could elevate into the lottery zone.
F#cking Crean cost Dom millions. Millions.
Quote from: Jon on August 18, 2019, 10:41:45 PM
I still seethe when I think how he was projected to be a first round pick after his freshman year but Tanned Tommy talked him into staying so that he could elevate into the lottery zone.
F#cking Crean cost Dom millions. Millions.
Tried to turn him into a shooting guard too
Quote from: Jon on August 18, 2019, 10:41:45 PM
I still seethe when I think how he was projected to be a first round pick after his freshman year but Tanned Tommy talked him into staying so that he could elevate into the lottery zone.
F#cking Crean cost Dom millions. Millions.
Can't fault you for telling the truth.
However, maybe his struggle with his fate led him to his faith and family-focused life.
Not discounting all the good an already faithful man of means can do with his money...and your point, on its face, is valid. I just think Dom's struggle has made him who he is today.
Quote from: Jon on August 18, 2019, 10:41:45 PM
I still seethe when I think how he was projected to be a first round pick after his freshman year but Tanned Tommy talked him into staying so that he could elevate into the lottery zone.
F#cking Crean cost Dom millions. Millions.
He could have left if he wanted. His sophomore year he was AP honorable mention, first team All Big East, he again stayed.
The NBA aspect of this is largely myth. DJ couldn't shoot consistently and was way undersized. After his freshman year some were projecting him as a lottery pick in the future, not a first rounder that year. he wasn't even listed in most mock drafts back then.
I've spoken to Givony plenty on James and his problem was that he couldn't do things consistently enough. He could have left after his sophomore year and drafted in second round, and might have made a team. MU was ready for his departure, but he chose to stay.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Dominic-James-595/
Quote from: Jon on August 18, 2019, 10:41:45 PM
I still seethe when I think how he was projected to be a first round pick after his freshman year but Tanned Tommy talked him into staying so that he could elevate into the lottery zone.
F#cking Crean cost Dom millions. Millions.
Crash
I loved Dom (player and person). His Achilles Heel was he couldn't shoot. But you're right, after year one he was a first rounder, guaranteed contract guy. Freshmen who can't shoot (or have one other hole in their game) can still be first rounders on the "we can fix one thing" theory (see Ellenson, Henry - and many others). so that was Dom's chance. Even though he still couldn't shoot his sophomore and junior year he was the leading scorer/shot attempter those years. Buzz had a different philosophy - let the good shooters shoot and the good passers pass - and Dom's shots and scoring (he went from 1st to 4th) were way down his senior year.
Quote from: Lennys Tap on August 19, 2019, 10:17:58 AM
Crash
I loved Dom (player and person). His Achilles Heel was he couldn't shoot. But you're right, after year one he was a first rounder, guaranteed contract guy. Freshmen who can't shoot (or have one other hole in their game) can still be first rounders on the "we can fix one thing" theory (see Ellenson, Henry - and many others). so that was Dom's chance. Even though he still couldn't shoot his sophomore and junior year he was the leading scorer/shot attempter those years. Buzz had a different philosophy - let the good shooters shoot and the good passers pass - and Dom's shots and scoring (he went from 1st to 4th) were way down his senior year.
McNeal was the leading scorer their sophomore and junior years and James only attempted more their freshman and sophomore years.
Quote from: Lennys Tap on August 19, 2019, 10:17:58 AM
Crash
I loved Dom (player and person). His Achilles Heel was he couldn't shoot. But you're right, after year one he was a first rounder, guaranteed contract guy. Freshmen who can't shoot (or have one other hole in their game) can still be first rounders on the "we can fix one thing" theory (see Ellenson, Henry - and many others). so that was Dom's chance. Even though he still couldn't shoot his sophomore and junior year he was the leading scorer/shot attempter those years. Buzz had a different philosophy - let the good shooters shoot and the good passers pass - and Dom's shots and scoring (he went from 1st to 4th) were way down his senior year.
Compare Crean's handling of Dom to Al's approach to Chones after being drafted by the Nets.
Al knew that the ABA money would make a profound difference in the life of the Chones family and told him to take it. Al asked if his mom was still scrubbing floors at Johnson Wax then looked in the fridge, noted it was empty, and told Chones to turn pro.
Marquette that year was undefeated and ranked #1 in both the AP and UPI polls when Chones was drafted. We lost our very next game to Dick Vitale's UD squad.
Al did what was right for his player, even though he knew it would kill the season. Tanned Tommy did what was right for himself. The difference in character could not be more acute.
Quote from: Galway Eagle on August 19, 2019, 10:26:28 AM
McNeal was the leading scorer their sophomore and junior years and James only attempted more their freshman and sophomore years.
James scored more and attempted more their sophomore year. McNeal more junior year.
Quote from: Jon on August 19, 2019, 11:02:52 AM
Compare Crean's handling of Dom to Al's approach to Chones after being drafted by the Nets.
Al knew that the ABA money would make a profound difference in the life of the Chones family and told him to take it. Al asked if his mom was still scrubbing floors at Johnson Wax then looked in the fridge, noted it was empty, and told Chones to turn pro.
Marquette that year was undefeated and ranked #1 in both the AP and UPI polls when Chones was drafted. We lost our very next game to Dick Vitale's UD squad.
Al did what was right for his player, even though he knew it would kill the season. Tanned Tommy did what was right for himself. The difference in character could not be more acute.
Do we know Crean talked James out of going pro? Is it possible the NBA teams didn't view him as a first rounder? Maybe James bet on himself to improve his draft position.
It seems like a leap to say Crean put his own interests above James and gave him bad info.
Quote from: Lennys Tap on August 19, 2019, 02:54:35 PM
James scored more and attempted more their sophomore year. McNeal more junior year.
I just saw they both averaged 14 something a game didn't bother to look at the .7 vs .9. But point is I was wrong for his sophomore year you were wrong his junior year. We each walk away with a little fact check :)
Quote from: Galway Eagle on August 19, 2019, 03:17:46 PM
I just saw they both averaged 14 something a game didn't bother to look at the .7 vs .9. But point is I was wrong for his sophomore year you were wrong his junior year. We each walk away with a little fact check :)
(https://media.giphy.com/media/6FxG8LVTswbG8/giphy.gif)
By the way, Dom's wife is a babe.
Quote from: cheebs09 on August 19, 2019, 02:57:51 PM
Do we know Crean talked James out of going pro? Is it possible the NBA teams didn't view him as a first rounder? Maybe James bet on himself to improve his draft position.
It seems like a leap to say Crean put his own interests above James and gave him bad info.
no, but why not create history to bash TC? The fact is 5-9 guards who can't shoot aren't lottery picks and rarely even first round picks. Isaiah Thomas, a scoring machine in college, was the LAST pick of the entire draft. Kyle Lowry was the only pick under 6-3 in the 2006 first round and his stats (other than PPG average) were better than DJ, particularly his 37% three point and 80% FT percentage, compared to DJ's 30% from three and 64% from the line.
Quote from: Galway Eagle on August 19, 2019, 03:17:46 PM
I just saw they both averaged 14 something a game didn't bother to look at the .7 vs .9. But point is I was wrong for his sophomore year you were wrong his junior year. We each walk away with a little fact check :)
Fair enough.
Quote from: Jon on August 19, 2019, 11:02:52 AM
Compare Crean's handling of Dom to Al's approach to Chones after being drafted by the Nets.
Al knew that the ABA money would make a profound difference in the life of the Chones family and told him to take it. Al asked if his mom was still scrubbing floors at Johnson Wax then looked in the fridge, noted it was empty, and told Chones to turn pro.
Marquette that year was undefeated and ranked #1 in both the AP and UPI polls when Chones was drafted. We lost our very next game to Dick Vitale's UD squad.
Al did what was right for his player, even though he knew it would kill the season. Tanned Tommy did what was right for himself. The difference in character could not be more acute.
I find the comparisons completely out of line. Wade was a lottery pick and Crean sent him his way as Al did with Chones. I got to work with Jim for two years when I ran the MU TV network in '98 and '99. We had a few convos about his leaving. Great guy, and his family is awesome...Kareeda especially.
Dom was not a first round lottery pick, and the suggestion he was a first rounder at all is stretching things. Dom got his advice from various sources and elected to stay. Not sure why Dom suddenly has become a first round lottery pick, let alone guaranteed first rounder by some here when that simply was not the case. Speculation on message boards doesn't make it so. Chones is not same as James. Chones more in line with Wade, and both left. Chones also had a family hardship, the situations were much different in my opinion.
Quote from: Jon on August 19, 2019, 03:35:30 PM
By the way, Dom's wife is a babe.
oh God oh God oh God...jesus...yes yes yes...oh God...
Quote from: Billy Hoyle on August 19, 2019, 04:03:10 PM
no, but why not create history to bash TC? The fact is 5-9 guards who can't shoot aren't lottery picks and rarely even first round picks. Isaiah Thomas, a scoring machine in college, was the LAST pick of the entire draft. Kyle Lowry was the only pick under 6-3 in the 2006 first round and his stats (other than PPG average) were better than DJ, particularly his 37% three point and 80% FT percentage, compared to DJ's 30% from three and 64% from the line.
Agreed. James could have gone pro or gone to Europe after his freshman year. James was not going to get drafted but if he did it would have been a similar situation to DJO who went second round but couldn't latch onto the team and eventually went overseas. DJO who is 6'2 and a better shooter and scorer made a total of $214k in the NBA. No GM is giving first round contract to a flyer PG under 5'10. Isaiah Thomas got $473k in 2011 as the 60th pick. He needed a lucrative second contract to get in the millions. Based on current knowledge DJ wouldn't have made his second contract. You can't say he was cost millions
Back to the story, good story but I still get stuck on DJ claiming his brother was his heart and Jay Williams (Duke fame) was his soul or something similar
Quote from: Cheeks on August 19, 2019, 06:40:43 PM
I find the comparisons completely out of line. Wade was a lottery pick and Crean sent him his way as Al did with Chones. I got to work with Jim for two years when I ran the MU TV network in '98 and '99. We had a few convos about this his leaving. Great guy, and his family is awesome...Kareeda especially.
Dom was not a first round lottery pick, and the suggestion he was a first rounder at all is stretching things. Dom got his advice from various sources and elected to stay. Not sure why Dom suddenly has become a first round lottery pick, let alone guaranteed first rounder by some here when that simply was not the case. Speculation on message boards doesn't make it so. Chones is not same as James. Chones more in line with Wade, and both left. Chones also had a family hardship, the situations were much different in my opinion.
This is all great but the important issue here has not been addressed...is Chones's wife a babe? ::)
Quote from: Jon on August 18, 2019, 10:41:45 PM
I still seethe when I think how he was projected to be a first round pick after his freshman year but Tanned Tommy talked him into staying so that he could elevate into the lottery zone.
F#cking Crean cost Dom millions. Millions.
First round pick after freshman year is generous. Maybe late 2nd rounder. Probably still would have been the right choice in hindsight though...
Is it uplifting because it involves Pulloons?
Quote from: MU Fan in Connecticut on August 29, 2019, 03:10:48 PM
Is it uplifting because it involves Pulloons?
Pulloons are only uplifting when they have helium.
Quote from: MU Fan in Connecticut on August 29, 2019, 03:10:48 PM
Is it uplifting because it involves Pulloons?
old and bad joke. He lost quite a bit in that transaction.
Blaming crean for DJ's fate of note rolling in the green is completely absurd.
He was not an nba caliber player period, was marginal at best due to his size and lack of shot.
I did love him as a college player but he was never going to be financially wealthy from his basketball career.
Good luck to him and his family.