DJ Newbill

[PhillyCoach]

again i apologize littlemurs for misunderstanding ur comment regarding espns rating of dj. Philly is a hotbed for prep talent but alot of our player go unnoticed. Its a shame these kids get rated off aau ball and camps. But i can clearly see ur point. Pride does not live here. I hope theres no hard feelings. And to the one who said am i his attorney the answer is yes. Im his coach his mentor his pastor his brother and what ever he needs me to be. I say that bcause in the urban part of philly i havent coach one kid in the past five years that had a strong male presence in their life so ive taken that role. Not to bragg or boast but thats who i am to alot of kids . So if i think someone is neg toward my guys i step in a advocate on their behalf thats all no pun intended.

[Benny B]

again i apologize littlemurs for misunderstanding ur comment regarding espns rating of dj. Philly is a hotbed for prep talent but alot of our player go unnoticed. Its a shame these kids get rated off aau ball and camps. But i can clearly see ur point. Pride does not live here. I hope theres no hard feelings. And to the one who said am i his attorney the answer is yes. Im his coach his mentor his pastor his brother and what ever he needs me to be. I say that bcause in the urban part of philly i havent coach one kid in the past five years that had a strong male presence in their life so ive taken that role. Not to bragg or boast but thats who i am to alot of kids . So if i think someone is neg toward my guys i step in a advocate on their behalf thats all no pun intended.

It's unfortunate that not every urban youth can play organized ball, but even then, not everyone gets to play for a coach who honestly cares for his players on and off the court.

Something tells me DJ is going to fit in just fine with Buzz and MU.

[haymaker]

Italics, bold, and other formating don't appear when viewing the 'scoop with a phone.  Settle down chief.

The italics, bold, and formatting play a minor, minor role in understanding the first post.  I think as readers, we should give the writers the benefit of the doubt and always consider the limitations of text communication before "praying for the haters" as Mr. Laws has done for LittleMurs.  But thanks for listening, chief.

[haymaker]

And to the one who said am i his attorney the answer is yes. Im his coach his mentor his pastor his brother and what ever he needs me to be. I say that bcause in the urban part of philly i havent coach one kid in the past five years that had a strong male presence in their life so ive taken that role. Not to bragg or boast but thats who i am to alot of kids . So if i think someone is neg toward my guys i step in a advocate on their behalf thats all no pun intended.

I'm convinced DJ will arrive with a solid foundation.  No disrespect meant, I am new here and didn't know where you were coming from.

[Canadian Dimes]

Sorry for the misunderstanding, PhillyCoach.  My point was that some excellent players slip under the radar each year, and those coaches who overrely on the recruiting services, do so at their peril. With Williams and Crean, Marquette has a tradition of seeking out such players.  I specifically mentioned Huggins because I know he was well aware of DJ's ability and was recruiting him too.  

Thus, I see coaches who didn't do their homework getting exasperated during a game against Marquette where DJ is putting the hurt on them when they didn't even think to recruit him.

I think that its fair to say that the consensus on this board is that scouting service rankings are an okay starting point, but should always be taken with a grain of salt.

I probably over emphasized the poor ESPN ranking at the start because I was being negative, not about DJ, but about ESPN for being so completely out of the ballpark in its ranking of DJ.  Usually ESPN catches on a at least a little bit when a player receives interest from high major schools.  For instance, Davante Gardner who Marquette also signed this spring started out the spring signing period ranked a 70, by the time he made his decision to sign he was moved up to an 88.    How ESPN did not reevaluate DJ after Marquette, West Virginia and other top schools started to recruit DJ, I can't figure out.  So I think it'll be especially fun at the beginning of the season when other teams that we play first realize that they missed the boat on a great one from Philly!

Little Murs  I agree with 99% of the things you say , but i have to ask who are the Unheralded recruits that Crean brought in that coaches had asking themsleves who is this guy?
And dont even go the Dwade route.  he was the #2 rated player in Illinois behind HS to NBa lottery pick Darius Miles. He was a top 50 recruit in a number of rankings and had he the grades would have gone the route of a Kansas, etc type of program.  

Please name the unheralded recruits that Crean got.  I would make the argument that Creans lack of depth and bad years after Dwade left etc. were due to just the opposite.  ODB, Wade, Jackson, Merritt, Novak, and Diener were the heart and sole of his first few successful teams and they were all heavily recruited ( sans wade due to grades) top 100 to top 50 recruits.  After that the team struggled as the only real talent was Diener, Mason, and Novak all Top 50-75 recruits.  

Then he signed 3 top 100 kids in the 3 amigos and while they were very talented the recurring theme was no size and no depth.  Barro was also borderline top 100.  Who of all the revolving door of other players was a surprise?  Berkowitz, Lott, Kinsella, Christian, Menard, James Mathews, Bell, Mortensen, Burke, Hazel, etc. etc. etc.  you have difficulty winning in the Horizon with that group.  

[HoopsMalone]

Coach or anyone who has seen DJ,

DJ seems to be working hard and can score by all accounts.  Can you give us some insights into DJ's defense?  Can he guard a point guard or small forward?  Does he have quick hands?  Get steals?  Any other insights?

[MU in Miami]

.

[NersEllenson]

Coach or anyone who has seen DJ,

DJ seems to be working hard and can score by all accounts.  Can you give us some insights into DJ's defense?  Can he guard a point guard or small forward?  Does he have quick hands?  Get steals?  Any other insights?

I believe Philly coach posted earlier in this that he felt DJ could guard the 1-3 positions if needed...he is that versatile.

[MuMark]

Wade was not the #2 player in Illinois.

He didn't even start on his AAU team and finished 7th in the Mr. Basketball voting as a senior.

He was rated in the top 50 by 1 service that I remember.

Here are the top 100 Illinois kids according to RSCI for that year....

3. Miles
11. Andre Brown
18. Imari Sawyer
20 Cedric Banks
28 TJ Cummings
60 Matt Lottich

[Dawson Rental]

Little Murs  I agree with 99% of the things you say , but i have to ask who are the Unheralded recruits that Crean brought in that coaches had asking themsleves who is this guy?
And dont even go the Dwade route.  he was the #2 rated player in Illinois behind HS to NBa lottery pick Darius Miles. He was a top 50 recruit in a number of rankings and had he the grades would have gone the route of a Kansas, etc type of program.  

Please name the unheralded recruits that Crean got.  I would make the argument that Creans lack of depth and bad years after Dwade left etc. were due to just the opposite.  ODB, Wade, Jackson, Merritt, Novak, and Diener were the heart and sole of his first few successful teams and they were all heavily recruited ( sans wade due to grades) top 100 to top 50 recruits.  After that the team struggled as the only real talent was Diener, Mason, and Novak all Top 50-75 recruits.  

Then he signed 3 top 100 kids in the 3 amigos and while they were very talented the recurring theme was no size and no depth.  Barro was also borderline top 100.  Who of all the revolving door of other players was a surprise?  Berkowitz, Lott, Kinsella, Christian, Menard, James Mathews, Bell, Mortensen, Burke, Hazel, etc. etc. etc.  you have difficulty winning in the Horizon with that group.  

I am going the Wade route, especially with the research support from MuMark above.  ODB was another good player from Illinois who didn't make the top 100, but he left after two years of not liking playing power forward.  Okay after that, you've got me.  

[Dawson Rental]

Wade was not the #2 player in Illinois.

He didn't even start on his AAU team and finished 7th in the Mr. Basketball voting as a senior.

He was rated in the top 50 by 1 service that I remember.

Here are the top 100 Illinois kids according to RSCI for that year....

3. Miles
11. Andre Brown
18. Imari Sawyer
20 Cedric Banks
28 TJ Cummings
60 Matt Lottich

Due to size problems, I believe that his HS had to play him out of position at center, as well.

[Canadian Dimes]

Wade was not the #2 player in Illinois.

He didn't even start on his AAU team and finished 7th in the Mr. Basketball voting as a senior.

He was rated in the top 50 by 1 service that I remember.

Here are the top 100 Illinois kids according to RSCI for that year....

3. Miles
11. Andre Brown
18. Imari Sawyer
20 Cedric Banks
28 TJ Cummings
60 Matt Lottich

Bullseye the most highly regarded scouting service in Illionois had him as #2.  The Sid finch legend propogated by Tan Tommy had him as some two handed dribbling dweeb that Tan Tommy molded into an NBA superstar.  He was putting up 40 on numerous nights and dominating with his athleticism.  the only reason and absolutely the only reson Kansas, Duke and the other elite programs were not all over him is becuase he would not be eleigible and the ACC, Big 12 etc could not take non-qualifiers.