Reggie Smith signs with MU

[bma725]

but I still remain very positive that my intuition will be correct that Smith will end up being the better player.

In the long run, he may, he has the athletic tools to be very very good.  But there's a difference between being the better overall player and being the best option at point guard. 

Point guard is about mindset more than anything else, and its tough to instill that mindset in someone once they get to college.  You can't teach court awareness.  You can't teach court vision.  You can't teach timing.  You can't teach attitude.  Those are all things kids pick up as they grow up playing the game at that position. 

There's a reason Junior Cadougan has been considered one of the top point guards in this class since he was an 8th grader.  There's a reason coaches historically known for having great point guards have been trying to get him to commit since he was 14.  There's a reason he was playing on the Canadian 17 and under team as a 14 year old.  He just has those things.  He may not have the athletic ability of Smith, or the speed of Blue, but he has the innate point guard abilities that very few people do. 

[GGGG]

In the long run, he may, he has the athletic tools to be very very good.  But there's a difference between being the better overall player and being the best option at point guard. 

Point guard is about mindset more than anything else, and its tough to instill that mindset in someone once they get to college.  You can't teach court awareness.  You can't teach court vision.  You can't teach timing.  You can't teach attitude.  Those are all things kids pick up as they grow up playing the game at that position. 

There's a reason Junior Cadougan has been considered one of the top point guards in this class since he was an 8th grader.  There's a reason coaches historically known for having great point guards have been trying to get him to commit since he was 14.  There's a reason he was playing on the Canadian 17 and under team as a 14 year old.  He just has those things.  He may not have the athletic ability of Smith, or the speed of Blue, but he has the innate point guard abilities that very few people do. 

So is the Levance Fields a good comparison?  Not quite the athlete, but has all of the intangibles to play the position?

[MuMark]

Chris Grimm and Mike Kinsella are "making money playing" so I'm not sure I would put a whole lot of stock in that comment coming from an AAU coach.

[77ncaachamps]

Welcome to the Marquette family, Reggie!

Another Chi-town son heads north to add to the Chitown guard prestige: McNeal, Wade, Rivers...

[BM1090]

1. For people arguing about Blue and Cadougan being ahead of Smith at PG, I disagree. In my opinion, with this signing Blue will not play PG at all next year. Buzz has stated he wants to get him some time at the 3. So, when we go "big" it will be smith/jr pg and blue sg. When we go small, it will be 1 jr, 2 smith, 3 blue. This is not next year as we will still have Buycks and DJO obviously. Just my two cents, smith was recruited to be more of a combo guard than a straight point guard.

2. Smith is just outside the top 100, but from what I have read it seems like he has a great chance to shoot up to top 100 by spring. He keeps improving, and has grown 2 inches since last year. Hopefully he can put two more on and end up at 6'3. I can dream, right?

Just fyi I have no inside information, just my opinion

[kmwtrucks]

MUeagle90

Where do you see that he has grown 2 inch's in the last year?

[chapman]

1. For people arguing about Blue and Cadougan being ahead of Smith at PG, I disagree. In my opinion, with this signing Blue will not play PG at all next year. Buzz has stated he wants to get him some time at the 3. So, when we go "big" it will be smith/jr pg and blue sg. When we go small, it will be 1 jr, 2 smith, 3 blue. This is not next year as we will still have Buycks and DJO obviously. Just my two cents, smith was recruited to be more of a combo guard than a straight point guard.

2. Smith is just outside the top 100, but from what I have read it seems like he has a great chance to shoot up to top 100 by spring. He keeps improving, and has grown 2 inches since last year. Hopefully he can put two more on and end up at 6'3. I can dream, right?

Just fyi I have no inside information, just my opinion

Buzz sounded very high on Blue's point guard abilities in the initial press conference.  I think he will see a lot of minutes there.  The good thing about Smith is that he's not the same player as Cadougan, his athleticism will come in handy at different times, and he appears to have enough talent to get himself on the floor even with all the other guards.

[Pakuni]

Buzz sounded very high on Blue's point guard abilities in the initial press conference.  I think he will see a lot of minutes there.  The good thing about Smith is that he's not the same player as Cadougan, his athleticism will come in handy at different times, and he appears to have enough talent to get himself on the floor even with all the other guards.

With Junior and now Smith, I dount Blue sees much time at all at the point. One would think he's likely the third option among those three.

Anyhow ... Chicago Tribune story on Smith's commitment:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/highschool/chi-20-prep-hoops-boys-smith-marquetnov20,0,6305593.story

[dw3dw3dw3]

It sounds like in this article that the offer didn't come until Wednesday.... I wonder if Buzz was holding out for something else to shake out.

"Jackson said USC, Southern Illinois and Butler were "hot on his trail," but he had been waiting for Marquette to offer."

[shiloh26]

So is the Levance Fields a good comparison?  Not quite the athlete, but has all of the intangibles to play the position?

I've heard of him being compared to Levance Fields, which would be fantastic.  I understand people are excited about Smith's athleticism and the comparisons to DJ, but remember that DJ was more of a PG when he came out of high school.  Smith is still a more natural 2 who began transitioning to the 1.  We have so much scoring guard talent, there is no way Smith starts at PG next year if JC is the kind of polished PG that he's made up to be.  Depending on how the talent shakes out this year, we may have so many scoring threats next season that a distributor is what the team will need, not another athletic scorer.  Smith could be a terrific energy guy off the bench, and hopefully a good on the ball defender that can matchup against another scoring guard, but if JC is ready to go, he is going to be the better fit.

That said, we now have some fantastic depth at guard and at the wing, assuming everyone stays put.   

On a side note, how much fun will the MM dunk contest be next year?  Smith, DJO, Blue... E-Will can get up...

[wyoMUfan]

This just will prepare to avoid a situation like DJ or Diener, as we will have sooo much depth, another guy can just step right in!

thank you, this is what this signing is all about. Last year was ruined by one injury. Buzz is preventing that from happening.

[BM1090]

MUeagle90

Where do you see that he has grown 2 inch's in the last year?

No particular article has stated it. But every article from his junior year listed him at 5'10-5'11. Now every article this year has listed him as 6'0-6'1. I can only conclude that he grew a couple inches.

[NersEllenson]

Remember before the NBA draft - people questioned if Wade was a 1 or a 2..and how the might hurt his draft stock?  Well, we've all seen how that turned out - when you are freakishly athletic, labels don't matter too much. 

I see the same type of possibility with Smith - Based on Buzz's comments when asked by Todd Rosiak, it seems Buzz sees Smith as a "basketball player," not a 1 or 2 per se.

Rosiak -   Is he a 1 or a 2?   Buzz - "I don't know what Dominic James was when he came here, and I'm not comparing Dominic to Reggie, but I don't know that Reggie has a position, to be honest with you. He can play the point, he has played the 2. Is he full-time at either today? I would say no. What will he be when he gets here? When he gets here he'll be an athletic, fast, tough, change-of-pace, guard-'em, great guy on the ball defensively, and have to get better offensively to determine what he's going to be. But we can use a 'rover' in a lot of ways."

[Freeport Warrior]

Never know what can happen with coaching changes, transfers, etc. Not saying it will happen, but what if Ernie gets the ax at Oregon, and Jamil Wilson wants to transfer? I'd definitely want that scholarship available. Again, just a hypothetical, but it's a good thing to have a scholly open in the Spring, just in case.

At least Oregon's freshman-Wil is getting on the court (17 points, 20 rebounds in 3 games). He must be practicing hard.

[RawdogDX]

Welcome to the Marquette family, Reggie!

Another Chi-town son heads north to add to the Chitown guard prestige: McNeal, Wade, Rivers...

don't forget Cordel Henry.

[VwArrior1]

Im just glad we can now have this argument.  Shows we are getting more competitive players even as backups and will only make Smith and Cadougan better.

[77ncaachamps]

don't forget Cordel Henry.

I sit corrected. Cordell was and will always be a WARRIOR.

[MR.HAYWARD]

It sounds like in this article that the offer didn't come until Wednesday.... I wonder if Buzz was holding out for something else to shake out.

"Jackson said USC, Southern Illinois and Butler were "hot on his trail," but he had been waiting for Marquette to offer."

that is how i understand... it one article stated MU coaches had a long closed door meeting on which of three guards they were going to offer and made the decison on Wed. to offer it to Smith.  Would be interesting to know who the other 2 were.

[MUrugger]

Chicago son and WARRIOR great Lloyd Walton never gets his props on this board either..."Lloyd Walton was given the role of floor leader and he took it on with all the brilliance of Patton. The shy kid from Kimberly Junior College came on like a gangbusters and assumed the role of team leader, traffic cop and father confessor. Lloyd averaged 15 points a game and dished out 159 assists."--from the MU basketball Wiki page about the '74-75 season.

[MUrugger]

I meant to add that the next year, his senior season ('75-76) he was again the point guard on a team that made the Elite Eight and finished the season ranked #2 to National Champ Indiana (the team that ended MU's season in the NCAAs.)  Of course we all know what happened the next year.

Walton went on to play for five years in the NBA.

Not too many MU guards, from Chicago or anywhere could boast of that kind of career.

[mu_hilltopper]

Just a bump from the thread when Reggie signed with MU back in 2009.

[MarquetteDano]

Just a bump from the thread when Reggie signed with MU back in 2009.

Interesting read.  BMA spot on in his analysis of Smith.

[🏀]

Interesting read.  BMA spot on in his analysis of Smith.

The man is talented.

[NersEllenson]

Just a bump from the thread when Reggie signed with MU back in 2009.

I find it slightly ironic that I bumped a thread earlier in the day, that SoCalwarrior, decided to moderate and lock -which was basically a thread that called out "Groove" and his trolling ways - and now as a moderator you choose to bump this thread...which just so happens to start at the top of Page 5 with BMA pretty much forecasting the future, and in so doing somewhat making me look stupid for my posts on the Smith signing.  However, I could go re-quote BMA from Page 4 where he stated there was NO way Smith starts over Cadougan - which, we are all aware, did in fact happen - but my point here isn't about being "right," wrong, or stupid.  Rather just felt it ironic and that it merited mention that another moderator here locked a thread that I bumped today...and you chose to bump this one.  That said this is your board, and you are entitled to lock, censor, delete, allow whatever content you like.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Who's that Mr. Hayward poster?