Devante Gardner

[willie warrior]

lloyd was a raymonds guy i belive and was maybe a mcdonalds AA

Lloyd Moore, about the same time as Kerry Trotter. Both were very highly rated in HS, about in the 20's.
Trotter had a good career and a good pro career in Europe. I do not think Moore ever finished his frosh year, and supposedly balooned.

[GGGG]

Right now this kid sounds ideal. We have the potential to be incredibly deep next year, and having a big body never hurts. Even if he doesn't get much time, or needs to slim down, four years from a 6'8" guy that will be in the 300 lb range could really help solve a lot of our problems in the blocks.

I completely agree.  A 6'8" guy who is willing to bang underneath, paired with a 6'10" center (Otule), would do wonders for this team.  As Dujuan Blair proved, and he's shorter than Gardner, a strong, physical player can overcome height limitations if they use their body well.

[Dawson Rental]

A Majerus recruit, Moore, out of Pittsburgh, was a Parade All-American and a one of Street and Smith's top player. Averaged 30 pts. and 19 boards during his senior year in high school.

At 6' 9", Moore hardly sniffed the floor at MU, nor did it appear the cat could run 94 ft. before collapsing.
World class eater. Once observed he and Fat Rick nearly put the Hyatt out of business while dining at their all-you-can-eat Sunday buffet.

I remember hearing that MU students started posting "Please do not feed Lloyd Moore" signs around campus.  Seriously.

Think he transferred to Rutgers and had an undistinguished collegiate career.

You are correct, sir.  His weight led to knee(?) problems that hindered him at MU and Rutgers.

[Dawson Rental]

I completely agree.  A 6'8" guy who is willing to bang underneath, paired with a 6'10" center (Otule), would do wonders for this team.  As Dujuan Blair proved, and he's shorter than Gardner, a strong, physical player can overcome height limitations if they use their body well.

1) On defense, at least, I think that Davante would have to be the center.  At his weight, he'd be useless against most Big East fours.

2) I think that Dujuan Blair is a fair comparison for what Davante could become.  I also think that the Lloyd Moore comparison is a fair comparison on the downside.  What scares me about the video is the woman holding the "Beware of the Dog" sign.  She's quite heavy, and if she were Davante's mother, it would seem to suggest that Davante grew up in a household where there were psychological issues regarding food.  (i.e eating to relieve boredom, over serving food as a sign of love by the parent, not overeating seen as a sign of rejection by the child)  If that's the case, then a nutritionist and trainer will have will not be able to get Davante's weight down without help from a weight counselor.  My perspective on this is from knowing of a situation concerning an obese teen who had stomach stapling surgery.

3) Davante made first team all-state in Virginia this year.

4) The next best player on Davante's team was also an inside player which makes Davante's rebounding numbers even more impressive.