J.P. Tokoto Is no longer a 5 star recruit

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I'd disagree with that. Consider when they would have been born. These are 16-17 year old kids, probably born in the 1993-95 range. At that time, Shaq was the hottest rookie to hit the NBA in years. He won the rookie of the year award in 1993, released his Shaq Diesel rap album that went platinum, rapped as a guest artist on a Michael Jackson album, and starred in the Hollywood movie Blue Chips. Think of how quickly Shaq took to dominating media and the idea of kids being named after him really isn't a surprise whatsoever. Five years ago, it would have been odd, but my guess is for the next 5-7 years, it will be a pretty common name when it comes to recruiting.

Dude...do you understand that everybody on this board knows who Shaquille O'Neal is, how long he's been in the league and everything else that goes along with it? It's NEVER, EVER going to be a "common" name.

The point is, what dumbass (other than O'Neal's mother) would name their child "Shaquille." It's almost as bad as having a perfectly nice name like Dominic and changing the pronounciation so it sounded more like a former NBA star.

[Pakuni]

Dude...do you understand that everybody on this board knows who Shaquille O'Neal is, how long he's been in the league and everything else that goes along with it? It's NEVER, EVER going to be a "common" name.

The point is, what dumbass (other than O'Neal's mother) would name their child "Shaquille." It's almost as bad as having a perfectly nice name like Dominic and changing the pronounciation so it sounded more like a former NBA star.

Alas, it's not like the good old days when we gave our sons proper names like Orville, Horace, Grover, Clarence and Elmer.

Gotta go ... need to yell at those kids walking across my lawn.

[willie warrior]

Cameron Ridley goes to the same high school that Otule graduated from

And we are not listed as a scvhool of interest. We are listed on very few.

[Jay Bee]

And we are not listed as a scvhool of interest. We are listed on very few.

Rest assured Cameron Ridley has mentioned us before. 

[boyonthedock]

I assume, after 20 years of all world play, some parents may name their kid after the immensely likable star.

[Marquette84]

Jamil Wilson was a Top 10 kid as a freshman/sophomore and dropped to the bottom half of the Top 100.

Jamil Wilson ended up as the #40 RCSI ranked player.  Individual services had him as high as #23 and as low as #94.

[brewcity77]

Dude...do you understand that everybody on this board knows who Shaquille O'Neal is, how long he's been in the league and everything else that goes along with it? It's NEVER, EVER going to be a "common" name.

The point is, what dumbass (other than O'Neal's mother) would name their child "Shaquille." It's almost as bad as having a perfectly nice name like Dominic and changing the pronounciation so it sounded more like a former NBA star.

I think that sounds like a pretty clueless response. I said it would be a common name in terms of recruiting. As in I wouldn't be surprised to see between 1-3 Shaquilles a year in recruiting for the next 3-4 years and continuing to show up sporadically for the next 5-7 years after that. Because most of these kids will come from lower income areas where they will be more likely to name their kids after a basketball star in hopes they will emulate them.

If you think that names don't become surprisingly common, consider how many kids were named Anakin 12 years ago, and how bizarrely common that name became after The Phantom Menace came out. I knew three different groups of young parents that named their sons Anakin because of the Star Wars movie. I'm not saying either of these names would become the next John or Michael, but pop culture influences naming habits.

Names like Jacob and Edward were already popular, but are increasing in popularity due to Twilight, as is Isabella for girls, previously a name that was all but gone by the wayside. Hell, Sookie is one of the fastest rising names for girls due to True Blood. People name their kids after famous people and characters. Seeing two Shaquilles really isn't much of a surprise. Think of Shaq's rise to fame, and consider the popularity of the name:

Shaquille baby name popularity for boys

1991: 719
1992: 426
1993: 180
1994: 235
1995: 457
1996: 661

A name not ranked in the top 1000 before 1991, peaking at 180 when this current crop of kids were born. I highly doubt these will be the last Shaquilles we ever hear of.

[chapman]

I'd disagree with that. Consider when they would have been born. These are 16-17 year old kids, probably born in the 1993-95 range. At that time, Shaq was the hottest rookie to hit the NBA in years. He won the rookie of the year award in 1993, released his Shaq Diesel rap album that went platinum, rapped as a guest artist on a Michael Jackson album, and starred in the Hollywood movie Blue Chips. Think of how quickly Shaq took to dominating media and the idea of kids being named after him really isn't a surprise whatsoever. Five years ago, it would have been odd, but my guess is for the next 5-7 years, it will be a pretty common name when it comes to recruiting.

Don't forget Blue Chips.  He was snubbed from the Oscar!

Hell, Sookie is one of the fastest rising names for girls due to True Blood.

I thought it was due to Gilmore Girls.  Probably cause if I had to watch one or the other, I'd rather watch Gilmore Girls than True Blood.

[LON]

Naming your kid Jacob or Edward because of Twilight is proof that the terrorists are winning (or that maybe they should win).

[dw3dw3dw3]

Naming your kid Jacob or Edward because of Twilight is proof that the terrorists are winning (or that maybe they should win).

Wow... Are you always so positive?

[Skatastrophy]

Wow... Are you always so positive?

Wow... are you defending sparkly vampires?

[dw3dw3dw3]

Wow... are you defending sparkly vampires?

If you are taking pop-culture vampire names vs terrorists killing innocent people, I think Ill side with team jacob or edward.

[mu-rara]

Naming your kid Jacob or Edward because of Twilight is proof that the terrorists are winning (or that maybe they should win).


Wow... Are you always so positive?

Wow... Do we really need teal for this post?  Hoping it was sarcastic.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Dude...do you understand that everybody on this board knows who Shaquille O'Neal is, how long he's been in the league and everything else that goes along with it? It's NEVER, EVER going to be a "common" name.

The point is, what dumbass (other than O'Neal's mother) would name their child "Shaquille." It's almost as bad as having a perfectly nice name like Dominic and changing the pronounciation so it sounded more like a former NBA star.

Congrats!

You win for crusty, old, white guy post of the month!

Your prize (Matlock Season 2 on VHS) is in the mail.

Enjoy Andy Griffin and all of his folksy goodness.

DISCLAIMER: There are no characters named Shaquille in Matlock, but there is a character named Darrell in episode 3. It's pronounced Da'Rel, so you should probably skip that one. 

[mu-rara]

Congrats!

You win for crusty, old, white guy post of the month!

Your prize (Matlock Season 2 on VHS) is in the mail.

Enjoy Andy Griffin and all of his folksy goodness.

DISCLAIMER: There are no characters named Shaquille in Matlock, but there is a character named Darrell in episode 3. It's pronounced Da'Rel, so you should probably skip that one. 

'02 will name his 1st child Shaquille.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

'02 will name his 1st child Shaquille.

Don't hate.

I'll call her Shaq Fu!

[TheRock]

this has to be the furthest off topic any thread has ever gone on an message board ever, in the history of message boards

from Tokoto no longer being a 5 star recruit to whether you would rather be a terrorist or name your kids after Twilight

good stuff

[LON]

this has to be the furthest off topic any thread has ever gone on an message board ever, in the history of message boards

from Tokoto no longer being a 5 star recruit to whether you would rather be a terrorist or name your kids after Twilight

good stuff

It was already derailed - just figured I'd make a joke.  If I offended anyone...lighten the F up.

[TheRock]

It was already derailed - just figured I'd make a joke.  If I offended anyone...lighten the F up.

not offended, good joke, i was just pointing out how far off topic this thread has gotten, I've seen others get off topic, but never this far off topic

[PGsHeroes32]

i hope he keeps falling. Then maybe the big boys will back off and leave him all to MU.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Will this thread help recruiting?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Knew a kid in HS that named his kid Talon b/c that was the car the kid was conceived in.  Never underestimate the power of stupid people.

[Lennys Tap]

Knew a kid in HS that named his kid Talon b/c that was the car the kid was conceived in.  Never underestimate the power of stupid people.

Brings to mind the old joke with the famous punchline: "Why do you ask, Two Dogs F****ing?"

[wyzgy]

he's probably falling because he doesn't have even one cell phone and therefore doesn't tweet, have a big chain bling thingy around his neck, doesn't drive an escalade, and isn't fluent in ebonics...yet

[MarkCharles]

he's probably falling because he doesn't have even one cell phone and therefore doesn't tweet, have a big chain bling thingy around his neck, doesn't drive an escalade, and isn't fluent in ebonics...yet

Um, what? especially the ebonics part....

I'm pretty sure the talent evaluators for sources like Scouts, Inc. and Rivals are mostly middle-aged white men. Not sure why they would prefer a guy to tweet, speak ebonics, or wear a "bling thingy".