Leon Gilmore

[Norm Peterson]

Couldn't find the instructions uneblinstu once posted that explain how to post a tweet, but I saw this very recent tweet from Leon Gilmore that might explain why we seemed to not try very hard to recruit him. 

 

"Leon Gilmore III ‏@3LeeLee_ 20h

Glad I changed my ways.. Im trying my hardest to stay out of trouble, I just wanna hoop and make my people proud of who I one day become."

 

I wish him the best in that endeavor and hope it all works out for him.  Really do.  Not just saying that.  But I was always puzzled why we seemed not to go after him very hard in the recruiting wars.  There had to be a reason.  And maybe the reason is as simple as Miles not wanting another Biggs.

[Concrete]

I just don't think Leon would have a role going forward for the next couple of years.  His playing style isn't much different than Shields and Petteway and he wasn't going to be getting minutes over either of those guys.  We need guys that can fill needs and/or contribute immediately, Gilmore doesn't fit either requirement.

[Norm Peterson]

I just don't think Leon would have a role going forward for the next couple of years.  His playing style isn't much different than Shields and Petteway and he wasn't going to be getting minutes over either of those guys.  We need guys that can fill needs and/or contribute immediately, Gilmore doesn't fit either requirement.

Sorry, Concrete, but I think you're way off.  Sometimes you recruit to fill immediate holes but, ideally, you're looking at establishing a pipeline.  You don't want to bring in Petteway's replacement the year after Petteway leaves.  You want a guy in the program learning and developing for a year or two before Shields and Petteway would be gone, which is exactly the position Gilmore would have been in.

[hhcmatt]

Couldn't find the instructions uneblinstu once posted that explain how to post a tweet

 

In the Welcome section, under How-Tos

 

http://board.huskerhoopscentral.com/forum/25-how-tos/

[Norm Peterson]

Thanks Dimes.

[kldm64]

I would have taken Leon Gilmore in a heartbeat.  He is very athletic and would have helped up.  It's like Coach Harriman tells the players.  Our job is to recruit players better than you and it's your job to prove us wrong.  Don't be surprised if guys like Gilmore would beat out Shields for a starting job. 

[MandRHusker]

Talent is important but a talented player with the wrong attitude can do more damage than good. Not sure this is the case with Leon but the idea that we should recruit talent no matter what is inaccurate.

[49r]

He was a quality pick up for Creighton.  Would have been for us, too.

[Norm Peterson]

He was a quality pick up for Creighton.  Would have been for us, too.

Assuming he stays out of trouble, which I'm sure Deverell Biggs would also have said he was trying hard to do.

 

Not casting aspersions at this kid but it was a very odd thing to read on his twitter feed.  You don't say something like that unless you're worried about not being able to do it.  He says he's "trying his hardest to stay out of trouble."  He actually has to try his hardest to stay out of trouble?  Wow. 

 

Seriously.  This one always puzzled me how it appeared that we just quit on his recruitment.  Rivals top 150 kid who came here on his own dime and we didn't bring him in for an official?  I'm not saying this was it, that him getting into trouble was the reason why, but doesn't it make you wonder?

[Norm Peterson]

P.S.  I hope he succeeds in staying out of trouble.  I do not wish any ill on this kid.  I hope he does well at Creighton and gets away from whatever bad influences in his life might lead him into trouble back home.  But, still, I've never seen anyone tweet that they were having to actually work at staying out of trouble.   I was actually a little bit stunned to read that.

[Swan88]

The development of Leon Gilmore's recruiting situation seemed a bit odd at the time. While being a highly-ranked player, he narrowed down his options, that included the likes of Texas A&M, Okie St., Baylor, Arkansas & UNLV, to a "final three" of Houston, Texas Tech and Creighton, according to a Bluejay source. Word on the street at the time was that Huskers and others had cooled on him and weren't pursuing him further, for unexplained reasons. Perhaps the recent "stay out of trouble" tweet provides that explanation--perhaps not.

[Norm Peterson]

Thanks for the info, Swan.  I thought I was remembering that correctly and it appears, yep, odd final 3 for a Rivals 150 guy who had a number of big time schools involved.  Puzzling.

[49r]

P.S.  I hope he succeeds in staying out of trouble.  I do not wish any ill on this kid.  I hope he does well at Creighton and gets away from whatever bad influences in his life might lead him into trouble back home.  But, still, I've never seen anyone tweet that they were having to actually work at staying out of trouble.   I was actually a little bit stunned to read that.

 

No, I get what you're saying.  I agree it's a real possibility.

 

OTOH, UNLV built a dynasty off taking in talented kids with marginal character.  Tark was the father Flanagan of his time.  Not saying we should take that approach, but it might be what Creighton's thinking of doing...

[hhcmatt]

If I was a cynic, I would think this is some sort of sour grapes thread.

[Norm Peterson]

If I was a cynic, I would think this is some sort of sour grapes thread.

Cynics are often right.  But this wouldn't be one of those times.

 

I have always been puzzled why we seemed to back off of him and this comment out of the blue made me wonder if I might have found the reason why.  Not sour grapes in the least.  It's clear to me that we're the ones who stopped pursuing him and not the other way around.

[Norm Peterson]

Just to refute the sour grapes suggestion, in the Gilmore thread that ended up getting locked previously, here's a post from 49r after Gilmore committed to the Jays:

 

 

Posted 23 September 2013 - 03:47 PM

And in going back in the thread from the beginning, I can safely say Norm was lukewarm at best on him from the get go...so, go ahead Norm.  The "we didn't want him anyway" is perfectly justified on this one!  

Why would I have sour grapes about a kid I was at best lukewarm about from the beginning?

[Norm Peterson]

Occasionally, I like going back and taking looks at guys we were involved with in recruiting who didn't come here, just to see how things have been working out for them.  Fahro was one from last year, for example.  So, anyway, I was over on BJ Banter trying to see what they had to say about our Glynn Watson commit when I happened across a thread about Leon Gilmore.  This was a kid who came out of nowhere last year and vaulted into the Rivals top 150 somewhere in the 80s (IIRC) before falling back to the 130s. 

 

Apparently, college ball has been a bit of an adjustment for Leon.  Steven Pivovar recently wrote in the OWH about him, which has prompted some discussion on their message boards. Seems Leon is struggling a bit and has a bit of a learning curve.  In response to what one poster questioned Leon's role for this year would be, a moderator on their Rivals site posted the following:

 

"His role will be to put on his sweats and sit at the end of the bench and cheer on his team. Redshirt seems likely."

 

This is a far, far cry from the people who were projecting him as a guy who would start for them immediately.  Perhaps this lends credibility to the "we cooled on him" version of events moreso than the "he cooled on us" version.

 

Just throwing this out there as off-season discussion for those who might be interested.  If you're not interested, probably just skip this thread, then.

[Silverbacked1]

This also shows how we as fans really don't know squat about talent or who to recruit. We are kind of like " Oh new shiny thing, must have." I am not saying that we are complete fools, it does kind of show what we know when we see the product in person, or on the bench in this case.

[Norm Peterson]

This also shows how we as fans really don't know squat about talent or who to recruit. We are kind of like " Oh new shiny thing, must have." I am not saying that we are complete fools, it does kind of show what we know when we see the product in person, or on the bench in this case.

I think there's a lot of truth to that, Silverbacked.  I'm thinking the thread about JoJo Anderson had some people declaring him as a national top 50 player (that might be a slight exaggeration but only slight.)  A must get.  Fast forward a year?  His Rivals profile lists no offers at all.  Don't know what's up with that but it seems clear he wasn't what people were assuming he must be just because some obscure recruiting website labeled him as the next big thing.

[TheKamdyMan]

Norm one thing people tend to gloss over on every unofficial or official visit is that every player plays against the current team. There's a lot of reasons why. It's easily one of the main factors though if you think a kid can play at the next level and if he can do it with the guys he'd be playing with. If both aren't answered with a yes you will see a guy fall off the radar for a reason.

[lanigan123]

I think JoJo visited some decent schools recently. He is at a really good school. He is no where near Watson's level. I think he will be sought after after the early period as kids come off the board. I thought we cooled on Leon due to off court stuff? I think he is a decent player. The guy I want to learn about is Big Elbert. Lol

[bleujay]

To provide some insight on the LGIII front:

 

When he came to play in the metro summer league this July, it showed just how much he needs to elevate his skill level in order to fully max his potential. He plays with great energy while on the court and I think would provide the Jays with a much needed role off the bench next season. Think about the typical player that Marquette trots out at the 3/4: can't shoot, but is long and athletic and is tough on both ends of the ball. He would also be a great rebounder in our second unit. Both him and Ronnie Harrell committed in the span of about 3 weeks around this time last year, and the fanbase was incredibly excited to get a couple guys with good size and athleticism, which is something that we have lacked from our typical player. It was a nice flavor of the month thing to say "The freshmen will/ should start!", but in reality most of the talk of either of them starting died down by the time we were in the middle of conference play. There's sort of a collective understanding at BJU that Ronnie has the requisite skill level for Division 1 while Leon has the body and physicality.

 

It is a tad ironic since most people assumed that if either of them were to RS it would be Ronnie because of how skinny he was, but I think it just speaks to how much development Leon must show skill wise in order to become an impact player. We redshirted two players this past year, James Milliken and Toby Hegner. The coaches have come out and said that James could be our leading scorer next year due to the improvement of his midrange game, and Toby's outside shot looked much improved as did his body. If Leon has a redshirt season and puts in the work that the coaches ask him to I believe he'll be an excellent player. Not our leading scorer, but our best defender and a plus rebounder and a guy that can score when the defense sags off him

[lanigan123]

I really like the McQuaid kid who decommited from SMU he fits Creifhton perfectly.

[49r]

His mom is a regular poster over on the Underground site and everybody fawns over her and says things about her son that they have no idea about just to have something to say to her.

 

 

It's creepy.

[bleujay]

His mom is a regular poster over on the Underground site and everybody fawns over her and says things about her son that they have no idea about just to have something to say to her.

 

 

It's creepy.

 

+1, I rarely ever comment on the Leon thread myself because I know his mother (who I'm sure is a wonderful lady) frequents the board and reads what we have to say about her son