Why doesn't this kid have a Rivals profile?

[AuroranHusker]

 

 

Creighton has been in on Sombig Dude for months now.  We would definitely be coming late to the party on that one.  Besides, he's a perfect fit for the system they run.

Sure, they say that now.  But if we were to land him, they'd be all like "we didn't really want him anyway."

 

 

He's definitely a diamond in the rough though...their ability to develop talent is legendary so he'd be stupid not to choose them.

 

 

Is that Sombig dude different than Sumbig Dude, I thought that's the dude we're looking at for this upcoming class?

[49r]

I think it's just a typo, like Jake Hammonds or Akoy Agua.

[AuroranHusker]

I think it's just a typo, like Jake Hammonds or Akoy Agua.

 

I'm a big fan of aqua & Hammons, as in water & A.J.

 

Now, if Sombig or Sumbig blow up, that will be a rather large mess to clean up.

[huskerbaseball13]

 

 

Creighton has been in on Sombig Dude for months now.  We would definitely be coming late to the party on that one.  Besides, he's a perfect fit for the system they run.

Sure, they say that now.  But if we were to land him, they'd be all like "we didn't really want him anyway."

 

 

He's definitely a diamond in the rough though...their ability to develop talent is legendary so he'd be stupid not to choose them.

 

 

Plus the culture in their program is unparalleled.   

[hhcmatt]

So, are you suggesting it's Rivals who subscribes to the OWH?  I'm confused. 

 

It's my fun way of saying I wouldn't know this guy even existed unless I read this thread or I subscribed to the OWH, which was the first link that came up when I googled him.

[AuroranHusker]

 

So, are you suggesting it's Rivals who subscribes to the OWH?  I'm confused. 

 

It's my fun way of saying I wouldn't know this guy even existed unless I read this thread or I subscribed to the OWH, which was the first link that came up when I googled him.

 

 

Even if one happens to live in Omaha, there's no guarantee one would have ever heard of this guy, either, without the existence of this thread... 

[Silverbacked1]

 

 

 

Creighton has been in on Sombig Dude for months now.  We would definitely be coming late to the party on that one.  Besides, he's a perfect fit for the system they run.

Sure, they say that now.  But if we were to land him, they'd be all like "we didn't really want him anyway."

 

 

He's definitely a diamond in the rough though...their ability to develop talent is legendary so he'd be stupid not to choose them.

 

 

Is that Sombig dude different than Sumbig Dude, I thought that's the dude we're looking at for this upcoming class?

 

Aren't they twins?  I thought I saw that on some other site?  Guess I will try to dig that up.  But yeah pretty sure they are twins.

[49r]

Sure, kind of like Marcus and Markieff Morris?

 

Or are they more like Andrew and Aaron Harrison?

[Norm Peterson]

 

 

 

 

Creighton has been in on Sombig Dude for months now.  We would definitely be coming late to the party on that one.  Besides, he's a perfect fit for the system they run.

Sure, they say that now.  But if we were to land him, they'd be all like "we didn't really want him anyway."

 

 

He's definitely a diamond in the rough though...their ability to develop talent is legendary so he'd be stupid not to choose them.

 

 

Is that Sombig dude different than Sumbig Dude, I thought that's the dude we're looking at for this upcoming class?

 

Aren't they twins?  I thought I saw that on some other site?  Guess I will try to dig that up.  But yeah pretty sure they are twins.

 

But, for some reason, they don't have Rivals profiles.  What's up with that?

[bball23]

Saw this in a writeup about him:

 

2015 NC Top 80
Davion has tremendous length and matching skill set for his size/position as a PG. Without question, Davion is one of the better midrange shooters off the dribble, but has also improved his efficiency from the 3-point line. Davion has a nice change of pace dribble and is crafty in the paint. He has good court vision and is trending as a solid mid major prospect. The next step in his development is to cut down on unforced turnovers and to be more vocal in his leadership abilities.

[huskerbaseball13]

Saw this in a writeup about him:

 

2015 NC Top 80

Davion has tremendous length and matching skill set for his size/position as a PG. Without question, Davion is one of the better midrange shooters off the dribble, but has also improved his efficiency from the 3-point line. Davion has a nice change of pace dribble and is crafty in the paint. He has good court vision and is trending as a solid mid major prospect. The next step in his development is to cut down on unforced turnovers and to be more vocal in his leadership abilities.

 

And another...

 

Davion Mintz, SG, Charlotte Nets, 2016: A combo guard with good size, Mintz showed the ability to score the ball very well from all levels this weekend. He shot it well from deep and got into the paint, finishing at the rim as well as with a nice pull up jump shot. However, he also proved he has a well rounded game. Mintz was one of the top rebounding guards that we saw all weekend at Bob Gibbons, a skill which is much undervalued among guards. Mid majors should keep the North Mecklenburg’s prospect on their radar.

 

We are going to land prospects like this down the road...and hope they work out.  And when we do I'm sure our friends will lean towards him being a bum prospect as opposed to a "diamond in the rough" conveniently forgetting they have quite a few recruits who were very mid majorish.   

[Norm Peterson]

Hey, I could be wrong about him.  In a year-and-a-half, someone is going to dig this thread up and, if I was wrong, I'm sure I'll be reminded of what I said.

 

I think he looks like a good prospect for a variety of reasons.  (I don't care what someone else said about him being a mid-major prospect.)  He has explosive leaping ability.  He also has the looks of a good shooter.  He has a nice-looking stroke.  He gets good elevation on his jump when he shoots and has a nice release. 

 

According to his film, he has a 4.5 GPA so there won't be any issue of him qualifying.

 

When I compare him to, say, Nathan Hawkins, who was supposed to be our guard of the future, this kid appears much more explosive and I like his jump shot better.

 

Miles says there are 2 things he looks at:  1 is athleticism and that's first.  They have to be athletes at this level no matter their skill.  Second, he's skilled. 

 

So, that's MY assessment.  Regardless of what anyone else thinks or writes, that's my assessment.

 

I haven't been afriad to pan guys in the past.  I said Leon Gilmore was a stiff while people here were still hoping he'd sign with us.  And he was a Rivals 150 player.  So, it's not like I just heap praise on Creighton recruits.  But I think this kid is good.

 

We'll see.

[bball23]

Myles Holley and Kyle Marks were athletic too.

[Norm Peterson]

Myles Holley and Kyle Marks were athletic too.

I wish we still had that ROTFLMAO emot.  The one that's crying and pounding the floor.  That one.

 

Yes, Kyle Marks was an athlete.  Holley could jump high but lacked lateral quicks because of chronic knee problems.

 

While Marks was a splendid athlete, he was otherwise extremely, extremely raw.  And by that I mean he lacked skill and he lacked hoops IQ. 

 

I don't have a link for it, but ...

 

• Miles has said he looks at athleticism first.  You have to be athletic enough to play at this level.  That's his rubric, not mine.
• I've read that one of the best indicators of explosiveness (and therefore quickness) is leaping ability.
• Look at the film I posted in the OP.  This kid has leaping ability.  Look at his ability to throw it down with relative ease for a guy his size.  Shows explosiveness.  Far greater athleticism than anything I ever saw out of Nathan Hawkins, who had comparable size (as well as major D1 offers.)
• We've reportedly offered 6'10" guys who can't throw it down with that kind of authority.

 

• Now look at skill.  What skill did Myles Holley have?  What about Kyle Marks?
• Now watch the video I posted in the OP.
• Right away, at about the :55 mark of the video, you see a kid who has a really nice shooting stroke.  Now maybe that's just the one time all season he made a shot.  Except that's not what the write-ups say about him that you and others have posted.
• Look at the tip pass at 1:16.  Shows awareness and hoops IQ -- something Kyle Marks didn't have.
• Look at the cross-over dribble out top at 1:36.  He gets his defender moving left, crosses back over right and drives hard toward the rack, finds a cutter as he's driving and makes a dish.
• Nice pull-up off the dribble at 2:19. 
• 2:26 -- great pass finding a back-door cutter along the baseline.
• I could go on. 

Tell me what things in that video you saw from Kyle Marks and Myles Holley?

[Swan88]

According to a Rivals report on this guy's commitment, "a lot of college coaches and schools like Miami, Georgia Tech and Nebraska also started making a push to land Mintz."

Unless this guy can play center, the Nebraska reference seems odd.

well, that is true if you assume that we only have one scholarship left and only one area of need. I am not sure those are safe assumptions, however. And the other problem is that there are not a lot of quality bigs left on the board. In my opinion, it would be nice to have another young guard who would have some experience after Webster and white have left. We lose three guards in the next two recruiting cycles and we don't have any guards on board for the 16 class.

 

Making a push to land him? We didn't offer the guy a scholarship so I don't see where the push is.

Since Horne just verballed 4 days ago. If we were actually looking at this kid it's fairly probable it was in the capacity of "who do we sign if we don't sign Horne?" That very well might have been what K-State did offering him after losing out on Horne.

 

You Omaha World Herald subscribers crack me up sometimes.

The Rivals report cited above is a bluejay Rivals publication.

Davion Mintz does have a Rivals page now--three stars.

[Norm Peterson]

Hmmm.  Interesting.  Thanks for the info, Swan.

[uneblinstu]

 

He's a perfect fit for the system they run.

 

Then their fandom must be dancin' in the streets of eastern Omaha, I suppose.

 

If they weren't burning the city down for not running the ball, perhaps.

[AuroranHusker]

 

 

He's a perfect fit for the system they run.

 

Then their fandom must be dancin' in the streets of eastern Omaha, I suppose.

 

If they weren't burning the city down for not running the ball, perhaps.

 

 

#Jayskers

[Norm Peterson]

Myles Holley and Kyle Marks were athletic too.

Just out of curiosity, bball23, but what information do you turn to when evaluating whether a potential recruit is a good player who will help us compete in this league or not?  Honest question.  Not trying to stir anything.  Are you looking at recruiting services like Rivals?  Are you looking at what commentators are saying about him?  Are you looking primarily at his offer list?

 

I mean, you seem to have decided this kid isn't anything to write home about.  Besides the fact that some recruiting analyst described him as a mid-major prospect, what do you base that on?

[bball23]

Norm, good question.  In all honesty, I usually look at what schools are going after them.  I trust coaches much more than I would ever trust an "evaluator" of talent from say a Rivals or Scout service.  I don't put a ton of stock into highlight videos because that's what it is, a highlight video.  MOST players can make a decent highlight video of the top 15-20 plays they have during a season.  I understand you can get a good look at a kids form, leaping ability, etc...But so many kids now a days are fairly athletic looking in these videos.  A kid may have one big dunk or that one "sweet" play during a year.  What these videos don't show is the intangibles a kid has.  How do they fight through ball screens, how do they defend a pick and roll, how do they handle pressure? 

 

In this guys write up for example, it says he has to learn to cut back on "stupid" turnovers.  Naturally they don't show turnovers or stupid plays on a highlight film. 

 

Again, this kid could turn out to be a good player.  My thoughts though are that he had a bunch of mid-major offers.  And when an evaluator says "bigger schools were starting to LOOK at him" doesn't mean much to me.  It could be plan C, D or E for a bigger school if other pieces fall through.  I had an athletic director once tell me "Coaches will find good players."  Especially with the social media the way it is, AAU ball, etc....People talk, coaches talk, media talks.  If a kid is a player, the kids a player and coaches would have been in on them.  Doesn't mean they can't develop into a nice player, but when the list shows a bunch of mid-major type programs after him, well, it tells me his evaluation by coaches must not be "great". 

[Swan88]

The basketball world is full of four- and five-star flops and of low-star wonders.

In recruiting, fighting for the best players and finding the rough diamonds are tricks and risks of the trade.

What fans want to see in recruiting wars is this: (i) pitched battles with peer and higher-level teams, and (ii) some significant victories in those battles. Recent examples of high-level Husker victories are Edward Morrow, Glynn Watson, Andrew White and Anton Gill.

It's demoralizing for fans when a staff seems to consistently settle for rough diamonds that commit without much of a recruiting fight. That's why fans try to up-sell competition levels for a low-competition recruit.

We won't know for a while how this recruit will perform in college. What we do know, however, is that he is a rough diamond who committed without much of a recruiting fight.

[49r]

My primary means of evaluating a player is haircut.

 

If you got a good 'do, then obviously you're a can't miss top notch recruit.

 

We've gotten some dudes with pretty decent haircuts lately.

[bleujay]

Corey Evans (east coast recruiting guru) had some high praise for Mintz and was suggestive of the idea that he was going to continue to rise on programs' radars. They didn't mention his athletic ability (which, in agreement with Norm, I think is better than a player we've signed in a long time) but rather his all around skill set and feel for the game. He's seen him play so his opinion is likely the most valuable one out there right now considering the lack of info on Davion

 

If you want to take a listen, start around the 20:00 mark. Segment lasts for about 3-4 minutes

 

http://hoopseen.com/index.php/news/headlines/item/3658-the-podcast-scandal-in-college-hoops-transferring-and-michigan-state?utm_content=buffer0a203&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[bball23]

Corey Evans (east coast recruiting guru) had some high praise for Mintz and was suggestive of the idea that he was going to continue to rise on programs' radars. They didn't mention his athletic ability (which, in agreement with Norm, I think is better than a player we've signed in a long time) but rather his all around skill set and feel for the game. He's seen him play so his opinion is likely the most valuable one out there right now considering the lack of info on Davion

 

If you want to take a listen, start around the 20:00 mark. Segment lasts for about 3-4 minutes

 

http://hoopseen.com/index.php/news/headlines/item/3658-the-podcast-scandal-in-college-hoops-transferring-and-michigan-state?utm_content=buffer0a203&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

I'm not saying this to be a jerk.  But most write ups on players from evaluators are fairly positive as are the guru's on the radio.  They have a job and they deal with a LOT of coaches/parents, etc. They don't want to rip many players and burn bridges.

[49r]

Yeah, but does he have a cool haircut?