next year's recruit, justin black on comcast now!

[oleschoolaggie]

next year's recruit, justin black's demantha stags are presently on comcast sportsnet channel 642 if you have directv...

[oleschoolaggie]

man, black is not a bad player! he's big and strong for a point guard and he likes to attack the basket. i'm not sure how his game will fit into eaves' bombs away attack. he's only a 60% free throw shooter but he looks to be a quality ball player.

this high school game between demantha and gonzaga looks like a college game!

[aggiejazz]

He barely plays against very good high school teams, so he is a reach and definitely should be redshirted his freshman year. I feel that Smith and Buck should have been redshirted.

[oleschoolaggie]

gonzaga is a very good team. probably as good or better than any public school team. and black got significant minutes in that game except during clutch time. not very many teams can beat demantha, but gonzaga "beat" demantha in overtime. black's coach only went 7 deep in that game and black was in the rotation.

base on what i saw, black is as good a ball handler as anybody we currently have on our roster, including alston. i've only seen this one game, but the only weakness i saw was his outside shot. he has good size for the college game and he handles the ball as if a string is attached.

i think if he can develop a consistent outside shot, he can contribute as a true freshman. especially considering alston will graduate and hill is very small...

[aggielaw]

He is also a good student and person!

[oleschoolaggie]

and folks need to understand that "normally", every senior on a demantha roster earns a d1 scholarship. so its not unusual for a demantha backup to earn a d1 scholarship. it happens all the time...

[hawkeye]

Feb 6, 2010 18:56:37 GMT -5 oleschoolaggie said:

base on what i saw, black is as good a ball handler as anybody we currently have on our roster, including alston. i've only seen this one game, but the only weakness i saw was his outside shot. he has good size for the college game and he handles the ball as if a string is attached.

i think if he can develop a consistent outside shot, he can contribute as a true freshman. especially considering alston will graduate and hill is very small...

Yeah, we need someone to handle the rock and run the show. Hopefully Black can help with that right away.

[oleschoolaggie]

until i saw him play, i didn't understand what eaves saw in him. but after watching him play, now i understand. black already has a college sized body, meaning he has decent height and he has some meat on his bones, but he's not overweight at all. he has a robert johnson kinda body, just not as tall. he's a strong kid who attacks the basket and is strong enough to finish in traffic. he can dribble his azz off and he's right handed, but his left hand is as strong as his right.

i'm certain he'll be able to step in and contribute immediately next year at the point guard position. he's bigger than both alston and hill. he can create his own shot with an assortment of crossover moves. he can break you down off the bounce and he can go left or right equally as strong. to tell you the truth, i wouldn't be surprised if he starts over marc hill next year as a result of his size.

because of the team and league he plays in, he's accustomed to playing against tall players 6'7" or taller. his team has college size, he's got one 6-10, two 6-8's, and three 6-7's on his high school team. black himself is a "legit" 6-2. and the reason he doesn't score very much is because he plays on a team that's loaded with major d1 talent. so he's not one of their top scoring options, but he can score.

in a very tight game against gonzaga, he played the entire 2nd quarter, started the 2nd half, and played almost the entire 3rd quarter. he appears to be a very good defender. down the stretch, during clutch time when every possession was critical, his coach "situationally" put him in the game when he needed his best defenders on the floor.

i don't expect black to come in and score a bunch of points as a freshman at a&t. but it wouldn't shock me if he averages more at a&t than he does at dematha. i think he's gonna be a quality recruit who can play immediately. no need to panic that alston is graduating. black is a floor general who can flat out handle the basketball. he will not be intimidated by d1 basketball. he's basically already playing d1 basketball on a "nationally" ranked high school team. both dematha and gonzaga are ranked in the usa today top 25 high school rankings...

[blueballer0608]

I am glad Eaves is the coach and not you OleschoolAggie. Glad to see you are excited about the new recruits for next year. Let them unpack and have a practice first.

Why don't we give Hill a ligitimate chance to show he can run the team. He is waiting his turn behind the senior Alston. Should he NOT have an opportunity because of his size? I thought skill is what a player need's on the court, not the height & size unless he is in the 4 or 5 position. The difference between the two (Alston & Black) is that they are both SG playing in the PG position. Hill is a true point guard. For those of you who know the game can see that there is a big difference that will yield more success with a team effort.

Hill also played in the same league against most of those very players and they couldn't handle him. Also, he played with and against players like Chris Wright, Jason Clark, Austin Freeman(Georgetown), Jarai Grant (Syracuse), Shawn Mosley (MD), Ty Lawson (Carolina/NBA) without having a height problem.

I've watched this kid in high school, AAU and since he has been at A&T, playing the "coaches" game until his turn comes. If the coach "leap frog" him before he has a chance to play "his" game would be unfortunate.

I'm just saying, don't limit Hill's opportunity based solely on his size.

[oleschoolaggie]

Feb 7, 2010 15:36:14 GMT -5 blueballer0608 said:

I am glad Eaves is the coach and not you OleschoolAggie. Glad to see you are excited about the new recruits for next year. Let them unpack and have a practice first.

Why don't we give Hill a ligitimate chance to show he can run the team. He is waiting his turn behind the senior Alston. Should he NOT have an opportunity because of his size? I thought skill is what a player need's on the court, not the height & size unless he is in the 4 or 5 position. The difference between the two (Alston & Black) is that they are both SG playing in the PG position. Hill is a true point guard. For those of you who know the game can see that there is a big difference that will yield more success with a team effort.

Hill also played in the same league against most of those very players and they couldn't handle him. Also, he played with and against players like Chris Wright, Jason Clark, Austin Freeman(Georgetown), Jarai Grant (Syracuse), Shawn Mosley (MD), Ty Lawson (Carolina/NBA) without having a height problem.

I've watched this kid in high school, AAU and since he has been at A&T, playing the "coaches" game until his turn comes. If the coach "leap frog" him before he has a chance to play "his" game would be unfortunate.

I'm just saying, don't limit Hill's opportunity based solely on his size.

i'm not the coach, and i can't predict who he'll put in his starting lineup. i'm just saying black is good enough to start over hill "in my opinion". hill has had a lot of trouble escaping traps recently and his size has contributed to that. i like hill personally and i think he's a very capable point guard. but his height hurts him at times.

"in my opinion", at the d1 level, if you're hill's size you need to be "exceptional" at something in order to be a good "full time" starting point guard. and i don't think he's "exceptional" at any one aspect of the game. i think he's good at many aspects, but not exceptional at any. and that's not a knock on hill, but there's a lot of guys on the team who aren't exceptional at anything.

hill (5-8)is a full "half foot" shorter than black (6-2). and it remains to be seen if black can do the things hill can do when he gets here. but if i were the coach, and the two have near equal skills, i'd go with the player that is less likely to create mismatches in favor of the opponent. at 6-2, black is less likely to create mismatches in favor of the opponent and he gives you more flexibility because he can play with a small guard mate in the backcourt but hill can't...

[thefriscotxaggie]

I agree. And thats not a nock on Hill but I am sure both(Black & Hill) will have the opportunity to win that staring position next year.

Thomas Griffith was about 5"8 but he was exceptional he did not need help to brake the press. I am 5'8 as well and to brake a college press you have to be exceptionally quick or have great floor balance. Because once you pick up your dribble against a trap you are toast.

Like I always tell kids I coach got keep the ball in the center and Hill often tries to shoot up the sideline (got remember sideline is a thrid defender). Thats probably not all his fault though.

[blueballer0608]

Who on the team haven't been trapped? You say because he is a foot taller you would use him not knowing if he can do the things that Hill can do.?
I would go with the player that is most successful against the opponent regardless of size. Any of the players on any given night may have a mismatch at their position (size, speed, skill) IMO a lot of Hill's lack of success has a lot to do with the coach's offense... But besides that, what game has he caused them to loose? None.
Looking forward to seeing what the coach will do with the Freshman players from this year's group along with the new recruit's. What will Upchurch, Smith & Buck's roles be on the team next year.

[oleschoolaggie]

Feb 7, 2010 20:53:12 GMT -5 blueballer0608 said:

Who on the team haven't been trapped? You say because he is a foot taller you would use him not knowing if he can do the things that Hill can do.?
I would go with the player that is most successful against the opponent regardless of size. Any of the players on any given night may have a mismatch at their position (size, speed, skill) IMO a lot of Hill's lack of success has a lot to do with the coach's offense... But besides that, what game has he caused them to loose? None.
Looking forward to seeing what the coach will do with the Freshman players from this year's group along with the new recruit's. What will Upchurch, Smith & Buck's roles be on the team next year.

blueballer, please read my post more closely. i stated that if "the two have near equal skills", i'd go with black. and any coach who wouldn't would be setting himself up for failure. there's a reason you can't find very many 5-8 starting point guards at the d1 level.

i'm not hating on hill, i actually like him and i think he plays a very valuable role on the team. but a full time starting 5-8 point guard at the d1 level is a liability on most nights, especially when playing the major d1's. most 6-0 or taller pg's can just shoot right over him with no problem. opposing coaches would easily game plan against him.

you're unrealistic if you think a 5-8 pg who doesn't have exceptional skills is a better option than a 6-2 pg of equal or better skills. you must be related to hill or a very close friend...

[blueballer0608]

LMAO, no. I was thinking the same thing about you and Black.....