Can somebody explain this to me?

[TDforTD]

Idk what it is, but left handed people always have the most beautiful jumpshots out there. Addressing your left hand point tho, I'm not sure why that would be important. Euro players (Gallinari sticks out majorly) train to shoot right handed because most basketball sets are made counter-clockwise, making it much easier for a right handed player to get his shot off with good form. Now and then after a foul, you'll see Gallo sink the most perfect left handed jumpshot and wonder why he doesn't shoot lefty all the time lol.

 

[Buffnik]

Idk what it is, but left handed people always have the most beautiful jumpshots out there. Addressing your left hand point tho, I'm not sure why that would be important. Euro players (Gallinari sticks out majorly) train to shoot right handed because most basketball sets are made counter-clockwise, making it much easier for a right handed player to get his shot off with good form. Now and then after a foul, you'll see Gallo sink the most perfect left handed jumpshot and wonder why he doesn't shoot lefty all the time lol.

The left-handed thing is just a running joke related to Tad signing so many left-handed players.

I think there may be a little something to lefties having decent form. They're shooting into the dominant hand of the defender, so they probably grow up protecting their shot a little better.

 

[blynch32]

Just my take....if the recruit has a dream of playing high level D1 ball, then go to a top juco and prove yourself, work on his game and his frame. If he wants to hoop and get his education paid for and already has a career in mind, then go play ball where he can get the education on the house (NAIA, D2, or a lower level D1). I understand both angles. As far as getting there, selling yourself to a D-1 straight out of highschool is way tougher then going and playing at a high level juco and putting up numbers against what amounts to D1 kids that didn't have the grades, or kids that are in the same spot he is, then transferring in with a year of playing experience. With that kids frame, and AAU experience, he can prove he's better then the label of just being a 4A kid that put up numbers playing against inferior competition. (Which I think is a BS label in most cases.)

 

[BuffinCali]

Yeah. And compared them to Dinwiddie's high school stats (Senior year stats, at that). So your point is that Dinwiddie played better high school competition? OK. I can buy that to a degree. But is that all of it?

Not only did Spencer's team win the Los Angeles City Championship, he was the Los Angeles City Player of the Year. Spencer played at a HS that currently has 4 HS players in the NBA = he not only played, but practiced with elite level talent. AUU is a similar story. Spencer played on an elite team nationwide. There are hundreds of teams who go to Vegas for tournaments, but only 20 or so that are competing in the elite disivion for a championship. The AAU Titans, judging by the tournaments you listed, is a rather weak schedule. They are also playing Gold Division. There are two divisions (each having 40-60 teams) above gold level. That would place the Titans somewhere between the 100-200th ranked club team (based on the information you provided). I think the previous poster said it well - lower level of competition.

I do not know the player you have referenced above, but comparing stats at a HS has a tremendous amount of variables. An example would be, you could win a state championship and be MVP of that 2A or 3A division. But when playing against the 6th man at a 5A school, the MVP may be overmatched. Those are good stats at 4A, but comparing him to an NBA player's stats in HS does not provide an true insight to the player. Another example could be: Judging from a lot of comments on this site, Xavier Talton is not playing at, or capable of playing at a Pac 12 level (I do not necessarily share that sentiment, but many on here have said this), yet Talton won a State Championship and was the MVP of that division.

 

[TDforTD]

The left-handed thing is just a running joke related to Tad signing so many left-handed players.

I think there may be a little something to lefties having decent form. They're shooting into the dominant hand of the defender, so they probably grow up protecting their shot a little better.

[video=youtube;NmAagYvZUMg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmAagYvZUMg[/video] opcorn:

 

[Johnny Juzang]

If it helps you wrap your head around what I'm saying, think of Austin Dufault. He was a guard in high school, including being the primary ball handler for his North Dakota AAU team. Averaged 26 & 12 in high school (along with 4 assists & 3 steals) as the POY. He didn't have any high D1 offers until he blew up at a Las Vegas tourney competing against more heralded prospects... and he is 6'9". In college, Austin had no future as a big guard and ended up being an effective stretch 4. That's what I'm talking about when I say the type of athlete that plays the 4 at the Pac-12 level.

A good reality check for whether someone is a good enough athlete to play guard in the Pac-12 is to ask yourself if you could see him covering Pac-12 WRs as a CB or S on the football team. If they don't pass that test, they're not a Pac-12 guard.

That's good stuff.

 

[patebuff]

I watched this kid in the state championship game. To me he didn't seem to have the type of athleticism you would need at a major DI School. Shoots, passes, and runs the floor well, but if I remember right he got completely shut down in the first 3 quarters of that game.

 

[sackman]

I watched this kid in the state championship game. To me he didn't seem to have the type of athleticism you would need at a major DI School. Shoots, passes, and runs the floor well, but if I remember right he got completely shut down in the first 3 quarters of that game.

In fairness to him, he was always the focus of the other team's defensive efforts. Opponents always focused on him. Sometimes, it worked a little, other times, he'd pour in 30+ points.

The athleticism issue is real, though. It's hard for me to tell just by looking at him what kind of athlete he is. When I see him, I just see another lanky kid.

It will be interesting to me to see where he lands. I know he'll get a scholarship somewhere.

 

[MtnBuff]

sacky,

There's no great mystery here.

He's not a Power Conference athlete. He's a stretch 4 in a guard's body when we're talking about that level.

Should be a very good SG for UNCo or similar low D1 (or high D2 like Metro). He's getting recruited exactly where I'd expect.

The kid is talented, no doubt about it. Watched him play and develop for a long time. He doesn't have a power conference body. He'll be very successful at a lower level school.

Edit: Nik said the exact same thing right before me. So, yeah, :stupid:

Important distinction too... He'd probably be able to be a solid offensive contributor on offense at a power school. But more importantly, you have to ask who he's going to guard. Look at Utah, he would get smoked by their guards on the perimeter, and there is no way in hell he's guarding Jordan Loveridge. Who was their 4th option this year.

He looks like a very good high school player. Also looks to be a quality character kid.

None of that means that he is a P5 level kid or even a mid-major level player. Many years back when I was an assistant coach for HS BB we had a couple of guys who were very similar.

The league he plays in isn't great but it is good enough that he likely hasn't been missed by coaches looking for talent. The guys who's jobs rely on finding players who can win for them apparently don't believe he is a prospect for the top levels.

The good news is that you don't have to be as physically gifted to compete at the low D1 or D2 levels. Those coaches tend to be in on kids a little later as they wait for the bigger schools to identify their targets.

He can still get his education paid for and have a lot of great experiences playing for a lower level school.

Good luck to him. For the kids who work hard, use the talent they have, and take care of the rest of what they do things usually end up working out for the best.

 

[Ruckus]

Sacky, I'll PM you in a bit when I get to a computer.

 

[RK]

Fwiw I mentioned Jessup in my Vegas wrap-up last summer. He is a really good player who Tad has seen countless times as Tad's son Jack plays on the same AAU team. The staff has been in contact with him on and off. He comes to a lot of the games and you'll see the staff going by and saying hi before the game. They definitely respect his game and have kept a close eye on him. But as other in the thread have said, right now he's just not quite a Pac-12 player.
If he hits a big growth spurt, or his game explodes to the next level this summer, you can be sure Tad will be the first to know.

I love Justinian's game, really began to learn how to use that length to his advantage last summer. I saw him have 8 steals in just over a half of play. Wherever he ends up, he's going to be a great player and I'll be following and rooting for him. Total student of the game.

 

[WizzersGhost]

Edited:

Try to make your point without being an ass - The Moderator.

 

[patebuff]

In fairness to him, he was always the focus of the other team's defensive efforts. Opponents always focused on him. Sometimes, it worked a little, other times, he'd pour in 30+ points.

The athleticism issue is real, though. It's hard for me to tell just by looking at him what kind of athlete he is. When I see him, I just see another lanky kid.

It will be interesting to me to see where he lands. I know he'll get a scholarship somewhere.

Definitely. Air Academy had a great game plan to shut him down. You could tell right away who the best player on the court was. He's very talented, no doubt.

Funny, Longmont was down pretty much the whole game. Seemed like a home game for Longmont. If that kid would have hit the three at the end of the game to win it for Longmont, Coors roof would have came off. Good game and a heck of a lot better than the 5a championship.

 

[Sportsfan101]

I know JJ.

First of all, he's a hell of a kid. A "yes sir," "no sir" kid. A kid that will do everything a coach asks.

He plays tenacious defense. He was the best defensive player in the state last year on top of everything he does offensively. Great at poke steals --- he probably had 2-3 / game -- and always guarded the opponent's best player. His defense alone would find his playing time at CU, CSU, etc.

He is a good shooter, takes the ball to the rim well.

He's 2x the player Talton, Stalzer and Hopkins are. He'd play at CU because of his defense and his shooting. He can handle the ball, too.

In my opinion, his only weakness has been a lack of aggressiveness at times. I wished he came out and played with a bigger chip on his shoulder on occasion. I think it's the curse of coming from a great family --- often times those kids don't KILL their opponents.

I think CU should offer, but at the very least he could go to UNC / DU and be a kid that in 2-3 years we'll all say -- "Damn, we should have recruited him." Mark my words.

 

[PAHIBuff]

The quirky thing about HS BBall is that there are a LOT of notice-worthy kids. Things develop over time. Look at the over achieving guy at CU-Colo Springs. The thing that jumped out at me in the initial post was the the kid was a Junior. Let things develop. My take is that he will probably get the level of offers that he is due, in time. And ultimately, if a free ride at UNC is the high point, it's a free education while getting to compete beyond HS.

 

[AlferdJasper]

Having been thru the process in 3 different sports, I think ALL the things that parents can control such as videos, websites and all-star showcases, etc are giant money making scams. I had a D1 coach say "we don't have time for those videos, we just throw them away. We ask for film if we want to see it".

The Rivals/Scout/247 profiles are for us fans, not for the recruiters.

A parent posting a video on youtube is free. A parent or player filling out a recruit questionnaire on scout or rivals is free. A parent or player making a highlight tape and sending to the schools they are most interested in will cost them time on their computer with some minor editing skillz, and postage to mail the thing. A couple bucks, maybe $10 if you want to spring for priority mail.
The OP asked why this kid didn't have a profile on the services, and others said they couldn't find video.
Creating a profile and uploading video is not costly. As you'll note, I said nothing about "all star showcases" and paid websites. I am telling the average "I'd like to play sports in college" player about the inexpensive things the player/family can do to get the name out there, especially when he attends a smaller low-profile school.
I've helped numerous kids do those things (free video, creating a player sheet or sport resume, teaching the ins and outs of contacting coaches and recruiting coordinators.)
None of it costs more than the cost of blank CDs, labels and postage.
And yes, the talented kids can get found this way. No money making scam, and I have never charged a kid for anything, nor would I.

 

[absinthe]

I know JJ.

First of all, he's a hell of a kid. A "yes sir," "no sir" kid. A kid that will do everything a coach asks.

He plays tenacious defense. He was the best defensive player in the state last year on top of everything he does offensively. Great at poke steals --- he probably had 2-3 / game -- and always guarded the opponent's best player. His defense alone would find his playing time at CU, CSU, etc.

He is a good shooter, takes the ball to the rim well.

He's 2x the player Talton, Stalzer and Hopkins are. He'd play at CU because of his defense and his shooting. He can handle the ball, too.

In my opinion, his only weakness has been a lack of aggressiveness at times. I wished he came out and played with a bigger chip on his shoulder on occasion. I think it's the curse of coming from a great family --- often times those kids don't KILL their opponents.

I think CU should offer, but at the very least he could go to UNC / DU and be a kid that in 2-3 years we'll all say -- "Damn, we should have recruited him." Mark my words.

Not to belabor the point - but Jaron was the #1 player in the state of Arizona his Jr year, Justainin is not currently in the to top 5 in Colorado which produces less talent. Jaron played his AAU ball with the Compton magic and with and against multiple D1 and NBA prospects, a level of competition JJ has not seen yet. Jaron was for ****sake a top 150 player in the country JJ is list at between 400 & 650 depending on the service.

Jaron highschool tape:
[video]https://youtu.be/XgIEBdRHyZo[/video]

Stalzer played on a highschool team with multiple PAC-12 and NBA prospects in the biggest division in Cali, won two state titles, and was ranked as the #2 team in the country - JJ plays in Longmont in 4a. Stalzer's AAU team was one of the top ones in the Cali.

Stalzer video:
[video]https://d1vv3r1s83df1b.cloudfront.net/56d57b40-55a0-0131-1eac-005056b3002b/80274_1790543_Eli_Stalzer.webm[/video]

Watch the way these guys move, the wayy they control the ball, how developed and effective they are - and more importantly who they are doing it against, its not like they are playing Boulder High here.

 

[sackman]

Not to belabor the point - but Jaron was the #1 player in the state of Arizona his Jr year, Justainin is not currently in the to top 5 in Colorado which produces less talent. Jaron played his AAU ball with the Compton magic and with and against multiple D1 and NBA prospects, a level of competition JJ has not seen yet. Jaron was for ****sake a top 150 player in the country JJ is list at between 400 & 650 depending on the service.

Jaron highschool tape:
[video]https://youtu.be/XgIEBdRHyZo[/video]

Stalzer played on a highschool team with multiple PAC-12 and NBA prospects in the biggest division in Cali, won two state titles, and was ranked as the #2 team in the country - JJ plays in Longmont in 4a. Stalzer's AAU team was one of the top ones in the Cali.

Stalzer video:
[video]https://d1vv3r1s83df1b.cloudfront.net/56d57b40-55a0-0131-1eac-005056b3002b/80274_1790543_Eli_Stalzer.webm[/video]

Watch the way these guys move, the wayy they control the ball, how developed and effective they are - and more importantly who they are doing it against, its not like they are playing Boulder High here.

Not to pick nits, because my question has been answered, but I don't think they've come out with the top five in-state kids yet. Justinian was the Boulder County player of the year - as a Junior. While I'm sure there's a difference in competition level, I'm not convinced it's as significant as is being reported here. I'm pretty certain that Justinian IS a top five player in Colorado. JMHO.

 

[Gary Indiana]

Not to pick nits, because my question has been answered, but I don't think they've come out with the top five in-state kids yet. Justinian was the Boulder County player of the year - as a Junior. While I'm sure there's a difference in competition level, I'm not convinced it's as significant as is being reported here. I'm pretty certain that Justinian IS a top five player in Colorado. JMHO.

But the 5th best player in CO isn't 100th best player in LA alone. That is the point that most are trying to get across about the level of competition.

 

[absinthe]

Not to pick nits, because my question has been answered, but I don't think they've come out with the top five in-state kids yet. Justinian was the Boulder County player of the year - as a Junior. While I'm sure there's a difference in competition level, I'm not convinced it's as significant as is being reported here. I'm pretty certain that Justinian IS a top five player in Colorado. JMHO.

Some of the services have rankings out:
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/206854/justinian-jessup #12 in state
http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/jus...KZ5AAmVebBJg/gendersport/basketball-stats.htm #10
These are early and will certainly be adjusted.

That said the bolded is a mind boggling assertion (I know your specialty when you have a limited frame of reference). CIF open division basketball in southern California is in no way comparable to Boulder county Division 4a ball in Colorado. We have a former Colorado 4a player of the year and state champion on our roster - how good does he looks trying to guard top flight PG's. Or better yet could you imagine Jessup matched up against Stanley Johnson? That is the match up he'd draw if they had played Mater Dei last year what would longmont lose that by game? 50?

Here is an explicit level of competition example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Mr._Basketball
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Colorado_Basketball

In the past 20 years only 4 Colorado MrBB's made the league and only 2 of them ever played.
In the past 20 years 18 of the Cali MrBB's made the league (1 of the 2 who didn't had a kidney disease), of those 10 were first round draft picks, 3/4ths played, more than half were significant contributors.

 

[sackman]

I thought we were talking about Arizona, not California.

 

[buffaholic]

A parent posting a video on youtube is free. A parent or player filling out a recruit questionnaire on scout or rivals is free. A parent or player making a highlight tape and sending to the schools they are most interested in will cost them time on their computer with some minor editing skillz, and postage to mail the thing. A couple bucks, maybe $10 if you want to spring for priority mail.
The OP asked why this kid didn't have a profile on the services, and others said they couldn't find video.
Creating a profile and uploading video is not costly. As you'll note, I said nothing about "all star showcases" and paid websites. I am telling the average "I'd like to play sports in college" player about the inexpensive things the player/family can do to get the name out there, especially when he attends a smaller low-profile school.
I've helped numerous kids do those things (free video, creating a player sheet or sport resume, teaching the ins and outs of contacting coaches and recruiting coordinators.)
None of it costs more than the cost of blank CDs, labels and postage.
And yes, the talented kids can get found this way. No money making scam, and I have never charged a kid for anything, nor would I.

Never accused you. But there is a big business of parents paying for these films and all the rest. And I've done all these things myself for free but it does not really matter except in the rarest of cases. Having a profile on rivals is not the difference in 99.999% of the cases. You have to get seen and in hoops that means high level AAU exposure.

 

[Buffnik]

I thought we were talking about Arizona, not California.

Colorado hoops doesn't hold a candle to Arizona hoops. Phoenix metro puts out some serious talent every year.

 

[YngC]

I'm going to say this all as politely as possible, because I know a lot of people in this equation and respect all of them.

As it has been said, he isn't a Pac-12 level player. I ranked him in my top 5 for '16 in CO because I loved his combination of length and skill. At this point, though, he'd drop a bit more towards No. 10. Still, he's going to find a place to play college basketball and I'm sure he'll be successful wherever he goes.

Now, to the actual question of why he isn't getting more offers. It's because he isn't getting the right exposure. First, playing 4A ball in CO means that you have to find a way to make a name for yourself in the summer. Playing for the CO Titans doesn't do that if you're hoping to garner the attention of a high number of high majors or mid majors. The Titans do a great job, but they don't get invited to the same divisions as Colorado Chaos, Colorado Hawks, CO Miners etc. That's his mistake, quite honestly.

 

[DBT]

Kind of off topic but being a scholarship athlete isn't always the best way to go for kids. Sometimes they may be better off just going to a good school and focusing on that. But it's hard for some kids to give up the dream and it can also be hard to pay the tuition. Academics is a lot more important than playing a sport. If the two work out together, great.

 

[Quattro]

It's funny, a lot of these kids from my high school got scholarship offers to schools in BFE Arkansas, or ****braska, or Texass. Most ended up coming back to Colorado and going to Metro or Mesa or UNC after a year or two. DBT is right. Getting a scholarship is great, but for most athletes it's going to likely be to a school in the middle of nowhere, that no one has heard of, and doesn't have good academics.

 

[MtnBuff]

Kind of off topic but being a scholarship athlete isn't always the best way to go for kids. Sometimes they may be better off just going to a good school and focusing on that. But it's hard for some kids to give up the dream and it can also be hard to pay the tuition. Academics is a lot more important than playing a sport. If the two work out together, great.

For a kid like this to be as good as he is normally means he has a love for playing the game. Getting into the wrong situation in college can sometime kill that love, it becomes more of a business and if the kid isn't contributing to the bottom line the pressure can get intense.

Unless a kid is an elite player who has a good likelyhood of making money at the game after college then you are right, academics is and should be more important.

The ideal situation is to find a program at the right level for the kids abilities where he can play, contribute, and have fun and also take advantage of the academic opportunities.

Certainly playing basketball can get in the way of academics but if he does it right he can get four years of school paid for, get the academic support services, and come out having a degree or close to it and zero student loan debt. If his parents had saved to pay for his school that money can go into grad school if they so choose.

This kid may not be a fit in the PAC 12 but if he keeps working at it he may be a fit at a place like DU that would be very expensive otherwise.

 

[PAHIBuff]

Sacky, your guy was honored as 4A POY by the Denver Post in this morning's paper (April 5th). He'll play and go to college for free; JMHO but he will get more offers if he can bulk up a little. Hard for lots of HS kids to gain weight.

 

[McJBuff23]

I think we can all agree that Jessup's situation illustrates just how unfathomably hard it is to not only get recruited, but to actually succeed at a P5 school.

 

[absinthe]

I'm going to say this all as politely as possible, because I know a lot of people in this equation and respect all of them.

As it has been said, he isn't a Pac-12 level player. I ranked him in my top 5 for '16 in CO because I loved his combination of length and skill. At this point, though, he'd drop a bit more towards No. 10. Still, he's going to find a place to play college basketball and I'm sure he'll be successful wherever he goes.

Now, to the actual question of why he isn't getting more offers. It's because he isn't getting the right exposure. First, playing 4A ball in CO means that you have to find a way to make a name for yourself in the summer. Playing for the CO Titans doesn't do that if you're hoping to garner the attention of a high number of high majors or mid majors. The Titans do a great job, but they don't get invited to the same divisions as Colorado Chaos, Colorado Hawks, CO Miners etc. That's his mistake, quite honestly.

/Thread.