Recruit plays by rules walking past coach and other observations
by Javier Morales on Jul. 29, 2010, under Sports
Class of 2011 recruit Nick Johnson skies above the rest with college coaches observing, seated to the right. (Photo by TucsonCitizen.com/Javier Morales)
Random thoughts, July Evaluation period style:
The highest profile recruits abide by the rules. While waiting for his mother in the lobby of the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman gymnasium last weekend, Nick Johnson came face to face with Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford. It was an obvious awkward moment, but Johnson was as cool as he was on the court. NCAA rules dictate that a coach can not communicate with prospective recruits at evaluation events such as the Fab 48 in which Johnson and the Oakland/Drew Gooden Soldiers competed. Ford walked by and the two exchanged only a smile. Minutes later, after media entered the lobby, Johnson, a high-profile Class of 2011 recruit from Henderson (Nev.) Findlay reportedly favoring Arizona, said in an interview that Oklahoma State was one of his suitors. Say this for Ford: He made himself seen. Did he time his walk-by with Johnson? Maybe so, but does it really matter? …
At one of the late-night games in Las Vegas that started at 9 p.m. last week, a trio of former UA assistant coaches sat next to each other and reminisced about old times, including the 1997 NCAA championship. Late nights for coaches generally mean film sessions, and these three coaches put enough time together with former UA coach Lute Olson to learn their craft. UTEP assistant coach Phil Johnson, Stanford assistant coach Rodney Tention and Memphis head coach Josh Pastner sat side by side and shared some laughs. “It was like old times,” Tention said with a smile. “Brought back a lot of memories.” …
Johnson is adjusting from coaching in the metropolis of Los Angeles to what many of his peers consider an outpost in El Paso. “I’ll tell you this: It’s a lot harder to get kids to come through for unofficial visits than it was at USC,” Johnson said. “We had the same type of problem at Arizona, but more kids made the effort to go to Tucson because of how successful Lute made that program.” …
Johnson believes UTEP can regain the glory it had under the late, great “Bear” – Don Haskins — with Tim Floyd as head coach. “UTEP was more prestigious of a program than Arizona in college basketball before Coach Olson arrived,” he said. “We believe the program can become successful like that again.” …
New St. John’s coach Steve Lavin, the man who paved the way for Ben Howland to become a headache for Pac-10 schools at UCLA, charged his cell phone next to where I sat at the Bishop Gorman media room. Before I could idly chat with him, a camera man took the longest time selling himself to produce a video for Lavin. They exchanged phone numbers and Lavin took the time to listen to this guy and genuinely seemed like an engaging person. He even thanked me for letting him charge his cell phone by where I sat. I then had to split to do more important things, like observe Johnson and his Soldiers teammates Josiah Turner and Brandon Ashley dominate another opponent. …
Had the chance to say hello to UA assistants Book Richardson, James Whitford and Archie Miller while passing by them at the various venues. UA coach Sean Miller’s first move was adding these guys to his staff in Tucson last April when he was hired. If this is an indication of his judgment of talent, the program that Lute built is in good hands. …
The 16-hour days of watching games and discussing the prospects late into the night showed no signs of wear and tear on the staff. The success rate of the coaches attending these events is similar to a Hall of Fame baseball player getting a hit only 30 percent of the time. If two out of six top prospects sign (33 percent), for example, that’s considered a solid class. Despite the long odds, the work of the UA coaches and hundreds of others watching these recruits is an example of what Winston Churchill meant when he said, “Success is going from failure to failure, without losing enthusiasm.” …
One of the oddest sights of the tournaments in Las Vegas was Washington State assistant coach Jeff Hironaka trying to stay awake during a mid-afternoon game. He yawned about every 15 seconds. USC coach Kevin O’Neill rested his eyes for a bit in one game (or maybe he was meditating?). …
O’Neill and former Cal coach Todd Bozeman, now at Morgan State, are the only coaches I observed who did not wear their team name or colors on at least one occasion. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski wore a USA Basketball polo shirt to a D.C. Assault game that included potential recruit Quinn Cook, who Arizona is also recruiting. Because of his popularity, Krzyzewski could have shown up in a tank top and it wouldn’t have mattered. …
If image is everything, SMU coach Matt Doherty is eons behind John Calipari, who is as slick as they come when he walks around with his Kentucky sweatsuit. Doherty is sporting a long white beard these days, which is OK if he could pass for Santa Clause. So much for relating to today’s athletes, or at least trying to do so. …
New England Playaz wing player Alex Murphy, a Class of 2012 target for UA, offered me the best quote last weekend after his team lost a stunner to the Arizona Magic Class of 2012 team. His teammate Naadir Tharpe missed two free throw attempts with no time left in the 63-62 loss Saturday. The Playaz’ next game was not until three days later in Phoenix at the Duel in the Desert. Asked about the team’s plans with the time to kill, Murphy said, “I don’t know. We’re super cheesed right now. We may find somewhere to practice so we can get this one behind us.” Super cheesed? For Doherty and others who may be out of touch, according to slangsite.com, cheesed means “To be extremely angry with someone or something, extreme aggression.” …
After observing the group of coaches, the most noteworthy who turned heads included Kryzyewski, Calipari, Roy Williams, and West Virginia’s Bob Huggins to name a few. I never saw Tom Izzo. When I attended one of these events when Olson coached Arizona, he had a presence about him that dwarfed others. “Thank God Lute’s not here because that gives us all a chance,” Tention said. …
Another peculiar sight: Watching coaches check in to the Fab 48 the day before the event and hearing the volunteer workers ask coaches like Michigan’s John Beilein, “Are you a coach?” …
On the flipside of Doherty not looking so cool, one coach tried too much, in my opinion. Washington coach Lorenzo Romar wore what looked like Husky game shorts down to his knees. It would be the equivalent of Sean Miller showing up to watch the prospects wearing Nic Wise‘s knee-length shorts. …
Finally, this thought entered my mind when I was stuck in traffic en route from Bishop Gorman across town to Rancho High School: “Must be (Virginia coach and ex-WSU coach) Tony Bennett in front slowing things down.” …
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