For next year-

Here's what we have coming into the fold-

Petras Balocka- a 6-6 230 pounder to play the boards.


Mike Smith- also 6-6 but only 205- the big scorer from a small school in Missouri.

Micah Williams- who aside from being from Coffee County I know nothing about.

They were interested in two players but lost out to Cal State Fullerton and New Hampshire.

They are on the list of two point guards- one from Birmingham, AL- who is also being recruited by UAB, Samford, Tulsa, WKU and Birmingham Southern- and another who is also in the running for Illinois supposedly.

This guy plays at something called Pasadena City College and has a 6-8 teammate who would put the Lithuanian kid on the bench. Pasadena and is being recruited by the likes of Iowa State, Kansas State, Purdue, and San Francisco.

There is also a 6-4, 195 pound small forward who is from Culpepper, VA (sound familiar?) and is being recruited by Florida St, Florida Atlantic, Wofford, and Florida Atlantic.

Thoughts? And anyone know how I can find out how many scholarships Illinois, Florida State, etc. have to give?

This was posted on the SoConhoops board and if true (no reason to believe it not to be) is scary.

"According to Paul Johnson of WCYB tonight, DeShaud Johnson, of Tennessee High, just signed with King to play point. (Paul) Johnson also said that King recruited him heavily, but also was pursued (not his exact word, but that was the impression) by Belmont and ETSU. He did not say whether or not ETSU or Belmont actually offered."

From the Bristol Paper.

"This past season Johnson continued to lead his team to new heights by leading the Vikings in scoring and assist. He had other offers from schools such as Belmont, VMI and even ETSU, but he decided to stay in Bristol and play for King."

OUCH...lost a player to KING.

I thought that.

But also- and I've covered recruiting (how else do you think I got that info) so I can tell you some of the business.

A lot of it is "did they send you a letter?" So- ETSU hears about a good- not great but good- player locally- they send him a letter- and so all of the sudden he's being "recruited" by ETSU.

I will say to my knowledge none of the players I mentioned (and there's a reason I haven't listed their names- not to be too secretive- but the thing is services charge you for the full info and I don't feel right about stealing their service and posting it here. On the other hand this same service refused my idea of an ETSU page the way they have one for Tennessee, Pitt, Southern California, etc.) have been offered by ETSU- which I don't think is such a good idea.

Historically the way ETSU gets a good player is they offer early or he falls between the gaps- the way ETSU once got Mister Jennings.

Now, I'm intrigued by players who are also being recruited by the Big 10 and Big 12. If somebody can find out what scholarships those schools have to give we can possibly do some targeting here.

One last thing- no Florida players and no local players. This could be a possible sign that Scott Wagers is slipping, leaving, or I'm only getting part of the story.

Petras Balocka- I have seen him listed as bigger then you have him.
6'8 250

There is still that 6'6 Tight end from MN that ETSU is looking at as a PF.
I saw that a 6'6 kid we were looking at signed with Austin Peay.

I was listed at 6-1 when I was playing sports.

I LOVED that coach.

Now, ignoring that irrelevancy, what are your thoughts on George Pitts going to King?

Two thoughts- with King picking up the point guard over ETSU and other small Division I's does this mean that the chances of George Pitts going there have increased?

The second one thought is obviously Dale Burns is going to have an in on a player from Tennessee High, so we may be getting ahead of ourselves.

I still don't think Pitts wants the pay cut.

DeShaud is about 5'3, smaller than Tim, and nowhere near the athletic ability... He's a little bit smarter, I'm sure PJ was pumping him up to make sure he kisses Burns' rear end a little more. D. Johnson wouldn't have made it at the Division I level folks, though he might have added a few extra fans in the cave we call the dome.

Some points.

1. I think Pitts likes this area better then Nashville.
2. The horse he has rode for the last 4 years to those 4 state championships is finally gone. I am not saying that he can't win without Wright but he might have to reload.
3. I think Pitt does want to take on the challenge of coaching at the college level, he really doesn't have anything left to prove in high school.
4. He and Burns are good friends I think that would be a great help easing into the college game.
5. I think he can recruit this area well and he will still have contacts in the Nashville area to recruit there as well.
6. He is a well known and respected high school coach, he has friends who are high school coachs all over the country who might be willing to steer a kid to him.
7. I think being able to have some success in ETSU's backyard after being snubbed by them might be a bit of a motivation to coach at King as well.
8. Because of the heavy recruitment of Wright the past few years he has gotten to know several big name college coachs he might help him find kids not up to thier level. Dean Smith helped point Geer and West to ETSU in the old day for example.

ETSU has to get a point guard, theres no way around it. Who would you put at point next year if we didnt sign a PG? We dont have a natural PG on the roster, maybe Keaton, but thats all.

Maybe it's just me but I think Tayloe Taylor can develop into a solid PG. He is quick, he can find the open man, and he has show that he is a pass first PG which is what we need. We really don't need him to shoot a lot, because I think it is clearly obvious that Pigram will be our big shooter next season which can be a good or bad thing considering how streaky he can be. But I would like to see Tayloe give it a try, if Bartow ever figures out how to run an offense I think Tayloe would be the perfect PG since he is a pass first kind of player.

I don't think Johnson was/is a legit Div 1 prospect. He is listed at 5'10 and for a PG only averaged 3 Assists per game (along with 17 points and 3 steals) He was a 2nd teamer on JC Press all NET team.

Wattad was Player of the Year 6'6 Jr from Science Hill, he just edged out Wiggins from Greenville a 6'7 Jr.

Right now, I think Tayloe is our starting PG. He showed this year (although in spurts) that he could do it. I didn't expect perfection since he was a freshman and had limited playing time. Assuming he gets a little more under control, I see him as our starting PG and Keaton getting alot of minutes as his backup. I liked the way Keaton played, he just made freshman mistakes and lack of playing time mistakes. Next year won't be great from the PG position, but I think we will be ok.

The point guard from Bham you mention is probably 5-11 Louis Dale from Altamont. He plays for Barry Bearden, a former UAB player, and his father is a VP at UAB, so I'm sure Murry B. knows about him. Dale is a terrific student. Think he's interested in medicine, and the med school might make ETSU particularly attractive to him.

Like some others, though, I'd be surprised if ETSU signs a pt guard, with Taylor and Keaton already on the roster. Both show quite a bit of promise to me. Wouldn't think Bucs would sign Dale unless, say, Keaton is planning on leaving.

By the way, FansOnly site lists Balocka as 6-8, 250. I've seen 6-8, 235 in other spots. Who knows how big any of them really are? Does sound like Balocka might be a little more physical than the average European post player.

Someone mentioned the 6-7 kid from Rochester, Minnesota, Tyler Cain. I see where he is out for year with broken arm. That might help ETSU's chances. Have seen where Northern Arizona also is interested in him.

Actually, that wasn't the guy.

Tayloe is garbage, he should go to Milligan.

I see your point, Tayloe had his moments this year where he acted like he didn't know what was going on, but I place the blame on Bartow's inability to run an offense.

We were without question one of the worst half-court teams I have ever seen and when a team isn't coached on how to run a effective half-court offense then the blame usually falls on the PG.

That's why I said "if Bartow figures out how to run an offense" then I do think Tayloe can develop into a good PG. Tayloe does need to improve his strength and atleast acquire some kind of a jump shot in order to truly succeed at this position. Now as far as all of our guards on the team I think Pigram is the best pure passer and shooter, however I think we should keep him at the SG position because we don't need to have another Tim Smith on our hands. Plus Pigram's ball handling skills are sub-par which is another reason to keep him at SG so we can cut down on the turnovers.

However, I have to keep comming back to a half-court offense. The past 2 or 3 years we have been a full-court run and gun team. I personally believe that needs to change. It's just not working anymore and it's obvious Bartow never worked on developing a half-court offense. We need to run actual plays on offense, be more patient with the ball, move around instead of just standing around and dribbling, and improve our shooting, especially on free throw's and behind the ark. If Bartow pulls that full-court crap out of his ass again next year then we will be lucky to win 10 games.

Bucster has a damn fine avatar.

All this talk about Avatars has forced me to upload one of my own. Nice one, Bucster.

I'm glad you like the avatar. I thought Kimberly Sams would be the appropriate choice for my ETSU avatar, because she does represent ETSU pretty well if you know what I mean ;-) Seriously though, she is the closest thing to a celebrity ETSU has had since I guess Kenny Chesney or that chick that was on Survivor a few years ago. What was her name anyway? Anyone remember?

Anyway I guess I could have gone the route of defacing the picture of a certain former ETSU employee but the admins probably would see that as inappropriate behavior and as long as the Bucster is here he will abide by the rules.