http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/shandon-goldman

Offers from Utah State and Boston College, among others.

http://www.scout.com/college/washington-...-visit-wsu

Evidently he also visited Washington State.

(05-24-2016 07:31 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  http://www.scout.com/college/washington-...-visit-wsu

Evidently he also visited Washington State.

I saw this kid work out near the end of his senior year at Lincoln. He must have really developed at St. John's Academy if he had offers from Washington St., BC, and Utah St. Wouldn't be ironic if he turned out to be a really high level player from within the shadow of Walton Arena who ended up in Little Rock!

(05-24-2016 07:31 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  http://www.scout.com/college/washington-...-visit-wsu

Evidently he also visited Washington State.

Shandon Goldman, a 6-9 stretch forward with range, brings interesting background with him to Pullman for official visit

Barry Bolton
05/11/2016

IN HIGH SCHOOL, where he was dubbed by the local paper in Lincoln, Ark., as the best basketball player in Lincoln High history, shooting forward Shandon “Biggie” Goldman attracted notable interest from the likes of Boston College, Clemson, Iowa and Utah State. But with only 190 pounds on his 6-9 frame, lack of bulk was a concern.

So he delayed the start of his college clock “to build some muscle,” as his dad, Greg, told the Washington County Enterprise-Leader back in August.

That meant prep school, first at a military school in Wisconsin and then, as of January, at Memphis’ Tennessee Prep Academy, which tweeted Wednesday that Goldman is heading to Pullman for an official visit.

He now checks in at 210 pounds.

Presuming his official comes on the heels of a scholarship offer from the Cougars (we have reached out Goldman but had yet to hear back as of press time), Washington State would appear to be his first major-conference offer in this recruiting cycle.

He looks to have good skills around the basket, but in the SBC you are not going to be able to dunk the ball every time you have the ball. I didn't see one shot from the perimeter in his highlight film. Every shot was driving to the basket and dunking most of the time. But he looks like an athletic young man who could develop into a good player for us. If he can block shots and score around the basket for us, that will probably be enough. He'll get stronger in years to come, and will probably develop more of an offensive game. He's a very good looking prospect for us. Hope he keeps his commitment.

Hey, if he is 6-9 and can battle down low, I don't care if he can shoot outside. We have other guys to handle that.

I didn't necessarily mean three point shots, but every shot he took in the video seemed to be a dunk. No mid range jumpers.

(05-24-2016 12:46 PM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  Hey, if he is 6-9 and can battle down low, I don't care if he can shoot outside. We have other guys to handle that.

Remember that he was playing at a fairly low level in Arkansas HS basketball in that highlight film. I don't mean to say anything negative necessarily, but D-1 players will present a lot more challenge than the players from, say, Huntsville AR High.

Dunks count as much as fancy shots. I figure he is a project in any case, for lack of muscle if for no other reason. And he could still grow. Our current big men are a junior and a senior, so we have time to develop him. Sign him up.

(05-24-2016 07:05 PM)PTJR Wrote:  Remember that he was playing at a fairly low level in Arkansas HS basketball in that highlight film. I don't mean to say anything negative necessarily, but D-1 players will present a lot more challenge than the players from, say, Huntsville AR High.

Think Stetson Billings.

(05-24-2016 08:52 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 07:05 PM)PTJR Wrote:  Remember that he was playing at a fairly low level in Arkansas HS basketball in that highlight film. I don't mean to say anything negative necessarily, but D-1 players will present a lot more challenge than the players from, say, Huntsville AR High.

Think Stetson Billings.

I don't think any Pac10 schools were flying Stetson out to the West coast for campus visits.

Stetson wasn't 6-9, either.

Teams at our level are not likely to get big men who are not projects to some extent or other. Michael Javes fit that bill, although he was an imposing physical specimen. Neither JJ nor Shoshi had been playing basketball long when they hit the door at LR; both were raw in some aspects of their games. Neighbour was an exception to that rule. Good big men are just so rare that teams higher on the food chain than we are will snap them up. But having a decent big man, even for a season or two, is worth the investment. The bottom three guys on the bench are not going to play much, anyway, and it makes more sense to me to have a big man waiting there to be developed than to stockpile dime-a-dozen 3-point shooters to ride the pine.

(05-24-2016 11:01 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 08:52 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 07:05 PM)PTJR Wrote:  Remember that he was playing at a fairly low level in Arkansas HS basketball in that highlight film. I don't mean to say anything negative necessarily, but D-1 players will present a lot more challenge than the players from, say, Huntsville AR High.

Think Stetson Billings.

I don't think any Pac10 schools were flying Stetson out to the West coast for campus visits.

I'm speaking of Peter's point that both played a lower level in high school. I've coached at both levels, and there is definitely a difference in talent at the top and lower levels. More kids in the bigger schools to chose from. Obviously there are some from the lower levels that can play D-1 ball, or even in the bigs. See Scottie Pippins.

(05-25-2016 07:16 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  Teams at our level are not likely to get big men who are not projects to some extent or other. Michael Javes fit that bill, although he was an imposing physical specimen. Neither JJ nor Shoshi had been playing basketball long when they hit the door at LR; both were raw in some aspects of their games. Neighbour was an exception to that rule. Good big men are just so rare that teams higher on the food chain than we are will snap them up. But having a decent big man, even for a season or two, is worth the investment. The bottom three guys on the bench are not going to play much, anyway, and it makes more sense to me to have a big man waiting there to be developed than to stockpile dime-a-dozen 3-point shooters to ride the pine.

Same with big-time pitching too, as we well know.

(05-25-2016 12:46 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 11:01 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 08:52 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 07:05 PM)PTJR Wrote:  Remember that he was playing at a fairly low level in Arkansas HS basketball in that highlight film. I don't mean to say anything negative necessarily, but D-1 players will present a lot more challenge than the players from, say, Huntsville AR High.

Think Stetson Billings.

I don't think any Pac10 schools were flying Stetson out to the West coast for campus visits.

I'm speaking of Peter's point that both played a lower level in high school. I've coached at both levels, and there is definitely a difference in talent at the top and lower levels. More kids in the bigger schools to chose from. Obviously there are some from the lower levels that can play D-1 ball, or even in the bigs. See Scottie Pippins.

For whatever reason, a Pac10 school was willing to fly him to the West coast to look at their campus. Not sure if they actually gave him a committable offer or not. Still, the fact that they had serious interest in the kid says quite a bit to me.

(05-25-2016 01:08 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(05-25-2016 12:46 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 11:01 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 08:52 PM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 07:05 PM)PTJR Wrote:  Remember that he was playing at a fairly low level in Arkansas HS basketball in that highlight film. I don't mean to say anything negative necessarily, but D-1 players will present a lot more challenge than the players from, say, Huntsville AR High.

Think Stetson Billings.

I don't think any Pac10 schools were flying Stetson out to the West coast for campus visits.

I'm speaking of Peter's point that both played a lower level in high school. I've coached at both levels, and there is definitely a difference in talent at the top and lower levels. More kids in the bigger schools to chose from. Obviously there are some from the lower levels that can play D-1 ball, or even in the bigs. See Scottie Pippins.

For whatever reason, a Pac10 school was willing to fly him to the West coast to look at their campus. Not sure if they actually gave him a committable offer or not. Still, the fact that they had serious interest in the kid says quite a bit to me.

There is something to what you say. Schools don't usually bring kids in on an official visit without intending to give them an offer. However, Pac-10 or not, don't confuse Washington State with the likes of Arizona, UCLA, Stanford, etc.

But as Wimp used to say, "I can't coach a kid to be 6'9".

We had a late-season opening. We might have saved the scholarship, but we already will have a big group to replace after next season. It was a logical time to take a chance.

He's probably as advanced as Jake Yancey and Too Tall Eason were when they arrived on campus. Maybe even Gus Leeper. But they all matured, improved, and became good players for us. I like what little I've seen of the young man. And he's from Arkansas. That's a plus.