From Myrtle Beach, SC - (Volume 2, Issue 1)
Shaq Johnson (Auburn signee) earned All Tournament in helping Milton win Beach Ball Classic
Milton (GA) def. Lone Peak (UT) to win 2011 Beach BallClassic in Myrtle Beach, SC.
-Milton was led by hot shooting MVP Evan Nolte (Virginia), athletic Shaq Johnson (Auburn), floor general Charles Mann (Georgia) ,& glass menace Tevin Glass (one of better available bigs)...they are extremely well coached by David Boyd!
-Hoop Scoop Clark Francis' sleeper pick Lone Peak ran out of gas but put on a show in defeating Myrtle Beach, St. Augustine & Whitney Young in consecutive days.
-2013 BYU commit Nick Emery, named Most Outstanding Player, was lights for Lone Peak (UT) avg 31ppg in Beach Ball...one of the best guards in the West.
-BYU's future backcourt is bright with 2013 Nick Emery and teammate 2014 TJ Haws...they lit it up in Myrtle Beach.
-Nation's 2012 #1 propsect Shabazz Muhammad avg. 28 ppg in Beach Ball Classic...showed well in team going 3-1 finishing in 3rd place..
-Julius Randle, nation's 2013 top 3 prospect named All Tourney...special talent, highly skilled, effort was up and down...team went 2-2 after being MVP in winning City of Palms.
-KU signee Zach Peters is playing at a high level again...avg 19ppg, 12rpg in BBC.
-LJ Peak 2014 6'3 PG Gaffney ... Next great prospect from South Carolina. He had 40 in one game in the Beach Ball Classic ... Was MVP at the Big Shots South Carolina Tournament
-Jahlil Okafor and Paul White are special talents in the 2014 class. Okafor, top 2014 big, had a 36p,14r win vs Lexington...Paul can play for anyone in the country with his skills at 6'8.
-Shout out to Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes & Beach Ball staff on putting together a stellar 2011 field of talent..always a 1st class event!
-One thing was relevant the nation's #1 overall player hails from the Windy City in Jabari Parker...the next Carmelo Anthony!
-New Hanover (NC) def. Hoggard (NC) to win 2011 Leon
2012 6'2 PG Thomas Johnson a key contributor in New Hanover's success.
Brogden Tournament in Wilmington, NC.
-New Hanover 2012 6'3 G Kadeem Allen was unstoppable in earning Leon Brogden MVP for 2nd straight year. He has HM JC offers from Hutchinson(KS) and Chipola (FL). MM+/HM- when he comes out.
-New Hanover remains undefeated and #2 ranked team in NC led by Kadeem Allen & a deep feisty team.
-Mt. St. Joseph 2013 6'3 SG Kam Williams avg. 25ppg in Leon Brogden in earning All Tourney.
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll vs. Jeff Sagarin Rating
(Updated: Jan. 2, 2011)(Updated: Jan 4, 2011)
1. Syracuse 1. Syracuse
2 Kentucky 2. Kentucky
3 Duke 3. Ohio State
4 North Carolina 4. Indiana
5 Baylor 5. Duke
6 Missouri 6. Missouri
7 Ohio State 7. Michigan State
8 Connecticut 8. North Carolina
9 Georgetown 9. Baylor
10 Louisville 10. Georgetown
11 Michigan State 11. Kansas
12 Indiana 12. UNLV
13 Michigan 13. Murray State
14 Florida 14. Louisville
15 Kansas 15. Saint Mary's
16 Mississippi State16. Creighton
17 UNLV 17. Wisconsin
18 Murray State 18. Kansas State
19 Wisconsin 19. Alabama
20 Marquette 20. Marquette
21 Harvard 21. Gonzaga
22 Kansas State 22. California
23 Virginia 23. Wichita State
24 Creighton 24. Seton Hall
25 San Diego State25. Virginia
26 Gonzaga 26. Memphis
27 Saint Mary's 27. Purdue
28 Vanderbilt 28. Florida
29 Middle Tennessee29. New Mexico
30 New Mexico 30. West Virginia
31 Stanford 31. Saint Louis
32 Pittsburgh 32. BYU
33 Purdue 33. Virginia Tech
34 Seton Hall 34. Belmont
35 Alabama 35. San Diego State
36 Southern Miss 36. UConn
37 Saint Louis 37. Southern Miss
38 Illinois 38. Long Beach State
39. Stanford
40. Michigan
41. Middle Tennessee
42. Illinois
44. Mississippi State
50. Illinois
70. Pittsburgh
-According to the Sagarin Rating the 7 most overrated teams:
Florida (14/28)
UConn (8/36)
Michigan (13/40)
Mississippi State (16/44)
Harvard (21/50)
Vanderbilt (28/58)
Pittsburgh (32/70)
-According to the Sagarin Rating the most underrated teams:
Indiana (12/4)
Cody Zeller and #12 Indiana are 14-1, the leading candidate for Big 10 Fr. of Year is leading Hoosiers with 14.5ppg, 6.5 rpg.
Saint Mary's (27/15)
Alabama (35/19)
California (NR/22)
Wichita State (NR/23)
Seton Hall (34/24)
Memphis (NR/26)
West Virginia (NR/30)
BYU (NR/32)
Virginia Tech (NR/33)
Belmont (NR/34)
-This is headline quote on the Sagarin Ratings, "The teams are now WELL CONNECTED and so the ratings are UNBIASED."
-Several of the teams that were overrated according to Sagarin have already been beat this week.
-We don't believe in mid-major polls because year in and year out the lower teams in the ACC, BIG 10, BIG 12, SEC, PAC 12 are not better than the teams that are considered "mid major" (ie. Butler, BYU, Creighton, Dayton, George Mason, Gonzaga, Missouri State, Murray State, Saint Mary's, Richmond, Old Dominion, Xavier, VCU, Wichita State).
-There are several high major teams that will get into the NCAA tournament and will get in...but they don't deserve in unless they start playing a lot better.
-#24 Seton Hall (13-2) defeated #8 UCONN for the first time since 2001 with a 75-63 win.
-Paul VI (11-1) defeated Bishop O'Connell (9-4) 77-66. Stanford Robinson 2013 6'3 G HM led Paul VI with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assist and 2 steals. George Mason signee Patrick Holloway had 16 points. O'Connell was led by Romelo Trimble 2014 G HM.
-Gene Bartow who succeeded the legendary John Wooden at UCLA and started the basketball program at UAB has passed away at 81.
-#25 UVA won their 11th straight with a 57-52 win v #71 LSU.
-#6 Missouri has been playing great all year. Tuesday, Missouri (14-0) defeated #55 Oklahoma (10-3) 87-49
-Tom Izzo and #7 Michigan State (14-2) got their first road win vs a Bo Ryan coached team at #17 Wisconsin.
-St. Mary's (11-2) is very underrated. They are 15th in the Sagarin rating. Randy Bennett has done a tremendous job in building St. Mary's into one of the best programs on the west coast.
-When #2 Kentucky defeated #14 Louisville 69-62 despite shooting 29% from the field ... The Cats dominated the boards, +26.
-Michael Kidd-Gilcrest had 24 points and 19 rebounds for Kentucky in the win vs Louisville.
-"Winners, I am convinced, imagine their dreams first. They want it with all their heart & expect it to come true." Joe Montana.
-Rashad Muhammad 2013 Bishop Gorman NV list includes USC, Texas A&M, Maryland, UTEP, SMU, Northwestern.
-Indiana defeats #2 Ohio State 74-70. IU should be ranked higher having defeated a #1 ranked Kentucky and a #2 ranked Ohio State. Indiana is #4 in the Sagarin rating and #12 in the USA Today poll.
-Luke Fischer 2013 6'9 Germantown, WI at the Indiana v Ohio State game... Plays for Wisconsin Swing.
-Byron Mouton is developing a really good program with the 6th Man Warriors. Byron was an outstanding player on the 2002 Maryland NCAA Championship team ... I always enjoy spending time with Byron.
-#61 Wagner is 9-3 after defeating Air Force 72-61 in the Cable Car Classic.
-Levi Cook 2015 6'10 305 PF Liberty Raleigh, WV HM+ ...
Levi Cook, Liberty Raleigh WV 2015 6'10 phenom
Shaq type size with a touch ... One of best prospects to play in Big Shots ... He is a highest level player.
-Wyoming offered Billy Dee Williams 2012 6'6 F Faith Baptist, FL ... He played for Diana Neal and Florida Assault in numerous Big Shots.
-#67 Wyoming defeated Utah Valley 77-72. Utah Valley is the first team to score above 60 points all year vs Wyoming. Larry Shyatt has Wyoming off to a 12-2 start.
-I, Steve is a great and easy read on Steve Jobs.
-I loved coaching ... But Big Shots is the most fun I've ever had in my life.
-The education that I received from playing a team game, being an assistant under JD Barnett, Marty Fletcher, Jim Larranaga, Tubby Smith, Kevin Eastman and then being a head coach taught me how to organize a business.
-Not only did I learn from these outstanding coaches, but you learn from their coaching tree.
-Marty Fletcher's Coaching Tree: Morgan Wootten, Jim Valvano.
-Jim Larranaga: Jack Curren, Dave Gavitt, Terry Holland.
-Tubby Smith: JD Barnett, George Felton, Rick Pitino.
-Kevin Eastman: JD Barnett, Dick Tarrant, Nike, George Raveling, Doc Rivers.
-Coaching Tree: JD Barnett at VCU and Tulsa.
-JD Barnett: He was a great coach. The staff at VCU included Tubby Smith, Kevin Eastman and Dave Hobbs. All four of us became head coaches...all of us learned so much from JD and are so grateful. He was an excellent teacher, attention to detail, preparation and disciplined. Our staff worked 7:30 am to 11:00 pm office hours ... Everyone who ever worked for JD Barnett has a tremendous work ethic.
JD, thanks for giving me my start in coaching.
Coaching Tree: Marty Fletcher at VMI
Marty Fletcher had tremendous enthusiasm. His coaching tree included Hall of Famers Morgan Wootten and Jim Valvano. Marty taught me everything he learned from Coach Wootten and V.
Morgan Wootten's system is so fundamentally sound ... Jim Valvano was a tremendous recruiter, salesman, the best at marketing and coach, who did everything with tremendous enthusiasm and made it fun.
-From Jim Valvano, "Recruiting is a process of elimination."
1. Academics
2. Basketball
3. Social
4. People
He had several key points in each of these categories, then he would say "decisions come down to people." " Make decisions based on people!" "Who do you want to be with?"
I've never forgotten that "Make decisions based on people!"
Marty, thank you for making it fun!
Coaching Tree: Jim Larranaga at Bowling Green
How about Jim Larranaga's coaching tree, Jack Curren, Dave Gavitt and Terry Holland.
Jim is an absolutely great teacher. He loves to teach. It is so evident in his teams.
Example: When being trapped.
First thing you have to do is get strong with the ball, then face the players not the cheerleaders.
"LOOK SIDELINE, MIDDLE, REVERSE."
My sons have this thought engrained in the mind, "LOOK SIDELINE, MIDDLE, REVERSE."
I admired so much of what Jim has accomplished with the success of his teams, Final Four etc, but what a lot of people may not realize is how hard he works in getting his players jobs and helping his assistants advance. Jim probably has more players playing professionally overseas and has had more assistants become head coaches than in other mid major head coach in the country. Now that he is at Miami and the ACC he will be able to help his players and staff even more.
Thanks Jim for teaching me so much!
COACHING TREE: Tubby Smith at VCU and Tulsa.
Tubby is great. Everyone loves Tubby, his players, his staff, our families, our children, fans, opposing coaches.
We worked hard, we recruited good players and it was fun ... We could not wait to be in the office, we were excited to work on skill development and practice. We couldn't wait to compete and defeat many of the nation's best.
Tubby is class. Everything you do ... Do it with class.
Tubby will soon be in the Hall of Fame. He has touched so many people. Thanks, Tubby.
COACHING TREE: KEVIN EASTMAN at VCU, TULSA and WASHINGTON STATE
If you could model yourself after one person, Kevin Eastman would be a great choice.
He is as good of person that you would ever meet. His organization is second to none and Kevin is absolutely as good as teacher/coach as there is in the country.
Kevin studies, he reads articles, he reads books, he watches team videos, he watches teaching videos, he studies players. He is always learning, he is always building his knowledge.
I've watched Kevin spend three days writing and preparing a 45 minute speech to the participants at the Desert Duel. His message and delivery is (pick an adjective), tremendous, spectacular, entertaining, impactive, heartfelt, life lessons, etc.
I have been blessed to be great friends with Kevin for almost 30 years ... I have learned so much from Kevin.
-Enjoyed New Years Eve dinner with @kevineastman...he's been a great friend of our family for years...it's an honor to be named after him
-"Make it easy for people ... People do not want to read manuals." Steve Jobs
-Had a good talk w/Dave Matthews w/Colorado Chaos. One of the top teams out West last yr led by CU signee Josh Scott...played in Desert Duel. Look forward to seeing them in #BigShots2012
-Josh and 2013 Jordan Scott are combining for 50+ points a game for #1 ranked Lewis-Palmer(CO).
-Tennessee Tech signee Shaq Calhoun (Team GA Elite Outlaw) scored 56 pts last night in a win...All tourney Big Shots GA, VCU, Myrtle Beach
-14-1 Pine Forest(NC) led by 2012 5'8 PG Alex Bradley leading Cumberland Co. in scoring at 21.2ppg, 5apg...shooter!
-South View 70 Purnell Swett 63...2013 6'0 G Rian Holland 26 pts 8 reb Campbell Univ. in attendance. MM,one of best shooters in Carolina's!
-Rian Holland 2013 6'0 G (South View (NC)/@Flight22bball/Fayetteville Stars) avg. 20.6 ppg. MM lights out shooter, Stephen Curry release
-Mid majors jump on 2012 6'3 SG Elijah Wilson (Laney(NC)/ @Flight22bball)had 34p,12r last night avg 28ppg...interest:Coastal Carolina,Utah St
-Versatile point forward 2013 6'6 G Sindarius Thornwell (Lancaster(SC)/Team United) 19pts, 10 asts, 8 reb 5 blocks last night
-2013 6'7 forward Jordan Neff @jneff14 of North Cobb HS (GA) led his team to a win in the championship game of the Deep South Classic
-BABC's Tyler Nelson,2014 G named MVP of the Greater Lawrence Holiday Tourney
-SUCCESS UNDER PRESSURE
Coach Wooden used his definition of success as not just a mantra for life,but also as a means to improve performance
"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction n knowing u made the effort to become the best of which u r capable"
-Congrats to Big Shots alum Duke Fr. PG @QCook323 (@DCAssault) on winning second straight ACC Rookie of the Week.
-Clay Byrd East Burke (NC)/Team United scores 53pts in a 92-89 loss to Butler (NC)... He's also a top 5 shooter in Carolina's
@KSTeamTakeover Team Takeover taking over ESPN...Victor Oladipo doing his thing for Indiana...Brandon Young stole the show for DePaul
DePaul's Cleveland Melvin (Cecil Kirk) was Big East Fr. of Year last season.
-Big Shots alums put up big numbers in DePaul/Pitt game...
DePaul's Brandon Young (Team Takeover) with 24 pts, Cleveland Melvin(Cecil Kirk) 20p, 6r & Pitt's Talib Zanna(Team Takeover) had career night with 16p, 7r 8-8fg.
-ODU Sr Kent Bazemore(Elizabeth City Blazers)17p,6r,4a v Mason,1 of my fav/toughest players in CAA...dreaded when he guarded @BigShotsSkills
-Furman's Fr. Dominic Early (Georgia Net Burners) had 14p in W vs Citadel
-2013 star Chris Walker is listing Kentucky, Kansas, Florida, UCONN and Ohio State.
-VMI's Stan Okoye (@GRoadBBall) had 23p,11r vs UNC Asheville tonight
-Mount St Marys Julian Norfleet (BWSL Huckaby) had 20p,5r tonight vs Monmouth
-Michigan's Big Shots alum backcourt Tim Hardaway Jr (Mac Irvin Fire) 19p & Trey Burke (All Ohio Red) 10p,7r,8a in L to Indiana
-Washington Fr. Tony Wroten (Seattle Rotary) had 21p, 6r,3a in L to Colorado...Tony's avg 17ppg,5r,3a...all tourney Desert Duel 2009,2010.
-Wroten's got to be leader for Pac 12 Fr. of Year and at this point I don't see any contenders
-North Texas Fr. Tony Mitchell recorded career-high 34p,16r in OT 78-73 W v South Alabama. Fellow Fr. Chris Jones (LBA Seawolves) had 12p,6r,3a. Both PROS
-2013 Kris Jenkins had 22 in Gonzaga 50-36 win vs. Bishop O'Connell. Several DC Assault players in that game.
-South Florence 2012 6'1 PG William Daniels 17 pts 6assists 5 rebs tonight. 3.1 GPA. D2/D3 prospect very good defender
-Love seeing Mooch and Herman Edwards get intense coaching this Under Armour game...once a coach always a coach
-We've had numerous Big Shots alums playing football at
Everett Golson (Carolina Ravens) was 2-sport star at Myrtle Beach (SC).
highest football.Jacoby Brissett(Florida), Bruce Ellington(USC), Adrian Hubbard(Bama), Everett Golson(Notre Dame), Darryl Cato Bishop(NC St), Jackson Jeffcoat(Texas)
-Marcus Maye (Team Breakdown) making plays in Under Armour football game...committed to Florida...Kenny Gillion said Marcus was one of the best safety's in the country in April at Big Shots GA Stars.
-Big Shots alum Reggie Ragland (Birmingham Storm) with the tackle on ESPN Under Armour Game....committed to Crimson Tide
-Shaq Roland (USC commit) had a TD catch in UA Football game.
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