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***Official UC Basketball Thread***


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[quote name='Jason' post='482011' date='May 3 2007, 04:42 PM']Our recruiting class is ranked 19th for the upcoming season!

That does counth Texas transfer Mike Williams, but not Adam H. I wonder where it would rank if you add him since he didn't play last season.

[url="http://collegehoopsupdate.com/html/recruiting_class_07-08.php#cincinnati"]http://collegehoopsupdate.com/html/recruit....php#cincinnati[/url][/quote]

That same site lists McClain as the #25 prep player in 2007. Henry is also a top 50 player according to many recruiting sites and Alvin Mitchell; while about #90 right now, should move up to about #60 or so. He didn't play much AAU ball or summer ball so no film was available for people to evaluate him besides his HS game film. That guy can score and he will immediately make an impact.
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[url="http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/SPT0201/705100332/1035/SPT"]http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...100332/1035/SPT[/url]


[quote][size=4][b]UC has recruiting on a roll [/b][/size]

Column by The Post's Lonnie Wheeler

Now that he has players, Mick Cronin, who has certainly earned them, finds himself in a position to get more. That's just how it works.

"Your players are your best recruiters," says the University of Cincinnati's second-year basketball coach, who only wishes that his first year could have started like this. "By far. And their families and their parents.

"Last year, we were trying to bring in recruits and looking at who would be our student hosts. Now, players who play for us know what we're about, what we stand for, what kind of people we are, and they can speak from experience. Also, they're the eyes and ears. If we bring in a kid who doesn't fit for some reason - if something got revealed on a visit, maybe a character flaw - I want to know. It was something we just didn't have before, because we didn't have players."

The fact that he came up with some in Season One - enough to put a team on the floor, at least, and win a couple of games in the Big East - is remarkable unto itself. To understand what Cronin was up against last year, when he assumed his dream job a couple of weeks before the spring signing period, it's necessary to take a look at this year, and how he goes about the serious business of recruiting.

He has signed four incoming freshmen, among them 6-11 Anthony McClain, and received verbal commitments from two more. Two highly rated recruits from the class of 2008, including local man-child Yancy Gates, have already agreed to come to Clifton. Another local, Danny McElroy, has pledged to join them the following year.

"Put it this way," explains Cronin, ducking into a Bruegger's Bagels for a cell-phone signal. "People who are getting jobs this spring are trying to get involved with guys we've been recruiting, and they just can't. There's too much ground to make up. With the elite guys, their process is too far along now. The process is so early for the great players. It's almost, get this over with."

It means, in turn, that the best prospects must be recruited at least two years in advance of graduation, and often three. It means that Cincinnati's class of 2008 should be even better than its class of 2007, which is an evolutionary advance over its transition class of 2006.

Cronin has three scholarships yet to give for 2008, and they'll eventually go to players he has actively sought since last summer. This summer, meanwhile, he'll conduct a two-day elite camp bursting with eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders who will sample Cincinnati's style and facilities.

"Planning ahead is the key to really putting a great team together," Cronin points out. "Being early on a kid is vital. You can't send them anything but a questionnaire until the end of their sophomore year, so you have to call their coach. You've got to get them to your campus.

"That's why local recruiting is so important. Those kids can get to your campus because of proximity. It's a built-in recruiting advantage. They can come to camps. You can tell their coach, our guys play three nights a week at 7 o'clock, and they can come in and play pickup games with our players."

For that reason, the significance of Gates' recent announcement should not be underestimated, in spite of the fact that he has fallen sharply in the recent ratings of recruits. Gates committed early because he didn't want another year, or even half a year (if he had signed in next November's early period), of phone calls, letters, text messages, Internet rumoring and ceaseless questioning.

Cronin fully understood how critical Gates was to his recruiting momentum, and it was tempting to toss a sleeping bag onto the big fellow's doorstep in Madisonville. But Cronin also understands the need to play the game at the prospect's tempo. So he backed off a bit.

"I don't think it's a good strategy," he says, "to text-message a kid a thousand times, until you're driving him nuts. Some kids I text-message every day. Some kids I don't, because that's not what they're looking for. You've got to get a feel for the recruit. I'm into winning, and it's going to come down to doing things the way the family and coach want things done. It's different with every kid."

And that's a thankful thing. Otherwise, the numbers could overwhelm the diligent seeker of talent.

"I'm a numbers guy," observes Cronin, "so to sign six guys, we've got to recruit probably 20. It takes almost three-and-a-half to four guys to get one recruit. And that's way down from the number you start with. So now, when you're recruiting 20 guys to get six, you've got to recruit the kid, you've got to recruit at least one family member and at least one of the coaches, high school or AAU. So now you're dealing with 60 people on a daily basis as a staff."

While Cronin is dancing to that crazy beat at Cincinnati, Sean Miller is doing the same at Xavier, as is Billy Gillispie at Kentucky (Cronin's old roommate at one of the all-star camps, when both were high school coaches), Rick Pitino at Louisville (Cronin's former boss), Thad Matta at Ohio State, Bob Huggins at West Virginia (Cronin's other former boss), and Kelvin Sampson at Indiana. With those luminaries hereabouts, no cranny of the country will be combed for players like the one extending in all directions from Fifth Third Arena.

"Recruiting in this area, there are no layups," Cronin concedes. "A kid has a lot of options."

For that reason, he'll perpetuate the Bearcats' interest in Texas - represented in the 2007 class by shooting guard Larry Davis - along with everywhere east of the Mississippi. McClain was persuaded to come from Maryland, where his high school coach, Trevor Brown, is a long-time professional acquaintance of Cronin's.

"I met him when we recruited DerMarr Johnson to UC," recalls the latter. "We've always stayed in touch. Our business is all about networking."

Having lived the camp life as a young coach, plugged himself into the AAU circuit, headed up recruiting for Huggins and Pitino and run his own show at Murray State, Cronin's network was in place when he arrived at Cincinnati. His new program, however, was not.

A year later, the contrast is blinding. Cronin hasn't seen his baby daughter as much as he would like, but he's seen every basketball player he thinks can help UC, and signed a bigger share of them than anyone might have imagined.

"Last year at this time, we were still trying to figure out who we should go after," he says. "To take a line from a Hollywood actress, we're in a much better place now."

The roster for next year is full-up with players who are either freshly committed or newly experienced. The spring signing season ends Wednesday, and there appears to be nothing more that Cronin can or needs to do by that time.

On the other hand, he's quick to note, "There's always a chance. Never say, 'This wraps up our recruiting class,' because one thing I can tell you is, you never know."

Contact Lonnie Wheeler at lwheeler@cincypost.com[/quote]
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

[quote name='IKOTA' post='496635' date='Jun 6 2007, 08:54 PM']Jason Henry may not be eligible, it's "up in the air" right now. :thumbsdown:[/quote]

I don't see Jason Henry being a Bearcat.......but Mick had a backup plan for this year in Darnell Wilkes, the 6'8" 200 lbs SG/SF who had originally commited for 2008 but became a 2007 recruit recently. Here's an article about him reclassifying:

[url="http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070711/SPT0101/307110025/1064"]http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../307110025/1064[/url]

[quote][size=4][b]UC recruit ready for '07[/b][/size]
BY BILL KOCH | BKOCH@ENQUIRER.COM

University of Cincinnati basketball coach Mick Cronin today added one player to his recruiting class of 2007 and subtracted one from the class of 2008.

Darnell Wilks, a 6-8 forward from Nashville’s Pioneer Christian Academy, who originally made an oral commitment as a member of the 2008 recruiting class, has enrolled at UC and is expected to be eligible to play this season.

“Wilks is enrolled in school,” Cronin said. “He starts tomorrow.”


With UC already at its full allotment of 13 scholarships for next season, someone will have to go if Wilks is to play this season. That could be Jason Henry, a 6-7 forward from Harmony Community School in Cincinnati, who has not yet qualified academically to play this season.

Cronin said that Wilks, who has already spent four years in high school, was recruited all along with the understanding that he might be able to play this season if he made the academic progress he needed to be eligible.

“His high school coach thought he may need an extra year, so recruiting analysts ranked him as a Class of 08 guy,” Cronin said. “But we knew all along there was a chance he could qualify this year. We’ve just been waiting to make sure he achieved his qualifying status. Really it was a decision that was up to Darnell and his coach.”

Carl Reed, Wilks’ coach at Pioneer Christian Academy and his legal guardian, said Wilks “did an excellent job in the classroom.

“Originally, when we reclassified him we thought he would need those two years to meet his academic eligibility but he came along so strong in that first semester, he came in so focused in the classroom last year, that we knew he was going to be able to make it.”

Wilks averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists last season.

“He can play with anybody in the country,” Reed said. “He was recruited by Tennessee, Auburn, Iowa State and UTEP, but he wanted to go to Cincinnati all along.

“He’s a 6-8 wing. He’s an elite level athlete. He puts you in mind of Tracy McGrady. He has improved his ball skills which have allowed him to be a legitimate perimeter player. How much he plays (as a freshman) depends on his commitment to the weight room and his commitment to playing defense on that level.”

Cronin said Wilks will remind UC fans of James White.

“He’s a high flyer,” Cronin said. “He can shoot the ball. He has a very good stroke from the perimeter. He’s 6-8, but he’s not a power forward. He’s 198 pounds and he’s a face-up player.

“He’s got to get stronger but Darnell is a high-level player. He’s got tremendous skills and athleticism. He has to develop his strength. He knows that. I think that’s why he chose to come now.”[/quote]

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  • 1 month later...
Bearcats just signed a PG for the 2008 class named Cashmere Wright. He chose UC over Tennessee and is listed as the 75th best player in the country and the 11th best PG. He originally commited to Clemson but decided to open his recruiting back up. That makes him and Yancy Gates as the 2008 recruits thus far with 3 scholarship left for 2008. Darnell Wilkes, who was another 2008 recruit, graduated early and did coursework and is playing this year ... he's a 6'8" SF with some skill who will take Jason Henry's place on the roster as Henry didn't make the grades to play. That's too bad since he's a baller.

Anyways, Wright is a good defender who likes to play like a true PG with scoring as a last option but that doesn't mean he can't score. He's actually very good at scoring if he has to but would rather pass first. 6'0" 190 lbs or so, looked pretty skinny to me with really long arms. He's a good recruit for UC who should be a Satterfield type PG for 3 or 4 years.
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  • 4 weeks later...
[quote name='IKOTA' post='528913' date='Aug 16 2007, 11:00 PM']Bearcats just signed a PG for the 2008 class named Cashmere Wright. He chose UC over Tennessee and is listed as the 75th best player in the country and the 11th best PG. He originally commited to Clemson but decided to open his recruiting back up. That makes him and Yancy Gates as the 2008 recruits thus far with 3 scholarship left for 2008. Darnell Wilkes, who was another 2008 recruit, graduated early and did coursework and is playing this year ... he's a 6'8" SF with some skill who will take Jason Henry's place on the roster as Henry didn't make the grades to play. That's too bad since he's a baller.

Anyways, Wright is a good defender who likes to play like a true PG with scoring as a last option but that doesn't mean he can't score. He's actually very good at scoring if he has to but would rather pass first. 6'0" 190 lbs or so, looked pretty skinny to me with really long arms. He's a good recruit for UC who should be a Satterfield type PG for 3 or 4 years.[/quote]


Continue to post man... I really appreciate it when you keep my updating on my cats
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[quote name='Palmer4HOF' post='545202' date='Sep 11 2007, 07:50 PM']Continue to post man... I really appreciate it when you keep my updating on my cats[/quote]

Thanks, I love college basketball and UC in particular and if I'm able to give out info, I certainly will. Here's something I found out recently:

Cashmere Wright, the PG we received a verbal is making an official visit soon (never visited before giving verbal to Mick) and bringing a player with him. That player is Teondre Williams, a 6'4" shooting guard out of Lawrenceville, GA who has been offered a scholarship already by Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia with others high on him also. The Bearcats have also offered him a scholarship for 2008 and like I said, is coming for a visit so that's good news. I'll update after he gets onto campus as to how he feels about UC. Right now, don't know one way or the other but from what I hear, he's a pretty good player who is rising on the Top 100 charts. I love how Mick Cronin is able to find these guys before their ranking starts getting higher and higher. He found Darnell Wilkes when he was listed at like 86th best player in his class and now some scouting services rank him in the 30s or 40s.

Like I said before, UC's 2008 recruiting class should be better than the 2007 class which was listed as the 13th best class.
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[quote name='CJ4MVP85' post='545331' date='Sep 11 2007, 09:55 PM']I'm not a UC fan or anything but I am really excited to see what Yancy can do next year..I saw him play last year in the tournament and he was just disgusting..[/quote]

Yancy Gates is a man amongst boys when he plays against HS competition. If he could just keep his intensity up all the time, he can dominate even at the college level after a year or two. He's that good. Can't wait to see him play for UC.
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No UC discussion huh? They've played 2 preseason games so far and don't look very much like a team but that's to be expected with so many new people. Their first 10 games or so will be rough but they should start to find out about themselves then. I look for a respectable year from them with next year get ting back into the tournament.

As for recruiting, Teondre Williams will probably not be attending UC. They also lost out on J'Mison Morgan who was a really sought after recruit, he commited to LSU earlier in the week. Would have been nice to get him but Mick will continue to find another player who can play C, PF.
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[quote name='IKOTA' post='587984' date='Nov 7 2007, 02:08 AM']No UC discussion huh? They've played 2 preseason games so far and don't look very much like a team but that's to be expected with so many new people. Their first 10 games or so will be rough but they should start to find out about themselves then. I look for a respectable year from them with next year get ting back into the tournament.

As for recruiting, Teondre Williams will probably not be attending UC. They also lost out on J'Mison Morgan who was a really sought after recruit, he commited to LSU earlier in the week. Would have been nice to get him but Mick will continue to find another player who can play C, PF.[/quote]


I hereby invite you to the Big Blue Thread, there will be plenty of good things to talk about there this year ;)

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[quote name='IKOTA' post='587984' date='Nov 6 2007, 09:08 PM']No UC discussion huh? They've played 2 preseason games so far and don't look very much like a team but that's to be expected with so many new people. Their first 10 games or so will be rough but they should start to find out about themselves then. I look for a respectable year from them with next year get ting back into the tournament.

As for recruiting, Teondre Williams will probably not be attending UC. They also lost out on J'Mison Morgan who was a really sought after recruit, he commited to LSU earlier in the week. Would have been nice to get him but Mick will continue to find another player who can play C, PF.[/quote]

anyword on Henry?

I know he was ineligible for this year, but are there plans to get him enrolled and make grades for next season?

I'm thinking Vaughns senior year we might have the potential of a dangerous Big East team if the team gels right
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[quote name='Palmer4HOF' post='601656' date='Nov 30 2007, 05:10 PM']anyword on Henry?

I know he was ineligible for this year, but are there plans to get him enrolled and make grades for next season?

I'm thinking Vaughns senior year we might have the potential of a dangerous Big East team if the team gels right[/quote]

No plans for Henry to rejoin the Bearcats......unfortunately.

Yancy Gates will be the man after he gets acclimated to the college game. Dude is 6'10" legit and built like a tank........athletic........soft touch and when he plays hard is going to be unstoppable. By Vaughn's senior year (if he's still around--Gates that is) UC will be very dangerous.
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[quote name='Jason' post='608104' date='Dec 12 2007, 11:20 PM']Is dunking illegal in Poland???

Adam H has had several open chances at the basket and instead of dunking the ball he has missed several layups.

Adam! Dunk the f*ck!ng ball!!!!![/quote]

It's hard for him to dunk, he's just not that athletic but he missed some easy shots against X......especially the one with UC up by 3 with about 4 mins to go which could have put them up by 5 but he missed the layup. I was pissed.

I thought Rashad Bishop played well as did Larry Davis when given the chance.......which is what I don't get......give your young guys a chance dammit!
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Nice article by Lonnie Wheeler on the state of the team/program and the patience that's going to be needed for a year or two.


[url="http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/SPT0201/712200326/1035/SPT"]http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...200326/1035/SPT[/url]
[quote][size=4][b]UC will be rewarded eventually [/b][/size]

Column by The Post's Lonnie Wheeler

Mourn if you must. The Bearcats lost again, the sixth time in 10 games this season. This time it was Memphis, the familiar old foe, the team ranked No. 2 in the nation, the program that presently stands as the University of Cincinnati used to, at the head of Conference USA and rolling along at a lofty level.

If your thing is all about the now, the distress is well-placed. For all the progress that UC has shown in its last two games, starting a week ago with Xavier, Big East competition does not bode well for Mick Cronin's unaccomplished club. It's a little short on everything but inexperience.

And yet, after an 11-1 run for the home team Wednesday night, it was a one-point game at halftime. After missing makeable shots from every conceivable distance, the Bearcats still, somehow, found themselves in a 6-point game with a minute and a half to play.

This is how it will have to happen for them. On their plodding path back to respectability, there will be no screaming headlines, no sudden assaults on the national rankings. In the best scenario, there will, instead, be steady progress of the sort that showed itself against XU and Memphis. There will be adjustments by sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn, such as he made Wednesday when the rugged visitors muscled him from line to line, and wincing maturation of the half-dozen Cincinnati freshmen.

All six were summoned against the deep club that John Calipari has smartly assembled without the sort of recruiting disadvantages that have greeted Cronin. It was as if the Bearcats were matched against their former selves, a brawny, swarming, swaggering team for which the NCAA Tournament is effectively foreordained.

For UC, on the other hand, the postseason is not a part of the discussion. For a team whose margin for error is no bigger than Darnell Wilks' calves, even the 12-team Big East tournament seems an ambitious goal.

Nevertheless, it was undaunted, worth-watching basketball that the Bearcats played against No. 2. It was a performance that portended of better results in the near future, and much better in the longer term.

In two years, for example, Wilks, Rashad Bishop, Larry Davis, Alvin Mitchell, Kenny Belton and Biggie McClain will all be seasoned juniors. Vaughn will be a starring senior. And Memphis' freshman sensation, point guard Derrick Rose - 26 points against UC, and three answers for every statement the Bearcats submitted - will very conceivably be in the NBA.

In that context, there's a bright side to the recruiting obstacles that Cronin has dealt with. He had no reasonable chance of collecting a young or highly regarded group last year, given the lack of groundwork laid before his late arrival. Even this year's excellent class was put together without the benefit of early wooing.

As a result, there are no Roses in it, or Eric Gordons or O.J Mayos. There's nobody whom the League is likely to solicit prematurely. It's a class that circumstances ought to hold together; a class, also, that talent could serve well.

And that's not a home-fried perspective. It's Calipari's, after he watched Mitchell shut down his leading scorer, Chris Douglas-Roberts; after he watched the Bearcats beat his team to loose balls; after he watched Vaughn pull the underdogs unexpectedly close in the final minutes. After he spent Wednesday at UC.

"I walked this campus today," remarked the veteran coach, "and man, I'm stunned. I am stunned. What they've done with the athletic complex, housing, fixing up the fraternities and sororities - they're saying, 'Ohio State, move over.' The office complex, I couldn't believe it. So my hat's off to this university and what they're trying to do.

"When I'm seeing it, I'm like, my goodness, I can see why the Big East wants them in the league so bad. Mick just needs some time to get some players going. It's a tough road right now, but he's got everything he needs to sell."

Already, if Wednesday night is an indication, he has sold Mitchell - a surprise starter against Memphis - on the concept of defense. "It's a big adjustment for a guy who scored 38 points a game in high school and didn't guard his lunch," Cronin said.

Already, he has sold Vaughn on the notion that he's the one who has to push the UC offense and make points happen. "He's basically getting mugged for 40 minutes," observed the coach. "But he needs to be aggressive with the ball. I thought it was the first time he really stepped up to that challenge."

The result was a 79-69 defeat that, for now, will have to suffice. Bemoan it if you're so inclined.

And when you're finished, flash ahead a year or two. You'll feel better.[/quote]
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There are 2 rumors going around about transfers and UC.......1 good (maybe) and 1 bad.

#1 Nick Aldrige, a 6'7" SF who originally commited to UC while Huggins was here has decided to transfer to either Marshall or UC. Looks like UC will get him....he averaged 19 pts and 7 rebounds this year at Western Carolina.....and scored 22 points against UC this year when the two teams played

#2 Alvin Mitchell may transfer at year's end as the coaches and Alvin have both been disappointed in his development. He's getting fatter by the day and losing confidence......he needs to have a game where he hits a couple of outside shots.....badly!!!

These are just RUMORS so please treat them as such but the Aldridge one may be pretty reliable.
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[quote name='IKOTA' post='617505' date='Jan 2 2008, 07:08 PM']There are 2 rumors going around about transfers and UC.......1 good (maybe) and 1 bad.

#1 Nick Aldrige, a 6'7" SF who originally commited to UC while Huggins was here has decided to transfer to either Marshall or UC. Looks like UC will get him....he averaged 19 pts and 7 rebounds this year at Western Carolina.....and scored 22 points against UC this year when the two teams played

#2 Alvin Mitchell may transfer at year's end as the coaches and Alvin have both been disappointed in his development. He's getting fatter by the day and losing confidence......he needs to have a game where he hits a couple of outside shots.....badly!!!

These are just RUMORS so please treat them as such but the Aldridge one may be pretty reliable.[/quote]


Nick Aldridge has decided to transfer to UC.......he'll be eligible after the fall qtr next year and will be a Sophomore for the rest of next year. I kinda like this transfer........
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[quote name='IKOTA' post='618710' date='Jan 4 2008, 11:33 AM']Nick Aldridge has decided to transfer to UC.......he'll be eligible after the fall qtr next year and will be a Sophomore for the rest of next year. I kinda like this transfer........[/quote]

How good is this Aldridge kid? Would he play significant minutes for say Pitt or Georgetown?
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[quote name='Jason' post='618746' date='Jan 4 2008, 02:38 PM']How good is this Aldridge kid? Would he play significant minutes for say Pitt or Georgetown?[/quote]

Well, he averaged 19 pts this year for Western Carolina and scored 22 against UC earlier this year. He's got a good game and seems like a strong player so IMO I think he would play significant minutes for either of those teams you mentioned....and especially at UC who is going to use an uptempo game and sub players in and out. This guy is a savvy scorer and does it with unconventional shots.........and he's got a decent jumper. This will leave UC with 2 scholarships to give still next year. They may carry one over to 2009 or hopefully if Mike Williams is allowed an additional year due to his injury (not holding my breath), then it would go to him along with another Center hopefully.

I'm still not 100% sure if I like this transfer or not as you could sign a HS kid with the scholarship Aldrdige will get but I am leaning towards liking it. Also, Aldridge was recruited by Huggins to UC and signed with UC but transferred after the whole Huggins "firing" so apparently Huggs thought enough of him to recruit him on a B-EAST team. He could turn out to be a solid role player on a good team which is why I am leaning towards liking it......gotta go with Mick on this one.........Mick likes this kid.
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