Djery Baptiste (Committed to Vanderbilt)

[aceboon]

Reebok Breakout Camp(June 9th-11th, 2014): The best performer of the day was the 6-foot-7 wing, and it wasn't close. In his afternoon game on Thursday, he exploded for 31 points on 12-15 shooting from the field. What was most impressive was that he did it on all three levels, which combined with his otherworldly athleticism, makes him unguardable. It looks like his skills are improving by the month, and his stock is beginning to skyrocket.

Got it, getting 31pts in one game in a camp setting where no defense was played is now averaging 30ppg in a mythical league..I hope no one is taking this as me not wanting Jones, because I do and if his skill level catches up with his athleticism he is league bound, but I just don't quite understand the sentiment that if KO were to get Clarke instead this is somehow settling for crumbs. We'll agree to disagree.

 

[superjohn]

Jones is a better shooter and the more elite athlete. I like Clarke a lot but Jones is the better prospect.

 

[kansashusky]

I dont care who is playing defense, 12-15 is impressive. Also,

Chris Clarke

Even though he’s comfortable on the perimeter, the biggest thing he could work on to prepare for the next level are his ball-handling skills and outside shooting.

 

[kansashusky]

Got it, getting 31pts in one game in a camp setting where no defense was played is now averaging 30ppg in a mythical league..I hope no one is taking this as me not wanting Jones, because I do and if his skill level catches up with his athleticism he is league bound, but I just don't quite understand the sentiment that if KO were to get Clarke instead this is somehow settling for crumbs. We'll agree to disagree.

Again I never said settling for crumbs. I guess I just have high ambitions, and you are comfortable with second best.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Again I never said settling for crumbs. I guess I just have high ambitions, and you are comfortable with second best.

So you'll only accept the #1 player at their position in the country? Be prepared for lots of disappointment.

 

[kansashusky]

So you'll only accept the #1 player at their position in the country? Be prepared for lots of disappointment.

That is a gross oversimplification. Yes I will be disappointed if we fail to land a kid that lists that UCONN is coming after him the hardest, is the most glaring need in our recruiting class, and has visited. I don't care his ranking. KO wants him the most, so I do. If we don't get Jones, ill bet KO might be disappointed as well, and thats okay. That is recruiting in nature.

 

[7774]

That's exactly what I said! But going from Stone and Jones, to Clark and Baptiste is quite a downgrade, never said we shouldnt over non 4 or 5 stars.

So going from 2 guys who have played 0 minutes of college basketball to two other guys who have played 0 minutes of college basketball is a quite a downgrade?

 

[kansashusky]

So going from 2 guys who have played 0 minutes of college basketball to two other guys who have played 0 minutes of college basketball is a quite a downgrade?

If you really want to argue whether Baptiste or Clark are downgrades over Jones and Stone please take it up with every coach and scout that has seen them play.

 

[7774]

If you really want to argue whether Baptiste or Clark are downgrades over Jones and Stone please take it up with every coach and scout that has seen them play.

When they post one moronic statement after another on this board I will.

 

[kansashusky]

When they post one moronic statement after another on this board I will.

Good luck with that.

 

[7774]

Good luck with that.

You've still never really answered how you know which players, all of whom have never played college basketball, will be better for our program. I'm curious to know.

By your rationale every center in the top 100 Emeka's senior year of high school would have been an upgrade for us because he was the 99th ranked recruit that year. It's idiotic.

 

[kansashusky]

You've still never really answered how you know which players, all of whom have never played college basketball, will be better for our program. I'm curious to know.

By your rationale every center in the top 100 Emeka's senior year of high school would have been an upgrade for us because he was the 99th ranked recruit that year. It's idiotic.

There is the Emeka comment! My rational says the majority of the time, higher ranked players that have been analyzed by people much smarter than you or I, turn out to be better prospects at the collegiate and pro level. Yes there are exceptions such as Emeka. It did take Emeka three years to get to that point. Also KO knows and believes that some players will be more beneficial, and that's why he offered players at much earlier stages and has had them on campus and performed in home visits. There is priority here. He believes Diamond Stone will be more beneficial because he has put in the time. I don't know what else there is to say. You have a terrible argument. It's idiotic.

 

[intlzncster]

There is the Emeka comment! My rational says the majority of the time, higher ranked players that have been analyzed by people much smarter than you or I, turn out to be better prospects at the collegiate and pro level. Yes there are exceptions such as Emeka. It did take Emeka three years to get to that point. Also KO knows and believes that some players will be more beneficial, and that's why he offered players at much earlier stages and has had them on campus and performed in home visits. There is priority here. He believes Diamond Stone will be more beneficial because he has put in the time. I don't know what else there is to say. You have a terrible argument. It's idiotic.

Emeka is hardly the only argument. Besides, as we have shown repeatedly, we do I our best work with those guys who stick around.

 

[arnie3]

Why do threads like these seem to always end up more confusing than enlightening? I like both players. The one that I will like the best will be the person that commits.

 

[Walker11]

Kansashusky...

No big is scaring away Diamond. Clarke's strength is supposedly ball handling and passing for his position. Jones weaknesses are passing and ball handling. Your analysis is bad and you should feel bad.

That said, I prefer Jones as well but I would be happy with either.

 

[7774]

There is the Emeka comment! My rational says the majority of the time, higher ranked players that have been analyzed by people much smarter than you or I, turn out to be better prospects at the collegiate and pro level. Yes there are exceptions such as Emeka. It did take Emeka three years to get to that point. Also KO knows and believes that some players will be more beneficial, and that's why he offered players at much earlier stages and has had them on campus and performed in home visits. There is priority here. He believes Diamond Stone will be more beneficial because he has put in the time. I don't know what else there is to say. You have a terrible argument. It's idiotic.

Outside of the top 10 players in a class, I would say that within the top 100 there is almost no correlation between a players ranking and how good that player turns out to be. And when you're dealing with a top 10 player, the potential of having him for only one year decreases his value to a program when weighed against multiple years of a lower ranked player still in the top 100.

This isn't even considering a players mental ability, his ability to be a team player, get along with his teammates, stay out of trouble, take care of his academics, etc.

And it took Emeka 3 years to become a very good college player? That's the dumbest thing you've posted in this thread. Maybe you don't watch UCONN basketball.

 

[kansashusky]

For every Emeka there are 5 transfers. Please find me one thing that says Clark can handle the ball, and if my analysis is bad why do you agree with me and would rather take Jones? You would say there is no correlation 7774, that is beyond dumb. There is a correlation, and if there is not, why do coaches rank players? It took 3 years for Emeka to get drafted am I wrong? It's scary how little you guys know about the game of basketball.

 

[intlzncster]

Outside of the top 10 players in a class, I would say that within the top 100 there is almost no correlation between a players ranking and how good that player turns out to be. And when you're dealing with a top 10 player, the potential of having him for only one year decreases his value to a program when weighed against multiple years of a lower ranked player still in the top 100.

Would be really interesting to see some analysis like that (pre college ranking vs actual college development). Would require someone to rank guys in their last year of college. Obviously, there'd need to be a lot of caveats and assumptions, but still would be interesting.

 

[aceboon]

For every Emeka there are 5 transfers. Please find me one thing that says Clark can handle the ball, and if my analysis is bad why do you agree with me and would rather take Jones? You would say there is no correlation 7774, that is beyond dumb. There is a correlation, and if there is not, why do coaches rank players? It took 3 years for Emeka to get drafted am I wrong? It's scary how little you guys know about the game of basketball.

it didn't take Emeka 3 years to get drafted, it took him 3 years to decide he wanted to go pro. Good Lord, the level of nonsense you're approaching right now is bordering on husky91 level.

 

[intlzncster]

For every Emeka there are 5 transfers. Please find me one thing that says Clark can handle the ball, and if my analysis is bad why do you agree with me and would rather take Jones? You would say there is no correlation 7774, that is beyond dumb. There is a correlation, and if there is not, why do coaches rank players? It took 3 years for Emeka to get drafted am I wrong? It's scary how little you guys know about the game of basketball.

It didn't take three years for Emeka to get drafted. He just happened to stay three years before entering the draft. He'd have gone first round after two years (he was BE DPOY his sophomore year). It took him 3 years to become the number two player in the draft.

Leaving aside the fact that college coaches have nothing to do with the rankings we look at, their 'ranking' of players does not prove there is any correlation. It only proves that coaches are trying to sort the wheat from the chaffe. But for the most part, they aren't any better at prognosticating what will actually happen than recruiting 'experts'.

 

[Walker11]

For every Emeka there are 5 transfers. Please find me one thing that says Clark can handle the ball, and if my analysis is bad why do you agree with me and would rather take Jones? You would say there is no correlation 7774, that is beyond dumb. There is a correlation, and if there is not, why do coaches rank players? It took 3 years for Emeka to get drafted am I wrong? It's scary how little you guys know about the game of basketball.

Do a twitter search with his name, read some scouting reports, etc. and try to educate yourself.

 

[kansashusky]

Everything I have read about Clarke states he is a high energy guy that gets most of his baskets off garbage. There is one scout report that said he had good ball handling for a wing. There are two others that say he needs to improve it. Coaches have their own rankings and KO has both jones and stone ahead the other two. I'll stick with coach.

 

[Gurleyman]

Our entire team last year was made up of downgrades. Our best player was option #5 at point guard and won two titles. Emeka, Ben, Thabeet and Kemba were fall back options to higher ranked recruits as well.

Id be thrilled with a class of Adams-Clarke-Enoch-Baptiste. Great nucleus of four top 100 guys who will likely stay a while. You can find a good scorer at the 2-3 in the next class (Battle, if we're lucky, or someone similar) to bridge the gap after Purvis and Hamilton leave. I'd also be happy with Jones. I'd be a bit worried about him being Zach Levine Part II - one pedestrian college season and going pro based on being a combine warrior - but if he sticks around 2-3 years, he could be a serious weapon. And if Stone comes for one year, you take him in a second - he could be the difference in that one season between a deep run/title and an early loss.

But I'd be thrilled with taking those other four guys and going to war with them. History has taught me that, while recruiting wars are interesting, there hasn't been a single guy we've lost in 25 years that I've ended up lamenting with the advantage of hindsight. Camby from a pure on-court perspective, but that would have been a blight on our program.

 

[7774]

For every Emeka there are 5 transfers.

I'm sure there are more than 5 transfers for every Emeka since there's only 1 Emeka and we've had more than 5 transfers. Not sure how that's relevant at all.

Please find me one thing that says Clark can handle the ball

You can actually just type his name into google and click on links to easily find this information yourself, so I'm going to pass, thanks.

You would say there is no correlation 7774, that is beyond dumb.

It's actually not dumb. You can go to the RSCI rankings for previous years and confirm for yourself that the correlation is minor outside the top 10 prospects in any given year. I know you're not a big fan of facts though, so I won't hold my breath.

There is a correlation, and if there is not, why do coaches rank players?

Do you have a link to these coaches players rankings you speak of? How do you know that KO just hadn't had a chance to see Chris Clarke in person much up until the last month, and now that he has, he regards him just as highly as Jones?

It took 3 years for Emeka to get drafted am I wrong?

Yes, it was that 3rd year that took Emeka from an unknown propect to a top 5 draft pick........................................................................................................

 

[aceboon]

Everything I have read about Clarke states he is a high energy guy that gets most of his baskets off garbage. There is one scout report that said he had good ball handling for a wing. There are two others that say he needs to improve it. Coaches have their own rankings and KO has both jones and stone ahead the other two. I'll stick with coach.

reading about recruits instead of watching them is certainly a different approach to evaluating them. I remember the old Scout scouting reports that talked up Dyson's shooting ability and knocked him for his ability to score/create off the bounce...I also remember Scout calling MWill a scorer who needed to work on his PG skills...these were before the days of youtube so you had to go by their words to get a read on recruits before they stepped on campus, thankfully those days are gone. there is plenty of video out there that shows Clarke's passing and ballhandling abilty, hell, in the Peach Jam semifinal I saw him making high low post entry passes to Adebayo that were better than I see from alot of experienced college PGs.

 

[kansashusky]

I'm sure there are more than 5 transfers for every Emeka since there's only 1 Emeka and we've had more than 5 transfers. Not sure how that's relevant at all.

You can actually just type his name into google and click on links to easily find this information yourself, so I'm going to pass, thanks.

It's actually not dumb. You can go to the RSCI rankings for previous years and confirm for yourself that the correlation is minor outside the top 10 prospects in any given year. I know you're not a big fan of facts though, so I won't hold my breath.

Do you have a link to these coaches players rankings you speak of? How do you know that KO just hadn't had a chance to see Chris Clarke in person much up until the last month, and now that he has, he regards him just as highly as Jones?

Yes, it was that 3rd year that took Emeka from an unknown propect to a top 5 draft pick...................

You have yet to state any facts yet either. KO has spent more time with Stone and Jones, had them on campus, and had in homes. That tells me he regards them highly.

 

[kansashusky]

reading about recruits instead of watching them is certainly a different approach to evaluating them. I remember the old Scout scouting reports that talked up Dyson's shooting ability and knocked him for ability to score/create off the bounce...I also remember Scout calling MWill a scorer who needed to work on his PG skills...these were before the days of youtube so you had to go by their words to get a read on recruits before they stepped on campus, thankfully those days are gone. there is plenty of video out there that shows Clarke's passing and ballhandling abilty, hell, in the Peach Jam semifinal I saw him making high low post entry passes to Adebayo that were better than I see from alot of experienced college PGs.

I guess I will just have to take you at your word. I'm done arguing. Obviously a difference of opinion. I just want an elite class. I apologize for bickering.

 

[intlzncster]

Everything I have read about Clarke states he is a high energy guy that gets most of his baskets off garbage. There is one scout report that said he had good ball handling for a wing. There are two others that say he needs to improve it. Coaches have their own rankings and KO has both jones and stone ahead the other two. I'll stick with coach.

Please provide us with KO's player rankings. I would love to see these and it would really help us out when discussing these guys.

 

[kansashusky]

Please provide us with KO's player rankings. I would love to see these and it would really help us out when discussing these guys.

I'm going to try this one more time.

Who has KO prioritized? Well Diamond Stone has visited UConn, Kevin Ollie has had an in home visit with him, and has seen the majority of his games over the live period. Derrick Jones has visited UConn, Kevin Ollie has seen the majority of his games, and his father was quoted that UConn was working the hardest. Both have had offers longer than Clark and Baptiste.

Neither Clarke or Baptiste have seen UConn's campus, or had an in home with Kevin Ollie. Assistants have been the ones going to their games except for Peach Jam, Kevin Ollie was there. Both recently were offered. Neither have planned visits.

Who do you think is the priority and higher rank for UConn?

 

[Hysteria]

wow I've seen a lot of mix tapes--never seen anyone like this kid.
would have guessed he was 24 & in the league already.

I want him in Storrs !