Mercer working to put off-court issues in past

[Vega]

I believe Daniels still has to wait until after the last game of the FB regular season before he can jump into basketball.I saying this because I think Matt Jones(Arkansas QB, Jacksonville Jaguars WR) had to wait until the last game was played before he could practice with the basketball team.Now Jones was the starting QB at Arkansas not a redshirt.The rules may apply different if that is the case.It may come down to when CJL thinks Daniels leaving the football team to play basketball is appropriate.

[Velcro]

Dominique Jones will probably get time at point during the first semester backing up Howard.  he did a serviceable job last season in that position.  But I much rather see him at the two where he is absolutely deadly.

[Rizman]

I am looking forward to this years basketball team. 

[Mama_Bull]

I believe Daniels still has to wait until after the last game of the FB regular season before he can jump into basketball.I saying this because I think Matt Jones(Arkansas QB, Jacksonville Jaguars WR) had to wait until the last game was played before he could practice with the basketball team.Now Jones was the starting QB at Arkansas not a redshirt.The rules may apply different if that is the case.It may come down to when CJL thinks Daniels leaving the football team to play basketball is appropriate.

You may be right about that:

B.J. Daniels

B.J. Daniels

Guard/Point Guard

6-1, 200 High School: Lincoln, Tallahassee FL

Hometown: Tallahassee FL

At Lincoln HS averaged 27 points per game as a senior and was named the Tallahassee Democrat’s Co-Big Bend Male Basketball Player of the Year. Is believed to be the first player to win the Democrat’s Player of the Year honors in both basketball and football in the same season. Named 5A first-team All-State, and broke the school’s season record for scoring average. Had season high of 45 points and also had a 37-point game. Averaged 16 points per game as a junior. Four year varsity starter in basketball and football. A USF Football signee who is expected to join the basketball team after the completion of the football season.  

"From everything I've learned, he's going to be as good a walk-on as we're going to have," Heath told the St. Pete Times. "And he's a quarterback, and I always want to have players with leadership skills on my team." 

-- Head Coach Stan Heath

http://southflorida.scout.com/2/765599.html

[Mama_Bull]

Jarrett Brown, who is back-up QB to Pat White, also played for Huggins on the basketball team.

He's not sure on whether he'll play BB again. It's a question that BJ Daniels no doubt will have to consider at some point in his college career:

Take Jarrett Brown, for instance. He's got enough on his plate still catching up from missing the early part of spring practice and trying to learn the nuances of WVU's reconfigured offense.

So far, so good. But a quarterback, even if you are Pat White's backup, still has a ways to go.

"You can never learn too much about the playbook,'' Brown said. "I want to know it like the back of my hand.''

Brown, though, doesn't regret spending the winter playing basketball for Bob Huggins, even if it meant he was in continuous training and practice for the better part of 11 months - beginning with summer football workouts through the football season, then basketball, then spring football.

"I just thought of it this way: I wasn't going to get a break anyway because the guys were over here working just as hard as I was working in basketball,'' Brown said. "I was just doing a different workout.''

Brown did manage to take a week and a half off after spring drills ended in April.

"I didn't work out at all,'' Brown said. "I sat around and went to class.''

Here's the $64,000 question, though: Is he going to do it again?

"I don't know,'' Brown said. "It's something I have to think about the pros and the cons.''

Well, the cons are that if all goes as expected, when White finishes his career at the end of the coming football season, Brown becomes the heir apparent at quarterback and will have just one season in which to cram a career. That's a con only from the basketball side of things. Can he really afford to step away from football at just the time he will finally get his opportunity?

The pro to playing basketball is that he loves it. He had a blast doing it for three months and Huggins - provided he has a spot open on the roster - would no doubt like to have him back.

That having been said, it seems a no-brainer. Brown will have worked for four years to finally get a chance to become a starting quarterback, and messing around with basketball just doesn't seem in his best interests. But he insists he just doesn't know what he'll do yet.

"I just don't know,'' Brown said. "It's going to be my senior year and I've been patiently waiting.''

Exactly.

http://www.wvgazette.com/Sports/WVU/200807020792

[Bull Martin]

Wow, great article!

Atleast BJ would be in shape come football season, but that's got to be extremely tough.  At least the other athletes get a semester off to focus on school.  Brown had to pass classes while playing b-ball (harder than football as there are away games in the middle of the week constantly).  It's an impressive feat.