Official signing day thread: Discuss it all in here

[Apis Bull]

Looks like Heath may need to get up to Wichita.

[Mama_Bull]

Huggins probably got word that his #1 target Doron Lamb is not going to WVU and is now looking at other options. Lamb is scheduled to announce his decision on Saturday.

[subflea]

BTW... 4 more underclassmen declared...

Butler center Gordon Hayward

Purdue center JaJuan Johnson

Purdue guard E'Twaun Moore

Baylor's Udoh

There are now 51 underclassmen that think they'll be first round (and that isn't including seniors and foreign players, which there are many) for 30 spots.  Plus another 8 players waffling on weather to declare... half of whom are probably going to get drafted before Jones, if they go, like Greg Monroe and Patrick Patterson.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13033792/-nba-draft-early-entry-watch-list

It isn't looking good for Jones.

Looking at the names available, including seniors... I wouldn't have him even sniffing the top 30 picks right now. 

It has nothing to do with believing they are first round talent.  It has everything to do with fear of a lockout in the NBA after next season.

[Velcro]

BTW... 4 more underclassmen declared...

Butler center Gordon Hayward

Purdue center JaJuan Johnson

Purdue guard E'Twaun Moore

Baylor's Udoh

There are now 51 underclassmen that think they'll be first round (and that isn't including seniors and foreign players, which there are many) for 30 spots.  Plus another 8 players waffling on weather to declare... half of whom are probably going to get drafted before Jones, if they go, like Greg Monroe and Patrick Patterson.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13033792/-nba-draft-early-entry-watch-list

It isn't looking good for Jones.

Looking at the names available, including seniors... I wouldn't have him even sniffing the top 30 picks right now. 

It has nothing to do with believing they are first round talent.  It has everything to do with fear of a lockout in the NBA after next season.

There won't be a lockout next season.  Most nba players live beyond their means and can't afford to not get paid for a season.  And the nba can't afford to not have a season either.  Both have plenty of motivation to get it done.

I'm sure people are telling them about the potential for a lockout, to get them go to early... but the smart move would be to go into NEXT year's draft with a much thinner talent pool and FLY up the charts.  If Jones spent the year working on this 3 ptr, he could turn himself into a lottery pick in next years draft.  If he has no confidence in improving his 3, then his stock won't get much better (only a little due to the thin draft next year).

His only negatives are his height for a SG and his ability to shoot.  Everything else, he is through the rough.  Those are the difference between a guaranteed contract worth a fortune, and NBA d-league, no guaranteed money, and a much lower pay. 

I know he see's dollar signs... but so do the other 50 underclassmen, and many seniors and foreign players. 

If you look at the draft, there will be a handful of foreign players, a handful of seniors in round 1.

That leaves maybe 20 spots for underclassmen, of those 50.  Is Jones going to be one of those 20?  I just don't see it, not with the names that have been declaring.

I think Monroe may stay, just so he can capitalize on the hold out scare.  He would probably be a lottery pick now... but next year, he would probably be top 5.

[Vega]

Haynes signs with South Florida

Shedrick Haynes used to wake up in the middle of the night and break into tears. The lingering pain in his left knee was excruciating.

Haynes' body was struggling to accept an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) taken from a cadaver, and it was on the verge of rejecting the new tendon.

It was a high risk procedure that doctors hoped would pay big dividends down the road for the former Palmetto High standout.

Haynes suffered an ACL tear during a preseason basketball game in October 2006 and injured his knee so severely that it could not be reconstructed.

He had the surgery on Dec. 30. After that, he was unable to walk or bend his knee. Haynes was not even allowed to touch a basketball.

"Not being able to hold a basketball for more than six months ... I feel like I've been through the worst experience I can go through as an athlete," Haynes said. "Now my knee feels even better than it did before."

On a wing and a prayer, Haynes went from the hospital bed at Sarasota Memorial to the hotbed of collegiate basketball in a span of three years.

The 22-year-old signed a letter of intent on Wednesday to play for Stan Heath and the University of South Florida, a member of the Big East Conference.

He also fielded offers from Temple, Houston and LaSalle.

"The recovery was rough," Haynes said. "It was all a mind game. The doctors told me that there was a chance my body would reject the tendon ... that was always in the back of my head."

Haynes averaged 19 points, four rebounds and three assists per game for Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pa., en route to being selected as a NJCAA Division II second team All-American.

The sophomore finished with team-highs in points (572), steals (40), free throws (76 percent) and three-point shooting (43 percent) for the Falcons.

"Coming to Lackawanna has really groomed me as a basketball player," Haynes said. "Playing at this level involves a lot more than just going to the gym and taking jump shots.

"When it's all said and done not everyone can be a vocal leader, and that's what I bring to a team.

"I'm more poised with the ball now and don't get rattled as much. I learned how to control the tempo of a game and know where my teammates are going to be at all times on the court."

Haynes caught the eye of Heath in July at the Jerry Mullen All-American Camp in Tulsa, Okla., while competing against the top 120 JuCo players in the U.S.

"I really wanted to come (to USF)," Haynes said. "It's too cold up north, and I want to play in front of my family and friends. When Heath offered me, everything just fell into place. The timing was meant to be."

The 18 months that followed Haynes' surgery became a road to perdition for the 6-foot point guard.

Haynes, who lived in a two-story home, didn't step foot in his own room for three months because he could not walk up the stairs.

Knowing that his body could deny the tendon at any time and force him to start from scratch, he took nothing for granted.

"The hardest part was the day after the surgery and having to bend my knee for the first time ... the pain was unbearable," Haynes said.

"I was a little tentative when I came back, but the surgery helped my dreams become a reality."

With physical therapy three to four days a week, Haynes would not play in another game of organized basketball for nearly two years.

It was not until October 2008 when Haynes, who earned a starting spot at the State College of Florida, began to resurrect his career.

Haynes averaged 13 points, four assists and three steals per contest with SCF during the '08-09 season before transferring to Lackawanna.

"My long range shot is a 180-degree turn around from high school," Haynes said. "I've improved on every aspect of my game from dribbling and passing to defense. I've been in the gym every day since the last game of the season, and I'm just trying to help the USF basketball program step it up a notch next year."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100416/ARTICLE/4161022/-1/NEWSSITEMAP?p=all&tc=pgall

[DELdaBull]

"I'm just trying to help the USF basketball program step it up a notch next year."

I love that.

[Mama_Bull]

Davante' Ox Gardner Q: Which college did you decide on?

A: didnt yet

http://www.formspring.me/Ox54/q/439926789 5 hours ago via formspring.me · formspring.me

[Mama_Bull]

There was speculation that Davante Gardner was waiting for his teaamate Jay Copeland to return from his official visit to Ball State, so that they could both announce their  school decisions.

As it turns out, Jay Copeland committed to Ball State and we still haven't heard anything about Gardner:

Ball State men's basketball program lands oral commitment from power forward

By THOMAS ST. MYER • tstmyer@muncie.gannett.com • April 21, 2010

A source close to the Ball State men's basketball program confirmed that the Cardinals secured their third commitment for the 2010 class late Tuesday night.

Two days after returning from his official campus visit, 6-foot-6, 235-pound power forward Jay Copeland (King's Fork High School/Suffolk, Va.) informed the Ball State coaching staff of his commitment. Copeland will sign his National Letter of Intent today, the source said

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20100421/SPORTS2002/4210343/1006/SPORTS

[Vega]

There was speculation that Davante Gardner was waiting for his teaamate Jay Copeland to return from his official visit to Ball State, so that they could both announce their  school decisions.

As it turns out, Jay Copeland committed to Ball State and we still haven't heard anything about Gardner:

Ball State men's basketball program lands oral commitment from power forward

By THOMAS ST. MYER • tstmyer@muncie.gannett.com • April 21, 2010

A source close to the Ball State men's basketball program confirmed that the Cardinals secured their third commitment for the 2010 class late Tuesday night.

Two days after returning from his official campus visit, 6-foot-6, 235-pound power forward Jay Copeland (King's Fork High School/Suffolk, Va.) informed the Ball State coaching staff of his commitment. Copeland will sign his National Letter of Intent today, the source said

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20100421/SPORTS2002/4210343/1006/SPORTS

I expect Gardner to do something soon then. I mean I haven't seen anything that suggest he is taking other visits. I also haven't seen anything about USF looking at other Big guys so I feel confident that we get the Ox. We see with Poland decommitting Heath start looking for other options rather quickly even though SG is clearly a higher priority. I have to admit that concern is starting to creep in, at least slightly.

[Velcro]

3 more underclassmen declared today... including UL's Samuels.

The draft is sooooo deep... next year's draft is going to be a goldmine for the few players who are smart enough to wait that have late first round projections being whispered in their ears.