Bear Down Wildcats

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

thenewazcats wrote:"Our school can offer you a better experience" vs "We will give you more money" have two very different impacts on the perception of a level playing field. That's not hard to see even if our heads are buried in the sand.

You mentioned Alabama football. According to rivals, they had had the #1 ranked recruiting class four years in a row. How level is the playing field?

Nick Saban makes close to 10 million a year to coach. Players risk CTE, paralysis (Taliaferro, Mullins, LaGrande) and are prohibited from taking money people are freely willing to give them.

I'm a college sports fan, and my enjoyment of the games would be enhanced if I knew they players were making money off their likenesses. Instead, you see players on the cover of NCAA video games and get to know they sell millions and that players gets squat.

Why do you think Arizona football is moving to selling generic number jerseys? Because using player numbers to sell jerseys and not compensating players is part of litigation about how players are cash cows, not students.

Yeah I get what you're saying. The playing field isn't level. I didn't argue it was. Do you get what I'm saying? I'm talking about the perception of a level playing field. There is a HUGE difference in a program attracting better players because they have better facilities, better coaching, better coeds, etc. and flat-out buying a player's commitment with cold, hard cash. Most programs earn their money used for resources through years of success. You have the occasional Oregon or Oklahoma State elevated from ultra wealthy boosters but, for the most part, athletic departments have grown over time as a result of winning. I find that an acceptable disparity, and it gives hope that if you're a disadvantaged program, like Butler or VCU in basketball, that you can incrementally grow bigger by having little successes along the way. I also like knowing that my school's basketball program earned its reputation and resources through hard work.

If you start paying players, especially uneven amounts, the highest bidder will almost always win the best players. There's no hope for that four-year streak of #1 recruiting classes to ever break. Those facilities, coaches, fans, education, coeds, etc. won't matter a bit, because it just comes down to how much money you pay an individual. That will be the perception, and it will crush the NCAA IMHO. Right now, the playing field isn't exactly level, but the perception of it isn't that of MLB with no salary cap and the NY Yankees capable of buying a title any time they wish.

NCAA athletes are compensated in the form of a free education. If they don't care about the education, they shouldn't sign up to play amateur sports. Instead, go the minor league route. Play in the CFL or D League or Europe or form your own league where you run operations, lease stadiums, sell tickets, pay employees and collect revenue. I'm completely fine with elite athletes getting paid to develop their skills before qualifying as professionals. It shouldn't happen in an amateur setting.

Is there video?

If SJ is holding his own against King James. . . the D may not slip back at all next year.

After the pick, Stanley the Historian was heard to say, "That's payback for Ndudi Ebi."

Stanley Johnson on playing LeBron: "Anytime people think there's a player in the gym who's better than me, that's who I wanna play against."

97cats wrote:Stanley Johnson on playing LeBron: "Anytime people think there's a player in the gym who's better than me, that's who I wanna play against."

LeBron on playing Stanley: "I want to play with this kid in the NBA, so I guess I have to go to Cleveland, because they always get the #1 pick."

they might get the #1 pick, cause they have Miami's first rounder next season.

Kevin Love -- oh, Kevin Love

97cats wrote:they might get the #1 pick, cause they have Miami's first rounder next season.

Kevin Love -- oh, Kevin Love

In related news, these guys wasted $50.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

97cats wrote:they might get the #1 pick, cause they have Miami's first rounder next season.

Kevin Love -- oh, Kevin Love

In related news, these guys wasted $50.

Maybe LBJ will do a Kobe and change jersey numbers mid-career so he can get double the clothing money.

8)Stanley Johnson COLLEGE: Arizona HT: 6-7 WT: 237 POS: SF
Johnson will battle Winslow as the first small forward off the board. But there are a lot of mixed feelings from scouts here. Some have Johnson third on their draft board behind Okafor and Mudiay. They think he's the most NBA-ready player in the draft. They say he plays with terrific energy, he already has an NBA body, he rebounds and defends and can score from anywhere. Others fear he might be the second coming of Shabazz Muhammad, the former UCLA Bruins guard who struggled for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. In high school, Johnson was able to bully his way all over the court. I don't see him doing that in college. He's not an elite athlete and he will need to develop a better jump shot to excel on the offensive end. He will also likely be playing behind Rondae Hollis-Jefferson this season, unless Arizona moves him or Jefferson out of position to play at the 2.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft/mo ... -Big-Board

the main difference, Main -- Johnson's ELITE ability as a willing passer and ball handler.

McConnell
Johnson
Hollis-Jefferson
Ashley
Tarczewski

97cats wrote:the main difference, Main -- Johnson's ELITE ability as a willing passer and ball handler.

McConnell
Johnson
Hollis-Jefferson
Ashley
Tarczewski

He's also not a 28 year old black hole. Fun fact: Shabazz shot the ball 24 times in 27 minutes on the floor in a summer league game the other night.

97cats wrote:the main difference, Main -- Johnson's ELITE ability as a willing passer and ball handler.

McConnell
Johnson
Hollis-Jefferson
Ashley
Tarczewski

I agree with ya. Think I might be more excited for Stanley then AG, we're getting over that Elite 8 hump this year

So Chad Ford thinks Stanley will play behind Rondae (since it's impossible that they could play together), but he'll go higher in the draft than Rondae?

God dammit ESPN.

ElGatoBlanco wrote:So Chad Ford thinks Stanley will play behind Rondae (since it's impossible that they could play together), but he'll go higher in the draft than Rondae?

God dammit ESPN.

Their draft position is less stupid than crossing out the possibility they could play together on the wing. You have 2 unselfish, athletic guys projected to go in the lottery, and one can't handle starting at the 2?

These two together on the court this season. Kind of reminding me of how excited I was to have Arenas and Jefferson on the court together. But these two, whole 'nother level now.
Cannot wait!!!!!!!!!

RJ dunk vid: http://web.stagram.com/p/769247599736592755_11216989

Stanley and Dusan

Time to build. The sooner the frosh are in the weight room, the better.

I love the thought of Stanley going after Lebron at the camp, Lebron's camp no less. Really says a lot about the big guy's character. Friggin tenacity, bravery.

The last time I was so proud of a player because of his aggressiveness was when Steve Kerr, after getting a good dose of Michael Jordan's physicality in a Bull's practice, hauled off at him! Yeah, took a shot at Michael no-last-name-necessary-Jordan in Michael's own building!

So Stanley, you go after The Lebron at his own Camp, steal his ball and take off for a score? You're cut from Arizona cloth, Man!

Kerr definitely earned MJ's respect, but it was Jordan who did the punching and Kerr that took the famous punch. They scrapped after Jordan blackened Kerr ' s eye and may have traded some glancing blows in the seconds before they were pulled apart, but the real punch was MJ sucker-punching Kerr after Kerr got in MJ's face following a forearm. Jordan called him and apologized and next thing you know, he is trusting Steve enough to take the title clinching shot in a final. I imagine Kerr ' s fire from their practice scuffle impressed MJ ...they had only been teammates a short time and didn't know each other at all.

EVCat wrote:Kerr definitely earned MJ's respect, but it was Jordan who did the punching and Kerr that took the famous punch. They scrapped after Jordan blackened Kerr ' s eye and may have traded some glancing blows in the seconds before they were pulled apart, but the real punch was MJ sucker-punching Kerr after Kerr got in MJ's face following a forearm. Jordan called him and apologized and next thing you know, he is trusting Steve enough to take the title clinching shot in a final. I imagine Kerr ' s fire from their practice scuffle impressed MJ ...they had only been teammates a short time and didn't know each other at all.

Thanks, EV---sweet word picture correcting my version.

Here's an ESPN article with some more details: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_ ... ael-jordan

I still love the idea of young Stanley taking it to Leeebron! We got a Cat here!

Great Pictures. Thanks for those posts!!!!

This year's team is going to be fun to watch

[youtube]nf8qTUTNqeg[/youtube]

Not funny SJ!

Looking for some payback this year.

Frankie started it...

Main Event wrote:

I keep telling myself not to get overexcited. Just like with Aaron. Tweets like that make it hard.

Spaceman Spiff wrote: Tweets like that make it hard.

Not for me, but posts like this might.

azgreg wrote:Maybe this will help you guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlL6lf1 ... e=youtu.be

That would be SJ getting fouled by and dunking on UCLA's Tony Parker.

Heh.

Sorry BC, did you post something because I can't see anything but Marks jugs. I mean the jugs in his post

Support staff around SJ have been very impressed with his overall demeanor. Very confident kid, no doubt, and he should be, but also a thoughtful kid with a good head on his shoulders. What has most impressed me about Miller's recruiting as of late, especially after some of the character misses he was forced into early on, is the quality of player and person we have been getting. AG, Rondae, SJ...

Jefe wrote:

[youtube]nf8qTUTNqeg[/youtube]

Thank you for posting the vid. Jefe.

Thinking about buying a one of those new Sony big screen's with the speaker bar on the bottom for the upcoming season. So stoked!

Olsondogg wrote:Bibby gets alot of credit for what he helped that team do his frosh year, and he had a great stat line throughout the year.

13.5 ppg, 45% FG, 39% from 3, 70% FT, 5 apg, 3.5 rpg

I expect SJ to match or better some of those stats, while not meeting some. I hope the seasons end up the same though.

Stats don't tell it all too. Remember what we were saying about him all throughout that season? Ice water in his veins. He was a huge reason we won that title. Maybe the biggest of all.

CBCat wrote:

Olsondogg wrote:Bibby gets alot of credit for what he helped that team do his frosh year, and he had a great stat line throughout the year.

13.5 ppg, 45% FG, 39% from 3, 70% FT, 5 apg, 3.5 rpg

I expect SJ to match or better some of those stats, while not meeting some. I hope the seasons end up the same though.

Stats don't tell it all too. Remember what we were saying about him all throughout that season? Ice water in his veins. He was a huge reason we won that title. Maybe the biggest of all.

Heck, first game against UNC (in Springfield?)...we "surprisingly" jump to a big lead. UNC gets on a run and the building is changing; the Carolina crowd picking up, and the young Cats look rattled. Mike Bibby gets the inbound, comes up the court, and briefly takes both hands off the ball to motion palms down, "calm down". The look on his face was one of a veteran. He communicated more in that 2 seconds than words could. If I remember correctly, he hit a 3 on that possession (that might be too storybook, though), and we got back in control of the game and completed the first bookend of Dean Smith's final season (lost his first and last game of the season to us).

CBCat wrote:

Olsondogg wrote:Bibby gets alot of credit for what he helped that team do his frosh year, and he had a great stat line throughout the year.

13.5 ppg, 45% FG, 39% from 3, 70% FT, 5 apg, 3.5 rpg

I expect SJ to match or better some of those stats, while not meeting some. I hope the seasons end up the same though.

Stats don't tell it all too. Remember what we were saying about him all throughout that season? Ice water in his veins. He was a huge reason we won that title. Maybe the biggest of all.

Not saying he wasn't a big piece of why we won the title...but he was a piece, much as the others were as well. I like Bibby, I thought he was a good PG, but he isn't my favorite to wear an Arizona uni either.

Stanley is as good as advertised.

Sounds like Victor, Ashley and PJC were there as well. That would have been fun to crash

Jefe wrote:Sounds like Victor, Ashley and PJC were there as well. That would have been fun to crash

My son played against SJ and company his comments were: No other player with the exception of Solomon Hill played as hard as Stanley did at the rec center. They know that for the most part they are head and shoulders above those that play at the Rec, but Stanley Johnson played super hard which is certainly a testament to the kind of player he is. Ashley looked really good which is a very good sign.

dc4azcats wrote:

Jefe wrote:Sounds like Victor, Ashley and PJC were there as well. That would have been fun to crash

My son played against SJ and company his comments were: No other player with the exception of Solomon Hill played as hard as Stanley did at the rec center. They know that for the most part they are head and shoulders above those that play at the Rec, but Stanley Johnson played super hard which is certainly a testament to the kind of player he is. Ashley looked really good which is a very good sign.

Did he ever play against Chris Rodgers? The dude was rec center warrior.

UofAlum05 wrote:

dc4azcats wrote:

Jefe wrote:Sounds like Victor, Ashley and PJC were there as well. That would have been fun to crash

My son played against SJ and company his comments were: No other player with the exception of Solomon Hill played as hard as Stanley did at the rec center. They know that for the most part they are head and shoulders above those that play at the Rec, but Stanley Johnson played super hard which is certainly a testament to the kind of player he is. Ashley looked really good which is a very good sign.

Did he ever play against Chris Rodgers? The dude was rec center warrior.

My son played with Rodgers a few times a few years ago when I think Rodgers was back on campus for something? I don't know if it was to finish up his degree or what? He never used the word "warrior" in describing Rodgers. Douche bag and or a-hole - but not warrior.

Johnson is the complete opposite of Rodgers in that he plays extremely hard but isn't a dick about it. My son slapped the ball away from Johnson as Johnson was going to the hoop and Johnson said "nice hands". No big deal as stuff like that is said in hundreds of pick up games - difference is Rodgers wouldn't have - and if the ball had gone out of bounds off him he would have said he was fouled. My son never had a nice thing to say in regards to Rodgers playing at the Rec. In fact he usually wouldn't play with him because you never saw the ball and he usually got in either a shouting match or shoving match with one or more of his teammates over the course of a game.

My son played PG for Peabody at IRHS and can hold his own against non UA hoops players. He knows the game and knows when somebody is an ass and when they're out there hooping it like everybody else and being respectful of the other players. It's really not that hard but from what I hear it was really hard for Rodgers.

That's good stuff up there, dc. Thanks.

When I played at the rec, Chrissy Rodgers was a regular. He was also one of the worst people to play with. If he missed a shot or was blocked, it was never his fault. His rec center demeanor was bad sign for his future with the cats.

luteformayor2 wrote:When I played at the rec, Chrissy Rodgers was a regular. He was also one of the worst people to play with. If he missed a shot or was blocked, it was never his fault. His rec center demeanor was bad sign for his future with the cats.

People who initiate contact in order to call a foul in pickup basketball should have their own special level in hell.

How in the flip does draft express have Stanley Johnson as their projected #9 pick in next years draft???

Obviously I'm a homer, but just about every person ever is drooling over his potential. I mean I could see him going #2 after Okafor, but there aint a single other player better than him.

Personally I expect him to be better than Aaron Gordon and eventually be a NBA superstar.