UMass men’s basketball signed two of the biggest recruits they’ve gotten in the last decade or so, and UMass Turtleboy has never been so aroused.
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If you were around back in 1995 then you probably remember UMass basketball making the Final Four. They were kind of a big deal, what with being ranked #1 overall in the country, having one of the greatest college basketball players in history on their team, and being led by legendary coach John Calipari. But since Coach Cal sold out for greener pastures they’ve obviously gone downhill. When they made the tournament in 2014 it was the first time they had done so since 1998, but last year they took another step back after losing their floor general Chaz Williams.
We need UMass basketball back. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – people around here will get into college basketball if you give them a reason to. And Boston College can never, ever be that reason because they’re so unlikeable. But UMass? What’s not to like? It’s our state university, it’s a great place to party, and when the Mullins Center gets rocking it’s one of the greatest venues in college sports.
That’s why yesterday was such a big day for the Minutemen. They signed high school teammates De’Jon Jarreau and Brison Gresham out of New Orleans, both of which are top 100 rated high school prospects. A big reason UMass has become so mediocre, and why we have a rivalry with fake schools like St. Bonaventure, is because we can’t recruit big time players. Marcus Camby played for UMass because he was being paid the whole time by agents. But when you run a clean house like coach Derek Kellogg does, it becomes a lot harder to get players like Jarreau and Gresham. I watched Jarreau’s highlight tape from sophomore year last night and I can’t recall being this aroused in quite some time. Keep in mind, these are from his SOPHOMORE year:
Alright that song is gonna be stuck in my head all day now.
His biggest weakness right now looks like he’s just a little sloppy with his dribble, which means he’s gonna get his pocket picked in the A-10. For instance, this move right here was disgusting, but a Division 1 player is gonna take that from him nine times out of ten:
That can be fixed, but you can’t teach that speed. I’ve never seen a player not named Chaz Williams with that kind of speed in a UMass uniform. Oh yea, and he’s 6’5″ and has a delicious little release on his three point shot. This kid is an NBA player and we’ll be lucky to have him for two or three years.
Here he is last year playing against more elite competition:
Fast. Wicked, wicked fast. He’s gonna be an elite defender immediately.
De’Jon is the 39th ranked prospect in the country, while Gresham is 71st. To put that in perspective UMass hasn’t had a top 100 prospect since Terrell Vinson in 2009. But Vinson turned out to be as mediocre as mediocre gets. His teams came close but never qualified for the NCAA Tournament until the year after he left. But these guys are better than Vinson, who really didn’t have a position. De’Jon is ranked so high because of his height and speed for his position. Gresham is ranked slightly lower because he’s a 6’8″ forward, which are basically a dime a dozen in the Atlantic 10. He’s obviously gotta get bigger, but the frame is there. But he’s not your average player. Here’s his highlight tape:
As you can see he is an extremely athletic shot blocking machine. Hopefully he doesn’t like shooting three pointers because I can only stomach one Rafael Putney in my lifetime.
What’s cool about this is that these guys are from the South and were heavily recruited by every school they were interested in. Yesterday they made their decision between Miami and UMass and I would’ve bet anything they’d go to Miami. Because who the hell wants to spend the winter in Amherst when you can spend it in South Beach?
But at the end of the day they chose UMass, which means Derek Kellogg deserves the credit. This is going to open the door to signing other nationally ranked prospects like Wakefield’s Bruce Brown. If he nabs that kid then UMass is a Top 10 recruiting class.
However, it also means he’s gotta win with these guys. He made a lot of progress with the tournament team but then they took a huge step back last year, because obviously that team only did what it did because of Chaz Williams. No more 500 seasons. No more NIT’s. No more losing to fake, shitbag schools like St. Bonaventure and George Washington. I’ve had no faith in DK over the years but now that he’s got real players he has the chance to prove me wrong.
P.S. Love the fact that Jarreau says the reason he’s coming to UMass is this: “I just felt more supported with the academics and everything.” You know who doesn’t say something like that? Scumbags.
Go U!!
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7 Comment(s)
Never said Calipari gave Camby any money, but if you think he did not know that some shady shit was going down you are an idiot. Calipari is no angel and he is not stupid.
I guess you are correct about Mass being a hoop hotbed. I hear all the ACC schools are giving up on recruiting in NC, GA and FL to focus on MA. Every year MA has a handful of kids go D1 while the states I mentioned have about 5 times as many, give or take.
Worked in the athletic department at a high major hoop/football school right out of college in the mid 90’s and no school is 100 percent clean but UMASS basketball was one of the worst at the time. Do a little research on why Calipari got in trouble when he was an assistant at Pitt if you want to learn about what type of person he is.
UMass basketball, LOL!
Coach Cal is one of the sleaziest coaches of modern times.
I’m still in shock they are not both going to LSU AND YOUR RITE OTHER KIDS WILL SIGN HERE JUST TO PLAY WITH THEM TWO
TB, love your school spirit but give up on UMASS basketball as something that is going to be relevant. The only time in the past 30 years they have been relevant was when they had a coach (Calipari) who more than likely knew about all the shenanigans going on with Camby. Camby came to UMASS to get paid and he did get paid, very well. If that is not happening it will be very difficult for Kellogg to consistently recruit top 100 players.
The A10 does not have a great TV contract so less money than the big 5 conferences as well as fewer games on TV.
Also, Massachusetts is not a hoop hotbed so they have to really cast a wide net to bring in talent. Not many big time recruits in the south will travel north to a school like UMASS, like they would for Syracuse.
With that said, I think Kellogg has done a pretty good job given the limitations and these new recruits should help the cause.
Let’s face it, though….. The hoops team’s chances of being relevant are better than the football team’s anytime soon….
Anon you couldn’t be more wrong with everything you just wrote. Camby never took a cent from Calipari, the school, or a booster. He took money from a player agent while in school with the agent hoping for Camby’s signature. Also Massachusetts, and New England for that matter, consistently produces high major talent year in and year out. It’s about time UMass took advantage of it.
The newly constructed $25 million Champions Center is already paying dividends with recruits. They snagged a 4 star recruit Chris Baldwin out of Sprinfield this morning and like TB mentioned, they’re the front runner for the top player in the state Bruce Brown (30th in the country). The dominos are finally fall in the right direction for UMass and we could see a special team in a Amherst next season. It’s going to make me chuckle seeing clowns like you hop on the bandwagon after discrediting them when they become a consistent national powerhouse.