Recruiting Update

[Fordham Road]

Nothing to go on about here. He is worth a look, thats all.

[FU85]

fellas,
     we need good players now and in the future. if we have an opportunity to get what was a highly recruited player, who for whatever reason, didnt work out at another school and is now looking for a new school we should make the attempt. I am not saying this guy is kobe bryant or anything else but he is a good player who alot of posters would have been very happy to have had this past season. if other posters here say that we have a better player who is ready to come here now and help us immediately next season then i am all for that but we are still gonna need players for the following seasons and he would help us in the future.

rich93,
     when iona wins 25 games and goes to the show and manhattan wins 20 games and goes to a post season tournament it means that we are officially the ugly kid sister in the local basketball wars and him going to one of those teams or another local program would be an opportunity lost to get a good player and we cannot afford many more missed opportunities. WE NEED BETTER PLAYERS!

[RAM71]

Don't you think that Tom Pecora would/will be recruiting Sledge or any other player that he thought would be a good fit and help us now or in the future? I have been critical of TP at times but I will trust his judgement 100% on this.

[CTRam12]

Tavon Sledge taking a visit to Iona, according to Gotham Hoops.

[Rich93]

fellas,
     we need good players now and in the future. if we have an opportunity to get what was a highly recruited player, who for whatever reason, didnt work out at another school and is now looking for a new school we should make the attempt. I am not saying this guy is kobe bryant or anything else but he is a good player who alot of posters would have been very happy to have had this past season. if other posters here say that we have a better player who is ready to come here now and help us immediately next season then i am all for that but we are still gonna need players for the following seasons and he would help us in the future.

rich93,
     when iona wins 25 games and goes to the show and manhattan wins 20 games and goes to a post season tournament it means that we are officially the ugly kid sister in the local basketball wars and him going to one of those teams or another local program would be an opportunity lost to get a good player and we cannot afford many more missed opportunities. WE NEED BETTER PLAYERS!

How do you know he is a good player?  He got to Iowa St. and played all of 8 minutes.  He is leaving because he is not going to get more minutes next year, in other words Iowa St. thought he was good enough to play on their team and they were wrong.  Sledge thought he was good enough to play on a good BCS team and he was wrong.  All of those teams that recruited him out of highschool are saying thank God he did not come here.  Could he be good in the A-10, maybe maybe not but you guys are posting like he is a sure thing.  Not even close, the only sure things are the top rated kids, the rest are a crap shoot and Sledge is no different.  Just another PG who may or may not be good.

 

[RAM71]

Just a side note. The assistant coach at Jermaine Myers' Blair Academy, Tom Parauda, is a Fordham alum, class of 86.   

[joeb]

just a little note on canty and the "bigs" out there.
 I checked rivals and there are 11 players 6'10 or bigger listed in their top 150 for 2011. That includes anthony davis of UK and cody zeller of IU. What chance do we have at bagging one of these kids?. we have to take a player with flaws we can develop. you take a chance on a kid with skill and less raw ability or raw athletic ability and less skill.  i think you can take a chance on either type of kid based on personality/ desire. they dont grow on trees and you have to put in the time and hopefully get a little lucky. (also probably just live with 6-7 to 6-8 kids!)

[Fordham Road]

Ram71- You posted this 2010.

RAM71:
Zagoria article on Tavon Sledge:

Tavon Sledge Has a Long List
By Adam Zagoria on August 17, 2010, 9:25PM

One of the most exciting point guards in the New York area is Tavon Sledge of Half Hollow Hills West on Long Island.

Though he is undersized, Sledge is tremendously quick, fierce and athletic.

When Hills West downed JayVaughn Pinkston and Bishop Loughlin last January, Sledge dropped 21 points in a 75-72 victory.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Sledge currently holds offers from St. John’s, Rutgers, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Fordham, Rhode Island, Hofstra, Iowa State, UTEP and Marshall.
No officials are set but his AAU coach, Mike Moore, says planning is in the works.

“In September or close to the end of this month he’ll decide on which schools he’s going to visit,” Moore said. “I don’t think he can go wrong in terms of what schools he’s going to go to. They all offer solid academics. It’s really about what schools are going to meet his basketball needs.”

Said Sledge: “I’m looking for the best situation for me. Staying home or going away doesn’t really matter. Whatever’s the best for me, that’s where I’m going to go.”

[FU85]

rich93,
     I know he is a good player because I have seen him play several times including last years nys state semi finals where he and WV recruit jabarie hinds went at it and I also saw him in springfield mass against another team. Maybe, a kid from spring valley didnt fit in in iowa and thats why he wants to leave but i know that a team in new ro, who just won a bunch of games and made the tourney seems to be going after him pretty hard and they are in better shape then we are right now. My point is this, if you say we got a better player ready to sign here, then sign him, if not, then lets explore this possibilty especially since we could use some help at point guard. As for your comment that all the teams that didnt sign him saying thank god he did not go to their school I cannot comment on that because I have not been able to speak to those teams coaches, like you have. Finally, I never said he was a sure thing but I said he is a good player who I believe could help us in the future and we need as many good players as possible. Maybe, he will end up with another A10 team and then we will all be able to find out one way or another.

[RamFan78]

just a little note on canty and the "bigs" out there.
 I checked rivals and there are 11 players 6'10 or bigger listed in their top 150 for 2011. That includes anthony davis of UK and cody zeller of IU. What chance do we have at bagging one of these kids?. we have to take a player with flaws we can develop. you take a chance on a kid with skill and less raw ability or raw athletic ability and less skill.  i think you can take a chance on either type of kid based on personality/ desire. they dont grow on trees and you have to put in the time and hopefully get a little lucky. (also probably just live with 6-7 to 6-8 kids!)

Not disagreeing but you can take a chance occasionally but not all the time. We have been a program that has been down for a long time. At some point we need to bring in upgraded talent. Also what is the purpose of taking a chance on a Canty and then not developing him with live game experience? In my opinion this year was wasted as I really did not see much improvement or anything that leads me to believe he will make a significant contribution in his second year. Thus if he does develop it may not be until Year 3 and that is still a question mark. Not a good way to build a program.

[RAM71]

Ram71- You posted this 2010.

RAM71:
Zagoria article on Tavon Sledge:

Tavon Sledge Has a Long List
By Adam Zagoria on August 17, 2010, 9:25PM

One of the most exciting point guards in the New York area is Tavon Sledge of Half Hollow Hills West on Long Island.

Though he is undersized, Sledge is tremendously quick, fierce and athletic.

When Hills West downed JayVaughn Pinkston and Bishop Loughlin last January, Sledge dropped 21 points in a 75-72 victory.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Sledge currently holds offers from St. John’s, Rutgers, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Fordham, Rhode Island, Hofstra, Iowa State, UTEP and Marshall.
No officials are set but his AAU coach, Mike Moore, says planning is in the works.

“In September or close to the end of this month he’ll decide on which schools he’s going to visit,” Moore said. “I don’t think he can go wrong in terms of what schools he’s going to go to. They all offer solid academics. It’s really about what schools are going to meet his basketball needs.”

Said Sledge: “I’m looking for the best situation for me. Staying home or going away doesn’t really matter. Whatever’s the best for me, that’s where I’m going to go.”

Fordham Road, I try to post relevant Fordham recruiting information. The article mentioned Fordham as one of his offers. I don't know if I posted anything else about him. Iowa State recruited him very hard but they have apparently been very disappointed. What is the story with him? Is he visiting anyone else besides Iona? Again, if TP feels he can be a good fit, I am certain he will be in contact.     

[Rich93]

rich93,
     I know he is a good player because I have seen him play several times including last years nys state semi finals where he and WV recruit jabarie hinds went at it and I also saw him in springfield mass against another team. Maybe, a kid from spring valley didnt fit in in iowa and thats why he wants to leave but i know that a team in new ro, who just won a bunch of games and made the tourney seems to be going after him pretty hard and they are in better shape then we are right now. My point is this, if you say we got a better player ready to sign here, then sign him, if not, then lets explore this possibilty especially since we could use some help at point guard. As for your comment that all the teams that didnt sign him saying thank god he did not go to their school I cannot comment on that because I have not been able to speak to those teams coaches, like you have. Finally, I never said he was a sure thing but I said he is a good player who I believe could help us in the future and we need as many good players as possible. Maybe, he will end up with another A10 team and then we will all be able to find out one way or another.

I always say the same thing on recruiting, I do not see these kids play at prep or in highschool.  I know our staff does and if they think Sledge will help us great I hope we get him.  If they decide to go in another direction, then fine they do this for a living and have a pretty good track record on guards. If the staff decides he is not a good fit for us or that he is not liviing up to the projections coming out of highschool then so be it, I am not going to jump up and down or say we missed an opportunity.  I am not going to post all in caps that it is a shame he went elsewhere (not that you did). 

I think it is really hard to judge a player's ability to take his game to the next level and I know unless he is a really top tier guy, I do not have the ability to do that.  To be honest, I doubt that anyone on this board has that ability.  Your opinion on this is certainly more informed than mine since you saw him play, but I cannot substitute it for the staff's.  If they think he is good, the fact that you agree with them makes it all the better.  However, if they have a different opinion then I will give them the benefit of the doubt and see what happens.  Maybe your opinion will ultimately be right, but Pecora gets the benefit of the doubt from me. 

[FU85]

rich93,
      I support TP also and I want to see him win more games than he did the prior season every season but we need better players and I think that is something we can all agree with on this board.

[Rich93]

rich93,
      I support TP also and I want to see him win more games than he did the prior season every season but we need better players and I think that is something we can all agree with on this board.

+1.  Never doubted that you support Pecora and the program, and if my post came off that way my bad. 

[ConnGael]

Don't know much about Sledge, but this is on the ESPN blog.  We'll need a PG in 2013, and if he got a bunch of high major offers out of HS, I'd be happy if we get him.  But to '93's point, recruiting really is a crap shoot.  We were the only school to offer Machado out of St. Benedict's and I remember Willard saying at the time we offered him because he's been on successful teams and he's used to winning.  We had just come off a 2-26 season (Ruland) and a 12-20 season (Willard).



Iona could be the landing spot for Iowa State transfer Tavon Sledge.

Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com and SNY.tv writes that Sledge, a 5-foot-9 point guard who played just 18 minutes as a freshman with the Cyclones, will visit Iona next weekend.

"At present, the focus is to see what he thinks of Iona," Mike Moore, Sledge's mentor, told SNY.tv "No other visits will be scheduled before the Iona visit."

[ace93]

Not disagreeing but you can take a chance occasionally but not all the time. We have been a program that has been down for a long time. At some point we need to bring in upgraded talent. Also what is the purpose of taking a chance on a Canty and then not developing him with live game experience? In my opinion this year was wasted as I really did not see much improvement or anything that leads me to believe he will make a significant contribution in his second year. Thus if he does develop it may not be until Year 3 and that is still a question mark. Not a good way to build a program.

Are you suggesting he should have been played more so that he could be developed?

[In-The-Know]

Don't know much about Sledge, but this is on the ESPN blog.  We'll need a PG in 2013, and if he got a bunch of high major offers out of HS, I'd be happy if we get him.  But to '93's point, recruiting really is a crap shoot.  We were the only school to offer Machado out of St. Benedict's and I remember Willard saying at the time we offered him because he's been on successful teams and he's used to winning.  We had just come off a 2-26 season (Ruland) and a 12-20 season (Willard).



Iona could be the landing spot for Iowa State transfer Tavon Sledge.

Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com and SNY.tv writes that Sledge, a 5-foot-9 point guard who played just 18 minutes as a freshman with the Cyclones, will visit Iona next weekend.

"At present, the focus is to see what he thinks of Iona," Mike Moore, Sledge's mentor, told SNY.tv "No other visits will be scheduled before the Iona visit."

JG always gets his man!

[ace93]

JG always gets his man!

Yes you do!   

[In-The-Know]

Yes you do!   

You're not as smart as you think you are. You mean to say-yes he does!

[Buzz]

You're not as smart as you think you are. You mean to say-yes he does!

More like Jared Grasso isn't nearly as smart or mature as he thinks he is.

[RamFan78]

Are you suggesting he should have been played more so that he could be developed?

That generally would be a way to aid in one's development. However, its hard to make an absolute statement as we do not know what goes on in practice and what TP sees. Not playing him could mean that the coach does not think the situations are right or he feels he is not ready to play. Given the amount of playing time Canty received this year probably a combination of both.

IMO I did not see much difference in Canty's game (when he played) from the beginning of the season to the end. Therefore, its hard for me to say that the player we took a chance with got better in Year 1. Canty will need to make some serious strides over the summer to upgrade his game where he can make a contribution.  

[Fordham Road]

JG would have won 3 games the last 2 years at Fordham.

[ace93]

That generally would be a way to aid in one's development. However, its hard to make an absolute statement as we do not know what goes on in practice and what TP sees. Not playing him could mean that the coach does not think the situations are right or he feels he is not ready to play. Given the amount of playing time Canty received this year probably a combination of both.

IMO I did not see much difference in Canty's game (when he played) from the beginning of the season to the end. Therefore, its hard for me to say that the player we took a chance with got better in Year 1. Canty will need to make some serious strides over the summer to upgrade his game where he can make a contribution.  

But Bristol, a senior, was better than Canty, a freshman, so I don't think that playing time was available to aid in his development. Unless Bristol was in foul trouble there was no reason to bring Canty in to the game.

[RamFan78]

But Bristol, a senior, was better than Canty, a freshman, so I don't think that playing time was available to aid in his development. Unless Bristol was in foul trouble there was no reason to bring Canty in to the game.

Agree that Bristol was by far the better player and gave us a better chance to win. But the point is whether you look short term or long term. Now that Bristol is gone who replaces him. Canty? If so it comes after a year of IMO non-progression. So we may have won a few extra games last year but it does note bode well for this year unless Canty makes a big leap.

I know its a catch 22 as we are a program that needs to win as much as we can. My concern though is we may take a step backwards (if thats possible) this year unless we get someone who can help Gaston upfront.

[Fordham Road]

Leonard will help.

[RAM71]

Sekou Harris is leaning to St. Peter's. Fordham has NOT offered him.

[Fordham Road]

Good fit for him at his size and with his abilities.

[ace93]

Agree that Bristol was by far the better player and gave us a better chance to win. But the point is whether you look short term or long term. Now that Bristol is gone who replaces him. Canty? If so it comes after a year of IMO non-progression. So we may have won a few extra games last year but it does note bode well for this year unless Canty makes a big leap.

I know its a catch 22 as we are a program that needs to win as much as we can. My concern though is we may take a step backwards (if thats possible) this year unless we get someone who can help Gaston upfront.

I am very much against sacrificing a season for the next. It is not fair to the seniors. We had a chance to make the A10 tournament, something the seniors never had done (and subsequently never did).

[RamFan78]

I am very much against sacrificing a season for the next. It is not fair to the seniors. We had a chance to make the A10 tournament, something the seniors never had done (and subsequently never did).

Valid point but how do you think Gaston feels entering his senior year with nothing but question marks with regard to whom he will be playing with upfront?

[Rich93]

Valid point but how do you think Gaston feels entering his senior year with nothing but question marks with regard to whom he will be playing with upfront?

How many more minutes a game should Canty have gotten in order to remove those question marks? 

Gaston is more concerned about the progress of our guards than he is who is going to play in the front court.  He knows Canty will get more minutes this year along with Dominque. More importantly, he knows that if our guards defense and shooting do not improve it will not matter who plays up front with him.  Improved guard play is the key to replacing Bristol, not who plays center.  Bristol was forced to help a lot because of our poor perimeter defense.  Improve the perimeter defense and the center does not have to block 8 shots a game to avoid the other team having a lay up contest.  He can focus on rebounding.  If the guards shoot better then the defense must stretch out giving Gaston more room to work and allowing whoever plays center to get layups on penetration as opposed to having to step out to 15 feet and make a jump shot.