With Josh Hart, Jenkins and Kevin Zabo likely in the near future, we will have had 3 legitimate top 100 players nationally visiting us and having us on their short list. Now I think we will probably only get one, if that(my guess is Zabo) but these haven't been sympathy visits or visits because they're friends with somebody else visiting. These three are all seriously considering GW. Whatever Lonergan is pitching is very impressive, even if we don't end up landing these three. Xavier is probably the only other A10 team that has three levels of this caliber visit in this short a time frame.

- BTW this speaks to the worst flaw in the Hobbs regimes recruiting. THeir complete failure in the DC area. Because these kids are local, they can come as much as they want basically and not count against the visit cap or cost very much money. 

You got it DEA.

What's more, there is a legitimate argument to make that we might get all three. (I don't think tha tthey are in the same class) ... Zabo was performing at a fairly high level as a Soph. AND, I also agree with DEA that a good basketball mind and solid recruiter and a solid school can take the GW position and either "apologize for the school" or look at it in the correct light, and sell the hell out of it.

Step one was getting rid of the crappy schedule and just freakin' shoot the moon.

Step two is begin to get results on a higher level.

Step three is to show kids that there is slot for you on the team... fill it and shine.

There is a higher likelihood that a kid will succeed IF THEY ARE GOOD out of our situation than, say GTown.

You may say that such a statement above is BS, but, that's the thing with the group of three kids that DEA listed. If they got together and showed up at Foggy Bottom, they can create their own energy along with last year's class. I have said, model the situation after Gonzaga. And the three guys? Well, if you are playing a top ten team ... the David to their Goliath ... and there are 20 seconds on the clock and we have the ball, these are the guys who will have one or two touches on the ball to get us a win.

I simply have to laugh at those who suggest that things aren't improving--the players aren't improving, etc. Are we going to be top 20 next season? No.

But, we aren't going to be 200 or 160 either. I'm thinking that we will hit the high 40's or the low to mid-50's this season. It will come down to how we do against the top tier of the A10. If we start to produce victories, then we will be knocking on the door.

Great local urban school. Great opportunity for exposure. Challenging schedule, high aiming program. Come deliver annual visits to the tourney.  Feature for the next level. Get an education. Create your own expectations.

 And dont forget as the selling points a very good multi bid conference that just added 2 recent final four teams, much increased TV exposure as well as a refurbished Smith Center that is very athlete friendly.

Dolphin, your optimism is to be applauded and I'm probably the last person on earth who would issue a pro-Gtown post but here it goes.  Unless you are comparing being a starter or main contributor at GW to being a bit player or bench warmer at Georgetown, I can't possibly agree with your statement that there is a higher likelihood for success at GW than Gtown.  You added the qualifier that the player needs to be good enough so I'm taking this mean that he's good enough to receive substantial minutes at either school.  That being said, Georgetown affords one the opportunity to play on CBS and Big Monday, at MSG in the Big East tournament, perennially in the NCAA tournament, as well as a greater chance of playing in the NBA. (NBA scouts would much rather take a chance on a Gtown player than a GW player.  This may not be "fair" but it's also inarguable.)

Again, could a 5 point a game scorer at Gtown be a 12 point a game scorer at GW?  Definitely a possibility.  But, as you say, if the player is good enough, Gtown offers far more opportunity for success.  Would love to see the day when this was no longer the case.

The only thing that you said that I think would come into play would be the NBA Scout comment having little man complex--afraid to put their balls on the block and making a safe recommendation. I don't think that you see nearly as much of that now that there are two rounds.

Again, I was speaking about NOW and new GW not last year or Hobbs days.

Right now, with Lonergan at the helm, think about what you remember about Vermont games... do you remember Vermont nearly beating MD on the road? No, you remember Blakely killing MD in the paint and rebounding the hell out of them. If GTown wins a game ... the school wins.

DEA's list of three have slots openning up for them. They can claim serious minutes. There is just so much you can say about "waiting your turn" as it were in a GTown situation. All that does is slow development--thus rehasing my point, but I felt you needed me to make my point again.

THE STAGE: our stage is getting much more exposure. In today's world, CBS isn't as big a deal. Scouts and BBall guys can watch everything. They don't need fans, They want to see what guys do under pressure and when they have the weight of the game on their shoulders.

Finally, again speaking of having these three come to GW, that would mean that we would have a good portion of an all-met team at this school in just two years. That's going from the outhouse in local recruiting to the penthouse in two years. They would be representing Washington DC hoops and get TONS of coverage. It would approach the times when Lefty started getting mega recruiting classes.

Look, I was sitting with herve watching the disaster that was the Loyola game... as a fan it was stupid, but for the coach is was an embarassment.  My immediate impression was that we are going to have to add 2 more years to the turnaround time table. Then, I saw players start to get a bit of personal success. I saw them start to feel it--no wins to bank, but good vibes. What we had last year was a scoring guard who had to also handle the ball pretty much all the time and a collection of roll players, for the most part. Our other impact players had this issue or that, so Taylor was the man. Replacing Taylor, Ware and Edwards, we have 6 guys who are very highly regarded.

Just do the math, GW is going uptempo as much as possible when we get the opportunity. Look at the six guys coming in, they all rebound their position very well I'm thinking that we are at 45 to 55 by years end. If we add three all met types per the hypothesis, and continue to ramp up the schedule and PR, we are looking at the 20 to 35 which will put us well within the radar range of scouts everywhere. And, remember who we have recruited and added, a point guard Parade All American, a combo guard All-Met, both of these guys can make their teammates look better--they pass very well--they do the dirty work and they have real competitive spirits. Then you add Garino who seems to be bigger than the 6'5 that gets hung on him and he is amazingly quick and by far the best young passer that I have seen since Carl E. You add a leader like Armwood and two passers like Larsen and Paris, both with 3 point shots.

MV, I know that I can be tiresome repeating what we all should know, but the point is that this team is being built on  what seems to be a master plan. Players are set up to succeed. A guy like Jenkins only has to look back a couple of seasons to the Vermont game tape to know what his upside could be. Sure, you could say that GTown has sent its share of guys to the pros with great success, but where is the individuality and accomplishment? Jenkins can look at this team and can look at that Vermont team and see that this team has so much more than Vermont and still has a great need for a 6'6 or 6'7 250 scorer in the paint. He'd be the man... of course, sharing it with others and also the likes of a Hart if he also came.

I was living downtown near the Phone Booth during the 05/06 season. Most GW fans were totally unaware of how much attantion and love that GW team was getting. For two years, people had started to really grab our team as their own. They have gotten tired of MD and Gtown. We were new and exciting. Everyone at GW is on the same page and excited. It starts now. This is not the way it is at GTown and that explains a bit why a guy like Hart is visiting us with an offer in hand.

Dolphin, I'm not arguing anything you are saying outside of the one comparative comment to Georgetown.  The reality is that if Jenkins, Hart and/or Zabo are good enough players to be starters at Georgetown (and I am not saying that they are), then I can't see why GW would be a better situation for them despite the massive improvement you are projecting for our program.  Like I alluded to earlier, if the comparison is 30 minutes a game at GW vs. 10 at Georgetown, then I whole-heartedly agree with you. 

"but these haven't been sympathy visits or visits because they're friends with somebody else visiting. These three are all seriously considering GW."

Zabo visited because his roomate Larson was being recruited by GWU. Same with Wainright. There's been no evidence that he has otherwise visited as a recruit.

Wow, it's really nice to have a frequent poster here issue (totally wrong) arguments for why our hot recruits should go to another school. Particularly that cowardly chicken coop up the street.

Don't they have their own (making the huge assumption Hoy* fans can read and write) message boards where one can use one's seemingly quite ample free time to make that fallacious case among those who can swallow it without a gag reflex? Perhaps with such sentiments, one might also enjoy discussing the great Thompson dynasty to their heart's content?

Indaknow, as has been noted repeatedly on this board, one of the great things about recruiting local players is that they can come visit the campus and team easily without using an "official" visit (and without whittling down our recruiting budget). 

You may be right that he was just coming along with Larsen, and isn't seriously considering us, but then again we were the first school to offer him, his dad tweeted that it's important to remember who believed in your first, and that he's only a rising junior now so a lot can happen that could cause the UCLAs to sour on him, in which case we'd be extremely well position -- whether or not his visits to campus thus far have been "serious" or just checking things out becuase his is coming and because we offered first.

Funny because people said McDonald and Larsen were not coming here and they were also "in the know". There's "no way Hart is coming" has also been uttered a lot here as well. I guess we'll wait and see who is "in the know".

Kris Jenkons stopped by GW to see the Xavier game (they were recruiting him) where we were a shirt tug away from a huge upset.  The next week., he started mentioning GW.

Wainwright actually mentioned in an interview that he was just there with his friends and you're probably right about Zabo, but FQ's point stands.

Anybody here know anybody, in any profession, who succeeded by being a pessimist? (LSF, and to a lesser extent, ziik, excepted)

Anybody here know any kid who says, "I want to play for the loser?"

GW's had one great recruiting class in a row. That alone is a great selling point for 2012-2013: "Hey! Do you want to join GW's best recruiting class? Better than last year's? We've got guards. We've got the guys who will pass you the ball. We need some young rebounders, and some shooters. You're it."

Bigfan, anytime you'd like to enter the real world, just let me know.  I haven't told any recruit why they ought to go to Georgetown instead of GW.  I simply took exception with one statement that Dolphin made, that a good player has a better chance to succeed at GW than Georgetown.  And, to clarify it even further, I distinguished between situations...a 10 minute a game player at Georgetown will certainly have less opportunity than a 30 minute a game player at GW, whereas a player who is good enough to start at Georgetown would certainly have greater opportunity for success in most cases than a starter at GW.  Not exactly a stunning revelation.

I hope that we can test the premise, MV... I don't think that your analysis is on base with the current realities of kids lives. But what the frick do I know.

 Completely agree with DEA's original point.  The fact that there is a steady stream of Montrose/team takeover/good local talent is at games and on campus is a great sign.  It is all about  about changing the perception of gw in the eyes of local talent, and ML and company have exceeded my expectations in less then a year.  Recruiting is a numbers game, and we get enough "big east/acc" talent sniffing GW, we are bound to land a few.  Good sign for sure.

DEA, thanks for the post. you have been a reliable source of information rather than pure speculation.

DM, are there really numb nuts out there who do not believe we're on the upswing?  we are adding 6 new guys who can play. the big dfifference between the this yrs freshmen is they have played against top competition.  Jon Davis, who was high on Hobbs list, played against lower level teams never proving himself vs top competition.  no one can deny that recruiting has taken a giant step up.  i expect it will translate into more Ws.

Dolphin, do you really think that I would enjoy anything more than having the tables turned by witnessing Georgetown basketball be in the shadows of GW basketball?  All I am saying is that at this moment in time, all things being equal, Gtown basketball is a more attractive destination.  I'm honestly not sure how anyone could objectively think otherwise.

Can't say 100% but I agree with MV on this one. But the amazing thing about Lonergan and his staff is that they don't seem to come to the table with the same inferiority complex that we long-time GW fans come by naturally. He's not going to land every kid he recruits but he's clearly not afraid to go after the kind of player he thinks will be needed at the level he (we) aspires this program to be. Knocking Georgetown and Maryland isn't going to make us more attractive or relevant in college basketball circles. Winning on the court will do that. This year will be better, next year even more so.

Because, MV, I'm MAGIC!

BTW, I am either an idiot or a "front runner." I will talk to you guys in 8 months when you catch up with the bandwagon.

Sorry, but I have to call BS on newtman all the way from L.A. regarding the competition JD has played against. Or perhaps I should ask, how you back up the statement about him never proving himself against top comp? How do you know who he played against? I have previously read on this site that he played in a weak league. Granted, in his senior year the talent in his league was down compared to prior years, but by then he had received several offers based on his performance at the exposure events (playing against other D1-bound players). I could name some of them but that would be stupid. GW coaches saw him in Indiana, Minneapolis, Denver and Las Vegas and were sold, as were at least 10 other schools. Keep in mind there are only 12-14 league games each year compared to 40+ AAU and camp games. From everything I have read about this years' freshman class they will be outstandng but no need to downplay coach Hobbs to make that point. It's like in order to make a good point about the future some of you find it necessary to knock the past. Seems to me coach Lonergan is making the right moves and doesn't need the comparisons. By the way, I don't get much (any) GW info on the west coast so I am grateful to many of you who post accurate info. Thanks to BM for all of the recruiting stuff. JD is someone I was affiliated with since he was a scrawny kid and I wish him and the team the best.

Astute comments LA Hoops.  Nobody here ever NEEDS to knock Hobbs but believe me when I say that this is not going to deter some folks from doing just that.  It's a sad reality of this board.  Ziik is probably working on the "What Have You Done For Me Lately" t-shirts as I type this.

Dolphin, if being on the bandwagon is defined as thinking we're a better program than Georgetown right now, I guess I'm not on the bandwagon yet despite the forecast for great improvement. (I'm looking forward to next April when after a 20 win season, Dolphin labels me a disbeliever.)

Most importantly, even partial agreement from Poog has to translate into a winning debate for me. :)

The sad reality of this board is the way you show up daily, MV, fantasize some bizarro world scenario, then ascribe it to other posters. Day in and day out, like clockwork.

Don't they have summer camp, just for marketing nerds like you, in whatever marketing nich that you ply your wares?

(This is me, working on my "just like The MV" sense of humor.)

I'll tell you, though. That shirt business is a very, very good one. ziik, jr. is at Bonaroo right now, selling shirts.

The MV shirts aren't big sellers, nor the KURT STEIDL!!!s

The "I'm Backing POOG, 100%" and the "I AM NOT A CROOK!" shirts do quite well, though.

Enjoy the summer, everyone.

Oh dear lord, if "enjoy the summer, everyone" means that you are out of here for months, my day has been made. 

 Thank you LA Hoops for the clarifying information about JD's high school credentials. I believe JD's high school coach posted on this board that his lack of playing time in his freshman year was not due to lack of talent and he appears to be enthused about playing here another year. I have seen no reason given for his very limited playing time, but lets hope that that he has overcome whatever impeded his play last year. 

Come on aboard I promise you you won't hurt the horse
We treat him well, we feed him well
There's lots of room for you on the bandwagon
The road may be rough the weather may forget us
But won't we all parade around and sing our songs
The Magic Kingdom open arms

Greet us hello, bravo, name in lights
Passing on the word fellow passengers and players, passing in
Until you're tired looking at all the flags
And all the banners waving
This is some parade yesiree Bob
Could you have known
Yesiree Bob, could you have known?

Look at all the flags and all the banners waving
Open up our arms the Magic Kingdom open arms to greet usall