Another Assignment

Greg Monroe is on ESPN2 tonight. It would be great if one of the VBBs could do a write-up on Monroe's performance. Eric Prisbell has a piece on Monroe's recruitment in the Post today.

Handling the Full-Court Press

In some respects, Monroe said, coaches took similar approaches while in his home. Most mentioned church and school because both are very important to Monroe, a Christian who is ranked among the academic top 10 percent of his senior class. They all asked if he planned to stay in college for more than one year. Monroe said he expected to stay four years unless an irresistible NBA opportunity emerged. But there were many differences. Mouzon, who sat in on all the visits, said LSU Coach John Brady brought the "whole dog and pony show," using a film projector to illustrate his points. Another school that used a projector was Baylor, whose coaches visited largely because Monroe had a good relationship with assistant Jerome Tang. Texas Coach Rick Barnes brought a booklet filled with training schedules and talked about a track record of producing stars such as Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge. Mouzon said Kansas Coach Bill Self brought Danny Manning, the former Jayhawks star who led Kansas to the 1988 national title.

Monroe said Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski exuded confidence when he showed up with assistants Johnny Dawkins and Steve Wojciechowski. "Limousine and everything," Mouzon added. Monroe said that Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun and Southern California Coach Tim Floyd also visited his family. Without naming the school, Monroe said that one program immediately rubbed him the wrong way with its message and that Monroe knew as soon as the meeting was over that there was no chance he would attend the school. "The stuff they were saying, I wasn't comfortable with it," Monroe said. "You get a sense of their actual personality when you meet them in person and they are sitting in your home. All of them really had different attitudes."

Accompanied by assistant Robert Burke, Thompson arrived in a sport coat and slacks ("professional but comfortable," Monroe said). The visit occurred in the afternoon because Monroe's mother works the midnight shift as a postal worker. Coaches and family met in Monroe's rarely used living room, which is filled with some of Monroe's trophies. Monroe said Thompson III brought a laptop to show clips of Jeff Green because he said Monroe eventually could be used in the same way. What struck both Monroe and Mouzon was Thompson's honesty. Mouzon said the coach said, "I really want you to come," but also acknowledged that he did not entirely love some aspects of the recruiting process. Mouzon felt that admission had a positive effect on Monroe because Monroe did not relish the stress and attention that accompanied the recruiting process.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/09/AR2008010903200.html

UPDATE (Jester of Magellan): Coverage starts on ESPN2 at 7:00 PM Eastern. The game is on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, but it does not appear that the broadcast will actually be in high def.