Well, I've been on my deathbed in Caracas and I know know that Jester has been down south trying a case. I'm not sure what excuses other contributors have.... We owe more regular updates to our reader(s).
There have been a number of signifcant happens in Hoyaland since the Sims commitment. Here's a rundown:
(1) The Hoya Hoop Club held its annual banquet with the IPB and me in attendance. It was a remarkable affair, as the coaches, JTIII, and President DeGioia all made speeches. Coach Broadus did a great job describing each member of the team. Afterward, the IPB and I spoke with a number of players. Jon and Roy autographed my copy of their SI cover. All players were very gracious. Kenny Izzo reported that he's planning on playing in Europe for a few years before he moves back to Chicago to pursue a career as a commodities trader. (He was also clearly chafing under his double major--accounting and finance, I think.) Tyler said that he was in for another summer of hard work. Roy avoided the IPB's question about doing an internship on the Hill so as not to reveal his future plans. There were no inside scoops on Roy or Jeff, but I clearly got the impression that Tay Spann would be leaving soon and JTIII wouldn't be going anywhere.
(2) Tay Spann is indeed leaving GU. http://guhoyas.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/050907aaa.html This means that, if Jeff and Roy leave, our frontline will be unbelievably thin. Pat, Vern, and Summers will have to hold down the fort! Presumably, this also clears space for Nikita (not to be confused with St. John's College High School and future George Mason center Vlad Moldoveanu, as he was here: http://thevanburenboys.blogspot.com/2007/04/mescheriakov-is-hoya.html; Nikita attends St. John's Catholic High School).
(3) Rumors are swirling that there could be some issues with Nikita's transcript (presumably transfer credit from Belarus) and that GU is holding off on an official announcement until that is cleared up. After the Egerson situation, it cannot afford any more recruiting embarrassments.
(4) JTIII has still not yet been extended. Quotes from this article are a little worrisome. http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20070503-115751-4330r.htm This could prove a decisive moment in President DeGioia's tenure. We are confident that the University will do what it needs to do to keep JTIII for the next decade. If it fails to do so, alumni wrath will be swift and strong.
(5) JTIII is close to hiring an assistance for the Broadus spot. A leading candidate is former D.C. Assault assistant and current Pitt Director of Basketball Operations David Cox. In fact, he has already reportedly interviewed for the position. http://www.pittsburghsportsinsider.com/?p=827 Cox would be a great pick-up. He was a finalist for the spot that went to Syd Johnson. Presumably, JTIII didn't think that at that point he needed two D.C. recruiting gurus. Well, now he needs one and so Cox is the logical choice to fill the role, as he now has some collegiate experience to boot. Also, he likely wants to leave Pitt as his D.C. roots haven't really opened up the D.C. pipeline I'm sure Pitt had hoped for. Pitt will always have a hard time competing for D.C. talent with Georgetown and Maryland here. If Cox joins the program, I would expect JTIII to look to another Princeton guy to fill the Johnson role. In any event, here's Cox's bio from Pitt's website: http://pittsburghpanthers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/cox_david01.html Note that, as an assist with D.C. Assault, Cox coaches, Tony Bethel, Jeff Green, and Chris McCray. As a coach at Archbishop Carrol, he coached Ruben Boumjte-Boumjte. And he served as an Assistant Principle at Chris Wright's high school. Cox would be a huge asset in the local D.C. recruiting scene.
Hopefully updates on JTIII, Cox, the third assistant, Nikita, Jeff, and Roy will all be coming soon!
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