Topic: Former recruits Bobby Shannon and Demetrius Young

[AtlTom]

Bobby Shannon has signed with Angelina College

Bobby Shannon, a 6'4" wing from Potomac, Maryland, originally signed with Marshall University before deciding to hone his skills further at the JUCO level. Rated as the No. 72-ranked prep player in the nation, Shannon averaged 24 points per game in his high school career.

"Bobby is a tremendous athlete who plays above the rim," Neighbors said. "He can attack the basket, and he can score in bunches. He's also a very good defender."

http://www.lufkindailynews.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2007/06/6/10_signees.html


Demetrius Young has signed with Stony Brook according to a jucojunction  message board.

http://jucojunction.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=2365&tid=95505108&mid=95505108&sid=1090&style=2

[Herdmeister]

I see that Angelina College plays in the same JUCO league that former Herd QB Graham Gochneaur played in at Kilgore JC.
Lets see if Shannon can graduate from there and consider coming to MU in another year to play for The Herd!

As for Young, I remember The Herd playing Stony Brook in the '99-'00 season. We beat 'em like a drum.

[_sturt_]

I'd say something to our friends DA and Flat, in particular, and in general to all those who sanctimoniously suggested Kayo made an ignorant decision to let these guys and Pringle go ... except, do I really need to?...

Erring on the side of caution, let's review:

Pringle > The evidence supports that Pringle had no intention of coming to Marshall, though we can't know if that's because he was strictly a Jirsa recruit, if he was already aware that a Big 10 school had a scholly for him, or both.

Shannon > The evidence supports, as the rumors had previously suggested, this guy was the most talented of the three but also the biggest qualifying risk. So, he's in JC.

Young > The evidence supports, as the player evaluations on ESPN and elsewhere had previously suggested, that Young was not the prize that the Jirsa administration had advertised. So, he's headed to Stony Brook... nothing against the school, and in fact, sometimes smaller schools just make more sense.

Marcum > The evidence supports, as myself and just a handful of others here maintained, that Kayo was NOT ignorant, but in fact had a very strong understanding of each of their specific situations.

Summary: Once again, the position is validated that Marcum is an old fart who has demonstrated a capacity to think too highly of his own opinion for the good of the program he's trying to build... I can't imagine he'll ever live down the D'Antoni debacle... but he's not stupid nor ignorant, and he doesn't purposely cut off his nose to spite his face.

Thank you for your time and attention... and with that, this one's now officially put to bed.

 :razz:

[KellyDawg]

... but he's not stupid nor ignorant, and he doesn't purposely cut off his nose to spite his face.

Dude, he wanted to keep Jirsa. If your player evaluations are correct they fly in the face of your conclusion.

[AtlTom]

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=108&p=9&cfg=bb&c=8&yr=2007

[GreenSteve]

... but he's not stupid nor ignorant, and he doesn't purposely cut off his nose to spite his face.

Dude, he wanted to keep Jirsa. If your player evaluations are correct they fly in the face of your conclusion.

Please add to that, hire Kueck as head football coach, avoid a local TV contract, and not raised a dime in external corporate funding.

Retaining Jirsa says all you need to know about Kayo

But don't get me started.....

GS.

[_sturt_]

... but he's not stupid nor ignorant, and he doesn't purposely cut off his nose to spite his face.

Dude, he wanted to keep Jirsa. If your player evaluations are correct they fly in the face of your conclusion.

Please add to that, hire Kueck as head football coach, avoid a local TV contract, and not raised a dime in external corporate funding.

Retaining Jirsa says all you need to know about Kayo

But don't get me started.....

GS.

I'm the last person you need to be reciting the Kueck thing to... I was the ballistic one who led the band on that situation...

Stupid?

Setting aside my personal abhorrence at the idea, and attempting cold objectivity... how would anyone ever actually know?

Arrogant?

Indisputable... and absolutely a credible charge.

Backing up... Would keeping Jirsa have been "stupid?" I think so, I don't know so... for all of our incredulousness, there were positives that Jirsa could (and regularly did) try to point to... and maybe more pertinent, Kayo obviously places a high priority on loyalty to his coaches... in and of itself, that's not stupid, but very, very wise, and I'll gleefully take on any one who can't understand that.

But again, rather than "ignorant" or "stupid," the term that applies is "arrogant"... the value given to his own opinion is so inappropriate when he has so much contrarian advice coming at him... it's almost like dealing with a teenager who would rather suffer than take the conventional advice put in front of him.

The local TV contract, you'd know more about than me, GS... you keep up with those things more so than I, and since I'm not in WV, I don't pay as much attention....

The external funding thing... I'm not sure what you're getting at... what are you calling "external corporate funding?" Obviously there's a distinction you're driving, because I have yet to purchase a game program that was lacking corporate ads... and you aren't seriously proposing that game program advertising is routinely considered a part of most businesses' advertising strategy... and I mean, that's just one vein of this.... the D1 program that doesnt have corporate contributions doesn't exist, no matter how stupid or ignorant or arrogant the AD may be.

Will watch for your response and clarification.

And especially would like to see comment as to why "arrogant" isn't the much more accurate adjective.

[_sturt_]

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=108&p=9&cfg=bb&c=8&yr=2007

I'd retort with the ESPN Insider rating, but I cancelled mine... but again, that debate kinda runs into a decisive stone wall anyhow with those two words... Stony and Brook.

Speaking of arrogance, and at the risk of displaying my own, why is it so difficult to admit, at least in this case, internet posters were clearly grossly presumptous in their declaration that Kayo was clueless on this one?

Hope someone has the kahunas to step up here.

[marshallsoccer]

Wasn't Young's JC coach the one talking about how his phone was blowing up with coaches wanting Young on their teams, but yet the best he can do is Stony Brook?

Scout.com's rankings are a joke. There is a reason their company has gone bankrupt twice. They had Lavar Carter and Daryl Merthie as 3-stars, but had Dorris and Markel as low 2-stars.

[Photo by]

...Hope someone has the kahunas to step up here.

_sturt_, nothing personal buddy, but you are asking someone to give some credit for releasing a bunch of players that have never played a minute in favor of a bunch of player who have never played a minute. Heck, I'm not sure anyone on either list ever attended freshman orientation.

Although, at this point, DJ appears to be a good hire it is way too early for anyone to admit contrition.

I would point out in Pringle's case, that if he was headed for another school, DJ didn't get the chance to change his mind.

[marshallsoccer]

I would point out in Pringle's case, that if he was headed for another school, DJ didn't get the chance to change his mind.

He had over 10 days.

[The Right Stuff]

Please elaborate Marshallsoccer.  Pringle's father was so upset, so the story goes, that none of DJ's attempts to contact him or his son were acknowledged.

TRS
MU 71

[_sturt_]

...Hope someone has the kahunas to step up here.

_sturt_, nothing personal buddy, but you are asking someone to give some credit for releasing a bunch of players that have never played a minute in favor of a bunch of player who have never played a minute. Heck, I'm not sure anyone on either list ever attended freshman orientation.

Photo, whether the new guys are better than Jirsa's recruits is not the point. At all.

Rather, the point is that, contrary to the presumptions of the many, the evidence as it comes out now supports that Marcum DID have a clue what was going on with these guys, and DID NOT make his decision to cut these guys loose on this whim as he's made out.

And I'm only going there because, in order to be a credible critic of Marcum, one must first demonstrate themselves to be a level-headed critic... which is what some of us are trying to be.

One more thing... re: Jones having not had a chance to recruit Pringle... that would be important if we knew (a) that Pringle had not already decided that if Jirsa were leaving he wasn't coming here, and (b) that he didn't already have an off-the-record offer to go to Penn State and prized that over going to Marshall.

As usual, I have no clue what the street talk is... and I'm ordinarily thankful for that... TRS seems to suggest that Pringle's dad was upset that the MU offer was pulled. Maybe so. But I'd like to have an on-the-record story before I'll jump to the conclusion that the hometown AD would make a move he would pragmatically know would serve to sabotage the efforts of whoever his new coach was going to be.

Some posters around here are just too eager to make judgments and demonizations, and slow to attribute common sense to those they dislike. (Not you, Photo... but you know what/who I'm talking about.)

[Photo by]

...He had over 10 days.

I thought that he wouldn't return DJ's calls because his dad was angry, however if he had not been released from his LOI he would have at least had to talk to DJ. This certainly doesn't indicate DJ could have kept him but he certainly could have made his case. How many situations have you heard of where a kid asked out of his LOI and then after the new coach talks to him he has a change of heart? It's not uncommon at all.

[marshallisqbu]

Sorry to be rude, but who f'ing cares at this point?  These kids didn't want to be here, so to hell with them.

[HERDFAN1999]

Sorry to be rude, but who f'ing cares at this point?  These kids didn't want to be here, so to hell with them.

My feelings exactly.  Well, maybe not to hell with them but if they don't want to be here then see you later!

Now, QBU, start a thread in the Tavern and tell me if you have been doing any fishing!

[_sturt_]

Sorry to be rude, but who f'ing cares at this point?  These kids didn't want to be here, so to hell with them.

My feelings exactly.  Well, maybe not to hell with them but if they don't want to be here then see you later!

Now, QBU, start a thread in the Tavern and tell me if you have been doing any fishing!

Ummm... not to be rude... but for my part, my posts concern what these former recruits' outcomes say about our current and future AD. While many would also say "to hell with him," he does evidently want to be here.  :lol:  Or maybe more accurately, I'm writing about what this says about others' previous sanctimonious comments, at least where this particular issue is concerned.

[HerdZone]

None are here, they were Jirsa recruits, how do you know any of them would have fit in Jones style of play. So give it a rest ppl.

[_sturt_]

None are here, they were Jirsa recruits, how do you know any of them would have fit in Jones style of play. So give it a rest ppl.

(Does anyone read anymore?... who's talking about the former recruits?)

[From Ashes to Glory]

Thanks Jirsa.   :-?

[_sturt_]

(Sheesh... they're avoiding this thread like the plague... lol.)

[AtlTom]

Here’s a few extra tidbits I found regarding Demetrius.  I don’t have a side on your Marcum debate so this may or may not support your argument.

From a Bradley web site

Yuba sophomore Demetrius Young has decided to reopen his recruiting. He was recruited by Bradley, but decided on Marshall University. But when Marshall fired coach Ron Jirsa, Demetrius requested a release from his Letter of Intent.

http://www.bradleyfans.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=50385&sid=539cde5980be62e32c34ccee2ad47ebc


and from Miami Hawktalk

Demetrius visited Boise State 4/6/07. Dayton, Miami and Loyola (IL) are all interested and have all offered.

http://www.miamihawktalk.com/home/recruits/player/5112/

[Dreamherd]

Marcum wouldn't be hired anywhere else to be the AD after his performance at Marshall.  Thank God the Pres. and company didn't listen to him.  Marcum hasn't done squat that someone else in his position could not have done.  He's cheap.  Marshall will be off to the races with a good AD.  The race for the first DIA football title in West Virginia isn't over yet.  We might get one before wvu if we get someone who believes in the Herd as AD.  Someone with a bigtime mentality.  That's not Bob Marcum.  A good AD is our missing piece.

[_sturt_]

How many threads, here and elsewhere, absolutely throttled Marcum over this thing... I'll say dozens upon dozens, and literally hundreds of posts.

I'm just looking for some people honest enough with themselves to admit, on this one, they were criticizing from their rear end. They jumped to conclusions, and made themselves less credible in the process... prejudice has a way of tarnishing people that way. Some measure of redemption can be found in confession, though.

And for future reference, let's value accuracy and a little more common sense around here, how bout it?

He's an arrogant SOB, but he's not an ignornant one.

[Photo by]

...I'm just looking for some people honest enough with themselves to admit, on this one, they were criticizing from their rear end...

My problem with releasing the kids from their LOI's when it was done is that it should have been the call of the new coach. Now one could argue that DJ was going to be the new coach all along and that Marcum made the decision to release with the knowledge and approval of DJ. Of course that would indicate that the hiring process was a sham.

The decision right, wrong, or indifferent was the coaches call. IMO. But I'm not a athletic department professional. Maybe the logic was to give the new guy a clean slate. Make is so he wouldn't have to be the bad guy and run guys off. If that's so, the one would assume as you have pointed out above, that the kids were not CUSA material or not willing to come here anyway. Were that the case, why the desire to keep Jirsa.

This set of facts and apparent facts can be interpreted in several different ways. We interpret them differently.

I will say this, I'm sure that Kayo had the best interests of the Marshall University basketball program at heart. I'm sure his decision was not made on a whim. I just disagree with it.

I'm into Coke, Mary Ann, Jeanie, Stewarts Hot Dogs, and Oreos. Kayo is Pepsi, Ginger, Samantha, Thunder Dogs, and Nutter Butters. Metaphorically speaking.