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Subject: Re: disappointing upcoming Ivy basketball season Author: John Harvard [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 10:22:35 06/17/24 Mon In reply to: Jerrylh 's message, "disappointing upcoming Ivy basketball season" on 07:30:59 05/31/24 Fri So much for our prognostications as 4-star recruit Elsie Harrington commits to Harvard for 2025-26. On the other hand, this may be consistent with my expectations of players starting in the Ivies and then moving on after a season or two. Best opportunity to negotiate an NIL deal, see what schools really need you, and always be able to say you went to Harvard in instance. If I'm reading things correctly, Amaker has recruited another top player as he dips in rankings. I believe that was happening with Chris Lewis, Justice Ajogbor and Zena Edosomwan. Seems Harrington is now a 4-star, but might have previously been considered a 5-star. Regardless, great get for the Crimson. Hoping Harrinston can team with Hinton in the backcourt in two seasons. Now need to find a front court. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> [> Subject: Amaker to Me, "You're Wrong and I'll Show You" Author: An Observer [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 10:54:23 06/17/24 Mon Congratulations to Coach Amaker and the Crimson faithful for signing another top flight recruit. When we discussed earlier in the spring the impact of NIL deals and especially the transfer portal, I said here that, collectively, the two influences undercut the entire Amaker model of outrecruiting his Ivy competitors. Full credit to Amaker for not sharing my pessimism. He has basically said, "I'm not changing. I'm doubling down." Round One definitely goes to Coach Amaker and Harvard.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Amaker to Me, "You're Wrong and I'll Show You" Author: John Harvard [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 12:36:01 06/17/24 Mon Amaker's approach seems to be identifying targets early and building relationships. I believe he'd been following Siyani Chambers since JHS and we'd heard about Malik Mack and Robert Hinton for a while. Same thing with Harrington now, who is committing relatively early for fall 2025 commit. As much as Amaker's recruiting appears to have stayed consistent, the concept of a one or two years and done is new to this league.

[> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Amaker to Me, "You're Wrong and I'll Show You" Author: An Observer [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 13:06:12 06/17/24 Mon Your recollection of Coach Amaker's recruiting of Siyani Chambers is accurate. Chambers has described how many of his midweek eighth-grade games Coach Amaker attended. So we're talking about handing the day's practice over to his assistants, getting on a morning flight to Minneapolis, renting a car and driving out to Golden Valley, sitting in the stands and, because college coaches were then prohibited from contacting middle-school players, catching Chambers' eye for a smile and maybe a wink but no conversation, then driving back to the airport and, if he's lucky, catching a redeye home. If he's not lucky, he has to spend the night in an airport hotel and fly home first thing in the morning to get to Lavietes in time for practice in the afternoon. My big concern is that investing all that time in an eighth-grader who didn't even have high school grades at the time was prima facie evidence that Amaker knew he had a tremendous amount of leverage at the admissions office. He knew he had the bright green light in terms of getting guys past admissions. I have a real problem with that. But give Coach Amaker credit. He's made it work. He has consistently recruited better than Jones, Henderson, Donahue and everybody else in the League. Amaker does the work. I'll bet he's able to take Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker on a couple of nice vacations a year on his frequent flier miles. I've said here before that I could not take a job where my success depending upon giving a sales pitch to seventeen-year-old boys. Obviously, I'm not going to fly a thousand miles to watch an eighth-grader play basketball. Amaker puts in the hours. You have got to admire that. And I do.

[> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Amaker to Me, "You're Wrong and I'll Show You" Author: Ghost [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 15:41:42 06/17/24 Mon This is the way to recruit, well done Coach Amaker. Convince a decent player that his two years with you, including significant playing time and superior player development/coaching will prepare him for the next level, the A10/Big East, etc. And you'll schedule some of those schools so they get a live look at what could be a recruit for them. Outstanding. Welcome to 2024-25 Ivy League Basketball.

[> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Amaker to Me, "You're Wrong and I'll Show You" Author: Jerrylh [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 10:32:59 06/18/24 Tue The question is, can he keep them??

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Amaker to Me, "You're Wrong and I'll Show You" Author: Ghost [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 11:53:01 06/18/24 Tue Why not? It's a 1 or 2 year apprenticeship in the Ivy League, and all your academic credits will be transferable.

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Doubt he stays more than a year or two Author: Ole Nassau [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 11:56:18 06/18/24 Tue Too much NIL money is out there.

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Doubt he stays more than a year or two Author: Ghost [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 12:01:56 06/18/24 Tue True, but I thought we were talking about a marginal player who still needed to mature and develop. Not sure how much NIL $$$ is available for that player.

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: He's Got Two Ways to Win Author: An Observer [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 12:37:52 06/18/24 Tue Are you/we talking about Elsie Harrington? I thought he was a four-star recruit, not a marginal prospect. I thought your earlier characterization of what might be Coach Amaker's "new" strategy was insightful. If you are correct, he is essentially trying to implement a second generation of the "One and Done" approach first sold to NBA-bound recruits by John Calipari, "I make no pretense about keeping you for more than a year. We are not starting a relationship; this will be a one-night stand. In return for your giving me what I want, I will surround you with other NBA-level talent, then make a lot of phone calls on your behalf and otherwise sell you to NBA general managers. You get what you want, I get what I want." Your characterization of Coach Amaker's strategy basically takes the same approach but replaces the acronym "NBA" with the acronym "BCS" or Power Four or Top 25 program. This strategy carries its own risks, BUT what I like about is, if the recruit turns out to be slightly worse than the fanfare suggests or he is a bit slower to develop, he will probably still be an all-Ivy level player. Indeed, Coach Amaker has two ways to win: (1) The four-star prospect is as good as advertised or better, tears up the League for one or two years, and then transfers to Georgetown or Michigan. (2) The four-star prospect ends up performing more like a three-star and is "merely" second-team all-Ivy, but sticks around for four years, beating up on Yale and Princeton for a full career. He never makes it to the big time or the NBA, but will go down in the record books as an outstanding Ivy League player.

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: He's Got Two Ways to Win Author: Ghost [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 13:15:50 06/18/24 Tue No, this kid Harrington is legit, at least on paper, I've never seen him play. I was referring to the 2* or even marginal 3* who might need a year or two of seasoning, basketball and physically maturing-wise. THEN, move on to a mid-major level for some NIL $$ and higher level of competition. That would seem to be a better recruiting strategy for Ivy hoop coaches.