Didn't see him on the recruits page.  This is the first time I've ever put someone on the list, so apologies if I messed something up.

Nigel Johnson is an extremely high-scoring 6'1" guard .  He has put up some monster scoring games, including 55 the other day (including 20-22 from the line).  He is averaging 29.2 points, 8.5 assists.

According to this Washington Post article, GW is showing interest, though there is no mention of an offer.  Per the article, he has offers from American and Bucknell, while Loyola, JMU, Holy Cross, and Mt. St. Mary's are also interested.

He is First-team all-Met this week, along with McDonald, Savage, Kris Jenkins, and Justin Anderson (UVA).

His coach says he is a legitimate point guard.

While the Washington Post lists him at 6'1", ESPN lists him at 5'8" (though he is unrrated and there is no scouting report listed).

Not sure how interested we are, but since the Post mentions us, i figured I'd post it.

The info on ESPN is inaccurate.  That info is from the 8th grade.

Brief mention on Washpost.com

Generally, getting an offer from AU would mean that he's unlikely to be at the A-10 level.

Some additional video

He does appear to be closer to 6'1" and he is a 2013

ML is still busy:

http://www.vivaloudoun.blogspot.com/2012/05/boys-basketball-broad-run-jr-nigel.html

Long video here.  Looks/plays like TT.

In the video, it looks like he is playing against 9th graders who have never seen a gym (at least the 1st 2+ min that I saw).  And the above article states "This is Johnson's fifth Division I offer (along with Bucknell, American, Holy Cross, and Cornell)".

ML is a better judge of talent than me, but this offer seems like a step down from this recruiting class.

Here is a scoring video from this years HS season

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muzIVsrF7VA

Here is a scoring video from this years HS season

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muzIVsrF7VA

Here is a scoring video from this years HS season

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muzIVsrF7VA

Pretty sure he'll be the next one to "blow up"

Marcus Helton ‏@MarcusHelton
2013 G Nigel Johnson's offers: George Washington, American, Bucknell, Cornell, Holy Cross, Northeastern, William & Mary and UNC-Greensboro.

Related article...

DMVElite

 a 5'8 pg, who doesn't hold major offers, say it aint so!

No need to be so pessimistic, Jaay.

First, he's not 5'8".  Post lists him at 6'1", and even if that's a stretch, 5'8" was apparently his height in HS. 

Second, his AAU coach - who used to coach the Wizards - compared him to Gilbert Arenas.

Third, this ESPN profile of DC Assault singles him out as one of 4 players to watch on one of the nation's best AAU teams. He played mediocre HS competition this year, but he is playing at the top level of AAU and shining. 

Fourth, I wouldn't dismiss a kid just because our coaching staff found him as a junior before any high majors got involved.  In fact, I suspect the best way for us to land major talent is to offer them early when it's just the Bucknells and AUs involved so that at the end when it comes down to, say, GW vs. Clemson, the kid goes with the coaches he liked who have believed in him from the start. 

Marcus Helton ‏@MarcusHelton
Riverdale Baptist 2013 G Nigel Johnson (DC Assault) said he's added offers from Drexel and Lehigh. #DMVhoops

Transfers to Riverdale Baptist.  GW highest profile school on his list of 16 offers.

If he reminds his AAU coach of Gilbert Arenas, he's on the perfect team.

Brown and Princeton, eh?

 Welcome Nigel!

@MarcusHelton: Riverdale Baptist 2013 G Nigel Johnson (DC Assault) committed to George Washington today following a visit. #DMVhoops

Marcus Helton ‏@MarcusHelton

Johnson was one of GW's top remaining targets..he's a good fit for the Colonials.

 Both 2013 recruits are underwhelming. Did they kill the travel budget for recruiting? 

we needed guards and now we've got a couple.  sounds like they both have potential.  this year was clearly our big class so next year is more about filling holes.  it would be nice though if we could land one blue chipper to round out the class - like an embid for instance.

we needed guards and now we've got a couple.  sounds like they both have potential.  this year was clearly our big class so next year is more about filling holes.  it would be nice though if we could land one blue chipper to round out the class - like an embid for instance.

Embiid is getting big-time looks and blowing up. No chance we get him. None. 

Billy Donovan is on that kid like a hawk. 

 Curious to hear what some of those "in the know" feel about this one?  Diamond in the rough?  Role player who is just sort of folded in?  DEA...any thoughts?

Does this signal the end of the  Severe hope?

He did beat our Britt, Mormon, and Griffin for All Met First Team Last Year as Juniors (see FQ's article) 

With everything people have said about Garino's excellent guard like skills, Nigel Johnson becomes the 5th mostly guard playing recruit in the first two years of ML & CO.  To me this signals the likely departure after this year of Lasan - with him taking advantage of the free transfer after graduation.

No idea where Thinker is getting that.

Regardless, Nigel Johnson certainly sounds similar to another undersized A-10 guard who was a bigtime impact freshman - Kendall Anthony.  No idea if he's going to be that good an offensive player, but when a kid gets singled out as 'the microwave' on an AAU team as good as DC Assault and puts up 50 in a HS game as a junior, then it seems like there's a better chance he's a Kendall Anthony type than a bust who didn't deserve a scholarship from an A-10 team.

Consider me underwhelmed.  My guess is this is a result of both Severe and Castro cutting us off their lists and not the other way around. 

 He set the state AAA record for assists while scoring 30 a game.  Size is still an issue, but he has a bit of time to grow.

 Hopefully Castro hasnt cut us and there is room for him and a big

FQ,

This is speculation from me - here is what it's based on:

- As I already stated - We've recruited 5 guards in back to back years

- From my eye at games last year, it seemed like Lasan was a worse fit for the flex than anybody else on the team. This is not a knock on Lasan or ML.  Lasan is a very natural, intuitive player with great skill.  His greatest strength is improvising and breaking down his man on one on one moves.  For the most part this is not what ML ever wanted except toward the end of the season when ML gave up trying to force the flex all of the time.  He seemed to have a really hard time playing in the more rigid style of the flex. He just seemed to consistently have a hard time trying to figure out where to move to on offense - he seemed out of synch pretty often.  And ML seemed frustrated with him often.

So while Lasan may figure it out better this year, I would expect that if he graduates and can freely move to another school, he would probably enjoy playing in system that values his skill set more.  And with 5 other guards on the roster, I wouldn't imagine that ML would be really hot to hold on to him as a 6th guard -- especially since he doesn't play the flex well (so far).

thinker,

i agree with your points on lasan's game but i really see him coming around.  he's too good a player.  i believe if we show improvement and he contributes, who our new recruits might be will not matter.  he will want to stay.   also, garino isn't a guard despite the reports of his skills.

Thinker, I'm not sure Lasan had a problem fitting the flex so much as the coaches didn't think he hustled enough (i.e. digging down on defense, divivng for loose balls, cutting hard off the ball, etc.) 

That's just my observation of what I saw, no inside knowledge.

FQ,

I agree with you that the coaches were frustrated with Lasan for those reason as well.  Obviously I've been talking about the flex since May/June of 2011.  I posted extensively about my concerns about the flex offense. I posted that really athletic players don't like running the flex and not many serious programs use that as their base offense anymore.  The flex is good for teams that are outmatched athletically to find a way to nonethless get open looks.  It doesn't leave a lot of room for great athletes to dominate with the individual skills.

People in the know OPENLY talked about how using the flex as the primary offense would totaly wreck TT's senior year - And it did. It seemed that Pellom would benfit the most with all of the baseline cuts and screens - he had a record year shooting percentage wise.

I predominantly focused on that aspect of the games last year.  I watched many of the games last year alongside a basketball coach who pointed stuff out to me realtime in games.  Last year I did end up getting a bit of inside information. There was TREMENDOUS discord and disharmony on the team last - much of it centered around ML wanting to run the flex almost exclusively as their non-break offense. None of that is particularly noteworthy - it's kind of to be expected when a new coach comes in with a VERY different system than the last coach ran. ML inherited a team that liked Hobbs and DIDN'T like the flex. I watched the whole season to see how the flex was working out.

Game after game and play after play I watched ML grimace on made baskets where the flex  wasn't run properly and clap when the flex was run properly even though they didn't get a basket. I'm VERY comfortable saying Lasan was awful in the flex and he and ML were exceptionally frustrated by it and that it effected Lasan's attitude in other parts of his game as it did for a number of the other players.

None of this should temper the enthusiasm for the coming year - ML has gone out and recruited his own players and can teach them the flex from the outset.

BUT I still don't like the flex as a base offense. And no matter what, Lasan is never going to love the flex although he may get better at running it.

This is a great deal for GW basketball. This gives us 4 guards in 2 years that were in or just outside the door on the All Met ranking. That's not chopped liver. That's not hype, per se, but the judgments of real basketball people. FOUR of them. We need 4 or 5 guards. Something tells me that, starting with this year, and definitely by next year, we will see fewer teams just routinely zoning us. 

First, take care of the ball. Second, make open shots. Third, throw a good pass. The better the guards, the less important it is to have super forwards who can create their own shots. To be top 20, you need that, too, but, right now, I will take 20 win season type guards as a starting point.

 Too soon to make judgments about a recruit. Besides the fact that he hasn't played here yet, he also hasn't played his senior year of hs yet. One positive I see is getting in with DC Assault. That's a relationship that will help us out a lot over the next few years. Would have been nice to get Castro but my guess is our new conference rival is in his future. 

 As one who frequently judge's recruits by the level of competition we beat out to get the player, I likewise raise my eyebrows on this one.  More often than not, this has been accurate (do I need to list names from the last 5 years?).  I will continue to give ML the benefit of the doubt, but I stil remember his words when he first signed at GW, something to the effect that he won in America East conference by recruiting Atlantic 10 level talent, and he will win in the A-10 by recruiting Big East level talent.  Well, you have to give the kids a couple of years to see if they are indeed that level talent.

You know I watched a couple of very bad games last year where we could have used a pair of quick guards who could both shoot from outside and go to the hole and score OR dish.

This will make the 4 guards who were either allmet or in consideration.... Watch the film of Johnson and you will see a guy who impresses me a bit more than Castro, of the clips that I have seen. Johnson looks a lot like TJ but possibly a bit quicker. We now have the four guards that we need to make our run to the top twenty.

AND, before you get all worked up about who is chasing whom... notice that bigtime coaches want the bigger guards. They suck up all the attention. Of course, when it comes down to it, little guys at 6'1 win a good number of the battles.

think that this is great.I 

WaPo interview

Highlights from a DC Assault game.  He's number 3, playing with #0 Nate Britt (UNC), #1 Roddy Peters (KU, UMD, GU, etc) and #2 Kris Jenkins.

Thanks for posting the highlights.  Britt is listed at 6'0'' on scout and has an inch or so on Nigel.  Appears to be very quick, have a good handle and can obviously score.  Running the point on an AAU team with that talent is good experience.  I am not worried at this point with the lack of big time offers, I think how he plays his senior year against better competition is probably a better gauge of his potential in the A10.  

One thing worth noting, in about 16 months ML and staff have planted the seeds with some major local programs (Montrose, Team Takeover, DC Assault, etc), with the increased exposure of the A10 TV deal, etc. we just need to start having some success and we can solidify those local pipelines. 

Since Nigel was 2nd team All Met as a Junior and 6 or the 9 1st Team players leaving as seniors, it's a good bet that Nigel will make 1st team All Met next season. They say his outside shot is "improving".  Hopefully that will continue.  If Nigel can shoot the 3 with his obvious quickness and handle, he should be able to play in the A10. 

I do love Lonergan & Co.'s success with local talent.  Why go to FL, CA and elsewhere to get a TJ Johnson, Bynes, Ware, etc when GW can easlily get that level or better locally? There efforts locally help build a pipeline and relationships with local HS/AAU coaches.  GW was never really going to build a pipeline of kids comming from L.A., Tampa or Chicago but that can do so from MDV, so if you're going to reach for a player not high on the recruiting lists, might as well do so locally and build those connections.

Training advertisement featuring Nigel Johnson and a few Washignton Redskins.  Very athletic kid!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKbdzl1esx4

Get excited about this guy and put Castro and Severe in the rear-view mirror. 

He's a frontrunner for 1st team All-Met this year.

If you need convincing beyond 2nd team All-Met and stuffing the stat sheet as a junior, watch BM's YouTube link above (or this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uK6dkMEyJY - 7:30 mark is the final game, he's #3 driving and nailing 3's against top competition) where he's starting and excelling on one of the elite AAU teams in the country.

 Don't get too excited about new information, just a blurb in another article regarding one-time, brief GW recruit Roddy Peters:

“Every student-athlete has different motives, but I’m a believer that the competition is more fierce in the private sector and it gives players a chance to show they can perform at the upper echelon with other top players around them,” said Wilson, who welcomed Broad Run senior transfer and George Washington University recruit Nigel Johnson to his program this past summer. “Kids want to go where they have an opportunity to be seen on a national level.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/recruits-dion-wiley-roddy-peters-garner-plenty-of-attention-despite-playing-at-public-schools/2012/12/05/e3542d82-3ca7-11e2-ae43-cf491b837f7b_story.html

 Do we know if he ever signed his LOI? Chance we might lose him. Playing great this year

 I just heard from someone at Montgomery Mall that Johnson just bought a pair of blue socks.

 Thanks for you insight Tuna Can. Always a valuable contributor to the site....... I'll leave all other comments to another thread in order not to send this one in the wrong direction. Well I hope he actually attends GW

Here's the Post preview of the All-Met team.

All the players that have commited to colleges have the team listed in their blurb.  No mention of GW in Nigel's blurb.

No blurb for Aquille Carr either, looks like he gave a verbal to Seton Hall and didn't sign a LOI... NJ could be in a sinilar boat...

 Had 19 pts in a loss to Andrew Wiggins and Huntington Prep

Link to Dunk

Nigel Johnson is fearless. He's taking it right at Huntington Prep. Has 13 at the half. Has hit a few deep J's.

At half Riverdale Baptist is clinging to a 30-27 lead. Nigel Johnson is going to be one of those NCAA guards who can go off for 30 any nite

 The posts I don't like to see

The way he's playing tday Nigel Johnson to GW is no lock. Due in part to his play Riverdale Baptist is up 30-27 @ half on Huntington Prep.

 The posts I don't like to see

The way he's playing tday Nigel Johnson to GW is no lock. Due in part to his play Riverdale Baptist is up 30-27 @ half on Huntington Prep.

From Gonzaga Classic recap...

It looks like George Washington has landed a nice player in 6-foot point guard Nigel Johnson from Riverdale Baptist. Johnson is extremely quick, has a ton of confidence in his jumper from deep and will attack the hoop. He's a bit on the streaky side, but his aggression and athleticism should allow him to slide off the ball and play at the two if GW wants to go small and quick.

BM .. Get me some good insider info and make me feel better about him actually coming to GW

We need a scorer like him.

I got nutin' Florida.  Pretty obvious he's fishing for a better offer.  DC Assault hasn't been good to GW.

How do Nick and Nigel compare?  

 Nick Griffin is a pure outside shooter. Nigel is more of an all-purpose scorer.

One is coming to GW, the other isnt.

Your answer is the one I was concerned about, jr. Is (Nigel) he just "too good" for us now? Thanks, herve.

Pretty lame if we are getting used as his fall-back - Didn't we put the full court press on him?

At first I thought he was our fallback plan for Castro/Severe and more recently Ty Johnson.  But I fear it maybe the other way around unfortunately...

Johnson gets  #1 play of the National HS Hoops Festival on Capitol Hoops and #2 play on Hoop Mix Tape.  This kid is athletic.  Banged on a 6'6 kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctx2-1nmyFM

http://hoopmixtape.com/2012/12/andrew-wiggins-dominates-sick-poster-dunks-and-a-game-winning-3-top-10-plays-of-national-hs-hoops-festival/

 Saw Johnson last night. He's a big-time player. ML and a few assistants were there as well.. 

This is a big indicator for ML - If we have a commit who originally gave a verbal to us like Nigel- has a booming senior year with other programs taking note and he can't seal the deal with him and bring him in - what does that say about us? Can't let that happen.

 Saw Johnson last night. He's a big-time player. ML and a few assistants were there as well.. 

 GW26, you can't think so "linear." This is a stocastic process of dealing with what's happening. Take a school like my GW comparison site ... Gonzaga... they don't get eveyone. They are keen judges of talent and the do everything, local, national and International. (sound familiar?)

They clearly don't get everyone they target. If the kid blows up and Washington wants them, they lose some of their originally on the top of the offer letter guys to those big state schools. 

In our case. N Johnson is courting offers from other schools. The staff is still there. I ask no more of them than to try to make it stick. Since we have had such good recruiting in the past one YearsS... I am not giving up on these coaches so easily.

In fact, I see a staff that is talking to T. Johnson, as well, a higher profile option with proven next level capabilities. 

BTW, I think that there are aspects of Joe McDonald's play that are hugely positive, but are being overshadowed by his "way out in the open" flaws in his middle third of the floor game. Surely, he needs some work there, but there are other parts of his game that make it hard for a good coach to keep him off the floor.

Due to the nature of the sport and recruiting and how good smaller schools go in early ... the point is, get used to this.

Joe McDonald is a winner.  I predict you will all come to eventually realize this.

As for Nigel, this wouldn't be an ordinary instance of not getting someone we wanted should he decide to play elsewhere.  This is an instance where the player gave GW a verbal commitment, then did not sign during the early signing period.  I'm glad to hear the coaching staff is still attending his games.  What I am wondering is whether the possibility of landing Ty Johnson becomes an either/or situation with Nigel, or if landing both is a realistic possibility.  if the answer is the former, then GW will have to draw a line in the sand from a timing standpoint should presumably Ty decide he'd like to come.

Joe McDonald is a winner.  I predict you will all come to eventually realize this.

As for Nigel, this wouldn't be an ordinary instance of not getting someone we wanted should he decide to play elsewhere.  This is an instance where the player gave GW a verbal commitment, then did not sign during the early signing period.  I'm glad to hear the coaching staff is still attending his games.  What I am wondering is whether the possibility of landing Ty Johnson becomes an either/or situation with Nigel, or if landing both is a realistic possibility.  if the answer is the former, then GW will have to draw a line in the sand from a timing standpoint should presumably Ty decide he'd like to come.

I agree that Joe Mac may someday be a winner.  He has shown glimpses of some very nice tools.  However, he is now a liability.  Ultimately, in the long run, playing the minumtes that he does against quality competition is going to speed up his progress towards being a winner and probably make him a better overall player, but it sure is painful to watch now.  To a lesser extent, can say the same for Kethan, although he is not getting Joe Macs minutes.

 Recent write up on DMV Elite from holiday tournament with GW mention. 

http://dmvelite.com/news/holiday-classic-evaluations

Went for 39 last night.....still being regarded as a GW recruit. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/riverdale-baptist-boys-beat-national-christian-behind-nigel-johnsons-39-point-outburst/2013/01/15/561ee818-5f56-11e2-b05a-605528f6b712_story.html

The waiting is the hardest part...

Nice catch MV.  More on the game on capitolhoops plus a nice WaPo video feature from last week.  All indications seem to be that he's still a GW commit.

18 pf 20 FTs. Drool.

From an observer on the behind the pay wall Terp board...

RB's 6' point guard, Nigel Johnson (GW commit) stole the show with 39 pts, raining 5-3s from what would have been the NBA line. More importantly, he handled NCA's full-court pressure and scored or set-up teammates for open looks.

 http://blip.tv/hoopmixtape/nigel-johnson-drops-defender-and-finishes-sick-move-and-finish-6507113

 Can someone explain to me again why (1) he is not rated by Rivals or ESPN and (2) why he had only received offers from Cornell and American?   Or, for that matter, why he committed to GW prior to the early signing period but did not sign?  Things admittedly I just don't understand.

 And now an apparent McDonalds All American (1st since Regis!)

@TakingFlight_23: "@therealdyl5: Nigel got nominated to be a McDonald's All-American? #TOUGH"

There are hundreds of nominations handed out.  An honor for sure, but not the Regis level deal.  Griffin and even Skyler White were also nominated.

 although he didn't play again, in his last game, it can't be grades....Cornell has offered http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/school/_/id/45/class/2013

Perhaps it is

Edgar Walker‏@Edgar_Walker

#6 Dunbar vs #14 Riverdale Baptist tipping off here. Nigel Johnson and Khary Doby sitting out for RB (I'm told grades) #MDHoops #BBAcademy

I hope this is just a blip, but I think we all have to be at least a little concerned if he is sitting because of grades...especially when added to the fact that he verbally committed prior to the early signing period but did not sign.  I can think of no positive, logical reason why he would not have unless there are some problems here.    I would be curious if his not signing early was his doing or ours.  Nevertheless, if he can hit a 3 point shot consistently, I am willing to overlook a lot.

It's high school, LSF, and he's monitored by parents, coaches, and teachers!!!

Sometimes, "grades" that put you on the bench are as simple as flunking a flash quiz. My guess,  its something like that , rather than an eligibility issue.

(I say this as a guy who knows straight A's, and as a guy who also knows fits and starts and flunking, just because.)

Nigel is and has always been an honor roll student and a part of the National Honors Society. He will graduate HS with honors and has scored over 1500 on the SAT's. He will be fine.

sounds good to me!

Ok Gametime, I'll play. If he has the grades why didn't he sign? Is his commitment not solid to GW? Or does he really not have the grades? Because it is likely one or the other.

So, those are Nigel's only two options? Since when?

My guess, he doesn't like the weenies on gwhoops.com.

Either that, or he wants to go to CalTech, because his girlfriend is going there to be a cheerleader.

Because, if not one of these reasons, if has to be the other.

Clearly, nothing else makes sense.

If you scroll up in this thread, Florida Colonial posted an early December tweet from what appears to be a recruiting insider saying "The Way He's Playing Today, Nigel Johnson Is No Lock To GW." It looks like N.Johnson wanted to see if he could get offers from high-major schools. It's been almost 2 months since that was tweeted and no one has posted anything about him getting interest/offers from an ACC/Big East/SEC type of school, so I'm assuming N.Johnson will sign with GW.

It's not one reason or the other just because you say so-Windex. Not sure what would make you the resident expert on what someone else's reason for not signing but I'm sure you can't make that determination. It looks like he's still committed to GW. I'm sure his reason are his own and has nothing to do with anyone else. So lets see how things go without anyone assuming for him what his plans are.

If he got over 1500 on the traditional SATs, the two part English and Math, he should definitely come to GW for the academics and good D1 basketball.

And we would be really deligthed to have a player like that.

Great that he's on the honor roll in any case.

If you verbal somewhere that means you intend on attending. If you verbal somewhere before LOI day, then the natural expectation is you would sign an LOI unless:

1. You or the school did not want you to sign an LOI because of not having the requisite grades/test scores/core courses; or

2. You are are wavering on your verbal commitment.

I'm not saying definitively whether it is #1 or #2 but I'm telling you it is #1 or #2 and since it has been months since he verballed with no further word, I wouldn't count him in. By the way, Thomas the article you posted was in December long after he should have signed his LOI which makes me think #2 may in fact be the reason.

But I'd like all the Einsteins here to tell me why a kid would verbal before signing date and not sign a LOI if not for the two reasons set forth above.

To add to the above ... if what Thomas reports is true do we realy want a kid who verbals here but then decides to go shopping to see if he can do better? Why verbal at all then? Not saying that is the case but if it is then you have to question the kid (or his advisors/parents) integrity. He just should have kept his mouth shut and waited until he decided for sure. I don't like to be toyed with. We are better than that. He's good but he's not that good.

Dude.  The kid is 17.

+1 BM 

gametime, i don't doubt what you said but why hasn't Nigel played recently? injury? hope he attends GW. thanks.

gametime, i don't doubt what you said but why hasn't Nigel played recently? injury? hope he attends GW. thanks.

said it twice at exactly the same time. match that.

said it twice at exactly the same time. match that.

That's pretty funny and WAY out of the realm of reality - This kid is not toying with you.

BM what's your point? All these kids are 17-18. Some live up to their verbals and others do not. Some have grade issues others do not. I just really want to know whether he WANTS to come to GW or not and whether he CAN come to GW. Not really that hard a question.

Windex, just relax. I know you are new to this board.  We all want Nigel to come, and few of us have any idea what's really going on, but we'll know in due time. The kid is not making his decision to placate anonymous message board posters.  It'll all be fine. 

This is worse than I first imagined.  Let's assume that it's #2, Nigel verbals to GW, explodes on the AAU scene, and transfers to Riverdale Baptist, a far more competitive school than where he had been playing.  Along the way, someone points out that Nigel have a realistic chance at landing at a high major.  Realistically, this offers him more visibility and a chance to enhance the prospects of a professional playing career.  Like Joe Flacco, Nigel decides to bet on himself despite having already verbaled to GW.  Nobody at GW should be happy about this but logically, everyone understands this.  Everyone except Windex who apparently has been personally toyed with as a result of this news.  I hope Nigel ultimately lands at GW but really just as importantly, I hope that Nigel will take the time to apologize to Windex for having toyed with HIM.  It's high time that these high school seniors and juniors took some accountability over the anguish they are causing certain basketball fans as they contemplate one of the most important decisions of their own lives.

The MV maybe in your world your word doesn't mean anything. The kid did verbal to GW - nobody made him do that. He could have said nothing right - said he's still wide open right?  Plus that was after the AAU summer. So you are right it is worse than you imagined. Going to RB should have made no difference since he knew he was going to RB when he verballed.  I am not personally being toyed with - I meant GW is being toyed with. If Nigel doesn't want to come to GW then no problem. We'll find other players.

 Thank you to Free Quebec for a far more reasonable response.

Windex,

Generally virtually any player that is any good gets strongly pressured. That's called recruiting. If ML & CO weren't pressuring him then they wouldn't be doing their jobs. This isn't like when you applied for college and were considering several different schools or were accepted by multiple schools. Most likely no one cared where you went as is the case with the VAST majority of kids (like me where no one cared where I went).

There are lots of reasons why kids verbal and lots of reasons why kids don't sign until the late signing period. Recruiting sites even use the term "soft verbal."The vast majoroity of the time, there is nothing nefarious going on. Also understand, that signing the LOI doesn't necessarily help the player very much - particularly a good player. It's more about protecting the school. To me there is nothing wrong with a kid wanting to keep his options open a little longer.

windex, ML and his staff are big boys and are keeping abreast of the situation. this is recruiting and a verbal is not a contract. (i apologize if it double posts. it's all herve's fault. ha, ha)

But thinker and newtman then why verbal at all? Then you can keep your options open and nobody feels like you told them one thing but did another. In fact, I think the whole verbal thing is bs anyway because it means nothing these days - part of the way society has taught kids that you don't have to honor your word if it becomes inconvenient. Back in the day nobody verballed they just committed and that was it. I look at it like GW is getting played here. If something better comes along see ya. If nothing better comes along, GW has to offer him the scholarship. And if nothing better comes along is he really that good?

That said, I've seen him play. He's a good player but he will not set the A-10 on fire at least immediately. So if he thinks he can go ACC I'd say good luck and move on so we  don't get left holding the bag while other players we could have got decided not to come because of his "verbal".

Just wondering if there is honor among theifs.  Specifically, is there an unwritten rule among college coachs/recruiters to stay away from players who have given a verbal, even if they have not yet signed?  Can anyone recall any player that has given a verbal to GW that has not come due to the player's decision?  I thought after the recruiting scandle, we may have lost some pretty good players, but that was the school backing off rather than the player.  I do argee with Windex on one thing, however...if the kid (or the program) does give a veral commitment to play at a school, it is the right thing to honor it, even if it is not legally binding.    Schools and players both need to rely on these commitments, for good reason.  As for Johnson, I have read nothing to indicate that either he or GW has backed off its commitment to the other, even though I have no idea why he didn't sign during earning signing period.

 While we all probably want Nigel to come to GW, I have to take exception to Windex or anyone else ascribing any rationale or nefarious motives to the decision to delay a formal commitment. It's Nigel's decision to be made with the counsel of his family. We can probably assume that the coaching staff has a pretty good understanding of the deferral and an appreciation of whether they should feel nervous about it. Free Quebec, MV, and others have it right - we can sit back and just wait to see what happens. Unlike the coaches, we don't need to be ready with a Plan B if it is ultimately determined that GW is not the right place for him. Too much fun cheering on the Frosh Four now to worry too much about next year 's recruits. And it certainly isn't fair to Nigel to paint him as anything less than open and honest with GW without any shred of evidence that he doesn't intend to sign with GW other than that he didn't do so in the fall signing period. Have faith and clean the window you're looking through, Windex.

Windex, your making an ideal argument, which I suppose is noble on the one hand, but just isn't realistic on the other.  If you're driving on a highway where the speed limit is 55 MPH, there are obviously plenty of drivers who are driving at least 60.  Nobody is getting a ticket for driving 60 MPH in this situation.

It's not much different here.  What a verbal really says is that the player is interested.  When a verbal takes place before the early signing period and the player does not sign early, the player is saying that they are still interested but that they would like to keep his options open a bit longer.  ML & staff fully comprehend this.  Guess what?  The school can also find an alternative and rescind the offer as well.  That's the risk the player is taking by not signing.

BTW, I should add that I see nothing about this situation that suggests that Nigel will definitely not be coming to GW, or that GW would ever rescind its offer.

I think what you are all missing is that unless I am wrong if GW offers and the kid verbals they have hold the scholarship. But again, I am not faulting Nigel for wanting to keep his options open - that's his right. But then don't verbal if that is the way you want to play it.

Poog if you think the coaching staff is happy that Nigel didn't sign in November after a verbal before that then I'm going to sell the Brooklyn Bridge to you. If nothing else, for all any of us knows they are not sure whether he is coming which puts them in limbo and affects other potential offers. Perhaps you could use some Windex to clean the rose colored glasses you are looking through.

While all of you are content to let this play out because there is still the chance he might come (we have no other choice), I can't wait to see the recriminations here if he doesn't come.

This all started because I asked Gametime who posted some knowledge about the situation whether he was really coming or whether he had the grades to come. That's all I ultimately care about - that he honors his word and he comes to GW.

You think potential  recruits (and their families and others who influence them) read the board to get a feel for what the fan "culture" is like-epecially during times when we are not doing as well as we are now?

Windex, it's this "honoring his word" concept that you're having a problem with.  GW coaches are not disillusioned that Nigel did not sign early.  Disappointed?  Of course.  Disillusioned?  I'm fairly certain that they have seen or heard about situations like this countless numbers of times.  To address your scenario, the reality is that GW will hold his scholarship...until if or when they reach a point where they decide not to.  Think of it as a right of first refusal.  If GW wants to press the issue (and it may very well not be in their best interests to do so), the coaching staff approaches Nigel and says that they need a point guard and that they have someone else in mind should Nigel have had a change of heart.  However, this other player wants to know where he stands and he's not willing to wait around to see what you're going to do.  In other words, the coaches force the issue.  Might get him to sign, might get him to walk.

It will usually boil down to the perceived difference between the players.  On a scale of 1-10, if the coaching staff thinks Nigel is a 10 and the other prospect is a 5, they will wait things out.  If they think of Nigel as an 8 and the other prospect as a 7, they might force the issue. 

What you should understand, and clearly don't seem to, is that if Nigel ends up at a different school, it does not make him a dishonorable guy.  He is looking out for his own best interests and that's exactly what he should be doing.  A verbal is not a signed letter, and changing one's mind after a verbal is significantly more common than you are realizing.  Coaches in this profession fully comprehend this.

If I recall correctly, Georget--n U. was infamous for not honoring letters of intent. (Sure, it could have been another school, but so what. We hate the Hoyas.) Their Coach, when called on it, said a signed letter of intent was just an indication that a player was good enough to warrant his interest, not a sign that the player was off limits and the coach should look elsewhere. Once a kid signed, in other words, he was a target for recruiting.

Windex, you and some of our fellow posters have convinced me. Nigel doesn't want to associate with weenies like us. Who could blame him?

The only thing you're right about is that you are wrong. Your two "reasons" for Nigel's inaction aren't the only two possibilities. I trust you are not so naive in other areas of human activity.

The MV, you keep glossing over the point - why verbal if you want to keep your options open? In fact, it may actually hurt you to do that because some schools may back off thinking you are committed. By the way thanks for the lecture on how the process works, I never would have guessed (sarcasm).

ziik - what are you suggesting? I am suggesting that he either is unsure he wants to come to GW (i.e might want to go elsehwere) or cannot come to GW as of yet for some reason. Please tell me what other options there are? Surely you aren't suggesting that the coaching staff no longer wants Nigel.

Windex, let's see if I can help.  Kid plays pretty well junior year, gets a few offers, acts on information available to him AT THE TIME and verbals.  Blows up over summer, AAU program and HS coach advise him based on the latest info, he decides not to sign...yet.  It happens all of the time.  It doesn't make him bad or wishy-washy or a non-qualifier.  In fact, I would argue it's wise of him to do his due dilligence as the LOI is indeed a one-sided contract.  You raised the possibility of poor grades, but it is highly likely the coaches had his transcripts in hand well before the offer was made.  

Another thing you should know is the coach can indeed back out of a verbal - doubt that is the case here but it happens a lot more than people think.  It's a freaking verbal.  Coaches have been known to offer more kids than available schollies, and may end up with more commits than roster spots.  They may offer a walk-on position, or worse, never call the kid back.  It happens... 

Windex, you received the lecture because I was convinced that you had no idea how the process worked.  Why would anyone think otherwise?  Your position in this discussion is that Nigel said one thing and did another.  The response to this, in this particular circumstance, is a great big 'So What?"  LA Hoops did a good job in answering your question to me but once again, the kid changed his mind.  There isn't a coach on the college scene who would think for a minute that Nigel committed some horrible act.  His credibility moving forward in the college basketball world is completely untarnished because this sort of thing happens often.

Windex: love the use of the phony straw man to describe my position. It's so gwhoops. Stir the pot all you want; not seeing any takers from the fan base here.

Windex, in other words, the verbal means nothing. Until the person suits up in the uniform, nothing is guaranteed.   Like betting on the Super Bowl, when you win AND have the cash in your hand, nothing is certain. Once again, a lot of verbage that may mean nothing, just speculation. So don't worry over something you have no power over.

Windex, I'm suggesting you need both hands to find your ass. I doubt there are enough electrons in the universe for you to prove me wrong.

As in my professional life, I will take the side of the underdog on this and say that I think Windex is generally correct (although I think there are more than 2 reasons why a verbal doesn't always turn into a LOI).   But I think his instincts are good...if a verbal doesn't sign, it is a somewhat strong  indication of possible trouble, whether it is either the kid or the school backing out or there are issues such as grades.  Yes, it is possible that upon reflection, both sides agree that the original decision was not a good one, for whatever reason.   I would like to hope (perhaps naively) that a verbal commitment to a school that has made an offer is not something that is taken lilghtly and that would not be broken by any party, except on rare circumstances.  Kind of like a proposal of marriage...we all assume that it is going to happen, but if that wedding date passes and there is no wedding, you have to wonder if the marriage is going to happen.  Maybe it is just a change of date, maybe it is cold feet by one of the parties, or maybe the man just came to his senses.   Windex' position, while you may disagree, is reasonable and you should lighten up on him a bit. 

Yes Long Suffering Fan exactly. If everyone wants to pretend to be Kevin Bacon in Animal House so be it. The kid didn't sign his LOI for a reason and those reasons generally don't bode well for GW. Let's hope that it ends well and this is much ado about nothing.

let's say Nigel were to be forced to play for GW. he doesn't want to be there and transfers out after his freshmen because he has a better offer or is unhappy.

let's try to resist the temptation of speculating on why Nigel isn't playing. he seems like a good young man. let things unfold.

 One thing to keep in mind is that even if Nigel wanted to sign his NLI today he couldn't. The early signing period lasts only for 1 week in November (2nd Wednesday thru 3rd Wednesday), and the regular signing period doesn't begin until April.  It's impossible for any of us to know for sure what goes on in the mind of a teenager when faced with the choice on whether or not to sign during the early period. Here's a possibility: if a young basketball player works hard at his game, shows significant improvement and begins to get noticed by the local basketball community and media. Then starts getting D-1 offers and decides to verbal. He continues to impress and keeps getting more attention from more programs. I'm sure there are many players that are relieved to end the recruiting process by signing their NLI, especially those that have been heavily recruited for a long period of time. I think it's also possible that many recruits bask in the attention and enjoy getting to tell their peers that they got a call or a text from coach x or team y and don't want that to end, even if the player is 100% sure that he'll honor his verbal commitment. 

 Last post was mine

WRONG! I'm pretending to be Kevin Bacon in "Friday the 13th".

If you Google the question about what a 'Letter of Intent ' means there is a huge amount of verbage. This includes LOI for Lacrosse and alll other sports. Discussion is old, but untill there is any rules with teeth, the meaning is up in the air.

Once again, he didn't play last night.

LSF, the issue here isn't whether everything is fine with this situation or not.  We all wanted Nigel to sign in November.  Because he didn't, it may be that there's a problem or it may be that there's no problem at all.

The reason why at least I'm debating Windex on this would be this post he wrote:

if what Thomas reports is true do we realy want a kid who verbals here but then decides to go shopping to see if he can do better? Why verbal at all then? Not saying that is the case but if it is then you have to question the kid (or his advisors/parents) integrity. He just should have kept his mouth shut and waited until he decided for sure. I don't like to be toyed with. We are better than that. He's good but he's not that good.

The connotation of this post suggests that Nigel had a helluva lot of nerve to verbal and then not sign.  Who does he think he is to have pulled that?

This is where I (and I believe others) are in disagreement with Windex.  This attitude misses the mark completely.

LSF.  Maybe he didn't sign because he didn't want to play for a team that has Long Suffering Fans.  Maybe you should change your "name" to one that is not so negative.  You could let us know what your new "name" is so we can all know who you aren't.

You guys have it backwards.  Maybe Nigel didn't want to sign after ML was recruiting Rene Castro so heavily, which is quite understandable.  Castro did not tell ML no until AFTER the signing period.   The catch 22 was maybe that Rene Castro also didn't want to come in with another PG with a current frosh starter.  

Please stop saying it was grades, he comes from a very good strong public school system, so Nigel not getting the grades at Riverdale Baptist is crazy.

In deference to the anonymous poster that my board name is too negative, for the remainder of this thread I shall go by "Suffering Fan".  Although admittedly it is still negative, it is not so negative.  My point on Windex was that whether or not you  agreed with him, his points were valid and logical and I thought many were a bit harsh in their criticism.  And yes, I agree that a verbal recruit that does not sign when the opportunity exists may indicate that the recruit may not be coming.  Whether that is good or bad for GW I will leave alone. 

Suffering Fan

Gee Whiz -

It was reported above that he sat out because of grades so why would anyone ever possibly think that grades would have any part whatsoever in this (sarcasm)?

That said you may be right about Castro but that just goes to my point that he is possibly not enamored with GW anymore and the verbal will not hold. Folks you can argue all you want but it's one or the other if he doesn't sign: he doesn't like GW anymore (vis a vis the competition) or he doesn't have the grades/scores.

Windex-it was speculation only.  He may have missed a curfew, so parents maybe levied the punishment.  I just don't like negative publicityy when we have NO facts to back it up.     IF ML told him I am bringing in 2 PGs next year, then he should have pumped the brakes.  If he wants to be PG only (with his size definitely most suitable).   ML has to realize the scenario of 2 PGs coming in with a FROSH starter really is not appealing to ANYONE.   

Edgar Walker‏@Edgar_Walker

#6 Dunbar vs #14 Riverdale Baptist tipping off here. Nigel Johnson and Khary Doby sitting out for RB (I'm told grades) #MDHoops #BBAcademy

Gee Whiz - Not much speculation here ... Edgar Walker who seems to have a reliable website reported that he was told it was for grades. Take it up with him. I can only react to what I read.

LSF  SF. What a shame.  Just when we are showing major signs of improvement, you are still suffering.

Why not change it to Love Spotlighting Flaws.  That way you don’t even have to change your initials.

It is going to take a lot more than 10-11 (4-4) to end the suffering.

(L)SF, i'm with you but cheer up we're 10-10.

SF.  There is always therapy.

Windex. I can understand your point of view, if Nigel Johnson had reservations about coming to GW, he shouldn't have verballed. He could've just maintained that GW was on his 'schools of interest' list and left it like that. When a recruit(who appears to have star potential) gives a verbal to a particular school, it brings a lot of optimism to that school's fanbase, which is what has happened with N.Johnson.

The tweets of @MattWhitNBE and @Edgar_Walker have also increased the speculation of Nigel Johnson's status to GW. I'm not blaming them because they are just tweeting about stand-out players that they are covering/watching and probably don't realize that their tweets are being posted on a GW message board in which students, alums, former players, current players and coaches read.

About 2 years ago, a similar instance happened on a local high school hoops message board when a local player signed his LOI with William & Mary in November, he had an outstanding SR year and people(even one of his high school assistant coaches) posted how some high-majors were trying to get him to break his LOI to William & Mary. That whole thread made its way to a William & Mary message board(despite the fact that NO William & Mary fans ever posted there) and caused their fans to speculate about his status. That player ended up going to William & Mary and is now doing well as a sophomore.

Thomas, I just want Nigel to don the Buff&Blue like he said he was going to.

Windex, my god.  Who among us doesn't want this same thing?  The point is that he hasn't committed a mortal sin if he opts to play elsewhere.  In a perfect world, yes, everyone would honor their word.   However, in this particular circumstance, players frequently change their minds, receive better offers, etc.  It happens, it's reality, and while I don't mean to control what comes next from your keyboard, it's probably time to put an end to this discussion where you appear to be fixated on GW "not getting played" to use your words.

the NCAA site says the National LOI is a binding agreement between the student athlete and the institution whereby the stu-ath attends for one full year and the institution provides the aid. if student breaks the deal he must attend and sit out a year and lose i yr of eligibility. BUT in reality i don't think that happens often. let's remember Kopriva signed with Vermont and they released him, which is best for both sides.

The MV, re-read the first few sentences of Thomas' recent post. That's all you need to know.

 Windex, have you ever made a restaurant reservation to hold a table only to go someplace better?  Thats's why players make a verbal. If they have a great season after a verbal coaches will find out and pursue them regardless of the verbal. That's the reality on both sides.

Yes Windex.  I reread it.  And, Nigel could have not verbaled making this a non-issue.  But he did verbal.  And now, he may or may not honor his verbal.  If he does, great.  If he doesn't, it doesn't make him a bad guy.  If he doesn't, he will follow in the footsteps of a great many number of basketball players who go to a different school than the one they initially agreed to go to.  Is it wrong to do this?  Like I said earlier, it's as wrong as driving 60 MPH where the speed limit is 55 MPH.

I think having Severe and Castro out there as signing prospects could very well have affected his decision to sign an LOI.  The addition of either or both of those players, along with Joe Mac, would put a lot of competition for playing time at pg.  Johnson had every right to ask ML who else he was recruiting and what the status of those signings were.  Now that neither Castro or Severe are coming, I would wager that it is much more likeley that Nigel will be coming to GW.  

I do think there is a point to be made about the lack of a point to verballing.  But would we rather have Nigel listing GW as a school of interest right now, or would we rather have his verbal?  So it can only be taken as a positive move.  I think it says that unless there is some unforeseen circumstance, he will be attending GW.  Even if he goes for 40 points in a couple of games, that is not going to unravel it.

So is it the consensus that Nigel isn't going to attend GW in the fall?  If so, I consider it terrible news.

LSF , SF. Too late to change initials. According to English Common Law you have used it so long that its yours forever. Its retired. Man, are you old, counting the number of years you have been posting. Anyway, when you started t post, you and all of us were long suffering fans. Like the stock market, its up and down, but still no NCAA basketball championships. Closest were the women in the Final Eight.

What make N Johnson different than all the other basketball recruits that decided to verbally committ to a prospective school instead of signing a LOI?  It happens to almost all schools and has been going on for years.  There's always a reason a recuit "verabals" instead of "signs".  Maybe for the same reason Nigel Johnson decided at the time to verbal.

As stated above, most of these players wind up signing with the same school.  So the question is what makes Nigel Johnson different than all those other recruits (past and present) and why should GW's fanbase be any more concerned than any other school in the same situation?

Luscious, I would guess that Nigel Johnson is still coming to GW(at this point) because despite the big games against powerhouse schools like Princeton Day, Huntington Prep and National Christian, there have been no reports of high-majors showing interest in him. Riverdale Baptist has a big game in a few days against undefeated D.C.Public school Theodore Roosevelt, that will be a high-profile game locally, it will be interesting to see if N.Johnson plays in that one.

Also, guys backing out of verbals have led to some troubles for the recruits who did it. Your "friends" at College Park weren't very happy when Terrence Ross(now in the NBA) backed out of his verbal to that school. They reacted in typical 'College Park' fashion when he backed out. LOL T.Ross may still be having nightmares about the abuse he took over that decision!!

NBA player Eric Gordon and his family also had a NASTY experience when he verballed to Illinois, backed out and signed with Indiana. Indiana played a game at Illinois that year, and E.Gordon and his family did not have an enjoyable experience that night. I brought up those instances to show what can happen when a prized recruit backs out of his verbal. It would be best that people advise the youngsters not to verbal unless they are 100% sure they will sign.

How do we know that Nigel wanted to verbal in the first place? Maybe he said, I'm not 100% sure and GW said "why not verbal for now? You can always change your mind." I understand that Wesley Witherspoon verballed to GW. But this was considered a "silent verbal" because his family didn't want him to sign early because both of their other sons ended up going to schools that didn't work out and ended up transfering. The GW team ended up blowing up in dysfunction and so Wesley didn't come to GW. I'm sure that Hobbs was very happy to get the verbal even though he knew it definitely wasn't a sure thing. I'm 100% sure that the coaches have always known exactly where they stood with Nigel, even though we as fans haven't.

As far as Nigel having "grade problems" -- that could mean many things, many of which wouldn't necessarily make any difference for his situation at GW. It's not uncommon for schools to suspend athletes if they skip class, or get a "D" on a midterm or whatever. MANY players that go to prep school already qualified prior to their prep year - meaning that their grades in prep school wouldn't matter to the college. EVEN THOUGH the prep school might not let the kid play.

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't his Twitter Profile used to say #GWU Commit? It no longer does, which concerns me.

@TakingFlight_23

Please let's stop with all the "spin" here. Fact #1 he verballed publicly to GW.  Questions #1 and #2 and #3 etc. as far as we are concerned is will he honor his verbal or can honor his verbal.

What about question 4 Windex- is GW backing out after verbally committing to him?

As I posted earlier in this thread - People can spin this positively or negatively for GW. Regardless, GW shouldn't want to be "stepped on".

My earlier comment

This is a big indicator for ML - If we have a commit who originally gave a verbal to us like Nigel- has a booming senior year with other programs taking note and he can't seal the deal with him and bring him in - what does that say about us? Can't let that happen.

Now I understand that I can't look at this so linear - but we don't have anyone in the pipeline that we've heard about. I could understand if we had a list of 5 other players, etc. ML needs another good recruting class to back up the freshman here. I really hope he has some quality ones in the pipeline.  

GW26, what do you mean can't let that happen?  i wouldn't feel stepped on if Nigel wants to play BB at another school. shit happens GWBB will continue.  remember the Copes hype he didn't attend GW and now we have Larsen. ML in a very short time has recruited several very good players. hope Nigel attends GW but if he doesn't it will not overshadow his recruiting record.

newtman - based on the facts we have so far Copes is a very different situation than Nigel. There was a coaching change. Nothing as far as we know has changed from GW's perspective yet. I doubt very much that GW has stopped recruiting Nigel unless there is an issue about whether he can get into the school or be eligible to play next year.

26, my point is life goes on. you did not explain why this can't happen. it does all the time. (the sky is falling)

I read somewhere on the internet that the sky is, in fact, falling.

Lonergan can't let this happen.  First real test of his ability to alter the law of gravity.  We'll see if he's up to it.

Interesting, not-unrelated quote from Urban Meyer yesterday:

"Meyer said everybody in the country offers committed players & 'it's not wrong.' A 17 or 18 year old man has the right to go where he wants."

aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-04-09/urban-meyer-florida-ohio-state-ncaa-violation-recruiting-drugs-program-will-musc

Yes, Urban is the epitome of character when it comes to this ... not.

 It's true he's the wrong messenger for this message, but the message is reality. Lord knows what Urban did to sign the class he did yesterday at OSU--including poaching (Yes! That's the right word!) several top recruits from other programs committs.

Here's another option that could be plaguing Nigel- his family.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/8921988/alex-collins-mother-sign-letter-intent-arkansas-razorbacks

My guess, herve, is that some of those signees thought they were being offered by one of the "other" OSU's-- OKSt, or the Beavers.

I know I was shocked to see a headline a few days ago, saying that Ohio State beat Kansas, when it was, in fact, another OSU.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/boys-basketball-theodore-roosevelt-shrugs-off-riverdale-baptist/2013/02/07/b320799a-7177-11e2-8b8d-e0b59a1b8e2a_story.html

"Meantime, Riverdale Baptist (20-8) was missing three starters because of academic issues for the fifth straight game, including its top two scorers in seniors Nigel Johnson and Khary Doby. Coach Louis Wilson said those players will be eligible to return on Monday at National Christian."

 Suspended five games for not handing in an assignment on time.

link

Plays his first game after suspension, scoring 17 in an overtime loss at NCA.

I am very much looking forward to three years of MacDonald, Savage, and Nigel Johnson. I can imagine what a devastating rotation that could be in two or three years.

Does make one think of a poor man's version of some of those AZ and CT guard-dominated teams which could score, shoot, penetrate, dish at will. Certainly hasn't happened at GW thus far.

While most of the heresay on this board can be summed up by the legendary Lefty Driessel ("well, you know that I don't know"), I will say that I loved the fact that Nigel was not only at the Butler game but seated right next to Nick Griffin.  Doesn't necessarily mean a thing, but a good sign nevertheless.

Butler game was perfect for a recruit because in addition to seeing the enthusiasm, packed crowd and an exciting team, he must be thinking:' if I was out there, they would have won the game.'

  And that probably would be the case for Nigel Johnson and other big recruits.

Riverdale is playing at Princeton Day at 7pm tonight.  The Nigel Johnson vs Aquile Carr matchup will be legendary.  If you can get to Laurel and have the time, worth a visit.

The Maxpreps Princeton Day schedule shows the game at RB in Upper Marlboro, MD. http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/princeton-day-academy-(lanham,md)/home.htm

Hmmm.  Post has it at PDA.

WUSA9 too.

BTW, Riverdale hosts Miller School (best team from Richmond) Saturday.

Corrections:  Miller School is in Charlotesville, game is at Northwestern HS.  Schedule for that tournament here.

 Looks like he had a solid game (21 pts) but Carr out did him (33 pts and the win)

 Post write up here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/princeton-day-bottles-up-nigel-johnson-in-win-over-riverdale-baptist/2013/02/15/e8a2cf46-77c6-11e2-95e4-6148e45d7adb_story.html

They showed him alot of respect by running a box and 1. He didn't get many touches during the middle of the game not because of the defense alot of hurried shots during that period but both teams showed well.

Nigel went for 30 today against Miller and won the MVP of the Presidential Hoopfest.

Marcus Helton ‏@MarcusHelton

Riverdale Baptist beats Miller School 71-64. Nigel Johnson scores 30 to earn MVP honors in Presidential Hoopfest. #dmvhoops

 Why are we spending all of this time talking about a kid that is not signed!!!! 

How is Nick Griffin playing?

Video from the Miller game by DMVElite.  He's #23 in black and gold.  #11 in white is four star Isaac Copeland.  Nigel has serious range.  Interview with him at the end of the clip.

Travis Mewhirter ‏@TMewhirter
memorable moment from the Hoopfest today: after a Nigel Johnson deeeep 3-pointer, John Thompson turned around and said: "He's good" #allmets

Why do we keep talking about him?  How about because he hasn't asked the press to stop referring to him as a George Washington recruit, he continues to attend home GW games, and it's not as if he could sign a letter of intent right now even if he wanted to.  And, he looks like a tremendous talent who could more than likely help GW.  I'd consider all to be very good reasons.

After looking at that video, you gotta think "how many times could we have used that kind of shooting this year?"

Lets hope Nigel sees we have a need for his talent.

 +1 MV 

 We will see!!!

 We will see!!!

Good point MV. He hasn't asked to stop being called a GW recruit that is a good sign.

 Nigel Johnson, SG, Riverdale Baptist – Johnson absolutely went off in the game and scored 30 points. He committed to George Washington, but never signed, and now is said to be at least listening to other options. Johnson can really score and does it both shooting and off the bounce. He was the x-factor for his team in lifting them to a huge win over the Miller School.

Nigel is coming to GW!!  He will be a great fit and can see how his skills can have an immediate impact on the team. 

Two anonymous posters who require the extra layer of secrecy by not assigning a poster name to themselves report directly conflicting information.  Who is right and who is wrong?  Who can we give credit to in the end and who may we collectively blame?  Well, at least both made their comments citing remarkably credible sources.

The first anonymous poster(10:54AM) copied and pasted their information from a website, he should've at least included the website where he got it from so people can see it for themselves. Nigel Johnson attending the GW-Butler game and sitting with Nick Griffin should be a strong indicator that he will sign with GW.  According to the Post, N.Johnson led Riverdale Baptist with 22 points(four 3-pointers) in a 61-59 win over a very good Maret team last night. Maret has beaten Josh Hart and Sidwell Friends twice this year.

It's interesting to look at the stages of Nigel's recruitment to GW on gwhoops.

1. Nigel commits, some skepticism because of the other low-majors offering him and the fact that GW was his highest-profile offer.

2. Nigel starts gaining more attention, people start getting excited.

3. Nigel doesn't sign LOI, people worried we wont even get him anymore and a high major will snatch him up.

This isn't at all a criticism of gwhoops fans; it's ok to be skeptical (we're fans).  I think this is a true testament to ML's ability to find good recruits before they "blow up" on the national scene.

I guess it depends on where different people are on the Kubler-Ross Five Stages of Grief model:  Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.

MV, you are correct Nigel can't sign a LOI now but that's the issue isn't it - he could have done so before and did not. Nick Griffin made another choice. So we are left to wonder in the haze of conflicting reports what is correct and what is not. I would say just as a GW follower the longer this goes with uncertainty the worse this is going to be for GW. Even if Nigel can't sign a LOI he can put this all to rest by saying he is committed to GW and will sign in April if that is what he intends to do. The fact that he has not done so leads to the obvious questions and concerns.

I am concerned that Nigel might become addicted to Snickers bars, and become obese.

Windex,

Nigel can put all of this to rest? Who says that it hasn't been put to rest. Just because you don't know and this board doesn't know doesn't mean that any of the people matter don't know. I bet the coaches know what the deal is.

Windex, I was about to whole-heartedly agree with everything you just posted.  Fortunately, this board has Neil who set me straight.

Nigel Johnson ‏@TakingFlight_23
Broke the record for assist in single season with 211 and also 3rd in Virginia state records for most points averaged in a career at 27.4 🙏🙌

Here is the link for the Virginia High School League (VHSL) record books. That assist record is impressive.  The previous record was 186 and Nigel had 211....WOW!!!  Plus he went up one above NBA great Moses Malone on career scoring avg!

http://www.vhsl.org/doc/upload/pub-vhsl-recordbook-jan132.pdf

Noting that since he's playing his senior year at Riverdale, these records were from last season.

Correct BM.  The assist record was accomplished last season and the scoring record was for his career at Broad Run which was for 10th and 11th grade.

Looking in the neighborhood of 5 apg for his VA high school career. The A10 apg leader is Chaz Williams at 6 apg.

Herve checkout out Maxpreps for his time playing in VA.  He averaged 5.6 apg as a sophomore and 8.4 apg as a jr.  His career apg is 7!!!

 HOLY CRAP!!! I actually just took the 211 total and divided by the probable number of total games (roughly 44). Kid can pass the DAMN BALL!!!!

 Keep in mind, this is against inferior kids in Loudan County!!!!

His playoff schedule for Friday and Saturday if you want to show the flag.

His junior year he played 3A basketball in the Cedar Run district. Teams like Stonewall Jackson, Osbourne, Battlefield and others. Broad Run and Freedom were the only Loudoun county teams that played 3A basketball in this conference. Last year the conference was rated #2 best in all of VA next to the Peninsula conference in Tidewater, VA. Osbourne the team he scored 55 points on and had 9 assist. I know because I attended the game the announcer told the crowd about his accomplishment. Osbourne was ranked in the top 5 in the state at the time.  Also againist a very talented guard heavy Stonewall Jackson team ranked #9 in VA. He had 33 points and 17 assist against heavy fullcourt pressure. I've seen a few high stake games that Broad Run HS played in last year. I witnessed double teams, box and 1's, diamond and 1's and diamond and 2's. I saw a playoff game last year, one of the best individual games I've ever witnessed in high school against Potomac Dumfries a team that went deep into VA states and he single-handedly dismantled that whole team. I have also seen some of his games this year and teams countlessly game plan for this kid, just read some of the articles. Let's not under play what this kid has accomplished in many cases against whole teams. 

Also keep in mind his team's were not that good and just ask Tony Taylor how easy it is to pick-up assists when you don't have a lot of talent around you.

 Where are u getting all of these stats from on this kid. If all of this is true, we have ourselves a Allen Iverson coming here next year!!! 

Hope he lives up to this HYPE!!!!!

 Where are u getting all of these stats from on this kid. If all of this is true, we have ourselves a Allen Iverson coming here next year!!! 

Hope he lives up to this HYPE!!!!!

Nigel Johnson will match up with Aquille Carr for a 3rd time tonight as Riverdale Baptist plays Princeton Day for the Capital Beltway League Championship. I believe the game is at 8 and will be played at Riverdale Baptist. It's the only high-profile game that will be played tonight, so I'd expect all of the guys who cover local high school hoops will be there, so it shouldn't be hard to find out how N.Johnson did in the game.

Saw a post on Twitter that Riverdale won. Nigel with 30 points!

other tweets have him scoring 36, playing great D, and getting MVP.

@brandoncparker who works for the Washington Post tweeted that Nigel Johnson finished with 33 points and was named the MVP as Riverdale Baptist won 95-89. It appeared as if he got the better of Aquille Carr in this game.

@brandoncparker who works for the Washington Post tweeted that Nigel Johnson finished with 33 points and was named the MVP as Riverdale Baptist won 95-89. It appeared as if he got the better of Aquille Carr in this game.

 Kids a star

 Nice to see that coach Lpnergan was at the Riverdale Baptist game: 

@MikeLonergan: Took the Fam to championship game of Beltway League tonight.  It was like being at Dunbar in the late 80's for an Urban Coalition game!

WaPo

 Here's a very good highlight of the game showing Nigel and Aquille going at it.   Nigel making some serious 3s.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN81lPMht10

DMVElite video.  Coach Sutton and teh Lonergan family behind Nigel during his interview.

Like watching a more accurate Val Brown in high school. If his defense is anything like Val's, OH MY!!!! This team needs Nigel Johnson.

The link that colonials37 posted also has some great dunks by potential GW target Anton Waters(#21) of Princeton Day, he looks like a guy who plays 'above the rim' and makes several highlight reel type of finishes in every game. 

Aquille Carr is a player who has become a mythical type of figure(even while he's still playing in high school) because of his youtube highlights and NBA players going to watch him, so the fact that Nigel Johnson just got the better of him in a championship game shows the kind of potential he has in the future.

That is some serious range...with him and Griffin next year, lets hope they can get off their shot in the A-10 and make the HS to College adjustment.

Thank you for all your interest in me.  Due to my recent successes, I have opted to play for a higher level program, so I will be sending my LOI to Drexel.  Best of luck in the future.

That previous post is not from Nigel Johnson.  Whoever  you are you should know its not cool to pretend to be someone else.  Find another site to play on......

 Done deal.

welcome Nigel.

drexel is a s@@t school that might be invited to the Atlantic 10 after we find out who is leaving.

again, welcome NigelNigel

I'm guessing that's a GMU fan.

 If it's a GMU fan, maybe they can hire one of Nigel's uncle's to the coaching staff as that seems to be their best recruiting tool. What happens when the Patriots have 12 assistant coaches though?

Actually, Herve, if they want to recruit double digit scorers, I think they would need to hire 24 assistant coaches, because one uncle only gets you half way there.

More video.  Between him and Nick, we should be a much better outside shooting team... then again, Mikic was a great shooter before he got Lonergan-ed.

No mention of his 10 points, 6 rebounds and game winning jump shot with a 1/2 second left to beat William & Mary on Saturday?  Really, no mention of this at all?

10 and 6  vs the William and Mary powerhouse?  Domination....

Now, back to Nigel, that was quite a show he put on in those highlights.  Glad to see the coaching staff there.

 Welcome Nigel to a great college.

No mention of his game-winning jump shot with a 1/2 second left, Mike K? 

Well, if Neil is right, I'd expect that Nigel Johnson will be one of the more hyped freshman to come into the A-10 next season based on what he did last night(outdueling the "Crime Stopper" Aquille Carr) and being named Player Of The Year in that league over him too. I don't think anybody expected those 2 things to happen for N.Johnson this year

 Stop complaint he is good. So is GW and he is lucky to get a good eeducation welcome NigelNigel

 Welcome

About that GMU player, he did hit the game winner against William & Mary and the announcers were trying to compare him to great GMU post players who came before him, but he'll be playing tonight against Towson on one of the ComcastSportsnet channels and is probably going to get manhandled by Towson's double-double machine big man.

With Nigel and Griffin (assuming they make the All Met team), and Joe Mac and Savage last year, has GW ever had this much success with local recruiting?  I mean we could be looking at consecutive years of bringing in the All Met backcourt.  I have only been following the team since 1997....

One year we landed Vaughn Jones from DeMatha and Kwame Evans from Southern high school in Baltimore.  Those are two of the all time best at GW and from around here.   I think it was two years later that we landed Shawnta Rogers from Baltimore followed a year later by Mike King and Pat Ngongba (Shawnta is the highest ranked national recruit we have had in 25 years and I think ngongba is next).     If you count Baltimore, that was a great run.  

Penders landed Chris Monroe and Val brown in the same class, but he didnt land another great one until TJ Thompson two years later. But for the last decade, under-the-radar Kromah is about it. 

Diggs (Gwynn Park)

Probably not to this extent.  Don't forget that Zeke was also an All-Met player his senior year.  We've had others like Ricky Lucas and via transfer, Brian Magid.  Let's also not forget about Christian's dad, Daryl Webster, who I believe may have been GW's only two-time All-Met player in the early 1980's.

 Iturbe was local as well. But, as pointed-out in other threads, GW just can't recruit local players and only gets average freshmen. The ONLY GW coach in the last 25 years who didn't recruit locally was Hobbs.

Its a two part problem, herve:

1) GW can't recruit anybody who is anybody, locally and

2) GW can't schedule anybody who is anybody, to come to The Smith

Why is Glen Sitney (#35 on the Sporting News Top 50) forgotten? Just because he was  a man with no position?

Glen was All-Met. I think the great Buckey Roman was too. There were others.

Your turn, LSF.

 Howard "Mean Man" Mathews

My sources say Neil is correct. We should hear something soon.

Welcome Nigel!!!!!

 Who didn't think Nigel was coming?  From what credible source?  I knew I must have missed something when this thread crept over 200.  Oy vey.  Welcome Nigel - 

 That is good to hear CBO.  We can look forward to seeing the GW version of Russell Westbrook in the Smith Center next year.  

His family can see him play and he would go to a great school that is in position to allow him to be an impact player immediately.

We certainly will greatly welcome Nigel.after his signing..

According to Marcus Helton, Nigel was un-crowned as League MVP due to the games he missed.  Carr gets that honor and Nigel gets tournament MVP.  Everyone knows who's better though.

BM, i don't care who is better just want Nigel to come to GW. (article said nothing about Nigel not getting league MVP because of missed games. maybe you have inside info.)

LA Fan, let's not go the SUPER HYPE route as in Nigel is the next Russell Westbrook even as a joke.

for Tony Taylor haters he had 13 pts, 5 rebs and 3 asst in 20 minutes last nite.

for Copes haters.....he had 13 pts and 15 rebs last nite. 

There you go newt.  Google is your friend.

Marcus Helton ‏@MarcusHelton
#LT apparently some coaches had an issue after initial vote that Johnson was League MVP since he missed several games due to academic issue.

BM,  thanks for all your research. Helton must want to be a journalist. note he said...apparently. next time provide us with the appropriate link :))

And gave it to Aquille Carr? When we are talking about academics? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

+1

Next up, the Maryland Private School tournament....

Marcus Helton ‏@MarcusHelton
The DeMatha/PDA winner will face Pallotti. McNamara/Lanham Christian winner plays Riverdale Baptist in the semis March 8. Final on March 9.

 All Met maybe?

@TakingFlight_23 Hey man, it's Brandon from the Post. Can you DM me? I have good news to share and need to get some info from you. Thanks

 Yea looks like all met. What else could it be? Go Nigel and go gdub

Getting ready for GW

Nice...this is a good sign.  Kid is no stranger to the weight room (see the training video earlier in the thread), should help with the transition to the A10.  With him and McDonald, we will have a two PGs with the ability to take some contact. 

 Gazette PG POY

decommitted per twitter...

 <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Riverdale Baptist 2013 G Nigel Johnson has decommitted from George Washington and reopened his recruitment. <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23DMVhoops">#DMVhoops</a> @<a href="https://twitter.com/takingflight_23">takingflight_23</a></p>&mdash; Marcus Helton (@MarcusHelton) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarcusHelton/status/317712541881098240">March 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

 whoops imedding didn't work...

Marcus Helton ‏@MarcusHelton

Riverdale Baptist 2013 G Nigel Johnson has decommitted from George Washington and reopened his recruitment. #DMVhoops @TakingFlight_23

 Beat me to it. Ouch!

 Marcus Helton ‏@MarcusHelton

Riverdale Baptist 2013 G Nigel Johnson has decommitted from George Washington and reopened his recruitment. #DMVhoops @TakingFlight_23

https://twitter.com/TakingFlight_23

@TakingFlight_23 has just decomitted LOL

 The Washington Post has confirmed the decommittment from Nigel Johnson himself. 

Ugh! When I saw this posting at the top of the site I was hoping to read that he signed his LOI. This sucks.

 Of course what to make of the "LOL"

 Did GMU just hire his dad as an assistant coach or something? This sucks.

what a revolting development this is. life goes on.

WOW

Well best of luck to Nigel, seemed like some saw this coming.  Hope the staff was prepared for this.

 My guess is this comes as a suprise to Lonergan. Given that over the last few days he was talking about a guard that could start and was talking about 7 kids from the DMV. Oh well.. Feel bad for the staff. Maybe they will find someone else. Maybe an International recruit. We nee some perimeter scoring!! Severe seems highly unlikely. This friday doesnt seem like a Good Friday.

This is so disappointing.

Paging Jon Severe.  Your services are highly desired.  There is a big chance for a lot of early PT.

 @HatchetSports: #GWMBB recruit Nigel Johnson decommits from #GWU http://t.co/mIRLuOjErv

How much time was wasted on this guy? Unless he's signed why do people fret about it. Now we have to get a Junior College player who can play right away. Sad.

 What do we have, like 9 spots open now? Desperation always leads to good things.  Good thing

Did Nigel Johnson get the high-major offers that he was always seeking??

 ^$#%#%@$@#

I highly doubt this was the ideal situation ML has in mind for his 2nd true recruting class. Not Good 

After seeing this article - http://t.co/Dt1NIGWzuq , he better get on the grind.  

So, does GW have any assistant coaches who are leaving the job, post haste?

Why  are you wishing Johnson best of luck, NewGWFan.  Kid really screwed us over.  Should have come clean some time ago, instead of late March.  Personally, I hope he regrets this decision and doesn't have a single good day in college.

 April Fools day is still a couple of days away right?  Uggh!  Another GW basketball nightmare to have to live with.  

Look to see him at Northwestern.

I guess I hope he's making the right decision for himself for the right reasons.  I don't want to see a kid fail. 

Time for the coaching staff to step it up and find a piece to replace him.  Hopefully they can land a prospect like Severe or find a impact transfer (5th year) or regular transfer. The timing certainly hurts a lot.

 We got used - plain and simple...you can go through the history of this thread - its real late too.

This sucks...

Maybe a guy like Severe, who said he wants a lot of PT as a frosh, was tentative due to a guy like Nigel.  Now maybe on 3/22, Severe's decision day, we will be surprised and we can thank Nigel.

Trying to be optomistic, but it is not working.

Very juvenile it seems to me; and someone you wouldn't want to sign a co-loan with.  You'll be left holding empty air. Oh, well, what goes around comes around. Heh, heh.

 This is a major hit!  We have one recruit for next year and  it is April!You cannot get better if you do not have better players. We lose out on Rene castro, we lose Nigel Johnson and we will probably lose on Jon Severe. We need to go JUCO or transfer.

 So why did we blew off the guy who was going to transfer from Villanova?

Correction, Boston Colonial.  We have one recruit that we are aware of.  If the late siging period passes (April 17th - May 15th) and we are still only aware of one recruit, then I would be very concerned.  Still remember, however, that even with only one recruit, we will still be a better team simply by the natural improvement expected of the frosh.   Even at our major weakness, the 3 point shot, I am expecting significant improvement from McDonald, Savage and Garino.    You could put almost as many spins on this as you can on the conference shakeup bit.  Maybe we have a recruit who told us FU.  Or maybe he opted out because we were closing in on a better recruit at the same position and we nudged him out.  Or maybe the reported academic difficulties were a factor.  Maybe we are now desperate and are tryiing to convince Mikic to stay (if he truly was considering leaving).  I think we all have the right to be angry and disappointed.  But on March 30th, it is a little too early to go into panic mode..  Just let this thing play out a bit.

Article with quotes from Nigel. Apparently we are still "in the picture" but it sure seems like he's fishing for offers from bigger schools.

http://www.dmvelite.com/news/johnson-reopens-recruitment

 DMV ELITE article

still considering GW. I can understand his point. Sucks for us but hopefully he still decides on GW

 Damn you scooped me lol

LSF has the right slant on this. Everybody, especially the freshmen, will improve. We may lose Pellom, but it seems that we keep Lasan. Nigel may come to realize that GW and ML are important to him and his future. And, we have all of Europe and most of South America to search for a big man, and a new Silent Assassin. It's premature to be overly glum. A little glum, yes. A lot glum, no.

Nigel, we still love you.

 Watch out for Seton Hall as a Carr replacement.

In addition to probaby losing Johnson, the excellent quick turnaround Hatchet article also reminds us that GW will soon be losing a first rate sports editor in Elizabeth Traynor.  I echo NewGWFan's well wishes and extend them to both. It's just that the one for Ms. Traynor isn't being made through clenched teeth.

I'd say there's about a 0.000001% chance of him coming to GW after pulling this less than a month before the late signing period starts. I hope he enjoys riding the bench for Seton Hall or some other such basketball powerhouse.

 Post Article

My guess: Neil knows Nigel, too.

 I disagree LSF.  If we are not in the picture with some good recruits by now, I would not expect to see us land guys of the caliber we would hope in a couple of weeks from now.  Sure, ML and staff can sign some guys, but they are not going to be 1st or 2nd team All-Met type players.  Whether it was Garino, Joe Mac, Savage, or even Larsen, we knew they were either coming by this time last year, or had a strong potential to sign.  What players are we saying that about right now?  Severe, who is a long-shot, and Anthony Swann.  Maybe an international player or JUCO transfer is hiding out there and we will snag them, but it is very late in the recruiting season.

I think ML and staff did a great job last year in landing all of those recruits.  But the cupboard is nowhere near full, and I think it is really necessary for ML to follow that class up with a strong class this year if we want to become an NCAA caliber team in the next few years.  Will the current freshman get better?  Absolutely.  But GW is a team that is short on players.  We don't have any shooters, we don't have back-ups at key positions, and we desperately need guys who can create some offense.  If this recruiting class is soft, or a bunch of slots stay open, I think it is a real set-back for the program.  

We all knew in the back of our minds that a verbal commitment wasn't the same as an LOI, but Nigel telling ML he was coming and then bailing at the last minute hurts.  I feel bad for ML and staff.  They got played.  Desperately hoping for Mikic to come back says it all.

 That's money in the bank.

i never said a word on nigel.

get a life and enjoy David's play next year.

Done deal
2/19/2013 3:19:18 PM
Poster: Neil

 Nigel, welcome to GW !!

Would have been acceptable if he hadn't indicated at every opportunity he was still a GW commit.

Maybe his parents or coach or someone with a sense of values will pour some sense into him.

After more than 300 posts, too, adding insult to injury.

Normally I wouldn't feel the need to come back here but some of you were so condescending about this (MV you recognize yourself right?) that instead of telling you I told you so, I'm going to ask what do you think about Nigel's ethics now? GW just got played as Bigfan says.

 I'd sure like to know the circumstances surrounding this.   I know there is an ugly side to the recruiting battles, so I just wonder what happened here. Is this a simple case of a kid holding out for a better offer, is it a case of another coach tampering with a verbal, or is it something more corrupt?  We will probably never know, but it sure would be interesting to have it all out in the open. 

 Not sure how twitter works, but there are some tweets on his that in some ways mock GW's dissapointment. . It is fully his option to decommit and do what he sees as best for him personally, however I'm a bit disspaointed at the way he has approached it on his twitter feed. Hopefully he has no control over those tweets appearing on his page.

 Just read the tweets.  The way he's handled this is definitely not classy.  I'm trying to look at this from both sides, but I can't help myself from disliking Nigel after reading those tweets.

He's immature. Which means he's unsure of himself, and whether he's acting correctly. He really needs guidance and education. No surprise there, at all.

My brother used to say, about a family member, "In her hands, a telephone is a dangerous weapon." Well, the new world order gives us all more access to more dangerous weapons. Add those facts to him being a kid, and this is what we get.

Let him work his way through this. GW and ML will be fine, with or without him.

Yeah, his tweets have a 'F@#K GW' type of feel to them. His tweets also seem to indicate that he has people in his ear telling him that he's a high-major player. Like FQ wrote, it will be interesting to see what really went on here, did a high-major school(s) contact him recently, is he hoping that a high-major school will contact him or did he just have reservations about GW and will attend one of the mid-major schools((American, Bucknell, UNC-Greensboro, Holy Cross, William & Mary, Florida International) that has offered him

Yeah, can't say I'm crazy about Nigel Johnson's behavior on twitter, especially after he said Lonergan was nice on phone when informing of decommit.

Do what's best for you -- heck, even be excited -- but don't be a jerk about it.

Its not a walk in the park being a GW fan, but I'm in it fully for life. So in the end what this kid decides won't be the end all. Bottom line you don't want a kid coming to GW who isnt sure thats where he wants no be. If you follow Nick Griffith you see a kid who will represent us in a fantastic way and is all in for GW. I hope it works out great for Nick. For that same reason I feel bad it didnt work out for  Jonathan Davis because he seemed like a good kid who wanted to be at GW.

While I dont like  Nigels his twitter feed, I'm also reminding myself that at 18 most of us were still pretty immature. So hopefully the right people guide him through this process and he doesnt end up making a huge mistake.

GO GW

Trying to understand the thought pocess of a17 year child is never easy. 

I think we should leave Nigel alone. He never singed an LOI and therefore Lonergan and everyone else knew this was possible.  If anyone mishandled anything, it's not Nigel Johnson.

 Sorry about my earlier new post on Nigel's decommit. I didn't realize that proper etiquette on this Board required me to make it the 320th post here.

 Levinger, he gave his word.    He may not have signed the LOI, but he gave his word.    He's not too young to know that all you have I. This world is your word.  

 In the world of college athletics I don't think it's fair to hold the youngsters to a higher standard than the coaches or ADs.  Until he/she signs the LOI (s)he's not committed and even then if (s)he changes his/her mind for whatever reason the decent thing to do is let him/her out with as few strings as possible.

Had Nigel decomitted in January, even though it would have ended in the same result of not being in a GW uniform next year, I would have felt better about it.  The coaching staff could have put him in the rear view mirror and scrambled to find someone else.  But you had Lonergan in a Hatchet article earlier this week talk about how Nigel may start next year.  There were plenty of references over the past several months to Nigel being GW bound, and then two and a half weeks before the LOI signing date he bails.  We will soon find out which coach was the rat and got to him, because that will be the team he signs with.  It is underhanded to the point that I would not expect it to be any A10 coach, I suspect it's one of our friends in the new Big East.   

Windex has been pretty spot on with his posts on Nigel, and he said a while back that after seeing Nigel play that while he is good, he didn't think he would set the A10 on fire next year as a Freshman.  That makes me feel a little better. Severe would set the A10 on fire as a freshman. I guess we at least we still have a 1 in 10 shot in landing him.

he gave his word wow. it's about signing a LOI, which he did not do. get over it. it's embarrassing that most can't accept a teenager changed his mind. anybody ever have a teenage son or daughter? if you thought Nigel was a lock for GW after not signing his LOI well this is real life. good luck Nigel.

When Nigel didn't sign the LOI, it had to be clear that he was keeping his options open.  If you're disappointed, I don't blame you. But if you're upset or surprised, I'd say you're not thinking clearly.

Given the decommitment, I wasn't surprised until the 50th reference to him as a GW commit that he did nothing to dissuade anyone about the slightest when he had the chance.

And didn't he attend our games?

I wish him some sense and that he not get taken by those whispering in his ear for their own personal gain or glory.

Bigfan, not only did he attend several GW games, but a few people wrote that he was sitting next to Nick Griffin during those games. I believe someone also wrote that Mike Lonergan(or another GW coach) was with Nigel Johnson's family on the court after he outdueled Aquille Carr in that league championship game. M.Lonergan also made statements indicating that N.Johnson would be on the team next year. Despite not signing the LOI, all those things made it seem as if he would sign.

I'm hoping that Nigel Johnson actually has an offer from a high-major school and they are holding back on announcing anything to give the impression that nothing shady went on. He would look foolish if he made a move like this without an offer in place because GW is the highest profile school of all the schools listed as offering or showing interest. It's clear to me that he wants to play at a school with the biggest and best basketball reputation. If one of those schools doesn't offer him, he could be in a tough spot..come crawling back to GW or accept a scholarship to a school that's in a 1-bid conference.

i believe John Kopriva signed a NLI with Vermont. he asked to be released to follow ML to GW. Vermont did the right thing.  oh that's right it's much different because it happened to us. whereas Nigel never signed a NLI. and then there is Trey Davis. i guess our word doesn't mean anything ask Trey.

332 and counting...

the unfortunate thing in this is the lost recruiting time.  i suspect ML and staff would have invested their time differently.  As presently constituted:

• armwood
• kromah
• mikic
  • kopriva
    • maragkos
    • larsen
    • savage
    • garino
    • mcdonald
      • griffin
      • open
      • open
      • open
        • white

this assumes both kromah and mikic come back.  we have 3 open slots but also a recruited walk-on.  so in effect, we are down 2 players from a full roster.  however, mikic, kopriva and maragkos have simply not been effective to this point.  so even assuming griffin can produce as a freshman, our rotation.  at a minimum we need another point guard and another bigman.  as badly as we need better 3 point shooting, we need these weaknesses covered first.

i like the idea of a juco but a transfer still leaves us shorthanded for next year.   at the same time we don't want to be saddled with an inferior player for 4 years.  i liked the quote, "its not who you don't sign that hurts you, its who you do sign that can't play that hurts the most.

i think we will see tremendous growth from within but for us to compete as we are presently constituted, 2 of  mikic , kopriva and maragkos need to make huge strides.

Its pretty hard to put together a team that goes to the NCAA's. Its harder when you can't depend on people to get to that goal. The poor coaching staff has to start from scratch and find another player that has integrity. Some people say that you shouldn't expect that of anyone. That's a load of crap. We were told in the 9th grade that we were no longer children. So, shape up and take responsibility for yourself.  

 I want to see us play in the NCAA's. I don't like unforseen or unnecessary roadblocks. As I can see from the board people do care about the program. So clearly this is not just about One person. Some on the board just don't like being shit on, others find excuses. Some people want us to be a larger program, others don't. Some people think we can do what Georgetown did. Others have given up hope. This recruiting thing is ongoing, like when Rory Sparrow went to Villanova and not us. Poor Bob Tallent. And when Thompson got Iverson, and not us. 

This kid would have made a great addition to the team and moved us along further to the NCAA's. If he doesn't want to be a member of the team then he should get out of the way. If he can't figure out himself that this would be a great place for himself, then go elsewhere into the unknown. Either way,  too much time has been spent on this guy. Either way, I'm happy this basketball season for my high school won the Tournament of Champions in New Jersey, beating St. Patricks's and St. Anthony along the way. First championship since 1963. A long, long, time ago. 

 Number 1 - how about us loving what we got. Savage and Mac?  Number 2 - I read his tweets.  I get it.  He is reading his own tweets and sees a wider audience for his star status than he may have.  800 followers or something? His time line is filled with retweets of his pals and some sport feeds (so I am not sure where the angry tone comes from on this board that he is dismissive of GW he seems to be retweeting what others are posting). Before we fire ML or burn the youngsters house down, does anybody know (1) has he fully qualified; (2) has he been told by his coaches, family and pals that Mac and Savage are the presumptive starters; (3) does the flex give him heartburn because it is not a ton of fun for runners; (4) was he told that the Big East split was going to change the A-10 in a way that would impact the level of comp he would see; (5) was he told that ML may not last after next season unless the team gets to a certain milestone;  (6) does he want to go away to college; . . . . If he signs good.  If he does not I wish him and his family well.  College is where he is going to meet his best man at his wedding, where he will meet a mentor who will leave an indelible mark on his life, where he will establish a base for his future professional life.  If he sees GW as that then I want him.  If he sees it as a stepping stone to be a 14 year NBA player - let him go.  I just went through this with my son for football - it's a hard process and me and my wife went to some darn nice schools and were involved in his process.  He is a 17 year old, remember folks.  A lot of states do not permit 17 year olds to have unrestricted driving privileges, this is a big decision for him.  Let him make it with his current support network.

It's all about money in the land of milk and honey.

 But I think GW is spending the money on a solid, connected coaching staff.  So where are the recruits?  It feels like they went after a lot of guys and came up empty.  All we have learned in the past few weeks is that Davis and Pellom are leaving, and one player decomitted.  We currently don't have 8 or 9 players that can play at the A10 level next year, the coaches are going to have to figure something out fast.  I hope they do.

Unfortuantely, LA Fan that's not the money that I'm talking about. A large number of the top recruits have something crooked involved in their recruitment.

And DC Assault is one of the most crooked AAU teams in the country.

So Thinker, you think there was something crooked here?   Any guesses?

 I don't think there's anything crooked. The staff couldn't close. 

My latest information (rec'd after the above post) is that there wasn't anything crooked.

I can't go in to details but the short answer my EXCELLENT sources say is: FLEX

I guess that would rule out Michigan from Johnson's list of schools he's considering.  Beline runs a motion offense with lots of passing and jump shots and thus Excellent Sources say no good recruits are intrersted in going there anymore.  Certainly not anyone with NBA level contacts or expectations.

 Belein doesn't run the flex. Part of the reason Gary Williams could never get the top DC players to stay was because of that offense. It works well at times but you can see why a player like Johnson wouldn't want to play init. He is an undersized guard who is used to scoring at will whenever he wants. Why would he want to be taken out of the game for taking a bad shot? 

Nigel Johnson just learned that ML employs (or tries to) the FLEX'?

Must not have been watching the games or listening to ML.

when I used to go to Vegas for the opening rounds of the NCAA's I always hunted the flex teams and if they were the underdog took them and the points. It meant to me it would be a tight, low-scoring game with little transition basketball which cut down the turnovers, stupid shots, 3-second calls, and blocked shots.  It also meant the other team had fewer transition chances and had to play a B+ to A game against the flex team to win, much less pull away by a ton of points.  It's not a lot of fun to play for fast PG's who have grown up on me first hoops. 

 Thanks for the clarification, Thinker.   

Lonergan's GW teams have run lots of motion type offensive sets, only some of them have been "Flex".  Beline's offensive have been productive and efficient at times and at other times have been low scoring and frustrating.  There's lots of coaches that run motion/controlled offensive systems that restrict the guards ability to just drive and create on most times down the court.  But many of them are productive and attact good talent.  Hard to believe that Johnson just figured out that Lonergan ran a motion/flex type of offense.

Much more likely reason for his changing his mind: HE GOT A BETTER OFFER.

Excellent sources agree.

Agree with bobo. No surprise what ML does and only some of it has been flex. But this from a high school coach with knowledge of Nigel - "GW doesn't realize yet that Nigel just did them a favor in the long run - he is a pain in the ass (read that as immature), believes that every shot he takes is a good one and probably wouldn't have lasted more than one season with ML." Have no basis to assess whether that is true but the source is generally very good and reliable. I guess wherever Nigel ultimately lands we will see if this is an issue or not. Just thought I'd present another school of thought on this.

It's great and all that Nigel would be a pain and we'd be better off in the long run - problem is we have 3 open spots now with really no one to fill them (Only 1 maybe at this point w/Severe)  with very little time. You'd think being in the DC hot-bed for recruiting that we'd have many backups... ML needs to follow up this years class with another class to get GW back on track here. Can't have a Hobbs-like Guest/Fitzgerald joke of a class offering to 5th-options. Griffin is promising but definitely not enough.  

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/-college-basketball-mens-tournament/news/20130329/college-basketball-washington-dc/?sct=hp_t12_a7&eref=sihp

Agreed GW26 ... just passing along information.

The last person I can recall GW taking an attitudinal risk on was Miles Beatty.  Didn't work out very well.  Another one was Mo Rice.  That one worked out quite well (at least for 3 out of 4 years).  The variables, to a large extent, tend to be the talent level of the team and the relationships that the coaching staff foster with the player.  With that in mind, I hope that Nigel is savvy enough to remember ML's reaction to the news...taking it better than he had thought.  Plenty of coaching staffs may end up treating Nigel like a commodity; I don't believe GW's particular staff comes anywhere near to falling into that category.  Nigel would do himself a favor to consider how much support this coaching staff has provided him with and how that might translate to how he's treated over the next four years of his life. 

Thanks Notta to bringing up your point #4 (among other points).  When Nigel verballed, he was intending to join a conference with Butler, Xavier, SLU and Dayton.  Not the case anymore.  A10 competition will be going down in stature.  This is a big deal.

Windex, we're just never going to see eye-to-eye on this.  This news is bad, negative, and disappointing from GW's perspective.  But your insistence that Nigel's ethics should come into play is misguided.  The young man is exercising an option that is open to any player who has not signed a letter of intent.  Is he holding out for a better offer?  You bet.  Last time I checked, this was America and we all maintain the right to attempt to better our lots in life.

Now, if your argument is the system, namely, what's the point in verbal agreements in the first place, that's a different and valid discussion.  But to condemn a young man's ethics while he plays by the rules as they are currently constituted is IMO,  unfair.  Nigel has every right to decommit no matter how "played" you or anyone else may feel as a result. 

De-commiting without ever having signed is perfectly legal.  On the other hand, stringing a team along for months, only to back out late in March stinks, and speaks very lowly of the player,even if technically legal.   Giving a school a verbal is something schools have to rely on, and the kid knew it.  Barring a coaching change, do you know of this ever happening before at GW?  We need to face it.  Nigel is gone.  Frankly, I am tired of discussing the little shit.  We shouldl move on.

LSF, I'm curious as to what first-hand knowledge you have that he was stringing GW along.  First, once he didn't sign early, he's not allowed to sign until April 17.  So let's not pretend that he could have signed anytime between then and now.  Second, he went to some GW games.  Stringing them along?  Or, maybe he wanted a feel for how the team plays, what the crowds are like, etc.  Third, maybe Nigel mentioned to the coaching staff that he was going to be exploring his options.  Maybe this was mentioned not in late March but in early January.    Seems to me that ML spent a considerable amount of time going after Castro and Severe.  You think he may have already known something that the rest of us are only finding out about now?

Here's where we agree...it sucks for GW, and it's entirely legal.  It especially stings because it appears that his game would have filled a clear need, if not several, for this team.  Yet where we disagree is that he's not being a shit for reaching this conclusion (though he might be on Twitter; I'm not reading or paying any attention to that), nor is it unethical for him to explore his options.

If you truly belive, MV, that he reached his decision to blow off GW last week, then you are correct.  However, if he knew all along that he was not planning on attending GW (which I belive was the case), then you de-commit immediately.  The signing period is irrelevant.  He gave a verbal commitment and if you do not intend to honor that commitment, say so immediately, not so late in the recruiting period.  That is why I said he was stringing GW along,   There are legal obligations and eithical obligations.  Legally, he did nothing wrong.  Ethically is another story.  The reverse is true also.  If a school recruits a kid and the kid gives a verbal based upon that recruitment, the school is within its legal rights to then not make him the offer if the signing period has not yet occurred.   The kid should have been able to rely on the school's world, and is now screwed as other teams have filled up their rosters.   Again, legally fine for the school to do, ethically a shitty thing to do.

LSF, assuming that at least one higher profile school has gotten in his ear, wouldn't it be logical to think that they would tell Nigel to go out and have a great senior season and based on how well he played, the school would touch base at the end of his season?  Up until this season, Nigel had not played against very good competition.  It's not likely that a major program would have been sold on him by December/January.  Plus additional time gives the higher profile school the chance to assess their recruiting and figure out whether a spot for Nigel actually exists.  (Or as an example, the school has 1 spot and is considering Joe and Nigel so they'll see how they both play this year and decide accordingly.)

My point is that it's a gigantic assumption to think that Nigel knew all along that he was going to decommit.  Another school likely aided in this decision, and this aid likely didn't present itself until recently.

I guess we will never know, but if you are holding out for a better offer and not 100% certain that you are coming, then you don't commit.  It is the right thing to do.

Like Erik Copes or Witherspoon's brother, most GW fans understand why they choose otherwise, will publicly wish them well and then secretly root against them in college. 

So Good Luck to you, Nigel Johnson!!!

 Teams do it to kids all the time.  It's bad when someone does it to GW huh.  If you know the circumstances behind his decision that his family and him have discussed great.  But, your reading a twitter account that everyone can see.  He does what is best for him and his family and not for the old farts..me included.  Hey look, you don't get the chance to dis him now.

 Teams do it to kids all the time.  It's bad when someone does it to GW huh.  If you know the circumstances behind his decision that his family and him have discussed great.  But, your reading a twitter account that everyone can see.  He does what is best for him and his family and not for the old farts..me included.  Hey look, you don't get the chance to dis him now.

Here's the only thing I'm sure of....between Munson and Johnson, let's just stay away from the Nigels for a while.

 IN the past year and a half, Guest, Warren, Davis have all been pushed out.  Not blaming the staff as they probably are not A10 players but it's tough to blame players for doing this while allowing coaches to. 

Spoon never gave a verbal and Copes didn't honor his commitment due to the change in coach, which I understand.  No, I don't know all the facts, but I do know that  (1) that the kid gave a verbal commitment; and (2) he reneged at the 11th hour because he thought he could do better.  Not sure why so many are willing to give this kid a pass on the crumby thing he did to GW. 

Steven - each of the players you mentioned would have played in the A-10 under the prior coaching staff. But you are correct in the essence of what you are saying, that the athlete has zero leverage after signing the LOI.

LSF,

Spoon did give a "silent verbal," which is a verbal that wasn't publicized. He went to Memphis after GW's season imploded.

LSF, you seem like you'd have been very willing to tolerate (not be happy about, but tolerate) this decision had it taken place say in January.  Yet I really believe that you're overlooking the fact that Nigel wasn't in a position to decommit in January (re: had no other major or near-major offer).  You may recall he also missed around 5 games or so before coming back to play sensationally down the stretch of his season.  When he outplayed The Crime Stopper in his championship game, that was obviously enough evidence for at least one school to get involved.

What we don't hear much about is ML's continued recruiting of first Castro and later Severe even though Nigel had already verbaled.  One possibility that I don't buy is that ML felt he can't have enough point guards and Nigel was turned off by this.  One possibility that sounds more plausible is that Nigel indicated to ML a while ago that this was not a done deal (not that he was decommitting, but that this was a distinct possibility), and ML and staff merely did what they had to do to protect themselves.

I guess what i'm troubled by is your (and others) assertion that "did this" to GW.  True we end up being the victim but in reality, this kid likely wants to play in the NBA one day and is doing what he feels is in his best interest to get there.  My own personal opinion is that i'd do away with the "verbal agreement" altogether as it serves no real positive purpose yet encourages poachers and the like.  But as long as this is the system that's in place, Nigel really does have the right to exercise his options.  And for that matter, should things not work out elsewhere and Nigel wishes to play for GW (a possibility that in my view is less than 50/50 but far more plausible than so many of you gloom and doomers seem to suggest), GW is well within their right to say that they no longer have room for Nigel. 

Once he gave his verbal commitment, he should have stuck by it.  By waiting as long as he did, he just made it worse.   In terms of playing in the NBA some day, while GW does not churn out future NBAers, playing in the Atlantic 10 certainly is not an impediment.  In fact, if you are an NBA talent, you will be found where ever your are playing.

I wish you were correct, LSF, as you almost always are.

But, there is no NBA presence in the DC area.

<p>I wish you were correct, LSF, as you almost always are.</p> <p>But, there is no NBA&nbsp;presence in the DC&nbsp;area.</p>

I agree with MV's multiple points, GW was likely his first choice until a bigger school came along which we'll find out soon enough (my $ is on Seton Hall or South Carolina). He verballed to hold his seat at the table with every intention of eating unless a better seat opens up. 

When a guy doesn't sign after giving his verbal everyone knows why, including ML, which is why ML's been after guards all winter.

We can now secretly root against him and just hope he actually did us a favor by makin us look more attractive to Severe.

There's still a ton of talent out there (I'm really intrigued by Mark Willis of Montrose)... Lets not get too worried until May...

Warren wasn't pushed out.  He was shown the door for his actions.

Warren wasn't pushed out.  He was shown the door for his actions.

What actions was he shown the door for?

"Warren wasn't pushed out.  He was shown the door for his actions"

Ahh, a message board rumor, raised by somebody not willing to post their name, and without any evidence listed.  Beautiful work.

Yes, we should all feel bad for Nigel (sarcasm). He played us like a find string violin. Legal yes. Ethical not a chance. He's had his 15 minutes here now time to move on to kids who want to attend GW.

should be "fine"

I would like to take a vote.  What if a kid verbally commited to let's say Liberty.  He had an outstanding senior year, and someone put a bug in his ear that hey NJ just decommitted, they need a PG,you are good enough to play in the A10.  Why don't you give them a call? How many of us would be outraged? 

If a recruit verbals like in September, but doesn't sign in November, his name should automatically go to the end of the list.  It amazes me how many posters didn't read the writing on the wall. 

Remember that ML was heavily pursuing Rene Castro?  Castro did not make his decision until after the November signing period.  If that was an impediment to NJ coming, then he should have (or maybe he did) tell ML that he was not interested in going to a school that was recruiting 2 PGs.

Another scenario, say that after the season, Brad Stevens takes another job and Castro gets out of his commitment and says hey I want to go to GW now instead.  Let's say ML only has 1 slot left at this point.  How many of you would be outraged if ML calls NJ and says sorry, but RC is coming, not you.  How many of us would be outraged?

My point is that this is a crazy business.  Players AND coaches are going to back out of decisions if they they think grass is greener on the other side. 

So basically, in this money crazed business, your "word" means very little.  I agree with earlier poster, NCAA please do away with verbals. 

There are sooo many great fish out in the sea, let's just get over it and wish Nigel all the best. 

 He was shown the door because ML wanted another scholarship. 

 Gee Whiz for the record, I believe your timeline is backwards.  Nigel had already verballed when Castro was making his decision. There was some speculation that Nigel's "signing" was part of the reason he chose Butler (they had not yet landed any competition for PT).   But to be fair, no idea of Nigel's verbal was a factor in Castro's decision. 

Well, it's like when you date 2 women at the same time. They might know about each other, but rather settlle down with a 1 woman man.   Then you wind up with neither. 

Put me in the camp of being upset for GW; not upset at Nigel.  I wish he had acted differently.  I think he should have acted differently.  But I know virtually nothing of the story.

Here's what I know:  when GW was in the tournament, he posted on twitter that he didn't realize the game was on TV.  This leads me to believe that, at least as of the A-10 tournament, he was still planning to come to GW. 

Maybe he chose not to sign his LOI, solely so he could have the option of finding a better school.  Maybe he chose not to sign his LOI because his parents told him he could do better.  Maybe he was told he was the only PG that ML was going to recruit next year--and he wasn't.  Maybe somebdoy told him not to sign.  Maybe it was his coach.  I don't know.

What I don't want to do is speculate.  The kid is 18--and making what he is likely to perceive to be the most important decision of his life.  He had the option to go this route, and he chose to.  Maybe he still comes back--maybe he doesn't.  But he believes he rushed through the process--and now he wants out.  So be it.  It's sad for GW.  I think he would have gotten a lot of playing time, and done well here.  He must think that somewhere else is a better fit.

Considering the rules that require a player to sit out a year if they transfer, this likely plays a role in his decision.  If he didn't like GW, like he thought he would when he verballed, then he'd be stuck playing one year where he was unhappy and a second year not playing anywhere. 

Tough decisions to make for an 18 year old.  Would I prefer he not give a verbal committment?  Sure would.  But I'd also prefer a team not to recruit players only to fire their coach right before the season starts.  I'd prefer a coach that tells his kids he's going to be there for them for four years, he's actually there for four years.  But we don't always get what we want.  The kid left his options open.  He's using those options.  I hope he decides to come anyway.  

 Who else made offers to Nigel?  Lehigh, Bucknell, American, Cornell, Northeastern, and Holy Cross.  GW was certainly in the strongest conference on the list.  If you go by who else is recruiting a player (which is not always the best thing to do), you would have to say Castro and Severe were higher recruiting prospects than Nigel.  If GW was able to land either of those two players, would Nigel have gotten the same attention here?... (380 posts and counting) Probably not.  But he became our best prospect by default.  The week before he decomitted ML told the Hatchet that a to-be-named player from the DC area could potentially be a starting player next year.  Unless ML was being completely naive he had strong reasons (probably from many one-on-one conversations with Nigel) that he would be signing his LOI with GW in a couple of weeks.  

My guess is that Nigel simply wants to go to the highest conference school he can so he can play against the best possible competition.  And in the last month or so a school like Seton Hall or St. John's probably came peeking around, and he quickly put GW in the rearview mirror.  Nigel also probably does have a couple of people in his ear telling him he's all that and more.  But the reality is GW already has a 2 time All-Met pg with a year under his belt, and if Nigel signs with a Big East school he will probably be spending more time on the bench next year than he wants to let himself believe.

@ LA Fan

I don't think Lonergan is the nieve victim that many make him out to be.  This isn't his first rodeo, he know what it means when a kid doens't sign his LOI. 

I'm conviced ML's 'we have an inco,ming freshman with a chance to start' comment was all part of his Nigel woo-ing strategy (he knew he had more work to do) not a nieve comment that looked stupid the next day.

I also completely agree with your second paragraph, I don't think this is so sinister, just par for the verbal course...

I raised my eyebrows also, LA Fan, when I first read the recruiting competition.  At some point in time, I believe I posted in a somewhat critical manner that this kid did not seem to be the Big East talent that ML said he was going to try to recruit.  However, I think it is unfair to now say that he was our best recruit by default based upon who we were recruiting against.    Remember that we got our verbal before the start of the 2012-2013 season.   The kid had a breakout senior year, and we all know now that after this year, we probably would have been recruiting against the likes of the Big East or ACC rather than Leheigh, Bucknell, American, etc.  In fact, it seems that this was almost a major recruiting coup for ML, as he recognized the talent before the bigger programs did and came this close to getting him before the big boys got into the ball game.  Of course if he now signs with Bucknell...

Nigel was scheduled to go to a big bball showdown in Hagerstown Md on 3/28, with nearly 300 ballplayers showing off for college coaches. The timing is what? Coincidence, or not?

Anyway, I am in the "He's a kid until he's 21. Or 35, depending..."

As for giving his word, my professional experience is that its the guys who yack most about it who are the guys who you can trust the least. (FQ, of course, being The Exception.) One of them, I know, is on this board.

Nigel, saying "Yes" and acting "No, not yet," is not a surprise or a sinner.

I'm not upset with him yet, and maybe never.

It's a big world out there, and if GWU cannot recruit and enroll 12 or more players to make up a decent team, and then turn that team into the foundations of  a program, I'm not about to blame Nigel Johnson.

LSF, up until this year, Nigel's high school competition wasn't much to speak of, which largely explains why the better programs weren't knocking down his door.  He likely verbaled in order to take some pressure off of himself.  If the new high school competition proved to be a bit too tough, GW would still take him.  Or, if he'd be able to thrive among better opponents, then he could decommit and potentially field better offers. 

We would all like to believe that GW's program should be solid enough so as to not be used like this.  We take enough pride in the school and this program that we don't want to see anyone turn his back on it.  It's natural to feel used (assuming that Nigel has no intention of playing for GW; again, I'm not 100% sold on this), and understandable to feel angry about this.  I draw the line at those who look at this a bit too personally, such as Nigel lied or even acted unethically.  He did what he's entitled to do.  We just don't have to be happy about it.

 Official visit to Seton Hall scheduled for Thursday, not that it matters to us.

 WOW! WOW!!! TRIPLE WOW....

Does Seton Hall have an academic component? I know just a bit about hundreds of major universities, small colleges, and podunk community colleges. And I think just about every not-for-profit school in the USA has some sort of legitimate purpose. But I have no idea whatsoever as to the quality of a Seton Hall education, or whether it has any particular strong suit in any academic field of study. I imagine it as a more urban Mt. St. Mary's. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

 He went from looking at Ivy League schools and schools like Bucknell and Lehigh to looking at Seton Hall?  

Thank Aquille Carr...

And don't expect Seton Hall to get a refund on their deposit for Carr.

How much does it take to prompt a guy's interest these days?

A near 400 post thread about maybe an average to slightly above average college guard. You'd think we were talking about Trey Burke. Let him go to Seton Hall - that is EXACTLY where he belongs!!!! Enough with Nigel Johnson already ... way past time to move on.

 +1 Amen!!!

Loserville:    Waiter, this food is terrible.  And the portions are too small!

 Nigel Johnson ‏@TakingFlight_23

Visit at Seton Hall went great! Excited about getting an offer from them, loved the coaching staff and the school.🙏

Can we schedule Seton Hall

 I love when recruits profess over and over how important academics are, and then disregard it as soon as some crappy academic BCS school comes calling.  

In 7 years, when he realizes his small rail-thin body will get him nowhere on a basketball court, SOMEONE will tell him a piece of paper with "GW" on it will be a little more valuable than a piece of paper with "Seton Hall" on it.

or maybe it is academics driving the change...we did recently become unranked.

I guess Nigel Johnson's gamble paid off because he is getting the BCS offers that he wanted, is he going to get more BCS offers?? Seton Hall has a point guard transferring in from Texas named Sterling Gibbs(he verballed or signed with Maryland before Gary Williams retired) who has 3 years of eligibility remaining beginning this season. N.Johnson could be battling him for minutes if he signs with Seton Hall. Also, Seton Hall's coach could be fired within 2 years if they don't start winning and the new coach could just recruit over him. I'm assuming Seton Hall is the job that Danny Hurley is waiting on.

SHU is hiring Fred hill so they can land nationally ranked guard jaren Sina. 

On July 1, 2013 Seton Hall will no longer be in a BCS conference.

I hope Nigel goes to SH.  My brother goes to Seaton now and says the student body hates the program and that the team sucks.  He says that most of the decent players are sorry they are chose Seaton Hall.  Aaron Cosby hated the program so much he transferred.  Also, they are going to bring in another crappy PG, Jaren Sina, but Sina will get all the time, so Nigel will be a bench-warner.   Also, most of the players can't stand Kevin Willard because he's a backstabber.  So the entire program is dysfunctional.  I really hope Nigel enjoys his few years there because he will probably end up being driven out or transferring and at that point he won't even be able to land a spot with a D-1 team.  GW would have been perfect for him because he would have gotten a lot of minutes with a team on the rise.  But if made the bad decision not to come to GW, I think we are probably lucky.  If he can't run his own life he probably can't run the point for us.

He's a teenager! It's his decision! It's his life! It's about what he wants and thinks is best for whatever reasons matter to him! We are simply on-lookers! I really hope all the "wish him hell (that was not a type-o)" business will cease-and-desist. The world has enough people who have made bad decisions and we certainly don't need more so let's hope everything turns-out great for Nigel as it will be better for everyone in the long-run.

 He screwed us over, Herve.  I for one hope he regrets his decision some day.  

 +1 Herve

 Someday maybe we'll all know the true story LSF, but for now let's just say those are strong (fairly inaccurate) words.

 This is part of the game. He didnt screw us over any more than Lonergan screwed over Dan Guest or Hobbs screwed over any number of players. Get over yourselves. 

Screwee? Jon Loyd. What a shame.

 Thanks herve. I look at Maryland's championship team and you see guys who, as individuals, would never have been projected as pieces of a championship team, but as a unit, they got hot together. I look at LaSalle--they were really good this year but I never saw them going so deep. We we need is this GW team to come together and fit together as a unit. Thinking about some 17 or 18 year old kid as the savior is just nuts. 

I am not suggesting a match in personalities here, but there were people who ran as far away from Bobby Knight as they could and still others who took it to be better players (in their minds and also in reality). It is far too early to take a measure of Lonergan--I see everyone pretty much heading in the right direction--of course, I do see players moving on, but I don't see why we have to spend so much effort trying to hang this on the coach for precisely the reasons that herve mentioned.

The charge of leadership is to adapt and improve.