I know GW is actively recruiting junior 2G Nick Griffin from Magruder High in Rockville. Hopefully we're also pursuing their junior point guard as well- JJ Epps. I've seen him play a few times and he reminds me alot of Shawnta Rogers. Epps, listed as 5'4, can stop and pop a sweet jumper, is incredibly quick, and is a fine ball handler. What a duo of guards he and Griffin would make to add to the 2 guards coming in next year. Anybody know if Epps is on our radar?  

I don't think that the undersized PG works very well in the flex offense that requires all players to be able to move through the progression of all 5 spots on the floor.

I know that GW is looking at 2013 PG's though such as Nigel Johnson who is about 6'1".

Flex shmex. You obviously never saw Shawta Rogers play. In recent years we've mistakenly given scholarships to only guys that fit our "mold"-- whatever the hell Hobbs' mold was!  The result of all of this-- NO big guys that can rebound-- NO guards that can break a press. NO inside game. NO CONSISTENT shooters. The result-- Mason is getting all the press and we're almost invisible!  Maybe we should just recruit guys that can play-- like Epps! 

To some degree, the "mold" was calculated for the recruitment of long and lean athletes, and it does seem that it's been employed to an unreasonable extreme -- there simply are not enough shooters, not enough rebounders, and not enough skilled ballplayers on the resultant recent teams..

But the Shawnta Rogers short guy guy alternative just isn't a reasonable approach. Shawnta was sui generis. We are unlikely to ever strike that kind of gold again. GW would be like those Hollywood types in the 50's and 60's, who figured that dyeing a curvy actress's hair platinum would turn her into the next Marilyn Monroe. Didn't work then. Won't work now.

That said, I hope ML makes a long run after all of Shawnta's offspring, and their offspring as well. 

Maypoman, I'm looking forward to 5 years from now when we will be able to compare the college careers of Shawnta Rogers and JJ Epps.  As you know, the diminutive Aquille Carr is getting a lot of attention and will be playing at Seton Hall the year after next so I'm not suggesting that guys this size can't play.  But at 5' 4", I'd feel far more comfortable if I knew a whole lot more about Epps before advocating that GW offers a scholarship to him.

Maypoman,

I saw virtually every game that Shawnta played at GW.  Shawnta was one of the greatest GW athletes in history, but he was an extremly rare transcendant athlete.  Any team would likely benefit from having a player like Shawnta on their roster.

But, I don't choose who GW recruits, I just try to report who they are recruiting.  Your complaints about Lonergan are a bit premature since he is still playing with all of KH's recruits except Kopriva.

My study of Lonergan's flex and the players he's recruited so far lead me to believe that Epps is not the kind of player than Lonergan would want to recruit.  This is what he does want to recruit (in addition to the normal things that you want in players):

forwards that can bounce out and shoot

guards than can post up and score

This is what the flex emphasizes because players rotate around to various spots on the floor. The idea is that bigs will end up with a lot of open looks from mid-range; and guards will end up on the low block with opportunities to post up.

Look at who Lonergan has recruited so far:

Kopriva - good size and very active (clearly he has been a disappointment so far)

Armwood - active in and out big

Paris - big that also has excellent shooting range

Garino - big guard/small forward that can shoot, drive or post up

Savage - strong combo guard that can play in or out

McDonald - great shooter and pentrator and distributor

Lonergan is recruiting guys that fit his system to a "t"

I don't know exactly why you are barking at me.  It's not my fault that your neighbor's kid hasn't gotten a scholarship yet..

No way Epps could play A10 and no where close to Shawnta Rodgers eventhough was 5"4 was very Strong build and at the HS level the competion he played against was at very High level. Epps is very small and his body needs alot of work. He would be a better D2 player with chance maybe play at the D1 level at MEAC school would even be tough. He also looks good in MOCO league where he plays against weak talent night in night out.  Most of kids he's abusing are D3 kids. As for Nick Griff he's high level shooter, but  just okay ball handling skill and not great athlete. I think he would be better fit at Ivy or Patriot league school, but he could maybe help at GW by junior or senior year. I have watched both kids since the 7th grade.

Between Bynes, Kromah, Garino, Savage & McDonald we're pretty deep at guard so any '13 recuit will have the luxury of at least a year to get stronger.  From what I can tell, Griffin is a high-end kid who will fit into ML's system and 100% grad rate easily.

BM,

Bynes will have graduated by Fall '13. And who knows if Lasan stays after this year?

Duh.

Thinker:

 What is going on with Lasan? Why is he considering transferring?

It's just speculation on my part about Lasan - but he seems to be the one guy among the most talented of GW players that is having the hardest time adjusting to ML's desired playing style on the floor.  He very often displays bad body language on the floor and on the bench (indication of unhappiness in my view) and ML seems to get pretty frustrated with him as well.  In my mind it just may be that Lasan might want to play somewhere that plays a more open style.

Of course, this would mean missing basketball for two years within a three year stretch should he decide to transfer to a D1 school.  Personally, I don't see this happening.  Playing one more year and then testing the international waters is a more viable possibility IMO.

jj leads his team to the title.  i believe he has had a very strong stretch run.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools