http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/highschools/2011-12/winter-all-met/boys-basketball/first-team.html

Kethan Savage and McDonald both all-met players. Good Job ML, add some more talent to the squad for next year. Also watched Garino play in the national high school invitation tournament at Prep. Guy looked good. Very happy with the incoming recruiting class!

And Vaughn Jones as Coach of the Year!

Wow, trifecta for us.

Congrats to all. Hope it keeps going onward and upward.

 Very impressive. Not that I'm saying anything new, but this recruiting class on paper is special .

In addition to getting two of the best guards coming out the DMV, he as I understand it is getting 2 really great kids.  Heard that they are humble, unselfish, great attitudes, and very coachable.  With their talent and those attributes, it is going to very hard not to be successful. 

anyone a little concerned that our class didn't receive much interest from other good basketball schools?

All Met selection by AAU affiliation:

Team Takeover - 6 (Patrick, James, BeeJay, Joe, Kethan, Coleman)

Assault - 2 (Kris and Morman)

Boo Williams - 1 (Justin)

Don't know about Carrera.

Yep, they need to change their name to TEAM TOOKOVER.

By all accounts, is the staff really favoring Larsen over Carrera?

The NCAA tournament is a PERFECT example why I am not concerned.  We look at these games and see kids on low and mid major teams and say huh??? Do you mean to tell me that this kid got NO high major offers?  I remember an interview with a kid from Butler from the state of Florida.  I think it is after Butler beat Florida, he said that he really wanted to go to Florida but they passed on him.  I am sure that after the game when Butler and Florida were doing the "sportsmanship dap", he smiled at Billy Donavan and said thank you. 

GW26, Larsen is 6' 10", 240 while Carrera is 6' 6".  We played much of this season without a center on the floor and the closest we had to a center, Jabari, lacked the bulk to play the position well.  It's not a question of which player is more skilled; it's a question of what GW's primary needs are.  Sign Larsen and I'll take my chances getting my points and rebounds without Carrera.

 Also note that we are recruiting three other guys on the all met team and a few more on second thru honorable mention.  Make sure to watch the Carrera video.

 I agree on GW's need for a big man, but wouldn't a few people here feel pretty good if we beat out Pitt, Gonzaga and Temple for Carrera?  It would probably be Lonergan's biggest signing yet.  

I feel torn.  I haven't seen Larsen play much, but passion and effort is something we haven't had out of forward in a long long time.  Like Mike Hall long time.  Carrera's dad, whom his son emulates, was a scrappy pro.  I'd be really really pleased if we get Carrera.   

It's not as if Carrera would be a consolation prize by any stretch.  And, you could make the case that next year will not be an "all in" year anyway, so go at it again without a center and focus on recruiting a center the following year.  However, we are extremely vulnerable without a legitimate center.  You have to envision how much more effective guys like Armwood and Pellom (and perhaps Paris) would be playing alongside a real center, as opposed to having to serve themself as an undersized center.  I do believe that Carrera will make some school VERY happy; it's really a shame we can't have them both.

i'm not  conflicted at all. if we have a shot at carrera, we need to take it.  13 rebounds a game is 13 rebounds.   you don't have to be 6'10 to play center.  unseld was 6'7.

I know we have recruited Carrera and he has been to a GW game, but I haven't heard much that would indicate that we have a good chance of getting him.  I know the coaching staff is hard after Terry Brutus as well and my people say Brutus is very big and strong and GW has a real shot at him.  So there are potentially a number of shoes that could still fall.

it's interesting, because Carrera or Brutus could be better players/prospects but it seems like we have a logjam  at the small forward position. Larsen is 6'9 and unpolished, but he's bigger than maragkos, and is more of a center, so in terms of true center, this guy is our best bet.

Mentioned before that Larsen's high school coach is a professional colleague and neighbor of mine. His coaches are very high on him. They think hes a really skilled player but that high school isnt always the best showcase for a back to the basket big man because of pace and matchups. Says GW needs someone to clog the paint and that they havn't really been recruiting Carrera since the start of the season. The coach says once Larson gets to college he may be a steal and has a chance to be a big time player by his junior year. Has high major offers on the table.  I've seen him play about 6-7 times over the last 2 years. Have seen him both dominant and somehwat reserved. Hes a strong joker thats for sure. Great game to watch him in: http://espn.go.com/espn3/player?id=160487

I just point you to InDaKnow.... Size-wise, Carrera is a tweener. I could really be wrong, but I think that the 6 inch part of the 6'6 is generous. Projecting Larsen to the next level and a year or two of college workouts and you will get a very nice contributor unlike what we have had in a while. He is also much more athletic than one may have thought.

You also have to watch Larsen without the ball to fully appreciate the guy. I would never be disappointed with Carrera, but I see a bright future for us with Larsen, if we can get him to commit to us. With Paris, I see two guys who can set a nice pick and then roll to the hole, catch and score. I just wonder if we have any passers?

Oh.

 Good point Dolph. The coaches loves high feel for the game and ability to pass out of the post and find shooters. 

 Good point Dolph. The coaches loves high feel for the game and ability to pass out of the post and find shooters. 

 Good point Dolph. The coaches loves high feel for the game and ability to pass out of the post and find shooters. 

does Larsen play in that game?

 My take... Carrera will give us an extra two wins a year every year of his time here.  Larsen will contribute 1, 2, 4 and 6 wins in his four years.

BM, why am I seeing what you wrote and thinking about Xavier Alexander?

I would say that Larsen vs Carrera in win totals would be more like -3, -2, 0, +1

I could argue with myself on the exact spread, but pretty sure the trend holds.

 Jaay - He comes off the bench in that game. Scored 10 with 9 boards against Oak Hill in that link I gave you. Trying to find out his season averages.

From what little I've seen of Larsen on TV, it seems like he needs time to develop feel for the game, especially a feel for how to rebound (not that he doesn't box out, he does, but he doesn't seem to have a natrual instinct to know where to be to get the ball).   

But I would also guess that he would be very good, probably from day 1, at playing the Omar Williams role against the zone.  That is, he has great size and seems to be a very good passer. At his size he can eat up space there and be a great target.  Then, he is big and strong and skilled enough to find people in the seams against the zone at any angle. 

Really, i think the only question with him is how long it takes him to adjust to the speed and timing of the college game in terms of rebounding and defense. At worst, I think he is comporable to a stronger, wider (though slightly shorter), at best he becomes Kevin Lyde.