'11 NJ SF Shaquille Thomas (Signed)

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Shaq would be a great fit with what Mick is trying to do with the players he is recruiting. The timing looks good. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
 
I am cautiously optimistic with Thomas... however, I want to see progress from these type of "potential" players when they get into the program... hopefully Yancy Gates starts to show progress and results that back the vast potential he had when he became a Bearcat.
 
psax889906 said:
I am cautiously optimistic with Thomas... however, I want to see progress from these type of "potential" players when they get into the program... hopefully Yancy Gates starts to show progress and results that back the vast potential he had when he became a Bearcat.
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Only time will tell with Yancy, but after seeing him in the game in Canada, you can tell he put the time in this offseason. You really couldn't say that before. I think he will have a very good year.
 
psax889906 said:
I am cautiously optimistic with Thomas... however, I want to see progress from these type of "potential" players when they get into the program... hopefully Yancy Gates starts to show progress and results that back the vast potential he had when he became a Bearcat.
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I think Yancy is a good example of the player not living up to their responsibility to improve. As Jason said, he has worked hard on conditioning this off season, so let's hope that means playing harder, for a longer period of time.
 
Fortunately, 99% of development is on the player so Shaq's future development has nothing to do with Yancy's. Different players, different attitudes. Reason Yancy has developed fully yet is his attitude and desire. If Shaq has the desire to improve, he will. He definitely has the tools to improve.
 
TheLongHaul said:
Fortunately, 99% of development is on the player so Shaq's future development has nothing to do with Yancy's. Different players, different attitudes. Reason Yancy has developed fully yet is his attitude and desire. If Shaq has the desire to improve, he will. He definitely has the tools to improve.
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I didn't want to open up this can of worms but this post forces me to. Are you arguing that the coach only has 1% (or less) of the responsibility for the development of the player after he enters a program? That's asinine.
 
psax889906 said:
I didn't want to open up this can of worms but this post forces me to. Are you arguing that the coach only has 1% (or less) of the responsibility for the development of the player after he enters a program? That's asinine.
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I agree that the coaching staff has more than 1% of the responsibility to develop a player but let's not get caught up in numbers because, frankly, they are all assumptions anyway. The point is that the player has the ultimate trump card when it comes to improving and they can choose to play it however they want. Mick made a comment recently that for the first time since Yancy has been here, he has not had to coach effort and instead can just coach technique. This is a big difference from the past couple of years. Normally I would be skeptical but having seen Yancy, he looks like a completely different person and you can tell the work was put in during the offseason.

Getting back on target, I think Shaq would be an extremely nice addition to this program. I think he is a player who could contribute as a freshman which we need. I hope he decides to become a Bearcat tomorrow and maybe this is the first of several good recruiting dominos to fall in the coming weeks.
 
JasonS said:
I agree that the coaching staff has more than 1% of the responsibility to develop a player but let's not get caught up in numbers because, frankly, they are all assumptions anyway. The point is that the player has the ultimate trump card when it comes to improving and they can choose to play it however they want. Mick made a comment recently that for the first time since Yancy has been here, he has not had to coach effort and instead can just coach technique. This is a big difference from the past couple of years. Normally I would be skeptical but having seen Yancy, he looks like a completely different person and you can tell the work was put in during the offseason.

Getting back on target, I think Shaq would be an extremely nice addition to this program. I think he is a player who could contribute as a freshman which we need. I hope he decides to become a Bearcat tomorrow and maybe this is the first of several good recruiting dominos to fall in the coming weeks.
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Agree with everything you said. A Breakout season from Yancy, imo, will almost certainly (Barring any season ending injuries) mean a trip back to the NCAA's... Lets hope that he becomes the 1st Team All-Big East player we all know he can be...

And there's no doubt that Thomas is a very intriguing prospect.
 
This is great news! Welcome Shaq!!

I am hoping this has some impact on Eli's decision. He enjoyed his visit with the coaches, maybe this will put him over the top.
 
Solid Commitment. Top flight athleticism. Hopefully the coaching staff can whip him into shape and he has the commitment to become the player he has the potential to be.
 
Aaron Thomas, Jeremiah Davis, Elijah Carter, Jerome Seagers, Jermaine Sanders, Kevin Pangos, Tyquan Goodlett

As far as I can see these are the players left on the board that are most likely to become Bearcats. The class is shaping up well, how many spots are left... 2, 3?
 
Very solid addition.

Length, athleticism, NJ/NY area.

3 qualities that Shaq possesses.

Hopefully Shaq can bring some recruits with him.
 
Shaq Thomas

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!! IT seemed like it would never come, What a world of potential, and like I said before once one elite player comes then another is not to far behind!!!
 
I'm not sure I would call Thomas an elite player. He has a lot of potential but he isn't Marquis Teague or Chane Behanan- two players who very nearly were Bearcats.
 
Shaq thomas

Elite player or not, im glad he is a bearcat. As for Chane and Marquis they were almost UC players but remember almost. Chane is a beast but will need to prove that vs the best of the Big East, And Mr. Teague is very explosive at the guard spot but is no WALL or Rose and might be sitting behind Knight for a yr or two. When it comes to potential in the long run i think Shaq has more potential than any of these two. Either way im super happy hes a bearcat and i think it wont be long and we will have another player from that area in the red and black too!!!!
 
BearcatAlum1 said:
Behanan is not an elite player.
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I don't always worry about star ratings as much as I do about offer sheets... because it's ultimately the coaches' opinions I want to know about and an offer is one in the highest regard... and when you get offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Connecticut, North Carolina, Ohio State, West Virginia, etc... it says a lot about the type of player people that get paid A LOT more money than anyone on these boards think he is. One top program takes a flyer on him, happens all the time, could be a bust... two or three offer him, he's probably going to end up being a good prospect but he could still flop... when you get that many offers it's clear that at this point, he is one of the best prospects in the class.

Yes, there is no guarantee either way on what type of player Chane will become, or Shaq for that matter. But as of right now you would have to count yourself in a very small minority of people who don't consider Chane an elite player.
 

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