RE: Jamar Butler scenario

From: Darryl Gilliam
Date: 13 Aug 2003 - 03:04 PM EST

I agree with your last point. Before I read up on the Swann situation I thought that losing Butler was a bad thing to happen for many reasons. However, if we are able to sign Banks and Swann as a result of not signing Butler then a negative will definitely turn into a positive.

address@hidden wrote:I don't think it's a rationalization at all.

If it had been Banks that verballed his sophomore year instead of Butler,
we'd have been following him closely, praising his numbers (which compare
very well to Butler's, and on a higher level of HS competition to boot) and
talking about him as a cornerstone to next year's class. Jamar was the local
kid that committed early, so we followed him. By all accounts, Butler and
Banks are very close to being equal players. To use your prom date analogy,
it's kind of like missing out on Pam Anderson, but getting Heather Locklear
instead.

To say that Jamar dumped us is to play the victim, which is something Huggs
refused to do. Remember, the initial rumblings was that Jamar wanted to
consider a few programs ALONG WITH UC. I think Huggs, using the Alexander
Johnson and Twig cases as precedent, decided not to wait around on Jamar.
Now Jamar, angry that Huggs quickly decided to go another way, took the easy
route to OSU. Now, he may have decided on the Buckeyes anyway, but Huggs
essentially took any other option away from him

Now, Huggs can recruit Isaiah Swann, who desires to play the point in
college, exclusively at the 1 if he chooses. Banks has shown such
unselfishness during his HS career that Huggs knows he can use him at the 2,
maybe even the 3, along with backing up the 1. If Swann does sign with UC,
the 'Cats will have one of the best and most versatile backcourts in the
country within 2 years.

It's simply a matter of whether you see the glass as half empty or half
full. Considering that Swann has us at the top of his list, I see the Banks-
Butler switch as a potential lucky break. Either way, we should commend
Coach Huggins for being prepared.

CP

Yeah, but at least the way it was done, we still have a date, and not a bad
looking one at that.

I don't think it's rationalization, I think it's reality.

Jamar committed so early, we all watched him through bearcatnews and the forum,
and naturally because we paid so much attention he seemed to be the man.

I just like to remember that all of the hype is just that hype... I think Banks
and Butler are a wash... neither of them have demonstrated at this level... I
remember alot of people thinking Rod Flowers was the next coming based on some
recruiting hype.. look how he turned out..

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Sherrick [mailto:address@hidden
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 7:26 PM
To: address@hidden
Subject: Re: [UC Basketball] Jamar Butler scenario

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brad Holdheide"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 3:42 PM
Subject: RE: [UC Basketball] Jamar Butler scenario

Backing off Jamar for ANY reason is a mistake IMO and likely never

happened.

Jamar is likely going to be a great player and is a local Ohio kid who
wanted to be a Bearcat his whole life (tongue in cheek).....so WHY would

you

do anything to jeopardize his verbal commitment.

I'd say Jamar backed out, UC didn't.

I agree. I think our being happy with Banks, and saying (sort of) good
riddance to Butler is a lot of rationalization. Our first choice to go to
the prom turned us down (or started playing hard to get, if you prefer) so
we took someone else instead, who we are now saying is just as pretty and
has a better personality, or whatever.

As far as to why Butler actually began to have a change of heart, my
speculation is that it is simply that he wanted to be with his friend
Terwilliger at OSU. Once he made that decision, he had to come up with a
'better' reason, so he said something about academics.

BTW, note how close UC was to having a *great* start on next year's class.
Had they landed Terwilliger, they would have had Butler. They just miss on
A.J. Johnson. A real bummer.

Mike in Newfoundland

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Peterson [mailto:address@hidden
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 2:14 PM
To: address@hidden
Subject: [UC Basketball] Jamar Butler scenario

So what do you all think of this scenario regarding Jamar Butler.

Bearcat staff finds out there is a strong possibilty that Isaiah Swann

will

commit if he is told he can play the one (there is a report on the
recruiting page that he will commit to a school where he can play the

one).

Staff brings this up with Jamar and asks if he will consider playing the

2.

Jamar wants to play the point. Meanwhile Terwilliger and OSU are telling
Jamar he can play the point.

Staff starts looking for a relacement for Jamar should he consider going
elsewhere and find Vincent Banks willing to commit.

Jamar Decommits, opening door for Swann.

Just some thoughts...But if the staff can land Swann and get a similar
player to replace Butler, it could turn out to be a really good class.

But when are they going to land a center...

Chris Peterson

_________________________________________________________________
Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software

To subscribe, please follow the instructions here.