Around the League: Auburn

Everything is shiny and new at Auburn. New, highly rated coach, Tony Barbee. New offense, the John Calipari-style dribble drive. New arena.

Barbee even garnered commitments from new recruits. Chris Denson, a guard that Coach Fox considered for a time. Josh Langford, a wing that was a UGA recruit. Luke Cothron, high-ranked power forward, and Shawn Kemp, Jr., a center from the metro Atlanta area.

The problem is that Cothron and Kemp have apparently failed to qualify.

My take?

The dribble drive offense may be good, but it needs players to make it work. Barbee doesn't have enough of them.

Auburn's roster was thinned considerably by graduation. Frankie Sullivan and Ty Armstrong, returning players on whom Barbee expected to rely, have both been sidelined with knee injuries, and it is doubtful that either one will return to play this year. Barbee could have done some damage with Cothron and Kemp, but without them, he'll have to convince his team to play tough defense and and hope that they shoot very well from the perimeter.

Auburn will struggle. They went 15 and 17 last year, and won just 6 games in the conference. Maintaining that same record would be a success for Barbee.

Kemp To Auburn

So much for my wishful thinking. I guess I won't be offering any stock tips this week.

I was so sure that Fox would bag the big guy that I went ahead and boldly predicted it.

Disappointed.

AJC Article on Cady Lalanne

AJC

I know that some fans are not particularly excited about Lalanne because he is a 3-star. He is at #142 in the national rankings, instead of being a "top 20" kind of recruit. The comments underneath the article reflect those sentiments.

If, however, Fox can pick up Shawn Kemp, Jr., then UGA will have two talented post players with upside for the 2010 class. We'll need players like these if Georgia is to stabilize and grow its hoops program.

Lalanne to Dawgs

Good news!

Cady Lalanne has announced that he will sign with Coach Fox and the Dawgs.

The goal for Fox has to be to take the nucleus that he currently has and fit in the right pieces. If he can compress the schedule and make 2009 a successful year on the floor, and 2010 a superior recruiting year (Lalanne, Gerald Robinson, Shawn Kemp and Jalen Kendrick), then he will have the momentum he needs to make 2011 a great recruiting year.

Congrats to Coach Fox, staff and the team.

Shawn Kemp, Jr., to Dawgs?

It could happen.

Kemp was successfully recruited to Alabama by Gottfried and his staff. However, Gottfried is the former coach at Alabama, and his staff moved on to other schools. In the meantime, Kemp decided to spend a year at a prep school to reportedly improve his test scores.

One of the key members of Gottfried's staff, Philip Pearson, is now a UGA assistant coach. And while it seems that new Tide coach Anthony Grant was not convinced that Alabama was a still a good fit for Kemp, I am sure that Pearson, once hired by the Dawgs, kept in touch with Kemp and let him know that UGA would love to have him.

As readers of the Blog know, I have thought for a long while that Kemp was a quality recruit (click on Kemp's name in blue hypertext below to pull up my earlier posts and other background information on him). Big body, good height at 6' 9", with the possibility of growing a few more inches. We're going to lose Albert Jackson after this year, and we don't have any other true centers on the roster.

Kemp is the kind of recruit that Georgia needs to get. Great upside, in-state player, at a position of need. As far as I can tell, Kemp, as a prep student, is unranked this year. However, he was a 4-star and ranked #105 last year. And earlier in 2008, Kemp was ranked much higher, determined by Rivals.com to be a 5-star and #25 in the country. He's not a guy who fell in the rankings due to injury, but as I understand, there were questions about whether Kemp would maximize his true potential.

If Fox can successfully attract Kemp, then he will make his first coup in recruiting. Georgia should get good press on it, based on name value alone. Put Kemp together with Gerald Robinson (a transfer who is already on campus and will become eligible next year), and Jalen Kendrick, and Georgia will really have something.

I won't "call him for Georgia," just in case Kemp reads the Blog (doubt it), and decides not to commit just to prove the prognosticators wrong. Of course I don't have that much pull in recruiting, but I don't even want to jinx UGA in any way. I will say that I am very optimistic that Kemp will commit to Georgia at some point soon.

Shawn Kemp, Jr.

Surprised that Alabama has apparently taken a step back from Shawn Kemp, Jr. From the articles I have read, it sounds like Alabama coach Anthony Grant is not sold on bringing Kemp in.

Kemp isn't a "knock your socks" off player in the low post. But he has an incredible ceiling. If Georgia can get him, I'd say that he would be a great pick-up. We need a big man, as Albert Jackson is set to graduate after next season.

Shawn Kemp to wait on Committing?

This might turn out like Ebuka Anyaorah's situation. By waiting until the end of his basketball year, Kemp might get a ton more offers.

It could also work out to UGA's favor. If Kemp really is unsure about going out to Seattle, he might want to stay home. In the meantime, Georgia could get more clarity on the number of big men we will have on the roster.

As I've noted in the past, Kemp has incredible upside. He will get more aggressive as he learns to play the game and as his body fills out some. See Roy Hibbert.

http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080814/SPORTS06/808140349/1018/SPORTS

Shawn Kemp, Jr., Update

Well, it sounds like the prospect of Shawn Kemp, Jr., going to Washington is not quite a done deal. Apparently, Washington has not offered a scholarship yet. Even if Washington head coach, Lorenzo Romar, does offer a scholarship, Kemp is not sure that playing in Seattle would be the best thing for him.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cbasketball/374072_umen08.html

And it looks like UGA has not offered a scholarship, either, though I thought we had.

I think that Kemp has as much upside as any of our post prospects, with the exception, of course, of Derrick Favors. We have two scholarships to give.

It sounds to me like Kemp, Jr., will eventually end up in Washington. But Kemp did mention UGA as being in the picture.

What does everybody else think? If you were Felton, what would you do?

Shawn Kemp, Jr., to Washington?

Did the Reign Man convince his son to sign with Lorenzo Romar?

Since Jr. is still in high school, he can't be an "incoming freshman" at Washington for fall of 2008. Maybe Shawn Kemp, Sr. or the author of the article, got the dates a little off, but the destination right.

http://slamonline.com/online/2008/08/shawn-kemp-confirms-rumors/

Having Shawn Kemp, Jr., come out to Washington makes sense. I think that even if the elder heads over to play in Italy, his base of activity is still Seattle. He would want his son to be close by.

We can probably expect an announcement pretty soon that Shawn Kemp, Jr., is off the board.

Recruiting: Shawn Kemp, Jr.

Hmmm. Blogging before dawn. I seem to be working on this early morning posting thing, covering the center prospects for the class of 2009. Might as well keep going, huh?

Well, over the last few days, we looked at Torin Walker, and then Daniel Miller. Today, it's Shawn Kemp, Jr.

Out of the 3 centers, Kemp has already won the name recognition battle. Of course, it's not easy to bear the name. His Dad was really good.

I saw a few good links on Shawn Kemp, Jr. The one directly below discusses the famous name and the relationship between Jr. and his Dad.

1. SI

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/luke_winn/07/09/shawn.kemp/


2. USA Today

USA Today has somewhat of a similar "famous name" angle.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2008-06-26-hoops-legacies_N.htm


3. Demling Blog

http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2008/01/meet-shawn-kemp-jr.html


4. NorthwestGeorgia.com

http://www.northwestgeorgia.com/sports/local_story_053234109.html


5. YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t_P8mLnJu0&feature=related

Although the USA Today article is not very complimentary of Kemp, Jr., the YouTube clip shows several things I like:

a) Good hands.

How many big men fail because they can't catch the entry pass? The video shows that Shawn Kemp, Jr., has great hands. He can catch the awkward pass, the low fastball, and the lob.

b) Hops

Well, his dad had insane hops. Jr. not so much, but he has enough that you can clearly see that he is an above-the-rim player.

c) Dunks

Shawn Kemp, Jr. dunks the ball. He goes up strong in traffic. He dunks with either hand. He has enough elevation to take contact and still complete the power play.

d) Go-to Moves

Kemp, Jr., already has the jump hook, drop step and bank shot in his repertoire. Combine that with power dunks and you don't want to mess with it too much. Looks like he'd be a decent free-throw shooter, too.

e) Build

The USA Today and SI articles talk about Kemp's height and wingspan. He's 6' 9" and just going into his senior year. Kemp has the big feet that indicate that he has more growing to do, and according to the Demling blog, he is likely to add another 3 to 5 inches before he tops out, perhaps at 7' 2". He could put a lot more weight on his frame, too. He runs well, and note the calf muscles. Big, almost like his Dad's.


6. DaugMan's Take

I like Shawn Kemp, Jr., a lot. Rivals.com apparently did, too, giving Kemp Jr. a 5-star rating just months ago. Since that time, Rivals has dropped Kemp from #25 to #83. Maybe that's a sign that Kemp is leaning toward UGA. Ha!

If it were up to me, I'd probably rank Kemp equal to or even above Torin Walker and Daniel Miller. Billy Gillespie up at the University of Kentucky likes Kemp enough to pursue him agressively. I think UGA should step up his recruitment. Kemp does not name UGA amongst his favorites, at least not that I could tell. It's a long shot at this point, but it would be well worth the effort if we can get him.