Welcome to the 4th installment of The War Room for the 2007-2008. As always, I'll begin this session with the ground rules for those that may be new. Everything that is reported in The War Room must stay in The War Room. Sometimes the info is sensitive enough that it simply doesn't need to be passed on beyond the doors of this message board thread.
This is a special feature for our subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board is because that's the only way to ensure that the info stays exclusive to Dayton Flyer fans. Thanks for your cooperation. Here it is, the 4th edition of The War Room for the 2007-2008 Recruiting Season:
Plummer
Okay, so I reported it last week in the War Room, that it appeared that Norman Plummer would be headed elsewhere for his final season and it appears that is accurate. Norm and his mother met with BG on Sunday, and BG and Norm met again yesterday (Wednesday). Speaking briefly last night with Norman, he said that he'll not be back next year and I told him sorry it ended this way, and he said "Me too." Norman was a high school kid that was moved to Hargrave Military school after having issues at Brewster Academy. He's had problems making the right decisions in the past and obviously the present, but deep down I think he's just one that has a lot of room to mature and grow up and will probably benefit from this adversity. After he signed with Dayton, he would call my cell phone nearly every day and talk to me for an hour at a time. We'd talk about anything and everything. He'd tell me how he was counting down the days until he could get to Dayton. Truth be told, we have a lot to be thankful for with Norman Plummer. Without Plummer, I am not so sure that Brian Roberts doesn't end up playing basketball elsewhere. They began a friendship playing at Ohio State's team camp, and it escalated in wanting to play college basketball together. While Plummer's four-star credentials might not have translated in four-star consistency, he did show some flashes. He had some big games as a Flyer and made some big shots. Who will ever forget his two free throws against St. Louis on the way to a double-overtime win. Some may decide they'd rather not forget his arrest this past summer when he crashed into a telephone poll, or some of the other bad things he did, but I'm going to remember the good stuff. Norman always was great in the interview room, always had a smile on his face. He was the one recruit that BG said he was going to build his program around.. things might not have gone as expected between these two, and for the good of Norman Plummer and the Dayton basketball program, there's no doubt in my mind, it's time to move on for both parties. But instead of placing blame or trying to pin-point where things went bad, I'll just say it's for the best of the two, and I think both will benefit from this move.
The second coming..
Like that song I put on the board for next year's theme song, "The second coming, a new beginning", that's what this next recruiting class is for BG and the Dayton Flyers. Only two remain from Brian Gregory's original five, and a set of three really good kids with some good heads on their shoulders are coming in next year -- A New Beginning. I talked with Chris Wright and Devin Searcy last night and both seem really excited about next season. Devin will be coming to campus on June 23rd for Summer school and Strength and Conditioning. Coach Oats told me he definitely needs to get stronger to be able to rebound in the Atlantic 10, but that after the four games he sat out, he's never seen someone mature that quickly. Coach Oats attributed a lot of that to a two hour conversation that BG had with Searcy while he was nursing his injured ankle. The last eight games of the season, including the run in the state tournament, Searcy was averaging a double-double and simply "dominating" as Coach Oats put it.
Top Flyght
Another player that we know can be dominating already is Chris Wright. We talked about the highlight video that has been placed on the internet and he told me that's the first ever highlight reel of himself he has seen. We talked about the one play where he blocked the shot and caught the ball in mid-air. He said he remembers that play in paticular because a fan of the opponent kept heckling Chris from the stands. According to Chris, the kid kept yelling at him that he can dunk, but that's it-- he couldn't block anybody's shot. Chris said after that, the kid didn't say a word the rest of the game.
Some more good news from Chris is he'll be working out this summer with LeBron James for a little bit before beginning his career at the University of Dayton. More to come on this in an article I'll release on Friday.
Barry
So now that it appears we have two scholarships to fill before the fall, I checked up some on Coffeyville's Barry Eberhardt. It seems as though we can cross UNLV, Butler, Wichita State off of his list, and it appears St. Louis, Dayton, and perhaps Miami (OH) are the teams to beat. It appears that Miami (OH) doesn't have any visit setup, but that he may be visiting St. Louis in the next week or so and then Dayton the following weekend. Dayton is definitely closer to home, and Barry's father respects Brian Gregory and Bill Schmidt and feels they are "straight shooters".
Barry is more of a perimeter four, can play the three, but the question becomes if he'd be able to guard the three. Either way, he'd be a solid addition because of his ability to shoot and his overall versatility.
That does it for this edition of the War Room. Welcome to the dozen or so new subscribers we've had this week, and thanks to the one's that are contributing so much on the message board. It's great to read some new voices on the board. And as always, thanks to everyone for your continued support. You guys, the Flyer Faithful, are what makes this board the best place to talk FlyerHoops!
This is a special feature for our subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board is because that's the only way to ensure that the info stays exclusive to Dayton Flyer fans. Thanks for your cooperation. Here it is, the 4th edition of The War Room for the 2007-2008 Recruiting Season:
Plummer
Okay, so I reported it last week in the War Room, that it appeared that Norman Plummer would be headed elsewhere for his final season and it appears that is accurate. Norm and his mother met with BG on Sunday, and BG and Norm met again yesterday (Wednesday). Speaking briefly last night with Norman, he said that he'll not be back next year and I told him sorry it ended this way, and he said "Me too." Norman was a high school kid that was moved to Hargrave Military school after having issues at Brewster Academy. He's had problems making the right decisions in the past and obviously the present, but deep down I think he's just one that has a lot of room to mature and grow up and will probably benefit from this adversity. After he signed with Dayton, he would call my cell phone nearly every day and talk to me for an hour at a time. We'd talk about anything and everything. He'd tell me how he was counting down the days until he could get to Dayton. Truth be told, we have a lot to be thankful for with Norman Plummer. Without Plummer, I am not so sure that Brian Roberts doesn't end up playing basketball elsewhere. They began a friendship playing at Ohio State's team camp, and it escalated in wanting to play college basketball together. While Plummer's four-star credentials might not have translated in four-star consistency, he did show some flashes. He had some big games as a Flyer and made some big shots. Who will ever forget his two free throws against St. Louis on the way to a double-overtime win. Some may decide they'd rather not forget his arrest this past summer when he crashed into a telephone poll, or some of the other bad things he did, but I'm going to remember the good stuff. Norman always was great in the interview room, always had a smile on his face. He was the one recruit that BG said he was going to build his program around.. things might not have gone as expected between these two, and for the good of Norman Plummer and the Dayton basketball program, there's no doubt in my mind, it's time to move on for both parties. But instead of placing blame or trying to pin-point where things went bad, I'll just say it's for the best of the two, and I think both will benefit from this move.
The second coming..
Like that song I put on the board for next year's theme song, "The second coming, a new beginning", that's what this next recruiting class is for BG and the Dayton Flyers. Only two remain from Brian Gregory's original five, and a set of three really good kids with some good heads on their shoulders are coming in next year -- A New Beginning. I talked with Chris Wright and Devin Searcy last night and both seem really excited about next season. Devin will be coming to campus on June 23rd for Summer school and Strength and Conditioning. Coach Oats told me he definitely needs to get stronger to be able to rebound in the Atlantic 10, but that after the four games he sat out, he's never seen someone mature that quickly. Coach Oats attributed a lot of that to a two hour conversation that BG had with Searcy while he was nursing his injured ankle. The last eight games of the season, including the run in the state tournament, Searcy was averaging a double-double and simply "dominating" as Coach Oats put it.
Top Flyght
Another player that we know can be dominating already is Chris Wright. We talked about the highlight video that has been placed on the internet and he told me that's the first ever highlight reel of himself he has seen. We talked about the one play where he blocked the shot and caught the ball in mid-air. He said he remembers that play in paticular because a fan of the opponent kept heckling Chris from the stands. According to Chris, the kid kept yelling at him that he can dunk, but that's it-- he couldn't block anybody's shot. Chris said after that, the kid didn't say a word the rest of the game.
Some more good news from Chris is he'll be working out this summer with LeBron James for a little bit before beginning his career at the University of Dayton. More to come on this in an article I'll release on Friday.
Barry
So now that it appears we have two scholarships to fill before the fall, I checked up some on Coffeyville's Barry Eberhardt. It seems as though we can cross UNLV, Butler, Wichita State off of his list, and it appears St. Louis, Dayton, and perhaps Miami (OH) are the teams to beat. It appears that Miami (OH) doesn't have any visit setup, but that he may be visiting St. Louis in the next week or so and then Dayton the following weekend. Dayton is definitely closer to home, and Barry's father respects Brian Gregory and Bill Schmidt and feels they are "straight shooters".
Barry is more of a perimeter four, can play the three, but the question becomes if he'd be able to guard the three. Either way, he'd be a solid addition because of his ability to shoot and his overall versatility.
That does it for this edition of the War Room. Welcome to the dozen or so new subscribers we've had this week, and thanks to the one's that are contributing so much on the message board. It's great to read some new voices on the board. And as always, thanks to everyone for your continued support. You guys, the Flyer Faithful, are what makes this board the best place to talk FlyerHoops!
