6th Man of St. John's Basketball
St. John's Red Storm => Recruiting Archives => Recruiting => 2008 Class => Topic started by: JohnnyJungle on January 21, 2008, 03:39:52 PM
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www.johnnyjungle.com/Recruiting
You've all been waiting for this guy so lets hear what you think about him...
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www.johnnyjungle.com/Recruiting
You've all been waiting for this guy so lets hear what you think about him...
Thank you for finally breaking the news.
Im now even more embarassed to be a St. John's fan.
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let the bashing begin ;D....just saw this update on some Canadian site...if he truly rivals Devoe Joseph we may have something here.
"NEDA senior guard Evaldas Zabas wrote his SAT in late November and is finishing off some academic work at St. Mary's H. S. in Hamilton. He has interest from about fifteen Division one programs including St. John's, Marshall, Northeastern and Central Connecticut State. More schools will get involved through the winter. Zabas is a senior who easily rivals Devoe Joseph as a pure scorer and will have lots of choices for his services come the spring signing period."
http://www.thehoop-la.com/Thomas2Dec172007.php
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can't say we don't have a chance, considering the other mid major schools we're competing with.
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no one is claiming this guy as the savior of the program but he is a pretty good player who has been relatively under the radar. What I am more interested in is do you guys think he can be a valuable asset to this team?
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if he can shoot he can help us...if he can create his own shot he can help us a lot...
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i havent seen him play so i wont comment but i will speak to some coaches who maybe have
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are you going to have an interview with him too? i'd like to hear more about and/or from this guy. i like the idea of going to other places for the talent, actually; the concept that st john's should just be working on keeping the local talent home is a bit silly-- then we fight with the big dogs and at the end of the day we're getting scraps. and incomplete scraps at that. st john's needs to build up in talent and the usual routes aren't doling out big dividends.
plus, i'm hoping that playing in Lithuania means that, like all the other Eastern Euro players and Lithuanians in particular, he has some sens of how to handle the ball and pass.
Here's a note on him (http://www.thehoop-la.com/ThomasDec132005.php)
St. Michael's high school guard Evaldas Zabas 6'1" is a terrific player to watch because he has outstanding skills and reads the game so well. He is an offensive force and can only get better. He looks like he could play Division I in the right program but will have to develop more quickness or go to a school where they run him off screens in a sophisticated half court offense.
Oh. Sophisticated offense? I hope our offense passes as "sophisticated" in Canada.
and here's a message board comparing Zabas to Devoe Joseph:
http://hooptowngta.proboards1.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1166486713&page=1#1166565184
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thehoop-la is link is from december 2005.
The same guy raves about him again in 2006
Evaldas Zabas, the St. Michael's College shooting star has been putting up great numbers this year in the face of special defenses and opponents best defenders. Basketball purists in the city love this kid because he is a throwback player. Lots of the ballers in this city get by on pure athletic ability and never develop their other skills. Evaldas, who is only 6'1", can barely dunk but has great dribbling skills, a couple of signature moves and is a deadly outside shooter. He reads defenses very well and is relentless attacking the basket. He reminds me of former Tillsonburg H. S. and York University star David Coulthard, who was one of the great high school scorers of the late 70's when the game outside the city was played below the rim. Zabas will be very successful south of the border because of his great offensive skills and strong work ethic. The kid is simply a treat to watch on the floor."
Now I've been told he has elevated his game above the rim now and can be seen dunking it all over the place. He is an interesting prospect mostly doubted all his career but keeps performing and performing even better. They don't play with bigger lower rims in Canada so he's putting in about 30 a night is something special for a guy who is only 6'1. We're not talking about 6'6-6'7 guy who is dominating on smaller players.
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/Local%20Sports/article/297449
You can read here about his team upsetting a 16-0 team by beating them by 10 led by EZ. This article is from just last month. Also a Rutgers recruit Marvell Waithe played on the opposing side. Zabas drained 5 three pointers and scored a team high 25 points.
"On numerous occasions at Toronto St. Mike's, Zabas scored 40 or more points in a game. He made immediate impact against TAPS in the first minute, draining back-to-back three-pointers and blocking an opponent's shot."
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If he has a handle, he's welcome to come on through. If he gets his grades in order. But if his defense is bad, we'll never see him on the court...
do you know if St. John's has offered him?
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I don't believe they have offered him yet. Why offer a player who isn't cleared to play yet. If he gets cleared I'd expect us to jump all over him.
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If he can play the point, sign him up. We have nobody else to backup Malik.
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its one thing to be able to create your shot against very mediocre canadian basketball players but its quite another to do it against big east competition. oh, and for those that say "he created his shot against devoe joseph" thats because hes 2 inches shorter than joseph and joseph is really a 2-guard so who knows if they even matched up.
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When Devoe and Evaldas matched up last season they were both playing SG position however I'm not sure they defended each other or not.
How do you suggest being 2 inches shorter helped EZ get off his own shot against Joseph? Usually from playing and watching basketball when a player is being defended by a taller player it usually hinders getting their own shot off not help it. We aren't exactly talking about Devin Harris being defended by Yao Ming either.
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any PG is better then no PG...
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its one thing to be able to create your shot against very mediocre canadian basketball players but its quite another to do it against big east competition. oh, and for those that say "he created his shot against devoe joseph" thats because hes 2 inches shorter than joseph and joseph is really a 2-guard so who knows if they even matched up.
St. John's plays in the Big East so obviously I meant create his own shot in the Big East. And just because he plays in Canada doesn't mean he sucks...Devoe is the real deal...Kris Joseph is good enough for Cuse...and Waithe is good enough for your beloved Mr. Hill. Of course I have never seen him play so maybe he does suck :P
And I agree with JJ...please elaborate on the whole Devoe Joseph comment ??? 2 inches shorter??? WTF are you talking about??? Can't wait to hear this explanation ;D
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its one thing to be able to create your shot against very mediocre canadian basketball players but its quite another to do it against big east competition. oh, and for those that say "he created his shot against devoe joseph" thats because hes 2 inches shorter than joseph and joseph is really a 2-guard so who knows if they even matched up.
St. John's plays in the Big East so obviously I meant create his own shot in the Big East. And just because he plays in Canada doesn't mean he sucks...Devoe is the real deal...Kris Joseph is good enough for Cuse...and Waithe is good enough for your beloved Mr. Hill. Of course I have never seen him play so maybe he does suck :P
And I agree with JJ...please elaborate on the whole Devoe Joseph comment ??? 2 inches shorter??? WTF are you talking about??? Can't wait to hear this explanation ;D
ive seen kris joseph play, ive seen devoe joseph play. devoe is not very quick AT ALL so that is why i mentioned his height because he would have a tough time guarding a quicker guard (i saw an average 6' two-guard drop 30 on joseph this fall). i looked this kid up and it doesnt seem like he plays AAU ball so who knows how he does against good comp on a regular basis.
to give you a picture of how bad canadian basketball is: a few years ago, pickering hs (the #1 team in canada) came in and played an average molloy hs team (probably the 5th best team in the chsaa that year) in the big apple basketball challenge. molloy beat them by 30 or 40. i also saw josephs team twice in the fall play 1 good and 1 a little above average aau team from the northeast and they lost both those games as well (grassroots canada is supposed to be the top au team in that country).
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Now I'm not claiming this kid as the messiah but whatever level of competition you play has nothing to do with whether you can put the ball in the hoop. Sure you can argue uncontested shots vs contested shots and thats a fine argument however he can shoot and he can dribble which is something we can't say for the majority of our team.
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any updates on this guy?
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I've been putting in calls to sports writers up in Canada and a few people I know but I get nothing in return. I still speculate his grades are the cause of us not offering him a scholarship yet.
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http://www.thehoop-la.com/ThomasAllCanada2008.php
Evaldas made 2nd All-Ontario Team behind Devoe Joseph at SG. I know his team has done tremendously well this season but he sat out when the team went to the junior games in Germany and I'm still trying to figure out why grades/injury?
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Also apparently Syracuse has offered him as well.
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March 31, 2008
Varsity Boys' Basketball - At Toronto
Team White 112 (Evaldas Zabas, NEDA, 21), Team Black 103 (Devoe Joseph, Pickering-Ajax, 21)
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All Canada Classic Rosters
TEAM BLACK
Adam Jesperson 12 6'7 Wing
H.B. Beal H.S. London ON
Andrew Nicholson 12 6'10 Centre
Father Goetz C.S.S. Mississauga ON
Keaton Cole 12 5'9 Guard
Eastern Commerce C.I. Toronto ON
Tyrone Watson 12 6'4 Wing
Cathedral H.S. Hamilton ON
Devoe Joseph 12 6'4 Guard
Pickering H.S. Pickering ON
Tristan Thompson 10 6'8 Forward
St. Benedicts, New Jersey Brampton ON
Adam Folker 12 6'8 Forward
Markham District H.S. Markham ON
Jordan Bachynski 12 7'1 Centre
Finlay Academy, Las Vegas Calgary AB
Francis Martel CEGP 6'4 Guard
Montmorency College Montreal QUE
Kyle Smendziuk 12 6'5 Forward
All Saints C.S.S. Ottawa ON
Kurt Alexander 12 6'2 Guard
Pineridge H.S. Pickering ON
Hernst Laroche CEGP 6'1 Guard
Vanier College Montreal QUE
TEAM RED
Dwayne Smith 12 6'6 Forward
Pickering H.S. Ajax ON
Justin Wiltshire 12 6'6 Forward
Pickering H.S. Ajax ON
Arnold Mayorga 12 6'7 Forward
London Beal S.S. London ON
Tyler Murray 12 6'5 Guard
Eastern Commerce C.I. Toronto ON
Randy Desouvre CGEP 6'5 Wing
Champlain-St. Lambert Montreal QUE
Corey Joseph 11 6'3 Guard
Pickering H.S. Pickering ON
Maurice Walker 11 6'10 Centre
Mother Teresa C.S.S. Scarborough ON
Jean Paul Kambola 11 6'10 Centre
Eastern Commerce C.I. Toronto ON
Marc Trasolini 12 6'9 Forward
Vancouver College Vancouver BC
David Tyndale 12 6'0 Guard
Father Goetz C.S.S. Mississauga ON
Evaldas Zabas 12 6'1 Guard
N.E.D.A. Hamilton ON
Tramar Sutherland 12 6'3 Wing
Father Henry Carr C.S.S. Toronto ON
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no one is claiming this guy as the savior of the program but he is a pretty good player who has been relatively under the radar. What I am more interested in is do you guys think he can be a valuable asset to this team?
How could anyone know if he'll be a valuable asset? None of us have seen him play.
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I just found out as well Zabas won MVP of the All-Star game that I listed above.
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Seems like he could be a nice replacement for Wright. And at this point we can't be very picky, we need some warm bodies and fast.
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no one is claiming this guy as the savior of the program but he is a pretty good player who has been relatively under the radar. What I am more interested in is do you guys think he can be a valuable asset to this team?
How could anyone know if he'll be a valuable asset? None of us have seen him play.
I have seen the kid play as has the staff.
Kid can ball in a serious way.
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can you elaborate on his game?
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Ok so I got some more info tonight from an independent writer in Canada today. He said he didn't play in the Albert Shweitzer tournament in Germany because of an age issue as he was too old to participate. This was a major tournament consisting of many national teams across the world and Canada finished in 3rd I believe. Zabas played in the Houston Kirkwood Tournament(AAU Tourney) this past week in the Gold division which Zabas led his team to a 9-0 record winning the tournament while also receiving person accolades. I'm trying my best to get some video on him.
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6-9 shooting 13pts
9-16 shooting 25pts...... 3-7 from 3 but 4-10 from the ft line
6-11 shooting 14pts
7-15 shooting 24pts.......2-3 from 3 and 8-9 from ft line
This is all I could find in boxscores and I think a few were incomplete boxscores maybe only first half because I noticed that one I didn't even bother listing the score was only 10-8 for the game and the 2 games he had low scoring numbers the team totals were very low.
http://76.74.252.140/kingwood/playing.php?channel=1
Thats the link you have to sort through a lot of boxes. His team is "basketball canada"
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Intriguing. How are our chances? Realistically.
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Very intriguing. I'd love to see this kid and another point guard in the St. John's uni. But I bet he doesn't "play defense" (the quotes because this seems to be a selective decision by the staff!) and therefore will be relegated to the bench.
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Very intriguing. I'd love to see this kid and another point guard in the St. John's uni. But I bet he doesn't "play defense" (the quotes because this seems to be a selective decision by the staff!) and therefore will be relegated to the bench.
Yeah, Norm can't tolerate players who can't play defense.
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So is Lithuanian Lightning due to make an official visit?
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NEDA lead guard Evaldas Zabas 6'1" who was a sensation at the Houston Kingswood Tournament in April is still struggling to get through the clearing house academically. He may go the junior college route next year or explore some professional basketball opportunities in his native Lithuania.
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NEDA lead guard Evaldas Zabas 6'1" who was a sensation at the Houston Kingswood Tournament in April is still struggling to get through the clearing house academically. He may go the junior college route next year or explore some professional basketball opportunities in his native Lithuania.
Too bad if he would go home to play as the kid has serious game.
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Any new links on him?