Bringing in the first recruit is key...

Omari is said to be recruiting to convince others to come to St. John's with him if he comes and this would be effective. Kids will follow other kids this is nothing new but just to prove the point. Glen Rice just committed to Georgia Tech. In a interview done by Rivals he said, "It is close to home, I really like the environment, and I really like the coaches. Also they have (Kammeon Holsey) going there."

The Article continues on to say...

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=830066

Earlier this week four-star point guard Mfon Udofia committed to the Yellow Jackets joining Holsey and Rivals.com top 150 prospect Brian Oliver. Rice, the No. 46 rated player in the country, feels that the recruiting class that Hewitt and company are bringing in could be special.

"It is a really big class, it is really good," said Rice about the impressive four man class that now boasts four of the top 125 players in the country.


We NEED to get Omari on board and as quickly as possible. We need to get that domino effect.

thats why i never lost faith...bc you can never really lose faith with a college basketball program, no matter how bad it gets...all u need is one superstar, two other talented players and a good supporting cast...we have a pretty good core of players, a pretty good combo of size and speed...we just lack the superstars...we need one or two scoring machines...omari and lance = ncaa tournament bid

omari lawrence is not a superstar.  possibly a very good college player? yes.

mark stith was our first recruit! yippie!

omari lawrence is not a superstar.  possibly a very good college player? yes.

mark stith was our first recruit! yippie!

Did you go on vacation or go away to camp this past week?

Also its Malik Stith and I'm not sold on his commitment or our commitment to us/him.

Quote from: Randomhero423 on July 26, 2008, 10:31:48 PM

omari lawrence is not a superstar.  possibly a very good college player? yes.

mark stith was our first recruit! yippie!

Did you go on vacation or go away to camp this past week?

Also its Malik Stith and I'm not sold on his commitment or our commitment to us/him.

last week i went on a service trip with my school to mexico.  i'm a counselor at a camp for most of the day mon-fri.

i do agree with stith though.  i have a feeling if norm senses he can get the parrom/omari combination, and possibly another NYC target (lance obviously, or padgett, etc) he would try to get stith to uncommit.

omari lawrence is not a superstar.  possibly a very good college player? yes.

Sorry, but i think i'll go with a PROVEN talent evaluator like jpm on this one :

"Omari Lawrence is absolutely 100% a program changer for St. John's. He's a talented player who makes himself better by being a tough and smart competitor. He's an exceptional rebounder for a guard, a clutch shooter without necessarily being a pure shooter, and a smart player and passer who finds a way to help his team even on an off night. Most of all he has a tremendous will to win, so much so that his toughness is contageous and has really helped his teammate Kevin Parrom become a better rebounder and all around player.

With all due respect to his performance at Rumble in the Bronx which was outstanding, the game that should have convinced everyone how good he was is the game last spring at LIU vs. Lincoln.  He was the best player on the floor that day, period. And he used all parts of his game, both physical and mental to help his team get a great win.

   If he comes here he will represent the school with toughness and hustle on the court as well as class off of it.  He will be one of the best ever to play for St. John's. Here's hoping he says yes and takes the first step on what will be a great journey."

http://johnnyjungle.com/forum/index.php?topic=777.msg11518#msg11518

i've seen him play three times, including the game when he faced lincoln.  i can see him being an erick barkley type player for us at best.  and there's nothing wrong with that.  but to say one of the best all time is insane.

lance stephenson, doron lamb those are program changer talents....  i can see omari leading a wave of NYC players committing, but i don't see the top 20-35 talent i see with lamb and lance.

I think everyone gets too caught up I words and has different definitions of "program changer" everything indicates that Omari is a great player. I don't think it's fair to label anyone as the next mullin or prior great.

Also Omari projects to be a four year player where as Lance may not be. Some consider 1 year players to be program changer talents but are they program changers? I'm not sure you can look at Rose and you can look at Greene. Both NBA talent but one saw success while the other didn't. I'd consider Hansbrough more of a program changer than Love. I think Omari could be a very good four year player which is exactly what this team needs and needs more of.

Agreed with JJ - Kevin Durant didn't change Texas, Texas was a strong program after multiple years of guys like TJ For.  Memphis wasn't changed by Derrick Rose (even though he got them into the Final Four), it was the Dorsey/ Douglas-Roberts/ etc. team that built the foundation.  Oden took a good Ohio State team (with another top-line one-and-done player) and made them great.  USC is back on the map because Tim Floyd got results from Nick Young and that group; NC State got nothing for the year of JJ Hickson.  They just got a guy who hoisted a lot of shots and didn't necessarily develop into a team player. 

Guys like him are a blip in the program.  Guys like Beasley and Durant are great for a year, but they're impossible to replace, because they're very hard to find talents - there isn't a guy who can do that in every class from the get go.  And there has to be a solid team around that player to make it a growth opportunity for the school, NCAA berth or not.

Got to build that foundation of solid players first.

we have solid players.

k-state had no foundation (outside of bill walker everyone sucked on that team) and are now recruiting OK.  they got a 5 star guy for 09. 

I mean hands down if I had to chose me personally I go with lance and I'm saying this as omaris coach. But this is with me coaching. U have to understand lance is a very strong personality to coach. So if u don't have the talent in the roster already to sit him when he acts up u ain't doing yourself any favors. Now if u want to build a program back up you go with Omari. He's has a more likable personality he is a leader and just like lance he isn't playing second fiddle to any one. Get doron lamb out of your head like he is just as good as lance and Omari he is the same age as them. He got left back In 9th grade that's why he is leaving new York. He can't play his senior year.  If u truly think that Omari isn't a program changer then u need to watch more of his games he makes his teamates better and u would be hard press to find anyone to stop him from scoring . He was rated the number 12 sg early on this aau season on his way to becoming a 5 star player but he got hurt. But because it says three stars next to his name u doubt him. Seriously he would have been chsaa player of the year this year if he would of stayed with rays but he felt his friend was done wrong and couldn't play for a coach like that. He threw away a garuntee thing for friendship. And that is why kids follow him he's the real deal and they love him for that. 

I mean hands down if I had to chose me personally I go with lance and I'm saying this as omaris coach. But this is with me coaching. U have to understand lance is a very strong personality to coach. So if u don't have the talent in the roster already to sit him when he acts up u ain't doing yourself any favors. Now if u want to build a program back up you go with Omari. He's has a more likable personality he is a leader and just like lance he isn't playing second fiddle to any one. Get doron lamb out of your head like he is just as good as lance and Omari he is the same age as them. He got left back In 9th grade that's why he is leaving new York. He can't play his senior year.  If u truly think that Omari isn't a program changer then u need to watch more of his games he makes his teamates better and u would be hard press to find anyone to stop him from scoring . He was rated the number 12 sg early on this aau season on his way to becoming a 5 star player but he got hurt. But because it says three stars next to his name u doubt him. Seriously he would have been chsaa player of the year this year if he would of stayed with rays but he felt his friend was done wrong and couldn't play for a coach like that. He threw away a garuntee thing for friendship. And that is why kids follow him he's the real deal and they love him for that. 

KOB, omari sounds like a Great player and more importantly a great person.  I would love to root for him and sincerely hope he comes to St. Johns.  Keep up the good work it sounds like you are  coaching some great young men.

"Those brothers that ignore histry is doomed to repeat it."

Erik Bakley wuz a straight-up program changer. Dont let anybdy tell y'all different. 
And even thought I luv the brother, Felipe Lopez wasn't.

So it aint 'bout who can score mo or how high they do jump. 
It aint about the press clippings or what they do at ABCD.
Its about what impact they have on the team.

St. John was awful and mediocre 'fore Eric came. Then they wuz straight up Elite 8 and BE champions. He wuz the glue.

St. John dont need players that play for theyselves.
St. John dont need players that play for they boys.
St. John dont need players that play for the scouts.

ST. JOHN NEED A PLAYER THAT PLAY FOR ST. JOHN.

I mean hands down if I had to chose me personally I go with lance and I'm saying this as omaris coach. But this is with me coaching. U have to understand lance is a very strong personality to coach. So if u don't have the talent in the roster already to sit him when he acts up u ain't doing yourself any favors. Now if u want to build a program back up you go with Omari. He's has a more likable personality he is a leader and just like lance he isn't playing second fiddle to any one. Get doron lamb out of your head like he is just as good as lance and Omari he is the same age as them. He got left back In 9th grade that's why he is leaving new York. He can't play his senior year.  If u truly think that Omari isn't a program changer then u need to watch more of his games he makes his teamates better and u would be hard press to find anyone to stop him from scoring . He was rated the number 12 sg early on this aau season on his way to becoming a 5 star player but he got hurt. But because it says three stars next to his name u doubt him. Seriously he would have been chsaa player of the year this year if he would of stayed with rays but he felt his friend was done wrong and couldn't play for a coach like that. He threw away a garuntee thing for friendship. And that is why kids follow him he's the real deal and they love him for that. 

at times i saw omari take very selfish shots and i was never impressed with his jump shot.  he needs to improve that if he wants to be a very successful college player.

I agree with u there he needs to work on his jump shot but what player doesn't have a few flaws they need to work on? And I wouldn't call them selfish shots they where probaly stupid ones

ST. JOHN NEED A PLAYER THAT PLAY FOR ST. JOHN.

Eugene Lawrence? Well he didn't play for the fans. Joke everyone I couldn't resist though.

Good/Great players do tend to be a bit selfish but they have to be at times. When you're the #1 option its your job to create. When you create other guys on the floor get open because defenses attention get more focused on you. Omari is young lets not hold him to too high of a standard. He seems like the kid who is eager to learn and I think he'll figure out the difference when to shoot and when to pass. When I spoke to him he was humble, respectful, and pretty funny. I've spoken to a lot of kids before and I can't say the same. I have yet to see Omari play in person so I can't comment on his game but the kid has me excited. I really hope he comes here plus I'm a sucker for lefties.

"Those brothers that ignore histry is doomed to repeat it."

Erik Bakley wuz a straight-up program changer. Dont let anybdy tell y'all different. 
And even thought I luv the brother, Felipe Lopez wasn't.

So it aint 'bout who can score mo or how high they do jump. 
It aint about the press clippings or what they do at ABCD.
Its about what impact they have on the team.

St. John was awful and mediocre 'fore Eric came. Then they wuz straight up Elite 8 and BE champions. He wuz the glue.

St. John dont need players that play for theyselves.
St. John dont need players that play for they boys.
St. John dont need players that play for the scouts.

ST. JOHN NEED A PLAYER THAT PLAY FOR ST. JOHN.

Amen Choz and I for one believe Omari is that player .

I mean hands down if I had to chose me personally I go with lance and I'm saying this as omaris coach. But this is with me coaching. U have to understand lance is a very strong personality to coach. So if u don't have the talent in the roster already to sit him when he acts up u ain't doing yourself any favors. Now if u want to build a program back up you go with Omari. He's has a more likable personality he is a leader and just like lance he isn't playing second fiddle to any one. Get doron lamb out of your head like he is just as good as lance and Omari he is the same age as them. He got left back In 9th grade that's why he is leaving new York. He can't play his senior year.  If u truly think that Omari isn't a program changer then u need to watch more of his games he makes his teamates better and u would be hard press to find anyone to stop him from scoring . He was rated the number 12 sg early on this aau season on his way to becoming a 5 star player but he got hurt. But because it says three stars next to his name u doubt him. Seriously he would have been chsaa player of the year this year if he would of stayed with rays but he felt his friend was done wrong and couldn't play for a coach like that. He threw away a garuntee thing for friendship. And that is why kids follow him he's the real deal and they love him for that. 

If you reread your post and ask yourself where we are today it is clear that we are looking to build a program back up notwithstanding this is Norm's fifth season. We are no where near an NCAA team and will be hardpressed to win 16 games this season. If that is the case if the choice is between Lance and Omari I go with Omari.

Good/Great players do tend to be a bit selfish but they have to be at times. When you're the #1 option its your job to create. When you create other guys on the floor get open because defenses attention get more focused on you. Omari is young lets not hold him to too high of a standard. He seems like the kid who is eager to learn and I think he'll figure out the difference when to shoot and when to pass. When I spoke to him he was humble, respectful, and pretty funny. I've spoken to a lot of kids before and I can't say the same. I have yet to see Omari play in person so I can't comment on his game but the kid has me excited. I really hope he comes here plus I'm a sucker for lefties.

like kob said though.  it was mistake to call them selfish shots, they were just stupid.

i want to see him again this year (hopefully he plays in tri state area sometime), but from what i remember he drove to the hole very well, dribbling was decent, very good defender, below average shot, below average shot selection, pretty good passer.

if anything that sounds kind of like russell westbrook.  of course the kid is young so i'm not going to pretend he should be polished and ready to go, but i'm not sure if he is a program changer.  if he can get guys to come with him, then i guess you can call him that.  if the class is omari, stith, and some random dude from PA, then i don't think you can.

i'd be ecstatic to see him in a STJ uniform.