Omari and Out [JohnnyJungle.com]

Quote from: Marco Baldi on May 16, 2010, 09:02:57 PM

Quote from: action jackson on May 16, 2010, 08:56:35 PM

I agree.. This does suck.  Kid was a freshman who got jerked around by Norm.  He would have been a nice player for us.  I know we are looking nationally now, but we need to keep some of of our own

Please elaborate on how Omari was jerked around last season?

Marco-  I guess the fact that a talented freshman sat the bench while a bunch of underperforming juniors struggled.  Would it have been unreasonable to think ol deserved an extended run to possibly spark the team?

Fair enough! Maybe Omari got into Norms doghouse early and stayed. Norm was fighting for his job and probably thought the juniors were his best bet. And in this case, I would agree with Norm

Omari chose St. John's.

Omari would have been a very good player for us.

Omari ultimately was in a bad situation for Omari. If he stays he gets limited playing time at best on this team next season. Then if Lavin recruits over him and plays "his" guys then he's screwed again. The time for him to leave was now and it makes sense.

I'm disappointed but I'm also sympathetic. I wish him the best success he can possibly have and I hope he finds the place he is looking for

Dave I agree about all you said, but this type of stuff really bothers me with these guys and not just Omari.  Why can't he beat those other guys out for minutes?  I feel like all these guys at these schools go in with the expectation to be the man from day 1 and if it doesn't happen instead of working real hard to get minutes they just transfer somewhere else.  I've respected Quincy Roberts for this kind of as he definitely should have left before this passed season with Hardy and Omari coming in.  Omari had a complete clean slate with this coaching staff so it really should have been the best guys playing and I think we will see that.  Just something that really ticks me off, but it is what it is I guess.  I really liked Omari's game, but now I'm not sure he was really the guy I wanted here. 

Quote from: Dave on May 16, 2010, 09:34:30 PM

Omari chose St. John's.

Omari would have been a very good player for us.

Omari ultimately was in a bad situation for Omari. If he stays he gets limited playing time at best on this team next season. Then if Lavin recruits over him and plays "his" guys then he's screwed again. The time for him to leave was now and it makes sense.

I'm disappointed but I'm also sympathetic. I wish him the best success he can possibly have and I hope he finds the place he is looking for

Dave I agree about all you said, but this type of stuff really bothers me with these guys and not just Omari.  Why can't he beat those other guys out for minutes?  I feel like all these guys at these schools go in with the expectation to be the man from day 1 and if it doesn't happen instead of working real hard to get minutes they just transfer somewhere else.  I've respected Quincy Roberts for this kind of as he definitely should have left before this passed season with Hardy and Omari coming in.  Omari had a complete clean slate with this coaching staff so it really should have been the best guys playing and I think we will see that.  Just something that really ticks me off, but it is what it is I guess.  I really liked Omari's game, but now I'm not sure he was really the guy I wanted here. 

I agree with what you're saying. I understand I really do. I actually wrote Omari midseason touching upon some of this sympathizing with his situation but also urging him to work twice as hard as he already was.

I actually told him a personal story of mine. It was on a much smaller scale but it's something I learned at a very young age. I was a very gifted athlete as a young boy. I won two state championships in soccer, I played AAU basketball, and I was a very heralded baseball player.

In my town little league tryouts as a 10 year old, I might have had one of the best tryouts you could hope for. I fielded balls well, I showed off a very good arm, I hit the ball a ton, and I even layed down 2 perfect bunts in as many attempts. I wound up being the #4 overall pick.

Coming into the season a lot was expected of me. I started the season off pretty well getting into the lineup a bit but not as much as I wanted. A few games into the season during warm ups I dove for a ball which wound up hitting me in the face. I was immediately knocked out and wound up breaking my nose pretty badly. I missed the remainder of the season.

The next season I came back and wasn't the same player. I was very hesitant and my performance showed. League mandated I play 2 innings and get 1 at bat. So my coach, who was very very smart, started me so I'd be in the field, batted me 2nd to bunt to get my 1 AB out of the way as quick as possible, 1 more inning in the field, and have a great day.

My confidence was shot. I was frustrated because I knew I had more talent than other guys on my team but I wasn't getting a fair shot to prove that. I talked to my dad and he said I had to make the most of my opportunities. If I got 1 AB I needed to get a hit in that 1 AB. If I kept hitting I wouldn't sit.

Everyday after school my father would drive me to the high school and he'd throw me a bucket of balls sometimes two. We'd field balls after. The more and more I went the more comfortable I got.

I started hitting the ball and I started playing more. Eventually I played all game every game. I got the game winning hit to win the championship and made the all-star team. We beat TR East too that year although they beat us the following year to eventually win the LL World Series.

I saw adversity and did extra work to get ahead. I said to Omari I thought his situation was very similar to mine. He couldn't let the coach get the best of him and needed to do whatever he could to improve that much more. I never got a response from Omari after I sent that to him.

In the end I hope he learns from this and finds a better situation for himself. I do think his decision makes a lot of sense but like I stated previously I'm disappointed.

Quote from: action jackson on May 16, 2010, 09:51:08 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on May 16, 2010, 09:02:57 PM

Quote from: action jackson on May 16, 2010, 08:56:35 PM

I agree.. This does suck.  Kid was a freshman who got jerked around by Norm.  He would have been a nice player for us.  I know we are looking nationally now, but we need to keep some of of our own

Please elaborate on how Omari was jerked around last season?

Marco-  I guess the fact that a talented freshman sat the bench while a bunch of underperforming juniors struggled.  Would it have been unreasonable to think ol deserved an extended run to possibly spark the team?

Fair enough! Maybe Omari got into Norms doghouse early and stayed. Norm was fighting for his job and probably thought the juniors were his best bet. And in this case, I would agree with Norm

How do you justify playing Stith so much? If you look at his numbers they were putrid as were Boothes. Omari actually had some pretty solid games. He was huge in the Nova game and I thought he did well against Pitt too then all of a sudden his minutes quickly got less and less till they were nonexistent.

Omari had some streaky shooting but he was rebounding, distributing, pushing the tempo, and had some good defensive moments. While Malik Stith's minutes kept rising while his production was a non factor. Look at Stith's numbers or game log and you'll see he was poop. In the midst of our team losing very badly none the less.

I thought a real bad moment was when Omari didn't play really at all against Louisville even though we were blowing them out.

i felt like omari had game. what can you do with 2 mins of playing time? your lucky to touch the ball 2-3 times maybe get up one shot. so many times the game was out of reach and norm did not put omari in the game. thats on norm.

what about omari? well the kid knew there were 9 juniors on the team, did he truly expect to come in and average 15-20mins per game? he knew the situation and had to bust ass to get any burn. the problem is, unless during the 2 mins of playing time granted, you are 3 for 3, norm wouldnt notice anything other than a freshman being on the floor.

Interesting that we have not heard from KOB. Also does anyone think OZ not getting a job on the staff plays a role in Omari leaving??

I will say this upfront that my thoughts are complete speculation.

Best of luck to omari.  I'm sure it didn't help his cause that norm refused to give him time down the stretch last year, even when omari was needed or even in blow outs. Hopefully he picks up w a good program, and hopeflly st johns can replace omari w a remi barry.

I was hoping Omari would stick around with the new regime, but maybe he felt there could be a logjam in the backcourt.

By the way, I'm just guessing here....  But, it seemed like Norm had left a bad taste in his mouth, as he was hinting on moving on towards the end of the season.  So, maybe he had one foot out of the door, regardless who came on board (as head coach).

Nevertheless, good luck in your future endeavors, Omari!

Lavin really doesn't owe too much to anyone on the current roster. Think if Polee and Barry are Lavin's first two recruits and he gets a few more guards next year where would that have left Omari on the totem pole? Its not to say Omari isn't more or as talented as the players that are coming in but he isn't a Lavin recruit.

Omari was recruited by the top East teams. Polee was not recruited by the top West teams (Arizona, UCLA).

Quote from: Dave on May 16, 2010, 09:45:58 PM

Lavin really doesn't owe too much to anyone on the current roster. Think if Polee and Barry are Lavin's first two recruits and he gets a few more guards next year where would that have left Omari on the totem pole? Its not to say Omari isn't more or as talented as the players that are coming in but he isn't a Lavin recruit.

Omari was recruited by the top East teams. Polee was not recruited by the top West teams (Arizona, UCLA).

Gonzalo, sometimes you make statements without all the facts.  Polee committed as a soph (around then) to USC - one of the top West teams, where his Dad was hired as DOBO.  Why would Arizona or UCLA have wasted their time on him until he reopened his recruitment bc of the new coach?

no comment....damn thats a comment

Gonzalo, sometimes you make statements without all the facts.  Polee committed as a soph (around then) to USC - one of the top West teams, where his Dad was hired as DOBO.  Why would Arizona or UCLA have wasted their time on him until he reopened his recruitment bc of the new coach?

But he reopened his recruitment and I haven´t seen Arizona and UCLA. Georgia (a team that we beat and finished 14-17) and Oregon (16-16) were his finalists.

Quote from: Tha Kid on May 17, 2010, 11:21:22 AM

Gonzalo, sometimes you make statements without all the facts.  Polee committed as a soph (around then) to USC - one of the top West teams, where his Dad was hired as DOBO.  Why would Arizona or UCLA have wasted their time on him until he reopened his recruitment bc of the new coach?

But he reopened his recruitment and I haven´t seen Arizona and UCLA. Georgia (a team that we beat and finished 14-17) and Oregon (16-16) were his finalists.

So are we going to go based on which schools are recruiting someone now rather than how our own coach evaluates them?

There have been plenty of players recruited by MUCH worse teams that UGA and Oregon that performed at extremely high levels.  Why is this of interest?

Quote from: Tha Kid on May 17, 2010, 11:21:22 AM

Gonzalo, sometimes you make statements without all the facts.  Polee committed as a soph (around then) to USC - one of the top West teams, where his Dad was hired as DOBO.  Why would Arizona or UCLA have wasted their time on him until he reopened his recruitment bc of the new coach?

But he reopened his recruitment and I haven´t seen Arizona and UCLA. Georgia (a team that we beat and finished 14-17) and Oregon (16-16) were his finalists.

  What's your point?  Omari is better than Polee?  If so,  say it.  Lavin is the coach,  he wants his own guys.  Dave gave a very good account of the situation.  Its not that complicated.   Omari either saw the writing on the wall, or was nudged out.  Either way,  good luck to him.  This is how a real college hoops program is run when a coaching change is made. Calipari dumped half the UK team when he became the coach.

What's your point?  Omari is better than Polee?  If so,  say it. 

I can´t say it because I don´t know if Lawrence is better than Polee. But I know that the teams that were recruiting Lawrence are better than Polee´s.

Quote from: boo3 on May 17, 2010, 12:14:38 PM

What's your point?  Omari is better than Polee?  If so,  say it. 

I can´t say it because I don´t know if Lawrence is better than Polee. But I know that the teams that were recruiting Lawrence are better than Polee´s.

Good teams like Pitt and Lville were recruiting Ricky Torres too.  How did that turn out.

NYC is a lot like the New York Yankees and how they hype their prospects often.  Its NY so everything is elevated to another level.  Ruben Rivera was supposed to be the next Mickey Mantle for the Yankees.  They raised his value, hyped him up, traded him and he was out of the League in due time.  Apple to oranges but most will see my point.  NYC is in another stratosphere in terms of hype.

I really think Omari's undoing was that shoulder injury in high school.  It really threw his game off and he gained a lot of weight while he wasn't playing.  I thought  he lost a step after that injury.  Too bad.  I wish him the best of luck, he's a very nice kid.

IF another player leaves, I really hope we try and recruit the Wear twins.  I know they said part of the reason they said they left UNC is because of being away from home, but there has been speculation thats not the real reason.  They're from Southern California, so that's obviously a place where Lavin has huge connections.

Quote from: scoobydoo on May 16, 2010, 10:13:03 PM

Quote from: Dave on May 16, 2010, 09:34:30 PM

Omari chose St. John's.

Omari would have been a very good player for us.

Omari ultimately was in a bad situation for Omari. If he stays he gets limited playing time at best on this team next season. Then if Lavin recruits over him and plays "his" guys then he's screwed again. The time for him to leave was now and it makes sense.

I'm disappointed but I'm also sympathetic. I wish him the best success he can possibly have and I hope he finds the place he is looking for

Dave I agree about all you said, but this type of stuff really bothers me with these guys and not just Omari.  Why can't he beat those other guys out for minutes?  I feel like all these guys at these schools go in with the expectation to be the man from day 1 and if it doesn't happen instead of working real hard to get minutes they just transfer somewhere else.  I've respected Quincy Roberts for this kind of as he definitely should have left before this passed season with Hardy and Omari coming in.  Omari had a complete clean slate with this coaching staff so it really should have been the best guys playing and I think we will see that.  Just something that really ticks me off, but it is what it is I guess.  I really liked Omari's game, but now I'm not sure he was really the guy I wanted here. 

I agree with what you're saying. I understand I really do. I actually wrote Omari midseason touching upon some of this sympathizing with his situation but also urging him to work twice as hard as he already was.

I actually told him a personal story of mine. It was on a much smaller scale but it's something I learned at a very young age. I was a very gifted athlete as a young boy. I won two state championships in soccer, I played AAU basketball, and I was a very heralded baseball player.

In my town little league tryouts as a 10 year old, I might have had one of the best tryouts you could hope for. I fielded balls well, I showed off a very good arm, I hit the ball a ton, and I even layed down 2 perfect bunts in as many attempts. I wound up being the #4 overall pick.

Coming into the season a lot was expected of me. I started the season off pretty well getting into the lineup a bit but not as much as I wanted. A few games into the season during warm ups I dove for a ball which wound up hitting me in the face. I was immediately knocked out and wound up breaking my nose pretty badly. I missed the remainder of the season.

The next season I came back and wasn't the same player. I was very hesitant and my performance showed. League mandated I play 2 innings and get 1 at bat. So my coach, who was very very smart, started me so I'd be in the field, batted me 2nd to bunt to get my 1 AB out of the way as quick as possible, 1 more inning in the field, and have a great day.

My confidence was shot. I was frustrated because I knew I had more talent than other guys on my team but I wasn't getting a fair shot to prove that. I talked to my dad and he said I had to make the most of my opportunities. If I got 1 AB I needed to get a hit in that 1 AB. If I kept hitting I wouldn't sit.

Everyday after school my father would drive me to the high school and he'd throw me a bucket of balls sometimes two. We'd field balls after. The more and more I went the more comfortable I got.

I started hitting the ball and I started playing more. Eventually I played all game every game. I got the game winning hit to win the championship and made the all-star team. We beat TR East too that year although they beat us the following year to eventually win the LL World Series.

I saw adversity and did extra work to get ahead. I said to Omari I thought his situation was very similar to mine. He couldn't let the coach get the best of him and needed to do whatever he could to improve that much more. I never got a response from Omari after I sent that to him.

In the end I hope he learns from this and finds a better situation for himself. I do think his decision makes a lot of sense but like I stated previously I'm disappointed.

I was also a League All-star but the way the coaches selected the players for the team was based on who you knew and who was close with the coaches. The coaches picked kids based off their last names not their talent. This hurt our team. Maybe Omari felt there would be a bais because he is one of Norms guys.

http://saintjohns.scout.com/2/970578.html

Reporter Mike Sullivan has a press release given to him by St. John's University, outlining Omari Lawrence's future plans ...

From St. John's University Communications office:

St. John’s head men’s basketball coach Steve Lavin announced that freshman swingman Omari Lawrence (Bronx, N.Y./South Kent (Conn.) plans to transfer to another institution this offseason.

“We wish Omari all the best,” said Lavin. “He is a talented player with a bright future, and he leaves St. John’s University in good academic standing.”

Lawrence played in 25-of-33 games as a rookie in 2009-10, averaging 2.5 points per contest and 1.5 rebounds in 9.3 minutes. He connected on 34.7 percent of his field goals (25-of-72), 33.3 percent of his 3-point attempts (4-of-12) and 34.8 percent of his free throws (8-of-23).

Lawrence’s best performance of his freshman season came on Jan. 23 against Villanova, when he scored eight points on 4-of-6 field goals in 14 minutes, and added two rebounds, an assist and a steal.

FROM MIKE SULLIVAN: Omari was a big recruit for then head coach Norm Roberts two summers ago. He was a slick offensively gifted player who could produce a lot of points.

We wish Omari the best of luck. We still believe he is very capable of having an impact somewhere on the division one level.

It is confirmed.  Omari to K State.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ap-kansasstate-roster