God'sgift Achiuwa - PF - Erie Community College - Nigeria, Africa - ST. JOHN'S

If Kentucky was interested, Im cool with it also. He fits a need, a wide body rebounding , shoot altering player. Pelle is a different kind of player.

It is hard to get a true handle on Gods Gift.   The JC D-2  competition isn"t  the greatest.  ESPN doesn"t rate him and scout and rivals don't say much. That being said, with his great work ethic and our coaching staff I believe he will really improve. He is a good complimant to our young,thin,incoming class. He is a very hard worker and has a 3.9 GPA making him an excellent role model as well.

It is hard to get a true handle on Gods Gift.   The JC D-2  competition isn"t  the greatest.  ESPN doesn"t rate him and scout and rivals don't say much. That being said, with his great work ethic and our coaching staff I believe he will really improve. He is a good complimant to our young,thin,incoming class. He is a very hard worker and has a 3.9 GPA making him an excellent role model as well.

If they don't have a rating the only thing you can look at is who recruited him.  Washington, Cincinnati, St. John's (and reportedly contacted by Kentucky).  Not too shabby.  I don't think he is a world beater based on the streaming video I saw but at least he will add some beef.

I'm 100% with Moose. He makes sense in a number of ways due to his style of play and helps scholarship balance from the start. If he gave 7 rebounds and 2 blks a game to this team I'm cool with that.

cool with that? sounds like a dream come true to me

Fact:   Norm Roberts once cut a kid that went on to become a JUCO All-American.  That means nothing.  I used to coach JUCO in NY and believe me when I tell you that Erie and all of D-II in NY is a joke. 

D-II JUCO's in NY start talent that you would see as the third scorers on a team like Newburgh or Peekskill.  Some of those teams only have nine players total. 

I've heard the kid is R-A-W.  He's got an NBA body for sure, but he's raw.  I think this team will be firing on all cylinders right as GG is graduating.  I'd rather use the ship on Ashoulu for one year and get a stud like Gathers next season.

So if Lebron James theoretically played D2 Juco NY ball that would mean he could not play? I can understand that is competition was below par but even if like you say it was a joke that does not mean he cannot be a contibutor to next years St J team-it just means do not expect anything close to 22 and 13. I would be happy with taking up space in the paint, throw weight and muscle around-get a few rebs, block a few shots, maybe a few putbacks. At worst with 3 open schollies next yr anyway he could only be a potential detriment for one yr and lord knows we have had plenty of 4 yr players of that type over the past 10 yrs.

Quote from: Marillac on April 25, 2011, 03:14:07 PM

Fact:   Norm Roberts once cut a kid that went on to become a JUCO All-American.  That means nothing.  I used to coach JUCO in NY and believe me when I tell you that Erie and all of D-II in NY is a joke. 

D-II JUCO's in NY start talent that you would see as the third scorers on a team like Newburgh or Peekskill.  Some of those teams only have nine players total. 

I've heard the kid is R-A-W.  He's got an NBA body for sure, but he's raw.  I think this team will be firing on all cylinders right as GG is graduating.  I'd rather use the ship on Ashoulu for one year and get a stud like Gathers next season.

So if Lebron James theoretically played D2 Juco NY ball that would mean he could not play? I can understand that is competition was below par but even if like you say it was a joke that does not mean he cannot be a contibutor to next years St J team-it just means do not expect anything close to 22 and 13. I would be happy with taking up space in the paint, throw weight and muscle around-get a few rebs, block a few shots, maybe a few putbacks. At worst with 3 open schollies next yr anyway he could only be a potential detriment for one yr and lord knows we have had plenty of 4 yr players of that type over the past 10 yrs.

We had two kids that were 6'9 and we played D-1, D-II, and D-III teams. They went low, low NCAA D-1. These kids both averaged over 4 blocks a game against better comp than Erie played this season.  His stats worry me.  I saw a 6'4 wing from Boys and Girls average nearly 5 blocks a game against that comp and he went to a D-II school. 

He won't be averaging two blocks for us.  That I'm sure of.

I like GG because he is a big body and we need that.  I also like him because of the GPA, atittude, and work ethic.  You can't quantify those things.

Norm cut BJ McDowell.  BJ went on to become the D-3 national player of the year and first team all-american for a team that went undefeated against D-1 and D-2 opponents with BJ at the point.  Wet shot....a little slow but decent athlete....two sport star in high school.  He had a crappy try out, no doubt, but Norm's eye for talent was awful and this was in the dark years when we could have used anyone.  Great form on his jumper and got into his shot very well. 

Until reading the article that just popped up on Bill Koch's UC blog (see link below), I didn't realize UC used up all of their 13 schollarships when they signed Mbodj two weeks ago. So it's really down to us and UW (although many posters believe it's down to us and us).

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2011/04/26/uc-unlikely-destination-for-gods-gift/

From Rivals.com/Wingate yesterday.  And from Seattle Times blog from Monday.  All saying the same thing.  He likes all 3 schools will make a call this week:

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1215892

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskymensbasketballblog/2014871205_gods_gift_achiu_2.html

According to Zags twitter, he is announcing tomorrow at 1:00pm.

http://twitter.com/#!/AdamZagoria

Just noticed Zagota's comment think we are the winner But just what we won is still a question.

If St. John's "wins", they get a body who can bang with the bigs of the Big East. He's a junior college player - few JUCOs come up to the Big East and set the world on fire. Marquette got some that did, the Johnnies got Dwight Hardy, and to a lesser extent, Justin Brownlee. But sometimes you get guys like Dwight Buycks and James Beatty, players who fill a role and start, but aren't propelling the team to the next level.

But having a guy who can bang for 15-20 minutes is an improvement over the collection of Kate Moss, Twiggy, and the singer from the Black Crowes twigs who will be suiting up for the Red Storm next year. The incoming guys are skinny.

According to Zags twitter, he is announcing tomorrow at 1:00pm.

I have a good feeling that he will announce St. John's but if he doesn't I wouldn't be broken up about it.

Peter,
                 He has never had to bang with the Big Boys. And from JC div 2 to BEC is a hell of jump particularly when projecting 15 - 20 minutes playing time. Aren't the JC transfers you are listing Div 1?

This would be a good pickup for numerous reasons.

He provides some frontcourt depth that is badly needed.  He has a leg up on high school players having played at the JUCO level. 

And most importantly he provides scholarship flexability because he is not a 4 year freshman but rather a 2 year JUCO recruit.

Without him we have only 10 scholarship players and with eligibility question marks, academics and injuries-we can definitely use him if for numbers only.

I don't know why St. John's fans are so confident. I would love to see GG come here, but from what I read in that article that was posted above, it sounds like Washington has the inside track. He liked all 3 schools, but really liked UW's head coach. No comment about STJ's or Cincy's head coaches. I say he is going to Washington, Hope I'm wrong, but that is what I get from that article.

You mean the Seattle Times article? 

Peter,
                 He has never had to bang with the Big Boys. And from JC div 2 to BEC is a hell of jump particularly when projecting 15 - 20 minutes playing time. Aren't the JC transfers you are listing Div 1?

While this is true, somewhat, God's Gift has a solid looking frame and he is wanted by some solid programs - St. John's isn't competing with Niagara and Cal State Fullerton here! It's a hell of a jump, but he'll be pressed into action. And if he can't do something positive on the court (defensively), there are others who will step in.

He might end up just being a body; he might end up being the big forward who allows guys like Jakarr Sampson to play more than 5 feet from the basket.

]While this is true, somewhat, God's Gift has a solid looking frame and he is wanted by some solid programs - St. John's isn't competing with Niagara and Cal State Fullerton here! It's a hell of a jump, but he'll be pressed into action. And if he can't do something positive on the court (defensively), there are others who will step in.

He might end up just being a body; he might end up being the big forward who allows guys like Jakarr Sampson to play more than 5 feet from the basket.

Exactly Peter.  No one is claiming GG is going to come in here and be the next Patrick Ewing.  We don't even need him to be a starter, we need an athletic big with size that can play on the defensive end and rebound.

Quote from: peter on April 27, 2011, 02:51:30 PM

]While this is true, somewhat, God's Gift has a solid looking frame and he is wanted by some solid programs - St. John's isn't competing with Niagara and Cal State Fullerton here! It's a hell of a jump, but he'll be pressed into action. And if he can't do something positive on the court (defensively), there are others who will step in.

He might end up just being a body; he might end up being the big forward who allows guys like Jakarr Sampson to play more than 5 feet from the basket.

Exactly Peter.  No one is claiming GG is going to come in here and be the next Patrick Ewing.  We don't even need him to be a starter, we need an athletic big with size that can play on the defensive end and rebound.

I think it was Marillac who expressed worry about his shooting numbers. I would too, to be honest. But he was also taking quite a few shots. If he's a 5-shot/ game guy who can hang on defense for 15, or 20, or even 30 minutes, there's enough scoring pop around to make up for that with Nuri, D'Angelo, Harkless, Sampson... it helps to have a role player on the floor when others are looking for their shot. Provides balance.