Ricardo Gathers - PF - Riverside Academy - Reserve, LA - BAYLOR

Just let the kid make his decision in the summer. I think by announcing St. John's he got a lot of heat from hometown fans and by decommitting, he'll have less pressure on him. Just let the kid make his decision and make it when hes ready.

As for us, we can continue to recruit him as well as other kids. If we find someone else who will commit who we really like, we move on. Pretty simple. No reason to get really mad at the kid. He didnt sign anything like Jakarr and open up his recruitment.

It sounds to me like Gathers is far from "out-of-pocket".   It seems he just has some concerns.   And let's face it, our conference is falling apart and our coach is sick.  Maybe the 3 ineligibles played a factor too.  Who knows..

But, it also sounds like if we right the ship, and Lavs is back on the sidelines, and we're a factor in conference play - then Ricardo could very well be signing with us in the spring.   Let's just show him that things aren't falling apart.   I don't expect to beat Kentucky in a few weeks, but a string of good news could definitely convince him all is well in NYC. 


 

Quote from: we are sju on November 09, 2011, 11:04:29 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 09:53:52 AM

Quote from: pmg911 on November 09, 2011, 07:41:59 AM

Need more kids like amir, pointer, wood and others who are enthusiastic and committed.  Love those types of guys who are 100% on and off the court.

We need more kids who are not going to be academic question marks. Garrett already is one and so is Darrick Wood.

If all of these kids we recruited were on the cout and playing, Gathers would be signing his LOI this week.

That is 100% BS.  Complete and utter BS. 

I am sure Lavin's health and the situation with the BE were his main concerns but his brother did mention the ineligible players as well so am not sure why you so readily dismissed this as a concern. Unless of course you are closer to Gathers than his brother.

Because why would that matter? By all accounts Gathers is a good student.  Unless you believe the NCAA picked on SJU and Gathers is worried he may qualify at LSU but not SJU then why would that matter?  His brother was just doing some PR.  The kid came to SJU on 10/14, long after the 3 were declared ineligible.  More importantly 2 of them were with him at Midnight Madness, Garrett and Pelle.

That would imply SJU should sign 2 star recruits who are Ivy League material that way they definitely would qualify because I am sure Gathers would prefer to play with that level of talent, no?  Kansas had 3 kids fail to qualify.  Pitino had 1 last year and another this year.  Suddenly kids don't want to go to those 2 schools.  Come on.  1 kid not qualifying does not imply another won't either. 

What did change?  Lavin having his procedure.  Lavin missing MM and all the subsequent practices and the first few games.  Gathers being pressured to stay in-state and help rebuild LSU basketball.  Gathers being told Lavin may not be theo coach at SJU much longer with his cancer, etc.

I have no idea why it would matter but his brother did mention it for some reason. I can speculate that even if we both agree that the ineligibilties should not really be a factor, it did continue the trend of bad news surrounding the program. When you add it all up it does make SJU less attractive than it was when Gathers  originally committed. Now if all 3 were eligible would Gathers not chosen this path? No, I am sure that was not the deciding factor but since it was included as a reason by  the brother I won't offhandly dismiss it either.

Because why would that matter? By all accounts Gathers is a good student.  Unless you believe the NCAA picked on SJU and Gathers is worried he may qualify at LSU but not SJU then why would that matter?  His brother was just doing some PR.  The kid came to SJU on 10/14, long after the 3 were declared ineligible.  More importantly 2 of them were with him at Midnight Madness, Garrett and Pelle.

That would imply SJU should sign 2 star recruits who are Ivy League material that way they definitely would qualify because I am sure Gathers would prefer to play with that level of talent, no?  Kansas had 3 kids fail to qualify.  Pitino had 1 last year and another this year.  Suddenly kids don't want to go to those 2 schools.  Come on.  1 kid not qualifying does not imply another won't either. 

What did change?  Lavin having his procedure.  Lavin missing MM and all the subsequent practices and the first few games.  Gathers being pressured to stay in-state and help rebuild LSU basketball.  Gathers being told Lavin may not be the coach at SJU much longer with his cancer, etc.

Good post, fordham.  The ineligibility of our players is a bogus excuse on why Gathers decommitted.  People are in his ear and it seems they are using Lavin's medical situation as a cop out.  Trent Johnson is under tremendous pressure and as, fordham mentioned, Gathers is a fan of LSU football. 

You can bet he's being tugged by the hometown folks, and I still wouldn't doubt something a bit more shady (involving, LSU) could be going on.   

Let me be clear on something.  Gathers has every right to wait.  So this is not meant to be a direct criticism of him but rather a defense of what is really going on here.

And yes I believe SJU is in good shape with him as long as Coach Lavin demonstrates he is back and healthy at some point this season.

The reason I took issue with wasju and PMG is two fold:

1) I don't believe that the 3 ineligible kids made a difference here.  But more importantly even if you do think it was a factor PMG directly asserted that if all 3 were here Gathers would DEFINITELY haved signed.  That means he is implying that is the BIGGEST reason for the de-commitment.  And that is ridiculous.  Not even close.

2) That poster, PMG, has been running with the ineligiblity angle now for months implying that SJU and Lavin are recruiting bad academic risks.  It is prominent in everyone of his posts.  It is beyond pathetic.  And now he is justifying his previous posts by basically saying, "See if SJU recruited more solidly academic kids (ie listened to me) then Gathers would be eligible."  His act is getting real old.

Now if all 3 were eligible would Gathers not chosen this path? No, I am sure that was not the deciding factor but since it was included as a reason by  the brother I won't offhandly dismiss it either.

IMO, it was no different than coachspeak.  Basically, being politically correct, so to speak.

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 11:15:26 AM

Quote from: we are sju on November 09, 2011, 11:04:29 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 09:53:52 AM

Quote from: pmg911 on November 09, 2011, 07:41:59 AM

Need more kids like amir, pointer, wood and others who are enthusiastic and committed.  Love those types of guys who are 100% on and off the court.

We need more kids who are not going to be academic question marks. Garrett already is one and so is Darrick Wood.

If all of these kids we recruited were on the cout and playing, Gathers would be signing his LOI this week.

That is 100% BS.  Complete and utter BS. 

I am sure Lavin's health and the situation with the BE were his main concerns but his brother did mention the ineligible players as well so am not sure why you so readily dismissed this as a concern. Unless of course you are closer to Gathers than his brother.

Because why would that matter? By all accounts Gathers is a good student.  Unless you believe the NCAA picked on SJU and Gathers is worried he may qualify at LSU but not SJU then why would that matter?  His brother was just doing some PR.  The kid came to SJU on 10/14, long after the 3 were declared ineligible.  More importantly 2 of them were with him at Midnight Madness, Garrett and Pelle.

That would imply SJU should sign 2 star recruits who are Ivy League material that way they definitely would qualify because I am sure Gathers would prefer to play with that level of talent, no?  Kansas had 3 kids fail to qualify.  Pitino had 1 last year and another this year.  Suddenly kids don't want to go to those 2 schools.  Come on.  1 kid not qualifying does not imply another won't either. 

What did change?  Lavin having his procedure.  Lavin missing MM and all the subsequent practices and the first few games.  Gathers being pressured to stay in-state and help rebuild LSU basketball.  Gathers being told Lavin may not be theo coach at SJU much longer with his cancer, etc.

I have no idea why it would matter but his brother did mention it for some reason. I can speculate that even if we both agree that the ineligibilties should not really be a factor, it did continue the trend of bad news surrounding the program. When you add it all up it does make SJU less attractive than it was when Gathers  originally committed. Now if all 3 were eligible would Gathers not chosen this path? No, I am sure that was not the deciding factor but since it was included as a reason by  the brother I won't offhandly dismiss it either.

You don't read very well nor did you read PMG's post and my response.

His brother would have said "because the Moon is white" if he thought it spoke to the narrative.

Quote from: we are sju on November 09, 2011, 11:30:14 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 11:15:26 AM

Quote from: we are sju on November 09, 2011, 11:04:29 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 09:53:52 AM

Quote from: pmg911 on November 09, 2011, 07:41:59 AM

Need more kids like amir, pointer, wood and others who are enthusiastic and committed.  Love those types of guys who are 100% on and off the court.

We need more kids who are not going to be academic question marks. Garrett already is one and so is Darrick Wood.

If all of these kids we recruited were on the cout and playing, Gathers would be signing his LOI this week.

That is 100% BS.  Complete and utter BS. 

I am sure Lavin's health and the situation with the BE were his main concerns but his brother did mention the ineligible players as well so am not sure why you so readily dismissed this as a concern. Unless of course you are closer to Gathers than his brother.

Because why would that matter? By all accounts Gathers is a good student.  Unless you believe the NCAA picked on SJU and Gathers is worried he may qualify at LSU but not SJU then why would that matter?  His brother was just doing some PR.  The kid came to SJU on 10/14, long after the 3 were declared ineligible.  More importantly 2 of them were with him at Midnight Madness, Garrett and Pelle.

That would imply SJU should sign 2 star recruits who are Ivy League material that way they definitely would qualify because I am sure Gathers would prefer to play with that level of talent, no?  Kansas had 3 kids fail to qualify.  Pitino had 1 last year and another this year.  Suddenly kids don't want to go to those 2 schools.  Come on.  1 kid not qualifying does not imply another won't either. 

What did change?  Lavin having his procedure.  Lavin missing MM and all the subsequent practices and the first few games.  Gathers being pressured to stay in-state and help rebuild LSU basketball.  Gathers being told Lavin may not be theo coach at SJU much longer with his cancer, etc.

I have no idea why it would matter but his brother did mention it for some reason. I can speculate that even if we both agree that the ineligibilties should not really be a factor, it did continue the trend of bad news surrounding the program. When you add it all up it does make SJU less attractive than it was when Gathers  originally committed. Now if all 3 were eligible would Gathers not chosen this path? No, I am sure that was not the deciding factor but since it was included as a reason by  the brother I won't offhandly dismiss it either.

You don't read very well nor did you read PMG's post and my response.

Gathers brother included the eligibility's as one of the factors you pompous twit! My only point is why should we dismiss that but instead take your uniformed babble as gospel? Any idiot can speculate that some other coach is whispering in his ear. Do you want a medal for that uninspired speculation? My only point was that you are in no place to dispel something a family member of a recruit has stated. And for the record I happen to share your opinion on the subject. I just choose not to state my opinions as fact.

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 11:35:35 AM

Quote from: we are sju on November 09, 2011, 11:30:14 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 11:15:26 AM

Quote from: we are sju on November 09, 2011, 11:04:29 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 09:53:52 AM

Quote from: pmg911 on November 09, 2011, 07:41:59 AM

Need more kids like amir, pointer, wood and others who are enthusiastic and committed.  Love those types of guys who are 100% on and off the court.

We need more kids who are not going to be academic question marks. Garrett already is one and so is Darrick Wood.

If all of these kids we recruited were on the cout and playing, Gathers would be signing his LOI this week.

That is 100% BS.  Complete and utter BS. 

I am sure Lavin's health and the situation with the BE were his main concerns but his brother did mention the ineligible players as well so am not sure why you so readily dismissed this as a concern. Unless of course you are closer to Gathers than his brother.

Because why would that matter? By all accounts Gathers is a good student.  Unless you believe the NCAA picked on SJU and Gathers is worried he may qualify at LSU but not SJU then why would that matter?  His brother was just doing some PR.  The kid came to SJU on 10/14, long after the 3 were declared ineligible.  More importantly 2 of them were with him at Midnight Madness, Garrett and Pelle.

That would imply SJU should sign 2 star recruits who are Ivy League material that way they definitely would qualify because I am sure Gathers would prefer to play with that level of talent, no?  Kansas had 3 kids fail to qualify.  Pitino had 1 last year and another this year.  Suddenly kids don't want to go to those 2 schools.  Come on.  1 kid not qualifying does not imply another won't either. 

What did change?  Lavin having his procedure.  Lavin missing MM and all the subsequent practices and the first few games.  Gathers being pressured to stay in-state and help rebuild LSU basketball.  Gathers being told Lavin may not be theo coach at SJU much longer with his cancer, etc.

I have no idea why it would matter but his brother did mention it for some reason. I can speculate that even if we both agree that the ineligibilties should not really be a factor, it did continue the trend of bad news surrounding the program. When you add it all up it does make SJU less attractive than it was when Gathers  originally committed. Now if all 3 were eligible would Gathers not chosen this path? No, I am sure that was not the deciding factor but since it was included as a reason by  the brother I won't offhandly dismiss it either.

You don't read very well nor did you read PMG's post and my response.

Gathers brother included the eligibility's as one of the factors you pompous twit! My only point is why should we dismiss that but instead take your uniformed babble as gospel? Any idiot can speculate that some other coach is whispering in his ear. Do you want a medal for that uninspired speculation? My only point was that you are in no place to dispel something a family member of a recruit has stated. And for the record I happen to share your opinion on the subject. I just choose not to state my opinions as fact.

You are a nice person.  Go back and read my post again.  I DON"T CARE WHAT YOU THINK. YOU ARE A DOPE.


My only mistake was engaging you.  Schmuck.  Go back to writing endlessly about how Coach Roberts ruined the program.

Quote from: we are sju on November 09, 2011, 11:51:53 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 11:35:35 AM

Quote from: we are sju on November 09, 2011, 11:30:14 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 11:15:26 AM

Quote from: we are sju on November 09, 2011, 11:04:29 AM

Quote from: fordham96 on November 09, 2011, 09:53:52 AM

Quote from: pmg911 on November 09, 2011, 07:41:59 AM

Need more kids like amir, pointer, wood and others who are enthusiastic and committed.  Love those types of guys who are 100% on and off the court.

We need more kids who are not going to be academic question marks. Garrett already is one and so is Darrick Wood.

If all of these kids we recruited were on the cout and playing, Gathers would be signing his LOI this week.

That is 100% BS.  Complete and utter BS. 

I am sure Lavin's health and the situation with the BE were his main concerns but his brother did mention the ineligible players as well so am not sure why you so readily dismissed this as a concern. Unless of course you are closer to Gathers than his brother.

Because why would that matter? By all accounts Gathers is a good student.  Unless you believe the NCAA picked on SJU and Gathers is worried he may qualify at LSU but not SJU then why would that matter?  His brother was just doing some PR.  The kid came to SJU on 10/14, long after the 3 were declared ineligible.  More importantly 2 of them were with him at Midnight Madness, Garrett and Pelle.

That would imply SJU should sign 2 star recruits who are Ivy League material that way they definitely would qualify because I am sure Gathers would prefer to play with that level of talent, no?  Kansas had 3 kids fail to qualify.  Pitino had 1 last year and another this year.  Suddenly kids don't want to go to those 2 schools.  Come on.  1 kid not qualifying does not imply another won't either. 

What did change?  Lavin having his procedure.  Lavin missing MM and all the subsequent practices and the first few games.  Gathers being pressured to stay in-state and help rebuild LSU basketball.  Gathers being told Lavin may not be theo coach at SJU much longer with his cancer, etc.

I have no idea why it would matter but his brother did mention it for some reason. I can speculate that even if we both agree that the ineligibilties should not really be a factor, it did continue the trend of bad news surrounding the program. When you add it all up it does make SJU less attractive than it was when Gathers  originally committed. Now if all 3 were eligible would Gathers not chosen this path? No, I am sure that was not the deciding factor but since it was included as a reason by  the brother I won't offhandly dismiss it either.

You don't read very well nor did you read PMG's post and my response.

Gathers brother included the eligibility's as one of the factors you pompous twit! My only point is why should we dismiss that but instead take your uniformed babble as gospel? Any idiot can speculate that some other coach is whispering in his ear. Do you want a medal for that uninspired speculation? My only point was that you are in no place to dispel something a family member of a recruit has stated. And for the record I happen to share your opinion on the subject. I just choose not to state my opinions as fact.

You are a nice person.  Go back and read my post again.  I DON"T CARE WHAT YOU THINK. YOU ARE A DOPE.


My only mistake was engaging you.  Schmuck.  Go back to writing endlessly about how Coach Roberts ruined the program.

I am already married so I am going to have to call off our "engagement". Though I am not into that type of thing I do not judge and it is legal now so good luck with that.
As for the rest of your post allow me to decipher:
"You are a nice person"-Why do you keep calling me out for posting as if I have some inside knowledge that I clearly don't.
"Read my post again"- Though I just insulted you I am so insecure that I still want you to agree with my gibberish.
"My only mistake was engaging you"- Well besides the fact that you are clearly crushing on me you seem pretty torn up about it. I mean you insult me. then ask me to read your post again, then ask me to marry you, then insult me again.
"Norm Roberts ruined the program"-let that poor man be. I hated him as much as the next guy but I haven't brought the guy up in over a year. You need to stop living in the past.

hey guys- why not take this to PM's

The rest of us really dont want to read your petty mudslinging.

Whatever the reason for Gathers reneging, it's not worth the vitriol and energy that has been thus far spent on this thread, especially when the BEST news today is that Norvel is rumored to recommit to SJU. Let's focus on the positives!

Evan Daniels talked with his Coach about the de-commitment.  See below for some excerpts:

“Ricardo is just not 100-percent sure yet where he wants to go,” Byrd added. “St. Johns is still very high on the list. He loves coach Lavin. He just wants to make sure in his gut wherever he goes is 100-percent and not 90-percent.”

At this point, Gathers doesn’t have a new list.

“Right now he’s definitely not going to make a decision until the spring,” Byrd said. “He has decommitted from St. John’s, but they are still way up on his list.”

“He really doesn’t have a list of schools that he’s now targeting,” he added. “He wants to let time past before he signs. The bottom line is he is opening back up, but at the same time he doesn’t want things to get into a frenzy.”
LSU is one school that is certain to try and get involved with Gathers. In fact, Byrd said they have been in the mix for quite some time.

“I think LSU has always been involved, since day one,” he said. “They are here locally and close. Again his release speaks for his self. His release talks about decommiting from St. Johns, but it’s not out of the possibility that he signs with them.”

http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1126616.html

So this is about Lavin's status, in part?  Lavin is already back coaching practice so that makes this seem kind of dumb.  Sounds like another coach is in his ear feeding him lines.

Gathers just posted some encouraging news on twitter..


RicoGathers21 Ricardo Gathers
"St. Johns is still the top choice on my list. Issues beyond my control have nothing to do with my decisions."

Good post, fordham.  The ineligibility of our players is a bogus excuse on why Gathers decommitted.  People are in his ear and it seems they are using Lavin's medical situation as a cop out.  Trent Johnson is under tremendous pressure and as, fordham mentioned, Gathers is a fan of LSU football. 

You can bet he's being tugged by the hometown folks, and I still wouldn't doubt something a bit more shady (involving, LSU) could be going on.   

I don’t believe it's a bogus excuse for him. The ineligibility of the players isn't the reason by itself or I would agree it may be bogus, but it is a factor. Lavin is the straw that stirs the drink. With his perceived health issues along with the ineligibility of the players in gave him reason for concern as it should; this is a big decision for him. Let Lavin come back healthy along with Pelle signing on and I believe he still signs with us.

I still don't trust LSU but I give Ricardo a lot of credit for speaking up on twitter and setting things straight. He gained points back in the character department by doing so.  Hope he still chooses SJU.  He will be joining a great roster and he does not yet know what a great city he'd be coming to.  Hope we still land him. 

TheRecruitScoop Alex Kline
2012 forward Ricardo Gathers, who decommitted from St. John's yesterday, will likely sign with the Red Storm in the spring, per a source.

TheRecruitScoop Alex Kline
Ricardo Gathers' re-opening of his recruitment from St. John's was due to a lack of familiarity between his family & the school/team.

Shouldn't he have thought of this before he originally signed?