Darrick Wood - SG - Palm Beach CC - Alexandria, VA - DEPAUL

Call me spoiled, but I'm not a huge fan of this signing. At about this time 2 years ago I would have raved about it, but my how times have changed. This leaves us one scholarship that hopefully KA will take. Does this mean if Anderson commits that we won't have room for Amile Jefferson? I've been seeing Nurideen in a lot of 2012 NBA mock drafts, so I guess maybe if he leaves that'll open up another scholarship...

Call me spoiled, but I'm not a huge fan of this signing. At about this time 2 years ago I would have raved about it, but my how times have changed. This leaves us one scholarship that hopefully KA will take. Does this mean if Anderson commits that we won't have room for Amile Jefferson? I've been seeing Nurideen in a lot of 2012 NBA mock drafts, so I guess maybe if he leaves that'll open up another scholarship...

Wouldn't we have an extra scholarship since Amir signed a baseball contract?

Quote from: thetruth8734 on August 20, 2011, 09:00:06 PM

Call me spoiled, but I'm not a huge fan of this signing. At about this time 2 years ago I would have raved about it, but my how times have changed. This leaves us one scholarship that hopefully KA will take. Does this mean if Anderson commits that we won't have room for Amile Jefferson? I've been seeing Nurideen in a lot of 2012 NBA mock drafts, so I guess maybe if he leaves that'll open up another scholarship...

Quote from: thetruth8734 on August 20, 2011, 09:00:06 PM

Call me spoiled, but I'm not a huge fan of this signing. At about this time 2 years ago I would have raved about it, but my how times have changed. This leaves us one scholarship that hopefully KA will take. Does this mean if Anderson commits that we won't have room for Amile Jefferson? I've been seeing Nurideen in a lot of 2012 NBA mock drafts, so I guess maybe if he leaves that'll open up another scholarship...

Wouldn't we have an extra scholarship since Amir signed a baseball contract?

Amir still counts against our scholarship total.

If you look at every top program they take players who don't project as starters during their first season. Off hand, I love to point out how valuable Chudney Gray became by the time he was a senior. And by that time, we really needed him.

This kid may be a true high major project, and we'll need players who will be willing to sit, watch and learn. The kid hits the weight room, and takes this opportunity seriously, he could be a 4 player that we'll remember fondly like Gray was.

People calling for transfer now, are simply spoiled from what we've been given by Lavin. The same people were probably boycotting the team for last six years. There's still room on the bandwagon for you, but it would be great if you kept uneducated opinions like that to yourself.

Welcome to St.John's Mr.Wood. We expect great things from you, even if it's not immediate.

ok from what i hear. he can go either way he can be a star at the mid level or a hell of a late bloomer at the high major level. they told me he reminds them of john starks.  lav has nothing to lose. if the kid pans out he looks like a genious if he doesnt he still gave a kid a chance. ive seen him one time and i am not upset or mad. welcome young man. work hard i hear u have the potential to be a pro lets see it.

Thanks Kob.  Sounds like a good honest assessment.  With Rico's talent development skills, this kid sounds like he is worth a shot.  He sounds like he has a great attitude and wants to compete.  I'm all for it.  And don't forget, Rivals has him as the 25th best SG and 111 overall.  Not really a diamond in the rough territory.  His highlight video reminded me of Duece Bello.

Quote from: kob24 on August 21, 2011, 02:06:27 AM

ok from what i hear. he can go either way he can be a star at the mid level or a hell of a late bloomer at the high major level. they told me he reminds them of john starks.  lav has nothing to lose. if the kid pans out he looks like a genious if he doesnt he still gave a kid a chance. ive seen him one time and i am not upset or mad. welcome young man. work hard i hear u have the potential to be a pro lets see it.

Thanks Kob.  Sounds like a good honest assessment.  With Rico's talent development skills, this kid sounds like he is worth a shot.  He sounds like he has a great attitude and wants to compete.  I'm all for it.  And don't forget, Rivals has him as the 25th best SG and 111 overall.  Not really a diamond in the rough territory.  He sounds like Duece Bello to me.

Difference is that Wood is a much, much better shooter than Bello.  Bello a phenom athlete, but doesn't have much range.  Wood is a gunner. 

Two quick things.  There were a lot of people here who said we could use a shooter like Bernardi.  Well this guy seems to have a similar stroke and is 10x more athletic.  The other thing is that we can't have primadonna's on our bench (Jevon are you listening?) but guys who will do what it takes for the TEAM. 

Bernardi is a better shooter and is much stronger than Wood.

Wood is more versatile and can play on the ball better. He's quicker and a better leaper.

I think Wood is a much better fit defensively.

Bernardi is a better shooter and is much stronger than Wood.

Wood is more versatile and can play on the ball better. He's quicker and a better leaper.

I think Wood is a much better fit defensively.

Dave, solely from the videos, Wood reminds me a bit of Cuse's Michael Carter-Williams.  Both long lanky guards that can shoot and are good with the ball in their hands.  MCW slightly taller, but not much.

He does not look good with the ball handling but looks like he has a good stroke. I like the rich man.s larry wright comparison

Quote from: Dave on August 21, 2011, 11:59:53 AM

Bernardi is a better shooter and is much stronger than Wood.

Wood is more versatile and can play on the ball better. He's quicker and a better leaper.

I think Wood is a much better fit defensively.

Dave, solely from the videos, Wood reminds me a bit of Cuse's Michael Carter-Williams.  Both long lanky guards that can shoot and are good with the ball in their hands.  MCW slightly taller, but not much.

Wood also has pretty good body control.  Recall him going up and making acrobatic moves, a few times, at the Peach Jam.  I saw enough of the Playaz games to have a good read on their players.  LOL 

Maybe he'll grow 2 or 10 inches. We need another big

Wow, I am on the road for a few days and return to see Darrick has joined our family.  With most of our focus on KA and Amile, this seemed to be a bit of a shock, at least timing-wise.

I think it shows that Coach Lavin and his staff, as do all great coaches, have some type of master plan and the number of perceived scholarships available will not stand in their way.  That is great, as we all know the future will always bring player surprises to our Program.

Now on to 9/20 and, possibly, Amile as well!

Call me spoiled, but I'm not a huge fan of this signing. At about this time 2 years ago I would have raved about it, but my how times have changed. This leaves us one scholarship that hopefully KA will take. Does this mean if Anderson commits that we won't have room for Amile Jefferson? I've been seeing Nurideen in a lot of 2012 NBA mock drafts, so I guess maybe if he leaves that'll open up another scholarship...

you're spoiled

and to the guy who said he will transfer after soph year, I totally agree. He will warm the bench and play sparingly for 2 years, and then just as the door is open for St Johns to make a serious run at a final 4, and Wood is primed to get serious minutes, he will sit out a year and transfer somewhere else. 

SJU fans will have to face it that Lavin in the next 4 years (if he stays) will be a juggernaut on the national recruiting scene.

Lol, yes, we are all in denial, guys, just face it, Lavin will be a juggernaut in the recruiting game and I know it sucks, but we just have to face it.

If you look at every top program they take players who don't project as starters during their first season. Off hand, I love to point out how valuable Chudney Gray became by the time he was a senior. And by that time, we really needed him.

This kid may be a true high major project, and we'll need players who will be willing to sit, watch and learn. The kid hits the weight room, and takes this opportunity seriously, he could be a 4 player that we'll remember fondly like Gray was.

People calling for transfer now, are simply spoiled from what we've been given by Lavin. The same people were probably boycotting the team for last six years. There's still room on the bandwagon for you, but it would be great if you kept uneducated opinions like that to yourself.

Welcome to St.John's Mr.Wood. We expect great things from you, even if it's not immediate.

Well said Poison. If you are hoping to be competitive on the national scene, like you said, you need 4 year players who know the game and will still be around when some of the original nine possibly leave early. So in 2014 if half of this incoming class is gone, we have a junior with some experience and a comfort level playing big east basketball, to go with (hopefully) a brand new class of high ceiling freshman.

GREAT posts nrmax! I like this signing because here we have a young man that saw us add 9 great players for this season and knows there are two more coming this season, but he has the onions to compete.  We need 4 year players and I'd rather have a kid ranked #111 that works his tail off then hey another top 50 kid that would whine and pout.

I think this is him

Darrick Wood

SJU fans will have to face it that Lavin in the next 4 years (if he stays) will be a juggernaut on the national recruiting scene.

On the subject of"if he stays":

Coach Lavin is building not only the new and super St. John's basketball program, but his own legacy as well.

Outside of 1985, we have really never had team that really could compete for the NCAA gold.  And we really never had so many talented recruits.  Yes, players will come and go, that is NCAA basketball today.  I doubt if many of us would question Coach Lavin's ability to keep on recruiting top talent.  CR has demonstrated to us Coach Lavin's UCLA history on recruiting top players.

As far as Coach Lavin staying, this is his present and future.  The $ and prestige are definitely here.  And why would he go to another top program, only to be compared to some other coach.  I do not want to sound like someone from Star Trek, but Captain, err, Coach Lavin is leading us to something very special.  Besides, where else can he find such great pizza?

Per Rivals....  This is from the Reebok Breakout Challenge in July.

Darrick Wood, SG- Ranked No. 111 nationally in the class of 2012, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard is a natural scorer. A shooter with deep range, he's a microwave type who is capable of entering a zone and putting up points in a hurry. With John Wall encouraging him from the baseline, he caught fire Thursday night and put together one of the more impressive offensive displays of camp. He drained threes, broke defenders off with crossovers and dunked on people in the lane. Wood claims offers from Oklahoma State (who had an assistant following his every step in Philly), Baylor, Louisville, George Mason, USC and West Virginia. He also listed interest from Oklahoma, UCLA and Arizona and says that USC stood out as a school that he'd like to visit officially.

http://stjohns.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1238273

looks like a perimeter sharpshooter kind of a guy, the other guards could hit him with a dribble drive and pass out or the bigs could post someone and pass it back out for an open 3