Lamont Jones - PG - American Christian School - Aston, PA - IONA

Quote from: sfgny24 on May 20, 2011, 01:37:53 PM

Quote from: MCNPA on May 20, 2011, 08:45:50 AM

The only thing that would make MoMo a very important pickup is if Nuri wasn't on track to be here this coming year due to schoolwork issues.  I know he needs summer classes to fulfill all his coursework.  Hopefully he is doing so.

Totally agree. Nuri brings the experience while still allowing enough PT for the new recruits to gain the valuable experience they will need for 2012. I like the idea of the new kids getting maximum PT even if it costs us a game or two this season. If Nuri and MoMo are both here in 2011 they will both be getting major minutes possibly at the expense of Harrison or Greene. If Jevon is going to be eligible for 2012 we'll be in good shape.

?? Nuri has played one season of organized ball in thelast 3 years.  He didn't play his senior year of high school, didn't play the following year at the JC (thats why he has 3 years eligibility remaining).  He has the LEAST experience of any of our newcomers.  Over that same period Momo led Oak Hill to a 44-1 record as a High School Senior, then played 34 games as a backkup PG as a freshman, then led Arizona to a #9 ranking in D-1 and an Elite 8....

crgreen, if eligible this season-think he starts ?

"crgreen, if eligible this season-think he starts ?"

While I will not answer for crgreen, I think his analysis of Nuri's and Momo's experiences over the past three years may answer that question. Actual D-1 experience counts!

being a realist...momo doesn't get the waiver.  he doesn't want to sit out, so he plays overseas for a year then puts himself up for the nba draft.

sorry, guys.

being a realist...momo doesn't get the waiver.  he doesn't want to sit out, so he plays overseas for a year then puts himself up for the nba draft.

sorry, guys.

   I'm ok with that.

Being a realist Momo isn't going to sniff the league.

The guy has quitter written all over him.  His pattern of behavior since high school speaks volumes.  He just bounces from school to school until he finds the situation he's looking for.  As soon as that situation starts to turn sour, he's ready to walk.  This isn't the first time he wanted to quit at Arizona.  He almost quit his freshman year when Miller put him on a short leash. 

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Pac-10-Preview-MoMo-Jones-emerging-as-a-leader-?urn=ncaab-276059

As the rest of his Arizona teammates prepared to celebrate New Year's eve in Los Angeles last year, backup point guard Lamont "MoMo" Jones was on the phone with his mom trying futilely to choke back tears.

The homesick Harlem native's bold decision to attend college all the way across the country no longer seemed like the right choice anymore. Not only was he struggling to make an impact on the court or mesh with teammates and coaches in the locker room, his poor attitude after logging just nine minutes that afternoon in a loss to USC had also led him to be suspended for Arizona's next game at UCLA.

"When the ball dropped, I was still on the phone with him because he wanted to come home so bad," Jones' mother, Jeneen Fuller, said. "He was crying. He was miserable. He just wanted to come home. I was actually scared for a minute because I really thought that was what he was going to do."

Now he sees the writing on the wall with Josiah Turner coming in to eat into his playing time and he's quitting again.


"What's that? Turner is going to be takin most of my minutes next year?  I'm goin to Europe b!ithces!" 

"What's that? I can start at SJU with a hardship? Uh...Grandma is sick!"

What a piece of work. 

The guy has quitter written all over him.  His pattern of behavior since high school speaks volumes.  He just bounces from school to school until he finds the situation he's looking for.  As soon as that situation starts to turn sour, he's ready to walk.  This isn't the first time he wanted to quit at Arizona.  He almost quit his freshman year when Miller put him on a short leash. 

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Pac-10-Preview-MoMo-Jones-emerging-as-a-leader-?urn=ncaab-276059

Quote

As the rest of his Arizona teammates prepared to celebrate New Year's eve in Los Angeles last year, backup point guard Lamont "MoMo" Jones was on the phone with his mom trying futilely to choke back tears.

The homesick Harlem native's bold decision to attend college all the way across the country no longer seemed like the right choice anymore. Not only was he struggling to make an impact on the court or mesh with teammates and coaches in the locker room, his poor attitude after logging just nine minutes that afternoon in a loss to USC had also led him to be suspended for Arizona's next game at UCLA.

"When the ball dropped, I was still on the phone with him because he wanted to come home so bad," Jones' mother, Jeneen Fuller, said. "He was crying. He was miserable. He just wanted to come home. I was actually scared for a minute because I really thought that was what he was going to do."

Now he sees the writing on the wall with Josiah Turner coming in to eat into his playing time and he's quitting again.


"What's that? Turner is going to be takin most of my minutes next year?  I'm goin to Europe b!ithces!" 

"What's that? I can start at SJU with a hardship? Uh...Grandma is sick!"

What a piece of work. 

ur 1st post and ur bashing the kid, he doesnt deserve that

Quote from: nrmax88 on May 17, 2011, 09:24:19 PM

Quote from: SJUhoopNUT on May 17, 2011, 03:48:05 PM

I'm not questioning his desire to get better, but I am questioning how Harrow fits into a team. The videos and stuff I have seen from an NC State fan's perspective has been that he's got a lot of maturing to do. And lets be honest, 99% of the videos and stuff out there on him is showing off his dunking ability, which as a PG, I could care less about. He can have all the potential in the world, but if you lack certain traits like leadership and unselfishness, then it won't translate. He has to be about winning, not his stats or his highlights.

Basically, I love Harrow's potential, but am worried that he's not on the right track to fulfill it. I am confident in our staff and the year off to help him get better and mature.



To me, Momo has a bit more of a NY type attitude and mentality, that could pay dividends right away for a young team trying to learn how to win next year.

If Momo though can't get the waiver, then I'd say Harrow has more upside.

So, what I see here is that you have made lots of assumptions about a guys makeup that you have no way at all of knowing about, and then, based on those assumptions (which were based on nothing), your conclude that Momo is the better fit. Everything in this previous post was about his makeup, ability to be a teammate, and you preface basically everything with "I feel like" or "based on what I heard" or "it seems as if", which are all just more or less admissions of ignorance on this specific topic. You know nothing about Harrow or Momo personally, so forgive me if I don't agree with your assessment of a players game because you feel like he is all about his highlights. Sorry if I come off as a jerk.

There are things one can guess at from others' accounts; hell, even coaches have to depend on the words of others. This is a message board, we all have opinions; be respectful of them. What do you see that makes you disagree with that assessment?

I go by the stats and by watching both players play; Momo - to me, I feel like he's Edgar Sosa. Which is good some games, less good other games. And Jones' passing rates/ assist numbers are not great for a lead guard. He's a short SG who isn't great at shooting (but doesn't turn the ball over, to his credit).

Harrow was a rough watch last year, though the whole team looked disconnected; he can pass but he couldn't convert and obviously needed more strength. All the dunking in the world is great when a player has an open lane, but how's he going to convert when there isn't one? That's a real issue. Anyone who follows NC State will tell you that Harrow seemed like he needed to mature - sensitive, even complaining about criticism.

I see why you went off on SJUHoopNut, but respectfully - there's a lot that he said that has already permeated discussions of both players.

Didn't mean to "go off" on him. I just thought it was silly that he dismisses a wildly talented kid based on personal things/rumors about the guy that he couldn't possibly know the validity of. He was a top 30 or 40 player in his class if I remember correctly, and has all the talent in the world. That, along with our apparent interest is enough to make me feel comfortable about this kid. I would imagine that he (SJnut) doesn't have a personal relationship with Ryan Harrow, so questioning his leadership (as a freshman) or calling him selfish just seems disingenuous. I don't even have a preference of Harrow or Momo, all I know is I trust anything our staff decides to do right now.

Wow, the Momo thread has really taken on a life of its own.  And yes, it has all the makings of a soap opera, rather than a pure recruitment of a player.

We all seem to be dealing with 99% conjecture and rumors, and 1% fact, or something like that.  But hey, that is what websites like JJ are all about.  Who do you want Momo or Ryan, or neither?  Will Momo get approval from the NCAA to play in 2011?  What would gaining either Ryan or Momo mean to us for recruiting Kyle, Ricardo and Jevon?  This is all good stuff and makes for enjoyable reading during the non-playing season.

I do not know whether Momo or Ryan want to really come to St. John's or which would better serve us.  We have so many more knowledgeable basketball folks on this site who have already expressed their opinions.

I do not think the NCAA will grant Momo an exception to the sit out rule based on the little bit of his personal history discussed on this site.  I also do not think he will want to sit out a year based on his prior history.  He is a player and not a sitter.

So my focus is on the numbers and the near future.  What would the signing of either Momo or Ryan do to our recruiting of Jevon, Ricardo and Kyle?  One of these three players probably would have to be dropped from our recruitment.  Quite frankly, if I was Coach and had a choice of either signing Momo or Ryan now, or getting Jevon, Ricardo and Kyle, I would go for the latter threesome.

FWIW Rivals had Momo at 68 and a PG.  Scout had him as the 34th ranked SG, not in their top 100, not did Coleman or Telep.  Gibbons and Brick had him in the 50's.  He was the RSCI conensus #84 recruit of his class.

Quote from: crgreen on May 20, 2011, 10:14:06 PM

Quote from: sfgny24 on May 20, 2011, 01:37:53 PM

Quote from: MCNPA on May 20, 2011, 08:45:50 AM

The only thing that would make MoMo a very important pickup is if Nuri wasn't on track to be here this coming year due to schoolwork issues.  I know he needs summer classes to fulfill all his coursework.  Hopefully he is doing so.

Totally agree. Nuri brings the experience while still allowing enough PT for the new recruits to gain the valuable experience they will need for 2012. I like the idea of the new kids getting maximum PT even if it costs us a game or two this season. If Nuri and MoMo are both here in 2011 they will both be getting major minutes possibly at the expense of Harrison or Greene. If Jevon is going to be eligible for 2012 we'll be in good shape.

?? Nuri has played one season of organized ball in thelast 3 years.  He didn't play his senior year of high school, didn't play the following year at the JC (thats why he has 3 years eligibility remaining).  He has the LEAST experience of any of our newcomers.  Over that same period Momo led Oak Hill to a 44-1 record as a High School Senior, then played 34 games as a backkup PG as a freshman, then led Arizona to a #9 ranking in D-1 and an Elite 8....

crgreen, if eligible this season-think he starts ?

Kid Quarterbacked Arizona to a Pac 10 Chamionship (14-4), a national top 10 ranking (#9 AP), and the Elite 8 in the NCAA tourney where they were eliminated by TWO pts to the eventual national champion.  He was the teams 2nd leading scorer and 2nd in minutes played (2nd to a guy who got a couple National Player of the Year awards).  All as a SOPHMORE.   Yeah, if he's here and eligible, Steve Lavin will start him.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on May 20, 2011, 10:19:40 PM

Quote from: crgreen on May 20, 2011, 10:14:06 PM

Quote from: sfgny24 on May 20, 2011, 01:37:53 PM

Quote from: MCNPA on May 20, 2011, 08:45:50 AM

The only thing that would make MoMo a very important pickup is if Nuri wasn't on track to be here this coming year due to schoolwork issues.  I know he needs summer classes to fulfill all his coursework.  Hopefully he is doing so.

Totally agree. Nuri brings the experience while still allowing enough PT for the new recruits to gain the valuable experience they will need for 2012. I like the idea of the new kids getting maximum PT even if it costs us a game or two this season. If Nuri and MoMo are both here in 2011 they will both be getting major minutes possibly at the expense of Harrison or Greene. If Jevon is going to be eligible for 2012 we'll be in good shape.

?? Nuri has played one season of organized ball in thelast 3 years.  He didn't play his senior year of high school, didn't play the following year at the JC (thats why he has 3 years eligibility remaining).  He has the LEAST experience of any of our newcomers.  Over that same period Momo led Oak Hill to a 44-1 record as a High School Senior, then played 34 games as a backkup PG as a freshman, then led Arizona to a #9 ranking in D-1 and an Elite 8....

crgreen, if eligible this season-think he starts ?

Kid Quarterbacked Arizona to a Pac 10 Chamionship (14-4), a national top 10 ranking (#9 AP), and the Elite 8 in the NCAA tourney where they were eliminated by TWO pts to the eventual national champion.  He was the teams 2nd leading scorer and 2nd in minutes played (2nd to a guy who got a couple National Player of the Year awards).  All as a SOPHMORE.   Yeah, if he's here and eligible, Steve Lavin will start him.

Respectfully I have to disagree. Calling anyone beside Derrick Williams the player who quarterbacked them is borderline insane.

Also adding more talent doesn't necessarily translate into better results. Momo is a gunner on a team that has Nuri & Harrison. I'm not sure how I see adding the same style of player benefits the roster other than depth and too much depth could develop into unhappy depth.

Have to agree with Dave on this one CR Green.
Momo just does not make me all warm and fuzzy.
If he had 4.5 assists next to his name I would feel very different but such is clearly not the case and he has a rep as a gunner.
IMHO in order for the team to do well next season Nuri and Harrison have to be double digit scorers and Polee, Mo, Sir Dom, Jakaar, GG, Amir and Phil G must each average between 5-8 points a game. We need a unselfish pg with a pass first shoot second mentality that will strive to get his teammates involved.
Without that we will encounter a very difficult season and may have a bunch of very unhappy wings.

nrMax88,

If you need a personal relationship to comment on a kid, then this message board wouldn't exist. 99.9% of the posters here don't know the kids personally. So it's kind of a silly to say that. Didn't know that was a prerequisite to post. Did I have to have a relationship with Willie Shaw to know that the kid underachieved? That he had all the talent in the world, but squandered it?

I go by results on the court, by what NC State fans saw that watched him all year. Harrow came in as a 5 star recruit, and the results were far from impressive, both for his team and himself. And that is fine, not every 5 star recruit is going to shine right away like Brandon Knight. But check around the country, plenty of freshmen PG's had much more productive seasons than Harrow. (Kendall Marshall, even Shabazz Napier). NC State was a mess last year, and Harrow was part of it. So why does he get absolved? Kid has a lot of talent, no one should be giving up on him, but so far what has he shown?

nrMax88,

If you need a personal relationship to comment on a kid, then this message board wouldn't exist. 99.9% of the posters here don't know the kids personally. So it's kind of a silly to say that. Didn't know that was a prerequisite to post. Did I have to have a relationship with Willie Shaw to know that the kid underachieved? That he had all the talent in the world, but squandered it?

I go by results on the court, by what NC State fans saw that watched him all year. Harrow came in as a 5 star recruit, and the results were far from impressive, both for his team and himself. And that is fine, not every 5 star recruit is going to shine right away like Brandon Knight. But check around the country, plenty of freshmen PG's had much more productive seasons than Harrow. (Kendall Marshall, even Shabazz Napier). NC State was a mess last year, and Harrow was part of it. So why does he get absolved? Kid has a lot of talent, no one should be giving up on him, but so far what has he shown?

Results far from impressive?  9.3ppg 3.3apg as a freshman.  7th in the ACC in A/TO ratio and best in ACC FT% and his scoring was double digits before he had a lengthy illness.  I think those are more than solid numbers for a lanky freshman who got ill mid-season. 

If you go by results, Napier's numbers were not as good as Harrow's.  Napier averaged 7.8ppg 3.0apg.  Kendall Marshal 6.2ppg 6.2apg.  Yes he had some lofts assist numbers but not much scoring.  I don't see it as unequivocally better than Harrow if you look at the numbers, and once again Harrow was ill for a good stretch and it took him a while to recover.

Boy, have things changed at St. John's.  A year ago we would have died to have Momo or Ryan join our team.

Both seem to be very decent players. As some one just posted, they would add to our depth.  But!

Waiting a year for either bothers  me.  I doubt Mom will get his NCAA release based on the vagueness of the reason and his transfer history.

I would rather focus on Jevon, Ricardo and Kyle for next year.  Coach has already proved he can attract players when he wants.  So if we need a player in a specific skills area, I am confident that he can recruit that player whether it be direct from high school or via JC.

Boy, have things changed at St. John's.  A year ago we would have died to have Momo or Ryan join our team.

Both seem to be very decent players. As some one just posted, they would add to our depth.  But!

Waiting a year for either bothers  me.  I doubt Mom will get his NCAA release based on the vagueness of the reason and his transfer history.

I would rather focus on Jevon, Ricardo and Kyle for next year.  Coach has already proved he can attract players when he wants.  So if we need a player in a specific skills area, I am confident that he can recruit that player whether it be direct from high school or via JC.

Agree 100% - as I said in another post, I want Momo IF he's eligible this year.  If not, not so much.  Seems like fans on this site are thinking "down the road" with the Momo would hurt the development of the frosh guards.   But I've followed Steve Lavin for more than 20 years - he's thinking about winning NOW.  Making the Tourney NOW.  Making a run in the Tourney NOW.  Momo's experience in the lineup could mean 2 or 3 extra wins in conference, AND 2 or three extra wins in postseason.    But if he has to wait a year, then Nuri and Harrison and Dom all have 32-38 games of D-1 experience, Stith will still be here, and Jevon will be arriving as a frosh - so yes, then Momo might be redundant.   But Steve Lavin has always been a "win now" guy - and I'm guessing the Cancer scare has probably reinforced that (as did his last year at UCLA) - win now, cause there's no gauarantee there will BE a "next year"....(by the way, Steve DID try to bring in a transfer guard that 2003 season - realizing he had only the very inexperienced Ced Bozeman at the Point.  Unfortunately, UNC transfer Brian Morrison had to sit out a transfer year that season, and when Ced went down with an injury Steve had to turn to what should have been his 3rd string PG - Ryan Walcott.  Kid did his best - he was a decent backup pg, but as you all know, that team went 10-18)....

Stith is a nice 3rd string pg - and you need those on successful teams.  Usually once or twice a season they have to step up big (injuries and foul trouble, etc) - a kid like Stith has shown he can do that. But we really have NO meaaningful backcourt experience on this team.   And to win THIS year, we'll need that.    I don't understand the comments about Momo in some of the posts above "I'd feel different if he had 4 or 5 assists" - Guys, he WAS  Arizonas PG.  He 2nd on the team in minutes at 26 game.   He WAS their 2nd leading scorer.  His team DID go to the Elite 8.  His team DID win the Conference Championship.  His team DID finish ranked #9 in the country.   Even tho I'm a stats guy at heart, I have to look at the team.    This is a Sean Miller coached team.   Remember when his Xavier team went 28-7 and reached the Sweet 16 three years ago?   Dante Jackson was their leading assist guy.    He averaged 2.7 (96 in 35 games).   In 2006, leading assist guy was Stanley Burrell - he got 3.2 (105 in 32 games).   The only reasonably high assist guy Sean's every coached was when Drew Lavender TRANSFERRED IN - he got 164 assists in 34 games for Xavier - 4.8 per game and they got to the Elite 8.   BUT he transfered in after starting for Oklahoma as a Sophmore.  Where he played 28mins a game.  and averagd 9 pts and 2.9 assists.  Sound familiar?

  good post cgreen.  I agree. If he comes, i want him for this year.  However, i won't lose sleep if he decides to go elsewhere.  Lavin , in one short year, has put us in a position where i have a " whatever" attitude about a player of Momo Jones' talent. Amazing!

Quote from: sfgny24 on May 20, 2011, 01:37:53 PM

Quote from: MCNPA on May 20, 2011, 08:45:50 AM

The only thing that would make MoMo a very important pickup is if Nuri wasn't on track to be here this coming year due to schoolwork issues.  I know he needs summer classes to fulfill all his coursework.  Hopefully he is doing so.

Totally agree. Nuri brings the experience while still allowing enough PT for the new recruits to gain the valuable experience they will need for 2012. I like the idea of the new kids getting maximum PT even if it costs us a game or two this season. If Nuri and MoMo are both here in 2011 they will both be getting major minutes possibly at the expense of Harrison or Greene. If Jevon is going to be eligible for 2012 we'll be in good shape.

?? Nuri has played one season of organized ball in thelast 3 years.  He didn't play his senior year of high school, didn't play the following year at the JC (thats why he has 3 years eligibility remaining).  He has the LEAST experience of any of our newcomers.  Over that same period Momo led Oak Hill to a 44-1 record as a High School Senior, then played 34 games as a backkup PG as a freshman, then led Arizona to a #9 ranking in D-1 and an Elite 8....

I find his statement puzzling as well.  Nuri's competition was far inferior than many of our high school recruits.  QEA and Brewster would beat Nuri's team by 20. 

So quiet now. What's the latest on this one-time commit?