Vasquez: "Top 10 Pick"
Uh, good luck with that, Gary.
Terps coach Gary Williams is convinced Vasquez will be a top-10 pick in 2010, especially if he leads the Terps back to the NCAA tournament. Vasquez was a late decision to declare for the draft and did mull staying in after positive workouts. The Terps lost only one key contributor in Dave Neal, so they should be a top-five ACC team. Vasquez's leadership isn't in question, but he needs to prove he can be more explosive next season.
I love Vaz and all, but he's not at top 10 guy. Draft's too strong this year. Off the top of my head, John Wall, Greg Monroe, Ed Davis, Craig Brackins, Cole Aldrich, and Willie Warren are all definitely ahead of him, and unless something goes horribly wrong, Gani Lawal, Xavier Henry, Damion James, Devin Ebanks, Trevor Booker, Al-Farouq Aminu, Kemba Walker, Jarvis Varnado, Tyler Smith, and Patrick Patterson are ahead of him too. I'm wondering if he was misquoted there.
WSJ: AAU causing decline in basketball fundamentals
The AAU hate has been growing and growing recently, and the Wall Street Journal is getting in on it. My favorite part:
By the middle of the last NBA season, as concerns build about his dwindling playing time and rough transition to the NBA, last year’s No. 2 overall pick, Michael Beasley of the Miami Heat, finally conceded a fundamental flaw: No one, at any level in his basketball career, had asked him to play defense. And especially not in AAU. "If you’re playing defense in AAU, you don’t need to be playing," he says. "I’ve honestly never seen anyone play defense in AAU."
Counting down the ACC's top 30 players
For some reason, C.J. Spiller is #1. Yeah, CJ Spiller, not unanimous ACC MVP Jonathan Dwyer - he's #2. The only Terp on the list is Da'Rel Scott, at #30. I'm surprised that Alex Wucjiak didn't sneak onto the list. We know he's not top 30 caliber, but he gets a hella lot of tackles...I thought he might get on it for that.
More official link on Javarie Johnson
Even though we knew yesterday through the wonders of Google News, this is a slightly more official link on Javarie Johnson's commitment to Miami.
"I feel like I have already come to my decision [and] it’s Miami," Johnson reported. "I told my coaches this week and they said I couldn’t go wrong with any of my choices, so they were fine with it."
Recruiting Report: Weekly recruiting roundup
Yep, as always, Matt Bracken's trusty recruiting roundup.