New Julius Francis Video

[Stallion]

here's a summary of Francis' scoring with some rebound info. Looks like he had a streak where he didn't score much-for whatever reason I don't know-but has picked it up lately. Based on the number of shots in a couple of games-may have had an injury-I dunno. Nice rebound totals in any event-appears to more proficient at rebounding.


http://projects.washingtonpost.com/hss/ ... all/19933/

[Charleston Pony]

Just watched Julius and his Our Lady of Good Counsel team destroy a local private school here in the 1st round of the Charleston Tourney. Game was over early as this was a complete mis-match and difficult to assess Julius' game. I think it ended something like 85-27 after Good Counsel took a 50-12 halftime lead.

He looks to me to be a good replacement for Bamba. Posibly a little more physical than what Bamba was at this stage, but nobody should expect him to come in next year and have any immediate impact. Another project, for sure. I didn't see much in the way of offensive skills and he is not one who can put the ball on the floor in the low post. Watching him in warmups, he's awkward handling the ball (as you expect from most 6-11 guys his age) and didn't have a nice rotation on his shot.

He was matched against a couple of 6-4/6-5 posts in this one and dominated them. Pulled down several boards, altered a few shots and scored 10 1st half pts. Did a nice job getting position on offense and got some easy buckets because of the size mismatch. Played pretty good defense (Counsel stayed in man the entire game) and had a couple of steals out near the top of the key that lead to break away layups for teammates.

There are some good teams in this tourney and they have Good Counsel bracketed to possibly meet a local school, Pinewood Prep in the finals. Pinewood has 2 guys headed to Division I schools - Clemson & Wichita State. Looks like Good Counsel has some guys who can play at the next level. I liked the Wright-Nelson kid, a 6-5 southpaw small forward who handles the ball pretty well and shot well from 3 pt range.

I won't be able to make Counsel's 2nd round game and final game could be tough as well. Will try to follow how Julius does in this tourney as he runs up against some of the 6-8 & 6-9 players who are much more physical than what he had to deal with today.

[Charleston Pony]

Julius had a tougher go against Willis Hall, a Bobby Cremins/College of Charleston signee who put up big numbers in the 2nd round game - but Our Lady of Good Counsel advances to the anticipated showdown with Pinewood Prep and 6-9 Milton Jennings (Clemson bound) in the Championship game. I will try to make that one to see how it finishes.

Hopefully this link will take you to today's box score

http://roundballclassic.athleticsite.co ... pwrc13.htm

[PonyDoh]

Julius had a tougher go against Willis Hall, a Bobby Cremins/College of Charleston signee who put up big numbers in the 2nd round game - but Our Lady of Good Counsel advances to the anticipated showdown with Pinewood Prep and 6-9 Milton Jennings (Clemson bound) in the Championship game. I will try to make that one to see how it finishes.

Hopefully this link will take you to today's box score

http://roundballclassic.athleticsite.co ... pwrc13.htm

I'll be there for the finals. Milton Jennings is going to lift his leg and take a long leak on Francis. He's so damn skilled. Just in a different league then our new african project

[indianmustang]

julius performance in fianls
http://roundballclassic.athleticsite.co ... pwrc24.htm

[Charleston Pony]

our guy Julius was a non-factor in Good Counsel's exciting 67-65 win in the final game. As expected, Clemson signee Milton Jennings was a one man gang in this one and almost carried his team to victory. PonyDoh can add more, but Francis played only 4 minutes in a game that was simply too fast paced for him. Managed to pick up 3 fouls in that short a time frame.

From what little I saw of him, Julius looks like Bamba part II. I don't mean to be negative with that comment. Bamba has been a contributor here...just not a guy who can dominate a game. I think Francis will come in with defensive skills comparable to Bamba and will be a project on the offensive end.

I remember thinking the same about Jon Koncak years ago and never imagining that he would improve as much as he did and end up playing in the NBA. Bottom line is that you can't teach "tall" and Julius will give us another "big". Time will tell how much he improves and the player he turns out to be for SMU

[papawasamustang]

our guy Julius was a non-factor in Good Counsel's exciting 67-65 win in the final game. As expected, Clemson signee Milton Jennings was a one man gang in this one and almost carried his team to victory. PonyDoh can add more, but Francis played only 4 minutes in a game that was simply too fast paced for him. Managed to pick up 3 fouls in that short a time frame.

From what little I saw of him, Julius looks like Bamba part II. I don't mean to be negative with that comment. Bamba has been a contributor here...just not a guy who can dominate a game. I think Francis will come in with defensive skills comparable to Bamba and will be a project on the offensive end.

I remember thinking the same about Jon Koncak years ago and never imagining that he would improve as much as he did and end up playing in the NBA. Bottom line is that you can't teach "tall" and Julius will give us another "big". Time will tell how much he improves and the player he turns out to be for SMU

I've been around alot of big men & yes, on a whole they do take longer to develop than others. But playing 4 minutes in a game that was to fast paced for him? If your talented you should be able to adapt to the style & flow of any type of game. Give me a break. Wait till he gets to college when the game is even more uptempo. This isn't very impressive @ all but I'll tone it down until I have a chance to see him in person.
I'm sure Coach Doh knows what's he doing but I wonder how hard he recruited Shaw, the center over @ Carter HS in Dallas. I can guarantee you he's playing more than 4 minutes against the top local competition.
We are really going to need another big to go along with Dia next season.

[Stallion]

Jon Koncak averaged something like 32 ppg and 12 rebounds per game in high school. Yes he was a raw talent but far ahead of the guys we've been getting on the offensive side of the ball.

[Charleston Pony]

when I say "too fast paced for him" I'm referring to playing against the Jennings kid. Not unlike Bamba trying to go up against a Tyler Hansborough right now. Jennings is going to have an immediate impact at Clemson. I'd be surprised if Julius has an immediate impact at SMU.

[papawasamustang]

when I say "too fast paced for him" I'm referring to playing against the Jennings kid. Not unlike Bamba trying to go up against a Tyler Hansborough right now. Jennings is going to have an immediate impact at Clemson. I'd be surprised if Julius has an immediate impact at SMU.

Do you think this was a good signing?

I really don't think we can afford to have 3 projects , all centers, riding the end of the bench next season. Without Fall, Dia is left as the only experiencd returning big & I see him as more of a PF. Hopefully Julius, TK & Hoge will continue to improve & be able to contribute.

[PonyDoh]

First off, I don't think Julius playing 4 minutes was the direct result of pace. He simply couldn't handle Jennings, which is ok, b/c Jenning is not just a Top 10-15 national prospect, he's the most skilled inside/out big in the country. He's an impact big, at an upper tier ACC school, from Day 1. Julius is a project w/a high ceiling, that simple. If Julius had given Jennings fits, Good Counsel would have played big. He didn't, so Good Counsel played small and changed the tempo b/c they had depth and speed.

No offense to Texas high school hoops, but looking at Francis' numbers, and saying we should look at the Carter kid is short-sighted, if you're saying that b/c he's local. If its b/c of a defined skill set that translated on the AAU circuit, I'll buy it. Sadly, I think everyone has seen how the great Duncanville has been exposed nationally, as they got hammered at both the City of the Palms, and then by South Atlanta in Indiana. Much like all those tourneys and games, Pinewood Prep vs Good Counsel is serious hoops, and I doubt Good Counsel even finishes top 3 or 4 in WCAC in DC. In short, Julius is playing high major high school ball, in a league that dwarfs any league in the whole state of Texas, fact.

Ok, that said, Francis is a reach..lol. The Maryland Terps are starved for bigs, just dying for any competant big, and their fanbase just laughs at Francis and he plays ball 10 minutes from College Park. Comparing him to Bamba is legit. I was just hoping we were beyond that sort of recruiting. Not to say Bamba hasn't contributed, he has, albeit to awful teams. Ultimately, that type of player is situational, and if we are to really make strides as a program, we can't use our one available ship on a kid that won't contribute meaningfully until his junior year. Simply, we stand at 4-7 and the one kid we're bringing in next year is ripe for a redshirt.

[papawasamustang]

First off, I don't think Julius playing 4 minutes was the direct result of pace. He simply couldn't handle Jennings, which is ok, b/c Jenning is not just a Top 10-15 national prospect, he's the most skilled inside/out big in the country. He's an impact big, at an upper tier ACC school, from Day 1. Julius is a project w/a high ceiling, that simple. If Julius had given Jennings fits, Good Counsel would have played big. He didn't, so Good Counsel played small and changed the tempo b/c they had depth and speed.

No offense to Texas high school hoops, but looking at Francis' numbers, and saying we should look at the Carter kid is short-sighted, if you're saying that b/c he's local. If its b/c of a defined skill set that translated on the AAU circuit, I'll buy it. Sadly, I think everyone has seen how the great Duncanville has been exposed nationally, as they got hammered at both the City of the Palms, and then by South Atlanta in Indiana. Much like all those tourneys and games, Pinewood Prep vs Good Counsel is serious hoops, and I doubt Good Counsel even finishes top 3 or 4 in WCAC in DC. In short, Julius is playing high major high school ball, in a league that dwarfs any league in the whole state of Texas, fact.

Ok, that said, Francis is a reach..lol. The Maryland Terps are starved for bigs, just dying for any competant big, and their fanbase just laughs at Francis and he plays ball 10 minutes from College Park. Comparing him to Bamba is legit. I was just hoping we were beyond that sort of recruiting. Not to say Bamba hasn't contributed, he has, albeit to awful teams. Ultimately, that type of player is situational, and if we are to really make strides as a program, we can't use our one available ship on a kid that won't contribute meaningfully until his junior year. Simply, we stand at 4-7 and the one kid we're bringing in next year is ripe for a redshirt.

Playing 4 minutes against one of the top players in the country shows me that his coach has no confidence in him & decides to bench him & play someone else. Probably didn't want to embarrass him.
A D-1 prospect should be able to compete against any other D-1 prospect.
Even if its the great Jennings. They might get used & abused but hey, it happens. My experience is that players get better by playing against better players.

I really wasn't trying to make a statement about Texas HS hoops other than to say there's a pretty darn good center right down the road from Moody that is available. He plays against good competition & I guess Rivals thinks enough of him to give him a 3 star ranking. I've seen him play & I think he could @ least contribute his freshman year.

Like I said earlier, I'll tone it down until I see him play. Hopefully it all works out great.

[friarwolf]

I want to see Doh develop a pipeline to the Northeast and start bringing us some tough, American post players with nasty attitudes. I've just about seen enough soft Sengalese and Eastern European post players..............

[PonyDoh]

First off, I don't think Julius playing 4 minutes was the direct result of pace. He simply couldn't handle Jennings, which is ok, b/c Jenning is not just a Top 10-15 national prospect, he's the most skilled inside/out big in the country. He's an impact big, at an upper tier ACC school, from Day 1. Julius is a project w/a high ceiling, that simple. If Julius had given Jennings fits, Good Counsel would have played big. He didn't, so Good Counsel played small and changed the tempo b/c they had depth and speed.

No offense to Texas high school hoops, but looking at Francis' numbers, and saying we should look at the Carter kid is short-sighted, if you're saying that b/c he's local. If its b/c of a defined skill set that translated on the AAU circuit, I'll buy it. Sadly, I think everyone has seen how the great Duncanville has been exposed nationally, as they got hammered at both the City of the Palms, and then by South Atlanta in Indiana. Much like all those tourneys and games, Pinewood Prep vs Good Counsel is serious hoops, and I doubt Good Counsel even finishes top 3 or 4 in WCAC in DC. In short, Julius is playing high major high school ball, in a league that dwarfs any league in the whole state of Texas, fact.

Ok, that said, Francis is a reach..lol. The Maryland Terps are starved for bigs, just dying for any competant big, and their fanbase just laughs at Francis and he plays ball 10 minutes from College Park. Comparing him to Bamba is legit. I was just hoping we were beyond that sort of recruiting. Not to say Bamba hasn't contributed, he has, albeit to awful teams. Ultimately, that type of player is situational, and if we are to really make strides as a program, we can't use our one available ship on a kid that won't contribute meaningfully until his junior year. Simply, we stand at 4-7 and the one kid we're bringing in next year is ripe for a redshirt.

Playing 4 minutes against one of the top players in the country shows me that his coach has no confidence in him & decides to bench him & play someone else. Probably didn't want to embarrass him.
A D-1 prospect should be able to compete against any other D-1 prospect.
Even if its the great Jennings. They might get used & abused but hey, it happens. My experience is that players get better by playing against better players.

I really wasn't trying to make a statement about Texas HS hoops other than to say there's a pretty darn good center right down the road from Moody that is available. He plays against good competition & I guess Rivals thinks enough of him to give him a 3 star ranking. I've seen him play & I think he could @ least contribute his freshman year.

Like I said earlier, I'll tone it down until I see him play. Hopefully it all works out great.

Several things:

1) It wasn't a confidence issue, Julius got 3 fouls in 4 minutes vs Jennings. Jennings is very very polished for a high schooler big. By the time it was game clock appropriate to put him back in, they were having a lot of success playing small. Players may get better by playing better players, but if you're Good Counsels coach, trying to win a close one, why make it a practice session for a big that was getting torched early. He played himself into foul trouble, the team played better w/o him on the floor, and that's that.

2) Low major D1 prospects, that happen to be projects even for that level, can't hang w/Top 15 players, especially w/an offensive skillset like Jennings. As was pointed out, its no different then putting Fall on Hansbrough. Hansbrough puts up 30 easily and fouls him out, that simple.

3) Rivals is a horrible hoops service. Scout is better, by far, and ESPN is about to eclipse Rivals w/their new hires. I wouldn't put a ton of stock in Rivals hoops. Football is a different matter.

4) Lastly, any way you cut it, we're both on the same page about Francis, he's a reach. He played against 2 D1 bigs this past week and was devastated by each. It gets no easier in the WCAC. He was a real reach for Doh and it may hurt him.

Also, I appreciate you getting out to all these games locally and checking out SMU prospects. Very interesting reading. Quick question: Where are you finding who is listing SMU beyond Rivals/Scout? Thanks and good work on the locals

[papawasamustang]

several things:

1) It wasn't a confidence issue, Julius got 3 fouls in 4 minutes vs Jennings. Jennings is very very polished for a high schooler big. By the time it was game clock appropriate to put him back in, they were having a lot of success playing small. Players may get better by playing better players, but if you're Good Counsels coach, trying to win a close one, why make it a practice session for a big that was getting torched early. He played himself into foul trouble, the team played better w/o him on the floor, and that's that.

2) Low major D1 prospects, that happen to be projects even for that level, can't hang w/Top 15 players, especially w/an offensive skillset like Jennings. As was pointed out, its no different then putting Fall on Hansbrough. Hansbrough puts up 30 easily and fouls him out, that simple.

3) Rivals is a horrible hoops service. Scout is better, by far, and ESPN is about to eclipse Rivals w/their new hires. I wouldn't put a ton of stock in Rivals hoops. Football is a different matter.

4) Lastly, any way you cut it, we're both on the same page about Francis, he's a reach. He played against 2 D1 bigs this past week and was devastated by each. It gets no easier in the WCAC. He was a real reach for Doh and it may hurt him.

Also, I appreciate you getting out to all these games locally and checking out SMU prospects. Very interesting reading. Quick question: Where are you finding who is listing SMU beyond Rivals/Scout? Thanks and good work on the locals[/quote]

I just had a conversation on Wednesday with a college basketball HC re: rivals & scout & their rankings. We both agreed that its doesn't take an expert to pick out the 4 & 5 star players, so they are pretty accurate with the no brainers. The rest is just a crap shoot in both of our opinions & it really comes down to talent evaluation @ that point.
I look @ the ratings as a starting point. As I see more & more players I start comparing their ratings & see how they match up against each other.
For example, I recently saw Barkari Turner, a 6'3 Jr SG from Plano West who has committed to Baylor. Rivals has him listed as the #17 player in the state (3 stars). I wanted to see how he compared to Rickey Scott & TJ Taylor, both 3 stars & rivals ranks them # 10 & #4 in the state.
I liked both Scott & Taylor better than Turner. I thought the ratings were pretty accurate from both Rivals & Scout although Scout has Turner as a 2 star. ESPN has both Taylor & Turner ranked very highly & they don't have Scott ranked @ all.
If I happen to be @ a game & a player gets my attention than I take note, inquire about them & research them later on the different services.
But like the coach & I agreed its all visual & you have to see them live then it comes down to talent evaluation & you hope you get lucky.

Here's a little more info on Shaw from ESPN. I think its a pretty accurate description of him.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiti ... son%3d2009