Basketball Commitment

[Ponymon]

From this morning's Dallas Morning News:

Arlington Martin senior Jon Killen has orally committed to play for SMU. Killen, a 6-4 point guard, was a first-team All-District 6-5A selection last season. He chose SMU over Louisiana Tech and North Texas, citing SMU's "education, coaching staff, and location."

The article also disclosed that Cedar Hill's point guard Jason Horton, considered one of the top basketball players in the state, made an oral commitment to Missouri on Tuesday.

[This message has been edited by Ponymon (edited 08-20-2003).]

[Dark Horse]

OK, who can give a scouting report on this kid?

[LA_Mustang]

I have never seen him play but one Texas recruiting service has him ranked as the 37th best player in Texas. He is supposedly the same type of player as Houston Nimitz's Derrick Roberts, a big PG with very good passing skills. I wasn't aware that we had offered this kid. Also, this probably means we are out of the running for Roberts.

[Hoop Fan]

Not to be a [deleted], but SMU should be doing better than the #37 player in the state. #37 is good for football, but not basketball. Where is our momentum from signing BHop?

[The CPC]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Hoop Fan:
<B>Not to be a [deleted], but SMU should be doing better than the #37 player in the state. #37 is good for football, but not basketball. Where is our momentum from signing BHop? </B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If the list you are referring to is Texasroundball.com's state top-100, please note that 37 puts him 3 spots in front of Rell Porter, a player everyone considers a high major prospect, and who is being recruited by most of the Big 12 schools. Those lists arent always the best way to evaluate a recruit.
If you are daydreaming about signing one of the states top players this year, it might be time to put that notion out of your head. Most are already committed somewhere else. Two remaining who have expressed an interest in SMU are Chamberlain Oguchi and Derrick Roberts. SMU is still in the race for Roberts, but TCU is in front. Oguchi is more intersested in bigger programs.
Comparing Killen to Roberts may not be that accurate. Both are excellent passers, but Roberts is a better athlete and a more productive scorer. CPC has seen Killen play with both his high school and his summer league team, and in both leagues his role is the same: He's a table setter on teams with balanced scoring. He sets other people up, he doesnt score much himself. Last year he averaged around 9 points and 6 assists per game.

[Hoop Fan]

Thanks for the info. I agree rankings arent everything, but when you consider we apparently beat out North Texas for him, and not any B12 schools, it says to me we got a role player. I'm being presumptuous, and might be completely wrong, because I haven't seen him play. As for why we aren't in on any top Texas propects, I can only assume we are missing Jimmy Tubbs very badly.

[OldPony]

Yeah- Tubb's got a big name player every 3 years. That is after Dement arrived- not before.

[WildHorse]

Killen is every bit of the 6'4" he's listed at, and he's got real long arms. He's sort of like a quicker version of Steve Blake, the PG from Maryland. He doesn't shoot from the perimeter quite as well as Blake (yet), but he's quicker than Blake. He handles the ball well, and is a terrific perimeter defender. Needs to get stronger.