Mississippi high school basketball players

[Dawg61]

seem to consistently be overrated at the very top. Lots of Newman's and Pollard's and not enough Spoons. Am I wrong here?

[MarketingBully]

Nick Weatherspoon is underrated IMO and will be a great Bulldog addition. :)

[Dawg61]

Nick Weatherspoon is underrated IMO and will be a great Bulldog addition. :)

Spoons is plural

[jumbo]

Monta Ellis and Al Jefferson turned out alright

[Ifyouonlyknew]

seem to consistently be overrated at the very top. Lots of Newman's and Pollard's and not enough Spoons. Am I wrong here?

I wouldn't say that. There have been a lot of good guys from MS who were highly touted & made it.

[Johnson85]

seem to consistently be overrated at the very top. Lots of Newman's and Pollard's and not enough Spoons. Am I wrong here?

Monte ellis
Al Jefferson
Jonathan Bender
Travis Outlaw
Devin Booker
ETA: Rodney Hood (h/t Five-Tool)

versus

Malik (who averaged in the teens as a freshman even though he struggled with injuries)
Pollard
Who else?

Seems like top rated recruits are doing pretty well but certainly hvaen't paid that much attention.

[Dawg61]

Isn't Booker the only one of those 5 to play college? Do straight to the NBA guys count here?

[Five-tool Poster]

Rodney Hood is doing ok.

[Dawg61]

Alright I'll stand alone I guess in saying Mississippi high school basketball talent is overrated.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Alright I'll stand alone I guess in saying Mississippi high school basketball talent is overrated.

I think the issue is MS doesn't have elite basketball talent coming through every year. So when a big time name comes through & doesn't make it more light is on him because he's propped up due to lack of other big names with him.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Nick Weatherspoon is underrated IMO and will be a great Bulldog addition. :)

I don't see him being underrated he is damn near a 5*...isnt he like .977 or something like that?

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Booker shouldn't be in the Mississippi guys...Isnt he from Michigan?

[Johnson85]

Isn't Booker the only one of those 5 to play college? Do straight to the NBA guys count here?

Well, if you're asking whether high end Mississippi prospects tend to be overrated, I would say it makes sense to look at the most highly rated, many of whom went straight to the pros and had careers ranging from solid journeyman to borderline star.

Who were the other highly rated recruits of the past 10-15 years that you think were overrated? I'm obviously only remembering the most hyped and the most recent.

[djaymsu5]

Antonio McDyess
Mo Williams

[Dawg61]

Well, if you're asking whether high end Mississippi prospects tend to be overrated, I would say it makes sense to look at the most highly rated, many of whom went straight to the pros and had careers ranging from solid journeyman to borderline star.

Who were the other highly rated recruits of the past 10-15 years that you think were overrated? I'm obviously only remembering the most hyped and the most recent.

In roughly a span of the last 15 years this thread has named 8 players that made it to the NBA. There's been more than eight but I wouldn't say only being able to name eight as proof that I'm wrong here. I don't remember the busts cause they are busts and quickly forgotten but there's been 180 dandy dozen players in the last 15 years. We can name eight guys outta 180 of the best this state has to offer that aren't busts. My point of this whole thread is Mississippi HS basketball and more specifically Jackson area basketball seems to produce mainly players that do not transition well into the college game. It isn't quality team oriented basketball. It's bully ball that encourages it's best athletes to drive to the basket and out athlete or out quick the opponent. The players don't get good instruction from their coaches and they don't get it in AAU either. Then they are busts when smarter more fundamentally sound competition awaits them in college. I don't know how to break this cycle but I do think we need to be more aware of this trend when recruiting this state.

[parabrave]

In roughly a span of the last 15 years this thread has named 8 players that made it to the NBA. There's been more than eight but I wouldn't say only being able to name eight as proof that I'm wrong here. I don't remember the busts cause they are busts and quickly forgotten but there's been 180 dandy dozen players in the last 15 years. We can name eight guys outta 180 of the best this state has to offer that aren't busts. My point of this whole thread is Mississippi HS basketball and more specifically Jackson area basketball seems to produce mainly players that do not transition well into the college game. It isn't quality team oriented basketball. It's bully ball that encourages it's best athletes to drive to the basket and out athlete or out quick the opponent. The players don't get good instruction from their coaches and they don't get it in AAU either. Then they are busts when smarter more fundamentally sound competition awaits them in college. I don't know how to break this cycle but I do think we need to be more aware of this trend when recruiting this state.

Well you mentioned the main culprit being AAU. These kids listen to these AAU "coaches" more than their HS coaches. Baseball will be like this in a few years with the kids who play on Select teams.

[djaymsu5]

In roughly a span of the last 15 years this thread has named 8 players that made it to the NBA. There's been more than eight but I wouldn't say only being able to name eight as proof that I'm wrong here. I don't remember the busts cause they are busts and quickly forgotten but there's been 180 dandy dozen players in the last 15 years. We can name eight guys outta 180 of the best this state has to offer that aren't busts. My point of this whole thread is Mississippi HS basketball and more specifically Jackson area basketball seems to produce mainly players that do not transition well into the college game. It isn't quality team oriented basketball. It's bully ball that encourages it's best athletes to drive to the basket and out athlete or out quick the opponent. The players don't get good instruction from their coaches and they don't get it in AAU either. Then they are busts when smarter more fundamentally sound competition awaits them in college. I don't know how to break this cycle but I do think we need to be more aware of this trend when recruiting this state.

That's why I was glad Kegler left to go to Oak Hill even though it worried me at first that we might lose him. Darius Hicks moved to Twenty-two feet academy with Eli Wright as well his senior year but we obviously still didn't want him. That's the only two I can think of that left the state for better coaching/competition or exposure. I will say I think Robert Woodard and Marshall are going to be very good. As IYOK mentioned at one point Marshall needs to work on his shooting some but the kid has Lebron type athletic ability just not quite as big. I don't really know about Barber. But I agree as a whole Mississippi basketball is weak when it comes to competition and there might be 2 to 3 players tops per year that are big 5 conference good. Also the Feazell kid from Lawrence County looks like he's going to be a good one too.