Harrelson per Catspause.com

[SShoe]

What makes everyone assume JH won't be a star at UK? How many of us have seen him play in the last year? To assume that SLU should be the choice because he won't play as much at UK is an unfair knock on JH. If you assume he will start and star at both programs ... SLU still has plenty of things to offer to make Josh decide SLU's the place.

Starring at your hometown school in front of family and friends is something that can't and shouldn't be overlooked. When you add RM's success at putting bigs in the NBA and SLU's superior academic standing ... we have alot to offer. I doubt JH is assuming he will be a role player at UK, with playing time equal, SLU is still a hell of a good choice for him to make. It's been what 15 years since Claggett and less since Ryan Robertson. I'll bet more people in Stl know who Clags is than they do Ryan. Star at SLU and you are a hometown hero for life ...

Good post, except I don't agree that Claggs is more well known than Ryan. Ryan is very well known, it's just that he's known for negative reasons amongst the Mizzou crowd. I would make the comparison between Chris Carrawell or Jahidi White. Carrawell had a great career at Duke, but I bet one in five "basketball" fans in the local area could tell you who he is.

[Dungeon Yankee]

What makes everyone assume JH won't be a star at UK? How many of us have seen him play in the last year? To assume that SLU should be the choice because he won't play as much at UK is an unfair knock on JH. If you assume he will start and star at both programs ... SLU still has plenty of things to offer to make Josh decide SLU's the place.

Starring at your hometown school in front of family and friends is something that can't and shouldn't be overlooked. When you add RM's success at putting bigs in the NBA and SLU's superior academic standing ... we have alot to offer. I doubt JH is assuming he will be a role player at UK, with playing time equal, SLU is still a hell of a good choice for him to make. It's been what 15 years since Claggett and less since Ryan Robertson. I'll bet more people in Stl know who Clags is than they do Ryan. Star at SLU and you are a hometown hero for life ...

I didn't assume JH wouldn't be a star. I tried to look at the choice in terms of some probabilities. My earlier post states some of the same pluses about SLU that you are saying. In each of my posts, I have tried to look at it from his eyes and why SLU would be a better choice.

[slufanskip]

I didn't assume JH wouldn't be a star. I tried to look at the choice in terms of some probabilities. My earlier post states some of the same pluses about SLU that you are saying. In each of my posts, I have tried to look at it from his eyes and why SLU would be a better choice.

I wasn't replying to you directly. I was talking about the tone of the whole thread.

I'd still bet more people know Clags than Ryan. Clags name was in the paper every week during the season for 4 years. We heard about Ryan a few times a year. People who follow college basketball may know them equally well, but I don't see it with the average guy. And I can assure you if I ask every person who comes on my lot in the city not 1 in 10 will know Ryan and over 50% will know Claggs.

[SShoe]

This kind of reminds me of a funny story I heard Ryan tell on KFNS recently.

Robertson was in Columbia about one year ago for business and he said that he was getting a quick bite to eat at Bread Company. He said there were a few tables with students, but the place was otherwise fairly empty. As he was leaving the restaurant, he got booed. Mizzou fans really have trouble letting things go.

[Marc Maggard]

Going on these shows and talking with these guys can't be easy for Josh.

Based on the slant of the interview and the pressure the UK guy was giving him, I certainly don't think it's a done deal by any means. In saying that he's leaning toward UK, I think it kind of gets the interviewer off his back. I'm sure if he had said he was leaning towards SLU the guy would have jumped all over him.

If there is one thing I've learned from reading various Scout stories written by reporters from other schools, players generally give answers that the prospective fan bases want to hear. When Michigan was still recruiting Cassity, it certainly sounded as if he wanted to go to UM and was leaning that way. When you read Nate's page, it went the other direction.

Well, I'm the guy doing the interview. My name is Marc Maggard and I've been a professional basketball scout for over a decade.

For the record, I'm also very close to Drew Diener, who played as SLU and has a cousin who is Majerus's assistant.

I have amazing respect for Majerus and find him to be one of the best coaches in America.

Now, to my point.....

I didn't put any "pressure" on Josh to say anything. I asked him about the report that he had told SLU that he was going to UK and he said "not yet" so I followed up on that remark.

I generally don't even tell kids that I have a UK site cause I don't want to color the interview, however, I had to call from a KY number and Josh was also aware of who I am before I called, so I didn't want to seem sneaky either.

I take great pride in RECORDING all my interviews so EVERYONE can hear it and see that I don't try to lead kids to say things.....

I've listened to the interview a few times now and am more than comfortable that I did nothing wrong.

So....good luck with next year. I'm far from a SLU hater....in fact, I have many fond memories of my visits to SLU and time spent with Romar on your campus. It's a beautiful campus and I hope to come visit again sometime. Majerus will put you back on the map and field a great team. He's one of the smartest coaches in the nation IMO.

Marc Maggard

[email protected]

[Marc Maggard]

Does everyone from Kentucky sound uneducated or just these media guys?

I'd have to say everyone cause I am about as smart as they come in Ky......

mm

[Marc Maggard]

There are quite alot of high class people that are UK supporters. Horse breeding and racing is an expensive sport. It is a beautiful part of the country.

However, the interviewer referenced in this thread did say "Fordian slip" which I thought was pretty damn funny.

must be the accent. I'm quite aware of who Sigmund FREUD is and can't for the life of me contemplate calling him "Ford".

mm

[Marc Maggard]

Perhaps not, and I didn't intend to insinuate that you do. However, I think your articles generally give far greater detail to SLU's recruitment of the player than the other school's because that's naturally what subscribers want to read about. You may have asked a recruit a question about the other school going after him, but the quote you ultimately end up using is about SLU. This suggests to the reader that the player really likes SLU, even though he may like the other school even more. It's just that comment was left out.

By the way, I admittedly have no clue who the guy that interviewed Harrellson was, but his questions were loaded and he was pushing Josh for an immediate answer. I give Josh credit for side-stepping the question and telling him what he wanted to hear without making a final decision. Smart kid. Maybe he does belong in "small classrooms."

I'm the guy....not sure what questions you considered to be loaded....but I simply followed up his "not yet" like any good reporter would do.

However, I don't consider myself a reporter....I am a scout. I run a college scouting service. Still, I don't think Josh was "telling me what I wanted to hear"......seems to me like he was giving honest answers....especially looking back on it.

mm

[Marc Maggard]

For such a storied program the fans sure are very unsure of their program if they are so obsessive about JH and SLU's recruiting of him. If I were them I would be rather nonchalant about the whole thing - it would make them look so much better to the recruit and others.

You may not be interested any longer, but I did a follow up with Josh after his announcement and he mentioned UK fans.

It's at www.kentuckyink.com if you care to listen.

For the record, I still have a souther accent......sue me.

mm

[Marc Maggard]

Can't say that was a particularly positive interview from a Billiken standpoint but he certainly didn't say he's going to UK so we'll just have to wait.

One thing this process shows is how the power of the UK fanbases can influence a decision. He's apparently gotten at least 4 calls today from UK versions of Nate and listening to that interview its obvious they are mini recruiters for UK. the guy went out of his way to compliment RM but it was still obvious. Its hard to see how an impressionable kid could be swayed by it...

I didn't have to go out of my way to compliment RM....I'm a huge fan of RM. He's an incredible coach IMO. Still, I asked fair questions and simply followed his replies with follow up questions. When a kid says "not yet"....I follow that up.

mm

[moytoy12]

You may not be interested any longer, but I did a follow up with Josh after his announcement and he mentioned UK fans.

It's at www.kentuckyink.com if you care to listen.

For the record, I still have a souther accent......sue me.

mm

The fans that sent him 640 letters, which, on the face of things, appeared to push the outer bounds of certain NCAA rules that they have previously violated?

[moytoy12]

I'm the guy....not sure what questions you considered to be loaded....but I simply followed up his "not yet" like any good reporter would do.

However, I don't consider myself a reporter....I am a scout. I run a college scouting service. Still, I don't think Josh was "telling me what I wanted to hear"......seems to me like he was giving honest answers....especially looking back on it.

mm

Why weren't you and other scouts on Josh out of high school?

[moytoy12]

Well, I'm the guy doing the interview. My name is Marc Maggard and I've been a professional basketball scout for over a decade.

For the record, I'm also very close to Drew Diener, who played as SLU and has a cousin who is Majerus's assistant.

I have amazing respect for Majerus and find him to be one of the best coaches in America.

Now, to my point.....

I didn't put any "pressure" on Josh to say anything. I asked him about the report that he had told SLU that he was going to UK and he said "not yet" so I followed up on that remark.

I generally don't even tell kids that I have a UK site cause I don't want to color the interview, however, I had to call from a KY number and Josh was also aware of who I am before I called, so I didn't want to seem sneaky either.

I take great pride in RECORDING all my interviews so EVERYONE can hear it and see that I don't try to lead kids to say things.....

I've listened to the interview a few times now and am more than comfortable that I did nothing wrong.

So....good luck with next year. I'm far from a SLU hater....in fact, I have many fond memories of my visits to SLU and time spent with Romar on your campus. It's a beautiful campus and I hope to come visit again sometime. Majerus will put you back on the map and field a great team. He's one of the smartest coaches in the nation IMO.

Marc Maggard

[email protected]

I think the interview was a pretty fair interview. However, when you (paraphrasing here) said "ok, let's get down to it, have you made your decision" line of questioning, you were pressuring him to tell you (and your eventual listeners) what his decision was. But i don't think there is anything wrong with that.

[Marc Maggard]

The fans that sent him 640 letters, which, on the face of things, appeared to push the outer bounds of certain NCAA rules that they have previously violated?

lol...no they did not.

UK sent him 640 letters.

mm

[Marc Maggard]

Why weren't you and other scouts on Josh out of high school?

Cause during his Jr summer, he had been playing basketball all of two years and probably was nowhere near the player he is today.....He also grew quite a bit.

There are always players who slip thru unnoticed...nothing new here.

mm

[moytoy12]

lol...no they did not.

UK sent him 640 letters.

mm

thanks for clearing that up.

[Marc Maggard]

I think the interview was a pretty fair interview. However, when you (paraphrasing here) said "ok, let's get down to it, have you made your decision" line of questioning, you were pressuring him to tell you (and your eventual listeners) what his decision was. But i don't think there is anything wrong with that.

Of course I ask revealing questions....why else interview a kid. Who wants to hear "give me your list of top schools"....lol

As a scout, I work with a ton of people involved in the process. I generally have a handle on the situation long before I call a kid for an interview. I knew Josh was so close to committing to UK before I called him, so of course I'm going to ask him those questions. I'd bet you would want your SLU guys to try to get to the bottom of the story too.

I make no qualms about any of that.

What I don't do is try to lead a kid toward any one school.

mm

[Marc Maggard]

thanks for clearing that up.

No problem....

and that is a common thing in recruiting....schools send tons of letters all on one day to make a big impression.....one of the "oldest tricks in the books".

mm

[moytoy12]

Of course I ask revealing questions....why else interview a kid. Who wants to hear "give me your list of top schools"....lol

As a scout, I work with a ton of people involved in the process. I generally have a handle on the situation long before I call a kid for an interview. I knew Josh was so close to committing to UK before I called him, so of course I'm going to ask him those questions. I'd bet you would want your SLU guys to try to get to the bottom of the story too.

I make no qualms about any of that.

What I don't do is try to lead a kid toward any one school.

mm

Understood and didn't accuse you of doing anything other than what a person in your position would have done. I did counter that you, in my opinion, pressured him for a decision. But again, i don't see anything wrong with that.

[moytoy12]

No problem....

and that is a common thing in recruiting....schools send tons of letters all on one day to make a big impression.....one of the "oldest tricks in the books".

mm

LOL. if our prior staff was here, I would have suggested that you should call our coaching staff and tell them all of the oldest tricks in the book.

[Marc Maggard]

Understood and didn't accuse you of doing anything other than what a person in your position would have done. I did counter that you, in my opinion, pressured him for a decision. But again, i don't see anything wrong with that.

I don't agree that I "pressured" for anything.

I asked him once. Then when he said, "not yet"....I followed it up with asking about that remark.

I'd hardly call that "pressure" but it doesn't bother me if you think it is....I just don't agree at all.

mm

[Marc Maggard]

LOL. if our prior staff was here, I would have suggested that you should call our coaching staff and tell them all of the oldest tricks in the book.

I know your current staff.....they are very good. give em time...it takes a couple years to get recruiting on track. Majerus is a top coach and a huge name in recruiting. You'll be fine.

mm

[TheA_Bomb]

must be the accent. I'm quite aware of who Sigmund FREUD is and can't for the life of me contemplate calling him "Ford".

mm

Hey man I don't have a problem with the accent my family lives in Alabama. They are all big Auburn fans. I like a southern accent, particularly more GA or AL than KY or TN but that is just my preference.

We all mispronounce things from time to time. You may have noticed that I was the guy defending UK fans. I hate it when people just want to paint everyone from the South as being redneck hicks. There're red-necks all over even in Maine I met a few from there before. There are even German red-necks go visit Ballerman on Ibiza and you'll see em'.

Anyway, you should recognize your bias. You don't have to apologize for it just recognize it.

[Marc Maggard]

Hey man I don't have a problem with the accent my family lives in Alabama. They are all big Auburn fans. I like a southern accent, particularly more GA or AL than KY or TN but that is just my preference.

We all mispronounce things from time to time. You may have noticed that I was the guy defending UK fans. I hate it when people just want to paint everyone from the South as being redneck hicks. There're red-necks all over even in Maine I met a few from there before. There are even German red-necks go visit Ballerman on Ibiza and you'll see em'.

Anyway, you should recognize your bias. You don't have to apologize for it just recognize it.

I'm pretty sure I recognize that I am a UK fan. Not apologizing for it either.

Just saying that I don't lead recruits to answer questions in a "pro UK" way. It's exactly the reason I record and publish every single interview I have ever done. I won't talk to a kid if I don't have my recorder on me. It's how I protect myself.

mm

[moytoy12]

I know your current staff.....they are very good. give em time...it takes a couple years to get recruiting on track. Majerus is a top coach and a huge name in recruiting. You'll be fine.

mm

Agreed, i have a lot of faith in the current staff.