Ahmad Grant and Simms-Edwards

[Art Haines is God]

Missouri State Fan here. I have season tickets to the MSU games and sit about two rows behind the bench. I am lucky enough to sit right behind the seats they put the recruits. There have been four kids in this season that said they were from Peoria/Bloomington area Ahmad Grant, Dyciruis Sims-Edwards, DeAntre Jefferson, and Dmitri Riggs.

I asked if Bradley was recruiting them and they all said no. Riggs said they originally did.

So, does anyone know why they aren't targets?? Just trying to see if they are legit MVC guys.

Good luck on a great season. I hope you finish as well as you started.

[Big Mike]

the only one I have seen more than once is DSE....he is legit and I think he can play D1!

[scout4126]

Grant is a graduate of Peoria Richwoods High School but took a couple years off before transferring to the junior college level. He's a very good scorer and can light it up from beyond the arch. He's about 6'3" 175 lbs, long, and just puts the ball in the basket. He's been recruited by some SEC level programs but I'm not sure how many years of eligibility he would have at the Division I level though.

Dyricus is a strong, physical guard that can fill both slots. He plays very hard and is smart with the ball. Projected as a point guard, he isn't a true "1" but has the ability to play it. He's improved his ball handling and shooting ability and has a little ways to go but he will be a very good MVC-level player.

DeAntre Jefferson may be the junior college level's biggest sleeper. He's about 6-8 230 and very athletic. Jefferson grew eight inches from his freshman year of high school to his first year of junior college. He's physical, very skilled around the rim, runs the floor well, and just has a solid overall game. Ohio, Chattanooga, Missouri State, Eastern Illinois, and plenty other schools have extended scholarship offers. Purdue and UAB are two schools that are heavy on him as well. There are questions whether or not he will qualify though. In my opinion, he's a Big Ten caliber player.

D'mitri is a talent, period. Just a pure talent. When he wants to, he can be the top player in the state of Illinois and a top player nationally (I'm talking top 10!). The problem is, no one knows how to motivate him. He's averaged nearly 30 ppg over his last ten games at Bloomington High School so it seems that he's actually starting to find his motor. He will not qualify for the D1 level so he has already committed to Highland (IL) Community College.

[scout4126]

The reason I question it is because after you graduate high school, you have so many semesters to enroll and play before your clock runs out at the Division I level. Unlike the Division II and Division III levels, your clock starts as soon as you graduate at DI.

[cpacmel]

I believe your "clock" only starts ticking when you enroll in college.
John Wilkins and all those 25 year old African kids who all seem to spend 2 or 3 years at prep schools (eg-Bawa Muniru, Beas Hamga, Festus Ezeli...
fall under the same rule....once they enroll in college they all still have five years to complete four seasons of athletic eligibility.

Tornado, I think it even goes further than just simply enrolling in college though. I don't think that "clock" starts until you enroll in college FULL TIME. ( Which I think has been defined by 12 hours or more per semester)

[scout4126]

are you sure, I don't think so...
If that's the case, then how about guys like Rashad Austin and Mareceo Rutledge (of UNLV) who worked a couple years after high school, then enrolled at juco.

In Rutledge's case, he didn't enter college until nearly four years out of high school and age 22, but now he's almost 26 years old and a senior at UNLV.
Rutledge dropped out of high school in 2001, but didn't enroll at Yuba until 2005.
Here's a story of how he left school in 2001, got a job and worked several years, then returned to play at Yuba in 2005, then at UNLV in 2007.
Had Rutledge not run into the "part-time bartender at Applebee's", a guy named Doug Cornelius, he might still be loading packages on that UPS dock,
but instead Rutledge is finishing his DI career and has an excellent shot at playing in the NCAA tournament this year.

http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/753379.html

http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/753379-p2.html

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sports/mens_basketball/athletes/mareceo-rutledge/

I believe your "clock" only starts ticking when you enroll in college.
John Wilkins and all those 25 year old African kids who all seem to spend 2 or 3 years at prep schools (eg-Bawa Muniru, Beas Hamga, Festus Ezeli...
fall under the same rule....once they enroll in college they all still have five years to complete four seasons of athletic eligibility.

The difference from all those kids is that they never GRADUATED from high school until later and I'm almost certain that's the rule as I stated earlier. I could be wrong but I'm almost absolutely certain after discussing it with a couple AAU coaches. The African kids never graduated from high school or prep until they left, the junior college kids never graduated from high school until right before they entered the junior college ranks.

[ph]

There certainlly have been a few cases of D1 athletes that spent time as minor league bball players (before playing another D1 sport), or the somewhat recent QB in Florida that used to be a stock broker or something like that before playing college ball...

[scout4126]

There certainlly have been a few cases of D1 athletes that spent time as minor league bball players (before playing another D1 sport), or the somewhat recent QB in Florida that used to be a stock broker or something like that before playing college ball...

Yes there are definitely exceptions to the rule such as playing professionally in other sports, going to the military and other things of that nature. Like I said, I'm not completely sure on the whole issue, it's just something I've been told a few times by some respectable people and I trust their word. Could be right, could be wrong.

[georgethedog]

I can probably find the exact ruole, here it is cited at one NCAA DI institution...
"How Long am I Eligible?
Div-I: 5 years from when you enroll full-time
in a 2 or 4 yr. Institution after HS. The
clock automatically starts after you turn 21."

Division II and Division III rules may differ."

I also found the definition of when the athlete's college eligibility starts...."full-time collegiate enrollment for Division I"

Then how did Nate Funk play 8 years at Creighton?

[scout4126]

I can probably find the exact ruole, here it is cited at one NCAA DI institution...
"How Long am I Eligible?
Div-I: 5 years from when you enroll full-time
in a 2 or 4 yr. Institution after HS. The
clock automatically starts after you turn 21."

Division II and Division III rules may differ."

I also found the definition of when the athlete's college eligibility starts...."full-time collegiate enrollment for Division I"

Thanks for clearing it up!

[tornado]

Ahmad Grant has narrowed to three choices and will take 3 visits within the next couple weeks.
"Ahmad Grant (SO) will be taking visits to Northern Iowa, Utah State and
UNC-Wilmington starting next weekend."

http://jucojunction.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=934968

(premium article)

Ahmad's teammate at Olney CC, Ryan Daniels, an ex-Drake Bulldog, has just committed to Central Arkansas.

[tornado]

Ahmad Grant, the Richwoods kid we were discussing, spent the last year at UNC-Wilmington...

http://www.uncwsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=92930&SPID=11332&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=19800&ATCLID=204812244&Q_SEASON=2009

He had a pretty good year....and was their 3rd leading scorer...starting 14 games..playing in 31.
but UNC-W was 9-22.......
8.1 ppg, 34.4% from 3pt

[tornado]

...Festus Ezeli

Ezeli, who was at Yuba but "redshirted"...is now at Vanderbilt...

he is still really struggling offensively -- and was 0-4 and 2 pts tonight against Nebraska..
Now a junior -- he's averaging under 4ppg for his career -- he's a guy who would have been a force had he chose to go mid-major..


Richwoods' Ahmad Grant...at UNC-W is averaging 9 ppg and is 100% (4-4) so far this year on 3-pointers...they are playing right now vs. Morehead St.

[real fan]

This comparison is garbage, DSE has not played well because he is trying to do too much plus he was guarding players 4 inches taller which takes a toll on your offense, he will be fine because he has that toughness which is hard to coach.

[tornado]

note that this thread started almost 2 years ago -- so that was before everyone knew DE was good...