2007 BU commitment- 6'10" Anthony Thompson

[Da Coach]

Ray Brown - 1 star

You are right about flaws in the rating systems these sites use.
I remember that when Ray signed with Bradley he was a 3-star
prospect on Scout. And he did nothing to weaken that rating,
by leading his team to the championship game of the Minnesota
state tournament and having a tremendous senior year.
Yet Scout downgraded him to a 2-star, then a 1-star prospect
as the season passed. I still don't understand why.

Rivals still shows him as a 3-star recruit. And CSTV still shows
him as a "super prospect" which is their 2nd highest rating
("Top 100" is the highest, and "Super Prospect" means
approximately the kids ranked 101-200).

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=25353

http://interact.cstv.com/recruiting/searchrecruit.cfm?school_name=brad&sport=basketball&dbyear=04

[Big Mike]

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/092706/BRA_BB2UB0M2.071.shtml

Sounds good to me!

[Biff]

Daniel Ruffin and JJ Tauai are the co-captains of the team this year. Congratulations to them.

[squeaky]

Nice article by Dave Reynolds! He must have interviewed both Anthony Thompson and his coach and there are some good quotes. He confirms that the NCAA appearance and the success of POB were key things that attracted him to Bradley. He also liked the smaller campus and class size, and the fact the Bradley doesn't have football. Often those things work against a school.
The offers he had were all from major schools, too. Good work by the coaches. And he sounds like a bright kid.

[chitownBUB]

Anthony Thompson is not even the highest rated kid on his own high school team. Alonzo Edwards, who is also playing at Klein Forest High School, is rated a higher recruit among the Texas prep players than Thompson.

http://texashoops.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=55379

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=378&p=8&c=1&nid=2680502

It doesn't look like he's committed anywhere, yet. Maybe he'd be interested in playing with Thompson for the next 4 years?

That is bizarre, the guy is one of the top players in Texas and doesn't even have any schools interested in him.

[Da Coach]

Rivals doesn't list any schools, but I am sure there are schools recruiting the kid. Scout lists several major schools like Texas, Texas A&M, SMU, Miami (FL), Texas Tech, and Wyoming.

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=2680502

[flipper]

this great news. maybe another pob?

[tornado]

The print version of the story in the PJ Star has a strange sub-headline just beneath the main headline.

It says
"But senior lefty from Houston is only a slight 190 pounds"

OK-- I don't know how much he actually weighs, but many sources say 190, so the statement isn't false, but it is almost as if the guy who writes the headline has to slip a little rip into the headline. They just can't seem to say anything positive without adding a little negative.

It almost sounds like they feel compelled to proclaim the kid's faults.
Maybe a headline like "But he can't hit the short jumper"
or maybe "But he's turnover prone"...

Why do they do this?

I checked the Rivals Top 150, and found several players that are 190 lbs. or so but they don't have disclaimers attached about how "slight" they are.

Here are some examples:

The top rated big kid in the entire state of Indiana, JaJuan Johnson who just committed to Purdue is 6'11" and 190 lbs.

http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-14753.html

http://prephoopsonline.com/national-rankings

Mike Tisdale and Bill Cole, both committed to Illinois are 7'0" -200 and 6'10"-190 respectively, and one of the other top kids in Illinois, Brett Thompson is 6'11"-190.

http://www.midstatehoops.com/playerfocus/brett_thompson.html

and Vanderbilt's top target is 6-9, 180 lb Josh Owens.
John Leuer and Teeng Akol (both committed to BCS programs)are both 6-10 and 190-200.

[OrangeandBlack74]

The print version of the story in the PJ Star has a strange sub-headline just beneath the main headline.

It says
"But senior lefty from Houston is only a slight 190 pounds"

OK-- I don't know how much he actually weighs, but many sources say 190, so the statement isn't false, but it is almost as if the guy who writes the headline has to slip a little rip into the headline. They just can't seem to say anything positive without adding a little negative.

It almost sounds like they feel compelled to proclaim the kid's faults.
Maybe a headline like "But he can't hit the short jumper"
or maybe "But he's turnover prone"...

Why do they do this?

T.....I think you're overreacting to the headline. The kid is not a big, bruising type player, and the primary headline mentions he's 6-10, so the sub-headline is used to provide additional information on his physique.....nothing more.

I remember when I was a senior in high school, I was 6-4 and weighed only 160 lbs.....and boy was I skinny!!

So calling someone "slight" who is 6-10 and 190 lbs is not really a stretch, IMO.

[mike radigan]

I remember when I was a senior in high school, I was 6-4 and weighed only 160 lbs.....and boy was I skinny!!

What happened?

[tornado]

O&B I know they are saying what they want and that the kid does weigh 190, but I mention it as part of a long standing pattern that I have pointed out many, many times how the PJS never seems to say anything positive about a BU kid without also attaching a bit of a qualifier or a negative.

Compare the headline for the kid Missouri State just landed two days ago

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060925/BREAKING02/60925009

or to the headline for any recruit mentioned on this board at any other school

http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=2&c=571934&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fscouthoops.scout.com%2f2%2f571934.html

http://www.wissports.net/wishoops/

http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2006/06/24/sports/local/doc449cc4cf6cb05863475031.txt

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=56139]

http://www.tribstar.com/collegesports/local_story_209000213.html

Not one single "but" or "only" or negative in either the headline or the article.

If you think I am overreacting, I believe it is just the fact that I have pointed this out numerous times, over and over, this board and the other.
PM me if you want even a short list of older discussions where I cite the repeated negative comments, articles, and even untrue claims that show up in the PJ Star in some apparent effort to disparage Jim Les and Bradley, even by some who claim to be lilfelong BU "fans".

[OrangeandBlack74]

I remember when I was a senior in high school, I was 6-4 and weighed only 160 lbs.....and boy was I skinny!!

What happened?

Gravity.....and I didn't lose my teenage appetite!

[it's boogie time]

Should I cancel my subscription because somebody had the audacity to call a player that is 6'10" 190lbs - "Slight"? Your paranoia cracks me up.

I can't believe that his coach also called him out by saying that he needs to get stronger. Has he no heart?

[tornado]

Should I cancel my subscription because somebody had the audacity to call a player that is 6'10" 190lbs - "Slight"? Your paranoia cracks me up.

I can't believe that his coach also called him out by saying that he needs to get stronger. Has he no heart?

So you think the PJ Star has been fair and balanced and generally favorable regarding BU stories?

If so I challenge you to find even one other story in their archives or anywhere, that talks about a recruit then uses either "but" or "only" in the headline in their description of the kid.
Just one......I'm waiting....

[it's boogie time]

Are you under the impression that Bradley is getting flawless recruits? Seriously.