Jamal Branch to STJ

Even if Branch turns out to be nothing more than a career backup, his signing would still be huge because our program will seem a lot less toxic if a formerly highly ranked kid signs on.

I'm sure Lavin will be straightforward with him -- the cancer is gone, healing is taking longer than expected, and that he'll be his coach next year. And that all other rumors to the contrary are bullshit.

And I bet that if Branch does sign, he'll mention that all of the concerns about Lavin were addressed to his liking by the man himself.
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My guess is that he'll be a lot better than career backup. Hope we can get him on board before he visits Maryland.
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Doesn't he need to be enrolled somewhere before the semester starts if he's going to play the 2nd semester of next season? If so, he's got to visit Md. soon and make a decision immediately thereafter.
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I'd expect a decision by next weekend and him enrolled next Monday at the school of his choosing. It's really gotta be a no-brainer for him. Lavin giving him the keys to the car to form
all Texas backcourt with a scoring machine to pad his assist #'s and keep defenders far enough away to give him the space he needs to penetrate.

I really think that adding JUST Branch makes this team a Sweet 16 squad next season. They will have enough depth to play small ball. You can win playing small ball, but you can't win playing small and slow. We'd be a sensational fullcourt defensive team to boot. 
 
 Jamal's Twitter- "Had a GREAT day in NY! Now time to get some rest! Another long day ahead tomorrow!"
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Sounds emphatic. Excellent to read. He'll have another day here I assume, which is good. Hopefully we can close the deal.
 
 I will be surprised if Lavin does not close this deal.
 
 I will be surprised if Lavin does not close this deal.
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I'm counting on it as well. It was reported by more than one source that we lead before the weekend. Can only be better now. Would be great way to kick off the 2012 class. Hopefully he doesn't have to even bother with Maryland after this weekend.
 
 I will be surprised if Lavin does not close this deal.
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I'm counting on it as well. It was reported by more than one source that we lead before the weekend. Can only be better now. Would be great way to kick off the 2012 class. Hopefully he doesn't have to even bother with Maryland after this weekend.
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It is very difficult to recruit a player that you have no history with and have him commit when the Maryland coach had two years to work on him. Hopefully he liked what he heard and we finally get a point guard.
 
 Stats don't lie
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They don't tell the whole truth either. He's not the starting PG there. Hes not even playing half game. His stats aren't bad at all. It all depends on how he's utilized. He's not performing any worse than Josiah Turner, Naadir Tharpe or any number of highly rated PG's that are not starting and not charged with directing the offense. Not sure how you can judge his stats as unimpressive after only one semester. If you wanted to extrapolate, he'd be averaging almost 9 pts5 assists per game and shooting over 33% from 3 over 40 minutes which is exactly what you want out of your point guard.


Oh, and can somebody get rid of this Iona fool? Really irritating.
 
 Stats don't lie
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Typed like someone who has never heard the phrase "lies, damn lies, and statistics."

BTW I stayed after the SJU/Louisville game to watch Iona v. Siena. SJU would smoke Iona.
 
 I will be surprised if Lavin does not close this deal.
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I'm counting on it as well. It was reported by more than one source that we lead before the weekend. Can only be better now. Would be great way to kick off the 2012 class. Hopefully he doesn't have to even bother with Maryland after this weekend.
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It is very difficult to recruit a player that you have no history with and have him commit when the Maryland coach had two years to work on him. Hopefully he liked what he heard and we finally get a point guard.
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There's no question of PT here. Apparently there is at Md. I would assume that would be a huge factor in the kid's decision. Let's hope so. Feeling good about this one.
 
 9 points and 5 assists --big difference maker!
--he will sign and play 15-20 mins a game and you will be all over him as a failure -typical
 
 9 points and 5 assists --big difference maker!
--he will sign and play 15-20 mins a game and you will be all over him as a failure -typical
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Actually, Kemba walker put up 8.9 and 2.9 his first season. You obviously don't now much about basketball if you think that those numbers are some sort of harbinger.
 
he averaged 4.2 pts and 2.5 assists per game at a&m...
the bottom line is that unless he develops he is just nowhere near as good as his high school rating would suggest
-hopefully he will develop
-it's just not as exciting a pick up as originally thought-
-calm down-
-you can go back to dressing yourself and your pillow pet with matching chris mullin jerseys while you patrol this site all day!
 
 Was all excited to read this thread until I saw his stats at Texas A and M. Not impressive stats..
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4.6 ppg, 2.5 assist, 2.2 rebounds, 33.3% from three best defender on the team as a freshman, positive assist-turnover ratio...in only 18.6 minutes. What am I missing? Obviouisly his FT % is too low at 42% but he's only had like 11 attempts (lack of FT's and getting to the line would be the bigger problem in my eyes than the actual %).

Adding Branch gives us a pure point that we need desperately...it gives us another premier defender to add to the stable with Greene, Pointer, and Garret (menacing defensive foursome right there). Most importanlty it gives us 8 quality players, four guards and four forwards, to finally let the greyhounds run. This team was built to run, but they can't with the lack of depth.
 
he averaged 4.2 pts and 2.5 assists per game at a&m...
the bottom line is that unless he develops he is just nowhere near as good as his high school rating would suggest
-hopefully he will develop
-it's just not as exciting a pick up as originally thought-
-calm down-
-you can go back to dressing yourself and your pillow pet with matching chris mullin jerseys while you patrol this site all day!
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1- your postulations are entirely wrong about his stats on less than half of his freshman season
2- I'm calm as can be.
3- I'm with the two toddlers all day. The Internet is my saving grace... ;)
4- awaiting your ban any day. You and the rest of the Iona fans have been flaming and trolling these sites for a while. Team envy is tough to deal with.
 
 Was all excited to read this thread until I saw his stats at Texas A and M. Not impressive stats..
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4.2 ppg, 2.5 assist, 2.2 rebounds, 33.3% from three best defender on the team as a freshman, positive assist-turnover ratio...in only 18.6 minutes. What am I missing? Obviouisly his FT % is too low at 42% but he's only had like 11 attempts (lack of FT's and getting to the line would be the bigger problem in my eyes than the actual %). He is sitting behind a fourth-year junior who leads the team in scoring, and a senior that has started for three years at point guard. His stats are pretty much exactly where you would expect a top 60 freshman to be at for the first half.

Adding Branch gives us a pure point that we need desperately...it gives us another premier defender to add to the stable with Greene, Pointer, and Garret (menacing defensive foursome right there). Most importanlty it gives us 8 quality players, four guards and four forwards, to finally let the greyhounds run. This team was built to run, but they can't with the lack of depth.  
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Ranked #9 at his position. 51st overall when coming out. A good size @ 6' 3". I wouldn't put much into his current stats. Soooo many variables go into that. I trust OUR coaching staff can develop the talent and the talent is there. You don't get recruited by the likes of UCLA/Kansas without it.  
 
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