B-RadHoops - July 2008

July 27, 2008

Friday the 25th was a special day on campus.  We had the chance to be part of a memorable event hosting Governor Tim Kaine and I think the best way for you to appreciate it is by reading a few pieces   that are available via the links below.  Joey Lynch-Flohr, Eric Hall and Lazar Trifunovic joined me in presenting the Governor with some Radford Basketball gear having learned that he was going to be dressed casually for the meeting.  We gave the Governor a grey Radford Basketball t-shirt and an offer to join Joey, Eric and Laz in a game of 2 on 2.  Rumor had it the Governor was sporting a Radford Red polo shirt at the Pulaski Braves baseball game later that evening.  We presented him with a special Governor's front row season ticket in hopes he will make it back to campus this winter for a ballgame. 

Here are the links:

http://www.radford.edu/NewsPub/July08/0726govvisit.html

http://www.ruhighlanders.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=2338

Still time to sign up for the last session of the Brad Greenberg Highlander Basketball Camp.  The camp is August 4-7 at the Radford Recreation Center.  Call Ross Condon at 540-831-5125 for details.

Go Highlanders

Brad

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July 20, 2008

Previous B-radHoops have tried to explain the July recruiting timeline regarding “evaluation” periods.  The time between the July 6-15 and July 22-31 “eval” periods is referred to as a “dead period”.  Most coaches take those days to compare scouting notes, spend time on their respective campuses to track student-athletes in the final weeks of summer school, and recharge their batteries before hitting the road again.  Prospects take a few days off from the summer AAU and camp circuit to evaluate their scholarship options and get mentally prepared for more events in hopes of improving their stock.  But if you are a parent of a rising college senior, not on the AAU or camp circuit looking to impress college coaches, you might be on the road visiting college campuses with your child.  Like I was!  Assistant Coach Rick Hall and I drove back from Morgantown, West Virginia the evening of July 15 arriving back in the New River Valley around midnight.  The next morning I was back on the road driving north to New England with my daughter Ali for a few college information sessions and campus tours.  By Sunday evening we were back having traveled over 2,000 miles through Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, & West Virginia.  Did you know there are New England highways signs warning you to keep an eye out for a moose crossing!  In Roanoke and Blacksburg we have Mill Mountain Coffee for breakfast bagels and a morning cup of joe.  In Boston they have Finagel a Bagel!  On our way back Sunday when driving through Connecticut I stopped to visit the number one and number two Radford basketball fans in the northeast: my mom Marilyn Fleming and my Aunt Sandy Heine at Sandy’s home in Weston.  And I need to give a shout out to my cousin Michael who stopped over to say hi.  Michael is a devoted B-RadHoops reader. 

While Ali and I traveled by car, a family emergency necessitated Assistant Coach Ali Ton to fly to Turkey to be with his family and ailing grandmother who passed away.  Our sympathy goes out to his family for their loss.  Ali is flying back to the states from Turkey to Las Vegas to join Coach Hall in covering three of the biggest AAU events in the country starting the 22nd.  Assistant Coach Cedric Smith will head to Orlando for the AAU Super Showcase and Nationals on the 23rd.  I will be in the office this week to meet with our players before they head home for August and to catch up on basketball operations budget paperwork. 

A few weeks back Alex Gynes our Australian player called from home to say he made a tough decision not to come back to Radford for his sophomore season.  Spending nine months away from family and friends was hard on Alex.  He is back in Nowra, Australia deciding on his future and we wish him the best.  Everyone on our team and staff enjoyed our time with Alex.  He helped us win a few games, did extremely well academically and taught us all some of his favorite Australian phrases.  As he would often say to assure us he was OK, “no worries”. 

The Brad Greenberg Highlanders Basketball Camp Session II is August 4-7 and still has room for campers.   Call Ross Condon at 540-831-5125 for details.

Go Highlanders

Brad

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July 12, 2008 - Early edition

Tomorrow is a travel day to Pittsburgh to see the Five Star Basketball Camp All-Star Game and then a drive to Morgantown, WV for the Harley Davidson Jam Fest AAU event.

Assistant Rick Hall is already in Pittsburgh where he watched some camp games at Five Star earlier today.  Assistant Cedric Smith is in Myrtle Beach watching the Big Shots II AAU event and Assistant Ali Ton has been on the road all week.  He started out on New Jersey at the Eastern Invitational Basketball Camp and has been making his way south via the Reebok All American Camp in Philadelphia and the Hoop Magic AAU event in Chantilly, VA. We’re only allowed to have three coaches out recruiting at a time, so we stagger our schedules and travel to see the optimum number of players during this time. We have seen a lot of players in the last 7 days and after July 15th, the end of July’s first 10 day evaluation period, we should have a very good handle on prospects from New England to Florida, with a special focus on select players in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. 

Prospects play in various tournaments during July so it is common to see a specific player compete in different events and it is sometimes possible for out staff to see someone play ten games in a five day period.  It makes for some lively discussions as our staff tries to prioritize recruits and establish which players we will offer scholarships to.

This week I returned from my trip to Charlotte and Myrtle Beach to get some time in the office on Friday and catch up with some of our players on campus.  Chris McEachin, Aaron “Bleek” Austin, Eric Hall and Lazar Trifunovic all stopped by our temporary offices on Fairfax Street.  And I had the chance to visit with Dave Jager, our new Head Trainer.  He is going to be fantastic to work with.  The training staff is working out of the Cupp Stadium training room and while over there I spotted Jamar Jenkins doing some conditioning work on the track. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer.

Go Highlanders

Brad

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July 6, 2008

4th Floor, Hampton Inn, Charlotte, NC

I left Blacksburg at 6:08am this morning to begin the “evaluation” period by attending the Prep All Stars AAU Team Event and Basketball Camp.  And I am writing this at 10:15 after watching 8 games involving teams from Georgia, NC, and Virginia.  NCAA rules prohibit me from identifying the specific prospects I watched.  Many of them, we have been in touch with and some have even already been on our campus for unofficial visits.  We take the evaluation process very seriously.  We try to build a complete picture of the players we recruit.  It’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. 

Each time we watch a player or talk to a coach about a player, it’s another piece of the puzzle.  AAU basketball has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 25 years.   Each team tries to gain local, regional and even national attention.  The best teams are often partially or even fully funded by shoe and apparel companies.  But there are a lot of Mom and Pop operations out there as well.  Sometimes the best players are from relatively small town squads with mismatched uniforms.  Sometimes they outshine players with big reputations who play for teams and coaches outfitted from head to toe in matching uniforms and sneakers.   Team nicknames run the gamut and are usually preceded by the state or town from which the team originates.  This event had 3 teams nicknamed “Elite”.  The Georgia Elite, the Suffolk-VA Elite, and one from Carolina but they called themselves Team Phoenix Elite –go figure!  The event had teams named after NBA squads (Magic-2, Clippers, Nets, and Trail Blazers).  Some animals were represented (Cobras and Gators).  There was Fire and Riptide, multiple All Stars, a Phenom, a Crusader, a Disciple and my favorite of this event Team Truth - I kid you not!
 
One bonus of this time of the year is seeing fellow coaches at these events.  There are so many great guys in this profession.  Today I had the chance to spend some time with former Georgia Tech and current College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins, Wake Forest assistant Jeff Battle, Winthrop head coach Randy Peele and finish the evening watching the last game of the night with two former Highlander greats – High Point assistant Don Burgess and Tulane assistant Chris Hawkins. 

1st game tomorrow at 10am.  It’s the Clippers against some All-Stars!

Go Highlanders!

Brad