Samajae Haynes-Jones guard - SIGNED NLI - Officially a SHOCKER

[shocks02]

Hutch won 98-86 at #21 Barton on Saturday.

SHJ with 28 points, 3 steals and 2 rebounds. 4 of 6 from three. 0 assits/3 turnovers.

[Aargh]

There's gonna be a lot of MVC teams and coaches gettin' mighty damn tired of seeing WSU's PG's.

[shocks02]

Hutch returned to the court last night after their Christmas break, defeating Cowley 100-84.

SHJ in 35 minutes: 22 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal and 1 block. 8-14 FG, 3-8 3FG, 3-3 FT. SHJ now shooting 92% from the free throw line on the season (ranking 7th nationally).

http://www.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2016-17/div1/boxscores/20170104_425r.xml

[shocks02]

#2 Hutch (15-0) won at Allen County (7-8), 95-82 on Saturday.

SHJ in 36 minutes: 11 points, 2 steals and 1 rebound. 4-8 FG, 0-4 3FG, 3-4 FT.

http://www.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2016-17/div1/boxscores/20170107_d6jp.xml

[ShockTalk]

I know it's JUCO ball, but his lack of assists at times is concerning. The big counter to this is his lack of turnovers.

[Wuzee]

I know it's JUCO ball, but his lack of assists at times is concerning. The big counter to this is his lack of turnovers.

Saw the Allen game, my second Hutch game this year. It's important to keep in mind that Samajae is the primary outside scoring option for the Blue Dragons. He is not the main ball-handler for them, though, as James Conley, from Derby, generally brings the ball up and initiates the offense. It's not that SHJ can't handle it or play point. He's very good with the ball. It's just that more often they're working to get him open as a scoring option. Allen stayed in the game Sat. by keeping SHJ from getting the ball. They switched defenses a lot -- but when Samajae was in, even their zones had a matchup component for him. He was clearly frustrated by that and really began hunting his shot a bit too much when he did get it, forcing a couple of threes. He's got a temper, and has seemed to argue with Coach Eck at times in both games I've seen. That'll be something to keep an eye on next year.

[WSUwatcher]

Well, ST, I'd be more concerned if there were some reason to believe the Shocker coaches were concerned. I haven't seen any, have you?

[ShockTalk]

Well, ST, I'd be more concerned if there were some reason to believe the Shocker coaches were concerned. I haven't seen any, have you?

So original, @WSUwatcher:. It kinda like "Let's just not talk about any recruits possible deficiencies because we all know they must be perfect or Coach wouldn't have wanted them to sign". Gee, I wonder what happened to all the past players that didn't make the cut and moved on. By the way, I'm not saying that about SHJ.

He will be a 2 year player that has always wanted to play for WSU. He does have a few quality players to contend with for playing time, not only next year (4), but the year after (2). I'd have to look back through Marshall's years to just see how many times a quality JUCO guard came on board when there was not a near glaring need for a more experienced guard than a raw freshman.

The more complete his game is to begin with will be a big part of any playing time he receives. I got a very good answer from @Wuzee: who has seen him personally on a couple of occasions.

[AZ Shocker]

As good as we've been this far this year...next year has the potential to be complete domination with the addition of SHJ and the Viking!!!

[WSUwatcher]

double post

[WSUwatcher]

So original, @WSUwatcher:. It kinda like "Let's just not talk about any recruits possible deficiencies because we all know they must be perfect or Coach wouldn't have wanted them to sign". Gee, I wonder what happened to all the past players that didn't make the cut and moved on. By the way, I'm not saying that about SHJ.

Thanks, ST -- Appreciate the compliment. I'm not saying that SHJ is perfect by any means, just that as between juco statistics -- which have all sorts of variability built in because of things like style of play, surrounding talent, and who knows what else (Wuzee's answer hints at some of the type of variables I'm referring to) -- and the evaluation of a coaching staff known to be skilled at recruiting, I'll put more weight on the staff's talent judgment. Especially in a situation when they don't have an abundance of scholarships to throw around and are willing to sign someone early rather than waiting until the spring.

It's also not unheard of for a juco player to redshirt waiting for greater opportunity to open up. Not around here, historically, but SHJ's Hutch predecessor Kadeem Allen did exactly that, and after a player of the year type season, no less. So it wouldn't be a total shock to see something like that happen in this case, especially with a guy coming back home where he's always wanted to be and presumably in no hurry to move on.

[pinstripers]

Thought of this as well, but that would put him in the same class as Shamet and Reaves both, which is less than ideal.

[MadaboutWu]

So original, @WSUwatcher:. It kinda like "Let's just not talk about any recruits possible deficiencies because we all know they must be perfect or Coach wouldn't have wanted them to sign". Gee, I wonder what happened to all the past players that didn't make the cut and moved on. By the way, I'm not saying that about SHJ.

He will be a 2 year player that has always wanted to play for WSU. He does have a few quality players to contend with for playing time, not only next year (4), but the year after (2). I'd have to look back through Marshall's years to just see how many times a quality JUCO guard came on board when there was not a near glaring need for a more experienced guard than a raw freshman.

The more complete his game is to begin with will be a big part of any playing time he receives. I got a very good answer from @Wuzee: who has seen him personally on a couple of occasions.

I appreciate the main point of this. It is silly not to discuss potential strengths and weaknesses of incoming recruits because "coach knows best."

In terms of the point about JUCOs not panning out, HCGM has had great success with fall signees (or people we were on deep early whenever they committed): Ragland, Hannah etc. It's usually been some of the spring signees who have had been used to fill late gaps that have been less successful.

[shockmonster]

SH-J doesn't have the best stats for a Point Guard. However, Gregg does have a history for getting the Juco out of players. Willis us proof positive that he is listening and paying attention to what Gregg says regarding the importance of defense. From all accounts, SH-J already pays attention to defense, but becoming more of a PG will be important. This does not worry me.

[pogo]

If SHJ seems to argue with Coach Eck I would take the bet and give odds that IF he confronts HCGM that it will not end well for the young man.