I stand by my comments and opinions. And, some of you really ought to work on reading comprehension. I NEVER said Zimmerman is not good enough to play at UNLV... I NEVER said UNLV ought not recruit Zimmerman. I did point out that he has weaknesses in his game. And, as for being dominated by the #1 high school big man in the country, remember that Zimmerman is a top 10 big man, who also has TWO 6'10" teammates, one of whom is going to Duke.
I mentioned 2 games against big time opponents in which Zimmerman did not at all look like a kid that will be an impact player at a high caliber D1 program next season. I could be wrong. As for the so called experts, they are wrong quite often with their rankings. And, most schools will take a chance on a kid who is 7', simply because it's not possible to teach someone to be that tall. It's possible to teach a kid who is 7' to be a quality basketball player. It's not possible to teach a kid who is 6'5" to be 7'.
It appears there are several people that post on this site who know Zimmerman and his family. Who have known Zimmerman and his family for a long time. That helps me make more sense of all the threads throughout the season almost every time Gorman had a home game. One thing though, since multiple people have mentioned supporting local players, why were the threads about Zimmerman, and not BG as a team? Also, BG has another SENIOR in whom UNLV has some interest, Nick Blair. He is not high profile like Zimmerman, but there appears to be mutual interest. And, he is a local kid. So, why no love for Nick Blair on this board? I know he is only a 3 star recruit, but sometimes 3 star high school players go on to be very good players in college. And, again, he is a local kid. Now, maybe some of you know Nick and can verify that he has NO interest at all in playing for UNLV. Otherwise, why no love for Nick, and why no love whether or not he ends up at UNLV?
Also, of the people who talk about supporting local kids, how many of you regularly attend the games of the public high school within whose boundaries you live? How many go regularly to see Canyon Springs play? A public school, that is coached by former Rbel, Freddie Banks, and who beat Findlay Prep this season?
There are alot of very good teams in the LasVegas area other than Gorman and Prep.... Valley, Centennial, Las Vegas, Coronado, Foothill, Clark.... Also alot of good players. Do the people talking about supporting local kids go watch these schools on a regular basis? Again, a fair question, because I do not know ANY of the people who post on this board personally. I'd just like to think since I read responses about "supporting our own", that means supporting EVERY SCHOOL in the Las Vegas Area, EVERY student-athlete, and EVERY player on the team at BG. Also, I'm NOT a person who is anti-parochial schools, as my dad was a guidance counselor, coach and teacher at the same parochial school for 35 years, and spent a few years before that at another parochial school. I helped my dad coach 3 years, and one year helped coach girl's basketball at that high school. So, do not paint this as some kind of public -vs- private issue on my end.
As for my comments about Zimmerman and his family possibly being a distraction, that is due to his unwillingness to sign an LOI. In essence, he is asking the schools interested in him, including UNLV, to save a spot for him, even though doing so will hurt said schools that he does not choose. Also, as a person who was very good at golf in high school, and recruited by multiple schools from NAIA to NCAA D1, I know about recruiting and what goes in to signing an LOI. I'm even a person who signed an LOI, and then decided I did not want to attend that school. Fortunately, the coach released me from the LOI, but I still had to sit out 1 year at the school which I ended up attending. The LOI states very clearly that the student-athlete and their parents understand they are choosing a SCHOOL and not the coach or program. In my case, I chose a school I did not like because of liking the coach. And, when it came closer to time to go off to college, I realized I'd made a huge mistake. Not because of the golf team, but because it was not a school I wanted to attend.
Zimm and his family want to be able to sign a scholarship offer, but not an LOI. Frankly, if I were a coach recruiting him, I'd say no way. Especially not this late in the year and not at a program where I had a list of top quality players willing to sign an LOI. I'd tell him and his family if you do not want to sign an LOI, that is fine, but no scholarship offer unless signing an LOI. I understand the concern on the part of the Zimmerman family. At the same time, it looks as if they are trying to keep all options open, even AFTER signing a scholarship offer. I'm not okay with that. I'm fine with not making ANY commitment at all, but to me, signing a scholarship offer is making a commitment at least on par with making a verbal commitment, and then deciding later to sign with another school. I understand many coaches do not truly have the best interest of their players at heart. They will leave at the drop of a hat for what they consider to be a better opportunity. They will break NCAA rules, then when the heat get's turned up and an investigation starts, they leave the school, and let the next coach at players bear the brunt of the penalties. If I had hatred toward the kid and his family for going this route, I'd be saying I hope her tears and ACL or Achilles, and then has all scholarship offers pulled. The thing is, I'd NEVER wish that on ANYONE, and sure do not wish it on Zimmerman. Just not a fan of how his parents have been handling the recruiting process. Having said that, Stephen is THEIR SON, and as long as he is fine with the decisions being made, to me, that is all that matters. Whether or not I agree is UNIMPORTANT
And, again, I do not know who on here is fiends of the Zimmerman family and who is not. Who has been following him since he was in say Jr High or younger, and who has not. I have been living in Las Vegas for 3 years. Las Vegas is a big town. This is not a smaller sized town like Youngstown, OH where my father coached, where I was involved in coaching girls basketball, and where I knew alot of what was going on high school wise. Where I knew kids from the time they were young, and knew people who knew kids and their families. Youngstown-Warren is a metro area of maybe 500,000.... Las Vegas is a Metro area of 2 MILIION+ . The city of Youngstown now has a population of about 65,000...Las Vegas City is now 600,000+ . There have been posts ALL SEASON on here about "Zimm plays tonight" and the like. If I had some agenda against the kid, I'd have been commenting negatively on EVERY one of those posts. And, if he is going to play big time D1 basketball, then having people on message boards questioning his skill level, criticizing his play and other things of that ilk comes with the territory. Just as players and coaches having praised heaped upon them when they have great games, or great success for an entire season come with the territory. Playing big time college sports, and for that matter big time high school sports is not for those with thin skin. Especially not the adults. It's sure not for thin skinned if involved in coaching or the family members of a coach. And, that now trickles all the way down to youth leagues.
Oh, for the record, my ideology is liberal, but I'm now registered Non-Partisan..I voted for Obama TWICE... I rarely watch MSNBC or FOX News. The only person on Fox News television station I like is Shepard Smith. MSNBC, I watch Morning Joe from time-to-time, and on occasion Rachel Maddow. I used to like "Hardball", but I think Chris Matthews has gone off the deep end. I'm not sure what any of this has to do with Zimmerman, but some how this is where OTHER people decided to take the conversation........ As for being a douche bag, I'm more of a Bitch.... As Sheldon Cooper would say "Bitches be crazy"
This post was edited on 2/19 3:51 PM by GoRebs!