Washington Fever, Mayo and Contracts
By Travis
So, as I predicted, Cat Nation moved quickly to its next recruiting object of obsession following Chris Singleton’s decision to attend Florida State. And it’s Leonard Washington, a 6-6 “power” forward from Louisiana.
Based on the reaction of the bluenatic fringe, you’d think any hope of Billy Gillispie returning the Cats to prominence hinges on this KID, and we definitely mean child-like because he’s as immature as they come. Sure, getting a top-notch power forward to complement Patrick Patterson is a must, but no matter how dark a shade of Blue Goggles we wear I’m not sure how convinced I can ever become that Washington is the answer.
Yes, Washington was once a top 25 recruit in the Class of 2007, but poor grades and off-court issues derailed his status. Now, he’s on the comeback trail at prep school in Compton, Calif., trying to get eligible — maybe even in time for this season.
But, not only is he just 6-6, but he’s also only 225 pounds. He may bully around smaller players, but he’s been less impressive against top competition.
More importantly, he’s not worth the risk. Billy’s going to get a haul in 2009, and all he really needs in the meantime is a monster banger — whether a bluechip recruit or a blue-collar player playing the role of garbage man Jared Prickett — to make teams pay for paying so much attention to Patterson.
In other news: A reporter from ESPN360 called last week to interview me for a story on Southern Cal’s O.J. Mayo. Should be interesting, because the questions covered all angles, and no longer with a commitment to a publication I spoke more freely than I might have in the past.
Mayo, incidentally, has rebounded from his debut loss to Mercer with wins against Citadel and South Carolina. So, there’s hope for us fellow victims to mid-level Atlantic Sun teams. Mayo was 12-for-27 with 32 points, seven rebounds and four assists (but eight turnovers) in his debut, and he’s averaging 25.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4.3 apg and 5.0 turnovers. He’s the type of player (think Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan) that must shoot 20 or more times to get in a groove. He’s not as selfish as depicted and will distribute the ball, but he’s wasting his talent if he’s not shooting 20 times a game as long as he’s not forcing shots.
… I don’t get the hub-bub about Gillispie’s contract (or lackthereof). Barring a DUI, he’s going to be the UK coach for a long time, which leads me to believe that has to be the hang up. The UK administration wants to cover its ass in the unfortunate possibility that Gillispie does his best Bob Huggins impersonation and wants the freedom to dismiss him. And its already been rumored that he’s been pulled over by campus police but not charged. That supposedly resulted in a permanent driver being hired. But because no arrest was made and no charges were filed, it either never happened or the tale has been impossible for the media to prove.
The contract will get done, though. It must.