[Sly Fox]

With a last minute forward slot available, we have picked up a player who just came available when Brown fired their coach. The signing periods are over so we won't have a binding letter from him. But once he attends his first class ...


Bill Weaver
6' 4" Small Forward
Hampton (VA) Bethel HS
AAU: G.E.S.U.S.


Rivals Profile

ESPN Insiders Profile

May 23, 2008
Bethel's Weaver Headed To Liberty

Matthew Hatfield
VirginiaPreps.com

VirginiaPreps.com learned on Friday afternoon that Bethel (Hampton, VA) 6-foot-4 forward Bill Weaver has accepted a full athletic scholarship to play basketball at Liberty University.

Click Here for Full Story ($$$)

[Cider Jim]

Thanks for the link, Sly. So our new "big man" who can play down low is 6'4"?

[Sly Fox]

Some more about Weaver and the link includes a video with a feature story including an interview with him ...

Bill Weaver, Bethel High School

09:52 PM EDT on Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Click to watch video

Bill Weaver is the embodiment of the student/athlete. He’s the starting guard for the Bethel Bruins, who are on the verge of getting their first state title since 1993 when they take on T.C. Williams on Friday. He’s best known for his high flying dunks during the course of the game, but there’s more to the senior. Weaver carries a 4.0 grade point average and will head off to college at Brown University in the fall. He’s got that priority thing in perspective.

“My parents have been pushing academics”, he says. “If I don’t get my homework done, I can’t play basketball.”

Weaver has always been a key component to an already talented Bruins lineup that included three frontcourt players from Chad.

Click Here for Full Story

[Cider Jim]

Weaver has a high I-Q period. He’s looking to possibly major in either computer engineering or something around finance.

It's a good thing that LU has his majors.

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for the link, Sly. So our new "big man" who can play down low is 6'4"?

I never said we were bringing in a low post. And for the record, he is the same listed height as Sammy. But my understanding is he has added an inch or two in the past year since he was measured for Rivals. And his 4.0 GPA and Ivy League acceptance should me something to you, CJ. Oh yeah, he led his school to the AAA state championship game before they dropped just their 2nd game all season.



Here is some more ...

Weaver is back on the market after backing out of a commitment to Brown after Craig Robinson took the job at Oregon State.


On Monday, Weaver visited William and Mary, where he toured the campus and played pick-up games with the team.

"It was a really good visit," Bethel coach Craig Brehon said.

Weaver is headed to Gardner Webb sometime this week, and Brehon said that he has been fielding calls from Virginia Military Institute, Cornell, Saint Peter's and New Hampshire. All are interested in Weaver.

Click Here for Full Story

[Sly Fox]

Here is more from the Hampton Roads fishwrap on how he became available despite a stellar senior season ...

Bethel's Weaver won't play for Brown

By Jason Jordan | jjordan@dailypress.com


Bethel High forward Bill Weaver said Wednesday he has reopened his recruitment after Brown University men’s basketball coach Craig Robinson resigned to take the head coaching job at Oregon State.

Weaver said since Ivy League schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, he was left to pay whatever financial aid didn’t cover, which was more than half.

Brown, located in Providence, R.I., is searching for Robinson’s replacement.

"I know the education there is one of the best in the country, but I was also going there to play ball," he said. "My family and I were going to make the financial sacrifice for Coach Rob, but not for a staff that I don’t know."

Initially, Weaver was waiting to see if Brown assistant Douglas Stewart would land the top job, but Stewart followed Robinson to Oregon State.

"They talked to me about coming to Oregon State, but then they told me only about two seniors were graduating," Weaver said.

Click Here for Full Story

[olldflame]

A post player would have been great, but looking down the road Weaver and Floyd give us 2 possible replacements for Smitty, and I love the fact that he is an outstanding student with a high level of parental involvement. It looks like we will have at least 3 high flyers next year. Could mean more ESPN highlights if we can get them the ball in finishing situations.

[Sly Fox]

You guys from the Tidewater area might be familiar with this kid because the media over there seem to have been all over him ...

Weaver learning about marketing

RECRUITING - Jason Jordan and Norm Wood | Inside Recruiting
April 13, 2008

Well, it didn't take long for Bethel's Bill Weaver to get his recruitment back in full swing — then again, we knew it wouldn't take long.

On Wednesday, we reported that Weaver decided to re-open his recruitment after Brown University coach Craig Robinson stepped down to take the coaching job at Oregon State.

This is what I found interesting considering I have family on the Miami staff ...

But while he was down in Miami for spring break, Weaver met with Canes' assistant Toby Lane about his recruitment.

Who better to make the sales pitch than Weaver himself?

Weaver said they chatted about him walking on at Miami and getting playing time.

He's also planning to run next weekend with G.E.S.U.S. Ball AAU team in a tournament in Pittsburgh. He told us that he wants to go "mid major or high major" level, but we didn't get the impression that he wouldn't hear what others had to say.

Bottom line is that whoever snags Weaver should send Robinson a thank you letter. Weaver is the ultimate complement player and, given a free-flowing, up-and-down system, has the ability to make game-changing plays with his athletic ability.

Click Here for Full Story

[Cider Jim]

Sly, I watched the video and have read up on his academics: it sounds like he has Attaway-like smarts and Scar-like hops.

[Schfourteenteen]

Sly, I watched the video and have read up on his academics: it sounds like he has Attaway-like smarts and 1990 Scar-like hops.

FIFY, I mean cmon we all saw that alumni game.

[coolhandluke]

Well he might not be a huge help banging around down low, but he does seem to be a much better recruit than Sammy Jackson. ESPN has him rated as an 80 which is what Seth and Carter were rated if I am not mistaken. This makes our recruiting class much better but we still need some help down low.

But if its true he has grown a couple inches, a 6'6" forward would be able to put in some valuable minutes at the 4 right? So maybe he will help us down low after all.

[BJWilliams]

The Peninsula District can churn out some pretty good basketball and Tidewater in general can really put out the D1 players. I think this guy could do pretty well here.

[ToTheLeft]

From his ESPN profile...

"Jack of all trades. Will be a terrific utility player at the college level. Big time athleticism and mobility. Big time defender/stopper. Lacks the ball skills to play consistently on the perimeter but can defend there. Needs to improve perimeter shooting. Outstanding student."

Kinda sounds like Rell in some ways, doesn't he?

[flamesbball84]

The Peninsula District can churn out some pretty good basketball and Tidewater in general can really put out the D1 players. I think this guy could do pretty well here.

Yep, the whole great VA beach metropolitan area is some good hoops, so to have a lot of individual and team success there is saying a lot.

[Cider Jim]

Flames trivia:
Who was the last basketball player the Flames had from the Tidewater area who played forward?

[paradox]

A post player would have been great, but looking down the road Weaver and Floyd give us 2 possible replacements for Smitty, and I love the fact that he is an outstanding student with a high level of parental involvement. It looks like we will have at least 3 high flyers next year. Could mean more ESPN highlights if we can get them the ball in finishing situations.

McKay will probably opt for Anderson / Ohman after Smitty leaves. They seem to be good fits for what he's trying to accomplish at the 3.

I'd expect Floyd & Weaver in the mix at the 4. Both are athletic, but Floyd has the wider frame and longer arms.

[paradox]

Flames trivia:
Who was the last basketball player the Flames had from the Tidewater area who played forward?

I dunno? Are you going all the way back to Jerry's 'ol buddy, George Sweet?

[Cider Jim]

Not back that far, Dox. We had a big man from the Tidewater area probably a little after the SCAR era.

[olldflame]

A post player would have been great, but looking down the road Weaver and Floyd give us 2 possible replacements for Smitty, and I love the fact that he is an outstanding student with a high level of parental involvement. It looks like we will have at least 3 high flyers next year. Could mean more ESPN highlights if we can get them the ball in finishing situations.

McKay will probably opt for Anderson / Ohman after Smitty leaves. They seem to be good fits for what he's trying to accomplish at the 3.

I'd expect Floyd & Weaver in the mix at the 4. Both are athletic, but Floyd has the wider frame and longer arms.

I really doubt if we will be going that small very much when we have bigs who can shoot the 3. Maybe 10-15 minutes a game and less if we get a true post in 09.

[paradox]

A post player would have been great, but looking down the road Weaver and Floyd give us 2 possible replacements for Smitty, and I love the fact that he is an outstanding student with a high level of parental involvement. It looks like we will have at least 3 high flyers next year. Could mean more ESPN highlights if we can get them the ball in finishing situations.

McKay will probably opt for Anderson / Ohman after Smitty leaves. They seem to be good fits for what he's trying to accomplish at the 3.

I'd expect Floyd & Weaver in the mix at the 4. Both are athletic, but Floyd has the wider frame and longer arms.

I really doubt if we will be going that small very much when we have bigs who can shoot the 3. Maybe 10-15 minutes a game and less if we get a true post in 09.

I know that this gets talked about a lot here, but don't expect our centers to be shooting a bunch of threes. It's a nice option to have if you need it, but probably something reserved for special situations.

The most likely big guy shooting threes would be TB from the 4, and that's a big if, given his injury history.

Weaver looks to be, at the very least, a defensive role player, at the moment. We'll see if he can move beyond that and score consistantly inside on the D1 level.

Floyd seems to be a natural fit for McKay at the 4. We'll see what kind of game he brings in the fall.

Also, don't be surprised if McKay goes mainly with a four gaurd line-up, which could include players such as Anderson & Ohman, and possibly even Smitty seeing a little time at the 4. Who knows? We'll have to see how it all plays out.

[olldflame]

What you are pretty much suggesting dox is that McMasters, Baker and Austin Smith will be competing exclusively for 40 minutes a game at the center position, and I submit to you that that is

If TB stays healthy, between the 3 of them they will play over 60 minutes at the 4 and 5.

[paradox]

60 minutes, at this stage, seems a bit generous, given McKay's affinity for gaurd play.

Again, it should be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[jcmanson]

I sure hope McKay plans on playing Carter, Austin and Tyler alot at the 4 and 5. Anthony I'm sure will see alot of time there as well.

[olldflame]

In his first interview as our coach, when asked what kind of basketball he liked to play, Richie said "winning basketball". He'll use the skills of the players he has. Yes he has shown he likes to shoot the 3, and that is why we have recruited shooters. As it is, we will have 3 guards on the floor at all times. You can call Smitty a forward, but he is only 6'4, and except for the fact that his hops allow him to compete with bigger players defensively and on the boards, he is a guard. He shoots the 3 and gets dunks and layups on breakaways and set pieces. He almost never posts up, takes his man to the hole, or shoots the midrange J. When he comes out, another guard will take his place, whether it is Ohmerson or Floyd. I believe Mckay wants his 4 man to be able to shoot the 3 as well, and all of our bigs can. Smitty or Floyd may play some at the 4, but I don't think that much. We can do the things we want to do offensively without giving up all that size. I'm also looking forward to seeing what Kenny George does defensively against opposing centers who can take him way out of his comfort zone.

[jcmanson]

I'm also looking forward to seeing what Kenny George does defensively against opposing centers who can take him way out of his comfort zone.

We tried that in the Big South Semi's