stokesjokes wrote:Thanks for that. I figured if most top level academy players were going pro, it still would be a big deal to land the top HS player in the nation. If most of the academy players end up in college, then the significance drops precipitously.
I don't in any way mean to demean what he accomplished. My point was that while he certainly could be a very big impact player at Liberty it was not the same as getting a McDonald's All American and to temper expectations.
My oldest was a 3 time All State High School player. Final two years was 1st Team All State and we live in a soccer rich densely populated state attending a small Group 1 school(the point of that being he had to be silly good to earn that honor on the state level. I believe he was the first male athlete in school history in any sport to accomplish that once... let alone twice.). If he had that resume in basketball he would have had his pick of the litter from day 1. As it was, he had to fight tooth and nail to land at a top level D1 program.
With the youngest we were having zoom calls with ACC, Ivy League, Big Ten, etc. the first day he could be contacted. That's the difference between your top level high school players and your top level academy players. When I would go and watch DJ Wagner play at Camden last year I knew that I was watching the best 15 year old basketball player in the country just like everyone else. If there was an award given for the best freshman soccer player in high school this year I can guarantee you that while he may be an excellent player he is no Bajung Darboe (who will never win a high school accolade in his life nor set foot on a high school soccer field) and most likely there is at least 100 players between that freshman and Bajung.
If you don't have time to do something right, when will you have time to do it over?