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Home > Blogs > Flyer Connection: University of Dayton sports > Archives > 2009 > November > 11 > Entry
Gregory had to bite tongue while Staten was being grilled
During the two years between Juwan Staten’s verbal commitment to Dayton and his signing today, UD coach Brian Gregory became more and more impressed with Staten’s off-court qualities while at the same time inwardly seething over the treatment he was getting.
Some Flyer fans were guilty of questioning whether Staten would follow through with his oral pledge, and recruitniks peppered him with questions about that matter, too.
“I’ve coached 20 years. During this time, I’ve never seen a player have to reconfirm his commitment more than Juwan. I mean, continually have to reconfirm his commitment. Through that, here’s what the kid achieved: Led his underdog high school team (Thurgood Marshall) to the state championship game, was part of the NCAA student leadership group, represented the United States in USA basketball, was student of the week at Oak Hill Academy and solidified himself as one of the top point guards in the country. While all this was going on, he stayed focused and never let himself get derailed from what was important.
“The hardest part for me through all this was, when all this stuff was swirling around, I could never comment on it (because of NCAA rules). I feel sorry for the kid because it’s always the kid who has to come out and say, ‘Listen, this is where I’m going.’ I’m sitting back wondering, when is enough enough? How many times does a kid have to say he’s not changing his mind, that he’s committed to the University of Dayton? He’s acting at the maturity level some of these other people should be acting. And I can’t say anything, like, ‘Hey leave the kid alone.’ “
Chris Wright, the junior star for the Flyers, went through some of the same treatment, but Gregory said: “As much as a guy like Chris Wright went through that, you magnify it by 25 times for Juwan — because recruiting has changed in the last three or four years. The Web sites are out of control. Everybody is an expert in recruiting. Rumors, gossip and blog innuendoes run rampant.
“But he stayed level-headed through all that. He gets a lot of credit for that, and the parents get a lot of credit for that. He demonstrated a maturity far beyond his years.”
Wright was ranked as the 48th-best prospect nationally by Scout.com when he came out in 2007 and the 88th-best by Rivals.com.
Staten is ranked 82nd by Scout, 44th by Rivals and 64th by ESPN (there were no ESPN ratings in ‘07).
Asked if the 5-11 point guard is the best recruit he’s landed in seven years at UD, Gregory said: “There’s no question he’s the highest ranked player we’ve ever brought in. And he comes with an overall pedigree with more accolades than anybody else.
“As his dad (Bill Staten) said to me when we talked, ‘Juwan knows he has to earn everything here.’ I think that’s one of the reasons he came here. Earning something is a lot better than having it handed to you.”
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Comments
By Tim
November 11, 2009 11:51 PM | Link to this
Hats off to BG for recruiting mature, intelligent young men. We will have the pleasure to see these young players develop even further under BG and his staff. This is the most excitement since the Don May-Bobby Joe Hooper era. Lets hope that BG is here to stay.
By jimmie
November 12, 2009 1:02 AM | Link to this
The only folks that were questioning his commitment were the tosu folks on this DDN site and that bozo who has the afternoon sports talk show on one of the local radio stations. The real UD fan web site was getting its info straight from the horses mouth - and nearly everyone was convinced he would sign with the Flyers.
By FlyerOne
November 12, 2009 9:54 AM | Link to this
Dear DDN: Cut the “comment” section. I only read it for the wisdom, insight and beat-downs issued by “Just The Facts.” We don’t need “comments.” We’ll “comment” in congress & fellowship after rousing Dayton victories.
By thad Matta
November 12, 2009 11:45 AM | Link to this
The UD fans never questioned you “Blur”, only the non-Flyer troublemakers.
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