NEW ARTICLE: Where Are They Now?

BEVERLY HILLS (MI) -- Some guys BG and his staff really went after; other players basically didn’t want us; then there were some hoopsters who simply never got an offer. For whatever reason, they decided to go elsewhere and not be part of UD’s five man 2010 recruiting class. So where are they now and how are they doing? Let’s take a look, shall we?

Adreian Payne, MSU

Clearly “the one that got away” for the Flyers in this class. If he wasn’t coming to UD then I’m glad the big fella ended up with Izzo rather than at Ratface U. AP has played in every MSU game, averaging 9 minutes, 2.7 PPG and RPG. He’s #9 on the Sparty depth chart. I think everyone who saw him play at Jefferson agreed he was a raw talent with the proverbial TUP or ‘tremendous upside potential. Too soon to tell how Payne will pan out. His HS coach Art Winston thinks he might be ready for the NBA after only one year, according to this piece form the Detroit News:

http://detnews.com/article/20101110/...rt-stay-at-MSU

Based on AP’s performance thus far, I think Art Winston is clearly smoking the draperies.

Isaiah Sykes, Central Florida

I saw Isaiah Sykes play twice during his junior year:

http://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8088

http://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8177

Sykes is currently the first guy off the bench for the surprising Knights who were one of the few remaining undefeated CBB teams in the country until they lost to Houston. CFU features MJ’s son Marcus and fifth year senior MSU transfer Tom Herzog. Isaiah is averaging almost 20 minutes a contest, 5.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.1 APG, which is confusing as it was his passing that drew the most accolades when he played for 3 different HS teams in Detroit. Isaiah shoots 61% from the field, but has yet to launch a three-pointer, which is not surprising as he only took one of them in the two games that I saw him play. Sounds like he made a good college choice.

Jalen Steele, Mississippi State

Steele was a two-time State Champion at Knoxville (TN) Fulton HS and a kid that many in Flyerland figured would be wearing Red and Blue this season. For whatever reason he just never pulled the trigger. His uncle, former Knoxville HS star “Jazz” Kimber probably had a lot to do with his indecision. Jalen initially committed to Auburn, but was released from his LOI when the Tigers fired Head Dude Jeff Lebo.

Here is a profile I did of Jalen:

http://udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?p=88034

Currently, Steele is the first guy off of the Bulldog bench, averaging 17 minutes and 6 PPG. Known as a shooting guard rather than a PG, he is hitting only 31% from the field and 26% from three-point-land. MSU’s record stands at 9-6 with losses to Dayton nemesis East Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic. It’s hard to see the Bulldog’s challenging UK for the SEC crown, at least this year.

Devyn Marble, Iowa

All of the recruiting websites referred to him as “Roy Marble, Jr.” after his famous Hawkeye father, but as I discovered when I saw him play, his Mom and his teammates have always called him Devyn, which is his middle name:

http://udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?p=108044

Marble has appeared in every game for Iowa and is averaging 17 minutes, 6 PPG and 3 RPG. Iowa is only 7-7 and they are already 0-2 in Big Ten play, so it looks like it’s gonna be a long season in Hawkeyeland.

The other kid featured in the linked article was Kyle Vinales, who never got an offer from UD and was probably a backup-to-the-backup plan at best. He signed with D-II power Grand Valley State, but then changed his mind and asked for his release. GVSU wouldn’t let him out of it, so he attended a prep school in New England this year and recently signed a D-I LOI with UMass-slayer Central Connecticut State.

JD Weatherspoon and Aaron Craft, OSU

‘Spoon and Craft were AAU teammates of Juwan Staten’s, as well as Adreian Payne. Unfortunately, another member of that killer Ohio Red squad was Jared Sullinger the now dominant force in the middle for the undefeated and #2 ranked Buckeyes. The lack of a true PG on the OSU roster probably sealed the deal for Craft, after he de-committed from Tennessee; with JD, who knows? The allure of Ratface? Looks like they made a good choice, although they won’t have Sullinger patrolling the middle next year, as he is a lock to be a one-and-doner.

Matt Kamieniecki, Ball State

Matt was another Michigan kid who I got to see play:

http://udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?p=106462

Quite frankly, I think Kamieniecki was a lot more interested in UD than BG was in him. Like Kyle Vinales, Matt was a backup plan at best.

Matt is now a teammate of one-time Flyer commit Jesse Berry, who is having an outstanding frosh season for the Cardinals scoring 10 PPG. Unfortunately Matt is buried at the end of the bench, having seen action in only six games for 9-5 Ball State.

Flyer fans have to be quite pleased with what we’ve seen from all five of the guys who did choose to attend UD, so maybe this is actually one of those cases where everybody wins.

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: swampy@udpride.com