Shaq, who’s in your ear?

Shaquille Boga, 2011 commitment to the Milwaukee Panthers, has reportedly said that he’ll decide by Wednesday if he wants to sign in the early signing period with Milwaukee.  Northstar basketball talked to Boga, who said he may not sign during the period and could wait until the spring to sign his LOI.

I wrote the first ever Shameless Recruitment towards Shaq in August, shortly after the 6’11” power forward J.J. Panoske made his commitment official.  Panoske signs his L.O.I. today, and the Milwaukee coaching staff is hoping that Shaq’s is just a few days behind.

With the word now that Shaq is wavering, I guess my question is why?  The article has quotes where he reportedly says he feels he can dominate the mid-major level, he wants to play the toughest competition, and he wants to get exposure during college.

Well, that makes me feel better about it.  I know, he’s got a couple reservations about signing, but the Milwaukee Panthers have got them all covered.

For one, the toughest competition comes several times a year.  Out of conference, annual games against Marquette and Wisconsin bring teams that compete for conference championships in the Big East and Big Ten, respectively.  This season, we begin a four-year series with Northern Iowa, who was in the Sweet 16 last season.  Oh, by the way, the national runner-up happens to be in our conference.

With the Horizon League’s ESPN deal coming to a close, the negotiations for a new one, which will cover Boga’s college career, will put conference schools on TV plenty more than the current deal.  Thanks goes to Butler, who advanced to the national title game last year.

We also have the Horizon League Network, which is the envy of almost every league.  While the Big Ten Network puts games on TV constantly, you don’t get every game from every team live.  They just can’t do it.  At the Horizon League, we can.  And the scouts are seeing it.  NBA scouts mentioned being able to see Gordon Hayward most of last season online as important as his run through the NCAA Tournament.

But certainly playing in a mid-major league means your exposure won’t get you to the NBA because your competition isn’t the best, right?  Well, Hayward is far from the only one.

What about Paul Millsap from Louisiana Tech?  By the way, that’s the same LA Tech that put out Karl Malone.  Stephen Curry?  He dominated a low-major conference, but that didn’t stop him from making it to the big show. Jameer Nelson killed the competition at St. Joe’s.  Danny Granger plied his trade at New Mexico.  Jason Thompson?  He went to Rider (ree-der) and now he’s on the Sacramento Kings.  His former teammate, Kevin Martin, is now on the Houston Rockets, but once upon a time he was at Western Carolina.

Here in Milwaukee, we’ve got Andrew Bogut, whose Utah team may be a high-major next season, but for now is Mountain West.  Earl Boykins came out of Eastern Michigan.  Darington Hobson went to New Mexico. Our first round pick, Larry Sanders, went to VCU.

You’re a point guard.  You must know Derek Fisher, captain and point guard of the Los Angeles Lakers.  He’s won five rings, and his time at Arkansas-Little Rock didn’t hinder his ability to do that.  Hell, Lamar Odom and Theo Ratliff went to mid-majors themselves (Rhode Island and Wyoming, respectively).

So don’t worry about the exposure.  The scouts will find you if you’re dominating the Horizon League.

The conference opponent of Minnesota and Iowa, Michigan State, also made the Final Four.  But they lost to Butler.  So is the competition a drop off?  I will never claim, and most people won’t, that the Horizon League is better than the Big Ten.  What I’m saying is that the competition you get in the Horizon League is strong, and Milwaukee plays tough teams in the non-conference.  Schools like Iowa schedule the majority of non-conference games with low-major opponents, so the level of schedule evens out over the season.

I get that these questions asked by North Point are somewhat leading, and Boga’s answers come back to the “slight” possibility that he may not sign this week.

But Panoske’s LOI is inked today.  The future is looking very bright with Kelm, Panoske, Richard, and you, Shaq Boga.  Come make us complete.

The Interview: Todd Brown

Sunday night, the Wright State Raiders seemed to be missing something as they lost to Indiana.  It wasn’t just N’Gai Evans, who was out with an injury (we hope he comes back soon to rail non-conference opponents); the WSU backcourt also was missing Todd Brown, the four-year do-everything star who was underappreciated by much of the conference and graduated last spring.

So what is Todd Brown up to these days?  Well, the former Raider is playing in Holland for DeFriesland Aris Leeuwarden, a pro team.  Brown has been very busy, leading the team in scoring as a rookie.  PantherU.com caught up to Brown for a quick chat to see how life in Europe is going.

Brown's glory days at Wright State are in the rear view as he begins his professional career.

Jimmy Lemke: First off, how are you settling in Holland?

Todd Brown: Holland has been good to me.  I miss home a lot sometimes, but it’s my first year and everyone tells me its the hardest year.

JL: Is the language barrier difficult to handle?

TB: Actually, everyone can speak English. Not always that good, but they can.

JL: What would you say was the biggest difference in culture between Europe and America?

TB: The biggest difference to me is that everything is just laid back.  When you go to a store, everyone is not in a rush to get something and get out; everyone is just real chill and stores close at like 7 everyday.

JL: A lot of players take some time to get assimilated into the European pro game, but you’ve started the season very well, leading DeFriesland Aris Leeuwarden in scoring through ten games. Are you surprised that you’ve adapted so well?

TB: I just try to go out and play my game, but I think I kinda caught the league by surprise the first couple games but now teams deny me the ball a lot and put the best defender on me. But I’m still learning the game out here, I feel like a freshman all over again.

JL: Is the experience of playing in a European gym a lot different than the Nutter Center?

TB: Well it depends on who and where your playing at because we get some games that feel like college games, and then you get other games and nobody is in the gym and you have to get yourself going.

JL: The culture there is so different, you’ve got to be missing something from home. If there was one thing back here you could take with you to Holland, what would it be?

TB: If I could bring anything from home it would be my family but I doubt that could happen so I would bring my dog at least, he could keep my company.

JL: What’s the thing you miss most about Wright State?

TB: My teammates in college; you go through so much with your team we are always together so you grow into a family over time.