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Otis Livingston

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knights1212

Heisman Winner
Sep 9, 2003
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Last night Linden took out St. Patrick in the Union County semifinals 65-54. Phil Collichio is an absolute genius. St. Patrick's goes 6'10", 6'9" and I think 6'6" and Linden only has one guy 6'3" who only plays about 10 minutes a game if not less. Linden frustrated the devil out of a St. Patrick's team that had beaten them twice this year. The point guard for St. Patrick I believe is being recruited by several big schools was held scoreless until less than 4 minutes remained in the game. I think he scored 7 points in the end game when St. Patrick became frantic to catch up. Otis Livingston is so smooth. He just is a true leader on the floor who rarely makes a mistake and makes his foul shots. Personally I think he is better than Anthony Farmer was for us. He is very good on defense too and is a I've been told a straight A student. I go on record saying that he will be on the All State team at the end of the season. If Sanders doesn't qualify we will not have a true point guard next season. Otis I think is so good that we should offer him. I was told last night that Robert Morris just offered. I know that Jerry Carino wrote that he could not believe that no one was offering Otis a few weeks ago. The kid is special. Does anyone have Eddie's email and Greg Vetrone's email as I want to write both of them. Linden plays Saturday night at Kean in the Union County final at 7:30PM. I know I will be there. It would be nice if a couple of our coaches were there.
In the final Linden will play Roselle Catholic which has 6'9" Chris Silva, a 7' freshman with a last name of Reid who is already an outstanding player and I think another forward going to Monmouth next year plus Isaiah Briscoe. Last night Isaiah pushed his way to 32 points as he is so strong driving to the basket. St. Mary's of Elizabeth played great leading 28-8 after the first quarter but RC did not win the game until the last minute. St. Mary's was like midgets next to RC. St. Mary's really ran an offense and I thought deserved to win. Isaiah to me was hard to root for. He got hit with a technical for punching the ball after one play. The ball bounced I think over 20 feet in the air. The gym went nuts and the refs almost didn't call a T. Isaiah fouled out with I think 50 seconds or less on the clock and St. Mary's tied the game with the made foul shots. A guard for RC who was held scoreless all night made 5 or 6 foul shots at the end to win the game for RC. Hopefully Linden can play another well run game plan by Phil Collichio on Saturday night. I cannot root for teams like Roselle Catholic with 4 or 5 D-1 players that are taller than most D-1 teams. Linden and Roselle Catholic split two games during the regular season. I'm sure Jerry Carino wrote a great article on the games last night. I must check. I also did have a nice conversation with him after the first game. He is one great guy.
Now if someone has those email addresses I would be most appreciative.
This post was edited on 2/26 6:37 AM by knights1212
 
I have heard some of the same things on Livingston.....smart player and the type of player that you can trust will do the right thing......just not sure he's a shooter, but that's part of what PG's really don't need to do, get others involved more than trying to be a scorer.
 
Trust me when I say Otis is a very smart point guard. He sees everything on the floor and he really runs the offense. He will not hurt the team. He knows exactly where everyone should be.
 
Spot on, Knights. I've seen him play a couple of times, including the Patricks game at Linden. He can flat out play. Has a great B-ball IQ, with great heart, skills, and instincts. Makes everyone around him better. Hawk, agree he may not be a great shooter, but he's a scorer. Can't understand why only R Morris has offered. Heard one coach say that his metrics don't jump out at you, but that you need to see him play to appreciate him.
 
Well tomorrow night he will be playing against Isaiah Briscoe who some think is the top PG in the nation for this senior class. I hope Otis can play well. With Silva, Reid and a few other D-1 players Roselle Catholic is loaded. They have to be huge favorites but I hope Linden can frustrate them and pull off an upset.
 
I haven't seen him play but have only heard positives that are echoed here. I'd take a flier on him for our last ship, reminds me of Matt Farrell situation last year where we again got in too late to his recruitment after he had an awesome conference tourney and state playoff run and only had mid major offers, but eventually wound up at ND
 
I love the kids game. Even with his lack of size, he is one of the best defensive players I've seen in a long time. The kid is tough as nails and runs the point as well as any pg in the state. Honestly I like him better than Bryce Aiken. As a side note, I think Colicchio would make a very good college coach. IMO Linden plays harder than any team in the state.
 
Colicchio's teams play defense better than any team I have ever seen. Every season he has many undersized guys and the team plays tough defense. They play in your face all over the court. Phil would make one great assistant college coach. He is that good.
 
Originally posted by NJ4life:

LOL...you linden guys. Loyal fans.
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I'm a Bloomfield guy. Just calling it like I see it.
wink.r191677.gif
 
Well basketball is doomed if you think OL should be playing in the Big Ten. He's a good kid but a low major D1 player. It's nothing wrong with that.
 
Originally posted by NJ4life:

Well basketball is doomed if you think OL should be playing in the Big Ten. He's a good kid but a low major D1 player. It's nothing wrong with that.
Click to expand...
I never said I think we should offer, but I do think he is a very underrated player. I will say he's a better defender than any guard on our roster though.
 
NJ4life -- I guess the RU staff only recruits low major kids from out of state like Goode and R Johnson. That's the reality for a number of Jordan's recruits so far. RU has supposedly offered Charles Minlend. Go check his other offers.

A 1 who is smart and plays D. Yeah, who would want someone like that to back up Sanders? Daniels has proved that he's not a 1. Not saying that Livingston is the answer, but be realistic -- RU is mostly recruiting at the low major level.
 
Personally, I could care less about offers. I watch players. College coaches put their futures in limbo when they play that who offered game. On the flip side its many overrated kids who gets offers because they play on the circuit. Livingston played on the UA circuit and they won it all, many college coaches saw him play as his AAU team was highly ranked. Barely any offers. FHJ tired this with kids like Sofman.
 
I am with NJ4Life on this one. For anyone lamenting the loss of Matt Farrell he is at the end of a very long bench at Notre Dame and does not play except for garbage time. We dodged a bullet having him go elsewhere as he is not a hi major kid, nor is Livingston.
 
Life -- funny you mention Freddy and Sofman. Isn't Goode just Sofman, II, The Sequel? High school scorer ... limited offers ... Rutgers staff sees something that no one else does ... supposedly lethal from the 3 ... will open things up ... blah, blah, blah.
 
Sports Illustrated last week and Jimmy Butler. Not recruited out of Houston area. Buzz Williams spotted him at JUCO and now is scoring 20 a game in pros. Some of you guys probably would not have wanted him at RU.
 
78,

Charles Minlend is a "legitimate high major prospect for the spring", according to Rob Harrington of Scout who I'd trust over someone who just looks at offer sheets and stars to judge talent.

Not every prospect tells the truth about their offer list, either. Many recruiting reporters have talked about this.


This post was edited on 2/28 6:29 PM by Aggs
 
Thanks Aggs. When I was at Rutgers Brian Ellerbe, Chris Remley and John Battle came in at same time. Battle was the third kid. Which one ended up in NBA? Kids sometimes develop late. For the newer fans the Big Ten picked top ten RU players. Battle was #7.
This post was edited on 2/28 6:35 PM by shields
 
It's funny how much Rutgers fans will criticize the program and then complain about who's offered one of our targets.

If you want to beat out Kentucky, Duke, Villanova and Kansas, play franchise mode on NCAA.

If you want to beat out VCU, Xavier, Wichita State and Temple, we should show signs that we are committed to winning.

The recruits you target and ultimately sign are directly related to the perception of your program. You don't change the perception by nibbing around the edges - lighting, new floor paint, air-conditioning, which are all nice but won't change the recruits you sign.

You also can't overrate prospects just because they play in your own backyard. We have Corey Sanders, Mike Williams, Justin Goode, Bishop Daniels and maybe another guard with Minlend. We don't even have a need at PG.




Lastly, 78 how do you profess to know more about a player than two people from the area who watch a lot more basketball than you? And you can't blindly compare Livingston, Goode and Johnson as players because of their offer list. That's ridiculous and proves you would fail as a recruiter.


We've missed on high-ranked kids and lower-ranked kids. Maybe the problem is bigger than just players.
This post was edited on 2/28 7:02 PM by Aggs
 
Just curious as to what us posters think JOrdan can recruit. Do you expect 4-5 stars to come to this program? Would you like to see him go a different path? That path is the one he's choosen.

No 4-5 start recruit is going to come here reliably right now. It's just not going to happen. We aren't good enough yet,
 
Well I think NJ4Life was wrong on Otis. He was the best player by far on the court tonight as Linden defeated Roselle Catholic and all of their D-1 players and super height 60-56. Otis scored 21 points with 19 in the second half. He only missed 1 foul shot and made quite a few. He constantly drew fouls on the RC big guys and had numerous assists and probably should have had about 5 more. Isaiah Briscoe also scored 21 but took way more shots than Otis did. I still say we need a PG as we don't really know for certain if Sanders will be here. even if he is we can use someone to spell sanders for about 12 minutes a game. This year we did not have enough guards. I think we need another one for next year. That is just my opinion.
 
Originally posted by knights1212:

Well I think NJ4Life was wrong on Otis. He was the best player by far on the court tonight as Linden defeated Roselle Catholic and all of their D-1 players and super height 60-56. Otis scored 21 points with 19 in the second half. He only missed 1 foul shot and made quite a few. He constantly drew fouls on the RC big guys and had numerous assists and probably should have had about 5 more. Isaiah Briscoe also scored 21 but took way more shots than Otis did. I still say we need a PG as we don't really know for certain if Sanders will be here. even if he is we can use someone to spell sanders for about 12 minutes a game. This year we did not have enough guards. I think we need another one for next year. That is just my opinion.
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I don't see why we need another guard. My guess is Justin Goode can provide 12 minutes a game to spell either guard spot. Both Goode and Corey Sanders are freshman next year, and Mike Williams will be a sophomore. We need a wing or a power forward.

Look at who the staff has offered in 2015 by position: Malik Ellison (wing/guard), Charles Minlend, Jr. (wing/guard); Deshawn Freeman (wing/PF)


All of that being said, I just saw that FDU offered Livingston, Jr.

This post was edited on 2/28 10:46 PM by Aggs
 
The fact that linden beat RC for the second time this year should be an embarrassment to the RC coaching staff. Praise Phil and Linden coaching for getting it done again.
 
Eli Carter went from mid major to high major after one prep season.....sometimes it just takes one prep year or one freshman season somewhere, before a kid steps into his own.

Regarding the AAU scene, of course someone without offers this past spring and summer isn't going to be recruited highly, but there are late developing kids and frankly, the coaching at that level isn't exactly stellar for any level of organized basketball. ....with Farrell or any other kid, because they are pinned to a bench of a Top 15 program doesn't mean they wouldn't contribute at RU.....

I watched Syracuse vs Duke and Duke won by 18-20 and Cuse had at least 5 to 6 kids that were RU targets (whether they were realistic targets is up for debate)....BJ Johnson, Tyler Roberson, Mike Gbinje (Duke transfer from VA), Chris McCulloch (out for season with injury) and Rakim Christmas....

I didn't mention the other two kids Ron Patterson and Trevor Cooney who all would start on a RU roster.....we are not exactly expected to match up with Duke on the road and neither are most teams....at the same time if you don't ever recruit smarter, savvy kids into your program, your never going to close the gap on anyone.

Colicchio should get a call to coach at RU.....he's got the drive to coach defense, which is how your embarrass a much tougher, bigger and more talented program that is RC and Patrick school etc....with no size at all and still wins.
 
I was also at the Championship Linden-Roselle Catholic game tonight. It was just a masterful game and game plan coaching by Phil. He slowed it down from the start and knew that was the only way that Linden was going to compete with RC.

This was my first time seeing Livingston play and can't really predict yet whether he would be able to play well game in and game out if he was in the Big 10 or Big East. But I will say that he doesn't get rattled and MAKES HIS FOUL SHOTS. He probably will end up being a guard that comes into the RAC for some mid-major team and plays us and ends up leading his team to victory over us.

This was also my first time seeing Briscoe play in person. He is much heavier than I expected and has arms with muscles that look more like a football player's arms. He showed flashes of brilliance along with one great dunk. I could see some of his talent with just a few of his plays. In my opinion, he was almost coasting the whole game, as was the whole Roselle Catholic team that was willing to sit back in their zone and even on offense, they never showed any real spark, except for a few moments in the game.

It probably was the coaching, because there is NO way that Linden should be able to beat Roselle Catholic even ONCE based on the overall talent difference, and especially TWICE. Great job of coaching by Phil.

Best of Luck,
Groz
 
Aggs -- nothing in their backgrounds suggest that Goode and Williams can run the 1 in the B1G. Do you really want Daniels to be your only back-up to Sanders? Eddie keeps saying that his offense runs through the 1 and that's been part of the problem in installing his system because he doesn't have a true 1. Sanders is the man next yeat, fingers crossed. Maybe Eddie thought Daniels could handle it, but after 20+ games, do you want the offense running through Daniels for 10 minutes a night next season?

Going to the NEPSAC finals next weekend outside Boston. Three or four games for like $5 in a college (Endicott) gym. Amazing how much talent is stashed at the New England preps by B1G, B12 and ACC programs. Plenty of big name coaches will be there for the finals on Sunday. I've gone a couple times before and never spotted an RU coach there. Maybe Shoes will show this year.

I remember when RU passed on another Linden point, Desmond Wade. I'm sure it will pass on Livingston.
 
Personally I've heard that Phil would jump at an RU assistant's job if he was ever offered. I never mentioned this before as I hate to see anyone lose a job but now that someone has mentioned this I can confirm that he would be interested.
 
Originally posted by 78CollegeAve:
Aggs -- nothing in their backgrounds suggest that Goode and Williams can run the 1 in the B1G. Do you really want Daniels to be your only back-up to Sanders? Eddie keeps saying that his offense runs through the 1 and that's been part of the problem in installing his system because he doesn't have a true 1. Sanders is the man next yeat, fingers crossed. Maybe Eddie thought Daniels could handle it, but after 20+ games, do you want the offense running through Daniels for 10 minutes a night next season?

Going to the NEPSAC finals next weekend outside Boston. Three or four games for like $5 in a college (Endicott) gym. Amazing how much talent is stashed at the New England preps by B1G, B12 and ACC programs. Plenty of big name coaches will be there for the finals on Sunday. I've gone a couple times before and never spotted an RU coach there. Maybe Shoes will show this year.

I remember when RU passed on another Linden point, Desmond Wade. I'm sure it will pass on Livingston.
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78, we're recruiting guards Mosely, Green, Parker and some others for 2016 - not that I think we'll land any of them, but they play both 1 and 2.

As far as the NEPSAC, judging from the lists of all of their high/mm players, I don't think we really have a chance with those schools and players. I'd bet Rutgers doesn't make it out there. We did offer John Crosby before he transferred to the NEPSAC same with Omari Spellman before he committed to Nova, and we offered Aaron Falzon who committed to Northwestern.

It seems like Providence, BC, Northwestern, plus all of the only bigger programs have the connections up there.
 
Aggs be positive. people thought Mack was never coming either.
 
Originally posted by Groz:

I was also at the Championship Linden-Roselle Catholic game tonight. It was just a masterful game and game plan coaching by Phil. He slowed it down from the start and knew that was the only way that Linden was going to compete with RC.

This was my first time seeing Livingston play and can't really predict yet whether he would be able to play well game in and game out if he was in the Big 10 or Big East. But I will say that he doesn't get rattled and MAKES HIS FOUL SHOTS. He probably will end up being a guard that comes into the RAC for some mid-major team and plays us and ends up leading his team to victory over us.

This was also my first time seeing Briscoe play in person. He is much heavier than I expected and has arms with muscles that look more like a football player's arms. He showed flashes of brilliance along with one great dunk. I could see some of his talent with just a few of his plays. In my opinion, he was almost coasting the whole game, as was the whole Roselle Catholic team that was willing to sit back in their zone and even on offense, they never showed any real spark, except for a few moments in the game.

It probably was the coaching, because there is NO way that Linden should be able to beat Roselle Catholic even ONCE based on the overall talent difference, and especially TWICE. Great job of coaching by Phil.

Best of Luck,
Groz
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Actually i've heard just the opposite. That RC was able to beat Linden in the second meeting because they settled into a zone and slowed down the frenetic pace that Linden likes to play with their defensive pressure. RC is much bigger but can't match the energy and speed of Linden's guards. And yes Colicchio is a brilliant tactician and motivator. I can only imagine if some of the great Linden teams of the late 70's and 80's had a coach like him. The 1978 LHS team that fell short in both the county and state tourney's. Are you kidding me? When I met Coach Colicchio after he won his first state title at Linden down at the RAC I shook his hand and thanked him on the behalf of a lot of frustrated LHS alums. BTW Livingston has also added a FDU offer but the media covering the game were wondering why not even bigger.

Go Tigers
 
I was very happy that my alma mater won. Roselle Catholic is taller than many D-1 teams and has 4 or 5 D-1 players. after watching RC again I am glad that Isaiah is going to Kentucky. He is really good but I think he thinks he is better than anyone else with his body language. He often laughs as if nothing bothers him and that he can do anything he wants to turn around the momentum. I saw him lose his cool and get T'd up vs. St. Mary's and than he pleaded to the refs that he didn't deserve it after slamming the ball that bounced about 20 feet in the air. Trust me I believe Calapari will put him in his place real quick. Roselle Catholic gets so many players with their connections to the AAU team. Public schools can't do that. I think St. Anthony will defeat Roselle Catholic in the Parochial B final.
The Linden kids were all business and Otis is just so calm all of the time. He was 10 for 10 on free throws and RC could not stop him in the last 4 minutes. Personally I believe if he goes mid major he will come back and lead his team over RU. I think he will only get better and stronger in the future. A straight A student from NJ who will probably make first team All State might just be a start for our coaches to keep a NJ kid home. I know many don't believe we need a point guard but I do. What if Corey doesn't qualify? Even if he does I just don't trust Williams, Daniels or Goode as a true point guard. I know that Otis can be a true point guard who could back up Corey. Who is to say also that we will only have one remaining scholarship. what if someone doesn't return? We were really hurting at guard this year. I don't want to see that happen next year. As for needing another power forward or wing we do have Etou, Foreman, 3 centers or power forwards in Lewis, Diallo and Doorson and we still have both Johnsons who can play the wing as well as Etou and Okoro.
 
NJHawk ... Any time the Rutgers staff spends competing for a recruit versus Duke and Syracuse is wasted time. No other way to say it. For a legacy player. For a NJ kid. Whatever. Need to pick recruiting fights better.
 
You could tell by the way that Phil reacted as the buzzer sounded that he knew he pulled off a tremendous upset even having beaten them already.

Linden slowed down the pace right from the start of the game on offense. Once Roselle Catholic started getting to the rim, RC had gone up 26-18 and looked like they might pound Linden right into the ground.

But, Linden kept their poise to keep it close and RC just didn't look like it had the killer instinct in them as Linden hustled all over the court on D.

Best of Luck,
Groz
 
Nothing personal to Livingston but with Sanders here plus Daniels, and also Williams who I have seen enough to believe he can be a PG for a couple minutes a game, we will be fine at PG. If we get someone else it has to be someone who scores a bunch of points. THAT IS OUR BIGGEST NEED PERIOD. It can be a SG who can hit the three, a big man who can cause a problem in the paint, or my preference, a SF who can flat out score.
 
I'd take Williams over Daniels at point i think.

Goode, Johnson, Sanders, Williams will give us some scoring options. Not 10+ a game, but 6+ no doubt if the roster is used properly.
 
Roselle has some of the worst coaching I've seen in many years.

You offer Livingston for reasons noted above. Quality kid; loves the game; might turn into
a more than 10 minute player, and you curry favor with his coach. Plus you get coverage because of
his father, and hs coaches' family. Probably would help fundraising too.
Short-sighted for the worst team in the Big 10 that could make it to middle of pack
in 4 years to not offer him a ship.

Knights1212,-- how old is the Linden coach? I figured he was the youngest of his
more famous Dining/Chef brothers, but not young enough to want to Coach at
a higher level. Maybe the bald head is deceiving.

He is a classy guy, and demanding coach, but would think
he'd need to be more attached to Nike or sneaker-of-your-choice-power
program to be considered a Big 10 assistant. Is he close with the
Sandy guy we met at Kean a few Fridays ago?
Interesting thought depending on if he is early 40's or younger.
 
Linden guys -- care to comment on Livingston compared to Desmond Wade a few years back? Seems we had the same discussion about whether RU should offer Wade before he ended up at Houston (then Fairfield). I remember that he wasn't much of a shooter and was very height-challenged.
 
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