Confirmed today (Saturday), JayDee Luster asked for his release on Tuesday and was granted it. didn't come as a surprise to the coaches or administration, and it shouldn't come as a surprise to readers. Personally I never saw what people liked so much about him on the court. I could be proven very wrong, but I think Terrence Joyner will be a better player at the point guard slot and I think that Luster was never going to be more than a role player or a back up point guard anyways.
The move shows some selfishness also, as he probably didn't get the minutes he thought was entitled to. He did pass Chris Cole on the depth chart as the season went on and would have continued to have an opportunity to compete for minutes, but after being told you are a star your whole life, it must be hard to play a supportive role.
I'm not going to bash the kid, and honestly I only talked to JayDee on a few occassions throughout the year, but I thought he was a good kid and hopefully he will land on his feet somewhere, but as for a Division I point guard, I never saw it.
9 comments:
Again, I feel the need to ask if Terrence Joyner has been cleared by the clearinghouse? The only reason he is in LC is because he couldn't get cleared while at Arkansas. I would love to see him suit up next year, but am obviously gun shy when it comes labeling these guys starters, if he's going to miss half of the season. I think the clearinghouse debacle cost us at least 4 games this past season, and role player or not, Luster would have most likely been in uniform to start the year.
Chuck.
Good point. As of now, Joyner is not eligible, but the plan was to have him eligible sometime next fall, but youre right, there is a real possibility of him missing some time early next season.
JayDee was visibly upset by his lack of playing time this year and showed it on the bench many times this year.
Not surprised at all, there was a surplus of players at the guard positions both coming in and already existing.
Luster wouldn't have been here this year either if Theus hadn't announced his leaving earlier in the game.
Pretty sure Theus promised the starting role to Luster to get him here.
Anon 3:35pm I agree that we have a surplus of guards for next year and Luster probably saw the writing with the new recruits that time would be limited. Menzies was an assistant coach at Louisville and has seen his share of potential players while recruiting. I am sure he would have given more minutes to Luster if he felt he could have helped the team. I am sure Luster felt he deserved more time and probably anon from your post, Theus promised him a major role. At least Luster gave it a shot as he could have said no to NMSU after Theus left. I am sure Luster will find a place at another college program. Good Luck JayDee.
I was really big on Jaydee when he signed. Unfortunately, he barely got on the court and now he's gone.
The point guard play was one of our weak point. Yes, Peete did an exceptional job but, it took him the entire season to get the hang of it.
It's not a knock on Peete. He played out of position and did a good job at the tail end.
So what happens if Joyner is not cleared promptly? Who runs the point?
It's a very strong possibility, right?
I was actually hoping for more from Jaydee also. But looking at the beginning of the season, we were real flush with guards (although most were of the No. 2 variety), and there was alot of sorting out of talent and chemistry to do. Look at last year. Jonathan Gibson, as talented as he was, did not get all the playing time he probably wanted because Reggie wanted him to be able to get some experience at playing at the D1 level. Even this year, Menzies sat Gibson for stretches at a time when the matchup issues were important. Even Pope, as heralded as he was, did not play all the time as he learned the system. Yes I think that Jaydee would have been able to make a good contribution to the Aggies in the future, but I doubt he would have ever gotten the playing time he wanted. Hopefully he will end up at a place where he can be happy with his contribution.
It seems the Aggies could be thin at the point, but there are a glut of "guards" on the roster. Does anybody have any inclination about how DeAngelo Jones, Tray Britt, Paris Carter, Castillo & Chris Cole fit next year? Cole is probably a capable back-up ath the point, but do any of the others have PG skills? Are they completely out of the plans with Gibson & Young eating all the 2 guard minutes?
Luster NEVER got a fair opportunity. Several local coaches and hardcore basketball fans who really have passion for the game I have visited with were perplexed to see minutes given to another point guard player this year who had multiple turnovers, limited assists, no points to speak of, no outside shots, panicked when driving to the hole and very poor defense. There were many minutes given to this other point guard.
As for Jay Dee those of you who do not know, while in High School in San Diego he was second in points, assists and points only to Jason Kidd in California history. He was also recuited by Xavier, Gonzaga, UTEP, Washington St., Fresno St., Creighton Etc. He is a legitimate Division 1 player...on our bench. You can address his size as a liability but the All Century Team Aggie Sam Crawford was the same height maybe an in shorter and took the Aggies to the Sweet Sixteen (the last time we were there).
If anyone recorded the Duke game or just remembers it you need to compare the other point guard who played in the first half to when Jay Dee finally went in the second half. You will notice that is when we made a mini run and closed the wide point spread and yes it forced Coach K to call a time out to regroup. Jay Dee was a spark plug that game, with assists, 3 pointers, and solid defense - against DUKE!
As for when Jay Dee got to play during the year it was limited minutes and with a very quick hook, without time for him to get in the flow of the game.
Jay Dee was an outside threat, was not afraid to take it to the rim, and would have been a great point guard if given a fair chance to develop(had minutes in front the other point guard player been reversed).
I will condede that he MAY have had problems in practice or might have had internal issues with Menzies, we will never know for sure. But he was never able to help NMSU while on the bench.
Jay Dee we wish you well, get your diploma, have a great collegiate career and I hope we never have to see you play against us, you will be too justifiably motivated.
I predict Luster has a good collegiate career, and would not be surprised if its in D-I. When you have HS stats that only Jason Kidd surpassed, that's saying something. For whatever reason, Menzies did not recognize the talent. But then again, Menzies was a disappointment this year. Hmmm.
-Aggie Glare
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