57 replies to this topic

[Pedro Cerrano]

Stoglin went undrafted.

[JeremyStrain]

He's got another year left.

[Mackus]

Didn't expect him to get drafted, but I think he can be a star over in Europe. He's too small to play the 2 and not good enough of a ball handler for the 1 in the NBA, but he can lead leagues in scoring over in Europe a la Drew Nicolaus.

Still wish he was going to be in College Park next year, but wish him the best going forward.

[Can_of_corn]

Finland is nice.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=7rwc3VGvlRY

[DJ MC]

I'm sure he can find a place in Australia backing up his spiritual brother, John Gilchrist.

[You Play to Win the Game]

I'm sure he can find a place in Australia backing up his spiritual brother, John Gilchrist.

Is that where he is now? Dear God. I haven't followed him at all since all that crap went down. Crazy.

It's ashame about Stoglin. If he had stayed another year, put up another dominant ACC season, he could have carved out a nice little career in the NBA as a role player, IMO.

[BSLMikeLowe]

I'm sure he can find a place in Australia backing up his spiritual brother, John Gilchrist.

I was thinking he could push Tamir Goodman for some playing time in that Israeli semi-pro league.

[DJ MC]

Is that where he is now? Dear God. I haven't followed him at all since all that crap went down. Crazy.

It's ashame about Stoglin. If he had stayed another year, put up another dominant ACC season, he could have carved out a nice little career in the NBA as a role player, IMO.

He was there a year ago. The internet appears to have lost track of him since.

[Mackus]

It's ashame about Stoglin. If he had stayed another year, put up another dominant ACC season, he could have carved out a nice little career in the NBA as a role player, IMO.

I'm sure you know this, but he didn't have the option of staying another year. Got suspended from the team. Would've had to sit out anyways. He could've done that then played his senior year, but I don't think that was a very practical expectation. He'll be making well into the 6 figures playing overseas right away and could get into the millions within a few years if he can score like he's capable of.

[You Play to Win the Game]

I'm sure you know this, but he didn't have the option of staying another year. Got suspended from the team. Would've had to sit out anyways. He could've done that then played his senior year, but I don't think that was a very practical expectation. He'll be making well into the 6 figures playing overseas right away and could get into the millions within a few years if he can score like he's capable of.

I guess the way I look at is if he were more focused and committed to the proram, he wouldn't have put himself in that situation. But I hear ya, it is what it is, and it's not like he won't be making coin over there.

[bnickle]

Forgone conclusion he would not be drafted. Was he even invited to any pre draft camps. workouts, etc

[Nuclear Dish]

I was thinking he could push Tamir Goodman for some playing time in that Israeli semi-pro league.

Tamir Goodman is retired. His last appearance was a 1-minute showing in the 2010-11 season opener for Maccabi Haifa (Israel Premier League - not semi-pro). He broke his arm in practice the next day, and sat the rest of the season. In fact, about midway through the season, he started doing PR for the team in the States instead of playing, to justify his salary.

I had him over to my house for dinner one Friday night when he was injured. Nice guy who really was completely overhyped because he was religious. He should never have been given the moniker "Jewish Jordan". WIthout it, he might have been just another guy who played at a low D-I school, then played a bit in the Israeli leagues.

He retired officially in 2011 and began running basketball camps and clinics, often bringing in former teammates and acquaintances from the Israeli leagues as celebrity guests (Omri Casspi, Lior Eliyahu, Oded Katash, Anthony Parker). He also began a business that promotes (and has been very successful selling) fringed (religious) Jewish undergarments that are sports-friendly.

BTW, DJ Strawberry played in the Israeli league last year for Hapoel Jerusalem, leading the team in minutes and averaging 16.9/3.6/3.2.

[SBTarheel]

We used to have Harold Katz on Stan the Fan's show once a week during the Tamir hype..Oy, that guy was something else.

[Nuclear Dish]

We used to have Harold Katz on Stan the Fan's show once a week during the Tamir hype..Oy, that guy was something else.

Harold Katz was my coach when I was in 6th grade. I know him pretty well (he's a FB friend of mine, and I've known his wife since I was about 5 years old). He knows his basketball, but he can certainly talk a player up.

He used to like to say about me, "Klaff can handle the ball, he can pass, and he can play defense with the best of them. Just don't let him shoot, and you've got a decent ballplayer."

[SBTarheel]

Harold Katz was my coach when I was in 6th grade. I know him pretty well (he's a FB friend of mine, and I've known his wife since I was about 5 years old). He knows his basketball, but he can certainly talk a player up.

He used to like to say about me, "Klaff can handle the ball, he can pass, and he can play defense with the best of them. Just don't let him shoot, and you've got a decent ballplayer."

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Good guy, but I think he bought the "Jewish Jordan" hype.

You sound like Kendall Marshall...well, minus the defense.

[BSLMikeLowe]

I seem to recall reading several years ago that Goodman was either playing in a semi-pro or lower-level Israeli league. Nice that he got another shot in the Premier League, terrible that an injury ended his career. That article, and everything else I read about him made him seem like a great guy. Nice to hear he's doing well. Thank you for the update on him, ND....and on DJ too.

[Nuclear Dish]

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Good guy, but I think he bought the "Jewish Jordan" hype

Harold created the Jewish Jordan hype. He had followed religious Jewish players for 25 years, and had seen the best of them come and go. Goodman was the first to not only have D-I talent, but who was interested in pursuing it. And so Katz talked him up all over the place. He also was the one who advised him to go play downtown with the other ballers, so he could test his game against the best Baltimore had to offer. He took him over to DC to play too.

When he saw that he could hold his own with those guys, he knew his assessment of him as a legit D-I player was correct and he started shopping him to mid-major school, but also talking him up to the press. When SI came calling, the hype machine was in full gear, and it was right around then that Gary Williams was told it would be a great PR move to get this guy. Everyone knew Goodman would be nothing more than bench filler in the ACC. But it was worth it to bring him in for the PR boost.

Unfortunately, the negative PR when they decided not to honor their commitment was as damaging as the positive spin had been upon signing him. Then there was the Towson fiasco (his coach left, and he didn't get along with the new coach, who threw a chair at him).

To be continued in my response to Birds of B'more...

[Nuclear Dish]

I seem to recall reading several years ago that Goodman was either playing in a semi-pro or lower-level Israeli league. Nice that he got another shot in the Premier League, terrible that an injury ended his career. That article, and everything else I read about him made him seem like a great guy. Nice to hear he's doing well. Thank you for the update on him, ND....and on DJ too.

So then after the Towson fiasco, Maccabi Tel Aviv (the top team in Israel and one of the top 5 teams every year in Europe) signed Goodman, also for the PR boost.

Goodman wasn't ready for the top level of Israeli basketball, let alone European basketball, so Maccabi Tel Aviv loaned him to a bottom-of-the-table Premier league team for up to 3 years. He played a couple years at that level, mostly as a 7th or 8th guy, but kept getting hurt every step of the way. He then did his Israeli army service (basic training plus 100 days for an immigrant his age) and proceeded to blow out his knee. He worked his way back in the Israel second division, and actually averaged about 20 ppg there before he re-injured the knee and had to sit for the remainder of the season.

By that point, there were no real offers coming in Israel, so he returned to Maryland, where he did play semi-pro for the Maryland Nighthawks for half a season. He proved his knee was stable enough to earn a new contract, and he finally signed on with Maccabi Haifa.

Maccabi Haifa is a middle-of-the-table basketball team (usually finishing anywhere from 2nd to 6th out of 10 or 12 teams), but he was a practice player by that point. They had Davon Jefferson (USC), Doron Perkins (Santa Clara), BJ McKie (South Carolina), Todd Golden (St. Mary's), and Jeremy Tyler (high school phenom) on that team, and Goodman was mostly a practice player. Then he broke bones in his wrist, and the career came to an end.

Amazingly, through it all, he managed to keep a positive attitude despite the fact that most people considered him a huge disappointment. In Israel, he's become something of a joke, especially now that Omri Casspi has been successful in the NBA. The idea of Goodman as a "Jewish Jordan," in their opinion, is preposterous, since they've produced dozens of players who dwarfed him in their output. Throw in American guys like Jordan Farmar, who is also Jewish, and it's clear that the whole thing was a mistake.

Still, Goodman always looked at his celebrity as an opportunity to do good, and he has stuck to that. I give him a lot of credit.