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Nothing Ever Really Gets Deleted On The Internet
Nothing Ever Really Gets Deleted On The Internet
Published by Swampy Meadows
02-28-2018
Nothing Ever Really Gets Deleted On The Internet

WEST BLOOMFIELD (MI) -- I recently lamented that the column I wrote back in January of 2007 about Christian Dawkins, the renegade agent at the center of the recruiting controversy, had disappeared into the ether.

Well guess what?

After some fine detective work by our esteemed leader Chris Rieman, he was able to retrieve my 11 year old piece from the malware infested recesses of the Coranto platform on which this here UD Pride website used to run.

Here it is…

BEVERLY HILLS (MI) –- If there is one overriding, immutable fact when it comes to interpersonal communications on the internet, it is this:

Nothing is what it seems.

One only has to see the horrified looks on the faces of those cyber-goobers eagerly awaiting the chance to boink a 13-year-old girl, who are instead blindsided by Chris Hansen on NBC’s “Dateline” to realize that this is so. You really have absolutely no way of knowing who or what you are chatting with or sending IMs to out there in cyberspace.

And, so it seems, such is the case when it comes to internet basketball recruiting experts.

I first mentioned the name Christian Vaughn when I wrote about going to see UD recruit Devin Searcy play in person. Christian is the founder of “Hoop Experts Scouting Service” and author of the “Motor City Hoop Experts” blog. For those of you who missed it, here is what CV had to say about Devin:

“One player who checked in extremely low on our updated rankings is Devin Searcy who has been rated among the top 10 in the 2007 class, and was once rated in the top 5 during his high school career. Devin was recently rated by us at #92, and that was generous. This guy is pretty bad, and no way is he a Division One player, and I don’t think I will be forced to choke on my words like I had to with Marvin Skipper. If he got a Division One scholarship to mid-major power Dayton, I need to be signing to the University of The Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Mass.”

Here is a recap of our initial correspondence:

Christian:

Don't you think you were a little harsh in your assessment of Devin Searcy in your latest blog entry? He is coming off an injury and has only played in half of his team's games. I find your criticism of him interesting since the Detroit News said Devin was the "lone bright spot" in the game vs. a very good Pershing team.

Jim Meadows


Christian’s reply:

I’m sorry, but Searcy is the most over-hyped player in Michigan. I think everything I said was warranted. I heard he had a double/double yesterday against Robichaud. But Searcy is just not a good basketball player. Maybe you should subscribe to The Hoop Experts, to hear about other 6'9 guys who play to their potential.

Okay, fine, the guy is standing his ground. However, I was at that Robichaud game, so I know that not only is Devin not a stiff, but he’s a **** fine player. Christian and I had several subsequent email communications regarding Devin. Here is the first:

Christian:

Romulus is playing Saginaw Arthur Hill on Tuesday. Since you are based in Saginaw, I would assume that you'll try and see that game. I would really be interested in your opinion of Devin Searcy's play, now that he has seemingly recovered from his high ankle sprain that limited his mobility the last time you saw him.

I will be going to the Romulus/Detroit Country Day game on February 6, as I live a mile down the road from DCD. I'd be happy to meet you there and watch Devin play against another primo team and see how he does.

Jim Meadows


I was operating under the assumption that the Arthur Hill game was in Saginaw. It wasn’t; it was a home game for Romulus. Here is Vaughn’s reply:

Yes I will surely try to make it out to the Arthur Hill/Romulus Game. Depending on how my schedule is...I am trying to see (Dominique) Buckley, as I haven’t seen him since the summertime. I will be moving Searcy back up in my rankings, but not to the top 10-15 area where he once was. I suppose you are a Romulus fan, if so do you have any info on who Buckley will be playing AAU with this year...I have heard Mustangs and Hurricanes. Also would you like to write recaps on the Romulus games for me...or for that matter...all games that you go see???

So, I’m making some headway with the guy. He’s gonna move Devin up in his rankings and we’ve gone from him hitting me up to subscribe to his recruiting rag to me writing game summaries for it. That’s progress, I guess. My response to his offer to write recaps for him:

Christian:

Actually I am a Dayton grad, hence my interest in Romulus. Devin is the only reason I am going to see them play. The DCD game makes sense because it's so close to me...I normally don't attend HS games, so I won't be able to help you out.

Hope to see you on February 6th.


And Vaughn’s subsequent reply:

OOOO OK...I’m updating my rankings now and on my C/PF list Devin is top 10...you should subscribe to see my rankings and recruiting newsletters.

So, now we’re back to asking me to subscribe to his newsletter again. At least he moved Devin up into his top 10. I wrote to Christian once more after the Arthur Hill game:

Christian:

For some reason, I thought the Arthur Hill/Romulus game was up in your neck of the woods in Saginaw. From the account in the Freep, it sounded like Dar (Tucker) had a great game, but so did Buckley and Devin, who went for 24 points on 10-15 shooting. You might want to slide Searcy a little further up in your rankings.

Jim Meadows


Which drew this brief response:

Will have 2 see Searcy again...

I should mention that each of Christian’s emails had the following signature at the bottom:

“I aint cocky im jus really, really confident
So when ya tell me im the best is jus a compliment”

C.Diddy44


So, it’s “C. Diddy” is it, eh Christian? Looks like we got a rappin’ recruitin’ expert on our hands here, guys.

Last Wednesday, I got the following unsolicited email from a gentleman named Spencer Pulliam:

My name is Spencer Pulliam and I am the owner/lead scout of Generation Next Basketball scouting service. Our focus is on exposure for youth basketball players and I came across your article/blog posted on January 5th, 2007 that mentioned Devin Searcy and "scout" Christian Vaughn. I thought you would find it interesting that Christian is a 14-year-old high school freshman with his own "scouting service". Obviously his opinions should not be taken seriously as he was 10 years old when the 2007 college graduating class were seniors in high school. To keep it short he hasn't seen much basketball. In fact if you explore his site I believe that you will find he has ranked himself among the elite freshman across the nation and in the state of Michigan. Certainly ambitious to say the least. Interpret his site as pure entertainment and try not to be too hard on the kid. Hopefully you realize that true evaluators of the game and its talent have much more informed and accurate opinions. Take care and the best of luck with the continued success of your blog.

As the courtside announcer on “Streetball” likes to say:

“Oh, baybee!”

It all kinda makes sense now. I wrote back to Spencer and asked for his permission to include his email in this article. His response:

Thanks for the note. Feel free to share the truth about the matter. You can use my name as well for the column but be sure to quote me accurately if you do so. You would be amazed how many people start websites for youth basketball to try to gain exposure for their own kids.

The youth basketball scene is certainly a movement and colleges are catching on. I have college coaches that I talk to all the time about 8th and 9th graders and actively recruit them. It's flat out scary especially considering that so many of these "basketball recruiting websites" are people with agendas. If you ever want to talk about the game feel free to give me a call and I'm sure you will find that some of us know what to look for in terms of observing talent.


Spence sounds like a pretty cool guy. Christian Vaughn, on the other hand, should be sent to his room without supper. I’m gonna follow Spencer’s advice and not come down too hard on the kid, other than bustin’ his narrow little behind in this space. Wait until the next time he tries “Googling” his own name and finds this -- and you know that he will!

For some reason, I don’t think Christian Vaughn will be joining me for the Romulus/Detroit Country Day game on Tuesday night.

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: swampy@udpride.com
Article Tools
  #1  
By Chris R on 02-28-2018, 02:58 PM
I should work for the FBI!
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  #2  
By Buster Goode on 03-09-2018, 10:51 AM
Tell you what, that kid was closer in his assessment than any of the other so-called experts.
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