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Date Posted: 12:10:02 06/30/04 Wed
Author: Crabcakes
Subject: Fingleton Gone

Yesterday on the ESPN ticker, there was a flash that "Holy Cross C Neil Fingleton will leave school to return to England". Not that this is profound news, but does anyone have anything more on it?

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Replies:

[> Re: Fingleton Gone -- old news-finished degree this summer, went home, 12:14:55 06/30/04 Wed

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[> Reposted 4 crabcakes, et al. Re: Fingleton Gone -- TS1970, 12:35:34 06/30/04 Wed

Date Posted: 00:52:35 06/23/04 Wed
Author: TS1970
Subject: Re: Hoops - Projected Depth Chart
In reply to: Any Academic Issues? 's message, "Re: Hoops - Projected Depth Chart" on 17:52:41 06/22/04 Tue

"Is Neil definitely out???"
As things now stand, Neil is definitely leaving and will complete his undergraduate, academic work (just two more courses) this summer at Clark University and will have his HC degree mailed to his home in Durham, England. Then, I believe, he will attend a late July, European pro basketball tryout camp somewhere in Greece. Good luck and all the best, Neil. We'll miss your affable and friendly presence as well as the look of intimidation on the faces of some of the opposing players when you would trot onto the court. Really, Neil, we hardly knew ya.

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[> Re: Fingleton Gone -- hc83, 14:28:33 06/30/04 Wed

Heard a rumor someone from the women's team is also leaving. Any idea whom it might be???

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[> [> Re: Fingleton Gone -- purple passion peter, 22:29:42 06/30/04 Wed

Must be talking about Miss Nelda Fingleton,epitomy of courage and passion.

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[> [> [> Re: Fingleton Gone -- Ray, 23:33:40 06/30/04 Wed

Nice to have your always-classy presence here again, ppp.

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[> [> [> PPP's Posts -- zipp, 09:27:13 07/01/04 Thu

I've noticed a peculiar pattern to the frequency and timing of the PPP's posts. Similar to that of a prison work release program, the full moon and/or coinciding with when the circus comes to town. Although, this may be purely a coincidence.

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[> [> Women's player - Dahlman -- Jon, 19:49:41 07/01/04 Thu

hc83 - Meg Dahlman has transferred out.

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[> Re: Fingleton Gone -- regis stumper, 00:09:23 07/02/04 Fri

This guy was a stiff who milked 40k a year -- who pays Ralph? Regan asleep at the wheel...so what's new?

Kick these loafers out!!

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[> [> Re: Fingleton Gone (From US Basket-Coll. BB 5/7/04 -- NTKHC64, 15:12:39 07/03/04 Sat

Fingleton to return to Europe - May 7, 2004 - by Mitch Smith
(Check last sentence!)

He has another year of college eligibility remaining, but the British big man on campus (literally) is ready to move on. But despite some talk, don�t expect to see Neil Fingleton (228-C-80) at next month�s NBA draft.

�It�s true that I have my sights set on the NBA, but I also have a long-range plan and a realistic sense of how things need to proceed for me,� said Fingleton, whose college career didn�t work out as he had hoped it would. �At this point, I think I have gotten as much out of the college game as my particular situation is going to allow, and I�m just ready to move on. Obviously with a British passport, all of Europe is open to me, and I definitely see myself playing in Europe while I continue to bring my game to a higher level.�

When Fingleton, now 23, first came onto the college scene four years ago, he got a lot of ink. But from the time that Neil first decided to leave his native England for the U.S. nearly eight years ago, nothing has just fallen into his lap.

Already 2.26 meters tall at age 15, Neil was guided by an American basketball coach in his native Durham, England, to Holy Name high school in Worcester, MA. Adjusting to life far from home in a strange new country, away from family and friends, wasn�t always easy, but the dream of someday playing at the highest levels helped the young student to persevere.

Chosen as a MacDonalds All-American and as Massachusetts high school player of the year propelled Fingleton into the spotlight. He was recruited by Coach Bill Guthridge, Dean Smith�s successor at North Carolina.

However, between his senior year of high school and enrolling at North Carolina, Neil experienced back problems that required surgery, and kept him, literally, on his back for an extended period. Meanwhile, Guthridge announced his resignation from North Carolina, and one-time Tar Heel Matt Doherty, former assistant to Coach Roy Williams at Kansas and with one year of head coaching experience at Notre Dame under his belt, was named the new head coach.

Neil redshirted his freshman year, working out with the team and in particular, getting in shape for the rigors of the college game. In his second year, Fingleton looked forward to getting more playing time, particularly with the graduation of veteran post player Brendan Haywood (213-C-79, college: N.Carolina). However, Fingleton had been recruited by Guthridge, and it seemed that Doherty did not have the same plans for Fingleton that his predecessor had. So Neil decided to transfer to Holy Cross College, located in the same city where he had spent three years of high school and had established many friendships.

After sitting out another year as dictated by NCAA regulations, Fingleton once more looked forward to seeing action, but once again things didn�t work out, and in one and a half seasons at Holy Cross, the big Brit has seen limited action on the floor.

�At this point, I am just two courses short of my college degree, so I am going to finish up this summer and graduate from Holy Cross in July.�

�Then I am planning to take part in some camps in Europe. I know that arrangements are being made for me to attend some camps being run by individual teams in Greece in July. I have heard from my representatives in the UK that there has been some interest shown.�

�It�s strange � I can�t explain it exactly � but the fact is that even though I haven�t gotten to play much, it hasn�t had any impact on my self-confidence. I really believe in myself, I know what I can do,� he noted. Fingleton thinks of himself mainly as a defensive threat, one who can take up space in the paint and block or alter shots, something that even in his limited minutes at Holy Cross he gave strong evidence of. �Beyond that, I have an offensive game, if the team is looking for that as well, but I really think that my main contribution is on defense.�

Meanwhile, Fingleton is maintaining a workout regimen to stay in shape. And he relishes in the fact that he has made his parents back in Durham, proud of the degree that will soon be bestowed upon him. Fortunately, the school will be relieved of the need to come up with a graduation gown to fit the big Brit: since he will be finishing up over the summer, the plan is to have his diploma mailed to him. By the time it arrives, Neil hopes to be one step closer to his ultimate dream. Considering the determination that has taken him thus far, in face of many unanticipated obstacles, chances are that America hasn�t seen the last of Big Neil.

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[> [> [> Re: Fingleton Gone (From US Basket-Coll. BB 5/7/04 -- MHMD, 21:48:12 07/05/04 Mon

While I very much appreciate Fingleton's character and wish he and his family well, the kid clearly was nothing more then a very soft 7 ft. 5 local kid HC HAD to take. His skills were D2 at best and if he plays anywhere they better have a seat on the bench at least every other game... he may want to play but has as much feel for the game as Herman Munster.

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[> [> [> [> Fingleton Gone (From US Basket-Coll. BB 5/7/04 -- sader1970, 22:06:00 07/05/04 Mon

Having seen most of the minutes that Neil played in a HC uniform, I disagree that he had no talent. While there was no doubt he was rough and wasn't a natural born BB player, I thought he was athletic the few times he wasn't hurting. The one game I did not see him play, might have been his best from those who did watch - against BC. Listening to the game on the radio, he blocked shots in two successive BC possessions against their highly touted big men. At least one source from the athletic dept. said to me that they felt that was his big game and that they thought Neil was coming into his own and then the injuries came back.

If Neil can keep himself healthy and get some regular playing time against good competition, I think a lot of people will be surprised. But I'll be the first to admit, there are a lot of "ifs" and "caveats" in my comments.

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[> [> [> [> [> Re: Fingleton Gone (From US Basket-Coll. BB 5/7/04 -- Jimbo, 22:47:24 07/05/04 Mon

And, don't forget the Princeton game at home 2 seasons ago.

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[> [> [> [> [> Re: Fingleton Gone (From US Basket-Coll. BB 5/7/04 -- MHMD, 21:35:45 07/06/04 Tue

Hey.. the kid may be 7 foot 5....a great person... terrific student... have a love for the game.... but has the athletic ability and athletic toughness of a flea...let's remain realistic here...the kid will not be missed in this program-basketball wise that is.

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[> [> [> [> [> Fingleton Gone -- sader1970, 06:04:11 07/07/04 Wed

MH, as far as his consistent impact on HC basketball, I agree with you. However, whenever he made an appearance, there was an impact on the fans. Neil was especially loved by the Worcester fans and you could feel the excitement and that the whole Hart center was rooting for this kid to do well. We never got to see a long-term, healthy Neil. Whether he was tough enough is something the rest of us can only conjecture on, we weren't in his situation. As for athletic ability, I think he DID have it, and may have it again, but not in a Crusader uniform. I had earlier posted where I had calculated the rebounds and blocks per minute played for the team. Neil was tied with Nate for the team lead in rebounds per minute played (admittedly playing a lot fewer minutes) at .20 rebounds per minute played (K Ham, Joe Young and Keith had .18 rebounds per minute played). But, just as people would have wanted of a 7' 6" player, an indication of Neil's ability to impact a game on defense was the blocks per minute played. Neil had .115 blocks per minute played with Kevin Hyland next highest at .073 and Nate a distant third at .049.

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[> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Fingleton Gone -- MHMD, 13:18:26 07/07/04 Wed

Great points Sader and you are right... Willard was in a NO WIN situation- if he takes him and it doesn't work out it's too bad.. if he doesn't take him Worcester is up in arms. I look at athleticism like this.. if Neil were 6 ft. 7 instead of 7 ft 6 would he have had enough to play for the Cross?? I personally don't think so. Look at Shaq.. if that guy were 6 ft. 7 he'd still be a very good player... Lastly, being a great kid, outstanding student, and a genuinely nice kid is far more important than being able to rebound... and he clearly is all of that.

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[> Re: Fingleton Gone -- nyc '73, 22:10:14 07/06/04 Tue

What about his schollie $$$ -- who's responsible?

Where's the accountability?

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[> [> Before we jump Fingleton for the $120K HC spent... -- HC1843, 13:28:19 07/07/04 Wed

how about you go after some better "game". Maybe you can explain the vast amount of $$$$$$ that has been spent on ten bad years of football at the Cross. I'll take the 120k bet on Fingleton vs. the 20 million that the Cross has had to spend on red ink for football.

The kid didn't work out, but by all accounts he was not a bad kid.

He has moved on and so should we. And if we're going to release the hounds on the HC admin, make sure the game is suitable to hunt.

No more cliches for a while...I promise.

Cheers.

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[> [> [> Before we jump Fingleton for the $120K HC spent... -- sader1970, 13:49:43 07/07/04 Wed

1843, you are right on the mark as far as I'm concerned. And as MH indicated above, we HAD to take Neil. He probably wasn't considered much of a gamble being 7' 6" (warning, cliche ahead: "you can't teach height"), a McDonald's All American (how many has HC gotten of those over the years?) and a kid that was a local high school legend. This doesn't even consider the kid was obviously bright enough to make the grade academically at HC and would help fill the Hart Center.

As for football, I can't begin to tell you how happy I am with Coach Gilmore. I have been unhappy with the direction of the football program for some time and felt a change should have been made, conservatively, 5 years ago. I know, it's better "never late" but it's still better "late than never."

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[> [> [> [> Before we jump Fingleton for the $120K HC spent... -- TS1970, 15:55:22 07/07/04 Wed

"...the kid was obviously bright enough to make the grade academically at HC and would help fill the Hart Center."

I also heartily agree accepting Neil was the correct move at the time and certainly worth the small risk HC took in offering him an athletic scholarship. No one really had a crystal ball to predict that he would continue to be plagued with chronic injury and back problems. As stated above by Sader1970, Neil was also "bright enough..." that I am sure many believed he could be instructed to learn and acquire the basketball skills needed to play in the PL for HC. Of course, at 7' 6" and 300 pounds, had he learned to consistently execute those athletic skills, he could have conceivably dominated the PL (ala Josh Sankes) for two and a half years. So for these reasons and the reasons expressed by others here, I say yes, it was worth it to give a shot to the tallest player in HC history and, I believe at the time, the tallest in the nation. I think it was really a no brainer under the circumstances. However, unfortunately again, the HC BB program was hit with some bad luck and disappointment with regard to Neil's progress and his health so things just did not work out the way we all had hoped. So now we move on and so does the big fella Neil, Class of 2004.

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[> [> Re: Fingleton scollie issue -- Rick, 14:35:53 07/07/04 Wed

nyc -

I'm not sure I understand your question on 'accountability' with Neil's athletic scholarship. I'm assuming your saying HC/Willard should not have accepted him into the program as a transfer, yes ?

1843 -

" I'll take the 120k bet on Fingleton "

Athletic scholarships are annually renewed. AIR, Neil was with the team for 2 years, correct ? At roughly $35,000 per, isn't that around $70,000 that Neil received ?

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[> [> [> Re: Fingleton scollie issue -- Wasn't this addressed before....?, 17:15:31 07/07/04 Wed

This board rumored that HC admin was NOT going to renew Neil's schollie with only 2 courses left to graduate. Any truth to this? Does this even make sense?

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[> [> [> Re: Fingleton scollie issue -- sader1970, 17:57:45 07/07/04 Wed

Since Neil took his two remaining courses over this summer and is supposed to be gone already, there would be no reason to renew a scholarship for a student who no longer attends the college. I think it was previously posted that this is no longer an issue, only whether HC would use this extra scholarship this coming year. However, my recollection was that reliable sources indicated that there was no one that warranted getting a scholarship so it would be going unused.

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