Hawaii lands a major talent -- maybe

After all the hoopla and headlines comes the fine print.

We have no wish to rain on Bob Nash's parade as his landing of Roderick Flemings is quite the coup. Flemings is a talent Hawaii desperately needed -- someone who can create and score, as the Rainbow Warrior roster is filled primarily with complementary players.

But Flemings apparently has some academic catchup to do and it also wouldn't be surprising if the kid bolts to the NBA after one season, ready for the pros or not. He's collected a series of mailing addresses since high school so will he or won't he make his way to Honolulu and for how long? Bob Nash is willing to take that chance and the success of the Rainbow Warrior season will be heavily dependent on this one kid.

UH lands JC All-American
Swingman Flemings called most talented recruit since A.C.
Dayton Morinaga
Honolulu Advertiser
April 26, 2008

The last shot of the recruiting season for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team turned out to be its best.

Roderick Flemings, a junior college first-team All-America player, signed his letter of intent yesterday to play for the Rainbow Warriors.

"Let everybody know ... I'm going to be at Hawai'i," Flemings said. "A lot of schools were looking at me, but I feel like Hawai'i is the best place for me."

Flemings is 6 feet 7 and 215 pounds, and shoots with his left hand. He said he can play either the shooting guard or small forward position. "My game is versatile," he said. "I'm left-handed, so other teams have a hard time guarding me. I feel like I can shoot the 3 or take it to the basket. I can even post-up, if that's what it takes."

The proof is in the statistics. Flemings averaged 20.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.6 blocked shots per game as a sophomore at Weatherford (Texas) College last season...

Go here for the remainder.

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Here is a report from a Kentucky perspective:

Yes, Flemings to Hawaii
Jody Demling
Louisville Courier-Journal
April 26, 2008

The news broke last night that Roderick Flemings is going to Hawaii, picking the Rainbows over Kentucky. The UK staff will simply move on.

Remember UK fans, Flemings still has a lot of work this summer to become eligible. So even had he committed it wouldn't have been a sure thing.

Not a huge loss.

and

Friday, April 11, 2008
JUCO standout to visit UK?

Weatherford (Tx.) Community College forward Roderick Flemings is one of the top prospects still available in the Class of 2008. The 6-foot-7 Flemings, who was named a first-team junior college All-American, has a lot of big-time schools inquiring about his status and it appears Kentucky is in the mix.

I talked with coach Mark Osina earlier and he updated me a bit on his status.

"He has taken no visits and every school is calling," Osina said. "He's 6-7, 210 and can play inside and outside. He has a good attitude, is long and very talented."
Osina said Flemings will get plenty of attention from colleges in the coming months if "he can get it done academically. He'll have to go to summer school."

When asked if Flemings had a visit to UK set up for this weekend, Osina said "no, not to my knowledge." I know it's been reported the player will visit this weekend and I have left a message for Flemings to try and confirm if he's coming to Lexington or not.

"Kentucky sends him mail all the time, they have called and been here three or four times," said Osina, who did mention Flemings might visit Hawaii next week.

Flemings has also entertained the possibility of entering the NBA draft, and will be working out for a couple of NBA teams, according to him. However, his lack of D-1 experience make a direct entry into the NBA from junior college an unlikely scenario.

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Here's some more background, a report from 2006:

TexasHoops.com Recruiting Staff
TexasHoops.com
May 9, 2006

Sometimes your initial gut feel doesn't end up working out. When Roderick Flemings originally picked Oklahoma State as his college of choice, the versatile 6-foot-7, 215-pound swingman thought he'd be a Cowboy for his entire collegiate career. But after a year in the program, he felt that a fresh start was needed. Flemings made the decision to transfer out, and he's heading back home to North Texas having signed a letter-of-intent to play at UNT in 2007-08.

"It's just a good program," Flemings said. "I was looking around at some other schools, but I thought that UNT was a good team. I like the coaching staff, the way they run the offense, the environment - everything. It's close to my home too."

Some of the other schools Flemings was in contact with after receiving his release from Oklahoma State included Memphis, New Mexico State, UNLV, and Tennessee. When when Flemings stepped back and looked at the situation in front of him at UNT, he just couldn't turn all that down. "I'll play small forward," Flemings said. "I'll do everything, whether it's posting up or shooting outside - everything. I just need to work on my ball-handling and that's about it."