Hoyas' Latest Recruit Is Finally Done

I wasn't quite sure how to handle this one. For starters, I'd blogged back in March that this was a done deal, with St. John's (Md.) forward Nikita Mescheriakov bound for Georgetown. The only holdup was certifying that Mescheriakov's grades and test score would fly with the NCAA. Then nothing happened.

Until 4:31 this afternoon, when I got an email from St. John's assistant coach Donald R. Shopland Jr. announcing Mescheriakov was bound for Georgetown. Ok, good. Done, right?

Well, no. First of all, is it "Mescheriakov" -- which I've used all year online and in print because that's how his older brother, Yegor, spelled his name when he played at George Washington. Or is it "Mescharakou" as Shopland writes?

Second, what to do about a release from a coach I'm not familiar with who writes "advanced for release" at Thursday 6 a.m. What the heck is that about? Why would there be an embargo on using this info and should I agree to follow any embargo I didn't agree to?

In any case, I think that Mescheriakov will turn out to be a good pickup for Georgetown. He might not make the immediate splash of Austin Freeman or Chris Wright, but Mescheriakov will be a solid player for years to come.

By Josh Barr |  June 20, 2007; 4:52 PM ET  | Category:  Basketball
Previous: Hogan Ready, Set, Hike | Next: Will Supreme Court Decision Make Local Impact?

The comments to this entry are closed.