Some thoughts from New Albany head coach Jim Shannon, who knew Romeo Langford was unique back in grade school.
- On his development throughout the years:
"Well, each and every year I think he's gone to a new level. I really do. He's also gotten stronger each and every year and that strength makes him hard to guard. A lot of kids at this age can't guard him because of his physicality and he's really learned to use that. Not only is he using that, but he's knocking home three's, he's taking it off the bounce, and he's getting to the rim. He's really, really difficult to guard."
- On new elements to his game this year:
"Other than his strength, he always adds two or three new moves to his repertoire. His step back, he's steps back off one foot now. He's always doing something. If somebody is doing something in the NBA, Ro's gonna be trying it."
- On when you started coaching Romeo:
"When he was in junior high he did some junior high camp stuff with us. Certainly, when he was in eighth grade getting ready to come to his ninth grade year here, that summer, he joined our team. That's the last summer we've had him because he's been doing the Adidas path, AAU, NBA skills camps, and a whole lot of other places. But, wherever he's gone he's not with us in the summer and that's OK with me."
- When did you know Romeo was special:
"We knew he was special in like fourth or fifth grade. When I say special, we knew he was going to be different. We didn't know he would be this special. But we knew he wasn't your average basketball player, shooting jump shots in fourth grade. Just stopping and jumping and shooting, there isn't a lot of kids that age strong enough to do that. So, we knew at an early age he would be different, unique, but not this special until he got up here and then we were like 'wow.'"
- On his personality and demeanor, especially with the attention and recruiting process:
"He's very level headed. Has high character. Never met a stranger. He's nice to everybody and you'll see that if you stick around and watch him sign autographs and take all these pictures for about 90 minutes, if not longer."
I didn't stick around for the full 90 minute post game fanfare, but the five minutes I did stick around Romeo was more than happy to sign autographs and he even held a baby for a picture. That's something you don't see everyday from a high school kid.
- On his development throughout the years:
"Well, each and every year I think he's gone to a new level. I really do. He's also gotten stronger each and every year and that strength makes him hard to guard. A lot of kids at this age can't guard him because of his physicality and he's really learned to use that. Not only is he using that, but he's knocking home three's, he's taking it off the bounce, and he's getting to the rim. He's really, really difficult to guard."
- On new elements to his game this year:
"Other than his strength, he always adds two or three new moves to his repertoire. His step back, he's steps back off one foot now. He's always doing something. If somebody is doing something in the NBA, Ro's gonna be trying it."
- On when you started coaching Romeo:
"When he was in junior high he did some junior high camp stuff with us. Certainly, when he was in eighth grade getting ready to come to his ninth grade year here, that summer, he joined our team. That's the last summer we've had him because he's been doing the Adidas path, AAU, NBA skills camps, and a whole lot of other places. But, wherever he's gone he's not with us in the summer and that's OK with me."
- When did you know Romeo was special:
"We knew he was special in like fourth or fifth grade. When I say special, we knew he was going to be different. We didn't know he would be this special. But we knew he wasn't your average basketball player, shooting jump shots in fourth grade. Just stopping and jumping and shooting, there isn't a lot of kids that age strong enough to do that. So, we knew at an early age he would be different, unique, but not this special until he got up here and then we were like 'wow.'"
- On his personality and demeanor, especially with the attention and recruiting process:
"He's very level headed. Has high character. Never met a stranger. He's nice to everybody and you'll see that if you stick around and watch him sign autographs and take all these pictures for about 90 minutes, if not longer."
I didn't stick around for the full 90 minute post game fanfare, but the five minutes I did stick around Romeo was more than happy to sign autographs and he even held a baby for a picture. That's something you don't see everyday from a high school kid.
