College Tennis recruiting

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
I am here at an ITF event at JTCC in College Park Maryland, and the place is full of college tennis coaches scouting potential recruits. I am sitting next to the Texas tennis head coach , next to him is the Princeton coach, South Carolina, Cal Berkeley, and the list goes on.
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
I am back home after watching the match between Juncheng Shang (aka Jerry Shang) and Derrick Chen. Jerry Shang is the current #1 ITF tennis player at the age of 16 years old. He has good ground strokes and smart player but this dude absolutely has ZERO weapons to hurt anyone. His serve is so average, when he serves, he is about 1/2 foot off the ground which is not much of a jump. He is more a defensive player. Physically, he doesn't look intimidating to me. He looks kind of skinny at 5 feet 9 inches, I think he should spend more time in the gym.

Shang reminds me of another player who won the 2018 FO Junior champ, Jason Tseng. Tseng was the #1 Junior player in the world but he is currently ranked 286th. Shang probably has reached his highest potential, IMO.

While I was there watching tennis matches, I also got to talk to several college tennis coaches and I ask them "what is the probability that you will give someone a full tennis scholarship at your school?" The answer is universally "almost never". I then asked "what is the probably that you will give Shang a full ride at your school?" The answer is almost universally "Maybe". I was very surprised by the response that they said "maybe" to the #1 ITF Junior player.
 
I am here at an ITF event at JTCC in College Park Maryland, and the place is full of college tennis coaches scouting potential recruits. I am sitting next to the Texas tennis head coach , next to him is the Princeton coach, South Carolina, Cal Berkeley, and the list goes on.

you sure the Cal guy was there? He resigned today ‍♂️
 

andfor

Legend
Kinda goes without saying the "almost never" opens the door to a "maybe". I've known a handful of DI men who had 3/4 to a full tennis scholarship. Yeah, its rare. Mostly this was based on individual need and also scholarship distribution amongst the rest of the team.

My guess is the "maybe" to full ride for the #1 ITF answer comes from a couple of levels. 1. Coach doesn't want to throw that out there in the public space not knowing where that rumor would go. 2. No need to throw the full ride offer out there should it not even be needed by the player.
 

pkwanyc

New User
I am back home after watching the match between Juncheng Shang (aka Jerry Shang) and Derrick Chen. Jerry Shang is the current #1 ITF tennis player at the age of 16 years old. He has good ground strokes and smart player but this dude absolutely has ZERO weapons to hurt anyone. His serve is so average, when he serves, he is about 1/2 foot off the ground which is not much of a jump. He is more a defensive player. Physically, he doesn't look intimidating to me. He looks kind of skinny at 5 feet 9 inches, I think he should spend more time in the gym.

Shang reminds me of another player who won the 2018 FO Junior champ, Jason Tseng. Tseng was the #1 Junior player in the world but he is currently ranked 286th. Shang probably has reached his highest potential, IMO.

While I was there watching tennis matches, I also got to talk to several college tennis coaches and I ask them "what is the probability that you will give someone a full tennis scholarship at your school?" The answer is universally "almost never". I then asked "what is the probably that you will give Shang a full ride at your school?" The answer is almost universally "Maybe". I was very surprised by the response that they said "maybe" to the #1 ITF Junior player.
He's actually 6 feet tall. I've watched a few of his matches. He has solid groundstrokes, a good drop shot, smart around the court. i do agree he needs to bulk up and hit the bal harder though. maybe that'll come as he gets older
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
He's actually 6 feet tall. I've watched a few of his matches. He has solid groundstrokes, a good drop shot, smart around the court. i do agree he needs to bulk up and hit the bal harder though. maybe that'll come as he gets older

he just beat Duarte Vale in finals of M15 Naples - I suspect he’s going to be just fine as a pro - top 100? top 50? who knows at this stage - but bob’s comments about his serve seem similar to Brooksby, and he should have been fired as a scout after that one!
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
he just beat Duarte Vale in finals of M15 Naples - I suspect he’s going to be just fine as a pro - top 100? top 50? who knows at this stage - but bob’s comments about his serve seem similar to Brooksby, and he should have been fired as a scout after that one!

Fortunately, I don't make a living as a tennis scout. Beating Duarte Vale is like beating someone is the top 850's in the world, nothing to brag about. Every time Shang is seeded #1 in the tournament, he lost most of them even before either the semi or final. It is much different when he has a target on his back.

Btw, aren't you the one who said that my alma mater JJ Wolf will be in the top 100th? Last time I check, Wolf is almost falling out of the top 200th.
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
He's actually 6 feet tall. I've watched a few of his matches. He has solid groundstrokes, a good drop shot, smart around the court. i do agree he needs to bulk up and hit the bal harder though. maybe that'll come as he gets older

6 feet tall? with heightened shoes, maybe. The dude is definitely not 6 feet tall.
 

pkwanyc

New User
he just beat Duarte Vale in finals of M15 Naples - I suspect he’s going to be just fine as a pro - top 100? top 50? who knows at this stage - but bob’s comments about his serve seem similar to Brooksby, and he should have been fired as a scout after that one!
i'm not disagreeing. winning 2 out of the first 3 futures events you play is a great accomplishment. i don't remember exactly but don't think Holger Rune came close to starting out that hot. Shintaro Mochizuki (sp?) has yet to win a singles Futures event and he's been grinding it out for over a year now. i just think shang needs to add some muscle to that skinny frame and improve his serve. although watching a recent match of his on youtube he's shown flashes of a big forehand already. and don't forget he's only 16
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame

Here he is standing next to Denis Shapovolov. So if you believe Shapo is 6'1 then Shang is definitely 6 feet tall. definitely NOT 5'9 no matter how you cut it though. maybe time to get your eyes checked?

not 5'9 but he is definitely not 6 ft. I watched the match between Shang and Derrick Chen at JTCC ITF and Derrick Chen looks much taller and bigger than Chen. It is unfortunately that Chen made so many unforced errors that day but Derrick Chen has much more potential than Shang.
 

pkwanyc

New User
d
not 5'9 but he is definitely not 6 ft. I watched the match between Shang and Derrick Chen at JTCC ITF and Derrick Chen looks much taller and bigger than Chen. It is unfortunately that Chen made so many unforced errors that day but Derrick Chen has much more potential than Shang.
don't forget he's only 16. he still has a few more years to grow and fill out
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
Shang is going Pro he will never set foot on College Campus, if your winning 15k's at 16 you are not destined for college.

but his serve! and his height! Bob watched him from his front row seat and or box and says he’d only maybe get a college tennis scholarship! he’ll be heartbroken to hear that playing at Cal isn’t in his future!
 

JLyon

Hall of Fame
but his serve! and his height! Bob watched him from his front row seat and or box and says he’d only maybe get a college tennis scholarship! he’ll be heartbroken to hear that playing at Cal isn’t in his future!
I can attest he has grown 3-6" in the past 3 yrs since he won the National 14's. He is a grinder, but appears in his transition to the Pros he is acknowledging he needs to up the pace, he is very similar to Nadal.
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
I can attest he has grown 3-6" in the past 3 yrs since he won the National 14's. He is a grinder, but appears in his transition to the Pros he is acknowledging he needs to up the pace, he is very similar to Nadal.

Similar to Nadal? Now that's funny.
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
instead of being arrogant @$$ actually watch his play, he is a lefty and grinds, but I know your better than everyone, so not sure why anyone wastes time talking to you or unignoring your ignorant posts.

i mean, eventually I’ll get tired of making fun of his Brooksby take, 5 years or so from now, so I’m glad he doubled down with another terrible take
 

andfor

Legend
i mean, eventually I’ll get tired of making fun of his Brooksby take, 5 years or so from now, so I’m glad he doubled down with another terrible take
Both Djokovic and Nadal had serves that needed lots of work when they first came on tour. Mention that when talking about a young up and coming player today and there's always an arrogant person that scoffs. Some folks just have a hard time having an online conversation.
 

atatu

Legend
Ok tracked this thread down after a heads up from @mikej - good stuff here. Jerry Sheng is now ranked 202 at age 17 and JJ Wolf is #87. Sheng just beat Jordan Thompson in straight sets at a challenger in Canada.
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
Sheng just beat Jordan Thompson in straight sets at a challenger in Canada.

really too bad Princeton / South Carolina / Cal cannot find a scholarship for him - he'd be a solid middle of the lineup player after a redshirt year
 
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