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Polak, Dwyer and Jean-Baptiste sign Generation adidas deals

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The MLS Generation adidas class will feature nine players after the league secured the signings of three players on Wednesday night.

South Florida striker Dom Dwyer, Creighton fullback Tyler Polak and UConn central defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste were all signed to Generation adidas contracts after being made offers on Tuesday, sources told SBI. The three signings came after MLS failed to secure the services of North Carolina forward Billy Schuler and opened up their search for signings to the three remaining candidates.

Here is the full Generation adidas class:

Andrew Wenger (Duke), Darren Mattocks (Akron), Kelyn Rowe (UCLA), Enzo Martinez (North Carolina), Chandler Hoffman (UCLA), Sam Garza (UCSB), Dom Dwyer (South Florida), Tyler Polak (Creighton), Andrew Jean-Baptiste (UConn).

All nine players are projected to be first-round picks in the 2012 MLS Draft, which takes place a week from today in Kansas City.

MLS is still on contract negotiations with U.S. Under-17 playmaker Junior Flores, but salary demands could keep the deal from happening. Flores could ultimately be signed after the MLS Draft, where he would then go into a weighted lottery, a scenario that seems more likely considering the fact Flores is just 15 and lottery would increase the chances of having Flores land with a team that is a good fit for him.

Comments

  1. salary demands? Hes like what 15 16??? how much does he want- just take him to chuckee cheese if he wins games and pay him 60 or 80 grand a year and there u go. When i was 16 i was happy just to have a job that paid minimum wage.

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  2. I would really like to see Flores in MLS a few seasons before going to Europe, but with that being said he is being courted by Borussia Dortmund and other high profile clubs in Europe. It will be a hard choice for him. I say you do what is best for you and your family, and if that means him going to Europe than so be it. This is shaping up to be a real good GA class.

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  3. I’d rather see him develop in my own country’s league than abroad where people forget about him. Lets have some pride in our own country! We need MLS to become a great league. USA!

    Bleep Europe! Bleep Arsenal and Barca. Foreign bums.

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  4. Fischy, why would I poison MLS or DC United? My comment stated there is no chance he signs with MLS. He is being courted by European clubs and has an opportunity to earn a great wage and change his families situation forever. Put yourself in his shoes and tell me you would sign with MLS for a significantly lower wage than Europe.

    MLS is a great opportunity for many players as it was for me personally. Just because I have been vocal against a couple of individuals does not mean I have anything against the league. The league is doing a lot of great things and is completely different to my playing days.

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  5. “MLS is still on contract negotiations with U.S. Under-17 playmaker Junior Flores, but salary demands could keep the deal from happening.”

    Incredible skills, he made Brazil kids look like orange, traffic cones. I rather see him at a Barcelona or Arsenal academy than anywhere in MLS.

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  6. +1.

    Anyone who complains about a teenage kid being unfairly given to an MLS team need to get some perspective. They need to be put into the best environment possible (Gil at RSL) or kept close to home.

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  7. I completely agree — though I hope Mike Ammann hasn’t poisoned him against MLS and DCU in particular — he had a few pointed words on facebook about DCU’s chances of getting him. (I believe Mike’s kid, Arie, is the goalie on Flores’ McLean side).

    Because of Flores’ youth, being with DC United would probably be the best thing for him. The question is whether the league or the team can make it happen.

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  8. Excellent. DC has all the right options now, and Benny has made very good decisions so far.

    As for Flores, if MLS won’t lift a finger about DC’s stadium problems, they better move heaven and earth to give us Flores. Youth power is the only thing sustaining us nowadays, youth and De Ro. Considering all the other players who were selected by other teams but “wound up” near their hometown, this had better not be an exception.

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  9. Fischy, the kids 15 years old. As much as it pains me to say it, he should be with a team near his home.
    He is a talent no doubt, a bit slight perhaps but tough, great lower body strength and balance and vision par excellant…

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  10. Looking at Junior Flores’ highlights on Youtube – I would rate him higher than Silva and Enzo Martinez be it that he is only 15 years old. Would seriously like to see him in a DCU uniform – maybe to follow the footsteps of Andy Najar who joined the club at age 16.

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  11. My point is this — the Superdraft actually forces a team to really consider how well they think a player will fit in, since there are dozens of other players they could pick instead. By contrast, the lottery decision may just come down to the question of whether the player is better than anyone else who might be coming down the pike later. It’s more of an unknown, so the question of fit is probably less important not more important in the lottery — especially in this case, since Flores is probably the best talent to be offered in lottery since Luis Gil.

    I’m wondering if it would be possible to carve out an exception for him based on age, maybe? Considering fit — DC United and Chicago are both expected to take midfielders in the first round — Silva and Martinez. If one of those teams knew they would be getting Flores, they would probably use their draft pick to fill other pressing needs — whereas, if a lottery came after they the draft, they might be faced with being in Flores to compete with their draft pick in years to come (or, maybe a trade of the player just picked…).

    Note to whichever team gets Flores — be prepared for bigger crowds at reserve games.

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  12. “lottery would increase the chances of having Flores land with a team that is a good fit for him”????

    How so? Are these lotteries weighted in the “finger on the scale” way? What’s a good fit for him? If that’s code for DC United, because that’s the local team, then I would agree. DC United isn’t going to pick him at #7, and doesn’t even have a second round pick. So, the only way the team would get him is by trade…or scoring big in the weighted lottery. On the other hand, there are still 4 teams that would have better odds (Chicago, San Jose, New England and Toronto)…unless there’s a way to fix that.

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