Re: 2021 Offseason

by DoubleDipper Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:24 am

StudentPilot wrote:Is there a chance any of the five might come to UP?

There is virtually no one left on the UP roster and there are currently over 1,000 players in the transfer portal, but UP has only its head coach and no assistants attempting to bring in a new team, so it seems reasonable that Coach Legans will attempt to bring in at least a couple of the EWU players in the portal.

1. Tanner Groves? Probably not unless he won't go anywhere without his brother, and then it is at least possible he could come to UP. I've heard that some of the high majors are pursuing him hard, and I would think it would be difficult to pass-up a degree from Stanford.

2. Jacob Groves? Maybe. He got better and better with coaching, so it's certainly possible he follows his coach.

3. Jacob Davison? No. There has got to be a reason Coach Legans cut his minutes in half last season.

4. Tyler Robertson? Yes, it is quite possible because Legans would like to start a pipeline of Aussies to the team and, at this point, Robertson is not high major material.

5. Mike Meadows? Maybe. He is a former walk-on point guard and he has improved considerably under former point guard Legans, whom I am sure would welcome him, but Meadows is likely attracting a lot of attention from schools closer to his Hollywood home.

by bdaddy Wed Mar 31, 2021 10:43 am

The google machine tells me that national signing day is April 14th. That’s a short two weeks from today. Do we expect much action on or even before that day? I can’t help but feel anxious that the only news we’re hearing is about players potentially leaving the program. There are at least 8 open scholarships and 14 days until signing day. It feels like there should be a little more activity around here. Can someone with some insider knowledge please provide a nugget about a player with legitimate interest?! Anything to put my mind at ease?!

by Dean Murdoch Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:58 pm

bdaddy wrote:Anything to put my mind at ease?!

Well I'm not certain that this would fall into that category...

@VerbalCommits wrote:Portland F Eddie Davis (JR) has entered the transfer portal. https://verbalcommits.com/players/eddie-davis-fl

It's official! All 13 scholarship players are now in the portal. Amazing.

by DoubleDipper Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:05 pm

Dean Murdoch wrote:It's official! All 13 scholarship players are now in the portal. Amazing.

And about half of those in the portal, including Henn, Jones, and Davis, have gone there after meeting with Coach Legans...

Thanks for keeping the twitter antenna up, Dean and SV, it is about the only way we are learning anything about UP hoops.

I was hoping UP could hang on to Davis, Ali, Curtiss, and Triplett.

by Sound Voltex Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:08 pm

Dean Murdoch wrote:
@VerbalCommits wrote:Portland F Eddie Davis (JR) has entered the transfer portal. https://verbalcommits.com/players/eddie-davis-fl

It's official! All 13 scholarship players are now in the portal. Amazing.

We did it guys?

by DoubleDipper Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:16 pm

As far as we know, we've still got one of the 13 scholarships earmarked for the Aussie JUCO guard, Deng Dut.

I think JUCO players were also given a "free" COVID year, so when Dut does arrive at UP, he will have three years to play. Basketball

(Always looking for the positives...)

by Sound Voltex Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:19 pm

@jakeweingarten wrote:Portland transfer Ahmed Ali tells @Stockrisers
he’s heard from Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Maryland, Texas, Tulsa, USB, Iona, Akron, Central Michigan, UAB, Boise State, FGCU, NKU, Pepperdine, CBU.

Averaged 18.2 points per game on nearly 46% shooting. Will be a nice add.

@Sean02MTM wrote:Portland transfer Mikey Henn relayed to me that UAB, Towson, Bryant & Incarnate Word have made contact since entering the portal .

Henn’s a talented forward that shot 39% from deep on the season at 6’8.

by DoubleDipper Wed Mar 31, 2021 2:14 pm

Guess we shouldn't have been concerned San Jose St. was going to grab Coach Legans before UP did, the Spartans just started interviewing head coach candidates this week.

Among the notable names are former UP coach, Eric Reveno, and the one guy I most like yelling at, ex-USF coach, Rex Walters...

Currently a pretty crappy job, the San Jose St. position would bring Rev and his family back home and potentially put him in a better position to move up in Bay Area sporting or business circles.

by lomiton Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:09 pm

Sometimes you are sitting in that Poker game and as much as it pains you, you throw the whole hand in and get 5 new cards.

Sorry to see the good lads go (both on the court and in school) but really, 2020-21 was a one year rental space for everyone involved with UP mens hoop. I personally think it's fortunate that the entire deck is clear so Shantay can get started with his vision without any bolted down deck chairs that he may not want.

This whole Covid scholarship situation as made the opportunities in getting players either through the portal, JUCO or incoming freshman a once in a lifetime opportunity. Unless a program is coming off a NCAA berth having Coach Legans and 13 scholarships is a great place to be.

by StudentPilot Wed Mar 31, 2021 7:29 pm

Dean Murdoch wrote:
@VerbalCommits wrote:Portland F Eddie Davis (JR) has entered the transfer portal. https://verbalcommits.com/players/eddie-davis-fl

I think Eddie would have stayed, but he once told me he thought he should have chosen a school that was less academically challenging .

He could do the work, but it seemed to me he just wasn't taught good study habits.

by Dean Murdoch Thu Apr 01, 2021 2:37 pm

I can't remember, do the Pilots have any open scholarships should these guys want to come to UP?

@VerbalCommits wrote:Eastern Washington G Jack Perry (SR) has entered the transfer portal.

@VerbalCommits wrote:PORTAL: Eastern Washington G Kim Aiken, Jr. (RS JR) has entered. Grad transfer.

by Sound Voltex Thu Apr 01, 2021 3:43 pm

Nope, sorry we're full.

by DoubleDipper Fri Apr 02, 2021 4:28 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:3. Jacob Davison? No. There has got to be a reason Coach Legans cut his minutes in half last season.

4. Tyler Robertson? Yes, it is quite possible because Legans would like to start a pipeline of Aussies to the team and, at this point, Robertson is not high major material.

5. Mike Meadows? Maybe. He is a former walk-on point guard and he has improved considerably under former point guard Legans, whom I am sure would welcome him, but Meadows is likely attracting a lot of attention from schools closer to his Hollywood home.

I just learned from someone who should know, that Davison's playing time was halved because he lost his job to Meadows.

Jacob Davison was a two-time All-Big Sky guard and one of the conference's most dynamic scorers and was the preseason Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player this past year, but Legans replaced him with Meadows to get some much needed defense on the court, and he came through on both sides of the ball to beat-out Davison.

As I stated in my original post, I doubt Davison will be coming to UP, but I think Meadows could easily come to UP to stay with his coach unless a school closer to his Southern California home swoops in and grabs him.

Robertson, also mentioned above, has already committed to UP.

UPDATE: Meadows has also committed to UP!

by Dean Murdoch Sun Apr 04, 2021 10:49 pm

@24_7IEBP wrote:Eastern Washington transfer Kim Aiken @k24aiken has heard from the following: New Mexico, Arizona, San Diego St, University of Portland, Fresno State, USC, Cal Baptist.

Pretty darn good player for EWU these past three seasons...

by DoubleDipper Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:18 am

Dean Murdoch wrote:
@24_7IEBP wrote:Eastern Washington transfer Kim Aiken @k24aiken has heard from the following: New Mexico, Arizona, San Diego St, University of Portland, Fresno State, USC, Cal Baptist.

Pretty darn good player for EWU these past three seasons...

Aiken, Jr. is VERY good! First team All-Big Sky and Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year.

From Redlands, California, there is a good chance Aiken, Jr. will be heading closer to home and the big time.

Of the seven EWU players who entered the transfer portal, Kim Aiken, Jr. and Tanner Groves, First Team All-Big Sky and the Big Sky Player of the Year, are the most likely to end up at a high-major next season.

Coach Legans did a good job bringing them to Cheney, but now that they've tasted success and are on the radar of other schools, Legs would have to be pretty convincing again to bring them to UP.

Aiken, Jr. and T. Groves were the only EWU players on the first, second, third, and honorable mention teams, although new Pilot Tyler Robertson was the Big Sky Top Reserve when at EWU.

by DoubleDipper Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:25 pm

bdaddy wrote:The google machine tells me that national signing day is April 14th. That’s a short two weeks from today. Do we expect much action on or even before that day?

Since this post on March 30th there has obviously been some action, but signing day is generally more about incoming high school students. Coach Legans built his EWU program on freshmen, not transfers or JUCOs, but with the free COVID year, the transfer portal, and the expected one-time transfer exception, this year is different!

The Pilots apparently have committals from two transfers (Robertson and Meadows), one JUCO (Dut), and one high school player (Milosevic) towards filling the 13 scholarships.

Can we expect more high school players to commit to UP? I think so, but with no in-person recruiting allowed until at least May 1, I am wondering if Coach Legans will go after some of the seven recruits that committed to him while he was at EWU. It is often the case that high school kids are more attracted to the coach than the university.

If that is the case, two EWU commits, and one signee stand out from the rest:
1. Yaru Harvey 6-2 guard from Sacramento
2. Fan “Chris” Yiming 6-8 forward from China
3. Skylar Wilson 6-7 small forward from Denver

Commits can always change their minds; the signee, Wilson, would have to get EWU’s permission to go to another school.

by DoubleDipper Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:18 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:Among the notable names interviewing for the San Jose St. job are former UP coach, Eric Reveno, and the one guy I most like yelling at, ex-USF coach, Rex Walters...

Jon Rothstein wrote:Sources: Tim Miles is finalizing a deal to become the next head coach at San Jose State. Official announcement expected in next 24 hours. Former head coach at Nebraska and Colorado State.

I'm confident Rev will be a head coach again one day, but because of his passion for UP and the welfare of student athletes, not to mention his master’s degree in business administration from Stanford in 1995 and his bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford in 1989, Mrs. DD would like to see him take over as the AD at UP when Scott decides to depart. Very Happy

by Dean Murdoch Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:54 am

DoubleDipper wrote:Jacob Davison was a two-time All-Big Sky guard and one of the conference's most dynamic scorers and was the preseason Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player this past year, but Legans replaced him with Meadows to get some much needed defense on the court, and he came through on both sides of the ball to beat-out Davison.

Right as usual, DD. I see Davison has committed to Cal Poly.

by Geezaldinho Tue Apr 06, 2021 2:05 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:
I'm confident Rev will be a head coach again one day, but because of his passion for UP and the welfare of student athletes, not to mention his master’s degree in business administration from Stanford in 1995 and his bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford in 1989, Mrs. DD would like to see him take over as the AD at UP when Scott decides to depart.

He’d have to be willing to take a pay cut. The latest UP form 990 shows the basketball coach making more than twice the AD salary.

by Dean Murdoch Tue Apr 06, 2021 4:40 pm

You drop 35 on Kansas and you are bound to get some interest Wink

by Sound Voltex Tue Apr 06, 2021 5:49 pm

Dean Murdoch wrote:
@24_7IEBP wrote:Eastern Washington transfer Kim Aiken @k24aiken has heard from the following: New Mexico, Arizona, San Diego St, University of Portland, Fresno State, USC, Cal Baptist.

Pretty darn good player for EWU these past three seasons...

Aiken has picked Arizona.

by dholcombe Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:57 pm

Is it significant that Portland is on top of the recruitment list... Ordered by preference hopefully....

by DoubleDipper Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:02 pm

The Portland State job is open:

Jeff Goodman wrote:Texas Tech new head coach Mark Adams has hired Portland State head coach Barret Peery as his associate head coach...

Budgets are tight everywhere, especially at state schools, causing some coaches to look for "greener" situations, but apparently there is still plenty of money in Texas. Rolling Eyes

by Sound Voltex Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:43 pm

by Sound Voltex Wed Apr 07, 2021 12:18 am

@jakelieberman2 wrote:Portland transfer Tahirou Diabate (@TahirouDe) tells me that a commitment will happen in around a week or so.

Illinois State, UIC, UCR, Hawaii, Texas Tech, UNCW, Seattle, Towson, among others are involved.

Averaged 9.6 PPG and 5.1 RPG this season.