2019 Recruiting

JimmAlacki wrote:What happened to Kramer Knudson?

Temporary leave due to family issues.

Dean Murdoch wrote:But going purely off of numbers, can Geving offer this James Reese guy while he's at Odessa? 47% from three, 90% free throw shooter, recent offers from Boise State and St. Bonaventure. Started out at Buffalo last year as a freshman and is busting out at Odessa as a sophomore.

Gev (I like the sound of that) most likely saw Reese in action, and who knows, maybe he was made an offer, but unless someone reports it or a coach retweets it, we won't know.

If an offer was not made it could be because of the position Reese plays, or his "toughness" for D1 ball, or even the biggest barrier JUCO players face...the ability to gain academic entry to UP or the chances of succeeding once they arrive....although I will say, the academic services for student-athletes at UP has markedly improved from just a couple of years ago.

Last night the AD said that transfers and JCs are now the reality for schools like UP in order to be competitive. We see that with players like Eaddy at SCU, Pineiro at USD, Batemon at LMU, and Gallinat at UOP. And UP needs to catch up to the rest of the conference in this area, while remaining active in the foreign player market. Getting a good local high school player once in a while would be nice, too.

Presumably the coaches are re-recruiting the current players they want to stay, and looking for players to replace the three or four graduating "juniors" who are leaving.

up7587 wrote:Last night the AD said that transfers and JCs are now the reality for schools like UP in order to be competitive.  We see that with players like Eaddy at SCU, Pineiro at USD, Batemon at LMU, and Gallinat at UOP.  And UP needs to catch up to the rest of the conference in this area, while remaining active in the foreign player market.  Getting a good local high school player once in a while would be nice, too.  

Presumably the coaches are re-recruiting the current players they want to stay, and looking for players to replace the three or four graduating "juniors" who are leaving.

The problem should also be directed at this coaching staff. If it's the talent level, who brought these players to the Bluff. If not, why hasn't their talent been brought out

So it's been a relatively quiet week in Pilots land. Basketball coach fired but not on the men's side. Transfers announced, but no one that wasn't already honoured as part of Senior Night.

Perhaps there won't be as much change as previously rumored? Assuming everyone that wasn't honoured on Senior Night comes back and Brian Smith's scholarship was only for this season, here's a rough depth chart of 11 returning scholarship players for next year:

PG - Walker, McCaskill
SG - Shaver
SF - Porter, Fahrensohn
PF - Tryon, Diabate, Phillips
C - Hogland, Akwuba, Collinsworth

A decent number of bodies in the front court, but an obvious hole at SG/SF that's reflected in the Pilots' most recent known offer (Jawaun Daniels of Odessa).

Even if one of the two open scholarships goes to Daniels or another athletic wing transfer, you'd think there'd still be room at the SG/SF position for another player that can contribute immediately. It's been suggested that Crisshawn might return, and I'd be curious to know just how much that injury nagged at him over the course of the season.

Is Malcom a SF? He is hard for me to classify. Ball handling is not PG quality. At 6'4" 200#, he's kinda small for the front line. His best scoring is driving to the hoop; he has a good floater shot. But his outside shooting from long range is not premier; he has an odd ball rotation. I think he can contribute, but I am not sure how to classify him. Maybe a SG who drives, and kicks out to shooters like Tryon?

Dean Murdoch wrote: It's been suggested that Crisshawn might return, and I'd be curious to know just how much that injury nagged at him over the course of the season.

When I saw Crisshawn last Friday, he said, "I'm not bothered by my injuries, but the long layoff is killing me!" He was referring to his shooting (but we did see moments of brilliance....like that 3-pointer in Provo, his first attempted shot in 3 years, or had it been 4?), but it was his "game-conditioning" that was dragging him down, and it only began to come back in the last couple of games.  

In our previous conversations he expressed how discouraged he was in his game compared to what it was prior to his multiple injuries, and how much he wanted to "prove" to himself and others how much better he can be. He also talked about graduating in May, but wanting to play another year to get a start in grad school and improve his prospects of playing professionally...he did not rule out transferring to attain those goals

Having gotten to know Crisshawn pretty well while he was sidelined from his ankle injury, I cannot vouch for or predict his abilities on the court, but I can predict with certainty he can be a presence in the locker room and on the court....and in addition to other missing components, this team is totally lacking leadership!!!

up7587 wrote:Is Malcom a SF? He is hard for me to classify.  Ball handling is not PG quality. At 6'4" 200#, he's kinda small for the front line. His best scoring is driving to the hoop; he has a good floater shot.  But his outside shooting from long range is not premier; he has an odd ball rotation.  I think he can contribute, but I am not sure how to classify him. Maybe a SG who drives, and kicks out to shooters like Tryon?

Yeah I didn't know where to put him either, but I figured Malcolm would be part of a three-guard starting lineup on this particular team and just slotted him in there. I also didn't know what to do with Fahrensohn, so I just put him behind Malcolm at SF. Lots of interchangeability between the PG/SG and SG/SF positions for several of those guys.

This popped up on my Twitter feed this morning.

@ChrisGrotemat wrote:#20 @Collinswor1Cody was named First Team All District this season. The 7' forward shot 54% from the floor including 36% from 3. Eagles Basketball is grateful you landed in Lindale, and excited to see you @PilotHoops next season!

Figured I'd do a quick search on the other incoming recruit, Donyae McCaskill. Looks like his Vashon HS team just won the Missouri state championship last week. Donyae had 4 points before fouling out in the title game and 9 points in the semifinal the day before.

To my understanding, the binding nature of a signed letter of intent is unaffected by the release of a coach for the school with whom a student athlete signed. But I am not sure.

In the event Porter is not retained (which would be a surprise at this point, in my view at least)regardless of the binding nature of the LOI, are Collingsworth and McCaskill subject to being lost. Wouldn't the practical effect of a change in coach be that the U will not insist that the young men come here regardless of whether the LOI is binding?

Technically the school could fire a coach and still enforce a previously signed LOI, but it’s almost unheard of. Standard protocol is to mutually tear up signed letter if that’s what the athlete wishes.

Smoyer was signed by Rev but chose to come to UP regardless.

Guess we'll have to guess again what the big picture is because UP has reportedly offered 5-8/155 high school point guard, Chase Adams, from Chicago....certainly not the JUCO or transfer we'd type we'd heard the coaches were chasing.

Link Year Prep wrote:Official visit to Portland for our man @chasec0urage ! NBA great Terry Porter recognizes toughness, talent and a winner!

Verbal Commits wrote:2019 Link Year Prep (MO) G Chase Adams has received an offer from Portland.

Looks like the new recruit is sporting #10. Is that number available or that just a coincidence?

The Wingman wrote:Looks like the new recruit is sporting #10.  Is that number available or that just a coincidence?

I have to believe it was a uniform that fit and Marcus gave his permission...

You seem convinced Marcus is going to stick with the program. I hope so. He’s a great player. I’d like to see him stay and develop into a complete player who makes his teammates better. Alec Wintering was the master of making everyone around him better.

The Wingman wrote:You seem convinced Marcus is going to stick with the program.  

I too am confident both Marcus and JoJo will stick around for next season...but it's still more than five months before school begins in August.

I am surprised TP is offering a kid who is listed at 5-8, but looks closer to 5-5 or 5-6, as the possible and eventual replacement for JoJo.  There is a place for a small point guard in D1, but he better be damned tough and just as quick with an excellent shot from outside and at the free-throw line.

The Beacon wrote:(Crisshawn) Clark graduates in May, but still has the option to play for Portland next year. He wants to just be able to showcase his talent so he can have the opportunity to play professional basketball, whether that’s here in the NBA or overseas. As long as he’s playing professionally, he’ll be happy.

“I think that’s everybody’s dream,” Clark said. “But I’m more about baby steps before I start to jump into the future. I got to play a whole season first before I can think that.”  

https://www.upbeacon.com/article/2019/02/crisshawn-clark-setbacks-return-to-the-court

The question becomes, even if Crisshawn wants to stay at UP, will the staff offer him a scholarship once he's graduated, or do they think they can do better?

I am always amazed at how long guys hold onto their "play in the NBA" dreams. How many NCAA seniors made an NBA team last year?

I’m not going to pretend I have any idea how well a 5-7 guard’s skills will transfer to the D1 level...but how in the world does Chase Adams have 108,000 Instagram followers??

Dean Murdoch wrote:...but how in the world does Chase Adams have 108,000 Instagram followers??

Ummmm...

Haha. Usually the "fake followers" are pretty easy to spot but I think this is a legit 108K! Almost 20,000 followers on Twitter too, I'm thinking this guy made quite a name for himself around the Chicago area.

I suppose it's now very possible that the Pilots will welcome two guards from Missouri next fall. Wonder if that's just random, or if someone's got a connection there?

Dean Murdoch wrote: I'm thinking this guy made quite a name for himself around the Chicago area.

One of the reasons Adams has so many followers is the video of his seventh-grade highlights…when he was just 4-11…which currently has close to 15 million views. The more I learn about the ESPN 3-star Adams, the more I like him, and I can see why the Pilots would take a chance on him.

Adams is no hidden gem, he’s been well-documented in the Chicago area since the fourth grade, but there’s no doubt his lack of size is what has kept college coaches away…although it’s been reported that DePaul, Baylor, Illinois-Chicago, Loyola-Chicago, Detroit and Arizona have been in touch with him, and he has known offers from Bradley, Towson, and UP.

From the videos, he’s got the best floor vision I’ve seen in a high school kid, and he’s a wizard at dribbling and passing. His no-look, behind-the-back passes and up-tempo, playground-like style is fun to watch, and he could bring disaffected fans back to the Chiles Center, IMO.

Yes, the odds are stacked against him.  Just a few point guards his size have played D1 ball (5-3 Muggsy Bogues at Wake Forest and 5-6 Monte Towe at NC State come to mind), but this is UP, the opponents won’t be ACC caliber.

He’s definitively working hard at developing his core strength and endurance, something he’s going to need playing against much larger guards, but after mentally “being in a bad place” after the death of his brother, Drake, from an epileptic fit four years ago, he's again returned to form, and the close to straight-A student is thriving again....he could be a welcome bit of fresh air on the Bluff.

Seventh grade highlights:

check me if I'm wrong, but don't employees of the university, including coaches like TP, get free tuition for their kids (but not room and board)? if yes, doesn't it make sense for terry to free up Malcolm's scholarship slot and have him on the team as a walk on? seems like a no brainer to me...

optimist wrote:check me if I'm wrong, but don't employees of the university, including coaches like TP, get free tuition for their kids (but not room and board)?  if yes, doesn't it make sense for terry to free up Malcolm's scholarship slot and have him on the team as a walk on?  seems like a no brainer to me...

Welcome to PilotNation, optimist...we could use a few more optimists here.

Please continue to contribute your views, useful information, and questions...maybe together we can continue to provide accurate and up-to-date information and reasoned opinions about UP athletics when other sources can't.

After 2 years of full-time employment, a UP employee is eligible for full tuition remission for their "dependent children," so yes, starting this past season Coach Porter's sons were eligible for tuition remission, but instead they're on athletic scholarships which pay for everything!

According to the NCAA, until a coach has been in the job 5 years, those scholarships for which he or she gets tuition remission still count against the max allowed scholarships (13 for MBB), so it will be another two season before one of TP's sons could be getting tuition remission without counting against the max number of scholarships...and by then neither will have any college eligibility remaining.

Franklin and Malcolm each will have completed their 3rd year at UP this summer.  Malcolm has been on an athletic scholarship all three years, but TP paid for Franklin's education out of his own pocket for the first two years to free up a roster spot.  Franklin is on a athletic scholarship for the 2018-19 school year.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Check this out.

www.hoopscooponline.com/player-rankings-free-preview/

Scroll all the way to the very bottom. It's from six years ago, but look at who Hoop Scoop has as the #1 ranked player in the NATION in the Class of 2018 (and one spot ahead of Marvin Bagley of the Sacramento Kings).