2023 Recruiting

"We have known Kelson and watched him develop for a number of years," Legans said. "He will be an excellent fit within our program. Kelson has good size and shoots the ball very well. He brings a winning pedigree and is a great all-around athlete that has a chance to make a real impact here."

"Shooting is my biggest strength," Gebbers said of what he will bring to the team. "I have a good feel for the game and like to cut and get open on offense. I plan to bring energy to the team every day at both ends of the court."

DoubleDipper wrote:Anything can happen between now and the beginning of school in late August, but for now, this is the UP Men's Basketball roster:

Scholarship Players Returning:
Juanse Gorosito, PG, sophomore, 6-1/150, Ceres Santa Fe, Argentina
*Bol Dengdit, PF, R-freshman, 6-11/210, Melbourne, Australia
Vasilije Vučinić, C, junior, 6-10/225, Bijelo Polje, Montenegro
*Vukašin Mašić, SG, R-sophomore, 6-5/205, Belgrade, Serbia (Maine, Hofstra)
Tyler Robertson, G/F, grad-student, 6-6/225, Melbourne, Australia (Eastern Washington)
*Chris Austin, SG, R-senior, 6-4/210, Pasadena, California (Fordham)

Inbound Players:
Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, C, sophomore, 6-10/215, Aizuwakamatsu Japan (Lamar)
Cyprian Hyde, PF, freshman, 6-10/220, Oceanside, California
Vince Delano, PG, freshman, 6-2/175, Phoenix, Arizona
Tyler Harris, SG, freshman, 6-8/200, Livermore, California
*Thomas Oosterbroek, PF, R-sophomore, 6-8/215, Amsterdam, Netherlands (Miami)
Noah Jordan, SF, grad-student, 6-7/215, Indianapolis, Indiana (West Virginia St.)
Alimamy Koroma, PF, grad-student, 6-8/220, Freetown, Sierra Leone (Cal Poly)

Walk-On Players Returning:
Coleman Lemke, F, R-sophomore, 6-8/190, Las Vegas, Nevada
*Drew Stack, G, R-freshman, 6-3/175, Madison, New Jersey
*Andrew Younan, G, R-freshman, 6-4/175, Westlake Village, California

Walk-On Inbound Players
Jude Harris, SG, freshman, 6-5/200, Los Angeles, California
Kelson Gebbers, SF, freshman, 6-6/200, Brewster, Washington

* Did not play last season

up7587 wrote:Everyone on this post is now listed on the 2023-2024 roster on PortlandPilots.com.  

"Jude is a basketball junkie," Legans said. "He has been around the game his entire life and knows what it takes to be successful. He will provide us another shooter that has good knowledge of the game and is excited to be a part of our program."

"I got a good feel for the community on my visit and knew it was the right place for me," Harris said. "I will bring a high IQ mentality to the program and work extremely hard. I'm looking forward to doing whatever it takes to help the team win."

DoubleDipper wrote:There was a recent article about UP walk-on Kelson Gebbers being one of the best multi-sport athletes in the PNW...

DoubleDipper wrote:...and just like that, UP announces "Washington Prep Star Kelson Gebbers Signs with Men’s Hoops."

https://portlandpilots.com/news/2023/6/16/mens-basketball-washington-prep-star-kelson-gebbers-signs-with-mens-hoops.aspx

"We have known Kelson and watched him develop for a number of years," Legans said. "He will be an excellent fit within our program. Kelson has good size and shoots the ball very well. He brings a winning pedigree and is a great all-around athlete that has a chance to make a real impact here."

"Shooting is my biggest strength," Gebbers said of what he will bring to the team. "I have a good feel for the game and like to cut and get open on offense. I plan to bring energy to the team every day at both ends of the court."

DoubleDipper wrote:Four of the five freshmen look like redshirt candidates, but Tyler Harris looks ready to go now.

up7587 wrote:Fortunately, Yamanouchi-Williams and Oosterbroek are sophomores, so have time to develop.  

Possible starting five:
Robertson (a lock)
Gorosito (probably, unless Robertson is a point forward)
Austin (if he's back to his pre-injury form)
Koroma (a little bigger than Jordan, with more D-1 experience)
Vusinic (needs to break out in his 3rd year)

Off the Bench:
Masic, Harris, Jordan, Dengbit

If Harris forces his way into starting with his performance, will he displace Gorosito or Austin?

What are your guesses for a starting five?

bdaddy wrote:Alright, I’ll play. I agree with your 5 except I believe Legs will go smaller with Koroma at the 5 and then swap Vusinic out for another wing. My guess would be Masic or Jordan.

up7587 wrote:What are your guesses for a starting five?

Harris Finds The Right Fit

Tyler Harris has fostered the same boyhood hoop dreams that so many others have. He wants to play in the NBA. But the 6-foot-8 Portland freshman admits he had no reason to believe his goals were realistic . . . until maybe now.

As a senior at Granada High School in the Bay Area community of Livermore, Calif., Harris helped his team to its first-ever appearance in the California state championship game last year. One of his teammates was 7-foot-1 Andrew McKeever, now a freshman at Saint Mary’s.

“Maybe my senior year in high school it really clicked,” Harris said of beginning to see a path to something special. “But I didn’t know how good I was going to do in college.”

Harris will play just his fourth college game tonight when the Pilots (3-0) host Tennessee State (2-0) of the Ohio Valley Conference. And so far, Harris is about as productive a freshman as there is in the country.

In three games last week, he averaged 19.7 points and 11.0 rebounds, shooting nearly 67 percent (20-for-30) from the field, 60 percent (6-for-10) on 3-pointers and 93 percent (13-for-14) on free throws to earn West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week honors.

Harris is second in the WCC in scoring, third in rebounding, fourth in field-goal accuracy, third in 3-point shooting and second in free-throw percentage. Perhaps more impressive is that through games on Tuesday, he ranked fourth nationally among true freshmen with 59 points and first with 33 rebounds.

Harris understands this is a small sample size and the Pilots will play much stiffer competition than Lewis & Clark as they proceed through their schedule. But he now has at least some early evidence of how he fits into the college game.

“I’m starting to believe in myself a little more,” Harris said.

Portland coach Shantay Legans likes the fact that Harris is dreaming big.

“He’s really put himself in position where if he keeps getting better at the size he is, with a 7-foot-1, 7-2 wingspan, and with everything he does, he has an opportunity to do that,” Legans said. “I want him to push for those dreams and do everything he possibly can to get there.”

Freshmen often are a mystery coming into college. Even the coaches who recruit them don’t always have a clear feel for how well they will immediately adapt to the game at this level.

Harris has so far “100 percent” exceeded whatever expectations the Pilots had for him as a freshman, Legans said.

“You think he’s going to do freshman things and rush and be all about me, me, me. But he’s not,” Legans said. “He’s all about the team and how we can get better as a team. I love that about him.

“He’s doing everything we’ve asked and more. We’re lucky to have him.”

When Legans says the Pilots are lucky to have him, he means that almost literally. Harris attended Salesian High in Richmond, Calif., his junior season and just as schools including USC, Utah, California and San Diego State began showing interest, Harris suffered a significant ankle sprain. That cost him time on the court, including an AAU event played in front of college recruiters.

The Pilots were sold on him before that, but Legans wasn’t sure landing him was realistic. “I saw him play and thought, `He’s way too good for us,’ “ the coach recalled. “He had some offers from some big schools and they fell off at the very end. The timing all worked out perfectly.”

Harris chose Portland because he felt comfortable the coaching staff would allow him to play in the backcourt and because there was the opportunity to play immediately.

At 6-8, he did not want to be pigeon-holed as an inside player. He has ballhandling skills and the ability to guard on the perimeter. Although he wasn’t a great shooter coming out of high school, he has worked hard on that and the results have been encouraging.

Harris now says he’s very confident in his perimeter shot. “When I first got here, I wasn’t a 3-point shooter at all. I barely shot the ball, just drove it,” he explained. “I needed to expand my game to be successful in a college system. A lot of the coaches have been working on my shot and I really appreciate them for that.”

It’s also been a big help, both Legans and Harris said, that senior wing Tyler Robertson, a versatile 23-year-old from Australia, is available as a model for Harris, who won’t turn 19 until Valentine’s Day.

“Tyler Robertson takes a lot of heat off a lot of guys,” Legans said. “It’s mentorship, showing him how to do it. `I’ve been there before.’ They’ve been pretty good playing together. It’s really put (Harris) at ease with a lot of things.”

Harris eagerly soaks up everything Robertson has to offer.

“He’s a high-IQ player. He shows me how to make the right plays, when to take shots, how to draw fouls,” Harris said. “He’s been a really good role model for me and I try to copy every step that he does.”

This is just the beginning for Harris, but everything is clicking so far. Legans said he’s an excellent student, is one of the first players in the gym every day and keeps his teammates laughing with a quiet sense of humor.

Where does all this go? “It’s just how good does he want to be?” Legans said. “It’s been fun watching him really become that player we know he can be.”

DoubleDipper wrote:

Sound Voltex wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Apparently following the money, as are so many of the players** the Pilots are interested in, Jake was spotted on the U. of Virginia campus this past weekend.

He did follow the money, and committed to UVA.

Per a source, Jake Groves was told he wouldn't be a starter at Virginia, but would be guaranteed $100,000 in NIL money and would get enough exposure to be scouted by the pros...