2024-25 Roster

by up7587 Fri May 17, 2024 11:34 am

Here's where we are today with the roster for 2024-25, based on the posted team roster and the commitments shared in PN.

Guards
Chris Austin
Vucasin Masic
Max Mackinnon
Vincent Delano
Kelson Gebbers
Jude Harris (W)
Mikah Ballew
Preston Lee (W)
Carlin Briggs
Vaughn Long (W)

Forwards
Bol Dengdit
Coleman Lemke (W)
Todd Jones
Jinup Dobuol
Austin Rapp

Centers
Jermaine Ballisager Webb

Of the 16 players I am aware of, 10 are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. 7 are carryover from last year's team, 9 are new to the program. ~~3 (I think)~~ 4 are walk-ons. Feel free to update and correct this list as more information becomes available.

by DoubleDipper Fri May 17, 2024 11:44 am

Vaughn Long (great name, btw) is a walk-on.

by UP24 Thu Jun 13, 2024 1:52 pm

Any predictions on the starting lineup?

I assume that

Vukasin Masic, Chris Austin, and Bol Dengdit will start?

Who else will start or get regular minutes?

by up7587 Thu Jun 13, 2024 2:11 pm

UP24 wrote:Any predictions on the starting lineup?

I assume that Vukasin Masic, Chris Austin, and Bol Dengdit will start?

Who else will start or get regular minutes?

That's two shooting guards and a power forward. I will guess that Vince Delano(PG) will see plenty of time, as well as Max Mackinnon (SG). ~~FYI, Delano is the only PG on the roster.~~ Hopefully one or both of the two new centers will earn regular minutes. Kelson Gebbers (SF) would be a player I expect to get regular minutes.

That's seven or eight players depending on the big men. All the other players are true freshmen. Perhaps one of them will pop like T. Harris did last year.

T-Rob was a point forward often bring the ball up and initiating the offense. If we are running the same defensive scheme as last year, I am hopeful that the taller players will be able to handle the ball. Teams obviously targeted Juanse on defensive switches putting him in terrible mismatches on bigs.

by DoubleDipper Fri Jun 14, 2024 7:54 am

UP24 wrote:Any predictions on the starting lineup?

So many variables between now and November 4, but it would seem the rotation would start with:

Austin
Masic
McKinnon
Dengdit
Delano

This past season's team was of course centered around T-Rob, and I expect this year's team to be more balanced.

The most unpredictable part of the rotation must be the big guys and what Coach Legans wants from them...whether it be rim protection defense and rebounding and down low scoring, or ball distribution, screening and pick and roll scoring with an outside threat. For me, the priority is rebounding, especially on the offensive end.

Between Dengdit, Ballisager Webb, Rapp, and Oakman, coach Legans has some options.

Possible breakout freshmen: Delano, Rapp, Jones, and Gebbers.

Point guard: from the practices, Delano could have started last season, but even he cannot go 40 minutes. Austin, Masic, and McKinnon are experienced enough to bring the ball down the court and start the offense when Delano is out of the lineup.

Likely redshirts: Ballew, Dobuol, Briggs, Lee, and Long.

Of the known players on the 2024-25 squad, the only players not mentioned are redshirt walk-ons Harris and Lemke, both of whom are great teammates.

by DoubleDipper Tue Jun 18, 2024 12:53 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:Likely redshirts: Ballew, Dobuol, Briggs, Lee, and Long.

After a quick peak at these guys at practice, I can report that Ballew, who has transformed his body and game since his high school graduation a year ago, and Dobuol could find themselves in the rotation this coming year.

Yes, it's way too early to predict, but Ballew, Dobuol, and especially Jones are much better than your average freshmen....

It could be that because many of Power Four schools are relying on the portal to get better, UP is able to pick up high schoolers that would have otherwise gone to the bigger programs.

by UP24 Tue Jun 18, 2024 1:16 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:

Yes, it's way too early to predict, but Ballew, Dobuol, and Jones are much better than your average freshmen....

It could be that because many of Power Four schools are relying on the portal to get better, UP is able to pick up high schoolers that would have otherwise gone to the bigger programs.

I was watching some Dobuol highlights and I have high hopes for him. Tall lengthy guys who can shoot are always promising. Maybe he can have a strong freshman season like Tyler Harris.

by DoubleDipper Tue Jun 18, 2024 3:46 pm

UP24 wrote:I was watching some Dobuol highlights and I have high hopes for him. Tall lengthy guys who can shoot are always promising. Maybe he can have a strong freshman season like Tyler Harris.

by up7587 Thu Jul 11, 2024 10:20 am

Two months later, the school has just posted the full 2024-25 roster on the web site. https://portlandpilots.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
There are two additions since my last list, Mezziah Oakman, who was discussed in the recruiting thread, and Wyatt Miller, a 5'10" G from San Marcos HS in Santa Barbara. Given that the scholarships are full, he's a walk-on.

Guards
Chris Austin
Vucasin Masic
Max Mackinnon
Vincent Delano
Kelson Gebbers
Jude Harris (W)
Mikah Ballew
Jinup Dobuol
Preston Lee (W)
Carlin Briggs
Vaughn Long (W)
Wyatt Miller (W)

Forwards
Bol Dengdit
Coleman Lemke (W)
Todd Jones
Austin Rapp

Centers
Jermaine Ballisager Webb
Mezziah Oakman

Of the 18 players, 11 are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. 7 are carryover from last year's team, 11 are new to the program. 5 are walk-ons. And Jinup Dobuol is listed as a guard on the roster, not a forward. 12 guards, 4 forwards, 2 centers. So I suspect we'll see a lot of three guards offense. As nine of the guards are 6'4" or taller, hopefully that won't be a handicap on defense.

by DoubleDipper Thu Jul 11, 2024 4:02 pm

up7587 wrote:There are two additions since my last list, Mezziah Oakman, who was discussed in the recruiting thread, and Wyatt Miller, a 5'10" G from San Marcos HS in Santa Barbara. Given that the scholarships are full, he's a walk-on.

I had the opportunity to have good discussions with both Oakman and Miller during a recent practice session and both are very personable and seemed excited about helping the Pilots turn things around from last season.

Oakman's family is in New York, and he will visit them later this summer, but he's been living in California for quite a few years, including high school, two years of JUCO, and a year at UC Santa Barbara. He is confident UP will figure a way for him to get back his year at UCSB where he played only a couple of minutes but was "not injured."

It was honestly difficult to differentiate Miller, listed at a generous 5-10, from some of the "Elite Campers" in the Chiles Center when I met with him while he was shooting free throws and answering questions from various campers. He and fellow walk-ons Lee and Long expect to redshirt this season while acting as opposing players during practice.

The only player absent from practice and not attending summer school when I visited with the team was Aussie Rapp who was at home practicing with the Australian National Team.

A few takeaways from practice:

Jinup (pronounced gin-oop) Dobuol has a very good outside shot.

Todd Jones, Jr. is VERY bouncy and athletic.

Vukasin Masic, Jermaine Ballisager Webb, and Mezziah Oakman are VERY competitive but have the confidence in their games to enjoy themselves while competing.

Vince Delano is ready to run the offense.

Mikah Ballew benefitted greatly from a year of post-high school academy ball.

Max Mackinnon is not flashy or particularly athletic looking compared to some other new players, but he is very "basketball smart" and efficient with the basketball...I see him in the starting rotation.

by up7587 Sat Jul 20, 2024 11:21 pm

@ExpertWCC wrote:Hearing Jinup Doboul is the real deal. Should give Portland another All WCC Freshman after the success that Tyler Harris had this past year.

by Geezaldinho Fri Jul 26, 2024 4:17 pm

What’s UP going to do with the 2 extra scholarships now allowed under the NCAA v House settlement?

by DoubleDipper Fri Jul 26, 2024 5:25 pm

Geezaldinho wrote:What’s UP going to do with the 2 extra scholarships now allowed under the NCAA v House settlement?

While there is a lot more to the House v. NCAA settlement than two extra scholarships, barring a change, the settlement will not go into effect until the 2025-26 season.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/with-ncaa-settlement-filed-schools-move-closer-to-paying-athletes/ar-BB1qHviu?ocid=BingNewsSerp

by dholcombe Fri Jul 26, 2024 10:13 pm

While there are 2 more scholarships possible there will also be a roster cap of 15. Currently the pilots list 18 on the roster. I’m unclear if redshirts count toward the roster limit

by DoubleDipper Sat Jul 27, 2024 8:25 am

DoubleDipper wrote:Max Mackinnon is not flashy or particularly athletic looking compared to some other new players, but he is very "basketball smart" and efficient with the basketball...I see him in the starting rotation.

There are still over three months until the first game, but after watching a number of practices, it appears to me that Max has the inside track to be the starting point guard this coming season.

The only roster player still not on campus is Aussie Rapp who is apparently still practicing with the Australian National Team...

by Dean Murdoch Tue Jul 30, 2024 1:59 pm

Appreciate the info in this thread, thanks fellas! So rough rotation breakdown looks like this? Admittedly I don't know much about Gebbers, Ballew, or Briggs.

1 - MacKinnon/Delano
2 - Masic
3 - Austin/Dubuol
4 - Jones/Rapp
5 - Bol/Oakman/Ballisager Webb

by up7587 Thu Aug 01, 2024 8:22 pm

by DoubleDipper Fri Aug 02, 2024 8:25 pm

Some may recall (from pictures?) that Bill Russell wore the number 6 on his uniform at USF when the Dons won back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1955 and 1956 and when he won a Gold Medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics before joining the Celtics.

The following season, 1956-57, NCAA banned the numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 to make it easier for the referees to signal to the scorekeeper which player had committed a foul.

That was the rule until this past season, and now Masic - 7, Briggs - 8, and Lee -9, are the first Pilots to wear the newly allowed numbers.

For reasons unknown, the commentator did not mention that Bill was from Oakland... study

by DoubleDipper Mon Sep 02, 2024 2:08 pm

badcoverage wrote:Getting excited about the upcoming basketball season, so I decided to check in on my Pilot Nation, but not much happening here? I hope the team, Legans, and the staff has a great year. WCC basketball is much more exciting when Portland is in the mix, competing in the PK, playing above 500 and a threat to take down mighty Gonzaga. Go Pilots!

It would appear to me the rotation is coming together, but of course, the season is still two months away...

R-Sr Vukasin Masic will run the show at PG while Jr SG Max MacKinnon will also be able to facilitate the offense from the PG/SG position. At 6-5 and 6-6 respectively, Vuk and Max bring more size to those positions than in previous seasons and they'll likely be bigger than their opponents in most cases. Looks like 6-2 R-Fr Vince Delano will be the back-up PG.

We all know the Pilots won't always play the traditional 2 guards, 2 forwards, and a center lineup, but using that as a model, I think we'll see the following in the rotation:

True freshman forwards 6-10 Austin Rapp and 6-9 Todd Jones could immediately be starters with R-So forward 6-11 Bol Dengdit also in the starting lineup.

Who else? R-Jr (recently granted two years of eligibility by the NCAA) 7-0 Mezziah Oakman will start at center with Junior 7-1 Jermaine Ballisager Webb as his backup, and it will be difficult to keep true freshman guard 6-8 Jinup Dobuol from competing for starting time as well.

Looks to me like grad student 6-4 Chris Austin and R-Fr 6-7 Kelson Gebbers will be competing to stay in the 8/9-man rotation, and I am guessing that freshmen 6-5 Mikah Ballew and 6-7 Carlin Briggs will redshirt.

by StudentPilot Wed Sep 11, 2024 2:09 pm

After a long absence, I am back in the USA and although close to a thousand miles from the Chiles Center, I look forward to seeing these guys in action on a least a few occasions this coming season.

Thanks for the rundown, DD, I get the impression many of the other WCC teams are using social media to hype their teams while UP is flying under the radar, and reports like this give many of us some hope we'll at least be competitive.

Huge turnover over players, perhaps three freshmen in the starting lineup, and Chris Austin potentially pushed to #10 in the rotation indicates there is some very good new talent.

Go Pilots!

by DoubleDipper Fri Sep 13, 2024 3:19 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:...it will be difficult to keep true freshman guard 6-8 Jinup Dobuol from competing for starting time as well.

Looks to me like grad student 6-4 Chris Austin and R-Fr 6-7 Kelson Gebbers will be competing to stay in the 8/9-man rotation, and I am guessing that freshmen 6-5 Mikah Ballew and 6-7 Carlin Briggs will redshirt.

Update:

After viewing another practice, there is no way Ballew redshirts...he is just too good at putting the ball in the hoop to have him sit on the bench for a year.

Instead, I think one of the more exciting and likeable players, Jinup Dobuol, is a good candidate to redshirt because despite his immense talent, he appears to be just learning the game and could use an extra year of tutoring.

Looking at the numbers, it now looks like Austin and Gebbers are competing for #9 in the rotation, with Gebbers getting a slight edge if he can just cut down on his turnovers.

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