2013 Recruiting: Wintering + Sharp + Zubizarreta + Gerun

DeanMurdoch wrote:
Pilot Nation creep factor: Rising

I was thinking our creep factor was falling . . DD hasn't posted a cheerleader picture in quite a while

For the record, just to clarify the earlier creep factor violation...

Volodymyr "liked" the University of Portland on Monday according to the parts of his profile that are listed as public.

So whatever that means... hahaha for all we know he could have googled himself and found his name on this site!

How many West Virginia students, let alone 6'10" basketball scholarship athletes transferring from West Virginia to another D1 institution to be determined, have on their facebook page a like for the University of Portland? Odds that it is coincidental?

Need I point out that West Virginia, country roads and all, is a long way from the Cascades and that a student living there is unlikely to even know of the existence of the Pilot haven let alone express a like on facebook? I think when you include the Canarias Basketball Academy tie and the fact that we just happen to have a scholarship to offer and just happen to need a big and perhaps consider that Reveno is frontline oriented. . .well, hard then to think it is a mere coincidence.

The more germane question at this point is how he will help when he can step on the court?

wrv wrote:The more germane question at this point is how he will help when he can step on the court?

There is also a question, if he was to transfer, as to when he would be able to step on the court. As a transfer, wouldn't he have to sit out for a year?

wrv wrote:The more germane question at this point is how he will help when he can step on the court?

He's Ukrainian, not Germane.

This guy is about as unknown of a quantity as you're going to get, I think. 13 FG attempts on the year for WVU, six of which were from three-point land which would indicate he's possibly a stretch 4 similar to Nicholas?

I think it was DoubleDipper that was questioning his eligibility - doubt there'll be any recourse to get a year back, as the NCAA banned him from the first six games of 2012-13 because he played three games for a Ukrainian pro team in 2011. Unless rules have changed, as I understand it these three pro games will have cost him his freshman year plus the six games in his sophomore year.

DeanMurdoch wrote:I think it was DoubleDipper that was questioning his eligibility - doubt there'll be any recourse to get a year back, as the NCAA banned him from the first six games of 2012-13 because he played three games for a Ukrainian pro team in 2011. Unless rules have changed, as I understand it these three pro games will have cost him his freshman year plus the six games in his sophomore year.

Yup, nail on the head with that one. Without an appeal to get an extra year (for whatever reason), IF Volo came to UP he would sit out next season and have two years remaining....he would graduate with Bryce in 2016.

blacksheep wrote:I was thinking our creep factor was falling . . DD hasn't posted a cheerleader picture in quite a while

"Oh no, I hear he gol darn gone and done it.....I've been so sad since I heard Volo might be transferring to Portland....wherever that is"

Eurohopes.com reported earlier this month that Gerun was attending the elite Canarias Basketball Academy in the Canary Islands, which has produced numerous Division I signees this season, including Sovakian center Boris Bojanovsky (Florida State), Dutch forward Shane Hammink (LSU), Latvian center Aleksej Rostovs (Western Kentucky), Netherlands center Matthias Runs (St. Bonaventure) and Latvian guard Oskar Reinfelds (Portland).

Eurohopes.com editor Marti Artigas provided this scouting report on Gerun:

Body/athleticism: Plays at this moment as a center mainly. Is a really tough guy, well-built, who can run the court fast. His mobility and coordination are nice. Has soft hands.
Shooting: Can go out and knock down midrange shot. Like his shooting touch.
Offense: Really strong player in the paint, who always crashes the glass. Has an interesting ability to score, not usual to see in players with his size and height. Adept at faking his shot and dribbling to attack the rim with spin-moves and hooks. He is very smart playing without the ball.
Defense/rebounding: On defensive end, he can guard centers as well as power forwards. He uses his talent grabbing rebounds on offense to score quality shots. He has really good instincts going to the offensive boards. He is not a bad defender, but his game shines on offense.
Overall: Has to work on his body and ballhandling.

Go Pliots.

DoubleDipper wrote:

blacksheep wrote:I was thinking our creep factor was falling . . DD hasn't posted a cheerleader picture in quite a while

"Oh no, I hear he gol darn gone and done it.....I've been so sad since I heard Volo might be transferring to Portland....wherever that is"

She must be feeling bad for poor Geno Smith having to sit in the green room the entire first round.

DoubleDipper wrote:

NoPoNeighbor wrote:

DTLegend wrote:Mike Moser is currently looking to transfer...

Hahahahah!

Hey, why not! And, he can play NOW!

It would certainly bring excitement and fans to the Chile Center and make UP a one-and-done contender......bring it on, Mike!!

Well, if Moser is to bring excitement to the Chiles Center, it will be in an Oregon uniform....I hope it happens.

Apparently Mike took a wrong turn somewhere along the I-5, missing both UW and UP, but at least he didn't head "east" to GU.

Good luck at UO, Mike, you are going to a very good team and a very good coach.....

http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/WVUSports/201212100182

Article on Volodymyr Gerun from last December. Always tough to sit out a season as a redshirt, but this sure does seem like a perfect fit for when he'd be eligible in 2014 (if he is indeed the transfer as wildly speculated).

DeanMurdoch wrote:Always tough to sit out a season as a redshirt, but this sure does seem like a perfect fit for when he'd be eligible in 2014 (if he is indeed the transfer as wildly speculated).

!! A wonderful understatement, Deaner. Who (available) would be better than Volo to step into Rhino's sneakers when he graduates, and who better to make all of UP's bigs better during practice during his redshirt year than this guy with a HUGE upside and international experience too!!

Lots of crossed t's and dotted i's on lots of paperwork before anything is official, I'm sure.

DeanMurdoch wrote:http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/WVUSports/201212100182

(if he is indeed the transfer as wildly speculated).

I thought the speculation was based on clues which at least for now suggest our non-German Ukranian 6'10" import was heading this way. I do not think that word "wildly" means what you think it means, to paraphrase an erstwhile swordsman.

wrv wrote:I do not think that word "wildly" means what you think it means, to paraphrase an erstwhile swordsman.

I think using a Facebook like to determine transfer destination is the definition of wild speculation!

I'm pretty comfortable saying that the recruit that Rev mentioned that had committed in his tweet in late April is Volo. The question I have is if Rev is comfortable to tweet what he did, why hasn't there been any formal announcement.

I agree that he seems like a perfect fit when he is eligible, Stressing WHEN. Because he may have to sit out a year, that perfect fit, is a little less perfect. I think that he would be a good talent get, which would be awesome, but think about the lack of depth we'd have for next season. Look next season could be a big one for the Pilots. There's more pressure on Rev now than there ever has been, from the fans, from the administration, from the community, and from himself. Basically I really feel like Rev can't afford to wait on winning.

That brings me to these questions:
Why hasn't there been any announcement other than Rev's tease?
Can we trust the frontcourt of Ryan, Thomas, Riley, and John to be serviceable enough at rebounding/interior defense to win you games next season?
Is there an alternative to Volo (another JuCo Forward/Center) who could contribute right away? and how good would that person have to be to make it worth it?
Is there any chance Volo could play immediately? (which truly be the Perfect Situation)

I don't have the answers to any of these. Just thoughts

DTLegend wrote:Why hasn't there been any announcement other than Rev's tease?

Volodymyr would still be enrolled in classes at WVU, and their finals don't finish until the end of this week. If it's Gerun, look for an announcement next week at the very earliest.

DTLegend wrote:Can we trust the frontcourt of Ryan, Thomas, Riley, and John to be serviceable enough at rebounding/interior defense to win you games next season?

Don't have an answer to that but Barker barely averaged 15 minutes played per game last season. If you are willing to put Barker and vdM on the floor at the same time, Barker could see his floor time rightfully spike next year. Injuries to any of these three guys next year would hurt bad.

DTLegend wrote:Is there an alternative to Volo (another JuCo Forward/Center) who could contribute right away? and how good would that person have to be to make it worth it?

It's a gamble for sure...but it seems like this Gerun character has a good deal of upside, and we'll just have to see if the Pilots can get away with a lack of post depth for a season.

DTLegend wrote:Is there any chance Volo could play immediately? (which truly be the Perfect Situation)

Not unless he's graduating from WVU and is going to pursue his master's at UP...which is not the case.

I found this regarding the player to fill the open scholarship.

http://westcoastconvo.com/2013/05/07/reveno-teases-new-transfer/

I dont know about the validity of the article so will let you decide.

oldtimer wrote:http://westcoastconvo.com/2013/05/07/reveno-teases-new-transfer

The article brings up a lot of the same points that DTLegend brought up in here.

Byline is David Thompson. DTLegend, you should get ahold of this guy and give him a piece of your mind.

DeanMurdoch wrote:

oldtimer wrote:http://westcoastconvo.com/2013/05/07/reveno-teases-new-transfer

The article brings up a lot of the same points that DTLegend brought up in here.

Byline is David Thompson. DTLegend, you should get ahold of this guy and give him a piece of your mind.

Hehheh, busted!!

DoubleDipper wrote: Hehheh, busted!!

It's the same site that was looking for Pilots writers a couple threads ago. Nice that somebody stepped up! (In the spirit of the last page of this thread...I know this is wild speculation, but there are a few clues that point to DTLegend being the new writer for West Coast Convo )

This came across the wire tonight.

CoachMichaelWolf wrote:Great recruiting news much like a win. Tremendous time and energy invested, a fleeting moment of elation, quickly on to the next challenge!

I'll assume this means they have Gerun all wrapped up. Nice to see the staff excited, and by all accounts they have every reason to be with this guy coming in. Congrats, fellas.

By the way, as the keeper of this thread title...Gerun has now been added as the fourth recruit.

Murdoch: again, wild speculation is not what you think it is . . .speculation is: reasoning based on inconclusive evidence; conjecture or supposition.

Happy to have Mr. Gerun.

Hope the Pilots are able to rebound to some degree next year.

Eric Reveno ‏@CoachReveno 4m Coach Scott has some one new to work out with. The start of a beautiful relationship..

Welcome, Volodymyr Gerun!

This is great news...

@GoodmanCBS wrote:West Virginia transfer Volo Gerun is headed to Portland and will be eligible immediately, source told CBSSports.

My god. Eligible IMMEDIATELY??? But how?

Is it possible that because he was a late arrival as a recruit and ineligible to sign a National Letter of Intent, signing only a grant in aid, that he was free to transfer after the year? My understanding of a grant in aid is that it binds the institution but not the athlete.

Otherwise no exception comes to mind and it would be wild speculation to come up with a reason short of bribery.