2014 Recruiting

DeanMurdoch wrote:Galloway to visit UC Irvine this weekend and will make a decision next week, according to @JoshGershon. I guess considering he only visited Cal Poly and UC Irvine following the other guy committing to Montana, it'll likely be between those two schools.

I just checked-in with from my friend in the Bay Area who covers prep sports there, and she gets the impression Galloway's visit at UCI did not go all that great, but that he's still planning to commit to a California school.  
 
When I asked her about Galloway's chances of coming to UP, she replied, "no chance, zero, it's not gonna happen."
 
Well, I guess until he commits elsewhere......

On Twitter, Rev sounded pretty enthusiastic about a recruiting visit early this week, and made reference to not knowing for sure if it was a good visit until signing day. Made me think he was talking about a 2014 recruit... Also last week was a reference to Portland visiting an Arizona Power player. I don't think we know of any offers to 2014 AZ Power recruits...

NoPoNeighbor wrote:On Twitter, Rev sounded pretty enthusiastic about a recruiting visit early this week, and made reference to not knowing for sure if it was a good visit until signing day. Made me think he was talking about a 2014 recruit... Also last week was a reference to Portland visiting an Arizona Power player. I don't think we know of any offers to 2014 AZ Power recruits...

Yes, I'm sure you are correct....he was talking about a 2014 recruit, but NOT an Arizona Power player.....
 
UP has apparently offered scholarships to Arizona Power shooting guards Terrence Johnson and Kenzo Nudo, both from the class of 2015, and there are a number of others players on that AAU team that are gaining notice from various schools.

OK, this is a bit of a scoop, but I don’t think we should get ahead of ourselves in thinking a third recruit has verbally committed to UP from the class of 2014.
 
Remember when Rev went on his ‘round the world trip?
 
Remember he stopped in New Hampshire to visit a potential recruit who we surmised was 6' 6" guard Oliver Tot from Slovakia who is now attending Kimball Union Academy?
 
Remember we then determined Rev was visiting someone in Vienna based on the picture of Hofburg Palace in his tweet?  Well, I now believe he was visiting with Tot’s parents in Vienna.
 
Tonight, after the game, I was among a group of Pilot Club members that was being regaled by Rev when he mentioned that UP has “three recruits committed for next year who will sign in November……and the third recruit was in attendance at tonight’s game.”
 
Well, there was no doubt in my mind, after seeing his pictures and videos, that I saw Oliver Tot (and probably his parents) behind the bench at tonight’s UP/Concordia-Irvine game.
 
A tweet from Tot’s Kimball Academy coach says Tot will be visiting Lehigh and William & Mary next week…..so I think the best bet is to wait for something from Tot himself for some kind of confirmation, but my fingers are crossed.  After all, not until the ink on the LOI is dry, is a recruit committed!

Very interesting. A 6'6" PG in town sure sounds interesting....and just over two weeks until the early NLI period.

This is such a critical recruiting class...one year behind a (hopefully) strong senior class, then they'll be expected to carry a LOT of mail as sophomores.

DD, good scoop! However, I have a bit of an alternate theory to put forward...

All we really know for sure from Rev's comment at the post-game event is A) There are now three recruits committed to sign in November, and B) One of them was at yesterday's game.

A few other things we know for sure:

• Tot's coach tweeted that he was on an official visit to UP this weekend, and will make visits to Lehigh and W&M next week. Also, DD saw Tot at the game.

• Last week, Reveno made a quick, one-day trip via red-eye flight to have a promising meeting with a recruit, who we believe to be a 2014 prospect.

Given these two pieces of evidence, I think it is unlikely that Tot has already committed to UP. I also think it is unlikely that Rev's recruiting visit last week had anything to do with Tot. If Tot were going to make an official visit to UP this weekend, why would Rev need to fly somewhere to meet with him just a few days before? And if he had already committed to UP, why would his coach announce that he will be taking visits to two other schools?

My theory is that Rev's comment about a 2014 committed recruit being in the building yesterday was in reference to Gabe Taylor. In fact, going back to look at his photos in the Oregonian and Tribune articles from July, I think I was sitting just a few sets down from Gabe and his father at yesterday's game.

That would mean that Tot has not committed, and is still considering UP, Lehigh and William and Mary. That ALSO means that there is in fact another, as of yet unknown 2014 recruit who has verbally committed -- who I surmise Reveno visited last week. If Tot picks UP, that would make him #4.

Ha-ha, dueling theories……face it, if any of us knew what was really going on we wouldn’t have anything to write about…. 
 
Continuing my theory….I believe the Pilots will sign only 3 recruits this November, and will save the remaining scholarship to snag another transfer in the late spring/early summer, probably a BIG.  
 
We’ve written about the lack of prep centers available this year, and we know that JUCO transfers generally don’t have the academic background to enter UP, so picking up a transfer is probably the best way to go.  One would think student-athletes who are considering transferring look for schools that offer both an opportunity to play and a coach to help them develop.   It is my guess that most coaching staffs have a pretty good idea who may be looking to transfer.
 
It would appear the three recruits who will sign in November are Jason, Gabe and, fingers crossed, Oliver.  But I guess we’ll find out in mid-November…..the first day of signing is 11/13, but it will take longer to process the paperwork for a player who’s education and playing time has been (mostly) overseas.

Well, DD, if you are sticking with your theory I assume you have some other info that you aren't sharing here. Because I'm not sure how you overlook the circumstances of Taylor being at yesterday's game, Tot have scheduled visits to two other schools, and Rev having made a breakneck trip to visit an unnamed recruit last week.

I feel pretty confident in my logic, but you seem pretty confident in your CONCLUSION, which makes me think you may have heard some further details at that Pilot Club shindig that you keeping under your hat  

NoPoNeighbor wrote:I feel pretty confident in my logic, but you seem pretty confident in your CONCLUSION, which makes me think you may have heard some further details at that Pilot Club shindig that you keeping under your hat

Nope, nothing heard or seen beyond what I've indicated here.
 
Actually, I have not reached any CONCLUSION....I'm just spitballing hoping to get others involved in the discussion based upon what others have written here on PN, what Rev has written on twitter, and what we heard from AD Leykam many months ago about it being a good policy to keep a scholarship available for a D-1 or JUCO transfer, or an available recruit overseas.
 
I doubt there is a “mystery” recruit out there that Rev is in touch with…..but I wouldn’t mind if I’m WRONG!!

DoubleDipper wrote:I just checked-in with from my friend in the Bay Area who covers prep sports there, and she gets the impression Galloway's visit at UCI did not go all that great, but that he's still planning to commit to a California school.  

Well, apparently it went well enough for Jon to give a verbal committment to UCI today....
 
Another BIG off the board. (I updated Deaner's list on page 15).

Wow...you guys are really ramping up the speculation. Here's one you might not have considered - sometimes recruits commit while on official visits

DeanMurdoch wrote:Wow...you guys are really ramping up the speculation. Here's one you might not have considered - sometimes recruits commit while on official visits

Ha-ha, actually that's exactly what I was speculating!!
 
But we all know minds can be changed....will be interested to see if Oliver and his family actually travel to Bethleham, PA and Williamsburg, VA this week.
 
I think they will take the trips, because face it, if you live in far away Slovakia a free trip around the US would be pretty difficult to pass up.

Here's 1:42 worth of Oliver Tot throwing down two-handed dunks. Come on Olly, mix in a tomahawk or something.

Hahahahaha....with the new interpretation of the rules against hand-checking and contact, Oliver might have a similar path to the basket in the NCAA, but I don't think so!
 
Watching this tape and others of Tot, I project him as a wing if he were to end up at UP....I'm sure he's got some PG talent, and could give other PGs fits with his size, but he and Jason Todd together with Bryce and Alec look formidable..... 

DoubleDipper wrote:Well, apparently it went well enough for Jon to give a verbal committment to UCI today....

I guess he feels at home with the tall trees in the forest that is UC Irvine. He'll be one of SIX players on UC Irvine over 6-10 next year, and that doesn't even include their starting PF Will Davis (who's 6-8 ).

This from “New England Recruiting Report” when profiling Kimball Union Academy (New Hampshire) for the coming season:

The most notable addition will be six-foot-six point guard Oliver Tot, who arrives with a ton of international experience, having already run with the Slovakian u20 national team at the European Championships, and looks to be just the pure guard and distributor that this team needs to maximize their weapons.

 
 

As expected, SG Robbie Berwick committed to Florida St today....
 
Chart on page 15 is updated....
 
There are only 3 left on OUR board...Oliver Tot, and one center and one power forward we do NOT expect to get.

DoubleDipper wrote:Coach Reveno has been sighted at the Peach Jam in Georgia watching AAU teams in action....

A good kid to watch there might be Jackson Forbes, a 6-6 SF from Plano, Texas, who will be a senior this fall.  

Forbes really puts the STUDENT in student/athlete, and has picked up offers from Rice, Dartmouth, and Brown, and if I’m not mistaken, now UP.

I'm not sure Jackson Forbes every made it to our list of "possibles" after I posted his picture four months ago.....but according to numerous tweets, he committed to Princeton today.
 
Good decision, Mr. Forbes.

Coach Wolf tweeted a few days ago that he was in New England. Another visit to New Hampshire, perhaps?

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Coach Wolf tweeted a few days ago that he was in New England. Another visit to New Hampshire, perhaps?

Hmmm, we can only hope so.  
 
Coach Wolf scouted in Eastern Europe and made the first contact with Oliver Tot in Slovakia....

And only six days until the early NLI period starts on Wednesday. Would appear that the Pilots are making quite the push for this intriguing Slovak.

This close to signing date and (key point) considering that Oliver's not on Twitter, we may not hear of a commit until an official NLI announcement comes along with the anticipated signings of Taylor and Todd.

T, T, T.

you boys on this one?

@Gus_bball: Kingsley Okoroh's updated list with schools recruiting him: Wichita St, Tennessee, Utah, Purdue, Nebraska, Portland and Oakland.

@Gus_bball: Kingsley Okoroh's updated list with schools recruiting him: Wichita St, Tennessee, Utah, Purdue, Nebraska, Portland and Oakland.

+ He is 7 feet tall.
- His last name does not begin with T.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:

@Gus_bball: Kingsley Okoroh's updated list with schools recruiting him: Wichita St, Tennessee, Utah, Purdue, Nebraska, Portland and Oakland.

+ He is 7 feet tall.
- His last name does not begin with T.

+ Kingsley is just a cool first name.