2014 Recruiting

DoubleDipper wrote:Vasilije Pusica, a 6-4, 205  PG from Belgrade, Serbia, but balling at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, has now picked up an offer from Nebraska. He now has confirmed offers from UP, UTEP, USD, CSU, and Nebraska....there might be others too.

Interesting. I didn't realize the Pilots had extended an offer to Pusica until you posted this.

wrv wrote:Benson Osayande, Elk Grove, at 6’7" could play power forward for the Pilots, is now being chased by Pacific.

With SEVEN players graduating this season, it probably shouldn't be a surprise that Pacific is going after another PF despite already having Seattle's Jacob Lampkin signed to an NLI...but the Pilots already have a PF in Gabe Taylor signed and I would assume they'll look to address the guard and center positions where UP loses a lot over the next two seasons (recent offers to Pusica and Okoroh would hint at this).

I am not sure Gabe Taylor is a power forward in the traditional sense. Be interested in eliciting comments from folk who have actually seen the young man play--I had a sense nonetheless that his game was an outside one, not one built around the paint and rebounding. Hence a low block player could help: Osayande or someone else . . .

A big guard certainly couldn't hurt. I alluded to Ryan Imhoff, 6'5", who averaged nearly 24 points last year, who can shoot, but is apparently now missiing time due to injury. And, there are other talented players,  not eastern european, who even intend to continue living and working in this part of the world.

Zubi is no doubt a fine young man, but I suspect there were players more ready than him with closer zip codes.

I am far more happy that we are winning than any concern regarding the distribution of scholarships. But wondering why we would recruit marginally talented eastern(or western) european guards? Contacts with coaches in Europe? Diplomacy?

There is a guard getting time for PSU this year, Zach Gengler, 5A POY from Silverton, who I think we could have plucked last year. Makes we wonder whether we evaluated him fully.

Trying to find impact players is no doubt not easy. I do not intend to harangue . . .more curious than anything.

wrv wrote:There is a guard getting time for PSU this year, Zach Gengler, 5A POY from Silverton, who I think we could have plucked last year. Makes we wonder whether we evaluated him fully.

I didn't recognize that name from the PSU game, so looked him up. Had only two minutes played against the Pilots but is generally utilized much more than that by PSU. Looks like Gengler also had offers from USD and Pacific so there were at least a couple coaching staffs that thought he had the potential to be a WCC-level player.

Important to note that Gengler verbally committed to PSU in October of 2012. At that point, the Pilots had just one scholarship open and Wintering had already committed to UP...the staff might have had an idea about Cason at that point, but obviously would have had no clue that the scholarships taken up by Ehlers and Reinfelds would open up later that year.

Agree with you that Gabe Taylor is an enigma wrapped in a shroud of mystery at this point - there's almost no info on him besides the article about him earlier this summer. Intrigued to see what the Pilots are getting with this guy.

Here is an excerpt from the Portland Tribune of December 12, including remarks about Taylor's game:

Taylor's 26 leads Valley past Eagles


Created on Thursday, 12 December 2013 00:00. | Written by Matt Singledecker. | Print


by: TIMES PHOTO: MATT SINGLEDECKER - Valley Catholic senior post Gabe Taylor gets off a floater over a Westside Christian post in the third quarter of the Valiants' win over the Eagles on Tuesday. Taylor finished with 26 points despite sitting out the fourth.
by: TIMES PHOTO: MATT SINGLEDECKER - Valley Catholic senior post Gabe Taylor gets off a floater over a Westside Christian post in the third quarter of the Valiants' win over the Eagles on Tuesday. Taylor finished with 26 points despite sitting out the fourth.


The way Gabe Taylor sees it, if Valley Catholic keeps getting better like its presently is in a formidable preseason filled with state tournament contenders, the sky’s the limit for the loaded, experienced Valiants.

With the athletic 6-foot-8 hybrid forward taking the reins, Valley improved from its season-opening close call 56-54 win over Blanchet Catholic with a 64-44 drubbing of Westside Christian on Tuesday.

The contest was a slight reprieve from what’s a rigorous upcoming schedule that has the likes of Gladstone, La Salle, and Dayton on the horizon.

“We came out and executed well,” said Taylor. “We pushed the ball, and defensively I think we were on a better page than we were last week.

Taylor led the Valiants with 26 points, half of which came in the third quarter, but was quick to recognize the efforts of Jarrett Gray (15 points, 4 assists), Kazuma Lane (10 points), Tysen Prunty (4 points) and Drew VanderZanden (4 points).

“For me, it just shows how much better we can get as a team,” said Taylor. “I’m excited for that. We just have to keep getting better at the little things like running the floor, rebounding, playing good, solid defense. Because, people see the big things, but it’s the little things that make up the wins.”

Ahead 34-20 at halftime, the Valiants threw dirt on the Eagles with a passionate third quarter that featured Taylor’s continually improving arsenal of skills.

The University of Portland commit caught a pass from Gray in the open floor, stuffed the rock on an Eagle while getting hammered, and completed the old-fashioned, three-point play.

“We started the second half with more intensity,” said Gray. “We came out on defense and really played hard. We also slowed it down on offense, executed a little more and got open shots.”

Facing Westside’s 2-3 zone designed to mask its lack of size, Taylor accepted a pass in the short corner, took two power dribbles toward the cup and floated a teardrop through the net to go up 44-23 with 3:34 to go.

“We tried to work on spreading the floor and making good, solid passes,” said Taylor. “We were looking for open spots in the zone. We played really well tonight, and I’m just proud of our guys.”

Taylor finished off his night with another fastbreak flush off a lead pass from Gray, buried a triple from the right wing and tipped in a miss to put Valley ahead 53-26 with 39 seconds remaining in the third.

Thanks for the article, wrv. And I came across this one the other day...wasn't going to bother posting it because of how little "interest" can mean sometimes, but just for you - Peppers is from the DC area so maybe not all the targets right now are international.

@coreyevans_10 wrote:SSSA 2014 guard Gavin Peppers lists offers from Mercer & Mt. St. Mary's. Interest from Liberty, Seattle, Portland, VMI, and Marist

Thanks Mr. Murdoch. An explanation for the staff emphasizing european recruits may be that they do not actually. Perhaps the offers extended to european recruits are for whatever reason more widely known, generate more publicity. Pusica appears too as though he would be a hell of a git.

I suspect that in addition to looking in on our pledge Jazz Johnson, 23 points yesterday, some of the staff are seated court side at the Les Scwab Invitational, looking for players.

A young man from Grant, playing at the Invitational, 6’6" Diondre Bird, scored 24 points in a loss last night, but remains unsigned and uncommitted. I suspect, without being sure, that academics are a problem as a number of JCs are recruiting him. His coach thinks very highly of Diondre, calling him the best player in the state. Not sure where the Pilots are on him, but suspect that they have passed . . .

wrv wrote:Thanks Mr. Murdoch. An explanation for the staff emphasizing european recruits may be that they do not actually. Perhaps the offers extended to european recruits are for whatever reason more widely known, generate more publicity. Pusica appears too as though he would be a hell of a git.

Bingo, wrv.

The staff has accumulated a great number of frequent-flyer miles in the US this year and has scouted extensively in the local area too.  

If you look at the list of 2014 recruits we knew about in October here: https://www.pilotnation.net/t4937p210-2014-recruiting, you'll notice there were a fair number of US recruits offered, but for whatever reason, they decided to go elsewhere.

I know this "excuse" is over-used, but there are just not that many really good young athletes who can qualify to attend UP....it's not just because of their GPA or core courses, but because they lack the "potential" to be comfortable enough in the classroom to devote the the time required of D-1 basketball.

Admittedly, there are currently four offers by UP (THAT WE KNOW OF) for two scholarships, and three of those are to foreign born players.....but apparently they are terrific players, and the staff is still out there looking closer to home.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20131230/BLOG18/131239981/Jacksons-Todd-named-MaxPreps-tourney-MVP

Nice little accolade for Pilots commit Jason Todd.

And speaking of Jackson HS graduates, you have to think that at some point Brett Kingma will resurface.

Transferred from Oregon a few years back to Washington State where he ran into a spot of trouble for what would now be known as possession of a legal substance.

Kingma had offers from every D-1 school in the PNW when he graduated. I'd assume he'd have two years of eligibility remaining if he chooses to give it another go somewhere?

Jason Todd plays with a Dan Kingma at Jackson, I'm assuming that's his little bro.

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/take2/2014/01/03/high-school-basketball-washingtons-top-25-boys-recruits/

Our man Jason Todd picked the No. 3 recruit in the state of Washington ahead of a few guys headed to high major programs.

Nice to see!

Buster Souza is a 6-7 PF/C from Lafayette, CA...apparently not only has an offer from UP, but is down to his final two schools (Pilots and UC Riverside).

DeanMurdoch wrote:Buster Souza is a 6-7 PF/C from Lafayette, CA...apparently not only has an offer from UP, but is down to his final two schools (Pilots and UC Riverside).

Hmm, interesting.  

A high school classmate of mine, a former college basketball player, has seen Souza play at Acalanes High School and reports he's as "tough as they come" for a 6-7 guy.  He's a force at the post in high school, but unless he grows a few inches, would be a PF in college, I imagine.

Surprised it's being reported he's "down to his final two schools."  My friend had been told Souza wanted to play college football (UP is undefeated since 1950), but was weighing several offers for basketball.  Who knows?  He's never spoken to Souza.....just hears what others in the stands are saying.

I like those odds better than our friend Pusica, whose offers appear to be multiplying. We could always use a tough guy down low.

Note about Buster and his favorable thoughts on the University of Portland in NorCalPreps:

January 5, 2014


William Boor


Souza recently recorded a career-high in points with 26
The Acalanes basketball team is off to a hot start and 6-foot-7 center Buster Souza is enjoying every minute of it.

"Season is going well," Souza said. "Right now we're 7-3 and we haven't lost at home, which is good. We've got a new coach and we're growing. We're looking a lot better than we were last year."

While Souza is enjoying his team's success, he is also having some personal triumphs. He recently recorded a career-high 26 points.

Although the career-best in points is nice, it's not as if Souza was previously flying under the radar. The 2014 recruit has offers from Cal State East Bay, UC Riverside and the University of Portland.

"UC Riverside and University of Portland are my top two choices," Bouza said. "Portland, I like the city. The school is awesome. I like the program and the coaches are cool. The city is one of the best cities I've ever been to. Riverside is a fun little college town."

Souza likes the locations of both Portland and Riverside because he gets to remain on the West Coast, but will also be far enough from home to establish some independence.

Bouza does not have a firm date on his expected commitment, but feels it may come in the next month or two.

What Bouza did know, however, was what will lead him toward choosing a college.

"I think what's going to tip it, is where I can improve the most and where I can gain the most," Bouza said. "What school is going to give me the best outlook? I think that will be determined pretty soon here."

Per Reveno's Twitter, he has a recruit in town today. Here's hoping said recruit was in attendance last night! Good timing!

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Per Reveno's Twitter, he has a recruit in town today. Here's hoping said recruit was in attendance last night! Good timing!

Per Rev on the pre-game radio show last night, there was an international recruit in town, and he was at the game...   

After hosting a recruit at the GU game on Thursday and having breakfast with a recruit on Friday after the game.....on Saturday morning Rev tweets:

Changing planes in Chicago on a "quick" recruiting trip.   Need to take advantage of the off day in @WCChoops and go see a couple 2014's

It’s my understanding that Rev was spotted in Paducah, Kentucky at the Mustang Madness Tournament that ran from Thursday through Saturday, and involved at least 20 boys and girls high school teams.

Included in the mix was UP offered Vasilije Pusica’s Sunrise Christian Academy out of Las Vegas Kansas.

Oh, oh.  Oliver Tot's coach, Michael Olsen tweets:

High level NBA exec told me last night 6-6 pt guard Oliver Tot "can play anywhere". Might be best unsigned point in US...controls the action

IMO, one of the reason's Tot did not sign with the Pilots in November is because UP probably projects the 6-6/200 Tot as a small forward....not a point guard.  

UP has an excellent point guard in Alec, with wonderful backup from Bryce, and the Pilots could have another in August 2015 in Jazz Johnson...but can a team have too many?

DoubleDipper wrote:O.but can a team have too many?

Not if they are 6'6"

I vaguely recall a story about the recruiting of Marcus Canby told by, I believe, John Calapari. Marcus, all 6"11", wanted to play point guard. Calapari responded that he could play any position he wanted, including point guard. He did ask that Marcus be aware that he, Calapari, liked to post up his point guards with some frequency.

So long as Tot is prepared to be on the wing, to use Calapari's reasoning, no problem with him being a point guard or occassionally bringing the ball up court.

From the limited tape I have seen he would have difficulty guarding any true point guards. He does not appear quick enough for the position, but that is based on limited info.

Ha ha, good story, wrv.

And as I recall, Marcus had over 100 blocked shots his freshman year at UMass.

But I also think it was Marcus and UMass that had their had their Final Four appearance in 1996 "nullified" when it was found he had accepted money from a couple of agents.  I think that was also Calipari's last game as a coach at UMass.

Why do I remember that?  Because it was UP's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament.....

DoubleDipper wrote:Why do I remember that?  Because it was UP's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament.....

Which is now LESS recent than the Pilots' last home win over Gonzaga. Thank God.

DoubleDipper wrote:Oh, oh.  Oliver Tot's coach, Michael Olsen tweets:

High level NBA exec told me last night 6-6 pt guard Oliver Tot "can play anywhere". Might be best unsigned point in US...controls the action

What else do you think Danny Ainge told him?