2014 Recruiting

DoubleDipper wrote:Edit: apparently the calls have already been made......

Hmmm, no tweets from Rev about exciting calls or anything like that...although that would be a dead giveaway, so he might just be waiting for Gabe #2 to announce on Twitter?

It's strange sometimes following the recruiting game...you can see the Pilots have all these offers out on guys, but being an outsider you never really have a good feel for exactly where UP stands with them. Now that we know UP was high on Gabe's list and seeing how highly touted he is (would be the first three-star recruit since Kevin Bailey, I believe) it'll be tough to see him go to UCSB or UoP if he ends up at one of those two schools...even if it has been barely 24 hours since he cut his list down.

DeanMurdoch wrote:Pilots offer to 2014 3* center Michael Humphrey (6-10, 205) on Verbal Commits this morning.

UP only has to beat out Indiana, Saint Mary's, Utah State, Oregon, Louisville, Notre Dame, Arizona, Arizona State, California, (wheeze) Weber State, Stanford, UCLA, Grand Canyon, Virginia, Vanderbilt, and (gasp) Columbia for this fella.

Arizona, Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA, and Vandy have Big Mike's final cut.....no surprise, the Pilots did not.

UC Santa Barbara for Vincent. Too bad, seemed like a kid who could be part of something at UP. Re group and focus time and effort elsewhere I guess.

DTLegend wrote:UC Santa Barbara for Vincent. Too bad, seemed like a kid who could be part of something at UP. Re group and focus time and effort elsewhere I guess.

Can't blame Vincent for choosing UCSB....a wonderful institution in a great location, and it's close enough for friends and family to attend games.  

At least he won't be sinking any UOP buzzer beaters against the Pilots.  

DTLegend wrote:UC Santa Barbara for Vincent. Too bad, seemed like a kid who could be part of something at UP. Re group and focus time and effort elsewhere I guess.

That one hurts a bit...seems like UCSB is getting a pretty good one, both on the court and in the classroom.

Wonder who the main SG target is with Vincent unofficially off the board. Perhaps Kaleb Warner from Mercer Island? (he has the exact same ESPN recruiting grade as Vincent, for what little that is worth)

@JoshGershon: UCSB is putting together a ridiculous 2014 class. Gabe Vincent and Justin Burks are both WCC/MWC players at worst. Two big commitments.

@JoshGershon: Love all the ways Gabe Vincent impacts the game. Just a winner from the shooting guard position. Another steal for UCSB.

Like DTLegend said, onto the next one.

DeanMurdoch wrote:Wonder who the main SG target is with Vincent unofficially off the board. Perhaps Kaleb Warner from Mercer Island? (he has the exact same ESPN recruiting grade as Vincent, for what little that is worth)

I guess the two questions are 1) Who is the best still on the board, and 2) Who do the Pilots have the best chance of landing of the offers the school has made?

Of the shooting guard offers I know about, I really like Grant Sims from Bloomington, Indiana.  He’s a guy the staff has developed a good relationship with, but is Portland too far to go for a Midwest lad?  I don’t know if he’s visited UP, but he has visited others schools and does have a visit scheduled to U of Illinois-Chicago this coming week.

I think the Pilots have a pretty good chance of getting a commitment from Kaleb Warner, a pretty impressive lefty shooting guard I saw last summer when he was playing for the Emerald City Pioneers……but I thought the Pilots had a good chance of getting Jadon Cohee until he apparently couldn’t qualify.   I haven’t heard of any schools actively pursuing Warner except UP and PSU…..but there could be others.

The Pilots should have 4 scholarships available in 2014, and one is apparently assigned to Gabe Taylor, most likely replacing John Bailey on the roster.  Between transfers, JC players, and international student athletes, there are still a number of options available to the staff, including waiting until the “normal” signing period next spring, or even next summer……

From Rev's Twitter:

1st day of school and exciting recruits visiting today so....wife sent me to school w/ flowers from garden. #family

Moving on...

DoubleDipper wrote:Of the shooting guard offers I know about, I really like Grant Sims from Bloomington, Indiana.  He’s a guy the staff has developed a good relationship with, but is Portland too far to go for a Midwest lad?  I don’t know if he’s visited UP, but he has visited others schools and does have a visit scheduled to U of Illinois-Chicago this coming week.

Grant Sims trimmed his list to five earlier this month - Portland, Illinois-Chicago, UT Martin, UNC Asheville, and Maryville (D2). Air Force got in there with an offer yesterday according to VC.

In case you're wondering why a D2 school is in consideration, his older brother Forrester Sims plays there.

Here's your August 26 recruiting update! Rating after each name is just from ESPN.

SG
Kaleb Warner - 69 (**) - SG/SF just short of getting 3 stars from ESPN but is not even listed on Scout or Rivals, showing how inconsistent these nat'l recruiting DBs are. Offers listed from UP and PSU, but there are more likely others.
Robbie Berwick - 66 (**) - Scout gives him 3 stars. At least 10 offers outstanding including one from an ACC school (Florida State).
Ronnie Harrell - NR - not even listed on ESPN, but 3 stars from both Scout and Rivals. The high majors agree with the latter two, as he's visiting Purdue and Kansas State in fall. Probably safe to say he's not an option.
Grant Sims - NR - down to Portland, Illinois-Chicago, UT Martin, UNC Asheville, and Maryville (D2). Air Force with recent offer as well.

SF
Temidayo Yussuf - 66 (**) - other offers from LMU, Pacific, and a bunch of Big West and Big Sky schools.
Spencer Mathis - 62 (**) - not on Scout, on Rivals but no rating. According to the Las Vegas Prospects, will visit Portland, Santa Clara, Northern Colorado, and Grand Canyon in the fall.
Jason Todd - NR - not on ESPN or Rivals, on Scout but no rating. Other offers from Pacific and Santa Clara.

PF - Gabe Taylor might be committed, but the Pilots may well add another here.
Evan Fitzner - 71 (***) - 3 stars from Scout, no rating from Rivals. Offers from half the Pac-12 so he's probably gone.
Joe Furstinger - 70 (***) - 3 stars from Scout and Rivals as well. Visited Pepperdine a couple days ago. Has offers from half the WCC.
Devinir Duruisseau - 69 (**) - 3 stars from Scout, not listed on Rivals. LMU, Pepperdine among other offers for him.
Jacob Lampkin - 66 (**) - Not on Scout or Rivals. Also has offers from Pacific and out east from Dartmouth and American.

C
Thomas Welsh - 80 (****) - 4 stars from Scout and Rivals too. If the coaching staff lands this guy I'll FedEx them 24 of Saskatchewan's finest Pilsner.

This on Thomas Welsh from last week -

“I’m going to narrow it down to four or five schools,” Welsh told NY2LASPORTS.COM Sunday night. “It’s coming pretty soon. In the next day or two I’ll have a list. I’ll look to check those schools out one last time and see which is right for me.”

Welsh has offers from Arizona State, California, Colorado, Gonzaga, Utah, Pacific, Portland, Saint Louis, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Stanford, UCLA, and USC among others.

No schools have been cut off of Welsh’s list yet. He has also not set any official visits at this point, two things that he plans to accomplish in the near future as well.

“I haven’t officially cut out any schools yet,” Welsh stated. “I’m slowly making progress. Hopefully I can get some official visit dates sets soon.”

As a junior at Loyola, Welsh averaged 12 points and 11 rebounds during the 2012-2013 season. Playing with the LA Rockfish over the summer, the 7-0, 240-pound center thinks his game will be taken to even greater heights as a senior.

“I think I’ve really gotten a lot more confident in my game,” he said. “A lot of my abilities on offense, I’ve just gotten more confident in my body. It’s really helped me out.”

Welsh has made unofficial visits to California, Colorado, Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Utah.

At this stage in his recruitment, Welsh opted to avoid talking about the schools recruiting him until he revealed his finalists, but did say California, Colorado, UCLA, Santa Clara, and Stanford were among the schools making the biggest push late in the process.

“I want a really good academic school,” he said. “Somewhere I can really thrive as a student. I’m also looking for a place where I fit in with the style of play, can see myself doing well, and helping my team out.”

Just kind of assumed this kid would be Pac-12 bound so I'm a bit surprised to see him mention Santa Clara in there.

I read somewhere that he has family connections to Santa Clara.

Great work of rounding up all the "known" UP recruits and giving us the report, Deaner.....I now know that I can go back on vacation and someone will be minding the "recruit store" until the ponds in Saskatchewan freeze and everyone heads outdoors.  

Now, I wonder which recruits are visiting UP today...

DeanMurdoch wrote:Grant Sims trimmed his list to five earlier this month - Portland, Illinois-Chicago, UT Martin, UNC Asheville, and Maryville (D2). Air Force got in there with an offer yesterday according to VC.

With the offer from the United States Air Force Academy, my estimation of Sims just took a big jump....and I already liked him a lot.

Air Force only offers to academically bright men and women who are well rounded in their civic, social, and academic endeavors.....and, maybe most importantly, show huge potential for leadership.

DoubleDipper wrote:I now know that I can go back on vacation and someone will be minding the "recruit store" until the ponds in Saskatchewan freeze and everyone heads outdoors.

It was a fleeting 20 minutes of Monday morning motivation. Don't expect it again anytime soon!

DeanMurdoch wrote:Anyone seen Arkadiy Mkrtychyan play? Born in Turkmenistan but represents Armenia internationally, plays AAU for ICP Elite (with Chatman, Melson, Dorsey, etc) and HS for Columbia Christian.

Pilots apparently have "interest" in Arkadiy at this point. He's got offers from Oregon State, Portland State, Seattle, Weber State, and Stony Brook.

DoubleDipper wrote:Hmm, good find….

Playing 1A level basketball Mkrtychyan's obviously flying under the radar and not much will be written about him, but as he’s also playing AAU ball with InnerCityPlayers, he’s been seen!

Very, very interesting....

Apparently Kameron Chatman (yes, Caanan's son) will be transferring from his high school in California (where he's played for Sharif Metoyer) to Columbia Christian for his senior year.  Kameron is one of the most sought after 2014 recruits in the US (most guess he'll end up at Michigan or Arizona), and his move to 1A Columbia Christian from an elite program is not only a bit of a shock, but it will bring a whole new level of interest/exposure for Arkadiy Mkrtychyan, IMO.

.....From my quick search, I see no actual offers to to Mkrtychyan at this point, but interest from Idaho, Montana, Oragen St., Oregon, Seattle U, St. Mary's, Stony Brook, Washington, Washington St., Weber State.....but NOT UP.

DoubleDipper wrote:Very, very interesting....

Apparently Kameron Chatman (yes, Caanan's son) will be transferring from his high school in California (where he's played for Sharif Metoyer) to Columbia Christian for his senior year.  Kameron is one of the most sought after 2014 recruits in the US (most guess he'll end up at Michigan or Arizona), and his move to 1A Columbia Christian from an elite program is not only a bit of a shock, but it will bring a whole new level of interest/exposure for Arkadiy Mkrtychyan, IMO.

.....From my quick search, I see no actual offers to to Mkrtychyan at this point, but interest from Idaho, Montana, Oragen St., Oregon, Seattle U, St. Mary's, Stony Brook, Washington, Washington St., Weber State.....but NOT UP.

http://westcoastconvo.com/2013/08/25/wcc-basketball-recruiting-qa-arkadiy-mkrtychyan/

West Coast Convo just did a short interview with Arkadiy...an excerpt -

5. What schools are showing you the most interest? Have any schools offered?
Stony Brook, Weber State, Washington, Portland State, Oregon State, St. Mary’s, and Seattle have shown me the most interest. I have offers from Stony Brook, Weber State, Portland State, Oregon State, and Seattle.

@LC_Recruiting wrote:Jason Todd and Dejounte Murray are early standouts right now here at the @TWroten_LOE camp, everyone is competing at a high level

Nice company for Pilots SF target Jason Todd....Dejounte Murray is a 2015 4-star prospect.

And again re: Jason Todd. Seems he has trimmed his list from 3 to 2 according to Verbal Commits. Pacific is out, down to Pilots and Santa Clara.

DeanMurdoch wrote:And again re: Jason Todd. Seems he has trimmed his list from 3 to 2 according to Verbal Commits. Pacific is out, down to Pilots and Santa Clara.

Jason was on campus this week at UP.....and I'm guessing he's also visiting SCU before starting his senior year next week.

I know he'd like to continue playing baseball in college, so I'm hoping Coach Sperry said, "Yea, sure, no problem, you can play the last month of the season....or whenever the basketball team is eliminated from the NCAA Tournament."  

DoubleDipper wrote:Another PF that was in town a couple of weeks ago, and is already getting closer to the size he'll need for D-1 ball, is Jacob Lampkin.

At 6-8/210, the O'Dea of Seattle PF has garnered a lot of interest from some fine schools including Dartmouth, American, Stanford, Santa Clara, Pacific, and WSU.

Although by the looks of his shirt, he may prefer California weather over the NW.

Not committed to a Cali school yet, but he does have an "official visit" to Pacific next week.  He’s gotta check the various schools I guess, but it would seem an offer from Dartmouth should be pretty compelling.

DeanMurdoch wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Of the shooting guard offers I know about, I really like Grant Sims from Bloomington, Indiana.  He’s a guy the staff has developed a good relationship with, but is Portland too far to go for a Midwest lad?  I don’t know if he’s visited UP, but he has visited others schools and does have a visit scheduled to U of Illinois-Chicago this coming week.

Grant Sims trimmed his list to five earlier this month - Portland, Illinois-Chicago, UT Martin, UNC Asheville, and Maryville (D2). Air Force got in there with an offer yesterday according to VC.

In case you're wondering why a D2 school is in consideration, his older brother Forrester Sims plays there.

Grant Sims has chosen Illinois-Chicago!

It seemed (to me) this was his first choice all along, but he was so appreciative of UP's continued interest and visits to his school, that he included UP in his final-five.....

So Vincent out, now Sims out. Harrell and Berwick appear to be headed to high majors, which in terms of SG targets leaves only Kaleb Warner - who visits Pacific on Sept 6 (along with Jacob Lampkin).

Wonder what else the staff has cooking that we don't know about.

Pilots are out on Ronnie Harrell after he cut his list down. No surprises there.

Robbie Berwick visits UTEP on Saturday...also has a wild assortment of offers from Mountain West (Fresno State, Colorado State), ACC (Florida State), Harvard, and some Big West schools. Will be interesting to see if he visits UP.

Only other SG offer that's known is to Kaleb Warner, who visits Pacific tomorrow along with Jacob Lampkin.

SF target Spencer Mathis is off the board. He committed to Northern Colorado today.

That leaves Jason Todd (down to Pilots or Santa Clara) and Temidayo Yussef (visited Long Beach State yesterday, go Dirtbags) as the only known offers to 2014 SFs.