The 2013 Offseason

As noted by Otero JC's @CoachHReed, BYU got a Monday visit from 6'8", 200 lb. F Kentwan Smith (Freeport, Bahamas, by way of Piney Woods, MS)

Smith (began college career at Louisiana-Lafayette) holds offer from USF; has also visited Cal State Fullerton, interest from Portland.

As he said, the conversation has to keep going, and expanding. Reveno's tweet got a lot of play. There's a hunger for coaches and players to speak up.

"When I tweet about a Portland Pilots morning workout,'' he said, "I don't get that kind of response, that's for sure.''

DeanMurdoch wrote:Odd. This guy @gregwrubell reported three days ago that the Pilots have interest in juco PF Kentwan Smith?

DoubleDipper wrote:At the end of the (good) article:

As he said, the conversation has to keep going, and expanding. Reveno's tweet got a lot of play. There's a hunger for coaches and players to speak up.

"When I tweet about a Portland Pilots morning workout,'' he said, "I don't get that kind of response, that's for sure.''

I believe a large majority of Pilots fans are great supporters of Coach Reveno......his openness and willingness to speak it out is certainly part of the reason he is so well liked. Imagine how much we’d like him if the Pilots WERE relevant enough to get a response from his tweet of their morning workout.....

DeanMurdoch wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:UNLV transfer Katin Reinhardt has made a decision; he's headed home to USC where he can surround himself with his homies and get even more bad advice……

To each their own, I suppose. Let's be real...regardless of how many minutes he got last year, he isn't the first player and won't be the last player to switch schools to go after what he perceives is a better situation for himself. Many people (including myself) consider this a ridiculous decision - obviously he doesn't.

If I was close to the kid, I'd be telling him that he needs to start worrying about his stigma. Right now, everything about him is screaming me-first - the transfer, his personal hashtag and "fan account" on Twitter, etc. Dude, just lie low and work on your game for the next 17 months until you can play.

But again...what do I know.

DoubleDipper wrote:At the end of the (good) article:

As he said, the conversation has to keep going, and expanding. Reveno's tweet got a lot of play. There's a hunger for coaches and players to speak up.

"When I tweet about a Portland Pilots morning workout,'' he said, "I don't get that kind of response, that's for sure.''

I believe a large majority of Pilots fans are great supporters of Coach Reveno......his openness and willingness to speak it out is certainly part of the reason he is so well liked. Imagine how much we’d like him if the Pilots WERE relevant enough to get a response from his tweet of their morning workout.....

10. Ron Verlin- Pacific
9. Marty Wilson-Pepperdine
8. Bill Grier-San Diego
7. Eric Reveno-Portland
6. Max Good-LMU
5. Kerry Keating-Santa Clara
4. Rex Walters-San Francisco
3. Randy Bennett-Saint Mary’s
2. Dave Rose-BYU
1. Mark Few-Gonzaga

DoubleDipper wrote:The Pac-12/Mountain West ref alliance could have multiplier effect for the region....including the WCC.

I think you'll find this an interesting read: REFS



Recognize this man?

DoubleDipper wrote:Don't have all the details yet, but it looks as though 6-10 junior forward Kyle Wiltjer is on verge of transferring from Kentucky.

As he's from the Portland area....I'm sure there will be a great deal of interest from Northwest schools.....

up7587 wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Don't have all the details yet, but it looks as though 6-10 junior forward Kyle Wiltjer is on verge of transferring from Kentucky.

As he's from the Portland area....I'm sure there will be a great deal of interest from Northwest schools.....

I assume you are talking about Seattle Pacific.  

Andy Katz wrote:1. If Kyle Wiltjer does leave Kentucky and sit out next season at another school he has a real shot to be a major player in the sport in 2014-15. The schools that are going to pursue him in seeking a release are Gonzaga, Portland, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford and Texas, as reported by ESPN.com. The Zags will lean heavily on the example of Kelly Olynyk, who worked out well as a redshirt. Olynyk used his redshirt year to bulk up and change his body and game. He became a potential lottery pick because of his redshirt year. That might be too generous for Wiltjer, but he needs a full year to work on his strength and conditioning. He already has the skill set. Wiltjer would fit in well at a number of those schools on the West Coast. All could use his face-up game and none are immune from the need for a big man. Kentucky will miss having another upperclassman and shooter but can absorb the loss next season more so than a year ago when they lacked overall talent.

Eamonn Brennan wrote:Here's what we know: Yes, Kentucky forward Kyle Wiltjer is considering a transfer. No, he's not totally sure if he's going to actually transfer. Yes, he announced the possibility in an open letter to fans on UK's website Monday evening. No, he did not definitively announce his transfer. Yes, coach John Calipari has already weighed in with his support on his personal home page. No, this is not an elaborate joke. Yes, you read that headline correctly.

Confused yet? Join the club.

At 5:26 p.m. ET Monday night, Wiltjer posted his "Letter to BBN [Big Blue Nation]" on UKAthletics.com. He thanked his coach, teammates and fans, and reflected on his accomplishments in two years in Lexington. And then he wrote the following:

During this next year, I will be working on my body so that I am able to compete the way I know I can. I want to find a situation that will help me do this as well as play a more significant role, wherever that may be. Even though I might physically leave Lexington, I will never forget the support and kindness that everyone has shown my family and me. It is difficult to put into words how hard it is to possibly leave BBN, yet I am confident that whatever I choose, I will give it my all. Regardless, I will always bleed blue and will never forget these amazing last two years at Kentucky.

All of which sounds like the young man's mind is made up ... save the words "might" and "possibly," which imply the opposite. Meanwhile, after discussing Wiltjer's strengths, weaknesses and accomplishments as a player to date, Calipari's typically thoughtful blog post on the matter makes clear how much he'd like to see the rangy Canadian back in UK blue by the time fall rolls around:

Kyle’s choice to explore options at another school disappoints me, but it’s his decision at the end of the day, and I fully support his decision. I would love for him to go through this process and return to us, but I will support him and help him in any way I can. He’s a terrific young man, a great student, a tremendous basketball player and an excellent teammate. If he does choose to go somewhere else, that school will be very lucky.

He's also sure to let UK fans know that Wiltjer's decision wouldn't impact the school's Academic Progress Rate ...

I want our fans to know if Kyle does indeed leave, his academics are high enough that his transfer will not hurt our university. We all need to understand that he’s leaving on his own terms. We all want him back, but it’s not what we want; it’s what he wants, and that’s OK.

... before finishing with this:

The end goal – the only true goal – is success: reaching your dreams. Anytime a player doesn’t feel like he can achieve those dreams with us, I feel like we’ve failed him, not that he’s failed us.

I told Kyle I’ll play whatever part he wants in his transfer, whether that’s being involved and calling other schools on his behalf or not being involved in any way. He expressed to me that he needs my help and advice, which I will give. Whatever Kyle chooses – and I still hope he ends up back with us – I wish him and his family the best of luck.

It's hard to overstate how unusual this is. In college sports, transfers are almost always handled as 100 percent closed-door affairs. That is especially true of a player's initial decision to transfer. The scramble of recruitment that ensues after that first decision is made is frequently open to the public, not unlike a high school recruitment. But that doesn't happen until the player has absolutely decided to leave, and the school he's leaving has issued its perfunctory statement wishing the player the best of luck with his future.

This is not that. It's strange, and it comes with its fair share of questions. Why announce before Wiltjer leaves, in case he comes back? Is there any reason to parse these statements for subtext indicating some perceived difference in the likelihood of his return? Just how small is that chance, anyway?

This is also, in its own way, refreshing. Rather than dumping the news with a stern statement and nothing more, Calipari has allowed Wiltjer to pre-emptively address his desires in an open letter to Kentucky fans, and followed it up with about as supportive a missive as any coach could probably ever muster for a player who has decided to transfer. Calipari's backing means everything for the public perception of UK players; what he says resonates with UK fans in a lasting way.

You could also argue that pre-empting the news undercuts the wave of rumor and innuendo sure to spring up as soon as the rumblings -- heard third-hand and distorted by the massive game of telephone that is modern Internet fandom -- began to creep outward from Lexington in the weeks to come. The announcement also gave Calipari a chance to lay out more of his recruiting and development philosophy, which is on some serious "I am the nucleus" next-level stuff at this point. In this case, maybe transparency is a win-win?

It's pretty confusing stuff, unusual in both tone and execution, and really only one thing is for sure:

Whatever Wiltjer decides, there are going to be plenty of teams interested, and many more fans waiting anxiously to see what happens next.

Greg Crawford, CSNNW.com wrote:Crawford's Court has learned tonight that barring any last minute change of heart, Kyle Wiltjer will most likely be playing his basketball in 2014-15 for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

It was announced today that Wiltjer will leave the Kentucky Wildcats after two seasons and per NCAA rules will have to sit out the 2013-14 season.

Wiltjer leaves Kentucky with a national championship in hand from the 2011-12 season and a year in 2012-13, where he averaged 10 ppg. and four rebounds, averaging 23 minutes per game. With a solid group returning for the Wildcats in 2013-14 and also Kentucky by most accounts having the number one recruiting class in the country coming in, it was expected Wlltjer's minutes would decline in 2013-14.

Wiltjer who played his high school basketball for the powerful Jesuit Crusaders in Portland, Oregon is presently playing for the Canadian National Team. In 2010 before choosing Kentucky it was thought that Wiltjer also strongly considered California and Gonzaga, before heading east to the storied Wildcat program.

Wiltjer still could choose another school besides Gonzaga, but two different sources told Crawford's Court tonight that they would be really surprised if that happened.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:If he came to UP he'd be paying his own way for a year. Sounds like a recruited walk-on with the potential to be a "WCC impact player."

NoPoNeighbor wrote:ESPN lists UP as being interested in Wiltjer, along with GU, UO, OSU, Stanford and Texas. http://m.espn.go.com/ncb/story?storyId=9419383

DTLegend wrote:While the chance is slim there's a chance 
And I wrote a little piece about it on westcoastconvo.com