The 2013 Offseason

Meanwhile, Kentucky fans are having a complete meltdown on social media. I'm finding it hard to feel any sympathy for them.

DeanMurdoch wrote:Okay....so I think the Pilots are close to having a finalized roster for 2013-14?

That's what we thought... then Rev tweeted this today:

@CoachReveno Now hoping to add recruited walk-on with tremendous upside (WCC impact player) that can bring very much needed skill set to program

What they hey?! I wonder who this would be?!

Hands up if you thought this was going to be a relatively quiet offseason.

An impact walk-on?? Damn, Rev & staff...you guys are getting after it!

WCC impact player who walks on? What is the definition of "impact player"? How many scholarship players on the roster are "impact players"?

I love the phrase "now hoping".

Is this a brand new idea?

Hmmm... Great tease by Rev. My attempt to decipher the cryptic message would be:

Impact player = player with potential to compete for starting spot
Much needed skill set = Game managing type point guard

This would be a lot to ask of a walk on. Either way, Rev has piqued my interest!

PurpleGeezer wrote:I love the phrase "now hoping".

Is this a brand new idea?

Well, the idea of "hoping" at UP has been around forever, it would seem, and the actual recruiting of walk-ons is not new UP either (Ahern last year is the latest example). But these recruits are not usually considered "impact" players their freshman year, otherwise one would think they would be on scholarship, somewhere.

I'm sure there are a number of UP players who took the route from recruited walk-on to scholarship player, but the latest I can REMEMBER is Sherrard Watson 2004-08. Sherrard is a great guy, was a bit unorthodox, but he really developed into a team leader. (I don’t know for sure, but I think he is the son of Sidney Watson 1978-82).

I've gotta think this is pretty close to a done-deal. Otherwise I don't see the head coach making a public statement about it, even via Twitter. It is a bit of a head-scratcher, though. "Walk-on" and "impact player" would seem to be contradictory.

Not only is it a “bit of head-scractcher” and “contradictory” but you have to wonder whether this particular walk-on impact player was available when we offered Gerun. If so, then, in the considered opinion of the coaching staff, the impact player would presumably not have a greater impact than Gerun or they might well have offered the now walk-on prospect. Gerun may be an impact player here, but he could not get on the court at West Virginia and had his scholarship pulled. Maybe the walk-on became known only after they offered Gerun . . .and in which case, it seems unlikely that he would be walking on yet be capable of impact at the WCC level. Interested to know to whom Reveno is referring . . . .a player who in reality fits that description rarely comes along . . .

More walk-on talk from @CoachReveno this morning -

Potential of a recruit is evaluated by the impact they will have over their career. A tremendous walk-on is 1 who will some day impact wins. In exchange, that walk-on embraces the opportunity to truly become best they can be with a staff that has a vision and plan for that growth.

I had thought Jordan Tebbutt might be a possibility here, but I think that's just pie-in-the-sky stuff.

DeanMurdoch wrote:Hmmm. Is this where Jordan Tebbutt resurfaces?

Would certainly fit the bill of a WCC impact player.

OK, now that IS just wild speculation... But yes, he would be a HIGH impact player!!

We know Jordan left KU after attending one year of classes, but not lacing-up for basketball. We know he was a highly coveted player actively recruited by UP. We know he transferred from Horizon Christian School in Tualatin to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia and graduated in 2012 and was at one time ranked in the top 20 players nationally in his class.

Jordan surfaced momentarily this spring, but has now again dropped out of site and remains unsigned. I’ve heard from a source that Jordan is at home in Tualatin, working out, in the best physical shape of his life, and apparently is favoring schools on the west coast.

OK, now I’m even starting to get Rev’d up over the possibilities….from Coach Rev an hour ago:

Potential of a recruit is evaluated by the impact they will have over their career. A tremendous walk-on is 1 who will someday impact wins.

In exchange, that walk-on embraces the opportunity to truly become best they can be with a staff that has a vision and plan for that growth.

This is what I get for editing posts instead of just making another one, I guess.

DeanMurdoch wrote:This is what I get for editing posts instead of just making another one, I guess.

Ha-ha, oh well, "great minds" and all that......

Editing is OK, but some (like me) just don't go back and look...more soon.

I actually googled Tebbutt yesterday, speculating as others are doing. Tebbutt would be about the only player who would qualify as an "impact" player, yet walk-on, at least of whom I am aware . . .if it is him, and that is a big and "wild" if, it might well be a boon to the team, but only if (another big if) we can keep him here and focused. Tebbutt has certainly had his fair share of suitors ready to offer a scholarship: it is odd that he has accepted none, that he has not signed a LOI with any school to date.

While we’re into wild speculation (sorry, wrv), let me throw out a few more names:

Brock Lutes, 6’5, 235 pound, sophomore shooting guard for Clackamas Community College (Newberg H.S.)

Gavin Kauffman, 6’4, 180, sophomore shooting guard for Chemeketa Community College (Sweet Home H.S.)

Jared Knox, 6’3, 190, sophomore shooting guard for Umpqua Community College (North Medford H.S.)

Michone Hopkins, 6’3, 180, freshman point guard for Clackamas Community College (Milwaukie H.S.)

Michael Loomis, 6'6 senior forward/guard, Horizon Christian H.S.

Victor Sanders, 6’5 Senior guard/forward, Jefferson H.S.

Evan Garrison, 5’10 Senior point guard, Tigard H.S.

And probably the most intriguing of all, behind Tebbutt, is J.T. Flowers, 6'5, wing from Lincoln HS who just disappeared after leading the Cardinals to state titles. I’d heard that Flowers was in prep school in Connecticut and will enter college this fall...another source tells me he’ll probably commit to Yale for next season.

OK, that should give everyone something to chew on....

DD, the coaching staff needs to hire you as a resource, if only to tell them what their options are.

wrv wrote:DD, the coaching staff needs to hire you as a resource, if only to tell them what their options are.

Oh, believe me, they know these guys (I assume), and many, many more.

I swear they spend more time on their computers and social media in their constant quest for student/athletes than they do on the court. Their court time is limited by the NCAA.....their computer time, not so much.

DeanMurdoch wrote:More walk-on talk from @CoachReveno this morning -

Potential of a recruit is evaluated by the impact they will have over their career. A tremendous walk-on is 1 who will some day impact wins. In exchange, that walk-on embraces the opportunity to truly become best they can be with a staff that has a vision and plan for that growth.

I had thought Jordan Tebbutt might be a possibility here, but I think that's just pie-in-the-sky stuff.

That does NOT sound like immediate impact Jordan Tebbutt stuff when Rev writes of "impact they will have over their career." Need an Emoticon for fingers crossed here.....

DoubleDipper wrote:That does NOT sound like immediate impact Jordan Tebbutt stuff when Rev writes of "impact they will have over their career." Need an Emoticon for fingers crossed here.....

That was my take on it as well...but tweet overanalysis sometimes run rampant around these parts

I agree, DD... by using the comment "over their career" makes me think that it is not a "big" name, rather a player they feel has a tremendous up-side potential.

Agreed. This is someone who won't seem like an impressive addition to the roster, but whom the coaches see potential in. To be sure, however, I don't recall Rev expressing this level of enthusiasm over the signing of Ahern.

Ahern is a good example, to temper expectations. Don't get me wrong; we were darn lucky to have him available last season, and he filled his role well, and was a great team player.... but there were some inflated expectations for him as well: Retro Link.

Anybody who walks on has to have a good chance at a scholarship after 2015, if they are any good at all.

Thanks for that retrospective, Nut.....I had no idea we had so much to say about David Ahern. (Loved the mention of Ross Jorgusen by UPSailor).

As suspected, it turns out he was not a D-1 player without a redshirt year to develop.....but he was forced into service when David Carr went down.

A great teammate, gym rat, and workout freak....Sonoma State's gain is UP's loss in many ways, but it is the right move for all concerned.