2015 Recruiting

Manu grew up on the same street I did in Bahia Blanca.

Calle Viamonte.

Rev mentioned in a tweet yesterday that Portland was hosting a recruit for an official visit. Anyone have any ideas on who that may be?

Also, Jazz Johnson's I5-Elite AAU team won the Sacramento Live Tournament this past weekend.

DTLegend wrote:Rev mentioned in a tweet yesterday that Portland was hosting a recruit for an official visit. Anyone have any ideas on who that may be?

I don't know exactly who might have been in on an official visit, but 4-star PG Kendall Small from Anaheim has been in the NW looking at schools with his folks and could make a verbal commitment as soon as tomorrow (Tuesday).

Speculation is he will decide between San Diego State, Oregon, Gonzaga, and UP......with UO apparently having an edge over the other schools.

Of course UP already has a verbal from Jazz Johnson for 2015, but we all know that until the ink is dry on a LOI anything can happen.

Yeah that was my thought. I was just hoping someone could confirm or deny that thought.

Really I don't think we have much of a shot at Mr. Small, but stranger things have happened. If there is ever such a thing as a moral victory in recruiting this could be it for Portland getting to the final cut on such a highly touted prospect. I'll be watching today for sure to see what happens.

Kendall Small - #3 PG in the nation by ESPN, #55 in ESPN Top 60, #13 PG in the nation by Scout. Agree, the staff has done a great job of staying around late into the game with this one.

Seems to be a lot of chatter about Kendall going to the Ducks. I wonder if the fact that Oregon has two PGs in their incoming 2014 class in JaQuan Lyle and Casey Benson will play into his decision, though? Lyle is one of the more highly touted combo guards in the nation and Benson had offers from essentially the entire Pac-12 as well.

Kind of the same situation with Gonzaga (Josh Perkins), and even San Diego State has a good Canadian PG in Kevin Zabo coming in.

You just never know.

I like that we made the cut from Small's top-5 to the top-4. I can see a guy with a certain mindset and attitude really jumping at the chance to come in to the Pilots program in fall 2015. There are several more scholarships available for the class, and maybe one high-caliber recruit leads to another... Maybe Small is working on some of his AAU buddies... Maybe this is an opportunity to do something big at a program that is trending up, and would take a HUGE step forward with a couple of big time recruits... Maybe he loves the coaches, likes the small school environment, is impressed by the investments made in the program... There will be a big, national stage to play on at the Phil Knight tournament... This could be a chance for the right group of guys to be ground-breakers at UP, rather than footstep-followers at Gonzaga or Oregon.

There's some optimistic spin for you!

NoPoNeighbor wrote:There's some optimistic spin for you!

I love the way you think, NPN......

And what you say is true....it only takes one or two blue-chip players to get started; it happened at GU.

On a down note, a "local" friend has told me that UP is out of the running for Small, and that it has come down to UO, SDSU, and GU.

Regardless, it's nice to have a little excitement injected into the recruiting wars.....UP's day will come.  

DoubleDipper wrote:On a down note, a "local" friend has told me that UP is out of the running for Small, and that it has come down to UO, SDSU, and GU.

Well, on to the next target. Top on the priority list is likely West Linn's Anthony Mathis? Would be nice to keep a three-star SG close to home, but he's also got offers from OSU, Washington, and GU.

Agreed on the cheers to the coaching staff on this one... if we made it to the Top 4 with Mr. Small, that is a good thing. Just having our name in that circle is good. Hopefully it is exposure that will lead to other highly regarded recruits giving us a fair shake in the future.

Come on Kendall... no offense to Eugene, but Portland is a much better place to be!

PilotNut wrote:Come on Kendall...  no offense to Eugene, but Portland is a much better place to be!  

ha-ha.....but Eugene is a heck of a lot nicer than Spokane!!

......and Eugene it is!!

....and just like that, up pops the name of 6-0 PG Kahlil Simplis out of N. Hollywood....

From ESPN:Simplis is a physical point guard prospect who has done a solid job of leaning out his frame. He has a good burst off the dribble, can carry defenders on his hip, and he plays with a confident competitive streak.....

DeanMurdoch wrote:Well, on to the next target. Top on the priority list is likely West Linn's Anthony Mathis? Would be nice to keep a three-star SG close to home, but he's also got offers from OSU, Washington, and GU.

Mathis must have liked what he saw in Albuquerque during his visit last weekend.....he's already given a verbal commit to the Lobos.

Sure, UP would have liked him to stay closer to home, but he also had offers from UO, OSU, UW, and GU....so the outcome could have worse.   

DoubleDipper wrote:Mathis must have liked what he saw in Albuquerque during his visit last weekend.....he's already given a verbal commit to the Lobos.

These kinds of recruiting results always make me think about the game day atmosphere at the Chiles Center. Not many recruits are going to decide to spend 4 years playing in front of a 1/3-full Chiles Center when they could play in front of sold-out crowds in Albuquerque, Spokane, Eugene, etc.

Yes, this is somewhat of a chicken-or-egg situation, but UP really needs to figure out how to increase attendance and create a real home court advantage. It starts with the student section, and goes from there.

NoPoNeighbor wrote: These kinds of recruiting results always make me think about the game day atmosphere at the Chiles Center. Not many recruits are going to decide to spend 4 years playing in front of a 1/3-full Chiles Center when they could play in front of sold-out crowds in Albuquerque, Spokane, Eugene, etc.

Yes, this is somewhat of a chicken-or-egg situation, but UP really needs to figure out how to increase attendance and create a real home court advantage. It starts with the student section, and goes from there.

Agreed!  At least our facilities (locker/weight room, Chiles, Beauchamp Center) will improve our curb appeal for recruits...  I don't think you can over state the importance of this, and how other competing programs can use it against us.

The atmosphere last year versus GU and BYU was electric, not sure how it could get much better than that. The question is, how does UP replicate that on a regular basis?
I agree with PN, the facilities are top shelf for the conference. I have been to almost every gym in the WCC and the Chiles Center is better than 80% of the other schools gyms. The addition of the Beauchamp Center will be huge for the student athletes and also the traditional students.
I hope Scott Leykam stays at UP, he seems to have good ideas for promotions and the hope would be that the athletic department and University will continue to think outside the box to attract more students and fans to the games.

Right on, oldtimer.

In just two years Scott and the TEAM he has assembled have made great strides in making all aspects of UP athletics a better place for both the student-athlete and the fan.

In conversations with members of Scott's team it is obvious there are nothing but positive vibes and excitement for the future, and those vibes are increasingly being passed on to the rest of us.

Success can come in many forms, but it seems obvious the biggest successes will be when we find it difficult to find a parking spot for ALL UP athletic events.....and that is part of what the team is working to achieve.

Will Scott be offered the WCC Commissioner position?  I hope so!!  Do I want him to take it?  Absolutely NOT!  Would he take the position if offered?  Only he (and his family) know, but I would think it would be very difficult for Scott to leave UP (and Portland) after sewing the seeds for greater athletic success and fan involvement for the years to come.

The WCC Commissioner job will open up a number of times in the next 25 years.....I doubt the UP AD job will open up until Scott decides it will.

There is another guy we know available for the position besides Scott.

oldtimer wrote:The atmosphere last year versus GU and BYU was electric, not sure how it could get much better than that. The question is, how does UP replicate that on a regular basis?
I agree with PN, the facilities are top shelf for the conference. I have been to almost every gym in the WCC and the Chiles Center is better than 80% of the other schools gyms. The addition of the Beauchamp Center will be huge for the student athletes and also the traditional students.
I hope Scott Leykam stays at UP, he seems to have good ideas for promotions and the hope would be that the athletic department and University will continue to think outside the box to attract more students and fans to the games.

Yes, the atmosphere against GU and BYU was electric. But it could get much better than that: Half of the fans in the building were there cheering for the other team!

But the real issue is, as oldtimer says, "How does UP replicate that on a regular basis?" For all the improvement in the facilities, attendance has been stagnant. The athletic budget seems to be growing, at least for capital projects. How about a dedicated budget for "grassroots marketing"? We need some creativity to bring in the fans. We need to make Pilot Game Day into an EVENT in North Portland. North and Northeast should be the target audiences. Ads on OregonLive aren't getting the job done. We need to generate some excitement on the streets about this team.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:For all the improvement in the facilities, attendance has been stagnant.

Whoops! Rather than stagnant, attendance has been declining. This past season was the lowest average home attendance of the Reveno era ('unusual' home games that skew the average compared to other years listed in parentheses):

2013-2014 -- 1770 (home game vs BYU)
2012-2013 -- 1799 (home games vs UNLV, BYU)
2011-2012 -- 2478 (home games vs WSU, BYU)
2010-2011 -- 2836 (home game vs Kentucky @ Rose Garden)
2009-2010 -- 2189 (home game vs Oregon)
2008-2009 -- 1980 (home game vs Washington)
2007-2008 -- 2192 (home games vs Oregon, BYU)
2006-2007 -- 1941 (no unusual home games)

How about attendance per win?

PurpleGeezer wrote:How about attendance per win?

I think that would be a very interesting statistic. Based on my highly unscientific observations and spotty memory, average attendance was noticeably higher in the seasons we were finishing top half of the conference.

I really like the concept of making the games an event in NoPo... I would love to see Alumni events planned around the games... like at the T-Room. (BTW, has anyone noticed that very slowly all UP/Pilot logo swag has disappeared from the walls there? I comment to the employees and to UP folks in hopes that it changes...)

How do you launch a grass roots campaign? You can't force people to go to events/games...

PilotNut wrote:I really like the concept of making the games an event in NoPo...  I would love to see Alumni events planned around the games... like at the T-Room.  (BTW, has anyone noticed that very slowly all UP/Pilot logo swag has disappeared from the walls there?  I comment to the employees and to UP folks in hopes that it changes...)  

How do you launch a grass roots campaign?  You can't force people to go to events/games...

A few ideas:

• Banners, posters all over the main North Portland business districts: St. John's, Kenton, Lombard, Killingsworth, Interstate. Banners on the street light poles (like they have along Willamette). Posters in the window of every neighborhood business.
  
• Have a presence at neighborhood events, such as the St. John's farmers' market.
  
• Reach out to neighborhood groups and organizations to give away tickets: NoPo neighborhood associations, schools, youth teams, businesses, churches
  
• Host youth league games, jr. high, and high school games at the Chiles Center immediately prior to every home game. Give free tickets to that night's Pilots game to the teams and their families.
  
• Big banners or billboards in key spots in the neighborhood announcing PILOTS GAME DAY! 7pm. 1/2 PRICE TICKETS FOR NO-PO RESIDENTS!
  
• Establish a presence at neighborhood sports bars. Pilot Nut's observations about the T-Room are important. All the bars in the area should have UP pennants, flags, jerseys on the walls. Host the away game viewing parties at a local neighborhood sports bar (not at a corporate place across the street from Lloyd Center). That way the local neighborhood sports fans will be exposed to the team and its fans, and be more likely to come out to a game. Hand out tickets for the next home game to folks at the bar! My pick would be Tom's on Lombard.
  

NoPoNeighbor wrote: A few ideas:

• Banners, posters all over the main North Portland business districts: St. John's, Kenton, Lombard, Killingsworth, Interstate. Banners on the street light poles (like they have along Willamette). Posters in the window of every neighborhood business.
  
• Have a presence at neighborhood events, such as the St. John's farmers' market.
  
• Reach out to neighborhood groups and organizations to give away tickets: NoPo neighborhood associations, schools, youth teams, businesses, churches
  
• Host youth league games, jr. high, and high school games at the Chiles Center immediately prior to every home game. Give free tickets to that night's Pilots game to the teams and their families.
  
• Big banners or billboards in key spots in the neighborhood announcing PILOTS GAME DAY! 7pm. 1/2 PRICE TICKETS FOR NO-PO RESIDENTS!
  
• Establish a presence at neighborhood sports bars. Pilot Nut's observations about the T-Room are important. All the bars in the area should have UP pennants, flags, jerseys on the walls. Host the away game viewing parties at a local neighborhood sports bar (not at a corporate place across the street from Lloyd Center). That way the local neighborhood sports fans will be exposed to the team and its fans, and be more likely to come out to a game. Hand out tickets for the next home game to folks at the bar! My pick would be Tom's on Lombard.
  

I love these ideas!  The best part?  None of them are very expensive!  A professionally trained Wally mascot could also be an ambassador for the athletic programs in the community.  

The creation of a "university village" area on N Lombard near campus would certainly help many aspects of the campus community.  Right now, the campus seems disconnected from the surrounding neighborhood.  Are businesses on Lombard clamoring to obtain the business of UP employees, students & alumni?  Are UP employees, students & alumni supporting local businesses?  It would be a mutually beneficial situation...