2017 Recruiting

NoPoNeighbor wrote:

StudentPilot wrote:It takes balls to criticize others for their research and contributions while others simply read and react.

I recently learned that many don't contribute or comment at all, they just read and enjoy, without criticizing the writer(s)!

Wow, thin skin! Asking to know where a quote comes from is what you consider to be criticism? And because I suggested that folks cite the work of other authors, I should join the ranks of those who "don't contribute or comment at all"?

I was not "criticizing the writer(s)." I was asking to know who the writer is, and to be able to read her/his article! I was not "criticiz[ing] others for their research and contributions." I was asking for someone who hit copy-and-paste on another writer's "research and contributions" to at least let the rest of us know how we could read the full article.

I am very appreciative of the time and effort that PilotNation contributors spend tracking down hard-to-find information on our recruits. I love hearing these tidbits of news, speculation, and reporting about the future of the program. So much so, that I would like to read the articles and sources that they find.

On another note... Thanks to DD for the Japanese translation. Is that a PN first?

+1 citations are useful in the real world as well, not just in academia. And now for a moment if I may fully embrace stereo types..StudentPilot has been spending too much time in safe spaces. Although your original request could have been phrased more politely it was spot on.The real world doesn't come with trigger warnings. It's actually the SECOND time I saw such a request on a forum on the internet in the past two days. We all appreciate DD's contributions here and the large amount of time he spends on Pilot athletics and many of us have talked to him in person. And now that I had my bit of roasting (all intended as good fun) earlier in the post let me say we (I + some assumptions about others) also really appreciate having StudentPilot around for the perspective only a current student can bring. See everyone at the game. Bring your friends. And HAVE FUN.

I will note that for the games so far, the student body turn-out has been very impressive. Looked like for Riverside there was overflow from the student section to the endzone bleachers. I would love to see it continue; too bad so many will miss some good games over the winter break.

And I also appreciate StudentPilots' input here from speaking with the athletes on campus!

up7587 wrote:I will note that for the games so far, the student body turn-out has been very impressive.  Looked like for Riverside there was overflow from the student section to the endzone bleachers.  I would love to see it continue; too bad so many will miss some good games over the winter break.

And I also appreciate StudentPilots' input here from speaking with the athletes on campus!

Agreed! When does the semester break start? Will students be on campus for the Colorado game?

Colorado is 12/3, UT-RGV is 12/5, So Dakota is 12/16 (Moda Ctr), OSU is 12/18 (also Moda Ctr). LINK

Christmas vacation begins and residence halls close 12/16.  University-Calendar

There are 5 games at the Chiles center during the break before students classes start on 01/16, including GU and SMC.  

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Agreed! When does the semester break start? Will students be on campus for the Colorado game?

We, including the dance team, will be around for the Colorado and Rio Grande games before everyone heads home after finals that end on Dec 15th. There may be a few local students around during the break which ends on Jan 16, but there are no home games until Jan 28th against San Diego.

BTW, when I wrote "I recently learned that many don't contribute or comment at all, they just read and enjoy, without criticizing the writer(s)!"  I was referring to the students on campus that I have recommend PN to.  Apparently many just don't have that much interest in UP sports, but a number of us are attempting to rally behind our classmates in all sports, but especially men's basketball and soccer, and women's volleyball because we know so many of the students who play those sports.

Also, I will take dholcome's advice and spend less time in safe spaces...not sure where to start, but it was suggested, even though I'm not yet 21, I walk to the Twilight Room for a few beers some night and then walk back to the dorm.   Apparently many of the old UP alums did just that, "back in the day."

OK, enough beer talk, at least on this recruiting thread.  Coach Cantu subbed in on the Coach's Show  on Monday, and had a lot to say about the 2017 recruits.  Take a listen.

https://soundcloud.com/user-350870048/21-november-2016-190045?in=user-350870048/sets/terry-porter-radio-show&utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter

Slow news day....

Last night on his radio show Coach Porter confirmed what we strongly suspected, the staff figured they were done recruiting early signees for the year after Walker and Fahrensohn inked their NLIs, but then a couple of last minute tips pointed them toward Stone and Diabate.

Apparently there was quite a scramble to watch Stone in action in South Carolina and to get Diabate on campus so they could see him work against D1 players (tough to tell how good he really was from the tapes that show him in competition with the much smaller Japanese players).  With the deadline looming for the early signing period, everyone worked at double speed to ensure it happened.  

Coach Porter also reiterated that all four recruits are high-major caliber, and that he's glad to have signed them before others had a chance to get a good look at them....although it's rumored that Diabate had a Big 12 offer before signing with the Pilots.

No radio show next week, or you could ask how Maker is progressing.

I tuned in 15 minutes late, but I heard some references to non-specific academic issues. Did I miss a more specific comment early on?

One of the difficulties UP coaches have when recruiting is convincing student-athletes to attend a university with very tough academic standards, but with no easy "jock" major that may typically be available at some schools.

The baseball, men's soccer, and men's basketball teams are on the rise, but with that comes the possibility that some of the student-athletes may struggle academically and need extra effort and help to remain eligible to compete.

Coach Porter did not refer to anyone specifically during his show, but it's obvious he's now aware academic success is just another in the long list of worries and responsibilities of a college coach.

DoubleDipper wrote:I know very little about Walker, except that he plays on an excellent high school team and is a first team all-state player.

JoJo Walker...Athlete of the Week:
http://www.santamariasun.com/athlete-of-the-week/15439/jojo-walker/


Are those impressive hands, or what?

DoubleDipper wrote:JoJo Walker...Athlete of the Week:
http://www.santamariasun.com/athlete-of-the-week/15439/jojo-walker/

I know there was some talk on here about whether or not Terry Porter would still have appeal to younger players given that his playing career wrapped up a decade and a half ago. Well, how about this quote from JoJo -

Another contributing factor in his descion was the new coach at Portland, former NBA player and coach Terry Porter. When asked about Porter’s influence on his descion, Walker responded, “When I knew he was after me, I was like, ‘No, I’m going to Portland.’”

DoubleDipper wrote:JoJo Walker...Athlete of the Week:
http://www.santamariasun.com/athlete-of-the-week/15439/jojo-walker/

Thanks for digging up this article, DD!

Hardly unexpected, but our incoming commit Taki Fahrensohn was named to New Zealand's team for the upcoming FIBA U18 Oceania Championships.

http://www.basketball.org.nz/News/strong-bloodlines-in-junior-tall-blacks-team-named-for-oceania-championships

There will be little competition for New Zealand until the final against Australia next Saturday. Interesting names on the Australian team - Angus Glover (St Mary's commit) and Makuach Maluach, who some of you might remember from earlier in this very thread.

Besides Fahrensohn, New Zealand also has Miami commit Sam Waardenburg.

Dean Murdoch wrote:Hardly unexpected, but our incoming commit Taki Fahrensohn was named to New Zealand's team for the upcoming FIBA U18 Oceania Championships.

http://www.basketball.org.nz/News/strong-bloodlines-in-junior-tall-blacks-team-named-for-oceania-championships

There will be little competition for New Zealand until the final against Australia next Saturday. Interesting names on the Australian team - Angus Glover (St Mary's commit) and Makuach Maluach, who some of you might remember from earlier in this very thread.

Besides Fahrensohn, New Zealand also has Miami commit Sam Waardenburg.

Thanks for the research, Deaner, it must be getting a little cold for outdoor activities in Regina about now.....so you shouldn't have any difficulty keeping us informed on Taki's progress through the Championships....  

Re: Former UP verbal commit Makuach Maluach.  When I spoke with Chier Maker recently, he mentioned that with school finals just ending and graduation happening in the next couple of weeks, Maluach had a number of recruiting visits in the States lined up, but he did not know where.  Hmm, could one of them be to Georgia Tech?

DoubleDipper wrote:Thanks for the research, Deaner, it must be getting a little cold for outdoor activities in Regina about now.....so you shouldn't have any difficulty keeping us informed on Taki's progress through the Championships....

Don't hold your breath...they won't win a game by less than 80 until the final. See if I remember to check that out on the 10th.

@VerbalCommits wrote:2017 Beverly Hills (CA) F Ron Artest III has received an offer from Portland. http://verbalcommits.com/players/ron-artest-iii

Yes...son of Ron Artest AKA Metta World Peace.

Dean Murdoch wrote:

@VerbalCommits wrote:2017 Beverly Hills (CA) F Ron Artest III has received an offer from Portland. http://verbalcommits.com/players/ron-artest-iii

Yes...son of Ron Artest AKA Metta World Peace.

Yeah, I've been holding off posting about Ron III until I could get it confirmed....and yes, it has been confirmed by a very good authority that LA Lakers forward Metta World Peace's son, Ron Artest III, has received a provisional, but not official, offer from the Pilots….

The young Artest, a 6-8/215 senior at Beverly Hills HS only recently took up basketball and is definitely a diamond in the rough, but apparently the Pilots are willing to let him sit on the bench for a year and develop his game during a redshirt year.  

The big caveat to this, or any provisional offer, is can he take and satisfactorily complete the NCAA required courses prior to high school graduation? Prep school may be the next step for young Ron if his studies to this point have been focused more on his modeling career, and not on a D1 college education.

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/like-father-like-son-how-ron-artest-iii-finally-came-around-to-basketball

It's true the Pilots have no scholarships available unless someone transfers (or dad pays for Ron III to walk-on), but the way it's playing out, with a lot of very good players vying for playing time, there’s a good chance at least one current Pilot will be moving on before next season.

Dean Murdoch wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Thanks for the research, Deaner, it must be getting a little cold for outdoor activities in Regina about now.....so you shouldn't have any difficulty keeping us informed on Taki's progress through the Championships....

Don't hold your breath...they won't win a game by less than 80 until the final. See if I remember to check that out on the 10th.

New Zealand won the FIBA U18 Oceania Championship after beating Samoa 122-35; New Caledonia 137-22; Guam 116-54; and Australia 57-51.

Taki played your basic support role, although he did start one game, and scored a total of 28 points in the four games while averaging 14 minutes a game and shooting just under 50% from the field and 80% from the line.

StudentPilot wrote:New Zealand won the FIBA U18 Oceania Championship after beating Samoa 122-35; New Caledonia 137-22; Guam 116-54; and Australia 57-51.

Taki played your basic support role, although he did start one game, and scored a total of 28 points in the four games while averaging 14 minutes a game and shooting just under 50% from the field and 80% from the line.

Thanks for the update, I forgot to check up on this. Pretty huge accomplishment for New Zealand given that this is the first NZ age group team to get through the Australian juggernaut to qualify for a FIBA World Championships (that tournament happens in Egypt this coming July).

Support role is a good way to describe it. Taki played 6 minutes against the Aussies and was 1-for-4 from the field, but hit a big three in the second quarter.

The mid-term grades are in for Austin Stone....he looks good, but just think what a red-shirting year of working with Coach Knudson and practice would do for him.

DoubleDipper wrote:The mid-term grades are in for Austin Stone....he looks good, but just think what a red-shirting year of working with Coach Knudson and practice would do for him.

I love how he uses the glass. Old school!

NoPoNeighbor wrote:I love how he uses the glass. Old school!

Yeah, and both hands too....very versatile!

Can this be true?

@coachbobcantu wrote:Exciting to see Portland recruiting class ranked #17 in country by HoopScoop!! Go Pilots! Future bright!

up7587 wrote:Can this be true?

@coachbobcantu wrote:Exciting to see Portland recruiting class ranked #17 in country by HoopScoop!! Go Pilots! Future bright!

If so, kudos to the coaching staff... this would be tremendous in such a short time. The HoopScoop website is subscription based, but makes lists like this regularly... and since it would be easily verifiable by anyone with a subscription, I can't imagine Coach Cantu is making that up.

Who knows where the class ends up, but to be mentioned in this context would be fantastic and a data point indicating improvement.