2017 Recruiting

Portland Pilots

Ex-NBA great and Portland icon Terry Porter received a rude introduction into the WCC in his first college coaching gig: ace guard Alec Wintering went down with a blown ACL in the Pilots’ sixth league game, effectively ending their season and dooming them to the cellar with a 2-16 record (11-22 overall).

Even before Wintering’s injury, however, Porter was actively recruiting to improve the Pilots’ lot. He signed four players before the early signing deadline in November of 2016, earning a no. 17 national ranking from Hoop Scoop. Okay, you and I have never heard of Hoop Scoop, and neither have Rivals or ESPN, traditional arbiters of college basketball recruiting, but a ranking’s a ranking.

Of the initial crop, JoJo Walker, a two-star guard from St. Joseph High School in Santa Maria, CA, was at least traceable, while one of the others was from Japan, one from New Zealand and one from a junior college in Salkehatchie, South Carolina (high school at Loyola in Los Angeles).

Porter’s existing team seemed to cast its judgement on the recruits and the boisterous way in which Porter and the university were publicizing them when four of them, including leading scorer Jazz Johnson, announced they were leaving the program in March. Undeterred, Porter announced three more recruits — one from England, one from Hawaii and one, Crisshawn Clark, a transfer from Pittsburgh of the Atlantic Coast Conference except he never played for Pitt because he tore his ACL for the second time before the season began.

Porter seemed to save the best for last when he landed legit three-star guard Marcus Shaver from Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, AZ, earlier this month. Boise State, facing the defection of point guard Paris Austin to Cal, was anxious to land Shaver, but he chose the Pilots.

The jury will remain out until all of Porter’s far-flung parts come together, but with eight newcomers on its roster, Portland deserves an “A” for effort. In an ironic coda to the recruiting effort, Porter’s best player next season may be his own son, Franklin, who left Saint Mary’s after a tantalizing freshman season to follow his dad to Portland.

DoubleDipper wrote:Spent time with Alec M., Chier, and Xavier today....all are excited about the next chapter in their lives.

Alec tells me he'll be heading to either Snow or Salt Lake Community College, and both he and Chier will begin the recruiting process all over again...both expecting to get back to D1 ball after a year at a JUCO.

@SLCC basketball wrote:    Pleased to officially welcome Portland transfer 6'6" forward Alec Monson to SLCC!  

Marcus Shaver's apprenticeship with former NBA point guards will continue in college.

The 6-foot-3 All-Arizona point guard from Phoenix Shadow Mountain said he has committed to playing basketball at the University of Portland, which is led by former Portland Trail Blazers guard and one-time Suns coach Terry Porter.

Shaver, who averaged 22.4 points, 2.5 assists and 2.7 steals, leading Shadow Mountain to the 4A state basketball championship, signed with UC Santa Barbara last November. But after UCSB coach Bob Williams was fired, Shaver was able to get out of his scholarship and begin the recruiting process all over.

"I chose Portland because I wanted to continue my growth," Shaver said.

Shaver, who spent the last two years playing for prep academies in the Dallas area, felt he developed quite a bit in one year under former NBA point guard Mike Bibby at Shadow Mountain. Bibby spent 14 seasons in the NBA after playing two years at the University of Arizona.

Porter, who coached the Suns in 2008-09, spent 17 seasons in the NBA. He had his jersey retired by the Trail Blazers.

He will be in his second season as head coach of the West Coast Conference school, which plays in the same conference as Gonzaga, BYU and Saint Mary's College.

The Pilots went 11-22, 2-16 in the conference, in Porter's first season.

This is considered coup by Porter to get a player of Shaver's caliber this late in the process from the 2017 class.

"The transition to being coached by Terry Porter," Shaver said appealed to him.

"Two great point guards that would mentor me," he said of Bibby and Porter. "Recruiting was not that hard after the release of UCSB. It was unfortunate what happened with Coach Williams. I would have loved to be able to play under him.

"I wanted to take my time and really see what was out there and what would be the best fit for me. I am really blessed and honored that there were many colleges that were interested in me. I really appreciate all of them.

"I believe that playing under Coach Porter and with the recruiting class that is coming to the University of Portland, I believe we are going to do some great things."

DoubleDipper wrote:Anyone taking Ty's post on May 18 as a reference to UP, is wrong!

UP would loved to have had him at UP, and even though he was officially off the board, the staff gave him every chance to come to UP until the final week of the recruiting period.

Not sure the actual reason Ty did not come to UP, but the general feeling was he just didn't want to leave the SE and all his friends and family to go so far away from home.

A number of schools have had to move on from Ty or lose their opportunity to pick up another excellent point guard.  Ty may have overplayed his hand....I hope not, he's a great kid and wonderful basketball player.

wrv wrote:I suppose then that your comment that the Pilots had moved on, as reflected by their no longer being listed on Verbal Commits as recruiting Ty was, . . .perhaps not accurate.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:
I especially loved Cantu's remarks: "we only wanted guys who could be all-conference or start at Gonzaga." Then, he follows that up with the: "come play for and NBA player/coach with his jersey retired, for this staff with so much experience, in a conference that had a team in the title game, in the Phil Knight tournament in front of 100 NBA scouts."

Sound Voltex wrote:...Speaking of HoopScoop, weren't the final rankings for that supposed to come out last week or something?

wrv wrote:

I intend to be there in the fall to find out.

@JucoRecruiting wrote: Ty Cockfield (6'1, CG, 2017) of Georgia Highlands has committed to Arkansas State  

Wow, just wow. We can't beat Arky St. or Portland for recruits. Something's wrong fellas.

Maybe its just that most good JC and graduate transfer guys want a chance to start in their final year or two of eligibility. That chance probably doesn't exist at Boise State with Marcus [Dickinson], a sophomore, a near shoo-in for the starting PG position.

Playing time, starting, is a big deal for these guys.

Sound Voltex wrote:Looks like Summer Session II is still a few weeks away...can't wait to see the rest of the recruiting class in action!

dholcombe wrote:The Hoop Scoop rating is a bit suspect in at least one way. Their rating is simply an addition of all recruits scores added up then compared directly against other schools. They don't use a star system, but they do give all recruits in their ranking brackets (41-70, etc.) a number of points.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:While the ranking methods and validity of their results might be suspect, it is nice that at least someone out there seems to think highly of us. That is not something we are used to.