2017 Recruiting

DoubleDipper wrote:

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.

Here’s how the point system works and where UP’s recruits fit according to Hoop Scoop:
Top 5 players nationally….10 pts
6-10…..9 pts
11-40…..8 pts
41-70…..6 pts (Tahirou Diabate)
71-100…..4 pts (Taki Fahrensohn, Josh McSwiggan)
101-300…..3 pts (Austin Stone, JoJo Walker, Hugh Hogland, Marcus Shaver)
301-1000.….2 pts
Those not in the top 1000…..1 pt

Hoop Scoop's final tally of recruiting classes should be out later this week....UP is expected to be rated 8th or 9th based upon its cumulative score.

(Pitt transfer, Crisshawn Clark, is not listed because transfer players are not included in the equation.)

The fact that it's cumulative means we are getting a lot of weight for the number of recruits we are getting. It it were an average, we wouldn't be anywhere near top 10. That said, 3 top 100 players is impressive.

blacksheep wrote:
3 top 100 players is impressive.  

300% of any previous recruiting class.

blacksheep wrote: That said, 3 top 100 players is impressive.  

I think having all 7 rated recruits in the Top-300 is very impressive once you look at the number of recruits that join D1 MBB each year.

At a minimum, 1200 to 1300 new student-athletes join D1 every year.....meaning 100% of UP's new players are included in the top 25% of all D1 recruits by at least one recruiting service.

(There are close to 33,000 MBB players playing at all levels (JUCO through D1).  The 351 D1 teams carry an average of 1000 walk-on players and exactly 4563 scholarship players in any given year.  Source: www.ScholarshipStats.com/basketball.htm.)

I was thinking of making a similar post 1200-1300 the past couple days, but wasn't sure of the number of D1 teams and hadn't bothered to look it up yet, thanks for doing the math. There are 13 scholarships per team...average of 3.25 a year, yadda yadda. So we've got over double the theoretical average.

Looking at the top 4 and comparing it to other teams top 4 (which I haven't done) I'm betting we have a pretty legitimate top 50 class even without the extra weight coming from having so many recruits in one year. Even looking at the next 4 recruits I wouldn't be surprised if they would be a top 100 class. I in no way mean to say we have a bad recruiting class...its just not top 10 in my mind. Its the best class we've had that I can recall.

New Pilot PG!

https://mobile.twitter.com/nolimitb_22/status/875169250742157312

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVV6wlpBS1l/

http://www.hudl.com/profile/3521114/brian-smith

Played HS basketball at Boise High school, Class of 2015. Don't believe he played any college ball in between. Nice kid, has a great handle and is strong. Will be interested to see what Porter's coaching and a D1 regime can do for him..

Looks like Brian Smith played this past year at SOE Academy (prep school) in North Carolina?

http://www.hudl.com/team/v2/256563/brian-smith

Maybe a walk-on? Or is he taking a scholarship from a Porter? I guess even with Shaver, the coaches wanted another PG on the roster.

Does this mean he had a post graduation prep year and then sat a year?

If so, I think he looses a year of eligibility.

lomiton wrote:New Pilot PG!
Played HS basketball at Boise High school, Class of 2015. Don't believe he played any college ball in between. Nice kid, has a great handle and is strong. Will be interested to see what Porter's coaching and a D1 regime can do for him..  

My first question when I saw this post was, "lomiton, where have you been for 10 years?"  I recall your evaluation of Pooh Jeter about 10 years ago, and then you disappeared!

Yes, Brian Smith (Boise HS, Class of 2015) is a "Preferred Walk-On."  Meaning he's a walk-on who is guaranteed a spot on the 2017-18 MBB roster....

I'd heard that he took a year away from school after high school to look after an ailing parent and then played ball this past season at Standard of Excellence (SOE) Basketball Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Digging around on the internet a bit, it would also appear he had a 3.5 high school GPA, and was going to walk-on at Boise State, but instead decided to get at least a year with Coach Porter as a means of improving his game.

We knew the staff preferred to have 3 point guards, now they've got them....all freshmen!



Refreshing to see a tape where the player has as many assists as made baskets....

DoubleDipper wrote:
My first question when I saw this post was, "lomiton, where have you been for 10 years?"  I recall your evaluation of Pooh Jeter about 10 years ago, and then you disappeared

In my old neighborhood, it wasn't polite to ask that question. It was usually what the made guys called "College".

Geezaldinho wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:
My first question when I saw this post was, "lomiton, where have you been for 10 years?"  I recall your evaluation of Pooh Jeter about 10 years ago, and then you disappeared

In my old neighborhood, it wasn't polite to ask that question. It was usually what the made guys called "College".

In my neighborhood it was Jail!

The particular college in question was in Ossining, ny.




In high school, we used to go there and run track against those guys.

( you can actually get a college degree through Mercy College there. Favorite degree is in paralegal work)

Never had anything more to add to the discussion...until the recent Smith news of course. Appreciate you guys posting though, Pilot news is hard to get!

Roster has been updated on official site.

http://portlandpilots.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball

Taki Fahrensohn has got to be disappointed to be missing the chance to represent New Zealand at the upcoming FIBA U19 World Cup, starting July 1 in Cairo.

This article says he was left off of the roster due to injury: http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/sport/junior-tall-blacks-named-2017-fiba-world-cup

Taki was a member of last year's U18 team that beat Australia in the Oceania championships, securing NZ's first ever berth in the U19 World Cup.

Saint Mary's 2018 commit, PG Quinn Clinton, was on the Oceania championship team last year and is on the NZ roster for Cairo.

Diabate is not on Japan's roster. Does anyone know if he was considered? Hachimura from Gonzaga made the cut:
http://www.fiba.com/world/u19/2017/Japan

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Diabate is not on Japan's roster. Does anyone know if he was considered? Hachimura from Gonzaga made the cut:
http://www.fiba.com/world/u19/2017/Japan

I have no knowledge of FIBA international rules. Is he even eligible to play for Japan? Or would he have to/prefer to represent Mali?

Dean Murdoch wrote:

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Diabate is not on Japan's roster. Does anyone know if he was considered? Hachimura from Gonzaga made the cut:
http://www.fiba.com/world/u19/2017/Japan

I have no knowledge of FIBA international rules. Is he even eligible to play for Japan? Or would he have to/prefer to represent Mali?

National Teams

15. In order to play for the national team of a country, a player must hold the legal nationality
of that country, and have fulfilled also the conditions of eligibility according to the FIBA
Internal Regulations

https://www.fiba.com/downloads/v3_expe/agen/docs/3-ELIGIBILITY-NATIONAL-STATUS-of-%20PLAYERS.pdf

My guess is it'd have to be for Mali, if anything.

Diabete is not on Mali's roster:

http://www.fiba.com/world/u19/2017/news/nine-back-for-mali-in-return-to-global-stage

Sound Voltex wrote:Diabete is not on Mali's roster:

http://www.fiba.com/world/u19/2017/news/nine-back-for-mali-in-return-to-global-stage

He was born November 24,1998, which I think makes him ineligible for a u19 team, but maybe FIBA figures it differently thansoccer

<edit> found this

ESTABLISHING AGE LIMIT
115. To establish the date of birth corresponding to the age limit for an age group, the following procedure is used: the age limit given in the definition must be subtracted from the year in which a competition takes place with the understanding that this year begins on 1st January. As an example, the age limit for U19 in a competition in 2013 shall be: 2013-19 = 1994. Any player born on 1st January 1994 or after this date will be entitled to participate in a competition for U-19 in 2013.

He would be eligible.

Congrats to the UP staff and the commits of 2017 on a top ten ranking! These are unchartered waters for us Pilot fans. Thanks for giving us hope! Can't wait for next season!
From Cantu's Twitter feed: "Excited to see Portland at #10 in the nation for final Recruiting classes for 2017!! Future is bright!"
Come on DD! We need the skinny from a guy who pays the subscription fee!

The Wingman wrote:Come on DD! We need the skinny from a guy who pays the subscription fee!

Just about everything we need to know about the 2017 recruiting class (videos and quotes) and how Hoop Scoop's cumulative scored placed UP's 2017 class at #10 in the country can be found on the UP Athletics website: http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/6/29/mens-basketball-portland-recruiting-class-ranked-no-10-nationally-by-hoop-scoop.aspx

There has been some discussion on PN about UP being as high as #10 because the school has 7 recruits and Hoop Scoop's ranking is based upon the cumulative of talent score points awarded to each recruit in the class....and that is true!  But it does not diminish the quality of recruits who are now on the Bluff attending summer school.

Based upon a cumulative score, the Pilots are #10 in the nation out of 351 schools, but if one were to grade the schools based upon the average score per recruit, the Pilots would still be in the Top-40, just a tenth of a point behind Stanford and Arkansas, and ahead of Butler, Texas Tech, Pitt, and West Virginia.

There are six schools in the Top-40 that have 7 or more new recruits for this fall:

1. Kentucky (8 recruits/average talent rating 7.7)
2. UNLV (7/4.4)
3. Western Kentucky (7/4.4) (The Top Mid-Major)
4. Portland (7/3.7)
5. Pitt (8/3.3)
6. Texas Tech (7/3.1)

If you've read the quotes from the incoming class as to why they chose UP, all credit the coaching staff, especially TP!

I questioned the legitimacy of a potential top 10 and still do...but I also made the following statement.

dholcombe wrote:Looking at the top 4 and comparing it to other teams top 4 (which I haven't done) I'm betting we have a pretty legitimate top 50 class even without the extra weight coming from having so many recruits in one year. Even looking at the next 4 recruits I wouldn't be surprised if they would be a top 100 class. I in no way mean to say we have a bad recruiting class...its just not top 10 in my mind. Its the best class we've had that I can recall.

So...top 40 when you average all 7. That's fantastic.

Saw Andre Ferguson at LAX over the weekend, and he told me he was headed to Howard College (JUCO) in Big Spring, Texas to play ball there this coming season in hopes of landing back in D1 or D2 for his final two years of college.

Here's where this year's six transfers landed:

1. Gabe Taylor...Cal Baptist (D2) (with Jason Todd who transferred a year ago)
2. Jazz Johnson...Nevada (D1)
3. Xavier Hallinan...Cal State Dominquez Hills (D2)
4. Alec Monson...Salt Lake City College (JUCO)
5. Chier Maker...Palm Beach State College (JUCO)
6. Andre Ferguson...Howard College (JUCO)

Colin Russell, who transferred a year ago and played one season at Casper College with current Pilot Josh McSwiggan, is now on scholarship to UC Davis.

DoubleDipper wrote:Regardless, Bonton today gave his verbal commitment to Montana State University and former Pilots coach Eric Jackson, now an assistant at MSU.

Bonton reportedly had offers from PSU, Northern Arizona, and Idaho....

That quote is from September 21, 2016, but after appearing in all 11 MSU games as a freshman this season through December 9th, Isaac Bonton has left MSU.

He was averaging 18 minutes per game, and almost 8 points per game, but he was never called upon to start a game...and that is the rumored reason for his leaving the team.

Sheesh!