2018 Recruiting

I’ll be darned...a stretch five? Haven’t seen one of those in a Pilots uniform since, uh......does Ben Sullivan count?

Dean Murdoch wrote:I’ll be darned...a stretch five? Haven’t seen one of those in a Pilots uniform since, uh......does Ben Sullivan count?

I don't know Ben, but yeah, Jacob is a stretch-five, who will be counted on to "pick-n-pop" for the Pilots.

What impressed me about Jacob, besides being a nice guy, were his long arms and huge hands when he shook my hand.

Apparently a number of schools were recruiting Jacob, but the only two I've been told about are Colorado and Pepperdine, especially their coach, Lornzo Romar.

Developing a go-to move (jump hooks, etc.) will elevate his game as well.

I sure hope progress in this area is made.  I have often wondered why our big men did not have a shot like this in their game.

wrv wrote:Updated 04/06/2015
Weaknesses:
Tryon needs to continue to fill out and get stronger. Due to his willowy frame he gets bumped out of position while rebounding and he struggles to finish through contact.
Bottom Line:
Once Tryon begins to fill out, his game will elevate exponentially. He has the hands, length, touch, and IQ to play Division I basketball someday.

A year before that updated report, Tryon was 6-8/165, and now four years later he's reported to be 7-0/205.  But almost two years out of high school and consuming lots of calories and lifting weights, he's still pretty skinny...hopefully the UP staff and Commons food will make him a little bigger without slowing him down.

Tryon says, "Sometimes teams underestimate me and think they can push me around or bully me down low, but that rarely happens because I refuse to be pushed around. When it does happen, I find other ways to score, and I use my quickness as my advantage.

Shooting 19/38 outside the arc at East LA this past season is certainly an indication he can find other ways to score!

wrv wrote:Our friends at Verbal Commits list Jacob Tryon as a "PF"(power forward).

Listed as a center in high school, Jacob is listed as a forward at East LA.  

When he comes to the Bluff, he may very well play the "stretch four" position because of his shooting ability, depending upon the lineup.

I expect 6-8 Josh Phillips will redshirt, but if the Pilots sign another 4/5 type or 6-9 Hugh Hogland or 6-9 Tahirou Diabate are better leapers and are better/tougher inside players, I can see a lineup that could have Jacob at the 4 when other 4/5s are in the lineup.  

By the time Phil was a senior and built up his body, he could play a lot of minutes per game without affecting him too much, but I think we'll just have to wait and see how many minutes each of the Pilots' big guys will be able to play and if they'll be on the court at the same time.

There are two scholarships left, and I can envision the Pilots signing at least one, if not two, players 6-7 or taller who will play the 3, 4, or 5.

wrv wrote:Perhaps he can play center on defense and a little power forward on offense.

Oh yeah, I'm sure the coaches will take that into consideration. It will just depend upon who else signs with the Pilots this spring, and how the lineup evolves.

With the recruiting "dead period" in effect until noon on Thursday, and because the coaches are all at the Final-Four and the Coaches Convention, there isn't much recruiting news to report, but I think we should expect at least two or three players on campus the weekend of April 5-7 before the LOI signing period begins on April 11.

One recruit that will be enrolling at UP is "preferred walk-on," 6-8 small forward Wyatt Watson, from Sehome High School in Bellingham. Wyatt doesn't appear to have the credentials to be in the rotation as a D1 player, but he'll apparently be a good "scout team" member and has a full-ride scholarship in engineering after he graduates from high school with an expected 4.0 GPA in June.



There have been a number of ideas floated for adding more courtside seating for fans, but with the Pilots roster now expected to number 18 this coming fall, they're first going to have to find some additional seating for players.

In addition to 13 scholarship players, there are expected to be 5 walk-ons:
1. Franklin Porter
2. Brian Smith
3. Xavier Hallinan
4. Miles Turner
5. Wyatt Watson

Sounds like Fr. Dan will need to bring his own chair!

For those that don't follow recruiting, what is a preferred walk on?

blacksheep wrote:For those that don't follow recruiting, what is a preferred walk on?

Good question!

Sometimes referred to as a "recruited" walk-on, a "preferred" walk-on is an individual that has been scouted and actively recruited by the coaches, and has usually come to campus to workout and earn a roster spot before enrolling in school.  A recruited or preferred walk-on is promised a spot on the team, whereas walk-ons from open tryouts are not generally made that promise.

Some recruited or preferred walk-ons are promised a scholarship when one becomes available if they'll just pay their own way for a season or two.  That was the case of Max Livingston who transferred from Clark College to walk-on his junior year, when all scholarship were spoken for, with the promise of a scholarship during his senior year, 2015-16.

All the walk-ons for the coming season are "preferred," meaning each is guaranteed a spot on the team without having to undergo any further tryouts.  In addition to Franklin, I would guess Miles Turner is the one walk-on who has the ability to earn a scholarship in future years, but as his dad, former 49ers linebacker Keena Turner, is apparently doing pretty well financially, he will likely just continue to walk-on during his time at UP.

Welcome, Wyatt!

I know there is the 13 scholarship limit... but is there an overall limit to the number of players that can suit up? I would guess that the WCC has set limits on numbers that can travel for conference games...

DoubleDipper wrote:....I think we should expect at least two or three players on campus the weekend of April 5-7 before the LOI signing period begins on April 11.  

Oh great, I thought about going skiing this weekend, but I guess I can stick around on Saturday to keep an eye out for recruits.  

Actually it is supposed to be very cold, rainy, and windy on Saturday....probably not a good day to be out, and certainly not a good day for recruits to visit, especially if they are from California or Arizona.

PilotNut wrote:I know there is the 13 scholarship limit... but is there an overall limit to the number of players that can suit up?  I would guess that the WCC has set limits on numbers that can travel for conference games...

No limits on suiting-up or traveling that I know of.

The only travel money the WCC provides throughout the season is to the WCC Tournament, and I would guess they'll only pay for the 13 scholarship players (but that's just a guess), the dance team, and the band.

I also guess that not all the walk-ons will travel to all the games.  The team has limited to the number of managers that travel in the past, and they'll probably do the same with walk-ons....two or three maybe?

I've been told The Outrigger will pay for the team's travel to and from Honolulu in November, but again I'm guessing at least some of the walk-ons will have to be paid for by UP

StudentPilot wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:....I think we should expect at least two or three players on campus the weekend of April 5-7 before the LOI signing period begins on April 11.  

Oh great, I thought about going skiing this weekend, but I guess I can stick around on Saturday to keep an eye out for recruits.  

There was a concert last night where I met a couple of BIG guys, one from New Zealand and one from Nigeria.

The big guy (7-2/265) from New Zealand, Callum McRae, is already known on PN, but I had to ask the man from Nigeria, Victor Ohia Obioha, some questions to learn more about him. I also asked him to write his name so I could get it right.
 
Victor has been in the US and Riverside, California for just over a year and has been playing basketball for only a couple of years after abandoning soccer when he realized he was "too tall" at 6-9.

Of the two, Victor is much more athletic/athlete appearing, but Callum if VERY big. Apparently both Callum and Victor have more official visits to make before they commit, so it's hard to know if they'll favor UP, but when I last saw them at the concert, they were both having a very good time....


Victor Ohia Obioha


Callum McRae

wrv wrote:Will we receive some more news about additional commitments by tomorrow?

Doubtful, but in this electronic world, it's possible.

In addition to the two walk-ons who visited and subsequently committed, we've been told AJ Edu, Victor Ohia Obioham, and Callum McRae visited campus, but then went off to visit other campuses. We also heard Jacob Tryon visited, and subsequently committed...let's hope he doesn't change his mind before signing an NLI, but I've heard others schools have been pursuing him, and a verbal commitment is not binding.

Hard to say where Edu has visited, but it appears he been to Colorado, Toledo and Tulane, and according to the Green Wave fan site, his visit there went "very well."  I'd also heard Georgia Tech was going to visit him in England, but I don't know if that happened.

The reason I said, "doubtful" is because Victor and Callum left campus on Sunday saying they had other visits to make, and as the recruiting "dead period" began yesterday and ends on Friday, it means those two may not make their intentions known until the beginning of next week.  On the other hand, because Edu lives in England, he may submit a signed NLI while most of us are sleeping.

Seems fewer than "usual" recruits visited this year, but as it appears the staff is looking for a 3/4, a 4, and a 5, there are not a lot of top guys to choose from after the P-6 schools have had their pick.

UPDATE:
Victor texted his apologies...he's decided to join Coach Romar at Pepperdine.

Doesn't sound like Victor took an official visit, but at some point Romar visited him in Riverside.

A lot of students said he had a great time at the concert Saturday night...

The Wingman wrote:StudentPilot: While I’m disappointed Victor won’t be joining us on the Bluff, I’m impressed with your abilities to collect information. If you’re not planning a career in journalism, you might want to reconsider.  If Callum McRae texts you, don’t hold back on the Pilot Nation!

Well, if being a journalist means going to a big game, party, dance or concert and approaching guys who are definitely taller or more athletic than your average UP student, then being a journalist seems like and easy gig.

I swapped phone numbers with both Victor and Callum, but I doubt I'll hear from Callum as we talked very little (it was really noisy at the concert), and I think he gave me a New Zealand phone number.

Signed in November: