2018 Recruiting

AJ Edu is going to be a Toledo Rocket of the Mid-American Conference.

A very good player going to a very good team...

At least he's not joining Pepperdine or Georgia Tech!

Welcome aboard Jacob Tryon, forward or center or just front line presence.

Looks like Victor came down PU and UP as his final two. Too bad we lost out, but it’s easy to understand why he wanted to stay in Southern California close to his new home. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pe.com/2018/04/11/hillcrest-basketball-standout-victor-ohia-obioha-signs-with-pepperdine/amp/

@GoodmanESPN wrote:Idaho State 7-foot Serbian Novak Topalovic will be a grad transfer, source told ESPN. Averaged 10.7 and 6.8. Look for Pac-12 schools to pursue.

@GoodmanESPN wrote:Idaho State 7-foot grad transfer Novak Topalovic told ESPN he has heard from Utah, Oregon State, Colorado, USC, Nevada, Wake Forest, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, LMU, Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara.

Nothing connecting him to the Pilots at this point, but I figure any 7-foot grad transfer out of the West is relevant in this thread.

wrv wrote:Welcome aboard Jacob Tryon, forward or center or just front line presence.

Yeah, he's being listed as a C in his intro graphics, but Coach Porter is quoted as saying, "Jacob is great stretch forward with good length."

Whatever position he plays, I think we can look forward to him giving the team a much needed scoring threat that could stretch the floor and open up both the outside and inside game, which in turn will help Josh McSwiggan become the outside/inside threat the Pilots need.

From what I gather, at least one other school was pushing hard to have Jacob break his verbal commitment to UP, right up until this morning.   #zeroscruples  

Dean Murdoch wrote:Nothing connecting him to the Pilots at this point, but I figure any 7-foot grad transfer out of the West is relevant in this thread.

With all but one of the Pilots' recruits off the board, Callum McRae, it's a good bet the Pilots will go after a grad transfer in May or June when those who currently think of themselves as P-6 players, find mid-majors are the only schools making them an offer.

Generally, a JUCO transfer like Tryon takes a while to adjust to the speed and physical nature of the D1 game, but a grad transfer should already be physically and mentally prepared, and for him it just becomes a matter of fitting in to a team's system and personality.

With freshmen Hogland, Phillips, and possibly McRae along with sophomore Diabate, and first-year player Tryon as the only inside players available, I think it behooves the staff to find a grad transfer to help "settle" and lead the team from the inside.

Agreed! An experienced grad transfer would be a great fit for the program next year... let's hope we can pull out all the stops and land one!

Go Pilots!

Our coaches do not engage in hyperbole, correct?

Coach Cantu on Jacob:

"Big fella really put in work at East LA College and became one of top 5 freshman in the country and one of best skilled big men!!! Had bigger schools but choose fit over star power. Awesome student athlete and worker @Jacob_Tryon33"

He'll play some center if this all is true.

We can shelve the Elgin Baylor myths if this is all true.

wrv wrote:Our coaches do not engage in hyperbole, correct?

Coach Cantu on Jacob:

"Big fella really put in work at East LA College and became one of top 5 freshman in the country and one of best skilled big men!!! Had bigger schools but choose fit over star power. Awesome student athlete and worker @Jacob_Tryon33"

A. That quote is not from "Coach Cantu on Jacob," it's from @ELACBall, retweeted by Coach Cantu.

B. It is not considered "hyperbole" if it is true and to be taken literally...and East LA College Basketball probably knows Jacob better than anyone.

From what I know of Jacob from our short time together and talking to his new teammates, he IS a hard worker with a "very high" GPA.

ELACBall wrote:"Big fella really put in work at East LA College and became one of top 5 freshman in the country and one of best skilled big men!!! Had bigger schools but choose fit over star power. Awesome student athlete and worker @Jacob_Tryon33"

Ratings of players are obviously subjective, but I have seen one subscription scouting report that rated Jacob as the #2 JUCO freshman power forward in the country, and another that not only rated him #1, but rated him as the only JUCO power forward (freshman or sophomore) in the top 15 who had high major potential.

I’ll try to find the report so you can see for yourself that ELACBall was not just spouting hyperbole

Well even if a retweet, in this context, you arguably adopt the prior tweet, to some extent at least: Coach Cantu offered no criticisms, posting the tweet without comment. Hard to believe this is not hyperbole, with no disrespect to Jacob, who may be a fine addition to our team.

You did not address that part of the tweet which suggests Jacob is "one of the top 5 freshman in the country and one of the best skilled big men." Really?

This truly is reminiscent of HoopScoopOnline's rating of last year's recruiting class.

wrv wrote:You did not address that part of the tweet which suggests Jacob is "one of the top 5 freshman in the country and one of the best skilled big men." Really?

Well, if you read and understood my post and @ELACball's tweet, you'll know he was definitely rated as one of the top JUCO freshmen in the country this past season...I'm not sure why you are questioning that, unless of course you don't believe the subjective scouting reports.

His rating and the @ELACBalltweet is based purely upon his freshman year as a JUCO power forward this past season, it has nothing to do with next season's incoming freshman class, which does include Jacob!

I was not responding to you. You posted your response after I began writing my response to the post before your last response, for what its worth.

But to restate, I am questioning whether this young man was one of the top 5 freshman and one of the best skilled big men. That is hyperbole.

Let's wait see next year. I am happy to have him as previously indicated. I hope he is good and helps immediately.

With the recruiting "Dead Period" now over and Callum McRae visiting another campus, it may be only 24-48 hours before we hear which school the 7-2/265 post player chooses.

According to Taki, who played with McRae on the New Zealand National Team, he's an excellent teammate, who despite his size that can hinder his quick movement, is "very smart with the ball and is really good at finding his open teammates."

An imposing figure who can rebound, score and distribute..

I hope they are really good friends, and Taki can convince Callum to come to The Bluff!

GO PILOTS!

Looks like Joseph Smoyer landed on his feet in the Ivy League with Columbia.

Good on ya Joseph. Good luck.

DoubleDipper wrote:With the recruiting "Dead Period" now over and Callum McRae visiting another campus, it may be only 24-48 hours before we hear which school the 7-2/265 post player chooses.

I just saw Taki and was told "Callum's on a visit to sunny and hot Southern California."  

But Taki had no idea which school or how many schools he's visiting.

StudentPilot wrote:I just saw Taki and was told "Callum's on a visit to sunny and hot Southern California."

The "new" coaches coming to Southern California D1 schools are already proving to be tough foes in the recruiting wars.

First, new PU coach Romar swooped in and grabbed top UP recruits Andre Ball and Victor Ohia Obioha, and now it would seem new Cal Riverside coach David Patrick has done the same with Callum McRae.

Patrick, an Aussie with a history of recruiting Aussies and Kiwis to LSU and TCU as an assistant, just took over at UCR on Wednesday, and McRae started his visit there on Friday. There is no "official" word yet on McRae's destination, but as he's winging his way back to New Zealand, and there has been no announcement from UP about his commitment, I'd say he's not returning to UP unless the Highlanders once again visit Portland.

I'm sure the UP staff was looking forward to having a little time with their families this spring, but it looks like they'll be back on the road in an attempt to bring in an elusive big man or two by mid-May. The NLI signing period runs through May 16, but that does not preclude signing players even later.  There are two open scholarships...

If they don’t get some bigs, time with the family won’t be an issue.

From Callum McRae (edited):

Another discouraging result.

Agreed on the disappointment. Lets hope for a grad transfer... that would be a good fit for this roster/team.

@Eurohopes wrote:Reports of 2018 big men Jan and Szymon Wojcik committing to Missouri State are not accurate, per sources. As of today, the Polish twins remain available in the 2018 recruiting class and are looking for team which can offer them both

Umm...do the Pilots need TWO bigs?

Dean Murdoch wrote:

@Eurohopes wrote:Reports of 2018 big men Jan and Szymon Wojcik committing to Missouri State are not accurate, per sources. As of today, the Polish twins remain available in the 2018 recruiting class and are looking for team which can offer them both

Umm...do the Pilots need TWO bigs?

Excellent tip...

Often lots of work to sign a Euro due to NCAA Clearinghouse and transferring of grades/classes to US "system," but the payoff can be enormous.

In the case of the Wojcik twins, I've heard their "handler" wants a job at the school that signs them.... Do you suppose the open assistant's job with WBB will interest him or her?