Re: 2018 Recruiting

by Dean Murdoch Sat Jul 21, 2018 11:02 am

StudentPilot wrote:I met-up with one of Souley's friends from Oakland and USF volunteering in Puerto Rico, and he told me that as good as Souley is, he saw there were even better guys who would play ahead of him, so he transferred to UTEP.

I guess there was some drop-off in Boum's performance and production as the season progressed, but it doesn't bode well for USF's opponents if their returning and new point guards are better than Boule and UP's guards.

Out - Souley Boum, Chase Foster
In - Charles Minlend, Trevante Anderson

Yeah I don't know, seems to me that USF will have a very similar backcourt as last year. They were obviously more than good enough, but I don't see any game-changing additions to their roster. Minlend redshirted last year and had a similar impact to Boum in his freshman year two years ago. Don't know much about Anderson besides the fact he had offers from Montana and Portland State before picking USF.

by PilotFan66 Wed Aug 29, 2018 3:19 pm

I looked at the Men's Basketball roster for 2018-19. I did not see Ty Glover's name. Does anyone know the reason?

by DoubleDipper Wed Aug 29, 2018 9:50 pm

PilotFan66 wrote:I looked at the Men's Basketball roster for 2018-19. I did not see Ty Glover's name. Does anyone know the reason?

When Ty signed with UP it was known he'd have to attend summer school at his JC in order to meet certain NCAA "core" requirements. Unfortunately for Ty and the Pilots, he did not meet those requirements, and he will not be attending UP now or in the future.

Ty was going to be the most athletic player on the court this coming year and contend for a starting spot, but instead the Pilots will go with just 12 scholarship players.

On the bright side, he will likely attend college on a scholarship at another level, play basketball, and graduate. The college he chooses might be a D2 or NAIA school, but it should still mean he'll one day be a college graduate with a very good shot at playing in Europe.

by NoPoNeighbor Fri Aug 31, 2018 11:35 am

Too bad about Glover... both for him and for UP. I suppose that knocks our #40 recruiting class ranking down a few spots.

If we have an extra scholarship, even if its just for this one year, the school should award it to Brian Smith or whichever of the other walk-ons has the greatest financial need.

by DoubleDipper Sat Sep 01, 2018 11:04 am

NoPoNeighbor wrote:If we have an extra scholarship, even if its just for this one year, the school should award it to Brian Smith or whichever of the other walk-ons has the greatest financial need.

You make an excellent point, NPN, and it has apparently been discussed at length amongst the staff.

Problem is, athletic scholarships are for a full year and cannot be broken into semesters, and with the new, more liberal transfer rules now in effect, the staff would really like to have a scholarship available just in case there is a mid-year transfer they'd like to snag....or even an Aussie or New Zealander graduating from high school in December.

by DoubleDipper Thu Oct 25, 2018 10:36 am

DoubleDipper wrote:On the bright side, Ty will likely attend college on a scholarship at another level, play basketball, and graduate. The college he chooses might be a D2 or NAIA school, but it should still mean he'll one day be a college graduate with a very good shot at playing in Europe.

Good for Ty Glover, he is now officially a D2 Alaska-Fairbanks Nanook, and could turn out to be one of the best D2 players in the country...

by DoubleDipper Tue Jan 18, 2022 4:55 pm

Clearing out my DVR today, I ran across a January 6th game in which former Pilot Theo Akwuba scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against Arkansas St.

Theo was averaging 9 boards and 10 points a game, but I believe he is now injured. Evil or Very Mad

Looks to me like Theo has been following Geezer's weight room regimen. Razz

by StudentPilot Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:57 pm

Those hands!!!

Or did he steal this high-flyer's basketball?

by bullwinkle Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:20 pm

Hate to think about the number of former UP players over the last five years who look back at their time under Terry Porter with regret. For fans it's just frustration and disappointment. For players who thought being with Terry could be a stepping stone to a career, or at the very least, a challenging but fulfilling college career, it must be really hard.

by up7587 Fri Apr 01, 2022 8:16 am

Theo Akwuba is entering the NBA draft while maintaining his final year of eligibility. I guess there is no downside to that? Other than it leaves a question mark in the school's recruiting needs. Is he NBA material?

https://twitter.com/takwuba1/status/1509647384233619469/photo/1

by StudentPilot Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:55 pm

StudentPilot wrote: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.

And now, 4 years later, both are in the portal as grad-transfers.

At 7-1/295 Callum McRae could be the kind of player UP needs in the middle where Chika lacks the height and width to clog the lane on defense and grab rebounds.

This past season with Cal Riverside McRae averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds.

by DoubleDipper Fri Apr 15, 2022 10:10 am

StudentPilot wrote:At 7-1/295 Callum McRae could be the kind of player UP needs in the middle where Chika lacks the height and width to clog the lane on defense and grab rebounds.

This past season with Cal Riverside McRae averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Your concert buddy, McRae, has signed with Sacramento St.

The staff is actively looking for one or two big men to join the Pilots this summer, and they knew of McRae, but expecting to find someone better, they did not reach out to him.

by DoubleDipper Fri Apr 15, 2022 10:22 am

StudentPilot, did you see where your friend, Fardaws Aimaq, from Vancouver, BC, and probably the top big man in the portal...the stud power forward that Porter passed on four or five years ago...could end up at Gonzaga?

The transfer from Mercer and now grad-transfer from Utah Valley, is looking to turn pro, but is keeping his options open by narrowing his choices to GU, UW, Texas Tech, Texas, and Iowa.

Aimaq, at 6’11, 245 pounds, averaged 18.9 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game last season.

by Sound Voltex Mon Apr 18, 2022 7:18 pm

up7587 wrote:Theo Akwuba is entering the NBA draft while maintaining his final year of eligibility. I guess there is no downside to that? Other than it leaves a question mark in the school's recruiting needs. Is he NBA material?

https://twitter.com/takwuba1/status/1509647384233619469/photo/1

He's now put his name in the transfer portal so if that fails, maybe we can bring him back for one more year.

https://twitter.com/VerbalCommits/status/1516146785789648907

by DoubleDipper Sat Apr 30, 2022 5:09 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:StudentPilot, did you see where your friend, Fardaws Aimaq, from Vancouver, BC, and probably the top big man in the portal...the stud power forward that Porter passed on four or five years ago...could end up at Gonzaga?

The transfer from Mercer and now grad-transfer from Utah Valley, is looking to turn pro, but is keeping his options open by narrowing his choices to GU, UW, Texas Tech, Texas, and Iowa.

Aimaq has chosen Texas Tech...and really, who can blame him.

The Red Raiders are very good...a preseason Top-30 by some, and the town of Lubbock loves their Tech sports!

by up7587 Sat Apr 30, 2022 5:12 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:
DoubleDipper wrote:StudentPilot, did you see where your friend, Fardaws Aimaq, from Vancouver, BC, and probably the top big man in the portal...the stud power forward that Porter passed on four or five years ago...could end up at Gonzaga?

The transfer from Mercer and now grad-transfer from Utah Valley, is looking to turn pro, but is keeping his options open by narrowing his choices to GU, UW, Texas Tech, Texas, and Iowa.
Aimaq has chosen Texas Tech...and really, who can blame him.

The Red Raiders are very good...a preseason Top-30 by some, and the town of Lubbock loves their Tech sports!

Texas Tech also picked up De'Vion Harmon, a starter at Oregon last year who transferred from Oklahoma to the Ducks the year before. The Red Raiders should be strong next year.

by DoubleDipper Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:43 pm

Stonehouse wrote:OK... updated chart, now with Akwuba! Let me know if I need to fix anything.

Oh, how things have changed since Stoney used to make these remarkable charts!! No one stays four years anymore, and that includes the class of 2018 at UP.

In fact, from my recollection, the only player on Stoney's chart to play out his eligibility at UP as listed, was Josh McSwiggan, who played for two years.

What brought this to mind was flipping through the basketball games on the tv the other night and seeing Josh Phillips on the Grambling State bench. Some may remember Phillips was a freshman with an attitude at UP in 2018, and now he is listed as a junior at Grambling State. scratch

I am told Phillips was one of the East L.A. City College players featured in the second season of the Netflix series, "Last Chance U: Basketball."

by up7587 Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:09 pm

And Marcus Shaver, a SO in 2018-19, is still playing for Boise St. this year.

by Sound Voltex Wed Dec 14, 2022 9:58 am

DoubleDipper wrote:What brought this to mind was flipping through the basketball games on the tv the other night and seeing Josh Phillips on the Grambling State bench. Some may remember Phillips was a freshman with an attitude at UP in 2018, and now he is listed as a junior at Grambling State.

I am told Phillips was one of the East L.A. City College players featured in the second season of the Netflix series, "Last Chance U: Basketball."

Skimmed through it yesterday. Yes, he's featured quite a bit. Really gives you a deep insight into who he is.

Some notable quotes:

Episode 4:

[Coach John] Why would he not be successful at a Division I school, at the level he was at? But as you begin to coach him, there were some reactions to adversity, some reactions to coaching that I'd had no idea, and I was completely shocked.

And I was like..."Where is this coming from?" What in the world is going on?

Couldn't figure it out. I was like, "What's wrong with this kid?"

That's something I'd never experienced, and I remember chatting with a recruiter that said, "Hey, I recruited Josh before. How is he doing?"

I said, "Oh, he's doing well. He has his days."

He said, "How's his autism?"

And I pretended as if I knew.

I didn't know.

[Josh] If I tell, they'll look at me differently. I've only told a few close people around me, and they support me to be more open about it, but I think it is something if I will get looked at differently. 'Cause in my life, I've never been looked at positively for having autism. It's always been a bad or a hindrance, or an extra obstacle. That's something I see on the court as well, having to slow myself down. That's why games are a lot easier than practices. Especially with [Coach] Mosley, because he be stopping every five minutes to talk about something or have a conversation. Which I just...I just want to play.

[Josh] The sensory overload. Talking or yelling or doing this, and really being around people. I kind of shut down and couldn't listen or think. I just didn't know how to go into a large social place and really function well.

[Coach] There's a lot of kids that are different. There's a lot of kids with issues. And I almost was upset with him and angry and didn't like him because of his reactions and his responses. And I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know. I was treating him a certain way and didn't realize. This is why it's important, man, to know...to know the story. Sometimes we judge these kids, man. We say this and that about them, when we don't know, man. You gotta live out these burdens. All of a sudden, it was clear as day. It made all the sense in the world. I started coaching him different.

[Assistant] Once he finds something and he enjoys it, then he's great at it. If he doesn't enjoy it, then there's anxiety. His frustrations that go up and down at a high level, but once he enjoys it and he's having success, then he's better at it than anybody else.

[Josh] In basketball, I don't have to communicate with people much. I'm on the court, being good at basketball. Just doing things everyone thought I would never be able to. I just gotta kinda clear my head, not worry about how I got to talk to this person, how I got to act...'cause I'm just on the court, hooping.

Episode 8:

- [assistant] Did you take a trip before you went to Portland?
- Nah, Portland kinda pressured me into "don't take no visits."
- [assistant] How'd that work?
- They wanted me to decide on the spot.
- [assistant] Right.
- They said, "Oh yeah. Two weeks, the offer might be gone."
- [assistant] Right.
- But I got kinda rushed into it, I guess. Made a bad decision.
- [assistant] That's business.
- Yeah.
- [assistant] You know, they try to talk all this "We care about the kids" stuff. They're competing for talent.
- Yeah.

by DoubleDipper Wed Dec 14, 2022 10:20 am

After reading that, it is my turn to apologize for saying Josh had an "attitude" when it was a lot more than that.

Reflecting back on the Porter era at UP, I don't think the staff was nearly as invested in the kid's/player's lives as the current staff is, but even if they had been, would any staff know how to deal with Josh's autism?

I do not plan to watch the Netflix series but thank you for posting some of the dialogue...it added some clarity to a muddled time.

One can only hope the Grambling State staff is able to help Josh with the journey that will include the rest of his life...

by DoubleDipper Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:27 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:
DoubleDipper wrote:StudentPilot, did you see where your friend, Fardaws Aimaq, from Vancouver, BC, and probably the top big man in the portal...the stud power forward that Porter passed on four or five years ago...could end up at Gonzaga?

The transfer from Mercer and now grad-transfer from Utah Valley, is looking to turn pro, but is keeping his options open by narrowing his choices to GU, UW, Texas Tech, Texas, and Iowa.
Aimaq has chosen Texas Tech...and really, who can blame him.

The Red Raiders are very good...a preseason Top-30 by some, and the town of Lubbock loves their Tech sports!

Fardaws Aimaq played hurt this season at Texas Tech, and he probably should not have played at all, so for a guy who is looking at an NBA future, his numbers were down over past seasons.

However, his is back in the portal, looking for his fourth school if he does not find a good draft position.

Aimaq, who took an official visit to UP under the last coaching staff, has played at Mercer, Utah Valley, and Texas Tech. Hard to believe, but apparently, he's got one more year of eligibility.

by up7587 Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:49 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:Aimaq has chosen Texas Tech...and really, who can blame him.

The Red Raiders are very good...a preseason Top-30 by some, and the town of Lubbock loves their Tech sports!

Texas Tech is another school with difficulties. They ended up 16-16, 9th in the Big 12. Then two days ago the coach resigned, after an incident involving bible verses referencing slaves. https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/35816018/texas-tech-mark-adams-steps-men-basketball-coach

by DoubleDipper Sat Mar 11, 2023 1:05 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:Fardaws Aimaq played hurt this season at Texas Tech, and he probably should not have played at all, so for a guy who is looking at an NBA future, his numbers were down over past seasons.

However, his is back in the portal, looking for his fourth school if he does not find a good draft position.

IMO, if Aimaq were to transfer to Portland and the staff let him shoot 4 to 5 3-pointers a game so he would get a good look from the NBA, and he grabs 10+ rebounds per game, the Pilots would end up in the top-4 in the WCC next season.

I have been told Gonzaga is recruiting him...

by DoubleDipper Fri Apr 07, 2023 4:57 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:
DoubleDipper wrote:Fardaws Aimaq played hurt this season at Texas Tech, and he probably should not have played at all, so for a guy who is looking at an NBA future, his numbers were down over past seasons.

However, his is back in the portal, looking for his fourth school if he does not find a good draft position.
IMO, if Aimaq were to transfer to Portland and the staff let him shoot 4 to 5 3-pointers a game so he would get a good look from the NBA, and he grabs 10+ rebounds per game, the Pilots would end up in the top-4 in the WCC next season.

I have been told Gonzaga is recruiting him...

Aimaq ends up at Cal as his fourth university, and will now be playing for Coach Mark Madsen, Aimaq's former coach at his second university, Utah Valley. pirat

by Geezaldinho Sun Apr 09, 2023 11:47 am

UP isn’t the only WCC team raiding EWU players.

The Zags landed Big Sky MVP Steele Venters to help them on the Wing. He has been highly recruited by the P5’s since he entered the portal at the end of the season.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/apr/07/eastern-washington-standout-big-sky-mvp-steele-ven/