Re: 2020 Recruiting

by Guest Sat Mar 28, 2020 1:36 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:
Dean Murdoch wrote:
@jeffborzello wrote:Utah Valley forward Isaiah White is expected to grad transfer, sources told ESPN. Averaged 14.5 points and 8.4 rebounds this season.
Put this one in the "pipe dream" category...he'll be off to a high major, but it would have been great to see the Pilots pull in grad transfers named Isaiah White in consecutive seasons
You're right, the pipe dream committed to USC today.

Along with taking SCU's Eaddy, who scored 12, 15 and 13 against UP, and IsaiahWhite2.0, USC is making a lot of other moves.
[url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/upon-landing-malik-thomas-usc-now-has-no-1-recruiting-class-for-2021/ar-BB11ORsQ?ocid=spartanAlong ntp]https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/usc-now-has-no-1-recruiting-class-for-2021/[/url]

It is amazing to think back that the Pilots played USC with Okongwu early in the season, and gave them a very tough game. Man did our team devolve through the season.
p.s. Okongwu is now a one-and-done

by DoubleDipper Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:04 am

Tough deal for Curtiss and all the other high school seniors who are currently barred from visiting schools, but it could turn out good for UP after Coach Geving made him an offer.

Seattle PI wrote:Senior basketball player Hayden Curtiss, who won the WIAA 4A state championship with Snoqualmie’s Mount Si High School in early March, needed this spring to take visits to schools. He’s uncommitted. Now he won’t be able to take visits for the foreseeable future.

It’s a big deal because he was a late bloomer. The 6-foot-9 center started playing basketball just four years ago, when he was at least seven inches shorter. Entering his senior season, Curtiss had just one offer from George Fox University, a DIII school in Oregon. But after a strong state tournament this year, the numbers of Division I and II schools expressing interest exploded into the “double digits,” he said.

Visiting some of those schools this spring was supposed to give him an opportunity to meet coaches and see athletic facilities. To see what was a good fit for him. And it goes the other way, too. After interacting with Curtiss, coaches expressing interests would maybe be inclined to extend an after official scholarship.

Since the NCAA suspended all on- and off-campus through at least April 15 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Curtiss says he’s noticed how some schools have stopped talking to him as much. Others have continued checking in with him.

“It’s definitely a concern for me, you know? All this is new for me,” said Curtiss, who picked up his first Division I offer from the University of Portland at the end of March. “It’s definitely a concern for me that if this continues for a while, I might have to make a decision of where I’m going without all the knowledge of the school. I might have to commit somewhere not seeing all their athletics facilities and not meeting the whole coaching staff, which is definitely something not a lot of people do.

“I’m sure some colleges that are interested in me right now might offer me even if I don’t visit the school, but I’m sure again that there are schools I’m talking to right now that won’t want to offer me unless I come and see the campus and meet the whole coaching staff. I think it really just depends on the program and how high their interest in me is.”

Recruitment limbo aside, Curtiss is one of the lucky seniors. He got to have a full, final high school season. The spring-time athletes won’t be able to say the same thing. It’s not even clear if they’ll even be able to have a shortened season; if they’ll get anything at all.

..

by DoubleDipper Wed Apr 01, 2020 2:24 pm

This just in: NCAA Recruiting Dead Period has been extended to May 31st. No official or unofficial visits of any kind. FaceTime, Zoom, etc will continue to be the move for recruiting this Spring...many players from all NCAA sports may have to commit without ever visiting a school's campus.

Haven't heard of any change to the spring signing period...

by optimist Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:37 am

This helps up IMHO. Juco year end tourneys won't take place so kids who are on our radar won't have the opportunity to show off their skills and get snagged by the competition. As long as we've been doing our job and creating relationships with kids over the last year, I'm optimistic we will be able to close at least a few quality recruits. Guess we will find out on April 14th?

by DoubleDipper Fri Apr 03, 2020 10:46 am

optimist wrote:This helps up IMHO. Juco year end tourneys won't take place so kids who are on our radar won't have the opportunity to show off their skills and get snagged by the competition. As long as we've been doing our job and creating relationships with kids over the last year, I'm optimistic we will be able to close at least a few quality recruits. Guess we will find out on April 14th?

Yeah, there is no indication the signing period has been moved, so yes, we could see something as early as April 15...but when it comes to JUCO players, they tend to drag it out through the summer... under "normal" circumstances.

On the other hand high school recruits tend to sign right away before scholarships dry-up at their desired school. The only high school kid I'm fully aware of is Hayden Curtiss at Mt. Si, but apparently Coach Ben has been "Down Under" looking at a kid there too...in addition to Zac Triplett.

by Dean Murdoch Sat Apr 04, 2020 5:29 am

DoubleDipper wrote:DeAnthony Tipler 5-11/160 PG from Ashland, MS, and now attending Northeast Mississippi Community College. Two years of eligibility left...

Not sure if DeAnthony often scores 41 points, but it's pretty impressive..

Looks like DeAnthony will choose from the Pilots, Troy, and Coastal Carolina. 20+ PPG and 38% from 3 at Northeastern Mississippi last year.

https://www.djournal.com/tippah/sports/tipler-piling-offers-as-decision-looms/article_be60487e-36f4-5287-94d2-5f60ceff246f.html

His first offer from Troy places the Trojans inside his "Top 3" along with Coastal Carolina and Portland. Tipler said that countless other Division 1 programs have reached out to express their interests but that he is focusing on those three programs moving forward.

by Dean Murdoch Sat Apr 04, 2020 11:45 am

DoubleDipper wrote:On the other hand high school recruits tend to sign right away before scholarships dry-up at their desired school. The only high school kid I'm fully aware of is Hayden Curtiss at Mt. Si, but apparently Coach Ben has been "Down Under" looking at a kid there too...in addition to Zac Triplett.

Paging OzBaller, what you got?

by DoubleDipper Sat Apr 04, 2020 5:08 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:RayQuawndis Mitchell 6-5/200 SG from Blaine, MN. Mitchell spent a year at Idaho before transferring to Otero Junior College in Colorado. Two years left...

Take Mitchell off the board...he has narrowed his choices to his Top-5, and UP ain't one of them, but UOP is!

by Dean Murdoch Sat Apr 04, 2020 10:30 pm

@JucoRecruiting wrote:DeAnthony Tipler (5’10, PG, 2020) of Northeast Miss CC has committed to Portland

Nice! Pilots with a much-needed addition here. Welcome DeAnthony.

Five more scholarships left. Pretty obvious the Pilots need some height coming in with at least four of those open spots.

by DoubleDipper Sat Apr 04, 2020 10:46 pm

Nice, DeAnthony included his future teammates in his commitment tweet...haven't seen that before. Cool

by Dean Murdoch Sat Apr 04, 2020 11:28 pm

Hey, Tipler was actually the second player to commit to the Pilots today.

@mountsihoops wrote:! COMMITTED !

We are beyond proud to announce that Hayden Curtiss has committed to the University of Portland ! ! #GoPilots

by DoubleDipper Sat Apr 04, 2020 11:37 pm

by DoubleDipper Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:29 pm

optimist wrote:This helps up IMHO. Juco year end tourneys won't take place so kids who are on our radar won't have the opportunity to show off their skills and get snagged by the competition. As long as we've been doing our job and creating relationships with kids over the last year, I'm optimistic we will be able to close at least a few quality recruits. Guess we will find out on April 14th?

Hayden Curtiss had to make the quick choice to commit or possibly be left with no choice at all...

Mount Si’s Curtiss makes it official, to play for University of Portland men’s basketball team next season

http://snovalleysportsjournal.com/?p=52661

by DoubleDipper Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:38 pm

Bilal Shabazz is a 6-8/190 PF from Milwaukee, WI currently attending Trinidad State JC in Colorado. He has two remaining years of eligibility.

by Dean Murdoch Sun Apr 05, 2020 6:16 pm

"Blessed to receive a scholarship from the university of Portland"

Umm. Is that a commitment? Or just an offer? scratch

by Guest Sun Apr 05, 2020 6:53 pm

Dean Murdoch wrote:"Blessed to receive a scholarship from the university of Portland"

Umm. Is that a commitment? Or just an offer?

Verbal Commits says "received an offer".

by DoubleDipper Mon Apr 06, 2020 12:41 am

This from three years ago:

DoubleDipper wrote:Apparently Elijah Gonzalez is no longer signed at PSU after Coach Geving left there, and UP had him in for a look.
Turns out he's got talent, but the coaches judged that he's just too undersized (not necessarily too short) to play in the WCC.
As we suspected, UP did make Geno West a late offer, but West had been recruited by Idaho for four years prior to his signing there. You've got to respect loyalty from a recruit and the fact he wants to be a Vandal in Moscow!

Just spit-balling here, but what else is a sports fan supposed to do while hunkering in their bunker!

The recent commitment of forward Hayden Curtiss and guard DeAnthony Tipler, brings the total number of available scholarships to four, (if they use all of them) and UP will probably continue to recruit guards/wings along with forwards, so what about adding Gonzalez and/or West to next year’s roster? Both were outstanding high school players who haven’t yet found a great deal of success at the D1 level, but West, with one year to play, and Gonzalez with two, would both be playing in front their home town fans, and both are apparently available.

West was an Oregon state POY and led Jefferson to two state championships, while Gonzalez was also an Oregon state POY and joined West on the 2017 OSAA All-Tournament team.

West played two years at Idaho before transferring to Concordia last season and is available by virtue of Concordia closing.

Gonzalez played one year at St. Peters in New Jersey, sat one year at Western Oregon, played at Clarendon College in Texas this past season, and is physically much stronger than he was directly out of Clackamas High School.

Neither on their own are good enough to make UP a winner, but they are both potentially very good, and playing in front of their hometown fans could be boost for both young men and UP too.

If not West and Gonzalez, how about Gonzalez and his Clarendon College teammate Russ Harrison a small forward…Harrison will decide on a college in the next couple of days, and he has some offers from a couple of majors, including Oklahoma State, but he’d be a very good fit at UP.

You’ll see in their highlight tapes that Harrison and Gonzalez already have a good basketball relationship…it would be nice to bring that relationship to UP.

by Dean Murdoch Mon Apr 06, 2020 7:51 am

DoubleDipper wrote:If not West and Gonzalez, how about Gonzalez and his Clarendon College teammate Russ Harrison a small forward…Harrison will decide on a college in the next couple of days, and he has some offers from a couple of majors, including Oklahoma State, but he’d be a very good fit at UP.

You’ll see in their highlight tapes that Harrison and Gonzalez already have a good basketball relationship…it would be nice to bring that relationship to UP.

Agreed! I think the Harrison ship has sailed, though. Looks like he named a final four schools with the Pilots not among them (Georgia, Temple, UTSA, Louisiana Monroe).

by DoubleDipper Mon Apr 06, 2020 9:08 am

Dean Murdoch wrote:Agreed! I think the Harrison ship has sailed, though. Looks like he named a final four schools with the Pilots not among them (Georgia, Temple, UTSA, Louisiana Monroe).

Oh man, this recruiting business is hard!! Razz

by Sound Voltex Mon Apr 06, 2020 12:38 pm

Latrell Jones (6’5, Wing, 2020) of College of Central FL has committed to Portland

https://twitter.com/JucoRecruiting/status/1247242517730516992
https://twitter.com/LvTrell/status/1247238975493996545

Three scholarships left?

by Dean Murdoch Mon Apr 06, 2020 1:04 pm

Make that TWO scholarships left! Wow.

@JucoRecruiting wrote:6’7 F Eddie Davis (2020) of Colby CC has committed to Portland

Quick depth chart ordered by class. They still need to find a ready-to-contribute big (like 300+ other D1 schools probably do).

PG - Tipler, Adams
SG - Walker, Ferebee, Triplett
SF - Fahrensohn, Jones
PF - Davis, Phillips, Curtiss
C - Diabate

by DoubleDipper Mon Apr 06, 2020 2:15 pm

Sound Voltex wrote:
Latrell Jones (6’5, Wing, 2020) of College of Central FL has committed to Portland

The Pilots first offered Latrell back in November in hopes he'd sign early...good for UP and Latrell for sticking with the process...committed!

This is an updated video from the one I posted in November, it's way too long, but what else have you got to do?

by DoubleDipper Mon Apr 06, 2020 2:48 pm

Dean Murdoch wrote:Make that TWO scholarships left! Wow.
@JucoRecruiting wrote:6’7 F Eddie Davis (2020) of Colby CC has committed to Portland

.....They still need to find a ready-to-contribute big (like 300+ other D1 schools probably do).

VERY impressed at the recruiting job the Pilots did to get a commit from Davis as he was last year's conference freshman of the year and this year's POY, and he and Latrell Jones both had multiple offers from schools with winning programs much closer to their homes in the Southeast.

The one UP coach in charge of recruiting the Southeastern US is Chris Buchanan, a tireless and fearless worker when it comes to recruiting. Not sure if he's still sleeping on people's couches with the COVID-19 crisis going on, but at one time he had "no need" for a house because as the only single coach on the staff, he was either recruiting or coaching all the time...

Sure, the Pilots don't (yet) have a BIG in their recruiting class, but IMO they already have a potentially better lineup than last season...it just depends on how well they jell, and how well they develop...and that's largely up to the the coaching staff!!

by DoubleDipper Mon Apr 06, 2020 2:57 pm

Dean Murdoch wrote:1) Hayden Curtiss, and hopefully they give him a proper developmental redshirt year. Not a "burn a year" like Phillips in 2019 or Collinsworth in 2020.

Portland coaches have told Curtiss they don’t want him to redshirt, or take a prep school year, as other Division I coaches told him. He was assured he’d be called on to play right away and wouldn’t be “pigeon-holed.”

Hopefully "play right away" doesn't mean Phillips in 2019 or Collinsworth in 2020.

https://scorebooklive.com/washington/2020/04/06/how-mount-sis-hayden-curtiss-turned-a-big-washington-state-tournament-into-a-division-i-scholarship/

by Guest Mon Apr 06, 2020 3:59 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:
Dean Murdoch wrote:1) Hayden Curtiss, and hopefully they give him a proper developmental redshirt year. Not a "burn a year" like Phillips in 2019 or Collinsworth in 2020.
Portland coaches have told Curtiss they don’t want him to redshirt, or take a prep school year, as other Division I coaches told him. He was assured he’d be called on to play right away and wouldn’t be “pigeon-holed.”
Hopefully "play right away" doesn't mean Phillips in 2019 or Collinsworth in 2020.

https://scorebooklive.com/washington/2020/04/06/how-mount-sis-hayden-curtiss-turned-a-big-washington-state-tournament-into-a-division-i-scholarship/

I think they have to play him since there are few other big men left on the roster.