2021 Recruiting

@RyanSilver1 wrote: 2021 Nathan Bittle 6 11 Crater Oregon has picked up an offer from Portland.  

https://t.co/6WwEhqCqm2

The 14 year-old 6-11 PF is just finishing his freshman year at Crater High School in Central Point, Oregon

Crater was the #2 seed in the OSAA Boy's 5A Tournament at OSU this past season.

DoubleDipper wrote:Crater High School in Central Point, Oregon

Wow. Never thought I would be reading about the Crater Comets here on Pilot Nation. I still remember how freaked out Medford was during the Singler years and when St. Mary’s School (Medford) had that one 6’11” kid (Fiddler?) that went to Yale.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:.....when St. Mary’s School (Medford) had that one 6’11” kid (Fiddler?) that went to Yale.

Yeah, you might recall it was St. Mary's that freaked-out when Garrett Fiddler abruptly left Medford just before the beginning of his junior year and moved to Colorado Springs....before attending Yale.

Next time I'm playing golf at Eagle Point or Stone Ridge (June), I'll keep an eye out for a 6-11 14 year-old...can't be too many of them in the area.

DoubleDipper wrote:Yeah, you might recall it was St. Mary's that freaked-out when Garrett Fiddler abruptly left Medford just before the beginning of his junior year and moved to Colorado Springs....before attending Yale.

I forgot that was how the story ended. At least UP beat Yale and Fiddler while he was on the team!

Wait, isn't that UP graduate and former Pilot basketball player Brant Minor with UP recruit Nathan Bittle.

Brant went to Grants Pass High School and earned All-State honors as a senior.   Didn't Brant play with Pooh Jeter and Donald Wilson at UP?

ben gregg ‏@bengregg20 wrote:Thankful to receive an offer from the University of Portland coaching staff

Ben Gregg, a 6-6 wing at Columbia Christian High School in Portland, is the son of Warner Pacific Women's Head Coach, Matt Gregg.

This past March, Gregg, a freshman, led his team to the Oregon 2A Championship by pulling down 51 rebounds in the 3 game tournament, and led CCHS in scoring during the season on their way to a 33-1 record.

Darius Gakwasi @DariusGakwasi wrote:Humbled to be offered by The University of Portland #GoPilots

https://twitter.com/DariusGakwasi/status/1034602449166725120

AZ Finest Mixtapes wrote:2021 @justusjackson24 has received an offer from @PilotHoops pc @CoachDomAZ

Justus Jackson is a 6-1 point guard from Goodyear, Arizona.

More offers to follow, I'm sure, but Pepperdine and Grand Canyon  have also made him offers, apparently....

TyTy Washington wrote:Blessed to receive an offer from @PilotHoops

A PG, Tyrone "TyTy" Washington from Phoenix, has good height for a soon-to-be high school junior at 6-4.

Washington has known offers from LMU, SCU, UOP, Montana and Grand Canyon.

Darius Gakwasi wrote:Humbled to be offered by The University of Portland #GoPilots

Darius Gakwasi is a 6-5 wing from Central Catholic HS in Portland.

Just a junior this coming year, Gakwasi's only known offer is from UP, but in just the last 10 days he's reportedly been contacted by  PU, Stanford, SCU, Princeton, Montana and Montana State.

This tape of Gakwasi is from his play as an 8th grader!

DoubleDipper wrote:Ben Gregg, a 6-6 wing at Columbia Christian High School in Portland, is the son of Warner Pacific Women's Head Coach, Matt Gregg.

Update: Since that post last August, Ben Gregg has received quite a few offers from other schools, including UO, Cal, OSU, Texas Tech, Texas, and WSU.

I saw Darius play in the Les Schwab Invitational this past winter. He is going to be a good one.
I knew his two older brothers, Damas and Julius, while I was teaching at Central Catholic. Wonderful, intelligent young men, and a great family.

Gonzaga landed Kaden Perry from Battle Ground (WA) High School. He's a 6'9" 210 lb forward. According to the Spokesman-Review, Perry also had an offer from UP.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/jun/27/battle-ground-big-kaden-perry-commits-to-gonzaga/

Apparently it's less than a month until the early signing period for 2021? What a weird time for a HS kid to be weighing options.

Good year for the state of Oregon, but none appear to be headed to UP at this point.

C Nathan Bittle, Central Point -> Oregon
PF Ben Gregg, Clackamas -> Gonzaga
PG Wayne McKinney, Lake Oswego -> San Diego
PF Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge, Jefferson -> Washington St
SG Darius Gakwasi, Central Catholic -> Princeton
SG Drew Carter, Tigard -> Colorado
PF Dane Erikstrup, Beaverton -> ??
PF Kamron Robinson, Jefferson -> ??
SF Trace Salton, Lake Oswego -> ??

The Pilots have three reported offers out, including from just yesterday to Australian PG Deng Dut from College of Southern Idaho. Pilots appear to be Deng's lone offer at the moment.

Other reported offers to Australian PF David Okwera (likely headed to a high major) and Arizona PG Justus Jackson (has several WCC, Big Sky, and Big West schools after him).

Dean Murdoch wrote:The Pilots have three reported offers out, including from just yesterday to Australian PG Deng Dut from College of Southern Idaho. Pilots appear to be Deng's lone offer at the moment.

Other reported offers to Australian PF David Okwera (likely headed to a high major) and Arizona PG Justus Jackson (has several WCC, Big Sky, and Big West schools after him).

Believe me, coaches from other schools are saying to recruits:

"Why would you sign with Coach Porter??"

"He won't be around next season!!"

And that's okay with me, the new coach has got to have at least a couple of open scholarships to bring in his own recruits...

@JucoRecruiting wrote:6’4 PG Deng Dut (2021) of Southern Idaho has committed to Portland

There you go, Pilots will have something to release tomorrow when early signing period starts!

Deng is from Melbourne, Australia - shot 61% from the field (and 42% from3 ) for CSI last year. I don't even know, are JUCOs playing right now or no?

Dean Murdoch wrote:

@JucoRecruiting wrote:6’4 PG Deng Dut (2021) of Southern Idaho has committed to Portland

There you go, Pilots will have something to release tomorrow when early signing period starts!

Deng is from Melbourne, Australia - shot 61% from the field (and 42% from3 ) for CSI last year. I don't even know, are JUCOs playing right now or no?

Hmm, a 6-4 Aussie point guard.  That sure sounds good...

The last I heard, the JUCOs here in the west plan/hope to begin playing in late January...sometime after the Inauguration.  Idaho has been one of the "loosest" states with regard to COVID precautions to this point, but the COVID trend there is not good...



Bouncy with good court vision...

Nothing from UP yet, but there's this:

TWIN FALLS — Surrounded by teammates and coaches, College of Southern Idaho sophomore Deng Dut on Wednesday signed his letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Portland.

“This is a day I’ve been looking forward to since I was eight years old,” Dut said. “This has always been a dream of mine.”

https://magicvalley.com/sports/college/csi/csis-deng-dut-signs-with-university-of-portland/article_40c242fd-ccda-5801-bcad-f4dd424c96d6.html

Remember the days, not that long ago, when we used to get excited about MBB signings?

With three seniors (Ali, Diabate, and Ferebee) and one grad student (Henn) eligible to come back for the 21-22 season after getting a "free" year of eligibility this season, it seems likely Dut could be the only signing until, 1. Porter leaves, 2. The new coach is announced, and 3. It is determined which of the players either stick around or leave the team.

In the meantime, it would seem the signing of Dut is a very positive step in the right direction...

Here you go:

Pilots Sports wrote:University of Portland announced the signing of guard Deng Dut (Melbourne, Australia/College of Southern Idaho) to a National Letter of Intent on Thursday. Dut had a standout freshman season at College of Southern Idaho (CSI) last year where he led the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and assist/turnover ratio.

"We are thrilled to have Deng join our Pilot basketball family," Portland head coach Terry Porter said. "Deng was someone we recruited coming out of high school and stayed on as he excelled at junior college. Our coaching staff is close with Coach (Jeff) Reinert at the CSI and we knew that they would do a great job of developing Deng's overall game. Coming out of a nationally recognized, JUCO-power like CSI, Deng will be well-prepared when he arrives on The Bluff."

https://portlandpilots.com/news/2020/11/12/untitled-story.aspx