2023 Recruiting

Teams are allowed 13 scholarships. We know Jack and Joey are done. We know Mike is in the portal, and has said goodbye. Current walk-ons are Chika, Coleman, Drew, Andrew and Jarrett. Will Wyatt Lowell return? He's finished 5 years (class of 2018) of basketball, is married, might be time to move to the next phase of his life. That leaves nine other roster players on scholarship: Moses, Tyler, Kristian, Vasilije, Juanse, Alden, Chris Austin, Vukasin Masic, and Bol Dendit. I don't recall hearing if Moses has committed to returning or pursuing a pro career. So we have eight to ten current scholarship players depending on Wyatt and Moses. We have three commits, but perhaps only two are scholarship players. I am guessing we have room for two more scholarship commits.

We'll see, as the portal gives and the portal taketh away.

up7587 wrote:

@PrepHoopsWA wrote:Brewster’s Kelson Gebbers officially commits to the University of Portland.

 Retweeted by UP MBB

Kelson Gebbers and his Brewster Bears HS team lost in the Washington 2B championship game for the second year in a row, and his next stop is UP this summer.

Gebbers scored 23 points in the final, and averaged 28ppg while scoring 614 points this season.

To provide a perspective of a 2B classification in Washington, it is a school with an enrollment of 105 - 224 students, on average.  The highest classification in Washington is 4A with over 1300 students.

Some might say that Gebbers coming from a 2B school cannot be that great, but there is another VERY good UP basketball player who went to a 2B school even smaller than where Gebbers attends.

Maisie Burnham attended Liberty High School in Spangle, a school with an enrollment under 150.  

“He (Gebbers) has a nice shooting style with a high release,” Taylor said. “He’ll probably be a wing or a shooting guard.”

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/sports/gebbers-named-2b-boys-basketball-player-of-the-year/article_dcc1d958-bedb-11ed-8bc0-3b5cdde6db9d.html

up7587 wrote:  So we have eight to ten current scholarship players depending on Wyatt and Moses.  We have three commits, but perhaps only two are scholarship players.  I am guessing we have room for two more scholarship commits.  

We'll see, as the portal gives and the portal taketh away.

Talking to Kristian's dad and brother in Las Vegas, I think it is probable that Kristian will decide to take the money and turn pro.

Talking to Wyatt, who is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, I learned he is contemplating retirement because his body has just not been up to the grind.

IMO, the Pilots cannot finish out of the bottom-4 if the staff cannot find a better post player than Chika. We all love him and his attitude, but he is just too undersized to compete at a high level in D1. No, he's not on a scholarship, but if he were to go in the portal, I believe he would get some real interest from schools that would offer him a scholarship. There is no doubt in my mind, that the #1 priority for Legs and his staff is to find a post player for next season while Vasilije continues to improve enough to take over.

Talking to Moses' dad, I think Moses is still on the fence what to do next season, but if he were to leave UP, I believe it would be to go pro.

Mike is already gone, but as good a teammate, person, and player as he is, the return of Chris Austin and the debut of Vukasin Masic next season would have severely limited Mike's playing time.  I just wish Mike the best of health wherever he plays his final season.

One player I expect to go in the portal and for the Pilots to go after is Oklahoma's 6-9 and rangy, Jake Groves.  Jake will graduate in June, knows the Legans system well after playing for him for two years at EWU, and will have two years of eligibility.  I would imagine that Jake had a great time with his brother, Tanner, at OU but he is much more suited to the WCC than the Big-12.  Slam Dunk!

DoubleDipper wrote:IMO, the Pilots cannot finish out of the bottom-4 if the staff cannot find a better post player than Chika. We all love him and his attitude, but he is just too undersized to compete at a high level in D1. No, he's not on a scholarship, but if he were to go in the portal, I believe he would get some real interest from schools that would offer him a scholarship.

Chika is in the portal!!

You won’t find another Chika - a real loss for him to leave Offer him a scholarship. .

You won’t find another Chika - a real loss for him to leave Offer him a scholarship. .

Q
Good luck in the Portal, Chika. Some school is going to be very happy.
Watching “walk on”  Chika post up against Timme with scholarship Joey riding the bench  is a memory I will never forget!
I totally agree we need a good big man, and Chika is not that person.

DoubleDipper wrote:Talking to Wyatt, who is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, I learned he is contemplating retirement because his body has just not been up to the grind.

Wyatt Lowell is in the portal (again)!

Wyatt has such great potential and promise as a basketball player, and he has one more year of eligibility.

I hope he can get healthy, stay healthy, and find a team he can start on!

Coach Legans say, "I don't worry about scholarships," but with Mike and Wyatt gone, that opens up two in addition to the two that Jack and Joey vacated upon the end of their eligibility.

Chika, Wyatt, and Mike in the portal...

up7587 wrote:

@PrepHoopsWA wrote:Brewster’s Kelson Gebbers officially commits to the University of Portland.

 Retweeted by UP MBB

A 6'5" G, F, scores around 20 ppg.  

Those living in the local area can get a good look at Gebbers when he plays in the 27th annual WAVOR (Washington vs. Oregon) All-Star High School basketball game on Sunday April 2 at 3pm at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.

Never heard of the WAVOR game?  Me either.  I don't know if it was another sensitivity issue thing, but WAVOR is the new name for what used to be called the Northwest Shootout.

DoubleDipper wrote:

A 6-8/235 wing from Australia of Fijian descent, Buru (that is apparently what he goes by) is playing his first year of ball at Garden City Community College in Kansas.

From his tape, he appears the kind of guy UP needs...similar in some respects to Chika, but with more height and weight. (No one can match Chika's attitude, IMO).  

This is just a guess, but I believe he was late getting to Garden City last season and redshirted, so it could be his required two years there will be fulfilled in June and he'd be eligible to play at the D1 level in the fall...again, just a guess after rooting around a bit.

Buru has at least eight known offers from D1 schools, but so far, UP is the only school on the west coast with an offer.

Buru is #12.  (You've got to love the put-backs at the 1 and 3-minute marks).

I am told Buru will follow the money and will likely end up at St. John's where Coach Pitino has plenty of $.$$$.$$$...

Dean Murdoch wrote:Updates on the two JUCO players the Pilots offered a month and a half ago. Buru is interesting, 6-8/220 and averaged a double-double at Garden City (14.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG). Meithof is the top scorer on the top JUCO team in the country.

Buru Naivalurua
• 6-8 forward from Sydney, Australia playing at Garden City CC in Kansas.
• Ranked #29 on jucorecruiting.com's top 100 for 2023
• Offers from Iona, Hawaii, Southern Indiana, Cal State Fullerton, Tulsa, St. Bonaventure, Sacramento State since the Pilots offer was reported.
• Top five offers by Kenpom: 76 Iona, 117 Fullerton, 125 Hawaii, 152 Portland, 158 Tarleton State.
• Doesn't appear to have trimmed offer list yet.

Nate Meithof
• 6-5 guard from Keizer, Oregon playing at College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.
• Ranked #35 on jucorecruiting.com's top 100 for 2023.
• Offers from Drake and Long Island since the Pilots offer was reported.
• Top five offers by Kenpom: 64 Drake, 79 Utah Valley, 108 UC Santa Barbara, 152 Portland, 221 Florida International.
• Doesn't appear to have trimmed offer list yet.

Recruited to Iona, Buru Naivalurua is reportedly following former Iona Coach Rick Pitino to St. John's.  Regardless of where he ends up, he is not coming to UP.

Nate Meithof today announced his commitment to Oregon State.

DoubleDipper wrote:

up7587 wrote:

@PrepHoopsWA wrote:Brewster’s Kelson Gebbers officially commits to the University of Portland.

 Retweeted by UP MBB

A 6'5" G, F, scores around 20 ppg.  

Those living in the local area can get a good look at Gebbers when he plays in the 27th annual WAVOR (Washington vs. Oregon) All-Star High School basketball game on Sunday April 2 at 3pm at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.

Never heard of the WAVOR game?  Me either.  I don't know if it was another sensitivity issue thing, but WAVOR is the new name for what used to be called the Northwest Shootout.

Gebbers was 2-5, 2-2 for 7 points in the WAVOR game.

With close to 1,400 players in the portal (including five from UP) it could be UP will end up signing more freshmen directly out of high school than transfers this year.

Gone:
Mike Meadows
Moses Wood
Wyatt Lowell
Chika Nduka
Alden Applewhite
Jack Perry
Joey St. Pierre
Kristian Sjolund **

** Expected to turn pro...but still weighing his offers

Scholarship Players Expected to Return:
Juan Gorosito
Bol Dengdit *
Vasilije Vučinić
Vukašin Mašić *
Tyler Robertson
Chris Austin*

* Did not play last season

Known Inbound Players:
Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, C, sophomore, 6-10/215, Aizuwakamatsu Japan, Lamar U.
Cyprian Hyde, PF, freshman, 6-10/220, Oceanside, California
Vince Delano, PG, freshman, 6-2/175, Phoenix, Arizona
Kelson Gebbers, SF, freshman, 6-6/200, Brewster, Washington
Tyler Harris, SG, freshman, 6-8/200, Livermore, California ***

*** Unconfirmed, but a teammate of Harris who is committed to St. Mary's says Harris is coming to UP.

Scholarships:

With Coach Legans, you just never know who might end up being a walk-on, but depending upon Sjolund's status, it would appear there are at least one, and likely two, scholarships still available,

The signing period begins on Wednesday...

DoubleDipper wrote:Tyler Harris, SG, freshman, 6-8/200, Livermore, California ***

*** Unconfirmed, but a teammate of Harris who is committed to St. Mary's says Harris is coming to UP.

Harris is a 3-star recruit who just finished his high school career at Grenada HS in Livermore, California.  

Grenada was the runner-up in the Division 1 (top) championships, where he scored 17 and grabbed 10 rebounds in the championship game.  The star of the game for the champs is a Duke commit who scored 33 points.

For a guy who's taking a break you are doing great reporting. Thanks.

DoubleDipper wrote:
Tyler Harris, SG, freshman, 6-8/200, Livermore, California ***
*** Unconfirmed, but a teammate of Harris who is committed to St. Mary's says Harris is coming to UP. .

I was told this may happen, but not anytime soon.

The whole NIL thing and "tampering" by all the big schools that can afford to pay almost unlimited amounts are throwing the entire recruiting world into chaos.

up7587 wrote:

@PrepHoopsWA wrote:Brewster’s Kelson Gebbers officially commits to the University of Portland.

I am told Gebbers was on campus last week, and the coaches were VERY impressed...even more so than when they were recruiting him.  

DoubleDipper wrote:Tyler Harris, SG, freshman, 6-8/200, Livermore, California ***

Harris is reportedly on campus this weekend...

DoubleDipper wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Tyler Harris, SG, freshman, 6-8/200, Livermore, California ***

Harris is reportedly on campus this weekend...

Apparently Harris has been recruited and offered by a number of schools, but his is only known offers are from:
UTEP
Cal Poly
Eastern Washington
San Diego St.
Fresno St.
San Jose St.
UC Santa Barbara

DoubleDipper wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Tyler Harris, SG, freshman, 6-8/200, Livermore, California ***

Harris is reportedly on campus this weekend...

Bad report!!

He apparently arrives on Monday evening...

I don't usually post these kind of tweets, but apparently Oosterbroek is scheduled to visit UP in a couple of weeks.

As far as I can tell, he has only 4 minutes and 1 point of college experience after walking on at Miami and after being a heck of a high school player in California.

(By the look of the tweet, where his name is spelled two different ways, I'd say his name is a lot easier to say than it is to spell.)

DoubleDipper wrote:One player I expect to go in the portal and for the Pilots to go after is Oklahoma's 6-9 and rangy, Jake Groves.  Jake will graduate in June, knows the Legans system well after playing for him for two years at EWU, and will have two years of eligibility.  

Apparently following the money, as are so many of the players** the Pilots are interested in, Jake was spotted on the U. of Virginia campus this past weekend.

**I used to refer to all the players as "student-athletes," but with the advent of the transfer portal, I am not sure it is still an appropriate title.

DoubleDipper wrote:Known Inbound Players:
Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, C, sophomore, 6-10/215, Aizuwakamatsu Japan, Lamar U.
Cyprian Hyde, PF, freshman, 6-10/220, Oceanside, California
Vince Delano, PG, freshman, 6-2/175, Phoenix, Arizona

Signings confirmed:

https://portlandpilots.com/news/2023/4/24/mens-basketball-pilots-add-transfer-center-yuto-yamanouchi-williams.aspx