2024 Recruiting

DoubleDipper wrote:What position to the Pilots need to fill to round out the team?

1. An experienced big to mentor and compete with Rapp, Dobuol, and Dengdit.
2. An experienced point guard to compete with redshirt freshman Vince Delano for the starting position.

up7587 wrote:One down, one to go.

up7587 wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:What position to the Pilots need to fill to round out the team?

1. An experienced big to mentor and compete with Rapp, Dobuol, and Dengdit.
2. An experienced point guard to compete with redshirt freshman Vince Delano for the starting position.

One down, one to go.

@PortlandMBB wrote:It’s official—welcome to the family Aussie Rapp!

@PortlandMBB wrote:Keep ‘em comin—welcome to Portland Max Mackinnon!

@PortlandMBB wrote:Big time—welcome to the Bluff Jermaine Ballisager Webb!

DoubleDipper wrote:MBB is allowed to 13 scholarship players...

With the regular signing period beginning tomorrow, April 16, how many scholarships do the Pilots need to fill after the news that Chris Austin will return and the recent departures through graduation and the transfer portal?

I believe that number is only two!

UP loses eight nine scholarship players Robinson, Gorosito, Oosterbroek, Yamanouchi-Williams, Jordan, Hyde, Koroma, and Vucinic and Tyler Harris.

There are currently 11 players either on scholarship or committed and expected to sign in the coming weeks:

1. Chris Austin
2. Vukasin Masic
3. Max McKinnon (committed signed)
4  Bol Dengbit
5. Vince Delano
6. Kelson Gebbers (a walk-on last season)
7. Mikah Ballew (signed in November)
8. Jinup Dobuol (committed signed 4/22)
9. Todd Jones (committed signed 4/22)
10. Aussie (Austin) Rapp (committed signed)
11. Jermaine Ballisiger Webb (signed)

I do not recall a Pilots team this young and inexperienced, ever!  Only Austin, Masic, and McKinnon and Ballisager Webb have more than one year of college ball experience.  Dengdit has one year of experience and everyone else is a "rookie."

What position to the Pilots need to fill to round out the team?

1. An experienced big to mentor and compete with Rapp, Dobuol, and Dengdit. ???
2. An experienced point guard to compete with redshirt freshman Vince Delano for the starting position.

Dean Murdoch wrote:We got Ball State out here dropping bags now?

DoubleDipper wrote:

Dean Murdoch wrote:Uhh just to confirm, he has committed to UP??

Yes!

Ballisager Webb did not get a lot of playing time at American, averaging just 13 minutes per game playing behind the best player and leading scorer on the team who is returning for one more year.

A true center, he did not attempt any 3-point shots during his two years at American U but did shoot close to 60% on the inside while averaging over 7 ppg and 4 rpg this past season.

A native of Denmark, his mother's home country, he attended high school at Montverde Academy in Florida.

up7587 wrote:Per Verbal Commits, Jinup Dobuol has signed his NLI.

@PortlandMBB wrote:Another new Pilot—welcome to the West Coast Todd Jones Jr.

up7587 wrote:Interesting take on recruiting I saw on the GU board. Regards evaluating parents as well as recruits.

floor-seats-college-recruiters-pass

"Well, my son is in the transfer portal, and he's 20 years old. He's grown. He can make his own decisions." And we're like, "No, he can't." Some parents really don't understand who their kids are. And that the kids aren't capable of making the right decision and the right choice for them and their future.

PortlandMBB wrote:Officially signed —welcome to P-Town Mikah Ballew!

@ThePortalReport wrote:Drake transfer Patrick Bath (@patrick_bath21) has received interest from the following programs:

Colgate
Longwood
Wofford
Marist
American
Portland
Holy Cross
NDSU
Idaho
FDU
UMBC
William & Mary
Manhattan
Cal Poly
+many more!

DoubleDipper wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:From Tacoma, Ervin put up 22.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists & 37% 3PT in conference play at Peninsula JC is in Port Angeles this past season.

To me, Ervin could be a useful to the Pilots because he is a point guard, and the roster currently lists just one true point guard, Delano.

@jakelieberman2 wrote:6'3 guard Javon Ervin out of Peninsula Junior College tells me that he's recently heard from the following:

Portland
Pacific
Marshall
Mount St. Mary's
Texas State

Averaged 21.6 points per game this season.

DoubleDipper wrote:...one time Jefferson HS, Oregon POY, and Texas Tech backup Lamar Washington will be taking an unofficial visit to UP this week while visiting family...despite telling everyone he "does not want to come back to Portland."

up7587 wrote:I went through this thread and looked up all the players mentioned (yes, I am nuts).  A couple were previously reported here (Davis, Myers).  Several are still unsigned, and some of them are PGs.

Kameron Wright: unsigned
Isaiah Brown: Florida
Vuk Lazarevic: unsigned - Serbian, probably not coming to US.
Vazoumana Diallo: Washington
Taj DeGourville: San Diego St.
Jon Mani: Denver
Jai Anthoni Bearden: Ball St.
Liam Campbell: unsigned -  Decommitted from USC, but is not interested in UP
Zion Sensley: SMC
Style Phipps: Grand Canyon
Austin Maurer: Grand Canyon
Ty Virgil: unsigned HS - Class of 2025; not interested in UP
Joseph Valencia: unsigned - Apparently not coming from Columbia to US to play basketball.
Pearson Carmichael: Boise St.
Dayton Forsythe: Oklahoma
Hunter Carter: unsigned - High School Class of 2025
Mario Williams Jr: Western Oregon
Chris Riddle: DePaul
Terrence Hill Jr: Utah St.
Aaron Powell: Rice
Eric Freeny: UCLA
Isaac Davis: BYU
Loreno Cason: unsigned - Signed with Michigan
Stefan Cicic: unsigned (just visited Miami, said it's a good fit) - Not offered by UP
Jonah Hinton: unsigned (has a Top 5 w/o UP)
Qiant Myers: Portland St.
John Wade: unsigned - Apparently not offered by UP...may be heading to Southern Mississippi
A.J. George: unsigned - Signed with SMU
Brandton Chatfield: Iowa St.
Javon Ervin: unsigned - Apparently, not offered by UP
Mor Seck: unsigned

@John_Fanta wrote:One high major coach to me on the state of college basketball:

“It’s a f#%king disaster. For us veteran coaches, this is not what we signed up for. I am not mad at the kids one bit. They’re seeking their value and earning money, and I think they should. It’s your right to get paid. I would do the same thing that they’re doing. Anybody mad at the kids is foolish. But shame on the NCAA for not seeing this coming years ago and being proactive. Not having a boundary or a system in place at all, having no regulations to even attempt to find a common playing field is a major miss. These collectives will get coaches fired. We have had no break. Not one coach in the country has had a single day to sit down and breathe. It’s unhealthy. The other issue is you get attrition when you get commitments. Another kid sees someone commit, dislikes the idea of fighting for their role on a team and wants to bolt elsewhere. We can’t do this every single year. Kids should make big dollars. But the way this is set up right now with no contracts or regulations makes it impossible to sustain anything in this sport.”

up7587 wrote:

@JonahHinton wrote:Blessed to receive an offer from University of Portland

2022 recruit started at NW Missouri St. (D-II), I think as a redshirt, then JUCO at Panola College.  Started every game, shot 39.7% on 3Ps and 79.8% on FTs.  6'3" 170#, from the Chicago area.  Has multiple offers from mid-major schools including Jacksonville St., New Orleans, Fairleigh Dickinson, CSU Bakersfield, Siena and Marist.

@jakelieberman2 wrote:6'3 guard Javon Ervin out of Peninsula Junior College tells me that he's working out with Portland today.

In the past week, both FAMU & New Orleans have offered. Planning to visit both programs.

Averaged: 21.6 points per game

Tacoma, Washington native.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Has attempted zero 3-pointers in his career. If he does even a little bit of research into Legans' aversion to playing interior-oriented big guys, he'll steer clear of UP. Hard to understand why Legans is going after a guy like this, just to spend a roster spot on a guy who is destined to ride the bench.

Not to mention... if Illinois is interested, seems like an offer from Portland would be largely irrelevant...