Got this from Coach Bob Gottlieb's writeup on his Branch West team's participation in a weekend tournament: "Namon Wright 6'4" 2014 from CIF Champ Pacific Hills also played well. Great job of slashing and finishing in the first half of the Finals when we were struggling to score. It appears USC, New Mexico State and Utah have all offered already"
Kudos to Tony Jones for breaking the news about the departures of USU and SJSU from the WAC. It broke on a Sunday which is usually a light day for newspaper staffing, which makes Jones' scoop even more impressive.
The Signal's Joey Gulino has posted a feature on Trevor Wiseman.
Yes, Wiseman does have starting ability in the right five-man configuration, like being surrounded by two or three ability-to-create-for-themselves teammates. As with 99% of players, it all comes down to fit as his strengths are defending and offensive rebounding. However, his academic concerns and decision to not enter a game are going to limit his welcome wagon opportunities.
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Per Josh Gershon, SoCal prep prospect Blake Hamilton has cast his lot with Northern Arizona. He visited Hawaii last weekend.
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Kurt Kragthorpe writes that Utah State is heading to where it belongs.
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From Josh Paunil's latest post on a young man out of San Diego who will end up in the Pac-12:
Tyree Robinson | Class of 2013 | Shooting Guard | 6’3 | 190
Tony Jones confirms it -- Utah State and San Jose State University are Mountain West Conference bound. Bank on Louisiana Tech to also make its move.
The real life domino theory is in force.
Josh Gershon has the news that Cameron Forte, who visited UH last weekend, has gone with Northern Arizona. The home state lure must have proved tough to resist.
Matt Sonnenberg comes through with an out with the old, in with the new column on USU changes. Shawn Harrison and Rhett Wilkinson also check in on ch-ch-ch-changes happening Logan.
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Here's an AP article on Texas San Antonio going rogue. Roadrunners, we hardly met ye.
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We'll never know (so will St. John's bite or is that too high?) but was Hawaii going to succeed with a 5-foot-10 backcourter who performs best as a shooting guard? No knock on Shaq, his game is what it is. Maybe he'll transform into a pass-first QB, maybe not, but his present game is aim and fire and any coach interested in him has to embrace those terms and be prepared to utilize such.
The Fresno Bee has selected Aaric Armstead to its Boys Basketball All-Star team. Can't see Cal State Northridge or Northern illinois as his landing spot and the young man is originally from Chicago so Hawaii should certainly have quite the weather appeal.
From a post by club team Branch West Coach Bob Gottlieb: "Gerry Blakes 6'4" pg from Morningside H.S. is a dominant physical
specimen. He is learning to be a true pg. Signed with Hawaii a year
ago but the NCAA red flagged him re: the on line courses he took. They
have asked for additional work to be turned in, which it has, and he is
waiting to hear if the NCAA will rule him eligible. Colorado is showing
great interest"
Blakes' situation parallels Jarndyce v Jarndyce in Dickens' "Bleak House" -- no resolution until the wealth being argued over has dissipated.
Josh Gershon tweets a thumbs-up for Utah State commit Jalen Moore: "I'm liking 2013 Utah State commit Jalen Moore. 6-7 SF with ball skills and three-point range. Skinny but high basketball IQ. Good pickup"
Louisiana Tech is heading to C-USA, Texas San Antonio is also joining the move of the Bulldogs (rather than come to the WAC), Utah State and San Jose State are off to the Mountain West Conference, and so on.
Brett McMurphy has the latest.
The WAC in 2013 is going to be fascinating, with a lot of double-parking so to speak. Plus, where will Boise have its non-football programs?
A recent Joe Davidson tweet: "SacBee hoops Player of Year D'Erryl Williams of Sheldon picks up offers from LMU and Fresno State. Superb leader, skills, toughness"
He's a 6-foot-4 2013 prospect and a 4.0 student with excellent dribble-drive to the hoop talent.
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Dayton Morinaga has video with Shaq Stokes, all about the latter's departure.
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Looking way ahead ...
A recent Alex Kline/The Recruit Scoop tweet: "2014 Oregon D1 Ambassadors (OR) trio Ryan Shearmire, Yadie Dunmore & Ty Cleland are taking an unofficial visit to Denver"
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Chris Gabel has the latest on a Reno prepster with seven offers, going on 70.
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A Seattle assistant coach is departing for another position.
Another exit has taken place in Hawaii as Shaquille Stokes is departing.
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Let the "Good Times" roll as Louisiana Tech lands JJ. Here's an article from when Jaron Johnson signed with Tyler Junior College a couple of years back and below is that photo:
aggiedawg777 has posted an in-depth look and well-deserving read regarding the New Mexico State basketball roster for next season at the Aggie Alert Sports Trough MB.
Tariq Sibiet offers much more on the recruitment of 2013 Canadian guard Manroop Clair. As posted earlier, Seattle has offered but this article also mentions interest from New Mexico State and Hawaii.
Jason Groves has the news about a pair shooters launching into Las Cruces.
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Two championships in a row and Gary Wilkinson might not be back in New Zealand. Here's another article covering that territory.
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From a Gilbert Muako tweet: "Weber St, Seattle & UC Riverside offered '13 G Manroop Clair of @DRIVEBasketball expect more to come. Kid is talented"
He's a 6-foot-1 backcourter. Here's a late July 2011 article.
Here's videotape from last summer:
Josh Gershon recently tweeted this: "Fresno State and UCSB are the latest offers for 2013 Sacramento Sheldon SF Dakarai Allen"
Allen's physical skills and basketball talents are maximized in a fast-paced style. At 6-foot-6 and 175 pounds, his role will probably turn out similar to that of former UCLA forward now Milwaukee Buck Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, whose defense and rebounding got him to the Big Show. Granted, player comparisons are sketchy at best, especially so when two different positions on the court are also involved in the equation.
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Brian McInnis checks in with more on the Brandon Spearman signing and also an overall UH recruiting interview with Coach Gib Arnold.
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San Jose State University is sprouting bigs as Spartan Athletics report.
Might end up with nada tomorrow but PTW will take those chances.
Tony Jones checks in with a Utah State offer to a 2014 prospect.
Matt Sonnenberg catches his readers up to date with Aggie recruiting.
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An Anthony Ray tweet: "Pasadena JC 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Givon Crump will sign with Cal-State Fullerton today"
Crump tripped to both New Mexico State and Hawaii.
Dayton Morinaga writes about Hawaii's latest talent acquisition.
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Tony Jones covers "Nixon's the one" territory.
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From Gary Trousdale's Twitter account comes a photo of 7-foot-1 Mike VanKirk signing with San Jose State University.
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Courtesy of Dave Telep's latest (ESPN Insider) on the adidas and Pangos tournaments in Vegas this weekend:
"John Dawson (Clovis, New Mex./Clovis) owns an offer from Wyoming and interest from Baylor, Arizona, New Mexico State and New Mexico ... Dawson has a Rodney Stuckey-type body and he’ll be pursued by Mountain West teams for sure"He's 6-foot-3, 185 pounds and a 2013 prospect.
Brian McInnis names the fourth visitor to Hawaii this weekend plus, more importantly, a UH commitment.
As for the commit, not sure about his outside-shooting consistency -- 41% overall, 33% from long distance -- despite his nailing 53 treys this past season. He's big and strong though.
Here's a 10-minute interview with Spearman prior to his freshman year at Dayton.
Jessob Reisbeck/KMPH Fresno Channel 26 checks in with some updates involving various WAC teams:
"Bullard star basketball guard, Aaric Armstead is getting closer to making a decision about where he'll play college ball. The Chicago transplant is in the midst of setting up official visits to his three front running schools. They are New Mexico, Hawaii, and Arkansas. There are others still in the mix like Northridge and San Jose State. Fresno State has still not contacted the Armsteads. KMPH will keep you posted as the family continues to move through the proces"Here's a partial ESPN evaluation: "Armstead is a relentless competitor with a rangy frame (long arms/broad shoulders) who is always in attack mode. He loves to penetrate in the mid-range area and he can convert buckets in a number ways-usually of the pull-up jump shot variety. His handle is pretty tight ..."
Utah State hoops equals change in 2012.
Actually, make that more change.
But the more matters change, the more they stay the same.
Brady Jardine, Brockeith Pane and Morgan Grim are done.
EJ Farris, Adam Thoseby, Mitch Bruneel and Igor Premasunac were not tendered return invites.
Such an amount of goings is usually the change that takes place when a new coach takes over, brings out the chainsaw and does some clear cutting.
But remember that last season it was four starters in Tyler Newbold, Pooh Williams, Tai Wesley, Nate Bendall, plus Brian Green, all completing their respective eligibility. So did Matt Formisano while James Walker transferred.
So half a new roster, for various reasons, seems to be the norm -- at least the past couple of seasons for USU.
With the dust apparently cleared, who will don the Aggie uniform come the new season?
Freshman forward David Collette is heading out on his LDS mission.
The Candidates (as of today)
* Quincy Bair, freshman, 6-foot-5, 180
* Danny Berger, junior, 6-foot-6, 175
* Riley Bradshaw, freshman, 6-foot-2, 180
* Spencer Butterfield, junior, 6-foot-3, 205
* Ben Clifford, sophomore, 6-foot-7, 215 (apparently not on a schollie)
* Marcel Davis, freshman, 6-foot-2, 180
* Sean Harris, junior, 6-foot-7, 220
* Marvin Jean, junior, 6-foot-5, 190
* Matt Lopez, sophomore, 6-foot-11,24
* Preston Medlin, junior, 6-foot-4, 175
* Sam Orchard, freshman, 6-foot-1, 175 (a walk-on)
* Kyisean Reed, senior, 6-foot-6, 215
* TeNale Roland, sophomore, 6-foot-1, 165
* Jarred Shaw, junior, 6-foot-10, 235
* Jordan Stone, sophomore, 6-foot-10, 270
What makes all this movement even more fascinating is that Stew Morrill's system isn't the easiest to quickly pick up, typically meaning a degree of continuity is usually needed in order to be continue on with the success.
Not so in Logan.
Yes, this most recent season wasn't typical for the Aggies but it was successful and such was also accomplished minus Brady Jardine, the top USU frontcourter.
The Aggie roster changes mightily but the W-L record stays very positive.
How does Stew Morrill do it?
Per Adam Zagoria, 6-foot-6 wing Marco Bougault, a very solid catch-and-shoot JC transfer, has cast his lot with St. John's. He had tripped to Louisiana Tech earlier.
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Brian McInnis has updates from the twitter accounts of all three of UH basketball's visiting recruits -- lots of positive words but no commits, as yet.
Adios for now.
Daryl Morey, the General Manager of the Houston Rockets, weighs in on the emergence of Jeremy Lin, accepting blame for missing what assets Lin had to offer (when the latter was a Rocket) but also detailing a number of other factors explaining why there are multiple Lin-types available come NBA draft time and why it is impossible to pre-determine who will make it and who won't.
So will anything leak out of the islands today?
With three visitors and some high pressure salesmanship, PTW is expecting at least one green light before midnight.
Keep a watch on Brian McInnis' Twitter account.
Tony Jones has the scoop on Mitch Bruneel's departure from Utah State.
Matt Sonnenberg offers an MB Aggie obit.
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Mark Warszawski/Fresno Bee notes (plus has other observations):
"If Upshaw and incoming forward Braeden Anderson are as good as their pedigrees suggest, the Bulldogs may actually sneak up on some teams in the Mountain West Conference.
Which, by the way, is an Andre the Giant-sized step up from the Western Athletic Conference."
BenD @ Torn By Sports looks at the Utah State roster: the perimeter and then the post.
AggieSurge at the AggieAlert Basketball MB has posted this: "6'6 210 lbs SF Matej Buovac has been offered by NMSU and has already visited Las Cruces"
Buovac is visiting Tulane this weekend. UAB has also offered.
Here's a blog entry from April 17.
It certainly seems like New Mexico State is focused on landing a two or a three whose top talent is shooting, especially from distance.
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Matt Sonnenberg, courtesy of a secret poster, has news about a big change taking place in The Spectrum.
That's it for now.
From Anthony Ray's Twitter account comes a pair of Texas San Antonio recruiting items:
* University of Utah transfer and former Westwind Prep and St. Mary's HS
graduate George Matthews is leaning towards Texas-San Antonio
He's a 6-foot-5 wing.
and
* Former Basha HS product and South Florida transfer Blake Nash is considering Texas-San Antonio and Arizona State currently.
Nash is a 6-foot point
Both were very highly regarded coming out of post grad and community college respectively but each struggled in their initial seasons.
PTW imagines it's underway (or at least plans for it) but Fresno State should be beginning a basketball season ticket sale push built around the Upshaw-mania currently permeating the San Joaquin atmosphere.
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Matt Sonnenberg goes long in reviewing the Utah State acquisitions for next season.
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Tenale and Marvin isn't the latest new cop series on Fox but the first names of USU's latest additions, as Shawn Harrison details.
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Brian McInnis reports on three basketball-related tourists hitting Hawaii this weekend.
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Jeff Portnoy writes about the bizarro week it has been in NCAA hoops.
Tony Jones writes that one point is arriving and one departing in Logan.
Matt Sonnenfeld fleshes out the Farris exit.
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Dayton Morinaga reports on a recruiting weekend that could have the makings to determine where the Rainbow Warriors finish next season in the Big West Conference.
That's it for now.
This is interesting if coincidental ... or maybe, just maybe not ...
From the USU Fans Stew's Spectrum MB -- it begins with:
It does make one wonder what all those playbook pages the Aggies coaches flash during games are really transmitting?Late Signee Lefty Attrition?
Has anyone else noticed the yearly late signings of left-handed foreigners who leave the program the next year? It's been the case the past 3 years:
'09-'10 - Dominique Cooks (Australia)
'10-'11 - Leon Cooper (Bahamas)
'11-'12 - Adam Thoseby (England)
I noticed that Marvin Jean is a lefty, too, but isn't foreign. Well, New York actually might be considered foreign to many Loganites.Let's hope he produces enough to warrant sticking around for more than a year.
Adam Zagoria writes about JUCO shooter deluxe Marco Bourgault who is visiting St. John's but also tripped to Louisiana Tech earlier.
The Bulldog portion of the article:
"He has already visited Louisiana Tech and said he “really liked it.”
“He enjoyed the visit, there’s minutes for him right away down there and he likes the point guard,” said Notre Dame Prep coach Ryan Hurd, who coached Bourgault for a year and speaks highly of his basketball talents.
“The reality is he’s an incredibly cerebral player,” Hurd added. “If you’re not banking a ton on his athleticism, then he can bring a whole lot to the table as an offensive threat.”
Add 6-foot-5 sophomore Lonnie Smith to the list of transfers out of the WAC. He played 9.4 minutes a game in 16 contests, averaging 2.9 points each time out for Louisiana Tech. The season before, it was 22 minutes on the floor a night but an influx of other talent bypassed him in the rotation. Freshman Alex Carr also departed earlier.
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Dayton Morinaga keeps readers current on Hawaii's recruiting.
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Matt Sonnenberg does the same with Utah State's backcourt replenishment as a JC point has Aggie-ized himself.
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Robert Kuwada writes that the coming season's schedule was also a lure for Robert Upshaw.
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San Jose State has added a JC backcourter to its roster.
Man, Mel Grussing is everywhere. We're picturing MG video cameras and mics all over the Antelope Valley College athletics department because nothing escapes his attention.
The latest is guard Julius Bilbrew, a former Fresno State signee, joining up with Coach John Taylor's AVC posse. It's a program having three sophomores already heading to D-1 next season, with two talents yet to land.
What's that line? We don't rebuild, we restock. How's that for a mantra? C'mon put it on the marquee in Palmdale.
Wendell McKines was named to the All-Tournament team based on his play over the weekend at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. He averaged 15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds over three games and measured out at 6-foot-4 and a quarter and 239.8 pounds.
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Jeff Portnoy looks after next year's to date UH roster and roles.
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Here's an interesting article on former Utah State center Gary Wilkinson's squad in New Zealand, one on the verge of winning another league title. The owner has a pronounced policy on who he signs.
Robert Kuwada has a blog entry up on Robert Upshaw's becoming a Bulldog, followed by a full report.
This may not be the most important point but Upshaw's presence on the Fresno State roster allows a greater degree of normality for a number of the rest of the players. Jerry Brown's days (actually nights) in the middle should be a thing of the past for the 6-foot-7 junior. The option for 6-foot-10 Tanner Giddings to redshirt as a frosh and upgrade his body just increased. Even Kevin Foster can stay away from having to handle guys so much bigger than himself, at least for the most part. The days of being forced to play a number of his guys out of their true positions are over for Coach Rodney Terry. Additionally, the outside shooting of Kevin Olekaibe and Allen Huddleston will make the jobs of Upshaw and Braeden Anderson much less double-teamed inside, but also vice versa.
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Sportsbow reports that Indian Hill College backcourter Brandon Spearman is tripping to the islands next weekend. He's a well-built shooting guard but his accuracy numbers all-around are a bit low for such a role.
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Jason Groves tweets that New Mexico State had a backcourt visitor this weekend. The young man is a catch-and-shoot distance shooter (think Gordo Castillo) who finished second on his Santa Rosa (CA) Junior College team with 12.3 points per game. He went 99-247 from long distance (40%), taking but 83 two-point attempts, as part of an offense built around precision patterning.
San Jose State University AD Tom Bowen has accepted the same position at Memphis.
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Matt Sonnenberg announces the Utah State signing of three man Marvin Jean.
That's it so far -- heading out to catch a basketball tournament.
Andy Boogaard checks in with the latest on 7-foot-0 Robert Upshaw.
How well will the Fresno State coaches sleep tonight?
Upshaw choosing the Mountain West Conference would be a good match, a solid challenge of opponents and doing so would certainly would plug a hole on the Bulldog roster.
Anyone want to bet that Upshaw signs another aid agreement and not a letter-of-intent?
From Anthony Ray on Twitter: "Texas Tech 6-foot-7 freshman transfer Cameron Forte will take an official recruiting visit to the University of Hawaii on April 19th"
It appears that Forte redshirted last season.
Here's an article when Forte signed with TT. Here's another.
Dayton Morinaga reports that Trevor Wiseman has joined Joston Thomas and Bobby Miles in departing from the Rainbow Warrior basketball program. Wiseman is seeking a starting position which wasn't going to happen at UH. So will it be Forte for Wiseman? Offense for rebounding and defense (but Forte will have to sit out a season)?
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In a first, PTW has a note on Seattle Redhawk hoops: a pair of transfers have been signed by Coach Cameron Dollar. 6-foot-3 guard Emerson Murray comes from Cal and 6-foot-1 Isiah Umipig, another backcourter, was last at Cal State Fullerton.
Here's the background information from the Seattle hoops site.
More on each later.
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Shawn Harrison rounds up the Utah State season and offers awards to various Aggies.
Jimmy Graben at the local newspaper writes about Spencer Butterfield's heading to Utah State.
Was ready to post that nothing happened in the WAC last night but got rescued by this:
In his second game at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, Wendell McKines went for 12 points and 14 rebounds in 31 minutes (6-19 shooting).
It was 16 and 10 (7-18 shooting) for McKines in game one.
Individual workouts with teams will carry much more weight but McKines is demonstrating his biggest strength (hitting the boards) and his weakness (getting clear shots -- once away from WAC defenders). But, in his favor, it's has to be hard to play with any sort of rhythm in a Portsmouth kind of setting.
Malte Kramer, a sharpshooting 6-foot-7 California community college forward, has gone with Pepperdine. He had offers (current, or not) from both Seattle and San Jose State University.
Patrick Sheltra breaks it down and his finding is that Idaho should head back to the Big Sky Conference.
One question: what about an exception for Vandal hoops?
Make that two: would parking every other sports program in one conference with basketball in another be feasible?
But as we've witnessed of late, it's been football in one league, the rest in another.
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Mark Knight/Husky Haul has Washington in the pursuit of Robert Upshaw: "Robert Upshaw is the main back to the basket guy on their radar"
Add him to the WAC transfer list: Alex Carr, 6-2, G, Fr., Louisiana Tech (16 games, six minutes a contest)
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Had this (below) ready and then Jason Groves beat us to it (and good for him).
Didn't know this fact until stumbling across it: "The names that seem to be getting a lot of play are ... and Reggie Theus, who hasn't been the head coach at any level since 2008, but apparently is a good friend of LSU Chancellor Mike Martin from their shared time at New Mexico State back in 2007."
Could this previous partnership play a factor? Would Coach Reggie play in Baton Rouge? You bet. Heck, he could become governor if the Tigers regain their bite with him at the helm.
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Tony Smith has Coach Stew Morrill saying 'giddyup' and get next season here.
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Jeff Portnoy checks in on Hawaii's roster needs.
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Robert Kuwada looks at the Robert Upshaw Decision (still to come).
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Matt Sonnenfeld eyes the goings and then the rivals in Logantown.
Jason Groves on Twitter: "Multiple people have told me today that Marvin Menzies is staying at #NMSU"
Jason then followed up with an article on the subject.
seldomseensmith (does anything ever get by him?) has the scoop at the USUFans Stew's Spectrum MB on Adam Thoseby and Igor Premasunac departing from Utah State.
So that makes Bobby Miles and Joston Thomas (UH), Keith Shamburger (SJSU), Thoseby and Premasunac as known transfers.
Thanks to Dan for the tip -- seldomseensmith has broken the news of another Idaho Vandal to-be at the GoVandals.net basketball MB. Antwann Scott is a 6-foot-1, 170-pound sophomore guard whose numbers indicate shooting, passing and rebounding ability.
So the basketball portion of the Western Athletic Conference, at least right now (key term), is going to consist of:
* Denver
* Idaho
* Louisiana Tech
* New Mexico State
* San Jose State University
* Seattle University
* Texas Arlington
* Texas State
* UT San Antonio
* Utah State
There's no talk of two divisions but it geographically rounds out to:
* Denver
* Idaho
* San Jose State University
* Seattle
* Utah State
* Louisiana Tech
* New Mexico State
* Texas Arlington
* Texas State
* UT San Antonio
Plus, Boise State will rejoin the WAC in basketball on 7-1-2013 although it's seem a sure bet that the conference membership will have changed by then.
Overall, this is dispiriting.
The fact is the losses of Nevada, Hawaii and Fresno State really lower the conference stature although it's also true that having them as members didn't exactly have the league breaking into the top ten nationally.
Plus, quick words of warning spoken and typed earlier: New Mexico State and Utah State have to win the WAC 2013 tourney or face participation in a second or third tier post-season tournament. That isn't changing.
But as for the newbies:
Denver finished 22-9, 11-5 in the Sun Belt Conference (with wins against Southern Mississippi, St. Mary's and Utah State) but loses five seniors. What's also interesting is that the Pioneers play a Princeton-style offense which frustrates defenders. Also, Joe Scott's squad isn't very big on the frontline.
As an independent, Seattle completed the season at 12-15 (twin losses to Idaho, one to SJSU and and a split with Utah State) and three seniors who started most of the season are departing.
Texas Arlington notched a 24-9, 15-1 year, with two seniors starters now saying sayonara. The Mustangs were members of the Southland Conference.
It was a 13-17, 5-11 finish for Texas State and two senior starters bidding adieu to the Bobcats, also in the Southland Conference.
The third Southland Conference squad, UT San Antonio, posted an 18-14, 10-6 record and will be minus but one significant contributor. The Roadrunners (gotta love that nickname) topped Fresno State but fell to San Jose State University this season.
Maybe new rivalries can be developed but it's very hard, considering the additions, to see any sort of fan/media attention increasing locally or nationwide nor attendance going up at the WAC tournament.
Matt Sonnenberg continues with his Aggie player ratings -- Mitch Bruneel is in the hot seat today.
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Not WAC-related but what a series of very intriguing coaching moves at Texas Christian University. Jim Christian departs after an 18-15 and 7-7 season (his best record there but still 56-73 overall) in the Mountain West Conference, just prior to a jump to the Big 12.
He lands at Ohio University in the Mid-American Conference (he used to coach at Kent State). It seems like a step down in prestige although his new and old salaries are supposed to be similar. There had to be some heat for the earlier records so maybe he was getting ahead of any move by his Horned Owl AD.
Now, Trent Johnson (who was certainly under fire), departs LSU (67-64 record in four seasons) and the Southeastern Conference for TCU (and the Big 12). That is a step down but he obviously felt the ejection seat was approaching.
Christian had great success earlier while at Kent State so the attraction from the Bobcats is understandable.
Johnson was so-so (79-74) at Nevada but much more successful at Stanford. He departed The Farm after some sort of difficulty with the AD there. TCU will always be a football school and life in the Big 12 (Kansas, Baylor, Texas, Missouri, et al) doesn't appear to be more amenable. Plus, it was certainly much easier to recruit to Baton Rouge than it will be to Fort Worth.
Tyler Huskinson at Paul Swaney's Stadium Journey site has a look at plus a take on The Spectrum.
Saw this on Alex Kline's The Recruit Scoop Twitter account: "2012 La Jolla Prep (CA) center Mike VanKirk is taking an official visit to Seattle this weekend, followed by Evansville in two weekends"
It's a March 22 tweet so it seems that would make it Evansville for VanKirk this weekend. Not sure about the missing weekend (or next weekend) but Tennessee Chattanooga and San Jose State University were other colleges in the mix.
KrimsonKrazy has a post up on the Aggie Alert Sports Trough MB about NMSU AD McKinley Boston hoping to sweeten Coach Marvin Menzie's Las Cruces bank account as Colorado State appear majorly interested in getting the Aggie coach to change addresses.
It doesn't matter what league, the level of competition or whether you recruited all your guys, or not -- you get your team to a pair of very recent Big Dance appearances (damn near taking down Michigan St.) and a halo rightfully appears above your head. Period.
Criticize all you want (as some but certainly not the majority) are doing on message boards about Menzies' abilities or lack thereof, the reality is he has succeeded. That cannot be argued.
Evidence triumphs what ifs.
Grabbed this from NorCalPreps' Doug Benton (sub required) in his writeup on a tourney this weekend: "Hunter Myers 6-foot-7 F Douglas-Nevada (2013) Nevada CC Wolverines Elite: Myers is a rising sleeper who is in line for a breakout club season. He can step out to the three point line with good athleticism finishing at the rim. He had two threes and an impressive alley-oop against the Soldiers 17 squad. He has offers from UC Davis and Nevada with interest from Stanford, Cal, Gonzaga, Virginia, Harvard and Yale"
A quick note to Bulldog fans: spoke with Sterling Smith last week and he and Coach Rodney Terry have yet to make acquaintances. So any interest that was located on the 'net was based on interaction with the previous FSU coaching staff.
No, Spencer Butterfield isn't the second coming of Jaycee Carroll. But, as Seinfeld-ians purr "but there's nothing wrong with that." He's the first Spencer Butterfield.
What that means is:
* He plays hurt, he plays hard, he's Mr. Intangible.
* Nobody is more competitive -- as we wrote in an earlier article: "As [Yuba Coach Doug] Cornelius said ... "He plays so hard, he rubs off on other players. Spencer wants to win every sprint, he stays after to lift or heads out to the track ..." Put him on "Survivor" and he either wins it easily or gets voted off early on because he's going to emerge the victor in every contest and be too much of a threat.
* He is already experienced blending in with the best talents off of high school teams as his 33-4 Yuba squad had a different high scorer most every game.
*The physical nature of D-1 ball and the Utah State style will be to his advantage.
* He was a strong dribble-drive scorer in high school, developed his shooting range and consistency at Yuba and now is proficient in both.
* He's has the perfect skills set to team up with Preston Medlin plus an efficient point.
* Simply put, every other WAC team would love to have him sporting a jersey.
From Westwind Prep Coach Adam DeSautels: "Just saw that Brophy's Tim Kempton got offered by Idaho today. Nice choice by UI. He was tough 1st time we played, 2nd time, we were ready"
Strengths:+++++
Kempton is a terrific spot-up shooter who can knock down shots within 17-feet all over the court. His release is high and he possesses a soft touch. In addition, he has become much stronger in the upper body since the spring.
Matt Sonnenberg keeps the Spencer Butterfield bromance aflame in Logan.
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Teddy Feinberg looks into the Marvin Menzies - Colorado State possible pairing.
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Joe Santoro goes long with Coach David Carter, in a very informative piece.
As there are some naysayers and some celebrating, here's a few comments regarding what Keith Shamburger brings to the court:
* He is small, probably 5-foot-9, and best suited to play the one
* Call him much more crafty than a blow-by-his-defender speed demon
* But he did go to the foul line a very good 150 times this past season
* He was a volume shooter in 2011-2012 -- based on need -- which is not necessarily a role for which he is best suited
* His assist-to-turnover ratio was a solid 155/63 on a team that shot 39%
* While he grabbed just under three rebounds a game, some of that number was due to a lack of bigs
* The junior-to-be tied for the team lead with 40 steals, a total derived from a combination of his quick hands and sense of anticipation
* He lives to compete
* Position him with a big or two, another outside shooter and a dribble-drive creator and you'll have a very able contributor
* He's not a take-over-the-game-guy but, really, how many of them are available?
Coming to you late Friday night due to extenuating circumstances ...
Jason Groves is all over the Marvin Menzies - Colorado State pas de deux.
Wendell McKines will be sporting a Norfolk Sports Club jersey during his participation in the Portsmouth Invitational which takes place April 11-14. Sam Wasson offers background.
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There's a bit of Shamburger-mania in the islands right now per Dayton Morinaga and Brian McInnis. Feel free to appropriate the term Sham Wow.
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Tony Jones is all over Utah State's recruiting
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Chris Murray is reporting that Doug Novsek is staying put in Reno. Chris also analyzes Nevada's mystery player, Richard Bell.
6-foot-7 Brylle Kamen spent less than a season at San Jose State University back in 2010-2011 and PTW has always wondered where he landed. Now we know: the University of British Columbia in Vancouver:
In the frontcourt, Morgan will be part of a group that may well be led by French native and San Jose State transfer Brylle Kamen, who not only shoots with range and revels in high tempo, but can play every position shy of point guard.
“He would be in the top five basketball minds we’ve had play for us in terms of understanding the game,” Hanson remarks.
Tony Jones looks at the Utah State (plus San Jose State) chances of receiving a bid from the Mountain West Conference. If the invites come, the answers will probably be heard throughout the states of Utah and California, minus any sound projections.
From the folks at the Hoop Dirt site: "I keep hearing New Mexico State head coach Marvin Menzies name come up when talking about Colorado State. As I mentioned earlier today, current CSU assistant Craig Smith has interviewed for the job, but everyone I talk to keeps mentioning Menzies. His Aggies won 26 games this past season and received an NCAA bid"
If it's true, can't blame Menzies. It's a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, two-way street profession and a salary of a half million is awfully enticing. Plus, Menzies probably has 10-12 years left as a head coach (if he keeps winning) and it's time to make some real coin.
It's the Malik Story that Chris Murray analyzes in today's edition.
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Jason Groves explores the Colorado State coaching opening.
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Liked the pace exhibited in Matt Sonnenberg's latest column. He warms up with an new scoreboard item, followed by a new uniforms entry. After that, it's a whoa Nelly, skip third gear, multiple bottle downings of those five hour energy concoctions blast bagging the neighbor's program and Rivals too. Glad nobody sporting a BYU emblazoned shirt crossed his path while he was hitting the keyboard 'cause it wouldn't have been pretty. Do take a read.
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Dayton Morinaga writes about UH basketball beginning off-season workouts. Note the photo with the tanktop and shirts off. Ah that Hawaiian weather. Please export it.
92Van at the GoVandals Vandal Basketball MB has posted a link to an audio interview with Coach Don Verlin.
As part of his continuing series, Chris Murray zeroes in on Wolf Pack big Kevin Panzer.
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... The Johnnies are also expecting a visit this month from Monroe (N.Y.) College guard Marco Bourgault ... on April 20-22.Bourgault is a 6-foot-6 sophomore out of France
Bourgault will also visit Louisiana Tech on April 16th, he told SNY.tv. He’s also planning visits to Penn State and St. Louis ...
There are many dimensions to Marco’s game, but the facet that stands out the most is his ability to shoot the basketball and for a player his size, that’s impressive. He also has what Coach Brustad likes to call a “high basketball IQ” which backs up his variety of skills, including getting to the basket on the drive as well as shooting from the outside. In addition to his experience in basketball, he’s an accomplished swimmer and soccer player.Marco went to Cholet Bookir from 2005-2009. In 2009-10 at Notre Dame Prep he played in one of the nation’s best prep school programs for Coach Ryan Hurd, Marco averaged 18 ppg, but hurt his knee, which limited his effectiveness. Last year he red-shirted at Monroe.In March of this year, picodulce wrote a feature on Bourgault for the Rumble In The Garden site.
Chris Murray reviews and previews Patrick Nyeko, leading to the question: how many minutes does a player need to be on the court per game to be considered for a conference's all-defensive team?
Also, Chris has an update on Associate Head Coach Doug Novsek, who is interviewing for the Eastern Illinois opening.
Chris also reports that Luke Babbitt is seizing the opportunity available to him in Portland.
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Matt Sonnenberg goes comprehensive in attempting to sort out the Utah State recruiting situation.
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Jim Basnight/Husky Digest recently tweeted this: "Husky Digest reporting that according to a text from a source, "(2012 JC guard) Mark (McLaughlin) to UW, not official, but it's decided"
Hawaii was recently looking at McLaughlin.
In recent days, UW's Terence Ross and Tony Wroten have declared for the draft, leaving a lot of shots to be divvied up.
Chris Murray explores the future role of Wolf Pack backcourter Keith Fuetsch.
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The curious case of Utah State recruiting target Marvin Jean is getting curiouser. Tony Jones writes (@ 5:40 p.m. yesterday) that it's not yet a done deal yet Professor Chaos @ the USUFans Stew's Spectrum MB writes that Jean's Twitter account, posted on March 31, says he will be an Aggie. In fact. Jean has more than one tweet mentioned his coming Aggie-ness.
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Alex Kline/The Recruit Scoop mentions Idaho (and many others) in connection to a San Diego area post grad: "2012 La Jolla Prep (CA) SF Aaron Valdes lists Maine, Hofstra, Hartford, Gardner-Webb, UTEP, Towson, Idaho, Pepperdine and Florida Gulf Coast"
He's 6-foot-5 and definitely a leaper, per this video.
Here is Kline's feature on Valdes.
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Matt Sonnenberg grades Jordan Stone's season, sensing that a redshirt year could be in the offing.
captures the sentiment of a time lost:
College basketball will never regain its former luster until they do away with the one-and-done rule.Call me old, say 'get with the times' but it was much more fun seeing familiar guys develop over the years. Oh well.
It shouldn't take until the Final Four for us to recognize anyone on the court besides the guys wearing Armani suits.
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