Eeny, meeny, miny -- there is no moe: BYU, Idaho or Nevada?

Your guess is as good as ours here:

Scout's Evan Daniels reports today that Las Vegas backcourter Anson Winder has gone with BYU over Idaho and Nevada.

Then, we come across another report from Victoria Sun at the West Coast Hoops Report (under Latest News) that the 6-foot-3 Winder made his decision soon after coming back from a recruiting trip to Idaho. No mention was made of any Nevada involvement.

Now this also doesn't mean a heckuva lot but we have never previously read about Winder being associated with Nevada's recruitment efforts but, ultimately, it didn't really matter in the end.

*** UPDATE: Jay Drew at his Salt Lake Tribune Utah State blog writes this: "...He [Winder] also had an offer from Idaho, and had drawn interest from Nevada and others..."

Nevada lands a recruit

Per A.W. Prince at his Silver and Blue Nevada site, Coach Carter has received a verbal commitment from 6-foot-6 Bakersfield High wing Jordan Burris. Go here for the news -- scroll down to the seventh category on the message board..

As an aside, to be a Nevada fan requires ownership of a sub to the Silver and Blue site, no ifs ands or buts. What's the cost, something like a sixpack a month? We'd use the example of say a couple of lattes but the world knows the Wolf Pack supporters are no latte-sipping crew. That's not how they roll.

Chris Muuray - the answer to our nation's energy deficit

Here's the second of Chris' posts today -- this one focused on Nevada recruiting:

A couple of Pack basketball recruiting notes
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
10/7/2009

Nevada basketball recruit Josh Ritchart has verbally committed to UC Davis...Ritchart is a 6-foot-7 small forward from Auburn, Calif., who the Wolf Pack had targeted.

Also, I spoke with Yannick Atanga's coach Randy Bertin earlier this week and he said Atanga had an excellent time on his recruiting trip to Reno last weekend. Wolf Pack sophomore Dario Hunt was his host...

Go here for the remainder.

More on K.C. Ross-Miller

We last made mention of K.C. Ross-Miller and Nevada back on September 25 and there isn't much more to add but the Wolf Pack still appears to be involved and in the running.

Scout's Dave Telep has an article up today stating Ross-Miller, having been burned by a coaching change at Kentucky, will wait until the spring signing period to affix his name to a letter-of-intent. Nevada has offered. Go here for the post. and a Scout sub is required.

Chris Murray previews Jordan Burris & Yannick Atanga

Coach David Carter has at least two visitors coming in to Reno this weekend and Chris Murray offers background on both:

A deeper look at Wolf Pack recruit Jordan Burris
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
10/1/2009

As we wrote earlier this week, Nevada will host recruits Jordan Burris and Yannick Atanga this weekend. I've flagged down a pair of Burris' coaches so you could get a little better understanding about his game, strengths and potential to play at Nevada. The first coach I spoke with was Oliver Brown, who will be Burris' coach at Stockdale High in Bakersfield, Calif., this season. Brown took over the program this summer. He said Burris has recruiting visists scheduled this week at Nevada, next week at Lamar University and the following week at Pepperdine.

"I’ve gotten several calls," Brown said. "There's mild interest from different schools. Highly interested schools are Pepperdine, Nevada, Lamar University, which is in the Texas area, and Fresno State. Mild interest, TCU, San Jose State, UC Irvine and UC Riverside. ... I would say the top of his list is certainly Nevada. I would say it’s between Nevada and Pepperdine, but that’s just from when I talked to him (Monday)."

Go here for the lengthy and informative remainder.

and

Wolf Pack recruit Yannick Atanga burgeoning with potential
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
10/1/2009

Earlier today, we took a look at basketball recruit Jordan Burris, who is visiting Nevada this weekend. Now it's time to learn a little about Yannick Atanga, who also will be visiting Reno this weekend (he leaves Thursday night with his coach Randy Bertin).

Since coach David Carter took over the program in April, the Wolf Pack has twice dipped into the international pool for recruits — first with London native Patrick Nyeko and then with Serbian big man Marko Cukic. Atanga fits the same mold. He was born in Cameroon's capital city of Yaounde (also the birth place of ex-UCLA star Luc Richard Mbah a Moute) and moved to the United States three years ago...

Go here for the lengthy and informative remainder.

Chris Murray with a great column today

Chris Murray has a new feature up today -- the type we love to linger over. That's because he provides an in-depth, year-by-year history on Nevada basketball recruiting, thus eliminating the message board posts we see too often that proclaim so-and-so is a better/worse recruiter than his predecessor but sans any evidence.

With Murray's help, we can agree or disagree on recruits and classes but based on opinions derived from facts, not bias, faulty memory or some such factor.

It's also an eye opener for those of us who start flying sky high over this or that signee when the young man has yet to put on a D-1 college basketball uniform.

A quick history lesson on the Wolf Pack's recruiting
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
9/30/2009

We are in the thick of the recruiting season with campus visits in full force and the early signing period about six weeks away. That got me thinking about the importance of recruiting. It can be argued, effectively I might add, that recruiting is the most important thing a college coach does. Simply put: You need good players to win, and you can only get good players if you are a good recruiter. But I would guess recruiting puts more gray hairs on a coach's head than any other facet of his job...

Go here for the remainder.

It seems nothing was going to get this young man out from back east

Formerly of Maryland, 6-foot-9 Florida prepster Anthony Lee has cast his lot with the Temple Owls. Nevada apparently made an offer, as did USC and others, but the young man seems too connected to the east coast.

Kyle Gauss
OwlScoop.com Staff Writer
September 26, 2009

Temple coach Fran Dunphy got his first commitment from the class of 2010 Friday when Anthony Lee, a 6-foot-9 forward/center from Orlando's West Oaks Academy, verbally accepted the veteran coach's scholarship offer on the first day of his official visit...

...Lee, a Rivals.com 3-star prospect, is also ranked as the 38th-best center in the country by ESPN.com. He averaged 14.8 points and 13.8 rebounds last year at Eustis High School...

...Owl Scoop: What were your other offers?

Anthony Lee: "I had offers from USC, Washington, Nevada, George Washington, Georgia, Tulane, Seton Hall, VCU, George Mason and a lot of other schools..."

Go here for the full article and a Rivals sub is required.

K.C. Ross-Miller with a Nevada mention

Texas prep backcourter K.C. Ross-Miller is featured in a Rivals article and part of it is about Nevada pursuing him:

Jerry Meyer
Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Analyst
September 24, 2009

...Nevada has made a significant push for the 6-foot, 170-pound point guard.

"Nevada snuck in out of no where," said Coach Miller. "They are on K.C. hard and really want him."

Go here for the full feature and a Rivals sub is required.

Here is an April 2009 ESPN evaluation of Ross-Miller.

Here is a 2008 feature on the young man.

Here is a You Tube video from when Ross-Miller was a Kentucky commit to Billy Gillispie.

A Yannick Atanga update

The Gonzaga site -- The Slipper Still Fits -- has a very informative update on southern California frontcourter Yannick Atanga. He's a Nevada recruiting target.

Here's a brief cut-and-paste featuring his high school coach: "He has visits setup to Santa Clara and Nevada-Reno. I hope and I think he will take all five visits at this point. He is planning on waiting until the late period to commit and sign, so I think he will have time to take all of his visits."

Go here for the full post.

Nevada scouting a junior college big

Melvin Grussing is back today with a brief entry about an Antelope Valley College big who is being eyed by Nevada. The young man played junior college ball in Illinois last year.

Go here for the post.

Here's Grussing with an earlier post on McGrew: "Antelope Valley College just picked up Chicago native, George McGrew, 6’8”, 225, forward. He played for Oakton Community College in Des Panes, Illinois last season where he led the team with 9.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks per game and second in scoring with 12.2 ppg. McGrew averaged 61.9% on 2 point shots."

Josh Ritchart gets a home visit from Nevada

On August 20, Auburn (CA) senior forward Josh Ritchart visited UC Davis.

He officially tripped to Pacific on September 3. His older brother, Andrew, is now there after being at Cal State East Bay (Hayward, CA) last year. Andrew is a 6-foot-3 guard.

Nevada Coach David Carter did a home visit with the 6-foot-7 Ritchart Thursday night.

All of the above courtesy of his Twitter account here.

Troy Leaf to UC Santa Barbara

After San Diego area backcourter Troy Leaf de-committed from San Diego State (the backcourt was getting over-populated) Nevada was mentioned, along with Portland and a pair of PAC-10 schools as possibilities

We thought somewhere in the West Coast Conference would be his next destination and the proper level for his talents.

We were wrong (again).

But not too far off.

Leaf has now committed to Coach Bob Williams and the Gauchos in the Big West Conference.

ESPN's Joel Francisco twittered this: "Troy Leaf has casted his lost with UCSB."

Expanding further elsewhere, Francisco wrote: "Troy Leaf, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard, cast his lot with the Gauchos of Santa Barbara after parting ways with San Diego State during his junior campaign, ESPN.com Recruiting Coordinator Joel Francisco.

"Troy's a deceptive two-guard who plays the game with a ton of moxy and scoring prowess," Francisco said. "His frame doesn't project well for the next level, but he is blessed with some bounce and a prolific shooting stroke that extends out to the 3-point line.

"He's fairly explosive in transition and he's quite good at getting his own shot while on the break. In the half court set, he could be very effective coming off of a screen to set up for the jump shot. He also moves well without the ball and possesses a high basketball IQ."

Chris Murray on Nevada's out of conference schedule

Chris Murray provides his take on each of Nevada's out of conference contests this season. This is something we wish every WAC beat reporter would undertake.

Go here.

We were wrong

We went out on a limb Wednesday and offered that Lone Star State backcourter Jordan Clarkson wouldn't leave Texas when he made his choice of college.

He did.

Clarkson moved one state up, deciding to cast his lot with Tulsa. Nevada had been associated with Clarkson but to what degree of actual seriousness is unknown.

Here is Dave Telep's article on Clarkson and his choice. A Scout sub is required.

Additionally, another prospect mentioned in connection to the Wolf Pack, Rayvonte Rice out of Illinois, has just pledged to Drake.

Chris Murray talks with Jordan Gathers

Jordan Gathers wants to be a Wolf Packer. Will the offer be extended:

Recruit Gathers says he is leaning toward Wolf Pack
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
9/10/2009

Southern California point guard Jordan Gathers said Thursday he is "definitely leaning" toward Nevada as his college destination. The 6-foot-3, 175-pounder will play at Taft High School this season after averaging 10.9 points, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game last season at Loyola High School. He hit 51 percent of his shots from the field and 50 percent from behind the 3-point line. Gathers, the nephew of the late Hank Gathers, said he likes everything about the Nevada program...

Go here for the remainder.

Texas backcourter with a Nevada mention

In a Rivals article posted today, Lone Star State guard Jordan Clarkson just finished a trip to SMU and he is heading to Texas A&M. Tulsa has already received a Clarkson visit. Nevada gets a mention as one of three schools in the running for his final two officials.

Armen Williams
PonyPride.com Publisher
September 9, 2009

The recruiting process is right in the thick of things for Converse shooting guard Jordan Clarkson. After taking a trip to Tulsa for the first weekend of official visits, the 2010 guard hit up an official to SMU late last week...

Go here for the remainder and a Rivals sub is required.

He certainly sounds like a good get for whoever lands him. Our gut level feeling is he doesn't leave Texas.

The Pack crosses the border

Chris Murray, who apparently never sleeps, has three posts up today. We've detailed the other two and the third is on Auburn CA frontcourter Josh Ritchart.

Pack hoops staff to take a look at Ritchart on Wednesday
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
9/8/2009

The Nevada coaching staff is one of three teams scheduled to be in Auburn on Wednesday to check out Forest Lake Christian small forward Josh Ritchart. Richart's coach, Dave Thomas, said coaches from Nevada, Air Force and UC Davis will be in town to watch him work out. Pacific, St. Mary's, Washington State and a few other Pac-10 teams also have shown interest in the 6-foot-7, 210-pounder who averaged 26.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 6 blocks per game last season. He hit 61 percent of his shots and 41 percent from beyond the 3-point arc...

Go here for the remainder.

We saw Ritchart play two Sundays ago in the Nor Cal Clash at Contra Costa Community College in San Pablo. He certainly is the type of kid you pull for and want to succeed. What's intriguing is his best asset is outside shooting but some coaches are viewing him as a four. But he doesn't yet have the body for a power forward and positioning him at the four would also negate -- at least to some degree -- his top skill. It would more than likely also move him to redshirt status as a freshman while he hits the weights. The article indicates Ritchart wants to and should play the three in college and that seems the most likely route. If we had to guess, not even attempting calling it an educated one, is Pacific is Ritchart's destination.

Nevada seeking gold in Texas

Chris Murray has a post up (in fact, two) about a new-to-us Texas basketballer who is being evaluated by David Carter and staff.

Here is the first post.

You can click on the second from the first entry but, just in case, here is later one.

In the latter, Cal is mentioned as pursuing the kid from Texas. Does that mean LaBradford Franklin is cool on Berkeley, vice versa or it was ill-fated or ill-reported from the beginning? Or, as some coaches do, is this a case of whoever commits first is the one.

Maybe Gary Franklin, another SoCal point, has pushed LaBradford Franklin out of Mike Montgomery's focus. Then, does this make LaBradford Franklin more attractive to Nevada (who has offered)? Oh the possibilities.

Maybe (or not) an update on Jordan Gathers

This is territory already covered but Eric Boal/LA Daily News has a blog entry today about Bryce Jones hooking up with USC. At the end, he mentions Jones' teammate, backcourter Jordan Gathers, is still connected to Nevada and Fresno State recruiting efforts.

Chris Murray has a new Nevada recruiting name

Chris Murray has a post up about a name new to us -- backcourter Meiko Lyles -- who is getting interest from the Wolf Pack. Go here for the article.