Recruiting: 2015

[valpopal]

Word this morning is that Nick Osborne has chosen IUPUI. I am more than surprised.

Jason Gardner was an assistant at Loyola.  Was he originally invloved with Osborne, I do not know.  Gardner is a very well known name here in Indy. He should be able to have some recruiting successes. Plus they will be playing in the newly renovated State Fair Coliseum.

You must be right, IndyValpo. Gardner also just picked up a commitment from Osborne's teammate and fellow transfer, Matt O'Leary.

[valpotx]

Though it would have been good to get some height from those 2 transfers, I was not impressed with possibly getting Loyola transfers.  I believe that they ended up at the right place for their talents.

[wh]

Sometime back Commissioner from the Detroit board did a mini-analysis on how transfers from Major conferences have performed in the HL.  A small percentage seemed to meet or exceed expectations.  The majority were pretty average or even mediocre performers.  The prospects of an unhappy, unfulfilled player from a bad mid major team suddenly sparkling on a mid major team with better players seems like a high risk/low reward proposition.

[valpo84]

From Notre Dame Hoops @NDHoopsRecruits Twitter


MBB: INBasketballSource says ND watched 2015 6-7 SF Matt Holba (IN) Tues. 2* Scout, NR Rivals & ESPN. Providence & Valpo offers.
  08:26 AM - 23 Apr 14

[IndyValpo]

Some news about us and others...

http://www.indystar.com/story/recruiting-central/2014/04/23/iupui-matt-oleary-jason-gardner-kendall-rollins/8058841/

[historyman]

Some news about us and others... http://www.indystar.com/story/recruiting-central/2014/04/23/iupui-matt-oleary-jason-gardner-kendall-rollins/8058841/

I've overused my limited number of Indy Star stories. Can someone with access cut and paste the story for me?

[Valpo89]

Here you go historyman:

It's a hot time for recruiting news. A few more notes from today:

*IUPUI picked up another transfer on Wednesday, its fourth since coach Jason Gardner was hired as coach.

Matt O'Leary, a 6-8 forward, averaged 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds as a sophomore at Loyola (Ill.) in 31 games. O'Leary committed to IUPUI a day after his Loyola teammate, Nick Osborne. Gardner was an assistant at Loyola before taking an assistant coaching position at Memphis.

"My relationship with coach Gardner was a huge part of it," said O'Leary, who played at Terre Haute North. "I feel like it's an awesome chance. I know he feels like we have a good chance to win the Summit League in the next couple years with the players he's bringing in."

In addition to O'Leary and Osborne, IUPUI is also adding Western Michigan transfer Leo Svete and Eastern Michigan transfer Darell Combs.

*Pike 6-7 senior Kendall Rollins committed to Western Illinois on Wednesday. Rollins 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocked shots and 2.0 assists in 24 games for Pike as a senior.

Western Illinois is coached by Billy Wright, a former Pike coach and Ball State assistant.

*Peru 6-10 center Seth Adelsperger picked up an offer from Ball State on Tuesday night. Indiana State and Valparaiso have also offered Adelsperger, who averaged 14.7 points and 11.2 rebounds as a junior. ... Purdue was in this morning to get a look at Park Tudor freshman Jaren Jackson Jr. at an open gym. The 6-7 Jackson will be a player to watch over the next couple years. ... Howe junior guard Harris Brown has opened up his recruitment from Loyola (Ill.). ... Traders Point junior guard Nick Rogers picked up an offer from Ohio. ... Purdue transfer Ronnie Johnson is scheduled to visit Xavier on Thursday. ... Indiana and Indiana State were in Wednesday to see Lawrence Central sophomore guards Kyle Guy and Mekhi Biffle. ... Guerin Catholic junior Matt Holba had an in-home visit with Valparaiso on Tuesday.

[valpopal]

Apparently, Valpo can take LuWane Pipkins off their list of offers. Word is that he has chosen U Mass.

[butlerway]

Here are highlights of Holba from last weekend.  Not sure how to embed the video here (or if I even can), so I'll just link it.  someone can edit my post if needed.  Seems like a Valpo type player.

youtube.com/watch?v=2oMhtPj8JXY

[valpotx]

I like guys who attempt to block shots!

[LaPorteAveApostle]

[valpopal]

Report by a sportswriter that Dequon Miller now has been offered a scholarship.

[tweet]466006681621520386[/tweet]

[valpo64]

Who is Tequon Miller?  Does anyone have some info on him?

[vufan75]

Who is Tequon Miller?  Does anyone have some info on him?

http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2013-14/div1/players/dequonmiller8i7l

He looks like a juco guard with 3 years of eligibility remaining. He appears to be more of a scoring pg, one who shoots for a higher %. He shoots 2's in the high 40% range, 3-pointers in the mid-40% range, and has a very nice assist/turnover ratio as well, if I recall right something > 2.5. And his FT% is 84.1%. He averaged a little over 20ppg this past season at Motlow State Community College located in Lynchburg, TN. He started 25 of 26 games for Motlow. His height varies from one recruiting service to another, with him listed as 5-11 on scout.com. Oh, and his birthday is today, so Happy Birthday, DeQuon!!   

I'm just not sure why we would be offering a scholarship to yet another guard who appears to be a pg. With Keith Carter and Lexus Williams returning and both being primarily pg's, with the other guards on the roster already plus the 2 Canadian recruits who are guards and will be freshman this year, the guard position seems pretty full? We need another BIG, more than another guard IMHO.

But, I'm sure the coaches know more than me (that is for sure) and maybe someone will be redshirting next season to space out the guards in terms of years of eligibility remaining a little more. And of course given the recruiting competition, schools like Tennessee, Missouri and Arizona State after DeQuon, we are at this point just one of the schools who have offered him a schollie with no guarantee he will choose Valpo. He does appear to be a very good player and you can never have enough of those! 

[valpo64]

Thanks for the update, VuFan!

[LaPorteAveApostle]

What's weird is doing the same thing but calling it another name. 

Perez got a full-ride offer from Ivy League schools.  Because he can play basketball.

...but it's not an athletic scholarship.  ...mmkay.

It's not much different for a "run of the mill" non-athlete Ivy student. It not about paying for school. It's about getting excepted by an Ivy school. Although those who are fortunate enough to be able to afford an Ivy League education will end up paying for it. 

Interesting article that made me think of our recent talking of Ivy League athletes.  Safe to say this hasn't happened in a while:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140513/SPORTS0203/305130098/Yale-basketball-player-leaves-team-school-cappella-group

[valpo84]

It's a shame, Poor little lamb who has lost his way.....

[valpopal]

Max Rothschild, a 6'7" SF from Chicago, is on campus today for an unofficial visit.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

All the talk about recruiting this year and the year after next (ok, I started that one) got me thinking...where are we next year?

I combed this thread, braving the inevitable digressions into where and how Chadwick will play, which neighborhoods in Indy are bad news, etc. (surprising: no facilities discussions or Drew leaving rumors...just Powell actually : ) NOTE TO IMPRESSIONABLE RECRUITS:  NOBODY IS LEAVING THESE ARE JOKES EVERYONE IS HERE TO STAY FOREVER THANK YOU), as well as the rest of the Interwebz to track down the latest information available.

Which, this being the Innerweb, will be out of date by the time you read this.

Happy Trails

• Ryan Fazekas (Providence)
• Aaron Jordan (Illinois)
• LuWane Pipkins (UMass)

Assume recruits are 2-star on the composite rankings unless otherwise listed.  I thought about listing recruits alphabetically, then by how much we want them, then by size, and then I realized those last two were the same. So:

Group 3:  How interested are we?

Julian Torres: 6'8 PF from Bolingbrook
Offers from UIC, CSU, NIU, Bradley
http://verbalcommits.com/players/julian-torres


Myles Carter:6'7 PF from St. Rita (IL) 3 star recruit!
Offers from VCU, Providence, Bradley, Xavier, DePaul, Memphis
http://verbalcommits.com/players/myles-carter


Max Rothschild: 6'7, 205 SF from New Hampton Prep (Chicagoan going prep route next year)
Offers from Brown, CSU, UIC, Presby, NIU
http://verbalcommits.com/players/max-rothschild


Carlos Anderson: 6'4, 215 SG from Alton, IL
Offers from ALL THE DIRECTIONAL ILLINOISE: UIC, SIU-E, SIU, WIU, Drake
http://verbalcommits.com/players/carlos-anderson


Roosevelt Smart: 6'3, 170 SG from St. Viator (IL)
Offers from Creighton, WSU, NIU, LaSalle
http://verbalcommits.com/players/roosevelt-smart

Group 2: Are we interested enough to offer?

Obediah Church: 6'7 SF from Springfield (IL)
Offers from N Dakota, Tenn St, Bradley, UIC, SIU-E, UWGB, FIU, Missouri St, S Dakota, Ohio
http://verbalcommits.com/players/obediah-church


Weisner Perez: 6'6, 205 SF from Morton (IL)
Offers from ALL OF THE IVIES (and PATRIOTZ)
http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=1419.msg43225#msg43225


Cortez Seales: 6'4, 180 PG from North Scott (IA)
Offers from LaSalle, Drake, WKU, N Dak, UNI
http://verbalcommits.com/players/cortez-seales


Group 1: They have offers.  Will they sign them?

Seth Adelsperger: 6'11, 230 C from Peru (IN)
Visited for Murray St game; had in-home visit in April.
Analysis:  http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140715/SPORTS/140719785/1013
Offers from (besides us) BSU, Loyola, Ind St, Belmont
http://verbalcommits.com/players/seth-adelsperger


Matt Holba: 6'7, 200 SF from St. Theodora Guerin (IN) 2.5 star recruit!
Analysis:  http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=1419.msg32277#msg32277
Offers from (besides us) Toledo, PSU, W&M, Ohio, Providence, Iowa (interest no offer)
http://verbalcommits.com/players/matt-holba


Davon Dillard: 6'5, 205 SF from Bowman (IN)  3 star recruit; #125 in nation!
Analysis:  definitely talented; where's his head at, though?  He attacked a teammate this past season; his coach, not exactly the vice-principal of disciplinarians, sat him on multiple occasions...
Offers from (besides us) Iowa, Marquette, Bradley, NIU, PU, Creighton, Providence
http://verbalcommits.com/players/davon-dillard


Nick Rogers: 6'1, 170 PG from Indy (some 'HS' called Elev8 Sports?)  2.3 star recruit!
Visited VU in April 2013.
Analysis:  http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=1419.msg32884#msg32884
Offers from (besides us) WKU, OSU, USF, WIU, Ohio, Tennessee, Loyola, NIU, KSU, Ole Miss, Kennesaw St, Toledo, UWM, UIC, ISU, IUPUI, Nebraska, Indiana St, UNCW, LaSalle


Erick Locke: 6', 180 PG from Chicago now prepping at SPIRE Academy in OH
Analysis:  http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=1421.msg32284#msg32284
Sound familiar?  Was 2014 (first post in that recruiting thread) but has reclassified.  http://www.highschoolcubenews.com/news_article/show/398714-oprf-graduate-erick-locke-will-enroll-in-prep-school
Offers from (besides us) Chicago St, UIC


Devin Cannady: 6', 170 PG from Mishawaka Marian (IN)
Offers from (besides us) a ton of people; HE's most interested in Ohio, Akron, Toledo, IUPUI, and Cornell
http://verbalcommits.com/blog/cannady-plays-his-game


Dequon Miller: 5'11, 165 PG from Motlow St. CC (juco)
In-home visit April '14
Offers from (besides us) UT-PanAm, N Az, Ole Miss, Kennesaw St, WKU, EMU, N Tex, Tenn St, EKU, Tenn, E Tenn St, Ark St
COLLECT ALL THE TENNESSEES!
http://verbalcommits.com/players/dequon-miller

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Don't all comment at once now.

Presented without comment:
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/28753415-556/boys-basketball-bowman-standout-davon-dillard-leaving-bowman-for-la-lumiere.html#.U8svglagEkE

...

OK can't resist.  She calls Hutton to break the story?  The guy that posted her son's police report on the web?
http://blogs.post-trib.com/hutton/2014/01/gary-police-report-on-bowmans-.html

w/e

[vu72]

Don't all comment at once now.

Presented without comment:
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/28753415-556/boys-basketball-bowman-standout-davon-dillard-leaving-bowman-for-la-lumiere.html#.U8svglagEkE

...

OK can't resist.  She calls Hutton to break the story?  The guy that posted her son's police report on the web?
http://blogs.post-trib.com/hutton/2014/01/gary-police-report-on-bowmans-.html

w/e

OK, what does have to do with Valpo??

[LaPorteAveApostle]

...

seriously?

...
i just...

i don't even know, man.

like literally TWO posts ago.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

if you put things two places people are more likely to read them.  plus it makes the blog look nicer.

http://www.valpofanzone.com/2014/07/21/recruiting-a-look-at-the-2015-prospects/

Here's the new content:
You may have noticed (on purpose) three of the recruits–one in each group–wearing the same jersey.  Julian Torres, Weisner Perez, and Davon Dillard all play for the same AAU team–the Mac Irvin Fire.  Based in Chicago, this is just the third year for a program that boasted #2 pick Jabari Parker, Duke's incoming mammoth Jahlil Okafor, and now stars the über-recruited Jalen Brunson.  (One-time target, now UMass commit Luwane Pipkins is also a teammate–so certainly this team is promising territory for all Chicagoland D1s.)

Looking at their just-concluded appearance at the 2014 {sponsor deleted} Peach Jam in Atlanta, Dillard started all 5 games; Julian Torres 3.  Perez did not start but appeared in 4 games, and actually played more than Torres, who only logged 29 minutes over 5 games.

Dillard averaged 17 mpg, 5th on the team and scored 35 pts, also 5th, with a high game of 18.  Perez scored 13 with a high of 8, and Torres managed 6 pts in 5 games.  While it may not seem like much, on a stacked team, it's still better to be 9th man in a 9-man rotation when there are 11 on the roster.

We'll want to keep an eye on the Fire both now and in the future.

[vu72]

Good points on the non-starters.  Our own Jubril Adekoya was a roll player of sorts on his AAU team which was loaded with high profile talent. 

[covufan]

Devin Cannady: 6', 170 PG from Mishawaka Marian (IN)
Offers from (besides us) a ton of people; HE's most interested in Ohio, Akron, Toledo, IUPUI, and Cornell
http://verbalcommits.com/blog/cannady-plays-his-game

Cannady To Play His Game
By Jamie Shaw - July 4, 2014 3:14 PM EDT   It has been a busy month of June for Marian High School guard Devin Cannady. The 6'1 Cannady logged in miles taking visits, "I visited Butler and all the regional schools that have offered me."

At this point the Spiece Indy guard has offers from UNCW, Valpo, Akron, Cornell, Ohio, Ball St, Florida Gulf Coast, Old Dominion, Northern Illinois, IUPUI, Bradley, Central Michigan, and Toledo. Cannady says that other schools will be keeping close tabs on him in July, "If I am playing my game (in July) I should get Butler, Princeton, and St Louis, maybe some B1G and ACC schools too."

Cannady has a good idea of visits and time frames, "I won't have any more visits until I schedule my officials in August." He also stats that some schools are sticking out above the others, "Ohio, Akron, Toledo, IUPUI, and Cornell are recruiting me the hardest right now." At the end of the day Cannady says he knows what he wants in a program, "I'm looking for coaching stability, academic prestige, playing time, and how they develop players."

-------

Cannady has recently picked up offers from St. Joe's and Rice.  Cannady is quoted "I'm looking for coaching stability, academic prestige, playing time, and how they develop players."  If so, I'd think that Valpo would fit that criteria, especially compared to four of the five Cannady mentions as recruiting him hard right now.  Although, with Williams, Walker and Joseph already on the VU roster, playing time might be limited, but the challenge would be superior to what most other programs could offer.