Recruiting: 2016

[HC]

Good! I heard Kampe told him that he wants Chris shooting 10 3pointers a game and that was what sealed the deal (true story).

[vu72]

From what we know about the Oakland program, losing a kid to them tells us that likely he wouldn't have fit well at Valpo. No sour grapes (we have no idea if Bryce had offered), just reality.

[wh]

Good! I heard Kampe told him that he wants Chris shooting 10 3pointers a game and that was what sealed the deal (true story).

Yeah, and if he only shoots 9 3's a game, Dan will demand a meeting with Kampe to tell him he misled them.  Mark my words, he will play for at least 2 schools over the next 5 years, maybe 3.  In the process they'll burn more bridges than Sherman in his march through the South.

[justducky]

I would love for this kid to be a big HL success and a regular visitor to the ARC. That said I am glad he will be a Kampe project instead of one of ours.

[valpospartan]

Good! I heard Kampe told him that he wants Chris shooting 10 3pointers a game and that was what sealed the deal (true story).

Yeah, and if he only shoots 9 3's a game, Dan will demand a meeting with Kampe to tell him he misled them.  Mark my words, he will play for at least 2 schools over the next 5 years, maybe 3.  In the process they'll burn more bridges than Sherman in his march through the South.

Just like Dan's Dad did!

[VULB#62]

Today is EARLY NLI day. Any rumors on early signings for MBB?

[covufan]

Today is EARLY NLI day. Any rumors on early signings for MBB?

Wouldn't mind seeing Ottey sign the NLI, eh.

[Pgmado]

So much for Zion Morgan.

He decommitted this evening.

[wh]

So much for Zion Morgan.

He decommitted this evening.

The story:

http://www.prephoopsillinois.com/news_article/show/576143?referrer_id=1205907

[a3uge]

Wonder which coach poached him after committing...

[HC]

If you're Valpo do you pull his offer?

[FWalum]

I think he has been poorly advised.  If things go as predicted this season, VU's stock will rise and we should be more likely to attract better recruits.

[VU75]

No, you respect his decision, we'd be sad to lose you but if you find a better fit elsewhere  we'll wish you the best of luck.  First, you don't want to appear as a hard ass to other recruits.  Second, down the road he may keep Valpo in mind as a transfer possibility a la Moussa Guey.

[valpo95]

So much for Zion Morgan.

He decommitted this evening.

The story:

http://www.prephoopsillinois.com/news_article/show/576143?referrer_id=1205907

You know, it doesn't say he has committed elsewhere. It may be that a high major or two has made some big promises and he wants to check them out. Imagine how the conversation goes:

Big 10 coach: "We are very interested in you - before you sign with Valpo, why don't you come down and take a visit on campus? We have one scholarship available. The atmosphere on our campus and in (insert arena here) is amazing. We'd love to get you on campus and that way, you can be sure which school is best for your future."

Young player: "That sounds interesting, I'd like to take the visit."

At the end of the visit:

Big 10 coach: "We think you have a lot of potential. We are offering you an opportunity to come to (insert campus here) as a preferred walk-on."

Young player:  "It was a great visit, except for the ending."

We can hope that the young players recruited by Valpo also are in demand by high majors - so to have a player re-open his recruitment shouldn't be all that surprising. Until a player signs elsewhere, we still have a strong position in a situation like this. I'm sure Bryce and all of the coaches have been through this many times, and we have to trust that they will work things out for the good of the program - even if that means that Valpo does get a commitment from a different player.

[Valpower]

You know, it doesn't say he has committed elsewhere. It may be that a high major or two has made some big promises and he wants to check them out. Imagine how the conversation goes:

Big 10 coach: "We are very interested in you - before you sign with Valpo, why don't you come down and take a visit on campus? We have one scholarship available. The atmosphere on our campus and in (insert arena here) is amazing. We'd love to get you on campus and that way, you can be sure which school is best for your future."

Young player: "That sounds interesting, I'd like to take the visit."

At the end of the visit:

Big 10 coach: "We think you have a lot of potential. We are offering you an opportunity to come to (insert campus here) as a preferred walk-on."

Young player:  "It was a great visit, except for the ending."

We can hope that the young players recruited by Valpo also are in demand by high majors - so to have a player re-open his recruitment shouldn't be all that surprising. Until a player signs elsewhere, we still have a strong position in a situation like this. I'm sure Bryce and all of the coaches have been through this many times, and we have to trust that they will work things out for the good of the program - even if that means that Valpo does get a commitment from a different player.

Big 10 Coach: Yeah, I hear ya, but let me introduce you to Kimberly and Chantal over here.

Young player: Gulp.

[HC]

There's one signed!

[Pgmado]

Bradford is by all accounts a very good player for Valpo. One of the top 10 players in the state of Illinois. Saw one Illinois recruiting service say he has "Curry like skills."

[valpo84]

And remember Steph was underrecruited and ended up and Davidson!

[valporun]

I think Morgan made a good decision to wait. I mean if he knows he has potential to get offers from higher ranking basketball schools, why not take the time to make the right decision for him? Sure, we'd all love that he would commit to Valpo NOW, but he hasn't played a game in his senior year yet. Who knows how much better he could actually be this season. I don't see Bryce pulling the offer, but patiently letting Morgan decide what's in his best interests.

[vu72]

Bradford is by all accounts a very good player for Valpo. One of the top 10 players in the state of Illinois. Saw one Illinois recruiting service say he has "Curry like skills."

http://www.hoops247.com/new34/index.php/chicago-hoops-news/7419-micah-bradford-commits-to-valparaiso

[FWalum]

Micah Bradford commits to Valpo
Sun Times: Micah Bradford to Valpo

[vufan75]

more Micah Bradford recruiting stuff. This article from prephoopsillinois.com.

http://www.prephoopsillinois.com/news_article/show/579003?referrer_id=1156205

[covufan]

Tweets on Marcus Ottey in the last two days have him making decision soon (this weekend), then backtracking and saying that he'll visit Detroit. 

http://verbalcommits.com/players/marcus-ottey

Should we inform him that he can visit Detroit in March of 2017 as a member of the Valparaiso Basketball team?

[Chairback]

Interesting question during the iu-Kokomo presser.  The question was asked if a guy where to transfer mid season into valpo could he come in now and his time count for next year.  Obviously Bryce cannot talk about transfers but is their chatter of a player wanting to transfer in?  Seems like an odd question to ask if there wasn't a reason.  I could be reading into it too much. 

[Pgmado]

Interesting question during the iu-Kokomo presser.  The question was asked if a guy where to transfer mid season into valpo could he come in now and his time count for next year.  Obviously Bryce cannot talk about transfers but is their chatter of a player wanting to transfer in?  Seems like an odd question to ask if there wasn't a reason.  I could be reading into it too much. 

Valparaiso has four open scholarships for next year (Carter, Nickerson, D.Walker, Fernandez). Micah Bradford just filled one of them. With three left, I highly doubt Valpo will use all of them on freshmen. A good bulk of talented freshmen have signed already. Marcus Ottey is obviously one they are looking at and they'd have a scholarship for him. That said, Valpo has had incredible success with transfers. My reasoning in asking the question was to find out if Valpo would be able to add anyone who perhaps looked to transfer at semester. I didn't ask the question with anyone in mind. Say there is another Keith Carter out there, I wanted to know if Valpo could take him.