Recruiting: 2016

[VU2014]

Not going to lie I'm pretty curious as to who Coach Lottich is targeting to fill out the rest of the roster. Hopefully the NCAA rules on Keith's extra year quickly and hopefully in Valpo's favor. Lottich said getting the best talent that fits the team culture is the most important thing, but more and more kids are signing and I hope we're not missing out on kids because we're in a holding pattern right now. The longer the wait I feel like we're more likely to fill out the roster with JUCO transfers because HS recruits are looking to sign quickly and find out where they will play in the Fall. 

[covufan]

Not going to lie I'm pretty curious as to who Coach Lottich is targeting to fill out the rest of the roster. Hopefully the NCAA rules on Keith's extra year quickly and hopefully in Valpo's favor. Lottich said getting the best talent that fits the team culture is the most important thing, but more and more kids are signing and I hope we're not missing out on kids because we're in a holding pattern right now. The longer the wait I feel like we're more likely to fill out the roster with JUCO transfers because HS recruits are looking to sign quickly and find out where they will play in the Fall.

I don't think that the coaching staff is in a holding pattern nor waiting at all. I'm sure they are extremely busy looking at any and all potential recruits - 2016, 2017 and beyond. There are some like 480 transfers (minus those that have already committed)!  Two seasons ago, I don't think we got DWalker until much later than early May.

Yes, everyone here wants to know and hear everything going on with recruiting - who is coming in for a workout/campus visit, who are they visiting on the road, etc., but there NCAA rules on recruiting that must be adhered to.

[RS]

I must admit that it is with great anticipation but also trepidation that every time I see a posting in Recruiting : 2016 I hope to see news about a new recruit to the program. I'm not sure if Zach Hollywood or Ade Murkey were ever offered by VU. Yet with from 2 to 4 open scholarships still left (obviously depending on whether Carter and Peters are back at VU next year) time is running short. I know in the past we have recruited excellent players late in the year but with so many possible openings there is some concern for me. One of our strengths was the forward position. But with Skara leaving and possibly Peters it seems to be becoming a glaring need. I'm sure the coaching staff is doing the best they can to bring the best players possible to VU.

[valpopal]

Transfer Miles Reynolds from St. Louis University, who recently visited Valpo, has committed to Pacific University.

[crusader05]

Carter's appeal has been denied

[RS]

Yes with Carters denial we now have officially 3 open scholarship spots on the roster and from comments on the board will probably have a fourth spot. I see where the spring signing period ends on May 18th. Does anyone know what exactly this includes? Will transfers and graduating HS seniors be included or is this just for HS juniors and below. VU in the past has added recruits later than this date. VU's silence along the recruiting front has become deafening. But Lottich and crew were not left with many options. As mentioned elsewhere we have the makings of a very lean bench which has been a strong point in previous years.

[VULB#62]

Apparently Matt is on the recruiting trail.

[tweet]730710082065997825[/tweet]

[VU2014]

Curious as to who he's scouting. Just took a look at some available names that aren't committed yet from GA:
-Colby Leifson: http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/colby-leifson
-'K.J.' Gilmore, Jr.: http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/keith-gilmore-jr
-Jacara Cross: http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/jacara-cross

[nkvu]

So now at point we are left with Williams and Joeseph who only played mop up minutes last season, an incoming freshman who may be quite talented but has zero D1 experience, and Hamink who is really a 2/3 and scares the heck out of me every time he handles the ball as a point. We've gone from a team with great prospects to win the conference next season to a team with a bunch of question marks, Peter's return being the biggest one. Hope the staff has some magic in their blood and can pull some recruiting rabbits out of their hats.

[oklahomamick]

Good thing, its still the HL meaning we can win it year in and year out.  Let's get 5 out of 6. 

[VU2014]

My guess is Lexus will be running point this season, at least until Micah shows he has his feet under him and can run the offense. I'm not quite sure how much Lottich's offense will run compared to Bryce's, but if it's similar to bryce then we've seen how much we need a primary PG to run set. From what I've heard is that Lottich is going to push the ball up the floor a bit more and run a few less set plays. I felt really uncomfortable when Hammink ran the point when keith was out last year. He's not a natural ball ball handler. Shane is at his best when he plays off the ball or when he find a lane to attack the paint. Max is such a question mark to me. He's athletic, but we just haven't seen him play enough for fans to judge him. I'm sure the coaching staff knows what they have in him. He seems to be a little out of control when he's on the floor. I'm thinking it's going to Lexus's job to lose, Micah could steal some minute depending on how he develops. Lexus played big time minutes his freshman year.

[VU2014]

One thing to keep in mind in terms of recruiting is that next year Chicagoland recruiting class is EXTREMELY deep. We have quite a few open scholarships open. I might want to fill the roster out with Grad Transfers this season. Rodger was huge for the Valpo program at reaching out and connecting the Valpo program with inner-city HS coaches and AAU programs. I'm hoping Lottich/Gore and the rest of our new coaching staff builds some relationship within the next year, because next years class has a quite a few impact recruits that aren't out of reach for Mid-major schools.

[78crusader]

I think Coach Lottich is going to be great.  But being forced to recruit in mid May strikes me as the college basketball equivalent of a 4th down pass into the end zone from midfield (with no Aaron Rodgers).  A tough year looms.

Paul

[valpopal]

The number of scholarship openings now suggest that Valpo will be looking even more closely to add experienced transfers and JUCO players. Important dates to keep in mind are May 17 and June 27—opening days of class for the first summer session and second summer session.

[sliman]

Assuming Alec gives up on us, based on what we know today, it would seem that Shane will be playing the 3 with Jubril at the 2 and Derrik in the middle.  Hopefully Shane can improve his outside shooting to make his drive to the rim that much more effective.  The only other scholarship players are Walker, Davidson, Joseph and Williams plus Bradford whose adaptation to man-to-man defense may determine how soon he cracks the starting lineup.  Perhaps Tevonn can play the 3 in an emergency, but it's clear that we'll need immediate help and I agree that unless there are uncommitted quality freshmen about whom we know nothing, having a graduate transfer or a juco player to give us depth on the frontline seems imperative.  Should be easy to show any prospects that they will get to play immediately.  Even if Alec is back, there are a lot of minutes available.

As for important dates to watch, perhaps we should add May 28.  Isn't that the date a player needs to withdraw from the NBA draft in order to maintain college eligibility?  It's interesting/concerning that Vanderbilt seems to be keeping a scholarship or two open at this time.  We know, of course, that the Internet is full of various college message board suggestions that their school sign Alec (without regard for how beneficial it might be to Alec).

[IndyValpo]

The number of scholarship openings now suggest that Valpo will be looking even more closely to add experienced transfers and JUCO players. Important dates to keep in mind are May 17 and June 27—opening days of class for the first summer session and second summer session.

The list is shrinking.....http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/14390188/college-basketball-transfer-list

[agibson]

Jubril at the 2

Just to be sure we're talking about the same team, this is Jubril who got minutes at the 5? Maybe you meant Tevonn? Or Jubril at the 4?

[covufan]

Jubril at the 2

Just to be sure we're talking about the same team, this is Jubril who got minutes at the 5? Maybe you meant Tevonn? Or Jubril at the 4?

Maybe it was Jubril at the 1.  He did bring the ball up the floor from time to time this past season.

[sliman]

Too many number in one sentence, I guess.  My thought was based on the players returning, Jubril would be at the 4 and Tevonn at the 2.  But if Jubril needs to move to the 5, Shane could  be the 4 and Tevonn at 3.  Better yet, let's get some studs to help!

[atkins]

I preferred Jubril bringing the ball up the floor instead of Shane. Jubril handled that task well. 

[RS]

Per verbal commits, Zion Morgan committed to UNLV today.  Another possible Chicago recruit gone. Thought he was going to prep school this year.  We will Roger Powell's Chicago connections.

[DMvalpo18]

What really stings is about losing this one is we already had him! Guys can change their mind of course. I wonder if having Powell on staff would have kept him coming to Valpo.

[VU2014]

Zion Morgan wasn't going to come here, after we offered Micah. I felt burned by the coaching staff because Zion wanted to run the point. Zion's a natural 2 guard, but probably could have ran the point in a pinch. He was a pretty underrated player because a lot of coaches thought he benefited from his teammate Nick Robinson. I thought he'd be a really good Mid-Major player. Lots of potential there. To be honest I didn't see him get an offer from a UNLV level skill. I after he felt burned by the coaching staff he wanted to prove he play at a larger school. I know he badly want to play at Wisconsin but the he was sort of the 4th-5th option for Wisconsin. Good luck to him.

[sliman]

Elsewhere on the board it was reported that Jeter landed as an assistant at UNLV.  Not unlikely that originally he was recruiting Morgan for UMW.

[ValpoDad89]

UNLV has a bunch of scholarships and has had 3 coaches in the last 2 months. Zion Morgan is a decent player but benefitted from UNLV's desperation.